I got waken up abruptly by a phone call. I pick up my phone and look at the name of the person who’s calling me. I only see numbers, which indicates that I don’t have his or her phone number registered inside my phone. I pick up the call anyway.

   ‘Hello?’

   ‘It’s ma birthday today! Wish me happy birthday!’

   ‘Shishiaki-senpai? Is that you?’

   ‘Who else would it be? Now wish me already!’

   I look at the screen of my phone in order to check the time. It’s twelve o’clock midnight right now. She called literally at midnight at the day of her birthday so that I could wish her.

   ‘Um, happy birthday.’

   ‘Thanks! Now come on down, I’m waiting for ya at da entrance!’

   ‘...You’re what?’

   ‘Ya heard me! Now make it snappy, ya won’t like it when I get impatient!’

   ‘Well at least give me some time to change.’

   ‘Fine, I ain’t a tyrant. Ten minutes.’

   She then cuts off the call. I groan and get up from my bed and get changed. Once I changed out of my sleepwear, I waste no time in heading down where Natsuho is supposedly waiting for me. And lo and behold, she really is waiting for me at the entrance of the dorm.

   She got really happy when she saw me. She gives me a really tight hug and refuse to let go for quite some time.

   ‘May I know what you’re doing here?’ I ask her.

   ‘I wanted someone ta help me celebrate ma birthday, so I chose ya!’

   ‘You came all the way here from Kyoto just for that?’

   ‘Of course! So ya better give me a good time!’

   Luckily, today’s a Saturday. That means no school. That’s why I could afford to hang out with her.

   ‘Um, sure. Where do we start?’

   ‘Food. I’m starvin’.’

   ‘Do you want me to cook something for you?’

   ‘Ya bet I do! Sakuya would never stop braggin’ ’bout how awesome yer food tastes when we talked over da phone last time. I want ta taste it fer maself.’

   ‘In that case let’s go to my room.’

   She suddenly narrows her eyes in suspicion.

   ‘Yer ain’t gonna do somethin’ weird ta me while we’re alone, are ya?’ she asks.

   ‘What kind of things are we talking about?’

   My question made her tongue-tied. Her face has also become red.

   ‘Well, um…’

   I lean in closer so that our face are mere inches away from each other.

   ‘Please tell me, senpai. What kind of things are you talking about, hmm~?’

   She flinches and pushes me away.

   ‘Yer too close! Now come on! Let’s go ta yer room already!’

   ‘Right this way.’

   Natsuho spends the first few minutes looking around. She’s especially interested in looking under my bed.

   ‘Just so you know, senpai, I don’t keep my porn stash underneath my bed.’ I inform her as I check my refrigerator for ingredients.

   ‘Aww, yer no fun! Are ya sayin’ that ya keep them inside yer computer?’

   ‘As a matter of fact, I do. What do you want to eat, senpai?’

   ‘I’m thinkin’ of somethin’ light. Hmm, make me a gyuudon. And give me lots of rice.’

   ‘That’s nowhere near to be considered a light meal.’ I point out.

   ‘Are yer kiddin’ me? I eat them fer midnight snacks all the time!’

   ‘No no no, no normal person eat gyuudon with extra rice for midnight snacks. Oh, right. You’re nowhere near normal.’

   ‘Just cook me da food!’

   ‘As you wish.’

   I begin by washing and cooking the rice. While the rice cooker is doing its job, I begin to prepare the other ingredients: onions, green onions, the sauce and of course, beef.

   ‘Yer actually makin’ the sauce from scratch?’ she asks in surprise when she sees me making it.

   ‘Well yes, I don’t really trust store-bought sauces, so I try to make them if it’s possible.’

   ‘Wow, talk about dedication.’

   ‘Do you cook too, senpai?’

   ‘Sort of. But sometimes I would get lazy, particularly when Aoi doesn’t mind cook my share when she’s cookin’ hers.’

   ‘Isa-senpai is spoiling you.’

   ‘I think dat she’s just worried.’

   ‘Of what, exactly?’

   ‘There was one time when I accidentally added too much Tabasco sauce in ma ramen, and I got serious diarrhea.’

   ‘...You add Tabasco sauce into your ramen?’

   ‘I mistook it for ma Shichimi, alright?’

