Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ryuji should’ve known something was up the instant his mom came back with an extra shopping bag. Not only was it an extra bag, it was also a bag filled to the brim with groceries that were usually a luxury in the Sakamoto house. By the time Ryuji had pulled out the first, second, and third box of mochi ice cream, he finally noticed the little smile on his mom’s face.

“So, Ma,” Ryuji said, holding up the frost-covered boxes before plopping them into the freezer, “what’s the occasion? Don’t tell me I missed your birthday.”

His mom glanced at the box and laughed. Her hair was in a low ponytail that swished as she continued putting away the groceries, and if Ryuji wasn’t imagining things, he could’ve sworn it looked more brushed than usual. “It’s nothing much. Someone was just kind enough to repay a favor they never owed me in the first place.”

“A favor?” Ryuji leaned against the counter and grinned. “Aren’t you the one who told me I ain’t allowed to join the yakuza?”

Mayu Sakamoto levelled him a look she had given him all her life, but as usual, it didn’t last long. His mom’s mouth curled upwards, and a few chuckles slid their way out of her wobbling lips. She quickly turned away before the laughter could completely take her over, and continued to dutifully unload the overstuffed grocery bags.

There weren’t a lot of people Ryuji loved being with, but then again, there weren’t a lot of people like his mom. And Ryuji was definitely sure that no mom could ever compare to her. Mayu Sakamoto was a fairly short woman, and she looked even smaller with her slanted shoulders that had been worn down by a shitty life. But no matter what happened, no matter what incident happened at school, no matter the fact that she had to move to the other side of the city for Ryuji, his mom never gave up. No matter how tired her eyes looked, she would always shoulder the responsibility and do what she had to do for the two of them. So yeah, Ryuji thought she was the greatest mom the world didn’t deserve.

Their life circumstances were part of the reason few of Ryuji’s friends had ever met his mom. Chalk it up to him being her only kid, but Ryuji felt a certain duty to protect his mom, no matter how many times she told him it wasn’t necessary. If he wanted someone to meet her, he was gonna be damn well sure that they were worthy of it. Those 'worthy people' included the Phantom Thieves, of course. Ryuji trusted them with his life back in the metaverse, so he figured he could trust them with meeting his mom.

The other reason why Ryuji was less than inclined to introduce people to Mayu was… slightly more embarrassing. Ann labeled it as being an ‘unashamed Mama’s boy’, something which Ryuji eventually (yet reluctantly) agreed with. But who could blame him? Out of all the sons in the world, Mayu ended up with him , and after everything Ryuji had put her through, he wanted to do his damndest to be the best son he could be.

So when someone decided to take an interest in his mom, Ryuji figured that it was his duty to learn everything he could about this mysterious suitor.

“Sooooo.” Ryuji leaned forward and grinned. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

His mom refused to turn around, instead choosing to inspect a head of lettuce she was just about to put into the fridge. “Ryuji, it’s nothing like that.”

“Uh huh. Then why were ya smilin’?”

Mayu finally put the lettuce away and began emptying the final grocery bag. “Who’s to say it’s a guy? And if it was, why would you want to know?”

“Well, if it wasn't, I don’t think you’d be keepin’ it a secret. And if it is a guy… ” Ryuji left the word hanging. When Mayu finally turned back to him, he punched his clenched fist into his open palm, creating a loud smack . “I’d like to make sure he’s good enough for my mom before he gets anywhere near you.”

His mom started laughing, really laughing, and Ryuji took it as a win. “Oh, honey.” Mayu walked up to him and reached up to cup his cheek in her palm. “You’re so sweet.”

Ryuji resisted the urge to lean into the touch like a little kid. He wasn’t a scared eight year old kid anymore, and he wanted his mom to know that. She needed to know that. So he took a deep breath, looked into his mom’s face, and spoke in a low voice. “You know I mean it, Mom. Right?”

“I know.” Her eyes were sad, and Ryuji knew from the quiet way she spoke that she had understood him. “How about this. If he turns out to be a… not-so-great guy.”

“Oh trust me, if he hurts you, he’ll get what’s comin’ to him.”

“If that happens.” Mayu raised her hand until she reached Ryuji’s dyed hair, pushing back the unruly strands with her gentle fingers. “We‘ll deal with it. Just like we always have.”

Ryuji swallowed a pit that had crawled up his throat. “But better than last time. Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They stayed like that for a while, with Ryuji letting his mom card her fingers through his hair. Once his mom started smiling again, Ryuji slid off the counter, but his mom kept her fingers in her hair, and now she was fully ruffling it.

“Ma!” Ryuji protested. He feigned a duck and a weave around the kitchen, letting his mom keep up with him just a step or two away. A minute later she had finished having her fun, releasing Ryuji and returning to the remaining grocery bag.

Ryuji leaned against the pantry door and crossed his arms. “Soooo?” He drawled.

His mom pulled out the vegetables for tonight’s dish and set them out on the counter. “He’s from out of town.”

“Uh huuuuh.”

“His work has an office in Tokyo. They opened up a branch office in this part of the city, and the poor guy got lost. I ran into him earlier this week, but his schedule was so busy he didn’t have the time to meet up again until today.”

Ryuji raised his eyebrows. “So a business guy? Weren’t you the one who told me those guys are too full of themselves?”

“Ryuji! Manners!” She whirled around to face him with a pointy carrot in hand, and Ryuji raised his hands in mock surrender. She rolled her eyes at him, and Ryuji just barely resisted telling her to watch her own manners. “And he’s not a businessman. He works in Public Security.”

“Huh, didn’t peg you as someone who liked cops,” Ryuji said, but shut his mouth right after he said that final word.

A cop? That was strange. They hadn’t lived in this part of Tokyo for very long, but his mom had never shown an interest in any kind of cop, though it could be because most cops in Tokyo sucked. In fact, there was only one cop Ryuji would consider to be alright…

Oh no, he thought. Oh man, please tell me this is just me bein’ dumb and overthinkin’ things.

“So, uh, where’s this guy from?” He asked as he scratched the back of his neck.

“He used to live in Tokyo, but his main office is in Kyoto,” Mayu said, tucking the grocery bags into a cupboard. “Why?”

Used to live in Tokyo, then moved to Kyoto…

A lightbulb went off in Ryuji’s head.

Oh .

Oh fuck.

“So Ma,” he said, his voice slightly more high-pitched than he meant for it to be, “do you remember that my friend Akira kinda gets… watched by the government?”

His mom turned ‘round to face him and narrowed her eyes. “Because he challenged his false arrest…”

“And remember that guy we said we met on the trip last summer?” Ryuji asked, his voice even higher.

