Happy reading!


Chapter 4: One Sunday Morning

The constant mewl of two adult cats woke Hitoshi up from his deep sleep. Today was Sunday and he struggled to leave the warmth of his blanket that always felt like a perfect match with the cold air filling his room. He wanted to rest until his body decided that it was enough, but when eight paws were planted all over his body, he knew he had zero percent chance of reconnecting the dream he could barely recall. Did he travel to a resort and eat shrimp by the ocean? Or did he go to a nearby seafood restaurant that had a beach-like interior?

"What is it…?" he grumbled as he felt two paws landing on his left cheek, followed by a purring sound beside his ear and a tickly feeling from pointy whiskers. He saw no hope in even trying to stay still.

Carefully, he threw his blanket to the side and held what appeared to be a short-haired cream cat. He looked at the white one who could only meow for attention near his feet before glancing at the clock hung on the wall in front of his queen size bed. It was nine in the morning, two hours later than his usual waking up time during holidays. Two hours later than the time he usually fed his cats. If he still lived with his mother, she'd take over the duty whenever he was unavailable. Unfortunately, this wouldn't happen for the next three years or whenever he went back to his hometown.

"Mitsu." He flicked the red nose of the cream-colored cat in his hands. "So now you're smart enough to open my bedroom door when you're searching for food? What should I do to you?"

He didn't expect any answer from the fluffy being who's staring at him with a pair of beautiful yellow eyes, tail down and wiggling joyfully. He smiled with a huff before putting the cat down, leaving his bed and fixing his disheveled top as much as he could—it wasn't like there was somebody important that he must impress in this place. He stepped to the door that was slightly opened, enough for two chubby cats to barge in. They trailed behind him as the exit brought them to the main room of the apartment, where the living room was located and connected to the kitchen and a dining table for four people.

Three stainless steel pet bowls were placed on a small area between the kitchen and the door to the washroom. One was green, one was blue, both were empty. The other one was white and bigger than the previous two. It was filled with water that was half full.

Hitoshi went to grab a bag of dry cat food from a kitchen counter cabinet and poured enough kibbles to the empty bowls. By eyes, he knew how much he had to give without overfeeding. It didn't take long for his smart pets to line up in front of their respective bowl, not fighting and stealing from each other.

When he put the food back to its place, he realized that he had no more stock left. The one he currently had could only last for another ten days. He moved to open his double door refrigerator, checking and making a mental note of what's supposed to be there—eggs, milk, some frozen food, some canned fish, and a few other things. He did the same to the cabinets above his counters—instant noodles, dry soup mixes, a lot of snacks to carry him throughout the week. Clearly, it was time to shop and today was the perfect day to do it.


Hitoshi had lived in this town for almost a month. The first two weeks was him adapting himself in a new environment. The last two was him starting his first year of a high school student. In every Sunday, the streets surrounding his apartment were always full of young people who walked in a group or hand in hand alone with their partner. Sometimes he would encountered those who he'd seen before in his school's cafeteria or hallways. It should be a safe guess that most of these people were Yuuei's students, although he couldn't be too sure since other schools existed nearby. It'd be so much easier had they brought a book with them.

"Shinsou?"

Hitoshi hadn't gone too far from the elevator on the first floor of his apartment when a voice called him out. He turned around and found Kazuna jogging and halting less than a meter away from him. She wore a white t-shirt with a big sunflower covering her heaving and sweaty chest. He never thought that she'd collect anything pink because of her boyish demeanor, but she had pink track pants that fit her plain white sneakers brilliantly. Her left hand held a blue plastic water bottle that was almost empty, as if she knew for sure that she would need that much before arriving back home. She didn't seem to be bringing earphones, one item that many runners had with them. She had no gloves on either.

"Good morning. Where are you going?" Kazuna asked when she didn't get any response from Hitoshi.

"…good morning. I'm going to the supermarket," Hitoshi finally answered with a sluggish tone. If he looked lifeless inside and out, he had to blame his empty morning stomach.

"Oh, right… I also need to shop for groceries," Kazuna muttered to herself. "Well, then. See you lat—"

"Let's go together," Hitoshi invited Kazuna on a whim. This wasn't his first time offering himself to drive her somewhere and this wasn't her first time accepting his generosity without feeling like she'd taken him for granted. It wasn't shocking when she swiftly nodded her head.

