Chapter 9 – Apartment Time with the Squad


Takumi stacked the last of his and Isami's boxes just by the school gates at the mail depot. It took him a good hour and half to pack everything up. There wasn't a single drawer unopened or a mattress upturned, to make sure he packed up all their belongings. Even though the fratelli knew everything about each other, Takumi still kept Isami's privacy intact and made sure to pack Isami's belongings with the respect they deserved. He wiped the sweat from his brow and pulled at his shirt repeatedly to get some air under it to cool his skin. Summer in Japan was almost as bad as summer in Italia. The chirping of the cicada filled the air. Its incessant droning was a meditative ring for Takumi and it gave him something to concentrate on apart from the soon-to-be-ending summer holidays.

"Soon. Soon Isami will be back" he muttered.

The blonde teen leaned the industrial box trolley against the mail depot door and sat on one of his boxes, releasing a big sigh. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to nab extra Tootsuki passes for Ayame and her friends to come inside and help him bring his and Isami's boxes down from the dormitory room. His pocket felt so empty without his dorm key, now returned to the dorm management. He didn't think he would actually miss the small dormitory room to be honest. But that was okay. Takumi had borrowed the school's box trolley and thank goodness the elevators didn't malfunction, so that made his trip down the buildings and across the grounds less ghoulish. He also made sure to deposit the boxes at the mail depot so that nobody could steal anything whilst he made multiple trips. Takumi realised they had more things with them than they initially had to start with when they first arrived in Japan. He only remembered bringing casual clothes, blazers and coats, pyjamas, socks and boxers, chef's uniforms, his fully stocked chef's knife case, alarm clock, family photo, the Aldini olive oil for luck and some other sentimental things. For everything else, the fratelli could get themselves in Japan like school uniform, toiletries, bathroom and laundry products, school note books, school textbooks and food. As Isami kept reminding him, Japan was the homeland of tremendous stationary.

Takumi checked the time. Ayame said she, Namikaze and Kuchiyose would arrive at nine o'clock to pick him and his boxes up at the Tootsuki gates and make their way to his newly renovated apartment block in Minamikawase.

The blonde Italian couldn't take Kuchiyose's questionable driving off his mind… his stomach gurgled in protest, giving him a preview of the wonders of travel sickness he may endure should he surrender himself to his unapproved driving. He and Isami avoided taking car trips in Italy, except when out in the country side. They preferred to walk to places. He admitted that he missed seeing and chaotic Italian traffic, but no, he wasn't keen on being part of it per say.

Bzzzt!

Takumi pulled out his phone and read the incoming text message.


'Hey Takumi!

We're going to be 5mins late, tops.
Otou-san was whinging about running out of tea
So I had to go run out to buy some…

See you soon!

-Ayame


Takumi smiled. Ayame had attached a picture of an empty tea canister. Probably her father's personal stash. It looked like not all police officers worked on weekends. But with her father being the Superintendent General of TMPD, he kind of expected him to be on the job or undercover twenty-four-seven… and was more of a coffee drinker.

He had been thinking about her all day yesterday. What were he and Ayame now?

Takumi blushed at the memory. He couldn't believe he had been so assertive! What was going on with him two nights ago? He had completely lost control at the sight of her swallowing his food and touching her own neck and probably had scared her half to death when his hand discovered a mind of his own and grabbed her to pull towards himself across the kitchen counter. Dio mio, he was less and less like a gentleman around her. When her strange phone ringtone blasted out of nowhere, he had realised how inappropriate his actions were and was absolutely mortified!

But...

He couldn't resist... How could he not?

'Live for today for there might not be a tomorrow. Live for tomorrow as today will not last'

That was what mamma told him and Isami whenever they were too scared, embarrassed or anxious to try anything. Do it now before it's too late was basically what her proverb meant. Her words whispered its way from deep within his subconscious into the surface of his mind. Mamma had an odd way of saying the right things at the right time. Even then when they were half a world apart, she was still with him somehow.

