Chapter 6: Retro Hug Machine
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Chapter 6: Retro Hug MachineChapter 6: Retro Hug Machine
"You forgot your bento!"
"Fine!"
"You forgot to say: mommy goodbye!"
"Fine! I'm leaving, happy?!"
Nik twitched with every shout. The Souma household had personal rooms for the three daughters and a master bedroom on the ground level at the end. But the Souma Household lacked a guest room and the couch of the living room was pushed back to give way for a 'futon', Nik's temporary bedding.
With the loud thud of the door, Nik turned around and closed his eyes once again before he was poked on the top of his head.
"Hey, if you're awake then get up. You don't want to leave a bad impression on the first day of your job, right?"
Nik turned on his stomach while hugging the pillow and looked up with half-lidded eyes as he found Souko crouched right in front of him. She wore a skirt suit similar to yesterday but right now she looked quite fresh and actually... naive. As if the sight of her underwear through the translucent pantyhose was simply a profound greeting of the morning for people encountering a language barrier and maybe it was given the fact that Souko's gaze turned awfully similar to her mother's.
"Here, Mom asked Sayoko to prepare these before going to sleep," Souko placed a sheet of paper and pointed at the fifth line written in two languages. The translation was a bit iffy and the writing of Hindi was a bit dubious but Nik understood it either way.
He's getting late for the job.
And this sheet of paper was a cheat sheet prepared for him through which he can convey basic needs.
With a slump of his head against the pillow, Nik turned around and sat up. A yawn escaped his lips as another round of shouts began to echo. This time with Mitsuko and Souko. Still, Nik stood up and scratched his chin while folding the piece of paper and looking at the futon. Folding it up, he silently picked it up and brought it to the small shelf behind the sliding paper door and placed it where he got it from.
'I don't have a toothbrush,' Nik realized. The morning routine seemed similar in this world but he didn't have an integral part of it so he freshened up a little and wore his clothes from yesterday. Beggars can't be choosers and in Nik's case, this was quite a literal sentiment.
As he walked towards the kitchen, he found Mitsuko humming a tone while mixing rice and egg in the pan as the delicious scent filled the room. A bowl of soup was already present on the table and Mitsuko looked back. But seeing Nik, a frown touched her face as she pushed the contents of the pan into the plate and mumbled, "You need some clothes. But it would be such a waste if you remember something and found you already have a wardrobe full of clothes..." pointing at the table for him to sit, Mitsuko returned to the stove as Souko spoke up while eating in big gulps.
"Maybe you don't think about being a sugar mommy before accomplishing all your goals as a... simple mommy?" Souko smiled, feeling particularly good for such a remark this early in the day.
"Stop being so snobby and eat quickly. Do wake Sayoko before going out, kay? And be sure to not tease Nik-kun too much while dropping him off at the shopping district."
"Yes, mom!" Souko mumbled before eating as Nik copied their movement from the dinner and folded his hands together while mumbling, "Itazamasu..."
"No, no," Souko instantly looked up and waved her chopsticks while Nik still used the spoon. A special pass due to his circumstances.
"It is 'Itadakimasu.' Like i-ta-da-ki-ma-ss!" Souko repeated the words slowly and Nik nodded, continuing the supposed custom before digging in.
The morning was uneventful. Unlike the evening, the women of the Souma Family truly seemed normal. He wasn't leered at or tried to be held, or continuously exposed to by a certain twin-tailed persona with a rather fiery yet withdrawn nature. Even Mitsuko saw them off with a calm smile while Souko continued to exchange pleasantries with a few others walking down the street but didn't speak too much about Nik's condition.
Even their walk was quite a silent and calm one. Souko would try to communicate but the more she tried the more frustrated she got.
"Ahhhh... he's cute and all but what's the point if I can't even chat with him. Mom and Kurumi are the weird ones bickering over him, right?"
She mumbled while walking past a particular pillar with trash bags placed underneath. Nik couldn't help but gaze at the trash bags with a thoughtful expression.
As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure, right? Can't he make this term more literal?
"Anyway, how did you even get that scar? I saw it yesterday but thought otherwise to ask it in front of mom."
Souko typed into the translator as Nik blinked and looked at his left arm. Certainly, the red ring mark on his left forearm was noticeable but while Nik wondered if Mitsuko didn't ask because of not being able to see it, he just realized that she was simply refraining from asking personal questions.