"Sure… but I need to take a shower first for ten minutes… Is that okay?"

"It's okay. I'll wait near the gate."

"Thank you, Shinsou," Kazuna said before dashing towards the elevator. She got lucky since she didn't have to wait for too long for the door to be opened. She looked at Hitoshi one last time, waved her hand, stepped into the empty box, and was gone from his vision.

Hitoshi took a deep breath before continuing his way to the parking lot, mind wondering about his relationship with Kazuna. They'd known each other for two weeks. They'd been eating lunch and going home together, yet he couldn't really say that they had a close relationship or even claim their status as something more than classmates. They were never alone at school as Yuzuru would be there to start and end any types of conversation they had. When they were on bicycle, they never talked much about themselves. Sometimes they discussed about the upcoming tests or homework, the other time was to retell the fun things that happened during the day.

Maybe Kazuna was more open towards Yuzuru since both of them were girls. Maybe they had each other's contact and so many stories had been told when no one else was aware of it. Hitoshi wanted to believe his own theory, but there was a big part of him that couldn't imagine it happening. Kazuna seemed to be a very private person and even if she never begged someone to stop questioning her life, she often gave them nothing but a crooked smile as an answer. If she really had to speak to Yuzuru about things she couldn't share with anyone else, it'd probably be about their personal hygiene.

As soon as Hitoshi took his bicycle from one long line of two-wheelers, he rode it to the wooden bench next to the apartment's main gate. He left his vehicle next to the bench before sitting down, grabbing his phone from his pocket and positioning himself as comfortable as possible. He loaded one RPG game that he often played when he didn't have anything more productive to do. Thanks to the apartment's free Wi-Fi, he never had to worry whenever he had to update an application before he could proceed. With this, he hoped the time would pass quickly.


"Shinsou, I'm sorry!"

Hitoshi remained soundless as he watched Kazuna sprint towards him because she was gone for almost twenty minutes instead of ten. He wasn't mad, of course, and he actually didn't mind waiting for another ten—although it would've been kinder had she notified him somehow. Forty-five minutes without a word would be his limit because he could've used the time to shop and he'd be back within the time limit. Since he respected her, he'd definitely leave a message to the security to tell her that he was going alone.

Another thing that caught his attention was the way she dressed up. She had a sleeveless peach top covered under a thin white lace cardigan. She seemed comfortable enough to wear short blue jeans that hid only half of her thighs—something that many people felt too embarrassing to show. For her footwear, she used the same white sneakers from her previous workout. As an addition, there was a white sling bag on her right shoulder. People who saw her for the first time would immediately think of her as someone who knew quite a few things about fashion.

"I knocked over my detergent box and had to clean it up, I'm sorry!" Kazuna tried to explain once she stood near Hitoshi. She looked desperate, as if Hitoshi would have the heart to punch her nose because of this one little accident. He wouldn't even call it a mistake.

"It's alright, I'm not angry," Hitoshi calmly shushed her as he left the bench to prepare his bicycle. "Come."

"Really…?"

"Really."

"…okay, if you say so." Kazuna showed Hitoshi a dim smile, but it was always enough to lighten up the atmosphere around them. She mounted the bicycle and kept her bag between the gap of her legs and Hitoshi's lower back. She felt safer this way since people would have less chance in mugging her.

"Ready?" Hitoshi glanced at the girl behind him, making sure that it was okay to pedal his way out of this place. He indeed could see it himself whether she was ready or not. She seemed to, but there was nothing wrong with asking. He never wanted to bring her somewhere without her permission.

"I'm ready," Kazuna gave a green light and Hitoshi did what he had to do—cycling forward and greeting the two securities at the gate with a "good morning". Kazuna did the same, only a tad softer because that was the way she spoke. A bat with its spectacular hearing ability would sometimes have a difficult time perceiving her words.

"By the way… you dress well," Hitoshi said something he would usually keep for himself, but he felt like Kazuna needed to know this one skill she had. Many fifteen years old out there had zero clue to mix-and-match colors and patterns. She should be proud of herself because she owned a pair of good eyes that could help her and other people in so many different ways.

