Hungover

Inei slowly opens his eyes, waking to see a different ceiling than his own.

Woah, what happened? I remember running to Azami's house, and then after that, I don't know.

Inei goes to move, but then his eyes shrink, feeling weight against his body. He nervously turns his head, reality being what he didn't want it to be. A sleepy Aneko, her body pressed against his, sleeping heavily but happily, Inei, unsure of what to do, slowly lets his arm free, then gets up as fast as possible, stumbling, but then catches himself, arcing his body over a sleeping Yui who is on the floor. He then pushes himself to stand up straight, looking around. He hears sizzling coming from the kitchen, and he sees Chura and Azami cooking. Inei looks the other way, Yasu is asleep and tucked facing the back of the couch as she sleeps. Inei walks to the kitchen, taking a seat on a countertop stool. Chura says softly.

"Good morning Inei! You fell asleep quite early. Are you alright?"

Inei nods then he begins peaking to see what they are making, Azami blocks it off with her body, and Chura gets back into sight.

"So, how was cuddling up with Aneko?"

Inei turns dark red, shaking his head and putting his hands up. Chura giggles.

"I'm just playing with you. Aneko does that. You just so happened to be the victim this time."

So this is a common occurrence, good. I don't have to think anything of it then.

Inei then examines Azami's kitchen thoroughly, picking out as much as he can about it.

"It's a beautiful home, isn't it, Inei? It fits Azami as such a nice person. She deserves so many pretty things."

Inei doesn't respond, slumping against the counter. Azami looks to Chura.

"Chura, do you mind grabbing a rag from the laundry room? We'll need it to wipe away some stuff."

Chura nods, and with her hands flat by her side, she softly skips off throughout the house. A moment of silence other than the sizzling of cooked food echoes throughout the house.

"Inei, thank you for what you did for Aneko yesterday."

Inei raises an eyebrow.

"She didn't tell me anything, but she was upset that she had put you through so much and was so mean to you, so I assume you protected her as you did for me."

Inei looks over to where Aneko is sleeping, and a small smile on her face remains.

"She was going to wake you up to apologize for what she had done, but we stopped her so you could rest. I should let you know just in case she forgets after she sleeps."

Inei still looks at Aneko.

Damn. If it comes from Azami, I believe it, even the unbelievable.

As he looks, Aneko sits up, stretching with a long yawn, then looks at Inei with a stink eye.

"What are you looking at? Pervert."

Inei doesn't react, rolls his eyes looking back at Azami. Chura comes skipping around in handing the rag to Azami, then notices that Aneko is awake.

"Good morning Aneko!"

Chura walks by, but as she passes Inei, she whispers something.

"Watch this."

Inei raises an eyebrow and turns his head to side eye what is happening. Chura leans down with a smile.

"You seem to have slept well, Aneko. You know, you ended up cuddling in your sleep again."

Oh, I see what you're doing. That's evil, Chura.

Aneko giggles a little nervously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Chura. I didn't mean to do that to you. I'll stop it from happening."

Chura tilts her head, and her same scandalous smile remains.

"It wasn't me that you cuddled with."

Aneko tilts her head.

"Azami?"

Chura keeps the smile.

"Nope."

Aneko looks around, noticing that Yasu and Yui are still asleep in different spots, finally reaching a conclusion, her face turning bright red, pointing to herself, and then to Inei. Chura nods with a grin. Aneko's face is now the darkest color of red.

"There's no way I cuddled and slept a whole night with that pervert! He probably got with me because I'm so pretty!"

Chura giggles softly.

"Ah, but you're mistaken. Remember, Inei fell asleep. First, he could not have done so, considering it's in the same spot he originally fell asleep in."

Aneko, now flustered, begins stumbling over her words.

"Well, just because I, no, he, fell asleep doesn't mean that I wanted, wait, no!"

