"Task accepted, guaranteed completion."
[Remember to peel the onion first before cutting it. We'll just make some hamburger patties.]
"Okay, okay, no problem." Although Kubo Nagisa said it very casually, there was still a tiny bit of worry in her heart.
[Oh no, I accidentally lied. At home it's always Onee-chan who cooks, but I do watch her cook a lot. It's just chopping an onion, no big deal, yeah.]
(It's really going to be fine, right?)
Ten minutes later...
Kubo Nagisa stared at the onion she had peeled all the way down to the core and fell into deep thought. [The onion... disappeared.]
Saiki was actually quite surprised to see Kubo Nagisa like this.
After all, even though he had expressed doubt earlier, he hadn't really been worried. Kubo Nagisa, who performed so outstandingly at school, turned out to be genuinely hopeless at cooking.
Saiki walked over and demonstrated in person. [Watch carefully. You only need to peel it to this point. No need to go that thoroughly.]
Kubo Nagisa looked at the perfectly peeled onion Saiki had done and nodded. "Got it."
[Alright then, next is chopping the onion into mince. You shouldn't have any problem with that, right, Kubo-san…?]
Before Saiki could finish speaking, Kubo Nagisa raised the shiny, sharp kitchen knife high, ready to bring it down hard on the onion on the cutting board.
[Hold on a second.]
Saiki's expression darkened instantly. He immediately grabbed the hand in which Kubo Nagisa was holding the knife.
Kubo Nagisa asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
[There's a huge problem. With that kind of momentum just now, you were about to split the cutting board in half.]
Saiki demonstrated personally, curling his hand into a cat-claw shape. [Listen carefully. When you cut, you need to hold your hand like a cat's paw. That way it's much harder to cut yourself.]
Kubo Nagisa curled both of her hands into cat claws as well. "Like this? Got it."
(It's really going to be fine, right?)
Saiki still wasn't completely reassured and added, [That's good. If you want to mince the onion, you should first cut it in half, and then…]
Kubo Nagisa's eyes looked dazed and vacant, as if her mind was full of question marks.
Saiki felt like giving up. [Forget it. I'll just do it. You go wash the vegetables.]
Kubo Nagisa immediately reached out to steady the onion herself, looking completely confident. "It's fine, I'll do it."
Then in one swift motion, she brought the knife down. Very fast, very decisive. Yes, she did cut the onion, but it seemed she had also cut something she shouldn't have—her finger. Blood spurted out like a fountain, shooting upward in an instant.
[Kubo-san!!!!]
...Five minutes later
Saiki had finally finished disinfecting and bandaging Kubo Nagisa's hand.
"Sorry, Saiki-kun. I lied. At home it's always my sister who cooks. But it's okay, I just learned something. Let's keep trying!"
Saiki's entire face was expressionless. [From now on, you're banned from the kitchen. You are not allowed to go in.]
(._.ll) "O-okay… sorry for causing you trouble." Kubo Nagisa lowered her head dejectedly, sat on the sofa, and hugged her knees.
[See? Useless again. Just causing Saiki-kun more trouble. I'm really no good…]
(Is it necessary to be that depressed?)
While chopping the onion, Saiki sighed. [Cough cough. Kubo-san, if you really want to learn how to cook, I could… reluctantly teach you—never mind, too much hassle…]
"Really? Saiki-kun!" Kubo Nagisa instantly appeared right behind Saiki, grabbing his shoulders and asking.
"I'll definitely be careful. I won't cut my finger again, and I'll avoid making other mistakes too!"
(She's fast.)
Saiki was already starting to regret it. [Yeah, well… let's skip it for this time. You can just watch me cook. I'll teach you next time. Let's focus on making dinner first.]
Kubo Nagisa nodded from the side. "Then I'll observe and learn."
...Thirty minutes later
Saiki and Kubo Nagisa sat at the dining table enjoying the food Saiki had prepared.
While eating, Kubo Nagisa's eyes sparkled. "Saiki-kun~ this is so delicious! It's even better than what my sister makes, and it feels like… like your food is glowing!"
[It's nothing special. As for the glowing part, please ignore that. You must just be really hungry.]
Saiki took a bite. (Yare yare. I did put in a bit more effort, but it's still just average.)
Saiki had long since become numb to the taste of his own cooking. No matter how good it actually was, he always felt like it was just "meh." That was simply how Saiki was, and one of the main reasons he rarely cooked for himself.
After dinner, Kubo Nagisa watched as Saiki sat on the sofa, one hand holding coffee jelly, the other holding a book, while his eyes were somehow watching TV at the same time—multi-tasking with coffee jelly.
"Saiki-kun, is this how you usually live?"
[Mm, yeah. Most of the time, yes.]
Kubo Nagisa smiled and sat down next to him on the sofa. "Yeah, it really suits you, Saiki-kun!" [A life like this might actually be pretty nice.]
After finishing the coffee jelly, Saiki closed his book. [Alright, Kubo-san. It's getting late. Time to rest. You can sleep in my room tonight, right next to Shiina-san. If anything happens, just take care of her.]
Saiki's apartment did have two bedrooms, but neither had been properly cleaned or organized, and he was too lazy to deal with it. Sleeping on the sofa was fine—he did it often anyway.
Kubo Nagisa nodded and asked, "Then where are you going to sleep, Saiki-kun? Not on the sofa, right?"
[Of course I am. Don't worry, I'm not going to sneak into the room to attack you two.]
Kubo Nagisa puffed out her cheeks and muttered softly, "I'm not worried about that… and anyway…"
Saiki didn't want to hear any more. [Alright, good night, Kubo-san.]
"Oh, good night, Saiki-kun." After returning the good night, Kubo Nagisa went into the room.
Once inside, Kubo Nagisa walked to the bedside and gently touched Shiina Mahiru's forehead. "Wow, her temperature has really gone down."
Kubo Nagisa looked carefully at Shiina Mahiru. "Shiina-san really is beautiful. No wonder everyone calls her an angel. Even sleeping, she looks like an angel."
"And she lives right next door to Saiki-kun. Good thing they're just normal neighbors. Otherwise she'd be a really tough rival. Speaking of which, it seems like Saiki-kun went to the park today because he already knew Shiina-san had fainted there…"
Looking at the peacefully sleeping Shiina Mahiru, Kubo Nagisa couldn't resist pressing her cheek against hers for a moment, then took out her phone and snapped a photo.
Afterward she looked at the photo on her phone. "Hm, I don't look bad either."
After mumbling to herself for a bit and looking at the photo again, Kubo Nagisa started feeling sleepy too. She yawned, lay down on the futon, and fell asleep.
...
The next morning, sunlight was already streaming in. Kubo Nagisa woke up groggily, rubbed her eyes, and walked over to the bedside.
She saw that Shiina Mahiru was still sleeping peacefully on the bed, eyes tightly closed, and it looked like she wouldn't wake up anytime soon. So Kubo Nagisa quietly opened the door and stepped out.
Then she heard Saiki's voice coming from the kitchen.
[Awake already? Go wash up then. Breakfast is already prepared.]