But as already developed...
"I don't know," Nik shook his head.
Souko let out a long sigh as they made their way toward the Shopping District. She seemed to be a regular of this place, especially one of the restaurants close to the Amano Bookstores, and then dropped Nik off before hurrying to her own work. Anyone would mistake the Souma Family as an ordinary and hardworking family from their morning routine unless they get a first-hand demonstration of the situation.
Knocking on the closed entrance of the bookstore, Nik waited until his employer quickly came out to unlock the door. The woman looked at Nik with a hint of embarrassment, "Ah, Good Morning. I'm sorry for not keeping the entrance open. I kind of forgot that I employed you..."
She quickly came to a stop as she saw Nik barely fazed by her explanation, "You didn't understand a single thing, right? Well then, ehm, I wasn't late at all."
Bringing Nik inside, Yuuko did not have a tough time relaying some of the tasks at all because they were fairly easy. Dusting off the books and shelves, taking out the stands for the advertisement of some of the popular novels and things like that. Although she also noted the presence of the same clothes as yesterday and as much as it is frowned upon, Yuuko simply couldn't help but feel a little pity since Nik happened to have nothing.
"I'll come back later!"
"Listen here... can you not act like this?" Yuuko glared at Nik, a blush creeping up her cheeks as this dark-haired youth whose first impression was none other than his 'ass cheeks' acted simply too out of bounds! You can't just help someone wipe their drool, right?
But looking past the entrance of the shop and at the skipping customer of hers... apparently, this was quite the 'correct' action.
With a smile, Nik leaned over to the counter and Yuuko's heart thumped as she quickly leaned back. If it just wasn't for Nik's strange introduction to this family, she might not have been any better than the customer that just left. Nik's left arm stretched sideways before he picked up the cleaning cloth placed at the corner of the L-shaped counter and Yuuko's expression turned bleak.
"I would have deducted your bonus... if I paid you anything at all... but, I just got an idea."
A crafty glint appeared in her pupils while a mischievous smile that made Nik feel curious appeared on Yuuko's lips.
---
"Huff... finally made it," A loud sigh echoed as a few youths got off the bus at the stop near the Shopping District. Out of them was one Twin-tailed Kurumi wearing a brown sweater over her uniform: a white shirt with a red bow tie and a dark grey skirt that barely reached the lower ends of her thighs and a pair of long socks down her knees.
The second one happened to be none other than Megumi Amano. Although Megumi also wore her hair in twin tails, her coffee-brown hair was tied loosely at the end and had her tails over her shoulder and onto her breasts. She wore the same uniform but there didn't seem to be any form of a positive relationship between the duo. In fact, Kurumi and Megumi glared at each other as they walked at the same time. Behind them was a bespectacled dark-haired youth who silently read from a small cheat book with a ponderous expression.
Tension was high between the three of them and the boy would throw odd glances at Megumi and then at Kurumi. Soon, the trio reached the flight of stairs leading to the Shopping District as Megumi frowned and scoffed, "Souma-san, why are you following me?"
Kurumi glanced at her and then walked away silently.
"Hey! I asked you something!"
"Whatever," Kurumi snorted and continued walking up the steps.
Megumi frowned and hurriedly ran up the stairs. She held her bag tightly and wrapped her other arm around the clothed sack of her bokken to keep them from falling. Soon, she passed Kurumi and in turn, even Kurumi began running.
"Are you two kids...?" The bespectacled youth was speechless as he walked at his own pace, unwilling to get into this mess.
"Huh? You are following me!" Megumi hissed as Kurumi closely followed. She glared at Megumi and her blessed torso before she sneered, "You've got baggage!"
Kurumi sped up and surpassed Megumi, "Oh, look, you're following me."
"I'm not! You know I live here!"
Both of them glared at each other before Kurumi suddenly lost her stepping.
'Uh...' Kurumi's eyes widened.
'—Oh...' Megumi's lips twitched and she readied for the incoming disaster as she ran into Kurumi who had lost her stepping causing both of them to collapse before sliding forward till they reached a small crowd of girls just a little ahead of them right in front of a bookstore.
