A short while after, the man was being led away by the police. Contrary to his feisty attitude earlier, he offered no resistance. In fact, he was hanging his head in defeat and muttering, “Mom, I’m so sorry... I’ve always been a fuck up...”
The officer holding him seemed confused. “What’s with this guy? Is he drunk? Hey, buddy, tell that to your momma, not me.”
Naoya and the others watched as the man was led away.
An older man in a suit, likely the manager of the arcade, approached the group and bowed deeply. “Thank you for informing us of this man,” he said in a polite tone. “He appears to be very troubled. It’s a good thing that you found him when you did.”
“No problem. He just started acting real weird all of a sudden,” Naoya explained with a friendly smile.
Just behind him, Sakuya and Koyuki were exchanging words in a low whisper. Naoya could barely make out their words through the din of the arcade.
“He utterly decimated him. I feel like I just witnessed a verbal murder.”
“How did he know where he was from? And about his home life and his upbringing?”
Just as he’d said he would, Naoya had “thrown down” without raising his fists. He had accurately pinpointed his opponent’s weak points and needled the man until he broke.
“You’ve been pissing your life away and acting like a dirtbag for a while, haven’t you? Now, what would your parents think of all that?”
“You leave my mom out of this!”
“She’d cry if she saw you now. You know it’s true.”
And just like that, Naoya had worn his opponent down. It had been incredibly easy, to the point that he wondered if he’d gone too hard on him. Well, at least he won’t be bothering any girls for a while after this, I guess, he surmised to himself.
Of course, none of these inner thoughts bothered him as he accepted the gratitude from the man in the suit. The man’s face suddenly became cloaked in a dark expression as he explained, “To be honest, this isn’t the first time that man has caused trouble here. You’re absolutely sure nothing happened between you two?”
“Yep. Nothing at all,” Naoya assured him.
“That’s good, then. Still, I wonder how he ended up like this...” the man pondered. Something flashed in his eyes before he turned to look directly into Naoya’s eyes. “This is neither here nor there, but what’s your last name?”
“Um, it’s Sasahara.”
“I knew it,” The man nodded before looking up at the ceiling and massaging his temple. “You see, I knew your father. He helped me out with a lot of things.”
“Oh. I see,” was all Naoya said after a pause.
“So I know what you did to that man. Don’t worry, I’ll handle the reports. You get going.”
“Thank you. Sorry if I caused you any trouble,” Naoya apologized.
“It’s nothing. Say hello to your dad for me,” the man replied. With that, he gave a small wave and left.
Koyuki tilted her head to the side and inquired, “What were you and that guy talking about?”
“Nothing, really. Don’t worry about it. But more importantly, Shirogane...”
“Wh-What?” Koyuki sputtered. Her eyes darted from side to side as she tried her hardest to avoid direct eye contact.
Naoya took the opportunity to take her hand in his. “Thank you for helping us out there, but... please don’t get carried away like that again. I was so worried I thought my heart would stop,” he scolded her gently.
“Uh, um... Okay. I’m sorry,” she apologized with a timid nod. The fire quickly returned to her eyes, however. “But he was making fun of you, and... I had to do something. I wouldn’t care if he was bothering anyone else, but it was you.”
“That makes me happy to hear. It really does. But it’s dangerous.”
“I know that, but I was certain you would protect me, so I wasn’t scared at all. That’s why I did it.”
“Well, yeah, but...” Naoya trailed off. It was his turn to be embarrassed by Koyuki’s honesty.
“Hah. You’re always so aloof, Sasahara, so seeing you like this is pretty refreshing. But yeah—back there, you were pretty, um, c-coo—”
“You were really cool,” Sakuya butted in.
“Ah! I wanted to say that!” Koyuki exclaimed.
“Ahahaha...” Naoya laughed while he watched the sisters’ exchange. With each chuckle, he could feel the tension drain out of his body. He was glad they were all okay.
Koyuki sighed and looked down at the ground. “Still, you did save a pair of sisters from the same situation. There’s definitely going to be some sibling rivalry now...”
“Koyuki?” Sakuya blurted out, her eyes wide in shock.
Koyuki’s shoulders dropped, and she asked, “You’re not gonna fall for him, are you, Sakuya? That’s a no go, okay? I won’t allow it. He’s mine—my slave. I’ll never give him to you, so don’t even bother trying, okay?”
“Oh. Well, in that case, there’s nothing to worry about. He’s a bit too out there for me,” she informed her sister flatly.
“You’re saying that about me?!” Naoya couldn’t help but butt in.
Sakuya turned in response and gave Naoya a scrutinizing look. “Not a lover, but... he could work as a brother-in-law.”
“Meaning?” Naoya asked.
“Fine. I approve,” Sakuya conceded with a bow of her head. “Please treat my sister well, Brother-in-law.”
“Damn, and people say I move too fast,” Naoya quipped.
“Sakuya? Did you want a big brother?” Koyuki blurted out.
Naoya couldn’t help but smile. He was an only child, so the thought of having a little sister pleased him to no end.
Sakuya didn’t acknowledge the question. Instead, she saluted and declared, “The supervised date ends here. Enjoy the rest of your day, you two.”
“Sakuya, wait! Where’re you going?!” Koyuki exclaimed.
“I’m going to buy some manga and then head home. Tell me how today goes. Oh—and if you’re gonna kiss him, then do it after it gets dark.”
“I’m not!” Koyuki shouted as Sakuya retreated into the crowd.
They watched her go before Naoya commented, “She’s a good sister, isn’t she?”
“She is, but she really needs to watch her mouth sometimes...” Koyuki trailed off with some hesitation. Before she could say anything else, though, her stomach interrupted her with a rumble, and she hung her head in embarrassment.
Naoya decided to feign ignorance. “Agh, I’m starving. D’you wanna get lunch?”
“S-Sure. Doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” she replied in her best nonchalant voice, fixing her hair behind her ear and trying to appear cool and calm.
✦ ✦ ✦
The two headed to a street packed with restaurants and began discussing what they were going to have.
Once they’d finally picked a spot, they quickly settled down for their meal. Unfortunately, Naoya’s food ended up coming out a lot later than Koyuki’s. When he tried to ask Koyuki for a bite of hers, she seemed oddly embarrassed about the prospect. He reminded her that they’d already shared an indirect kiss earlier when he gave her his juice, which did not abate her embarrassment in the slightest.
There were many similar scenarios as they went about their day, and their first date ended in a huge success.