Chapter 27 – Sleepy Asanagi

Speaking of which, Asanagi has been coming to hang out with me every week lately. Is it really okay for her to not hang out with her other friends?

That thought suddenly crossed my mind.

I heard my classmates mention that Fridays were the most popular day to hang out since Saturday was a day off.

This was just my loner self's opinion but, I think hanging out with a lot of people during that day had a lot of advantages.

Whether it was high school, college, or work… We were all bound to socialize with different people throughout our lifetime. That was why establishing communication with a lot of people beforehand would make it easier for you to socialize with new people.

Take school for example. Whenever you advanced to a  higher grade, the first thing people would do was to look for their old acquaintances that came from their previous schools. Only after that, would they slowly mingle with the rest of the class.

Even if they didn't get along with that said acquaintance back in their previous school, they would try to make it work. It's easier to stick with those you know, after all.

Well, then again, I'm a loner, it's not like I have much experience. Most things I knew on the subject are hearsay. But… I guess that still made me worry about Asanagi's social life.

'Is it okay for her to hang out with me so often? What about her other friends?' That kind of thought had been nagging at me for a while.

Of course, I didn't have any problem with it personally. In the first place, she was the reason why I tried my hardest to keep my schedule free on Friday.

I didn't mind hanging out with her. Being with her felt so fun and I wouldn't mind if she came to hang out with me every week.

"…Mm? What is it? You've been staring at me."

Noticing my gaze, Asanagi tilted her head. With fries in her right hand and a controller in her left, she wasn't exactly what you would consider a classy look. But, she's still a beautiful girl, so it still ends up looking picturesque somehow.

"Ah, I get it. You're starting to fall in love with me, aren't you? Then, why don't you go easy on me and–"

"My ass."

"Woah, t-this jackass, you're shooting me? Stop hiding and face me like a man, you coward!"

"Shut up. Learn to hide better, I'm actually worried about your lack of skills."

"You don't need to worry about me, I'm still physically stronger than you."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

After that, I decided to talk to Asanagi about the thing that had been bothering me.

Though, in the end, what I wanted to ask was, 'Shouldn't you hang out with other people more?', and as soon as she heard this question, her face instantly soured.

"What? Do you actually hate hanging out with me? You've had enough of me, is that it?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I mean, to me, Asanagi, you're…"

"…What?"

"Ugh…"

My true feelings almost leaked out, but I managed to stop myself. However, Asanagi had always been pretty sharp, so she noticed and started to tease me.

I messed up.

"Hmm ~ Hmm ~?"

"W-what?"

"Hm? No ~ thing? I was wondering what our dear Maehara had to say about me? 'To me, Asanagi, you're…'"

"…You're…"

"Hm? I am what?"

"…Ora!"

While she was distracted, I shot her in-game avatar mercilessly with my rifle.

"Ah, hey! Doing that when I was distracted… You coward!"

"All is fair in love and war!"

I managed to derail our conversation and turned her focus back to the game.

Though Asanagi was still weak, she's improved a lot, compared to when she first started. When I asked her about it, she told me that her brother had the same game in his collection and she had been practicing on it.

I guess that explains why she started using gamer lingo whenever we were chatting.

Asanagi was on her way to becoming a real gamer… Or rather, she probably had become one when I wasn't looking.

"Well, I know that you're just worried about me, so thank you for that, I guess."

"…Mmm. I feel like I'm worrying about something I shouldn't… My bad."

"That's okay. It's true that I've been coming a lot lately. I've been feeling overwhelmed and being here feels comfortable. Well, I do still need to be careful next week since there is that matter with Yuu… Anyways, what should we get for next week? There's this okonomiyaki place I've had my eyes on."

"Wait, how did the conversation derail this far?"

The conversation veered far from the main topic, but this was Asanagi, I'm sure that was merely my needless worry.

Besides, it's her life, she's free to do whatever she likes.

"Ah, Right! The manga you lent me before was good… You know, the one with amazing art and story, what was it again…?"

