＊
The next day, after classes, Asahi and Chiaki went to a run-of-the-mill family restaurant. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except that Asahi was unusually dispirited.
“But yeah, man—you should’ve seen Hina, she was so shocked,” Chiaki said, rambling on about something.
“Was she now...” Asahi replied without really listening.
He was zoned out. He’d stare off blankly into the distance, then collapse on the table and bury his face between his arms from time to time. He was so absentminded today that it perplexed his friend.
“Excuse me? Is there a Doctor on this fligh—”
“Dude, what’re you even doing?” Asahi interrupted him.
“Oh nice, you’re back from the dead. I saw you black out, so I thought you were sick or something.”
“I’m just tired. I haven’t been getting much sleep. Nothing to go crazy about.”
“That’s been happening a lot these days, huh? Where’s that healthy boy gone?”
Asahi yawned in response.
“Damn. Whatever it is, seems serious.”
Chiaki was somewhat jarred, but Asahi simply didn’t have the willpower to come up with a retort. He recalled yesterday’s events.
Fuyuka’s phone had received a text. The sender’s name was familiar—Kaori Tachibana. The message read:
I shall be reassuming my duties as your humble maid come next week, Lady Fuyuka.
Fuyuka’s face as she read was tinged with surprise and melancholy.
I don’t understand why she’d be unhappy. I mean, having a caretaker would be a huge help when it comes to cooking and just general life.
By the time she’d received the text, it had gotten very late in the evening yesterday by that point so they parted ways just after she received the message. Asahi was left with mixed emotions swirling within him. Kaori’s return was definitely a good thing for Fuyuka, but also meant that she probably didn’t need to come over and eat anymore.
I get that the arrangement we have now can’t go on forever. I just can’t get over the fact we’re gonna cut it off so suddenly...
“I think I got it, Asahi—you’re so hung up about next week, you can’t sleep!” Chiaki stated, pointing his finger at the other boy.
Next week is when her maid is coming back, and God knows I’m not excited for it. Suppose Chiaki wouldn’t know anything about it, though. “Not exactly...”
“Huh. Thought you were getting all worked up for the 14th.”
“Why? What’s happening on the 14th?” Asahi asked.
“You gotta be kidding, man.”
Chiaki opened the calendar on his phone and thrust the screen at his friend’s face. It showed a mark around the 14th—which happened to be about a week away. Bold red letters around the date declared: Valentine’s Day.
Oh, yeah... now that I think about it, I have been seeing Valentine’s decorations around town, Asahi recalled. “Almost forgot this holiday was a thing.”
“There he goes again, busting out the cliché ‘Not interested,’” Chiaki joked.
“What?”
“It’s that one famous JRPG protagonist’s favorite phrase. You know the one, right?”
“Yeah, I’m aware of that,” Asahi retorted. What he truly wanted to know was what his friend had meant by his joke. There was little hope of him clarifying it now, though.
“Remember what you did last year? You just went home like the whole thing never existed,” Chiaki said with a strained smile.
Asahi, who had always been indifferent to romance, was naturally disinclined toward Valentine’s Day. There was a high chance that wouldn’t be the case this year, however.
“You hoping to receive some chocolate from Himuro this year?” Chiaki, who had basically just read Asahi’s mind, inquired with a grin.
“I might be.”
“Yeah, figured that muc—wait. Hold the phone and cancel my meetings! Am I hearing this right?!” Chiaki cried, his eyes flying wide open.
“It’s not that big a deal. Fuyuka’s interested in making some. That’s all.”
“Do go on, my friend. Please elaborate.”
“There’s not much else to say. I’m the one who’s teaching her how to cook, so I am curious myself, but... Why are you smirking at me like that?”
“Smirking like what?” Chiaki joked, feigning innocence. “Damn man, you’ve changed a lot.”
“How so?”
“Pretty clear to me that you’re a lot more jittery these days,” Chiaki noted with a laugh. “I think it’s a change for the better.”
“In regards to what, exactly?”
“You know, just in general and stuff.”
I can’t tell if I’m any different myself.
At least the change his friend had noticed was a positive one.
“I hope you end up getting some chocolate from Himuro, man,” Chiaki teased playfully.
Asahi gulped down his juice without replying.
✦ ✦ ✦
＊
After leaving the family restaurant, Asahi boarded the train and began to make his way home.
He opted to stop by the nearest supermarket so he could purchase the ingredients for dinner. Asahi curated a menu in his head as he walked until he noticed a familiar face. He thought he was mistaken at first, but the dainty blue ribbon—which contrasted strongly against the inky black hair it had been tied to—dispelled all doubt.
“Yo,” he called from behind.
“Wha...? O-Oh, it’s you Asahi.”
Fuyuka turned to face him, surprised. She was visibly flustered.
“What d’you have there?” Asahi asked.
“N-Nothing at all,” she said.
Asahi had seen her conceal something behind her as soon as she realized he’d called out to her. He tried to steal a peek, leaning his head toward her. Unfortunately, Fuyuka reacted in turn, keeping whatever she was clinging to protected from view.
“I guess I’m not allowed to see?”
“No... Sorry.”
“Okay, I’ll just look the other way for now,” he said.
Can’t say I’m not interested, but hey... if she doesn’t want me to take a look, I’m not gonna push the issue and upset her.
Asahi turned away for a while until he heard, “It’s okay to look now.”
Asahi wheeled around and noticed that both of her hands were now empty. Fuyuka had placed whatever she’d been carrying back on the shelf.
Dunno what there is to hide from me in the sweets section, of all places. Maybe she just wanted to get a snack or something. I don’t get it—probably a girl thing.
“Are you here to buy ingredients for dinner?” Fuyuka—who had quickly returned to her normal demeanor—asked.
Asahi nodded. Since they were both already at the supermarket, they elected to do their shopping together.
“What would you like for today’s dinner?” he asked.
“I’ll leave it up to you to choose, if that’s all right.”
“Yeah, but, like... you always say that. Wouldn’t hurt to request something specific.”
“It’s difficult to decide when you put it that way,” she said, before coming to a stop as they passed the fish section. “The sashimi is being sold for cheap.”
“Oh wow, it really is. How about we make some hand-rolled sushi?”
“That sounds great. Wouldn’t it be more expensive than usual, though?”
“That’s true, but there’s no harm in splurging from time to time, right?”
“If you say so,” she said, grabbing the sashimi pack which had the discount sticker adhered to it. She placed it inside the shopping basket Asahi held. “There’s no going back now.”
“No need to be so dramatic, Fuyuka.”
They gathered other ingredients, such as cucumber and dried gourd strips, and enjoyed pleasant conversation. They discussed what went best with the hand-rolled sushi, ruling out other fillings that they deemed too pricey.
Asahi was still tormented by mixed feelings. Their entire relationship was built on the pretext of him teaching her how to cook—a role a literal maid was more than capable of fulfilling. The issue weighed heavily on him, and his feet became heavier with each step. Still, he couldn’t afford to let Fuyuka get a whiff of the egoistic sentiment brewing inside.
“Do we have enough eggs in the fridge?” Fuyuka asked.
“We made soup yesterday, so we don’t have many left over.”
“I’ll go get some more, then,” she said, darting off to procure a carton.
Asahi allowed a single sigh to leak out after he watched her walk away.