171 - We're Not Just a Couple Anymore

RAW

Inside the train headed to the amusement park.

Since it was the first train of the day, there were hardly any other passengers besides Haruto and his group.

Haruto was sitting with Ryota between him and Ayaka.

“Hey, Sis, how long till we get to the amusement park?”

“About an hour, I think. We’ll have to transfer trains along the way, so make sure you stay close to me, okay?”

“Okay! I’m so excited!”

Ryota swung his legs cheerfully, clearly excited. Haruto smiled fondly at him. When he looked up, he locked eyes with Ayaka, and the two exchanged a warm smile with the happily squirming Ryota between them.

Watching this scene from the opposite seat, Tomoya rubbed his chin and leaned toward Saki.

“Hey, Aizawa-san. Am I the only one seeing those two as a married couple with a kid?”

“I feel the same way. They look exactly like a happy family on their way to the amusement park.”

Saki nodded in agreement. Hearing their exchange, Ayaka’s cheeks quickly turned red.

“Cut it out, Saki! You too, Akagi-kun! Don’t say weird stuff like that!”

“Why are you blushing? It’s a good thing. It just means you and Otsuki-kun look really good together, that’s all.”

“Exactly. Haru and Tojo-san are the perfect match—like, they seriously look like husband and wife!”

“Eh? Uh, th-thank you…”

Flustered by the blunt praise from Saki and Tomoya, Ayaka lowered her gaze to hide her smile as she thanked them.

Haruto gave a wry smile and turned to Tomoya.

“Even if Ayaka and I were a married couple, Ryota-kun would be way too big to be our kid.”

“You think so? I wouldn’t find it weird at all if someone told me he was your kid.”

“Come on, there’s no way.”

Haruto chuckled and shook his head as Tomoya played dumb with a tilt of his head.

Then, Shizuku, who was sitting next to Ayaka, muttered under her breath.

“If Ryota-kun were their kid, that would mean Aya-senpai gave birth at twelve... which means Haru-senpai and her... Hmm. Guilty.”

“Don’t imagine weird things, Shizuku-chan!”

“Don’t go off on weird fantasies, Shizuku!!”

Both Haruto and Ayaka immediately protested in unison.

Hearing them, Ryota, who had been gazing out the window, looked up at Haruto.

“Onii-chan, what does ‘guilty’ mean?”

“Eh? Ah... ‘Guilty’ kind of means you did something bad.”

“Something bad? Did you do something wrong, Onii-chan?”

“No, no, nothing like that…”

Haruto stumbled over his words, unsure how to explain, and shot a glare at Shizuku for bringing it up in the first place. In response, Shizuku leaned toward Ryota.

“Well then, Ryota-kun. Let me explain in detail the crime Haru-senpai has committed.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“No way!”

Once again, Haruto and Ayaka raised their voices to stop her.

Pouting, Shizuku looked displeased.

Watching the chaos unfold, Ishikura sat back comfortably and glanced out the window as he rested his elbow on the seat.

“Peaceful morning, isn’t it?”

“Come on, Kazu-senpai. Shizuku’s going off the rails—it’s anything but peaceful.”

“Going off the rails is her normal mode.”

“Well... that’s true.”

As Haruto agreed with Ishikura, Shizuku turned her blank stare toward him.

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s constantly thinking about wiping out humanity.”

“I’m not thinking that!”

Brushed off as usual, Shizuku changed tactics and whispered to Ryota.

“Ryota-kun. That brown-haired guy is actually the Demon Lord planning world domination.”

“Eh!? Really!?”

Shizuku’s outrageous claim made Ryota widen his eyes in shock. Ishikura quickly smiled at the boy.

“No way, Ryota-kun! From now on, don’t believe a single word that expressionless onee-chan says, okay?”

“Ryota-kun, don’t be fooled. The Demon Lord is trying to brainwash you right now.”

“Eh? Brainwash?”

“Stop it, Shizuku! Don’t fill Ryota’s head with nonsense!”

“Could you not mess with my little brother?”

Ayaka cut in to help the confused Ryota. Shizuku, expressionless as ever, calmly replied:

“You’re okay with your precious little brother being stolen by the Demon Lord?”

“He’s not stealing anyone!!”

As Ishikura shouted back, Tomoya and Saki watched the scene from across the aisle and exchanged a few words.

“It’s lively for so early in the morning.”

“Sure is. Looks like today’s going to be a fun one.”

