V10 Story II – Part 04

“Shirataki is so good. Yuina-san, would you like some more meat? Here you go.”

“I-I’ll have some, thank you. It’s so delicious!”

“Aya-san, you’re eating too much shirataki. Please cut back on the meat and eat more veggies. Odagiri-san, would you care for another serving of rice?”

“Thank you, Nanami-san.”

“Odagiri-san, can we add some mochi to the pot?”

“Let’s save the mochi until there are fewer ingredients.”

We sat around the hot pot. Aya handed meat to Yuina. Chicken and pork had already piled up on the plates.

Nervous, Yuina mechanically moved her chopsticks up and down. Her cheeks were puffed up like a hamster. Nanami left her seat to put rice into my bowl. I accepted it with gratitude.

A merry atmosphere pervaded the room. Aya was smiling, while Yusuke appeared fidgety.

“This is really nice,” Aya said. “Dinners with Nanami-san are delicious, but when it’s just the two of us… it doesn’t feel like hot pot, you know?”

“The two of you?” I wondered aloud. “What about Nanami-san’s grandmother?”

“Odagiri-san, I think that pork’s overcooked.”

“O-Oh, right. Sorry.”

“Odagiri-san, can we add mochi to it?!”

“I told you to wait a moment. Have some meat first.”

“Oh, pork. Thanks. Sesame sauce, sesame sauce.”

“Yuina-san, eat some more.”

“I-I will.”

“That’s too much, Aya. It’s falling. Careful!”

“Odagiri-san, how about some mochi now?”

“That’s all you’ve been saying!”

Despite all the ruckus, the hot pot dinner came to an end. I washed the dishes, then put them away. I folded the tiger-patterned apron that I borrowed from Aya.

After completing the cleanup, I returned to the living room. Aya had already laid out futons.

Upon closer inspection, there were five futons. Three were on the tatami, and the rest were placed on the upper and lower shelves of the closet.

“Aya, who are those for?” I asked.

“Hmm? Aren’t both of you staying overnight? Just stay! Go brush your teeth and take a bath at your place, then we meet up back here.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I don’t think Nanami-san would approve.”

“As long as you pay, I don’t mind,” Nanami said as she prepared for the bath. “You brought this person with you, Odagiri-san. You can’t just leave her with us alone.”

Yusuke and I exchanged glances. Yusuke scratched his head awkwardly.

After contemplating for a while, he muttered, “Sorry. I know what I said earlier, but now that I think about it, I sometimes scream in the middle of the night. My legs hurt, and such. So, yeah.”

I grabbed his head, seized the back of his neck, and began walking. Giving up, Yusuke let himself get dragged along.

“Um, Odagiri-san? Weren’t you listening? Hello?”

“Nanami-san and Aya aren’t the type to worry about that. Especially Nanami-san. She’ll probably wake you up and bring you back to reality. It’s better than sleeping alone. Let’s go.”

After a long silence, Yusuke said, “Okay. Thank you.”

Together we went to my unit, which I had recently prepared for unexpected overnight guests. After getting ready and passing some time, we returned to Nanami’s place.

Yuina was already settled on the futon in the middle, lying in a pose reminiscent of an Egyptian pharaoh. Her body was taut and rigid, revealing visible tension.

“Yuina-san, is everything all right? Can’t sleep?” I asked.

“Uh-huh, yeah. Um, I’m a bit nervous. Thank you for letting me stay over,” Yuina replied, tears welling up in her eyes.

I couldn’t blame her. This was not her house, after all.

Yusuke climbed the closet and proudly claimed the top shelf.

“Odagiri-san, you don’t mind me taking the top bunk, right? This is nice. I’m like Doraemon.” He opened and closed the sliding door with gusto. Then, his voice softened. “Hirugao would have loved this, too.”

Yusuke fell silent, his vacant eyes staring into space. Then he shook his head, flashing a bright smile.

“By the way, is this the third time I’ve been here?” he went on. “Well, the first time, I couldn’t get in. There was that big fuss with the dog, and I had to nail some boards. Good times.”

“A dog?” came a reaction from somewhere unexpected

Yuina looked up at us fearfully. Aya seated herself beside her and peered into her face.

“What is it, Yuina-san? Did you have a dog?”

“N-No, never. Not even once!” Yuina vehemently denied, shaking her head vigorously and hiding her face. “It’s just…” She chewed her lip, tears forming in her eyes. “When I was a child, I really wanted to have one. The only friend I had was Shiro-chan, a cute, pure-white Shiba inu in the neighborhood. But then…”

Yuina’s mouth gaped open and shut. She took a deep breath, her throat making a whistling sound. Finally, she dropped her shoulders.

“It’s nothing,” she concluded.

