Yesterday was quite something, but it's great when there's someone to heal you even if they don't show it. I don't know what's gotten into Rin to feel indifferent about the flowers, although outwardly, but I could tell that she was really eager about them.

※ Rin was rolling on her bed later that night.

But first thing in the morning, I immediately came back to the family house to discuss with my parents and Anna what happened with my meeting with Yohan Mizuno. I was a little worried that they might be upset as I didn't talk about it first with them and decided on my own, but at this point they're really just letting me do what I feel is the best, and their reason would be that it personally concerns me and me alone.

While I have said yes to Yohan's offer, I didn't take the check with me as we made further arrangements to have the money transferred to a new account. As for the bank I am registered at, they are a few processes and verification to open a new account with the same name, and it adds up that there will be a large deposit right off the bat, which could take a few weeks to process.

After almost an hour of discussions, the family decided to let me hold on to the account's card for me to use at my will. On the other hand, I also talked to them about the things I could potentially use the money for, one being the house's renovation. While they held it off for the time being, they were supportive of me donating a portion of the money.

Then, I personally told only Rin about it in verbatim, which she then proceeded to joke about it possibly being used in our upcoming trip up North, but with me thankfully receiving client work, from both TAC and Capy account in just a short time, I don't think there is a need for that.

▪ ▪ ▪

"Oh, so like a double date?"

You know… I'm not sure if Kyo is dense, aware, or what.

On the second to the last day Sora and Kyo are staying in Cotona, the former suddenly invited us to go out with them for the day if we had the time, which we had. Sora showed us an itinerary of what they wanted to do while having breakfast, and it reminded me of how I hated traveling as a kid.

Most of the things she showed us were places in Cotona that I haven't even gone to, like tourist spots and recreational areas. They insisted that they will pay for everything (seriously, how much do programmers and interior designers make?) which made me present to drive for them at least to cut costs in the commute.

But then, Kyo had his light bulb lit up aimlessly asked the question above…

"Ohh, so I guess you two are together?"

…Which made Rin ask a follow up.

"Not really?" they said at once.

"Ahh, I guess I jumped the gun."

"These two…"

At this point I'm absolutely rooting for them already. Of course, I can't just simply try and directly give them a push as it could come as insensitive to them, and I'm pretty much a stranger. While I know a little about Sora's side, I would need to at least know Kyo's too. If I'm already sounding like a wingman inside my head, then I might as well be.

"Ah, right. If we're going out later, I can bring my DSLR with me. I can take pictures for you two."

"That would be nice. Thank you!"

~ ~ ~

I didn't know our province actually has a mascot.

I've been living in this place for 21 years if I deduct my time inside the Void, and I'm only realizing how on point Cotona's tourism is. It seems that a cotton candy mascot is quite famous with the children. It has nothing to do with the province's history or produce, and only is here because of the name, but it even has merch, for crying out loud.

"How come you didn't know of this?" is what Rin asked me disappointedly while clutching a really fluffy cotton candy plushie with her. On the other hand, it seems that I am still not used to touristy kinds of places as it brings down my energy quite a lot, which was a grim reminder to me as I am also traveling with Rin soon. It made me start to wonder how I will fare if I were to travel somewhere alone where I wouldn't worry about, or not have other people worry about me. It honestly felt like bliss in my head, but I brushed it off for the time being and continued to snap away pictures nonetheless.

Driving around from one heritage site to another, Sora suddenly requested to take us to where Eijiro grew up—which was the orphanage that is now being headed by Ms. Ayane Goodman. I then exited my phone's navigation app and just let my knowledge of the road lead us to our destination, but from my periphery, I could see for a moment Rin chuckling on the front seat as we passed by an abandoned greenhouse from a distance. Anyway, as Sora really just wanted to see the orphanage from the outside, we just drove by its road slowly for her to see it up close, and we headed to Cotona Square, as the two of them wanted to see the lights of the plaza at night.

"How did Ms. Sora know about your uncle?"

Arriving at the Square and walking on the tail of the two tourists who were absorbing themselves to the beautiful arrangement of lights, Rin finally got to ask what she wanted upon hearing Sora's request.

"She met him when she was an orphan herself. I didn't see the memory up until recently, which is why I only got to know not long ago.

Well… it seems like it's in Eijiro's nature to root for the future of the orphans he met. It feels like it's the connection I made with Ms. Sora now. I feel strangely proud seeing her now compared to the memories I inherited. But I want her to be happy.

I guess that's kinda creepy of me."