"Kyah! Are you alright?" One of the girls hurriedly walked up to Kurumi and Megumi. Others' attention was pulled towards the two girls in school uniforms crumbled on top of one another and they hurriedly helped them up.
"Uhh..." Kurumi groaned, scowling from the pain of her knees scraped and she looked up.
*Blink*
Two sets of eyes gazed at each other.
A Kurumi helped by two women to gather her bearings and a Nik wearing nothing but a tanned flat cap with suspenders over his naked torso connected to slightly shorter pants a little above his waist than ordinary and a pair of worn boots. Meanwhile, he held a large banner: Sale on Retro Collection! Free Hugs!
Kurumi's almost lost it when Nik waved at her without any hint of embarrassment before placing down the banner to hug a slightly older woman with greying hair who smiled happily and entered the store with strangely energetic steps that shouldn't match her age.
"Ah! Why is he here?"
Kurumi heard Megumi gasp as the women around them quickly surrounded the shop once again while scraped and disheveled, Megumi and Kurumi looked at each other.
"He's my friend from overseas, any problem?" Kurumi snorted and crossed her arm. Much to her surprise, Megumi did lash out.
"I do! He appeared in my backyard naked!"
***
Alternate Title: The Sugar Mommy Precedence; Wipe THAT Drool!; Next Transmigration?; Equal Grip— Different Will and Experiences; The Race; The Crash; Retro is Back in Fashion; Baby I'm Just a Hug Machine!; Kurumi: He's My Friend, Got a Problem?, Megumi: You're god damn right I do!
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Chapter 6: Retro Hug MachineChapter 6: Retro Hug Machine
"You forgot your bento!"
"Fine!"
"You forgot to say: mommy goodbye!"
"Fine! I'm leaving, happy?!"
Nik twitched with every shout. The Souma household had personal rooms for the three daughters and a master bedroom on the ground level at the end. But the Souma Household lacked a guest room and the couch of the living room was pushed back to give way for a 'futon', Nik's temporary bedding.
With the loud thud of the door, Nik turned around and closed his eyes once again before he was poked on the top of his head.
"Hey, if you're awake then get up. You don't want to leave a bad impression on the first day of your job, right?"
Nik turned on his stomach while hugging the pillow and looked up with half-lidded eyes as he found Souko crouched right in front of him. She wore a skirt suit similar to yesterday but right now she looked quite fresh and actually... naive. As if the sight of her underwear through the translucent pantyhose was simply a profound greeting of the morning for people encountering a language barrier and maybe it was given the fact that Souko's gaze turned awfully similar to her mother's.
"Here, Mom asked Sayoko to prepare these before going to sleep," Souko placed a sheet of paper and pointed at the fifth line written in two languages. The translation was a bit iffy and the writing of Hindi was a bit dubious but Nik understood it either way.
He's getting late for the job.
And this sheet of paper was a cheat sheet prepared for him through which he can convey basic needs.
With a slump of his head against the pillow, Nik turned around and sat up. A yawn escaped his lips as another round of shouts began to echo. This time with Mitsuko and Souko. Still, Nik stood up and scratched his chin while folding the piece of paper and looking at the futon. Folding it up, he silently picked it up and brought it to the small shelf behind the sliding paper door and placed it where he got it from.
'I don't have a toothbrush,' Nik realized. The morning routine seemed similar in this world but he didn't have an integral part of it so he freshened up a little and wore his clothes from yesterday. Beggars can't be choosers and in Nik's case, this was quite a literal sentiment.
As he walked towards the kitchen, he found Mitsuko humming a tone while mixing rice and egg in the pan as the delicious scent filled the room. A bowl of soup was already present on the table and Mitsuko looked back. But seeing Nik, a frown touched her face as she pushed the contents of the pan into the plate and mumbled, "You need some clothes. But it would be such a waste if you remember something and found you already have a wardrobe full of clothes..." pointing at the table for him to sit, Mitsuko returned to the stove as Souko spoke up while eating in big gulps.
"Maybe you don't think about being a sugar mommy before accomplishing all your goals as a... simple mommy?" Souko smiled, feeling particularly good for such a remark this early in the day.
"Stop being so snobby and eat quickly. Do wake Sayoko before going out, kay? And be sure to not tease Nik-kun too much while dropping him off at the shopping district."
