The Moon and Polaris

Chapter 5: Settling In

"Mr. Yagami, it's fine! Really!" Kiki continued to protest as she trailed behind Iori. "I've saved enough money to stay at that love hotel for at least another month!"

"And what about after you've run out of money, huh?!" he barked back. "You idiotic woman, didn't you think this plan of yours through?" The two of them approached Iori's apartment complex, and Iori fished his keys out of his pocket. He swung the front door open and entered with Kiki going in right after him. The keys on Iori's keyring jingled as he unlocked the inner entry door of the complex.

Kiki bowed her head sheepishly as she and Iori walked through the lobby and up the stairway. "Sorry for being a bother, Mr. Yagami," she muttered. Iori remained silent as they kept moving. They stopped on the second floor and proceeded through its hallway. Iori stopped in front of one of the doors, stuck the key into the lock, and opened it. Kiki entered right after him and the two of them slipped their shoes off at the entrance.

Iori went further inside and into the living room. Kiki followed him and observed her new surroundings. Dull concrete walls surrounded the dwelling. A sliding door was opposite the front entrance, leading to an empty balcony. In the middle of the living room, a worn-down sofa and coffee table sat. An open doorway was in front of the coffee table, leading to a small kitchen. On the opposite side was a hallway, probably leading to a bedroom and bathroom. In one corner of the room were a half-full bookshelf, a desk with sheet music spread across it, and a bass case. The bookshelf looked a little dusty, but the bass case definitely wasn't.

"You take the bedroom," said Iori as he unbuttoned his jacket and shirt. "I'll take the sofa."

Kiki's eyes widened, "What? No! Come on, I've inconvenienced you enough. Take your own bed."

"I'm surprised this is what you'd call an inconvenience considering everything else you've done this week." Iori quipped.

Kiki hung her head. Yeah, the daily street fights probably did get annoying after the first time.

"I don't care what you do in there," Iori stated as he threw his garments over the sofa. "If you touch anything, make sure it goes back where you found it. Also, bring me the alarm clock that's on the nightstand." He gestured loosely towards the hallway as he laid himself on the sofa. "Go down the hall. It's the first room on the right."

"'Kay," She shuffled over to the room and entered. Somehow, the bedroom was more barren than the living room. All there was was a bed (more like a mattress that just happened to be on a metal bed frame), a nightstand, and a closet. Kiki set her backpack down next to the bed. She looked over to the nightstand and saw the alarm clock there, just as Iori said it would be. She picked it up and trudged back to the living room with her head low.

She found Iori laying on the sofa reading a novel. "Here's the alarm clock, Mr. Yagami," she whispered, handing it to him.

He grunted in response, took it, and set it on the coffee table, never looking up from his book. "Sorry again," she repeated.

A groan from Iori made Kiki jump. He set his book aside and rose from the sofa. "Quit apologizing!" he shouted. "I'm so damn close to kicking you out."

"Sor--" she stopped herself, "I mean, I... Uh..."

"If I really didn't want you here, I wouldn't have dragged you here with me." He laid back down and draped an arm over his eyes. "Go back to my room and sleep."

Kiki nodded and tiptoed to the hallway. Before she left the living room, she looked back over her shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks a lot, Mr. Yagami."