"Are you leaving?" Akiho said behind him.
Kazuya had a positive impression of Akiho. Unlike Haruka who liked to vent her anger on others, he thought both Haruna and Akiho were good girls. He replied, "Yeah, it's just this rain..."
The rain outside was being whipped by the wind, changing directions from vertical to diagonal and occasionally sweeping horizontally. Umbrellas were practically useless.
Akiho silently handed him a raincoat and a bag of meat and bone fragments for him to feed the dogs when he got back. "The dog food is packed, and the raincoat is from Big Sister."
"Who?"
"Big Sister."
Kazuya would bet his head that this was absolutely impossible. Would that little radish Haruka do something so kind? It would be lucky not to pour a basin of dirty water on him while he was drenched.
But Akiho insisted, "It's true. Big Sister asked me to give it to you. She might be a bit impatient, with her own quirks, but she's very kind and takes care of those around her very carefully... She has a strange temper, but she's not a bad person."
Kazuya didn't argue with Akiho. Haruka was just a scoundrel plus three levels. "Thank you, Akiho."
"It wasn't me who wanted to give it to you. It was really Big Sister."
"Okay, okay." Kazuya thought she might be trying to ease the conflict between him and Haruka. He accepted the raincoat and thanked Akiho before putting it on. After thanking Akiho for the dog food, he waved to her and rushed into the heavy rain. However, the wind was strong, and after running a few steps, he was nearly blown back. He could only press the raincoat's hood against the rain and slowly make his way to the tram station.
Watching Kazuya disappear into the rain, Akiho closed the shop door and put up the shutter. When she returned to the second floor and walked to Haruka's door, she knocked, "Big Sister, I gave him the raincoat."
Haruka was studying, not lifting her head. She took off her black-framed glasses, "I know."
Akiho sighed softly, "Big Sister, why don't you apologize directly?"
Haruka turned her head to look at Akiho. "What are you talking about? I gave him the raincoat not to apologize! I'm afraid he'll catch a cold and come infect our whole family. Medicine is so expensive, and it would be a loss if the whole family had to take medicine."
"Big Sister, why can't you be more straightforward?"
"Where am I not straightforward? Akiho, let me tell you, as a person, it's better to let others dislike you, fear you, even hate you, but never let them look down on you! The more he hates me, the happier I am. Anyway, I absolutely have no intention of apologizing! Besides, he's my lifelong enemy. I told him a long time ago. It's his own fault if he didn't stay vigilant and got stabbed. I have no reason to apologize! Right now, I'm still cursing him to fall into the sewer! Hahaha!"
She laughed heartily three times, then put on her glasses and resumed reading. "Go on. I need to study. There's a pile of housework to do later! Come find me before bedtime and help me stretch my legs. This year, I must grow to 1.5 meters. By then, I'll make those who laughed at me look bad!"
…
"Damn it!" Kazuya, not being a local and lacking experience living in areas with heavy rainfall, didn't expect the tradition of opening drainage outlets on rainy days. Near the apartment, the streetlights were off, and the place where the drainage outlet was open didn't have any markers like in other neighborhoods. In the dark, he almost stepped into it and could have fallen if he hadn't trained before.
Taking one leg out of the drainage outlet, he found that his shoe was already filled with water, making it uncomfortable to walk. Holding back his anger, he returned to the apartment, only to see his apartment door open with two heads showing, one belonged to Yoko, and the other to Totatoro.
Yoko sweetly greeted, "When I heard Totatoro desperately scratching at the door, I knew Onisan had come back! Why are you back so early today?"
Totatoro under her feet had green lights in his eyes, desperately suppressing the urge to drool.
Kazuya who was wet and dripping directly entered the house, took off his shoes and raincoat in the makeshift entrance, and replied, "Today there isn't any customers due to the rain, so I decided to come back early. But I guess Totatoro isn't eagerly welcoming me."
Totatoro squatted on the side, smiling flatteringly. Its tail wagged so fast it left a blur, and it tried hard not to glance at the bag of dog food in Kazuya's hands. It wanted to show that he wasn't thinking about meat or bones, just looking forward to his owner coming home, a hundred percent loyal.
