Episode 8: I Just Want to Go Shopping
The next day, and the day after that, Yuno said nothing about that night.
She was the same as ever — breezy, unbothered, as though nothing had happened.
That night — I’d brought my face close to hers and almost kissed her.
A woman who was nothing but a housemate. And drunk, on top of it.
Every time I remembered what I’d been about to do, the heat crept all the way to the tips of my ears.
The night Yuno had kissed me while I was being comforted. The night I’d come home drunk and almost kissed her back. Neither of those things had been asked about, or spoken of. I’d said nothing, and she’d said nothing.
Yuno not bringing it up suited me fine.
I hoped she’d forgotten all of it.
＊＊＊
Five days since Yuno had moved in. Saturday morning.
“Haah…”
Sitting across from each other over breakfast, Yuno let out a deep sigh.
“What.”
“I got rejected from another part-time interview. I have to start looking all over again…”
“Where were you applying?”
“A convenience store.”
“You seem like you’d have decent people skills. I’d have thought you’d get in.”
“Maybe it was because I said ‘I’m not great at handling money’…”
“Of course it was. Who tells them that.”
“Ah — oh.”
At Yuno’s expression of genuine dawning realisation, I let out a small, exasperated sigh.
After a spoonful of soup, Yuno dropped a quiet word.
“So, big sis. Could I stay here a little longer?”
She looked up at me from under her lashes. Softly angled brows, eyes faintly glistening. A slightly crestfallen expression that was, against all reason, unbearably endearing, and I found my gaze sliding away.
“…Fine, fine. Just get yourself sorted, would you. Find somewhere to work.”
I muttered it at a spot on the wall, and took a sip of coffee.
The faint warmth that stirred at the words a little longer was probably just my imagination.
＊＊＊
After clearing away breakfast, I sat at the dressing table in the bedroom and started doing my makeup.
Yuno’s voice drifted over from behind me.
“Big sis, are you going out?”
“Shopping. I want some spring clothes.”
Without sparing Yuno a glance, I kept my eyes on the mirror, layering brown eyeshadow onto my eyelids.
A small “hm” from Yuno. Then, after a brief pause:
“Can I come?”
“No.”
I turned to face her and said it without a moment’s hesitation.
“Ehhh, why? I won’t buy anything. I just want to get out of the apartment for a bit.”
“If I run into anyone from work or a client, it’ll be a hassle. I don’t want any strange misunderstandings.”
I said it flatly, and Yuno’s mouth curved into a pout.
A small silence. Then she crouched down neatly beside me as I was putting red lipstick on, and —
— caught both my hands in hers. A firm, gentle squeeze.
The warmth of her hands seeped through, slow and steady.
My heart gave one startled thud at the suddenness of it.
She looked up at me, tilting her head to one side.
“Hey… please.”
Glistening eyes. Lips pressed together in a small line. A look that pricked, faintly but insistently, at whatever sliver of conscience I still had.
…Ugh.
That face — soft and coaxing — and my words simply wouldn’t come.
“…Fine. If you can act like a stranger.”
Yuno pumped her fist with a quiet “yes,” and narrowed her eyes with delight.
I looked at that expression and sighed.
The corner of my mouth threatened to soften, so I hurriedly covered it with a cough.
I went through the wardrobe but had nothing that would suit Yuno particularly well.
Still, taking her to a department store in worn-out clothes felt wrong, so I lent her one of my dresses.
For myself: black leather jacket, black skinny jeans, sunglasses. Finished. Even I had to admit it was a look that didn’t invite approach.
I felt Yuno’s eyes on me and glanced over. She was studying my outfit with frank attention and said:
“You look cool, big sis.”
“It’s just normal.”
The compliment came out of nowhere, and I turned my face away.
Yuno kept going.
“But… how do I put it. You look kind of like a mafia boss.”
“Excuse me?”
“Like you’d be carrying a gun.”
“Right, fine. You’re not coming.”
“Ah — sorry! Take that back! Take it back!”
Trading that kind of banter, we walked the road toward the department store.
It was about ten minutes on foot from the apartment to the station — one of the things I’d chosen this building for. Everything I needed within walking distance.
I walked with my hands in my jacket pockets, the click of my heels steady on the pavement.
Yuno followed a step or two behind, trotting along in small quick steps to keep up.
Strangers, strangers, I reminded myself, and then, despite that, glanced back out of habit.
And —
Behind Yuno, a bicycle was bearing down at considerable speed. On the pavement.
Yuno hadn’t noticed at all.
At this rate it was going to hit her.
My body moved before I’d registered it.
I stepped close and pulled her arm toward me.
The bicycle shot past at full speed, right beside us, and kept going without a word.
“Tch. What was that. Say sorry.”
I clicked my tongue watching it disappear, before I’d even thought to stop myself.
Yuno blinked once, looking momentarily puzzled, then gave a soft laugh.
“Thanks. That was close.”
“Don’t laugh. Honestly, you’re a hazard.”
“You really are kind, big sis.”
“I’m — it would’ve been a nuisance dealing with an accident. I grabbed you without thinking.”
I said it bluntly, let go of her arm, and turned to face forward.
Then from behind me, one quiet word.
“Hehe. That gave me a little flutter, actually.”
She said it with a slightly wicked smile.
“What?” I shot back — but my heart had already leapt of its own accord at that smile.
＊＊＊
Inside the department store, I went straight to the third floor without hesitation. Looking for a spring trench coat.
I don’t like deliberating, so I always go to the same shops. I found the trench coat and a pair of trousers I’d had in mind and was done in under ten minutes.
Yuno stared at this with her mouth slightly open.
“…Want to get something too?”
“No money, and I don’t have strong opinions. Could you pick something for me?”
“Why would I do that.”
I sighed and kept walking.
Glancing idly around — my eyes stopped. My feet, without quite deciding to, stopped with them.
A fluffy roomwear set with cat ears on the hood. Matching shorts.
Before I’d realised it, I’d already pictured Yuno wearing it. Completely without meaning to.
Yuno, apparently following my gaze, looked in the same direction and let out a small “ha.”
Then turned and looked at me with a grin.
“Oh? So that’s big sis’s thing. Want me to wear it?”
“N — no. I was just looking. …Besides, you said you didn’t care what it was.”
“You do like cats, big sis. Fine, I’ll wear it. Buy it for me?”
Being teased like this by someone nearly ten years younger — my face went hot all at once.
Even so, pathetically, I was already picturing it again as I went to pay.
Yuno in that cat — in that roomwear.