Forbidden Knowledge Vol.1 (Marisa Kirisame X Male Reader)

Chapter 28 - Let's Start Again

I took a long breath, stepping into my small shack in the Human Village. The door creaked on its hinges as I pushed it open, letting the dim light filter through the narrow space. It always felt odd coming back here. It was like I'd been through hell and back and then some, but stepping into this place that was supposed to be my home still felt foreign to me like I was just an onlooker at an exhibit, a visitor in someone else's life.

Marisa closed the door behind us, flashing a smile my way. "Well, here we are. Home sweet... well, never mind," she said with a chuckle. "How are you feeling?"

I hesitated, looking around. "It's strange," I admitted. "It's like I've been away for a long time, and I'm finally back... but it doesn't really feel like home. More like a place I've been staying."

"I hear you," she said, nodding sympathetically. "When I'm away solving incidents and searching for my next material to study, coming back home feels like nothing else. To climb into bed and just leave the world and your problems behind—ooh! There's nothing better."

She wandered around the shack, glancing at the cramped space. I hadn't changed much since moving in; the place was barely furnished beyond the essentials. Marisa's eyes landed on the bookshelf tucked into the corner, and she let out a surprised laugh. "Hey, that bookshelf is new! Finally trying to make this place a home?"

I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a little self-conscious. "Not much I can do with it, to be honest. I just thought I needed somewhere to keep the tomes and the books you gave me."

Marisa kept walking around, twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers, her expression growing more contemplative. There was a certain hesitation in her movements as if she was working up the courage to say something. "Say... umm..." she began, her voice low. "How do you find living here? I mean, is it really, you know... home?"

"It's... a roof over my head," I replied, looking around at the tiny space that felt more like a storage closet than a living space. "I sleep and read here, but that's about it. It doesn't feel like much."

"Yeah, I get that," Marisa echoed, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. She took a breath and then babbled, her voice barely above a whisper. "Say... if you, uh, hypothetically, had the chance to move somewhere... bigger, with more space—someplace more like a proper home—would you be interested?"

"Huh?" I said, blinking in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She rubbed her arm, her gaze shifting away from mine. "I mean, like... hypothetically speaking, if a friend—let's say a friend of a friend, not me—knew someone who could offer you a nicer place to stay, would you consider it?"

I tilted my head, not catching on to where this was going. "A friend of a friend, huh? I don't know... staying with some stranger doesn't sound that comfortable to me."

She huffed a little, her cheeks starting to turn a faint shade of pink. "Right, right... That's not really what I meant." She sighed, then turned to face me directly, her tone a little firmer this time. "What if... I mean, if you had the option to stay somewhere with more room, a proper bed, and... you know, company—would you want that?"

It was starting to dawn on me where this was headed. "You're talking about... staying with you?"

Marisa's blush deepened, and she quickly raised her hands defensively. "Only if you want to!" she said hurriedly, as though I might bolt at any second. "It's just... this place isn't the nicest to go home to, and it'd be safer if we stuck together. The last time we got separated, you got coaxed into that Tome and were trapped in your nightmare for days. I just... don't want that to happen again."

"I mean..." I hesitated, glancing around the shack one last time. The walls seemed to close in a little tighter with each passing second. "I wouldn't want to intrude or anything."