Chura breaks out in laughter, watching Aneko struggle to defend herself. At first, finding it funny, Inei begins feeling bad for Aneko, who begins tearing up with embarrassment. Inei stands as Chura continues laughing. Inei walks over and puts his hand on Aneko's head, and suddenly Chura's laughter at once stops. Aneko, too shocked, now prevents the tears. Chura watches, confused. Inei removes his hand and goes back and sits down. Aneko looks down and to the side. Chura tilts her head.

"Wow, Aneko, you reacting like that was a bit, strange for your personality. I would expect you to be yelling at him."

Aneko hears this and then follows suit, her blush remaining as she shouts.

"You're right!"

She faces Inei and starts yelling at him.

"You pervert! How dare you touch me without my permission! Do you go around and do that with all girls?! You should be locked up!"

Yasu sits up, rubbing her eye.

"Can you quiet down? Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Yui sits up, doing the same thing as Yasu.

"Yeah, like, some of us actually wanna catch up on sleep before we have to go back to school."

Aneko points at them, yelling more.

"We didn't even party that hard! We played cards until one in the morning, and all fell asleep!"

Yasu tilts her head.

"Aneko, what are you doing where Inei was sleeping?"

Yui smirks.

"Aw, was Aneko sleeping with her Prince Charming?!"

The twins burst out laughing, leaving an embarrassed Aneko yelling at them.

"I was not! After he got up, I got here because he deserves to sleep on the floor like the filthy man, and pretty girls like me should be sleeping on something soft! Can you blame me for kicking him out of it?!"

Chura scoots over to Yasu and Yui.

"She slept with him."

All three girls glare with a smirk, holding in there laughter, and then burst out laughing, Aneko crossing her arms with her nose up, trying to ignore them.

"Think what you three want to think! Tell them, Inei, tell them it didn't happen!"

Aneko looks over to Inei, who is just facing the kitchen. Aneko gets up walking over there aggressively.

"Hey, are you not listening to me, you dirty man?! Tell them-"

As Aneko talks, she misses the step up into the kitchen from the living room, tripping. As she falls, someone catches her, grabbing her by the hand. She looked up, seeing that Inei had again saved her from harm without even looking at her. Her eyes flicker, and she stands up. Silence stand for a moment as the other girls watch when the sound of dishes hitting each other comes from Azami's direction, Azami standing over a few plates of omurice.

"Breakfast is ready for all of us!"

Aneko willingly sits next to Inei, the other three run-up, taking the rest of the seats, and Azami sits on the cooking side in a chair she had pulled up earlier. Everyone thanks Azami, saying it or bowing, and then takes a bite. They chew for a couple of minutes and continue taking bites, happily eating an enjoyable meal, Inei thinks.

Wow, Azami can cook. No offense to my mother, but I haven't had such excellent food in a long while. Although I'd love to focus on the food-

Inei's side eyes the girl to his left; Aneko sits with a big grin as she eats.

The person who hates me the most sits beside me after cuddling against me all night-

He then sides his eyes to his right, where Yui sits.

And the calmest of the five sits on my right, and I don't know what they did last night, but her clothes don't suit her.

Inei then realizes, remembering what they were wearing the previous night, now all changed into something different while he wears the same clothes.

Am I the only one who hasn't changed? Or showered?! What if they smell me while I eat?!

Inei keeps side-eyeing both the girls, first Aneko.

If she smells me, she will never let me live it down; she embarrasses me in front of everyone! However, she was against my arm all night. She would be used to it by now, and Yui-

Inei looks over to Yui, who is paying no more attention to the world than her food.

Yui is Yui. I don't have to worry about her.

Azami, even though starting last, finishes first, taking her plate and cleaning it. Then turns her head.

"Hey, Inei, if you want, you can go shower. I was the last one to shower last night, and I left a shirt and shorts that are my brothers in there for you. If they don't fit, let me know. If you leave your clothes outside the door, I'll wash them and take them back up to you and leave them at the door when you finish."

