Entering the inn Kasumi, as always quick and diligent, walks briskly up to a woman behind a small desk and introduces herself. The woman sees out of the corner of her eye Gojo, carrying a practically unconscious boy, a fact that doesn't seem to please her too much, but she stretches out her arm without saying much and hands Kasumi a key.
After expressing apologies and exaggerated bows she looks up at the stern gaze watching her and takes the key almost feeling a drop of sweat running down her forehead.
Satoru glances at the number engraved in wood on the key ring that comes with the key and although he is surprised that it's the one to his own room he makes no effort to rectify the innkeeper's mistake. He is not amused by the idea of dragging a body with him down more than one corridor.
Kasumi, with extreme haste opens the door and is surprised to find a bag lying on the floor and turns to Satoru. Her dismay is obvious, so as he carelessly tosses away Tetsuo's limp body, and clears up her doubts.
"The landlady got confused and gave you the key to my room, but it's no big deal. I'll just take my things to the other room."
She nods.
"We should take his shoes off."
"You think so? Better leave it alone."
"He'll be uncomfortable. I'll take off his shoes, you take off his tie and jacket."
"Yes!" replies Satoru in an almost military tone.
She, crouched at the foot of the bed, is quite delicate in her manner, but doesn't seem embarrassed to be undressing a man. Perhaps they are already quite familiar or perhaps she loses her prudishness if the task is to help a friend.
"Please don't tell Tetsuo I did this."
"Huh? What's the problem?"
"I'm sure he won't be able to look me in the face tomorrow cause he got so drunk, he wouldn't say a word to me if he knows I helped undress him."
"What a nice person you are, Kasumi. If you want, you can help me undress later."
Miwa's face incinerates, the white complexion turns magenta, a red so bright you could boil a cup of tea on her cheeks.
"I'm only joking."
"Do you make these jokes very often?" she replies, turning her attention back to the second shoe.
"Not as often as you might think."
"If I had seen you drinking perhaps I could excuse this behavior, Gojo-san. But you're completely sober..."
"Oh, you make me feel like such a pervert. What's wrong with making advances to a pretty girl? In fact, you're exactly my type now that I see you closer."
"Your type?"
He nods confidently, undoes the knot of Tetsuo's tie and sets it down on a small table next to the bed.
"My type of woman."
To him it would have seemed impossible that the skin on Kasumi's face had the ability to turn redder, but to his surprise it's capable. Immediately upon hearing it she becomes a bundle of nerves, she struggles to untie the laces of Tetsuo's left shoe and purses her lips, unable to look up.
He doesn't pay too much attention to her, returns to his task of undressing the poor assistant he incited to drink himself into unconsciousness and does it without a hint of guilt. He removes one sleeve, still not making much sense of what he is doing. How could he feel uncomfortable sleeping when he can't feel anything at all? He doesn't even wake up when there is a whole conversation taking place in front of him, even though he is manipulated like a rag doll. However, he doesn't refute Kasumi's words and does the job he's been asked to do.
"You could be a little more careful..." Miwa lets go as she watches Gojo squeeze Tetsuo's body to take off his jacket.
"He doesn't feel anything, look at him, he's drooling... If you ask me he seems to be sleeping very peacefully."
Kasumi sighs. She has no words to contradict the sensei and after removing the second shoe she takes both of them in her hands and leaves them by the entrance door.
"Could you tilt him to the side?"
Satoru listens to her and turns to Tetsuo already with his jacket in his hands. He sleeps on his back and snores loudly, saliva trickling down his cheek.
"If he vomits in his sleep he could choke..." she adds to Satoru's obvious incomprehension.
With one foot she pushes his back until he turns around, he doesn't seem to flinch. Kasumi is dumbfounded but says nothing, realizing it would be a huge waste of saliva since, after all, he has complied in his own way with everything she has asked of him. She waits by the door as Satoru leaves the jacket hanging on a coat rack and turns off the light before leaving.
As they retrace their steps back through the corridor to the entrance of the inn, Kasumi remains silent which makes Satoru wonder if he has gone too far with his words.
"I never stop embarrassing you, do I?"
She vehemently denies.
"It's okay."
"Do men come on to you very often?"
"To me? No, not at all."
"Maybe you're not very perceptive to that sort of thing."
"No, who would notice me?" she asks with a smile on her face.
Before he can object, they find themselves in front of an empty desk. Kasumi cranes her neck over the desk in search of the innkeeper and he taps the small bell in front of him.
The same woman who greeted them soon appears with the same stale expression she wore minutes before.
"Excuse me, we had another reservation."
"Name?"
"It must be under the name Miwa or Yoshida."
"Here you go."
They both look carefully at the key held by the sturdy woman on the other side of her desk. They look at it while mentally coming to the same unmistakable conclusion. There is only one key, and after a couple of seconds of deliberation they finally realize that there is no second key.
