Comfort Zone

Chapter 2 - First Meeting

The next day, Suzuka travelled to Harumi's house, joined by her parents. She didn't know if she was supposed to dress up, but she didn't really own clothes of that sort anyway. She wore a flowing white top and slim jeans.

Harumi didn't live far away. They both lived in the forest on a small mountain near the school, separated by about a kilometer.

The kitsune resided in a mostly abandoned Shinto shrine. Fuyumi took care of it, but she was only one person. It was overgrown in many places and could really use some repairs.

Suzuka strode up and knocked on the door of the house near the temple.

After a minute, Fuyumi opened it with a bright smile. Harumi stood behind her, hands folded with a bashful expression as she stared at Suzuka. She wore a tight-fitting pale pink top and a red skirt that came to her knees over black pantyhose, a small bag hanging from her shoulder. Suzuka couldn't help but stare.

"Thank you for coming, Suzuka," Fuyumi said. "Harumi has been really looking forward to today. I don't think she even slept last night."

"M-mom...!"

Fuyumi turned her attention to the fairies behind Suzuka. "You two can come inside. Harumi, show Suzuka around the shrine."

Harumi took a deep breath, suppressing her nerves. "Okay!"

Harumi stepped outside, beaming at Suzuka, while the two fairies flew in to join Fuyumi.

"Enjoy yourselves," Fuyumi said, shutting the door.

Suzuka turned to Harumi awkwardly. "Um, good morning."

"Good morning," Harumi replied, her tail swishing with excitement. "You can just call me Harumi. Can I call you Suzuka?"

"I guess that's fine."

Harumi nodded, every motion of hers exuding happiness. "Your outfit is very cute, Suzuka."

"Yours too."

Harumi gestured toward the shrine. "Let's walk while we chat."

"Sure."

Harumi led Suzuka along, strolling slowly. "It made me really happy to hear you accepted. Thanks for giving me a chance."

"Well, I didn't have a good reason to refuse," Suzuka replied. "But, why are you so interested in me?"

"There are many reasons. The biggest one is your kindness, and how you always try to do the right thing, even if there's nobody around to see you doing it. One time, I saw you leave the archery range after locking up, only to notice an arrow left in the ground. You went out of your way to retrieve and return it. Stuff like that, you do all the time, so I think you have to be a good person."

Suzuka hummed. "If we were to get married, what would you want that to be like?"

"I'm not very demanding," Harumi replied with a light shrug. "Well, starting soon, I'll need to have sex regularly, but beyond that... I just want to be your wife."

That really didn't clear things up. "And what would being my wife mean?"

"I'd want to become, like, your default." Harumi gazed at Suzuka, her garnet eyes sparkling. "I want to be the one you come home to. I want to prepare your meals and keep you comfortable. If you're sad, I want to be the one to console you. If you're hurt, I want to be the one to nurse you. If you have problems, I want to be the one you tell them to."

Suzuka frowned slightly. "It would take quite a long time before I reached that level of comfort with anyone."

Harumi nodded. "I'm not expecting it overnight, but that's my ideal. Outside of that, I don't mind what you do. I know I'm being a bit unreasonable here, and maybe you have others you like. I don't mind if you chase after them, I'll even give you advice, as long as you marry me and give me your first time."