By the time the two of them got home, it was already eight o’clock.
Haibara lived in an apartment near the school.
It wasn’t very big—manageable enough for one person, but with two people living there, she’d have to give some real thought to how to divide up the space.
After stepping inside, she turned on the lights.
“I usually live alone, so it’s a bit messy.
No use turning up your nose at it.”
Once the lights came on, what appeared before Sakaki Chika was a room with a somewhat gloomy tone—quiet and cold, without much sense of lived-in warmth, holding almost nothing but the most basic household necessities.
The only thing with any emotional color to it was probably the carefully arranged glass tank, which seemed to house something inside…
After taking off her shoes, Sakaki Chika glanced curiously in that direction, but didn’t spot anything within the glass tank.
“Ah, I forgot.
I usually let Xiaobai roam free.
It might bite, so wait a moment while I catch it.”
Haibara said flatly.
“Xiaobai?
Is it a puppy?
It’s fine, Sensei, I’m not really afraid of dogs.”
Sakaki Chika blinked, looking around the room curiously, trying to see where the puppy was.
At the same time, she felt a little surprised—she hadn’t expected Ms.
Haibara to have such a girlish side, keeping a puppy and all.
Haibara simply reached out her hand and grabbed at the counter beside Sakaki Chika.
“Ah, Xiaobai’s right here.”
It seemed she’d caught something in one hand, and then came a low, hissing cry.
Sakaki Chika froze and looked at what was in Ms.
Haibara’s hand—a pure white snake, writhing ceaselessly, flicking its forked tongue at her as if it wanted to bite her.
The little idol went pale on the spot and backed away several steps.
“There now, don’t be scared.
This kind of snake isn’t venomous—though it’s true that it does like to bite.”
Though Haibara herself had never once been bitten.
She just held the snake—coiled around her arm—in one hand, then casually tossed it into the glass tank and deftly closed the lid.
“Sensei, this is… Xiaobai?”
Sakaki Chika trembled.
“Mm, pretty cute, right?”
Now that they were home, Haibara set down her bag, took off her black suit jacket, then loosened her tie, leaving only a white shirt on her upper body.
Before leaving home, Sakaki Chika had also brought out her own suitcase.
She hadn’t lived in that home for a long time anyway, so there wasn’t much there she needed to take.
“There’s an empty basket by the bathroom door.
Just put the clothes that need washing in there, and I’ll wash them separately when the time comes.”
“You haven’t had dinner yet either, right?
Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Haibara usually lived alone, and for dinner she basically ate the leftovers from that morning—but there was only ever enough for herself, and most of the time she was too lazy to even heat it up.
So now she’d have to make an extra dinner.
“I’m fine with anything.”
After coming into the room, Sakaki Chika felt a little at a loss, and finally, obediently, found a little stool to sit on.
That answer left Haibara even more unsure of what to make.
She scratched her head, went to the kitchen, and opened the fridge to take a look…
Hmm… the meat hasn’t thawed yet, so let’s do omurice.”
Haibara took a few eggs out of the fridge, along with some vegetables needed for fried rice, and of course ketchup.
Kids all liked omurice anyway.
After taking out the ingredients, she saw Sakaki Chika sitting there as if she’d done something wrong, and said casually:
“Don’t sit there like you’re being punished.
This isn’t a classroom.
You can go lie down on the couch.
By the way, there’s hot water in the bathroom—dinner’s still a while off, so you can go take a bath first.”
“Mm-hmm…”
Sakaki Chika nodded obediently.
After a while, she took a change of clothes and went to the bathroom—probably to bathe.
Luckily, everything in the house used body wash; otherwise Haibara would have had to switch out the soap afterward.
As it happened, while the little girl was in the bathroom, Haibara changed into a casual tank top, put on an apron, and lit the stove to cook.
“Sigh, never thought I’d have to cook at night too…”
She usually didn’t even have much motivation to cook for herself; the reason she’d been bringing a bento these past couple of days was that she’d been practicing cooking for Ms.
Suzuki’s sake.
While she cooked, her hair got a little in the way, so she found a hair tie and bound it back, revealing the ears she usually kept hidden.
As she cooked, the splashing of running water carried out from the bathroom.
Haibara, for her part, focused intently on the cooking.
She was actually quite good at omurice—after all, she’d once lived with her adopted daughter, so she’d had her share of experience caring for a child.
Whenever the child had no appetite, she’d basically make a batch of omurice.
