168 - Feelings Now, Feelings Ahead

RAW

After parting ways with Shizuku, Haruto walked alone through a residential neighborhood.

The sky, dyed red by the setting sun, gradually darkened as night began to fall.

He gazed down at the faintly illuminated, blurred outline of his shadow as he slowly made his way to the Tōjō household.

"Shizuku-chan Mk2, huh... Sounds just like her..."

Haruto rubbed his stomach with his right hand. The aftershock of the “Shizuku Explosion” still lingered there as a dull ache.

Having lost both his parents in a traffic accident, Haruto fell into a deep sadness at a young age, struggling to cope with the absence of his mother and father.

His grandfather, worried about him, took him to a karate dojo to help lift his spirits.

Haruto recalled his earliest memory of Shizuku.

"She saw me watching and said, ‘I’ll take down this dojo crasher!’ before leaping at me..."

The memory made Haruto’s expression soften.

It was a fond recollection now, but back then, Shizuku had been nothing more than a terrifying presence—unreasonably strong and intimidating to him.

"Kazu-senpai joined the dojo around the same time, didn’t he...? Feels like ages ago."

Haruto, Ishikura, and Shizuku had spent many years together, growing into an irreplaceable part of one another’s lives.

Now, however, things had started to shift—triggered by Haruto becoming Ayaka’s boyfriend.

Haruto had learned how Shizuku felt, and Ishikura had confessed his own feelings to her.

And Shizuku, in turn, had come to terms with her own emotions and was beginning to face new ones.

Those feelings, which hadn’t existed back in their childhood but had grown as they matured, were now reshaping the dynamics between the three of them.

Somewhere in his heart, Haruto felt a twinge of unease and fear.

But despite those feelings, there was also a deep sense of reassurance that nothing had truly changed.

He raised his right hand in front of his eyes.

He could still feel the firm handshake he’d shared with Shizuku before parting. In that handshake, he could clearly sense the foundation of the bond they had built.

Haruto, Shizuku, and Ishikura’s relationship might change as they moved through life. But what they had built so far would never be destroyed.

Holding onto that vague but comforting thought, Haruto picked up his pace toward the Tōjō household.

When he arrived at the Tōjōs’ and headed to the living room—

"I'm home."

“Welcome back, big bro!”

No sooner had Haruto called out than Ryōta came barreling toward him with a beaming smile.

Now transformed into Rocket Ryōta, he collided straight into Haruto’s stomach.

The impact struck precisely where the “Shizuku Explosion” had landed earlier, making Haruto grimace in pain.

“Guh—!”

“Big bro, are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.”

Haruto gave a pained smile to reassure Ryōta, who looked up at him with concern. Ignoring the dull throb in his gut, he managed a grin.

Seated on the sofa were Ayaka and Kiyoko. In Ayaka’s hands were some yarn and a crochet hook—she appeared to be learning to knit from Kiyoko.

“Welcome home, Haruto.”

“Yeah, I’m back.”

Their eyes met as he replied.

Her gaze seemed laced with concern and perhaps a hint of uneasiness.

Feeling this, Haruto nodded slightly, as if to say, We’ll talk later, just the two of us. Ayaka seemed to catch on, and she gave him a small nod in return before turning back to Kiyoko.

“Kiyoko-san, how do I stitch this part?”

“Here, you pull the yarn through these stitches—one, two, three—and then you do the chain stitch I taught you earlier…”

Ayaka listened intently, her expression serious. Across from her, on the other side of the sofa, Ikue watched her daughter with a warm, amused smile.

“Oh my, Ayaka, you’re already so in sync with Haruto-kun. You two are such a sweet couple.”

At those words, Ayaka’s serious expression instantly turned bright red.

“M-Mom! I’m trying to focus! Don’t say weird things, I’ll lose count of the stitches!”

“Hehe, sorry, sorry.”

“Geez…”

Pouting adorably, Ayaka returned to her knitting with Kiyoko.

As Haruto watched the peaceful Tōjō household with a smile, Shūichi entered the living room with a towel draped over his shoulders.

“I snagged the first bath. Oh? Welcome back, Haruto-kun.”

“I’m home, Shūichi-san.”

“Want to go in next?”

As he asked, Ryōta tugged on Haruto’s hand.

“Let’s go in together, big bro!”

With sparkling eyes, Ryōta eagerly pulled on him.

“Sure, let’s go in together.”

“Yay! I’m gonna go get my water gun!”

Still fired up, Ryōta dashed out of the living room, and Haruto followed at a more relaxed pace.

Afterward, Haruto enjoyed bath time with Ryōta. Then, once out of the bath, he was challenged to a game of shogi by Shūichi. The rest of the evening passed in the warm, lively atmosphere of the Tōjō home.

As the night wore on, everyone began preparing to return to their rooms and get ready for bed.

Haruto quietly stepped out of the room he was borrowing from Ryōta and gently knocked on the door to Ayaka’s room.

“Haruto? Come in.”

After hearing her voice, Haruto stepped inside.

“I thought I’d talk to you about what happened with Shizuku today.”

“Okay.”

Ayaka gave a small nod and sat on her bed, looking up at him. He sat beside her.

“You... heard some things from Shizuku, right? About me…”

“Yeah. But even so, she said she wanted to stay friends with me.”

“I see…”

“Shizuku-chan is really strong. And cool, too.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Haruto let out a faint chuckle and looked down, while Ayaka gazed at him gently.

“Were you able to talk things through with her?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“I’m glad.”

Ayaka smiled softly. She trusted the friendship between Haruto and Shizuku and didn’t ask what they had talked about. Touched by her quiet faith, Haruto raised his eyes to meet hers.

“I told Shizuku that I only love you, Ayaka.”

Hearing this, Ayaka’s expression shifted in a complex way.

A mix of happiness from his words and concern for Shizuku filled her expression. She stared at her knees in silence for a moment before speaking quietly.

“What did Shizuku-chan say?”

“She said I’ve ranked up—from clueless, oblivious blockhead to clueless, oblivious jerk.”

“Hehe, that’s so Shizuku.”

“Yeah… Hey, Ayaka.”

“Hmm?”

When Haruto called her name, Ayaka tilted her head and met his eyes.

“Let’s enjoy Sunday together. Let’s all go have fun—bring Ryōta along too.”

Ayaka looked slightly apologetic for a moment before smiling and nodding.

“You’re right! Let’s have as much fun as we can at the amusement park!”

Both Ayaka and Haruto, who now understood Shizuku’s feelings, knew that truly enjoying the amusement park together on Sunday was exactly what Shizuku wanted most.

Still smiling, Ayaka leaned a little closer to him.

“We’ve gotta plan everything out in advance. Otherwise, we’ll end up wasting the whole day!”

“Huh? Plan everything?”

“Yeah, like which ride we’ll go on first, where to eat lunch, stuff like that.”

“Hmm, yeah, probably good to have a plan.”

“Exactly! We also need to account for time loss in case Ryōta suddenly needs the bathroom, and how to recover from that. Or what if the main ride is more crowded than expected? Or totally empty? And don’t forget the crowd flow during the parade—we need to simulate that!”

“Simulate...? That far?”

Overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, Haruto gave a strained smile.

“Of course! The magic kingdom isn’t so forgiving!”

“But it’s a magic kingdom...?”

“That’s exactly why!”

With a determined hmph, she began furiously gathering information on her phone. Haruto chuckled and joined her in researching the theme park.

“We probably have to head out on the first train… I should talk to Saki and Shizuku-chan too.”

“Will Ryōta be able to wake up?”

“I’ll wake him!”

“Ahaha…”