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“Oh, Saiki!” Teruhashi said, leaning over his desk, allowing her shiny dark hair to fall in front of her.
He couldn’t help but notice the pleasant floral scent of her shampoo.
She was blushing already, before even speaking a word, and Saiki knew why. She was psyching herself up to invite his “sister” Kuriko to come to a girl’s tea party. Saiki would actually be happy to accept the offer on his “sister’s” behalf, considering tea and pastries sounded like a great way to spend an afternoon. Also, he’d come to realize that spending time with Teruhashi and the other girls of PK academy was actually a much better time as long as he was Kuriko, his female form. Nendou, Kaidou, and Kuboyasu were much more troublesome people; being around other girls was kind of relaxing.
Just get on with it, Saiki thought as Teruhashi continued to hem and haw over asking.
“I was wondering if your sister might want to come over to my house for tea and treats. Other girls will be there!” she explained, as though Saiki might think that she was asking his sister on a date. “Mera and Chiyo are coming, Imu and Aiura-san too.”
“Sounds like something she’d like,” Saiki said.
“Okay! It’ll be this Saturday afternoon. I’m looking forward to it!” Teruhashi spun around with her hands clutched to her chest. Her excitement was infectious; even Saiki felt the anticipation. Of course, he wasn’t looking forward to it in the same way as Teruhashi. For some reason, she’d become rather charmed by sweet, shy Kuriko.
By the time the weekend rolled around, Saiki had enlisted the help of Aiura to find another outfit to wear, since he still didn’t own much in the way of girl’s clothing. It was a task that Aiura took pleasure in completing, showing up to his house two hours ahead of time with shopping bags full of potential outfits for the tea party. It was overkill, and she’d have a lot of returns to make, but Saiki appreciated it nonetheless. Once his transformation into Kuriko was complete, Aiura enjoyed watching the fashion show of her trying on all of Aiura’s selections.
Most were not Kuriko’s style. Too flashy, too trendy, too Aiura. But Aiura was sensible and picked a few things that were a bit more toned down. In the end, Saiki chose a simple white sundress with a light blue cardigan sweater.
“You are literally so frickin’ beautiful!” Aiura swooned, grabbing Kuriko by her dainty wrists. “Seriously, if I were a dude, I’d be in love with you for real! I’m kind of in love with you already, actually.”
“Good grief. Don’t get carried away,” Saiki said, taking her wrists away and tucking them behind her back.
“Sorry,” Aiura said. “But you know, you’re, like, my soulmate whether you’re Kuriko or Kusuo. Same aura, same person.”
Saiki clicked her teeth. “Whatever. Let’s just get to the tea party. I don’t want to be late.”
Yeah, ‘cuz if we’re late, Mera will eat all the treats before you get a chance at them…
Saiki frowned at Aiura’s correct assessment. Her motivations really were that predictable…
As Terhashi opened the door, her face fell. “Oh. Saiki-san. Aiura-san… You came together?”
“No biggie!” Aiura said, waving her hand. “Kuri-chan just needed some help picking an outfit. She really wanted to make a good impression today.”
Saiki scowled at Aiura, who purposefully remained oblivious to her irritation.
“Don’t say stuff like that,” Saiki whispered to Aiura. “Teruhashi will get the wrong idea.”
Does she have a crush on Kuri-chan too? Teehee. Totes adorbs.
Teruhashi’s face was beet red, and after a moment of perceived silence, she finally ushered them into her home. “Mera isn’t here yet, but Chiyo and Imu are already in my room.”
Aiura gave Saiki a knowing look. Guess you get first dibs on the sweets, huh?
Teruhashi showed them to her room, where Chiyo and Imu were already discussing how nice Teruhashi’s room smelled. Saiki noted that it smelled just like her floral shampoo.
“Oh! Saiki-san! How are you!” Chiyo greeted, looking up from her phone.
“No greeting for Miko-chan?” Aiura teased with a hand on her hip.
Chiyo laughed, standing up to wrap Aiura in a hug. “Glad you’re here too, Miko-chan!”
All of this was fine and good, but Saiki was watching with clairvoyance while Teruhashi collected her pastries. The variety was looking nice so far. Teruhashi finished preparing the tray, including her flower-print tea kettle and delicate tea cups.