Her words didn't feel any truer that it was that night. That moment of clarity Takumi had when Ayame placed her hand on his cheeks and forced him to look at her. Oh her eyes. They were beseeching him, winded their way into his soul. It was like she was reading him and reading him well to understand everything.

Takumi spread out his legs in front of them and checked his watch again. They should be almost here now if Ayame had successfully bought the tea for her father. He sounded strict… Takumi closed his eyes and let the chirping of the cicadas lull him back into his reminiscence.

He realised that Kanda Ayame was the one for him. He wouldn't be happier with anyone else as long as she still walked this earth. He wanted her to be by his side and himself to be by hers. He had told himself it was now or never.

Then he confessed to her. He did more than confess, he laid out everything and stripped himself back until he was vulnerable to her. He conveyed his feelings to her as honest and transparent as he could. He couldn't give a shit if his words were clumsy or awkward, he just had to tell her. He couldn't deny himself the chance to be together with her. The moment Ayame responded back to his feelings. He was drowning in happiness! He couldn't help but kiss her, and hold her close and kiss her again. She tasted sweet like raspberries and meringue.

'She knew… she'd been waiting for me to say it…'

It was as if Ayame's mutual feelings had awakened another feeling in his heart. This feeling made him crave to touch her skin again. He wanted to shower her with more kisses, cook more things for her so he could revel in the bliss she exuded when happily munching on his dishes. Takumi was bent on holding her in his arms again, hugging her, spinning her around and whispering sweet nothings to her ears.

Anxiety wormed its way into his chest. What were they now? Were they going to officially start dating how? Where they boyfriend's and girlfriend's now? What? Now he felt a bit stupid. He had no idea. What did she want them to be? He also had no idea…

The crunching of gravel made him look up and he squinted his eyes to see if there were any vehicles coming. It was a white car slowly approaching him. From the distance, he could make out a lightweight car from the looks of it. It didn't have a car badge at all. It didn't look too illegal… A hand stuck out of the window and was waving to him. Curious, Takumi stood up and shielded his eyes from the sun and tried to take a closer look.

The brick wall like expression on Kuchiyose, the massive sunglasses on Namikaze's face and the delicate long fingers of Ayame waving at him through the window were unmistakable. Takumi waved as well and stepped back as Kuchiyose's car slowed to a smooth stop in front of him.

"What up, Antonio"

Takumi grimaced. "It's Takumi…" he was getting tired of this. Namikaze got out of the car and snickered.

"Sorry we're late, Otou-san is a pain in the arse when he doesn't get his favourite tea" Ayame chuckled.

She got out of the car and walk towards him, giving him a big hug around the middle as he returned the gesture. Her hair was different again today. This time it was up in a messy bun, leaving her fringe free and some of her midnight tresses framing her face. Takumi decided that Ayame looked lovely in any hairstyle.

"That's alright, I didn't wait long" said Takumi. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, eliciting a giggle from Ayame that made his heart tickle. She smelt nice.

"Do I get a European hello too?"

"NON!" Takumi spun around and held his fist up at Namikaze. She waved him off with a smirk and approached his and Isami's boxes, surveying everything.

"Don't mind her" Ayame leaned up on the tip of her toes and planted a peck on his cheek also, making him blush a bit.

Kuchiyose was the last to get out of the car and unlocked the boot.

"Is this everything?" asked Namikaze, pointing at the stacked boxes.

"Si" said Takumi. There were only six boxes in total. Three for himself and three were Isami's.

"Okay, Chizuru-chan you lift this one over there. Takumi-kun and I will get those ones here and Kuchiyose-kun, could you get the bigger boxes?" said Ayame.

Kuchiyose nodded and Namikaze had already began to balance the box assigned to her in her arms as she hobbled towards the open boot of the car. Kuchiyose hefted one over his right shoulder and Takumi sucked in his breath. He hoped Kuchiyose could make it without dropping them because that particular box was a nightmare to carry. His blank face didn't betray anything except it looked like they weighed nothing to him.

