8 Like One of My Two Hands (1/2)
Wild would not fit to describe what happened that night, but Arata still woke up knackered despite the comfort of the hotel bed. He could feel hair on his mouth, which could have been from Attori. Strands of her dyed hair sprawled all over her face, his face, and maybe even on Yukari's face on the other side of bed. Even her limbs were sprawled on her boyfriend, taking advantage of his body heat. Yukari had her back against the king, but her stillness meant she was still asleep.
The man pulled himself up as he sat, making sure he would not wake the women with his actions. He only yawned and squinted at the clock that read 6 AM. For obvious reasons, he could not wake up late in this world since every day starts with a 6 AM action time, unless the activity was announced to have an action time penalty like when the player had to sneak in the club to 'rescue' a date-able. ”It must be so good to never run late.”
He turned to his left to see Attori mumble in her sleep. The king smiled and planted a kiss on her cheek before noticing that most of the sheets were hogged by Yukari, sparing some to trail off their legs. It was rolled into a body pillow which she held like a stuffed toy. He rubbed his thumb on her cheek, taking off visible drool streaks. He then planted a kiss on her as well. He crawled off to the foot of the bed and got off from there. He picked up his robe which was the first one he spotted that he could wear.
Arata then picked up more garments on the floor, folding them neatly and placing them on the nightstand next to Attori. He resisted the urge to smell the girls' clothes; he was all over them last night after all. If ever, all he clearly remembered was the sweet smell of their shining bodies, along the sight of them under the faint moonlight.
As wonderful as it was, things had to end. Like their stay in the hotel. It was not like it was hard to go back here with that kind of money Arata had. Then again, it would be impractical. He used his shower time to think about it. With the water gushing down his face, he had his hand on his chin. ”If I managed to keep my money, then that would mean the restaurant was operational. Could it be that... I wasn't collecting from it for the past few days? That's so much of a waste.” He huffed. ”I need to see if they are open after class. Oh wait, I agreed to meet Tohru today after class...” He turned to the direction of the door. ”Is she going to ask about what happened? She just passed yesterday, saying she had an important thing to do.”
After showering and drying himself, he started waking the girls and reminding them of school. It would be Yukari's first day in the Basketball Club, and he also invited Attori to come watch with them. That was the only time Attori burst in joy and yelled 'I'm meeting Mama today' before racing to the bathroom. The best friend only yawned and waited for her turn like a good old sister she was to her little siblings. Arata was happy that the morning that followed was nothing out of ordinary, Yukari not making a big deal of what happened between them.
Or that was what he thought.
Lunch action time came, and Yukari invited Arata to grab some lunch from the school cafeteria and eat at their usual place, that shaded spot next to the fences by the hill behind the main school building. Their school was situated along the main road, but the back was left open with a collection of small hills. There were multiple trees in the area, and it was the same view one would get if one walked to the edge of the garden. High criss-cross fences were the only thing that separated the school from the unoccupied hills, aside from the stories of it being haunted. Most students kept away from the haunted hills; those who call the bluff met accidents, they said.
However, it was Yukari's favorite spot. She could just turn away from the school and get transported to another setting the moment she faced the hills. It was a stress reliever to her, so she liked hanging out near it. There were stone seats and tables there after all, making it a viable spot to take lunch. Even though their lunch were just school-prepared box lunches.
”Arata,” Yukari called his attention without laying eyes on his face, ”can we talk about last night?”
The king hummed, hurriedly chewing the food in his mouth and gulping it down so he could answer. ”Yeah?” He brought his chopsticks down. ”Didn't you like it?”
”It's not that I didn't like it.” She faintly blushed again with an angry pout, still not looking at him. ”I was just... curious by what you said.” The girl glanced at him. ”What do you mean by... you can't do it like usual? Is there something wrong?”
Arata sighed in relief; he would have panicked if she asked about Botan. He then leaned against his left arm that he placed on the seat. ”I don't normally hold back when it's other women. I mean, I don't have anything to protect aside from the romance and flesh. They're the same with me, I guess.” He chuckled as he tried to make himself believable. ”But with you, I have to think more about your feelings and our friendship. I don't want to make you feel like you're just another girl I want to date.” He twitched and waved his vacant hand. ”Not that I don't love everyone else; it's just that you're really special to me, Yukari. You and Attori.”
She then hummed and pulled her knees to her face, placing her chin on them. She then brought her chopsticks down and hugged her legs. ”Oh. So you're holding back with Attori, too?”
”Not at all. Attori's my wife; in fact, if I could stay longer, I want to get a chance to marry her.” The king looked away with a bitter grin. ”That's so far away.” He turned to Yukari who was now looking at him. ”Yukari, you're nothing less than any of my girls. In fact, you're like the second most important person to me.” He reached out to stroke at her head. ”I love you, Yukari, but it's not the kind of love where I want to be the one making you the happiest.”
Arata then bowed his head low. ”If I have offended you by touching you last night, I'm sorry. I didn't plan for it to happen, it just did. Not that I would take it back, but I would like to keep it to a minimum.” He lifted his face and nervously smiled at the girl. ”You're my best friend, Yukari. You're like the net that would catch me so I wouldn't hit rock bottom. I have a feeling that if I start treating you like those girls, I will lose a very important part of my body.” He raised both of his hands. ”Like one of my hands. I need both you and Attori.”
She then squinted at him and raised her own left hand. ”I must be the left hand, because Attori's the right one. You're right-handed, right? You'd surely use the right for jerking-”
”Why are you making a joke out of this!?” The king whined before earning a laugh from the girl. He then chuckled before looking at her for an explanation.
”Geez, so sweet.” Yukari laid the side of her head against her knees, hiding her smile from him. ”I didn't expect that I would trigger you to talk like this, Arata.” She brought her legs down and grinned at him with a faint blush tinting her cheeks. ”I don't know how to respond so I just went with the joke.” She paused for a while, containing her grin to a smile. ”I knew from the beginning that I can't compete with Attori, but hearing you say I'm way ahead than everyone else but her makes me feel so happy.