115 - A Friend's Visit

RAW

Saturday afternoon.

Haruto and Ayaka were in her room, surrounded by reference books, engrossed in their studies for the upcoming test.

The sound of their pens scratching against the paper echoed softly in Ayaka’s room, as both focused intensely on their work.

Glancing up from her notebook, Ayaka checked the clock hanging on the wall.

"They should be here soon, right?"

"Probably. Tomoya messaged me earlier saying they’ve met up, so it won’t be long," Haruto replied, briefly checking his phone before returning to his studies.

"Tomoya and Shizuku are meeting up at the station, right?"

"Yeah, they said they’d let Aizawa-san guide them since they’re not familiar with the way here."

Today, Tomoya, Shizuku, and Saki were coming to the Tōjō household for a study session.

The idea was first proposed on Thursday during lunch break. Shizuku had marched into Haruto’s classroom and, without hesitation, declared to Ayaka, "Let’s have a study session at your place on Saturday!"

Shizuku’s voice carried through the entire classroom, and before anyone could react, she turned to Haruto. "You’ll join us too, Haru-senpai. We’ll need you to help with the studying."

Naturally, Shizuku’s bold proclamation caused a stir. Some classmates even expressed interest in joining, but Shizuku promptly rejected them, citing Ayaka’s room size as the reason. Ultimately, the study group was set to include just the five of them.

Shizuku’s true motive, however, was clear to Haruto: she wanted to establish a precedent of Haruto visiting Ayaka’s room, knowing the news would spread throughout the class.

Recalling the chaos in the classroom on Thursday, Haruto felt a faint headache coming on.

Suddenly, the intercom buzzed.

"They’re here," Ayaka said, putting down her pen and heading out of the room.

Haruto followed her to the entrance, where Ryōta, who had been playing in the living room with Ikue, ran up to him.

"Big brother, is someone here?"

"Yeah, our friends are coming over to study with Ayaka and me," Haruto said, crouching to meet his brother’s gaze.

By the time Haruto finished speaking, Ayaka had already unlocked the door and invited their friends inside.

"Ah, so cool in here! Hey, Ryōta!" Saki greeted enthusiastically.

"Saki-neechan!"

Ryōta’s face lit up as he ran toward Saki but stopped abruptly upon noticing Tomoya and Shizuku stepping in behind her. He glanced nervously at Haruto.

Sensing Ryōta’s unease, Haruto smiled warmly. "These two are Tomoya and Shizuku. They’re my close friends."

Tomoya grinned and extended his hand toward Ryōta. "Nice to meet you, Ryōta-kun. I’m Tomoya Akagi."

"…Nice to meet you," Ryōta replied, hesitantly shaking Tomoya’s hand while gripping Haruto’s pant leg for reassurance.

Shizuku crouched to meet Ryōta at eye level. "Hello, Ryōta-kun. I’m Shizuku Dōjima."

"…Nice to meet you," Ryōta said, bowing his head slightly.

Shizuku smiled, her eyes narrowing kindly. "As expected of Ayaka-senpai’s brother—such potential at such a young age. Ryōta-kun, how about conquering the world with your sister?"

"…The world?"

"Hey, Shizuku! Stop putting strange ideas in his head!" Haruto intervened, stepping between them protectively.

As Ayaka chuckled at their antics, she noticed the large bag Shizuku was holding.

"What’s in the bag, Shizuku-chan?"

"This," Shizuku said, lifting the bag dramatically, "is an essential item for any study session."

"Snacks?"

"Exactly! No study session is complete without snacks," Shizuku declared proudly.

"You bought a lot," Ayaka observed, peeking into the bag.

"Tomoya-senpai and Saki-senpai helped pick out the best ones," Shizuku said smugly.

"Yeah, we kind of got carried away while choosing," Saki admitted with a sheepish laugh.

Ryōta’s eyes sparkled with interest as he peered curiously at the bag. Noticing this, Tomoya asked Ayaka, "Tōjō-san, is it okay if Ryōta-kun has some?"

