A Lingering Touch (Junjou Romantica)

[4]

Hiroki handled the calls on the appliances his house lacked while he drank his morning coffee. The process of picking out the washer and the refrigerator were simple enough; he had an old catalog. His mind, clear of aggravations due to the extra hour of sleep he attained when he first fell asleep. The alarm clock which made the shrillest of sounds, remained buried in his many moving boxes. He didn't think of taking it out when he finished cleaning, without a work schedule he didn't need it. There were thoughts on throwing it away. An author didn't adhere to a schedule in waking up early. Akihiko never woke up early from Hiroki's experience.

He finished his first cup of coffee, standing up, he poured himself another one. A dark rich brew he used to perk him up when he remained half-asleep in the mornings. Although he didn't need the caffeine, he couldn't imagine this habit changing after his move. After the hallucination he experienced in the cemetery, he had to stay on high alert. Having the talismans and charms around this place brought him comfort. Whatever he saw couldn't have followed him back home.

Adding the extra fixings to his coffee, he took a large gulp. Not minding the bitterness of the drink, he relaxed on his box. The few chairs he kept for visitors still remained in the living room. The early morning left him in a lazy mood, he didn't want to move any of his furniture around.

He assumed his mother would have called him early in the morning to ask how he handled his new home. Akihiko had already done it, maybe he already informed her on his state, so she didn't have to do it. His father didn't call him much, he preferred talking to him in person than on the line. It might take a while before they saw each other face to face. He knew the topic of his dismissal from his old job would make his father come seek him out soon.

Getting up from his box, Hiroki rinsed out his cup with hot water and placed it in the counter. His plan of attack was to fix up his bedroom upstairs and place his books in one of the spare bedrooms. Using one of them might make the house less empty. Less echoes bouncing off the bare walls. Hearing the sound of his own noise when he ranted about stupid topics to distract himself from the silence. He rather enjoyed the silence. Freedom to scream his frustrations. His old apartment complex always complained about families with their screaming children. Others with their loud music blasting into the night.

Many of his old apartments complained about every little thing. Most of the university students studied half the time they were home. Not that anyone would throw any big parties, those saved for when they released their tensions at bars. Hiroki had gone to some bars, but the loud music irritated him, so he drank at home and dropped to sleep on his own floor instead.

Rubbing his temples, Hiroki walked into his living room. He picked up the boxes labeled books with the author's last names as the way he categorized his bookshelves. A majority were Akihiko's novels and Akihiko had declared he would do the same for his books. Friends had to support each other after all.

Going up the stairs, he placed them outside of the room across from his room. He made a few more trips downstairs until half of the hallway, blocked, an account on the boxes. The last things were the bookcases, which were lighter than he remembered. Hiroki opened the door and went to work. This didn't take him so much time since he already planned out the placement of every little thing.

Once he finished, he placed an air freshener on the top of one of his bookcases and he took a step back. He felt proud of finishing one usable room for his own things. This room was bigger than the old living room he used for his books, which was a hazard when he slept on his table during his grading. He missed an avalanche of books when a light earthquake hit the city and he woke up in time to roll out of the way. Akihiko commented on his book collection almost killing him in his sarcastic droll. It took all Hiroki's self control not to comment on Akihiko's bear collection. He remembered those soulless beady eyes. They unnerved him at times.