With that cheerful atmosphere, Haruto and his group made their way toward the amusement park.

After successfully changing trains, they finally arrived at the entrance gate. Already, a large crowd had gathered, waiting for the park to open.

Seeing this, Haruto muttered in surprise.

“There’s already this many people…”

“Guess they came even earlier than the first train?”

“Maybe. But I’ve heard the real die-hard fans camp out from the day before.”

“Camp out…”

Haruto was genuinely impressed by the sheer popularity of this top-tier theme park.

Tomoya seemed to share his amazement, eyes widening slightly.

“When we first decided to take the first train, I thought we were going overboard, but now I see we weren’t.”

“You underestimated the dreamland, Akagi-kun.”

Saki gave him a knowing smile, and Shizuku added seriously:

“Dreams aren’t easy to attain. Only through painful effort can one reach them. That’s why dreams shine so brightly.”

“This trip to an amusement park’s starting to sound like some intense coming-of-age story…”

Haruto grimaced slightly at Shizuku’s quote-worthy line, prompting her to turn toward him.

“Haru-senpai.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Take me to the dreamland.”

“Don’t say it like ‘Take me to Koshien.’ We’re already at the dreamland. Your dream is about to come true.”

Haruto gave her a dry retort. Meanwhile, Ishikura walked to the end of the line at the entrance.

“Alright, I’m putting the leisure sheet down here.”

He spread out the leisure sheet he had brought, and once everyone sat down, Haruto took a large bento box from his backpack.

“Since we’ve got time before opening, let’s eat breakfast now.”

He opened the lids to reveal a variety of onigiri in one box and tamagoyaki, mini-hamburg steaks, and other side dishes in the other.

“Ooh! Is that one of Kiyoko-san’s hamburg steaks!?”

Tomoya’s eyes sparkled as he peeked into the box.

“Yup.”

“Then I’m helping myself!”

“Go for it. Aizawa-san, help yourself too. Kazu-senpai, you as well, Shizuku.”

Haruto placed the boxes where everyone could easily reach.

Everyone thanked him as they picked out onigiri and side dishes. Ryota sat next to Haruto, beaming up at him.

“This feels like a school trip!”

“Yeah, it does. Here, Ryota-kun—an ume-okaka onigiri for you.”

“Thanks, Onii-chan!”

Ryota smiled brightly, holding the onigiri he received from Haruto.

Haruto turned to Ayaka sitting beside him.

“What kind do you want, Ayaka?”

“I’ll go with wakame onigiri.”

“Got it. Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

Ayaka took the onigiri and looked down at Ryota, who was happily eating his ume-okaka.

“Ryota, don’t forget your veggies. Look—Kiyoko-san made carrot râpé just for you.”

“Okay.”

“Ryota-kun, you’ve got rice stuck on your cheek.”

Haruto reached out with a gentle smile and brushed the rice off Ryota’s cheek.

Seeing Haruto and Ayaka fussing over Ryota from both sides, Tomoya took a bite of his salmon onigiri and muttered.

“Seriously, they do look like a married couple with a kid.”

“Right? Ayaka’s like a young mom doing her best at parenting.”

“Haru’s the dad spending his day off doing family stuff.”

Saki chuckled after swallowing her yukari onigiri, watching Ayaka tend to Ryota with a warm smile. Tomoya nodded in agreement.

Then Shizuku chimed in.

“At this rate, their second child might not be far off.”

“Hahaha! True that.”

Tomoya burst into laughter.

While he laughed, Ishikura, picking at a tamagoyaki, added thoughtfully.

“They do give off more of a married couple vibe than just boyfriend and girlfriend. Haruto’s already liked by Ayaka-chan’s parents, so marriage might be pretty soon.”

At his serious comment, Tomoya, Saki, and Shizuku all nodded in agreement.

Just as that consensus formed—that they were no longer just dating—Haruto, who had been dishing out kinpira gobo for Ryota, looked up.

“Hm? What’s with you guys?”

He noticed their oddly smug expressions and tilted his head.

“Don’t worry about it, Haru. We were just saying how peaceful today is.”

“Yeah, how it’s such a happy day.”

“Haru-senpai’s future is looking bright.”

“Wishing you a happy life, Haruto.”

Each friend said something along those lines, leaving Haruto completely confused.

“Eh?”

And so, the three couples—including one that was practically already married—happily spent their time together until the amusement park finally opened.