The Goddess Needs A Break!

"Why did you lie to me about living close?"

"You wouldn't have taken the umbrella if I hadn't."

Takei knew that Akari's compassion was beyond human standards, so he cooked up a lie to make sure she wouldn't feel bad about taking the umbrella.

"You got a cold because of me didn't you?"

"Nope."

Takei flatly denied her truthful claim since he didn't want her to feel guilty for his reckless actions.

"Why are you even here?"

He continued to hammer down the fact that he didn't care for her.

"The teacher asked the class if someone could give you the homework handouts and I volunteered because I owed you a favor and also because I believed you were ill because of me."

With this flawless reasoning, Takei had no way to deny her good will.

"Thank you for the homework handouts, see you tomorrow."

Takei thanked her and tried to end the conversation, but his legs gave out and started to buckle. At this point, he was practically stumbling to stand up straight.

"I can't just leave you alone when you're this sick because of me."

The goddess declared her resolve and looked at him intently while Takei tried to think of another excuse to use.

"I'll be fine without you, it wouldn't be good if you entered a boy's house by yourself."

As a response, Takei heard a barely audible whisper.

"Uuu, you should be fine though..."

Unfortunately for him, it felt like there was an external force at play that wouldn't allow him to have a peaceful life that he wanted to have.

"Oh my, what is it that we have here? Is this the girl you told me about?"

As if on cue, Flora returned home to witness Takei conversing with Akari at the doorway.

"Mom..."

"Hello! My name is Akari Akazawa. I'm Takei's classmate and I'm here to give him the homework assignments for the day."

The goddess turned on her divine way of talking and smoothly explained the situation leaving no room for misinterpretation.

"Thanks for being friends with Takei. I'm his mother, Flora Tanaka."

Takei's mother responded in kind, but had a very mischievous smile on her face.

"Why don't you come in? I'll be glad if I can give you some hospitality for being friends with my son."

"I couldn't possibly intrude on your family time... but I was directly related to the events that caused Takei to get a cold so I hope I could be of use to him."

"It's fine~ Takei would be thrilled to have you over. Right, Takei?"

"What are you saying Mom..."

If he had a choice, he would choose to ignore Akari and go back to bed. However, it would be very rude to deny her entry now that his mom was also pushing for her to come in.

"You might as well come in. My mom loves cute things and won't give up until she gets her fill."

Takei shrugged and invited the goddess into his house. After a moment of thought, Akari walked into the house with a victorious aura around her.

Akari didn't have to worry that much about getting Takei's cold since he was already wearing a mask.

"Why don't you two go up to Takei's room while I bring the tea?"

Unbeknownst to them, Flora was busy scheming to ensure her son would have a good time.

"Does that sound okay to you, Akari?"

Takei had no choice but to accept the scenario at hand. He knew his mom would not relent on this situation.

"Yeah, that's fine. Let's go to your room."

Surprisingly, Akari readily agreed to go to the room of a boy she barely knew. The two of them slowly climbed the stairs to Takei's room and promptly entered it. Takei prepared two cushions around the small table in his room for them to sit on. After prompting her, the two sat in a seiza position on the two cushions.

"Are you used to going to other guys' rooms? You seem very laid back and calm for being in an unknown person's room."

Takei started the conversation off with a very provocative question hoping that it would influence her decision in going home earlier than expected. The goddess however, sensed the intention behind his question and responded in kind.

"Um, this is actually the first time I've been in a boy's room that wasn't one of my relatives. I'm quite embarrassed, but I do feel safe since I get the feeling that you're not the type of boy to assault a girl."

"I'm pretty good at telling the intentions and character of a person," the goddess added with a wry smile on her face.

Takei immediately turned away since he could feel his cheeks getting hotter by the second. He had just realized that this was the first time a girl has complimented him in a long time albeit indirectly. Akari had basically told him that she felt comfortable around him even though he had been acting distant towards her the entire time. He felt ashamed for being such a jerk when Akari was trying to be on amicable terms with him.

As he was thinking this, Akari looked around his room in amazement.

"You have a lot of entertaining things here! Is this the new console that came out recently?! Is that the new RPG game that came out last week?!"

Takei's mouth was hanging wide open. The prettiest girl in his school was acting like a total nerd. Not in his wildest dreams did he think this would happen.

"You're into this type of stuff?"

"Umm, excuse my actions just now... I got too excited. I've been playing games ever since I was a little kid, so I've always had a passion for them."

It turns out that the two of them had more in common than they thought. Takei was thoroughly elated to have someone to share his hobbies with though.

"Would you like to play with me?"

"Yes!"

"..."

"Oh umm I would love to play, but don't you need rest since you're sick?"

"I've been laying in bed all day. I've been aching to do something and playing video games isn't that strenuous, so I should be okay."

"Before we start, take these cookies as a form of compensation since you got sick from giving me your umbrella yesterday."

Akari whipped out a small bag of homemade cookies from her purse. Takei stared in amazement at how talented she was as a person. Academics, athletics, and now cooking? What can't she do?

"Can I try them?"

"Sure, I made them for you."

After getting the go ahead from Akari, Takei popped a cookie into his mouth and savored the taste.

The flavor of the cookie was beyond anything Takei had ever tasted. He doubted a professional chef could even manage to recreate this divine taste. 

"Perfect."

The goddess froze up for a second after Takei reviewed her cooking, but she managed to recover quickly.

"I'm glad."

Akari exhaled in relief after she heard Takei's verdict.

"Now, let's start gaming, I can't wait to try out that new game you bought!"

The odd duo would continue to play games until it was time for Akari to leave. After some sulking, Akari reluctantly left after having a lot of fun playing games with Takei. At first, he wanted to take her home but she was acting weird for some reason.

"Do you need me to take you home?"

"It's fine, I live relatively close and it's a safe neighborhood."

"That's still..."

Once again, Takei's good upbringing went back to bite him.

"It's okay, trust me. You'll see in a little bit."

"I'll see?"

Takei was confused as to what she alluded to, but Akari wouldn't budge so Takei gave up.

"Bye."

Takei's goodbye was a bit blunt, but Akari saw the gentleness behind his farewell so she responded in kind by winking at him before she disappeared down the street.

Wait, down the street? Takei looked closer again and realized what Akari had alluded to earlier. It turns out that the goddess's house was across the street from him. Takei had never realized that he lived so close to a divine being the entire time. Unbeknownst to him though, he had no idea that Akari had a mischievous smile on her face as she left his house that night.

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Akari's Affection Meter: 5 -> 10%

Welcome to the double digits. This entry into the early double digits signifies that she has recognized Takei as a friend. The common interests shared between them (ex: video games) was the cause in the rise of affection.