Kiyotaka POV
It's been a couple of days since my meeting with Horikita, and now, things have noticeably quieted down in comparison to the afore two days.
The attention has temporarily shifted from me to the aforementioned person, as they are currently standing in the epicenter beside me. The news of her transfer to Ryuuen's class and the announcement of her cooperation with him spread like wildfire, slowly eating my fame while massively contributing to hers. It was a very beneficial exchange since the number of people talking about me measly decreased.
However, that didn't stop the forums from throwing conjectural theories around and somehow linking me to her in entirely absurd ways that were far from my true purpose. Luckily, no one seems to be genuinely convinced of my involvement. Save for a few exceptional people who are especially close to me.
A new month has wrapped up in the calendar, which hopefully means a start to a relatively peaceful and conflict-free May. This month couldn't help but contain a "calm before the storm" vibe, so everyone sincerely wishes for a soothing calm to take place, to prepare for the next month's colossal.
The school has handsomely rewarded us for our patience and for surviving another month here, most of which was already deposited in the class's bank. The class points have already been reflected in the results of our most recent special exam.
Class A : 1974 C.P (+10)
Class B : 1404 C.P (+75)
Class C : 385 C.P (+50)
Class D : 0 C.P (+0)
Our third-place placement only managed to award us 10 class points. However, it was far better than earning nothing and letting the competition close down even more. There was still a massive gap between our class and Sakayanagi's, so nobody dwelled on that.
Currently, Honami and I are moving baggage out of her room as we prepare to evacuate and move out.
A couple of short days ago, I received a notice from Amikura informing me of the completion of our new room's furnishing and sending me the receipt. My face paled slightly at the hefty sum of hundreds of thousands of points. But on the contrary, she didn't hold back and brought everything needed for a complete room, all of high quality. So I didn't mind the cost and paid her extra for the hard work, as well as her comrades.
And today, we were supposed to check it out and move in. But along the way, we met a surprising yet solicitous helping hand.
"You know, you didn't have to come all the way here to help us, Nanase-san," Honami stated her concerns as she folded the shirt and neatly placed it inside the bag. "There won't be much more luggage than this, and we're capable of lugging it on our own. So there is no need for you to trouble yourself."
"Oh, that's fine. It's no trouble if it's for Senpai. I want to be of help." Nanase responded kindly, following up with Honami and placing another folded shirt.
"You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to be here, Nanase-san. We understand if you have some more important stuff to do." Honami persisted.
"If I had something I needed to get done, I wouldn't have offered to help, Ichinose-senpai. It's alright! I'm free at the moment." Nanase explained with the same tender tone, effectively shutting down Honami's protests for the time being. They both teamed up to vacate the locker and all drawers across the room.
As for myself, I silently emptied the fridge while listening to their occasional bickering, which mild amusement spread across my face. Honami has been continuously trying to push Nanase out as subtly as possible ever since she sprouted into our flow, which didn't make her happy at all. She was rather in a chipper mood this morning, and she didn't want to deal with someone like Nanase, who could potentially ruin this great day.
For someone who isn't aware of what transpired between me and Nanase, her behavior was completely understandable. Nanase did indeed try to threaten her to take advantage of her, so for her to act friendly all of a sudden was incredibly strange. Honami made a reasonable call for caution around her.
Moreover, it seems that Nanase is especially dense towards Honami's attempts, or she's pretending to be so. Either way, it would be great if they get along pretty well.
"You're done over there, Ayanokouji-senpai?" Nanase's head peeked from the kitchen door frame, twinkling her blue orbs enquiringly at me. I stood up from my position and faced her.
"Yeah, I'm done. I'll need to unplug the fridge." Nanase smiled happily before moving in to pick up the sacks full of kitchenware and food. I was concerned for a second that she wouldn't be able to lift them, but it didn't seem to be a problem. "Is everything done on your part?"
"Mhm~ everything is set and ready to go!" Honami cheered from the other side of the wall. "It would be pretty wasteful if we let anything run; make sure to shut everything down, okay~?"
"Yes~!" Nanase exclaimed affirmatively.
