NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
“…I hope Ryuichi-kun isn’t overworking himself.”
“Fufu, looks like he’s all you can think about, huh?”
While Ryuichi was working his part-time job, Shizuna was worrying about him over her dinner with Sakie. As a matter of fact, Shizuna had been so worried about Ryuichi lately that he had been all she could think about since coming home.
“I’ll be okay. I’m happy you’re worried for me and all, but don’t stress yourself over me too much, all right?”
She loved the Ryuichi who’d laughed as he said that to her.
She loved the Ryuichi who’d patted her head as he said that to her.
She loved the Ryuichi who’d hugged her tightly as he said that to her.
“…Sigh.”
Her heart yearned for any and every variation of Ryuichi, and she wanted his love so badly that she wanted to see him right now.
Asking him to live together with her and Sakie was certainly a conclusion they’d reached together out of concern for him and his family circumstances…but the biggest reason was that she wanted him by her side all the time.
“Hey, Mom. I’m a selfish woman…aren’t I?”
Those words inadvertently slipped out of her mouth. If they were to live together with him, they would be together from sun up to sun down, from the moment they awoke to the moment they went to bed. They would be like a real family, and she was absolutely certain that they would never be separated.
“Yes, maybe you are. But I think the same goes for me, too.”
“You too, Mom?”
“Yup. That’s just what happens when you love someone, don’t you think? No matter how much they tell you not to worry, you can’t help but worry anyway because they’re important to you.”
It wasn’t just Shizuna; Sakie was also thinking about Ryuichi. Considering his current situation, it would be better for him to have a parental figure by his side. Even if he refused that, there was no harm in letting him know the love of a family.
“Ryuichi is strong, isn’t he? He’s a very strong kid.”
In truth, his family circumstances were so bad it wouldn’t have been strange if he was more warped of a person. In fact, it wouldn’t have been strange at all if he’d resorted to a life of crime and violence from it, but instead, he’d done neither and had attracted others around him with his tolerance and open-mindedness.
That was undoubtedly his charm, and those around him were attracted to his strong heart that never gave in to his environment.
“I honestly despised his parents when I heard his story…,” Sakie solemnly muttered. She hadn’t heard about his situation when she first had sex with him, but as she and Shizuna slowly got closer to him, she eventually heard his story too.
On top of her hate and anger, Sakie, having a child of her own, couldn’t understand what Ryuichi’s parents had been thinking at all.
“I’m so glad you’re my mother, Mom.”
“Oh, how sweet of you.”
Even if it may have been simple or ordinary, love from one’s parents was always special for children. Whether they received it at an early age or not would make a big difference in how they lived their lives in the future.
“That’s why I’ll watch over Ryuichi-kun. I’ll always be by his side…because I love him.”
Even if she couldn’t have a more intimate relationship with him than what she had now, that was all Shizuna wanted. She had been saved by him, had slept together with him, and had gotten to know him in many ways, which was why that wish of hers came from the bottom of her heart.
“…I think I’m gonna try calling him!”
“Ah… Fufu, good grief, you’re such a handful.”
After quickly finishing her dinner, she went back to her room. She took out her phone and called him, but no matter how long she waited, he didn’t pick up. She let out a sigh, thinking that he was likely still working and didn’t have time to answer his phone.
“Geez, I’m so in love with Ryuichi-kun that I just can’t wait to hear his voice. Well, I guess that’s nothing new, nor is it anything to be embarrassed about.”
She fiddled with her phone and opened an album where she stored photos. The album was named “Memories with Ryuichi,” and all the photos inside it were either that of her and Ryuichi, or of Ryuichi alone.
“It’s so nice and fun to amass memories like these, one by one… Fufu, I wonder how many more I’ll make with him.”
She looked at the pictures one by one and reflected on her memories of that time. Gazing at the photos with a gentle expression on her face, she even looked divine, like a goddess, but suddenly, her face turned bright red in an instant.
“W-When was this picture taken?!”
The reason her expression changed so drastically was due to a certain picture. It was one of Shizuna being pinned down by Ryuichi, with an expression on her face that she would never show to anyone else.
She was crying and sticking her tongue out in front of her with all her might, and her expression was one of complete debauchery… It was a picture that even she thought was incredibly naughty.
“When on earth did this… Ah.”
The next picture answered all her questions. It was a picture of Shizuna, sprawled messily and immodestly on the futon, and Ryuichi holding a piece of paper with a “Sorry” written on it, smiling like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.
It was a picture that straight-up declared “I fucked your girlfriend”, but it didn’t feel that way at all, instead coming off as pretty wholesome.
“Oh, Ryuichi-kun, you naughty kid…”
She spoke exasperatedly, but the next moment she let out a giggle. Seeing a naked Ryuichi smiling was enough to make her smile in itself, but seeing herself lying naked on her back behind him was a sight that would make anyone think she was Ryuichi’s woman.
“…How delightful.”
She smiled, looking really happy. That was about the only embarrassing photo in the album; the rest were all taken by Shizuna herself. While she was looking at the pictures, she received a call from Ryuichi.
“Ah, hello?”
“Hey. Sorry, I only just saw your missed call.”
“No, it’s okay. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“I see. I love you, Shizuna.”
“!! …Yes! I love you too!”
Likely because she’d told him she wanted to hear his voice, Ryuichi straight-up told her that he loved her. She’d originally intended to end the call early since she was concerned he might be tired from his part-time job, but apparently, he wasn’t that tired from dealing with Chisa and Satsuki.
“Oh, and when I said I was their partner, I only meant I was their conversation partner, not their partner in bed, okay? We didn’t fuck or anything.”
“I know.”
She kept it a secret that she was actually slightly jealous of the two girls. Then, after talking for a while and ending the call, she seemingly remembered something and stood up.
“…Come to think of it, I don’t have any use for these anymore, huh.”
What Shizuna had picked up was an item of gyaru fashion that she had used before for disguise. She didn’t think she’d use it anymore, but she thought it’d be nice to use it again if she went to some special establishment with Ryuichi again. She also hadn’t shown it to Chisa, who had suggested it to her in the first place, so she thought it’d be fun to disguise herself again to surprise her.
“Well then, I think I’m content to end the day after hearing Ryuichi-kun’s voice.”
She got onto her bed, satisfied and content that she would be having another good night’s sleep.
“Oh…right, I forgot to complain about the picture to him.”
She only now realized that she’d forgotten to complain to Ryuichi about the picture he’d taken. Well, though she said ‘complain’, she only intended to confront him playfully and ask, “How dare you give me a heart attack!” but she smiled and decided to save that for tomorrow.
“Good night, Ryuichi-kun.”
She’d already said those words to him at the end of the call, but she once again addressed his faraway self. She was alone in bed, but whenever she thought of Ryuichi, he would appear in her imagination. Not a pang of loneliness could be found in her heart, only a great amount of happiness.
Then came the next day. She waited for Ryuichi at their usual spot, but since he told her to go ahead, she walked to school by herself. Makoto and Kaname had told her that was pretty unusual of him, but since he had asked her to go ahead, she had no choice.
“…He’s late, huh.”
“Yep.”
“That’s strange. He ain’t ever been late these days.”
No matter how long she waited, he never came to school. Even when the bell signaling the beginning of homeroom rang, he did not show up, and even as the homeroom teacher entered the classroom, he did not come to the classroom.