NOVEL NEXT Chapter 298: Home
The actual schedule for the Thunder team after the game was to take a rest for one day before they would be back in Tokyo tomorrow with the team's bus. However, since Yuki and Riku brought Kato with them, they asked permission from the coach to go back first, which fortunately was allowed immediately.
Even with their body still and exhausted, Yuki and Riku still forced themselves to leave straight after the game. Fortunately, unlike when they first came, they could enjoy their journey back to Tokyo by train, which not only cut the journey time to about one hour and fifteen minutes but also allowed them to take a better nap.
At first, Kato felt awkward to have to go back with Yuki after they got teased by the entire building. She even had a headache thinking of how to break the possible awkward situation between those two on the journey back home. However, she seemed to overthink the situation here, as the moment Yuki and Riku's butts touched the train seat, they lost consciousness immediately, leaving her alone for their beauty sleep for the rest of the trip.
"Oh my, oh my, what a charmer you are. To have two boyfriends at the same time." The lady who sold food on the train giggled teasingly when she saw Kato was trapped between two sleeping boys.
"A-Ah, n-no! I-It is nothing like that!" Kato's face reddened as she tried to explain without raising her voice so that she wouldn't wake them up. "T-They are just friends…"
"Oh, I know, girl… First, they are friends. But later, they start to chase you at the same time, and everything will be full of drama! Oh, what a good, old love triangle! You will have to choose between those two in no time, you know?" She left with a giggle, leaving Kato in a dumbfounded state.
'W-WHAAAT?!' Her brain crashed for a moment, having a hard time processing everything. 'W-What did she mean by l-love triangle?!'
While she had thought for a long time about what if she had a 'more than friend' relationship with Yuki, never had it crossed Kato's mind that she would also be involved with Riku. Not that the blonde boy wasn't handsome or something like that, but the thought of her and Riku together didn't sit quite well in her mind. However, when Riku's tired head suddenly fell onto her shoulder, that thought finally appeared, and her face turned into a tomato.
"Uh – oh, I am sorry." Riku regained his consciousness immediately when he realized his head was falling. "Sorry, Kato-san, my bad. I am so tired and – wait, why is your face so red? Are you sick?" He frowned, putting his arm on her forehead. This of course triggered a strong reaction from the girl as she yelped immediately, trying to retreat just to find her body blocked by Yuki who was also asleep next to her.
"E-Eeeep!"
Riku furrowed his brows more. "Okay, that reaction alone is enough to tell me that you are not sick, and I know it has something to do with me. Spill, Kato-san, now." His tone was anything but order.
Of course, Kato was unwilling to reveal it. However, Riku knew how to push the right button, and within a minute, the girl relented. "Have you ever thought of us… Being in a r-romantic relationship?" Her voice was meek when she asked that.
Riku tilted his head confusedly, wondering whether something just hit her head or what. After thinking for a while, he finally spoke. "Okay, I know for sure you just thought about it a moment ago, or you will feel awkward around me. We haven't done anything special for the last three days we are here, and it is impossible for you to just think something like this out of nowhere when your situation with Yuki himself is pretty awkward. I give up. Can you tell me what prompts you to think about something ridiculous like that?"
While Kato was embarrassed that her situation with Yuki could be seen by Riku, she was somewhat glad that the boy thought the idea of them being together was ridiculous. Not that she hated the boy, of course, but everything would be complicated if the boy had a feeling for her.
After hearing Kato's explanation about the food lady, Riku couldn't help but snort. "That woman seems to read too many Shoujo manga if that is her first thought." Kato giggled a little at the sudden jab. "I mean, I am sure Yuki would find out that you are beautiful, and while to some degree, I agree with that, I look at you both as a brother and a sister, you know? There is no way I will have any romantic feelings for you."
While Kato's cheek reddened once again at the mention of Yuki having found her beautiful, she was kinda glad for Riku's explanation. While she also thought that a romantic relationship with Riku was weird, she didn't have any good reason for it. Now she knew that the main reason for that thought was because she also looked at the blonde boy as a brother.
"Wait, if I am your sister, should you call me Onee-san?" She suddenly smirked playfully.
"Hah! No way!" Riku rejected that idea immediately. "If we are a family, of course, I will be the big brother!"
"Hey! If anything, with how immature you are, you should be the youngest one!"
As if officiating their new relationship, Riku and Kato bickered and squabbled like a good old-fashioned sibling, poking and laughing at each other. After a while though, Yuki finally woke up and joined the conversation. Although there was an awkward moment between him and Kato, Riku's presence as the third wheel managed to brighten the atmosphere around them.
It took about three hours before they arrived at Tokyo train station, and half of the sun was already below the horizon, painting the sky with a bright red color. They were picked up by Misaki – Kato's mother – who was kind enough to bring them back home.
After another fifteen-minute journey to the orphanage, Yuki bowed deeply to the older woman. "Thank you for picking me up, Misaki-obaasan."
"Don't be too polite, Yuki-kun. You saved my daughter before, so this is the least I could do for you." The older woman smiled fondly. "Also, I am grateful that you can drag her out for a trip. If not, I am afraid that she will spend her holiday being buried under the books at my mother's house." The woman giggled when she heard the groan from the carbon copy of herself. "Anyway, have a good rest, Yuki-kun!"
"See you later, Yuki!" Riku also waved his hand from the car's window. Continue reading at empire
"Bye, Yuki-kun!" Kato also did the same albeit shyly.
As he stared at the car that disappeared slowly from his eyesight, Yuki turned around, sighing in relief when he was finally in front of the familiar building. Bracing himself, he took a deep breath before stepping inside and shouted, "I am home!"
And just after that, the squeals from the kids could be heard echoing throughout the building, warming Yuki's heart instantly. Although the trip was far from perfect, he was glad that he did that, and being surrounded by his little siblings once again, he thought to himself, "Yeah, I am home, indeed."