Ah, but come to think of it… that kid Kazama Kiriori had been quite the little troublemaker.
Every time she was cooking, the girl would deliberately come and hug her around the waist.
Making it impossible for her to cook properly.
Soon the meal was done.
She portioned out the rice into two plates, then made the sauce, and last of all fried the eggs.
By the time she finished plating, Sakaki Chika had just about finished her bath.
That came as a bit of a surprise to Haibara.
She’d assumed the little girl would take longer in the bath—after all, girls usually took quite a while bathing.
She remembered that Kiriori used to take forever in the bath.
After waiting a while at the dining table, the little bunny—changed into fresh clothes and washed all clean and white—came out of the bathroom.
Looking at Sakaki Chika, water droplets still trickling down her hair and her skin bright and fair, Haibara couldn’t help but marvel—as expected of a popular idol, she really was cute even without makeup.
“Mm…”
At this point, Haibara suddenly realized something.
Did this count as luring a girl idol into her own home?
And they were even in a teacher-student relationship, no less.
So her professional ethics as a teacher—had they gone up, or gotten docked points?
“There’s a hair dryer over by the vanity.
Don’t you want to dry your hair?”
Sakaki Chika currently had a towel draped over her hair, her damp bangs falling down over her eyes and the tip of her nose, dewdrops dripping from her forehead and the ends of her hair, making her face look all the more delicate and tender.
“Thank you, Sensei.”
Her little feet in the slightly oversized slippers, she padded all the way to the mirror and began to blow-dry her hair.
She went to the fridge again, grabbed a can of beer, twisted it open, and started drinking.
After the cold beer poured into her empty stomach, it was hard to say whether the feeling was refreshing or miserable—and by then Sakaki Chika had come over to the dining table too.
“Eat up.”
Haibara said this flatly, and had already picked up her spoon to start on the omurice.
Sakaki Chika looked at the omurice on the table, then carefully picked up her spoon too, all the while secretly studying Haibara, who was eating with her head down.
“Thank you, Sensei.
Then… I’ll dig in…”
As she said this, she scooped up a spoonful of omurice, took a small bite, and then the light in her eyes flickered.
She didn’t say anything, only flushed a little, then took another bite, swallowed it down properly, and said to Haibara:
“That… um… it’s delicious.”
Haibara, eating and drinking at the same time, raised her head and glanced at Sakaki Chika.
“Thanks for the compliment.
No need to keep looking at me—remember to do your homework once you’re done eating.”
Even now that she’d moved into her home, she still had to go to school tomorrow just the same.
Sakaki Chika nodded, then lowered her head and ate quietly, though every so often she’d sneak a glance up at Haibara.
Ms.
Haibara’s omurice was delicious.
She didn’t know what ingredients were used, but she really liked the sweetness of the sauce.
Sensei seemed to be very good at cooking.
In Sakaki Chika’s memory, her mommy had hardly ever cooked for her; as a child, she often ate instant noodles or cold, ready-made food.
Maybe that was why she’d never grown very tall.
Getting enough nutrition when you’re little seemed to be pretty important…
Sakaki Chika ate while thinking about all these random things.
Picking up another spoonful of rice and bringing it to her mouth, Sakaki Chika’s hand paused for a moment.
She sniffled, trying to steady her emotions a little.
“……”
Ms.
Haibara was so gentle…
Intelligent and clever… and her cooking was delicious too.
Earlier she’d been bold to the point of brazenness, calling Haibara “Mommy”—originally just because she didn’t want to be separated from Ms.
Haibara, but now, she couldn’t help letting her mind wander into some wild fancies.
She hadn’t eaten omurice many times.
As a child, meals were often just something to make do with, and after becoming an idol, everything she ate was a nutritionally controlled meal.
The few rare times she’d eaten omurice were on a TV program that had a home-cooking segment, where she was made to prepare omurice and could then eat it herself.
She actually had no interest in the omurice she made herself.
And afterward she’d have to cut back on her meals anyway.
Thinking about all this, Sakaki Chika felt sad for some reason she couldn’t quite name.
“Wuu…”
She wiped at her tears again, trying her best not to look so pathetic, but she ended up crying all the same.
Haibara looked over too, watching her while she drank her beer.
“Is it really that delicious?”
Looking at the sniffling, teary-eyed Sakaki Chika, Haibara was momentarily bewildered.
How was she supposed to know her cooking was so good it could make someone cry while eating.