And so, Toshiro Okumori recognizes his abominable luck.

Toshiro Okumori

The weekend. It had been a week ever since that crazy-blonde girl had attempted interaction with me. Fortunately, she seemed to give up after that first day altogether and lied to her commitment of trying to converse with me further, to which I delightedly respected.

I mean, it was bound to happen, anyway.

“Toshiro…” A drowsy voice erupted from the living room.

The controller that had been in my grasp dropped to the floor, ensued with a deep exhale that left my body. I pushed myself off the floor and approached the living room.

I spotted my mom, who was currently dormant on the couch. There was drool that left her mouth, creating a large, wet circle on the mattress while she rested.

Her right eye eventually opened in a wearied form and caught the sight of me standing in front of her. She used the knuckles of her hands to rub her eyes, then push herself up from the couch.

“... Why do you look so disgusted, Toshiro?” She questioned with a yawn.

“No, it’s just… You’re drooling a lot.” I replied.

“So? It’s not like I’m embarrassed about it….” She tilted her head.

“T-That’s not the poi- Never mind. What do you need?”

“I just dreamt of something tasty… So, I want to make something nice for dinner!” She hollered with her right hand in the air.

“I don’t want to go outside-”

“Toshiro! Can you get some groceries for me?”

I closed my eyes and composed myself from doing anything rational.

Even though today was boring, I had no plans of leaving outside. I was fine with staying at home, even if today was monotonous and bland. But I knew I couldn’t argue against my mom, because doing so would probably end up in a horrible mess.

I opened my eyelids and set my disgruntled eyes to her again.

“Fine...” I finally spoke, waving my hand at her.

“Yaay!”

She now had both of her hands curled up into fists in the air, with a mirthful smile while she celebrated.

“Just groceries?”

“Just groceries!” She nodded. “I’ll text you the ingredients once you get there. Is that fine?”

“Mm. It’s fine.” I sluggishly nodded.

“Oh, and be careful, too!” She added.

“Yeah, yeah…”

I swear, you’re too immature for your age…

Before I could leave the house, I approached my room, snatched a random black crew neck sweatshirt I had, and slid it on without any problems. Then, I made sure that I had my essential belongings: my phone, earbuds, and house keys.

I went back to the living room and looked at my mom, who had returned into her deep hibernation. It astounded me how quickly she had fallen asleep, and it made me consider if she was overworking herself. I didn’t want to disrupt whatever dreams she was currently having, though, so I simply left the house through the front door in silence.

I began to listen to music as I strolled on the sidewalk calmly, with my eyes closed and taking small steps forwards. But, it didn’t take long for that composed and tranquil feeling to fade away because soon, rain would start pouring down on me.

I had no umbrella nor a hood, so it was a matter of time before I would get completely soaked. The rain became more aggressive by the minute, and eventually, I had ended up getting drenched. My clothes felt sticky, and my hair felt cold while it stuck to my forehead.

I hate this.

And, as if I couldn’t feel any sadder about this somber situation I was in, my earbuds would all of a sudden stop working. It made me sigh in exhaustion and remove them to insert them back in my wet pocket.

Soon, the sight of the convenience store would come across my gaze. Without a second doubt, I began sprinting towards it. Once I had eagerly entered inside, I would instantly catch the eyes of numerous amounts of people.

I looked down at myself and noticed that everything was sopping wet. To my hair, all the way down to my sneakers. Currently, there was a puddle that was being created as I stood in dismay, as well as a cool breeze that flew past me and making me shiver.

I took a step and heard the squeaking that my shoes created. I cringed upon hearing it, but continued, trying my best to keep my steps as noiseless as possible.

My phone then vibrated, and it made my heart drop as soon as I had felt it.

Crap, is it broken?!

Without hesitation, I pulled it out with dread. And to my luck, it seemed perfectly fine. There had been some circle-shaped, liquid droplets on it, but it didn’t seem like it was too damaging to the phone. I wiped them off with my hand and saw a message that was present on the screen.

I tapped on it and ended up seeing the ingredients I had to buy from my mom. Under that ingredients list, though, was another message.

