Chapter 126: Chapter 125 - Approved by the Mother
Rika Sainoji awoke that morning feeling uneasy.
Extremely uneasy.
Like the universe was intentionally coordinating against her for the day.
Alas, she was correct.
All because Kuro Kurogane would again be coming to visit.
And her mother was elated.
More so than she had any reason to be.
"Rika, what type of snacks does Kuro like to eat?"
" What type juice he likes to drink ? "
" Tell me when he will come ? "
That question was asked by Rika’s mother in the kitchen.
At 8 a.m.
Rika almost dropped her coffee because of her mother’s question.
"Why in the world are you asking that?"
"I need to prepare."
"Prepare for what?"
Rika’s mother had an expression of complete and utter confusion at this point.
"To prepare for Kuro."
That was not an answer.
That was a threat.
"Mom, Kuro’s visiting to watch anime with me only!"
"Yes I know."
Rika saw no reason to believe that her mother was actually sincere in that answer. As such, she now has a headache.
And then, Kuro walked through Rika’s front door, and everything had gotten worse.
Once the doorbell rang, Haruka appeared to teleport in front of the door ready to answer it.
Rika was not afforded that luxury.
The door was opened.
"Kuro!"
"Good day. Sainoji - san. "
"Welcome."
Welcome to call Kuro welcome to visit was not accurate.
Welcome to call him welcome back from the day before as if he lived here would have been more appropriate.
At this point in time, Rika wanted to simply disappear.
"I brought some sweets for you." Kuro said .
The smile that crossed Haruka’s face was far larger than was justified for Kuro giving her two small boxes filled with treats.
"He also gave you gifts."
"Mom,"
"What?",
"Stop judging him.",
"I’m not.",
Absolutely right , she was 100% judging him.
After several moments, Rika and Kuro were on the couch in the living room.
The third episode of The Academy Professor is Level 999 was on in the background.
The show was about a hero who was defeating an army while teaching magical economics to his audience.
Makes sense right?
Only for about 5 minutes.
Until then they saw Haruka.
Again.
With snacks.
"Already Mom ?" Asked Rika.
"Kuro may be hungry.", replied Haruka.
"What about me?", said Rika.
"You’re alright.", said Haruka.
Rika glared.
Kuro accepted the snacks without any fuss.
"Thanks.", said Kuro.
Haruka was clearly excited.
Rika was clearly upset.
After 10 minutes, Haruka returned.
With drinks.
5 minutes later, she returned again.
With desserts.
Then fruits.
Then tea.
Then other snacks.
Then a different dessert.
And then yet another dessert.
By this time, the table looked like a buffet.
Kuro blinked.
"That’s a lot."
"Don’t be silly," Haruka said with a grin on her face.
"An adolescent boy needs to eat more ."
"Mother, Kuro is in school ."
"Precisely."
This made even less sense than before.
The anime continued.
To a point.
Emotionally charged scenes were interrupted.
Action sequences were interrupted.
Plot points were interrupted.
Over and over, Haruka found reasons to come into the room.
5 minutes later
"Oh, I forgot napkins."
3 minutes later
"Oh, I forgot forks."
2 minutes later
"Oh, I forgot the extra tea!"
1 minute later
"Oh, I forgot..."
Haruka grinned and said "Yes?" "
She wasn’t even pretending how ridiculous that sounded anymore.
The worst part about this whole situation is that Kuro makes everything worse;
Not on purpose.
Kuro makes it worse on accident.
And that’s the problem.
When Haruka got the food ready, it was a huge meal. After they finished lunch, Kuro got up and said "I’ll help".
The entire world froze as Rika and Haruka said simultaneously "HELP!!"
"Okay," Kuro said, "I’m helping with the dishes."
As he started clearing the dirty dishes from the table, Rika and Haruka are in a complete state of shock which caused them to realize they will be stunned from Kuro.
They are absolutely and completely doomed.
After they got all the dirty dishes, Kuro helped Haruka wash dishes and didn’t screw anything up.
Kuro didn’t make a mess.
Kuro didn’t need help.
Kuro was simply helping.
Normally. By nature. It’s obvious.
Haruka sat in disbelief as she watched Kuro help.
Kuro cooks?
Sometimes.
Kuro cleans?
Yes.
Kuro helps out without being asked?
Unfortunately.
Haruka glanced at Rika and back to Kuro and back to Rika. The look Rika gave Haruka said everything.
Rika wants to jump out of the window.