   ‘How on earth did you even mistake Tabasco as Shichimi and “accidentally put too much of them”?’

   ‘Oh, don’t sweat it. This kind of thing just happens, y’know?’

   ‘No. No I don’t.’

   Yup. It’s best if she isn’t allowed to cook either.

   My prep for most of my ingredients are already done. Now I have to do is wait for the rice to cook.

   ‘What’s takin’ so long?’ Natsuho complains.

   ‘I can be quick about everything else, but the rice needs to be cooked properly.’ I tell her.

   ‘I shouldn’t have ordered a gyuudon.’ she grumbles.

   ‘Too late. And please don’t retract your order this late in the stage.’

   ‘I won’t. I hate wasting food too, okay? Now is there anything for me ta do while we wait?’

   ‘You can watch some TV.’ I suggest.

   Natsuho goes to my television and picks up the controller. She then turns on the television and rapidly changes channel.

   ‘There’s nothing good showing.’ she grumbles.

   ‘Maybe it’s because, I don’t know, the middle of the night?’ I ask pointedly.

   ‘Can I play some of yer games?’ she asks while being completely oblivious.

   ‘Sure, knock yourself out.’

   She goes in front of my television again, this time to rummage for my collection of games.

   ‘Let’s see… Bright Souls 3, Identity 5, God of Battle, Crimson Alive Redemption 2… Aha, Street Brawler 5! And there are two controllers too. Care to join me, Kagenashi?’

   I get up from my seat. ‘Sure thing.’

   Turns out Natsuho is very, very good at playing games. She thrashed me six times in a row.

   ‘Do you want me to go easy on you?’ she asks without having a condescending tone.

   ‘It’s okay, senpai. You don’t have to.’

   ‘Well, I’ll at least teach you some pointers.’

   As we continue to play, she gave me lots of tips like how to time your block, when to use your ultimate skill, that sort of things. Halfway through, I realize that I got a bit better. She still thrashed me like it was nothing, though. I got thrashed for the 12th time when the rice is finally done cooking.

   ‘’Bout time!’ Natsuho exclaims happily.

   ‘It’s not over yet, senpai. I still have to cook the beef and everything, remember?’ I remind her.

   ‘Course I remember. But at least the worst is over.’

   I made short works of the ingredients I prepared, and the gyuudon is finally served.

   ‘Yum, it’s so delicious~! No wonder Sakuya won’t shut up ’bout it!’ Natsuho compliments as she eats.

   ‘I’m glad that you like it. Now please don’t talk while you’re eating. It’s bad manners.’

   ‘Right. My bad.’

   She didn’t talk until she was done eating.

   ‘Whew, I’m stuffed. Now what?’

   ‘Why are you asking me? Didn’t you come here with a plan in mind?’

   ‘Nope. I came here on a whim.’

   I hang my head in defeat.

   ‘Of course you did.’ I mutter.

   ‘Well, let’s just play games until the sun is up. Or even better, until the shops around here starts ta open.’

   I look at the time. It’s barely one o’clock.

   ‘You want to keep playing for at least seven hours? Are you sure your body can take it?’ I ask her. ‘I’m sure that you have been awake for much longer than I have.’

   ‘Hey, don’t ya dare underestimate me! I’m da student council president of da Academy’s Osaka Branch, remember?’

   ‘What does that have to do with your ability to stay awake?’

   ‘It’s, y’know, guts.’

   ‘...You lost me.’

   ‘Just don’t sweat da small stuff and just go with it, yah?’

   ‘Yup, I think I should do that or I’ll never be able to keep up with you.’

   ‘That’s da spirit. Now let’s get playing!’

   True to her words, we really ended up playing games until the sun is up. I’m starting to a little groggy due to a lack of sleep.

   ‘Are ya okay?’ she asks me when she sees me barely able to open my eyes.

   ‘Oh, I’m fine senpai. No need to worry about me.’ I assure her.

   ‘Ya sure ya not pushin’ yerself?’

   ‘I’m positive. Besides, you’re the birthday girl, remember? You have the complete authority for today.’

   She suddenly has a determined look.

   ‘Tell ya what, I’ll do da same fer ya when it’s yer birthday.’ she tells me.

   ‘There’s no need for you to.’