“Who you said ‘turned out to be kinda chill’ after he stalked you for a few days in the name of ‘security’?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Would his name be Zenkichi Hasegawa?”

Ryuji pressed his lips together, and all he could squeak out was, “Yep!”

And as Ryuji’s mind was internally panicking with the fact that Zenkichi, the only adult who knew about the metaverse, had fought in the metaverse, and had seen Ryuji fight in the metaverse, was now in contact with his mom (who, by the way, did not know about the metaverse), Mayu crossed her arms and pursed her lips. Ryuji felt the silence grow thick, and he was two seconds away from bursting and blabbing about the Phantom Thieves when his mom turned and walked out of the kitchen.

“I’m going to make a phone call,” she said, grabbing her cell phone and walking out onto their tiny balcony.

Ryuji collapsed against the pantry and let out the biggest sigh of relief. “Yeah. You do that, Ma.”

“You went on a date and didn’t tell me?”

Zenkichi rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Akane, we’ve been over this. It was not a date. I was just… repaying a favor.”

“Uh huh.” Akane pressed her elbows onto the table and leaned over towards Zenkichi. “By taking her out to lunch and paying for her groceries.”

“I noticed she was being frugal at the market and thought I could make a nice gesture.” Zenkichi rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he knew was a dead giveaway yet had trouble dropping. “And… she kind of helped me get to work on time.”

“How?”

“By helping me find the office.” Zenkichi picked up their dinner plates and took them to their provisional kitchen. It was a small apartment on loan to them from PubSec, and though it wasn’t spacious, it was big enough for Zenkichi and his daughter to live comfortably during their two-week stay in Tokyo.

Akane followed right behind him. “So, did she just give you a vague direction?”

“Well, no.” Zenkichi plopped the dishes into the sink and started clearing up the mess from their second attempt at making curry together. Hey, at least this time the walls were relatively free of curry droplets! “She actually showed me which train to get on. And which platform to cross to. And exactly which street to go down.”

Akane, again, followed his lead by grabbing a kitchen rag and wiping down the stove. “So… basically, she took you all the way there.”

“And because of that, she was late for work. I felt bad about it, so I figured that inviting her to lunch was a good apology.”

“So why didn’t you notice that she was gonna be late?”

Zenkichi busied himself with washing the messy pot they’d made the curry in. “Because I didn’t know at what time her work started. That’s not exactly a topic that came up.”

Akane came up next to him and raised a single eyebrow. Zenkichi ignored the look and was a second away from telling her to go do her homework when he remembered that she’d already done it all. She’d even done next week’s homework!

Zenkichi forced down a sigh with a cough. Ever since the incident last summer, he and Akane had begun mending their relationship one step at a time. They’d made progress, and that’s how Zenkichi learned about Akane’s lonely situation at school. No friends, any friends she did have were ones she’d met online, and the only days she seemed truly happy were the days she didn’t go to school. So, citing personal reasons, Zenkichi had gotten permission for Akane to do school remotely, provided she kept up with all her schoolwork. And surprisingly enough… It was actually helping. Not only was Akane keeping up with her work, her grades had also skyrocketed!

Zenkichi had to admit, seeing his daughter happy was the greatest feeling he could ever have. The remote learning was working so far, so when Zenkichi was given another assignment in Tokyo that would last at least a couple of weeks, he was actually able to bring Akane along with him. It was a good situation. Great, actually! Except in this instance, when he was still washing curry grease off the pot and Akane was still giving him a way-too-knowing look.

“So you, the Public Security detective,” she said, “thought that a middle-aged woman who was out early on a Tuesday morning and ran into you, a guy who was going off to work , was just… what? Out for a stroll?”

Zenkichi pushed the pot to one side and turned to the messy dishes. “Out of all the people to get lip from, I get lip from my own daughter?”

Akane hummed. “You mentioned topics of conversation. Just how long were you two talking for?”

Zenkichi kept scrubbing the plates.

“You talked the whole way to work, didn’t you?”

Zenkichi dropped the plate and stood back from the sink. “You know what, since you have time to mock me, how about you finish cleaning up?” He said in his most commanding dad voice, and he even crossed his arms to show he was serious!

Akane immediately turned to the sink, but a quick glance at her face told Zenkichi that she did so only to hide her growing smirk. “So what’s her name?” She asked, though she did actually turn on the sink and start scrubbing at a plate.

“Her name is Mayu Sakamoto, and she is a very kind woman. So I’d appreciate it if you stopped looking at me like that.”

“I’m not even looking at you!” Akane defended. Zenkichi laughed and made his way to the living room, sinking into the apartment’s hard couch. It really had been a long day…

“Hold on.” Akane wondered over the sounds of the running faucet. “Where have I heard that name before?”

Zenkichi dropped his head over the back of the couch and closed his eyes. “I don’t know. TV maybe? I don’t know what you kids watch these days.”

“No, it wasn’t on TV.” Zenkichi could still hear her cleaning the plates, but the scrubbing had definitely slowed down. “Hmm…. I don’t think I’ve heard the given name, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the family name.”

Maybe. Sakamoto was a pretty common last name, though it was by no means one that Zenkichi heard on the daily. In fact, he wondered when was the last time he’d ever met someone named ‘Sakamoto’. When could it have been? There was no one at the office with that name, and he was pretty sure that he hadn’t arrested anyone by that name, either.

Wait… Arrested.

“Sakamoto… It sounds like—”

He hadn’t arrested anyone named Sakamoto, but he’d come pretty close to. Last summer. Last summer when—

Zenkichi’s eyes shot open.

“Isn’t that the name of one of Makoto Niijima’s friends?” Akane asked.

And that was the moment that Zenkichi’s phone started ringing. He jumped off the couch and ran to the jacket that hung off the dining table’s chair. He fumbled with the pocket until he finally managed to pull out the phone, and it took every shred of willpower to not wince at the name that was blazing across the screen.

“If you’ll excuse me, Akane, I have to take a call.”

“Hello, Mr Hasegawa,” Mayu greeted the instant the call was accepted.

“Good evening, Mrs Sakamoto.” The man replied, and Mayu heard him click a door shut on his end of the line. “Uh, how are you? Your day been good?”

“Good, yes.” Mayu turned to the rustling trees that counted as her balcony’s view. The breeze brought in a chill, and Mayu wrapped her free arm around herself on instinct. “But I did have something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh! Of course! Ask away! Anything you want! I’m sure there’s something you want to clear up.”

“Like the fact that you were the Public Security detective that was following my son and his friends last summer?”

