“Right, right, we’re all living under one roof here!” Shihoko said. “You’re right, we’re all living here, if only for a limited time.” “Oh now, Shuuto, don’t throw cold water on my dreams! I’m the only one who needs to pour water right now.” When Shuuto cut in, thinking that from Mahiru’s perspective, it would be preferable just to add Amane first, rather than suddenly gaining a whole family living under one roof together, he heard Shihoko’s huffy voice come back from the kitchen, along with the sound of water being poured from the mouth of a plastic bottle. After a little while, Shihoko came back holding a tray with three glasses on it, and she handed one of them to Mahiru with a broad smile. “Here, go ahead.” “Thank you very much.” “You have some, too, Shuuto. You must be thirsty.” “I guess I am.” That night they had talked a lot more than usual. When Shuuto looked at the clock, he saw that an hour had gone by without them noticing it. It was always like that when they got absorbed in conversation, and he had been the biggest talker this time. He smiled wryly at the thought. When he brought his glass to his mouth, he realized he must have gotten heated without knowing it. The water felt extremely cold going down his throat. He mused that he could still be immature sometimes, and he reflected on how recklessly he was ready to behave for the sake of his dear son as he quietly attempted to cool down. For some reason, Mahiru was looking at him with her eyes narrowed a little bit. Shihoko also seemed to be thirsty from talking, and she enthusiastically drained her glass and set it on the table. She watched as Mahiru slowly finished drinking her water, then she smiled at the girl. “By the way, don’t tell Amane what we were just talking about, okay?” “Ah—” Though he suspected she had overheard them, Shuuto was wavering over whether or not to say anything when Shihoko readily came out and said it. Mahiru suddenly went pale. But Shihoko seemed to understand what she’d said could sound like she was criticizing Mahiru, and she immediately waved her hand back and forth in a panic and insisted that wasn’t the case. “Ah, I don’t mean to blame you for overhearing, okay?! It’s our fault for talking so long and loudly enough for our voices to make it out into the hallway!” Mahiru was wearing an expression of unconcealed guilt for eavesdropping on their conversation, so Shihoko’s concern was understandable. “Ohhh, I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. You don’t need to worry about it, okay?” “Shihoko, you should have simply said you’d be embarrassed to let Amane hear what we were saying and asked her not to mention it.” “N-nothing to be done now.” As things stood, they were in danger of misunderstanding each other, so Shuuto offered Shihoko a lifeboat, and she flushed slightly and raised her eyebrows in a troubled expression. “If we worry over him too much, I’m sure he’ll tell us not to treat him like a child, and that he’s doing fine now, you know? In truth, when I see how Amane’s doing, it’s obvious that he’s just fine, but I’m his mother, so I still worry, of course. Even though he’s already a splendid young man, in our minds he’s still our darling little boy.” Shuuto also understood Shihoko’s feelings very well, and his own sentiments were similar enough to get him all worked up just a few moments earlier, so Shuuto smiled as he listened to Shihoko talk. But when Mahiru had suddenly crumpled her face up in distress, both Shihoko and Shuuto panicked. Mahiru’s face fell in a much sadder expression than earlier when she had mistakenly thought she was being criticized, and she looked like she might cry at any moment. Her caramel-colored eyes were nearly overflowing with big wet teardrops about to fall from them. And yet not a single drop spilled over, and she just sat there pressing her lips tightly together, looking like she was on the verge of tears. “By any chance did I say something to hurt your feelings, sweetie?” “N-not at all. It’s just…I was just thinking how nice it must be.” They knew right away what she was talking about. They had heard about Mahiru’s situation to a certain degree and about what kind of environment she’d grown up in. Amane’s parents and Mahiru’s parents were different enough that it wouldn’t be a stretch to call them polar opposites. Her parents had been unbelievably indifferent to her and had, in fact, abandoned most of their duties as parents. It must have been painful for Mahiru, who had basically never been treated like a child by her own parents, to see Shuuto and Shihoko treasure Amane so. A silent scream was seeping out from her body, demanding to know why things hadn’t been that way for her, and the overwhelming sorrow of it made Shuuto frown. …Parents who would let their own daughter make a face like this are no parents at all. Parents were human, too. They had likes and dislikes, got along with some people and didn’t get along with others, and had their own circumstances to contend with. He couldn’t insist every parent had to love and prioritize their child unconditionally. He didn’t mean to condemn them for being unable to love her. That wasn’t something that an outsider could judge lightly. But what he did think was— Even if they couldn’t love her, given that they brought her into this world, they had a moral responsibility toward her. And that the kind of people who would abandon the work of parenting and make their child cry, despite having decided to become parents in the first place, simply should not exist. Though Mahiru’s parents were strangers to him, he resented them tremendously, and behind his calm expression, Shuuto was suppressing the anger that welled up inside him. He gazed quietly at Mahiru, who sat silently, looking younger than usual, like a little lost child braving her sadness. “…You don’t need to envy Amane, you know? After all, as far as we are concerned, you’re already like a daughter to us, Mahiru dear.” Shihoko said exactly what Shuuto had been thinking, and he smiled, feeling relieved they felt the same way. “Huh?” Mahiru must not have been expecting that. It seemed to put her at a loss for words. “Oh no, maybe that was too hasty. Did I jump to the wrong conclusion?” “Ah, n-no, that is…you didn’t…um…?” “Oh my.” “Shihoko, don’t tease the girl. But I also think of you just like a daughter, you know.” When he agreed