Right... this is getting suspicious.
That's three girls now.
Nao.
Reina.
And Arisa.
All of them, at different times, have called me a "rascal."
What is this? Some secret code? A cult?
Are they all secretly into teasing broke dudes with anxiety?
Either way, my job was clear:
Clean the damn apartment.
Which, by the way, was an absolute warzone.
We're talking makeup scattered across the dining table. Magazines piled like Tetris blocks, bras hanging off the ceiling fan, and lingerie casually chilling on the couch like it pays rent.
"Goddammit, Nao… 'bathroom upstairs, somewhere' so helpful,"
I muttered, holding a mysterious red bra like I was defusing a bomb.
As I stood in the middle of the chaos, unsure if I was cleaning or being cursed, a voice called out from above.
"Heeey, Souta~" Arisa's voice floated down like silk. It wasn't loud… but damn was it dangerous.
I looked up. There she was, leaning over the balcony in a loose nightgown that said "Don't look"… while meaning "Do."
"What'cha lookin' for? And ooooh~" Her smirk widened. "Didn't expect you to be so bold, holding my bra like that."
I blinked. Looked down.
Yep. Still holding it.
"I-I-I swear I thought it was laundry! I didn't know it was yours!" I panicked, tossing it like it burned me.
She laughed softly and descended the stairs, grace in every step. Those "grown-up" pajamas weren't helping my focus either.
"Relax," she said, picking it back up and placing it neatly into my hand. "It's sweaty. I forgot to wash it. Do your job… Mr. Maid."
Was this... was this harassment?
And why did I kinda like it?
"Y-Yes ma'am," I said, praying Yuki wasn't lurking with a death scythe behind a door.
Eventually, I found the laundry room hidden next to the kitchen. Who hides a washer like it's a treasure chest?
Bra washed. Job done. First victory secured.
I glanced back at Arisa, expecting praise.
Instead...
"AAAHHHHHH!"
Her scream exploded through the apartment like a horror movie. I shot up, already bracing for Yuki's warpath.
But it was just Arisa slamming a textbook against the glass table.
"STUPID! DUMB! STUPID MATH!"
I crept closer. "Uhh… you okay?"
Tears welled in her eyes as she shoved a worksheet toward me.
"Eight squared… divided by two. This-this demon problem! It's ruining my life!"
I stared at it.
"…It's 32."
She blinked. "Wait. What?! How?"
"Well," I said, trying not to look at the way her shoulder pressed against mine, "8 squared is 64. Divide by 2 equals 32."
Her eyes lit up like I just told her she won the lottery.
"You're amazing, Souta!" she said, face close to mine, smiling as if I had just solved world peace.
"Um. Chest. Close. Brain melting," I thought. Freezing in place.
Just then.
"WRONG!"
A voice from above. Sharp. Stern.
Yuki.
Her tone could shatter windows.
"8 squared is 72! Don't give him credit!"
Arisa raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Google disagrees."
We both looked up at her. Yuki hesitated, pulled out her phone, and after a moment.
"W-Well… I was just… testing you! I know basic math. I'm not dumb."
We replied in unison:
"Riiight."
Yuki flushed red, turned, and stormed downstairs.
SLAM.
Bathroom door.
"…Well, that was interesting," Arisa said, finally exhaling.
"Yeah," I nodded, "you could say that."
After about twenty minutes, Arisa was brutally losing to math like it owed her money. My brain needed a breather.
That's when.
"Souta!!! Can you cook!?"
The door slammed open like a storm warning as Nao bounced down the stairs, eyes shining like I was a Michelin-star chef.
I looked up from the couch, dead inside.
"Can't you just make cup ramen like a normal person?" I wanted to ask.
But her face? Way too cute.
I stood, puffing my chest like I was transforming into Gordon Ramsay with anime hair.
"YESS! DON'T YOU WORRY! I SHALL MAKE… OMELETTE RICE!!"
"OHHH YESSS!!" Nao jumped, fists in the air.
"Souta's the beeeeest!"
Arisa chuckled from the couch. Stretching slowly.
My eyes moved entirely by accident toward her midriff. Gravity was working overtime on that yawn.
"Guess it's break time," she said casually, catching my wandering eyes with a knowing smirk.
I fake coughed and darted to the kitchen.
"WELL THEN. TO THE FRIDGE!"
Nao followed me like a loyal puppy. "Um… you might wanna-"
I opened it.
Empty.
One slice of bread.
A half-full bottle of orange juice.
A suspiciously expired matcha drink.
A lonely can of energy drink.
And... a sock?
