"Miss Mikan….?" Koi asked again, confused at Airi's sudden stop and now shaking legs.
"I don't…." Airi said in a low voice that didn't reach Koi's ears.
"Miss Mikan, what?" Koi brought himself closer to Airi because her voice was quite small, only for Airi to reply in a loud, complaining voice.
"I don't!! Enjoy walking this long!! I mean, who would, at this hour of night, after a whole day of walking... My legs are practically dying; how are yours fine!?"
Airi's face went a bit pouty before she collected herself again and sighed.
"I mean, seriously, Mr. Yamamoto, how can you choose walking over a cab even with that much walking?"
Koi felt sorry for not being able to read between the lines earlier and for unknowingly poking at it. He spoke in a low, apologetic tone.
"I'm sorry, Miss Mikan. I thought you asking if I wanted to do a cab was out of concern for me, who is new here."
"It was courtesy," Airi spoke with a mild smile, but her eyes weren't smiling as her legs were still aching.
"I'm sorry," Koi replied with a troubled expression, but Airi just shrugged it off as she spoke in a confident, though low, voice.
"It's fine; don't apologize; it's my fault too. I should've explained that me asking you if we should do a cab was not in a literal sense, but my pride stopped me, as you've already replied to my proposition."
Airi took a few steps ahead, and they both began walking again. In the middle, Airi turned to Koi with a curious gaze.
"You don't seem affected at all by the walk... What is up with you, Mr. Yamamoto?"
"I used to walk a lot back at the village, to Sato's and Shio's school, at Onsen, at the farm, and then on a weekly walk to the mountains, so it is normal for me," Koi said it so easily as if that much walking and activity were the bare minimum.
"It seemed like a hectic life," Airi asked in hopes for Koi to nod at this notion, but Koi just spoke with a nostalgic and distant expression.
"It was just a normal life, and looking after Sato and Shio mostly made the time pass in blinks."
'I wonder what those two are doing now?' Koi smiled, thinking about them with a natural, unforced, happy smile.
'the smile….' Airi, who looked at such Koi from the side, felt a beat drop in her heart at his boyish, unbridled smile.
'He must really love his sisters' Airi made a mental note of this.
**********
After reaching her apartment, Airi slumped on the sofa, feeling every muscle in her leg shake. Koi, who stood with shopping bags, put them in the kitchen and looked at the exhausted Airi, feeling bad again for her exhaustion.
"Miss Mikan, may I begin?" Koi asked her if he could begin cooking, as he thought providing her with an awesome dinner was the best course of action he could take at this moment.
'If I apologize again, it'll just irritate her.' He nodded to himself.
"Begin what? Mr. Yamamoto… I must warn you that even with hurting legs, I can throw a mean punch," Airi sneered.
"No no… I wasn't implying anything suspicious! I just... just wanted to ask if I may use the kitchen and begin cooking!!" Koi explained hurriedly, leading to Airi's laughter.
"I know I was joking, Mr. Yamamoto; that's my revenge for not taking my cue earlier." Airi put her right hand on her mouth, sneakily hiding the little laugh.
"It's not right…." Koi replied with a sigh of relief.
Koi began walking to the kitchen, opening the shopping bags, and preparing for dinner. He was shocked at the quality of the utensils, and almost all of them looked barely used.
'Why have all these when you won't use them?' Koi spoke in his head alone in the kitchen when Airi walked in.
"Is there anything I can help with, Mr. Yamamoto?" Airi asked, and Koi replied in a short sentence, focusing on cleaning vegetables.
"No, it is fine…" To Airi, his tone felt cold due to his focused attention, and Airi spoke.
"Are you still pouty over that joke? My bad, Mr. Yamamoto. Here, I'll help you cut the onions... No tomatoes as an apology!!"
"It is really fine, Miss Mikan," Koi replied, still focused, but Airi was unyielding, and Koi finally gave her tomatoes to chop in fours.
A good 10 minutes passed. Koi was prepared with all the vegetables cut and spices put in containers meant for cooking when Airi came with her chopped tomatoes.
"What happened to tomatoes?" Koi looked at the tomatoes; they were more squished and disfigured than chopped.
"See, totally professional, right?" Airi spoke, looking away from the plate and Koi as she presented it forward. She was self-aware that she hadn't done the best of the jobs seeing such an Airi. Koi thought,
'I shouldn't put her down... That'll be mean, and I'm just going to puree them either way'
"Good job, Miss Mikan; they're well done."
But Airi, being the girl she is, couldn't be fine with fake praise and spoke,
"I run an NGO… I top my classes, I…. I even do my taxes."
"That's amazing, Miss Mikan?" Koi said, confused, tilting his head as he couldn't get why she was suddenly speaking her qualities out loud.
"What I mean is…. I'll get good at chopping too."
'So this... this is why she said them.' Koi suppressed a little chuckle and found her acknowledgment of her error cute, though he just focused on cooking as his lips turned into a smile unconsciously.
'the same smile, is he thinking about his sisters?' Airi wondered as she saw Koi smile while cooking, and she found herself staring at him in a trance before suddenly shaking herself out of it.
I should go to the living room! It must be disturbing to have someone standing over you while cooking. What was I doing...?" Airi grumbled in her mind as she left the kitchen, waiting in the living room for Koi to finish.
-To be continued