Chapter 15: Today's End

The rest of the evening goes quietly. Ema and Yusuke head to the kitchen to start putting the groceries away. Wataru ends up finishing his homework and joining them.

I excuse myself to get my things back to my new room. 

"Oyasuminasai," Ema tells me as I go.

"Oyasumi," I return. "Have a good sleep. See you tomorrow."

In my new room I find that my clothes have been dried and folded on the bare bed. Masaomi must've really put his heart and soul into the whole hospitality thing. I'll have to thank him later.

The rest of my night is spent getting the room organized. I want to reign it in because I don't plan on staying very long, but I can't not be excited about having a new room.

I remove the packaging off my daily necessities, using borrowed sheets from Masaomi (seriously, he's thought of everything) and pillows for the bed. 

I put out the new comforter, which is rather thin. Good thing the weather is getting warmer lately. The room has a small bathroom and toilet, so I set up my toiletries at the sink.

I look a little disheveled after all of today's chaos. In the mirror I try to comb my hair with my hands. It's still a little frizzy, so I braid it into two loose pleats for bed.

Back in the bedroom, I drop my clothes with the rest of my things and open my laptop at the desk.

First things first: time to check that all my files are still in place. 

They are. I breath a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. I would die if I had to re-find all my sources and information for the essay.

It's not too late to work on it now, but I'm way too tired to think properly. Instead, I procrastinate by searching the housing sites for a new place.

Prices aren't exactly great at the moment, but a few places of interest pop up in my feed. They're sort of within my price range for a simple unit with a bed, bathroom, toilet, and kitchen. I could even do with a kitchenette if needed. I like to cook, but it's not like instant ramen is that expensive.

I save some of the more promising houses, opting to investigate them in greater detail tomorrow.

When I check the time it's an hour to midnight. Uwa. Settling a room takes a lot out of you.

With a yawn I decide that it'll be an early night for me. I set my alarm for earlier the next morning. I've got classes in the afternoon, but I want to eat breakfast and head to the library to study in the morning. There's also work in the evening. 

I cringe. Why did I opt to work evenings, again?

The cat cafe I'm at doesn't close until eight on weekdays. Since it's not exam season people will have some more free time, so I can expect a steady flow of people.

It'll also mean that I'm on litter duty. I think I'm scheduled to be with Yamazaki, who hates the smell of cat litter (which makes me wonder why he's even doing this job). 

Before bed, I make sure to check the train routes to school and work. Sunrise Residence isn't too far away from my old place, but it'll help to get a gist of the territory before I go. I don't want to find myself lost in the neighbourhood. Maybe I'll ask Ema to show me around.

With that all done, I can't think of anything else that needs doing. 

I lay down on my new bed in the darkness, squirming as I try to find a comfy spot on the mattress. 

Through the walls I can hear faint sounds of arguing, probably the brothers. They must be up still working and doing homework. The walls here aren't thin, but they aren't exactly soundproof, either.

If I close my eyes tightly enough I can block out the sounds to sleep. By the sound of it, it must be Yusuke arguing with someone, maybe the brown-pink haired boy from earlier. Is he a younger brother or an older one? I'll have to ask tomorrow.

With a yawn I pull the covers up to my chin. 

So much has happened today, but I'm grateful to Ema for helping me out. If I didn't have such a kindhearted friend I might be sleeping in a capsule hotel for the rest of the semester. I shiver at the thought of it.

I don't plan on staying long, but after my first day here things don't seem so bad. It reminds me of being at home, with lots of family around you who genuinely care about your well being. 

Not to mention, it's cool staying at your friend's house. I've always loved sleepovers back at home during middle school and here during high school.

Smiling, I tell myself that this is a new adventure. It will be fun to stay with the Asahina family. Even someone as energetic as Tsubaki will be interesting to live with. 

Eh, but I probably won't see a lot of the brothers if they're all working, which is fine.

"I'm just another person who lives here," I whisper. "I can't get ahead of myself."

Reigning myself back in, I close my eyes and let myself fall asleep.

–––––

The next morning begins early, with me smacking my hand on the alarm to get it to shut up. Why did I want to wake so early, again?

Sitting up, I feel my braids, which have become even more disheveled in my sleep. I groan as I roll myself out of bed and into the bathroom.

In the next thirty minutes I'm up and dressed and on the fifth floor for breakfast. 

I have no idea what mornings are like for the Asahina family, so let's find out.

Unsurprisingly, I find Ukyo already in the kitchen wearing the cat apron from yesterday.

"Oh, good morning," he greets me. 

"Ohayo gozaimasu," I return.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough. Thanks again for having me to stay. Do you need any help with breakfast?"

Ukyo glances at the bowls already set out on the counter. It looks like he's preparing a traditional Japanese breakfast, complete with miso soup and fish bits.

"If you don't mind, could you start dishing out the rice?" he asks. 

"Sure." I open the rice cooker, feeling the hot rush of steam flowing out. "You expecting a lot of people for breakfast?"

Ukyo hums. "Depending. A lot of them don't rise early enough to eat breakfast. We probably won't see Yusuke this morning, but he's always full of surprises."

I giggle. "I can imagine."

"I know Wataru has school, and Ema-chan is usually up early. Louis might be down, too, so you can meet him."

"Louis?"

I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before.