I let out a soft moan as I stretch out my back, arcing it backwards before pushing myself up and off Hisao’s chest. Sitting astride his stomach, I yawn loudly and blink a few times. I look down at my sleeping boyfriend through a post-nap haze. Guess we both needed that…
“Time to wake up, Hisao.” I mutter drowsily, nudging his chest gently. I rub my fingers together when I feel a warm dampness. I prod at his shirt again and find the moist spot where my mouth used to be. Oh god, I drooled on Hisao… I wipe away the embarrassing spot as best I can but he’s going to notice it when he wakes up.
“Get
up, Hisao.” I say, nudging him a little harder. He opens his eyes a little to squint at me, frowning because I disturbed him.
“I would if you weren’t on top of me.” He clamps his eyes shut for a second before sitting up with a groan. He wraps his arms around my waist while mine drape over his shoulders. He inhales deeply and exhales with a contented sigh, looking me square in the eye.
“I
really needed that.” He says softly.
“Yeah, I think we
both did.” I smile back at the handsome boy before pecking his lips. I think we were both more exhausted than we were willing to admit but a couple hours of napping can do wonders, especially with someone you care about.
“Really needed
what?” A stern voice comes from behind us, causing both of us to flinch. I peer over my right shoulder as Hisao leans to look past me, both of us probably thinking the same thing.
Why did it have to be her?
-----------
Mrs Nakai was mid-rant when Mr Nakai entered the room. I can only imagine what it looked like from his perspective; two sheepish-looking teenagers sitting bolt upright on the edge of a couch while his wife chewed them out. Not the best way to start the day I can imagine.
“…And I want you to promise me that while you are under my roof; there will be no more of this… This…” She pulled one arm out of her folded arms and gestured at the two of us. “
This.”
We both raise our right hands with solemn faces and, in unison, promise to do so. If my other hand wasn’t on my lap, I’d have my fingers crossed. She eyes us suspiciously for a second before going to greet her husband. Hisao and I give each other relieved smiles before resting back, thankful to have escaped with a mild telling-off.
“Napping on the couch, eh? Clearly I need to fetch the hose.” Mr Nakai dryly commented to us, after making sure his wife was out of ear shot.
“We weren’t doing any-” Hisao moves to explain but his dad raises a hand while simultaneously taking a seat in the armchair.
“I trust you, Hisao. And you too, Rika. Just be mindful of where you fall asleep in future.” He folds one leg over the other with a warm smile. “So what have you two been up to? Other than scaring my wife into thinking she might become a grandmother soon.”
Hisao shoots me a look as his dad laughs boisterously. I give him the nod of approval. Unlike his mom, Hisao’s dad is pretty chill.
“We, uh, actually met up with Shin and Iwanako.” Hisao begins and instantly catches his dad’s attention. With an intrigued look on his face, Mr Nakai leans forward.
“Oh, really? Are you alright?” He asks in a hushed voice, like a co-conspirator.
“I’m fine, Dad. It was actually great to see them both again.” Hisao rubs the back of his neck. “After everything that’s happened… It was something that I needed to do.”
“You were really brave.” I compliment Hisao, taking his free hand in mine.
“That’s because I knew you had my back.” He returns the compliment with a squeeze of my hand. Hisao continues to tell his dad about the events of the day, skipping some details but giving a good impression of his feelings. I chime in at some points when prompted by Hisao, not that I’m offering anything profound.
“It sounds to me like you both handled yourselves in a very mature fashion.” Mr Nakai nodded like a wise sage. “I’m proud of you, Hisao.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Hisao smiled broadly while looking down with an embarrassed look. Awwww!
“Here.” Mr Nakai slid to the edge of the armchair and reached into his back pocket, producing his wallet before proffering a few bills. “Treat yourselves to dinner or order in; I think you’ve earned it.”
-----------
In the early evening, we decide to put Mr Nakai’s offer to good use and take a slow walk, hand-in-hand, to a mini-mart to grab some food and goodies. Our steady pace gives us the freedom to chat and I decide to tell him about the oddest occurrence of the day.
“You’re kidding me!” Hisao’s mouth hangs wide open as I shrug in an exaggerated way.
“I swear to god! I had to pinch myself to stop from laughing.”
“Wow…” Hisao shakes his head in disbelief. “I mean; I didn’t know
exactly what Albinism was before I met you but I at least knew it wasn’t a nationality.”
“Well, it’s a good thing she’s pretty.” I serve up the back-handed compliment as we reach the local Aura Mart. Iwanako is nice and all but man, that was duuuumb. We make a bee-line for the ready-made meals and, unlike the small store near Yamaku, this store has a healthy selection of mostly Japanese dishes with a few western style meals sprinkled in.
“Oooooh, they’ve got menchikatsu!” I point it out to Hisao, gives me a disparaging look.
“Aren’t you always giving me grief about eating fried food?” He comments, to which I defiantly stick my tongue out at him.
“Do as I say not do as I do! Besides; it’s deep-fried hamburger, senpai, I’m not made of stone!”
“Grab some then. And get some croquettes too.” He offers up the basket and I get equal amounts of both. This is going to be a very unhealthy evening, especially as we both agree we need a dessert. Or two. And some soda.
Once we return to the Nakai household, we gorge on our feast in front of the TV, watching some B-list celebrities embarrass themselves in front of an audience. As we sit there, a strange thought occurs to me. My eyes drift from the TV to my legs; curled up around me on the couch to the plastic container in my hands with the most delicious blueberry swirl cheesecake I have ever tasted and finally to Hisao.
He’s mid-chew of his slice of cheesecake when he notices me staring. He smiles at me, his cheeks all pudgy. I can’t help but burst into laughter at his cuteness while he swallows.
“What? Is there something on my face?” He chuckles a little.
