Chapter 18: Strong Allies

Strong Allies

Maya-san asked while I was helping with dinner.

Maya asked while helping with dinner.

"That rain was pretty intense, wasn't it? Were you two okay?"

"No, we weren't. It started pouring just a few minutes later, so my blouse was see-through and even my underwear got soaked."

"What!? Was that okay? Did my son Ryo do anything weird?"

"Yes, he was fine. He noticed right away that my clothes were see-through and lent me his jacket."

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad he's grown up to be such an observant kid ♡"

"However, it seems Ryo forgot his house key, and there was no one home, so he ended up taking off his clothes and drying them at my house, which was a pain."

Maya-san, who heard this, seemed lost in thought and stopped moving. She had her right hand on her chin and her left hand supporting her right elbow, striking the same pose as Ryo, who was thinking hard.

"--Hmm?...Hey Rui-chan and Ryo, has there been any progress?"

Oh no! I wonder if she sensed something, but I can't tell her that we hugged, because that would have been the wrong order.

"No, well, we just hold hands..."

"You two were in the same house and were together until Ryo's clothes dried, right? Probably just now ♡"

"Yes, that's true."

"What about replacement clothes?"

"I gave him the T-shirt and trunks I wore when I was a boy, so he was wearing those, nothing special."

"---Well, let's leave it at that ♡

By the way, how did the bento operation go?"

"He was so happy with the bento. He said they were delicious, and it was a really fun time."

"Is that so? That's good. Rui-chan really did her best, I'm glad you did it so well ♡"

"It's all thanks to Maya-san, you suggested it and gave me intensive training, thank you so much!"

"It's okay, don't worry about it, I just wanted to help Rui-chan ♡

Dinner is almost ready, so call everyone over ♡"

"Yes, I'll call them then."

•

•

While we were all eating dinner, we started talking about bento boxes.

"So, Rui-chan trained hard and made a homemade lunch for Ryo ♡"

"Rui, that's amazing! I'm really bad at cooking, maybe I need to learn too."

"It's amazing that everything is handmade. I guess the day when we'll have Rui's homemade food on this table is coming soon ♡"

"And it was so delicious, maybe the best thing I've ever eaten in my life, sorry about that, Mom."

"Hey! Ryo! That's an exaggeration! I'm no match for Maya-san!"

"Hehe, I think I'll get you to make something else right away starting tomorrow ♡"

"Maya-san, you know that's the only thing I can make."

It was a fun dinner, and I even had the illusion that I was a part of the family.

•

•

After dinner that day, I went back home without stopping by Ryo's room.

Well, you see, men understand that, yeah.

---To be honest, as a smell fetishist, I wanted to smell it, but I held myself back.

Now, I'll give the Tosaka Trio an update on today's events.

"First, let me see today's photos."

"Oh yeah, that's what it feels like."

Send the photos I took at the aquarium, the nature park, and the shop we visited afterwards to the three people.

"Wow Rui-chan, you look so pure and refreshing today, you're such a beautiful girl!"

"The last one looked great on you, but today's looks amazing too. You really look good no matter what you wear, you're a beautiful girl after all. I'm beyond jealous or anything like that. Rui-chan is the best!"

"...to make it a family heirloom."

"Yes, I'll make this image a family heirloom too."

"Eh? That far?!"

"Ueno-kun is so handsome, after all. They make such a great couple."

"Aren't we just so lucky to be having lunch with these two?"

"I guess I would think so. I'd probably get stabbed by the girls."

"I'm having fun with you three, too."

"Did you hear that, ladies?"

"...Yes."

"I did."

"I'm so glad we were the first ones to ask you out."

"I'm so grateful you three asked me out."

I'm also glad that Tosaka Trio reached out to me.

I think it's thanks to Ryo that I feel safe at school, but it's definitely thanks to the other three that I'm able to have fun.

"So, how was it?"

"Well... the aquarium was fun, it was really beautiful, and the dolphin show was interesting."

"I see, that's good, where did you go today?"