"The boot just fits two small boxes, max. The rest will need to be strapped on top of the roof" said Ayame.

Takumi didn't have a good feeling about this… But he trusted Ayame. Takumi hurried over and grabbed Isami's box whilst Ayame lifted his. The four of them worked together to load the remaining four boxes on the car roof between the roof racks. Kuchiyose, rummaged through the boot and procured a coil of thick ropes and rachet straps. Under Ayame's instructions, he tied the ropes, and rachet straps around the boxes around the side, over front and back, securely to the roof rack. Ayame also ordered Kuchiyose to run the straps through the doors as well because running it through the windows will cause them a lot of pain in getting in and out of the car. Ayame gave every box test pushes and shakes to make sure nothing budged, especially side to side movement. Well, she was studying to become a mechanical and robotica engineer, so these kind of things must be child's play to her, Takumi mused.

"Don't worry, we've safely strapped a tonne of shit to his car before" said Ayame cheerfully, giving him a thumbs up and brilliant smile.

Takumi nodded, wondering what kind of shit she was talking about.

"Alright! Off we go to your newly renovated apartment!" said Ayame excitedly.

"Kuchiyose-san, do you have the address?" asked Takumi, turning towards him.

Kuchiyose tapped his finger against his temple and everyone began piling into the car.

"I call shot gun!" yelled Namikaze as she hopped into the front seat beside the driver's. Takumi hurriedly opened the door for Ayame as she stepped in and he followed through. The interiors of the car was surprisingly clean. He just had the idea that the car would be filled with soccer related things, snack food rubbish and the sort, but he was wrong. After everyone buckled up, Kuchiyose began to reverse out of the large Tootsuki driveway.

It was the moment of truth.

Takumi clutched at his seat belt and gulped. It was like the illegal-ness of the whole situation was snaking around his arms and legs and was afraid he was going to catch it like the common cold. His mind was very aware that Kuchiyose didn't have a license and his bella and the chiacchierone were still completely ok with it. Sweat beaded on the back of his neck. He could believe that Namikaze probably approved of anything illegal, but he couldn't believe Ayame did. Her dad was with the police for the love of Christ! But Takumi was grateful that she and her friends were helping him out today, so he decided to shut his trap.

He felt something intertwine with his fingers. He looked around and Ayame was smiling up at him as she rubbed his hands with her thumb. He smiled back, feeling a lot more at ease.

"Hey, I'm grateful you guys came all this way to help me get my things. Grazie tante" said Takumi, slightly blushing. No one could say that Takumi Aldini was without manners.

"No worries" muttered Namikaze distractly, texting on her phone.

Kuchiyose glanced at Takumi through the rear-view mirror and nodded.

"We all had free time this weekend and I do want to see your apartment" said Ayame "On a side note, I'm entering in this competition for building an alarm clock. The idea is to make one that would definitely get you out of bed in a creative manner. I was wondering if you might have any ideas" said Ayame.

"Hmm, I dunno really. What kind of ideas have you already got?" asked Takumi. He would have better ideas if there were some examples already out there.

"Well I thought of one that is programmed to hide in your room so that when it goes off, you have to get out of bed to look for it and shut it off. Everyday it would be programmed to hide in a different spot" Ayame chuckled. "What do you think?"

"That sounds too hardcore" Takumi laughed quietly. His bella sure came up with crazy and funny ideas.

"Kuchiyose-kun's idea was to make it like a dumbbell. You have to do thirty reps with it to get the alarm to turn off. You wake up and exercise at the same time" said Ayame.

She pulled out a note book from her little side-bag and started writing something in it. Takumi leaned over to take a look and balked at the sketches that looked like blueprints for a bomb. It was incredibly detailed.

"Wow! Did you do all this?" he asked.

"Yep! This is my personal notebook for all my ideas of the things I've built and fixed, and stuff I plan to do" Ayame smiled and showed it to him.

