Chapter 5

By the time the sun had set, Ryuichi had returned to his apartment.
He wouldn’t call it dilapidated, but it was an apartment with some serious age to it. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this was the place where he felt most at ease. However, a slightly different sight than usual unfolded before him today.

“So this is the apartment where Shishido-kun lives.”
“………”

At the sight of Shizuna staring intently up at the apartment, Ryuichi let out a massive sigh.
In the end, Shizuna had tagged along with him after all this time. She refused to let go of his tightly gripped hand, and while he could have forcibly shaken her off, he didn’t want to resort to anything too rough. And so, half against his will, Shizuna’s visit had been decided.

(…Man, I had no idea she had this much initiative.)

It was a daily scene that never got depicted in the manga; he could never have predicted that she would end up visiting his room before the original plot even kicked off. Even if they had started talking a bit lately, she showed such a total lack of wariness about coming over to a single guy’s apartment that it was almost enough to make him worried.

“Seriously, I’m walking you back, so just go home.”
“We’ve already come this far, so no way.”
“You really…”
“…Um… is it really that bad?”

Ryuichi let out yet another massive sigh.
Well, it wasn’t all that uncommon for a female visitor to drop by his room like this. After all, starting with Chisa, plenty of women had been here before.

Shizuna was just one more addition to that list, Ryuichi told himself to brush it off.

“Sorry, the place is a bit of a mess.”

With those words, Ryuichi opened the door.
Right as it made a clicking sound, the sight that spread out before them was a mountain of garbage bags. A mountain might have been a bit of an overstatement for a literal garbage house, but it was at least a shocking view to any normal girl like Shizuna.

“This is… filthy.”
“I told you so, didn’t I?”
“You can’t just call this a bit messy!?”

Ryuichi scratched his head, thinking this was still a massive upgrade compared to how it used to look. They stepped into the room together, and the very first order of business was naturally cleaning up the trash.

“Put that over there, and that goes there.”
“Got it.”
“As for this… let’s throw it out.”
“Understood.”

Acting almost like a loyal servant obeying Shizuna’s commands, Ryuichi straightforwardly and efficiently carried out her instructions. There was not a shred of flirtatiousness in the air; the two of them simply devoted their time strictly to cleaning. And by the end of it, the inside of the room had become sparkling clean—almost unrecognizable.

“Whoa, is this a luxury condo or something?”
“Your room before was just way too filthy.”

Seeing a deeply impressed Ryuichi, Shizuna let out a sigh of her own this time. She looked away from Ryuichi and unpacked the ingredients she had bought. Originally, Shizuna was supposed to be doing her own grocery shopping, but it looked like she intended to use them for Ryuichi instead.

“Is this really okay?”
“Yes. I told my mom I’d be cooking at a friend’s house on short notice.”
“Is… is that really fine?”
“It’s fine. Now then, time to get dinner ready.”

Seeing someone other than Ryuichi standing in the freshly cleaned kitchen felt surreal.
He almost caught himself staring intently at her, but Ryuichi felt a slight sense of awkwardness simply from having nothing to do.

“Man, hey Rindo. Do you need any help?”
“Shishido-kun can’t cook, right? Just sit down.”
“Yes ma’am.”

Though Ryuichi possessed a physique vastly sturdier than the average person his age, he was practically helpless when it came to cooking. Told by Shizuna to sit tight, he drooped his shoulders and slumped down into a seat just as she instructed.

“Fun-fun-fun~♪”

Humming a little tune, Shizuna busied herself with cooking while Ryuichi stared fixedly at her back. Their eyes met a few times, but Shizuna would just flash a bright smile and continue with her cooking. Before long, a homemade meal—something that felt genuinely nostalgic to Ryuichi—was spread out right before him.

“Whoa!”
“There you go, it’s just a simple meal, but dig in.”

Since whipping up a bunch of side dishes would have taken too long, Shizuna had made nikujaga.¹ The mouth-watering aroma of the meat and potatoes wafting through the air instantly made Ryuichi’s stomach rumble. Accompanied by a bowl of white rice and miso soup, it was safe to say it looked like a tremendously luxurious feast.

“Let’s eat.”

Joining his hands together properly, he immediately reached out with his chopsticks toward the nikujaga. The moment he grabbed a potato and slowly popped it into his mouth, the gentle sweetness of the vegetable spread across his tongue, causing Ryuichi’s eyes to light up as he rapidly shoveled more into his mouth.

“If you eat that fast, you’re going to choke, you know?”
“I’m fine… Ugk!?”
“See? I told you so.”

Looking thoroughly exasperated, Shizuna handed him a glass of water, and Ryuichi quickly gulped it down. While rubbing Ryuichi’s back as he panted heavily for breath, Shizuna still looked somewhat exasperated, though her expression quickly softened into a chuckle.

“Was it really that good?”
“It’s insanely good. I feel like it’s been forever since I ate something this delicious.”