“Just that! That’s actually how your son and I met!” The man’s cheery tone quickly faded into awkward laughter, and Mayu heard him take in a breath through his teeth. “And I probably should’ve told you that when we met.”

“So why didn’t you?” There was a pause on the line, and it was so quiet that all Mayu could hear was the early autumn wind.

Eventually, he spoke again. “Honestly, I didn’t put two and two together. There are quite a few people with the family name ‘Sakamoto’, after all. But I swear, I honestly did not know who you were to Ryuji.”

Mayu cursed herself for laughing. “Are you saying that I don’t look like my son? That I don’t act like his mother?”

“Oh no! Not at all!” The man said immediately. “I mean, it is true that you have a more… delicate way of speaking than Ryuji.”

“Oh, so you’re on a first-name basis with my son.”

“Yes! I mean, no! I mean, kind of?”

Mayu smiled to herself. Aside from Ryuji, it was rare for her to hear someone sound so flustered. She remembered that it was the same way the man acted with her the day they’d met, with him speaking too fast and instantly apologizing for distracting her so much. At the time, she thought it was endearing, and damn it, even now it was endearing. But even if it wasn’t on purpose, he’d still hidden something from her.

“Any more secrets you hiding from me?” She asked.

“No! I mean, I wasn’t hiding the secret.” Mayu heard him sigh. “Believe it or not, I didn’t look too deep into your son’s file. Just enough to know that he was best friends with Akira Kurusu.”

Mayu stepped forward and leaned her arms on the balcony railing. “I admit, I’m surprised. Ryuji doesn’t have the highest respect for law enforcement precisely because of what they did to Akira, so I’m shocked that he thinks there’s a decent cop out there.”

“Believe me, I know. I got chewed out by them the first few times I met them.”

But then, in a lower voice that Mayu was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to hear, he said, “Really? The kid thinks I’m decent?”

And at the sound of those words, Mayu’s heart skipped a beat.

He… Gives a damn about what Ryuji thinks of him, she realized. When was the last time any adult cared about that? When was the last time my ex-husband cared about that?

The breeze picked up, and Mayu let the wind whistle around her. “So what changed?”

“Honestly? Those kids are pretty great.” Mayu couldn’t see it, but she heard the smile in Mr Hasegawa’s voice. “They needed someone they could trust, not a dog of the law hunting them down. Once I realized that, I wanted to earn their trust. For real, this time.”

“Well, it sounds like you did.” Mayu measured her next words. “If you want us to stay in contact, you have to promise me something.”

“What is it?”

“That you have no intentions to harm my son or his friends. Because if you do, I will never forgive you. Not ever.”

“Mrs Sakamoto,” Mr Hasegawa said. “I promise, I have no intentions to go after your son or his friends. I’d rather put my life and career on the line than do that. I have done that, and I’d do it all over again.”

Mayu thought back to the week after Ryuji’s trip had ended. He was exhausted but happy, and even as he crashed onto their couch after every physical therapy session, he did so with a smile. Every night he would tell stories from the trip, and it didn’t take long before he mentioned a cop who went from being ‘a huge prick’ to being ‘a pretty good guy, after all’. It had been a while since she’d seen Ryuji smile so brightly, and it was a memory that Mayu treasured.

“One last thing,” she said while hoping he couldn’t hear how she was smiling. “You said you wanted to gain their trust ‘this time’.”

The pitch of Mr Hasegawa’s voice rose dramatically. “I can explain! Just ask Ryuji! He can vouch for me!”

“Yeah, Gramps is alright, Ma!” Ryuji yelled, and it was so loud that Mayu was certain Mr Hasegawa had heard it. “For now, at least!”

“Thank you, Ryuji.” Zenkichi sighed, but his voice immediately returned to a higher-than-normal pitch. “Wait, what?”

Mayu turned around, and was entirely unsurprised to see her son sitting on the floor pillow closest to the balcony’s sliding door, eyes wide in panic as he stared at a tv that was not on.

“Ryuji,” Mayu began, “were you eavesdropping on my conversation?”

“Um, no?” Ryuji pressed his lips together and scrambled off the floor. “Um, gotta do homework! I’ll be in my room!”

“Where the hell are you going?” Mr Hasegawa screamed from the phone as Ryuji sprinted to the apartment’s hallway. “And why are you still calling me ‘Gramps’? I’m not that old!”

A young girl’s voice spoke up on Mr Hasegawa’s end of the line. “They actually call you ‘Gramps’? To your face?”

“Akane, you were eavesdropping, too?” Mr Hasegawa yelled.

“Oh no,” the girl squeaked, and Mayu heard the familiar sound of a child who knows they’re in trouble running as if their life depended on it.

“Get back here, young lady! We need to have a talk about privacy!” Mr Hasegawa called out, but switched to a soft tone when he turned back to the phone. “Sorry, Mrs Sakamoto. I have to go talk to my daughter. Rain check on the call?”

“Rain check. I have to go have a talk with my own child.”

Mr Hasegawa laughed. “Guess we have more in common than we thought.”

And somehow, that simple statement made Mayu laugh, too. “That we do,” she agreed. “That we do.”

Later that night, after wishing a not-so-repentant Akane a good night, Zenkichi closed the door to his sparse temporary bedroom. He then walked to the furthest corner from said door and turned down the volume on his phone. Too much? Maybe, but he’d already been eavesdropped on once, and for this next conversation, he needed to be extraordinarily careful.

Ryuji’s caller ID flashed on Zenkichi’s screen. After double-checking that his door was indeed shut, Zenkichi accepted the call.

“Ryuji. It’s, um, it’s good to hear from you.” Zenkichi greeted.

“Uh, yeah. Good to hear from you too, Gramps.” Ryuji said, and Zenkichi was just relieved that they both sounded equally, painfully, wincingly awkward.

Zenkichi cleared his throat. “So, Ryuji. As we’ve both just discovered, I am now in contact with you mother.”

“No shit.”

Zenkichi laughed. “You know, with how different your use of language is to your mother’s, I’m beginning to understand why I didn’t put two and two together.”

“Hey! You insultin’ my mom, Gramps?”

“Not at all. If anything, I’m complimenting her.”

“Oh. Ok… Wait a sec!"

Zenkichi chuckled again before a heavy silence landed between them. He was pretty sure he knew what Ryuji was going to ask, but still—

“What are you plannin’ to do with my mom?” Ryuji asked, and his tone was as low and serious as Zenkichi had ever heard it. There was no snarling anger, no shouting, just a simple question.

Zenkichi huffed in surprise. Ryuji responded with a grunt. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Didn’t expect that to be the thing you wanted to talk about,” Zenkichi replied.

“Oh yeah? Then what am I supposed to talk about!”