Takumi flicked through and saw different designs for what looked like a remote control car, a toaster, something that looked like one of Nakiri Alice's equipment, a toy robot and finally some alarm clock designs. He thought it looked like a bomb from a quick glance. His stomach was feeling queasy again. Also there were all these numbers and equations scribbled around that he had no idea what they meant.

"Seriously! You should use my idea!" called out Namikaze from the front.

"No. Way" Ayame deadpanned.

"What is it?" asked Takumi curiously.

"Chizuru-chan's suggestion was to connect it to your bank account. Every time you hit the snooze button, you donate money to a political cause you hate" Ayame sighed.

'That's brutal... no one would buy that' thought Takumi.

So far Kuchiyose's driving was gentle and smooth but Takumi couldn't help looking outside to check if there were any police cars lurking about randomly checking drivers' licenses. Takumi peeked through the rear window too, but only saw another normal family car to his relief.

"What kind of car is this?" he asked out of the blue.

"AE86 Trueno" A deep and husky voice suddenly came from the driver's seat.

Takumi had to think twice before he realised that the lilac-haired giant spoke. It was like Kuchiyose was cured from his selective mutism after meeting Nakiri Alice, but was still a work in progress. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting out the open window.

"What's that?" asked Takumi. He didn't know whether he felt comfortable that Kuchiyose was back to talking again or it was better he stayed quiet. Either way, he didn't want the awkward silence.

"…"

He should've known that Kuchiyose had probably reached the end of his quota of words for today…

"It's a type of Toyota Corolla. Pretty old though" Ayame spoke for Kuchiyose who turned the corner smoothly.

"Ah okay" Takumi didn't know much about cars, but he did know the common Japanese make.

"Hey Antonio, when is your brother coming back?" asked Namikaze from the front.

"Isami? He'll arrive at Narita airport on Monday morning… and it's Takumi" said Takumi. Why did she like calling him random Italian names? He was half Japanese as well and he was pretty sure she already knew that.

He heard Namikaze mutter something, but chose to ignore it. Instead he turned his attention towards Ayame. Her skin was smooth to the touch and he couldn't help but stroke his thumb over her hand as well. This caught her by surprise and she blushed under his touch. Takumi smiled. Ayame gave his hand a little squeeze back.

Soon the apartment building crept up from the distance and the car slowed to a stop in front of it. Kuchiyose twisted around and rested his left hand on the back of Namikaze's seat as he turned his head to look out the rear view window. Takumi realised his arms were quite long and his hand was big, easily crossing over the car's mid-line. Kuchiyose began to reverse park with one hand until it fitted perfectly into the parking spot.

Takumi rated his driving as excellent. But he still wouldn't get in the car again, at least not until he got himself a license and proved it.

They all climbed out and Kuchiyose unlocked the boot and unstrapped the boxes on the roof rack for everyone to take up their assigned boxes. Everyone hobbled into the foyer where Takumi spotted the elevator and pressed the button for level three with his elbow. As they waited for the elevator to come down. The gang placed their load on the ground.

"Has anyone heard that, that shouten down in Mitsumiya wardis closed down for remodeling?" asked Ayame.

"Yeah, I think it's because they changed management or something like that. Isn't that where you usually get your sports drinks from Kuchiyose-kun?" said Namikaze.

He nodded.

"There's another supermarket in Karakura town?" asked Takumi, curious to know about what they were talking about.

"More like a little corner store than a supermarket. It's old though. Not many people go shopping in Mitsumiya ward. I used to buy candy there when I was in elementary school" Ayame sighed, a dreamy expression taking over her face.

Ding!

Everyone picked up their assigned boxes and stepped into the elevator, being mindful to try and not to squash one another. Once the door closed, the elevator slowly churned and began moving up.

"I never really liked that corner store, the owner and the people that work there were kind of creepy" said Namikaze, scrunching her nose.

Ding!

Takumi led them out the elevator and down to the end of the hall, put down his box and unlocked the door. Once they all made it inside, the smell of shaven plaster and dried paint hit them in the face with full force. Takumi immediately coughed ad tried to cover his noise by tucking it against his shoulder.