"Yeah, sure, if they don't know of your situation. But good for your uncle. He might not see it anymore but at least his wish is coming true.

But maaaannnn… I almost messed up earlier… They totally had the aura of a couple, don't you think?!"

"Actually, Ms. Sora herself told me that they're more than friends at this point, but not sure what they are now exactly. I want to talk to Kyo to hear his side, though. Seems like they just need a little push."

"You're up to something, aren't you?"

"You know me well."

"Ehh… You're probably going to go with this the roundabout way since you like to always give hints instead of the answers."

"You know me well, part 2."

"Tell me if you need help with anything."

"Hmm. It's nothing big, really. I just want them to possibly have a change in perception. That's all that I'll do.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Oh, wait. Our last stop is barbecue for dinner, so maybe you can set me and Kyo to have a talk with just the two of us."

"I'll think of something."

~ ~ ~

I guess one thing that Cotona doesn't really have is its own cuisine. The closest we would probably get is a derivative of a local Orion dish, but nothing original that stands out. Thus, they decided that we would eat at quite a premium all you can eat barbecue restaurant that is known in Cotona for having the meat marinated in a style exclusive in the province—an example of the derivative I mentioned.

To no surprise, our table picked the best meat they had in the menu with a side of greens along with a plate of mapo tofu and of course, rice. With the orders arriving in increments came two beer mugs and two glasses of an alcohol-free cider for Rin and the driver that must not have a blood alcohol level of 0.05%.

"Don't mind me, hahaha. Just drink as much as you want. We'll get home… safely…

That's an Australian wagyu."

I was about to assure their concerned look of me not being able to drink with them as they seem to intuitively judged that I indeed do, but the waiter just up and placed a tray of incredibly marbled strip of rib eye on our table which cut the seriousness from every word that I say from this point onwards.

…

Well, it's a lively night. To very blunt, I would prefer this over touring different places not because I didn't like Sora's itinerary, but because it just isn't my cup of tea generally. What could be better than stuffing your face with good food, or am I just a glutton?

That aside, Sora and Kyo really have some interesting patterns and as though they are in sync with each other with how they alternate with the meat and the sides. You wouldn't think they have a fast pace with how much finesse they have on eating, but man are they inhaling the meat. I looked at Rin as I know that she would get my sentiment of just enjoying the food slowly in this situation… but it seems she's no different from the two. I forgot that this girl's appetite has changed a lot since recovering.

Also, are people living in Hitoretsu heavy drinkers? I could swear that the two of them have already finished at least three refills and they are still going with no hints of stopping. And again, where are they drinking from?

A mug.

I don't even see beer mugs this much on establishments I've went through and seeing them tower on tables is amazing.

But with the hunger satisfied from all the touring we did for the day, it seems we're finally reaching the guests settling down. I'm not sure if the spice of mapo tofu has any science or correlation with how fast you get influenced with the alcohol, but one look at them and you would know that they had drank a lot. They don't seem to be that intoxicated, but it has been a few minutes since Sora and Kyo got quiet.

Within this week, Sora really has proven to be a very interesting character. It's amazing how my impression of her went from a sophisticated beauty to a chill person, then to a somewhat cheeky onee-san, and to a woman who you wouldn't pick a fight on a drinking contest.

※ Please drink responsibly.

But even then, with cheeks flushed red from the alcohol, she slowly closed her distance to the man beside her until her head promptly rested on Kyo's shoulder as she fiddles with her phone.

"Sora?"

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, was just caught off-guard."

"Oh, okay," Sora drew even closer.

"Following that, Kyo gave us a bit of a panicked look and whispered, "Sorry, this doesn't really happen."

"Man up, dude."

"Hey, Ms. Sora? Do you want to freshen up? My face kinda got oily and I want to wash my face."

"Uh, sure. We'll be back in a bit, then."

And so Rin cleared the coast for me.

I do not want to suddenly bring up a conversation just as the two girls left so I want things to be as natural as possible, which is ironic since I'm setting up the situation on purpose. Then from my bag, I took out my camera and went through the pictures I have taken for a bit before finally striking a conversation.

"I heard you guys have known each other since university?"

"Ah, yeah. I guess we got closer from there."

"How nice, though. It seems you two are mostly together."

"You could tell?"

"Well, not the best example, but I naturally get those cues when my girlfriend is next door.

But I guess I'm living with her family right now.

But you know, I initially thought you were together just like Rin did, especially when you arrived here you've always referred to 'we' than just you or her."

"Hmmm…"

"Please don't tell me you're thinking about being out of her league right now."

