Chapter 14: Outing
Chapter 14: Outing
“OH, what do we have here? Could it be you’re excited, Kou? You get to go on a date with Azusa after all.”
“……”
Subaru had a smug look as he peeked in on Kouya getting dressed in one of the mansion rooms. Kouya was momentarily surprised by his stealthy entrance into the room, but the expression swiftly faded from his face.
THUD! Kouya karate-chopped Subaru’s face.
“Why don’t you try at least saying good morning like a normal person?” he scolded with a grimace.
Subaru rubbed his nose, apparently still in a good mood. “You’re a jerk for hitting me out of the blue, Kou. That hurt.”
“I made it hurt. Don’t say something so obvious.”
“Looks like you’ve gotten relatively used to life here. You’ve been here for a week so far. How’s it been? Are you getting along with Azusa?”
Subaru’s question reminded Kouya of what took place a week ago.
After Azusa confronted Akashi and won Shinji’s acquittal, Kouya escorted her back to the mansion to come face to face with Ichi and Subaru freaking out over her disappearance. They explained everything that happened, followed by Kouya informing them that he was on guard duty now too. To which Ichi bellowed in disgust, “Just what is Master Akashi thinking putting a man as a young woman’s primary bodyguard!”
He could still vividly recall the contempt in her voice.
“How’s it going, Kou?” Subaru repeated, “Are you getting along?”
Kouya hesitated before answering, “…Yeah, no problems here.”
***
“KOUYA is formidable,” Azusa muttered to her reflection. Her face somehow looked worn-out in the mirror. Ichi sat in a chair behind her, her lips pursed in dissatisfaction.
“Is there even a reason for you and that sourpuss of a man to get along in the first place?”
“I rather be on friendly terms than not. We’re stuck together all day, EVERY day, you know?”
“I know that, but still…”
Kouya was with her at all times over the past week. They were always together, from the time she woke up in the morning and crawled into bed at night—the only exceptions were when she bathed and actually slept. There was barely any conversation between them either.
Even if she started a conversation with Kouya, he would never let the conversation last or start one with her. He merely watched over her in silence when she jogged, baked, cleaned, and did anything else for that matter. Such was the state of things between them. It was very hard to say they were getting along.
“He only stoically stares at me in silence twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week! Could you stand that, Ichi?”
“When you put it that way, the situation certainly sounds unbearable.”
“Right? It would be different if I could talk with him like I do with you… Seriously, if I don’t do something about this soon, it’s going to burn a hole in my stomach.”
The more agonizing the time spent with Kouya became, the more the bath and sleep time Azusa spent with Ichi became like paradise. It was partially because they were both women, which made it far easier to hold a conversation. The relationship between them had subtly changed as they became more relaxed with each other. Now they treated each other more like friends than bodyguard and prisoner.
“I wish I could be with you during the day too, but Master Akashi decided otherwise…”
“Thank you, Ichi. I plan on doing my best to put an end to this situation! Cheer me on!” Azusa raised her fists in the air to pump herself up—she was full of motivation. “I dub my plan, ‘The Epic Strategy to Chat with Kouya!’”
“Exactly what you plan on doing, I see. All things considered, you jumped right to taking drastic measures. I can’t believe you are going out with Kouya.”
“I might find something to talk about if there’s a change in environment! Plus, I wanted to check the town out too!”
Azusa remembered the look on Kouya’s face when she asked if he would go to town with her. He agreed to go even though his face looked like he deeply detested the idea. She got the sense he internally categorized her as an annoying woman. She didn’t like that.
“Time to remove the annoying woman label!”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Ichi asked with a wry smile. She suddenly shifted to a more serious aura and faced Azusa. “I won’t try to talk you out of it when this is something you have decided on your own and Master Akashi has granted you permission, but I cannot recommend going into town with Kouya.”
“Why?”
“You might make some bad memories today. Please be careful.”
“Bad memories?”
“Oh, Kouya is here,” Ichi said, cutting off Azusa’s question.
The bedroom door opened and in came Subaru. Behind him was Kouya, his eyes black instead of red.