When Shichen heard Kasumigaoka Utaha's words, he clearly misunderstood her intentions. He thought she was taking him to her house to give him so kind of "reward."
But when they arrived at her place, he realized she wanted his help moving out.
Kasumigaoka Utaha had decided to move into his café residence and live with them.
After all, the café was closer to her school, she wouldn't have to worry about breakfast and dinner, there would be friends of the sa gender around, and—most importantly—her very first "book fan" was there. In comparison, there was no point staying in her rented apartnt.
The key factor was how convenient it would be for her writing—just heading up and down a single flight of stairs.
Shichen, on his part, didn't mind her moving in and disturbing his life; being squeezed between Tohru and Chisato every night was exhausting enough, and occasionally he wanted to sprawl out on the bed and roll around freely.
With Utaha joining them, Tohru and Chisato might rein themselves in a bit.
Utaha's apartnt was rather plain, not at all the sort of cutesy, frilly space you might expect from a young woman. You could even call it bare-bones. There were no cute items, no fancy furniture or stylish clothes—just the absolute basics for living: a bed, a wardrobe, a desk. Presumably, since she lived alone, she had no motivation to decorate.
That actually made moving easier, though the room was a bit ssy. The kitchen required no cleanup at all, as she didn't cook. But the bedroom itself had clothes strewn about.
When Shichen followed Utaha in, he imdiately spotted so white undergarnts tossed casually on the bed. They were pretty…innocent-looking.
Utaha didn't even notice. She headed for the bathroom and said, "I don't have much stuff. If we just pack a bit, we can move. I'll gather up my toiletries. Could you please organize the bedding?"
"This is so sudden. What about your lease?" Shichen asked, surprised by her decisive action.
"I told the landlord last week that I'd be moving out, conveniently right before the rent was due."
"Oh, so you've been planning this for a while?" Shichen teased with a smile.
"So what if I have? Are you refusing to let move in?" Utaha asked archly.
"Not at all. I'd be delighted. Although, while your rent will be free, you'll occasionally have to help out in the café."
"Oh? What, do you want to wear so maid uniform too? Are you sure that's okay?" Utaha straightened up and showed off her figure.
Granted, she wasn't on Tohru's level, but people have different charms. Shichen watched openly and appreciatively.
"No, I'd just like you to watch the register sotis, be a cashier."
He was reluctant to have her serve out on the floor, not because he was playing favorites, but because she was just a normal human. Tohru and Chisato were strong and could handle troublemakers.
Behind a register, Utaha would be safe—a counter would separate her from custors, and Tohru or Chisato could step in if sothing happened.
"That's more like it. But only if I'm free. Otherwise, I'd rather just pay rent," Utaha said. She could accept cashier duties, but not a full-on maid gig.
"No problem."
"All right, then let's start packing."
"That stuff, too?" Shichen asked, grinning as he pointed at the bed.
"What…?" Utaha followed his gaze to the underwear she'd left on top of her bed that morning. She turned bright red.
Earlier, she'd been so excited after hearing the good news about her book that she changed clothes and dashed out, forgetting to tidy up.
Tap, tap, tap…
Utaha instantly zipped over to the bed with inhuman speed, scooped up the undergarnts, and stuffed them in a pocket.
"Wait, you didn't wash those, right? Won't it be a problem putting them in your pocket?" Shichen continued teasing.
"Shut up!"
Utaha glared at Shichen, face scarlet. But right after that, she mumbled, "They're…not dirty, anyway."
"I never said they were," Shichen quipped with a laugh.
"You're so annoying! Never mind—I'll pack everything myself. You stay put. Don't touch anything," she huffed.
"Can you handle it alone? You've got a fair amount of stuff."
"It's not that much! You're too perverted—no way am I letting you handle anything!"
"I'm the one to bla now? You're the one who left stuff out—"
"Can you please stop talking about it!"
"Fine, fine."
So Utaha ended up packing all her belongings herself. Shichen just waited near the entrance for a while.
