This is the Start to a Great Weekend

As for me, I think evening train-rides are close to the best thing ever. Seeing the city lights blur and fly past, cool air when you step onto the platform, and empty train cars. It's a vibe that I’ve never been able to experience anywhere else.

The best part, there’s no “but” this time. No incident, no Akimoto being annoying, nothing.

Despite life feeling chaotic recently, this train-ride was relaxing.

However, all good things must come to an end.

…

“I’m home!”

“Welcome home, Mak—”

The person who greeted me was Sayuri, only, she never finished her greeting. She froze mid sentence after her eyes landed on my guest.

“Mom—! Mom! Mom!”

“Yes yes, I’m coming, settle down.” Our mother’s calm voice came from deeper in the apartment.

“Look! Look! Mako brought home a call-girl!”

When my mother rounded into the entry-way she covered her mouth with a small gasp. “Oh my, why didn’t you tell us you were bringing a girl over.”

I wanted to overreact but that was a very valid question. It totally slipped my mind. I really don’t want there to be any confusion about our relationship. Although with Sayuri’s imagination I feel it’s impossible.

So I’ll quickly set the record straight.

“Ah, this is Akimoto Kaoru. We’re not like that, she’s a classmate of mine.”

Akimoto offered a small wave.

Even with this logically sound and truthful explanation, my sister seemed to be convinced I picked up an s-worker. Or she was messing with me.

“Bro… If you’re feeling lonely there’s no need to spend money on call-girls. Don’t be afraid to come to me.”

“H-hey! Stop! Don’t say things that cause misunderstandings! What brother in their right mind would do that!?”

I gave Akimoto a quick glance—she was glaring at me with a disgusted expression. You seriously believed Sayuri!? It’s a joke! A joke!

“Haa~ This is the girl I told you guys I’ve been writing with. And Sayuri, don’t make jokes like that.”

“Sorry~”

I shook my head. “Let’s talk in the living room, I’ll explain what’s going on.”

***

“Soo~ She’s a classmate who’s also a call-girl that you hired?”

“No! She’s my clubmate! She’s here while her family’s gone for the weekend.”

Sayuri looked ready to explode with more inappropriate comments but thankfully my mother quelled her. “Well, any friend of Mako’s is welcome here. I hope we can accommodate you, Akimoto-san.”

“Again. Thank you for doing this for me. A-are you sure I’m not being too much of a burden?”

“Not at all, not at all. We’re happy to have guests.”

“T-thank you…”

“Now.” My mom stood up. “By Sayuri’s request we’ll be ordering pizza tonight. So you two wash up and it should arrive by the time you’re done.”

My little sister chimed in with her own comment. 'It’s nice to meet you, Akimoto-chan. If you don’t mind, I’d love to get to know you better later.”

“Of course.”

With that, both of my family members left the living room. Suddenly, like a stray chilled breeze on a humid day, words were whispered into my ear.

“Kiyotaka-kun… I wanna see your room…”

My entire body, but especially my face heated up. It was a tingly sensation I haven’t felt before. A mix of nervousness and excitement? I swear I’m not thinking she means that, but what else could she mean!?

“A-alright…”

I walk Akimoto to my room, the whole time it’s like I’m a hostage and she has a gun to my back. I know extroverted popular girls can be bold but this is borderline harassment!

We step in and I flick on the lights.

“Wow.”

“W-what?”

“It’s exactly like one of those rooms a light novel protagonist would have! This is so funny!”

“H-hey…”

“Oh my gosh! You have so many bunny figures of the same girl!”

“Y-y-yeah… I—”

“There must be two hundred books here! This is crazy!”

“Are you in paradise or making fun of me…?”

“Mm~ A little bit of both?”

“I willingly showed you my room, the least you could do is pretend it’s cool.”

“Don’t get me wrong, as a light novel enthusiast this is incredible. But as a girl, catch me dead dating a boy with this room.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Just think, I don’t want to make eye-contact with six Meguri-chan figures while I’m getting it from—”

“Okay Okay! Okay! Picture painted!”

Akimoto smiled.

Despite her less… subtle… sense of humor, she’s honestly kinda funny. Someone good to write a book with! Yes!

And potentially as a… fr— nevermind.

With a loud “umph,” Akimoto casually flopped onto my bed, grabbing a pillow to hug as she landed.

“It’s weird, Kiyotaka-kun.”

“Huh? What is?’

“The vibe your family has.”

I raised an eyebrow. She’s not even attempting to hide her insults now?

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that in a negative way. I— I meant It feels warm and close together here. It’s different than what I’m used to…”

“Oh, that’s because we don’t have AC and our apartment isn’t very big.”

“No, not literally. It’s like… the three of you are very connected. And— and that makes the vibe here feel— feel— l-lov—”

During the latter half of her sentence it sounded like she was choking a little.

I repositioned in my desk-chair to get a better peek at her face. Tears had begun spilling down her face.

Did I just trigger a flag?

What do I say here? Why is she crying? I seriously have no clue what set her off this time. She didn’t bring up Katsuki… Or any other potential ex… What would a LN protagonist do!? Think!

Uh… It’s not a supernatural occurrence I think… and she doesn’t secretly like me… It’s not a lost childhood friend thing… What is it!?

Do I just ask her? No! That’s stupid! Who would do that!?

“M-most times when I visited a boyfriend’s family t-they w-would treat me like the flavor of the week… Most of them never bothered to l-learn my name… I g-guess it’s my fault for being around t-those kinds of guys b-but—”

Oh.

“Y-your mom and Sayuri-chan were so kind to me. They only j-just met me but they t-treated me like f-f-family.”

“I think it’s just basic hospitality… no?”

Akimoto let out a little chuckle—at least I believe it was. It sounded a bit weird through her crying.

She wiped her tears and sat up. “Thanks, Kiyotaka-kun.”

“Yeah…”

“Sorry for making it so awkward. Life has just been weird lately.”

I figured it out. It’s time like these, where she needs to know she has someone to rely on. Not a friend, not a lover, something far greater. A club president.

I extended my hand.

“Huh?”

“Akimoto-san. I’m done saying it. Instead, over this weekend, I’ll show you.”

“Show me what?”

“The power of writing. I don’t just want you to get an idea for your school magazine story, I want you to fall in love with writing. I want you to internalize how much it can help you understand yourself.”

“Kiyotaka…”

“I’ll show you this weekend, no more simply talking about it.”

Akimoto wiped her eyes one more time then met my hand with her’s. We gave each other a firm handshake and a determined smile.

“You’re surprisingly nerdy, Akimoto-san.”

“Hah!?”

“Only a nerd would get hyped up by a speech like that. It was kinda corny, even for a light novel.”

“H-hey, shut up. A pep-talk is a pep-talk. You can’t blame me for wanting to get excited about something.”

She’s right. I’m glad Akimoto’s able to get her mind of Katsuki, even if it’s because of a cheesy speech.

More importantly, I’m excited to see her give 100% in writing this weekend.

“Hm? Am I interrupting something?”

“Wha—?” Akimoto and I said in unison.

One hundred seventy-nine centimeters. Jet black hair. Big chest. Black lingerie. A smirk that said, “I’m better than you.”