"We went to the aquarium and the nature park, then wandered around a few shops before heading home."

"...the nature park seems suspicious."

"!?"

"Yeah, that place seems suspicious. What were you doing in the nature park?"

"Rui-chan, what time did you go to the nature park?"

"Um, well, I guess it's lunch time."

"But I don't think there was anywhere to eat there?"

"...You make your own bento!"

I wonder how they found out.

"Oh, actually, I brought my bento so we ate it there."

"Could it be that it's handmade?"

"Eh! No!... Yes."

"Huh!?"

"Rui-chan, you can even cook? That's so perfect."

"How much of it was handmade? What did you make?"

"Well, onigiri, hamburger steak, octopus sausages, tamagoyaki, rape blossoms dressed with sesame, and maybe some cut carrots. Everything was homemade except for the pickled radish."

"...Wow, that's amazing..."

"Oh my gosh, it's really perfect. It's not easy for a girl our age to do that."

"Rui-chan, would you like to come and marry me now?"

"Is it true that you were good at cooking even as a boy?"

"No, I started cooking about two weeks ago. I got intensive training from Ryo's mother, Maya-san, who taught me how to concentrate and make only the dishes I just mentioned."

"No, no, I still can't accept it. A homemade lunch from a beautiful girl. Ueno-kun, wouldn't he die from happiness?"

"Come to think of it, he was crying."

"That's true, even I would cry because I'm so happy, I want to eat Rui-chan's bento too!"

"Oh, I want to eat it too. Next time the four of us go out, please make us bento, the same kind is fine."

"...I want to eat it too."

"Well, I'll try making one next time we play, I'll try to make sure it'll be exactly the same."

School is fun thanks to the three of them, so making lunch is a small price to pay.

"Oh! I'm so happy, I know what you mean when you say it, I'm so happy."

"By the way, why did you decide to make a homemade lunch? Don't tell me! Did you confess your feelings to him or something already?"

"Given how fired up you are, that's quite possible, so that's why you hid the bento from us?"

"...confession."

"No, it was a surprise, but I simply wanted to make Ryo happy, so I made it."

"--- Seriously, I don't understand why you aren't dating yet."

"You definitely like him."

"...Are you actually dating?"

"We're not dating, we're best friends and he has helped me out a lot, so, well, I might like him a little, but I want to repay him with all of that."

Sure, I might like him a little, I guess, we're best friends and we're close enough to hold hands, so maybe a little.

I simply wanted Ryo to be happy and to have fun together, or at least that's what I wanted.

"Maybe Rui-chan isn't even aware of her own feelings, that's how I feel."

"Yeah."

"…no doubt"

"Maybe your feelings of love are so strong that you don't even realize it. Anyway, our plan has been decided."

"That's right, this is Rui-chan's support plan."

"...in return for the promised bento."

"What?! You guys don't have to do that! It's fine the way it is!"

"Well, well, we will just do what we want, so don't worry about it."

"Sayaka-chan! Kanade-chan! We'll have a strategy meeting right away!"

That's how it ended, what are the Tosaka Trio planning to do? They're not having any fun, are they?

Support... Support, huh, if I could just be honest about my feelings without any hesitation... Hmm, I wonder what genuine feelings are, but I think wanting to have fun with Ryo is an genuine feeling for me.

Maybe it looks different to other people?

I can't figure it out no matter how much I think about it, and school starts tomorrow, so I need to go to sleep now.

Tosaka's POV

"First of all, we need to do something about that, Rui-chan won't be able to come to school in peace, so that's what we need to do."

"Oh, well, should we try it from tomorrow?"

"If someone like Ueno-kun could help, I'm sure it would all work out."

"Let's try creating an atmosphere like that at lunchtime. It'll be a failure if Ueno-kun gets embarrassed though."

"...I think it'll be fine."

"I feel like he might do it. It would be beneficial for Ueno-kun too, so I'm sure he'll notice."

"Okay, let's start with Operation 'Destroy all the the Landmines'!"

"Ohhh!"