"Yes, mom!" Souko mumbled before eating as Nik copied their movement from the dinner and folded his hands together while mumbling, "Itazamasu..."
"No, no," Souko instantly looked up and waved her chopsticks while Nik still used the spoon. A special pass due to his circumstances.
"It is 'Itadakimasu.' Like i-ta-da-ki-ma-ss!" Souko repeated the words slowly and Nik nodded, continuing the supposed custom before digging in.
The morning was uneventful. Unlike the evening, the women of the Souma Family truly seemed normal. He wasn't leered at or tried to be held, or continuously exposed to by a certain twin-tailed persona with a rather fiery yet withdrawn nature. Even Mitsuko saw them off with a calm smile while Souko continued to exchange pleasantries with a few others walking down the street but didn't speak too much about Nik's condition.
Even their walk was quite a silent and calm one. Souko would try to communicate but the more she tried the more frustrated she got.
"Ahhhh... he's cute and all but what's the point if I can't even chat with him. Mom and Kurumi are the weird ones bickering over him, right?"
She mumbled while walking past a particular pillar with trash bags placed underneath. Nik couldn't help but gaze at the trash bags with a thoughtful expression.
As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure, right? Can't he make this term more literal?
"Anyway, how did you even get that scar? I saw it yesterday but thought otherwise to ask it in front of mom."
Souko typed into the translator as Nik blinked and looked at his left arm. Certainly, the red ring mark on his left forearm was noticeable but while Nik wondered if Mitsuko didn't ask because of not being able to see it, he just realized that she was simply refraining from asking personal questions.
But as already developed...
"I don't know," Nik shook his head.
Souko let out a long sigh as they made their way toward the Shopping District. She seemed to be a regular of this place, especially one of the restaurants close to the Amano Bookstores, and then dropped Nik off before hurrying to her own work. Anyone would mistake the Souma Family as an ordinary and hardworking family from their morning routine unless they get a first-hand demonstration of the situation.
Knocking on the closed entrance of the bookstore, Nik waited until his employer quickly came out to unlock the door. The woman looked at Nik with a hint of embarrassment, "Ah, Good Morning. I'm sorry for not keeping the entrance open. I kind of forgot that I employed you..."
She quickly came to a stop as she saw Nik barely fazed by her explanation, "You didn't understand a single thing, right? Well then, ehm, I wasn't late at all."
Bringing Nik inside, Yuuko did not have a tough time relaying some of the tasks at all because they were fairly easy. Dusting off the books and shelves, taking out the stands for the advertisement of some of the popular novels and things like that. Although she also noted the presence of the same clothes as yesterday and as much as it is frowned upon, Yuuko simply couldn't help but feel a little pity since Nik happened to have nothing.
"I'll come back later!"
"Listen here... can you not act like this?" Yuuko glared at Nik, a blush creeping up her cheeks as this dark-haired youth whose first impression was none other than his 'ass cheeks' acted simply too out of bounds! You can't just help someone wipe their drool, right?
But looking past the entrance of the shop and at the skipping customer of hers... apparently, this was quite the 'correct' action.
With a smile, Nik leaned over to the counter and Yuuko's heart thumped as she quickly leaned back. If it just wasn't for Nik's strange introduction to this family, she might not have been any better than the customer that just left. Nik's left arm stretched sideways before he picked up the cleaning cloth placed at the corner of the L-shaped counter and Yuuko's expression turned bleak.
"I would have deducted your bonus... if I paid you anything at all... but, I just got an idea."
A crafty glint appeared in her pupils while a mischievous smile that made Nik feel curious appeared on Yuuko's lips.
---
"Huff... finally made it," A loud sigh echoed as a few youths got off the bus at the stop near the Shopping District. Out of them was one Twin-tailed Kurumi wearing a brown sweater over her uniform: a white shirt with a red bow tie and a dark grey skirt that barely reached the lower ends of her thighs and a pair of long socks down her knees.
The second one happened to be none other than Megumi Amano. Although Megumi also wore her hair in twin tails, her coffee-brown hair was tied loosely at the end and had her tails over her shoulder and onto her breasts. She wore the same uniform but there didn't seem to be any form of a positive relationship between the duo. In fact, Kurumi and Megumi glared at each other as they walked at the same time. Behind them was a bespectacled dark-haired youth who silently read from a small cheat book with a ponderous expression.