"Ah, thank you," Kazuna sounded very surprised and happy at the same time. "Truth be told, Shinsou… if I can't become a hero, I want to become a fashion designer…"

"Cool. Are you a good drawer?"

"Not at all."

"Huh, you've never been so confident before."

"I'm serious…!" Kazuna hit Hitoshi's back with almost no power that it couldn't even hurt an ant. "We haven't been told to draw something in our art class. Once we are… I'm going to show you what I'm capable of, but please don't laugh, okay?"

"Don't tell me it's the two mountains with a sun between them."

"I don't draw that!" Kazuna corrected, voice louder than usual before faltering faster than the morning wind when she heard a muffled yet familiar sound coming from Hitoshi. "…are you laughing? I don't draw that, so stop laughing, please…?"

Hitoshi covered his mouth with his left hand as his right one stayed on the handlebar, attempting to prevent his emotion since he didn't want Kazuna to beg him to stop the ride, leave, and end their newfound friendship. "I guess it doesn't really matter. I've seen some designers' drawings and they don't look that good. It's like they draw random lines and throw random colors on the paper."

"Can you draw yourself…?" Kazuna asked in return, frowning.

"Of course. Tables, chairs, boxes—"

"See!" Kazuna shouted before chuckling, then shifting her laugh into a smile. "But you're very smart, Shinsou… You can solve difficult math equations with no problem… If you can't become a hero, you can become a teacher… maybe?"

"I don't know." Hitoshi steered to the left lane of the busy road, but it was nothing for a bicycle that could pass through every impossible crack and gap. "I haven't thought of not becoming a hero."

"Ah. You're really determined to become a professional hero, aren't you?"

"I am," Hitoshi coolly replied.

"Er, what kinds of cats that you have, Shinsou?" Barely thirty seconds passed after their previous discussion and F/N had chosen how to continue their conversation.

"Just normal domestic cats. Short-haired."

"What are they called and how old are they?"

"The white's one Hachi, a male. The brown one's Mitsu, a female. They're siblings. They'll be three years old this Friday. I rescued their parents near my house years ago, but I left them with my mother since my apartment is too small for four adult cats to live and run freely," Hitoshi explained more than he was asked, but no sane human would hate small talks about cats.

"Hachi and Mitsu…?" Kazuna repeated the two names she heard. "You mean hachimitsu, as in 'honey'?"

"Yes. I'm not going to name my cat just Hachi because it's meant for a dog."

"Well…" Kazuna paused for a moment to try to understand Hitoshi's logic and she somewhat got what he meant. "Yeah."


It was funny to admit that this was Kazuna's first time entering a pet shop. She'd passed by some when she was hanging out around the malls in her hometown, but she never actually walked in one because she had no purpose to do so. Her first thought concerning the medium-sized store in the left side of the street was that it was a bit stinky. It wasn't something unbearable, but definitely something she expected from a place full of dogs, cats, and other kinds of pets. The bags of sands, foods, sprayers, medicines, and other things must be at fault too.

As she waited for Hitoshi to finish his business here, she looked around to find something that she could enjoy watching, rather than just standing near the entrance like a clueless idiot. She counted there were less than ten customers including her and Hitoshi. There were some workers who were busy organizing the store. They talked pretty loudly to each other about the list of items that they mustn't forget to change since they'd expire soon.

She stopped when she stumbled upon an aisle of colorful tanks without roof. Even from far, she could already see the inside of each one of them—grasses, stones, and some sort of rough sand. She stepped to the nearest tank and didn't know what to feel when she saw a matured brown snake with pale yellow stripes painting its entire body. She didn't remember her last encounter with a snake. Coming from a big town like Osaka and Hiroshima, she never really visited a misty forest or wherever snake would usually appear. She knew what's in front of her wouldn't poison her, but she didn't intend to come closer.

"Hey."

Kazuna's heart almost jumped when he heard Hitoshi's deep voice. She snapped her head to the left and found Hitoshi heading towards her, eyes examining the tank that stole her attention.

"Are you done already?" she commented on the fact that Hitoshi didn't have anything in his hands. He should've held at least one plastic bag to carry the cats food, but he had nothing with him.