Quick, though! I don’t want you to get sick! Take a shower as soon as you get home, okay?

I pulled up the text box and began typing.

Okay

I shoved the phone back into my pocket and started to survey my area.

Now that I knew what I had to get, the only problem was that I had no idea where the majority of the ingredients were. But, I decided to take on the challenge. If it goes south, I’ll have to ask the store employees for support, which I’ll try to prevent as much as possible.

Noting this down, I got a hold of a shopping cart and began venturing the various aisles in the store.

After a few minutes of searching, I was blessed to find some onions and vegetables, blissfully placing the ingredients I had seen in the cart. In a matter of an hour, I would have found all the ingredients I had needed and now started making my way to the cashier.

But, as I walked, this feeling of satisfaction disappeared in a flash. There was the fragrance of strawberry conditioner that I could sniff out and a sound of a humming tune that followed with it. Upon realization, my eyes widened, and the grip that I had on my cart tightened upon smelling the aromatic scent that entered my nostrils.

“Okumori-kun?”

I looked over with a frown and met the sight of the girl that I had so profoundly scorned. She held a plastic bag containing groceries as she stood, wearing an oversized pink hoodie and a white ruffled skirt that only reached her upper thighs. She had speculative eyes as she inspected my drenched appearance, examining me up to down. Then, she let out an appalled gasp after realization struck her.

“Ohmigod, it is you! What happened to you, Okumori-kun?! You’re soaking wet!”

I quickly ignored her and directed my gaze away, then beginning to push my cart forwards while I started walking.

“Wait! Okumori-kun! I can’t let you go like that! You’ll get sick!”

I didn’t stop her yell and only continued walking away from her.

“Uh, um…” She stammered behind me.

There were sounds of light rustling and some grunting that came from behind me. Then, all of a sudden, I could feel something soft and cushy that pressed my head, with someone’s delicate arm that arrived in front of my eyes.

“Here, dry yourself up!”

I gazed upwards and saw a pink sleeve that touched my forehead. It didn’t take me long to realize what was on top of me, and when I did, I became beyond puzzled.

It was her pink sweatshirt.

“H-Hurry up, though… I feel embarrassed without my sweatshirt….” Miyake muttered.

I pulled the sweatshirt away from my head and gawked at her.

Do you just have a lack of security? Are you dense? Why are you even trying to help me?

But, these questions of mine vanished rather swiftly, because what she wore under her sweatshirt was something that even made me embarrassed.

In bright pink, an italic font was present on the white t-shirt, with three words.

Magic is classic!

Below was a picture of a girl with a pink dress, with wings erupting from her back, and holding a long wand with a star. The girl posed cutely; her wand lifted in the air, and her free hand placed on her hip. She had one eye closed, winking at me with an enraptured smile.

Miyake would soon catch my discomfited gaze and instantly began hitting me with her eyes shut closed, along with a large tint of red that coated her whole face.

“D-D-Don’t look! I told you it’s embarrassing! Stop it!”

Hey! You stop it! You’re hurting me, you idiot!

“Just dry yourself already! Don’t worry about me! Don’t even think about me! Just give it to me back when you’re done!”

You’re not planning on wearing it back on, are you? Do you care that much?

Eventually, she’d stop hitting me and instead now stood beside me with her arms crossed, pouting and avoiding the general direction of my eyes. Her ruby, flushed face didn’t disappear, though, and was still present as if it was a shining light.

I took the time to dry my head, and only my head, since my clothes were most likely beyond saving. I didn’t want to waste any more time with the girl, either, so I rushed myself with the hopes of leaving right away. Once I was finished, I reached the sweatshirt back out to her, yet still solicitously eyeing her.

Miyake lifted both of her palms and watched in uneasiness as I set the damp sweatshirt on her hands.

“... I wanted to wear it…” She sniffled.

Don’t make me feel guilty. That’s your fault.

Once the sweatshirt had been out of my grasp, I relocated my hands to my cart and continued walking forwards.

“W-Wait! I need some help! Don’t leave me just yet!”