"Nice place you got here. How much do you guys pay a month?" asked Ayame.

"192,263.16 yen per month" said Takumi.

"Aya! Not bad" she looked certainly impressed. "This is really spacious, Takumi-kun. You and your brother are really lucky to score a place like this so close to your academy, Ah! The kitchen looks gorgeous!" said Ayame.

"Si, the landlady is kind to us and allowed us to pay at a student rate. I'm going to open the windows" Takumi went to open up all the windows and was relieved to feel fresh air billowing in to carry the heavy smell of the new renovation out. Ayame and Kuchiyose went to the bedrooms and bathroom to open the windows as well. Soon the place will stop smelling like a factory outlet.

A rattling sound got Takumi's attention and he turned around to find Ayame trying to open the sliding door of the balcony but with no success. Oh he forgot about that.

"Do you have the keys for this?" asked Ayame.

"Nope, our landlady lost it a long time ago, before Isami and I came here. She's been lazy to make another copy of the key" Takumi sighed with his hands on his hips.

"That's a shame. If you guys get a couple of chairs and a garden table, it would make a great reading spot on a sunny weekend" she said.

"Yeah, it would. Isami and I have always wanted enjoy a cup of coffee out—" Takumi stopped when Kuchiyose brushed him aside.

The silent giant crouched down and peered at the lock. Next he took out a rolled cloth from under the back of his jacket and unfurled it revealing an array of different sized metal needles but with different sized hooks, shapes and flat ends. What were they? Takumi watched warily as Kuchiyose stared at the lock and proceeded to insert two different metal needles into the lock and gently jiggled it about.

"Oi! What are you doing?!" Takumi couldn't hold in his disbelief anymore as he yelled at Kuchiyose.

Soon enough, with a quick twist of his wrist, the sound of a flicking lock rang out in the apartment and the sliding doors were forcibly pushed open with a sickening creak as it hadn't open in years. A blast of cool breeze brushed cross his face.

"WHAT THE HELL?! You do lock-picking too?! Who carries lock-picking tools with them on hand?!" Takumi gripped his hair, yelling at Kuchiyose, who only locked down on him with a withering look and packed away his lock picking tools, and slipped it into the back of his jacket.

"You're welcome, Antonio" Namikaze snickered.

Takumi sighed. These people were nutjobs. "And you're ok with this?" he turned to Ayame, looking at her imploringly.

"Haha, yeah. To be completely honest, Kuchiyose-kun hardly ever needs to lock-pick anything really." she smiled at him.

'That didn't make me feel better in the least...'

Takumi forced a smile and decided not to question it, lest his wits snap. and walked out into the balcony. Hardly ever does it huh? That could still cover a range of things he would lock-pick. He could hear every little noise down below including people talking and the traffic. This was the first time in five years, he stood out on the balcony and it felt great.

"So what do want us to do?" asked Ayame, stretching her arms over her head and leaned up on her toes, to catch the breeze in her hair.

Takumi thought for a moment.

"Umm, you can put away pantry items and my kitchen utensils for me. Namikaze-san, you can put away mine and Isami's school books just in our bedroom bookshelves if that's ok with you. My room is on the left and his is on the right. Kuchiyose-san, you could put away the bathroom stuff. Just chuck everything in the cabinet and the linen cupboard is just over there" Takumi pointed out the different places around the apartment for them to find.

Soon everyone made their way around the apartment, opening boxes and putting away his things. Takumi grabbed his box of clothes and followed Namikaze into his bedroom. She started ripping open the boxes and lining up his books on the empty shelf, humming to herself as he placed his clothes box onto his old mattress. Takumi felt the need to walk on eggshells again. He didn't know why, he just did.

"So you and Ayame-chan are together now huh? Congratulations" said Namikaze slyly beside his old study desk, placing his notebooks into the desk drawers.

Now he knew why he felt eggshells under his feet.

"Uh… yeah, she told you?" he asked, hanging up one by one, his collection of waistcoats.

"Well, duh. You didn't think she'd tell me?" she said. It sounded more like a patronising statement than a question.

