"I suppose that could have gone worse."

"Worse!? Worse!? Do you even HEAR yourself!?"

"Well yeah but…"

The three of us were standing in a dark alleyway, just moments after Toriko had been able to rip open a gate for us to get away from the Otherside. In truth, we hadn't planned on going to the Otherside today, so we didn't have most of our gear. We were just trying to sell some of the items we found to Kozakura, and for whatever reason, when she touched this crystal-like rectangle… we felt a tugging motion and somehow her house transformed into an abandoned ruin.

It was like one of those old scary movies, western ones, where all those paintings had eyes that followed you. That's what this felt like, only the eyes were coming from outside the broken windows, and it felt like someone was there.

Toriko and I didn't really react to it. Kozakura was upset, but she wasn't freaking out. Externally anyway. That started when voices started to filter into the building, and there were shapes moving in the corners of our eyes. Kozakura ended up closing her eyes shut and yelling at us to get out of there.

The building we were in, however, ended up being some type of maze that overran itself. Each room seemed bigger and smaller, and it was somehow impossible to find anything resembling an exterior door, and the layout didn't make sense if you thought longer than a few seconds about it.

I had been able to spot what looked like a gate. When I told Toriko about it, suddenly a scream and heavy wind picked up in the entire building, with a black figure racing towards us. The three of us got through just in time for Toriko to release the gate and close it.

So that left us here, stranded in an alleyway in who knows where, with an extremely angry Kozakura.

"You…You… I don't understand you! Either of you!"

"If we knew it would have done that, we wouldn't have brought it to you, Kozakura…"

Toriko ended up looking sheepishly at the ground. I looked at my phone, and found out we were actually in Adachi. Not terribly far away for any of us, but inconvenient. I guess it was easiest to get to Toriko's apartment from where we were.

Kozakura looked like she was in deep thought for a couple seconds with her brow furrowed. She let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head.

"Where did we even end up?"

"Adachi. We are close to Takenotsuka Station, it's about five minutes away."

"Good. I'm leaving. And DON'T follow me, I'm going to go home, where I should have been this whole time."

"We could always…grab something to eat?" Toriko mentioned it innocently enough, only to force her eyes to the ground with the glare that Kozakura sent her. Even when being scolded like that she still could end up looking so pretty, huh. That really wasn't fair. Kozakura really did look mad at her, and simply stormed off in the direction of the station.

"What about you, Sorawo?"

"W–What about me?"

She inched in closer to me, enough for whatever perfume she was wearing to invade my senses.

"We could go out to eat! We need to have an afterparty anyway."

"Yeah, yeah."

I figured trying to convince her otherwise was going to be futile. I was feeling kind of hungry anyway. So it couldn't be too bad, right?

Toriko consulted her phone long enough to find a yakiniku restaurant near the station. I flipped through my messages, ignoring the three I had from Akari, I'd look at those…at some point. I also sent Kozakura a message, asking her to respond when she got the message. Was that weird? Would she think it's weird? I think I was mildly concerned about whether she got home or not safely. Would she think it was a nice gesture, or just get angry about it?

"Sorawo, you're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Looking all concerned and thinking about something."

"I–I'm not."

I reflexively denied it. How was she so on point? There are times Toriko can laser focus on exactly what I'm thinking. Did it really show that much on my face? I used to be so good at keeping it blank.

"Come on, it's an all you can eat place for 100 minutes! It even has an unlimited drink package!"

"Yeah, yeah, fine."

We ended up walking for a couple minutes, with Toriko humming some unknown tune to herself. She had such a carefree expression, with a slight smile. As she turned her head a bit to capture me looking at her, I felt my face redden as I hastily looked away. She mercifully didn't say anything, but had the audacity to grab my hand. She just did it so casually! This girl could get away with anything.

I freed my hand when we sat down at the table, putting both of them around the glass of water we received and giving her a small side eye as I did so. We managed to talk about our impromptu trip to the Otherside as the food arrived. At some point we agreed to buy something for Kozakura to make up for it. We didn't even realise at the time that seeing her house, the one mostly safe space she had, turned into some Otherside horrorshow probably didn't sit well with her.

Unsurprisingly, a massive pile of plates stacked up in front of us. Mostly in front of her, which she then slid over to me. I guess it can't be helped. Maybe I was indulging in her bad behaviour too much, I hadn't even pushed back against her over-ordering too much lately. Or maybe I had too much to drink already, how many glasses were on the table?... Which ones were mine? There are actually a lot here.

We drank that much?

"Ah, dear customers, your time limit has expired. Would you like an extension?"

"No, no, we are fine."

I felt myself slurring my words a bit. Come on, get it together. The two of us split the bill like always. For an all you can eat place, it was pretty reasonable all things considered. We exited the shop, and despite it being late May, it was actually kinda chilly. I let out a noise best described as an audible shiver mixed with a hiccup.

Real classy of me, next to Toriko.

"H–hey, Sorawo?"

"Yeah?"

