The weeks following the completion of the manuscript dragged by in a haze of nervous energy.
The Yuuki household operated on a fragile truce.
During the day, Rito attended school, dodging Yui's glare and sneaking kisses with Haruna in the library stacks. Lala worked in her attic lab, occasionally blowing a hole in the roof. Run sent text messages about her rigorous dance lessons.
But the nights… the nights were quiet.
Rito and Mikan no longer had pages to ink or tones to cut. They just sat in his room after dinner, staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring. The shared secret of "Hoshino Ryūto" was the only thing keeping the cold war from freezing over completely.
…
Thursday, 4:30 PM.
Rito walked through the front door, his school bag sliding off his shoulder. He looked pale, his hands trembling slightly.
"I'm home." he called out, his voice cracking.
Mikan appeared from the living room instantly, wiping her hands on her apron. She took one look at his face and froze. Her eyes widened, fear flashing behind them.
"Rito? What happened? Did... did they reject it?"
Rito walked over to her. He didn't say anything. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His thumb hovered over the screen before he pressed play on the voicemail he'd received during P.E.
"This is Mr. Toriyama from Weekly Shōnen Jump editorial department. We've reviewed the submission from Hoshino Ryūto-sensei. It's... frankly, it's incredible. We want to publish the one-shot in next week's issue, and we'd like to discuss immediate serialization. Please call us back."
The message ended with a beep.
Silence filled the hallway. Absolute, heavy silence.
Mikan stared at the phone. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"We..." Rito whispered, a grin slowly breaking across his face, shattering the tension. "We did it, Mikan. They want it. They want Dragon Ball."
"Serialization..." Mikan breathed, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. "That means... a real job. Real money."
"It means I can do it," Rito said, his voice gaining strength, his eyes burning with honest determination. "I can support everyone. I can support you."
He dropped the phone on the shoe rack. The relief was too much. He took two large steps and grabbed Mikan by the waist.
"Kyaa!"
He lifted her off the ground effortlessly, spinning her around. It was impulsive, joyous, and completely un-sibling-like.
"We did it!" Rito laughed, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "I couldn't have done the inking without you! You're the best assistant in the world!"
Mikan gasped, her hands instinctively clutching his shoulders to steady herself. Her feet dangled in the air. She could feel the solid, hard muscle of his chest against hers, the strength in his arms that held her as if she weighed nothing.
For a moment, she forgot the jealousy. She forgot the seals. She forgot the rules.
She hugged him back, burying her face in his neck, smelling the faint scent of sweat and ink.
"Stupid Onii-chan," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "I told you... your shading was sloppy without me."
Rito set her down, but he didn't let go. He looked at her, his eyes shining with gratitude.
"We have to celebrate," Rito said, grinning. "I'll buy the expensive beef. You make the sukiyaki."
Mikan hesitated, her eyes darting to the ceiling, at Lala's lab, and then the door. "Should we... call everyone else?"
Rito paused. He thought about Lala's cheerful chaos, Run's excitement, and Haruna's shyness. He loved them. He wanted to share his joy with them eventually.
But then he looked at Mikan. He saw the ink stain on her finger that she hadn't scrubbed off from last night. He saw the dark circles under her eyes from staying up to help him.
"Not tonight," Rito said gently. "I want to tell them, of course. But... you were the one holding the eraser, Mikan. You were the one fixing my lines at 2 AM."
He squeezed her shoulders, his expression honest and warm.
"Tonight, I want to celebrate with my partner. Just us."
Mikan's heart soared. It wasn't a rejection of the others; it was an acknowledgment of her. A genuine, beautiful smile broke through her mask.
"Okay," she said softly, clutching his shirt. "Just us."
…
"Just us."
The words hung in the air, warm and promising. Mikan's smile was rare and precious; a glimpse of the girl she was before the aliens and the seals took over. Rito felt a surge of protectiveness. He would defend this dinner with his life.
BAM!
The front door flew open, hitting the wall with a deafening crash that shook the picture frames in the hallway.
"RITO-KUN! I HEARD YOUR HEARTBEAT SPIKE FROM THREE BLOCKS AWAY!"
Run stood in the doorway, wearing oversized sunglasses, a glittery scarf, and a very expensive-looking coat. She was panting heavily, her face flushed not from exertion, but from excitement.
Rito and Mikan froze, still standing close together.
"Run?" Rito blinked. "What are you—"
"Something good happened!" Run declared, pulling down her sunglasses to reveal sparkling pink eyes. "I felt it! Your pulse went badump-badump-WHOOSH! It's the same rhythm as when we... you know!"
She winked, oblivious to the tension she had just shattered.
Before Rito could explain, a mechanical whirring sound came from above. The ceiling hatch to the attic lab slid open.
"Yay! Is it a party?!"
Lala dropped down from the hole, landing perfectly on her feet between Rito and Mikan. She was holding a party popper in one hand and a strange, pulsating disco ball in the other.
"Peke told me Rito's endorphin levels are off the charts!" Lala cheered, popping the cracker. Confetti rained down on Mikan's apron. "Did you win the lottery? Did you find a new alien species? Did you decide to marry Mikan too?!"
Run gasped, dropping her designer bag. "Wait, is that it?! Is Mikan joining the harem?!"
"NO!" Rito shouted, waving his hands frantically. "It's not that! I just—"
"Oh, who cares!" Lala laughed, throwing her arm around Mikan's stiff shoulders. "Rito is happy, so we should celebrate! I'll activate the Party-Party-kun! It turns any room into a dance floor!"
"I brought premium melon!" Run added, kicking off her heels and invading the living room. "Let's call Haruna-chan too! It's a family celebration!"
The hallway was instantly filled with noise, colour, and the overwhelming, unstoppable force of the harem. They were happy. They were loving. They wanted to share in Rito's joy because they loved him.
But they didn't notice the girl standing in the middle of the confetti.
Mikan's hands, which had been hovering near Rito's waist, slowly dropped to her sides. The beautiful, genuine smile she had worn just seconds ago didn't fade; it shattered. The light in her eyes flickered and went out, replaced by the dull, flat look of a servant who had been reminded of her place.
Rito saw it.
"Wait, guys, hold on!" Rito tried to intervene, reaching for Mikan. "Tonight was supposed to be—"
"It's fine," Mikan interrupted.
Her voice was quiet, but it cut through Lala's cheering like a knife. She brushed the confetti off her shoulder with a cold, mechanical motion.
"Mikan?" Rito whispered.
"It's fine," she repeated, stepping back. She created a physical distance between herself and Rito, a chasm that felt miles wide. "Since everyone is here now, sukiyaki won't be enough. I'll have to make more rice."
She didn't look at him. She didn't look at the manuscript page on the shoe rack. She turned around and walked into the kitchen.
"Mikan, wait! I didn't call them!" Rito pleaded, taking a step toward her.
Mikan didn't stop.
She picked up her knife.
Chop. Chop. Chop.
The sound of the blade hitting the cutting board was rhythmic and aggressive.
"Go entertain your wives, Rito," she said, her back turned to him. "I have work to do."
Rito stood in the hallway, the "Hoshino Ryūto" victory turning to ash in his mouth. Lala and Run were happily setting up the living room, completely unaware that they had just destroyed the one thing their husband had wanted most that night.
*****
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