It was a day near the end of summer vacation.
Kotaro had invited Misaki to his apartment, and they were spending a relaxed afternoon together.
Living alone, this place is fine, but it's really cramped with Misaki-senpai here...
Misaki had told him she quite liked the coziness of the space, but he still felt guilty. What's wrong with me? he wondered as he emerged from the bathroom and turned the kitchen faucet.
He washed his hands under the running water—one second, two seconds.
Gurgle.
Suddenly, without warning, the faucet snapped off at the base.
"Hmm."
The moment Kotaro's mind froze at the sight before him—the dark hole where the faucet had been now spewed an endless torrent of water.
"Uwaaaaahhhhh?!"
"Kotaro?! What's wrong—? Uwaaaaah, is this for real?!"
Kotaro let out a scream he'd never uttered before in his life, and Misaki came running as if she'd been shot out of a cannon, screeching just as loudly. Kotaro was moving with bizarre, jerky motions, like a sped-up and rewound traditional Japanese dance.
"M-Misaki-senpai, is this what they mean by 'what seems like misfortune may actually be a blessing in disguise'? My days with you have been so blissful that God must be trying to restore balance—woooo!"
"Settle down, for heaven's sake!"
"Ah!"
The moment she wrapped her arms around him in a fierce embrace, as if tackling him, he instantly calmed down.
"I'll contact the Manager right away!"
"Y-yes! I'm sorry. I'm calm now. Thank you, Misaki-senpai. I love you."
"You're still not calm at all, are you?!"
"No, when I think about it calmly, I just realize how much I love you again."
"Never mind that! Just contact the Manager quickly!"
My reliable senior, her face flushed crimson, smacked me on the head with a spank before pulling me into a warm embrace against her soft chest and stroking my hair. If it weren't for the relentless stream of water pooling before us, it could have been a blissful moment... I thought irritably as I hurriedly contacted the Manager.
*****
A few hours later.
Kotaro was taking shelter at Misaki's house. After calling the Manager, he was told, "This requires a professional." So Misaki went home to wait for the contractor, only for them to say, "This will take time. We'll contact you later."
Some time after returning to Misaki's house, the contractor finally called back. After hearing the situation, Kotaro relayed the information to the Manager.
"How did it go?"
After ending both calls, Misaki wrapped her arms around Kotaro from behind, clinging to him with a childlike, affectionate gesture. It was adorable, except for the distinctly adult sensation of her formidable cleavage pressing against his back.
"Um... it seems the water pipes have corroded quite badly. The repair is going to take a while."
I remembered the contractor's words: "Unfortunately, the building is quite old..."
"Huh... Kotaro's room doesn't have any water pipes except for the kitchen, right?"
"The bathroom, maybe..."
"Ugh... Seriously? What did the Manager say?"
"He seemed really apologetic... To be honest, it's apparently becoming difficult to live there. So, the University will compensate you financially, and they want you to find another place..."
"For real...? Are there no vacancies in the dorms?"
"They said there aren't any right now... So we'll have to find an apartment somewhere. I'll contact our parents too."
Sighing, Misaki moved to face him, knelt down, and tightly embraced Kotaro. She gently stroked his hair, soothing him with soft words.
"It's tough, isn't it..."
"Yeah... There are memories here, of course. But what really hurts is that there are a few times when Misaki-senpai came to visit."
"Ugh..."
Misaki's usually straight eyebrows softened into a sympathetic curve as she hugged him even tighter. In this moment, her lover's tenderness felt more comforting than anything else.
"I can't just tell you to 'cheer up'... that would be so irresponsible... mm..."
She placed her hand on his cheek, closed her eyes, and gently pressed her lips against his. The softness of her lips, the warmth flowing from her supple body—it all felt so comforting.
"...Pfft. ...Ngh, I feel a little more energetic now... Huh? Mmm, let's... Ngh..."
As I embraced her slender back and entwined our tongues, Misaki let out a playful sigh.
We kissed for several minutes, immersed in the moment, before finally parting. Silver threads stretched between our lips, and Misaki cutely bit them with a "Hap!" before pressing our lips together again and gazing at me with delight.
"Even with the room in such a mess... being with you, Misaki-senpai, makes me feel so happy I think I could handle anything."
"Heh, I see, I see. ..."
"Misaki-senpai?"
She smiled happily, then suddenly fell silent. Her thin lips moved slightly as she averted her gaze, then brought it back, looking at me through lowered lashes.
"So you want me to pin her down? Got it."
"W-wait, no! Hey, don't just gently push her down!"
I was scolded with words you rarely see even in manga.
As I regained my footing, Misaki suddenly pushed me down this time.
"Um, Misaki-senpai, did you want to be the one to pin someone down?"
"Ah, no, I just... got carried away..."
Misaki, now sprawled on top of Kotaro, scratched her cheeks awkwardly. She looked adorable.
"Uh, so...," Misaki trailed off, hesitating. She patted Kotaro's cheek a few times, a dopey smile spreading across her face. He patiently waited, internally squirming as her behavior kept shifting.
