I Can't Call Your Name

As Kaito watched Misaki washing the dishes, admiration flickered in his eyes. He couldn't stop the dreams quietly forming in his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

With a soft sigh, he shook himself from his thoughts. Spotting the book in the corner, he reached over and picked it up.

"Uh, this ikigai thing..."

"Right, I completely forgot about that... did you come up with anything?"

"Kind of."

After Misaki finished washing the dishes, she dried her hands and sat down beside Kaito. Her eyes fell on the book he was holding, but it wasn't long before she noticed his wrapped hand.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

Kaito flinched, quickly shifting the book to cover his injured hand. He avoided her gaze and muttered, "Uh, the glass broke while I was washing the dishes…"

Before Kaito could pull away, Misaki gently took his hand. Ignoring his weak protests, she unwrapped the bandage with deliberate care, her concerned expression deepening as she examined the wound.

"Let me see, do you always have to be so clumsy?"

Kaito blushed deeply, his cheeks burning with embarrassment as he avoided making eye contact.

Misaki's gentle touch on his hand only made it worse, her complete focus on his wound leaving him feeling exposed.

"Wow, you cut it pretty deep," Misaki said, her tone more concerned than scolding.

"This won't do. Wait here." She stood up and headed to her room without another word.

Left alone, Kaito glanced at the hand she had just held, feeling a mix of shame and the warmth of her touch.

Misaki returned with a small first aid kit and sat in front of Kaito. She took out a bottle, warning him, "This might sting a little," before pouring it onto his hand.

"I-It's fine," he mumbled.

Misaki poured some disinfectant onto his hand, and as soon as it touched Kaito's wound, he tried to pull his hand away in pain.

But Misaki held it firmly, stopping him. Until that moment, she hadn't realized how strange the situation was.

She had been focused solely on helping Kaito, thinking his injury was her fault. But the moment she held his cold hand, something felt different.

For a fleeting moment, awkwardness hung in the air, and both their faces flushed a deep shade of red.

"Warm and soft, like a goddess," Kaito thought to himself while she holding his hand.

But he couldn't enjoy the moment for long—Misaki quickly pulled away in embarrassment.

Avoiding eye contact, she mumbled, "Um, I think you can handle the rest yourself."

As Kaito wrapped the bandage around his hand, he forced an awkward smile and said, "Ah, yes, thank you so much. I'm feeling much better now."

Then, Kaito's eyes landed on the book. Trying to break the silence, he blurted, "Oh, about this... I finished it a while ago and even read it twice!"

Misaki raised an eyebrow, giving him a judging look for his unnecessary excitement.

"Twice?"

"Well, yeah. I didn't really get it the first time..."

"Alright," Misaki said, "So, did you get it now?"

"Ah, yes!" Kaito replied enthusiastically, then added with a hint of confusion, "I guess..."

He continued as Misaki stared at his stupid face with confused eyes.

"First of all, ikigai is like a life purpose," Kaito began. "You could say it's the thing that gets us out of bed in the morning."

He paused to gather his thoughts, then continued, "Um, basically, it's made up of the combination of four elements: passion, mission, profession, and vocation—"

Misaki interrupted, completing the thought, "In other words, what you love to do, what the world needs, what you're good at, and what you can make a living from."

"Exactly," Kaito agreed, nodding. "The combination of these is how a person finds their ikigai, I guess."

Misaki gave him a surprised look, as if she was not expecting him to sound this smart.

Then, she asked, "So, now that we're sure you understand... what's your ikigai?"

"Well, how should I put this... I'm kind of... not entirely sure about it..."

Misaki felt a wave of relief. This was the Kaito she knew—the clueless fool—not the sharp version from a moment ago.

Raising an eyebrow, she said with a teasing tone, "So, you have the recipe but you don't know how to prepare it?"

Kaito seemed to like the analogy, as a goofy smile spread across his face.

"Something like that," he muttered.

"Alright then, let's take it step by step."

Feeling a mix of embarrassment and nervousness, Kaito mumbled, "You know, you don't have to do this."

"Do what?"

"This... Fixing my pathetic life or whatever. You've already got enough on your plate..."

From his perspective, Kaito was just a goofy guy who recklessly left home for his high school dreams, knowing he could always return if things got tough.

Misaki, however, had no home to return to, even if she wanted to. Knowing she was helping him despite her own situation made Kaito feel a little guilty inside.

"Ugh," Misaki groaned, clearly frustrated.

"I'm not doing this because I have to. I'm doing it because I want to."

She gave him a serious look, wanted to make sure he understood the difference.

"It's not the same thing. You got it?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess so," Kaito said, realizing he had no choice but to follow her lead.

"First," Misaki said, looking at Kaito, "what do you love the most?"

When Kaito turned to face her after hearing this, their eyes met for a brief moment, a quiet, unspoken connection that conveyed more than words ever could.

"You," he thought, "it's you," his face turning bright red. It felt like Misaki could hear every single one of his ridiculous thoughts.

"Well... I like anime and manga. Both watching and reading. I've even tried writing a few times before, but, uh, they were all terrible."

"That's a good start," Misaki said with a small nod.

She was about to move to the next question when Kaito hesitantly interrupted, his tone shy but curious.

"What about you?"

"Me? What about me?"

Kaito's face turned even redder, but his curiosity burned too strongly to stop now.

"What do you love the most?"

Misaki wasn't expecting that. The sudden question caught her off guard, making her both flustered and tense.

"Uh... I... don't involve me in this. Your answers are what matter right now," she said, dodging the question.

"Next," Misaki said, leaning slightly forward. "This one's a bit harder to answer, but... what do you think the world needs?"

Kaito fell silent, his expression deep in thought. "Yeah," he said after a while, "it really is hard..."

He remembered his conversation with Misaki's father earlier that evening and Naomi's request right after.

He wanted it as much as they did. He had even decided to make Misaki smile as his personal mission, but there was no way he could admit that to her now.

So, he kept it vague and answered, "I just... maybe laughter... or happiness, I guess. I think people need to be happy."

Misaki nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

"So, does watching anime, reading manga, or even writing them make you happy?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Kaito responded without a second's hesitation.

"That's great," Misaki said, as if an idea was starting to take shape in her mind.

"Alright, I don't have high hopes for this, but I have to ask. Do you have any skills or something you're particularly good at?"

Kaito gave her a slightly offended look but quickly realized she had a point. He didn't have any remarkable talent that set him apart.

"I think I'll skip this one," he admitted, sounding deflated.

"As expected," Misaki said, rubbing salt in the wound.

"Lastly, you'll need something you can make money doing. For example, becoming a manga or anime artist—do those pay well?"

"Of course," Kaito replied.

"It's a bit hard to break into, but talented people can live pretty comfortably..."

"So, a job where you're happy doing it, make others happy in the process, and can earn a living from it..."

She quickly came to a conclusion and mapped out the perfect plan.

"For you, it seems like creative writing or drawing would be the way to go. You should try becoming a manga artist or creating light novels for a living."

Kaito agreed with her. Suddenly, he felt the fog surrounding his future clear, and the path ahead became visible.

"You're right. Absolutely. I'd love to live a life like that!"

"Fine," Misaki said with a small smile. "I'm glad I could help."

"You've been a huge help. Thank you so much," Kaito replied sincerely.

Misaki yawned, picked up her book, and got up from the couch.

"I'm heading to bed, then."

"Alright. Good night."

"Good night."

After Misaki entered her room, Kaito lay on the couch, reading a blog post on writing light novels, a faint smile on his face.