Chapter 3 – The Family Conflict

Aiko Hoshizora had never argued with her parents before. Not really. They were the kind of parents who decided things for her long before she had a chance to form an opinion. Her life had always been scheduled down to the minute—classes, music lessons, tea etiquette, piano practice. Her opinions mattered, but only if they aligned with her parents’ vision.
Until Yuji Sakamoto.
It started subtly. Notes left in her bag, stolen glances across campus, small lunches together. And then, somehow, she had begun caring about someone outside her carefully structured life. Someone her parents would never approve of.
Her father, Masato Hoshizora, discovered the relationship one evening when Aiko was too distracted to hide a message on her phone.
“Aiko,” he said sharply, holding the device in his hand, “who is this Yuji Sakamoto you’ve been talking to?”
Her stomach sank. The tone of his voice was calm, but the ice beneath it was unmistakable.
“He’s… a friend,” Aiko said carefully, but her voice trembled.
“A friend?” Masato’s eyes narrowed. “Aiko, he’s a college student from a working-class family. Do you understand what that means? He’s only after—”
“He’s not!” Aiko interrupted, louder than she intended. “He’s not after money, and he—he… he’s kind and honest!”
Her father’s lips pressed into a thin line. Her mother, Reika Hoshizora, stood silently behind him, hands clasped tightly, a frown etched into her face.
“You think we don’t know what’s best for you?” Masato continued. “You are Hoshizora’s daughter. You will not associate yourself with someone like him. This ends immediately.”
Aiko swallowed hard, tears threatening to spill. “I… I don’t want it to end. I don’t—”
Her father’s hand swiped across the table. The message fell to the floor, discarded like it carried no meaning.
“You will focus on your studies. Your schedule will be strictly supervised. Your allowance is suspended until you prove you can behave properly. No meetings, no calls, no lunch outings with him.”
Her mother’s voice, softer but equally firm, added, “You will not see him again, Aiko. Understand?”
Aiko’s heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to protest, scream, even cry—but the words stuck. She nodded slowly, but inside she felt as if the walls around her chest were closing in.

---
The next few days were unbearable.
Yuji noticed the change immediately. Aiko had stopped showing up for their lunches. She avoided his messages. And when she did reply, her tone was cold, clipped, careful—like she was apologizing for existing.
Yuji had learned quickly, however, that Aiko was stubborn. He suspected that her silence wasn’t resignation. It was survival.
He found her one evening sitting alone on the steps behind the literature building, hugging her knees. Her shoulders shook slightly, and she had clearly been crying.
“Aiko?” he asked softly, kneeling in front of her.
She looked up, startled, and for a moment her carefully maintained composure cracked. Tears streaked her cheeks, her mascara smudging faintly under her eyes.
“I… I can’t,” she whispered. “They’re… they hate you. They think I’ll ruin my life. They—they’ll never let me see you again.”
Yuji reached out slowly, placing a hand over hers. “Aiko, you don’t have to fight them alone. But if you feel trapped… if you think leaving me would make things easier, I can let you go.”
Her head snapped up. “No!” she cried. “I… I don’t want to lose you!”
Her voice broke, and she pressed her face into his chest, sobbing for the first time in front of anyone.
Yuji wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Shh… I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Aiko clung to him like her life depended on it. Her small hands gripped the fabric of his shirt as though it were the only anchor in the storm of her world.
“I don’t care what they say,” she whispered between sobs. “I just… I just want to be with you.”
Yuji gently stroked her hair. “Then we’ll find a way. Together. You don’t have to fight alone.”
For the first time since her parents had discovered the relationship, Aiko felt something resembling hope. Her heart still ached with fear, but for the first time in days, she felt safe. Yuji’s presence was like a shield, protecting her from the pressure and judgment that had been suffocating her.

---
That night, Aiko sneaked back to Yuji’s small dorm room. She had evaded her parents’ supervision, taking a risk she had never taken before. But she needed him. She needed to feel, even briefly, that the world outside her parents’ rules still existed.
Yuji welcomed her without questions. No scolding. No lectures. Just quiet understanding.
They sat together on his bed, hands entwined. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he held her close, letting her cry until her tears ran dry.
“I… I don’t want to go back,” she admitted softly, almost ashamed.
“You don’t have to,” Yuji whispered. “Not tonight. Not yet. Just be here with me.”
For the first time in her life, Aiko felt like she could be herself without judgment. The weight of expectation, of fear, of parental authority, all lifted slightly. She clung to Yuji, not as a rich girl needing a guide, but as a girl in love who finally had a safe place.
And Yuji, quiet and patient as ever, held her without letting go.
In that small dorm room, amidst the chaos of her family’s disapproval, Aiko Hoshizora realized one thing with startling clarity: she was willing to fight for this. She was willing to defy the world, if it meant keeping Yuji Sakamoto by her side.
And in Yuji’s steady embrace, she finally allowed herself to hope that maybe, just maybe, love could be enough.