Tension was high between the three of them and the boy would throw odd glances at Megumi and then at Kurumi. Soon, the trio reached the flight of stairs leading to the Shopping District as Megumi frowned and scoffed, "Souma-san, why are you following me?"
Kurumi glanced at her and then walked away silently.
"Hey! I asked you something!"
"Whatever," Kurumi snorted and continued walking up the steps.
Megumi frowned and hurriedly ran up the stairs. She held her bag tightly and wrapped her other arm around the clothed sack of her bokken to keep them from falling. Soon, she passed Kurumi and in turn, even Kurumi began running.
"Are you two kids...?" The bespectacled youth was speechless as he walked at his own pace, unwilling to get into this mess.
"Huh? You are following me!" Megumi hissed as Kurumi closely followed. She glared at Megumi and her blessed torso before she sneered, "You've got baggage!"
Kurumi sped up and surpassed Megumi, "Oh, look, you're following me."
"I'm not! You know I live here!"
Both of them glared at each other before Kurumi suddenly lost her stepping.
'Uh...' Kurumi's eyes widened.
'—Oh...' Megumi's lips twitched and she readied for the incoming disaster as she ran into Kurumi who had lost her stepping causing both of them to collapse before sliding forward till they reached a small crowd of girls just a little ahead of them right in front of a bookstore.
"Kyah! Are you alright?" One of the girls hurriedly walked up to Kurumi and Megumi. Others' attention was pulled towards the two girls in school uniforms crumbled on top of one another and they hurriedly helped them up.
"Uhh..." Kurumi groaned, scowling from the pain of her knees scraped and she looked up.
*Blink*
Two sets of eyes gazed at each other.
A Kurumi helped by two women to gather her bearings and a Nik wearing nothing but a tanned flat cap with suspenders over his naked torso connected to slightly shorter pants a little above his waist than ordinary and a pair of worn boots. Meanwhile, he held a large banner: Sale on Retro Collection! Free Hugs!
Kurumi's almost lost it when Nik waved at her without any hint of embarrassment before placing down the banner to hug a slightly older woman with greying hair who smiled happily and entered the store with strangely energetic steps that shouldn't match her age.
"Ah! Why is he here?"
Kurumi heard Megumi gasp as the women around them quickly surrounded the shop once again while scraped and disheveled, Megumi and Kurumi looked at each other.
"He's my friend from overseas, any problem?" Kurumi snorted and crossed her arm. Much to her surprise, Megumi did lash out.
"I do! He appeared in my backyard naked!"
***
Alternate Title: The Sugar Mommy Precedence; Wipe THAT Drool!; Next Transmigration?; Equal Grip— Different Will and Experiences; The Race; The Crash; Retro is Back in Fashion; Baby I'm Just a Hug Machine!; Kurumi: He's My Friend, Got a Problem?, Megumi: You're god damn right I do!
Chapter 6: Retro Hug MachineChapter 6: Retro Hug Machine "You forgot your bento!" "Fine!" "You forgot to say: mommy goodbye!" "Fine! I'm leaving, happy?!" Nik twitched with every shout. The Souma household had personal rooms for the three daughters and a master bedroom on the ground level at the end. But the Souma Household lacked a guest room and the couch of the living room was pushed back to give way for a 'futon', Nik's temporary bedding. With the loud thud of the door, Nik turned around and closed his eyes once again before he was poked on the top of his head. "Hey, if you're awake then get up. You don't want to leave a bad impression on the first day of your job, right?" Nik turned on his stomach while hugging the pillow and looked up with half-lidded eyes as he found Souko crouched right in front of him. She wore a skirt suit similar to yesterday but right now she looked quite fresh and actually... naive. As if the sight of her underwear through the translucent pantyhose was simply a profound greeting of the morning for people encountering a language barrier and maybe it was given the fact that Souko's gaze turned awfully similar to her mother's. "Here, Mom asked Sayoko to prepare these before going to sleep," Souko placed a sheet of paper and pointed at the fifth line written in two languages. The translation was a bit iffy and the writing of Hindi was a bit dubious but Nik understood it either way. He's getting late for the job. And this sheet of paper was a cheat sheet prepared for him through which he can convey basic needs. With a slump of his head against the pillow, Nik turned around and sat up. A yawn escaped his lips as another round of shouts began to echo. This time with Mitsuko and Souko. Still, Nik stood up and scratched his chin while folding the piece of paper and looking at the futon. Folding it up, he silently picked it up and brought it to the small shelf behind the sliding paper door and placed it where he got it from. 