“No, no…” I shake my head, lovingly gazing at my boyfriend again. “It’s just… I just had a thought is all.”
“Oh?” Hisao turns his body to face me better and I do the same.
“I just thought how nice this all was. Dinner, TV, us — like a real couple.”
“And we
weren’t a real couple before now?” He asks incredulously but I scramble to explain.
“No, I meant like all this feels like we’re living together.” My whole face burns with my embarrassing revelation. “Like we’re a couple that lives together. Oh god, that sounds
stupid out loud…”
“It’s not stupid! It’s cute! I like that idea too. Do you think we’ll live in a house like this one day?” He asks.
“I, uh, don’t really think about that kind of stuff…” I mumble, turning back towards the TV. Please don’t ask, please don’t ask, plea—
“You don’t think about the future?” Crapbaskets…
“Not really, no.” I answer but when I look at him, I can tell he wants more than that. I breath a heavy sigh and turn back to him. “I tend… not to think about the future; I prefer to think of myself as more of a here-and-now kinda girl.” That’s what I try to act like anyway.
“Fair enough.” He responds after swallowing another forkful of dessert. “Any particular reason?”
“Well, that’s because…” Oh, you know, I might not even
see the future. Because there’s a greater than even chance that I could die tomorrow. Though I can’t exactly tell
you that can I, Hisao? We’re so similar and if I told you that, it might set back any progress you’ve made with accepting your condition. Why did I open my big mouth?
Though I should be honest with him, right? I’m his sounding board for any concerns he has so I should be able to do the same. That’s what ’real couples’ actually do, isn’t it? The big question is…
“It’s because of your heart, right?” Hisao offers to my complete surprise. Iwanako was right about Hisao usually being clueless but with this… I nod meekly and he places his free hand on my leg with big, brown, sympathetic eyes.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I understand…” And now I pretty much have to, don’t I? It’s a good thing you’re cute, Hisao, or I’d be way more annoyed by your particularly coy brand of passive coaxing.
Here goes everything, I guess…
“I don’t like thinking about the future. Or the future as a concept, really. It all just seems so
compulsory. I mean, why do I have to plan for it when there’s no guarantee that I will even be there for it?” I put my container on the coffee table to free up my hands. I speak better when I can use my hands.
“All I hear at school is what people plan to do after high school and what colleges they want to go to or what jobs they want to get and I’m just sitting there like; why can’t I just live in the now?” I let my thoughts flow freely before letting out a disappointed huff. “
Why isn’t that good enough?”
Hisao places his container next to mine and grabs my by the shoulder, pulling me into his arms. With my face smooshed against his chest, I can hear his heart beat strongly as he holds me tightly against him.
“
Thank god… I thought I was the only one.” He whispers, squeezing my shoulders. “Ever since I came to Yamaku, I’ve been stressed about how I was going to make it through the
next day, let alone the next year and beyond! How could I be thinking about what damn university I’m going to apply for? I had a heart attack for god’s sake! I lost six months of my life sitting in a hospital bed and then people want to know what I want to do with my life?”
He holds me at arms length, eyes slightly reddened and a manic smile plastered across his face as he chuckles. “I mean, not dying is pretty much the only thing I want to achieve every single day!”
“Right!?” The right corner of my mouth tugs upward into an open-mouthed smirk. “Every time someone asks what I did at the end of a day, all I want to say is; ‘well, I didn’t
die’!” I offer a cheeky double thumbs-up and Hisao bursts into laughter.
“Yes! Exactly! You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say this stuff. I didn’t want to bring it up in case you got offended! You’ve been dealing with this a lot longer than I have…”
“Are you kidding?! That’s
exactly why you should talk about this stuff! I’ve been through everything you can think of at some point or other so I can offer something. I’ll support you no matter what, Hisao, because I know how much someone like us needs that.” I hold his face in my hands and gaze at him lovingly. He moves his hands to cover mine and return the affectionate look.
“There you go again… Sounding like my senpai.” He whispers jokingly.
“Hey, if you can’t rely on someone else with a broken heart; who can you?” I shrug with an aloof smirk before pulling his face to mine and kissing him tenderly. My body warms as his hand move along my arms and down my body to my waist.
We slowly lower onto the sofa in reverse of how we ended up the other night; with me on my back and Hisao kneeling between my legs, arms either side of my body. We keep making out while my hands slide down his chest and under his shirt. He doesn’t stop me this time and even reciprocates with a wandering hand exploring my chest through my t-shirt while he props himself up with the other.
We break our kiss so Hisao can take off his shirt. Not going to lie, it’s pretty freaking hot to watch him do it. Seeing his blushing grin emerge from under the cloth makes me smile and I sit up a little to remove my shirt. Tossing them aside, we cuddle and kiss and let our hands wander some more.
My finger tips glide up and down his back while one of his slides under my shoulders while the other massages my right boob. We press ourselves together; grunts, moans and lusting breaths becoming louder than the TV in the background. I push Hisao off me a little and slide my hands behind my back. I wriggle side-to-side as I fumble with my bra, my frustration earning me a chuckle from my boyfriend.
“Need a hand?” He smirks as I continue to struggle.
“Nah, I got this. I think.
Hang on…” I sit up with a frown before trying again. Hisao catches my attention by brushing my loose hair behind my right ear.
“Before you do that… Shall we go upstairs?” He asks in a rather suave way, I must admit. I glance around the living room before nodding.
“Yeeeeah, that would probably be better.” Hisao gets up off the sofa and I follow, grabbing our discarded garments. We don’t want to get caught with our pants down. Literally.
Hisao takes me by the hand and, with a reassuring smile and a quick peck on the lips, leads me upstairs to his room.
~~~~~~~~
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KS is the only visual novel I've read!
