Bonus Short Stories
Side: Maki
Maki first noticed Koutarou doing something strange upon returning to room 106 after attending the cosclub meetup. He was sitting at his usual spot at the tea table, doing something with a small, rod-shaped tool in his hand.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Aika-san.”
“What are you doing, Satomi-kun?”
“Cleaning my ears. You gotta do it every now and then.”
Koutarou was indeed cleaning his ears; the tool in his hands was an ear pick. Since he didn’t live alone, he’d recently been made aware that he should be keeping up minimum standards when it came to cleaning his ears, clipping his nails, and such.
“Hmm... Like this?”
But between not being able to see his own ears and his naturally clumsy hands, cleaning his ears was a difficult task. Knowing you should do something and having the skill to actually do it, after all, are two entirely different things. Maki couldn’t help giggling when she thought about how very Koutarou-esque the whole scenario was.
“Heehee...”
“What is it?”
“Oh, I just had a good idea.”
Maki was partly bluffing, but she had indeed come up with an idea on the spot. She proceeded to walk over to Koutarou, take a seat next to him, and extend her hand.
“Hand me that, if you will. I’ll do it for you.”
“What? You don’t have to do that.”
“I won’t charge you.”
“But I’m almost done.”
“Please let me do it, Satomi-kun.”
Koutarou really was almost done, but he felt bad about refusing Maki when she looked at him so earnestly. In the end, he acquiesced and handed her the ear pick.
“...If you insist.”
“Great. Now just lay your head here.”
Ear pick in hand, Maki patted her lap to encourage Koutarou. He hesitated for a moment, but then...
“Fine.”
Maki looked so happy right now, and Koutarou didn’t want to take that away from her. So, reluctant as he was, he laid his head in her lap rather than arguing.
Satomi-kun is so close...
Maki was moved. It was obvious already that she loved Koutarou and that he treasured her, but the simple gesture of laying his head in her lap reaffirmed it in a special way for Maki.
And he’s so defenseless...
Contrary to its harmless appearance, cleaning your ears was a delicate task that could potentially damage the eardrum. Letting someone else do it inherently required a certain amount of trust, and Maki was happy that Koutarou considered her worthy of the job.
“Is something the matter, Aika-san?”
Koutarou grew worried when Maki fell still and silent, but calling out to her returned her to her senses. She quickly wiped her eyes and smiled, despite knowing that Koutarou couldn’t see it.
“It’s nothing... I was just thinking about how wonderful it is to take things so easy with you.”
“Yeah, we’ve been stupid busy this year.”
“Also... it makes me all the more aware how much I love you.”
“H-Hey... You can’t just go saying embarrassing stuff like that.”
“But it’s true.”
There, Maki smiled again and stroked Koutarou’s cheek. Since she hated lies, she was always honest and played things straight. And with that out of the way, she faithfully began cleaning Koutarou’s ears.
Jeez, Aika-san is just so...
Koutarou considered himself fortunate that he couldn’t actually see Maki right now. She’d said something so bold and embarrassing that his face was beet red. And that wasn’t the only reason for it. Maki always looked composed, but she had a surprising weakness. Koutarou knew exactly what he needed to say, but the words were very, very hard to say...
“...”
So he whispered them in a low voice that only Maki could hear, even though it was just the two of them in the room. And when she heard what he said, her hand slipped.
“Ow...”
“It’s your own fault for saying that so suddenly. Jeez...”
Things were quiet after that. There was nothing more to be said between them, really. But, more than anything, Maki was simply content and Koutarou was simply embarrassed.
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