«Being in a relationship is rotting your brain, Aoshi!» Takuma grumbles. «Three hours of gaplay and you still haven’t unlocked a single bonus scene! What happened to the careful, strategic Aoshi who always picked the best routes to unlock the lewdest scenes? I’m seriously disappointed in you...»
«Don’t you ever stop to think that maybe you’re the one with the problem, not him? Seriously — what kind of sane human being would find a ga like this fun?» Ayane scolds, her voice sharp as a blade.
«Hey, there’s nothing weird about this ga! You’re a gar too, and I don’t judge you for the kind of stuff you play!» Takuma shoots back.
«There’s a big difference between playing FPS shooters like I do and playing...» Ayane snatches the ga case from Takuma’s hands, scanning the cover with disgust. «’My Little Sisters Don’t Want to Start Middle School as Virgins, So They Asked to...’ Ugh, God, I feel sick just reading the title!»
«Co on, calm down. There’s no need to fight over sothing like this,» Aoshi cuts in, trying to defuse the tension. «Anyway, thanks for coming over to keep company today. But now I’d like to rest a bit — it might not seem like it, but lying in bed all day is more exhausting than you’d think. Besides, I’m starting to get a bit of a headache.»
«Yeah, I can imagine that playing trash like that would tire your brain out pretty fast,» Ayane retorts, crossing her arms.
Honestly, hearing the two of them bicker nonstop isn’t any less exhausting...
So, Ayane and Takuma gather their things, and after a quick goodbye, they leave the apartnt — finally giving Aoshi a mont of peace and silence.
Yet resting isn’t the real reason he asked them to leave. Nor is the headache.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Soone knocks on the door barely five minutes after Ayane and Takuma leave — yet Aoshi isn’t surprised. He doesn’t wonder if his friends forgot sothing, because he already knows exactly who it is. Miori Yukinaga.
This ti she’s wearing a modest floral dress, the skirt reaching just above her knees, with a neckline only faintly suggestive. In her hands, she’s holding a wicker basket that looks like sothing straight out of a picnic.
«Good evening, Aoshi,» she greets him with a bright, gentle smile. She steps into his apartnt as if it were her own, moving with such ease that for a mont Aoshi almost feels like she’s the one living there, not Eliss.
Then she walks toward him with slow, graceful steps, crouching beside his futon.
«How are you today, Miori? Everything alright?» Aoshi asks, his tone a mix of caution and disbelief — he still can’t quite believe she actually ca by yesterday to apologize, and that she’s back again today, bringing sothing that fills the entire room with a sweet, delicious scent.
«Y-Yes, Aoshi,» she murmurs shyly, her cheeks tinged with pink. «I don’t know why, but I’ve felt so happy since this morning. Maybe it’s because I knew I’d get to see you tonight?»
Miori suddenly freezes, bringing a hand to her mouth.«Oh, I’m sorry — you have a girlfriend now, I shouldn’t be saying things like that, but... they just kind of slip out, so please don’t mind ,» she murmurs softly.
She gently sets the picnic basket on Aoshi’s stomach.«I-I made these myself this afternoon, just for you. They say sweets are the best thing when you’re recovering, so, um... I hope you like them...»
Miori lifts the lid of the basket, and a wave of sweetness fills the air, wrapping around Aoshi completely.
Dango, dorayaki, and a slice of strawberry shortcake — each one looking irresistibly delicious. There’s also a small thermos of tea, two little cups, and a fork for the cake.
M-Miori... she really made all these with her own hands, just for ? But why...? When we were dating, she never did anything like this. I don’t get it...
Aoshi slowly sits up, resting his back against the nearby table to stay upright.
«T-Thank you so much, Miori — they really look delicious,» he murmurs with a faint smile. Then, with hesitant, almost cautious movents — like soone reaching toward sothing they’re not sure they should touch — he extends his hand toward a dorayaki.
I-I guess... accepting these sweets ans I’ve forgiven her for what she did, right? Or maybe even earlier than that — the mont I told her she could co over whenever Eliss isn’t around, that probably already counted... if not worse. I’m basically acting like one of those guys who invites his mistress over while his wife’s away. Real classy, Aoshi...
Still, it’s not like Eliss is really my girlfriend, just like Miori isn’t really my lover — so this can’t exactly be called cheating. It’s more like... secretly inviting a friend over. Just to avoid needlessly making a jealous succubus princess — who accidentally fell in love with but doesn’t truly love — feel insecure.Yeah, that sounds much better.
