My Ultimate Supreme Roommate (Oumasai)

Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you for this many reads in such a short amount of time, we're almost to 1k!

"Ah, Ouma-kun. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?"

I was just minding my own business, trying to build a pyramid out of a full deck of cards. I'd gotten much better at it lately, since I stopped flailing my arms when startled by sudden outer noise. It wasn't like I had much to do, Saihara-chan worked all day and occasionally asked me how I'm doing; or in this case, trying to decipher whatever meaning my actions had, which I was flattered for, but I kinda wished to be able to confess it's just me playing with him. But that would have ruined all the fun.

"Nothing much." I could see it in his eyes, a cold calculating stare that was probably just my imagination. One single glance was all it took for me to go back to my cards, but I couldn't focus properly with him around so I just picked up some cards and flipped them, as if studying them. I didn't want to be rude or anything, though he could have just gotten the hint already. He is a detective after all, or does that not apply to human emotions? Now that I think about it, I didn't even know what his job was exactly.

He brought himself a chair and sat down near me, not too close, but not too far enough. If I had wanted to I could have just focused only on what was in front of me and blank out his existence, yet I didn't feel like it. So, flipping cards and looking at them was what I settled for. It was getting just a tiny bit boring, but I couldn't just show that out of nowhere, what am I, some kinda clown? No, I'm the clowniest of them all, truthfulness and sharing your feelings with others is definitely not what makes a clown. That's just a wimp, or a functional human being, which I'm clearly not judging by what I was currently doing.

There it went again, I was hungry and my stomach decided to voice that complaint. It took a lot to not cover my face in shame and just bawl right there so I could make Saihara-chan feel bad for no reason, since I was now trying to not be that childish anymore. There are things that are smart, and things that are stupid, bawling here is definitely one of latter.

"I just remembered that I don't have anything prepared... How about we go eat out?" I withheld the urge to widen my eyes at the totally not strange and out of nowhere proposal. I'm gonna be honest here, I didn't know for sure if I actually wanted that. Did I? I bet he would've taken me to some fancy shmancy restaurant and make me feel more out of place than usual, but what would I have gained by refusing him? It wasn't like my empty stomach caused me deep irreversible pain, but I could use some good dinner food. Though it's a lot comfier eating at home, I couldn't ask Saihara-chan to change his schedule just to make me dinner, no matter how tempting that sounds.

"Yeah, that's fine." If I had opened my mouth for a longer reply I was more than sure I'd be drooling all over the floor. The idea of food made my stomach feel a lot emptier than it actually was, I couldn't help it at all.

I'd seen him smile before, but every time he does it I can't explain the burst of emotions that tends to blow up in my own mind. It's a mix of nervousness, dread, anxiety, fear, you name it and will most likely be there to remind me of how much I depended on this one person. Trying to distract myself with pointless thoughts didn't work and my stomach growled again. Seriously, I might just blush out of embarrassment! How am I supposed to get out of this situation? The food wouldn't arrive that quickly either, and even then, there was still the way there to take care of, how was I supposed to last until then???

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I was wrong about a lot of things, there were so many things at once I hadn't managed to guess or predict that I could as well consider it a new personal record. I felt so incredibly stupid; banging my head repeatedly into my bowl seemed like a viable punishment and also an oddly tempting thing to do??? I'd only gotten pies in my face before, so it's natural for me to want to try noodles. Those delicate and thin fibers, caressing every single inch of my face in an explosion of warmth, and that didn't sound as mischievous as it did sexual.

I glanced at Saihara-chan; he was savoring his portion quietly, and I instantly relaxed. I thank the noodle gods for distracting him from the possibly weird face I was making. With a loud slurp I accidentally caught his attention, if I could see myself in a mirror I'd bet I looked like a frightened animal. He offered me a small smile of his anyway.

"You probably expected something more... especially since I don't exactly have a low-paying job." I could tell he was gathering his thoughts, but having an actual chat with me at the time was next to impossible. At least not while eating my first meal of the day.

"Not ecphaccly."

"Still, I feel like you deserve better." I gagged and almost choked, Saihara-chan suddenly turning to see what's wrong. I motioned him to continue from where he left off while I wiped some noodles off my face. That was disgusting to say the least; he was the one who actually deserved better.

"You've been keeping me company for... so long now, and I just don't how to thank you." I really had to stop eating while having that discussion otherwise it was inevitable that I'd make a mess. I didn't want to deal with any more food induced embarrassment.

"Haven't we talked about this before? I'm the one who's incredibly indebted to you with no way to pay you back," I grabbed another handful of noodles and stuffed them into my face. Seeming disrespectful was the last thing I wanted to do, but if I had the chance to eat warm food I very much intended to take it, no matter the situation.

"And I've also told you before; you don't owe me anything. Even if you did, it's not like you wouldn't be able to pay me back."

"How? I don't have any money or goods, and I'm too weak to do any labor work. Besides, you're the one who's paying the rent and literally everything else, all for me? Just how much further are you willing to go, all for me??" after I finished spouting my usual words, I realized my tone was a little aggressive, maybe even more than that. He didn't seem very affected though.

"...I'm sorry if I made you think that way. I..." he hesitated, "don't actually have a reason for helping you. I have the necessary money, so I thought it was the right thing to do." If he had dared to think he could have gotten away with such a blatant lie, he was in for a little surprise. Except, he wasn't, because I didn't have any great ideas I could use. So I just pretended it wasn't there in the first place and didn't reply. Saihara-chan looked slightly dejected, but I didn't care. That's what he gets for avoiding the truth about a matter I was extremely interested in.

After that, neither of us broke the silence as we ate. I wish I could have asked for another helping, but my budget didn't permit that. Yes, you heard that right, I had money. And I bet you're making an even better face than Saihara-chan over there since I wasn't letting him touch his wallet to bring out his.

I'm an idiot for holding onto these specific bills for so long.

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The door creaked quietly as I pushed my small little frame onto it, except that it wasn't creaking at all and I'm not as tiny as I would've wished. I was glad Saihara-chan didn't chase after me, or was I really?? I mean, I was certainly not very happy that he'd been such a tight ass with literally everything. It's like he was a robot programmed to live a nerdy college life, and that wasn't as interesting as it sounds at all. Like c'mon, I was gone for half a day and I had so much fun; and I'm totally not lying about that, and I definitely spent all the money that he gave me.

Alright fine, I can't really bullshit myself out of this one can I? I admit it, I regret missing Saihara-chan's noodles which were most likely cold by now. But since when had that stopped me? I was gonna eat them and I was gonna enjoy them so much.

It wouldn't take a detective to figure out where he left them, and I wolfed down half the plate so quickly I didn't even notice. And then, I had a revelation: you don't just take gifts without thanking people! I tend to forget that very often because of my impish nature, but Saihara-chan was a little special so I was willing to make an exception for him.

I hope he likes noodle art!