Finishing up with the closing procedures, we all stood in front of the exit with our backs to the door and our bags in our hands as we took one last look at Honami's vacant room—except the original furniture—before moving out and abandoning it.
"Heh~ it looks exactly like how I've seen it for the first time." Honami reminisced, a nostalgic smile on her face as she returned to the bedroom, which had reverted to its original state and resembled something pretty bland and basic. She put the luggage down and sat on the mattress, running her hand gently over its surface. "I've created many special memories in this particular space that I won't forget for the rest of my life, even if I have only lived here for a year. To leave it and move out, makes me feel pretty sad.."
Honami expressed her feelings with a soft tone, as she looked around and took in her surroundings with the same nostalgic look on her face. I glanced at Nanase, which she immediately understood, and bowed down before excusing us for a short moment and taking her leave.
I dropped my luggage beside hers as I approached the figure of the wandering Honami on the bed with slow, steady steps as I regarded her with my eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes wandered towards mine as she smiled stunningly at me with such warmth that it could melt the iciest of hearts.
"Do you feel it too, Kiyotaka? Do you feel like you're leaving something important behind?" Honami regarded me inquiringly as I moved over and seated myself on the bed beside her. I took her hand into mine as I peered back into her eyes.
"Yes, I feel that." Honami's eyes softened as she received my response, and a broader smile appeared on her face.
"Really? You're not lying?" She beamed, her eyes glowing with hope.
"No, I'm not." I shook my head, before lying on the bed while holding onto her hand. Honami eagerly dragged her legs up and hopped on the bed, eyeing me curiously as I stared at the ceiling. "I'm not sure what I should be feeling right now, but I do feel a little discouraged at the thought of abandoning this place. That's what I can tell you right now."
I heaved a sigh before tilting my head and locking my eyes into hers, as I expressed my sincere opinion.
Even though it's just a room—ground, roof, and four bland walls—this is where the happiest moments of my life have occurred. Even if the cause was different, I cannot help but find this space a place to look back into.
"That's fine; as long as you can feel it, it's more than enough," Honami spoke warmly before snuggling up against my side and holding my arm. "We won't be abandoning it; we can always return and spend as much time as we want~"
"I guess you're right," I replied.
'Abandoning' was a bit of a stretch, given that it's accessible at all times. Furthermore, if things have proven unsafe at the new one, we could always return for some temporary use.
Honami and I took a blissful short rest on the bed, before heading out and joining Nanase to avoid keeping her waiting for too long.
Just as we unlocked the door, we immediately spotted her figure in front of us, standing sideways as her hands were raised defensively. Concurrently, she instantly looked back at us as soon as we opened the door, with a troubled look on her face.
Honami initially furrowed her eyebrows in perplexity at her. However, it didn't take her long to become aware of the other presence next to Nanase.
"Oh? Kiyotaka-kun! Oh, and Honami-san too!" A loud but familiar voice rang within our vicinity as we both turned to look at it. The person in question eyed us with a hint of surprise before gently approaching us and donning their usual angelic smile.
"Oh, Hiyori-san!" Hiyori, Honami's next-door inmate, flashed a bright smile at Honami's recognition and politely bowed at us, we reciprocated with a bow of our own before Honami commenced inquiring. "What are you doing here Hiyori-san? Is there something wrong between you and Nanase-san?"
Honami observed Nanase as the latter leisurely retreated to a corner, before regarding Hiyori once more.
"Uh? oh... well..." Hiyori fiddled nervously as she averted her gaze, contemplating an answer. She scratched her cheek as she glanced in Nanase's direction, with a self-deprecating smile. "When I came out of my room to head to the library today, I saw Nanase-san sneaking baggage out of your dorm. I thought she was a thief and decided to confront her..."
"Oh!" Honami exclaimed in realization before a smirk slipped out of her lips at the cause of this ridiculous misunderstanding. "No, no, that was not it, Hiyori-san; Nanase-san was only helping us."
"Yeah... I realized." Hiyori murmured despondently before turning to face Nanase, who just gave her a blank stare. "Nanase-san, I'm very sorry; I was so wrong!"