“Well, I was assuming you wanted to talk about the… incident last summer. Where, you know, I kind of saw you and your friends do a bunch of stuff I’m fairly certain your mom doesn’t know about.”

“That was my second question!” Ryuji yelled, so loud that Zenkichi had to hold the phone away from his ear. “Who do you think I am? An idiot?”

“If you’re not an idiot, then stop screaming before your mother overhears you!”

“Oh—shit!” Ryuji cursed, but did lower his volume. “But now that we’re talkin’ about that… You didn’t tell her anything, right?”

“No.” Zenkichi sighed. “It isn’t my place. And besides, you and the other thieves didn’t tell Akane. I’d be a hypocrite if I told your mom while keeping Akane in the dark.”

“So you haven’t told her either, huh?”

“I haven’t. The metaverse… I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. There’s already enough things for Akane to handle, and I don’t want to burden her with this. It’s a bit different with your mother—“

“It’s not!” Ryuji said. “Look, Gramps. I know you were investigatin’ us and all that, but you don’t know what my mom and I have been through. She’s gone through way too much crap, so if I can keep her out of this, that’s what I’m gonna do. Got it?”

Zenkichi sighed, again. “Understood. I’d say it’s different because all parents want is to understand what their child is going through, to find a way to protect them. But the metaverse is gone, and your mother can’t protect you there. Even I was useless until I finally awakened Valjean, and I’m a cop.”

“Yeah, you were. I still remember how freaked you were when you saw the Tokyo jail!”

“And I remember how I saved you in the Kyoto jail. Care to reminisce with me?”

“Uh…” Ryuji trailed. “H-Hey, you still haven’t answered my question!”

Zenkichi smiled to himself. “You really care about your mom, don’t you?”

“Yeah. So you better give me a good answer!”

“I hear you, I hear you,” Zenkichi said. “Ryuji, I’m not planning to do anything with your mom. I just met her the other day.”

“Yeah. And it sounds like you like her.”

“Well, of course!” Zenkichi said. Quickly realizing what he had just said out loud, he cleared his throat and continued. “From the little I’ve been with her, I can tell she’s a kind and intelligent woman.”

“Yeah. She is.” Ryuji said, leaving the final word hanging.

Zenkichi squeezed his eyes shut. Ryuji wasn’t going to accept that as an answer, and if he was being serious about his mom going through a lot, Zenkichi could understand where he was coming from. Actually, this reminded him of a very similar conversation he just had with Mrs Sakamoto…

Zenkichi opened his eyes as everything fell into place. “Ryuji, I promise you, I have no intentions to cause any harm to your mother. I don’t have any plans because we just met! But I think… I want to see her again. And if I do, I will do my very best to treat her as she deserves to be treated.”

“Uh huh,” Ryuji said. “And how does she deserve to be treated?”

Zenkichi smiled. “As a charming, sweet, considerate woman. And as the mother of someone who helped save my daughter’s life.”

There was a pause on the line, and Zenkichi held his breath. He was about to say something else before Ryuji beat him to it. “Huh.” The kid said, and Zenkichi could hear Ryuji’s shit-eating grin filter through the phone. “So you think my mom’s charmin’? You tell her that yet?”

“Oh, knock it off!” Zenkichi yelled back. “I pour my heart out to you, and your response is to mock me?”

“Pourin’ out your heart? Wow, you really like her! Didn’t know you still had the energy in you to do that, Gramps.”

“Will you stop calling me ‘Gramps’!”

A few weeks later, Ryuji pressed the green button before he could measure the awkwardness that was about to ensue. “Hey, Makoto!” He said once she’d accepted the call. “How are ya? How’s university goin’?”

“Hello, Ryuji,” she answered, prim and proper, as always. “Is there any specific reason you’re calling me instead of texting?”

“No! Or, um, maybe?”

“Is it because you want Akane’s cell phone number?”

“Wha—how the heck do you know that!” Ryuji stared at his phone in shock, despite the fact that Makoto couldn’t see him.

And unless Ryuji’s mind was playing tricks on him, he heard Makoto giggling into the phone. “Because Akane just asked me for your number. I sent it to her, and I have a feeling she’ll be calling you soon.”

“Oh.” Ryuji grinned at his bedroom wall. “That makes things easier. Thanks Makoto!”

“My pleasure. I hope everything works out well between your guys’ parents.”

“Thanks. Wait—huh?” Ryuji’s mouth fumbled. “Just how much did Akane tell ya?”

“I’ll let you figure it out after speaking with Akane. You can call me later and give me all the details. And Ryuji, know that if you try hiding anything, I can always double-check the facts with Akane. Have a good night.” Makoto ended the call with a self-satisfied click , leaving Ryuji to groan at no one.

“She is havin’ way too much fun with this!” Ryuji said out-loud. He sank onto his bed and rested his head against the wall behind him. He then propped his bad leg on his desk chair, mentally cursing at how much that actually helped manage the pain. A single light illuminated the rest of the room, letting Ryuji’s eyes trail over his organized clutter. He knew he should probably be picking up the manga he had strewn around, stack the loose homework papers into his school bag, or at least gather up his physical therapy equipment. But he remained unfocused and uninterested in doing any of that, as he wondered how long he was supposed to wait for the phone call he knew he was coming.

“Ah!” Ryuji yelled at the sudden buzz. He jerked backwards in surprise, and somehow thunked his head against the wall. “Aah…”

As he groaned and rubbed the back of his scalp, Ryuji looked at the caller ID on his phone. It wasn’t a number he’d registered, but he had a feeling he already knew whose it was. Bracing for the worst, he accepted the call. “H-hey Akane! Long time no see. How ya been?”

“Um, I’ve been ok,” said a timid voice. “How about you?”

“Me? I’ve been good. Yeah!” Ryuji blabbed. When no answer came, he felt the awkward tension rise. Akane waited patiently for him to say something, and Ryuji could already picture her shyly looking away from the phone, kind of like how she'd acted when he and the Phantom Thieves had met her last summer.

Ryuji pretended to clear his throat. “So… “

“Our parents are calling each other,” Akane stated.

Ryuji let out a breath. “Yep.”

“They’re calling each other a lot.”

“Yep.”

“Is ‘ yep’ the only word in your vocabulary?”

“Yep. I mean–shit–no!”

Akane laughed on the other end, and it diffused some of the awkwardness. It was true that in the last months Ryuji’s mom had been making a lot of calls to Zenkichi. In the evening after dinner, on Sundays when they both had breaks from work, and even sometimes in the morning before Ryuji’s mom had to go catch the early train. Honestly, sometimes it felt like Ryuji’s mom lived on their little balcony, phone pressed to her ear and her feet crossing over each other playfully. It was something that hadn’t gone unnoticed to Ryuji, and based on Akane’ tone, Ryuji could assume that Zenkichi was being just as unsubtle.