   ‘Now don’t be shy. When’s yer birthday, by the way?’

   ‘December 1st.’

   At least, Akira’s is. Mine is on the 12th of same month. Not that anyone ever cared.

   ‘Oh, that’s less than a month away. Don’t yer worry, I’ll be here ta celebrate it with ya when the time comes!’

   ‘Just don’t call me on the middle of the night to wish me, please.’

   ‘What are ya sayin’? That’s how things work, right?’

   ‘No it’s not. You can just wish me at a normal time like nine o’clock or something. Just not midnight when I have mostly already fallen asleep.’

   She shows me a mischievous smile. Yup, she’s definitely going to call me at midnight.

   Kuromi soon arrives at my room to help me clean it. She’s surprised to see Natsuho at my room.

   ‘Whoa, it’s a real life maid! Who are ya? And how did ya managed ta come in?’ Natsuho asks.

   Kuromi curtsies gracefully and elegantly at her.

   ‘Greetings. My name is Kurosawa Kuromi. I am the master’s personal maid.’ she introduces herself.

   Natsuho looks at me.

   ‘Are you into maids?’ she asks.

   ‘Um-’

   ‘Indeed he is. Madoka-sama informed me that he has lots of naughty videos about maids in his computer.’ Kuromi answers in my stead.

   ‘You didn’t have to tell her that, Kuromi.’

   ‘So, where’s she from?’ Natsuho asks, probably to be courteous.

   I explain Kuromi’s background to her. I then introduced the two of them to each other. After I’m done, Natsuho looks very impressed.

   ‘Ya formed a contract with a Goddess, huh? Impressive.’ she compliments.

   ‘We are also intertwined with the contract of lovers.’ Kuromi adds proudly.

   ‘I, I see…’

   I’m both glad and surprised that Kuromi didn’t mention anything about her being my s*x slave. Not that I want her to.

   ‘By the way, are you here to clean my room again?’ I ask Kuromi.

   ‘Indeed I am, master. Was this a bad time?’

   ‘Not at all. Please help me with it.’

   ‘Understood.’

   ‘So ya have someone ta clean yer room for ya, huh? How nice.’ Natsuho says a bit enviously.

   ‘I want to clean it myself, but she would always insist that it’s her duty to do it for me.’

   ‘Ya should be glad. Aoi never cleans up my room fer me.’

   ‘Isn’t it your own responsibility?’

   ‘Says the one who has his own maid.’

   It took Kuromi less than thirty minutes to clean up my room. She’s just getting faster and faster by the day.

   ‘Well then, I shall take my leave.’ she says while curtsying at us.

   ‘Aww, you’re not going to join us?’ Natsuho asks.

   ‘I would love to. Unfortunately, I have to go to my work.’

   ‘That’s a shame.’

   ‘Please take care of master while I’m gone. Do not worry, however. Master is very gentle when he is on bed.’

   Natsuho blushes furiously at the last part.

   ‘Could you not make things awkward?’ I plead.

   Kuromi tilts her head.

   ‘I was merely giving her an advice. Did I say too much?’ she asks.

   ‘As a matter of fact, you did.’

   ‘Oh, my. Well, I shall make myself scarce for real this time.’

   ‘Yeah, good luck at your job.’

   Natsuho nods at Kuromi as a way of farewell, even though she’s still being flustered. The immortal maid nods back politely.

   ‘So, shall we continue with our gaming?’ Natsuho asks not long Kuromi leaves.

   ‘...Yes. Lets’.’

   For once, Natsuho is actually reading the mood here. Thankfully, my other girlfriends soon arrive to make the awkward atmosphere less awkward. They, too, are surprised to see Natsuho at my room.

   ‘Pray tell, what are you doing in Akira’s room, Shishiaki-senpai?’ Ichika asks her.

   ‘I wanted Kagenashi to celebrate ma birthday with me.’ she replies.

   ‘And you came all the way from Kyoto just for that?’

   ‘Yup.’

   ‘...I see.’

   ‘In any case happy birthday Natsuho-chan.’ Sakuya tells Natsuho.

   ‘Thanks, Sakuya.’

   Yui starts freaking out all of a sudden.

   ‘Oh no, we didn’t get you anything at all!’ she exclaims.

