Chapter 40 Weekend +1 (1)

Thirty minutes later, Asanagi came in wearing a hoodie, hat, jeans, and sneakers, the same outfit she wore back when we went to the arcade the other day.

It was the second time Id seen her dressed this way, but this girl really looked good in everything.

Yo.

Yo, welcome. Ive ordered more food for you, you dont mind the usual right?

Mhm, thanks. Oh, right, your mom called me a while ago. She gave me the okay to beat you senseless if you try to lay your hands on me.

She said that? And she called herself my mom?

Well, I wouldnt make the same mistake this time, so everything would be alright.

I called her here when she was sleepy, so she might just fall asleep here again, but this time Ill make sure to wake her up.

Of course I wont try to do anything weird when shes sleeping. Not like I have the guts to do so.

Hey, Maehara.

Hm? Whats up?

No~thing. I just got the urge to call your name.

Whats up with that?

Hehe

Ever since I let her in, Asanagi had been looking at me while grinning suspiciously. She did nothing more than that, but this was her way of teasing me. That phone call I made earlier really riled her up, huh?

At this rate, she might keep doing this for a while.

Damn, I knew I shouldnt have called her.

My cheeks grew hotter by the second.

Hmm hmmm ~

Ignoring my feelings, Asanagi was humming while preparing dishes and glasses that she would use. She was in a good mood.

I wonder what made her so happy?

Alright, lets start working. Have you converted the image to mosaic art?

Ah, yeah, I only converted it though, I havent made any adjustments to it.

I brought a chair from the living room and we started working side by side.

Maehara, scoot over a little

Hm? A-ah

The space was small, so we had to huddle up close to each other. Her face was so close to mine, but this wasnt the time to be mindful about that kind of thing.

Hey, Asanagi

Mm?

I know this place is cramped but, do you really have to cling to me like this?

Huh? Im not clinging to you, stop imagining things.

Then, why are you hugging my arm?

Why are you fussing so much when Im giving you a little bit of service?

I dont need it.

Really? Then, give me three thousands for the hug, also for breaking my heart.

Thats a ripoff.

I guess she chose physical contact as a viable way of teasing me today.

I told her to stop hugging my arm because it got in the way of our work.

Maehara, what color should we use for this part over here? Black? Red?

Black is too dark to put in there Red is too bright Maybe a darker shade of red or even purple would fit

Would Dr. Pepper color fit? No ones selling Dr. Pepper around here though Maybe we should order it online and ask Yagisawa-sensei to pay for it Yeah, lets do that.

Right. Do it then.

Are you making me do it, hm, Maehara?

Who else should do it? Anyway, we should refrain from buying anything unless we have no other choice. Well, I know a way to get more cans, so dont worry about not having enough.

A way only Maehara, the loner, knows No way! Is it through the black market?!

Black market my butt. Anyway, it should be here soon

Huh?

Even someone like me had a few connections you know?

Time to prove my worth.

The intercom rang at that moment.

Hello, Pizza Rocket here ~

Thank you, heres the money.

Thank you for your patronage ~

The one who came was the part-timer delivery lady who came to deliver our pizza.

I didnt know her name, but she was the person who always delivered my orders.

Um, excuse me, may I ask about something else? Its unrelated to my order though.

Huh?

After that, I negotiated with the delivery lady to let me pick up a few dozen empty cans from the store.

Even though the pizza shop was a chain store, they had a wider variety of drinks and side dishes than normal stores, so I was sure that there would be empty cans with the color that we needed. And that hunch of mine was correct.

Nom I guess that solved the empty cans problem. Ah, lemme have that chicken.

Oi! You! Well, anyway, we still need to go to the Home Center and get the other things we need. Im taking that Hash Brown.

Hey! Didnt your mom teach you to not take other peoples possession?

Didnt your mom teach YOU to not take other peoples possession?

What are you on about? Are you implying that I took someone elses possession?

Youre not a politician, stop playing dumb.

Asanagi and I ate our food while stealing each others side dishes.

Of course this would normally be considered bad manners, but we stopped caring about manners a long time ago.

