151 - Be Careful with Thoughtless Remarks

RAW

The day after watching a drama with Ayaka, Haruto spent the afternoon playing with Ryota while waiting for Tomoya and the others to arrive.

"Big brother, look! It's a castle!"

Ryota proudly showed Haruto a tower he had built with his favorite building blocks.

"Oh, that's amazing, Ryota! Let's add a gate to the castle."

"A castle needs walls too, right?"

Haruto and Ayaka added a gate and walls around Ryota's tower, making it look even more like a real castle. Ryota's eyes sparkled with excitement, bringing a warm feeling to Haruto's heart. As he enjoyed Ryota's innocent reaction, Ikue, who was chatting with Kiyoko at the dining table, spoke up.

"By the way, Saki and the others are coming around one o’clock, right?"

Ikue glanced at the clock on the wall, and Haruto nodded.

"Yes, I think they’ll be here any minute now."

Just as he said that, the doorbell rang. Ayaka checked the intercom monitor.

"Yes?"

*"Hey, Ayaka! We’re here!"*

"Welcome! I'll unlock the door now."

She turned off the monitor and headed for the entrance. Seeing this, Ryota, who had been focused on his blocks, ran up to her.

"Saki-neechan?"

"That's right. I told you my friends were coming over to make sweets today, remember?"

Ayaka explained as she left the living room, with Haruto following her to greet their guests.

"Big brother, are lots of friends coming over?"

"Just four today."

"Do I know them?"

Ryota, who was a little shy around strangers, looked up at Haruto with a hint of concern.

"There's only one person you haven't met yet. The others were here for the study session last time."

"Um… Shizuku-neechan and Tomoya-oniichan?"

"That's right! You remember well."

Haruto patted Ryota’s head, making him squint happily. Meanwhile, Ayaka opened the door to welcome Saki and the others inside.

"Whew, hey there, Ryota!"

"Saki-neechan, welcome!"

Saki greeted him while folding her umbrella, and Ryota ran toward her with a big smile—until he spotted Tomoya beside her.

"…Um, hello."

He hesitated, taking a step back while lightly tugging on Haruto’s pants and bowing shyly to Tomoya.

"Hello, Ryota."

Noticing Ryota’s slight nervousness, Tomoya crouched down to meet his gaze and gave him a bright, friendly smile.

"Later, we’ll eat lots of delicious sweets together, okay?"

"…Okay."

The mention of sweets made Ryota perk up a little. Seeing that his words had an effect, Tomoya smiled in satisfaction. Haruto, however, noticed that Tomoya’s shoulder was wet.

"Hey, Tomoya. Your shoulder’s wet. Did your umbrella have a hole in it?"

"Huh? Oh, actually, a sudden gust of wind broke it on the way here."

Tomoya laughed it off, and Ayaka looked at him with concern.

"Did you get drenched?"

Tomoya gave her a thumbs-up.

"Nah, I was fine! Aizawa let me share her umbrella."

Then he turned to Haruto with a smirk.

"Haruto, I got to share a nice, romantic umbrella walk with Aizawa! Jealous?"

"Huh? Oh… uh, sure, I guess."

Caught off guard, Haruto blinked and nodded absentmindedly. Saki, however, scowled at Tomoya.

"Hey, Akagi! Stop making it sound romantic! And Otsuki, at least act a little jealous!"

"Haha, sorry, sorry."

Haruto laughed apologetically, while Saki crossed her arms with a huff. At that moment, Ryota, full of curiosity, looked up at her.

"Saki-neechan, what’s a romantic umbrella?"

"Huh? Oh, um…"

She faltered, unsure how to explain it. Ryota then turned to Tomoya.

"Tomoya-oniichan, do you like Saki-neechan?"

"Eh!? W-Why do you ask?"

Caught off guard, Tomoya stammered.

"Because 'romantic' is something my mom and dad have, right? It means two people love each other. So if you and Saki-neechan are romantic, then you have to be like my mom and dad!"

The five-year-old's serious explanation left Tomoya flustered.

"Ah, well, um… that was just a joke! A joke, Ryota!"

Ryota tilted his head.

"Neechan, what’s a joke?"

"Uh? A joke? Hmm… I guess it means a funny lie?"

Ayaka hesitantly tried to explain, but Ryota turned back to Tomoya with a stern look.

"Lying is bad! You have to be serious when expressing love, or it won’t be real!"

He tugged on Haruto’s sleeve.

"Big brother, you told Neechan your love seriously, right? That’s why you’re dating!"

"Uh… yeah, that’s right."

Haruto felt his heart race at the sudden turn of conversation. Ryota then gave Tomoya a serious look.

"That means if you want to be romantic with Saki-neechan, you have to be honest about your love! No lies!"

Tomoya, overwhelmed by the five-year-old’s pure determination, forced a strained smile and nodded.

