Kaito woke to the sound of a zipper.
He opened his eyes. His living room was flooded with morning light. He was still on his beanbag, inside the sleeping bag, and his neck was stiff. His bedroom door was open, and Mai Sakurajima was standing in the threshold, putting on her shoes.
She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday—the baggy gray hoodie and jeans. Her hair was slightly damp from a shower, but she looked tired. She had slept, but not well.
"It's nine-fifty," she said, her voice low, as if afraid to wake him. "You said ten."
Kaito blinked, processing. The "Supply Run." Right.
"How... problematic," he grumbled, fighting his way out of the sleeping bag. He stood up, looking like a zombie.
He looked at her. She was ready to go. And she looked... like a refugee. The hoodie was too big, the jeans were wrinkled. If she were visible, she'd draw attention for the wrong reason. If she were invisible, she was...
Wait.
"You can't go like that," he said, his voice rough with sleep.
Mai frowned. "Like what? You don't have any clothes for me. I showered, like you asked. I'm ready."
"Not that," Kaito said, rubbing his face. He went to his closet, opened it, and started rummaging. "You look like a runaway. People will notice. They'll think I'm kidnapping you. That's too much explanation effort."
He pulled out a clean black t-shirt and a zip-up hoodie. "Wear these. They're the cleanest things I ha—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
A logical, clear, beautiful thought had struck him. A fundamental flaw in his plan.
"Hold on," he said, stopping himself from handing her the clothes. "You're invisible. Who's going to notice?"
"Exactly," Mai said, looking confused. "That's why I said..."
"No," Kaito continued, his apathetic mind picking up speed. "This is stupid. The whole plan is stupid. Why are we going to the supermarket together? Why do you even need to come?"
"To get my things," she answered, as if it were obvious.
"But you can't touch anything. I have to do it. I'm the 'assistant'," he reasoned. "It's more efficient for me to go alone. I get your stuff, I bring it back, and you never have to leave your apartment."
Mai crossed her arms. "And how do you know what I need? How do you know what brand of shampoo I use? Or what kind of food I like?"
"You make a list."
"And the money?" she countered. "I have to give you the money."
"You give me the money beforehand," Kaito said.
They stared at each other. Kaito's "Weekly Supply Run" plan was about to be streamlined into a "Weekly Delivery Service," which was logistically even better.
But Mai shook her head. "No. I'm going with you."
"Why? That's unnecessary effort."
"Because," she said, her voice firm, "you're the only person in the world who can see me. If I'm locked in my apartment for a week, alone, with no one... I think I'll go insane. More than I already am."
She stared him down. "I need... human contact. Even if it's you."
Kaito let out a sigh. That annoying hum of empathy was back. She was turning his logistical chore into a "social activity." How problematic.
"Whatever," he muttered. "But you're not going in my clothes. You look ridiculous."
He shut the closet. "Where do you live?"
"What?"
"Your apartment. Where is it?"
"In... the building next door," she said, surprised. "The 'Park Heights.' Apartment 804."
Kaito stared at her. "The building... next door?" He glanced out his window. The "Park Heights" was a luxury building that shared the same street. "You live less than fifty yards from here."
"Yes..."
"And you slept in my dusty bed, and not your own, because...?"
"Because I was starving, exhausted, and you said I couldn't leave your 'perception radius'!" she retorted, getting angry.
"Right. Flawed logic." Kaito grabbed his keys. "Let's go. You're changing at your apartment first. Then we'll go to the supermarket."
Twenty minutes later, they were in the produce aisle of the local supermarket.
Mai had changed in her own luxurious, pristine apartment (which made Kaito's look like a prison cell). She now wore a simple knit top, a long skirt, and a light cardigan. She looked like a normal person.
A normal, completely invisible person.
Kaito pushed the cart. "Vegetables. You said you needed them."
"Yes. Carrots," she said, walking beside him. "Those ones."
Kaito stopped the cart. Mai reached out, her hand passing right through the plastic of the packaging (which was still weird to see), and grabbed a bag of carrots. The bag floated in mid-air for a second before Kaito grabbed it and put it in the cart.
"Okay, that's weird," Kaito said, looking around.
"What?"
"No one," he muttered. "A bag of carrots just levitated off the shelf and into my cart. And no one blinked. That old lady over there," he gestured with his chin, "was looking right at them and did nothing."
Mai gave a small, sad smile. "It's the Syndrome. That's how it works."
"How does it work?"
