My Roommate Oga Tatsumi

Chapter 4

As mid-term examinations came to torture the university students with a heavy dosage of anxiety and fatigue, the weather merrily decided to join in on the abuse. It grew unbearably humid. Furuichi found solace in his room where he kept his dehumidifier. It was the only place in the world that Furuichi wouldn't have to worry about the frizziness of his hair. He could tolerate the uncomfortable feeling of clothing sticking on to him. All he needed to do was powder his body in cornstarch for a few hours of relief. His hair, however, was a different beast. When Furuichi still lived with his parents, his sister accused him of being metrosexual for the amount of hair products he hoarded to fight against humidity. He had tried hair sprays, pomades and mousses. Potions of all kinds claiming that "humidity was no match". Of course, they never really worked, not even in combination.

Furuichi rarely went out of his room when Oga was present. When the silvernette had to go to class, he made sure to keep a hat firmly on his head, no matter how much the professors berated him about respecting his elders. Furuichi vowed to find the holy grail of anti-humidifying hair products, but until then he'd keep to his room as long as possible. It didn't hurt that it doubled as a sanctuary from his roommate. If the brute hated putting on clothes before, this season's weather really made all kinds of fabric unappealing. All the time.

Oga gave himself permission to walk about the apartment completely naked. When Furuichi absolutely had to leave his room, he'd often catch glimpses of the Alpha male's body. Furuichi would hurriedly rush off back to his room so as to flip through his pornographic magazines to get rid of the image imprinted on his brain. Furuichi couldn't wait until rainy season passed.

...

Oga grew frustrated at the silvernette camping out in his room every day. He was uncomfortable too, the least Furuichi could do was share the damn machine. "Oi, Furuichi," Oga banged his fist on the flimsy wood board dividing them, "Open the door". Oga heard the shuffling of papers before the door opened just a crack. The opening was enough for Oga to see cautious grey eyes peeking up at him. Oga felt a different kind of heat gather in his lower abdomen. "What do you want?"

"Let me borrow the machine."

"No. Get your own."

"Tch. Then let me come in your room if you don't want to move it."

"No. You have your own room."

Oga pushed at the door, trying to force his way in. "Look I'm even wearing shorts! Let me in! It's hot out here."

"Stop being such a baby! Suck it up and don't bother me!"

"What's the big deal? Let me in Idiot Furuichi-!"

The door finally pushed open when Oga overpowered the silvernette. Furuichi scrambled to shut the door before the damp air outside his room could start working its black magic. "What the hell is wrong with you! Get out of my room!"

"Quit acting like such a girl. It's annoying, Annoyichi!"

"What kind of nickname is that? The least you could be is more creative if not smarter, you big brute!"

Oga had already stopped listening and turned to sprawl atop Furuichi's bed. It was too soft and Oga didn't like it. Obviously, Oga voiced this. "Then get off my bed! I didn't say that it was an available option to you in the first place!"

Oga rolled his eyes and covered his face with the pillow he was laying on, immediately assaulted with the delicious scent of strawberries, Oga subconsciously took a deep breath. Furuichi's bickering came to a halt when he realized that the brute had fallen asleep. Furuichi huffed before going back to his materials while working on the floor. An hour later, Furuichi felt a heavy, yet soothing hand in his hair, that caused him to blush brightly, "What the hell-". Furuichi turned to see the brute offer him a lazy smile that caused butterflies to flitter in his chest. "You look like a fuzzy chicken with your hair like this."

Furuichi batted Oga's hand away. His hair must have soaked up the moisture in the air during the power struggle with the door. "Yeah, well, your hair looks like a porcupine's ass." Furuichi concluded that the purity of Oga's laugh could only happen when the brute was half awake. The silvernette had to try really hard to ignore the pleasure he felt at making Oga laugh like this. He wasn't a devoted pet after all.

...

The two roommates didn't see each other much when finals season came around. Oga was too busy trying to find the classes he never bothered to attend to take his tests and Furuichi managed to insert himself in a study group with women from his class. The women realized that Furuichi was crazy smart, it was just the rest of his personality that made him unappealing. Now that they had a good look at him too, Furuichi wasn't unattractive either, but they wouldn't tell him that.

Once final exam results came through was the first time they had seen or spoken to each other in about two weeks. "Hey Oga, what did you get on your exam results?"

"A letter."

"Duh! Tell me which letters."

"No, Idiot Furuichi. I got a letter from the school board."

Furuichi stopped mixing the batter for the cookies he felt like making that day. A letter? Furuichi had top marks in all of his classes, but he didn't receive a letter. As far as he knew, no one else mentioned receiving a letter either. If he didn't have top marks, then it must mean... "Yeah Annoyichi. They're kicking me out."