Since I'm living alone, it's a little humid.
The cicadas' cries makes me even more annoyed.
Without Miyuki, it's boring.
Matsuda Ken's friends did contact me, but I don't want to waste precious time that could be used to earn Miyuki's affection…
Lying in an empty room and thinking about this and that, I got up.
Let's go to the academy right now.
If she sees me cleaning the bathroom, she may come visit.
She sometimes stops by the academy to pick up things she's forgotten.
It's a gamble to be honest, but it's worth it.
I'm in the very early stages of playing, where I have to work hard to gain some stability.
So, shouldn't I use every possible method to meet the heroine?
After thinking that, I immediately changed my clothes and headed to the academy.
I was able to arrive quickly and comfortably by taking the public transportation that wasn't too crowded during the weekend morning.
Unlike the hustle and bustle of the academy during the week, it is now even quiet at the main gate.
"What… Huh? Aren't you Matsuda-kun? Wait."
A security guard, who looked to be in his 40s, stopped me from going through the main gate. He recognized me instantly? Is it because I've caused so much trouble?
I approached him who looked suspiciously through the open window at me and said:
"I'm here to clean the bathroom."
"Toilet cleaning duty…?"
"It's a punishment."
"Punishment? Oh… For that…? The molester case?"
"Yes."
"You were told to come even on the weekends?"
"I was told to do it every day and that if I miss even one day, I'll be expelled, so I should be cleaning on weekends as well."
"Is that so…? First, write your name in the guest book."
Entering the security guard's office, I picked up a pen and quickly skimmed through the guestbook as I wrote my name.
Since it is a weekend, there were few visitors.
Miyuki is…
Here.
Right above the space to write my name, Hanazawa Miyuki's name was written in pretty handwriting.
Today's a very lucky day.
Maybe, I'm getting a beginner's buff because I'm at the early parts of the story.
After sloppily writing my name, I immediately tried to leave the guard room but then hesitated and turned my head back to the guard.
Then, I said to the guard in a passing tone:
"Take care."
"Okay. You too… Huh?"
Strange seeing me saying a greeting? I guess so.
Leaving behind the surprised security guard, I entered the academy and headed straight for the 1st Years' hallway.
Miyuki must be in the classroom right now, right? I want to look for her, but doing that would be weird.
I could get caught on camera, leading to all sorts of misunderstandings.
Fortunately for me, Class 1-A was right next to the stairs.
Cleaning from the end is natural human psychology.
Miyuki wouldn't pass me by if I was cleaning here noisily.
I grabbed a hose from the cleaning kit and started cleaning.
While expertly cleaning the urinals and spraying water on the toilet bowls I cleaned yesterday, I heard a voice from behind:
"Matsuda-kun?"
Miyuki's voice was full of questions.
Ah, Miyuki. You don't disappoint.
I silently cheered on the inside then turned around.
Miyuki was wearing only plain jeans and a white T-shirt.
A simple outfit. Even still, she shines brightly.
Effortlessly hiding my true feelings, I raised the tone of my voice slightly.
"Hanazawa? What are you doing here? No, wait a minute, I'll guess."
Just as she was about to stretch out her index finger and lift it up, Miyuki stopped herself and crossed her arms with an intrigued expression.
I suppose she's waiting to see what kind of bullshit I'd spout.
I've made a lot of progress in a short time. Before, she never even wanted to talk to me.
I said after standing still for a few seconds.
"The purpose was to take a peek at the midterm exam papers, right?"
She let out a sigh with an expression of disapproval.
"Haah… Matsuda-Kun can only come up with these sorts of answers. I'm not someone like you, Matsuda-kun. Actually, no, Matsuda-Kun wouldn't even bother to take a peek at the midterms, would he? I suppose that was a bad comparison to make."
I ate a big counter hit. It hurts even more 'cause it's true.
I smacked my lips then asked again:
"Then, what were you doing?"
"I came to look for something I forgot then decided to stay and study because it was quiet."
"Then, did you come to check out the sound of me cleaning?"
"You got it right this time. Why are you cleaning the bathrooms right now?"
"Why? The professor…"
"You should call him Professor-nim. Speak politely!"
"… Yeah, Professor-nim or something said I'm expelled the moment I miss even one day."
Hearing my explanation, Miyuki's mouth went up slightly.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to come out on the weekends to clean… But, that's why you came today?"
"Yes, but there's another reason as well."
"Another reason? Were you worried that during the weekend, the people at school would get the bathrooms dirty?"
How innocent… You'd be surprised to learn about what's truly going on here at this academy.
I decided to tell Miyuki a little of the secret things happening at her academy.
"Hanazawa."
"Yes?"
"Even if you're naive, aren't you a bit too naive?"
"What are you talking about?"
Looking at Miyuki's innocent eyes, I clicked my tongue and began to explain.
"There are dormitories at our academy, right?"
"Yes, there is."
"There are bound to be couples at the academy who stay in the dormitories, right?"
"Yes."
"And, among them, there will be couples who don't have a lot of money, right?"
"Yes…Your point?"
"It's during the weekend, so the couples definitely want to spend time together, but since the male and female dormitories are separated and under surveillance and the couples can't afford to meet outside the academy, where will the couples meet?"
Miyuki's head turned at an angle of 15 degrees.