"I really like Ayame-san" Takumi turned to her, after hanging his last waistcoat in the closet.

Namikaze stopped shelving his books and turned to him. Her eyes looked back at him cheekily and he sensed that it was just a cover and something serious was brewing behind her eyes. The corner of her lips curved into that shit-eating grin again.

"I know you do. You are far better than any of the losers that chase after Ayame-chan behind the shadows, too scared to approach her. I think they're more scared of her dad and her brains more than anything" she said crossing her arms and leaning against his study desk beside the bookcase. Takumi thought she muttered 'misogynistic cowards' under her breath, but he wasn't sure.

"I want to do everything I can to make her happy. She's the first girl I've ever—"

"Just stop" she held up her hand to him with a disgusted look on her face "Don't suck up to me, it's not impressionable and super-lame. I've already told you the first time we met, you have my blessings. Be a man and accept it. But you're unconvinced anyway. I like that. Shows that you have a brain"

Takumi held his tongue. He had always thought it was normal to try to be on the girlfriend's best friend good books. He was well aware of the influence a girl's best friend could have on a budding romantic relationship. 'Chicks before dicks' as the girls in Tootsuki would say from time to time. The fact that Namikaze seemed to have a sixth sense for when a man tried to wheedle things was downright formidable. He felt a growing sense of some respect for Namikaze sprouting from the bottom drawer of his mind. However that didn't mean he no longer found her annoying.

"That's a whole lot easier for me then. I'll be clearer" Takumi said resolutely back at her. "I'm not going to let anyone ruin anything between Ayame-san and I"

"Including me and Kuchiyose-kun. I get it, I read the subtext" she smirked back at him.

There was some sort of balance established between himself and Namikaze now. He could feel it. The eggshells around him gradually disappeared as it became more apparent that both he and Namikaze knew exactly where they were regarding Ayame. As long as she understood that he intended to make Ayame the happiest girl on earth, he really didn't give a damn about what her friend's thought, to be honest. At least he attempted to get along with them in the first place. But Takumi was no fool that everything would be completely dandy and fine from now on with Ayame while they were around. He and Ayame's relationship could potentially derail catastrophically as soon as Namikaze or Kuchiyose had an inkling that he was no longer good enough for her.

'I don't intend to ever let that happen'.

"Relax Antonio. You'll get wrinkles. Your heart is true and I couldn't wish a better person for Ayame-chan. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine and don't tell her I said that. Kuchiyose-kun and I have your back too even if it takes you a while to get your head around that idea"

"R-Right…" said Takumi dumbly as he put away his school uniform, not really knowing what to say to that weirdly positive declaration.

"You should be more worried about Ayame-chan's dad" said Namikaze more amiably as she resumed placing his books and mementos in no particular order on his study desk and shelf.

"Her dad?" he asked.

"She's told you he's the Superintendent General of the TMDP right? That's got to give you more than enough clues to what he's like" she snickered.

Takumi shivered.

"I guess I'll m-meet him when the time comes" said Takumi. He heard Namikaze mutter something, but chose to ignore it.

"Anyway, finished with your stuff, I'll move onto your brother's room. Hmm, glad we had this talk. Although you didn't have to try and set up a situation for us to be alone together purely for this conversation. Just come and talk to me like a normal person, you dork."

Takumi harrumphed at her, his face turning beet red. Like hell, he could ever talk to her like she was a normal person. Not with that abhorrent personality! He could hear her yelling for Kuchiyose to help her move in his brother's clothes to the next bedroom.

'Easier said than done, you short-stack…'

Takumi spent another hour sorting out his clothes and undergarments, putting them away. He was brought from his musings when someone rapped on his bedroom door.

"Done with the kitchen and tidying up the bathroom with Kuchiyose-kun. There were still some plaster shavings around a bit, so I cleaned that up" said Ayame, popping in from the door.

Takumi turned around and dumped the last of his undergarments into his drawer. "Ah, grazie" he smiled at her.