"Um, so... you know... Kotaro. If you don't have anywhere to live... why don't you just live here?"
"Huh?"
A dopey sound escaped his lips at this unexpected proposal.
× × ×
At first, I thought she was joking, but Misaki was serious. It seems that ever since Kotaro took refuge at her house, she'd been considering the possibility of him losing his dormitory room. Her room was quite spacious, and she felt she was wasting the space living alone. Moreover, Kotaro's room was neat and sparsely furnished, so she figured living together wouldn't be a problem.
"Well, that's just the polite way to put it... Really, I just thought that if I lived with Kotaro, we could spend more time together and have more fun..."
As Senpai confessed this, her ears turning bright red, I couldn't help but pick her up princess-style, carry her to the bed, pin her down, cover her with a quilt, and embrace her tightly.
"You're not letting me finish!" she scolded, but even Misaki's eyes seemed a little dreamy. We nearly interrupted an important conversation to act on our impulses.
"Kotaro, um, what do you think...? You might not want to suddenly live with me..."
"I'm completely on board. Let's live together."
"You're a little eager, aren't you?!"
The thought of Senpai, who was being so considerate of me, was just too precious. There was no way I could refuse such a wonderful invitation.
Even though we'd both agreed, we were still students. Naturally, we needed to get our families' approval. We each contacted our parents and decided to visit their homes to obtain permission.
First, we went to Kotaro's family. They gave their permission in what felt like a matter of seconds. His parents and his ten-year-younger twin siblings warmly welcomed us. The four of them were all utterly charmed by Misaki's lovely presence.
"Kotaro, you really did it this time."
"To think such a beautiful and lovely girl is going to be our son's wife... waaah...!"
"Stop sniffling like a beast, will you?"
"Kotaro, you're so handsome..."
"Kotaro, you're amazing..."
It was getting completely chaotic.
I only intended to ask for permission to live together, but visiting their family home like this... it wouldn't be surprising if they assumed we were getting married. This is so sudden... I thought, but I couldn't bring myself to deny it. Misaki didn't seem entirely opposed either. We sipped tea and chatted amiably with her parents, then got excited talking about favorite videos with her twin third-grade brothers. In less than an hour, Hibiya Misaki had completely settled into the Kagaya family.
"Sorry, Misaki-senpai. My family got a little carried away..."
"They're lovely. Yes... It just felt like we were following a wedding procession..."
"Y-yeah, you're right. We're rushing things, aren't we? Ahaha, ha...!"
"Right? We're still just first and second-year university students. Ahaha, ha...!"
On the train ride home, we exchanged embarrassingly flustered conversation, both of us turning bright red.
*****
Next, we went to visit Misaki's family.
"I'm having Mom smooth things over with Dad, since he might protest. I also told her that we have Kotaro's parents' approval."
Anticipating a confrontation with her doting father, Misaki had already devised a strategy. I was grateful for her efforts, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for her dad.
"P-please come in..."
We were led to the living room of Misaki's family home, my heart pounding wildly as I sat down. I never imagined I'd be visiting my girlfriend's parents during my first-year summer break at university. Never.
I faced Misaki's parents. Her mother looked very much like her: small and beautiful. It was the kind of thing where you could tell the mother had raised such a wonderful daughter.
As for her father...
Misaki's father appeared to be a perfectly ordinary, gentle man at first glance. But he was fiddling with something under the table. It was unsettling.
"Um, hello. My name is Kagaya Kotaro."
"Heh heh, nice to meet you. I'm Misaki's mother. I never imagined Misaki would bring someone so kind and wonderful here."
"M-Mom...!"
Misaki's blush was adorable. It was a side of her I'd never seen before. When I glanced at her father, I saw him grinning widely at Misaki's flustered expression. As soon as our eyes met, he cleared his throat loudly.
"Right, nice to meet you. I'm Misaki's father. Thanks for coming."
He gave a gruff greeting, placing both hands on the table.
Both hands were wearing Mickey Mouse gloves.
"Hmm?"
The moment Misaki's mother gasped in shock, she grinned and hid her husband's hands.
"Put that away right now, or I'll be angry!"
"I'm sorry..."
The brief exchange made their roles in the household instantly clear. Her father, still staring intently at Kotaro, removed his work gloves. Seeing the real thing for the first time... it struck me as strangely moving.
"Also, put that wooden sword you left downstairs in the corner of your room, right now."
"Huh?!"
Kotaro and Misaki's voices chimed in perfect unison. Father growled, "Grrr..." as he grabbed the wooden sword, swung it meaninglessly a few times, and placed it in the corner.
"Ugh... Let me re-introduce myself: I'm the guy who will definitely take down any man who approaches my daughter!"
"You won't be having dinner for a week, starting today."
"What?! I can't go without your cooking...!"
She burst into tears right after saying such a shocking thing. What a strangely human person she is... I thought, my gaze drifting.
"Sorry, Kotaro... my dad..."
"N-no, it's alright."
