10 Maybe I'll Start Liking Eating
“Mornin'!”
“...Why are you here?”
When I opened the door to my apartment, I saw a cute face positioned significantly lower than my line of sight. I mean, I’d answered the intercom just now, but there was a chance I was half-asleep and seeing hallucinations.
“You gave Onee your address yesterday, right? She dropped me off in her car.”
“Eh, is Onee-san here too?”
I instinctively leaned out to look around the hallway.
“Nope, Onee went back.”
Chito-chan glared at me.
“Onee wakes up early to walk the dogs and get the shop ready, after all.”
“...Running a shop is hard work.”
I let out a sigh.
“What, so it’s just Chito-chan...”
“Disappointed!? I’m the girl who confessed to you, Tochika-kun!”
Just because a cute girl who confessed to me shows up at my house doesn't mean I’m unconditionally happy. It was only 7:30 AM; it wasn't normal for a classmate to visit at this hour.
“Well, whatever. Come on in.”
“Ah, you're letting me in? What about your parents, Tochika-kun?”
“They both left about an hour ago. My parents start their mornings early.”
“Eh, then... we're all alone?”
“Looks that way. Come in, come in.”
“This guy is totally underestimating me!”
She said that, but asking me to be conscious of her as a woman was a tall order. Despite her complaining, Chito-chan stepped into the entryway.
“It’s a bit messy, but make yourself at home.”
“Hee, so this is Tochika-kun’s house...”
Chito-chan’s large eyes sparkled as she looked around the living room. My parents are the type who don't leave much of a "lived-in" feel, so there was no clutter in the living room.
“Ah, first things first! Sorry, it didn't dry perfectly!”
Chito-chan was holding two large paper bags and held one up.
“Hmm? Ah, my uniform.”
Yesterday, my uniform had ended up soaking wet from top to bottom. Chito-chan had insisted on making it pristine before returning it, so I’d left it with the Naruse family. That was also why Onee-san had asked for my address.
“Mine aside, yours, Chito-chan... yeah, it looks fine.”
She probably had plenty of spare cardigans and blouses, and the skirt didn't seem to have any issues either.
“I tend to get my clothes dirty a lot, so I had a spare uniform too. But as for your uniform, Tochika-kun... I did everything I could, but I'm afraid it's a tragedy.”
“Don’t talk about it like it died. It got pretty soaked in seawater; I wouldn't have been able to handle it myself anyway. Don't worry about it.”
“Wa, there’s that wonderful Tochika-kun smile again...”
“............”
Had I smiled at her again? According to Luna, it’s a smile that "deceives people," so I have to be careful not to overdo it.
“I forgot to mention, I have a spare uniform too. I managed to ruin my uniform about three times back in middle school.”
“Isn't that a lot?”
“Once with Luna, once with my tutor Onee-san, and once with an Onee-san who's a relative. Each was its own mess.”
“Wh-What on earth happened...”
Chito-chan looked a little frightened, so I decided to stop the explanation there.
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t wear the jacket much anyway. More importantly, seriously, sit down.”
Chito-chan was still standing and, for some reason, hadn't put down either of the two paper bags.
“R-Right. Tochika-kun, you have a nice house.”
“It’s just a normal apartment. Your place seemed anything but normal, Chito-chan.”
“Just because we have the shop, the house is normal. There’s no point in building a huge house anyway.”
“Especially since the younger sister is so small.”
“My size has nothing to do with the floor space!”
Chito-chan laughed. It was impressive how her small stature didn't seem to be a complex for her at all.
“But you know, usually, when someone is this small, people find it hard to tease them. You're different, Tochika-kun.”
“I wouldn't tease you if it were a complex. You're using your smallness as a weapon, aren't you?”
“Even if I deny it or lament it, it’s not like my height is going to grow.”
Chito-chan puffed out her chest proudly.
Yeah, for someone so small, she really does have a chest.
“Eh, where are you looking?”
“Your boobs.”
“Teasing me for being small is fine, but don't talk about my boobs!”
“You're difficult.”
Luna or Nonoa-san were much easier to read.
“Geez, Tochika-kun... Oh, right, I brought this too.”
Chito-chan held out the other paper bag toward me.
“I brought this as part of my apology.”
“Is your school uniform in there?”
“If you were happy about that, I’d be seriously creeped out!”
“Yeah, I wouldn't even be happy if it were Onee-san’s or Nonoa-san’s uniform.”
“Can you please not use my sister and my best friend’s uniforms as material?”
“Knowing you, Chito-chan, I thought you’d say, 'Fine, I’ll bring Onee and Nono’s uniforms to see if you get turned on.'”
“I-I wouldn't say that.”
Actually, she probably would. She has a prior conviction for saying she’d make her sister’s bra translucent, after all.
“That’s not it—Tochika-kun, have you had breakfast?”
“Not yet. I was thinking of grabbing something at a convenience store.”
“Great, I made it in time!”
Chito-chan spoke happily and placed the contents of the paper bag on the living room table.
“Is this... breakfast?”
“Yup, I woke up early to prepare it. There’s a lot, though.”
Chito-chan flipped open a large box. It was packed tight with sandwiches.
“Is it too much? I guess I got a little carried away. It was my first time making a meal for a boy.”
“Hee, so you can cook, Chito-chan.”