Ryōta turned hopeful eyes toward his sister.

"Only if you still eat your dinner," Ayaka cautioned.

"Okay!" Ryōta replied eagerly, his eyes fixed on the bag.

Shizuku handed him two small snacks. "Here you go, Ryōta-kun. Corn potage and natto flavors."

"Wow! Thanks!" Ryōta exclaimed, hopping with excitement.

"Say thank you properly, Ryōta," Ayaka reminded him.

"Thank you, Shizuku-neechan!"

"Guh…" Shizuku clutched her chest as if struck. "Ryōta-kun, can you say 'Shizuku-neechan' one more time?"

"Uh… Shizuku-neechan?"

"One more time, please."

"Shizuku-neechan?"

"Ayaka-senpai, can I keep him—"

"No, you cannot!" Ayaka interrupted firmly.

"Tch."

"Don’t 'tch' me!"

As Ayaka and Shizuku bickered, Haruto leaned toward Saki and lowered his voice. "Ryōta’s shy around new people, huh?"

"Yeah, but he’s easy to win over with snacks," Saki replied with a grin. "Kind of like someone else we know."

Haruto laughed softly, embarrassed.

Just then, Ikue entered the room, smiling warmly. "Welcome, everyone."

"Good afternoon, excuse us for intruding."

"Thank you for having us."

As Tomoya and Shizuku greeted her with polite bows, Ryota eagerly showed off the snacks in his hands to Ikue, his voice brimming with excitement.

"Look, Mom! They gave me these snacks!"

"My, how wonderful!"

The exchange between the mother and son made Tomoya and Shizuku murmur softly, "M-Mom? Wait, isn’t she her sister? What?"

Hearing them, Haruto felt a wave of nostalgia, recalling the first time he had met Ikue. Back then, he too had mistaken her for Ayaka’s older sister.

Ikue gently patted Ryota’s head and turned to Tomoya and Shizuku with a warm smile.

"Thank you so much."

"Oh, uh, not at all. A-And, uh, here’s something small… I hope it’s okay."

Tomoya fumbled slightly with his words as he pulled out a bag from his backpack and handed it to Ikue.

Receiving the bag, Ikue glanced at the logo and lit up with delight.

"My! Cream puffs from the shop near the station! I love these. Thank you for going out of your way."

"Not at all. We figured we might be imposing, coming over with such a large group."

Tomoya’s expression softened as he dipped his head in apology.

Saki, flashing a cheerful smile, added, "I remembered Ikue-mama saying she loved these cream puffs, so we all decided to buy them."

"My, my! Thank you so much, Saki-chan. And, let’s see…"

After thanking Saki, Ikue turned her warm smile to Tomoya and Shizuku.

"Ah, I’m Akagi Tomoya! I’m Haru—er, Otsuki-kun’s best friend!"

"And I’m Dojima Shizuku, also Otsuki-senpai’s best friend. Nice to meet you."

"My, my! So you’re both Haruto-kun’s best friends—Tomoya-kun and Shizuku-chan. Pleased to meet you. I’m Ayaka’s mother, Ikue. And, well, who knows, I might become Haruto-kun’s mother-in-law someday."

With a playful laugh, Ikue delivered the line with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Mom! Don’t say weird things like that!"

"Oh, my apologies."

"Geez!"

Ayaka puffed her cheeks in frustration, glaring at her mother with a pout.

"Hey, Haru… leave the best man’s speech to me."

"And I’ll bring up all the funny stories about you, Haru-senpai."

"Hold on! Ikue-san was just joking!"

Tomoya, brimming with enthusiasm, gave a thumbs-up while Shizuku nodded with equal determination. Haruto frantically tried to calm them down.

But Saki, who knew Ikue well, smirked and added, "She may have said it as a joke, but Ikue-mama’s eyes looked pretty serious to me."

"…"

Haruto pressed his lips together, remaining silent as the weight of her words settled over him.