Akane finally spoke up. “This might seem out of the blue, but… Can I ask a personal question?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Promise you won’t get mad.”

“Sure, I promise. What is it?”

Ryuji heard Akane suck in a breath. “What happened to your dad?”

Ryuji went rock still. His mouth fumbled as he tried to process the question, but Akane continued speaking fast and quick, getting the words out as if her mind was on autopilot.

“I mean,” she said, “you know about my mom, and you know exactly what happened to her. To us. And it just feels… weird, you know? Knowing that you know so much about my family but I don’t know anything about yours. It feels like you have the upper hand in it, and I know that this is probably really insensitive, but I just can’t get it out of my head. And I…”

The monologue had given Ryuji time to realize what the hell Akane was trying to say. So when Akane wound down, he huffed and leaned back into a more comfortable position on his bed. “It’s not just that. Is it?”

“What do you mean?” Akane asked.

“You wanna know things’ll be ok for your dad.”

“H–how did you know that?” Akane demanded. And honestly, it was a pretty easy question for Ryuji to answer.

“‘Cause I want to know things will be ok for my mom.”

He heard Akane gasp. “Oh.”

Ryuji’s gaze raised itself to the ceiling. It was rare enough for anyone to bring up his dad, and if he was gonna talk about this, at least he didn’t have to look at someone while he did so. “You really wanna know?”

“Yes,” Akane said. Her tone was calm, and Ryuji had a gut feeling that she would take this as seriously as he did.

“Honestly, I got nothing to worry about with your dad,” he said.

“How come?”

“‘Cause my dad was a piece of shit.”

After Akane sputtered out a string of nonsense syllables, Ryuji calmed her down and gave her the story. It left out the details, but he went through almost everything. How his dad had lost his job, how he turned to drinking to cope, how he’d hurt Ryuji and his mom when he’d had a bad day, and how his mom had finally managed to run away with Ryuji and force his dad to file a divorce contract. They were finally rid of him by Ryuji’s first year of junior high school, but sometimes it felt like his dad still lingered. It took Ryuji another two years to feel like he was really never coming back, and his mom never seemed interested in another man. It was as if she’d sworn off any kind of dating.

At least, until she’d met Zenkichi.

“Woah,” Akane said at the end of it. After everything Ryuji had told her, he was amazed that she was taking it all so well.

“Yeah,” he said in return.

“I promise my dad isn’t like that. He’s way better, and he’d never hurt anyone like that!”

“I know,” Ryuji said honestly. “That means I expect him to treat my mom better than my dad did.”

“Oh, he will.” Akane huffed. “And if he doesn’t, I’m gonna have a very serious talk with him.”

And even though Akane couldn’t see him, Ryuji grinned. “You know, kid, I always knew I liked you.”

“Hey, take that back! I’m not a kid, you know!”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, kid.”

“Congratulations, sweetheart!” Mayu wrapped her arms around her son’s shoulders and squeezed. “I knew you could do it!”

“‘Ts tight!” Ryuji squeaked, but he still returned the hug with strong arms.

Mayu hugged him back even tighter. She’d just come back from her late shift at the department store she managed to find Ryuji preparing dinner all by himself. He claimed it was merely because he got out of his physical therapy session early that day, and Mayu skeptically accepted the kind gesture. But then he had the idea to wait until dinner to tell her the good news, and Mayu didn’t know whether or not to smack him upside the head for not telling her right away.

But instead of doing that, she let go of her son and held his face in her hands. “I’m so happy for you, Ryuji! Your therapist cleared you for the race!”

Ryuji flushed and looked away. “It’s just for a little tournament. ‘Ts not a big deal.”

“Hush,” Mayu chastised, pulling his head back so he could look at her. “It is a big deal. That’s the race that talent scouts are going to be at, right? This is what you’ve worked for, and you’ve finally made it!”

“I still need to do well in the race,” Ryuji muttered. “No university's gonna take an athlete that can’t get a good time.”

“But they will take you.” Mayu smiled up at him. He was nearly a full head taller than her now, and she wondered when he’d gotten that big. “I’ve seen your times, sweetheart. You’re doing better every day, and I know that those scouts are all going to be fighting over you. You’re that much closer to your dreams!”

“It’s all thanks to you, Ma,” Ryuji said as took her hands in his own. “I wouldn’t be able to do this if you weren’t willin’ to move.”

“Huh?”

Ryuji looked away again. “Well, we moved here so I could go to the rehab facility. You had to find a new job, a new place. You did all that for my sake.” His foot scuffed at the tatami mat beneath them, and he still didn’t meet her eyes.

“Ryuji, look at me,” Mayu ordered. Ryuji slowly raised his gaze, and Mayu held it. “It’s a mom’s job to look after her kid. If it’s for you, I’d move all the way to Hokkaido if I had to.”

A familiar smirk spread across Ryuji’s face. “Not Kyoto?” he asked.

Mayu gasped. She raised a single accusatory finger straight at his head. “What have I told you about eavesdropping? After all the talks, and you still—”

“Ah! I wasn’t!” Ryuji raised his hands in surrender.  “Akane mentioned that you and Gramps were thinking about meeting up in Kyoto! That’s how I know!”

Mayu blinked. “You’re in touch with Zenkichi’s daughter?”

“You’re on a first name basis with Gramps?” Ryuji asked.

“Yes. I mean—that’s not the point!” Mayu felt her cheeks flush and she turned away to regain her composure. She couldn’t be a stern mother if she was blushing like a high schooler!

“Then what is the point?” Ryuji sank down onto one of the floor pillows and propped his elbows on the living room’s table. “That you and Gramps wanna meet up and you haven’t told me?”

Mayu sighed. Once she was certain that the blush had gone down, she took a seat on the floor pillow next to her son. “I wanted to ask you first.”

“Me? How come?”

“After what happened with your… father.” Mayu began.

“The glorified sperm donor.”

“Yes, the glorified sperm donor,” she repeated, not bothering to correct him. “I want to make sure that you’re ok with any man I choose to be with. It’s nothing official.”

“Yet.”

“Ryuji…” Mayu warned.

“Sorry, Ma,” Ryuji said, placing a hand on the back of his neck. He did look sorry enough, so Mayu continued.

“It’s not official, but going to visit Zenkichi in Kyoto… I feel like that’s the step before it becomes official, and I don't want to take it unless I know you’re ok with this.”

