Ōtsuki Haruto It was early in the morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten. Haruto sat up in bed and gave a big stretch. Having woken up at nearly the same time as always, he sat on the edge of his bed and looked around his room. This is the room he’d spent all his time in for as long as he could remember. Nothing had changed; it was his same old, perfectly ordinary room, and yet, for some reason, the scenery looked fresh and new to Haruto’s eyes. Wondering about this strange phenomenon, Haruto tilted his head slightly as he let his gaze drift around the room for a moment. Then, he stood up from the bed, opened the curtains, and gazed at the scenery outside. That’s when Haruto realized. It wasn’t just his room; the view outside also felt new. Even though it was the same familiar view from his window, it felt like somewhere in another world. Why was something so strange happening? Haruto thought about the difference between yesterday and today, and the answer came to him right away, even in his just-woken-up state. He had a girlfriend. A girl he’d met through his housekeeping part-time job, a girl he’d been drawn to. He’d lied and even run away, averting his eyes from his own feelings, but he had confessed everything and laid his heart bare. As a result, he was able to start dating Ayaka as her real boyfriend. “Having a girlfriend is amazing…” The rising sun in the distance, to Haruto, its light looked almost divine, and he quietly muttered, acknowledging the change in his own state of mind. Just remembering yesterday, just the fact that Ayaka had become his girlfriend, made his heart pound as if it would soar to the heavens. Haruto took a deep breath, exhaling the emotions welling up in his chest to calm himself, and began his daily morning study session. Thanks to the vague, nagging feelings that had been stuck in his heart finally
disappearing, he was able to focus on his studies in a way he hadn’t been able to lately. Haruto spent the morning diligently studying with a higher level of concentration than usual. Then, after noon, once he’d had lunch with his grandmother, he headed for the Tōjō residence, suppressing his racing heart. He had been able to concentrate on his studies during the morning, but in idle moments or when he took a break, Ayaka’s smile would pop into his head. No matter what he was doing, she was always in a corner of his mind. A place for Ayaka had been completely established inside Haruto’s head. He walked down that path a little faster than usual, the residential street leading to the Tōjō house, a path he had grown familiar with over this summer vacation. Arriving in less time than it normally took, he pressed the Tōjō family’s intercom with a practiced hand, yet feeling slightly more nervous than usual. “Yes! I was waiting for you, Haruto-kun!” Ayaka’s cheerful voice came through the intercom, just hearing it made Haruto’s expression naturally brighten. He waited at the entrance, feeling his heart beat a little faster than normal. Then, the door opened right away, and Ayaka came bouncing out. “Welcome, Haruto-kun!” said Ayaka, greeting Haruto with a smile that seemed bright enough to outshine the midsummer sun. “Pardon the intrusion,” replied Haruto. Ayaka looked like she might hug him at any moment, with an irrepressible smile spilling onto his face. After gazing at each other with wide grins, they gently moved to link arms and hug. However, just before they could, the living room door was thrown open with a bang, and Ryōta burst out with incredible force. He charged forward in an all-out dash, furiously zipped past his sister, and clung tightly to Haruto’s waist. “You became her boyfriend, right, Onii-chan?!” Ryōta’s eyes sparkled as much as they possibly could, as he looked up at Haruto and spoke in a cheerful voice. “Now, if you just have money, you can marry Onee-chan!!” “Uhm.. r-right…” said Haruto, overwhelmed by Ryōta’s beaming enthusiasm. Haruto could only nod with a wry smile, unable to object. At Haruto’s affirming response, Ryōta’s expression brightened even more. Seeing her little brother’s state, Ayaka tilted her head slightly and
looked at Haruto. “Money? What’s that about?” “Ah… well, at the camp, when we were in the hot spring, Shūichi-san explained to Ryōta-kun that you need money to get married…” When Ryōta had been pressing them, asking, “When are you going to marry Onee-chan?”, Shūichi had helped Haruto, who was at a loss for an excuse, by explaining, “The reason they can’t get married is because they don’t have money,” thus satisfying Ryōta. “Oh, so that’s what happened… I’m sorry, my dad says the strangest things.” Hearing the explanation, Ayaka apologised, but her faintly blushing expression looked somewhat amused. She was as cute and charming as ever, and Haruto shyly averted his gaze. “No, but… it’s not that strange of a thing to say, or rather, well… yeah.” “Eh? Oh, r-right…” At Haruto’s reply, Ayaka’s face turned a shade redder as she fidgeted, clasping and unclasping her hands. Just then, as if he’d remembered something, Ryōta suddenly let go of Haruto, saying, “That’s right!! I have something I want to show you, Oniichan!!” With that, Ryōta once again took off at incredible speed and disappeared into the living room. Watching his back, Haruto gave a warm smile. “Ryōta-kun is as full of energy as ever.” “He was even more hyper this morning when he found out you became my boyfriend.” “Ahaha, that must have been a handful.” Haruto imagined what Ryōta must have been like and sympathized with Ayaka, while at the same time, the fact that he had been so happy for them made his heart grow warm. “Mom’s been looking forward to seeing you too, so please come in.” Saying so, Ayaka gently pulled Haruto’s arm, inviting him into the house. Following Ayaka, who had been exuding a happy aura this whole time, Haruto stepped into the Tōjō home and headed straight for the living room. In the living room, Ikue was working remotely, her laptop open at the dining table. “Oh, welcome, Ōtsuki-kun.” As Haruto entered the living room, she lifted her gaze from her computer and greeted him with a bright smile.