"Look, uhm, I know it's really late and we're both drunk, but my apartment is really close to here and it would probably be better if you didn't have to transfer and ride all the way to your apartment so… you could stay over mine?" I almost didn't catch what she said at the end, she blurted it so fast.

"Okay" I responded in English, for some reason.

She seemed to blink in response to that. Geez… was she that slow sometimes? I did just use English for no reason. She began to blush while her face morphed into a huge smile. What was she so happy about?

It took a few seconds but my alcohol-impacted brain slowly but surely dragged itself to comprehend what I just agreed too. Sleeping. At Toriko's apartment. Alone!? Why did I, what compelled me to… Augh!

Toriko giggled as she watched me, causing my face to only go downright crimson this time. I mumbled something about the alcohol and looked away from her. Her fingers found mine and she laced them together. What, seriously!? This too!? Does this girl ever stop?

Most of the train ride was a blur. I sort of remember transferring trains at Kitasenju Station, but Toriko had to practically drag me around. I'm not sure if it was the embarrassment or the alcohol. Or both.

The ride only ended up being around a half hour, but felt like an eternity. If I had the ability to turn back time, I probably would have prevented myself from agreeing to this. Ugh. Her apartment was pretty close to the station, so the walk wasn't even long enough for me to try and prepare myself.

I was barely comfortable with other people coming near my apartment. If it was Toriko… I guess it was okay. I just couldn't help but feel weird about her inviting me over so casually. Wasn't this her own space? She wasn't like Akari, that much I knew, but still.

She managed to fumble with the keys a bit as she tried the door. Jeez, was she really that drunk too? I guess the two of us shouldn't be going to all you can drink events. The door swung open with a slight creaking noise.

"Forgive me for intruding…" I managed to mumble as I entered the apartment behind Toriko. I hadn't actually been to Toriko's apartment before, not since the ordeal with the Time-space man, which was a long time ago at this point. Hopefully this time it won't transform into some Otherside adventure and just be a normal night in her apartment. What does that even mean? Ugh, my head is spinning too much right now.

"Do you need some water? I'm going to grab some."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

I figured some water would help my oncoming headache as well as fight against the lingering drunkenness I was experiencing. My brain still felt so foggy…I really must have gotten carried away tonight. I'm almost glad that Toriko invited me to her apartment.

She came back with a slight smile, handing me a mug filled almost to the brim with water.

"That's all I have, hopefully it's okay. I don't have many glasses to begin with and they are all dirty. It shouldn't be too big of an issue right? If it is, I can just go wash them, I have the same here so we'd match and you wouldn't think anything of it.

"It's fine."

I said that as a bit more of a question than a statement. She seemed nervous, for whatever reason I couldn't imagine. What was up with her? Toriko never really stumbled over her words or seemed jittery to me. No, she was always this shining beacon of annoying perfection wherever she went.

I sipped from the mug, grateful that the cool liquid did seem to at least offer some relief to my mouth, which was drier than I expected. Toriko kept fidgeting and looking around the room. It seemed she was making an effort to avoid looking at me specifically. Did she forget she's the one who invited me here or something, because it was really starting to annoy me.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a bunch of loose papers. With my eyes now drawn to them behind Toriko, she suddenly started looking at me again. She quickly spun around to look where my gaze was fixed and stumbled over to the desk I was looking at.

"Ah, no, no, this is nothing!"
"Clearly it's something, otherwise you wouldn't be trying to hide it."

"Ergh…"

Motivated by the sudden desire to see whatever Toriko was hiding, I moved closer to the desk, brushing up alongside Toriko. The sheets of paper all had boxes drawn on them, with sketches inside. Was this manga? Even more importantly, was this something she had done?

"Is this stuff you drew?"

"Uhm…ah, no it's nothing important. It's only a little thing I've done in my free time! It's nothing, it's nothing."

"Hmm…"

I glanced down at the scattered pages. They were extremely well made, though I couldn't make out much of what it was about given there were only about three pages here. There were two girls, one short with glasses and the other fairly tall. Well, whatever. The shocking thing was that it was surprisingly well done.

"These are really good, I'm impressed."

"Eh, no, no they aren't anything special. Trust me, I just worked on it occasionally as a hobby."

"Well as a hobby this is impressive. It's similar to some things I've seen published."

I was pushing aside the annoyance in my voice about how she could so easily do something as difficult as drawing a manga like this. I tried a couple times in junior high school, but nothing ever went beyond that. This was genuinely impressive work on her part.

"I mean, just look here, you have the facial expression down perfectly, I can tell exactly what she's feeling, sometimes you don't even get that with stuff you see in magazines."

"Ngh…"

"And here, even, the poses you choose here are downright perfect. I don't even know what this one is about, but it has this eerie vibe to it that just works so well, and another thin–Mmph!?"

Without warning, Toriko leaned in and pressed her lips against mine. They were extremely soft and I could taste the lingering remnants of some lip balm. That wasn't a bad thing, it was her sudden and unexpected assault that blindsided me. Only a pretty girl like her could get away with doing this.