She had fully realized the consequences of inviting a young man into the apartnt of a single teenage girl—her privacy was thoroughly exposed. Still, she thought it might provide new material for her novel.
In the end, she didn't have much—just three large bags: one for clothes, one for bedding, and another for daily necessities and a few study books. It was hard to believe this was everything a teenage girl owned—no fancy makeup or knickknacks to speak of. But she was Kasumigaoka Utaha. She didn't need them.
Shichen, being a guy, carried the two heaviest bags (the clothes and bedding), while Utaha took the lighter one with toiletries and books. Then they left her apartnt on foot and headed for the café.
"There's sothing I still need to ask," Shichen said after they'd walked a bit.
"What?"
"Your underwear—are you okay not washing it first? Now it's all jumbled in with your other clothes."
"Shut up!" Utaha blushed again. "I'll wrap it in a separate bag later. How am I supposed to wash it now?"
"Oh, right."
"…" She wanted to land a kick on him for this ongoing teasing. This guy clearly enjoyed ribbing her about her underwear.
"Then—"
"Not another word!"
"Uh…okay."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Rather than entering through the café's front door, they used the back. The café was open, and hauling in bags might disturb the custors.
Heading upstairs, Shichen let Utaha pick whichever room she wanted.
"Which ones are Tohru's and Chisato's?" Utaha asked.
"This one and this one," Shichen said, indicating the two rooms adjoining his own. Even though Tohru and Chisato spent every night in his room, each of them still had a furnished bedroom that just wasn't used.
"Then I'll take the room across," Utaha said, pushing that door open.
"Sure." Shichen followed her inside.
He set down the two heavy bags. Utaha spoke up, sounding moved. "I'll handle unpacking myself. You can go do whatever you want."
"Want to help?"
"How? By washing my underwear for ?" she snapped, glaring at him.
Shichen rubbed his chin. "It's not out of the question."
"Go to hell!" She promptly shoved him out the door.
"Really, no need to be shy," he said.
"All good. I'll do it all myself; I've done it many tis before anyway."
"What's the big deal if I've already—"
"Enough!" She slamd the door in his face.
Click.
He heard her lock it from the inside.
Shichen shrugged. Why did she have to be so defensive? He'd already seen her unwashed underwear anyway. Plus, he wasn't all that interested in a basic bra and panties. Nowadays, few n would be—unless they were truly pure of heart? If it was being worn by soone, that was a different story, but laundered or detergent-scented underwear was hardly enticing.
Since Utaha was embarrassed, Shichen didn't insist. He headed downstairs to update Tohru and Chisato. To his surprise, neither seed overly bothered. Chisato even looked excited, handing Shichen her work and dashing upstairs to find Utaha.
Shichen found that great—family harmony is everything. As for telling Utaha about how he slept with Tohru and Chisato, that would need more ti.
When noon rolled around, business picked up. Utaha, having finished sorting her new room, ca down to help. She took over Shichen's old job, standing watch at the register, while Shichen joined Chisato serving food. "When n and won cooperate, the work's not so tiring," and indeed Chisato seed to have extra motivation.
Once the midday rush ended, they got ready for lunch. This was Utaha's first official al as a resident, so Tohru gave it so extra effort.
"This is so fancy?" Utaha murmured upon entering the kitchen and seeing the spread on the table. She sat down next to Tohru.
"Don't get the wrong idea—it's for Chen-dono," Tohru said bluntly, eyes averted.
"Heh~ sure, let's go with that," Utaha teased, smiling faintly.
"Hmph," Tohru retorted.
"Chen-nii, co sit down," Chisato called out happily, pulling Shichen to join them opposite Tohru and Utaha.
After he sat, Shichen raised his glass of juice and smiled. "How about a toast, for Utaha moving in?"
"Shouldn't we use real alcohol?" Tohru asked.
"We're still underaged," Utaha reminded her.
"Hehe~ Kanpai!" Chisato said, lifting her juice glass, and they all touched them together with a crisp clink.
~~~
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