'I don't have a toothbrush,' Nik realized. The morning routine seemed similar in this world but he didn't have an integral part of it so he freshened up a little and wore his clothes from yesterday. Beggars can't be choosers and in Nik's case, this was quite a literal sentiment. As he walked towards the kitchen, he found Mitsuko humming a tone while mixing rice and egg in the pan as the delicious scent filled the room. A bowl of soup was already present on the table and Mitsuko looked back. But seeing Nik, a frown touched her face as she pushed the contents of the pan into the plate and mumbled, "You need some clothes. But it would be such a waste if you remember something and found you already have a wardrobe full of clothes..." pointing at the table for him to sit, Mitsuko returned to the stove as Souko spoke up while eating in big gulps. "Maybe you don't think about being a sugar mommy before accomplishing all your goals as a... simple mommy?" Souko smiled, feeling particularly good for such a remark this early in the day. "Stop being so snobby and eat quickly. Do wake Sayoko before going out, kay? And be sure to not tease Nik-kun too much while dropping him off at the shopping district." "Yes, mom!" Souko mumbled before eating as Nik copied their movement from the dinner and folded his hands together while mumbling, "Itazamasu..." "No, no," Souko instantly looked up and waved her chopsticks while Nik still used the spoon. A special pass due to his circumstances. "It is 'Itadakimasu.' Like i-ta-da-ki-ma-ss!" Souko repeated the words slowly and Nik nodded, continuing the supposed custom before digging in. The morning was uneventful. Unlike the evening, the women of the Souma Family truly seemed normal. He wasn't leered at or tried to be held, or continuously exposed to by a certain twin-tailed persona with a rather fiery yet withdrawn nature. Even Mitsuko saw them off with a calm smile while Souko continued to exchange pleasantries with a few others walking down the street but didn't speak too much about Nik's condition. Even their walk was quite a silent and calm one. Souko would try to communicate but the more she tried the more frustrated she got. "Ahhhh... he's cute and all but what's the point if I can't even chat with him. Mom and Kurumi are the weird ones bickering over him, right?" She mumbled while walking past a particular pillar with trash bags placed underneath. Nik couldn't help but gaze at the trash bags with a thoughtful expression. As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure, right? Can't he make this term more literal? "Anyway, how did you even get that scar? I saw it yesterday but thought otherwise to ask it in front of mom." Souko typed into the translator as Nik blinked and looked at his left arm. Certainly, the red ring mark on his left forearm was noticeable but while Nik wondered if Mitsuko didn't ask because of not being able to see it, he just realized that she was simply refraining from asking personal questions. But as already developed... "I don't know," Nik shook his head. Souko let out a long sigh as they made their way toward the Shopping District. She seemed to be a regular of this place, especially one of the restaurants close to the Amano Bookstores, and then dropped Nik off before hurrying to her own work. Anyone would mistake the Souma Family as an ordinary and hardworking family from their morning routine unless they get a first-hand demonstration of the situation. Knocking on the closed entrance of the bookstore, Nik waited until his employer quickly came out to unlock the door. The woman looked at Nik with a hint of embarrassment, "Ah, Good Morning. I'm sorry for not keeping the entrance open. I kind of forgot that I employed you..." She quickly came to a stop as she saw Nik barely fazed by her explanation, "You didn't understand a single thing, right? Well then, ehm, I wasn't late at all." Bringing Nik inside, Yuuko did not have a tough time relaying some of the tasks at all because they were fairly easy. Dusting off the books and shelves, taking out the stands for the advertisement of some of the popular novels and things like that. Although she also noted the presence of the same clothes as yesterday and as much as it is frowned upon, Yuuko simply couldn't help but feel a little pity since Nik happened to have nothing. "I'll come back later!" "Listen here... can you not act like this?" Yuuko glared at Nik, a blush creeping up her cheeks as this dark-haired