Chapter 5
''See you tomorrow !'' Mr. Tanabe told the class, ending the day's lessons.
Takagi quickly put her things in her bag, then left the classroom before everyone else, whereas she is usually the last one to leave the classroom with Nishikata. In a flash, she went to her locker to change her shoes, ran to the bike park, got on her bike and left. She pedaled so fast that it looked like she was in the final sprint of a bike race, and reached Nishikata's house in only 5 minutes, when it takes them about 25 minutes to walk home. She put her bike against a wall, then waited a few secondes in order to catch her breath, so as not to show how exhausted she was, then knocked at the door. Nishikata's mother opened the door, and then had a surprised expression when she saw the young and beautiful girl.
''Hello !'' Takagi began, ''I'm here to give Nishikata his homeworks !'' she said with a bright smile.
''Takagi, I assume ? That's strange, Nishikata told me that it would be one of his friends who would come, not his girlfriend.'' she replied, smiling as well.
''I… am not his girlfriend… well, not yet...'' she laughed, winking at Nishikata's mother. ''And it was easier for me to come since I live closer''
''Yeah, but be honest, you came because you wanted to see my son, right ?''she asked teasingly.
''Who knows ?'' replied Takagi, chuckling.
''He's upstairs, but I think he's asleep, so if he's not awake, I'll ask you to put the homeworks next to his bed without waking him up, he is very tired...'' Nishikata's mother finally indicated.
Takagi thanked her and went up the stairs.
''So she his Nishikata's soon to be girlfriend… How lucky he is, she looks like an angel !'' Nishikata's mother thought as she walked back to the living room.
Takagi Takagi walked up the stairs, then approached the door leading to Nishikata's room, then stopped.
''What should I say to him ?'' she thought worriedly. ''I'll ask him how he's doing, then what ? Never mind, you have to be the one to take the initiative, Takagi ! I'll improvise.''
She knocked, and hearing no response from the other side, she gently opened the door. She found a sleeping Nishikata, under curtains that were still open, which let some light in, so she could see the whole room.
''Nothing has changed since the last time...'' she thought. ''This room is simple, just like Nishikata !'' she laughed, admiring the calligraphy she had done for him, hanging on a panel above his desk. ''I wrote "Stay as you are"...But he's changing...Now I like him even more than before !'' she laughed again, feeling a small blush appear on her cheek.
She heard some noises from the bed, and then heard a ''Takagi-san ?'' from a male voice.
''Hey, you're awake ?!'' she said as she turned around, with a big smile on her face
''What...what are you doing here ? I asked Nakai to bring me the homeworks...'' Nishikata replied, confused by the presence of his crush in his room.
''I wanted to see you and checked how sick you were...'' Takagi added, still wearing her big smile that made Nishikata blush constantly. ''You're all red, is there something wrong ?'' she asked teasingly.
''I...I have a fever, that's why...'' he defended himself before coughing twice.
''You don't look well...'' Takagi worried, while handing Nishikata his homeworks. ''How can you be in such bad shape? You looked fine yesterday...Though we haven't talked much together since yesterday morning…''
''Can I ask you a question Takagi-san ?'' asked Nishikata, who now had a closed face.
''Anything.'' she agreed, already knowing what her friend was going to say.
''Why didn't you say yes to Minoshi ?'' he asked. ''He's a nice guy and he seemed to have strong feelings for you...''
''How do you know that Minoshi asked me out ? And that I refused ? You wouldn't have spied on me, would you ?'' she replied teasingly.
''I...No, not at all...It's...Mano ! Mano told me what happened, that's all...'' he answered, blushing heavily.
''Hmmm?'' she blurted out with amusement, gradually rising in pitch.
''Wha...what ?'' worried Nishikata, who was extremely embarrassed.
''I feel like you're lying. Are you sure you weren't spying on me ?'' she asked, wanting to get her crush to spill the truth.
''Damn, she probably saw me...Or Mano told her...'' he thought, panicking. ''I...heard Mano, who was talking with Nakai, saying that you were on the roof with someone...I was just curious...'' he finally replied, his gaze slipping away.
