Section 12. The Everyday with Someone Awaiting Her to Return.
Fuyuka could not help being worried about Ohana, but relentless society does not pay attention to such things.
Working leisurely as usual, by noon she bought some buns and coffee at a convenience store for lunch, whence she worked until the evening, snacking them on, and lingered overtime until nine.
“Good day, everyone—.”
Then finally, bowing her good-byes to the staff, she left her office. It’s all pretty much same business as usual.
“See you, Hiiragi-san—.”
Fuyuka parted her ways with Kana, who was also working overtime–it was her stride from there that was so much different from the groove.
“Oh, Hiiragi-san…?”
Kana suspiciously stared after her senior, who had ever trudged on homewards, burdened by a dark aura upon her shoulders, as she looked so unlike her usual self.
Well, however fast she would walk, she is not going to be a few hours earlier–it would only change some dozen of minutes at best.
Even so, she was anxious for Ohana. If anything, rather than for Ohana, it was for leaving stranger at home and setting off to work herself.
(Though I did tell her she can eat, have a bath, and go to bed first…)
She expected to return well before ten. However, even by virtue of their brief association she could gather that Ohana would stay waiting without sleep.
“Sure enough…”
Following Fuyuka’s insight, she found lights in her room were still on when she finally reached her flat. That was only to be expected, so she produced her key and opened the door without rush.
“Ah, welcome home!”
“I’m home… Were you waiting for me? You could’ve just gone to sleep.”
Ohana briskly ran to the just returned Fuyuka. Fuyuka felt almost touched, for it has been so long since someone greeted her at home.
“No, no; for it is my role to welcome you after a hard day, Fuyuka-san! Which should you prefer first: the bath, the dinner?”
“Shouldn’t ‘Or perhaps me?’ come next,” Fuyuka wondered for a moment; she shook her evil passions off, though, “How have I become this kind of middle-aged pervert.” Pure and innocent Ohana would never say that, in the first place.
“I’d love to have a bath, but… it will take a while to get ready.”
“Not at all, I have heated the water just a moment ago! I shall fill up the bath at once!”
“Eh…? But I said I didn’t know what time I’d be back.”
“Well, you may call it a sixth sense… It is not unquestionable, but usually I’m able to tell.”
“Because you are Youko?”
“Hmmm—, it might be that indeed, huh—?”
“Why, don’t you know it yourself?” Fuyuka was about to press, but she chose a bath while she had the chance. On weekdays, she does not have much time, and most of the time would just take a shower. However, she would much rather soak herself in a hot bath, if possible.
“What a nice hot bath it was…”
After enjoying the bath presumed upon such great kindness of Ohana, Fuyuka came out to find a meal for two waiting upon the dining table.
“Don’t tell me, Ohana… you waited for me to have dinner, too!?”
“Yes, I did. I was looking forward to it, you should understand. The evening is late now, so I have kept the menu small and light.”
As Ohana said, the table occupied moderate portions of what seemed to be healthy dishes, with tamagotoji udon1 as a main course.
“Th-thank you. I’m happy to hear it, but weren’t you hungry yourself, Ohana? It’s so unlike the lifestyle you had.”
The time is about ten. Yesterday, she would have been already asleep. It must be hard on Ohana, with her habit of going to bed early. The girl replied to Fuyuka’s unease with a smile.
“Certainly to say I’m not sleepy would be false, but does not it tastes better to eat together like this. Also, I feel lonely eating by myself.”
“… Humm—. Okay, if that’s what you say…”
When she put it like that, Fuyuka could not strongly deny it. And in the end, they put their palms together, for the food was getting colder, after all.
“What kind of work do you do, Fuyuka-san?”
“Humm—, well, I look at the monitor, and… I don’t know… occasionally tapping away on the keyboard, I’d say—.”
“???”
To eat while chatting with someone–this have become natural, after Ohana’s arrival, but it certainly seemed to taste better than when she ate bento alone… Or so she felt.
“That was good!”2
“Thank you for the meal. You sure can cook anything, Ohana?”
“I’ve more or less studied Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine, but I’m not so confident in Chinese cooking just yet. Although, I fancy to give it a try one of these days!”
“I… see… Thank you very much, that was delicious. I’m sorry about everything.”
“No, not at all. I am delighted to hear you say that!”
Stating so, Ohana was about to do the dishes. Fuyuka took them away from her, however. She has hitherto been a child in appearance, and it pained in her conscience so to let her go that far, regardless of what ears and tail she had.
