“Thank you for indulging me today,” Kokoro’s mom said when we got back home. “I was happy to see how close you are to each other.”
“Oh... No problem,” I replied.
Running into Kokoro’s friends had been a complete accident, but it had worked in our favor in the end. Her mother’s doubts about our relationship had all been swept away.
“By the way, Mom, you’re fine sleeping on the couch, right?” Kokoro asked.
“C-Couch?!” her mother replied, shocked. “I was looking forward to finally being able to sleep on a proper bed. I’m still so tired from the plane trip.”
“That’s your fault for showing up out of the blue, though.”
My parents used to have futons in their bedroom, but they’d taken those with them to India. That only left Kisaki’s bed—the one that Kokoro was currently using—and mine. Since we didn’t have any extra beds, Kokoro’s mom would have to sleep on the couch in the living room.
“Okay then, Kokoro, I’ll use your bed. This once, I will allow you to sleep together with Ichigaya in his room, since you have an adult in the house supervising you. Aren’t you lucky? Just behave yourselves, all right?”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
“WHAT?!” Neither could Kokoro.
“After behaving yourselves all this time, I’m sure you’ll be good, especially since I’m in the house with you. So I’ll allow the two of you to sleep in the same bed just this once. I’ll even forgive a kiss or two, since it’s a special occasion!”
“Wh-What?! You can’t just decide something like that!” Kokoro cried.
I’d been stunned into silence, but I was thinking the exact same thing. Her mom had phrased it like she was doing us a favor, but I suspected she just wanted to steal the bed, even if she had to make her daughter sleep in a guy’s bed to get what she wanted.
Nishina sleeping in my bed? N-No way that’s okay. No way she’s going to be okay with it either.
“Looking at the two of you... I’m sure of your feelings for Ichigaya now, and I know that things are going well between you. You’re just... still a bit awkward with each other, you know? You act more like friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. That could be because you so diligently followed what your father and I told you, but this is a rare chance to enjoy your love! Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret from your dad!” Mrs. Nishina winked, then gave Kokoro a devious look. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to sleep together?”
“N-No, it’s not that!” Kokoro quickly replied.
“It’s decided then!”
Arguing any further would have made her mother suspicious. Kokoro knew this, and her only choice was to sleep in my room.
“I-I’ll sleep on the rug,” I suggested once her mother went to take a bath. We each had our respective sweethearts, so actually sleeping in the same bed was out of the question. “That way, you can use the bed. Unless you have any problem with sleeping in the same bed I’ve been using...”
“A-Absolutely not!” she replied. “I’ve already caused you so much trouble; I can’t let you sleep on the floor.”
“As I’ve already said, the responsibility for all this is also mine.”
“Forget about it! I’ll sleep on the rug, and you’ll sleep in your bed as usual! Just pretend I’m not there, okay?”
“N-Nishina...”
She sounded like she had already made up her mind, so we ended up doing as she’d said.
A few hours later, I was lying right there, phone in hand, when I heard someone knock on the door.
“C-Come in,” I said, already expecting it to be Kokoro. Even though I’d been trying to distract myself with my phone, I was terribly nervous.
Kokoro, who had finished taking a bath and changed into her pajamas, walked in.
She’s going to sleep here... with me. I’m sorry, Minami... I thought, so tense my whole body was shaking.
“S-Sorry. I guess you had to wait for me before you could go to sleep,” she said.
“N-Not really,” I replied, taking a better look at her clothes. She was wearing a baggy T-shirt and a pair of hotpants. I had been praying that, for once, she would choose to sleep in something less revealing, but, it being summer, my prayers had gone unanswered.
“Here,” I said, handing her a blanket, then a cushion to use as a pillow, knowing full well that it wasn’t going to make sleeping on the floor much better.
She lay down on her side, facing away from me. Since my room was so small, she felt uncomfortably close.
C-Calm down, Kagetora! You already have a girlfriend! What are you getting so worked up about?! ...I-I can’t help it! There’s gonna be a girl sleeping in my room! No high school boy could keep his cool with a girl sleeping in his room! Even if... he doesn’t like her or anything. I wonder if I’ll be able to sleep at all tonight...
“S-So, I’m turning the light off,” I said, trying and failing to hold my nerve.
“Okay...”