«It’s really delicious! I an it — I’ve never eaten a dorayaki this good in my life!» Aoshi mumbles between bites.
He talks with his mouth full too? Gross... Miori thinks, ntally wrinkling her nose while forcing herself not to show it. Of course they’re delicious — I had them made by the pastry chef who works at my house. It’d be absurd if they weren’t.
«Y-You’re not having any?» Aoshi asks, offering her the basket of sweets.
She shakes her head.
«I’d really love to share these sweets with you, believe — not to brag, but I think they actually turned out really well. Unfortunately, I can’t. I... I... damn it, I’m so embarrassed to say this...» she murmurs, lowering her gaze with a lancholy look. «Renji wants a girlfriend who turns heads wherever she goes. It just feeds his bloated ego. He’s forbidden from eating sweets, fried food, or fast food so I don’t gain weight and make him look bad. I think it’s been two years since I last had a dorayaki... Honestly, I don’t even rember what it tastes like anymore.»
«That’s not fair!» Aoshi bursts out, visibly angry, his left fist trembling with frustration. «It’s not fair that bastard keeps treating you like this! It’s not fair that you can’t live freely, constantly afraid that monster will hurt you! There has to be sothing we can do to get you out of this!»
Once again, Miori just shakes her head in silent resignation.
«I’m afraid not. I’ve tried everything, and there’s nothing I can do. Renji’s family is one of the most powerful in all of Tokyo, and my family’s business depends on them. In other words, I have no choice but to keep my head down and my mouth shut if I don’t want to cause serious trouble for my parents...»
Aoshi couldn’t possibly know that the only true part of Miori’s words was that Renji’s family lived in Tokyo. His father was a factory worker, and his mother ran a small ran stand — a humble family, nothing like the powerful business dynasty Miori had just described.
«...But enough about ,» Miori cuts in quickly. «I didn’t co here to depress you or make you angry with the story of my life. Let’s talk about sothing happier, shall we? Tell about you and Eliss — I’m dying to know! How did you two et and fall in love? And how are things between you now? You two really look like such a lovely couple — I an it! Go on, give all the details — I adore romantic stories!»
Then Miori pours so tea from the thermos into the small cups and hands one to Aoshi.
«Well, um...»
Aoshi hesitates for a mont, thoughtful.
I can’t exactly tell her the truth... but I can’t repeat that half-truth I told Ayane either. Actually, there’s no reason I can’t just deny that Eliss and I are together. After all, it’s Miori — and I don’t have feelings for her anymore... I think.Co on — Aoshi, for God’s sake! There’s no way I’m really worrying about sothing like, "If I tell Miori I’m happily dating Eliss, she might back off." Miori and I are over, no matter the reason she broke up with . And even if she clearly admitted she still has feelings for , I... no, that’s not sothing I can even consider — not for Eliss, who’ll be returning to her world in a few weeks, but for Ayane. She’d never forgive .
«...Eliss and I t the sa evening you — uh, when Renji forced you to break up with . You could call it love at first sight — no, more than that, a real lightning-strike kind of love. So sudden and so complete that she moved in with that very night, and ten days later, after our first kiss, we officially beca a couple. Since then, I really can’t complain about anything — she’s beautiful, kind, gentle, caring... I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to call her the perfect girlfriend.»
«I-I see... I’m really happy for you — I an it,» Miori murmurs, forcing a smile — a performance worthy of a movie star.A double-layered deception, where she pretends to be lancholic, yet at the sa ti pretends to hide that fake lancholy behind a smile.
The result is so convincing that it produces exactly the effect she hoped for on Aoshi.
«W-What’s wrong, Miori? You say you’re happy for , but it doesn’t look that way at all... Did sothing happen?»
Miori shakes her head for the third ti.
«No, no, it’s fine. Really. I’m just a little tired and worried — I haven’t heard from Renji since last night, and I’m afraid he might be planning sothing. Actually... I should probably head ho now,» she says, rising from her crouched position beside the futon.
«Good night, Aoshi. W-We’ll... we’ll see each other tomorrow... if you’d like, of course...» Miori says shyly from the doorway.
«O-Of course, it’s nice talking with you,» Aoshi replies just as timidly, a faint blush on his cheeks. «Good night, Miori.»
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