'Incompetent, foolish, spoiled brat.' Reika was raging about all the previous miseries and disbelief. How dare he actually delude her into thinking his intentions were all right! Despite this, some bit of her mind was telling her that perhaps... she was overreacting.
No! That mollycoddled kanemochi no kodomo!
After swallowing her pride enough to confront Kaoru, Reika exited Kitajima's library. She set down the hardback cover of the American novel "Paper Towns" by John Green. Reika was an avid fan of great concepts; and Paper Towns? Chalked full of them. Karuizawa itself was her definition of a paper town; touristy, overly publicized. Sure, it was serene and secluded but it was a tourist trap in itself, nonetheless.
She started noiselessly towards the doorway, and what she found was artistically humbling. Kaoru was bent over the pool of water, scrubbing furiously with a now damp rag, a spray bottle of all purpose cleaner beside him.
Reika giggled in spite of herself. Even from a distance she could observe the furrow of his eyebrows as he worked intently.
"Just so you know," Kaoru looked up at the sudden sound, "All purpose cleaner isn't necessary for drying up water."
Kaoru threw up his hands. "Why not?" he asked in exasperation. She approached him meekly. "Well, it's water. It's not sticky, nor is it dirty in any way. Hence no need for the 'cleaner.'"
"Oh." was his intricately elaborate reply.
Forthwith, it was 6:00am.
"Are you even slightly tired yet?" Reika asked. Two guests, most likely a couple, had descended the steps now. "Good morning." Reika perked up, layering her voice with a perky crescendo. "I'll prepare your breakfast right away." she stated, tending towards the two guests seating themselves at a breakfast table. "Isshun de onegai shimasu."
Reika approached Kaoru, a sympathetic smile across her face. "Take the two staircases below," she gestured to her left, "open the only door in the hallway; that'll be the basement. I'm sure my, er, the bed is already made. Go get some rest." Kaoru heeded the information and walked towards the staircase. "Hey, Reika?" She turned to face him once more. "Thanks."
Kaoru's P.O.V
...
Kaoru cascaded the two staircases and swung open the only door at the end of a clustered corridor. Decisively, Reika was correct in her assumption that the bed was made. It was small, no bigger than two breakfast tables long, and two breakfast tables wide. The shockingly thin blanket was navy blue, as were the two pillows.
In it's own way, it appeared sort of, comforting. He sat down on the mattress, not too bad; as opposed to the night he'd spent lonesome in Karuizawa, sleeping in the mattress store, 'Yasuuri-ten.'
Kaoru lay down, surprisingly he proved less tired than he initially thought. And so, the harmonious teen just lay there; staring up at the ceiling and recollecting his closely guarded thoughts.
Reika's P.O.V
...
She climbed down the stairs, irked at the morning's rush of the inn's guests. Two had complained that their breakfast was cold, it wasn't.. it was warm. Several others criticized her cooking. One group of four actually moaned about their room being unsatisfactory, four days into their stay at the Kitajima inn. Toshi, on the other hand, complained about all of the above.
Every time Reika had a particularly rough day at work, it pleased her to sit in the library and enter a different reality until she was called back into her own. Alas, the library was inhabited to spilling point and so Reika intended on just catching up on some well earned sleep.
It wasn't until she entered the basement that she was rudely reminded of why she couldn't gain her well earned sleep. Kaoru Hitachiin. But truthfully, seeing him so sound asleep made her not care that much anymore. It was a shame he inevitably wouldn't stick around.
Reika pivoted on her heel to exit the basement when Kaoru spoke unexpectedly. "This is your bed, isn't it?" Candidly, she didn't even have the energy to argue otherwise, instead a simple nod was her answer.
Kaoru got up without another word on the matter. He tenderly reached for and grasped her wrist, leading her back to the bed. They lay in the center of the mattress. Kaoru had one hand behind him, supporting his head. The other was laced with Reika's hand.
"Itadaki-masu?" he asked. Reika simply smiled. Kaoru planted a kiss on her cheek, and they fell asleep like that, not knowing or caring who they would encounter the following afternoon.
A/N: Hahah, you thought I was gonna write a lemon? Nope XD. Nevertheless, I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. As always, reviews are warmly welcomed. I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am to the four follows, the AMAZING reviewer, the favorite, and the +100 views. Whoa! It probably sounds really goofy but this is the reason I'm so excited to return home each evening... fanficton! So what'd you think? Any suggestions or requests? I've caught an illness just yesterday, so if there are any spelling or grammar errors I missed, please pardon them. Thank you ever so much for reading. Catch you guys tomorrow, kay? Bye! :) xx
Japanese Glossary
Kanemochi no kodomo- "Rich kid."
Isshun de onegai shimasu- "One moment, please."
Yasuuri-ten- "Bargain store."
Itadaki- masu- "May I begin?" Commonly said before meals. (I hope you caught the reference from last chapter ;).