Nagikae - Love Rekindled

Get Ready for your Punishment, Nagisa.

Kayano's POV:

Nagisa seemed nervous. 

He must be telling me something very personal. . . I hope he doesn't mind. Did I pressure him into this? 

"Nagisa, you don't need to tell me if you don't want to. I understand."

"No, it's okay. I need to get the weight off my chest anyway. It's becoming a burden."

He was still nervous. I noticed him gulping roughly and twiddling his thumbs. 

"Hey," I said. "It''s going to be alright. I am here for you, aren't I?"

"You're right." He paused to take a breath. 

"Here goes nothing."

I ate my pudding cautiously as Nagisa's words lingered in my brain. 

"Have you ever questioned how feminine I look?"

"Not really. . ."

"Well, I don't look this way because of choice. My mom. . . she always wished she had given birth to a girl instead. She made me grow out my hair, try on all of her old dresses. . . I could never stand up for myself. when I attempted to, my mom would get angry. As in, grab me by the hair and bang my head on the table. Her words hurt the most though. I felt useless and chained down. Whenever my mom isn't here is like a moment of clarity."

"So. . . where is she now?" I asked while sliding my hand to the corner of the table. Then, I noticed my hand stopped at an irregularly shaped bump on the table. 

No way this dent was from Nagisa's mom. . . 

"Actually, my mom is on a business trip. She is coming home tomorrow, though."

I looked at him full of concern. 

"How do you expect me to live with a clear conscience while you still are under the same roof as your mother?" I asked nervously. 

"There's nothing I can do about it. At the end of the day, she still is my mother. I am grateful that she gives me food and a roof over my head." 

 *BANG BANG*

Then, suddenly, there was a knock on the door. 

"One second, let me check who it is," Nagisa told me. 

He peered through the hole in the door and looked at me with a face full of worry. 

"One second, please, mother!" Nagisa said facing towards the door. 

He turned to me. Then, he took my hand and rushed me into his room. Even though I was scared, a slight blush escaped onto my face. 

"Kayano, no matter what, stay in here, okay?"

I nodded silently. 

Nagisa then ran down the stairs as quickly as he came up. I heard the front door open.

I hid under Nagisa's bed and closed my eyes, heightening my sense of hearing. 

"Nagisa, I had a really bad day. Go get mommy a glass." 

Huh. Sounded like a woman. It must be Nagisas's mom. 

"Yes, mother."

Nagisa's POV:

"Mother, if you don't mind me asking, why did you come home early?"

She gave me a deadly glance. Then I remembered what she had asked me for.