I froze and returned a wry expression at her.

“Don’t be so grumpy about it, jeez...” She sighed thankfully.

She approached me and stood beside me with her left hand on her waist, with a sticky note on her right. “I need to get some broth… Do you know where it is?”

I shook my head.

“That’s a lie, isn’t it?” Miyake leaned on my cart.

I gulped and wagged my head right to left once more.

I did pass the broth earlier, but I wasn’t willing to share the information. I was just merely attempting to find an excuse to escape her. I didn’t know whether it would work or not, but if it didn’t, I was prepared to make a run for it.

“Okumori-kun, it's in your cart.”

She reached over and grabbed a can of broth and presented it to me.

Oh.

I had entirely forgotten that I, myself, had also needed broth earlier. In fact, I had thrown three cans in my cart.

I was caught. Red-handed.

Realizing this, I began to shake my cart vigorously to lose Miyake’s grip. Her eyes expanded while she wobbled around in panic, gripping onto the cart tightly.

“Wai- Stop- Okumori-!” She shrieked.

Eventually, seeing that she wasn’t going to give, I halted. I glared at her and waited for her to leave.

“That wasn’t nice of you, Okumori-kun!” She cried.

I sighed and relaxed my elbows on the cart. Then, I pointed to the aisle where I had passed the broth earlier before immediately going back to shake Miyake off my cart once more.

She had a smile upon seeing my answer, but it became extinct in a split second once I resumed my attack, with her smile switching to a face of consternation.

“Wait-!” Miyake still clung on.

"Shoo! Scatter!" I quietly growled.

She lunged forwards and grabbed my wrist, and held it down. I ceased, feeling her cold yet delicate hands grip my forearm firmly.

“I’m going to throw up from shaking.” She mumbled. “It’s going to be your fault if we make a mess….”

Not wanting her to vomit all over the ingredients I spent around an hour trying to find, I loosened the grip on the cart handles almost instantly.

She then raised her posture and smirked at me after I had backed down. It jumbled my brain, but I’d soon realize what triggered her wry, snickering smile.

You’re bluffing.

“Lead me to the broth, please!”

I went back to shaking the cart more vehemently than before after spotting her sneer.

After the ruckus we had created in the store, it was only a matter of time before we would catch the workers’ attention. Politely, they asked us to halt what we were doing, to which I complied within acceptance. However, Miyake was thanking them in high gratitude, as if they were some sort of saint, which made me appear as a random domestic abuser.

She didn’t leave my tail, however, and continued following me while humming a felicitous tune.

“Tch...” I muttered.

Soon, we’d reach the aisle where the broth was located. Miyake would eventually pick out the can she had so despairingly needed, and it made me even more agitated while I spectated her.

It didn’t take us long to reach the checkout section right after, with both of us currently checking out the things we had picked out.

“Hey, is there a reason you don’t talk?” Miyake asked out of the blue.

As usual, I ignored her and simply watched the cashier put the ingredients I had gotten into plastic bags.

“I don’t even know why I asked that.” She sighed. “You wouldn’t answer that at all, huh?"

I then took the plastic bags that the cashier prepared for me and gripped them firmly. Once I had all my desired needs, I began walking.

“You don’t have any friends, either?”

I stopped and simply looked at her expressionlessly.

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean it rudely!” She briskly lowered her head. “I was just going to say that I’d be your first friend, you know?”

“... You’re stubborn.” I finally said in a dull, blunt tone.

Before I could turn around and exit the store, her clamorous voice would interrupt me.

“W-Well, I want to be your friend because you treated me differently!”

I turned around, baffled.

Seeing how she had got my attention, her fingers would start to coil and fidget around in a tense and shy way, her eyes now aimed at the floor instead of at me.

“Most kids always act like I’m superior because of my looks or my attitude, but I don’t necessarily admire it. You were the opposite. You simply treated me normally… Or trash, I should say.”

What are you, a masochist?

Instantly realizing what she had said, she quickly flailed her hands around in panic. “N-Not that I’m into that or anything! I just meant that you treated me differently! Don’t misinterpret it!”