She didn't seem to want to stop much either. A combination of the shock from being kissed so suddenly and the impact of all that alcohol I had consumed left my jaw a bit slack. Just like the first time, Toriko's tongue found her way past my teeth as she started to move it around my own.

I know I said I'd do more work at responding to her feelings but, this type of assault was just unfair. How could I even try to respond? I don't know! Put my hands on her arms? Ugh, this is too complicated.

Whatever, I'll just…try and kiss her back for once? That won't be weird. She does it to me all the time.

Just as I started to kiss her back, I felt Toriko almost go limp. Clearly shocked, she tried to pull back from the kiss. I wasn't going to let her get away this easily after all she's done. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in closer. This was extremely embarrassing, my entire body must have been red given what I was doing.

Toriko got over her sudden shock and resumed the kiss, only going for a deeper and deeper kiss. Oh great, I really unlocked some hidden fantasy of hers haven't I? This is what I get for trying to respond to her feelings.

She broke apart from the kiss, probably to breathe based on her heaving panting. How long had we been kissing? I lost track.

"Sorawo, I love you."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks."

Sensing the sudden change in her attitude at what I said, I pulled her in again and whispered in her ear.

"You know I love you too."

I used the low voice she liked. If I was sober, I'm sure I would have cringed so hard from doing that, and probably hid myself. Even now, half drunk, I didn't want her to see my face, so I turned that whisper into an embrace which she readily returned. She did all this embarrassing stuff without alcohol? Pretty girls really can get away with everything.

After my face returned to at least only a slight tinge of red instead of a full-blown crimson shade, I withdrew from her. She was looking at me with an unreadable expression. It's one I think I've seen a few times. It almost looked like longing? She wanted something? Her eyes would flick between me and what I assumed was the bed behind me. Oh great, did she want me to sleep with her too? I would have been fine with a futon. Preferred it, actually.

Well, whatever. As long as she doesn't sleep naked again it'll be fine. I am kinda tired anyway. I shrug out of her arms and stretch my limbs up and let out a large yawn. If I'm going to indulge her for today, I might as well do my best.

"So…do you have anything for me to sleep in?"

"A–ah! S–sleep? Yeah, I… should have something…" Toriko mumbled, looking suddenly downcast. Her moods can change so quickly sometimes. It baffles me.

She ended up giving me an oversized shirt that had some type of heart print on it. I figured I'll be mad with her in the morning. At least she gave me pretty normal sweat pants, so that wouldn't be too bad. I went to change in the washroom, making sure to wash my face at the same time. I didn't really have a place to put my contact, though.

Toriko used that moment to burst into the room. Do closed doors mean nothing to her? I suppose that hasn't stopped her before. What if I had been changing? Pervy Blond…

"Ah, here, I thought maybe you could use it for your contact."

"I was just thinking about that. Mmm. Thanks."

Despite her entrance, she was considerate about it. I suppose there wasn't any harm after all. Taking my contact out and placing it in the small dish, I noticed a couple smears at the corner of my mouth in the mirror. Oh, it was from earlier.

"Sorawo."

"Wha–"

Before I could really respond, she grabbed me in a hug from behind, nuzzling her face in my neck. Her breath danced across my skin like a warm summer breeze, but it still gave me chills. I stared at the mirror, with the two of us standing there. Ah… so that's what Toriko always sees.

I didn't feel it at all, but I had a smile on my face. This wasn't so bad, I guess. As far as accomplices go, I could have ended up with someone much worse. No one else really mattered at a time like this. I was content, we were content. A lot of times we didn't have to communicate how we felt, though I knew Toriko wanted more from me.

I leaned my head towards hers, resting my cheek on her soft hair. Wow it smelled amazing, was there any part of her that wasn't perfect? This is as much as I can do now, but in the future, I'll do more. Hopefully.

She was reluctant to move from the position, but I managed to guide her out of the washroom and into the bed. This was beyond embarrassing, but it's not like we hadn't shared a bed before, so this much was fine. It was kinda cold tonight, so having her heat close by wouldn't be bothersome.

Just as I was starting to drift to sleep, I felt her arms wrap around me, pulling me to her.

"Toriko?"

"Mmm…Let's stay like this…please."

"Yeah, I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

I flipped over to face her, and my hazy sleep and alcohol-imbedded brain thought of the one and only thing that would get her to understand.

Her eyes had bolted open when I had moved, so she was staring at me intensely. Still, this was probably the fastest way for me to get to sleep.

Moving towards her, I captured her lips. This elicited a squeak of surprise from her. I could feel that her eyes hadn't closed, so she got to watch as I blew past the stages of blushing in record time. She kissed me back after a couple seconds, so she finally understood.

"Goodnight." I pulled away and flipped back over without opening my eyes to see her expression.

"Goodnight, Sorawo." Her arms found their way around me again and pulled me closer than before. We really did have the closest relationship in the world…