Hiyori bowed deeply as she shouted her apology, which caught Nanase off guard and caused her to get flustered.
"N-No! Please lift your head Senpai!" Nanase panicky raised her hands, motioning for Hiyori to stop. "It's my fault for not clarifying enough, so please, don't apologize!"
Nanase, much like Hiyori, followed up and bowed her head apologetically, which resulted in her hair slightly brushing against Hiyori's. Honami stifled a laugh, as she observed this amusing scenario.
"Both of you, please raise your heads." Honami decided to interject and lift their heads as they slowly regarded her. "You don't have to apologize for one simple misunderstanding excessively; nothing escalated, so it's all behind now. Moreover, you two have had a rather humorous encounter."
Honami smiled as the two of them listened to her before turning to face each other.
"Now that you mention it, we did!" Hiyori's eyes sparkled again as she ascended from her bow and stood comfortably. A smile reappeared on Nanase's face as she did the same. "This sort of first encounter only happens so much; it is typically the start of a fun and pretty lasting friendship! At least according to fiction... Oh, I still haven't introduced myself. I'm Shiina Hiyori; it's nice meeting you, Nanase-san!"
Hiyori enthused enthusiastically before introducing herself and raising her hand; Nanase replied with a formal introduction of her own before accepting the handshake.
"So..." concluding with Nanase. Hiyori drew her gaze towards us, her eyes wide with curiosity. "You guys are moving out?"
Her tone has gone substantially quieter as she presumably reached her conclusions based on what she observed so far.
"Mhm~ the furnishing of our room is complete, and we're planning to head out right now." Honami lifted the bag slightly off the ground for a gesture.
"I see..." She mumbled, appearing to be a little discouraged. "It's gonna feel a little more lonely from now on..."
"Hey..." Honami dropped the bags on the floor before stepping forward and hugging her. "It's also going to feel lonely without you, Hiyori-san. Living without you next door is never going to be the same."
Honami stroked her long silver hair as she comforted her with an incredibly loving and compassionate tone. Hiyori was more or less astonished by Honami's sudden advance and had her startled gaze unwittingly land on me. When I gave her a tiny nod, her brows momentarily expanded, but then her eyes softened up, and she smiled joyously.
"Besides, Hiyori-san, being friends doesn't require that we live close by. We could see each other at almost any place and whenever we wanted! Please come by and visit us from time to time; I'll make sure to buy a small library specifically for the three of us."
"Yes. I will!" Hiyori exclaimed, before reciprocating Honami's embrace and putting her hands behind her back. Honami smiled warmly, enclosing her eyes, before pulling away. "It's also a good thing that you guys are moving out since I won't be hearing the noises of your massages."
"Eh? Massages?" Honami confusedly retorted. However, she was met with a deadpan Hiyori, who was smugly mischievous.
"Yes, massages. It's what you guys do after dark." Honami was genuinely confused by Hiyori's words... initially. Just as she slowly started catching on, Hiyori continued. "You know, if I have to be bold, I know that your breasts produce a lot of counterweights, Honami-san, so your shoulders must be rigid at all times. However, that doesn't give you the excuse to-"
"A-Ap-paaa~!!!!!!" Hiyori was taken off-guard by Honami's sudden eruption, she squealed and instantly put some distance between herself and Hiyori, while burying her face in the palms of her hands. "Y-You heard...?"
Honami shockingly murmured, to which Hiyori nodded.
"Yes, I heard," Hiyori responded, still oblivious to the extent of her words. "But since it appeared to be only a one-time incident, I didn't take it up to you... Are you okay, Honami-san?"
Honami didn't respond and simply engulfed her face as she buried it deeper, out of humiliation. I glanced at Nanase to find her looking the other way with a small tint of red on her cheeks.
"Wait, Honami-san! Why are you blushing? Was it because I talked about your breasts?" Hiyori yelled as she got alarmed over the wrong reason. Seeing the unresponsive Honami, she gasped. "Oh my god! I didn't mean to make you flustered Honami-san! I'm... I'm so sorry!!"