“Mom, I am.” Ryuji smiled at her. “I like seein’ ya happy. And Gramps… he’s a good guy. He’s been through a lot, too, and I think if there’s anyone who can treat you the way you deserve, it’s him.”

Mayu’s heart burst in joy and pride. “Oh, honey.” She reached out and carded a hand through Ryuji’s hair, not trusting herself to speak. Having his blessing meant everything to her, and she thanked whichever being that had given her this boy as her son. “Thank you.”

If there were tears in her eyes, Ryuji didn’t comment. He stared down at the table for a moment, and when he raised his head again, he smiled brightly. “And guess what,” he said. “I know where he lives. So if he does anythin’ bad to ya, I know just where to find him!”

“Ryuji!”

“You like her,” Akane stated.

Her dad hung his head next to her, the random tv show they were watching completely forgotten. “Yes. I do.”

Akane looked away, choosing to stare at her bare feet. They were back at their home in Kyoto, on a rare weekday when her dad didn’t have to travel to somewhere other than Tokyo. These days, Akane would’ve been happy to have him at home like this, but they’d been dancing around a subject that her dad seemed determined to avoid. She hated it. She hated it and the silence that came with it, so today was the day she was going to force him to talk about it.

“Akane.”

“You haven’t asked her out because of me, right?” She said. She heard Zenkichi sigh, and she curled into herself on their couch.

Her dad turned off the tv. “Sweetheart…”

“I know.” Finally, she looked up at him. They had both changed into their night clothes, and seeing her dad without the suit made him look different. More honest. He looked less like Inspector Hasegawa and more like her dad. “You don’t have to lie.”

“I’m not.” Zenkichi turned to face her fully. “Last summer, I promised you. No more lies. Not ever again.”

“You can tell me, Dad,” Akane said, resisting the urge to hide her face behind her knees. “I’m not a kid anymore.”

“I know.” Zenkichi smiled, but it was one of the sad ones. “Ever since your mother died, I’ve wanted to do the best for us. And we both know I haven’t done the greatest job of that.”

Akane glanced away. “I wasn’t much help.”

“You’re a kid. You get to have emotions. I’m supposed to be the adult here.”

“At least you’re finally acting like one,” she quipped, looking back to see his reaction. To her surprise, he laughed and shook his head. Before summer, moments like this just didn’t happen. They couldn’t even have a proper conversation! But now Akane could make jokes, her dad had stopped fumbling his words, and things finally felt… normal. Except when they brought up this one topic.

“And I want to be a good adult for you.” Her dad spoke softly, like he had the night after the police had released him from custody… The night he explained everything about her mother and Owada. “Akane, you are my entire world. There is nothing more important to me than you, and I don’t wanna lose that. I don’t want to lose you.”

“And… you think dating this woman means you’ll lose me?”

Zenkichi nodded. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m replacing your mother. That I’m dishonoring her memory. I don’t want to do anything you might feel uncomfortable with, and I don’t want this to change anything between us.

“We just started fixing this.” Her dad’s tone had shifted, and now it sounded almost as if he was pleading. “I hate to say it, but I finally feel like an alright father again, and I don’t want to risk this. I don’t want to risk losing you ever again.”

Akane felt her eyes burn, and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “Dad, don’t you think that I don’t wanna risk this, too?”

Zenkichi furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, the reason why you didn’t go after Owada was because of me. Because he threatened to hurt me.” Akane’s voice rose with every word, and she couldn’t bring herself to control it.

“Akane…”

“You didn’t go after Mom’s killer because I was in the way, and I hated you for it.” She bit her lip as a tear fell down her cheek. It stopped more tears from falling, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the hiccup that escaped her throat.

Her dad shuffled his way over to her, hands outstretched. “Sweetheart, it’s ok.”

“It’s not okay!” Akane stood up and stared him down. “The reason you couldn’t go after him was me, and now I’m the reason again! I–I—“

Akane’s vision blurred, and she rubbed an arm across her eyes. Once her vision cleared, her eyes landed on her dad. He sat on the couch with his mouth wide open. He was breathing hard, but he didn’t say anything, as if he knew Akane had more to say.

“I don’t wanna go back to the way we were either, Dad.” Her voice had lowered itself, and it was now barely louder than a whisper. “I don’t want you holding yourself back because of me.”

“You’re not holding me back.” Zenkichi stood up and walked over to her. He raised his trembling hands, and after a moment, he settled them onto Akane’s shoulders. “Whatever I do, I want to do it with your blessing. I don’t want to leave you behind, Akane. And I don’t want you feeling like I’m leaving your mother behind.”

Akane bit her lip again. “I don’t think she would see it like that.”

“What did you say?”

“You told me that Mom would want to see us happy,” Akane explained. The tears fell freely down her cheeks. “That means you get to be happy too. And I don’t think she would want you to hold yourself back because of her.”

Her dad chuckled. “Like mother, like daughter,” he said, and his eyes were shining. Slowly, he bent down to kiss Akane’s forehead. Before last summer, Akane would have flinched away. But now she let him kiss her head, and she let herself remember how much she had missed seeing this side of him. She let herself remember how happy her dad could make her.

Zenkichi raised himself up, and Akane wiped the tear tracks from her face. Her dad waited patiently, rubbing his hands over her shoulders until she could finally calm down.

“So…” she said, smiling at how the hiccups had disappeared from her voice. “Does this mean you’ll ask Mrs Sakamoto to be your girlfriend?”

Zenkichi shook his head and sat back down on the couch. “I’m just inviting her to Kyoto for the winter holidays. That’s all. And Ryuji would be coming over, too. I hardly think that’s an appropriate setting for me to ask her out.”

“… Seriously?” Akane said. “At this rate, you’ll never ask her out!”

“Akane—” he tried to say, but Akane was already fishing her phone out of her pajama pants’ pocket. With small nimble fingers, she found the number she was looking for, called it, put it on speaker, and held it out to her dad.

“Hey, Akane. What’s up?” Ryuji answered.

Akane ignored Zenkichi’s confused look. “Tell my dad you give him your blessing."

"Blessing? For what?" Ryuji asked.

"For him to ask your mom to be his girlfriend!”

“Wait, so it’s official? For real?"

“Yes."

"So we're actually goin' over for winter break?"

"Yes!" Akane yelled. "Now tell him!”

“Gramps, just ask her out already!” Ryuji begged, his voice rising in volume and pitch. “I can’t take this anymore! Just ask her out so that if you break her heart I have an excuse to—”

“To what ?” Another voice on Ryuji’s end called out.

“Uh, nothing, Ma!” Ryuji called back. “Wait, now you’re eavesdroppin’ on me?”