"Ack…"

"Dude…"

"Well… it's not like I can't see us in that kind of relationship. How do I put it… I've never really thought through if I have romantic feelings for her?"

I could physically feel the muscles of my hand refraining from doing a facepalm right in front of him, but I had to contain it. Still reviewing the pictures I took, I continued listening.

"But… It's probably just a me thing, but I have doubts whether I should be in a relationship at all with anyone. I guess it's because of my upbringing as an… as an orphan since I wasn't really one to interact well with people."

"…

I don't really know your past, but I was a pain in the ass when I was a child, you know. Sad, hateful, isolated and didn't feel human—that's how I would describe myself. Sure, sometimes that past gets to me and I still carry some of that behavior even today.

I had that edgy thought of never seeing myself fall for someone but damn, I slapped me in the face.

Don't talk like some cat that can disguise as a human by transforming as one. Like that's ever going to happen anyway (Lie). I can't outright tell you to just stop thinking about it, because that's just not how our head works. You look and act very human to me, though, so don't single out yourself like I did back then."

Suddenly, Kyo clutched tightly on the beer mug's handle and downed the full glass at once. What a cliched scene that was, but the base of the large glass made quite a sound landing back to the table.

"Sheesh. Chill down a little and look at the pictures I took. Please tell me the ones you like."

I say all that, but the irony still applies that most of the things I've done are intentional rather than natural. I purposely handed the camera to him when I found a shot that would probably light even if a little spark in him.

The earlier sunset did not have the clearest skies, and later in the blue twilight, I was able to capture a moment from behind where Sora was looking and smiling with a tinge of endearment at the presence of Kyo beside him as they walked on the growing darkness.

While I wish I could have taken a shot with less focus on the background, the feelings I got from the image was enough to set aside my self-critique… and it seems that Kyo also feels the same way.

For quite a moment, I was able to see his eyes laser focused on the small screen of the camera before composing himself and presumably began to cycle through the subsequent photos.

"How did you… and Ms. Ringo came together?"

At this point, I have exhausted myself on trying to pick the right words and acting along on purpose.

"Gotta be honest, it was on impulse in high school. But as we grew, we made up for that and began to consider things logically.

We've been through hell several times, and I guess the way we are now is a testament that we were able to still be together even after mind breaking situations.

Well, that's the short answer to summarize an extremely long one."

I could feel him taking a close look at my face as though he had noticed something in me before looking back to the camera's screen. My right eye has long returned to being black, so I don't really know what he could find interesting from my mug besides my hair.

"I guess… it really looks like you've been through a lot."

"…? Heehh… I guess you have a good read on others if you can tell that, Kyo. What gave it away?"

"You're 23, right?"

"Yup?"

"I don't mean this in a bad way, but sometimes the way you look makes it feel like you're older."

"Wow, that's new to me.

But man, you don't know how much I want to down that beer in front you after that talk.

Excuse me, can I get a refill of a non?"

"You give off the vibe of someone that can drink a lot. Ahaha."

"Say for yourself. I can't almost believe the gap Ms. Sora had with and without alcohol in front of her.

Not to sound like an alcoholic, but my body just thinks of beer as water. Not that it's a good thing though."

"Ahahaha. This day made the trip a lot more fun. Thank you for taking the time to accompany us," and so Kyo returned the camera.

"No problem. Hit us up if you wish to come back again. Or maybe we should be the ones going to Hitoretsu next time.

The sharks though…"

And with the idle chats we were having slowly dwindling, we saw the two girls returning from the restroom.

"We're back," Sora greeted, whose face now graduated from the redness… only for her to ask another glass to the waiter.

"What's even the point of sobering up, Ms. Sora…?" Rin chuckled.

"Let me have one last before we leave."

"Oh. Then I better prepare the car, if that's the case. I'll be back in a bit."

"I'll go with you, Potatooo.

I really should ask Dad to teach me how to drive…"

"Why not just me?"

"He wouldn't like it if I learn behind his back."

This time unprompted, Sora and Kyo were left on their own with the last things I saw of them preparing for the bill while we made our way to the car.

By the time we went back, it was to no surprise that nothing was out of the normal. I've been used to being teased about being a maiden fawning over shoujo and comfy romance manga all the time, but I'm starting to understand why.

The bill was paid by them as they promised, and so we set out to go back home so that Sora and Kyo can prepare for their departure tomorrow, but I was warned of seeing a hungover morning the day after this.

But even before thinking of all that…

The car reeked of alcohol for the entire hour we were on the road.