"Yes. I bought a ten-kilogram bag. It's heavy, so they're going to send it to our apartment this afternoon," Hitoshi replied as his eyes drifted to every corner of the excluded place. "Why are you here? You like snakes?"

"I don't like snakes…" Kazuna meekly stated one obvious fact. Honestly, she was baffled as to why Hitoshi even questioned such thing. She knew she didn't look like someone who'd collect reptiles or insects and play with them in her spare time. She'd rather do some gardening or golfing.

Hitoshi spent some time gazing inside the aforementioned tank before he continued speaking, "Be careful. This snake doesn't bite, but when it does, the venom can kill you in minutes."

With a gasp, Kazuna took a sizable step back, away from an area she thought would be safe. She had so many questions coming into her mind. Why would any pet shop sell a wild animal that could potentially kill its owner? Why didn't they put any warnings on the tank or anywhere else? Did they deliberately ask to be sued?

"It's alright, don't be scared," Hitoshi told Kazuna. "Try to pet the head. If you get bitten, you don't have to worry. The hospital's nearby. I can quickly bring you there."

"What? No…" Kazuna gave Hitoshi a confused and guarded look. She hoped Hitoshi wasn't being serious, because if he was, then she had to consider cutting ties with him and moving to another apartment. Having a friend who advised her to get bitten by a snake didn't sound like a good plan.

Hitoshi sniggered before suddenly stroking the long body of the snake, proving that it remained immobile. "I was just messing with you. Of course they're all non-lethal. Do you think there's a pet shop that wants to sell venomous—"

"Ugh… I really was terrified…!" Kazuna pushed Hitoshi sideways, but her strength could only budge his upper body as his feet stayed still on the ground.

"You're hilarious," Hitoshi remarked, unable to stop enjoying this one little scene between them. "Why didn't you get the joke? I know nothing about types of snakes."

"It's because I trusted you!" Kazuna wore a grumpy face, pouting and keeping her sight low so she didn't have to see Hitoshi's snarky face. "…whatever. I guess I won't anymore."

"I'm sorry." The intensity in Hitoshi's voice slowly subdued. "But I wasn't lying about the part that there are non-lethal snakes that are venomous. In a way, they have venom, but their venom isn't that dangerous."

"…but you said you know nothing about snakes," Kazuna brought back what Hitoshi just said ten seconds ago.

"But this is basic knowledge," Hitoshi defended himself.

Kazuna halfheartedly rocked her head up and down, heavily implying her skepticism. "If you say so…"

"You don't believe me?"

"I already said I won't believe you anymore…" Kazuna lazily murmured. "Let's just get out of here."

Hitoshi spoke no more. How innocent was the only thing he could think of as he watched the shorter girl walk past him.


OK Supermarket was only a block away from the pet shop, hence it took Hitoshi no time to arrive and park his bicycle in a lot provided by the gigantic place. It wasn't strange to see the sea of adults pushing several shopping carts filled with bags of groceries and loading them into their car. Knowing how the majority of Japanese people work from Monday to Saturday from morning to afternoon and sometimes night, today could be the only time for them to replenish.

"Should we separate ways?" Hitoshi asked Kazuna who stood beside him, just when they entered the supermarket through the north automatic door.

"Why?" Kazuna asked back, eyebrows furrowed.

"Maybe you want to go to a different section. I don't know."

"No, it's alright… I'll stay with you… It's not convenient if we get separated in a supermarket this big…" she decided with a sensible reason behind it. They could meet up near the entrance or at the meat section, but it was better to just stick together.

"You're not mad at me anymore?"

Her pout came back, but everyone who looked at it could instantly sense the pretense. Hitoshi kept his eyes on her, wanting to tell her to stop doing her awful façade, but deciding to let her act as much as she wanted. He headed to several rows of steel shopping carts and pulled one out. He brought it away since there were people who wanted to grab one for themselves and noticed how Kazuna didn't get one for herself.

"Don't you need a cart?" Hitoshi made sure that Kazuna's mind was still intact.

