Chapter Four

At the very least, the evening was free of bad luck. On his way home, Touma had passed by a street vender selling taiyaki. The vender was a real reminder that Gakuen Toshi was, in fact, located in Japan (much less being a part of Tokyo itself). Holding the pastry at arm's length like a ward, Touma had tentatively opened the front door. Index was standing directly inside and was already halfway through her barrage of questions before she saw the paper bag. She stopped immediately, sniffed at the bag, then swiped it and darted off to the table in front of the television. Touma let out a sigh of pent up anxiety and smiled at how well the tactic had worked. He put his school bag down next to the door and took his shoes off, then headed directly for the kitchenette. He needed to prepare more food before Index finished the treats if he wanted a flawless victory.

And he somehow managed to do just that. Every once in a while everything would go well and bad luck seemed like a distant dream. Well, a distant nightmare.

Regardless, after Index gorged herself on everything placed on the table (which, of course, included what Touma thought was his portion) she curled up next to Sphinx on the bed and fell asleep. Touma turned off the lights to ensure that Index stayed asleep and headed to the bathroom. He finally found the peace he had been searching for all day and enjoyed his time alone in the tub. In a good mood while he was getting dressed, he was surprised, though not depressed, by the doorbell. Rushing over to the door to avoid an additional ring that was sure to wake the sleeping sister, Touma's shirt was still half unbuttoned and sliding off his left shoulder. Opening the door, he was further surprised to find Takeki standing at the entrance.

"Good ev-" Takeki began to say before noticing Touma was half dressed in his pajamas. "Oh!" Takeki bowed on reflex. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you would be asleep! Please excuse my rudeness!"

"Oh, no no. I wasn't," Touma hurriedly corrected as he fixed his shirt. "I was just getting ready since I wasn't expecting anyone." To prove his point he flipped the light switch on.

From inside the apartment came a groan. "Tooouuuuma~. Turn the lights back off~."

Takeki's face went bright red. "I'm sorry! Sorry for interrupting!" and he bowed and quickly turned back towards the stairs.

"Ah, no! It's not what you think!" Touma grabbed Takeki's wrist. "She's my… uh… Sister! Yeah, she was visiting and got tired, so she's just taking a nap! She definitely isn't living here!"

Takeki took a minute to process the information, and then smiled. "Oh, that's how it is."

The smile reminded Touma of just how much of a bishonen Takeki was. "So, ah, what did you need?"

"Oh, right." Takeki let go of both the smile and his duffel bag. The bag itself was large enough to store a child and seemed a bit ridiculous when compared to the effeminate Takeki. "I am sorry for being a burden like this, but would you please let me stay here?"

Touma was completely caught off guard by the request. He did his best to suppress the impulse to look towards the bed where Index lay as his mind raced to decide on what to say. "Um, isn't there a relative you could stay with?"

Takeki turned a little red again and he brought his hand to his lips as he thought aloud. "Well, Aogami-san kept me too late at the café so I couldn't go look for my sister. I thought it might be a little inappropriate for a boy to stay in a female-only dorm, but if you think that would be best…"

Touma stood paralyzed. He understood well how much his bad luck could turn that situation upside down when his name was inevitably slipped at the dormitory. "Ah, you're in town to see your sister! Don't worry about it then, come right in!" All smiles, Touma quickly opened the door the rest of the way for Takeki and grabbed the duffle bag. The bag was far heavier than it looked. Touma immediately questioned if there was, in fact, a little sister character stowed away inside.

Beaming, the bishonen limped inside. "Please pardon the intrusion!"

"Did you really carry this with your leg like that?" Touma grunted as he did his best to manage the bag with one hand to not appear completely weak.

"Yes. I didn't have much other choice, really."

"What do you have in here anyway?"

"Just clothing. I wasn't sure if I would have a chance to wash my clothes, so I brought enough for the entire trip."

Not sure what else to say, Touma put the bag next to his. "If you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone call. Make yourself at home."