youth whose first impression was none other than his 'ass cheeks' acted simply too out of bounds! You can't just help someone wipe their drool, right? But looking past the entrance of the shop and at the skipping customer of hers... apparently, this was quite the 'correct' action. With a smile, Nik leaned over to the counter and Yuuko's heart thumped as she quickly leaned back. If it just wasn't for Nik's strange introduction to this family, she might not have been any better than the customer that just left. Nik's left arm stretched sideways before he picked up the cleaning cloth placed at the corner of the L-shaped counter and Yuuko's expression turned bleak. "I would have deducted your bonus... if I paid you anything at all... but, I just got an idea." A crafty glint appeared in her pupils while a mischievous smile that made Nik feel curious appeared on Yuuko's lips. --- "Huff... finally made it," A loud sigh echoed as a few youths got off the bus at the stop near the Shopping District. Out of them was one Twin-tailed Kurumi wearing a brown sweater over her uniform: a white shirt with a red bow tie and a dark grey skirt that barely reached the lower ends of her thighs and a pair of long socks down her knees. The second one happened to be none other than Megumi Amano. Although Megumi also wore her hair in twin tails, her coffee-brown hair was tied loosely at the end and had her tails over her shoulder and onto her breasts. She wore the same uniform but there didn't seem to be any form of a positive relationship between the duo. In fact, Kurumi and Megumi glared at each other as they walked at the same time. Behind them was a bespectacled dark-haired youth who silently read from a small cheat book with a ponderous expression. Tension was high between the three of them and the boy would throw odd glances at Megumi and then at Kurumi. Soon, the trio reached the flight of stairs leading to the Shopping District as Megumi frowned and scoffed, "Souma-san, why are you following me?" Kurumi glanced at her and then walked away silently. "Hey! I asked you something!" "Whatever," Kurumi snorted and continued walking up the steps. Megumi frowned and hurriedly ran up the stairs. She held her bag tightly and wrapped her other arm around the clothed sack of her bokken to keep them from falling. Soon, she passed Kurumi and in turn, even Kurumi began running. "Are you two kids...?" The bespectacled youth was speechless as he walked at his own pace, unwilling to get into this mess. "Huh? You are following me!" Megumi hissed as Kurumi closely followed. She glared at Megumi and her blessed torso before she sneered, "You've got baggage!" Kurumi sped up and surpassed Megumi, "Oh, look, you're following me." "I'm not! You know I live here!" Both of them glared at each other before Kurumi suddenly lost her stepping. 'Uh...' Kurumi's eyes widened. 'Oh...' Megumi's lips twitched and she readied for the incoming disaster as she ran into Kurumi who had lost her stepping causing both of them to collapse before sliding forward till they reached a small crowd of girls just a little ahead of them right in front of a bookstore. "Kyah! Are you alright?" One of the girls hurriedly walked up to Kurumi and Megumi. Others' attention was pulled towards the two girls in school uniforms crumbled on top of one another and they hurriedly helped them up. "Uhh..." Kurumi groaned, scowling from the pain of her knees scraped and she looked up. *Blink* Two sets of eyes gazed at each other. A Kurumi helped by two women to gather her bearings and a Nik wearing nothing but a tanned flat cap with suspenders over his naked torso connected to slightly shorter pants a little above his waist than ordinary and a pair of worn boots. Meanwhile, he held a large banner: Sale on Retro Collection! Free Hugs! Kurumi's almost lost it when Nik waved at her without any hint of embarrassment before placing down the banner to hug a slightly older woman with greying hair who smiled happily and entered the store with strangely energetic steps that shouldn't match her age. "Ah! Why is he here?" Kurumi heard Megumi gasp as the women around them quickly surrounded the shop once again while scraped and disheveled, Megumi and Kurumi looked at each other. "He's my friend from overseas, any problem?" Kurumi snorted and crossed her arm. Much to her surprise, Megumi did lash out. "I do! He appeared in my backyard naked!" *** Alternate Title: The Sugar Mommy Precedence; Wipe THAT Drool!; Next Transmigration?; Equal Grip Different Will and Experiences; The Race; The Crash; Retro is Back in Fashion; Baby I'm Just a Hug Machine!; Kurumi: He's My Friend, Got a Problem?, Megumi: You're god damn right I do!
