Outsider Syndrome: Everlasting (Bonus Content)

Chapter 2 - "Intimacy"

Shiina Kisaragi's POV:

"You want to impress him with your cooking?"

"I try and try but he has issues with everything I make. Not once has he smiled wholeheartedly and said a meal of mine was delicious. Until the day it becomes a reality, I'm not giving up!"

Mao, crouched behind the island of our kitchen, stared up at me with a contemplative frown. "Why not stuff a bunch of his favourites inside?"

"I did, once," I said, sneaking glances at the stove. "But he scolded me to consider a balanced diet from all the food groups."

"Oh. He's like that. Is he worth the fuss, then? In my opinion, Shiina's lunches are already tasty. If he can't see that, his taste buds don't deserve Shiina's effort."

"Kamakiri's cooking puts mine to shame," I argued. "One bite and you'll never want to eat anything else."

She bloated her cheeks. "Mao still doesn't approve. Kamakiri is the demon who made Shiina cry. Mao should be cursing him to go bald. With his handsomeness gone, you'll be forced to leave him before he hurts you again."

So she was holding a grudge. . . Chie carried similar sentiments when I told them about our relationship. I hadn't outright stated that they were the same individual, but somehow, they'd figured it out. They grilled him the day I first brought him over. While Chie dropped the subject rather quickly, Mao gripped onto the past for dear life.

"I cried because I set my expectations too high," I excused as I tended to the food. "Kamakiri apologized. He's different now."

"Mao'll believe it when she sees it."

I sighed. She got her stubbornness from Mom.

"Shiina gave him her whole heart, but he's still holding back with his."

"He isn't."

"He doesn't trust Shiina enough. If he did, he'd rely on Shiina more. He'd be vulnerable with Shiina more. The way it looks to Mao, he's still keeping secrets from Shiina."

I halted my stirring. "Kamakiri. . . would tell me if it was important. Just because we're dating doesn't mean we have to tell each other everything."

"Then why does Shiina bare her entire thoughts and feelings with him? She can be open with him. Doesn't it sting that he can't do the same?"

He was open to me. Maybe not in the manner Mao or others expected, but the softheartedness and kindness he displayed only towards me. . . it existed. I loved the him that tried to hide his awkwardness and frailty, even when his actions and words were a dead giveaway.

"People don't change overnight," she added. "He was a troublemaker at one point, wasn't he? Sure he apologized, but he lied to Shiina so easily. Even now, he could be—"

"I'll get angry if you finish that sentence."

My levelled threat quieted her in an instant. She stiffened, burying the bottom of her face behind the counter.

"Mao. . . just doesn't want Shiina to be in pain again."

Expelling a breath to hopefully blow off the complicated sentiments swelling within me, I readjusted her witch's hat.

"I understand, Mao. The Kamakiri you're talking about and the Kamakiri I fell for are the same person. I'm not ignoring the past and what happened between us. He has his flaws like we do—like anyone else. I know that. But, equally, he has his virtues. And I love him having taken all that into consideration."

"Mao doesn't doubt that he loves you too," she added, sheepishly. "That much is obvious when he visits. But. . . but Mao is simply looking out for you, for a lack of better words."