A shared thought inclines them to look into each other's eyes, as if they can clearly read the idea that wanders confusedly inside each other's minds.
"Uhm..." it comes out of Kasumi's throat after avoiding Satoru's face. "I'm sorry, it's just one room?" she asks in the hope that the woman has, for some reason, forgotten the other key.
Satoru looks at her, smiling, with a pleading expression on her face. He can practically read on her forehead "please, I need another room". And while Kasumi Miwa's pale face begs for this person to release her from the presence of the most powerful shaman in the solar system, he waits silently as a witness to a tragedy.
"Just one? Well... yes, that's what you asked for when you called two hours ago."
"There must be a mistake," she replies, leaning over the desk. The sorrow on her face becomes more evident, her small hands clutching the oak under her hands, and she continues in a barely quivering tone. I'm sure our assistant asked for two rooms.
"No," she replies crisply, looking down at a large hardcover notebook and dragging her chubby index finger over each name written down. After finding Kasumi's, she nods. "You asked for only one room."
"In that case," Satoru interrupts before Kasumi goes into cardiorespiratory arrest, "do you have another spare room you can give us?"
"I'm sorry, I already have all the rooms occupied. You should have asked for it in advance."
Satoru turns his gaze to Kasumi, who looks like she might be pondering whether to spend the night in the car.
"How about an extra mattress?" Satoru adds.
"We can do that," she replies and puts the key back on the table. But it'll cost extra."
"No problem," Satoru replies, smiles and takes the key. "Or we can share the bed," he says to Kasumi.
His cheekiness not only embarrasses Kasumi but also the owner of the inn, but she is professional enough not to say a word. With an embarrassed face, she takes advantage of the moment to leave, but not before informing them that she'll soon bring the mattress they've requested to their room.
Kasumi looks magenta from head to toe, so embarrassed that she can't seem to open her mouth to answer his indecent question. She turns around and begins a pitiful walk towards the room they will have to share, but ends up stopping in front of the room where Tatsuo sleeps. She rests a hand on the door and hunched over turns her face slightly to Satoru's face.
"There's no need for us to share the room! It wouldn't be fair since you were staying here before us! It would make the most sense for me to stay here with Tetsuo!"
Before Satoru can respond, Tetsuo himself interrupts, but not in words. A loud snore pierces the wall so loudly that Kasumi is perplexed.
"You won't be able to sleep a wink all night. Listen to that... it sounds like an elephant convulsing."
"No... it's not as bad as it sounds."
The snoring doesn't seem to stop, each convulsive breath echoing louder.
"What is it Kasumi? Are you afraid to spend the night with me?"
"I'm not afraid! Why would I be? Don't be silly!"
There's no end to nervous laughter when it comes to Kasumi. Gojo grabs her by the shoulder and forces her to keep walking down the hallway beside him.
"I could be more chivalrous and let you have the room, but I don't feel any desire to listen to that horror orchestra all night either. C'mon, it won't be so bad, besides, it's only a few hours before dawn. Who knows, maybe we'll have a good time. Have you ever been to a sleepover?"
She denies.
Despite holding her lightly by one shoulder Satoru can feel all the muscles in Kasumi's back contracting. She walks out of sheer obligation to a destination neither of them knows for sure.
When they reach the room he opens the door and they both stand silently staring at the single bed. Too small for both of them. Satoru throws his bag on the floor.
His companion walks a few steps inside like someone walking on quicksand.
"I'll take a shower," he tells her.
"All right, I'll get my bag..."
Satoru waits to hear the door close and takes off his glasses to leave them next to the bed, then takes a couple of things from his travel bag and goes into the bathroom. As the water runs he hears the door open and then close again. He smiles to himself as tonight has ended up being more interesting than the movies he planned to watch that night. He silently thanks Utahime for her tireless insistence and after bathing he steps out of the shower.
His chest drips down to his waist, he just drapes a towel around his waist and finds Kasumi sitting on a small mattress on the floor with her cell phone in her hands.
"Aren't you going to wear pajamas?" He asks her, looking for his among his things.
"H-how was the shower?" she asks, looking away.
"It's fine," he replies and carries his clothes into the bathroom, leaving a trail of wet feet behind him.
Kasumi's energy increases, his six eyes let him know it. Which can only mean one thing, she is feeling a sea of emotions, somewhere between fear, shame and anger. None of them good.
Maybe he should calm down and leave her alone, stop playing with her like a new toy, testing her resistance until she breaks. But then he feels the energy ebbing, consciously repressed by Kasumi. This could be considered good training for a beginner.
On the way out, he decides not to be so brazen. So far she has given no indication of being attracted to him beyond her teenage crush many years ago. Satoru comes out of the bathroom toweling off his hair, wearing a light T-shirt and pants. He sits on the bed and watches her get up with a very full bag in her hands to occupy the bathroom.
