193 - Haruto Tojo or Ayaka Otsuki

RAW

“Engaged!?”

Tomoya’s shocked voice echoed through the courtyard of the high school Haruto attended.

“Well, yeah. Also, I’d appreciate it if you could lower your voice a little.”

Glancing around, Haruto quietly asked him to keep it down.

The courtyard at lunchtime was filled with students enjoying their meals. Haruto checked on the nearby groups — thankfully, Tomoya’s outburst didn’t seem to have reached anyone.

“I don’t plan to keep it a secret like when Ayaka and I first started dating, but I don’t want to make a big deal out of it either. So, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spread it around.”

Getting engaged while still in high school was unrealistic enough on its own. Add in the fact that Ayaka was practically the school’s idol, and it would definitely cause a stir.

Understanding that, Tomoya nodded with a startled expression, glancing back and forth between Haruto and Ayaka.

The shock wasn’t limited to him — Saki and Shizuku, who were eating lunch with them, were also stunned.

“I figured you’d get married someday, but I didn’t expect you’d be engaged already…”

“So you’re not even giving me time to struggle as the losing heroine… The overwhelming power of the main heroine.”

Saki was speechless at how quickly her best friend’s romance was moving, while Shizuku looked completely frozen, like a statue.

“Well, you see… I love Haruto, and Haruto loves me too… We confirmed that with each other, so we figured—maybe it’s okay to get married already?”

Ayaka’s cheeks flushed red as she explained, clearly embarrassed to say it out loud. Her bashful expression was tinged with joy, and Saki looked at her with a mix of admiration and exasperation.

“Honestly, Ayaka, your love life is so unrealistic. Wait—does being engaged mean you’ve already crossed the finish line?”

“Aya-senpai is a runaway love train.”

Following Saki, Shizuku commented with a dry look.

“The moment she picked up Haru-senpai, she took off at full speed. Skipped every station along the way and went straight to the church to ring the bells.”

“It’s not that bad…”

Ayaka tried to protest, but her voice trailed off—apparently, she couldn’t completely deny it. Then Tomoya suddenly snorted with laughter.

“Runaway locomotive… pfft.”

“Tomoya?”

Haruto looked at him, and Tomoya quickly raised his hand, trying to hold back laughter.

“Ah, sorry. I just imagined a train with Tojo’s face on it speeding full-throttle—pfft.”

Saki couldn’t help but giggle too.

“So it’s Locomotive Ayaka, huh? Haha… I can just hear the loud whistle… fufu.”

“Come on! Don’t make weird images like that!”

“The body would totally be a flashy red and pink combo,” Shizuku added.

“Shizuku-chan, you too!”

Ayaka pouted in protest, and Saki raised her hands, still laughing.

“Okay, okay, sorry. Anyway, engagement or not, it’s still something to celebrate.”

“Yeah. Congrats, Haru. Congrats, Tojo.”

“Congrats to you both, Haru-senpai and Aya-senpai.”

Hearing their friends’ warm words, Haruto and Ayaka—sitting closely together—both blushed.

“Thanks.”

“Th-thank you.”

Their shy replies made Saki smile softly.

“I’ll say it too. Congratulations, Ayaka. Congratulations, Otsuki-kun.”

“Thanks, Saki.”

“Thank you, Aizawa-san.”

“By the way…”

Saki’s eyes sparkled as she leaned in.

“Have you started planning the ceremony? What about the dress? Have you tried any on yet?”

Of course, that was what she was most curious about.

Ayaka blushed but answered cheerfully.

“We can’t legally get married yet, so we haven’t decided on anything like that. Right, Haruto?”

“Yeah. Plus, we’re still in high school and broke. There’s college ahead too. We’ll probably hold the ceremony after we start working and save up.”

Both Shuichi and Ikue were company presidents, so they might help financially if asked—but Haruto wanted their first step as a couple to be their own.

“After graduation, we’ll register our marriage, then work and build our independence. That’s the plan for now.”

When he finished, Tomoya gave him a long look.

“I see… Haru’s getting married, huh…”

Saki nodded, just as moved.

“To think that Ayaka, who was asking for love advice over summer break, is now getting married…”

For a moment, both fell silent—then shouted at once.

“Too soon!”

“It’s way too soon!”