The situation only got worse by the time it was afternoon.
Both of them were able to engage in small talk while they watched the anime.
In fact, Haruka was actually surprised by how easily Kuro was able to talk to her.
"What class do you have?"
Kuro gave a polite response.
"What do you want to do in the future?"
Again, Kuro was very polite in his response.
"Do you like to read?"
You guessed it, another polite response from Kuro.
"How often do you hang out with your friends?"
Once again, Kuro had a polite answer.
Every single thing that Haruka was asking Kuro about was met with politeness.
It didn’t stop there.
Kuro was a responsible person too.
He had been very reasonable.
Haruka was running low on things that Kuro did wrong.
That could be a bad thing.
That could be a very bad thing.
At the same time, Haruka was getting increasingly worried.
He can cook.
He is responsible.
He studies hard.
He has good manners.
He shows respect to everyone.
He can help out at home.
Rika, you should marry him.
From across the room, Rika suddenly felt a shiver.
Like someone was rewriting her future against her will.
As we drew closer to the end of the anime marathon, the anime marathon continued.
While Haruka was actually gone for a change.
Presumably making dinner.
Perhaps not.
Possibly.
Rika doesn’t believe it.
The living room was a lot quieter.
A lot more comfortable.
The anime was going on softly in the background.
Finally there had not been a disruption in both of their days.
And then something happened.
Nothing big.
Nothing spectacular.
The couch we were sitting on was simply not very big.
That was it.
Both of them continued to watch the screen as they gradually moved closer to each other.
But neither one of them noticed.
Suddenly—
They were so close that their shoulders were almost touching.
Rika remained motionless.
Kuro also recognized the proximity.
The moment was momentarily suspended.
Neither of them made any immediate movements to break out of the stillness that they had created.
They both probably recognized but decided not to acknowledge what was happening.
The anime was still playing.
The characters in the anime were having a romantic conversation.
And that somehow made this situation worse.
Rika’s eyes were glued to the TV screen.
Staring at it like it was the only thing that mattered to her.
Kuro was doing the same thing.
Neither of them had any interest in the anime anymore.
Then, just when their hands almost touched...
They were only a couple of centimeters away from each other.
They both noticed.
And they both pretended they didn’t.
Everything suddenly felt a little warm and strange.
Awkward.
Comfortable.
Awkwardly comfortable.
Or both.
Then—
The sound of a camera shutter.
Click.
Silence.
Both turned.
A woman named Haruka was standing in the doorway.
Holding her cell phone.
With a big smile on her face.
"Oh."
Rika’s eyes got wide.
Between knowing and thinking.
"Mom."
Haruka act guilty.
Too guilty.
"I was just walking by."
"Mom."
"Yes?"
"Were you taking pictures?"
"No."
The cell phone was still held up to Haruka’s face.
The flash still visible.
So the incriminating proof was there.
Haruka left quickly but suspiciously.
Rika immediately stood.
"Mom..."
No answer.
"Mom..."
Still nothing.
Danger.
Danger as high as it goes.
Rika dashed to get down the hall.
Then she stopped.
Her phone vibrated.
New message appeared.
" MARRY HIM... PLEASE MAKE HIM MY FUTURE SON-IN-LAW. "
Family Group Chat.
Sent by: Mom
Rika opened the message.
And screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
It was a photo of her and Kuro sitting on the couch, very close together--too close to be curious about--and far enough away to demonstrate how innocent they really were, which made it even worse.
The caption under the picture read:
"Rika finally brought home a nice boy."
Silence.
Then a new notification.
An aunt replied:
"When is the wedding?"
A second aunt said:
"He’s good looking."
A third aunt remarked:
"Good choice."
A fourth asked:
"When are we getting grandchildren?"
Rika ceased to function.
Completely.
While Kuro peered over her shoulder and said, "Oh. Your family appears to be supportive."
Rika looked at him.
She looked at the notifications.
Then back to him and screamed even louder.
The echoing sound filled every part of the house, while somewhere nearby, Sainoji Haruka was smiling to herself.
Mission accomplished!
Kuro tilted his head, holding his empty cup. "Your phone keep vibratiing from the message . Should I reply from you ?"
His hands were about to touch her phone .
Rika was shaking as she slowly turned to face him. "Don’t touch my phone !"
Her phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent a text. "We need details on him."
From out in the hall, Haruka said, "Dinner is done."
Rika whispered, "I’m going to die in here."
