Sweeter Than Sweet Pt. 2

Eventually, I made it back to my dorm. Home sweet home, I guess.

With a sigh, I kicked off my shoes and stepped inside, letting the door shut behind me. Now, I need to figure out what to do for the rest of the day, since the plan with the girls was canceled.

Should I take a nap? I am kind of tired. Or maybe I'll do something productive, like—

I froze mid-step, my fingers still curled around the strap of my school bag.

Am I seeing things? No, seriously, am I hallucinating? I rubbed my eyes, blinked a few times, then stared again.

Nope. Still there.

Okay, yeah. On second thought, I'll just take that nap. Maybe even a longer one than usual. I'm obviously not in the right headspace right now.

Just as I turned toward my bedroom, a voice rang out—timid yet sweet, like she knew what she was doing was wrong and was somehow convincing me it wasn't a big deal.

"Come back, Aikami. Don't worry. You're perfectly sane right now."

My hand stopped, hovering over the doorknob. Slowly, I turned my head.

There, sitting comfortably on my couch—my couch, in my dorm—was Chloe. Her legs were tucked up casually while her arms wrapped around them.

She smiled, bright and welcoming as she usually does.

"Hello, Aikami," she said pleasantly. "Um... I'm not bothering you, am I?"

For a solid five seconds, I stood frozen, staring at her like my brain had been yanked out and rebooted against its will.

Nope. Nope, nope, nope. This isn't real. There is no way a literal goddess broke into my dorm and made herself at home on my couch like this was some kind of casual visit.

"Uh," I croaked. "C-Chloe…?"

She nodded hesitantly—like she was the one who had just walked into an alternate reality.

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Still nothing.

Okay, Enzou, think. Maybe I passed out on the way home. Maybe this is some stress-induced fever dream. Maybe I finally snapped from being socially overstimulated for too long.

Yeah. That has to be it.

…Or, worst case scenario, this is actually happening.

Chloe tilted her head, completely unfazed. "You haven't said anything in a while, Aikami. Are you… okay?"

Oh, she's worried about me now? That's cute. Super appreciated. But also—why is she here?!

Did I ever tell them where I lived? No, not even once. The topic never came up, and even if it had, I wouldn't have given them my address because—well, why the hell would I?

So that leaves two possibilities. Either I was followed, which is unlikely since Chloe was already inside when I got here… or she's known where I lived this entire time. And if she knows… then the others probably do, too.

"G-give me a second, Chloe," I sighed, dragging a hand down my face. "I need a moment to process this."

"Oh… Then I am bothering you, aren't I?"

No, Chloe. That's not the issue here. Not like I'm going to tell you that because I'd be lying through my teeth. I have no idea how you got in, why you're here, or what kind of karmic debt I owe to deserve a full-blown heart attack the second I walked through my door.

But instead of saying any of that, I inhaled deeply, nodded like a sane person, and screamed internally for the tenth time today.

"…Alright," I said after a few breaths. "I think I'm okay now."

"Oh, really?" She brightened. "That's good!"

"Y-yeah. So… care to explain how and why you're here?"

"How?" She blinked as if the answer was obvious. "I've known where you lived ever since I first laid eyes on you."

Okay, what is happening right now? She said that way too casually that it's making me question what else she knows.

"I…I'm sorry, what?"

"As for why—hmm…"

Chloe suddenly stood up and skipped over to me, closing the distance before I could react. Then she leaned forward, way too close, her expression unreadable.

"Aikami," she grinned. "Can I borrow you for a day?"

"…Huh? Borrow? Me? Like… to do something? Wait—wait, wait, w-wait, what?!"

"Yeah! You see, I felt really bad about earlier. Thankfully, my sisters don't seem that upset anymore, but I still wanted to check if you were okay. And as an apology, I wanna take you somewhere!"

She wants to what? Take me somewhere? Alone? Without the others?! But isn't that kind of like a… date...?

Oh no. Just when my brain had barely started functioning again, it was about to crash all over again.

"Y-you don't have to, Chloe," I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck. "There's no need to worry about me. I'm fine."

"Oh, really?"

"…Yeah."

"That's great!" she chirped. "But I still wanna take you out. Um… of course, that's only if you want to go."

Okay, that's just not fair. How am I supposed to say no when she's looking at me with that tiny, hesitant pout like she's bracing herself for rejection? If I turned her down now, I'd feel like the worst person alive.

"I… I'll… g-go…" I sighed in defeat.

"Yay!" she beamed, grabbing my hand without warning. "Are you ready?"

"Huh? Right now?"

"Yep!"

“Eh?! Hold on! At least tell me where we're going first!"

"My favorite place in the entire world—Mount Fuji! Hold on tight, Aikami!"

"W-wait—" I barely got the word out before a flash of bright blue light engulfed us.

Now, I may not be the smartest when it comes to geography, but I do know that Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan. And from what I remember, the higher you go, the colder and snowier it gets—not to mention how it gets harder to breathe.

Let's examine my surroundings. It's chilly, but not that cold. It's definitely not snowing, and I can breathe just fine.

"Uh... C-Chloe?" I mumbled. "This... seems like a far cry from Mount Fuji."

The first thing I noticed was the smell—warm, savory, and undeniably mouthwatering. Definitely not what Mount Fuji is supposed to smell like. The second thing? Buildings. Left and right, down a bustling street.

People strode down in the traffic, moving between rows of vendors shouting over one another to advertise their food, crafts, and souvenirs.

"A street market," I mumbled.

"How can this be?" Chloe gasped, looking around in disbelief. "I explicitly thought about Mount Fuji before warping, so why—"

A low growl cut her off. I stared at her. She stared at me.

It didn't take a genius to figure out where it came from. And while I may not be a genius, even I knew exactly what had just happened.

"Hah… Haha... Seriously?" I chuckled, crossing my arms. "I think we just figured out why we ended up in a street market instead of a snowy mountain."

Chloe stiffened, her entire body going rigid. "…D-don't make fun of me, Aikami. I… I haven't eaten anything all day…"

Her face was red. Not just slightly embarrassed—full-on, tomato-red. She turned away, avoiding my gaze, standing as stiff as a statue, as if pretending this wasn't happening would somehow make it true.

Honestly, it's kind of adorable. I wanna keep poking fun, but then again… that didn't necessarily go the way I intended with the other two. Besides, she's still a goddess. A very powerful one. And I, unfortunately, am still very mortal. Probably best not to push my luck.

Instead, I let out a small sigh and shook my head with a subtle smile.

"Well, since we're already here, we might as well grab a bite," I said, tilting my head toward the food stalls. "Come on."

Chloe perked up immediately, her entire demeanor shifting in an instant. "Ah—ah! O-okay!" she stammered, her earlier embarrassment vanishing as she eagerly followed behind me.