Hiyori panicked before bowing profusely and repeatedly as she stood alone in the open. Honami moved towards a wall and leaned against it, emitting faint cries that indicated her profound embarrassment. Nanase kept staring stagnantly at the wall located at the end of the hall.
After observing each of their miserable states for a predetermined period, I sighed in severe tiredness. I leaned against the wall and felt my hand crawl up and rest its palm on my forehead, obscuring half of my vision as I tried to think of a way out of this ludicrous situation.
~♡♡♡~
"Hmph~" After Nanase delivered the luggage and excused herself, Honami slapped her cheeks a couple of times, just as we remained to ourselves, and grumbled. "Oh my god, I really did feel like I wanted to die right there and then."
We were next to the doorstep of our new room, inside the co-ed building, with no one around. Honami held her face as she sat on the stairs.
"Were you that embarrassed?" I posed.
"Yeah! Who wouldn't?! When someone hears you doing that..." Honami rationalized. However, something quickly crossed her mind, which resulted in her taking her hands off her face and glaring at me. "Oh yeah, you didn't. You just stood there looking at us with that grating smugness of yours."
As soon as she said that, I mimicked my earlier delighted smugness, which further aggravated her.
"Honestly, don't you have any shame? Aren't you at least concerned that this might get out?"
"Don't worry, it's all according to plan."
"Plan? What are you? Christopher Colombus?"
"How is that related?" I deadpanned. Honami snickered at the playful banter, before beautifully tossing her hair in the air and fixing it.
"No, but seriously. What if Nanase-san leaks it?" She donned a more serious demeanor as she fretted.
"She won't, I'm positive of it." I patted her head as I replied with conviction. "If anything, she won't have any proof to support her assertions. We already warned Hiyori to not tell anyone. As long as we do our share, I doubt it will go any other way."
I highly doubt the threat of Nanase would live out long enough in her head, so there isn't any need for me to tell her what happened. As both the leader of the class and someone involved in my mess, Honami has much more to worry about than one particular uncertainty. Nanase would have a lot of chances in the future to redeem herself in her eyes.
As for Nanase, I am currently almost convinced of her dependability. I had someone personally tasked to observe her for a set period after our contact, which was more or less reported with the all-clear sign. The girl seems to be deeply wounded and regretful by what has transpired in her life so far and looks up to me as her lone ally.
Yet again, my life has brought more misfortune...
"Alright..." In a brisk motion, Honami gently picked up my hand that was on top of her as she stood up, snapping me out of my thoughts, before starting to navigate her way toward the door. "The room will not inhabit itself if we keep dwelling here. Get a move on, Kiyotaka..."
She tugged on my finger as she bent down and swiftly picked up the luggage off the ground with her free hand while towing me with the other. As soon as I shifted my focus toward the floor, I made up my mind and firmly clung to her hand and picked up my luggage.
"Hai."
Having a set of bags in each hand, we advanced toward the wooden door holding the number 52, which would now serve as our home.
Honami eagerly pulled out the golden key card and calmly tucked it inside the electric pocket. The door's lock has been released, as evidenced by the noise it made, and Honami twisted the handle.
We both stepped inside, and the door behind us closed, leaving us both to ponder the alterations that had occurred at the entryway. We took off our shoes and put them in the drawer, making sure to be particularly quiet for some unknown reason.
"Wow..." As we finally turned and faced the interior of the chamber, Honami let out a sound of astonishment.
The first thing that caught my eye was the glassy doors that led to the small balcony and exhibited a lovely display of the school grounds as well as a small extent beyond the waters.
The morning rays shone brightly as they touched the extraordinarily large bed that was placed between two modest nightstands and faced a large wardrobe with two mirrors on either side and a large TV centered in the middle.
Its layout was identical to that of the previous room. The restroom was right next to the entrance. It had a glass shower and a bathtub, as well as enough space to move around, from what I can see through the door.
All of the necessary appliances, including a stove, fridge, and additional items like a dishwashing machine, were present in the kitchen and appeared to be constructively modern. In addition to some inviting-looking seats and couches, the living area included a table.
