I never thought I would see the day when tears would fall from the pink hair girl's eyes.

To me, she gave off the impression of toughness and pride; a real iron lady: a girl who can take blows as well as she can give them.

This was seen from her ability to take control of a situation, ignoring the naysayers who would end up getting swept up by her work ethic.

The way she handled the rudeness of the Second Seat not too long ago made that clear.

Now, in the private kitchen of the First Seat, sitting on a stool with legs wrapped in a ball, she seems so…

Vulnerable.

"Are you…ok?"

"Y-Yukihira?!" Her surprised reaction made it clear she did not even hear me enter. She hurriedly wiped what she could off her tear stained face, yet was still betrayed by the red rings in her eyes. "Sorry, this used to be a kitchen I worked in before so I came here..."

"It's alright." I said.

"...but I totally forgot that it was transferred to you after your promotion…" She droned on as she gathered her materials.

"It's alright." I added firmly, clearly not getting to her as she continued on.

"...I was too busy with my work anyway…" I am not getting a word in.

Something is up.

"Arato!" I placed a firm hand on her shoulder, concerned, "It's alright."

There was a pause when our eyes finally met… the extent of her state was on full display. Although there were no signs of physical injury, she was clearly hurt deeply.

I immediately felt the urge to settle a score with the person who made her this way.

Who could be so cruel?

"What happened?"

She reflexively looked away. "N-nothing…"

Evidently, whatever it was, she did not want to talk about it.

Looking over the table in front of her, I can see her laptop within a nest of documents, with red ink and highlights all over the papers. Compared to her usual neat handwriting, these ones seemed hurried and scrawled.

Guess this has to do with her secretarial work.

"Hey, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I put on an assuring smile for her, "we don't have to do anything. Just take some time to calm down."

She did not say anything, just balling up again on the stool.

Perhaps some soothing green tea, adding some cool water to make it easier to consume;

That pensive look was still on her face, but seeing her taking distracted sips made it seem some progress was made in calming her down.

"I'm sorry." She said after a minute.

I righted the teapot from topping up her cup, surprised to hear her finally talking. "Nothing to apologise for, Arato. I just hope you're feeling better?"

She nodded slightly, but I had a feeling she was just putting up a brave front.

We sat in silence for a long moment, hoping that she would tell me what happened on her own. Whatever it was, I decided being supportive would be the most appropriate posture.

And my patience paid off. "I made a mistake today. I am always careful with what I do but somehow, I missed something that would have been bad for Erina-sama and the school." Arato was looking down into her tea cup, dispirited.

Oh, so this really had to do with her work.

"It's human to make mistakes. I mean, you see the mistakes I make all the time. Remember the candied yam escargot last week?"

A thin smile pulled on her lips for a flash. It was miniscule, but we are moving forward. "I thought it tasted disgusting."

I chuckled, "It was, wasn't it? And that Danish pastry I made before? My point is that it's ok to make mistakes. All we need is to learn from it and carry on."

Arato's gaze went to her cup, troubled, "I let Erina-sama down today with my mistake. I prepared a financial projection that could have been bordering on fraud if she had presented the data as is."

"Oh… I do not know much about money matters but that sounded serious."

"It is! I should have checked through her meeting minutes and should have adjusted the projected earnings from the calculations, but I got caught up with discussing options qn the legal department, as well as scheduling…" She went on to vent the many things she does as the secretary of Totsuki's headmaster. And as she went on, I could not help but transition from impressed to awed by the amount of work she had brought upon herself, with passion and pride coming through her words and expression.

It helped me comprehend the humiliation she must have felt for her rare mistake.

Soon, she realised she had been talking for quite a while."I'm sorry, I… I didn't mean to talk so much." Her cheeks were still red pink with emotion, highlighted with her teetering on the edge.

"Hey, it's ok, Arato. Forcing yourself isn't good." I placed a hand on her shoulder supportively with a sincere smile, "You've already done very well."

…

Tears began to well up in her doe like eyes.

"Don't be so nice to me…!" She whimpered, before crying a full brawl, letting out whatever was bottled up within her.

That was when I did what a young guy like me would do:

I panicked.

What should I do?! What should I do?!

I had no experience in this at all.

Her quivering frame stirred something within me, and I felt that she likely just needed some support at this time. So, I got closer, for her to lean onto me and let it all out.

We stayed in that position for awhile, with me just giving assuring pats on the back, patiently waiting for her to calm down.

Nakiri really did not know how fortunate she was to have Arato by her side.

I guess the unfortunate situation of Nakiri herself saying or doing something hurtful to push Arato off the edge.

That did not sit well with me.

Slowly, Arato's sobs tapered off. "Feeling better?" I asked gently once I felt it was appropriate.

"I do. Thank you." She wiped off her tears, seeming much better, nodding，"I must have looked like a mess, huh?"

