デカセクト

Chapter 21

An hour passed and by then, Nijiro could hear faint snores from the other side. He chuckled to himself and got up. She had really fallen asleep just like that.

Nijiro turned the doorknob and wasn't surprised that it was still locked, he hadn't heard a second click after all. Knowing that she had a set of keys somewhere around the house, he walked back to the living room and scanned the area after turning the television off.

Just as he expected, there was a set of keys on what looked like a gold platter similar to what he saw in Sakurada's place back then. He frowned and took the keys before heading up to her room again.

As much as he didn't want to enter her room without her permission, she didn't leave him any other choice. He couldn't just let her sleep on the floor.

After inserting the right key, he turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Shouko was sitting beside the door with her back to the wall. She had her mouth slightly open, faint snores coming out of her lips.

Nijiro chuckled as he stared at her. Even in this state, he found her adorable.

It wasn't hard for him to carry her to her bed as she was surprisingly light. She wasn't even that skinny but he felt like she weighed nothing and that worried him. He knew how some girls were very particular about their weight and would often skip meals on purpose.

Nijiro didn't want her to do the same. Girls shouldn't feel the need to follow a certain criteria to feel good about themselves. They already have to go through so much that they shouldn't punish themselves like that.

Shouko turned in her sleep, hugging the light pink bolster beside her. Nijiro didn't know how long he stared at her while she slept, he didn't even know that he had fallen asleep while sitting beside the bed.

When morning came, Shouko woke up first and stretched her limbs with a groan. She had no recollection of how she got on the bed but when she turned around, she finally knew the answer to the question inside her head.

Nijiro slept peacefully despite the uncomfortable position. Shouko couldn't help but feel bad while looking at him. She wasn't even mad that he went in her room as he wasn't the type to take advantage no matter what the situation.

Shouko bit her lip and got off the bed to cover him with the duvet. It was particularly cold that morning and even though she felt like it was too late to warm him up, she still at least wanted to give him something to keep him warm.

Taking some clothes from her closet, she then rushed to the bathroom to take a shower. Thoughts about last night filled her mind again and blood instantly rushed to her cheeks. She felt embarrassed by the whole thing and wondered how she could handle talking to him when he wakes up.

It took Shouko two hours to finally step out of the shower. She wrapped herself in a towel and walked over to the mirror before sighing. It was going to be so awkward walking out of the bathroom if he's still there. She had hoped he left some time ago while she was still showering but she knew he wouldn't leave just like that.

After drying herself and getting dressed, she finally went out. Nijiro's eyes were still closed but she could tell that he was already awake. He had shifted on the floor and his back was now against the bed, his head laying on the mattress.

To say that she was nervous was an understatement. All she wanted to do at that moment was to run out of the bedroom but that would only embarrass her even further and she knew she can't keep running away from him.

"Y-You can sleep on the bed..." She told him, her voice just above a whisper.

Nijiro mumbled an incoherent response and instantly got up to throw himself on her bed, his eyes not even opening for a second. She smiled at this and shook her head. It was a different side of him that she just witnessed. Who knew Nijiro wasn't a morning person?

But he could just be too tired, for all she knows. She didn't know what time he fell asleep and she was sure that he wasn't comfortable just sitting beside her bed.

Shouko decided to go down to the kitchen and cook them some breakfast. She felt a bit better now and she was even confident that she could face him without stuttering later on.

It was nine in the morning when Shouko finally laid the last dish on the table. She scanned the dishes and realized she cooked way too much for just the two of them.

Just then, the doorbell rang and interrupted her thoughts. She felt strange as she walked closer to the door, feeling that something bad is about to happen. Still, she opened the door.

Kento waved at her from the other side of the gate with a bright smile on his face. Shouko nervously looked around the street and realized Nijiro didn't bring his car last night so it was nowhere in sight.

Shouko walked over to the gate and opened it for Kento to get inside. She hoped that Nijiro would somehow sleep until Kento leaves but that wasn't likely to happen.

Right after bringing Kento inside, the doorbell rang again and this time it was Dori. He had brought a bouquet of flowers for her to apologize for what he did the other night.

Shouko felt her heart drop at the sight of him and contemplated whether to let him in or not. But she didn't need to hide Dori and Kento from each other, she had no reason to.

So, in the end, he let him inside as well. She briefly glanced at the direction of the stairs, hoping that Nijiro would be too tired to get out of bed. She had no intention of keeping this from him but she'd rather not let him see the other two at the moment and vice versa.

"I brought these for you." Dori said before handing over the bouquet of flowers to Shouko. "To apologize for what I did the other night."

Before Shouko could reply, Kento beat her to it. He stepped in between them and narrowed his eyes at Dori.

"Why? What did you do to her?" He asked, his tone already chilling.

"I believe that it's none of your business, Yamazaki." Dori replied, giving Kento a cold look which made the guy chuckle humorlessly.

Shouko sensed that things would get heated up soon if she didn't intervene so she placed herself between the two, creating a small gap. She wanted to curse herself for finding herself in such a situation as she didn't think she did anything to deserve this.

Just when she thought it couldn't get worse, it did.

"Shouko...?"

The three turned around to the direction of the stairs and watched as Nijiro emerged in nothing but a towel to cover the lower part of his body.

Droplets of water threatened to fall from his hair that had already gotten long enough to touch his collarbone. Obviously, he had just taken a shower and since he had no other clothes, he had to wait until his clothes finally dried in her dryer.

Nijiro furrowed his eyebrows at the sight that greeted him. He was confused about the whole scene; the flowers, the men, and the way Shouko was in between them.

Dori felt annoyed and, of course, angry. Shouko lied to him that night and even though he knew she was suspicious, he had chosen to trust her. He came here to apologize for what he did but now, he didn't think he had to anymore. He was right about her not being as innocent as she seemed.

Kento, on the other hand, was just plainly confused why Nijiro was there. He seemed like he stayed the night and that bothered him. Though he knew he didn't like Shouko in that way, or at least not yet, it still irked him to see him there.

Lastly, Shouko felt like she couldn't breathe. No, it was not because of the sight of Nijiro standing on the last step of her stairs in nothing but a towel. It was because she felt guilty of the whole thing. She knew she had done something wrong based on their reactions and she didn't know how to handle the situation at hand.

If only the ground swallowed her right then, but she could only hope.