Specifically for health reasons, an air conditioner was positioned directly on top of the front door, far from the bed or any couches.
In terms of decor, it was neat, with many options and room to add to your preferences. It appears like Amikura placed a higher priority on necessities and life-convenient gadgets than decorations, which is a very smart choice.
Arguably, the only thing that could be regarded as decoration is the spike-looking squares placed on top of the bed, which are fortunately made of sponge. I'm unsure of their purpose, but I'll reserve judgment till then.
"It's so lovely!" Honami exclaimed enthusiastically as she walked around the room, looking in every crevice, before sitting down on the bed. "Everything is so fantastic! The bed is spacious and comfy too Kyaa~"
Honami slid onto the bed and began rolling over it, savoring its comfort and displaying a blissful expression on her face. I curiously stepped over and ran my finger over it, then sat down.
Without a doubt, it was cozy and soft. I could already make the distinction between it and the mattress the school provides; it stood no chance. Considering the price difference, it was reasonable.
"Look, Kiyotaka~ It's so big I can roll four times!" Honami started rolling over in the opposite corner of the bed and eventually reached my side after exactly four rotations. She lay on her stomach, adorably resting her cheek on her forearm, and grinned.
"You seem to be greatly enjoying yourself," I remarked.
"Oh, yes, I am; this is the best!"Honami expressed, before rolling back and squealing.
The atmosphere was incredible, and Honami seems to approve of this room. As for myself, I wasn't far off; it was very fulfilling. Overall, I'm pleased...
"Wait a second." Honami, who was hugging a pillow, suddenly lifted her head and exclaimed before sitting up. She appeared to have realized something. "You do realize Mako-chan did all of this?"
Honami questioned me while displaying an oddly alert appearance. As soon as I nodded to her, she leaped up, tossed the pillow away, then dropped to the floor and quickly glanced under the bed.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"I know Mako-chan better than anyone else, Kiyotaka. I'm telling you, that woman is crazy." Honami got to her feet and trotted up to the closet, where she began to look it over. "She could have hidden a tape recorder or a dispenser full of aphrodisiacs, or even both."
She looked inside and outside each drawer, as well as behind the closet. I sighed at the spectacle and then got to my feet to decide to follow her.
It might prove useful and eliminate anything that I could have potentially overlooked, and I'd get used to having those expensive-looking gadgets around. After all, this is our home.
We spent a couple of minutes searching for any strange items that might be lying around while also exploring our dorm. It was a gratifying and fun activity, and we eventually returned empty-handed.
"A Mako-chan-orchestrated ploy without anything suspicious? Impossible." Honami quipped.
"Maybe Shibata is doing an excellent job of seizing her," I optimistically suggested.
"If so, that's really impressive, haha. because I just witnessed her strangling him yesterday." She narrated indifferently. "Anyways, let's forget about everyone and everything else now... and only think about ourselves~"
Her tone softened as she cutely squinted her eyes, and she pulled her body closer to mine and our faces closer before leaning hard against my arm and pulling me flat on the bed.
"I hope you didn't forget what today is~" Honami remade, with a noticeable blush on her face and an extremely warm smile.
"No, I didn't." I turned over and rested my palm on the back of her neck; her eyes sparkled at my response. Unconsciously, I returned the smile.
"Today is our first anniversary."
AYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
FINALLY, I COMPLETED THIS.
I legit had a loud pop in my chest as I finished it, I stood still for 5 hours with intense hyperfocus I forgot about my body.
Anyways, I'm sorry for this so so so sosososososo late chap.
For those who weren't aware, I got hit by a car. Then my back ached for weeks (because the medicine intoxicated my stomach and then switched from muscle injury to stomach pain. Yeah, it was dreadful)
Luckily, I'm well and strong again!
Thanks to everyone who wished for my recovery, and those who didn't, I also must thank you (because you just proved that Karma isn't in your side WHAHAHAHAHA-)
jk :)
I doubt someone could be cruel enough to wish for someone's death...
right?
Anyways, talk to ya later guys, I hope you really loved this chap. (Please tell me if you do, I think I'm going crazy.)
love you all <3