Same Bed!?

"Hiryu-kun, can you bring me the groceries? I'll start cooking now."

I propped myself up with much difficulty and brought the groceries to Saki. It seemed that Ichinose was also feeling tired. Her eyes were half-closed as she lay on one of the softest mattresses known to man.

"You cooking or napping? I remember you promised Saki to help her out."

"I know," she unenergetically said. "But it's so hard to get up..."

"I'll pull you up. Give me your hand."

Ichinose grumbled and rolled around the bed like a kid refusing to go to school in the morning. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh seeing this spectacle.

Seeing Ichinose relax like an angel with her silky blonde hair messily spread out, she probably hadn't slept on a soft mattress for a long time. I didn't want to ruin her experience, so I left her alone. In the meantime, I needed to help Saki with the preparatory work.

"Your 'garçon de cuisine' is here."

"Huh? What language are you speaking? What's that supposed to mean?" Saki let out a barrage of questions.

"You don't know? It means 'kitchen boy' but in a fancier way... Don't ever call me that."

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, fully expecting Saki to do the exact opposite of what I said.

"Hehe. Kitchen boy! Chop up some cabbage into thin slices."

I knew it. What did I expect? Did she get enough beatings today? Clearly not.

"Ow!"

I flicked her in the forehead with considerable force.

"That hurts! No more katsudon for you," Saki whimpered.

"Not my fault. You didn't listen."

"Hmph, I'll never forgive you," she grumbled.

I ignored her and kept slicing up this giant cabbage. Our katsudon was simple. Thin slice cabbage, eggs, pork, rice, and katsu sauce to drizzle over them.

After chopping the cabbage, I beat the eggs in one bowl and poured the panko into another bowl for Saki to prepare the pork.

"Hiyori-san, can you microwave these instant rice bowls for us?"

"Sure thing, Saki-san."

The one who proposed this dinner party was sleeping soundly, which was ironic. I didn't blame her, though. It was tiring today, so if anyone could rest, I was happy for them.

One last thing to make was the katsu sauce. We could only make do with four ingredients since we didn't want to spend too much. I followed Saki's instructions carefully down to a tee.

Ketchup... Perfect.

Worcestershire sauce... Got it.

Oyster sauce... Right on.

Lastly, sugar... Done.

The sauce was completed after I mixed them all up. The measurements should be enough for four servings, at least I hoped so.

"Smells good as usual. How much longer?" I asked.

"Since you guys helped with the prep, it should take around 25 more minutes. It would've been faster if we got two pans, but this will do."

"Alright. We're counting on you."

"You should realize what a lucky guy you are to have me, and there you were, flicking me in the forehead. Jerk," Saki avenged herself by flicking my forehead, but it didn't hurt. It was so gentle that it couldn't be counted as a flick.

I smiled at her before making my way to the bed. Azuma was there to accompany her with the cooking, so this was my chance to take a 25-minute nap.

"Oh. Forgot about her."

Ichinose was still sleeping all this time, and she had taken most of the space. I wanted to sleep on the bed but didn't want to wake her up and tell her to get out. That would be too evil.

I searched the closet to see if there were any pillows inside. Most house services would have spare pillows and blankets if I weren't mistaken.

"Bingo. Well, sleeping on the floor doesn't sound too bad."

The floor was all mine to take. It was somewhat cold when I first lay down, but the clothes and blanket soon started warmly enwrapping me. I quickly fell asleep despite the hardwood floor being harsh on my back.

"Hinode-kun..."

I heard a faint voice calling me out of my sleep. Upon opening my eyes, I saw Ichinose crouching before me, watching me sleep as if it was normal to do so. I jolted slightly but calmed down immediately.

"I'm sorry that I took your bed. You could've just woken me up and taken it back," Ichinose said sorrowfully.

"You were having a good nap, so I didn't want to disrupt it. I understand that feeling better than most."

"I appreciate that. Sleep is precious to me since it's the only time I can experience true peace."

"We're on the same wavelengths then," I smiled. "Is it dinner time already?"

"I believe not. They haven't called us out to eat yet."

"I see. If that's the case, you should return to bed. More of this precious sleep wouldn't hurt, especially after a long day."

I didn't know how long I slept, but it was some deep sleep for sure. If I could fall asleep that quickly every time, my life would be so much better.

"No, no. Seeing you sleep on the floor in your own room makes me feel guilty somehow. I'll sleep here in place of you. You should reclaim what's yours."

I couldn't let a girl sleep on the floor because that would be evil of me. Ichinose was my guest, so at least I needed to treat her nicely with a warm bed.

"No, I insist. I've made myself comfortable here already. There's no need to worry about me."

"I couldn't let you do that. Hmm..." Ichinose suddenly was in deep thought. "Since this bed is for two, why don't we share it?"

'What on earth is going on? Is this normal?'

I had no clue what to think about what Ichinose just said. The idea of a high school girl and boy sleeping together sounded wrong, but her innocent voice proved otherwise. To me, it seemed that Ichinose tried to solve the bed situation in the most efficient way she could think of. Was she that clueless?

"I don't think we should do that. Saki and Azuma would get the wrong idea if they saw us sharing the same bed."

"Really? Isn't it normal to share a bed with a friend?" Ichinose tilted her hand in confusion.

I hated to admit it, but was Ichinose more of an airhead than Saki? As many times as I thought about it, I couldn't bring myself to believe it. There must've been something more to this than meets the eye.

"Have you shared a bed with a boy before?" I needed to see where this lack of common sense came from.

"None that I remember, no."

"Then the idea you came up with isn't exactly normal, am I right?"

"But you're different! I don't know how to say it, but my intuition is never wrong. You're a friend."