Kazuna's first reaction was to glance at the line behind her, then back at Hitoshi. "Are you planning to buy a lot of things? I thought we could just share one…"

"Oh. Fine," Hitoshi said shortly before leaving the crowd with Kazuna closely following him. The first aisle they got to was for all kinds of seeds, such as grains, nuts, and beans, but also all kinds of flours. By far, this could be titled as the driest segment in the entire market.

"Shinsou… Do you want to buy rice? Can you carry it with your bicycle?" Kazuna asked as she inspected every single item displayed on the racks around her, noting that a bicycle's basket wasn't able to hold heavy objects. He could get a five-kilogram bag of rice with some other stuff, but today he wasn't alone. He had to think for two people.

"No, I still have some at home," Hitoshi said. "Do you know that there's this store near our apartment that sells rice and beans? They can deliver the order right to our door."

"Yes, I got mine from there." Kazuna took two one-kilogram bags of all-purpose flour from the left rack and dropped it into the cart, startling Hitoshi since she appeared out of nowhere from behind. "What do you need, Shinsou? I'll grab them for you…"

"No, not from here. I want to buy noodles. I eat noodles more than rice. Every morning, actually."

Kazuna suddenly halted her legs, turning around and preventing Hitoshi from moving any further. "You mean… instant noodles?"

"What else?"

"But… that's unhealthy…" Kazuna frowned, couldn't help but to lecture her friend. "Do you add anything nutritious to your noodles? Like fresh vegetables and meat?"

Hitoshi shook his head, making a self-deprecating look on his face. "Do I look like someone who can make something other than scrambled egg?"

Kazuna involuntarily laughed, but she came into a full stop when she realized that she didn't want to hurt Hitoshi's feeling because there was nothing wrong with not being able to cook that well. "Sorry, uh, do you like vegetables?"

"I don't mind. I'm not a picky eater as long as it's tasty," Hitoshi casually answered. Most people in the world would have the same mindset as him, even Kazuna herself.

"Then… is it okay if starting from today, I'll cook for you?" Kazuna offered, delicately conveying her sincerity because she didn't want to come off as prying. "I mean… I still need to learn a lot, but I'm pretty good with cooking something easy… I guess. What do you say…?"

Hitoshi didn't even consider refusing her because of so many reasons. One, Kazuna's always so considerate towards him and he had long set a principle of never pushing her kindness away, as long as it didn't harm him in any way possible. Two, who would say no to someone who's willing to cook homemade food for them? Even more, for every single day? Three, they both could save up some money if they split the cost of their monthly food. He simply couldn't foresee an disadvantage to this.

"Okay. I don't mind. Thank you," Hitoshi sincerely said right after, bowing his head once as a symbol of gratitude. "Then… I think we should pay half and half for the food we're going to eat, but can I repay you with buying all the rice?"

"Eh? No, you don't have—"

"Just the rice," Hitoshi demanded, eyes becoming sharp but winsome at the same time. "Please?"

Kazuna had a doubt in agreeing, but she knew which would be the wisest and quickest solution for this situation "…okay, but just the rice."

"Just the rice," Hitoshi repeated, sealing his words into a vow. "So, what do you want to get next?"

"Um… Some oil, sauce, vinegar, seasoning…"

"Alright." Hitoshi pushed the cart through the long alley. This time, Kazuna walked beside him instead of behind or somewhere farther. With each passing second, the distance between them shrank until there was a little to none of it.


The shopping cart that once was filled with only dry ingredients had become full with fresh produce in multiple shapes and colors, but mainly green, red, and white. Hitoshi never thought that Kazuna's a big fan of vegetables until she took a lot of broccolis, cucumbers, carrots, and several types of cabbages. When he said that he favorited chicken among all the meats, she took some bone-in skin-on thighs since they was sold very cheaply compared to the other cuts. Alongside a few things that he'd never touched before, they went to the cashier where he decided to pay for everything first and told her to count her share once they were home.

Without debating over it, Hitoshi picked two plastic bags, leaving Kazuna with the lightest one that contained half of their vegetables. She understood if he wanted to continue being a gentleman, thus she had no objection as she followed him back to the parking lot. He could only fit the biggest bag inside his basket and she didn't mind hugging the other two alongside her own bag, careful enough not to spill a thing. They cycled back to their apartment in a reasonable speed and arrived within minutes that they used to discuss about the food they were going to make—he always said "cook whatever you want" not because he didn't care, but because he really didn't know anything about roasting or basting.

