The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Compete Edition
The Angel\'s Injury and a Show of Gratitude
After the day-long cleanup, Amane felt like the wall between Mahiru and him had
become ever-so-slightly thinner, but that didn necessarily mean they had become
much closer.
They still had absolutely zero contact at school; they would make small talk sometimes
when he went to get his portion of dinner from her, but that was all.
Just the other day, Mahiru had scolded Amane, telling him that he had to keep his
apartment tidy. Her words were definitely stern, but they also made it clear that she
actually did care about him, at least a bit.
Since Amane was receiving frequent reminders and tips on cleaning, his apartment
remained as nice as it had been when he and Mahiru had finished tidying up the place.
”Wow, it really is clean. ” That was the first thing Itsuki said when he came over on a
day off. He muttered in an astonished voice when he saw the drastic transformation
the living room had undergone.
”I never thought your place could look this good. It was so dirty. I remember I helped
you pick up stuff once before, but it was a wreck the very next day. ”
”Give it a rest, ” Amane shot back at his friend.
”No, but seriously, think about it. Whats the longest number of days youve gone
without dropping something on your floor? ”
”This is easily a new record. Ive kept it going for two weeks. ”
”Two weeks?! Thats it? Thats nothing to be proud of, you know? ”
Amane scowled a little. He was now keenly aware that normally, people did not leave
their things lying around on the floor. Still, he knew that Itsuki was only speaking from
a place of kindness and common sense, so Amane couldn say much. After all, Itsuki
had helped him out, too, long before Mahiru ever had, so Amane knew he shouldn
act like a jerk.
Itsuki smiled cheerfully at Amanes sullen silence. ”Hey, I guess if your apartments
this clean, I could even bring Chi over. ”
”No way; why should I have to watch you two flirting in my own home? ”
”No need to be shy, buddy. ”
”Don turn my place into your hangout! ”
Why should I have to watch my friend and his girlfriend getting all lovey-dovey?
Amane wished Itsuki could understand his position and appreciate what kind of
torture it was like to have to watch a sickeningly sweet couple flirting all the time. He
knew that Itsuki was just joking about bringing Chi over, but even so, Amane didn
find it very amusing that he constantly had front-row seats to their cloying relationship.
”Relax, it was just a joke. Anyway, now that youve finally got the place clean, don go
messing it up again, you hear? ”
”Ive got it under control, ” Amane assured.
”Someone like you… Well, whatever. Just make sure you get in the habit of putting
things away after you take them out. ”
”Are you my mom…? ”
”Now, Amane, dearie, you have to be diligent about cleaning your room! ” Itsuki mocked.
”Thats so creepy; you sound so much like my mom, its scary! ”
Amane felt a shiver rocket down his back when Itsuki scolded him in a forced falsetto.
He was sure Itsuki had never even met his mother, but still, the impression had hit a
nerve. Itsukis impersonation of a lady wasn particularly soothing, either. Amane
stuck out his tongue at him, and Itsuki cackled with amusement.
”Is that what your moms like, Amane? Because mine is really cold toward me… ”
”Actually, Im jealous. My mom bugs me whenever she gets the chance. ”
”She sounds like a mom who really cares about her son. ”
”I think shes just overly attached… ”
”No, Im sure she has to look after you because you
e such a slob.
”
”Oh, shut up. I mean it, you know, that my mom is too clingy. ”
Perhaps because Amane was an only child, his mother was always fussing over him.
She didn exactly spoil him, but she did poke her nose around in his business and read
too much into things. Amane certainly didn hate her, but she made him uncomfortable
at times.
His mother had given him all sorts of instructions when hed left home to live on his
own and attend high school, and sometimes she would show up to check on him
without warning. The pop-ins could be pretty awful.
”Well, doesn that just show how much she treasures you, Amane? ”
”And her love is a heavy burden. ”
”Oh, I give up. You
e the kind of guy who never appreciates what hes got till its gone.
”
”You talk like youve got it all figured out, but don you have your own problems
dealing with that kind of meddling? ”
”Ha-ha! Its Chi, man; what else can I do? ” Itsuki had all sorts of issues when it came
to his father and his girlfriend, so his lecture really didn have much weight behind it.
Even so, Amane knew there was some truth to what his friend was saying, so he didn
argue any further.
Itsuki sighed quietly, as if to tell Amane to let him worry about his own problems. His
expression remained cheerful and carefree, however. ”Ill mess up anybody who
interferes with me and Chi! ” Itsuki said, declaring something a little unsettling.
”Anyway, Ill figure out something for my dad situation, so its all good. For the time
being, how out you sort your life out, Amane? ”
Itsuki laughed loudly, and Amane responded by making a sour face. ”I know that; you
don have to tell me. ” He smiled secretly to himself, however, thinking how hed heard
that before from another person recently.
Itsuki had come to visit Amanes apartment in order to see how he was living. Well,
actually, hed mostly come to hang out and mess around, so their discussion about the
state of the room quickly wrapped up, and before long, they were playing a video
game. Their initial intention had been to study for a test the next week, but that notion
had been quickly discarded.