"Y-Yeah. Got it."

Satisfied, Ryota turned to Saki.

"Saki-neechan, be happy, okay?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on! That’s too soon! I don’t even know if I’d date Akagi yet!"

"Why? Do you hate Tomoya-oniichan?"

Saki awkwardly tried to explain to Ryota, who kept bombarding her with innocent questions. Watching her struggle, Haruto smirked.

He knew firsthand how relentless Ryota’s "Why?" attacks could be.

"Hey, Haruto. Is Ryota always this persistent?"

Tomoya whispered to him.

"Only with people he trusts. You should be careful about what you say around him."

"Duly noted…"

Tomoya sighed, nodding solemnly. Just then, Ryota looked at him with a serious expression.

"Huh? W-What is it?"

"Tomoya-oniichan, you have to work hard now."

"Uh… I do?"

"Yes! Because 'a woman is like the sea!'"

Ryota puffed out his chest proudly. Tomoya, confused, frowned.

"The sea? Um… sure, I’ll do my best?"

Haruto had no clue what Ryota meant either, so he glanced at Saki. She had a hand over her face, looking exhausted.

"Aizawa, what does 'a woman is like the sea' mean?"

"Don’t ask me! I don’t know either. But at least Ryota’s satisfied with that answer, so just leave it alone…"

She turned to Tomoya and, in a low voice, warned him.

"Akagi! From now on, no more romantic talk in front of Ryota! Not as a joke, not seriously—just don’t!"

"O-Okay…"

As she lectured Tomoya, Ryota watched them with sparkling eyes.

Realizing he was staring, Saki quickly backed away from Tomoya.

Just then, the doorbell rang again.

"Oh, that must be Shizuku and the others."

Ayaka opened the door—only to freeze in place.

"Huh…!?"

Beyond the door, a man with an almost weapon-like face suddenly appeared, leaving Ayaka completely frozen.

His sharp, piercing gaze radiated an overwhelming intensity. His hair was cropped short, with three shaved lines on the side.

At first glance, Ishikura hardly looked like an ordinary citizen.

To make matters worse, his imposing, muscular frame exuded such sheer presence that if someone claimed he had taken down a bear with his bare hands, Ayaka might have believed it without question.

"Ah, ah… um…"

With her hand still on the door, Ayaka's mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

Noticing her odd reaction, Saki frowned and leaned over her shoulder to check the visitor for herself.

"Ayaka, what’s wrong? If Shizuku’s here, then—huh!?"

The moment she laid eyes on Ishikura, Saki also froze.

It was as if they had locked eyes with Medusa and turned to stone.

Just then, Shizuku peeked out from behind Ishikura.

"Hello there, Aya-senpai, Saki-senpai."

"Ah, ah, Shizuku-chan…"

"Uh, h-hey…"

"Hmm, as expected of Kazu-senpai, striking fear into the hearts of innocent maidens in an instant."

Seeing Ayaka and Saki’s reaction, Shizuku nodded in satisfaction.

"As it should be—'Kazuaki Ishikura' wouldn’t be himself otherwise."

"Don’t just accept that like it’s normal!"

"Eek." "Hii!"

At Ishikura’s loud voice, both girls flinched.

Realizing this, he hurriedly bowed his head.

"Ah, sorry about that. Hey, Shizuku, quit saying weird things."

"It’s not my fault. Everything stems from Kazu-senpai’s intimidating face."

"I told you, I’m not—"

Midway through his protest, he suddenly glanced at Ayaka and the others and fell silent.

Ayaka hesitantly spoke up.

"U-um… you’re Haruto’s dojo friend, right?"

"Ah, yes. And you must be Ayaka-san, Haruto’s girlfriend?"

"Y-yes."

Ayaka nodded awkwardly, and Ishikura bowed his head politely.

"Ah, I see. Thank you for always looking after our Haruto."

"Oh, no, no, I should be the one thanking you all for looking after him."

For some reason, their exchange sounded like two parents talking about their child.

But perhaps that helped ease Ayaka’s tension a little, as she opened the front door wider and invited Ishikura and Shizuku inside.

"It’s raining, so please come in. Shizuku-chan, you too."

"Excuse us."

"Excuse us."

Following Ayaka’s lead, the two stepped into the Tōjō household.

Just then, Ryota, who had been standing beside Haruto, locked eyes with Ishikura.

"—!?!?!?!?!?!"

In an instant, Ryota spun on his heel and bolted, disappearing into the living room like a startled rabbit.

Ishikura, who had a soft spot for kids, looked visibly dejected and turned to Haruto with a crestfallen expression.

"…Was it really okay for me to come?"

"It’s fine. Once Ryota-kun gets to know the real you, he won’t run away."

"You sure?"

"…Probably."

Haruto averted his gaze as he answered briefly.

And so, the baking session at the Tōjō household began.