บท 46: Home Care: Yuma

"Hello." Himawari put on a smile and welcomed Yuma in. While she might've had a nice look on the outside, on the inside, she was a bit miffed over the interruption. Of all times that girl had to be early, why did it have to be now?

"Hello." Yuma greeted her back. There was also a bag that she was carrying. It was filled with plenty of ingredients to make a home cooked meal, along with plenty of meats and veggies to fill anyone up. It seemed like more than what two people could eat on their own.

"You really don't have to get me so much food." He told her, even if he was grateful for the consideration.

"I…" Yuma already had an excuse for this. Something that she had been preparing to say for hours now. "I figured that if everyone else was coming over, that they could have something to eat too."

"Wow, that's really nice of you." Kouji fell for it, but Himawari had her suspicions.

"Yeah. Well anyway, I got him some medicine." She bragged. "I also already gave him a dose, so you don't have to worry about it."

"That's fine..." Yuma just looked at her with that expressionless look. No one could see it, but she was a little jealous about the thought. It couldn't be helped, seeing as everyone would be caring for him today. Silence hit everyone, as she maintained her gaze on the girl.

Um, are you waiting for something?" Himawari couldn't look at the person she was talking to, it was just that unnerving of a stare.

"Aren't you… Leaving?" Yuma answered the question with a question of her own.

"You're the one that came early." Himawari tried to prevent being forced out. "I still have some time left on my shift."

"It's really not a problem." She wanted to take advantage of this situation. It seemed like it might be best to get a little extra time, wherever she could. "I'm sure that you have... Better things to do. So I can take the rest of your time too." To Himawari, it felt like arguing with a robot. Those type of arguments don't usually end well for the human involved.

"She's kind of right." To her detriment, Kouji sided against her on this one. "You had to get up early because you were first. So you should get some time off." She was speechless, this boy clearly couldn't see what was going on in front of him. The other girl ushered her towards the door to make her leave. Despite the protests, the maid girl won this battle.

"Bye." They both said to her. There wasn't much she could do here, she really didn't want to say why she wanted to stay. Not that it would do much good either, seeing that she'd never get the chance to do anything with that girl watching. Thus, Himawari left.

"Shall I begin cooking?" Yuma asked, which he allowed. After the bad tasting medicine that his prior caretaker gave him, some yummy food sounded like a good idea. Especially if it was going to be cooked by this girl. Compared to the only other person, whose food he had tasted, Yuma was the clear favorite.

Yuma set out the ingredients to make the stew she wanted to make for him. Any extras went into his fridge for later. She had a level of mastery in the kitchen, and it didn't take much effort to get things started.

"Here." She put down a small sandwich on the table for him. "…Just while you wait." Kouji had no complaints, as he took a bite of the small snack. Somehow, this girl was capable of making even the blandest of food delicious.

"This is great." He complimented her. "I can assume how you got so good at this." Since she was someone that had been acting as a servant for so many years of her life. Yuma had picked up a lot of housework skills that put her well over any other girl her age. Sadly, that was all she thought she was good for, given that other parts of her talents were lacking.

"I'm happy you like it." She stood before the boiling pot. As it got up to the right temperature, she mixed in the ingredients. "I hope... that you like this as well."

"If it's like anything else you've cooked, then I'm sure it'll be great." He smiled, getting up from his bed area. As this day progressed, Kouji was feeling better and better. The boy went into his kitchen, or more accurate went up behind her to look at the pot.

He could smell it before, but the aroma was just too much as he got closer. His stomach growled in response to the scent of the meal. Kouji was hoping that this might be ready soon, because he could hardly wait.

"It's ready." She ladled out some into a bowl for him. It was handed to him, as she went to fill out a bowl for herself.

"Thank you." He bowed in gratitude and set himself at his table. This girl really was just too much for him, she truly was a blessing in his life. "I'm sorry you have to take care of me." Now that she wasn't a servant anymore, it was a shame to him to see that her duties had barely changed.