I stared at her in revulsion.

“Don't stare at me like that! I didn't mean it in that way! I just want to be friends with you! Is that so hard?!” She cried.

It puzzled me as to why she was so adamant. Even if we did manage to be friends, it’d only be short-lived. Most likely, it’d reach about maybe two or so weeks before we’d find out the abominable sides of each other. A month of friendship would be generous, and two months would just be overextending it.

Miyake kept yelling at me non-stop, trying to justify what she spouted out earlier. They were feeble excuses, which made me enervated just listening to them, and it didn’t take me long to urge my body to move forward finally.

I made my way to the store’s front doors without giving Miyake a second chance to explain her reasoning.

"Hey, wait-!"

I stepped outside the store, only to meet the intense rain the splashed on the concrete road ahead of me. Instantly, my head became utterly blank while I absently watched the pouring of the deadly rain.

“Don’t leave me all of a sudden, jeez!”

Miyake ran out of the store behind me but stopped as she gazed upon the loud, uproarious shower.

“Woah…”

I could sense a sardonic aura that came from Miyake.

“Ooh… You don’t have your umbrella, do you, Okumori-kun?” She teased while peeking over my shoulder.

I groaned in return.

“It’d be a shame… I have an umbrella right here too.”

She waved a pink umbrella she had in her hand to mock me.

I leaped forwards, snatched the umbrella from her hands, and pushed my thumb towards the button to open it. It spread out, with water sprinkling around us as it flew open.

Wha-?

Second-hand embarrassment flowed throughout my body once I realized what I had just opened. I was stunned beyond belief.

The umbrella took the color of rosy pink, present with cute little dogs imprinted on it. There were some words in dialogue boxes too, saying things such as “Bones!” or, “Dogs are cute!” and even, “I want dog food!” that I could see.

We were both silent, looking at what was currently in my possession.

It didn’t take long for Miyake to shatter the mute air between us. “I was going to give you another one.”

That was a lie. I didn’t see any other umbrella in her hand or anywhere at all.

“I-It’s not what you think! I don’t like dogs! I didn’t even know that’s what the umbrella looked like!”

You’re too immature...

While she wailed at me with a bright, scarlet face, I took the chance to walk away with the umbrella above my head. I didn’t care about the appearance anymore because my main concern was to get home without getting even more drenched than I already was.

“H-Hey! Okumori-kun!”

I stopped, already unhappy from how many times she had disrupted me. She lightly jogged over and stopped right beside me, right under the umbrella.

“I don’t have a spare umbrella, so I have to make do!”

… I hate you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 2.5

It didn’t take me long to sense that we both disliked the odd circumstance we were in.

Heavily dislike.

While we walked at a sluggish pace, we both separated ourselves and desperately tried not to make the situation any more intolerable than it already was.

I had already accepted the fact that I had been holding an umbrella and was walking beside a girl. It wasn’t that big of a deal to me, and I wasn’t going to begin freaking out about such a trivial matter.

But, Miyake was the problem here. It seemed like she was the complete opposite of me, and it made me really uncomfortable. Just by taking a glance at her, and you’d immediately be able to spot her extremely bashful appearance.

What happened to your loud, gaudy personality?! Stop blushing! It just makes it worse!

The walk home was silent and agonizing, but we’d eventually push through it and made our way to my house. Once I could view my front door, I turned to Miyake and reached out the shameful umbrella I held to her.

Well, until she directed her finger over to her right, that is.

“Um… That's my house, by the way.”

I repeatedly blinked to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. I looked back and forth at my house and hers.

Y-You’re lying.

“Okumori-kun? What’s wrong?” She titled her head in bemusement.

With my unsteady finger, I pointed to my house, which was right across from hers.

There was silence, then an outburst.

"That's your house?!"

I shamefully nodded.

Seriously, how bad could this get? We'd be next to each other almost twenty-four-seven, and I’m positive that I wasn’t going to be prepared for the future circus acts she’d perform. It petrified me just imagining it.