Ayame skipped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in and kissed him on the nose. Takumi chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to pepper soft kisses on her cheeks. She smelt like sunshine, with still some hints of cleaning detergent from tidying up the bathroom.

"So you're going to pick up your brother on Monday at the airport, right?" asked Ayame.

"Si, I need to help him carry some of his luggage. He said he's bringing back a lot of souvenirs this time" said Takumi leading her over to his bare mattress so they could have a rest and sit on it for a bit. Suddenly he turned to Ayame and took hold of her hand, stroking his thumb over her knuckles.

"I want you to meet my brother" he said.

"Um… yeah! Whenever is good with me. Do you think he'll like me?" she asked smiling.

"Of course! Isami will definitely like you. I tell him about you all the time" said Takumi blushing.

"Not the embarrassing stuff right?" Ayame lightly punched him in the arm.

"I told him about how terrible you are at cooking" Takumi smirked at her.

"You jerk!" Ayame made to punch him in the arm again, but he caught her fist and tugged her towards him and caught her lips in a swift kiss. He lifted his other hand to caress her face. She slightly parted her lips as she sighed dreamily. Takumi pulled her onto his lap, loving the little squeal she emitted and how her arms reflexively curled around his neck. He rubbed his nose against her cheek breathing in her scent and listening to her giggle before peppering small kisses on her jaw line. Ayame nudged his face up and he kissed her lovingly on the lips, slipping his tongue inside, tasting that sweet raspberry and meringue that was so Ayame.

"For fuck's safe, I leave you for an hour and this happens" Takumi threw himself back, his face exploding like a volcano and gaped at the smirking Namikaze by the door. Kuchiyose was there busy texting something, looking less caring.

"I… W-we're—It's n-not" Takumi floundered his hands around, raking up every single excuse to save both his and Ayame's embarrassment for getting caught canoodling while he broke into a mental fit.

"Kuchiyose-kun and I are driving into Karakura honchou to bring back some lunch. I'd asked what you guys want, but I guess Antonio's tongue down your throat is nutritious enough" she snickered.

"WHAT THE HELL! It wasn't like that!" Takumi sprang from the bed accidentally causing Ayame to tumble on the other side of the mattress and brandished his fist at the troll.

"Chizuru-chan! That's not funny!" Ayame yelled at her as well.

"I'll bring back some takeaway-bentous. Behave while we're gone" she said in a sing-song voice as she disappeared from the door with Kuchiyose in tow, swinging his car keys around.

When Takumi finally heard the front door shut, he slumped to his knees and fist pumped the air "I'll get her for this…!" he seethed, his eyes brimming with vengeance for that little obnoxious troll.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one who wants to strangle her" Ayame sighed as she fell back onto the empty mattress. Takumi looked back at her from his spot on the carpet. "What were you and Chizuru-chan talking about earlier?" she asked still lying down.

Takumi was surprised that Ayame overheard them in his room. The apartment wasn't that big to begin with, it was only two bedrooms, so he guessed he shouldn't be surprised at all actually.

"Nothing much. Just reaching a mutual understanding about things." He said, getting up and dusting his knees.

"When you say 'mutual' it's like she's bullying you and you getting your butt kicked?" Ayame chortled, still not moving from the mattress.

"Impossibile! L-like that could ever happen!"

Takumi stood in front of her and pulled her up by the wrists, while she dangled about. He chuckled and jerked her up higher so that her body slumped against his instead of backwards. He took her hand and led themselves out onto the balcony to enjoy the view and the breeze, while they waited for her friends to return.


It was just past noon when Namikaze and Kuchiyose lumbered back, beholding numerous plastic bags of food up to their elbows. Ayame immediately ran over to ransack one of the bags much to Takumi's amusement.

The whole group conglomerated around his coffee table, spreading out their bounty for the day while they sat around it on the floor. Everyone fitted comfortably around except for Kuchiyose, who was way too tall for the coffee table, so he opted to sit up on the sofa instead. The two misfits had brought back an abundance of food, mostly Kuchiyose's share as he ate a lot. There were stacks of take-away bentou from the supermarket, some junk food and bottles of iced tea for each person. They had started chatting about their plans for the week and the week after that, like how the usual group conversations would flow.