"What the actual-"
"Ehehehe… sorry Souta~," Nao scratched her cheek.
"Why did I expect anything else?"
I shut the fridge with the dramatic flair of a man who knew defeat well.
"Well, guess we're going shopping."
Nao was bouncing like a toddler on caffeine. Well, well.
"Let's gooooooo get ingredients! Grocery time!"
Just as I grabbed my hoodie, A new voice chimed in from the couch.
"I'll come too."
I turned.
Arisa was already sliding on her coat, her smirk in full play mode.
"Can't trust you not to come back with nothing but instant ramen and canned coffee."
I raised a brow.
"You're doubting the culinary instincts of a man with a sister who can't cook herself?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
I sighed. "Fine, but you're carrying the heavier bags."
As we walked out, I felt a weird prickly sensation.
Like I was being watched.
Meanwhile…
Back in the apartment, behind a poorly shut door, two pairs of eyes glowed with suspicion.
"Operation Grocery Spy… commence!" Nao whispered, sliding on sunglasses she didn't need indoors or during the night.
Reina looked mildly concerned.
"...This feels illegal."
"Not if we're cute about it."
They peeked through the door just as Arisa and I
Turned the corner.
Nao squinted.
"...They're walking pretty close."
Reina said nothing, but her fingers curled slightly into her sleeves.
*
Our walk was supposed to be short.
But when the girl was walking beside you, is wearing too-grown-for-her own-good pyjamas under an open coat… it suddenly feels like a damn odyssey.
We strolled under the soft orange glow of the streetlights. The store was ahead, its signage glowing like a mirage of salvation.
Then she broke the silence.
"So, Souta," Arisa said, her gaze tilting toward the sky, then back to me.
"Why did you take this job?"
I scratched the back of my head. "Honestly? The money."
She narrowed her eyes and smirked.
"Let me guess. To buy magazines?"
My eyes widened. "W-What?! No! I mean-
She burst into laughter.
"You're such a perv, seriously. I meant gaming or manga ones, but now I'm suspicious."
My soul left my body.
-
Behind us, in the shadows…
"Reina," Nao whispered as she crouched low behind a mailbox, "Do you think this counts as a mini date?"
Reina crouched beside her, eyes narrowed like a sniper on a mission.
"Arisa doesn't go on dates easily. She's watching him, testing him."
"Ohhh, so she's the calculating type~" Nao whispered with a grin.
Reina didn't respond, but her Eyes didn't leave the two walking ahead.
Back in the land of groceries…
We turned a corner, and Arisa stepped on a loose stone in the sidewalk. Her slipper slipped and-
"W-Whoa-!"
She tripped forward, and I reacted on pure reflex.
She landed on me.
Correction: on my arm.
Double correction: on my hand.
On her chest.
Soft. Warm. Two sensations that shouldn't be in my palm at this moment.
I froze like a statue caught mid-sin.
"U-uhhh-"
Arisa looked up, face an inch away. From mine, strands of her hair brushing my cheek.
Then she blinked. Then smirked.
"Well, well, Souta," she said sweetly, "If you wanted to hold something, you could've just asked."
I leapt backward like she was on fire.
"SORRY! I SWEAR! I DIDN'T-I MEAN-YOU SLIPPED-AND I-"
Her laughter could've melted glaciers.
"You're kinda cute when you panic."
We finally reached the store, which, after the whole holding double D's incident, felt longer than it should have.
Inside, Arisa made a beeline for the milk section.
"I'll grab milk!"
I frowned. "You have milk."
"Ohhh… right. Oops. Hehehe."
She giggled.
I muttered, "I can't imagine you being responsible…"
We grabbed eggs, oil, and seasoning. Everything was going smoothly until…
"Oh no."
I turned. "Don't say it."
"I forgot my wallet."
"YOU WHAT?!"
I reached for my wallet instinctively, only to remember I left it on the table with my precious taxi yen.
"Fu—"
And then… I saw it.
A glint of blonde hair. A flash of a familiar hairpin peeking from the aisle end.
"Nao…" I muttered, storming toward the corner.
I turned it and found the.:
Nao squatting behind a display of matcha drinks, Reina standing calmly beside her like a mannequin caught mid-theft.
"Uh…"
"We were doing… a grocery report!" Nao blurted, holding up a packet of seaweed like it was evidence in court.
Reina gave a slight bow. "We thought you might… need backup."
Arisa peeked around the aisle, arms crossed.
"Well, well, stalkers. I thought I smelled curiosity."
Reina muttered to herself.
"She knew."
Nao panicked. "Wait, you mean you forgot your wallet. purpose?!"
Arisa just winked.