Kazuya was amused by him and handed the bag of dog food to Yoko, "Help me put it in the bowl for it. I'll change my clothes."
Yoko picked up Kazuya's soaking shoes and the bag of dog food, leading Totatoro to the bathroom. "Sure, Onisan, you change your clothes. I'll brush your shoes for you."
"No need, Yoko. I'll do it myself later."
"Hurry up and change, Onisan. Don't catch a cold."
"Fine, I'll change. In a while, I'll be back on my own."
Although Kazuya hadn't gotten much rain, his clothes were damp, sticking uncomfortably to his body, especially his pants, which were wet up to his knees. He called out once again, telling Yoko not to worry about the shoes, and then peeled off completely, changing into a dry set of home clothes from the wardrobe. He took a glance at the plastic bag containing the books, thinking that the envelope given by Naotaka had become a bit soft.
He opened the envelope to take a look. Inside, Naotaka had praised him immensely in a letter of recommendation, describing him as a perfect employee. It was almost as if he had written an award certificate and included ten fresh one-thousand-yen bills as severance pay.
Kazuya did a quick calculation and found that it amounted to an extra hour's salary per day. Thinking about it, his part-time pay this time was higher than the average. Naotaka was meticulous and considerate, treating him generously.
Even though he appeared to be a sick and alcoholic person, his actions were mature and sophisticated, demonstrating a good understanding of people and situations. After interacting with him for so long, Kazuya found nothing to criticize. Moreover, he was broad-minded, making people involuntarily admire him.
Kazuya packed the envelope and money. Then he noticed a strange smell in the air, a faint scent of disinfectant. About to ask, he realized that Yoko hadn't come out of the bathroom yet. He went in to check and found Yoko cleaning his shoes with a serious expression.
He quickly moved to stop her, but Yoko resisted, twisting her body to block his hands. "Onisan, it's okay. I'm good at cleaning shoes and doing household chores at home!"
Kazuya felt embarrassed. However, the bathroom was small, and Totatoro even swung and wagged its tail vertically, indicating the limited space. Unable to stop her, Kazuya had no choice but to let Yoko do as she pleased.
He accompanied her and watched her skillfully clean his shoes. It seemed she wasn't lying earlier. She was quite adept at household chores. After wiping the shoes inside and out with water to remove dirt, she used an absorbent cloth to remove moisture and then stuffed several balls of tissue into the shoes.
Yoko raised her head and sweetly smiled. "Onisan, just let the shoes dry tomorrow, and then apply a layer of shoe polish. Don't worry. The shoes won't deform!"
She paused and peeked outside, "Onisan, where's your wet clothes?"
Kazuya couldn't accept the idea of Yoko washing his clothes. "There's no way to dry them now. I'll put them there and wait for the weather to clear up."
Kazuya was reluctant to let her do more work, and Yoko seemed a bit disappointed. She hoped to repay Kazuya, but with limited capabilities, doing some household chores and maintaining the shoes were her limits. She continued to dry out the shoes, attempting to remove more water to extend their lifespan.
Kazuya asked, "By the way, Yoko, did you use the disinfectant?"
Yoko squatted there and raised her little face. Seeing that he finally discovered it, she quickly showed her success: "I cleaned the ceiling. We don't have to worry about mold anymore until next year."
Finally understanding why the floor's mold never seemed to disappear, Kazuya felt relieved. Those mold spots were really troublesome, and now they could finally get rid of this nuisance. He expressed his joy, "That's amazing, Yoko! I never thought of that!"
"Happy Onisan, happy me too!"
Kazuya listened to her words and felt the silky touch in his hand. Petting her head seemed to be addictive. "Thank you so much, Yoko. I've been bothered by this for a long time."
Yoko responded with a sweet smile, "It's really nothing, Onisan. Stop thanking me."
Although she said that, she felt completely satisfied, her heart filled with happiness. Even the occasional pain on her stomach seemed to have eased a lot.
Yoko may have been lonely for too long, and she was more than happy to stay with Kazuya, even if Kazuya was studying and won't talk to her.
She stayed until "Mikan, for your love" was about to start before leaving, afraid of disturbing Kazuya's study. She planned to go home and watch.