"Hey… Is it okay if I cook at your place? Do you have a complete set of kitchen appliances?" Kazuna asked while Hitoshi was locking his bicycle to their apartment's carrier. This place provided a gas range, refrigerator, counters with cabinets, sink, trash can, and everything else besides appliances. It didn't even give a single spoon, so people must bring their own knifes, pans, and plates.

"I have all you need besides a mixer." Once he was done, Hitoshi took the plastic bag from his basket and looked at Kazuna. "I was thinking that we should cook at your place, but I don't mind if you cook at mine. Just a warning, it's a bit messy and it smells like a pet shop."

"It's okay. I also want to see your cats." Kazuna sweetly smiled. "I just think that it's easier for me to prepare myself for school, then head to your apartment and cook. We can go to school together afterwards. You don't have to come up to my place and then go down again. Do I make sense…?"

Hitoshi lifted one eyebrow, as if the explanation he just heard was beyond distasteful. "You want to cook me breakfast too?"

"…eh, uh, yes?" Kazuna looked lost. She was sure that she said it very clearly when they were still at OK Supermarket. Or perhaps not? Perhaps when she said that starting from today she'd cook for him, he translated the sentence into "I'll cook you dinner". It could also be that he only ate once a day, but seeing his tall and huge figure, the possibility appeared to be out of question.

Similar to their previous exchange, all Hitoshi could say was "thank you" because he hadn't gone dumb by refusing a free chef that he'd only pay with rice. He left the parking lot with Kazuna, straight to the elevator and up to the seventh floor. In a matter of seconds, they reached his apartment where he hastily searched for the key inside of his pocket. He unlocked the door and just as he warned her, she smelled a distinct odor of everything related to cats, but less strong than what she experienced at the pet shop from before. She could happily spend some nights here without complaining.

Her eyes wandered around the place as they progressed to the kitchen. There was nothing remarkable about this place since it was basically the same as hers, but she had to agree that it was a bit chaotic. Some books were scattered on the round table in the living room with a remote control, a tissue box, a glass of water, and a phone charger. One dark blue hoodie and brown blanket laid unfolded on the ivory sofa for three people. The dining area was slightly better since the table was empty. The kitchen looked clean too, but who knew about the inside of the refrigerator and all the cabinets. Many people loved to just throw things inside without sorting them out.

"Hey," Hitoshi suddenly spoke, but not to Kazuna who's startled by his pitchy yet velvety tone. His greeting was meant for the two cats that stood near the refrigerator. One was white—Hachi—and the other one was brown—Mitsu. Hachi was evidently bigger because he was a male. Their tail was long and their ears are higher than most cats that Kazuna had seen so far, but as someone who knew almost next to nothing about cats, she wouldn't ponder too hard about it.

"How cute, are they—huh?" Kazuna almost leaped behind when Hachi fled from the spot, leaving Mitsu who hadn't budged. "Eh? What's wrong? Is he scared of me…?"

"He's not used to you. He always does that to strangers," Hitoshi nonchalantly explained as he put down his plastic bags on top of one of the counters. "Give him three days."

"Eh, isn't that too long?" Kazuna squeaked, dropping her plastic bag on the counter across.

"No, it's normal. Trust me. I know him."

Kazuna looked at Hachi who's sitting beside the TV stand while still cautiously keeping his round yellow eyes on her. "…okay."

"I thought you wouldn't trust me anymore?"

Kazuna snorted out a faint laughter because apparently Hitoshi still couldn't move on from what happened between them and those snakes. She didn't pout for the third time. She couldn't. With this and his question on whether she was no longer mad at him, she found his personality to be amusing instead.


For the next fifteen minutes, Hitoshi and Kazuna did what people would do after they went back from groceries shopping—they transferred the things they'd bought to where they belonged. Kazuna took care of the vegetables by washing them and putting them inside the refrigerator that'd been scrubbed by Hitoshi. It looked unstained at the first glance, but it was because it'd only been used for a month since he moved here. Once they were done, they put all the dry products inside the cabinets that looked emptier than how he remembered it since he no longer got himself four dozen of instant noodles.