"It's not a problem for me." She smiled at him, to try and show that it wasn't a bad thing for her. If anything, this was rather nice for her.

"If that's what you think." He took a bite of the stew, and it was like a fireworks show in his mouth. "Wow…" He was amazed at just how many times she could outdo herself. Kouji knew for a fact, that he never had anything that tasted better than this. Without caring about how he looked, he took more quick bites. "You know, I think you might be the best cook in this town."

"Thank you…" She felt so warm inside just from hearing him say that. Yuma's body tensed up, both from that, and what she was about to ask next, as she say down besides him. "Um… Could I ask… A favor?"

"Favor? Of course." After what she did for him, he would do anything to pay it back.

"Could you… Feed me?" She asked. For the first time in a long time, there was a subtle shake to her voice. However, the only person that could've possibly noticed was her.

"Feed… You?" There was a puzzled look on his face. That seemed like an odd request, but he did say he would do anything. At least this wasn't something publicly embarrassing like he'd expect from Waa, for example.

"If it's too much…" She was disheartened, perhaps she overstepped her boundaries here.

"No, no." He told her it was all right. He'd do it for her, since he already promised. "Besides, it's kind of… Cute in a way." Kouji couldn't believe he just said something like that, but it was the truth.

She turned her body to face him. Kouji took a spoonful carefully from her bowl. Slowly, he took it closer to her mouth.

"S-say ahh." He commanded her. As soon as those words exited his mouth, he realized that he might've been playing this role a little too much.

"...Ahh." She did as he asked, and he fed her a bite of the stew. Yuma had made this meal too many times to count, but every time it just exploded in her mouth with its flavors. "Mhmm… Thank you." This meant more to her, than he would ever know.

The finished up their meals without much more event. Though she did try to feed him once or twice. Kouji rejected her every time, but that left Yuma with a different idea to grab his attention.

"Now… I will repay you."

"What do you mean?" He asked. First because he did it to pay her back for the food, and second being that he wasn't sure what she was about to do.

"A massage." She answered, which was pretty tempting for him. This girl's massages were second only to her cooking for how good she was at it.

"Sure." He laid down for her. This should help relieve some of the physical pain the illness had on him. So it didn't' seem like there was any negatives to this arrangement.

"Thank you." She began the process, which like before, quickly relaxed his body. Kouji just felt himself sinking deeper into the floor of his apartment. As much as he wasn't a fan of having others doing things for him. The things she had to offer were just too hard to reject.

"That feels real good." He told her. "It really loosens those knots." Yuma was glad to hear it, but she wasn't done just yet. Without warning him, she got atop his back.

As much as her hands might've relieved his tension, doing this brought it all back.

"Wh-what are you doing?" He asked because of one specific issue with this position.

"We don't have a table." She explained herself. "So… I have to do this… To do it better." That much, he could figure out on his own. However, with her sitting on his back, one leg on each side of his body.

How would he explain it? You see, Yuma wears skirts, and skirts don't really cover the panties in some circumstances. So when she was laying on top of him, he could feel her underwear on him. More than just her underwear, but it really wasn't something he wanted to think about.

"Is there a problem?" She could see how tense he got from this. Despite how calculated her plans were today, Yuma wasn't aware of what she was doing to him. While she was getting deep into his muscles, there was a knock on the door.

At first, she didn't respond to it. Instead, Yuma continued to give him a massage as if nothing happened. However, it was impossible to ignore it for Kouji, as the knocking continued.

"I know you're in there." It was Waa, as it was her turn now. "Now answer the door, I got too many things in my hands right now."

"You should get that." Kouji told her. Yuma sighed on the inside, getting up from him. She wished that she could keep this moment going for just a little longer.

"Hello." She bowed as she opened the door for Waa.

It was that girl's turn now. Kouji had a lot of worries about what was about to entail, judging from the bags she was holding in both hands.