“Pardon the intrusion,” said Haruto, bowing his head, then lightly bit his dry lip as if to dispel his nervousness before opening his mouth. “Um, Ikue-san. There’s… something I’d like to tell you.” “Oh? What is it?” Tilting her head slightly, Ikue’s bright smile deepened as her eyes sparkled with amusement. From her reaction, Haruto guessed that she had probably already heard the story from Ayaka. “Um, well, the truth is, I… I like Ayaka-san, and I confessed to her last night… and, well, I would like to be allowed to go out with her.” Haruto felt that he had gotten to know Ikue quite well through his housekeeping job. However, reporting to a girlfriend’s parent—or rather, asking for their permission to date—came with a unique sort of tension, and because of that nervousness, his formal speech came out a little strange. Perhaps finding his tension amusing, she let out a small laugh. “Fufu.” “Is that so! How wonderful! From now on, please take good care of our daughter, Ōtsuki-kun!” “Yes! I’ll do my very best.” Ikue’s reaction eased Haruto’s tension a little, but his reply was still stiff. Beside him, Ayaka, who had been watching the exchange, had an expression that was a mix of happy and embarrassed, her ears turning red. Ikue, her soft smile unwavering, turned her gaze to her daughter standing next to Haruto. “Ayaka can be quite a clinger, so she might cause you some trouble, Ōtsuki-kun, but she’s also an honest and gentle girl.” “Wha—!? Mom!! Don’t say weird things like that!!” Haruto also smiled, amused by the mother-daughter exchange he had grown so used to seeing in the Tōjō household. “Being doted on by Ayaka-san would be the highest honor for me as her boyfriend. Besides, I’ve already been able to discover so many of her good qualities, even in this short period.” “Haruto-kun…” At Haruto’s words, Ayaka stopped glaring at Ikue and gazed at her boyfriend beside her with slightly teary eyes. As the two were instantly wrapped in a sweet atmosphere, Ikue placed a hand on her cheek and smirked, saying, “Oh my, my. Ayaka, aren’t you lucky?” “Y-Yeah…” replied Ayaka, nodding, looking shy but with a face full of joy. Just then, Ryōta, who had dashed off earlier, reappeared before Haruto and the others with the same incredible force.
“Onii-chan! Onee-chan! Look at this!! Hey, look, look!!” Ryōta, leaping happily, swung the objects he was holding in both hands back and forth right in front of them. “Ryōta, calm down a little. We can’t tell what it is if you swing it around so close to us,” said Ayaka, trying to calm her brother down for a moment. In response, Ryōta stopped swinging the things in his hands, but he couldn’t seem to contain his excitement, his body bouncing up and down. “Ryōta-kun, what did you make?” Haruto crouched down to meet Ryōta’s eyes and asked. What he was holding appeared to be a craft made from a milk carton wrapped in colored paper. When asked, Ryōta, with a proud look on his face, thrusted the object he was holding in both hands right in front of Haruto. “I made it myself!!” The craft was clutched in Ryōta’s hands. Just as Haruto had guessed, it was a milk carton box wrapped in white construction paper. And in the center of the box, a long, thin slot big enough for a coin had been cut, with crayon drawings on either side of the slot.
Pointing to the drawing, Ryōta explained with all his strength. “This is you, Onii-chan! It’s a wedding, so you’re wearing a suit! And, this is Onee-chan! Onee-chan is wearing a wedding dress!” Ryōta cheerfully flipped the box over, showing Haruto and Ayaka the side opposite the one with the slot. Written there in crayon was “Onii-chan and Onee-chan’s Wedding Piggy Bank.” Next to the letters, a building that looked like a church was also drawn. “So that you and Onee-chan can get married soon, I’m going to do my best and save money in this from now on!” said Ryōta, smiling brightly. Seeing him so pure and adorable, like an angel, Haruto couldn’t help but hug Ryōta. “Thank you, Ryōta-kun, but don’t push yourself too hard, okay?” “Okay! But, I want you to become my real Onii-chan soon.” At Ryōta’s innocent words, Ayaka gave a wry smile, but looking not at all displeased, she gently patted his head. “Ryōta, thank you.” “I love you and Onii-chan, so I want us all to become a family soon.” Perhaps imagining such a future, everyone smiled warmly at the sight of Ryōta speaking with such bubbling excitement.