with what his wife had said, the sadness faded from Mahiru’s expression, which was then filled with confusion. Shuuto continued, to make doubly sure she understood, and Mahiru listened, frozen solid. “To begin with, you’re someone who our Amane, who was a late bloomer and who essentially never trusted anyone, has come to love and trust deeply. We trust you, too, and from the time we’ve spent with you so far, we know quite well you are a good girl, Miss Shiina.” “…A good girl… I’m not really… I just seem that way.” “Your definition of being a good girl is different from what we’re thinking of, Mahiru sweetheart.” Mahiru’s body had jumped in reaction to the words good girl, so Shihoko gave her a smile that was packed with plenty of cheer and affection. “When we say you’re a good girl, we mean that you’re head over heels for Amane and you love-love-love him.” “Ah, um…” “Come on, Shihoko. There had to be a better way of saying things.” He chided Shihoko. But Shihoko showed zero intent to retract her statement. “I think that was perfectly easy to understand,” she said. Worried that Mahiru might misunderstand if they left it at that, Shuuto maintained his gentle smile as he continued talking to Mahiru, whose cheeks had turned red out of embarrassment. “…Miss Shiina, you’ve come to care for our son a lot, haven’t you? We know you have earnest feelings for him and you want to make a happy life with him. You’re not seeking happiness just for yourself, or just for Amane, but to make a happy life together, we can tell.” It was perfectly obvious from a parent’s perspective that Mahiru loved Amane from the bottom of her heart and that Amane was also in love with her. They could sense the two of them cared for each other and respected each other, they could feel their determination to make a life together, and they were relieved to hear they were, in fact, already basically living together in the city. They figured that, with these two kids, that was just fine. “We’ve seen that even when something difficult happens, the two of you will work together to overcome it. You’re a girl I could trust with Amane…which is a strange way of putting it maybe. We think you’re just wonderful, and we want to see your relationship develop.” “Actually, I worry a little bit about leaving things up to Amane, so Mahiru dear, you can go ahead and take the initiative anytime.” “Hey now, Amane’s grown a lot!” “I know that, but…” With a grimace, Shuuto chided Shihoko, who tended to show favoritism to Mahiru at times like these. At the same time, he gave Mahiru, who was wearing an expression full of surprise, a gentle look. “We’ve already accepted you for who you are, Miss Shiina. We think of you like family, and we’d like to help you if you ever have any trouble.” No matter what happened, Shihoko and Shuuto could never become Mahiru’s real parents. Even so, as adults who had a connection to her, they could offer her a helping hand. They could scoop her up and rescue her if she fell into the darkness. “If at any time things with your family become too difficult, you come to us. We can be your shelter, and there are methods for getting you out of their family register, for example, as an adopted child to us or to a relative of ours.” “The extreme option is that you could marry into the family without a guardian’s permission, after you become an adult. Hurry up and become an adult already, would you?” Shuuto patted Shihoko’s head lightly for being so impatient and tried to put the brakes on her delusions. However, he had a feeling that, in this case, it wasn’t a delusion and that it might very well become reality. That was how strong the relationship of mutual trust between Amane and Mahiru was. They seemed quite determined and ready for the future, more so than he and Shihoko had once been when they’d started dating. The Fujimiya family was made up entirely of single-minded, earnest people. In all likelihood, so long as Mahiru didn’t object, Amane was not going to change his plans. She would probably end up taking the Fujimiya name sooner or later. Shuuto wondered if that might allow her to say farewell to all of her painful memories. “Mahiru sweetie, you’re still a child for a while longer, so if things get tough, you can rely on dependable adults. If you have problems, you should confide in us. If you think we can help, we’ll do all that we can to support you.” Shihoko stared straight at her as she said this, and she squeezed Mahiru’s trembling hand. Mahiru was hanging her head as she gave a small nod. Shuuto pretended like he didn’t see the teardrop fall on the arm Shihoko had wrapped around the girl. After a little while, Mahiru raised her head, and though the area around her eyes was slightly red, her expression had become much more cheerful. When she smiled at Shihoko, who had silently held her hand the whole time, she no longer had the look of a little lost child. “In exchange for not telling Amane about your conversation earlier, I’d ask that you also not tell him that I almost cried, please.” “Sure, it’s a promise. If one of us breaks it…let’s see… How about they get punished with a hug?” “Heh-heh, that’s not a punishment!” “Oh, Shuuto, did you hear that? I wish Amane would learn from her; the boy’s really stopped being cute these days.” Even though she herself had proposed it as a punishment, Shihoko took it upon herself to throw her arms around Mahiru, hugging her anyway, and Mahiru happily accepted it. A delighted smile rose to Shuuto’s lips as he watched Mahiru, who welcomed the so-called punishment with open arms. “Oh, you’re so cute! Since we don’t get many opportunities like this, will you come sleep in my room?” Shihoko asked excitedly. “We can stay up talking about boys!” “If you do that, I won’t have anywhere to sleep,” Shuuto pointed out. “What if you go sleep with Amane?” “I’d rather not; that seems like it’d cause some screaming in the morning. It’s not right to go sneaking into someone’s bedroom, and I’m sure at his age, Amane would rather not share a bed with his father.” It was obvious to him doing that would result in Amane giving him the silent treatment, so he slowly shook his head with an awkward smile. There must have been something funny about their exchange, because Mahiru let a little laugh out, prompting Shuuto and Shihoko to look at each other with a grin.
Chapter 175
12 min read