Fuyuka directed Ohana to have a bath after resting for a while, and started dish-washing.
“Ara…?”3
And there, too, yet another realisation was to be made.
“I don’t remember it being this lovely here…”
The kitchen, even area about the gas stove, looked spotless. In fact, truly spotless. Minor spots all over the kitchen, the grease stains upon the gas stove have gone leaving no trace behind.
(Come to think of it, the air in whole flat appears refreshing…)
If one were to peek in the gap between the refrigerator and the wall, the blackish dust that had accumulated there is gone.
Fuyuka hastened to the bathroom she had just been in.
“And here as well…”
No water stains typical of unit-baths. Doubtless it was Ohana’s doing. She and only she was the one who could.
“Oh, whatever is the matter?”
Fuyuka was peeking in to the bathroom as a voice came from behind her. Ohana stood there, only holding a towel for wiping-her-body business.
“Oh-Ohana… Say, did you do some cleaning today by any chance?”
“Yes, I did? So I did–for I had nothing particularly to do and there were plenty of supplies for cleaning chore, I did it. C-could it be I was not allowed to!?”
She bought cleaning supplies for a regular cleaning chore at one point, and left them untouched. She is a quintessential sloth.
“No… rather than not allowed… Please enter, Ohana-sama. I beg your pardon, I have interrupted you. Kindly take your time here…”
“Eh, w-what? Fuyuka-san???”
Escorting Ohana of countenance that seem to read as “What is this about!?” to the bathroom, Fuyuka sighed out.
“Well, if you really, really think about it, cleaning was perhaps the only occupation she had, but even so, to let her do everything on her own…”
Fuyuka grew despondent, pasting upon herself label of a good-for-nothing. She felt ashamed of herself for doing so little as dish-washing and thinking she is doing her bit earlier.
“A-anyway, I can do more from now on! Uh-huh, I shall!”
She stayed unsure of whether she actually can afford it still, but she made up her mind and finished washing the dishes first.
After a short time, then, Ohana emerged from the bathroom. Fuyuka could not tell if that was the part of her Youko power, and yet she was dressed in what appeared to be her sleepwear. Albeit, there was certain detail that she found a little curious: the tail which was bundled up in a towel.
“This reminds me–and yesterday too–why have you wrapped a towel around there? Is there any meaning to it?”
“Eh? I do this for I need to dry the tail. The tail is slow to dry.”
It seems, she has wrung it out, enveloped it in a towel, and now waited for it to dry off. Yesterday and the day before, Fuyuka just watched and wondered what was it for; although, carefully thinking about it for a moment, it was obvious.
“But why not just use a hair dryer or something?”
“Hair-drier?”
“… Come here.”
“I have to make sure how much she knows about home appliances as well,” thought Fuyuka.
“Fuwaah—.”
She asked Ohana to sit on the futon, and then began running the warm air from hair dryer over her tail while combing it. The more Ohana’s tail dried up, the more fluffy and silky it became. This was a blissful moment for Fuyuka, who found her chance to touch it with a natural flow.
(We should make it regular from now on.)
Ohana moaned pleasantly while she gently stroked her tail, which was getting bushier and bushier.
“Come to think of it… is it safe to touch the tail like this?”
In the world of fiction, it is often a sensitive area. Though it does not seem that way when one look at so obediently patted Ohana.
“It’s a little ticklish, I should say—. Ah, but the base is rather sensitive, I would get startled if someone suddenly touches it.”
“Oh, I see.”
Thereafter, the time passed wordlessly. To her surprise, Fuyuka got the opportunity to enjoy the soft tail, so she kept touching it mindlessly. The warm, downy fur seemed to blow away her fatigue of daily life by mere touch, twice as much in case of animal lover like her.
“Yosh, something like this. Ohana?”
Fuyuka switched off the hair dryer, after she was thoroughly dried her tail, and then spoke to her, but there was no response.
“Ohana…?”
When she called her once again, Ohana, slump, lost her support and flopped down upon the futon.
“Wait… W-what’s wrong—?”
“Zzz, zzz…”
For how long Ohana has been asleep she did not know, but her respiratory rate was regular. Drying her hair upon the futon served her well.
“All right, I guess you was sleepy.”
As she touched the tip of her ear with her fingertip, pokun, it twitched instantly. Carefully, so as not to wake her up, Fuyuka covered her, set the alarm clock, and lay down by her side.
“Good night.”
Feeling quiet breathing from beside her, she, too, departed to the world of the dream.
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