A Visit from a Friend

After the day-long cleanup, Amane felt like the wall between Mahiru and him had

become ever-so-slightly thinner, but that didn't necessarily mean they had become

much closer.

They still had absolutely zero contact at school; they would make small talk sometimes

when he went to get his portion of dinner from her, but that was all.

Just the other day, Mahiru had scolded Amane, telling him that he had to keep his

apartment tidy. Her words were definitely stern, but they also made it clear that she

actually did care about him, at least a bit.

Since Amane was receiving frequent reminders and tips on cleaning, his apartment

remained as nice as it had been when he and Mahiru had finished tidying up the place.

"Wow, it really is clean." That was the first thing Itsuki said when he came over on a

day off. He muttered in an astonished voice when he saw the drastic transformation

the living room had undergone.

"I never thought your place could look this good. It was so dirty. I remember I helped

you pick up stuff once before, but it was a wreck the very next day."

"Give it a rest," Amane shot back at his friend.

"No, but seriously, think about it. What's the longest number of days you've gone

without dropping something on your floor?"

"This is easily a new record. I've kept it going for two weeks."

"Two weeks?! That's it? That's nothing to be proud of, you know?"

Amane scowled a little. He was now keenly aware that normally, people did not leave

their things lying around on the floor. Still, he knew that Itsuki was only speaking from

a place of kindness and common sense, so Amane couldn't say much. After all, Itsuki

had helped him out, too, long before Mahiru ever had, so Amane knew he shouldn't

act like a jerk.

Itsuki smiled cheerfully at Amane's sullen silence. "Hey, I guess if your apartment's

this clean, I could even bring Chi over."

"No way; why should I have to watch you two flirting in my own home?"

"No need to be shy, buddy."

"Don't turn my place into your hangout!"

Why should I have to watch my friend and his girlfriend getting all lovey-dovey?

Amane wished Itsuki could understand his position and appreciate what kind of

torture it was like to have to watch a sickeningly sweet couple flirting all the time. He

knew that Itsuki was just joking about bringing Chi over, but even so, Amane didn't

find it very amusing that he constantly had front-row seats to their cloying relationship.

"Relax, it was just a joke. Anyway, now that you've finally got the place clean, don't go

messing it up again, you hear?"

"I've got it under control," Amane assured.

"Someone like you… Well, whatever. Just make sure you get in the habit of putting

things away after you take them out."

"Are you my mom…?"

"Now, Amane, dearie, you have to be diligent about cleaning your room!" Itsuki mocked.

"That's so creepy; you sound so much like my mom, it's scary!"

Amane felt a shiver rocket down his back when Itsuki scolded him in a forced falsetto.

He was sure Itsuki had never even met his mother, but still, the impression had hit a

nerve. Itsuki's impersonation of a lady wasn't particularly soothing, either. Amane

stuck out his tongue at him, and Itsuki cackled with amusement.

"Is that what your mom's like, Amane? Because mine is really cold toward me…"

"Actually, I'm jealous. My mom bugs me whenever she gets the chance."

"She sounds like a mom who really cares about her son."

"I think she's just overly attached…"

"No, I'm sure she has to look after you because you're such a slob."

"Oh, shut up. I mean it, you know, that my mom is too clingy."

Perhaps because Amane was an only child, his mother was always fussing over him.

She didn't exactly spoil him, but she did poke her nose around in his business and read

too much into things. Amane certainly didn't hate her, but she made him uncomfortable

at times.

His mother had given him all sorts of instructions when he'd left home to live on his

own and attend high school, and sometimes she would show up to check on him

without warning. The pop-ins could be pretty awful.

"Well, doesn't that just show how much she treasures you, Amane?"

"And her love is a heavy burden."

"Oh, I give up. You're the kind of guy who never appreciates what he's got till it's gone."

"You talk like you've got it all figured out, but don't you have your own problems

dealing with that kind of meddling?"

"Ha-ha! It's Chi, man; what else can I do?" Itsuki had all sorts of issues when it came

to his father and his girlfriend, so his lecture really didn't have much weight behind it.

Even so, Amane knew there was some truth to what his friend was saying, so he didn't

argue any further.

Itsuki sighed quietly, as if to tell Amane to let him worry about his own problems. His

expression remained cheerful and carefree, however. "I'll mess up anybody who

interferes with me and Chi!" Itsuki said, declaring something a little unsettling.

"Anyway, I'll figure out something for my dad situation, so it's all good. For the time

being, how 'bout you sort your life out, Amane?"

Itsuki laughed loudly, and Amane responded by making a sour face. "I know that; you

don't have to tell me." He smiled secretly to himself, however, thinking how he'd heard

that before from another person recently.

Itsuki had come to visit Amane's apartment in order to see how he was living. Well,

actually, he'd mostly come to hang out and mess around, so their discussion about the

state of the room quickly wrapped up, and before long, they were playing a video

game. Their initial intention had been to study for a test the next week, but that notion

had been quickly discarded.