It didn’t look like nothing. I opened my mouth to ask, but was interrupted by footsteps that drummed on the floor like an earthquake.

Nanami appeared in her bear-patterned pajamas, her pigtails seemingly floating in the air.

“Who brought the sago palm into my house?!” she roared.

We shrank back. Come to think of it, we had not asked permission about the palm yet. Aya quickly retreated into the futon, the human-shaped bulge trembling. Bewildered, Yuina offered a meaningless apology. Chaos rapidly ensued.

Yusuke poked his head out from the closet. Wearing a determined expression, he raised his hand.

“I will take the fall,” he said. “It was me! Ugh!”

“I knew it! Bastard!”

Nanami hurled a pillow with all her might, hitting Yusuke squarely on the face. He tumbled out of the closet, flattened and motionless. Then, in the next moment, he sprang back up, grabbed the nearest pillow and pointed at Nanami.

“You merciless brat! You don’t attack someone who’s surrendering. Eat this!”

“Imagine getting worked up over an attack by a grade school girl. You roach!”

Pillows swiftly flew back and forth between them. The exchange intensified, the very air rending. I hastily rose, attempting to grab a pillow, but my hands met empty air.

“S-Stop it, both of you! I was the one who brought the sago palm in.”

My attempts to stop them fell on deaf ears. Aya, for some inexplicable reason, seemed thrilled. Her short ponytail swayed like a dog’s tail as she blushed.

“Pillow fight, pillow fight… This is definitely a pillow fight. I’ve always wanted to join one!”

“Stop, Aya! Why would you want to join a—guh!”

A pillow collided with my face. Dusty darkness enveloped me. As the pillow fell, I caught a glimpse of Aya’s genuinely happy smile. Then, I noticed Yuina’s puzzled expression.

“What are you doing, Aya?!” I shouted. “…No, wait.”

I changed my mind. Instead, I tossed a pillow to Yuina. Tracing an arc in the air, it landed in her slender arms. She looked at me quizzically.

“Hmm? Uh, Odagiri-san, what do I do with this?” she asked.

“Throw it at him with all your might.”

Apologizing in my mind, I pointed at Yusuke, who was still engaged in a fierce battle. Yuina hesitated with the pillow in her hand. She tried to tell me that she couldn’t do it. However, Aya clapped her hands. Still confused, Yuina threw the pillow, and it struck the side of Yusuke’s face.

“Wh-What was that for? Hmm? Hmm…”

Yusuke looked at the teary-faced Yuina, then shifted his gaze to me. Sensing my intention, he exhaled and cracked his neck. His lips curled up.

“Roger thaaaaaat!” he howled from the depths of his stomach, grabbing both pillows that Nanami threw, then hurled them at us.

One hit Yuina directly, and the other landed in my arms.

“Kyah!”

“Whoops.”

“What?! I want in, too!”

Aya grabbed a new pillow, and we retaliated. The pillow fight turned into a free-for-all.

Through collaboration and betrayal, the pillow fight eventually evolved into a territorial war. The fierce battle lasted several rounds, and in the end…

“Yusuke is dead.”

“I… I didn’t mean to kill him.”

Yusuke lay crushed in the center of the disheveled futon, four pillows stacked on his back. I couldn’t imagine how it came to this. Next to him, Nanami was pointing at the ceiling, striking a victory pose.

War is ruthless. The sight prompted contemplation on why humans engaged in such battles.

“And so, peace was achieved through noble sacrifices.”

“I’m not dead, Odagiri-san. I’m alive. O-Ouch,” Yusuke groaned.

He tried to sit up, but he crumpled back down. Yuina hurriedly rushed to support him.

“S-So you’re still alive, roach,” Nanami said with ragged breath. “I’m finishing you off for good.”

“Um, I think it’s about time we go to bed,” Aya cut in. “Yusuke-kun is at his limit, and look, Yuina-san seems sleepy, too. Right, Odagiri? I’m sure you agree.”

Surprisingly, Aya seemed to grasp the situation.

“Y-Yeah!” I hastily concurred. “We have to sleep soon, or it’ll affect our day tomorrow.”

Nanami, in full battle mode, reluctantly returned to her own futon. Yusuke crawled into the closet, his face displaying a relieved smile.

Yuina quickly slipped into her futon. Her face was brighter than before.

“How about it, Yuina-san? Do you think you can sleep now?” I asked.

“Y-Yes! I hadn’t been this loud in a while. I had so much fun.” Yuina closed her eyes, facing the ceiling in silence. Then, she slowly opened her eyes, smiling. “I think I can sleep well tonight,” she said softly.

I agreed. Aya stood up, her ponytail swaying, and went for the light switch.

“I’m turning off the lights. Goodnight, everyone. Sweet dreams.”

The lights went out, and the room was enveloped in darkness.

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