“Sorry about… all of this.”
Yuzuru sat on the bed and thanked Arisa after she finished cleaning up the room.
Since he couldn’t walk without crutches, he would only have gotten in the way if he tried to help. All he could do was sit there and watch.
He felt terribly guilty about it.
Arisa, meanwhile, looked completely unconcerned.
“Right now I’ve only cleared away the trash. I’ll come back another day to finish cleaning.”
“You don’t have to go that far…”
“I simply dislike leaving things half-finished.”
She said it curtly.
Then she glanced toward the dressing room she had just cleaned and turned back to Yuzuru.
“Takasegawa-san, what are you doing about bathing? What did the doctor say?”
“He told me not to bathe for two or three days, so until yesterday I was just wiping myself down.”
Yesterday had been the third day, so starting today he could at least shower—though soaking in the tub was still out of the question.
Even for Yuzuru, going three days without properly washing himself had been mentally exhausting, so he had planned to bathe today.
“And how were you planning to do that?”
“Well, I guess I’d have to manage on one leg. I can’t use crutches in the bathroom.”
He could wash himself while sitting down, so as long as he could make it into the bathroom on one leg, it would work.
Now that the trash had been cleared away, it wouldn’t be that difficult.
But—
“That’s… a little dangerous. Bathroom tiles are slippery.”
“You’re exaggerating. Besides, it’s already healing pretty well. If I try, I could probably even walk without the crutches—”
“If you get careless like that, it’ll flare up again. I’ll assist you.”
Assist him—meaning she would help him get to the bathroom.
He appreciated the thought immensely, but…
“How exactly? …You can’t wash a body while wearing clothes.”
“I know. …I’m thinking. Let’s see… Do you have swim trunks and a tracksuit jacket?”
First, Yuzuru would put on swim trunks and then wear the tracksuit jacket over his upper body.
With Arisa supporting him, he would sit on the stool in the bathroom.
After she left, he’d hang the jacket on the towel bar.
Once he finished washing, he’d put the jacket back on, and Arisa would again help him out of the bathroom.
That was Arisa’s plan.
“No, you really don’t have to go that far… I didn’t accept the engagement so you’d feel indebted to me. You don’t need to push yourself this much. …You’d hate something like that, wouldn’t you?”
From Yuzuru’s perspective, having a girl help him was a little embarrassing—but even so, the help would be appreciated.
Still… Arisa probably wouldn’t enjoy touching a man she didn’t even like for an extended time, even if their skin didn’t directly meet.
Yes, Yuzuru had helped her before—but he hadn’t done it expecting anything in return.
It felt like he was forcing her to repay a debt.
But Arisa shook her head.
“It’s fine.”
“No, but—”
“If Takasegawa-san slips in the bathroom and makes your injury worse—or gets another one—that would be more troublesome for me. Mentally. You understand, right?”
Hearing that, Yuzuru tried to imagine things from her perspective.
If she left and later heard that he had gotten hurt again…
She’d probably regret not helping when she had the chance.
“…Alright. But if this goes beyond what’s necessary, I’ll repay you later.”
With that, Yuzuru grabbed his swim trunks and tracksuit and went into the dressing room.
Then, with Arisa supporting him, he entered the bathroom.
“When you’re done, knock on the door. I’ll be waiting.”
“Yeah, got it.”
He washed his hair and body while seated.
The first shower in three days felt wonderful… and he silently thanked Arisa.
After finishing, Yuzuru grabbed the bath towel hanging on the bar and lightly dried himself.
Then he put the tracksuit jacket back on.
(Honestly, I could probably get out without Arisa’s help.)
Standing on one leg, he looked at the step between the bathroom and the dressing room.
If he opened the door and jumped hard enough, he could clear it.
It wasn’t that difficult.
(…No, there’s still some risk.)
The floor was slippery.
And if he messed up the jump, he’d definitely take a spectacular fall.
“Yukishiro, I’m done.”
Yuzuru knocked on the glass door as he spoke.
Arisa cautiously opened it a little, confirming that he was indeed wearing the tracksuit jacket. Only then did she step inside.
She positioned herself so that Yuzuru’s arm rested over her shoulder, supporting him.
“I’m holding you up, so just go boing!”
“Got it.”
He thought her choice of words was surprisingly cute as he pushed off with his good leg and hopped over the step.
Then he sat down in the dressing room.
“That helped.”
“You’re welcome. Once you’ve finished changing, please call me.”
“Alright.”
He finished dressing while seated and called for her.
