Episode 23: Her Preferences
“Aah… Haa…”
Ichinose Ayano woke up and checked her Smartphone by the pillow, finding it was already past nine.
Even on holidays, she usually set an alarm every morning, but she had overslept by more than an hour. Yet, she didn’t feel like she had gotten much sleep.
Lethargic, sleepy, her body was telling her so, but,
“What to do, I want to see him…”
The first thing she thought of upon waking was her boyfriend.
They had been seeing each other constantly since becoming lovers a few days ago, and even went on a Date yesterday… but it seemed it still wasn’t enough.
She operated her Smartphone, about to send him a Message saying, ‘Are you free today?’, but then hesitated.
They had spent the whole day on a Date yesterday, so asking again today might be a bother.
He also had friends to hang out with, and his own hobbies.
She felt bad about making him spend all his holidays just for her.
“Well, I’m sure there will be a chance to talk anyway…”
She also wanted to avoid being a nuisance by demanding too much attention.
She desperately wanted to see his face and hear his voice right now, but she decided to restrain herself a little. Just as she pressed the power key on her Smartphone, a call came in from him—Kamijou Yuuto.
“Hyaa!?”
She answered the phone in a hurry.
“W-What!?”
“Oh, you surprised me!”
Yuuto moved his Smartphone away from his ear.
“Ah, sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. More importantly, are you alright over there?”
“Eh, what do you mean?”
“Well, it’s rare for Ayano to keep the curtains closed until this hour. I was wondering if you were feeling unwell.”
As he said that, she opened the curtains and saw Yuuto waving slightly outside the window.
She ended the call and opened the window.
“Couldn’t you sleep properly?”
“Ah, yeah. But I’m fine. It’s just that I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about you and my heart was racing.”
The words came out of her mouth naturally, and,
“…Eh?”
“Ah…”
After a few seconds of silence, Yuuto burst out laughing.
“What, so Ayano too?”
“What do you mean ‘too’…? What is it?”
Yuuto, looking embarrassed at Ayano’s reddened face, said,
“I couldn’t sleep well either. Maybe it’s because I talked to Uncle yesterday, but it made me think about the old days.”
“Ah, ahh—I see…”
There was another brief pause,
“I’m relieved if it’s not a cold. If you’re sleep-deprived, you should rest today… I wish I could be with you today too, but that would be too much for you, right?”
Hearing that, Ayano was taken aback. And she felt happy and embarrassed at the same time.
…It seemed he was thinking the same thing.
“Well then, let’s take it easy today.”
“Ah, wait a minute.”
Ayano called out to him as he was about to leave the window.
“I don’t have any plans today either… Can I come over there after lunch?”
“Sure, but are you sure you’re okay without resting? Your face is kind of red, you know?”
‘Whose fault do you think it is?’ she thought, glaring at him with a pout. ‘And seriously, don’t worry so much.’
“I’m fine. Just being by your side is enough—I feel better when I’m with you, the person I love.”
Before Yuuto, who was even more flushed than Ayano, could say anything,
“Well, I’m going to change!”
She closed the curtains with a flourish.
◇
“…I see, so that’s how it is.”
A little after noon, Ichinose Ayano, carrying a Movie Blu-ray Disc and various snacks, was invited to Kamijou Yuuto’s room for the first time in years, and she muttered with a small hum.
“What’s with the ‘Great Detective’ act?”
Yuuto, who received the disc from her, frowned suspiciously, and Ayano said with a serious face,
“I understand how you felt when you came to my room the other day. It’s kind of… like that, isn’t it?”
“Nervous?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve been dragged into a boy’s room, after all.”
“Can you stop saying it in a way that makes it sound bad? You’re the one who said you were coming.”
While Yuuto turned on the TV and put the disc into the recorder, Ayano sat down on the small, cheap carpet on the two-seater floor chairs.
While watching his back,
“But… really, the scent of someone else’s room is quite noticeable, isn’t it?”
Yuuto’s face twitched at Ayano’s somewhat restless words.
“Eh? Seriously, does it smell? I used Deodorizing Spray though…”
“Well, a little. But you can’t really tell the scent of your own room, you know? I’m the same way, so don’t worry about it. I’ll probably get used to it if I stay here for a while.”
“No… sorry. Can I spray again? Could you leave the room for a bit?”
Ayano’s eyes widened at the sight of him holding Deodorizing Spray in both hands, and she started laughing, trying to hold it back.
“Two-sword style? How much were you worrying about it? —Wait, don’t spray it!? That’s too much! Follow the instructions for use!!”
“But… Ayano said… it smells…”
“Ah, are you getting teary-eyed? That’s not it, it’s not like it smells bad… So, don’t just spray it all over the place! Rather, the ‘Clear Blue Scent’ of the spray smells! And it’s sticky!”
“So… it does smell after all… Ugh…”
“You’re seriously crying!?”
Ayano snatched the spray from Yuuto, who was spraying it alternately,
“That’s not what I meant!? It’s just that this room makes my heart race because it smells like you!”
She spoke the meaning of the ambiguous words. In a rather loud voice.
And, silence.
…——After a long pause.
“…Alright, let’s watch a movie. I’m looking forward to it, I’m really excited.”
“Hey, Yuto? Sorry, don’t be put off, okay? What I said earlier was a bit… but it’s not like I have a fetish or anything.”
“Ah… yeah. I understand…?”
“Please don’t be genuinely put off!? Don’t give me that awkward, gentle smile!?”
“—Ayano.”
From an indescribable expression, Yuuto made a serious face.
“I said it when I confessed, but I like Ayano. Even after graduating from high school, I want to seriously date Ayano.”
“…Yeah. Me too, but—”
“I think truly loving each other means knowing and accepting each other’s good and bad points. If we’re together from now on, you’ll probably notice things about me that you don’t like, but I still want you to be by my side. I want to love Ayano, including all her different aspects.”
“Eh, um, wait… what? What’s with that, suddenly—”
To Ayano, who was blushing and holding her chest,
“So… I don’t mind. I’ll try to respond to Ayano’s requests as much as possible. People have their own tastes and preferences, and we should respect each other where we can…”
“Hey, wait a minute? I’m not that into scents, okay? You’re still put off, aren’t you? Why are you averting your eyes? Not ‘It’s okay, it’s okay’…. No, really, it’s not like that!?”
“I’m embarrassed too, but if it’s for Ayano’s sake… go ahead.”
“Don’t spread your arms!? It’s not like I want to sniff you!”
“…So, it does smell after all…”
“My boyfriend is such a pain!”