Akane gulped. “Y-you’re going to kill her…?”
“I won’t do anything that extreme. I can probably bribe her with one steamed meat bun a day.”
“You think Shisei-san can be bribed with just one…?”
“Yeah, actually, that might be a tough sell.” Shisei’s stomach was bottomless. She might very well demand ten thousand steamed meat buns a day. Saito would go bankrupt just trying to keep up.
“I’ll clean up all your stuff from the living room so she doesn’t suspect we’re married. I’ll even meticulously deodorize the place so there’s no trace of your smell.” Akane steeled her expression.
Saito felt a little hurt. “Do I really stink up the place that much?”
“Ideally, I’d like you to go out while Himari’s over, but we don’t know when she’ll leave… If Himari ends up staying the night, that’d mean you’d have to sleep outside,” said Akane.
“I’m not going to do that. If it comes to that, I’ll stay at Shise’s place,” said Saito.
Akane gave him a reproachful glare. “Shisei-san’s place? Where you’ll be taking baths and sleeping together?”
“If Shise’s parents ask me to, I can’t really refuse them.”
Shisei’s parents were completely powerless against their beloved daughter’s requests. As long as he was relying on their hospitality, Saito would always be at a disadvantage in negotiations with Shisei.
“Then it’s a no-go! Sleeping in the same room with a little girl is a crime!”
“She’s in the same grade as us,” Saito countered.
Akane bristled with frustration, her voice sharp. “Even if she is, small is small! No overnight stays! You’ll just have to hide out in the study upstairs until Himari leaves!”
“Got it. The only snag would be if I have to use the bathroom if she stays long, but…this should work,” said Saito, picking up the empty plastic bottle of a drink he had just finished.
“Wait. What exactly are you planning to do with that?”
“Obviously, it’s in case of emergency…” Saito began to explain, but Akane covered her ears.
“I don’t want to hear it! Just give me a signal when you need to go to the bathroom. I’ll do my best to distract Himari.”
“I’m counting on you. The success of this mission rests entirely on you. If you fail…” said Saito.
“I won’t fail!” Akane’s expression was deadly serious. She seemed genuinely terrified of what Saito might do if things went sideways.
She snatched the plastic bottle from him and hurriedly threw it into the trash. “Himari said she’d be here around seven, so we still have some time. If we start cleaning up now…” Akane began.
But before she could finish her thought, the doorbell rang.
Saito and Akane froze, clinging to the faint hope that maybe, if they didn’t move, the impending doom would pass them by. But the doorbell rang again, cruel and insistent.
“Shouldn’t…someone go answer that?” said Saito.
“Y-you go!” Akane hissed.
“What if it’s Himari? That’d be a disaster!”
“R-right…” Trembling, Akane pressed the front door monitor’s talk button. The screen lit up with Himari’s beaming smile.
“I was too excited, so I got here early! Is that okay?”
“Copy…that,” Akane’s answer came out in a robot-like monotone before she hurriedly ended the call.
Silence fell over the living room. Saito and Akane looked at each other. They were dumbstruck, mouths agape. At that time, the brains of the number one and two ranked students in the grade had completely shut down in the face of this unexpected development.
Moments later, Akane bolted into action in a panicked fury. “H-have to erase all traces of Saito! I have to erase his entire existence!”
“Don’t go that far!” yelled Saito. He began frantically gathering the books he had left on the table. Akane, in her frenzy, ran straight into the wall on her way to the sink. Rebounding off of it, she stumbled back and tried to grab Saito’s cups and rice bowls from the cupboard, only to knock the whole shelf over with a crash-clatter-bang.
Letting Akane continue in this state of total panic was clearly dangerous. At this rate, she might destroy the entire house.
“I’ll handle the cleanup! You just deal with Himari!” Saito shouted.
“Copy that!” With that, Akane dashed toward the front door.
From the entryway, Saito could hear Akane and Himari talking. Meanwhile, Saito was grabbing everything that would seem out of place if this was Akane’s actual parental home—his clothes, his gaming console, his wallet, anything that screamed “Saito.” There was no time to make multiple trips upstairs, so he started tossing things one after another into the living room closet.
Himari’s voice came from the hallway. “What a beautiful house! It’s just been built, right?”
“Y-yeah,” Akane answered.
“Your mom and dad really worked hard, huh?”
“M-my grandparents…helped out with the money…”
Their voices were approaching.
Why did she take Himari in beyond the foyer? Saito was in shock. Had Akane thought he had finished cleaning already? Or had she simply been unable to hold Himari off at the door? To get to the study on the second floor, Saito would have to pass through the hallway—which would mean a head-on collision with Himari.