Inei nods, finishing his food quickly, then takes his plate, washing it, and then heads up the stairs, the door closing loudly. The girls look at the stairs where he had last been, then at each other, giggling. They continue to eat, making small talk with each other.

"We didn't party last night. We should spend today partying."

The person who speaks of this is Yui, who has a radiant and peaceful smile. Yasu looks down, tucking her arms to herself.

"I'm tired, and I don't think it would be smart to party again today."

Yui leans in with a smirk.

"There could be dancing music."

Yasu looks up quickly.

"Let's do it then!"

Azami looks down at her phone.

"I'll be back!"

Azami takes off, skipping up the stairs. Aneko watches, making a sour look; Chura notices it at once.

"Aneko, why with that look, are you jealous?"

Aneko doesn't look at Chura, letting out a calmly collected sigh.

"No, I'm not. I'm worried about Azami. She seems clingy to him, and I don't understand why."

Yui pitches in her words.

"Well, he has saved you multiple times and Azami herself. She said she could see a good soul in him, so maybe she's not wrong."

Aneko now turns to the three girls.

"But he doesn't talk! Is that not suspicious to you three? He could be up to something not good and faking it all?"

The other three girls look at Aneko, then at each other, back to Aneko, all just shrugging.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge if it comes. You said it yourself. We can't have fun if we're too picky. Besides, Inei has brought us a few laughs, hasn't he?"

Aneko stands.

"But did he?! We made jokes, and he did not react! How is that him being funny?"

Yasu makes a small smile.

"Maybe it was because it was you who he hit with the paper football."

Yasu giggles softly, Yui and Chura join her. Chura is pitching in now.

"Just because someone is quiet doesn't mean they don't have feelings, Aneko. Even if he doesn't express any, or at least rarely, that doesn't mean he still can't feel or act on feelings. Even though you're so mean to him, why would he have saved you last night if he was mean?"

Aneko goes to open her mouth and then remembers the previous night how he had saved her from the group of men trying to take her.

"He knows martial arts. He's aggressive. Don't let his silence confuse you."

Aneko sits quietly, putting her head down, and the other three girls continue their talks. Yui started the conversation.

"Anyway, Chura, what do you think we should do to party today since we didn't party yesterday?"

Chura shrugs.

"I honestly don't know. Trying to test what gets emotions out of Inei would be fun, but that's not a party thing to do."

Around that time, Azami skips back down the stairs, Inei's clothes in her hands. The other girls watch her skip by, going into the laundry room. After a few minutes of silence, Azami returns, looking at all four girls.

"What are you all looking at?"

Chura points to the laundry room.

"How did you know he had his clothes outside the door before you went up?"

Azami blinks a couple of times, confused.

"What do you mean, Chura?"

Yui jumps into the conversation.

"You said you would be right back and left, and then a few minutes later, you returned with his clothes. He doesn't talk, so how did you know?"

Azami giggles, now understanding what they are asking.

"I went to my room to grab some things, and then on my way back, I saw his clothes in front of the door on the floor, so I picked them up and came down."

Yasu speaks next.

"What did you go upstairs to get?"

Aneko pulls her phone charger out of her pocket.

"I forgot to charge my phone last night, and it wasn't on my wall like before, so I had to look for it."

All four girls sigh, happy that what had happened didn't happen. Azami tilts her head, confused.

"What?! Why are you all sighing?! You are scaring me!"

All four girls, even Aneko, start to laugh, then Aneko puts a hand to her head, wincing. Azami goes to her.

"Aneko, are you okay?"

Aneko says in pain.

"I'm okay. I had a bit of alcohol at the party last night, so my head hurts."

Chura responds.

"Oh, so that's why. That makes much more sense about the snuggling situation, and the way you acted when you came in the door yesterday."

Aneko goes to yell at Chura, but she then puts her hand back on her head. She stands and returns to the couch-like chair she woke up in, lying down.

"Wake me up whenever it's time to do whatever we're gonna do."

Yui shakes her head.

"That Aneko, what are we gonna do about her?"

Chura jumps in.