"People don't just not see me. Their brains actively correct reality around me," she explained, starting to walk toward the dairy section. "They might see the floating bag of carrots, but their brain tells them, 'No, that can't happen. It was probably that apathetic kid who grabbed them so fast I missed it.' They rationalize. They forget what they saw a second later."
Kaito pushed the cart, processing. "So the universe is actively editing you out."
"Basically."
They stopped at the dairy section. Kaito looked at her. She was standing there, solid to him, but she was a hole in reality to everyone else.
An experimental thought occurred to him.
"So," he said, casually, "what happens if I interact with you?"
"What do you mean? You are interacting."
"No," he said, his voice low. "I mean physically. In public. If their brains correct for a bag of carrots, what happens if I... touch you?"
Mai stopped looking at the yogurts and turned to him. She arched an eyebrow.
"Is that your roundabout way of asking to hold my hand, Kaito-kun?"
"It's an experiment," he replied immediately, his face impassive. "I want to know if, by touching you, I become part of your 'area of effect.' Would I get 'corrected' out of reality too? Or would I pull you back in? It's a quantum physics question."
Mai stared at him for a long time. That analyzing gaze he was starting to recognize.
"No," she said finally.
"No?"
"No. If it's just for that reason, I won't let you. I'm not your lab rat." She turned back to the yogurts.
Kaito sighed. [Affinity: -5]. He was failing the experiment. He'd have to try a different approach.
"How problematic," he muttered. "It's just... I really wanted to hold your hand."
Mai froze. She turned back slowly, surprise clear on her face. "What?"
Kaito looked away, suddenly appearing uncomfortable. "It would be the first time. That I've held a girl's hand. So, yeah. It's not just for the experiment, either."
The silence stretched. Mai studied him. He didn't seem to be lying. He seemed like a weirdly honest, apathetic kid.
A small smirk played at the corner of her lips. "That... is considered passing."
Kaito blinked. "Passing?"
"But," she said, her tone shifting to teasing, "you're not thinking of anything indecent, are you, Kaito-kun? Just holding my hand?"
Kaito stared at her. He could lie. He could say "of course not" and gain "gentleman" points. But lying took effort. Honesty was easier.
"I am thinking," he said, in his usual monotone, "of things about one hundred times more indecent than you are probably imagining right now."
Mai's smirk vanished. She took a step back, her face visibly flushing. "A-A hundred times?!"
[Affinity: -10 (Shock)]
"You're the worst," she hissed.
"But," Kaito continued, with a hint of ironic logic, "Mai-san is a famous adult actress. She's mature. She doesn't mind the normal thoughts of a healthy teenage boy, right?"
He had her cornered. She could either admit he was making her uncomfortable (which her pride wouldn't allow) or rise to the challenge.
Mai took a deep breath, and the actress took over. The blush vanished, replaced by a confident, dangerous smile.
"You're right," she said, her voice smooth. "It's perfectly normal for you to think of me that way, Kaito-kun. It's even flattering."
And then, she stepped forward.
"In fact," she continued, "since we're going to be partners, we can just skip the hand-holding part."
Before Kaito could process what she meant, she moved. She took his left arm—the one not pushing the cart—and hugged it. With both of her arms. She pressed herself against his side, lacing his arm tightly against her.
"This is better, isn't it?" she asked, looking up at him with an innocent smile.
Kaito froze.
His mind, normally calm and logical, short-circuited. He could feel. Everything. Her warmth through his clothes. The softness of her arm... and, most prominently, the unmistakable pressure of the side of her breast against his bicep.
[SYSTEM WARNING! UNEXPECTED ADRENALINE LEVELS!] [+30 Affinity (Mai Sakurajima)] [+50 Bond Points (Bold Physical Contact)]
"W-W-W..." Kaito stammered. It was the first time she'd ever heard him do that. He was staring at his own, now-captured arm as if it were a bear trap. He could smell her shampoo.
"What's wrong, Kaito-kun?" Mai asked, her voice sweet as honey. "Was the experiment a success? What do the quantum physics say?"
Kaito tried to form a word. Nothing came out.
Just then, an elderly couple walked past them. The woman looked at Kaito—a pale, startled young man, blushing like a tomato, staring intently at his own arm—and shook her head in disapproval.
"Kids these days," she muttered to her husband. "Looks like he's seen a ghost."
Kaito turned to them, shocked to be noticed. He looked down at Mai, who was smiling victoriously, and then back at the retreating couple.
"It seems," he managed to say, his voice a little higher than normal, "they can still see me."
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 10 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching patreon.com/c/ThePriceofaBond10 on (P). You know the spot! 😉