"Have you had breakfast, Shinsou?" Kazuna questioned what she should've asked an hour ago. Guess she had too much fun with their little trip until she forgot about this important detail.

"No, I only drank water." Hitoshi leaned against the counter on his right. "You should've had breakfast already, since you ran."

"I ate two milk buns. That should be considered as breakfast."

Hitoshi shrugged. "I suppose."

"Then what do you want to eat? Should I grill our mackerels? How about vegetables soup? If you want miso, I must go back to my apartment and grab some ingredients since you have none."

"Grilled mackerels with vegetables soup sounds good," Hitoshi prevented Kazuna to do more work than needed.

"Really?" Kazuna tilted her head to one side, trying to make sure that Hitoshi didn't say that merely because he felt bad for being too demanding. "What about beef teriyaki? Curry?"

"Aren't those for dinner?" Hitoshi's eyes dropped to the floor. "You don't have to make something fancy. Something edible and tasty is good enough for me."

"Okay." Kazuna smiled before heading towards the refrigerator and opening the door. "Will you help me chop the vegetables and tofu?"

"I can do that."

Kazuna stooped to get one carrot, daikon, scallion, and a block of tofu, handing them to Hitoshi who kept them on the counter. Without having to be told, Hitoshi took two medium-sized potatoes from a shelf in the corner of the kitchen and grouped them with the stuff he was going to work with. He checked on Kazuna who had two mackerels laying on the counter beside the refrigerator. Like it was her own house—and not like he minded—she swarmed around the place to grab a frying pan and some salt and pepper. She took a bottle of vegetable oil near the stove and drizzled around a tablespoon onto the cold pan before turning the flame on.

"How do you want me to cut the vegetables?" Hitoshi asked once he realized that he'd been doing nothing but watching the girl in awe.

She glanced at Hitoshi over her shoulder. "Cut them in half and slice them thinly. The potatoes can be a bit bigger since they cook fast. For the scallions, just cut them with scissors since it's easier. It'll be used for the topping, so you can do it later."

From the cabinet below the counter he was using now, Hitoshi took a plastic cutting board that looked pristine because it was new and rarely used, together with some bowls and a red peeler. He could hear Kazuna rip the plastic protecting the package of the mackerels, then came the sound of her sprinkling salt and cracking black peppers directly from its mini bottle. When the skin of the mackerels hit the pan and crisped up, he felt a bit melancholic. It'd been a while since the place he was living at was permeated by the nice aroma of homemade food and the sizzle that was produced by someone other than himself—not like he ever made a single grilled fish since he moved here.

"When did you learn to cook?" Hitoshi initiated a topic as he peeled his carrot, letting the unneeded skin fall inside a bowl.

"Er… six years ago?"

"That's very young. Who taught you?"

"No one."

"Then?"

"From the internet. My parents are always busy. When I still lived with them, I was always home alone so I either had to order food or cook myself. Mostly I just cooked."

"I see." Hitoshi decided to not ask more about what kind of busy job they had, so he moved into the next question, "I assume you don't have any siblings?"

"I have one older sister who's already married, so she lives with her husband and kids, but enough with my background, Shinsou…" Kazuna took over the discussion. "What about your family?"

"My family is very normal to say the least. I'm an only child. Both of my parents work. They go home before dinner. She's a great cook."

"Really?" Kazuna closed the lid of the black pepper, forgetting to do it right after she used it the first time. "I'm a bit terrified now. I hope I can reach your expectation."

Hitoshi smiled, finding silliness in Kazuna's words. "We'll see."


If Hitoshi had to choose which food he preferred between his mother's and Kazuna's, he'd rather die on the spot. Besides everything being incredibly delicious, there was nothing too much about the way Kazuna created her dish. It wasn't too salty, too sweet, or too overcooked. She must be an angel for knowing when to remove the fish from the pan for it to remain juicy and every bite was akin to chewing a stick of room temperature butter. The broth she made was a money maker—she could bottle them and arrange a meeting with OK Supermarket. He didn't exaggerate because he'd fight so she could get a contract with a nice price.