A round of bickering filtered over the line. Akane looked over at her dad, who looked as if he had just been hit over the head. He opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, and finally hung his head and sighed.

“Alright,” he said. “Can’t keep putting it off, now can I?” Lifting his head, he met Akane’s eyes and smiled.

Akane smiled back.

“This is so weird,” Akane whispered.

“Tell me about it,” Ryuji muttered in return. They were sitting at the Hasegawa family’s dining room table, or at least Ryuji and Akane were still sitting. Their parents were in the kitchen, cleaning up and sending each other lovey-dovey glances every chance they got. Once Ryuji’s mom had announced that she would clean the kitchen as a thank you to their hosts, Zenkichi immediately offered to help, saying it was the host’s duty to clean up. That left Ryuji and Akane trying not to stare as giggles befitting teenagers floated in from the kitchen.

“I wanted to say,” Akane said out of the blue. “...Thanks.”

Ryuji sat up straight in his chair. “For what? I ain’t the one helpin’ your dad. If you wanna thank anyone, thank my mom.”

“But I need to thank you for letting your mom date my dad.” Akane hunched her small shoulders and stared at the empty table. “Ever since my mom died, it’s been hard for him to move on. We moved to Kyoto because he thought it’d be good for me to be near my grandparents, and they’re great, but it just felt like…”

“You were runnin’ away from everything?” Ryuji said.

Akane’s head shot up. “How did you know?”

“Trust me, Akane. I know a thing or two about runnin’ away.” Ryuji pulled one leg over his opposite knee and leaned back into the chair. “It takes a while for you to slow down and face the thing you’re tryin’ to escape from, but when you do, damn does it feel good.”

“But you do a lot of running,” Akane said with a smile. Ryuji opened his mouth to protest, but Akane continued. “My dad told me you did well at your last track meet. He said there’s a good chance a university will recruit you as an athlete.”

“Eh, it’s a chance,” Ryuji said, but grinned nonetheless. He actually didn’t do that well in two of the races, but he did get first place in the other three. Afterwards, it had taken a full week of pleading to get his mom to stop bragging about his times at the meet, and he was just glad she seemed to have listened to him. “But after this year, I think those chances are looking pretty dang good.”

“Congratulations!” Akane said, and the way she bounced slightly in her seat made Ryuji believe she was being earnest in the compliment. “Maybe next time we can go see your race. Dad says we might move back to Tokyo next year so we can have a fresh start.”

“For real? Awesome!”

“I said might .” Akane curled inward again. “I still have to pass the high school entrance exams.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I’m sure you’ll get in. Makoto’s still teachin’ ya, right? Then you’ll do great.”

Akane sighed, and Ryuji saw why Makoto had a soft spot for her. “I hope so. I don’t want to let her down. I don’t want to let my dad down.”

“You won’t,” Ryuji said, and left it at that.

A burst of laughter coming from the kitchen made them both turn around. Most of the dishes had been cleaned, but Ryuji’s mom had a finger pointed at Zenkichi. More specifically, at Zenkichi’s black suit that now had a giant foam bubble on the breast pocket. But Zenkichi didn’t get angry at her.

He was laughing with her.

Ryuji and Akane looked at each other with matching what-the-hell expressions.

“If I did that to Gramps,” Ryuji said, “he’d be chasing me through the house right now.”

“And if I did that to Dad,” Akane said, “he’d start giving me a lecture.”

Ryuji shook his head. Out of all the people to turn Zenkichi into a cackling mess covered in dish foam, who knew that it would be Mayu Sakamoto.

“They look happy,” Akane said softly. She tilted her head and watched as their parents kept laughing as they worked to clean up Zenkichi’s suit, and then as they kept laughing after Zenkichi dumped some more dish foam on Mayu’s head. When that happened, Mayu’s smile didn’t waver. If anything, it got even bigger.

“Yeah,” Ryuji said. “I think they’re happy we’re getting along, too.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.” He shot Akane a look. “Hey, you haven’t tried to kick me out of your house yet.”

“Because that would be rude. Unlike you, I actually have manners.” Akane sat up straighter in her chair after saying that.

“Uh huh. At least I’m not a punk kid.”

“You’re the one with the hair dye.”

“Well, yeah! But—“ Ryuji’s eyes darted around as he tried to figure out a comeback. And then, his eyes landed on the gleaming console in the Hasegawa’s living room. “But I bet I’m better at PVP. You go against me, you’ll get creamed!”

“No way!” Akane shot back.

“Prove it! You versus me. We’ll see who’s the sore loser by the end of it.”

“Deal!” Akane pursed her lips together for one moment, and before Ryuji could even react, she shot herself out of her chair and towards the living room. “I’m player one!”

“Hey, no fair!” Ryuji yelled, scrambling out of his own chair and into the living room.

“The kids seem to be enjoying themselves,” Zenkichi said, his eyes focused on the two figures in front of the tv. They were playing some fighting game that Mayu semi-recognized. Ryuji seemed to be winning, if Mayu was reading the screen correctly, but Akane would occasionally do a move that would make Ryuji yell, “Again? Come on!” So Mayu assumed that Akane was keeping up in her own way.

“Yes.” Mayu looked up at Zenkichi. It had been so long since they had seen each other in person that Mayu had nearly forgotten how tall he was.  “Thank you, for—”

A loud shout from both of their children came from the living room, and Mayu bit her tongue. She was half tempted to tell them to keep it down, but this was a rare moment when they were spending time together, and they seemed to be having fun…

“How about we go to the backyard?” Zenkichi said.

Mayu nodded. “Sounds good.”

Zenkichi offered her an arm, and Mayu happily accepted it. As their kids kept yelling at each other, Zenkichi took Mayu around the kitchen and led her out to a glass sliding door that opened to a sparse backyard. It was roughly the size of the Hasegawa living room, but for Mayu, who lived in a small Tokyo apartment, the small patch of grass felt like a luxury. The two of them had no shoes on, so they settled for sitting on the wooden deck that separated the house from the grass.

“As I was saying,” Mayu continued. “Thank you. For being kind to my son. He hasn’t had the easiest life.”

“I can’t even imagine what it must’ve been like. For…” Zenkichi took a deep breath before finishing the sentence. “For the both of you.”

They were sitting right next to each other. He was so close to her. So close that their hands were nearly touching.

“The past is in the past.” Mayu tore her gaze away from their hands and towards the backyard fence.  “And the past gave me my son. Even if I had to relive it all again, I’d do it for him. I can imagine it’s the same for you and your late wife.”