Miyake, all of a sudden, was inches away from my face, sparking with ecstasy.

"We live next to each other?! That's so cool!"

I moved my head away from hers bitterly. While she celebrated, I could only feel melancholy in my body. Instead of exhilarated action, It was more of a: I want to die. I'd instead be living next to a dumpster. Anything else would be tremendously better.

"Seriously, what are the chances of that happening? Okumori-kun!" She grabbed my shoulders and shook me violently. "Why are you not excited? I'm excited! This makes the chances of us being friends so much higher! I think I'm going to celebrate when I get home. Do you want to join? You should come over, you know? It'll be fun! I'll definitely visit you. No, I should go there every day! I wonder what your mom is like. Is she also silent like you? Not to mention, we sit next to each other in class, too! We’ll be together almost every day! That’s so fun, isn’t it, Okumori-kun? Right? Riiight?!”

The scariest part about her incessant rambling was she said all of it without any errors. I couldn’t even remember a single word she had said, but I wasn’t planning to attempt to either.

"Ooh, wait, I need to tell my mom about this! I'll see you soon, Okumori-kun! Bye-byeee!”

She grabbed the umbrella I handed to her and cheerily ran away back to her house. I watched her in dismay, all while the rain poured and gushed all over my body.

I can’t escape her now, can I?

I didn’t take any more time outside and jogged my way inside the house. I entered inside and dropped the plastic bags on the floor.

“I’m home,” I murmured, still disconcerted.

“Toshiro! You’re back!”

I saw my mom come out of the kitchen with a troubled look. She wore an olive green apron, with her silky dark black hair tied in a ponytail.

“You’re drenched! Dry yourself quick, Toshiro! You’ll get a fever! I’ll take care of the groceries!” She panicked with a spatula in hand that whipped back and forth in a fearful way.

“Yeah, I will….” I said with a groan.

I headed towards the bathroom, entered, shut the door, removed my wet, damp clothes, and slapped it on the floor. I turned on the bath and set myself down in the lukewarm, yet slightly cold water. I leaned back and gazed at the white ceiling that was above me.

This is bad.

Miyake, the outgoing and sociable girl who I so solemnly disdain, is now my neighbor.

I’m the polar opposite of her. There’s no compatibility between the two of us. It’d just be like forcing an impotent mouse to go against a vigorous cat.

I like to think of it this way: The manipulator can never be manipulated. The strong will stay resilient and celebrate victory, while the weak will remain frail as they suffer defeat.

While she may think of trees blooming, azure skies, and luminous sunlight as she so ‘pleasantly’ walks, I can only imagine an elegiac, gray-colored world that I unhappily step on.

Well, not that I’m fond of her genuine self, anyway. I’m probably just overthinking things. I’ll just have to wait to know what lies in her soft-hearted personality.

Speaking of not knowing her, I wonder how she even dealt with lustful guys. I could recall her saying that she was confessed to a lot, and based on looks, I believed her.

Though, the problem probably laid with her. Her not knowing the consequences of rejecting the hearts of men worried me. She was definitely the type to reject your love offers with, “No, thanks! Good joke, though! Haha!” Or, even worse, she might go something along the lines of, “Really? That’s cool! But you’re not my type, though, so I don’t really like you. Sorry! Try when I’m older!”

I feel for whoever felt the wrath of those coarse rejections. I guarantee they cried for a week straight. Oh, man, they must be ruined.

I mean, I know from experience. It hurts.

Before I knew it, it had already been around twenty minutes since I had been in the bathtub. I hurried on exiting and drying myself up, wrapping a towel around my waist before I could leave the bathroom.

“Toshirooo! Your friend is downstairs!” My mom’s voice called out.

I became staggered upon hearing what she had said.

Friend? Who?

My eyes directed over to the door, eyeing it in confusion as I pondered at whom it could’ve been.

Who declared such a thing? Are they idiotic? Wait, how do you even know that’s someone safe, mom?

I swallowed and made my way downstairs. The hand on the towel wrapped around my waist was gripped loosely, with my black hair still being wet from the bath and limiting my eyesight as I took each step down.