It might just be me, but the food always tasted better whenever we did this.

Thanks for the food ~ Well, now that weve filled our stomachs

We continue our work?

Nope. Its time to play a game.

Not the answer I expected, but sure, lets do this.

There were still some things that we needed to work on, but I could handle them by myself.

Anyway, I felt glad that Asanagi came today I hated to admit it, but embarrassing myself over the phone was well worth it.

There! An opening!

Wha?! Oh no!

I was going to beat the living hell out of her like usual, but she managed to snatch a win from me because of my carelessness.

Alright, lets go! I beat Maehara in his serious mode!

Dont get cocky! You were just lucky!

The moment I let my guard down, Asanagi made short work of me.

Asanagi, rematch!

Oh? Hehehe Fine, Ill let you meet your maker once again.

Youre getting carried away Ill beat you next time, just you wait.

Hah! Ill be the one who wins next time! Two wins in a row, lets do this!

Of course, I managed to keep my dignity after that. I didnt let her win a single time. But this girl had gotten even better than the last time she played with Amami-san.

I guess she had been practicing really hard since then.

She didnt have Amami-sans monstrous talent, but she had the tenacity to make up for that through pure effort.

That was the virtue of the girl named Asanagi Umi, always working hard on everything she set her mind on.

Haah Today was pretty fun We have some time left, what do you want to do, Asanagi? Play another round or maybe watch a movie? It had been a while since we did that.

Ah? Mmm ~ Right

Huh? Asanagi?

When I turned my gaze toward her, she leaned on my shoulder, controller in hand. She looked sleepy.

Near the end of our matches, she had been stumbling, I thought she was just distracted by something, but apparently she just had reached her limit.

Do you want to sleep?

Ah, yeah Im feeling kinda tired right now *Yawn*

Okay then, take it easy and take the couch. Ill wake you up later.

Mhm Lend me your blanket

Fine.

I took my blanket and put it on Asanagi, who was lying on the couch.

Hehe This blanket feels warm Its chilly, the warmth feels perfect

She was wrapped in the blanket from her neck to her toes, only her face was exposed. She looked like a bagworm. Also, the blanket was a cheap one. I didnt understand why she looked so happy covering herself with that blanket, but whatever, as long as shes happy.

Then, Ill wake you up in thirty minutes. Im gonna work

Maehara, wait a second.

I was about to get up from the couch to finish my work, but Asanagi grabbed the hem of my shirt.

Isnt she supposed to be sleepy? Why is her grip so strong?

Let go of me and sleep

Stay here with me.

And why should I do that?

Just stay here

Jeez, whatever.

I gave up and sat down on the sofa.

Well, I was the one who made her come here today, so I guess I should take responsibility and spoil her a little.

Hehehe Thank you, Maehara Youre so sweet today.

What is it all of the sudden? Im not giving you a single yen even if you flatter me like that.

I dont need your money, being with you like this is enough for me

I dont understand what you are talking about, but sure

Hey, hold my hand?

Three thousand yen.

Thats a ripoff.

I just used your card against you.

Jerk.

Our conversation went like this, but in the end, I still held her hands tightly.

I dont know why Im doing this. Loneliness? Maybe I just want someones warmth? I dont know.

Is this even something that normal friends do?

I questioned it, but when I saw her face, I stopped thinking about it.

A warm feeling enveloped my chest. I wondered what it was?

At that moment, the intercom rang.

Huh? Maehara, you got a guest?

Ah, yeah. I dont know who it is Maybe the delivery lady forgot something? Ill check it out, wait a second.

I let go of her hand, walked toward the intercom, and pressed the button.

Living in an apartment like this, sometimes someone got the wrong address or a suspicious person just rang the intercom randomly. That was why if the one who rang it was a random person, it would be okay for me to ignore them.

Good evening, Maki-kun! Sorry to bother you this late.

Ah

When I saw her through the camera, my mind went blank for a second.

Why did she come here? Her timing couldnt be worse.

Amami-san

Im sorry, Maki-kun Umi is also here, right?