They whipped around toward Haruto and Ayaka, rapid-firing complaints.

“How do you even end up with a fiancée from a housework part-time job!?”

“You two started dating in late summer break, right!? Getting engaged already is beyond fast—it’s like warp-speed marriage!”

“Not to mention, Haru’s won over her parents too, and they both run companies! You’ve basically won at life! It’s a mercy-rule victory! Are you in the championship already!?”

“And Ayaka, having Otsuki-kun as your fiancé is just too perfect! He cooks amazing food, cleans, does laundry, gets good grades, has great family ties, and a perfect personality!”

“What kind of karma do you need for this kind of event to trigger!? Who were you in your past life!? Some legendary hero who defeated a demon lord and reincarnated to live his second life OP-style!?”

“So you avoided guys all this time just to dump all your romance points into Otsuki-kun!? Was he your destined one from birth!?”

Their words tumbled out one after another, until they both finished with matching lines:

“Haru, are you the protagonist of a rom-com!?”

“Ayaka, are you the heroine of a rom-com!?”

Having vented everything, Tomoya and Saki looked oddly refreshed.

Watching them, Shizuku murmured quietly, “Your timing’s perfect.”

“Now that Haru-senpai and Aya-senpai are together, next is Saki-senpai and Tomo-senpai’s turn.”

Saki twitched an eyebrow.

“There’s no way. I can’t have some over-the-top romance like Ayaka’s.”

“Then have a realistic one—with Tomo-senpai.”

“That’s not the issue!”

“Huh? What are you two talking about?”

Tomoya looked confused as Saki frowned at Shizuku, who’d been trying to pair them up a lot lately.

“Ah—nothing! Anyway, Ayaka, since you’re marrying Otsuki-kun, does that mean you won’t be Tojo anymore?”

Changing the topic, Saki turned to her friend.

“I guess so? I haven’t talked about it in detail with my parents yet though…”

Ayaka tilted her head and looked at Haruto.

“Yeah. Family names are kind of a big deal, so we’ll have to talk it over with Grandma too.”

“But I think Otsuki sounds really nice! And besides, Ryota’s still around, so the Tojo name will stay.”

“Then once Grandma’s out of the hospital, let’s all sit down and discuss it properly.”

“Okay!”

Talking about what surname to take when they marry, the two looked happy. Tomoya chuckled.

“This isn’t the kind of conversation high schoolers usually have.”

“True. Even most people in their twenties don’t talk like this.”

“Rejecting Japan’s declining marriage rates with full force—Haru-senpai and Aya-senpai, impressive as always. Oh, that reminds me…”

Shizuku clapped her hands as if she had an idea.

“Aya-senpai.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Should I start calling you Tojo-senpai from now on?”

“Eh? Why?”

“Well, your time as ‘Tojo’ might be limited, right? You should savor what’s left of your Tojo period while you can!”

“Now that you say that, it does feel a little sad… but I’d prefer if you just called me the same as always.”

“Understood.”

Ayaka smiled wryly at Shizuku’s strange thoughtfulness.

“But yeah…”

Listening, Saki crossed her arms.

“If you register your marriage right after graduation, you’ll probably spend more time as Otsuki than Tojo.”

Haruto smiled awkwardly.

“We don’t know yet. There’s still a chance I could become Tojo.”

“Tojo Haruto, huh… doesn’t sound bad,” Tomoya mused aloud.

Ayaka’s eyes lit up.

“Haruto Tojo… I like that.”

“Yeah?”

When Haruto smiled at her, she blushed and nodded.

“It’s kind of weird, but it makes me feel… more like family.”

“I see… Tojo, huh…”

“Oh! But I’d be totally happy as Otsuki too! ‘Otsuki Ayaka’ scores really well in name fortune-telling!”

“You actually checked that?”

“Y-yeah…”

Ayaka nodded shyly, her happiness showing through, and Haruto looked at her with a gentle smile. Watching the blissful couple, Saki murmured quietly:

“I wonder when I’ll ever get to worry about my own surname…”

“I think ‘Akagi Saki’ sounds nice,” Shizuku replied.

“‘Ishikura Shizuku’ sounds good too, you know.”

“...Hm?”

As soon as Saki fired back, unwilling to be outdone, Shizuku froze stiff.

“Huh? What are you guys talking about?”