Her whisper in my ear made my heart skip a beat. My father, who had been watching our exchange, roared, "Nuaaaah!"
"This is intolerable! Unacceptable! Misaki, our precious daughter, living with a man—living together...!"
"Well, he seems kind enough. What's wrong with that?"
"That's not the point! Uwoooooh!"
As I watched the bizarre scene of my enraged father and calmly sipping mother, Misaki suddenly interjected in a voice only Kotaro could hear, "Well, he is a bit of a bed yakuza, though." I nearly spat out the delicious tea I was drinking.
But what is this...?
Kotaro still hadn't told his parents anything, but it seemed that, as Misaki had said, his mother wouldn't be a problem. The real issue was his father. Not only would he refuse to listen, but the more Kotaro tried to explain, the more he'd fan the flames—no, pour gasoline on the fire.
What should I say...? he was fretting, when his mother sighed. "Honestly..."
"You were just the same, weren't you?"
"Ugh..."
"Huh? Really?!"
His father grumbled at the unexpected remark, while Misaki pounced on it. She rarely got to hear about her parents' courtship, and her cat-like eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Heh-heh-heh, it's true. That man..."
According to his mother, when they were young, penniless father had crashed into her family's home and settled in. They were already dating, but she was wavering about marriage. Living together, however, had kindled her feelings, and she'd thought, "Maybe living with this guy wouldn't be so bad after all."
"So, Dad, I just sort of fell into it..."
Misaki listened to her mother's nostalgic account, her hand resting on her cheek, feeling a pang of sentimentality. She smiled wryly, realizing the repeated phrase "just sort of fell into it" was intentional. Her father covered his face with both hands, groaning, "So embarrassing..."
"Well, this time it's just living together, right? Whether you two get married or not, all we parents can do is watch and support you, don't you agree?"
"Ugh... g... grrr..."
Her father gritted his teeth, glaring at Kotaro.
"...I still... don't accept this... I'm far from accepting this... but I'll entrust Misaki to you, Kotaro-kun. Misaki is our precious, truly precious, only daughter. If you make her cry... you know what that means, right?"
"You... not this again."
"No, it's alright."
Kotaro cut off his mother's words, his face, which bore a strong resemblance to Misaki's, looking bewildered. Misaki had the same expression. The parent and child made a heartwarming pair.
Smiling gently, he looked at each of the three family members in turn.
"I'm still just a university student... but I can say with absolute confidence that I'm deeply in love with you, Misaki."
The words flowed naturally from his lips. Misaki gently squeezed his hand. A pleasant warmth spread through his body, a mix of nervousness and happiness.
"I will cherish Misaki, whom you've raised with such care, for the rest of my life."
"...'"
Three throats cleared. The three family members flushed crimson.
"Kotaro-kun... that was... well done... well done..."
Mother covered her mouth with one hand and gave a thumbs-up.
"Grrr... That was quite... impressive..."
Father looked up to the heavens.
"K-Kotaro..."
Misaki, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment, clasped both of Kotaro's hands.
After that, Father said, "Well... I have to admit... you've earned my respect... Nice to meet you properly!" He then offered to exchange social media accounts as a gesture of goodwill. I was happy, but I wondered if connecting on social media might feel a little awkward... Just as I was thinking this, Mother interrupted, "That's not your main account, is it?" The exchange proposal fizzled out. Why didn't he use his main account? It seemed we still had some emotional distance to bridge.
We were on the train ride home after greeting both families.
"Phew, it's finally over. That was a relief—everything went so smoothly."
"I wonder if it was really okay to say 'smoothly' about Misaki-senpai's family..."
"It's fine, it's fine. My dad, ever since I was little... Hey, who said 'Pfft, still acting so small? You're still tiny, right? Pfft'?!?"
"This is a train, you know!"
It was a rare exchange.
"...Ahem. My dad, he used to say with a serious face, 'I think I'll subtly give any man who approaches my daughter an Irish whip,' and my mom would punish him by skipping dinner."
"Really...?"
"In the worst times, he'd go without dinner for about half the month."
"That's intense!"
"Later on, Mom probably felt sorry for him, so she started leaving out just cold rice."
"Why cold rice, though?"
They chuckled softly at each other.
"Well, I guess Kotaro wins this round. Who knew you'd actually say something so... so cool?"
"Don't rub it in..."
Misaki nudged him playfully with her elbow, her cheeks flushed pink.
"And calling me 'Misaki' instead of 'senpai' was pretty impressive too. Though I do like it when you normally call me 'senpai'."
"...Sure."
"Oh? Blushing now, are we?"
"Ah, no, I was just thinking how cute it is when Misaki-senpai teases me."
"Hmph."
When she smiled and retaliated, Misaki froze, a stiff smile on her face, even her neck turning red.
"You really are cute, Misaki-senpai."
"..."
For the ten minutes until they switched trains, Misaki relentlessly punched Kotaro in the ribs. Isn't this a bit long? he thought, but she was too adorable, so he let her continue.