"Hey, you didn't comment about me hiding under the table, so I won't comment on it," I grinned, "Honestly, you're an amazing person, please be more confident in yourself."

Arato responded with an appreciative smile.

Then, a low rumbling growl sounded in the room. I admit it was totally unexpected and I could only see a deep blush appear on Arato's cheeks.

"When was the last time you ate anything?" I asked, letting a little tease in my tone.

"About 5am…breakfast."

"...It's 5pm now. You mean to say you haven't eaten anything for the whole day?!"

"I was busy working."

Her reply was unacceptable. "You'd still need to eat!" I immediately got up, thinking of something quick to cook, a comfort food, and would put someone in a good mood.

Oh, I know; there is just the thing for that!

Having gotten the necessary ingredients, I got to cooking while Arato carried on with her work in comfortable silence.

She was showing another side of herself in a pair of glasses, mouthing words to herself as she typed on her laptop, or tapping on the calculator. She looked surprisingly…

Ahem. Sorry, I did not mean to stare.

Not intent to spoil the mood, I thought it best not to mention that I had bumped into Nakiri on the way back; I just hope they will work out whatever is between them.

"Let me make another cup of tea for you. What would you like?" I asked, while waiting for the curry to simmer down.

She peered through the top of her glasses, "Do you have dried hawthorn?"

"I think I do. Why?" I dug through my pantry of dried goods. "Are there health benefits for them?"

"Hawthorns are full of antioxidants, improve blood circulation, and lower cholesterol." She recited as if from a book, "its tartness would complement the thickness of the curry. And if it's too tart, we can sweeten it with honey."

"Ohh, good point!" Excitement welled within me from the fact that she always has good ideas to offer, more combinations to try.

I really like it.

Dinner was served on simple plates, nothing fancy, just like back in my family restaurant back home. "Let's move over to the counter here, you can continue with your work later."

"I'm actually done, just checking my mails."

"Cool, then let's eat!"

I watched as she ate, clearly enjoying the food, appreciation for my creation expressed with eager scoop after scoop. There was something comfortable about this situation.

She noticed my gaze, and broke into a heartfelt smile, "It's delicious. Thank you."

And with just those few simple words of praise and appreciation, they made me want to do this again.

Thinking about changing the topic before I came across as a creep with my eyes on her, "So, what movies do you have in there?" referring to her laptop.

"I don't typically keep movies in there, since there are streaming services."

"Hmm, so what do you have?"

"...You want to watch a movie?" There was a slight surprise in her voice.

"Yup." I wonder if she even watches movies, being the busy person she is.

She raised her eyebrows but arranged her laptop without further query until she loaded up the software, "What do you want to watch?"

I shrugged, not really a person who kept up with movies, "Anything. Maybe your favourite movie?"

At that, she got a little bashful, "I don't think you will like it."

"Try me, I'm pretty much a black slate when it comes to movies."

"No, really, it's a pretty old one." She added, "it's a black and white film…a romance film."

"Oh… well, you know me, I'm game for anything." I took a big bite from my plate, "Who knows, I may like it!"

Turns out, I was not really a fan of it.

Though, I can still recall some memorable lines from the movie, "Roman Holiday".

"Thank you for sharing with me what you like to watch. This was fun." I said, honestly.

"Thank you for dinner. I hope the movie was to your liking."

While I was not able to fully appreciate the movie, I was treated to Arato's different expressions as the movie progressed: How her eyes lit up at a joyful scene, or frown with worry in another, or a tear quietly shed over the touching separation. It was entertainment by itself. "It sure was."

As they say, all good things will come to an end: A check on the watch showed that it was getting late. "I'll wash the dishes." Arato remarked, starting to clear the utensils.

"Just leave them there. You've things to do, right?."

A slight hesitation, "Really? You cooked dinner, and let me use your kitchen. Washing is the least I can do."

"Really, Seeing you better is reward enough. I enjoyed our meal. we can do this again, with your cooking." I glanced with a playful expression.

To which, she actually agreed.

She stood to pack her stuff, which was then I spotted a bit of brown, "Hey, there's a little splash of curry on your clothes."

"Eh?!" Curry is notorious for staining, so her response was to immediately take off her blazer and begin to rinse the affected area..

"Leave it to me too, I have ways to clean it up."

"I don't want to impose on you any more."

"It's not imposing on me when I offer to clean. And besides," I took over the blazer from her, "that's what friends do."

Upon hearing those words, she relented. Thanking me again for all I have done for her.

Just as she packed her stuff and was ready to go, I called out, "Hey, I'm sure whatever happened between you and Nakiri can be resolved. I had a quick word with her, and she seems alright, so have confidence!"

With a smile and a nod, she then promised to make it up to me for the evening.

Thinking of the time we just spent, I look forward to it.

A/N: Just wanted to write a comfy chapter of the two interacting.

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