With Arisa supporting him, he stood up and took his crutches.
She opened the dressing room door, and they returned to the living room.
Yuzuru sat back down on the bed.
“Whew… even taking a bath is a hassle.”
“Even if it’s a hassle, don’t stop using your crutches. At least for a week… Please follow the doctor’s instructions.”
“I know.”
If she hadn’t said anything, he probably would have abandoned them already.
But now that she had warned him, he couldn’t exactly do that.
“By the way, may I look in the refrigerator?”
“I don’t mind… but there’s nothing in it.”
“Thank you. That saves me the trouble of checking.”
Despite saying that, Arisa opened the fridge anyway.
Then she sighed.
“There really is nothing. …What were you planning to do for meals?”
“I’ve got cup ramen and some packaged curry. Though if you’re offering to bring me convenience store bento, I’d gladly accept.”
“Is that what you usually eat?”
“I try to get vegetables when I can…”
“Haa…”
Arisa sighed and fell silent, thinking.
For several dozen seconds she seemed to wrestle with something internally… then walked toward the front door.
“I’ll go buy something. Please wait here.”
Apparently she was going to buy convenience store bento.
Since Yuzuru didn’t feel like moving, he was honestly grateful.
“Sorry about that.”
“It can’t be helped. With that leg, cooking would be difficult. …Though perhaps there wouldn’t be much difference anyway.”
A small jab slipped out.
Of course, whether his leg was injured or not, the truth was he couldn’t cook—so he had no grounds to argue.
He passed the time reading the newspaper while waiting for her.
When Arisa returned, she had bought a large number of items.
They were raw ingredients.
Including rice.
Alarmed, Yuzuru asked,
“Hey, Yukishiro. That… definitely doesn’t look like convenience store bento.”
“Of course not. If you live such an unhealthy lifestyle, even injuries won’t heal properly. I’ll be using the kitchen. Please wait about thirty or forty minutes.”
Having declared that unilaterally, Arisa rolled up her sleeves and began washing the rice.
Since she had already bought the ingredients, it would be wasteful not to use them.
Yuzuru had no choice but to sit quietly and wait.
Before long, a wonderful aroma tickled his nose.
“I could only make something simple.”
“…Simple, huh.”
Steamed white rice.
Miso soup with root vegetables.
Ginger pork.
Spinach ohitashi.
And salad.
A proper ichijū-sansai meal. A traditional Japanese meal format consisting of one soup and three side dishes
“Simple…? This?”
“The pork is just grilled, the spinach is merely boiled, and the salad is just shredded vegetables.”
“Th-that… doesn’t that fall into the ‘pretty troublesome’ category?”
“I cook regularly. And I’ve never once had fewer than four dishes for dinner, so this is actually cutting corners. So please don’t worry about it.”
Yuzuru said “Thank you for the food” and took a sip of the miso soup.
The savory flavor of bonito and the aroma of miso spread through his mouth.
“This is delicious… the best I’ve ever had.”
When Yuzuru said that honestly—
For some reason, Arisa froze, her jade-colored eyes wide.
“Yukishiro? You okay?”
“Ah, no—sorry. It’s just… this is the first time anyone has complimented my cooking. …Is it really that good?”
“Yeah, absolutely… Well, if you ask me how it’s good, that’s hard to explain… but it’s way better than some fancy restaurants. Actually, you made this dashi from katsuobushi, didn’t you? That’s impressive. …Sorry for making you go to all this trouble. Thank you.”
“I see. …Well, it would be unpleasant if someone said the food I made was bad after all that effort, so I’ll accept the compliment.”
Arisa’s moment of fluster lasted only an instant.
Soon she returned to her usual cool expression and picked up her belongings.
“For now, today’s feeding is complete, so I’ll be going home.”
“W-wait, feeding—?”
Before Yuzuru could protest that phrasing, Arisa continued in her flat voice, quickly listing what needed to be said.
“Please soak the dishes in water. I’ll wash them tomorrow. Also, there’s still some spinach ohitashi and miso soup left. I made some onigiri as well. Everything is in the refrigerator. Eat them in the morning. I’ll check, so understood?”
“Y-yes.”
Faced with her uncompromising tone, Yuzuru could only nod.
After she said a curt “See you tomorrow” and hurried out as if escaping, Yuzuru murmured to himself.
“…Is she actually shy?”
Having discovered an unexpected side of Yukishiro Arisa, Yuzuru felt a little surprised.
Current Dere Level: 7% (She was praised for her cooking)