   ‘Nah, it’s fine. I don’t really care about that kind of things.’ Natsuho assures her.

   ‘How about we hand Akira-kun over to you for a day? You can do whatever you want with him.’ Assaf-sensei offers.

   ‘Deal.’ Natsuho replies immediately.

   ‘Um, what about my consent?’ I ask.

   ‘How could you, Akira-kun? You’re supposed to spoil Natsuho-chan since it’s her birthday today!’ Sakuya chides me.

   ‘I don’t mind humoring her. However, the “do whatever she wants with me” part scares me. A lot.’

   ‘Oh, don’t be scared. I won’t ask for anything crazy.’ Natsuho assures me while patting my back.

   Before we depart, I cooked breakfast for all of us, although I took quite a bit of time since I needed to cook lots for Kaoru’s share.

   ‘I think you need to renovate this counter real soon. You know, so that more people could sit here.’ Sakuya notes as we’re all eating by the counter.

   I realize that she’s right. If Kuromi hasn’t left for work, one of us won’t have a place to sit.

   ‘Yup. You better do it soon, since I’ll be coming over again next month.’ Natsuho tells me.

   ‘I guess the two of you are right. I guess I’ll call the school tomorrow.’ I muse.

   The Academy have their own team of construction workers who are hired specifically to renovate the students’ room. The first three renovations are free, while a fee will be charged after the third one.

   ‘You better request the counter to be extended until it can seat 20 people.’ Assaf-sensei suggests.

   ‘Do we need that many seats?’

   ‘To be honest, it’s kind of hard to tell when we’re talking about a girl-magnet like you.’

   I can’t find anything to say back to that.

   Ichika and Yui offer to wash the dishes.

   ‘We will take it from here. You should not keep Shishiaki-senpai waiting any longer.’ Ichika tells me.

   ‘Make sure that she has fun.’ Yui adds.

   ‘Got it.’

   ‘Thanks, you two.’ Natsuho tells them.

   I follow her to go outside the dorm while still being slightly sleepy. My condition has worsen after my stomach is full. I could barely keep myself awake.

   ‘Kagenashi, ya really ought to take a quick nap. I mean, yer look like yer about ta faint any moment.’ Natsuho insists.

   ‘I, I guess I should.’

   ‘Good. Let’s go ta dat bench then.’

   I was about to lie down on it when Natsuho sits down on the very edge of the bench and pats her thighs.

   ‘Go on. Lay yer head on my thighs.’ she tells me.

   ‘I beg your pardon?’

   ‘Ya heard me. Now chop chop!’

   I was so sleepy I don’t even bother to argue. As she ordered, I lie my head down on her lap. She puts her hand on my head and gently strokes it. I slowly close my eyes.

   ‘No need ta rush. It’s okay ta take a quick break every once in a while.’ she says soothingly.

   I don’t even remember falling asleep, but I felt much better when I opened my eyes again.

   ‘Mornin’! I hope ya had a good sleep.’ she tells me.

   ‘How long was I out?’ I ask her as I slowly get up.

   ‘Oh, just an hour or so. Yer a light sleeper, huh?’

   I take out my phone. She’s right. Only an hour and fifteen minutes have passed after I have fallen asleep.

   ‘So how was ma thighs? Were they comfy?’ she asks smugly.

   ‘As a matter of fact, yes.’ I say honestly.

   My answer surprised her and made her blush.

   ‘I-I-I-Is that so? D-D-D-D-Dat’s good ta hear…’ she stutters.

   ‘Why are you getting all embarrassed when you’re the one who asked me the question?’

   ‘Oh, shut it! Now let’s go! We’ve already wasted enough time as it is!’

   ‘So where are we going?’

   ‘To da nearest game center! I still haven’t had ma fill of video games!’

   And so, I bring her to the game center I always go with Mashiro. We played all sorts of games there. Once again, she thrashed me in every game we played. She’s especially good at taiko rhythm games. She managed to clear the expert mode like it’s the easiest thing to do.

   ‘I used ta be part of da local taiko team, y’see.’ she explains.

   ‘Used to? Does that mean you’ve quit?’

   ‘Yeah. I wanted ta continue, but I couldn’t balance between working at the student council and practising my taiko. I’m an idiot, after all. In the end, I chose protecting da people over ma hobby.’