Takumi had decided that tomorrow, he would sort out the details of the apartment, like buying more food to stock the fridge, make room for limoncello, do the bed-sheets, get air freshener and vacuum the carpet. He wanted to make the place felt lived-in and homely again for Isami's return. Ayame and her friends invited themselves to stay after lunch to clean the windows, dust around and dispose of the cardboard boxes. He was eternally grateful to them.

"This is pretty good" said Takumi munching on his bentou.

"Yeah, I always like these bentous from the supermarket." said Ayame.

Ayame was eating a teriyaki salmon bentou, while Kuchiyose was on his third karaage chicken bentou. Meanwhile, he was eating a tempura bentou and Namikaze was eating things willy-nilly after she finished her super-spicy korokke bentou. She ate like a little child. Going for most of the snacks.

"Chizuru-chan likes to eat really spicy food. She won't really eat anything else" said Ayame, nudging him in the arm. She must've noticed he was gawking. Takumi found it hard to believe. It was summer and she wasn't even sweating from her spicy bentou. That couldn't be natural.

"How come?" he asked Namikaze as she guzzled her iced-tea without shame.

"I like food that bites back" she simply said, texting on her phone and sticking a pocky into her mouth. It was one of those thin biscuits dipped in chocolate that Isami was obsessed over.

"What kinds of food do you like to eat, Kuchiyose-san?" asked Takumi.

He pointed to his empty bentou boxes with his chopsticks.

"Everything actually. Kuchiyose-kun likes to eat anything that moves" Ayame teased from beside him.

Kuchiyose rolled his eyes at her before getting up and disappearing into the bathroom.

Takumi kept these little bits of information for safe-keeping. He was very grateful that Ayame and her friends came to help him move in his and Isami's things. Including Kuchiyose driving up here illegally and unlocking his balcony door illegally and he hoped to the Roman Gods those two didn't buy their lunch with counterfeit money. Takumi's imagination was running away with him so he pulled himself back. He had to do something to show his gratitude, especially since Namikaze claimed she and Kuchiyose were now his friends by default because of Ayame. He thought about what kind of things he could cook for those two as a thank you.

"Oh yeah, how much money do I owe you guys?" asked Takumi, reaching over for his wallet, trying to estimate how much his bentou and some of the snacks and drinks cost.

"Don't worry about it. Our treat" said Namikaze, waving him off like it was nothing.

"A-are you sure? You and Kuchiyose-san bought a lot of food…" said Takumi, eyeing the mounting rubbish.

"Don't make me say it again" Namikaze bit out, not lifting her eyes from her smart phone.

"Umm, grazie…" Takumi relented and placed his wallet back into his pocket. He felt Ayame pat him on the knees and beamed up at him.

"Grazie di cuore. Thank you so much, mio bella" Takumi leaned over and kissed his sweetheart on the cheek, eliciting an adorable blush from her, thankful also that Namikaze was too absorbed with her phone to notice.

"No worries, sweetie"

"I MEANT THAT FOR AYAME! NOT YOU!"


Whatever shenanigans Kuchiyose, Namikaze or Ayame get up to, DON'T TRY THEM AT HOME. Lock picking is frowned upon, so no. Driving without a license is also a DEFINITE NO. Strapping a tonne of shit to the top of your cars is probably not a good idea too :/... borrow a second car... With Ayame & Co. You've probably realised by now, and if not later, that they have blurry boundaries when it comes to almost everything.

I hope you guys are continuing to enjoy Takumi and Ayame & Co.'s presence in the story. Tootsuki students aren't the only people out there who are a bit screwed up in the head hahaha! Takumi is in need of a bit of madness outside of the cooking world.

I hope you like this chapter! I'd love to hear from you. See you in 5 days!

Signing-off

-TripWire-dono