Once I had reached the room where my mom and the random ‘friend’ of mine stood, I began to scrape the back of my neck with my right hand uneasily while I tried to spot who the person was. At first, I was oblivious to who had been in front of me, but as I gradually eyed the person head to toe, it didn’t take long for me to perceive that it was a woman.

Another girl? What does she want?

I used my left-hand now to clear the hair that had been blocking my sights, pushing it above my forehead and squinting my eyes.

I turned frozen once I figured out who she was.

Miyake.

Her eyes were vast, and her whole face was flustered. She seemed to be looking down, not at the floor, but my waist. Her lips trembled, and her face became more crimson-colored by the second.

“Oops, Toshiro. Your towel.” My mom pointed out with a toneless voice.

I looked down in uncertainty and immediately noticed that the towel that had supposedly been in my grasp was now miraculously on the floor. Realizing this, my face went ablaze.

No, no, no, this can’t be happening. I’m dreaming, right?

“I-It’s smaller than I initially thought...” Miyake commented.

Nope, it’s not a dream.

I grabbed the towel that was on the floor, hastened to conceal my lower body, and sprinted to my room in a flash without waiting for another word to come out from the two females.

I entered my room, banged it shut, and twisted the lock to make sure nobody could come in. I leaned my back onto the door and hyperventilated, traumatized by what had just happened.

Why is my luck beyond terrible today? Was the karma finally kicking in? I’m sorry, okay? Just make it stop!

I waited patiently until I felt safe and attempted to erase my humiliating thoughts in the meantime.

Once I had felt a little more composed and untroubled, I strode over to my bed and carelessly fell towards the mattress. I face-planted on the pillow and began to contemplate my life’s existence.

… How do I even show myself to her anymore? It’s going to be even more excruciating being in her presence with the knowledge that she’s seen my naked body.

“O-Okumori-kun! It’s fine! It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come so unexpectedly!” She cried while she knocked on the door lightly. “I-I-I won’t tell anyone at school! I promise! Not a word!”

A muffled grumble came out of me.

I’m thankful for that, but it’s you that I have a problem with, damn it! Why can’t you just leave me be already?!

I rose from the bed and scowled at the door. I had to restrain myself from hurling my pillows at it.

“Um, I was planning to come here after I told my mom, but I forgot to tell you! I'm so sorry! I just came in without your knowledge! I-It’s my truly my fault, though! I won’t bother you anymore! Oh, also, your mom gave me your phone number! I’ll text you when I’m coming over, is that okay?”

She what?

The feeling of timidity I had disappeared once I had heard her, and switched to a provoked one instead. I jumped up from my bed and slid on some clothes to cover my nude self, then stomping my way over to the door and slamming the door open with an agitated yet still heavily flustered appearance.

"O-Okumori-kun..?" She looked startled.

I ignored her surprised tone of voice and immediately went to search for her phone. I spotted it in her left hand and launched towards it without any reluctance.

"Huh?! Wait-"

She sidestepped and dodged me, while I fell forwards and thumped my face on the tatami floor with a loud grunt.

"W-What are you doing?" She said, horrified.

I set my right hand on the floor, and pranced up to her, this time successfully seizing her by wrapping my hands around her waist and pulling her down. I was now on top of her, trying to yank her phone away from her grasp. But, she resisted and tightened the grip on her phone.

“Remove my contacts!" I sharply muttered.

“Just wait a minute, Okumori-kun! Your nose is bleeding!” Miyake shrieked.

“Who cares about that?!” I aggressively spat back.

We both squirmed on the floor belligerently before she managed to grab hold of my face, and push me down with her surprising strength. She was now on top of me, now clutching her phone with both of her hands close to her chest.

“Stop it, already! The number is mine! More importantly, you’re bleeding! I don’t want to hurt you!”

I didn’t stop and kept trying to snatch the phone away, both of our arms flailing around in desperation.

Just give me the phone already, you animal!

“Ahh, jeez! I don’t care anymore!”