"She is something, huh? Always being the craziest but then tells all of us to stop being crazy. But if she wasn't our friend, I think it would be a lot more boring. Plus, I would be the one who gets angry most often, and I don't want that, so I'm happy she's around with us. I wish she would have initially gone to the party with us rather than being stuck up and trying to go alone."

Yasu shyly plays with her hair as she speaks.

"Aneko is usually the first to dance with me because she gets drunk. Even though it's because she gets drunk, I'm at least grateful she dances with me."

Yui puts her hands out as if shrugging.

"Eh, she's alright. I like to get along with everyone, even though she can be a handful and very annoying sometimes. Plus, she's like a sister to you, Azami, so if you're friends with her, they're worth being with."

Azami sits in Aneko's old kitchen seat, stretching and then relaxing.

"Aneko may be the loudest, but that's good and bad. Cause at least when all of us are nervous, she'll speak up and say something. But she forgets, just like how she always seems so mean, she has a good soul, just like Inei has one under his silence."

The other three girls nod with a smile, enjoying a moment. Then, a step on the stair's creeks, the four girls turning, then each one in their way begins to blush. Inei stands dressed in Azami's brother's clothes, the shirt is ripped at the shoulders and doesn't go below the top of his six-pack, and the shorts are halfway up his thighs. Yasu looks down as fast as possible, and Yui turns away. Chura is struck with awe as Azami covers her eyes by leaning into Chura's chest.

"You know, Inei, that clothing is petite on you; maybe you should hurry and go to the laundry room."

Inei nods and rushes to the laundry room in a waddle, causing Chura to laugh. As she laughs, she pokes at Azami.

"Azami, he's gone now; you can open your eyes."

Azami looks up with a terrified look.

"I'm blind."

Yui turns back with an uncomfortable smile toward the two.

"Well, his body is sharp rather than something else."

Yasu, too embarrassed, keeps her head down, covered in her hair and hands, not saying a word.

Chura looks back at Yui.

"What do you mean sharp?! His body is honestly perfection! And as his friend, I will tell him so! Plus, I wanna see if I can get a reaction out of it."

Yui blushes a bit at what Chura says, nodding.

"I must agree, but don't be dumb about it."

Chura smirks, now picking on Yui.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you are being quite defensive of him, Yui, don't forget that I'm the lady Cupid of the group."

Yui laughs at Chura's allegation, shrugging more.

"Think what you want, Chura; I just want what makes people happy, and having him around makes Azami happy, so I defend him."

Chura smirks more.

"Well, alright then, Yui, but I'll keep my eye on you."

At that moment, Inei walks back in with his original clothes. He takes a seat, Chura tapping on his shoulder.

"You know, Inei, I don't know why, but how do you have such a fantastic body?"

Inei looks at her, then pulls out his phone, showing the screen to her. Her mouth takes an o shape, showing her realization. His background is the basketball team's logo, and Yui notices the logo at once as Chura continues to speak.

"You're on the basketball team?! How come we have never heard of you?!"

Inei looks at her with a sarcastic look.

"Right, that's why. Well, it makes sense that you have that body for that sport. That's all I have!"

Azami then pops into view.

"I know! Let's go to the mall!"

Chura and Yui nod in agreement; Yui is speaking first.

"Ah! The mall sounds fun. What do you think, Yasu?"

Yasu very slowly peaks up, still with super red cheeks, and lets her head fall back down after speaking

"Sounds fun."

Chura peaks over the Aneko, who has now fallen asleep in the couch-like chair from the headache she has acquired; Chura speaks with concern for Aneko.

"She seems to be sleeping heavily, and I think we should leave her be. I think it would be best as well."

Azami speaks.

"Hmm, I don't know about that one. What if Aneko wakes up while we're gone? She'll think we abandoned her."

Inei looks, then reaches into his pocket, handing his keys to Azami. Azami looks at him, confused.

"Inei, what are you implying?"

