After Miyamura Shizuka parked the car in the private garage beside their house, Akira opened the back door and helped Shouko out, gently holding her small hand.
Nishimiya Yaeko, meanwhile, unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the passenger seat with unhurried grace.
Shizuka waited until everyone had exited the car and she'd double-checked the interior before closing the door and turning to Yaeko, who stood waiting nearby.
"Yaeko, could you call Auntie Kei over for lunch? I told her earlier not to cook anything before we got back."
Yaeko felt a bit guilty. Shizuka had not only personally picked them up and dropped them off at kindergarten, but was also going to prepare lunch?
She quickly waved her hand in protest. "No need! You're doing too much already. You and Akira can just come eat at our place."
Shizuka raised an eyebrow slightly, as if she'd already seen through Yaeko's intentions. She chuckled softly but said nothing.
Seeing that there was no room to argue—and guessing Shizuka had probably already finished prepping—Yaeko gave a small sigh, nodded, and left the garage to go fetch her mother and bring over Yuzuru.
Shouko held Akira's left hand, paying no mind to her mother leaving. In her right hand, she clutched the kitten plushie she couldn't bear to let go of.
Akira led her out of the garage, not bothering to wait for his mom, who was still locking the door behind them. He turned right, walked a few steps to his front gate, and gently let go of Shouko's tiny hand.
He squatted down out of habit, pushed aside the third blue stone tile in front of the gate, pulled out a hidden spare key, unlocked the gate, and returned the key to its hiding spot.
Once the key was back in place, Akira stood up and handed Shouko the puppy doll he'd been carrying so she could hold both.
He clapped the dust from his hands and pushed open the half-closed gate. Without taking her hand again, he stopped just inside the entryway, pulled two pairs of kids' slippers from the shoe cabinet to the left, slipped his own on, and then helped Shouko into hers.
Once done, he stood up and smiled softly. "Let's go, Shouko. I'll get you some candy."
With a doll in each hand, Shouko let Akira help her with her shoes without any hesitation or embarrassment. Thanks to her hearing aids and Akira's careful pronunciation, she clearly heard his words and nodded happily. "Mmm... Mmm!"
Akira shuffled quickly along the wooden hallway toward the dining room.
Miyamura Shizuka stepped inside just then and, seeing where he was headed, called out teasingly:
"No sneaking snacks, Akira. Wait until Auntie Kei and the others arrive!"
Akira didn't answer, already used to his mom's reminders. He just raised his right hand and waved to show he understood.
By the time he returned to the living room, he had a small bag of milk-flavored lollipops. But what caught his attention was his mother sitting on the tatami mat with Shouko in her arms, gently squishing her cheeks as Shouko froze up.
He placed the bag of candy on the coffee table, opened it, pulled out a lollipop, and went to rescue Shouko from his mother's teasing embrace.
"Mom, why are you always squishing Shouko's face?" he complained, even as he unwrapped the candy.
He carefully placed the lollipop in Shouko's mouth.
Shouko flailed her hands to show she wasn't being bullied—that she was fine with it—and even pulled the lollipop out of her mouth to offer it to Akira, urging him not to be upset.
Akira stared at the milky-sweet lollipop glistening with Shouko's saliva. His throat reflexively gulped.
It wasn't that he wanted to eat it. He just couldn't bear the mischievous look in his mom's eyes—the way she looked ready to snap a photo the moment he took a bite.
He knew it. If he so much as licked that lollipop, she'd whip out her phone and immortalize the moment forever.
Shouko saw that he didn't react and thought he was disgusted by her. Her smile faded, and she gently pressed the lollipop against his lips.
A soft click and a sudden flash lit the room.
Shouko turned around curiously and saw Auntie Miyamura holding up her phone, a guilty grin on her face. She turned back to Akira, who looked like he'd just suffered a major defeat.
"Not good...?" Shouko asked, voice soft and uncertain. "A... Akira?"
She suddenly thought—Was he grossed out by me?
Her eyes turned red in an instant, and tears started welling up.
Akira hadn't even recovered from his mom's sneak attack when he saw Shouko on the verge of crying. Panic shot through him.
He scrambled to speak but realized she might not catch it if he rushed. He slowed his words and said anxiously:
"Delicious! It's super delicious! The best lollipop I've ever had!"
To prove it, he quickly took the lollipop from her and popped it back into her mouth. Then he reached up and carefully wiped away the tears in her eyes.
Click. Another white flash.
Shouko cheered up immediately thanks to Akira's reassurance. But Akira's fists clenched—he was speechless at his mom's antics.
Just then, a voice called out from the entrance.
"Sorry for intruding!"
Shizuka stood from the tatami mat and went out to greet the guests—Yaeko and the elders from the Nishimiya household.
She could joke freely with Yaeko, but with the elders, she remained respectful despite their familiarity.
Akira spotted them and greeted politely, "Good afternoon, Grandma Nishimiya, Auntie."
Both women nodded with smiles. Akira's well-mannered nature was something they'd long come to expect.
Shizuka took baby Yuzuru from Yaeko's arms and returned to the living room, sitting back on the tatami mat as she played with the baby using her left index finger.
Shouko followed close behind. She'd missed her little sister too—even if it had only been half a day.
Akira didn't join them right away. Instead, he walked into the dining room, fetched two empty cups, filled them with filtered water, and returned to hand them to Yaeko and Nishimiya Kei.
The gesture earned him warm praise from both women.
After a while of playing with the baby, Shizuka felt it was time. She stood up and passed Yuzuru to Kei, who was watching a comedy show nearby, then pulled Yaeko into the kitchen with her to finish prepping lunch.
Shouko moved over to sit near Kei, excited to tease her baby sister, while Akira, now a bit bored, picked an orange off the coffee table and started peeling it.
Yuzuru was still too young, and Kei was understandably hesitant to let Shouko or Akira hold her just yet.
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