As promised, once school was over, Naoya took Koyuki to his place of work—a small used book store tucked away in a corner of the shopping district. It was a detached house sandwiched between a convenience store and an apartment building that had a sign out front which read, Akaneya Used Books.
The store would open faithfully on weekdays from 10:00AM–5:00PM. It boasted a single formidable bookshelf which adorned one of its walls. On it was a wide array of books—from western novels to technical manuals—packed tightly together. There was also a counter, and if one continued behind it, they would be met with a sizable Japanese-style room.
A husky voice that was all too familiar to Naoya’s ears came from the room. “Wow, she is way cuter than I was expecting, Sasahara! It’s so nice to meet you!”
“Y-You too,” Koyuki sputtered. She sat upright, her posture prim and proper, across from a person she didn’t recognize. Her face had an unusual expression on it as she stared at the stranger.
Naoya spoke casually. “So yeah, she’s going to be hanging out here today, if that’s okay?”
“Of course. This job is pretty relaxed. Plus, who wouldn’t be happy to have customers that look like her around?” his boss giggled. They were certainly attractive and well put together. With their thin cardigan, tidy, skinny trousers, and dark-indigo hair trailing over their shoulder in a loose ponytail, they were the picture-perfect representation of an “older sister.”
They sat across from Naoya and Koyuki and introduced themselves with a smile. “I’m Kirihiko Akaneya. Glad you could come today!”
“Th-Thank you,” Koyuki answered awkwardly.
Naoya popped a cookie in his mouth and shrugged his shoulders. “See? There's definitely nothing going on between me and Kirihiko, Shirogane.”
“Yep. I like girls, despite how I look,” Kirihiko added, completely nonplussed while they sipped on some tea.
Kirihiko had been born male. Although Naoya wasn’t entirely clear on what gender they identified as, they had always been a good person to him, and Naoya didn’t particularly care about much more than that.
“I’m not gonna go anywhere near him, Koyuki. Don’t you worry. I like keeping this place nice and clean, after all,” Kirihiko assured Koyuki.
“I-I wasn’t worried about anything. Don’t make such brash assumptions, please,” Koyuki grumbled, averting her eyes. “D-Do you really not like him?”
“Yeah,” they answered. “We’re distant relatives, and I’ve known him since he was in elementary school. He’s basically my little brother.”
Koyuki was visibly relieved by Kirihiko’s answer. Their lips grew into an impish grin before they said, “There’s nothing to worry about, Koyuki. I won’t steal your boyfriend.”
“B-Boyfriend?!” Koyuki instantly stiffened up, her tea cup rattling in her hands.
Kirihiko turned toward Naoya and continued, “So don’t hold out on me—just how did you manage to meet a total cutie like her?”
“Didn’t I tell you already? She was getting harassed by a guy out front, and I helped her out.”
“Ooh, what a nice setup!” they crooned. “It’s like something out of a romcom. So how long have you two been seeing each other? I’m gonna guess a month based on how naive you both look.”
“We’re not dating!” Koyuki all but screamed.
Kirihiko’s eyes widened, and they asked, “You’re not? You’re kidding, right?”
“Well, we’re not going out yet, to be honest,” Naoya replied.
“‘Yet,’ huh? I like it. It’s got a real youthful, innocent feel to it!” Kirihiko exclaimed with an approving smile.
Koyuki’s face quickly turned crimson, and she began to mumble to herself. Perhaps it was because she was in a stranger’s house, but her tongue didn’t seem to be quite as sharp today—instead, she chose to simply glare at Naoya from behind her cup. “Sasahara, aren’t you supposed to be at the counter? You know, working?” she pointed out.
“Nah, it’s fine. No one comes here anyway,” he replied casually.
“Exactly,” Kirihiko added. “Sometimes, Yui and Tatsumi visit, and we all hang out, drink tea, and play games... but that’s about it.”
Although Yui and Tatsumi weren’t employees at the store like Naoya was, they would come visit and spend the day once a month or so. Like Naoya, the couple had known Kirihiko for a long time, and so the book store was kind of like a clubroom to them.
As Koyuki listened to them, her eyes hardened. She turned to Naoya and asked, “Sasahara, can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“I think it’s important to work for a living, but from what I’ve just heard, it sounds like this is just a place for you and your friends to laze around and do nothing. As far as I’m concerned, you’re basically taking advantage of your poor boss’s kindness.”