"Oh, 'Saw-Man'? The last volume of that manga got released yesterday, I bought it already." (T/N: Chainsaw Man ofc)

"Eh, really? Why didn't you tell me? Where is it? Is it in your room? Let me read it!"

"Sure, but I haven't even read it yet…"

"Then, read it with me! Forget about those soggy fries, c'mon, let's go to your room!"

"You were the one who ordered these fries…"

So, we stopped playing video games and went to my room to read some manga.

My mom worked as an editor, that was why my bookshelf was filled with manga, light novels, and various other books. Whenever I wasn't in the mood to play games, I would lie down in my room and read.

"Maehara, let me sit next to you."

"Mm. Go ahead."

"Thank you."

After finding the manga we were looking for, we both sat down on my bed and started reading.

It was the final volume of a popular series and the anime was in production as we speak. We enjoyed it quite a lot, so both of us took our time and read through it panel by panel.

"Woah… I didn't expect that ending… When I first started, I thought this series was just some kind of nonsense, but then I kept going and got addicted, it was sick! Whenever the boys in our class started talking about it, I had to forcefully restrain my urge to join them."

"I know right? You don't know how many times I tried to restrain myself from joining them in the middle of their conversation."

Asanagi and I were the type of people who loved to discuss our favorite works. We would look for the subtleties in the work, plot holes, and any other things that we found interesting.

I heard from Asanagi that whenever she went with Amami-san and the other classmates to see a movie, they only ever talked about basic things like how the graphics looked cool, or how the music sounded amazing. The conversation never reached the depths of our usual conversations.

That was one of the reasons why Asanagi thought of me as her 'kindred spirit'.

"Haah… That was fun… I'm gonna read it from the beginning. Where's the first volume, Maehara?"

"It's not in that bookshelf, the other one… Well, I guess I'll read the other one."

After that, each of us laid down on the bed or leaned against the wall as we spent our time reading quietly.

The silence wasn't awkward for us.

After all, we weren't unfamiliar with this silence.

"Haah… It's been a while since I read that much…"

I took a short break after the long reading session, only to realize that more than two hours had flown by. Lately, I found myself losing track of the time whenever I played games or read.

"I should make some coffee. Asanagi, you want some cof–"

I was about to call Asanagi out, who was laying down in my bed.

"Zzz…"

"Huh? Is she sleeping…?"

When I looked closer into her face, I found out that she had indeed fallen asleep. Even her mouth was half-open.

Also, she was snoring. Seriously, falling asleep like this is fine and all, but isn't she too defenseless?

Did she even realize that she is still inside my room?

"Zzz…"

"Seriously, aren't you a girl…?"

However, somehow she still looked adorable. Is it a perk of being a beauty?

'God, I wish my face looked as good as her… Well, whatever…' I decided to stop thinking about it.

*Yawn 

"…Looking at her makes me feel sleepy too."

She usually went back home an hour from now, so it should be okay to let her sleep for a little longer.

I pulled the blanket over her before setting an alarm and laid down on the floor. With the cushion as my pillow, I decided to take a short nap.

…

'Maki, wake up.'

"Mmm…?"

I was having a pleasant nap when I heard someone's voice echoing through my hazy consciousness.

The alarm hadn't gone off yet, so it couldn't have been that long since I started napping… Maybe Asanagi woke up already? …In that case, I need to escort her to the front door.

"Maki. Maki, wake up."

"…Sorry, Asanagi, I also fell asleep."

"Hmm, so that girl's name is Asanagi?"

"…Eh?"

I had a bad feeling about this.

When I opened my eyes and turned around, I saw Asanagi still sleeping peacefully in my bed.

Yes, she was still sleeping.

If that's the case, then the one who called me would be…

I slowly turned my head.

"I got off work early for the first time in a while… And I see you brought a girl home, hm?"

"M-mom…"

Standing in front of me was Maehara Masaki. The person who was supposed to be at work at this hour. My mom.