The Key to A Woman's Heart

Sitting at the foot of his bed, Kenji listened to the shower rain down on the bathroom tiles as Toga washed up. He hadn't expected his first day in a new life to end like this, but that didn't necessarily make a bad ending. 

'There's a companion tab in my system, so it wouldn't be wrong of me to assume I could somehow empower other people. If that's the case, the best course of action would be to convince Toga to apply to MHA with me. I could even add it as a stipulation for her staying with me...nah, I'm not that much of an asshole.' 

With a long sigh, Kenji buried his face in his hands, 'Hopefully, she doesn't get the same urge to eat people.' 

At that moment, the shower turned off, and Kenji looked up just as Toga opened the door, wearing nothing but a towel, keeping her decent, "Ah shit, here, let me get you some clothes." 

Standing up in a rush, Kenji went through his dresser and pulled out a plain white T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants before handing them over to Toga, "They might be a little bit, and I don't have any girl's underwear. But we can go shopping tomorrow, get you some clothes, a toothbrush, everything you need." 

Toga didn't meet Kenji's eyes as she wordlessly took the clothes and hugged the bundle to her chest. 

Smiling nervously, Kenji rubbed his hands together, "I'll make us some food; I wasn't expecting guests, so I hope you like cup noodles." 

Toga's head dipped before she turned around and closed the bathroom door behind her. 

Letting out a tired sigh, Kenji wished that he would get some kind of feedback from the girl, 'Though I can't blame her, I don't even know how I would begin to react if my dad threw me out, called me a mistake and a monster, and threatened to kill me.' 

Walking into the kitchen, Kenji opened the only cabinet that had anything inside it, revealing a wall of instant noodle packages—a staple meal in his previous life and, no doubt, another jab from Lucifer. 

After putting some water on the boil, Kenji laid his chest on the floor and started doing push-ups. When his arms ached, he flipped over and switched to sit-ups. 'Guess I need to buy a pull-up bar as well. There's no way I'm failing my first quest.' 

After a few cycles, Kenji heard the water hiss as it boiled over, and he quickly jumped up to turn off the stove, only to find Toga standing in the kitchen doorway watching him with unblinking eyes. 

Kenji opened his mouth to say something, only to pause as he noticed how loosely his clothes fit on Toga, 'When's the last time she ate?' 

Suddenly, Kenji felt bad for feeding her instant noodles, 'I don't even have rice or anything to give her.' 

Turning around, Kenji got out a big bowl and combined the two noodle packets he had taken out before pouring hot water over the noodles and adding spices and oil. 

Glancing back at Toga, who was still standing in the doorway, Kenji nodded and gestured at the table, "Grab a seat." 

Shuffling across the floor, Toga sat down at the seat Kenji had pointed out. A second later, he set down the massive bowl in front of her with chopsticks, "Please eat as much or as little as you want. I'm going to run to the market real quick. I'll be back within the hour." 

Without waiting for a response he knew wouldn't come, Kenji threw on a pair of shoes and went down the street. He pulled out his phone and searched for the nearest grocery store. 

'Well, at least I'll end the day with a clean five miles. 

---

Kenji's arms trembled as he stumbled back into the apartment almost forty minutes later, supporting grocery bags laden with ingredients. 

Walking into the kitchen, Kenji stared at Toga sitting in the same seat in front of an empty bowl without even a broth stain left behind, 'Did she lick the bowl clean?' 

"Are you still hungry?" Kenji asked jokingly, only for Toga to look away nervously. "Hey, I already bought all this food; don't let it go to waste." 

The first one to respond was Toga's stomach, which let out a deep growl, and Kenji laughed as Toga's cheeks flushed a bright red, "It's fine; just don't expect a five-star meal."

Walking over to the kitchen counter, Kenji unpacked his ingredients, 'Thank god I went through a cooking anime phase,' 

Taking out a pair of chicken breasts, Kenji drained the packages out into the sink before briefly washing them off with water. After patting the cutlets dry, Kenji filled a Dutch oven with oil before turning the stove on high. After filling a second pot with water, Kenji poured some rice before getting out a plate and a bowl. 

The entire time, Kenji tried to ignore Toga's eyes on him, but he could feel her stare and couldn't deny feeling a bit of pressure having an audience. 

Kenji had been the definition of anti-social in his previous life, working from home and rarely exchanging more than a handful of words with another human being every week. 

So he immersed himself in other worlds, where he could escape the fate of being some random loser, stuck in a world that seemed dull in comparison. 

Snapping out of his space state of mind, Kenji looked down at the two bowls of steaming bowls of rice and chicken tonkatsu. 

While smiling at the meal, Kenji walked over to the table and set the plates before grabbing a chair. "Dinner is served." 

Toga looked down at the bowl before looking back up at Kenji, tears building up in the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, no crying until after your first bite; if you cry before, I can't say my cooking brought you to tears." Kenji joked, only for Toga to nod and eagerly take her first bite before letting out a little moan and taking another, followed quickly by a third.