We were finally finished with the packing, and most of the stuff that immediately could fit in our bags, we somehow did. Let's ignore the part where we had to use our vampire strength to close the bags down. I'm pretty sure I cracked the exterior of some of our bags.
Anyways.
The food in the fridge, along with the blood, would be transported with care by the people Natsumi-san hired, and I know already it will fit perfectly well in her fridge. She doesn't really keep much stuff in that thing unless I ask her to restock it with grocery items. She normally just keeps some cans of beer, a few ready-to-heat meals, and ice cream in that thing. Seriously, how she survives with all this is still a wonder to me. I am hoping I get to her house and am surprised.
Her place was bigger than ours, and rather than an apartment, a full house with four bedrooms. Knowing Ai, I know I will not be able to move into my old bedroom, but I can use that as a study. I haven't been back there in a few months, so I wonder did she changed anything in that room.
"Are these all the clothes you have?" I asked, looking at the three bags filled with just her clothes, and she thought a bit before saying anything. Ai, we have cleared out the entire cupboard. Don't tell me there is this super-secret cupboard in our apartment that I had no idea about.
"Yep, they are," she said, happily sitting down on the couch, letting out a big sigh. She wore one of my t-shirts and shorts before I could pack them. I quite enjoyed the sight, and if there was a moment, I would have said no to her. The moment she looked at me with those puppy dog eyes, I knew it was over for me. I'm going to buy so many more t-shirts so she can take them. "Kazu-kun's smell is so refreshing," she said, sniffing my t-shirt.
"I don't understand if you prefer my smell over other things or just my smell directly," I said, sitting beside her, and she leaned against me.
"Both of them have a special place in my heart. Of course, Kazu-kun's smell directly from him cannot be beat, but his smell off of other things is nostalgic, so I like that too," she said. Wait a minute, what did she mean by nostalgic?
RING
RING
RING
The bell of the apartment rang, and we rushed to the door to open it and found Natsumi-san, along with Iwaguchi-san, standing at the entrance. Behind them were a few more extremely muscular men whom I had never seen before. "Did you pack everything you needed to?" she asked, and we nodded. "Okay, you guys, get the other stuff and put it in the truck. Move."
"Yes, ma'am!" They all said in unison and, in a coordinated fashion, moved into our apartment and started putting away other stuff that needed to be moved. I was impressed by their agility and working speed.
"Wait, ma'am? Do you know them, Natsumi-san?" I asked, and she let out a sigh.
"They were a bunch of delinquents I had to straighten up some years ago. Now they all work for a moving company," she explained while shrugging her shoulders. The delinquent slayer Natsumi-sensei strikes again.
"Do you want something to drink? A glass of water or anything?" I asked them as they entered the apartment.
"Just water would be fine," Iwaguchi-san said, and I quickly moved to the kitchen and picked out one of the spare glasses we weren't moving to Natsumi-san's place and filled it with water before handing it to him. He thanked me and downed the entire thing in one go. Looks like he was really thirsty. "Natsumi-san broke into my house and woke me up, so I didn't even have time to grab some water."
"If you were there on time, that wouldn't have happened," she said sternly, and Iwaguchi-san groaned in defeat.
"Be a little easier on him now. I'm sure he is trying his best," I said, patting Iwaguchi-san's shoulder, trying to cheer him up.
"You are just saying that because you used to be like that for a year," she said, and I scratched my hair and laughed nervously. "You were this close to me pulling you back from that room you got for yourself."
"But hey, I fixed that bad habit and was regular to all the classes afterwards. You can't deny that," I said, and she cracked her knuckles. "I'm sorry for ever existing, ma'am," I said, bowing deeply.
Taking the glass from Iwaguchi-san, I quickly washed it and placed it back where it belonged. My eyes fell on the stuff around us, and before we knew it, all the stuff was neatly packed in boxes and systematically moved out of the apartment. I didn't expect them to be that quick.
"They are professionals at what they do," she said and started walking out. "Say your goodbyes quickly, we need you to move soon."
"You are just saying that because you didn't eat anything since the morning," I said teasingly.
"And you are just saying that because you don't value your life enough," she said, glaring at me, and I quickly rushed to Ai's side.
I got our bags out from the bedroom and stood before the entrance of the apartment. I looked around the now-empty place and could feel a bit nostalgic about it. This place was our home for the past few months, and it did feel like this. It didn't take too long for me to get comfortable with this place and to be treated as my own. Ai being here helped a lot more too, and I don't think if I were to think about living somewhere in the future with her, I could choose a place other than this.
I glanced at Ai and saw her face looking sad. If I felt nostalgic about this place for only staying here for that long, I can't even imagine how Ai felt. I held her hand in mine and let her have this moment of peace. She took a deep breath and bowed her head, saying some thanks to the place and saying her goodbyes.
"We will be back soon," I said, reassuring her, and she smiled at me. I'm not sure either how long that will take, but I know for a fact we will be back to this place. It was our home, our place. We couldn't live fully and happily anywhere else.
"Now that I am leaving this place, it wasn't all good here either," she started reminiscing. "I remember most of the time living here all alone, worrying about Kazu-kun or missing my parents. The only time I had fun in this place was when my friends were over, but that wasn't too often. Most of the time, I would be wrapped up in a blanket, sitting on the couch in the room until I miss you enough for me to come visit you."
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she looked at me with a little smile, her eyes starting to get moist. "But still, I could survive and be safe for so long because of this place. Dad put everything he had into building this. Its layout is roughly the one I clumsily made for him when he asked how our perfect home should look. I am here because of them. I know they would have loved living here with me. They would happily let Kazu-kun live with us, too, if I begged them enough. Dad would definitely be the first one to melt."
"He really loved his family," I said, and she nodded her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "This home is his gift to his family."
"It is," she said and started lightly sobbing. "I made good use of your gift, right? I finally lived here with the one I loved and made so many good memories. You are proud of me, right?"
She ended up breaking down and pressed her head against my chest. I couldn't fully sympathise with her, but I could still understand to an extent what she felt. I held her tightly, patting her head while she wept. It took some time for her to calm down, but when she did, she looked at me with eyes red from the tears, along with a pout on her face.
"This is our home, we will be living here for the rest of our lives when this is all over," she said, and I chuckled a little and kissed her forehead.
"That was the plan, nowhere else can I have a place where every room is soundproofed according to a certain someone," I said, and she laughed a little with me too.
"I was trying too hard to make you blush back then, but I can't help it, okay? You're too cute when you blush. It's your fault for being so cute," she said, gently hitting my chest, and laughed.
"Yes, yes, everything is my fault," I said, patting her head.
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