''So it has nothing to do with jealousy ?'' she asked, causing Nishikata to blush even more.
Nishikata didn't answer, leaving a blank in the conversation for a while, then looked at her in the eyes.
''But you still haven't told me why you didn't accept...''
Takagi slowly moved closer to Nishikata's bed, then stared into his eyes for a long moment. She finally sat down on the bed, near where the sick man's feet were, and then lay down perpendicularly on his legs.
''I love someone other than him, and I will only accept his proposal, no one else.'' she finally replied.
There was a long silence, Takagi waited for a reaction from Nishikata, while he was thinking.
''Should I ask her who he is ? It's probably someone I don't know...'' he thought.
''No, you know him very well...'' said Takagi, who had once again read Nishikata's mind.
''What...how could you...?'' he reacted in incomprehension. ''I can understand that she can guess what I'm thinking from my facial expression, but at this point..., she must have some kind of superpower...'' he thought, frightened by the abilities of his visitor.
''No, I just know you by heart !'' she giggled, causing Nishikata to react once more.
''Again !'' thought Nishikata, who was impressed by Takagi. He paused, then thought about what Takagi had just said. ''By heart...'' he whispered, loud enough for Takagi to hear.
There was another long silence, but this one neither of them wanted to break, each appreciating the other's presence. Suddenly, Nishikata's mother entered the room, finding Takagi lying on her son's legs.
''Oh sorry, I'll come back later !'' she said before abruptly closing the door.
''This...THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS, MOM !'' Nishikata shouted, afraid that his mother would get the wrong idea.
She opened the door again, tears of laughter running down her cheeks, while Takagi also laughed until she was holding her stomach.
''Your girlfriend is right, your reactions are hilarious !'' she said, trying to calm herself down.
''She's not my girlfriend !'' interrupted Nishikata, who felt ridiculous as the two girls around him laughed at his reactions.
''I'm sorry Takagi, but I have to give Nishikata his medicine, and he should get some more sleep, he must still have a bit of a fever judging by the colour of his cheeks.'' she apologized while giggling.
''No problem, thank you so much for letting me see him !'' she replied as she left the room, while Nishikata blushed even more at her words.
''I don't know if he'll be okay tomorrow, if he isn't, feel free to come back !'' she said as she took out a spoon to give his son some syrup.
''No problem, it's always good to see him !'' Takagi said with a smile, knowing that Nishikata would hear.
''Are they trying to kill me or what ?'' he thought, blushing a little more with every word the girls said.
''See you tomorrow, ma'am… See you tomorrow, Yuki !'' she said before running away at the speed of light.
''YU-YUKI ?'' repeated Nishikata, while spitting out the syrup her mother had just given him, causing her to laugh back.
''This girl seems to be getting you all worked up !'' she said, handing him another spoon.
''Yeah, she gets me all worked up...'' replied his son. ''From the worst...to the best...'' he finished before falling asleep peacefully, while his mother left the room.
For her part, Takagi was on the street, thinking about the moment she had just had with her crush. She blushed, wondering what would have happened if his mother hadn't come and interrupted them.
''If he hadn't been sick, I might have managed to confess...'' she thought with a hint of regret. ''But then again, I should be glad I was able to lie on his legs...Maybe someday I'll be able to sit a little higher than on his legs… Wait, what the fuck am I thinking about ?!'' she thought, blushing, surprised to have such things in mind.
She opened the door of her house, greeted by her mother who was preparing food.
''You're finally home ! Where have you been ?'' she asked, having been worried all evening.
''Oh, sorry mum, I forgot to tell you ! Nishikata was sick today, so I stopped by his house to give him his homeworks !'' she apologized, too distracted to have sent her mother a message during the day.
''Aaaah, now I understand why you're so red !'' her mother said with a smile. ''Go and take your shower before we eat, so you can cool off !'' she ordered.
''Yes, mum !'' she said as she began to make her way upstairs to the bathroom.
She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment.
''Every time he takes a step forward, I get redder...'' she thought with a smile. ''I wonder what colour I'll be when one of us confesses to the other !'' she laughed as she stepped into the shower.