“You alright, Saiki-san?” Imu asked.
Saiki quickly uncrossed her eyes. “Fine.”
“I’m here!” Teruhashi said from the other side of the door.
Imu jumped up, immediately forgetting Saiki’s strange facial expression in favor of helping Teruhashi with the tray. “This looks amazing, Kokomi!” Imu said, taking the tray from her hands.
“It’s nothing!” Teruhashi bluffed. I knew Saiki-san was coming so of course I pulled out all the stops! Maybe she’ll tell her brother what a wonderful host I am!
Saiki wasn’t sure who Teruhashi was really more concerned with impressing: Kuriko or Kusuo. But she didn’t care, snagging her first choice from the tray. “Thanks for the food,” she muttered, taking her first bite. She hated to admit it, but Teruhashi really did know her way around baked goods.
The other girls watched as Saiki ate with that pleasant, blissed-out look on her face.
She really is just like her brother, Teruhashi thought fondly. I wish I could be close with my brother like she is.
Too bad he’s a pervert, Saiki thought as she picked another pastry from the platter, making sure to get her fill before Mera arrived and wiped the tray out.
Teruhashi started pouring tea for her guests, only taking a break when she heard her door buzz, announcing Mera’s arrival.
After about five minutes, all of the pastries were depleted, most having made it into either Saiki or Mera’s stomach, and an hour later the tea is gone as well. In the meantime, the conversation was shockingly pleasant, meandering between school assignments, crushes, dream jobs, and upcoming movies.
“Thanks for the tea!” Chiyo said, dabbing her lip with a fancy, lace trimmed napkin. “You’re totally the best at hosting.”
“Aw, Chiyo. That’s so sweet,” Teruhashi replied, collecting all of their tea cups and stacking them on her platter. I hope that Saiki-san had a nice time.
Saiki would tend to agree with Chiyo; Teruhashi is quite talented at making people feel welcomed and special. Even though Saiki could read her mind and knew her true motivations behind hosting the tea party, Teruhashi still took an interest in what each of her guests had to say.
The group of girls followed Teruhashi down the stairs, preparing to say their goodbyes. But Saiki felt guilty, listening to Teruhashi thinking through all the things she still had to do that night: clean up after her guests, study for their next exam, and iron all of her outfits for the next week. So she did what any good guest would do.
Saiki walked into the kitchen and turned on the sink.
The other girls stood frozen, watching as Saiki waited for Teruhashi to bring over the dirty dishes.
God, she’s so thoughtful, Aiura thought. Kuriko really is adorable.
Chiyo and Imu felt a pang of jealousy, that they hadn’t thought to offer Teruhashi any help.
Mera was impressed by Saiki's work ethic.
And Teruhashi… Her eyes glossed with tears. What is with these Saiki siblings? They’re always so helpful, and they never ask for any credit.
“I wanna help you too!” Chiyo exclaimed suddenly.
“Me too!” said Imu.
Mera nodded in agreement.
Aiura gave Saiki an affectionate smile.You totally can’t help being precious, huh?
So Kuriko and Teruhashi stood side by side at the sink as they washed the dishes, hands brushing under the sudsy waters. Imu offered to dry the cups, saucers, plates, and tea kettle, while Chiyo, Mera, and Aiura tidied Teruhashi’s bedroom.
As they left Teruahshi’s home for the evening, Saiki noticed that all the other girls’ affection for her had increased. They all liked Kuriko better than Kusuo at this point, except for Teruhashi who now liked them equally. Aiura’s likability score was the only one unaffected, since she knew the truth: that Kuriko and Kusuo were one and the same.
Normally, Saiki would be annoyed that she was getting more popular, but since this development only affected her female form, her day to day life as Kusuo would be pretty much the same level of annoyingness as always.
How much longer do you think you can keep up with this double life? Aiura asked silently as they walked down the street side by side.
Saiki shrugged, but knew that Aiura was right. The closer she got to the other girls, the harder it would be to hide the fact that she and her brother were actually the same person. But for now, Saiki didn’t want to worry about it. For once, she was enjoying time spent with other people and she didn’t care if it meant she had to keep a few more secrets.