The Winners Take It All | Chishiya [English]

A bit more freedom

"Welcome to our little kingdom!" Hinata greeted me at the door with a laugh. I immediately felt like I was in good hands when I placed my shoes neatly in the hallway.

"My roommate is also at home; she's looking forward to meeting you!" she told me, and I followed her curiously as she led me into the living room. I expected anything, but not something like this... how best to put it?

...Luxury?

It was not a normal shared apartment; it was too good for that. I would guess that they had good connections that had brought to this location.

Hinata offered me tea, which I gratefully accepted before we collapsed onto the comfortable couch. We quietly sipped our hot drink, and I enjoyed the peace that surrounded me.

It was very rare for me to get that feeling.

A door opened somewhere, and footsteps came our way before another young woman entered the room. My fingertips briefly tingled again; my brain was rattling at full speed.

"Hi, Rizuna-chan!" Hinata immediately offered her a cup of tea and the woman sat down next to us. She also smiled kindly at me.

"Hello, I'm Ann Rizuna," she introduced herself, "You must probably be Hayashi Ayuna." I nodded politely.

"Nice to meet you," I replied, and she leaned back relaxed.

"So? Do you like the first impression?" she asked me, and I nodded immediately. She laughed quietly and Hinata placed her cup on the table.

"Shoot it, what do you want to ask?" she wanted to know from me, and I frowned. Was my face that easy to read?

"Mmh, how did you get such a new and big apartment?" I asked quietly and Ann smiled while Hinata giggled.

"Ahahaha, I should have known that!" she caught herself relatively quickly, "My uncle secured this place for us." Yep, so I was right.

We struck up a brief conversation before they showed me around a bit more.

I have to say that I liked this place even more now.

The apartment had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. There was a large kitchen, a large living room and a storage room. The walls were painted light and therefore gave a welcoming impression.

So, my decision was clear.

"What do you think? Can we see you as a potential new roommate?" Ann asked me at the end of the tour, and I grinned slightly.

"If you can bear me, then gladly," I replied.

It was clear that I had found a new place for myself in the promised twenty-one days.

What should I say? I was overjoyed.

"When could I move in? I don't want to push, but I can't stand being at home for long," I said, and we burst out laughing.

No matter what happened, I knew I had found new allies in both.

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The moving was a comedy show.

My parents protested loudly as I, along with Kuina and Hinata, dragged my things out and into a rented van.

They didn't like that everything happened so quickly.

I was secretly happy that it had worked, even if only abruptly. The day before yesterday I had been visiting the apartment, today, the following weekend, I moved in. It was a bit more freedom that I had earned within a few days.

Once again, I had freed myself from their clutches for the time being, even if it was only for an indefinite period.

But it was a small step, that was the main thing.

"Was that all, Ayuna?" Kuina called to me from my former room, and I nodded to her as I passed by, dragging the last box out. The furniture was still in the room as I wasn't taking it with me. Instead, there were new, freshly purchased furnishings from Ikea in the van. Ann and I pre-ordered them online yesterday so we could pick them up today.

Unfortunately, the forensic scientist (my eyes were wide when I found out about her job) couldn't help today because she had to work. But I got help from my other new friends.

Relieved, we closed the trunk doors.

"I'm driving," I announced as we spread out into the seats.

"AYUNA!" Father tried to stop us one last time. I turned to him and stared conscientiously into his eyes. The first thing he did was avoid my eyes.

"I told you," I said again, "Stop meddling in my life. Go on like you did when I was little." Then I got in and started the engine.

Oh damn, it felt good!

I pulled away and noticed Hinata and Kuina looking at me curiously. "What?" I asked as we came to a stop in front of a traffic light. They grinned at the same time, and I wondered if I had done something wrong. Shrugging, I decided to just leave it at that. They'd tell me at some point anyway, right?

The journey didn't take long.

I carefully parked the van in a designated parking space, and we began carrying everything back inside. It wasn't long before my arms started to burn.

I was glad that tomorrow was Sunday!

"Where do the boxes have to go?" Kuina wanted to know, standing in the apartment a little perplexed. I showed her the way. In fact, I chose the empty room at the end of the hallway that had two windows. Although it faced the street, it was larger than the other one.

And I found it somehow calming to hear the hum of cars.

We piled up the boxes, the furniture packages, and suitcases until we finally dragged everything in.

That could be fun, I still had to assemble all my cupboards...

"Your face speaks volumes, girl," Kuina laughed just as she noticed the look I was giving the boxes. Hinata also grinned before stealing the key to the van. "I'll drive the van back," she said. I was pretty sure she enjoyed driving big cars. Even if the van wasn't exactly a showcase model...

"Okay, do it! The money for the rental fee is in my jacket pocket in the hallway!" I called after her as she disappeared. Then I looked at my other friend. She smiled as she pulled up the sleeves of her sweater.

"Then let's get going, shall we?" she grabbed a cutter knife to cut open the boxes, "Look and be amazed, Bob the Builder gets to work!"

Well, assembling the furniture was fun, I could tell you that...

I should remember that I prefer to assemble furniture with Ann in the future...!