Mayu felt the heat bloom in her cheeks. She brought her hands to her face and covered her mouth. “Oh, forgive me! I shouldn’t—I mean, I should’ve just left it alone!“

“No, no, no. It’s alright.” Zenkichi raised his own hands and brought her fingers away from her mouth. Mayu wanted to apologize again but was interrupted by Zenkichi’s sigh. “Actually, you’re spot on. The past is painful, but it gave me the memories I have with my wife. It gave me my daughter. There is nothing in the world I’d change if it meant losing her.”

Zenkichi’s eyes landed on their intertwined hands, and Mayu saw as his eyes widened behind his glasses. A light blush colored his own cheeks, but instead of removing his hands, he merely softened his grip on Mayu’s palms.

Mayu broke the silence first. “Do you miss your wife?”

Zenkichi nodded, though he never took his gaze off their hands. “I do. I think about her every day. She was such a good mother, and I miss having her wisdom to rely on. I don’t think you miss your ex-husband, though.”

And just like Mayu had, Zenkichi’s face suddenly flushed bright crimson. “Ah! I’m sorry! I shouldn't have said that. Oh, yep, I’m finally losing it. One look at a pretty woman and I’ve lost it all!”

“I-It’s alright, Zenkichi,” Mayu promised, even as he raised his eyebrows at her in shock. “You’re right.” Mayu’s brain scrambled to form another sentence in her head. There were a lot of things she could say on the topic, but it was hard to find the right words for it.

As if he could sense her turmoil, Zenkichi sat patiently. And slowly, almost delicately, he turned her hand in his. Mayu let him, and once their palms were pressed against each other, it was Mayu who interlaced their fingers together.

“I did miss him…” Mayu whispered. “For a while. I missed the man my ex-husband used to be. The father he used to be. But now…”

Mayu tightened her fingers around Zenkichi’s. “I don’t think I have a reason to miss him.” 

A little gasp left Zenkichi’s lips, and Mayu’s heart fluttered.

“So… “ She said, a smirk playing on the corner of her mouth. “You think I’m a pretty woman?”

Zenkichi hummed. “You are. I mean—No! I mean, yes! I mean—Of course, anyone could see you’re a beautiful woman. Not that I’m objectifying—or—”

Mayu giggled at Zenkichi’s panic. She never would have thought that a Public Security detective could get so easily flustered. Zenkichi sighed and took the moment to recollect himself, pushing back his loose hairs with his free hand.

“I mean… yes,” he finally said. “You are. You are truly a beautiful woman, Mayu.” He raised his head, and his eyes met hers.

Time itself seemed to slow around them as they looked into each other’s eyes. The shouts from the living room faded away, the rustling grass seemed to settle, and Mayu felt every breath and heartbeat echo in her head. Zenkichi’s eyes… They were kind. A little hardened, yes, but with a determination that Mayu knew well. It was the same kind of determination she had often seen in Ryuji’s eyes.

“Mayu…” Zenkichi said. “I like you. I like you a lot. You’re sweet, patient, you raised a good son, and you’ve been kind to my daughter. I mean, you even spent your first couple days in Kyoto shopping with her!”

Mayu resisted the urge to look away. “Akane said she wanted to wear a kimono for New Year’s. She said you didn’t know much about it, and I was more than happy to help her find one. It wasn’t much, really.”

“That’s what I mean.” Zenkichi held her gaze firmly, and the corner of his eyes crinkled upwards. “Mayu, you spent part of your vacation helping my daughter. You’ve been here less than a week and you’re already as kind as her mother was, and for a child you barely know, no less! That… I have no words for that.”

Mayu’s lip trembled. “I don’t mean to replace Akane’s mother.”

“You wouldn’t be,” Zenkichi stated. “She and I talked about this, and remember, she’s the one who told me to ask you out! Well... her and Ryuji.”

The two of them burst out into gales of laughter. Zenkichi’s laugh was lower than hers, but it rang out clearly in the empty backyard. “We’re not gonna get any privacy, are we?” Mayu asked between laughs.

“Not until those nosy kids move out.” Zenkichi squeezed their hands again. “So… Will you?”

Mayu looked up at him, at his kind, caring eyes, and whispered, “Only if you ask me properly.”

Zenkichi chuckled, and it made Mayu’s heart beat even faster. “Mayu Sakamoto,” he whispered back, “will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

Butterflies raced around in Mayu’s chest, making it harder and harder to breathe. “Zenkichi,” she said. “I feel very lucky tonight.”

“Is… is that a yes?” Zenkichi’s hand curled around hers.

Mayu leaned in closer to him and soon felt his warm breath on her face. “Yes,” she said. “Yes.”

With his free hand, Zenkichi brought his palm up to her face. He traced her cheek with calloused fingers, circled her cheekbone, brushed over her skin until his thumb passed over her lips.

He looked her in the eye and raised his eyebrows in a silent question. Mayu nodded, and Zenkichi leaned forward to press his lips to hers.

Zenkichi’s lips were strong. They pulled hers in like a magnet, making her feel as if her lips had always belonged against his. She let herself be pulled in, taking her time to take in his kisses. And she went carefully. Little by little, she let herself lean into the kisses. She was scared of pushing too hard, of taking too much, but he accepted every bit of it.

“You’re so gentle with me,” he said in a brief moment of respite.

“I’m just being careful,” Mayu replied.

Zenkichi smiled. “You don’t have to be.”

“I want to.” Mayu raised her head once more, and Zenkichi kissed her. She kissed back, and he—

“Move over, kid! I can’t see!” A boy’s voice grumbled from inside the house.

“I told you, I’m not a kid! And you move over!” Grumbled a girl, whose voice was only slightly lower in volume.

Mayu and Zenkichi parted. On the other side of the glass door were the silhouettes of two figures, one tall and lean, the other short and skinny, hiding behind a counter as they tried to peer into the backyard.

Zenkichi was the first to rise. “You two are a pair of meddling kids!” He yelled.

“Uh oh,” Akane gulped.

“Run!” Ryuji yelled and bolted out of the kitchen, a startled Akane following close behind.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Zenkichi yelled, sliding the door open and rushing into the house. “Get back here! You two are under arrest for eavesdropping!”

Mayu watched as Zenkichi slid across the floor as he made a sharp turn into the house’s hallway, chasing the panicked shouts of their children. With a smile on her face and the taste of Zenkichi’s lips still on her own, she entered the house. With a grin, she leaned against the sliding door like a teenager after their first kiss. She couldn’t believe it. Right now, Mayu Sakamoto, a divorced mother who hadn’t dated anyone in years, was a love-sick girl!

But as Mayu remembered the butterflies that still fluttered in her chest, she wondered if that was really such a bad thing to be.