Tokyo: Oreimo

The girl held the box in her hand, stood up, walked to the door, then walked back, circled the room twice, and finally stood at the door.

My hand was on the doorknob, but I couldn't turn it.

She looked down at her hand gripping the doorknob.

"...What? It's just a gift."

She took a deep breath and opened the door.

There was no one in the corridor. Ryosuke's room door was closed, but light shone through the crack in the door.

Ling tiptoed over and stood at the doorway.

She raised her hand to knock on the door, her fingers hovering in mid-air, less than a centimeter away from the door panel, before pulling them back.

But the door suddenly opened.

She didn't knock; Ryosuke pulled it open from the inside.

Chapter 204 Idiot

Ling Nai's hand, which was suspended in mid-air, froze there, his fingertips less than a palm's width away from his chest.

The warm yellow light from the corridor shone from behind her, clearly illuminating the nervousness on her face that she hadn't had time to hide.

Ryosuke leaned against the door frame, looking down at her.

"Is something wrong?"

Ling Nai quickly put her hands behind her back.

"......No."

She turned her head away.

"I was just passing by."

"Did you just pass by and stand at my room door?"

Ryosuke was both amused and exasperated.

He had heard footsteps outside the room, but he hadn't paid any attention at first. However, when Ling Nai put her hand on the doorknob, he could clearly sense that someone was outside.

That's why I just walked over and opened the door.

"...What happened?"

She muttered something, shuffling her toes on the hallway floor, but her feet seemed rooted to the spot, showing no intention of leaving.

Ryosuke looked at her.

The girl hadn't taken off her short white down jacket yet; the zipper was open, revealing a cream-colored turtleneck sweater underneath.

Her right hand was always behind her back.

Ryosuke's gaze moved from her face to her shoulder, and then to the hand she was hiding behind her back.

What's in your hand?

Ling Nai's shoulders visibly twitched.

".....nothing."

"Take it out."

"No."

"Ling Nai."

"If I said it's nothing, then it's nothing!"

Her voice rose half an octave, and she took a half-step back with her right foot, assuming a posture as if she was ready to escape back to her room at any moment, but her eyes secretly glanced at him before quickly looking away.

Ryosuke looked at her like this, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a smile.

He didn't press further, but instead reached out his hand to her, palm up.

Ling Nai stared at the hand, then looked at his face.

".....what."

"Give me."

"...What? You don't even know what it is."

"I want it even if I don't know."

Ryosuke didn't pull his hand back; it just remained outstretched.

The corridor fell silent for a moment.

Ling Nai lowered her head, her golden bangs obscuring her eyes, revealing only her slightly pursed lips, pressed tightly together as if she were desperately trying to hold back something.

A few seconds later, she slowly extended the hand that had been behind her back.

He held a small, dark blue box in his hand. It was made of velvet, without any ribbon or decorations, so simple that it was almost plain.

She shoved the box into his hand as quickly as if she were throwing away something hot.

"...Hmph, if you want it that much, then you can have it."

Ryosuke looked down at the box in his hand.

Once opened, the silver-gray fountain pen lay on a black velvet pad, its metallic surface gleaming warmly under the light.

He took the pen out of the box and twirled it between his fingers.

Two small letters are engraved on the pen cap.

NJ.

Ryosuke stared at the two letters, and his finger stopped moving.

".....NJ".

He read it aloud softly.

Ling Nai's ears turned almost transparently red at that moment.

"...Don't say it out loud, you idiot."

Does it have any special meaning?

Ryosuke was very curious.

"no!"

"The shop assistant asked who it was for, and I said it was for my brother. She then offered to engrave it for free... I thought I might as well have it engraved, so I just had two characters engraved on my finger..."

"It wasn't specially engraved; it was free."

The blonde girl turned her head away, put her hands behind her back, and looked away.

Ryosuke looked at the two letters on the pen cap. They were engraved very lightly, and he had to turn the pen slightly to see them under the light.

Is it an abbreviation for 'older brother'?

This guy is really dishonest; in the past two years, he's only called himself that name a handful of times.

Ryosuke turned the pen cap around and ran his thumb along the engravings of the two letters, feeling the subtle unevenness of the metal surface with his fingertip.

"...Ling Nai."

"Ah."

"This must be a Christmas present."

Ling Nai's toes scraped against the floor again.

"...I guess so."

"Didn't you say I wouldn't get a gift this year?"

"Stop nagging!"

Ling Nai suddenly raised her head and glared at him, her eyes already slightly red, but her expression still looked like she was very unhappy.

"We've already bought it, we can't just return it! Besides, you don't have a fountain pen, you always use that old ballpoint pen to write your name, and you don't even change it when the ink is almost gone, I just couldn't stand it anymore!"

"Just something I bought on the spur of the moment!"

"And don't lose it."

Ryosuke looked down at the pen in his hand and remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he reached out and gently placed his hand on the top of her head.

Ling Nai's body stiffened for a moment.

".....what."

"Okay, thank you, Ling Nai."

He gently patted her head, like soothing a cat with its fur standing on end.

The girl kept her head down and did not slap his hand away.

"......Um."

Then she took a step back, escaped from his grasp, turned around, and ran back to her room.

The sound of the door closing echoed in the corridor for a moment, and then everything fell silent.

Ryosuke stood in the corridor, looking down at the pen in his hand.

"Oh."

He couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"This guy, I have to say, can be really cute sometimes."

.....

In the next room.

Takashiro Ryou leaned against the door panel, covering her burning cheeks with her hands, and slowly slid down the door panel until she squatted on the ground.