So Strange

Home, Sweet Ughh

You:
Sure.
11:14 am

Suguru Niragi:
whatever you don't understand my needs
11:15 am

You:
Ok.
11:16 am

  I put my phone on my nightstand before it can vibrate again. I'd love to entertain Niragi all day long, but I have duties to attend to. I need to call the hospital about resuming my schedule. I need to go shopping, too; it's no secret that my apartment is scarce of food. I need to get more treats for Sato as well. I should get ready then.

1 hour and 34 minutes later

  I spoke with an administrator from my hospital. I'll be going to work tomorrow afternoon. After that was settled, I drove to the store in my unnecessarily expensive car; courtesy of my damned parents. Any other person on this earth would take that as a gesture of generosity. I know my parents just want me to stop avoiding them. They don't make a compelling case.

  After I'm finished buying everything on my list, I think I'll take a trip to the convenience store a couple blocks away from my apartment. I'll get snacks there. I sigh while grabbing a cart.

  During my voyage through the never-ending grocery store isles, I found something I find interesting. Well, not that interesting. I saw Hiko shopping here. He was in the frozen food isle. I hope he doesn't notice and recognize me. I'm not really in the mood for human interaction. Whatever, I'm not going to go through the effort of concealing myself. And of course, as I walk past the isle Hiko is in, he glances up at me. Ugh, he's smiling at me. I sigh and stop in my tracks, leaning against the handle of my cart.

  "Fancy seeing you here, shorty." I face my body halfway toward the obviously taller man.

  "Do you live nearby?" I go along with Hiko's casual demeanor.

  "Yeah, I do. Not too far from the hospital Nagi's staying at." The taller diverts his eyes for a couple seconds before returning them to my hands.

  "What's the ring for?" Hiko looks back up at me with a timorous expression. Hm, seems he noticed my ring.

  "Oh, I'm married. Her name is Kei; I live with her." Hiko stares at me with wide, skeptical eyes. I keep a composed face so as to not give myself away.

  "Is that- A-Are you serious?" Hiko stutters out. Hm, I thought he was more grounded than this.

  "No, Hiko. That was a joke." The male still looks confused. He huffs a nervous laugh.

  "Uhm, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not." Ah, I see. He scratches his neck cartoonishly.

  "Forgive me. I'm not always aware of the tone of my voice." Hiko hums.

  "Mhm~. Well, right now, your voice sounds bored." I don't say anything. The former certainly isn't wrong.

  "Do..you want me to let you go now? Got somewhere more important to be?" I scoff internally. Where does he think I would have to be?

  "You aren't holding me hostage here. I could have left at any time I wanted." Hiko nods with an indifferent look on his contoured face.

  "Did you want to leave, Chishiya?" I half lid my eyes.

  "Yes." Hiko looks down, and I place both hands on my cart, getting ready to walk away.

27 minutes later

  I'm home again. I had stopped by the convenience store on my way here and grabbed a bag of hot cheetos. I don't really know what to do right now. My schedule is clear for the day. God, and it's only 2:12 pm.

  As I lay down on my bed, a thought comes to mind. What if... No. I shouldn't give in. I have to feed Sato anyway. I sigh, reluctantly lifting my back off of my utmost comfortable mattress. I think I just need to sleep.

  I walk from my bedroom into my conjoined living space. Sato is curled up soundly on the sofa. Maybe I should curl up with her. Once I'm in the kitchen, I make quick work in grabbing the large bag of dry food from the pantry and pouring the appropriate quantity into Sato's little blue bowl. I put a cat treat beside the bowl on her eating mat so she can have it after her meal. I'm hungry, too, actually. Well, I just went to the store, so I have no excuse as to why I shouldn't cook dinner. But what should I make? Hmm... Ramen.

  I take a clean pot from the cabinet and fill it with tap water. I place the full pot on the stove and set the heat to 190 degrees. I'll sit on my couch with Sato while I wait. As I approach the sofa, Sato sits up straighter, already anticipating for me to take a seat. And the moment I do, the pale furred feline jumps into my lap and rests her head on my thigh. I hover my hand over her head, and she leans into the touch. Unfortunately, as soon as the touch begins, it ends due to the violent vibration of the phone in my pocket. How inconsiderate.

  When I open my phone, I don't expect anything less than a message from the pesky ravenette. He's sent me a picture of a patient in a bed. Is that my bed? I wouldn't know why else Niragi would send me a picture like this. It seems he's already gotten a new roommate. It's a woman with short black hair. She's sleeping. I wonder if she's in a coma. This is not the kind of message I was expecting, so I reply.

You:
New roommate?
2:28 pm

Suguru Niragi:
yeah
been in a coma since the comet
2:29 pm

You:
Maybe she won't put up with your misbehavior like I did.
You best watch your back.
2:30 pm

Suguru Niragi:
only if she wakes up
2:31 pm
also misbehavior?? i'm not a child
i hardly did anything
2:32 pm

I roll my eyes although the other cannot see the action. Playing dumb I see. I doubt Niragi would want a summary of all the annoying antics I had to endure.

You:
Sure you didn't. Anyway, is that all you wanted to inform me of?
2:34 pm

Suguru Niragi:
pretty much
bye biiitch
2:35 pm

  I put my phone down after Niragi's charming outroduction. Of course, Sato climbs back into my lap. I close my eyes briefly and try to relax. I'm home now. I've got nothing to worry about. Everything is as it should be with the addition of a hyperactive child's phone number. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly, taking in the security of my home. And then hear quiet sizzling. Oh, I forgot about my ramen.

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1812 words