Akira looked at her flustered face before walking inside.
After Akira walked inside, the first thing he noticed was how cramped the room was.
The kitchen was on the left side of the entrance, and the bathroom was on the right. There wasn't even space for a bathtub—just a small stool in the bathroom.
Despite its cramped appearance, the inside still felt somewhat spacious and cozy.
"Fujimiya-kun, please… please sit down," Meguri said in a low voice.
"Senpai, although the space is small, it feels very warm," Akira commented as he sat down.
"My parents said the same thing," Meguri replied with a faint smile.
"Your parents used to stay here?" Akira asked.
"Yes. Back then, my mother was an university student and my father was doing a part-time job closed by, there first encounter with each other were in this apartment" Meguri nodded.
"What a romantic encounter," Akira said, his mind already imagining a love story between Meguri's parents.
Meguri poured Akira a cup of barley tea and sat beside him.
Akira looked around the room's layout.
After a few minutes, he sighed regretfully.
"What's wrong, Fujimiya-kun?" Meguri asked in confusion.
"I thought I'd see my senpai's clothes lying around and catch you scrambling to hide them," Akira said, glancing at her, amusingly.
"I–I don't leave clothes lying around," Meguri replied, cheeks flushing.
"Senpai Meguri is a good student," Akira praised.
"Should we continue practicing guitar!? The other residents will come home at night, and we might disturb them if we take too much time,"
"Okay, as you wish, senpai," Akira said, taking out his guitar.
….
When the sun set, Meguri stopped practicing and began preparing dinner.
Akira sat at the low table, flipping through some of the books that was placed neatly on her table.
There were no fashion magazines—only the kind of literature — Yukinoshita Yukino often read.
After flipping through a few books, Akira bored, put them aside and walked over to Meguri.
"Do you need help?"
"No, dinner will be ready soon," Meguri said with a gentle smile, as she focused on the food.
"Senpai… I don't want to go home tonight. Can I stay here with you?" Akira suddenly asked.
"…Your place isn't far from the college, right?…" Meguri asked, as she hide the blushed that appear of her face.
"It's a rare chance for me to come here, senpai. I want to experience the warmth of this place," Akira said, suddenly seriously.
"Then… I'll take out the other futon later and prepare it for you…" Meguri began.
"No need to go to all that trouble. I want to sleep under the same futon as you. It'll be warmer that way," Akira interrupted.
"....I understand," Meguri whispered, her face turning red—but she didn't refuse.
{T/N: ....}
She had already made up her mind earlier that afternoon.
When Akira heard her response, he was surprised at first because he didn't think she would actually agree to it, before he instantly guessed what she was thinking.
To confirm his thought…
He silently stepped behind Meguri and gently hugged her.
"!!!"
She flinched, as her face turned even redder than tomato, but she didn't push him away, as she lowered her head.
"Senpai, what's going on? It's only been one afternoon. Why has your attitude changed so suddenly?" Akira asked quietly.
"… I don't want to go to college and have people ask if I've never dated anyone before…" Meguri said in a tiny voice.
Akira blinked.
The heck?
In this world, it was considered normal for girls to start dating in college. In high school, however, academics still mattered the most.
And many girls who entered college without any relationship experience were teased by others.
Thinking of this, Akira released his arms.
"Senpai, were you planning to break up with me once we entered college?"
"I—! " Meguri froze.
She thought Akira would be the one to break up with her… not the other way around.
"If I can have my senpai, I'm never letting her go," Akira said seriously.
"But… Yukinoshita-san…" Meguri whispered.
"Yukino has already accepted that I have other girlfriends. One more senpai won't change anything. One less won't change anything either," Akira said, meeting her eyes.
{T/N: The torture she is going to give you}
"C–can I… think about it?" Meguri asked. She felt this was too important and that she needed to consult her new online friend "love master."
"I can give you time to think. But I'm angry that you even thought about breaking up with me. Even though you didn't actually do it, I still want compensation. Just give me a kiss, and I'll forgive you," Akira said, keeping a straight face.
"I-I...okay...," Meguri whispered slowly, leaning in and kissing him, her face burning—her fingers squeezing against her clothes, tightly.
Akira embraced her and returned the kiss.
For a long moment, they stayed like that.
When Akira finally let go, Meguri's face was flushed red all the way to her ears.
"I forgive you, senpai," Akira said with a teasing smile.
"Th–thank you, Fujimiya-kun…" Meguri murmured, lowering her head shyly.
After dinner, Akira left Meguri's apartment.
Meguri walked him to the entrance of the building.
As she watched him leave, then turned around— She froze—because infront of her was the old landlady smiling warmly at her.
"That boy—is he your boyfriend?"
"N–no! He's my Kouhai," Meguri stammered, cheeks immediately turning red.
"Oh~, What's wrong with being younger? As long as you truly love each other, age doesn't matter," the landlady said with a gentle laugh.
"But…" Meguri wanted to say that Akira already had a girlfriend, but the words wouldn't come out.
"Cherish it. I didn't cherish my first love, and I regret it even now," the landlady said before walking away, her voice nostalgic.
Meguri was stunned — She never expected the old landlady to have such a story.
She stood there for several minutes thinking about her words, before finally heading upstairs.
After returning to her room, she immediately pulled out her phone and messaged the "Love Master."
"I want to start a relationship. I thought he would break up with me when we went to college, but he said he wouldn't. He even said… if he gets me, he won't let me go. What should I do?"
A few minutes later, the Love Master replied:
"This shows he's serious and responsible. Think about how you felt when he said that. If it made you happy, then congratulations—you don't dislike him in your heart."
{T/N: .... She is very supportive? }
Meguri read the message carefully.
She had felt a moment of happiness, when he said that he would never let her go.
So she continued typing.
"Thank you, Love Master. I did feel a little happy. You said he's serious and responsible, so what do you think? Can I be with him?"
The reply came quickly:
"Yes. I think you can. Try it, as long as you can feel the happiness love brings."
"I understand. Thank you again," Meguri wrote.
"You're welcome. If you encounter any love problems, feel free to ask," Love Master replied.
Meguri stared at the screen, feeling grateful.
The Love Master had helped resolve her worries twice already.
Love master is truly a good person and experience person.
She thought for a moment, then sent a message to Akira.
Not long after, Akira replied:
"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."
…
Meanwhile.
On the train—
Akira put away his phone and looked out the window.
The sky outside had already turned dark.
The train soon arrived at the station.
After Akira got off, he walked forward.
Less than ten minutes later, he stopped in front of Isshiki Iroha's house and rang the doorbell.
Few minutes later, Isshiki opened the door and when she saw that it was Akira, her face instantly lit up, as she smile brightly—
"Senpai!"
"Kouhai, I'm staying here tonight," Akira said.
"Really? Senpai?" Iroha's eyes widened with joy.
"I'm interested in the games you have here," Akira said as he stepped inside.
Iroha immediately brought him slippers and helped him change his shoes.
Akira accepted her kindness and patted her lightly on the head.
After he changed and removed his shoes, as the two of them headed to Iroha's bedroom together.
...
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Bonus Chapter:-
4 Bonus chapter at 100 powerstone
6 Bonus Chapter at 150 powerstone
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Word Count — 1,415