It's very beautiful to see her thinking with her eyes raised upwards.
Miyuki, who had been thinking for a while, finally asked:
"What do they do?"
"Come to the bathroom and coitus."
"Ah… I see. It's like that… Coitus… Wait a minute… What did you just say?"
Miyuki, who was about to agree, stopped upon hearing the words that came out of her own mouth, which was left agape.
Her face turned beet red in an instant.
Giggling, I confirmed the kill:
"Coitus."
I wanted to start humping the air, but that'd lose me a lot of the hard-gotten affection points with Miyuki.
It was good enough for me to make Miyuki feel such embarrassment.
"Oh, Matsuda-kun! This is too far even for a prank…!"
"No, I just truthfully answered your question, so what are you getting all mad for? Shall I show you proof? There's a clogged toilet in the bathroom near Class 1-F, and if we were to unclog it, we'd certainly discover some condoms…"
"S-Stop it…! I don't want to know anymore…! And you don't have to be so explicit…!"
"What?"
"That… That word…Coitus…"
"Coitus is explicit? Then, would you have fainted if I said sex?"
"Matsuda-kun! You really…!"
Let's stop now.
Originally, I had a vulgar mouth, so she'll forgive this much.
I shrugged and started cleaning the toilets again.
"Has your curiosity been satisfied? You can leave now."
"What do you mean by satisfied…? I'm going to report this to professor-nim…!"
"What… Are the academy students in elementary school? Middle school? You want to ban sexual intercourse between adults?"
"Bu-But, this is the academy… There are school rules… It says that if you commit a serious deviant behavior within the academy, you will be penalized…The punishment means that it's against the Academy's rules… So, you can't do it…"
Hmmm, you'll be breaking that rule excitedly with me later.
"Think of it like this. Giving light punishments rather than expulsion for this 'serious' deviant behavior means that the academy understands the burning passions of youth to some extent?"
At those words, Miyuki's eyes widened.
"I thought you would really hate our punishment system since you were a regular violator of school rules… Why're you defending it?"
"Are you surprised?"
"Yes. Very."
"Strictly speaking, I was defending the students, not the academy, but well… Let's just move on. And, you just have to go over it in a reasonable way. You don't always have to be so stuck up. It's not like someone would accuse you of being a bad class president if you'd just relax sometimes…"
"I don't like the punishment system either. It's just…I said it out of anger…I was surprised."
"You were a bit too defensive for it to be just surprise. You even mentioned the school rules…"
"Stop being so sarcastic… Seriously…"
I know.
I already know you're not that conservative.
"If you understand, go quickly. Stop interfering with my cleaning. If you want to study, go to the library."
"Because it's midterms, it's full of people…"
"You should have woken up early in the morning. The early bird… That… What is it…"
"Gets the worm?"
"Yes, that."
"I don't want to hear that from Matsuda-kun, who doesn't even know the proverb."
"You said that at the train station before and even now? Should I just keep my mouth shut?"
"It's a joke. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."
A joke? You to me?
It's good that I came here today.
Forcibly calming the sense of accomplishment that spread throughout my body, I said:
"It didn't hurt my feelings at all, so just leave. Or come help me."
"Okay. How can I help?"
My body stiffened at the answer I would've never imagined before in my wildest dreams.
"Uh…?"
"How can I help?"
"… You're going to help for real?"
"Yes. I will help you."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, I already said so? Why're you so surprised? Anyway, what do you need me to do?"
Suddenly coming back to my senses, I pointed to the cleaning kit.
"Mop the floor."
"I'm doing you a favor, so it should be a request not a command. Is it really so hard to say 'please'?"
Even though this is a situation where that could've been easily ignored, bringing it up means she must be having fun messing with me.
I said, frowning.
"You're the one who said you'd help me first."
"Matsuda-kun. Shall I just go?"
"…Is it fun?"
"I'm leaving?"
Miyuki turned her back to me, about to leave the bathroom.
I called out to her urgently:
"Yo… Yo…! I'll say it! I'll say the word…!"
At that, Miyuki looked at me again and said:
"I guess you still don't like cleaning after all?"
No, no, I want to clean! I wanna see your face as we clean together!
These words almost flew out of my mouth.
"Who in their right mind likes cleaning… Anyway, that… There's a mop in the pile of cleaning tools…?"
"Yes."
"Would you… Wash the mop… In the sink… And then… Mop… The floor…pl…ea…se?"
I acted like I truly hated saying those words, even going so far as to make my body tremble as I spoke.
And, as I spoke, Miyuki smiled brightly at me.
A beautiful smile that brightened up this disgusting bathroom.
I feel like my mind is going crazy.
"See. You can do it if you try. From now on, try to do it more. The listener will be happy, and Matsuda-kun will be happy when he speaks. Don't you feel good right now?"
"Not at all. Hurry up and help me."
"Alright, let me get the mop first."
A fresh grapefruit scent wafted from Miyuki's hair as she passed by me.
Unbeknownst to her, like a pervert, I took a deep whiff of her hair.
Today was a massive success.
Jokes, helping hands, even puns… The atmosphere is so good.
Tomorrow, I will go to a nearby shrine to offer some money.
I should pray to the Doki-Doki Academy god to thank him for bringing me into Doki-Doki Academy.