It was genuinely delicious—that much was crystal clear just by looking at Ryuichi’s expression.
Shizuna started eating with him, and the nikujaga, white rice, and miso soup were gone in no time. While Ryuichi had devoured the vast majority of the nikujaga, Shizuna kept a smile on her face the whole time, likely happy that he had eaten it with such relish.

“That was seriously amazing… Heh, whoever marries you in the future is gonna be a lucky guy, Rindo.”
“What on earth are you suddenly saying…?”

Seeing Shizuna’s flushed face, a wave of mischief apparently took hold of Ryuichi; he reached out, grabbed Shizuna by the arm, and pulled her body closer.

“Eek!?”

He pulled Shizuna right into a tight embrace with his thick arms. The whole reason Ryuichi had brought a girl back to his room in the first place used to be purely for physical intimacy. However, he hadn’t done this to Shizuna with that kind of intent—it was meant purely as a tease.

“Should I claim you next? Hey, if you came all the way to a guy’s place knowing my reputation, you can’t really complain if I end up devouring you, right?”
“Ah… ah…♪”

Ryuichi blinked in surprise, realizing her reaction was different from what he expected.
Or rather, he suddenly recalled the memory of holding a woman who reacted in a very similar way somewhere in the past. Even when he tried to think about it, he couldn’t quite place it, so he let go of her.

“Hey Rindo, I’ve had relationships with a lot of different girls.”
“So… it really is true, huh.”
“Yeah. There’s only one I’m seeing right now, but… well, that’s just the kind of guy I am.”

He kept his tone gentle, almost as if he were trying to talk some sense into her.

“That nikujaga was seriously amazing. But don’t just wander carelessly into a single guy’s apartment like that. It’s a good thing I’m the one here… though even saying that feels weird. Still, there are plenty of guys out there who’d want a girl as pretty as you. The second you show an opening, you’re gonna get eaten alive, got it?”

Shizuna gave a start, her whole body trembling slightly.
Seeing that reaction, Ryuichi gave a wry smile, figuring that got the point across, and pulled out his wallet.

“Consider this payback for the ingredients. Don’t tell me you won’t accept it, alright? Even a guy like me would feel guilty about that.”
“Fufu, understood. I’ll take it, then.”

No matter the context, settling financial debts while they were still fresh in mind was always for the best. Even if she had just cooked dinner for him, letting a female classmate spend her own money on him was something Ryuichi simply couldn’t stomach.

“Still, I’m genuinely surprised. Who knew Rindo was such a massive bundle of initiative? Normally, a girl wouldn’t pull something like this.”
“I suppose so… But, I just couldn’t leave you alone. Of course, it might have been an absolute nuisance from Shishido-kun’s perspective, but… ugh, I’m sorry. At the end of the day, it was just my own selfishness.”
“Plus, you’re way too nice. Keep that up and you’re bound to get scammed blind eventually, you know?”
“I-It’s not like I’m that clueless!”

Her expressions shifted constantly, radiating a blend of beauty and approachable charm that truly showcased the dignity of a heroine. After chatting a bit longer, Ryuichi decided to walk Shizuna back close to her home.

“You really didn’t have to.”
“I told you not to make me repeat myself. Come on, let’s go.”

Ryuichi stepped out of the room first. Shizuna scrambled out after him in a hurry, but quickly matched his stride, walking right beside him at the exact same pace.

“Hey, Shishido-kun.”
“You’re not planning on coming back over, are you?”

Preempting her words, Shizuna puffed out her cheeks in a pout. She must have been about to ask if she could visit again. While Ryuichi wouldn’t mind another round of that nikujaga and all the other dishes she could make… he still firmly believed that drawing a line was necessary. That was why he wanted to drill it into her head that they should forget about today and go back to how things normally were.

“You forced yourself on me back there, you know.”
“Hey, what kind of ridiculous nonsense are you spewing?”
“I’m not saying anything that isn’t true.”
“………”

To be fair, she wasn’t wrong. Though he had gotten carried away in the moment, there was no denying that Shizuna had been pulled into his strong embrace. Shizuna’s reaction had been a little suspicious, but it had certainly put her in an embarrassing spot.

“I wonder what would happen if I told people about this at school?”
“You’re remarkably ruthless, aren’t you?”
“Fufu. So… I can come visit again, right?”
“If word gets out and you end up at the center of some weird rumor, don’t come crying to me.”
“Understood♪”
“Does this girl actually understand anything at all…?”

Now it was Ryuichi’s turn to direct an exasperated look at Shizuna.
Illuminated by the moonlight, Shizuna’s smile was breathtakingly beautiful, and Ryuichi found himself captivated by it, if only for a brief moment. I see, he thought to himself in secret; anyone would want to claim a girl like her for themselves.

“Hey, Rindo.”
“What?”
“See you… later.”
“!… Yes!”