He waits, checks his messages and smiles at some of the posts on his favorite pages. After a few minutes he hears the shower faucet turn off and shortly after a hair dryer. He yawns, gets up to turn off the light and leaves a small lamp on the nightstand. As he is about to get into bed, Kasumi comes out.
He would have expected something more appropriate for her age, but Kasumi comes out of the bathroom wearing a pale blue nightgown with some detailing on the collar and sleeves. She looks embarrassed, holding up one arm as if trying to hide from him, but Satoru isn't sure if it's the nightgown or her whole body she's trying to hide.
"Good night!" she says hurriedly and sits down on the floor to get under the covers.
"Don't you want to sleep here?" he asks and she turns pale. In this bed, not with me," he adds and smiles lasciviously at her.
"No, how could I? Your room was reserved before mine, I have to sleep on the floor."
"C'mon, it's not a question. Come, sleep here and I'll sleep on the floor," he demands and stands up.
Kasumi doesn't get up and her blue eyes watch as the sensei sits down in front of her.
"I command you, as your superior."
She looks into his eyes, then nods.
"Yes!"
As if he had cast a spell on her, Kasumi stands up and then sits down on the bed. Satoru looks at her legs slyly before she covered them with the blankets. He finds it interesting to find himself a little disappointed. He had really gotten excited about the idea of sharing a room with Kasumi. But, having been rejected a couple of times he doesn't feel too eager to see himself as a loser.
With his spirits down he crawls into the covers of his makeshift bed only to realize that it is not made for someone his size. He lifts his head to see his feet sticking out of the bed and then drops back to stare at the ceiling of the room.
"I'm sorry, we can still trade," Kasumi whispers to him, who has watched the whole process of Satoru getting into bed.
"What kind of gentleman would I be if I dragged you out of bed in the middle of the night?"
"I think it's already clear that you're not a gentleman," says Kasumi in an outpouring of sincerity that she seems slightly regretful about as she meets Satoru's uncertain eyes. "I mean... you've done nothing all night but be rude. And... the truth is, I don't mind sleeping on the floor."
He smiles.
"You're too kind, Utahime would have forced me to sleep with Tetsuo... or in the car."
"I couldn't."
"I know, that's why I like you. But it's okay if you don't like me, after all I'm a very rude and rude man."
"I didn't say that! I only said that... tonight you've been rude."
"You didn't say you didn't like me, you know?" he reminds her while wearing his most lascivious smile.
"Well, I do think you're... a very nice person, despite your lack of chivalry!"
"That's something," he answers enthusiastically, sitting up on the bed. "Do you like me?"
"Uhm... well, yes, a little."
"How much?"
"What?"
"How much do you like me? I mean, do you like me as much as a stray dog?"
"I couldn't compare you with a dog..."
"So, do you like me as much as Tetsuo?"
"N-No, I don't think it's the same."
"Did your heart race when I got out of the shower?"
Kasumi's lips open, but she can't get a single word out.
"Do you like my face in particular? Do you find me attractive?"
"I think... maybe."
"Maybe, maybe you're imagining what might happen if I get a little closer to you?"
"Maybe..."
"I appreciate your sincerity, Kasumi. But before we continue this conversation I would like to tell you one thing, I don't recommend you to develop feelings for me. I'm not the type of man who has romantic relationships, I'm more the type who calls or invites you to watch a movie."
"I... I wasn't thinking about any of that..."
"I don't have much free time and I don't like ties but if you wanted to, we could have a good time. Would you like to have fun with me?"
"What do you mean?"
Satoru sighs.
"This is very hard to say politely..."
Suddenly deciding to get up, Satoru stands up and shamelessly walks over to the bed and grabs the blanket before Kasumi's dumbfounded eyes. She moves away from him until her back touches the wall. Her hands become fists that tightly guard her chest. Satoru crawls under the bed and his cold feet touch Kasumi's warm ones, but she turns into a nervous wreck again.
He rests his head on his left hand and stares at her, his peach-colored lips quirk into a soft smile and a small hoarse laugh dies above his throat. He sees her in the dim amber light and waits a moment for her to calm down when she notices he hasn't laid a finger on her.
"You're like a dazzled rabbit on the road," he says sarcastically.
"What... what are you doing?"
"I promise you that whatever happens tonight won't leave this room. What do you say? Tetsuo is completely asleep, tomorrow he'll be so embarrassed he won't be able to ask how our night was. We have a few hours until sunrise, no strings attached... Let me take off that ugly nightgown... And tomorrow it'll just be Gojo sensei and Kasumi-san. What do you say?"
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I know I left it at the best part but I think this fic will only have 4 chapters so I wanted to save the best for last. I hope you liked it!
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