"Careful with the health packs; we're gonna run out," Amane said.

"We'll think of something; it'll be fine," Itsuki answered.

"Not at this level it won't…"

As Amane pondered how best to deal with his less cautious co-op player, the sound of

the doorbell rang through the room and immediately gave rise to a different worry.

"Hmm? A visitor?"

Itsuki looked up, too, after pausing the game. He knew that Amane had never really

told anyone else where he lived, and that he didn't have any friends who might visit

him at home, besides Itsuki himself. More importantly, any regular visitor would have

been stopped at the lobby downstairs anyway, so a page should have come through

the intercom.

"I don't really know, but it must be a neighbor, right? Distributing a community notice

or something," Amane fibbed, knowing quite well who it likely was.

"Ah, gotcha," Itsuki answered.

"I'll just be a minute."

Amane did his best to dispel Itsuki's suspicions and hurried toward the front door,

struggling to hide the twitch in his face that might give him away. He was lucky that

Mahiru hadn't called out to him after ringing the buzzer.

He opened the door quickly, not bothering to check who it was, and slipped through

the small opening to get outside where he couldn't be seen. Amane made sure to close

the door behind himself.

Just as he'd suspected, it was Mahiru standing there, blinking in surprise at Amane,

who must have appeared to have been acting very unusual.

Immediately, he pressed an index finger to his lips and shushed Mahiru. "…Please

speak softly. Itsuki is here."

"Itsuki?" she asked.

"My friend. He came over to play games."

"Ah, okay."

Mahiru nodded in understanding of Amane's secretive behavior, then passed him a

food container as she did every day without bothering to question him any further.

Inside was a type of stew called oden, the perfect dish for the season now that the

weather had gotten cold. Mahiru had probably been preparing it since morning. Amane

accepted it with gratitude and let out a soft sigh as he looked at Mahiru. There was

really no reason she ought to be doing this every day.

"Look, I really appreciate what you do, but… I don't have a lot of time. Sorry," Amane

apologized.

"I wasn't waiting to be thanked or anything… I'm glad, you know, that we cleaned up

enough that you can invite friends over," Mahiru answered.

"I guess I should kneel down and thank you."

"No way; don't do that."

Mahiru looked at him with astonishment in her eyes. Perhaps she thought getting

Amane to do something like that would make her akin to a tyrant. Amane smiled wryly.

There had been a bit of earnestness in his statement, because he truly was indebted

to her. She'd done so much for him that he really ought to be on his knees. Amane

couldn't reconcile continuing to accept all the food for free, so he decided that he

wanted to discuss paying her for the meals at some later date.

"Well, if your friend is here, I suppose you can't talk for too long. Excuse me."

"…You're always helping me out. I'll make sure to keep this secret from Itsuki."

"Please do."

"I mean, even if I told him everything, he probably won't believe me."

"I suppose not."

Mahiru's honest confirmation raised some complex feelings for Amane, but he knew

she was right. If he was in Itsuki's shoes and someone told him that Mahiru Shiina had

been making meals for him daily, he definitely wouldn't believe them. Anyone would

dismiss such a claim as a fantasy.

That was how out of reach this angel was.

Normally, it would be impossible to imagine Mahiru treating even a handsome,

superior man to her home cooking, let alone a mediocre and slovenly guy like Amane.

Hell would sooner freeze over.

"…Can I ask you one thing?" Amane called.

"What is it?" Mahiru stopped before entering her apartment.

"What good does it do you to keep sharing your meals with me?"

Typically, people didn't give away food for free—they expected something in return.

Amane probably wouldn't have thought about doing the same for Mahiru if their

positions had been reversed. Even though he didn't believe for a moment that there

was even the slightest possibility that she had feelings for him, he couldn't help but

wonder.

At Amane's question, Mahiru gaze wandered upward as if she was giving it a bit of

thought herself, then, without any change to her expression, answered, "My own selfsatisfaction. There's nothing more to it. It's just as easy for me to cook for two people

as it is for one, and I guess I simply like treating people."

"So it's because you like to cook?"

"Well, there's that, too. I think it's also because I can give you food without you getting

any weird ideas, and you'll genuinely tell me that my cooking's tasty without any

ulterior motives. Plus, it's satisfying for me because I was concerned after seeing your

eating habits."

"…Is that how it is?" Amane pressed, just the slightest bit disappointed.

"That's how it is. So don't worry about it. Just think of it as… a sudden bout of good

fortune."

"Yes, ma'am."

Mahiru didn't seem like she was going to give him any more of an answer than that,

and after bowing courteously, she said "Pardon me" and returned to her own apartment.

"I guess that's how it goes," Amane mumbled to himself. "I still don't think it's right for

her to give it to me for free, though." He opened the door back into his own place.

"Who was it?" Itsuki asked.

"My neighbor. She gave me some of her dinner. I'm gonna put it in the fridge, so don't

restart the game without me," Amane replied.

"Ah, sorry, I already beat the boss."

"You gotta be kidding me."