"Thank you." Takeki bowed again as Touma stepped out of the apartment and closed the door.

Takeki made his way gingerly into the living area. Lying on the bed was a silver-haired girl in a white nun's habit. She was poking at the kitten lying beside her.

"Touma~ why did you turn-"

Realizing that she was addressing someone she didn't recognize- and thanks to her perfect memorization she was sure she had never seen the person before- she snatched up the cat and tumbled quickly towards the wall on the other side of the bed. Clutching the cat protectively against her chest, she leered suspiciously at the newcomer.

"Who are you? Where's Touma?"

"Ah, my name is Musujime Takeki," the young man introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kamijou-san." As always being sure to bow.

"I'm Index," she corrected. "Where's Touma?"

"Oh, I suppose that would be a little confusing if I addressed you both by your family name. Your brother just went outside to make a phone call." Index drew her eyebrows and lips together in concentration as she scrutinized the boy. Seeing her do so, Takeki put on a big smile. "Please don't look at me like that, I'm not that suspicious."

Index was taken aback by the genuineness of the smile, but quickly repaired her defenses. "A suspicious person would say that!"

Musujime laughed at the remark, which irritated Index. "I suppose they would. The walk here was a little difficult; would it be alright if I sat down?"

Index hummed to herself for a few moments before conceding. Takeki sat down on the floor, leaned his head back, and gave his eyes a rest. Once the stranger was in a less threatening position she relinquished her hold on Sphinx. The cat, finally free, sprinted away from Index who yelped in surprise as she tried to scoop it back up. It dodged her hands and with a graceful leap cleared the three feet between the bed and where Takeki was seated. Surprised by the sudden weight in his lap, Takeki's head jerked forward and he looked down surprised to see the cat curling up in his lap. With a smile he began petting the already purring kitten.

Index was visibly shocked by the betrayal of her feline companion. She restrained the desire to cry out to the cat and in resignation scooped up the blanket and abstinently covered herself with it. With only her face showing, a mixture of sorrow and anger, she seemed like a soft, oversized worm.

After a few moments of silence the front door opened and Touma walked purposefully in. The worm on the bed sat up without use of hands and started asking, "Touma! Who is this Musujime person?"

"Good to see you two already introduced each other!" Touma swung the bound Index over his shoulder and started heading back towards the front door. Takeki was mystified by Touma's actions and sat there speechless. "Sorry if I interrupted your conversation but it's already dark out and Index needs to go home."

Touma opened the front door and stood the Index-roll up.

"TOUMA!" Index began to scream before he could get a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh! Shhh!" Touma whispered. "Listen, I told Musujime-kun that he could stay over, so you're going to have to spend some time at Komoe-sensei's house. I'll make it up to you later."

Index's eyebrows eventually relaxed, though she was still upset, and Touma removed his hand. "Fine," Index acknowledged, "but it better be a lot." The two of them already knew that the payment would be in the form of food.

"Sure, sure. I already talked to Kome-sensei so you can head right over," and with that Touma turned and began closing the door.

"Oh, Touma!" Index called, "My-"

"Oh yeah, your shoes." Touma placed the shoes in front of her.

"No, Touma! My Sphinx!"

Touma, in a hurry to get this whole ordeal over with rushed over to Musujime who had gone back to staring dreamily at the cat as he stroked it.

"Excuse me," Touma said as he scooped the kitten up with one hand. Both Takeki and the cat were shocked by the sudden action and turned towards Touma. Touma rushed back to the door and tossed the cat to Index. In the rush to get her arms unpinned from her body, she yanked on the blanket and tripped herself. Touma closed the door.

"Eh! Sphinx! Claws are no good! Touma!!"

Sighing in relief that all problems, including the added bonus of getting rid of the cat, were resolved, Touma strolled back into the living area.

Takeki stared incredulously at Touma. "Is it really alright to throw the cat like that?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Want me to get the bath ready for you?"

"Oh, um, sure. Thank you," Takeki replied absently as he tried to figure out what "she" was referring to.