   She lets out a melancholy sigh. She’s also putting on a sad expression. She raises up the drumsticks she’s holding and looks at them sadly, the game she’s playing temporarily forgotten.

   ‘Did you ever regret it?’ I ask gently.

   She shakes her head.

   ‘Course not. The sense of achievement and fulfillment when I managed ta protect the civilians always kept me going. But still, sometimes I wish the world is more peaceful.’

   ‘One can only hope.’

   She nods in agreement.

   ‘By the way, senpai.’

   ‘Yeah?’

   ‘You need to put more coins if you want to continue.’

   ‘Huh?’

   She looks at the screen of the game. There’s a huge “game Over” written on it. She blinks in surprise.

   ‘Wat da-? Why didn’t ya tell me?’

   ‘You were too busy being sentimental, so I’ll figured that I should let you have a moment alone.’

   She growls at me threateningly. I get ready just in case she’s going to use the drumsticks on her hands to beat me up. In the end, she just starts another game while grumbling.

   Once she finally had her fill, we leave the game center.

   ‘What now, senpai?’ I ask her.

   ‘Lunch! I’m starvin’!’

   ‘Do you have any food that you want to eat in particular?’

   She thinks about it for a while.

   ‘I want Japanese food.’ is the answer she came up with.

   ‘...That’s such a vague answer I don’t even know where to start.’

   ‘Oh come on! Yer been here fer quite a while, right? That’s gotta be somewhere dat ya can recommend me!’

   ‘Well, there is one place…’

   That, of course, is Yamamoto Canteen. The lunch hour has just begun when we got there, so the place is just half-full. The boss Miyako-san guides us to our table herself. Natsuho and I sit on of each other.

   ‘Let’s see…what shall I get?’ Natsuho mumbles as she’s taking a look at the menu.

   ‘Oh, was that a Kansai dialect I hear?’ Miyako-san asks.

   ‘That’s right. I’m here all da way from Kyoto! Ma name’s Shishiaki Natsuho, nice ta meet ya!’ Natsuho introduces herself while waving at the shop’s owner cheerfully.

   ‘Nice to meet you too. My name is Tokida Miyako. I’m the owner of this humble establishment.’

   ‘Huh, yer the owner here? But ya look so young!’

   ‘Oh my~! You sure know how to make this old woman happy! You sure have some nice friends, Kagenashi-kun.’

   ‘Oh, ya know Kagenashi too owner?’

   ‘I sure do. He helped me out a lot when this place was struggling. I owe him a lot for that.’

   Natsuho suddenly narrows her eyes. She then looks up and down at Miyako-san. She looks at me next.

   ‘Is there a reason ya bring me here?’ she asks me.

   ‘Um, what’s that supposed to mean?’

   Natsuho gestures towards Miyako-san.

   ‘No, I don’t have any ulterior motives. Besides, you were the one who wanted to have Japanese food.’ I deny as calmly as I could.

   Miyako-san smiles teasingly at me.

   ‘That said, I see you come here with a different girl almost every single time. You must be very popular.’ she chuckles.

   ‘Yup. This guy’s an absolute womanizer.’ Natsuho agrees while stepping on my foot continuously.

   I can’t even say anything back since it’s true.

   ‘Can we order now?’ I ask in order to change the subject.

   ‘Of course. What will you have?’

   ‘A pork cutlet set meal, please.’

   ‘Chicken karaage set meal fer me!’

   ‘Understood. Please wait for a while as we take care of your orders.’

   After we’re done eating, we continue with our outing. For the rest of the day until evening, Natsuho wanted me to show her the way around Tokyo so that it’s easier for her when she transfers to the Academy’s Tokyo Branch next year. After the guide was over, I escort her to the train station so that she can get back to Kyoto.

   ‘Ya betta not be getting any more new girlfriend afta I’m here.’ she warns while she’s waiting for the train to arrive.

   ‘Um, sure.’

   I definitely can’t tell her about Amesaki-senpai.

   Once the train is here, she kissed my cheek before boarding it.

   ‘Well, thanks for today, Kagenashi. See you next month.’ she tells me.

   ‘Goodbye, senpai. See you next month.’

   And with that, she left. Just like a typhoon, might I add.