Inei points to Azami, Yui, Yasu, and Chura, the keys, and the door. Then he points at himself, then Aneko, then his eyes. Azami tilts her head.

"You're telling me that you are going to stay here and watch and make sure Aneko is okay, and you are gonna let us take your sports car to the mall?"

Inei nods. The four girls look at each other and then at Inei, Yui speaking.

"You do anything to that girl, and we will kill you."

Inei nods, going to a drawer and grabbing a rag, making it into a cool rag, taking it over, and placing it on Aneko's head. The other girls clutch their purses and belongings, Azami the last one out the door.

"Hey, Inei?"

Inei looks at Azami, between the door and its frame, looking in with a smile.

"This is your chance to get her to trust you. I know you'll do what's best."

With that, Azami closes the door, the rumbling of an engine erupts, and then it fades into the distance. Inei stares at the door, then back to Aneko. Inei pulls a chair beside her, sitting in it, ensuring she is comfortable. Inei then slowly begins falling asleep.

Aneko isn't that bad when she's sleeping. She seems peaceful and sweet. But then, when she wakes up-

Aneko begins to stir in her sleep, then slowly opens her eyes.

"Inei?..."

Inei looks back at her with a severe look. Aneko slowly sits up, looking around.

"Where are the girls?"

Inei slowly points to the door, then Aneko slightly frowns, glaring at Inei.

"So we're stuck here, together, alone."

Inei slowly nods.

That does sound weird now that she says it that way. We've been at odds with each other since we met.

"So be it."

Inei gives a shocked look, baffled by what he hears. Aneko leans back into the chair, closing her eyes.

"It doesn't matter how much I sleep; my head hurts."

Inei thinks for a moment, then gets up and goes somewhere. Aneko waits for him to return, then opens her eyes to something. Inei sits in the chair, holding medicine and a glass of water.

"What medicine is this?"

Aneko asks this suspiciously, then Inei pulls out the bottle of headache relieving medicine he took the pill out of, shaking it with assurance. Aneko hesitantly places the medicine in her mouth and then drinks the water to get it down. She returns the glass to Inei, who takes it and sets it to the side. Aneko then looks away.

"Thank you."

Inei doesn't give feedback.

There's no need to thank me if it hurts you to do so.

"If you think it's about the medicine, it's not."

Inei raises an eyebrow.

"I mean about after you hit me with the paper football and at the party last night when you saved me. I talked about it with Azami last night, and I came in to tell you, but you were asleep."

Why is she now suddenly kind?

"I am sorry about how I've treated you. I am. I sit trying my darndest to hate you, but even with all my effort, you keep proving me wrong. You saved Azami, made Chura laugh, and made Yui smile. I've heard Yasu speak more in the past couple of weeks than I have in my entire life, and you saved me."

Inei looks away, looking towards the ceiling.

Wow, okay now, don't get too deep on me, Aneko. You're freaking me out.

"The girls will never let me live it down if I act kind to you now, so don't take it to heart. I will be mean because of my pride, not because I don't like you."

Inei's lips form the tiniest of smiles.

So you do have a heart like Yui said you did. The way you are speaking to me now is what she meant.

"I don't expect you to respond in the least. I understand you don't talk. As Azami says, maybe one day you'll tell her or us why. And you know, she has good faith in you-"

Inei thinks to himself as Aneko continues talking.

Wow, this is an Aneko I've never seen before. She is so talkative, like we've known each other for years. This version of Aneko is rather creepy.

"She sees you as some kind of superstar, so don't hurt her, or I'll kill and hate you."

I missed most of what she said, but that end part was weird. It doesn't matter; Aneko seems to exaggerate everything anyway.

"Hey, Inei?"

Inei looks back to Aneko, then gasps, her face only about a foot away from his.

"Thank you for being a hero..."

After those words, Aneko leans back in the chair and falls asleep. Inei, with super red cheeks, gets up, goes to a sink, and splashes water on his face. As he does, a slight smirk appears on Aneko's face.