Physical Attraction | Sakusa Kiyoomi

47.

"I'm back."

I gently pulled the front door closed after myself before taking off my shoes at the entryway to replace them with some slippers.

Huh? No one here?

For usual, Sonoko would have already greeted me by now.

I walked towards the living room in astonishment. Normally, she would be there at this hour. Or maybe something came up with the university; she had a lot of projects lately. But then I'm sure she would have let me know about it.

"No sorry." Abruptly, I stopped when I heard Sonoko's muffled voice from the kitchen. "I already told you that I won't be helping you with this."

Who was she talking to? Her voice sounded uncharacteristically cold by her standards.

To draw attention to myself, I walked slowly into the kitchen, not wanting to eavesdrop. Noticing my movement out of the corner of her eye, my aunt's gaze immediately fell on me. As soon as she saw me, the crease between her eyebrows disappeared and her face brightened up again.

"I have to call it a night now. Bye~", she fluted into the phone in a much better mood before hanging up again.

"Risa~" As if changed, like that phone call never happened, she ran towards me with open arms.

            "Where have you been for so long?"

            "Who was that?" we asked simultaneously.

Happily, she wrapped her arms around me. "Oh, no one." She squeezed me so tightly that I had to screech and push her away from me to get my breath back.

"How was your exam? Are you hungry? I cooked your favorite meal just for you!" Without even waiting for one of my answers, she pulled me to the table before pushing me into one of the chairs.

Quick as a flash, she ran to the cupboard and pulled out a plate, most likely to serve me something to eat.

"Hold on a minute!" I stopped her after everything had gone a little too fast for me. Questioning her motion, she turned around with the still empty plate in her hand. "I already ate."

"What? You've already eaten?" Without breaking eye contact, she put the plate back.

"Yeah, but thanks," I smiled. Sonoko was really taking care of me in a touching way.

My mother was hardly ever home because she was taking care of my grandpa after work. We had already joked about Sonoko and her swapping rooms, since my mother had recently been staying at my grandpa's place together with my father because he missed his wife. However, there was no need to swap rooms because Sonoko had already made the guest room next to mine her own anyway. I didn't know when she last slept in her own house.

Since the matter with Kiyoomi - about which I had told her everything briefly and succinctly, whereupon she told me she was going to Osaka the very next weekend, having something important to take care of, but I had prevented her from doing so - she had become even more caring.

Sweeping her long black hair back, she sat down on the chair across from me while her blue eyes examined me curiously.

"What have you been eating? And with whom?" she continued to pepper me with questions.

"Docosahexaenoic acid."

"What?" Confused, she tilted her head as I laughed a little.

"Salmon," I finally replied. "With a fellow student who mixed me up."

"Oh, with who? With me, perhaps?" Acting cocky, she tossed her hair over her shoulders.

"We hardly look alike," I brought her back down to earth, whereupon she began to pout. "He got me mixed up because of my last name. It's funny how volleyball players get each other-"