I flicked the switch and the room instantly went dark, making me even more nervous. I turned away from Kokoro and tried to forget about the situation, when suddenly, her shaky voice cut through the silence.
“I’m... so sorry. Sorry to you, sorry to Minami...”
While I was busy fighting my impure thoughts, she was troubled by all this...
“Y-You don’t need to apologize.”
“B-But...”
“We’re in the same boat, aren’t we? Y-You also have a boyfriend after all. That Yuya guy...” I still didn’t know whether they were boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but I thought saying it like that would be a good way to make sure. Somehow, this felt like my last chance to ask about her and Yuya.
“W-We aren’t dating yet though.”
“But you said you’re gonna go on a date. Where are you going?”
“That café that’s doing a Lemon Slayer collab, and after that, to karaoke...”
K-Karaoke?! They’re going to be shut in a small, soundproof room on their first date?! M-Maybe I shouldn’t think about it. She likes him, and he looks like a nice guy... It’s none of my business anyway.
“O-Oh... Good luck then...”
“Good luck to you too... Try not to get dumped by Minami.”
“H-Haha... right.”
Kokoro and I had been forced to spend pretty much the whole day together because her mom had visited us unexpectedly. Had it not been for her, Kokoro would have already left, and we would have parted ways forever without even a last chance to talk about these things. I was grateful for the opportunity, even though I knew I shouldn’t be.
Suddenly, we heard heavy footsteps approaching the room.
Mrs. Nishina?!
Before we could comprehend the situation, Kokoro’s mother had already knocked on the door.
“Kokoro?! Are you still awake?” she shouted. Something was obviously wrong, but I had no idea what could have happened this late at night.
“M-Mom?!”
“I’m coming in!” she said, then immediately entered without even waiting for a reply.
“Mom, what are y—”
“Kokoro, what is this?!” she said, holding something to her daughter’s face.
I was at a loss for words. Even though the room was still dark, the light coming in from the hallway was enough for me to make out two things: the rage on Mrs. Nishina’s face and the doujinshi in her hand. The two boys featured on the cover were from HypMic, the franchise that Kokoro loved so much. More importantly, they were buck naked, and there was a huge “18+” logo drawn next to them.
“Th-That’s... Wh-Why do you...?!” Kokoro leapt up, scrambling to come up with an excuse.
Didn’t you hide all of your otaku stuff?! Of all the things that you could forget, did it have to be that?!
“I felt something hard under the pillow, so I checked and found this. Judging from your reaction, it’s safe to assume this belongs to you.”
“I, er...”
Why?! I get that you’d want to read that before going to sleep, but put it away properly! Or at least pretend like you don’t know! We could have told her it was my sister’s if you hadn’t reacted like that!
“Kokoro, you... like this kind of book? Is this the kind of thing you enjoy in life?”
Kokoro started shaking with fear.
“Were you hiding this... hobby of yours all along?”
“W-Well, I...”
I had already heard that Kokoro’s mother didn’t take kindly to otaku stuff, and the terrifying look on her face definitely proved that.
“Did you read things like this back at home too?! I would never have thought my own daughter...”
After spending a whole day with her, the impression I’d gotten of Mrs. Nishina was that of a kind and loving mother. She definitely worried about romance far too much, but she didn’t seem very strict or anything. And yet, one single piece of otaku literature had been enough to change her into another person.
Why does she hate otaku stuff so much? She should at least try to understand her daughter’s hobby!
Frustration took over me, and I clenched my fists. Kokoro was staring at the floor, saying nothing. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I could tell how scared she was.
“I-I’m sorry to barge in,” I said, jumping out of my bed. “But being an otaku is nothing to be ashamed of!”
I couldn’t just stand there without saying anything while Kokoro was being scolded for a hobby I shared with her. If Mrs. Nishina loved her daughter, she ought to also try to understand the things she loved.
“I-Ichigaya...” Mrs. Nishina was staring at me, surprised.
“O-Otaku culture is an important aspect of Japan’s uniqueness! We should be proud of it! Please, don’t assume it’s bad without learning about it!”
“My word...”
“Y-You may be prejudiced against it, but nowadays, being an otaku is a very normal thing! I’m one too, as are a lot of people in our school! Your daughter had to hide this part of herself just because she didn’t want you to hate her for it! Please, try to understand! There’s nothing as devastating as when people who are important to you hate the things you love...”