He could try escaping into the backyard, but if Himari had bolted the front door after letting Himari in, he’d be locked out for good. As he scrambled to think of an escape route, Akane and Himari’s footsteps were growing louder.
The living room door handle began to turn. In desperation, Saito hurled himself into the closet with all the incriminating items. He smashed into all the clutter as he landed, but there was no time to worry about self-preservation. Pulling the closet door shut from inside, he held his breath in the darkness. His only option now was to wait to make his escape when Himari left the living room. Through the narrow gap in the closet door, he could peep into the room.
Himari walked in and placed a white box on the table. “Here you go, the strawberry tarts from Philia! For once, there wasn’t a queue. That means I get to spend even more time with you, Akane! Today’s my lucky day!”
“Maybe it’s because of your consistently good behavior,” said Akane, her smile stiff. Akane’s expression, however, clearly showed to Saito how stuck and worried she was feeling. She busied herself in the kitchen—boiling water, making tea—but all her movements were oddly stiff and awkward. Even someone less perceptive than Himari would sense that something was off.
But when Akane took a bite of the gifted strawberry tart, her expression softened. “It’s just as good as ever!” Akane swooned.
Himari beamed. “Right?”
“The whipped cream is the best,” said Akane, smiling. “It’s rich and sweet but still fluffy, so it doesn’t overpower the strawberries. Plus they use really good strawberries. You can taste the love for the fresh produce,” Akane gushed.
“You’re always so particular about strawberries,” said Himari, eyes sparkling with amusement.
Akane lifted her chin with pride. “Of course. Strawberries are the foundation of all sweets—no, of all cuisine. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say every single one of our cells is made from strawberries!”
“Yup, I totally get it,” said Himari, nodding.
The living room was suddenly filled with an easy, cheerful mood. Saito, hidden in the closet, wanted to object to Akane’s remark. Well, I for one am definitely not made of strawberries.
Himari sipped her tea, gently set the cup on its saucer, and said, “I’ve been thinking…maybe it’s time for the next step.”
“You mean…him?” Akane asked, frowning slightly.
“Yeah. We’ve gotten pretty close, and I don’t think he dislikes me. I was wondering if I should try asking him out on a date,” said Himari shyly.
“W-well… I guess that’s not a bad idea.”
Out of nowhere, the conversation had turned into a full-on love talk. Apparently, neither Himari nor Akane had realized Saito was hiding in the closet. It made Saito feel guilty, like he was eavesdropping on something he absolutely shouldn’t be hearing.
Himari began fidgeting bashfully. “This kind of thing’s totally new to me, and I’m scared to ask him myself. So I was wondering, could you ask Saito-kun for me…if he would be interested in going out on a date with me on his next day off?”
Saito almost gasped out loud from his hiding spot in the closet. He hadn’t seen that coming at all. He’d never imagined Himari actually had a crush on him. Sure, she talked to him a lot, but he figured that was just due to her outgoing nature.
His body began to heat up. Maybe it was due to the confined space, or maybe it was due to the rush of emotions, but it was getting hard for him to breathe.
Akane’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can be the one to ask him for you,” she said softly.
“No, it’s totally fine! I’m the one who should apologize for asking such a weird favor! I’ll try to muster the courage and do it myself!”
“I’m really sorry…”
“Seriously, it’s okay! You’re fine, Akane. Jeez!” said Himari.
The two of them fell silent, gently holding their teacups. A faint, uncomfortable tension hung in the air.
Just as Saito tried to quiet his breathing in the closet, his ringtone started sounding from his pocket.
Crap! I forgot to set it to silent! He frantically pulled out his phone. On the screen was a text message from Shisei: Apparently, humans blink about seven million times a year.
The information couldn’t have been more irrelevant right now. As Saito hurriedly silenced the phone, a second text message from her came through: I want to study exactly how many times humans blink in a year, using you as my test subject.
Being monitored twenty-four seven for a year would be unbearable, even if it was by Shisei. With no time to reply, Saito shoved the phone back into his pocket.
“Wait, did you hear something? It sounded like it came from the closet,” said Himari, tilting her head.
“Huh? Really? Are you sure?” asked Akane.
“It totally sounded like a phone going off,” said Himari.
“I-it must’ve come from outside!” Akane insisted, now in full panic mode. “Yeah, for sure!” Her face had gone pale—she had clearly just realized that Saito was in the closet.
“I guess…” Himari murmured.
“Yeah, definitely!”