“Whoa, I was not expecting that!” Naoya shouted. She did make a good point, however, so he scrambled to explain the situation to her. “Well, I guess you could say I’m kind of like a house maid?”
“What?” she replied, dumbfounded.
“Yeah. Kirihiko’s actually a writer, that’s their main job. But because of that, they don’t really have any life skills.”
“Too true. I can’t even cook—I just end up burning everything until it looks like a charred corpse,” Kirihiko casually added. And it wasn’t limited to just cooking either—they couldn’t even wash dishes or do laundry. Contrary to their polished, prim appearance, they were pretty much a slovenly mess. Looks could certainly be deceiving.
“So most of what I end up doing here is housework. Actually running the store comes second to that,” Naoya summarized.
“Oh... I’m sorry for getting the wrong idea again.”
“No worries. It’s really respectable that you would worry about something like that, to be honest,” Naoya replied with a smile. Admitting you were wrong was no easy feat, so he was pleased that Koyuki had been comfortable enough to express her honest feelings, then admit her error.
“Ah, come on guys—ease off each other a little. You’re making me miss my youth,” Kirihiko sighed morosely.
Koyuki, as if suddenly reminded of their presence, became bashful, “Y-You said you have another job. Are you sure I won’t get in the way of that?”
“I’m all good on that front. My deadline was yesterday,” Kirihiko replied, waving Koyuki’s concerns away with a flap of their hand.
Up until very recently, Kirihiko’s house had looked like a bombsite. Whenever Naoya had visited, he’d found the author glued to their computer, sweaty and unshaven. They must’ve gotten properly dressed because they heard I was bringing a girl over, Naoya mused to himself.
Kirihiko didn’t notice Naoya’s stare as they leaned over the table and took Koyuki’s hand. “So I’ve got all the time in the world today! We can gossip, gossip, and gossip some more, Koyuki!”
“I-I guess we can,” Koyuki nodded uncomfortably. She was a shy girl at the best of times, and Naoya could easily tell she’d never been around a person like Kirihiko before. Sensing that she was reaching her limit, he extended a figurative helping hand.
“You know, Kirihiko. I actually brought Shirogane here for a reason,” he informed them.
“Really? So you're not just here to show off your new girlfriend.”
“I’m not his girlfriend...” Koyuki protested.
“You’re not wrong, but...” Naoya trailed off as he rummaged through his bag in search of something. He finally found what he was looking for—the first volume of To the End of the World—and pulled it out. “Shirogane absolutely loved the first volume, and it seems she wants to read the second one now.”
Kirihiko didn’t reply—instead, their face hardened into a serious expression.
The sudden silence appeared to make Koyuki uncomfortable, as she quickly stuttered, “I-It’s fine, though. I can read it anyti—”
Kirihiko silently rose to their feet, interrupting Koyuki’s attempt to fill the silence in the room. They walked toward the door before suddenly turning back and giving the two not-lovebirds a thumbs up. “I’m gonna go out for a bit! Make sure you get some reading done, Koyuki. You’ll get the housework done, right, Naoya?”
“Will do. Stay safe,” Naoya said as he watched Kirihiko exit the store dramatically.
As soon as they had left, Koyuki began to panic. “Oh no! I didn’t mean to make them leave!”
“It’s fine, they need to get out of the house more anyway,” Naoya assured her as he smiled to himself—his plan to get Kirihiko to leave had worked. “If you leave them alone, they won’t go outside for a whole month. They probably wouldn’t even know what season it is after a while.”
“They’re a hermit, then...”
“Pretty much. I’m here to stop them from getting totally sucked into that lifestyle.”
“You’re kinda like a mom in your own way,” Koyuki pointed out. She pondered her observation for a moment before she realized what she had just been given the opportunity to do. As she grabbed her second volume of To The End of the World from her bag, she asked, “So I can start reading now? To be honest, I stopped at a really good part...”
“Sure. I’ll be out front. Just call me if you need me.”
“Got it. Thanks,” Koyuki nodded and opened the book. Contrary to how she normally was, she was being very open with her feelings and desires today.
I love it when she gets all embarrassed and stuff, but damn—her cuteness levels go up a stage when she’s just being herself, he admired. He turned to head toward the kitchen, a dumb smile plastered across his face. He was about to place his hand on the sliding door when he reached a profound realization and froze in place—Kirihiko lived alone and didn’t own any pets. Me and Shirogane are alone in this house...