It was now early January and also the morning of the new school term. Takei woke up a bit later than he normally would've since he stayed up last night to binge an anime series that he had left on the back burner.
Airi had woken him up and immediately left the house. For some reason, she was acting extremely weird this morning. He had heard Airi giggling to herself from the other room.
Well, whatever. I need to get ready.
Takei stood up and got dressed with his school uniform that had been left alone in his closet for the last two weeks.
He brushed his teeth and took a shower to ensure he would be at peak efficiency for his first day back. Usually he wouldn't even bother with a shower in the morning, but a certain person made him want to give his best now.
Then, Takei decided to clean up his hair. He wondered if using gel was a plausible option or not. Since there wasn't much time left before school started, Takei decided to leave the issue for another time and decided to just normally clean up his hair.
The tie was the last thing left to do. Takei had intentionally made it so that his tie was the last thing he had to do in order to get ready. He had decided to leave it off until he finished eating breakfast.
Before she left, Airi told him that breakfast was on the table. Knowing that Airi was a great cook, Takei was excited to eat some of her cooking.
With his naturally long stride and large steps, he unintentionally rushed to the kitchen to have his breakfast. However, he found a certain someone awaiting him in the kitchen though.
Long, golden hair drooped down this mystery girl's back as she was cutting the vegetables. The girl's face had a gentle expression as she diligently focused on her work. As a show of her concentration, she hadn't even noticed him when Takei entered the room.
The most surprising thing wasn't the fact that there was a girl cooking for him in the kitchen, rather it was her clothing. A school uniform was already stimulating enough for him, but the addition of an apron was sending him off the deep end.
Of course, the cute girl wearing the apron was none other than Akari.
Takei decided to get a little bit closer before greeting her. He was a hair's breadth away and also looking over her shoulder, but Akari still hadn't realized he was right next to her.
After checking and confirming that she wasn't cutting anything anymore, Takei decided to play a prank on her.
He leaned in close to her ear and began whispering in it. "Thank you for your hard work."
"Eek!" Akari screamed.
She jumped in response to Takei's prank. He felt a bit bad by doing it, but her response was definitely worth the trouble.
"Haha, my bad. You were really focused," Takei laughed.
Akari sighed in exasperation. "Takei... you're not going to get anything for breakfast today."
Hearing Akari's declaration, Takei's face paled as a result.
"I'm so sorry, my princess. I will never do such a thing ever again," Takei promised. "Please allow me to eat your glorious cooking."
After Takei promised to not prank her while she cooked anymore, Akari gave up in reprimanding him. "Fine, just don't do that again."
Takei pumped his fist in response to Akari's surrender. As he was about to help her set the food, Takei realized that he had overlooked something important.
"Uhh, Akari?" Takei asked.
"Hmm?" she replied.
"Why are you wearing an apron?"
Indeed, Takei had accidentally overlooked the rare occasion of Akari donning an apron.
Akari's cheeks went bright red at the mention of the apron. "Your sister told me to wear it..."
"Ah, so that was it." Takei nodded.
Airi had always been a person who got enjoyment from messing with others. She probably knew Akari would be extremely embarrassed to wear an apron in front of Takei, so that's most likely why Airi set it up like this.
"Well, since you've already seen it... What do you think?" Akari asked.
A question that Takei already saw coming was asked. Even if he did see it coming, it didn't make it any easier to answer than if he hadn't known.
"I think it suits you," Takei shyly commented.
Although Akari was the one who asked the question, her face flushed with an even deeper shade of red after she heard Takei's evaluation of her. It seemed that her embarrassment was contagious, since it also affected Takei.
"Thank you," Akari meekly replied.
After the wave of intoxicating embarrassment was over, they moved all the food over to the dining table. Both of them gave their thanks for the food and began to dig in.
Miso soup was the appetizer, while steamed rice and dried fish with bonito flakes sprinkled on top acted as the entree.
A truly divine dish that befitted the goddess's stature was made.
Takei was speechless. "This is..."
The taste of the fish was immaculate and it blended well with the plain flavor of rice which resulted in an explosion of flavors.
While Takei's brain was working overtime, Akari was staring at him wordlessly waiting for his rating.
"As expected... This is the best cooking I've ever tasted. I'm going to make this a family heirloom," Takei passionately stated.
"Wait, please don't! Food's meant to be eaten!" Akari retorted in a panic.
The typical divine facade of the goddess faded at this moment. Replaced by the face of a maiden-in-love, she blushed madly and her usually refined features crinkled in happiness.
"Besides the worshipping part... Thank you," Akari gently smiled.
Akari's genuine smile returned once again to greet its lone owner, Takei.
Takei smiled in response to Akari's smile. "Thanks for making this for me. It must've been a lot of work."
"It's no problem, I enjoy cooking a lot," Akari explained.
Takei shook his head. "Even so, thank you."
A sugary atmosphere that was not unusual to the two once again appeared.
It seemed that the new school term would have to wait just a little bit more.
---
Akari's True Affection Meter: 0 -> 5%
New meter was unlocked as a result of reaching 100% in the last meter.
This meter will reach new heights such as marriage and/or refusing to let the other person go.
Look forward to the new advancements!