After lending each of their hand to wash the dishes and clean the dirt left on the dining table and kitchen counters, Hitoshi began to look for the cats he'd been neglecting for almost an hour. First he walked to Hachi who's preparing himself to run from the new girl standing beside his owner, but Kazuna was understanding enough to not come any closer. All Hitoshi did to Hachi was pet his head a couple of times before he decided to sit on a sofa across from the TV because Mitsu's there, licking the back of her paws without caring about anything else.

"Do you want to play with Mitsu?" Hitoshi invited Kazuna to join him and he had to laugh when she took an extra effort to avoid Hachi by circling the room, all the way back to the path of where the bookshelf, water dispenser, and some more unnecessary furniture were placed. Her appearance from behind the sofa made Mitsu raise her head, but only for a split second before she proceeded with her grooming business.

Kazuna sat next to Hitoshi, simply because she didn't want to make Mitsu feel intimidated by presence. Seeing the way she didn't react much more, it could safely be say that her fear towards a stranger was almost nonexistent. That could either be good and dangerous. Good because Hitoshi didn't have to worry about Mitsu hurting his new friends. Dangerous because kleptomaniacs could easily steal Mitsu when Hitoshi wasn't aware of it.

"Here." Hitoshi held Mitsu and put her on Kazuna's lap. She stopped cleaning herself as she looked around the place. Kazuna did think that she'd try to run or jump somewhere upon feeling a foreign heat of someone else than Hitoshi's, but she didn't.

"Very obedient…" Kazuna began stroking Mitsu's back. She couldn't remember the last time she played with an indoor cat this closely. Almost all she touched so far was stray cats she met on the way to school. Most of them would sprint the moment they sensed her. Similar to Hachi, but worse.

"Try to pet her head. She'll lay on her back."

Kazuna squinted as she locked her sight on the messy-haired guy. "…Shinsou, I don't wear my gloves."

Hitoshi widened his eyes, bewildered. "You can read animals' memories?"

Kazuna nodded. "Impractical, right?"

"That's…" Hitoshi took a full stop to sigh. "Just be careful."

"It's alright… I don't think your cats have any bad experience because they've been with you since they're born… but do you know that they actually have a long-term memory?"

It was Hitoshi's turn to nod his head. "I read about that before."

"Meaning… I can see images of you that you don't want anyone to see…" Kazuna looked down when she felt Mitsu hoping from her lap to Hitoshi's, the one that he loved more. "I don't want to see anything, Shinsou…"

"Neither do I. I mean, I don't want you to see things about me," Hitoshi corrected his statement, as if the first one wasn't clear enough. "Anyway, I don't have your LINE."

"You're right!" Kazuna exclaimed, eyes going to the black phone that was on the table in front of her before it was being picked by Hitoshi. It wasn't there before, so he must've put it there when she didn't notice. Her own phone was kept inside of her jeans.

"Here." After unlocking his phone, Hitoshi gave it to Kazuna. He waited for her to add herself into his contact list. Once she was done and gave his phone back, he immediately typed a thing and gave her a hint to check her LINE by tapping his own screen several times. She gave him a look before she did want he wanted her to do—opening the new message he'd sent her.

Hitoshi
[Sent a cat sticker.] 11:46 AM

Kazuna's euphoric giggle was probably the most artless thing Hitoshi had seen coming from her so far. "Shinsou… Why are you so into cats?"

"Why not? They're adorable."

"Well, yeah… I can't say no to that… The sticker is cute…" Kazuna murmured as she locked her phone, keeping it on the table and making a mental note to not forget about it before she went back to her own place. "Uh, so… when do you eat dinner?"

"At seven usually."

"Then…" Kazuna's eyes languidly met Hitoshi's once again, something they'd done countless of times today. "Beef teriyaki or beef curry?"

"Beef curry," Hitoshi didn't think twice to choose and Kazuna formed a soft smile on her lips, wordlessly agreeing to his decision.


This site doesn't accept custom HTML, that's why I can't embed the real image of the sticker and use [Sent a sticker.] as placeholder instead. ;_; It's really cute, you might want to check it out on the AO3 version. (the link is on my bio)

Thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated! ❤