Chapter 5: An Eventless (?) Day

"Hnnn~" I stretched myself as a slowly rose out of bed. Yesterday's events tired me out and apparently caused me to slumber until eleven in the morning. As I glanced around the room, the orange-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

No wonder; anyone would be up at this time, even if it was a Sunday. I threw my head back onto the sheets since there was no point in getting out of bed yet.

"…Kirino's scent…" I grasped the bed-sheets and dug my face into the soft cotton. She would never accept these feelings of mine. No doubt will she be disgusted if I told her. I must never let her find out!

Tears slowly emerged from my eyes and dripped onto the soft cotton sheets.

…

It must have just been some sort of dream. I must have misinterpreted it! That's right—there's no way that Ruri could feel that way about me, right?

"Ow!" As I came out of my daze, I realized that I'd cut my finger with the kitchen knife. I shouldn't have lost concentration while cutting food.

But…what if that were really the case? Everything will be awkward if I answer her. We may never be able to return to the way we are now if I reject her. Should I reject her?

"Maybe…" I shook my head to clear away unnecessary thoughts. No, there's no way I can do such a thing as go out with Ruri. I'm not into girls. I'll just have to act as if I didn't hear anything. Everything will be normal if I don't do anything out of the usual.

"Good morning." A Kuroneko with ruffled clothing and bed-head walked into the kitchen while rubbing her eyes.

"Hey, how much were you planning to sleep? I already ate breakfast you know."

She glanced at my hands and back into my eyes.

"And what were you planning to do with that bloody finger of yours? I don't plan on eating any food that was literally made out of blood and sweat."

"I know that! I was on my way to getting a band-aid."

Just as I started heading towards the living room for the first-aid kit, Kuroneko stopped me in my tracks.

"W-want me to disinfect it for you?"

"What kind of an eroge are you from?"

"Just what nonsense are you thinking? I was talking about getting the medication for your finger. I figured that you wouldn't be able to open the cap by yourself with that hand of yours."

"O-oh, I see. Sure, thanks." That was dangerous; I overreacted too much. She'll start suspecting something if I say too much.

As Ruri applied the herbal medication onto the top of my finger, I felt a sting of pain stronger than when I cut myself.

"Guhh…" I winced because of the pain and the herbal medication dripped onto the ground from my finger.

"Hold still! You're making it hard for me."

She grasped my arm with one hand and used the other to squeeze some more medication onto my wound. Afterwards a bandage was applied.

"Kirino, I…" A light blush came onto Kuroneko's face.

"Heh?" Tension started to crawl up my spine. Don't tell me… could this be a... confession?

"…I need to use the toilet."

"…What?" Relief overcame my mind, but what was this other feeling that came with it? Is this disappointment?

"I said I need to go the bathroom! Are you deaf or something?" The usual Kuroneko came back, although she probably embarrassed herself just now by yelling out that she needed to use the toilet in a rather loud voice.

…

"Well, it's time for me to leave. Sorry for intruding." Kuroneko took a deep bow and started on her way to the station.

"Wait, isn't it going to be your birthday soon?" I asked her in a hurry since the thought just occurred in my mind.

A look of surprise took over Kuroneko's face, then one of happiness (but since it lasted for only half a second, I barely caught it).

"I'm surprised that you managed to remember such a date." Her usual tone indicating her superiority took over.

After that the black cat once again left for home.

Author's note: I apologize for not writing for such a long time. Since school started I've been busy with many things and couldn't bring myself to write. Luckily today I was able to kick myself and force out the next chapter. Thank you to those who favorite and subscribed to this story and to CharlesO for all the support! Critique and comments are much appreciated. Till next time!