“Yeah, my parents are busy, and Onee has never cooked. It just naturally became my job. I’m used to it, so I don't think it'll taste like poison.”
“Hmm.”
Well, it’s rare to find cooking so bad it makes you faint outside of manga.
“Actually, I might be a little hungry. I didn't eat much last night.”
“What did you eat?”
“There was an apple at home, so I had one.”
“That’s a dessert! Main! You have to eat a main dish!”
“...Sorry.”
I got scolded. Apparently, Chito-chan gets angry at people who don't eat.
“Egg, tuna, teriyaki chicken, ham with cheese and cucumber, shrimp and broccoli, and your favorite fruit sandwiches, Tochika-kun!”
“Seriously, I think you might have overdone it.”
“The Naruse household is overflowing with ingredients, so I just went for it! I woke up at four in the morning!”
“Then aren’t you sleepy...?”
“Haha, humanity has already conquered sleepiness.”
Chito-chan pulled a canned drink out of the bag.
“An energy drink? Come to think of it, you gave me one when we met at the station too.”
“On days I wake up early, I drink this to get through the day.”
Chito-chan smiled as she opened the can, popped in a straw, and began to drink it with gusto.
“Is that the 'recovery method' you mentioned before? Is it okay for a kid to drink energy drinks...?”
“I told you, we're the same age! Just eat the sandwiches! You won't grow big if you don't get your nutrition!”
“Hearing that from you is a bit complicated, Chito-chan.”
She seems to eat a lot, yet she hasn't grown at all. But well, she woke up at 4:00 AM to make this for me, so I can't exactly claim I have a small appetite.
“Thanks for the food.”
I sat on the living room sofa, took an egg sandwich, and took a bite.
“Oh, this is good.”
“Yesss!”
Chito-chan raised both hands in a very obvious display of joy.
“The tuna is good too. Hee, it’s different from the convenience store kind.”
“That tuna is homemade. I made it from scratch using actual tuna sashimi.”
“You can make tuna yourself?”
“There are ready-made versions, but I did my best to make as much as possible by hand. It’s packed with loooove!”
“Love is a bit heavy, so I could've done without it.”
“Cruel!”
“I’m kidding, sorry. But seriously, it’s delicious. This teriyaki chicken is great too. I like the sweet and savory sauce.”
“Of course, the sauce is handmade too. Its thick, dark color represents my love perfectly.”
“That’s really heavy.”
I’d prefer something a bit more light and translucent.
“I made the fruit sandwiches in a cute, bite-sized version. Small things are cute, right?”
“Are you trying to say something under the guise of sandwiches?”
There were still plenty of sandwiches left, but I decided to try the dessert ones too.
“Oh, these are good too. I like how they’re small and easy to eat.”
“Yeah... small things are easy to eat, right?”
Chito-chan slid closer to me and rested her knee on my thigh. Her soft chest brushed against my arm, and she smelled even better than the sandwiches.
“The seduction is a bit of a stretch. I only find allure in tall, Onee-san types.”
“But I’m definitely slipping into your inner circle, aren't I? I even made it to your house.”
“I suppose... If it weren't you, Chito-chan, I might not have let you in. If it were Nonoa-san, it would've been impossible.”
“Eh, really?”
“Letting a tall beauty like that into my house? The nerves would make it a 'game over' immediately.”
Nonoa-san coming to my home... that tall beauty walking down the hallway like a runway, then sitting on my sofa with her long legs crossed...
I know I’m being creepy, but just imagining it made my heart race.
“With you, Chito-chan, it feels like I’ve picked up a stray dog and I'm bringing it in for milk.”
“A stray dog! I love dogs, but being compared to one is complicated!”
“Whoa.”
Chito-chan grabbed my shoulders and leaned in. Then, her large eyes narrowed.
“Tochika-kun... let’s kiss, okay? It’s fine, just leave it to me.”
“Now she’s trying a cool approach.”
She really was attacking from every angle.
“Even you’d be shaken if you were kissed, wouldn't you, Tochika-kun?”
“In this day and age, that would be sexual harassment even coming from a woman.”
“Ugh... uugh, I’ll apologize after the kiss, so forgive me!”
“Where did 'cool' go!? I bet you’ve spent your life getting away with anything as long as you apologized, haven't you, Chito-chan!?”
With someone this small and cute, most people would probably forgive her for anything once she apologized. But—
“No can do!”
“Mm-ph!?”
I stuffed the fruit sandwich I was holding into Chito-chan’s small mouth. Chito-chan, perhaps because she couldn't bear to waste food, dutifully chewed and swallowed it. In that time, I escaped her and sat back down at the far end of the sofa.
“Moo, you got away. My lips are sweet from the fruit sandwich now, so you could've enjoyed a sweet kiss, you know?”
“I think I prefer kisses to be bittersweet.”
“Eh!? Tochika-kun, have you kissed someone before!? D-Don’t tell me it was Lu-kun!? Or was it Onee!?”
“...No comment.”
Needless to say, I’d never kissed anyone. For someone burdened with a fetish for tall, beautiful Onee-sans, a kiss was a high hurdle.
“Moo... I haven't yet, so you could've had a 'first of the season' taste.”
“The meaning is slightly different there, so don't ever say that again.”
“Scary!”
What kind of conversation were we having first thing in the morning? I was grateful for the breakfast, but I decided to finish it quickly and head to school.
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