Miyake, all of a sudden, raised her free hand in the air and brought it down with speed straight to my cheek.

A minute later.

I lost.

We both were currently on our knees now, facing my mom in apprehension, who held a spatula in her hand as if it was some sort of weapon. There was a stinging sensation on my right cheek, and a small ripped-off piece of paper towel shoved in my left nostril to stop the bleeding in my nose.

My mom hit my head with the spatula with a dink, which caused me to grumble in resentment while I caressed the pain.

“She’s a guest, Toshiro! Say you’re sorry!” She bitterly spoke.

“Um, it’s fine! It’s my fault! I should be the one apologizing..."

My mom dropped her spatula and approached Miyake quickly, then grabbed her wrists and pulled her in close.

“I’m so, so sorry for Toshiro’s arrogance! I’ll make him do a week's worth of chores! I-I’ll punish him! Just tell me what punishment would seem fair for you!”

Miyake stopped moving altogether, and I could sense that she was pondering the option of putting me through torture. Noticing this, I began to whip my head right to left repeatedly, and internally begged her to deny my mom’s offer. She caught a glimpse of my attempt and revealed a sympathetic smile at me.

Miyake then faced my mom again and shook her head.

"It's fine! You don’t have to punish him at all! I’m the one who hurt him too, so I’d feel even worse….”

“Huh? Are you sure about that?! I can even tell you something about him!” Mom exclaimed.

Miyake’s grin disappeared, now forming into an inquisitive expression.

“Tell me.” She said with a grave tone.

Mom pulled away from her and raised her finger joyously. “Mm, gladly! One time, I caught Toshiro with his pants down-!”

I charged my mom and cupped my palm around her mouth, to which she continued merrily rambling but were muffled due to my attempt of silencing her.

“What did she say?” The airhead questioned in perplexity.

Nothing, idiot!

I ignored Miyake and waited for my mom to finish her audacious comments. Thankfully, she stopped after a minute, but I could still feel her smile in my palms. I reluctantly loosened my grip on her mouth and retracted my hand away in a skeptical manner.

“Oh, also, he ripped his underwear last week!” My mom chuckled.

You were waiting for me to remove my hand, weren’t you?!

“Seriously… ?” Miyake was brave enough to question.

Mom nodded.

I could sense that Miyake was trying not to laugh, and it only made me feel more ashamed of myself.

She then peeked over my mom’s shoulders and eyed me with a mischievous smirk.

“Okumori-kun, is that true?”

I immediately averted from her gaze and didn’t respond. I could sense a searing feeling on my face as I looked away.

“Hehe… I won’t say anything about that either.”

Shut up…

“Well, anyway, I should go now... I think I’ve stayed here for too long. My mom might get worried!” She lowered her head, then rose back up with a harmonious smile.

“Eh?! No, not at all! Stay as long as you want! I don’t have a problem at all!”

My mom then death gripped my shirt and pulled me in close. “Toshiro doesn’t have a problem, too, right? Right?” She said with a genial beam on her face, but tightening the grip on the collar of my shirt.

She then turned her eyes to me and whispered protectively. “She’s such a cutie! Why wouldn’t you let her stay?!”

“I don’t like her...” I murmured back.

“Rude! How could you say that?! Have you taken a good look at her?” I could see tears on her eyelids as she puffed her cheeks.

I promptly nodded, which caused her to sigh and release the collar of my shirt. “Fine, but don’t cry about it when you miss your chance!”

What are you, my wingman?

She then looked back to Miyake and waved. “Well, if you’re going, I’ll follow you out!”

"Um, okay! Bye, Okumori-kun!" Miyake swayed her hand right to left at me.

I sighed and didn’t respond to her, and only pushed myself up from the floor to approach my room.

Or, well, so they think. I disappeared from their eyes, but was still in their presence. I hid behind a wall, and began to eavesdrop on their conversation, unbeknownst to what other embarrassing stories my mom could feed Miyake with.

But upon hearing what they conversed about, it wasn’t long until I realized that it wasn’t stories they were sharing.

Seriously, could this be any worse than it already was?