”Careful with the health packs; we
e gonna run out,
” Amane said.
”Well think of something; itll be fine, ” Itsuki answered.
”Not at this level it won … ”
As Amane pondered how best to deal with his less cautious co-op player, the sound of
the doorbell rang through the room and immediately gave rise to a different worry.
”Hmm? A visitor? ”
Itsuki looked up, too, after pausing the game. He knew that Amane had never really
told anyone else where he lived, and that he didn have any friends who might visit
him at home, besides Itsuki himself. More importantly, any regular visitor would have
been stopped at the lobby downstairs anyway, so a page should have come through
the intercom.
”I don really know, but it must be a neighbor, right? Distributing a community notice
or something, ” Amane fibbed, knowing quite well who it likely was.
”Ah, gotcha, ” Itsuki answered.
”Ill just be a minute. ”
Amane did his best to dispel Itsukis suspicions and hurried toward the front door,
struggling to hide the twitch in his face that might give him away. He was lucky that
Mahiru hadn called out to him after ringing the buzzer.
He opened the door quickly, not bothering to check who it was, and slipped through
the small opening to get outside where he couldn be seen. Amane made sure to close
the door behind himself.
Just as hed suspected, it was Mahiru standing there, blinking in surprise at Amane,
who must have appeared to have been acting very unusual.
Immediately, he pressed an index finger to his lips and shushed Mahiru. ”…Please
speak softly. Itsuki is here. ”
”Itsuki? ” she asked.
”My friend. He came over to play games. ”
”Ah, okay. ”
Mahiru nodded in understanding of Amanes secretive behavior, then passed him a
food container as she did every day without bothering to question him any further.
Inside was a type of stew called oden, the perfect dish for the season now that the
weather had gotten cold. Mahiru had probably been preparing it since morning. Amane
accepted it with gratitude and let out a soft sigh as he looked at Mahiru. There was
really no reason she ought to be doing this every day.
”Look, I really appreciate what you do, but… I don have a lot of time. Sorry, ” Amane
apologized.
”I wasn waiting to be thanked or anything… Im glad, you know, that we cleaned up
enough that you can invite friends over, ” Mahiru answered.
”I guess I should kneel down and thank you. ”
”No way; don do that. ”
Mahiru looked at him with astonishment in her eyes. Perhaps she thought getting
Amane to do something like that would make her akin to a tyrant. Amane smiled wryly.
There had been a bit of earnestness in his statement, because he truly was indebted
to her. Shed done so much for him that he really ought to be on his knees. Amane
couldn reconcile continuing to accept all the food for free, so he decided that he
wanted to discuss paying her for the meals at some later date.
”Well, if your friend is here, I suppose you can talk for too long. Excuse me. ”
”…You
e always helping me out. Ill make sure to keep this secret from Itsuki.
”
”Please do. ”
”I mean, even if I told him everything, he probably won believe me. ”
”I suppose not. ”
Mahirus honest confirmation raised some complex feelings for Amane, but he knew
she was right. If he was in Itsukis shoes and someone told him that Mahiru Shiina had
been making meals for him daily, he definitely wouldn believe them. Anyone would
dismiss such a claim as a fantasy.
That was how out of reach this angel was.
Normally, it would be impossible to imagine Mahiru treating even a handsome,
superior man to her home cooking, let alone a mediocre and slovenly guy like Amane.
Hell would sooner freeze over.
”…Can I ask you one thing? ” Amane called.
”What is it? ” Mahiru stopped before entering her apartment.
”What good does it do you to keep sharing your meals with me? ”
Typically, people didn give away food for free—they expected something in return.
Amane probably wouldn have thought about doing the same for Mahiru if their
positions had been reversed. Even though he didn believe for a moment that there
was even the slightest possibility that she had feelings for him, he couldn help but
wonder.
At Amanes question, Mahiru gaze wandered upward as if she was giving it a bit of
thought herself, then, without any change to her expression, answered, ”My own selfsatisfaction. Theres nothing more to it. Its just as easy for me to cook for two people
as it is for one, and I guess I simply like treating people. ”
”So its because you like to cook? ”
”Well, theres that, too. I think its also because I can give you food without you getting
any weird ideas, and youll genuinely tell me that my cookings tasty without any
ulterior motives. Plus, its satisfying for me because I was concerned after seeing your
eating habits. ”
”…Is that how it is? ” Amane pressed, just the slightest bit disappointed.
”Thats how it is. So don worry about it. Just think of it as… a sudden bout of good
fortune. ”
”Yes, maam. ”
Mahiru didn seem like she was going to give him any more of an answer than that,
and after bowing courteously, she said ”Pardon me ” and returned to her own apartment.
”I guess thats how it goes, ” Amane mumbled to himself. ”I still don think its right for
her to give it to me for free, though. ” He opened the door back into his own place.
”Who was it? ” Itsuki asked.
”My neighbor. She gave me some of her dinner. Im gonna put it in the fridge, so don
restart the game without me, ” Amane replied.
”Ah, sorry, I already beat the boss. ”
”You gotta be kidding me. ”
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