I Can't Call Your Name

As soon as Misaki entered her room and closed the door, Naomi shot Kaito a sneaky glance and whispered, "So, what's the status of the lovebirds' little nest?"

Kaito nearly choked on his food but managed to swallow at the last second.

"Come on, tell me! Let's have a little gossip."

"Uh, well... not really, I guess," he mumbled, avoiding her glance with a guilty expression.

Naomi stared at him intently, making him squirm, until he finally added, "I mean, you know, she's always tense and angry—"

"She wasn't always like that."

Kaito looked at Naomi with surprise as she continued, her tone a little more somber.

"She's just... going through a tough time lately."

Naomi took a deep breath, her face softening with a bittersweet smile as she recalled the past.

"She used to be so cheerful and always smiling. I just want to see her happy like that again..."

Then, as if recalling something funny, her face lit up. She nudged Kaito with her elbow, grinning.

"You know, she has this little quirk. When she laughs too much, she gets the hiccups. And I mean hours of hiccups."

Kaito stared at her with a blank expression, unsure of what to do with this bizarre piece of information.

Naomi chuckled mischievously and added, "When we were kids, I used to make her laugh on purpose just to see it happen."

She then turned to him, her gaze suddenly sly and unsettling.

"Hey, listen to this," Naomi began, her tone full of mischief. Kaito immediately tensed up, sensing trouble.

"I want you to make her laugh until she starts hiccuping again."

"What?! Me? No way!" Kaito's voice came out louder than intended.

"Come on, this shouldn't be too hard for an idiot like you."

"You have no idea what we've been through. It's impossible. At least, for me..."

Naomi gave him a dissatisfied look before a new idea popped into her head.

This time, she eyed him with a more mischievous grin.

"Oh, really? I guess you forgot about the three months of rent you owe me..."

Kaito stared at her with wide eyes, cold sweat dripping down his face. He could see through her bluff but knew he had no choice.

"W-What does that have to do with anything?"

"Ok, here's the deal," Naomi said, her voice dripping with mock innocence.

"Either you pay me back the full amount within three months..."

Here it was, the disaster he had been dreading was right in front of him.

He could feel the next words coming before she even spoke them.

"...or you make my niece laugh so hard she gets the hiccups. Just once, within three months."

She delivered the bombshell so casually, as if it were nothing at all.

Kaito's expression sank even further. As if his streak of bad luck wasn't enough, now he was expected to play the clown to make someone laugh?

Even though Naomi's first option seemed nearly impossible, for a moment, it felt oddly more achievable than the second one.

Meanwhile, Misaki was pacing back and forth in her room, her tone tense as she argued with her mother over the phone.

"No, Mom, I said I don't want to!"

"Sweetheart, think about it carefully. I've already got you a ticket. Our flight is tomorrow. Want me to come pick you up?"

"I-do-not-want-to!"

"Alright, fine. So, what's that wicked aunt of yours up to?"

"She's fine. We were eating together."

Her mother's voice lowered, almost conspiratorial. "Listen, just make sure she doesn't act all careless and corrupt your morals, okay?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean, sweetie. Don't make me say it. She goes out with a different man every night!"

"Mom, is this really what we're going to talk about right now? And besides, she doesn't live with me. She stays in her café."

"Oh, really? Well, that's a relief. So, who are you staying with then? Are you alone?"

Misaki froze, caught off guard. She hesitated before answering, stalling with silence.

Then she finally muttered, "No, I'm staying with... a friend."

"Oh, that's good! So, should I be worried about this friend of yours?"

"No! Not at all! She's a good girl. We get along well."

Misaki's mother muttered, not entirely convinced, "Alright then..."

"Okay, Mom, I need to get back inside now," Misaki said, trying to cut the conversation short before her mother's suspicions grew more.

"Oh, right, I interrupted your meal, didn't I? Sorry about that, I completely forgot."

"It's fine, I was already done eating."

"No, no, go back and eat properly. Take care of yourself, don't skip meals, okay?"

"Yes, yes, I will."

"And if you change your mind—"

"Of course, I'll call you, and you can come pick me up."

Her mother smiled. "Exactly! Alright, take care. Love you! Say hi to your aunt for me!"

"Got it. Love you too, safe travels!"

Finally, Misaki let out a deep sigh of relief and relaxed.

Then, she opened the door and stepped into the living room, only to find Naomi and Kaito whispering to each other in hushed tones.

Kaito, despite his attempt to whisper, spoke louder than intended, his tone filled with frustration as if rejecting something.

"I said no! How many times do I have to say it? It's impossible for me!"

Naomi, on the other hand, kept her voice low and calm, making it hard to decipher her words.

"Come on, I'm telling you, only you can pull this off..."

They were so engrossed in their discussion that they didn't even notice Misaki sitting down until she broke the silence.

"What is it that you can't do?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Kaito.

"Oh, nothing important," Naomi interjected with a forced smile, trying to diffuse the tension.

"I was just giving him tips on how to finally rid himself of his tragic virginity. But he keeps insisting it's hopeless."

Kaito turned to Naomi, his face a mix of shock and discomfort, while Misaki raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

Still, she let it go without pressing further—she wasn't in the mood for an argument.

"Who were you talking to? Was it that witch?" Naomi asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah, she says hi."

"No thanks, I'll pass," Naomi quipped, her expression turning slightly uncomfortable.

"What did she want?" Naomi asked.

"She bought a ticket for me too."

"Are you going?"

"Of course not. I don't like England. I want to stay in Japan," she replied firmly.

"Ah, yes, that gloomy, gray country. I don't miss a single day I spent there," Naomi added with a dramatic shudder. "You made the right call."

Misaki nodded in agreement, then her gaze drifted down to her plate, a trace of melancholy in her eyes.

Kaito, on the other hand, strained to piece together some logical thread from the conversation, his last few functioning neurons working overtime to make sense of it all.

Sensing the awkward silence, Naomi decided to liven things up a bit.

She threw out a playful remark, aiming to cheer Misaki up.

"So, in the end, you couldn't handle it either and ran away from home, just like me!" Naomi grinned mischievously.

Misaki glanced at Naomi's smiling face, and despite herself, she started laughing too.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"Oh, and guess what?" Naomi added with a smirk. "Kaito here is a runaway too. And not just any runaway—he's on another level!"

Misaki turned to Kaito, her eyes widening in surprise. Kaito, flustered, quickly averted his gaze.

Naomi leaned over and gave Kaito a light slap on the back, urging him on. "Come on, tell her!"

"Or wait, maybe I should tell the story. Once upon a time, there was a proud but hopelessly virginal young man living in the Kyoto countryside—"

"Alright, alright!" Kaito interrupted, cutting her off before she could humiliate him further.

"Yeah, okay, so... I'm from Kyoto. My family has a farm near the city outskirts. My dad wanted me to take over the family business, but I wanted to live in Tokyo. I even started saving up for it."

The more Kaito spoke, the more his voice trembled with embarrassment.

Misaki watched intently, her curious gaze urging him on. Flustered, he hurried to finish.

"One day, I thought I'd saved enough and left. I stayed at a hotel for a while. The night I met Naomi-san was supposed to be my last. I'd run out of money, couldn't find a job, and only had enough to go back home."

Kaito paused, his face filled with regret as he glanced at Naomi.

"If it weren't for Naomi-san, I—"

Before he could finish, Naomi tilted his chin up with her finger, cutting him off with a warm smile.

"Shh, it's fine. We're all in the same boat, aren't we? Three runaways under one roof."

Just as Naomi finished speaking, she sprang to her feet, as if something she'd forgotten was now set to repeat.