Ten-odd minutes later. Thanks to the testimony of Riran and the woman, along with the situation itself, the suspicion surrounding me was cleared.
Phew, I’m glad I called Riran... At worst, I might have been considered an accomplice to the man who attacked the woman.
“W-Well then, we’ll be going now.”
“Ah, wait a moment. There’s still the questioning, so could you accompany us to the station?”
...Are you serious?
And so. In the end, after being asked all sorts of things, I was finally released at 3:00 AM.
I had Riran go home earlier, but man, this is exhausting.
The police gave me a ride home in a patrol car, and it was past 3:30 AM by the time I arrived.
I heard the woman was also sent home in a patrol car. She was trembling so much; I hope it doesn’t become a trauma for her.
I quietly opened the front door and entered the house.
Ah, I’m finally back...
“I’m home—”
“It’s not ‘I’m home!’”
Eh? Geck.
“M-Mom...!? And Dad too...!”
While not quite at the point where their hair was standing on end with rage, the two of them looked quite angry. From the top of the stairs, Kotono was looking down at me with a worried expression.
“A-Ah... well... that is...”
“Honestly... Do you not remember how reckless you were in middle school? Causing us worry again...!”
“I-I’m sorry...”
Middle school. It’s about that incident with Noa.
Indeed, back then my body wasn’t as developed as it is now, and I was weaker. That’s why I was quite reckless when I saved Noa... I remember getting yelled at quite a bit back then too. In terms of fear, it’s a level of scariness that even surpasses a truly pissed-off Riza-san. Yeah, scary. Super scary.
A hard-working career woman with no openings. My mother, who gave off that impression, looked down at me with her arms crossed.
“Now, now, Mom. Calm down.”
“Papa...”
My father, who soothed Mom, seemed angry but didn’t give off an aggressive aura. With his baby-faced and youthful appearance, when we walk together, people say we look more like brothers than father and son. I feel like it’s often said that I take after Mom, while Kotono takes after Dad.
“Akito, let’s have a talk. Come to the living room.”
“...Understood.”
As I took off my shoes and tried to head to the living room, Mom stroked my head and gently hugged me.
“Don’t cause us so much worry...”
“...I’m sorry.”
Those were the only words I could say. Even though I acted reflexively without thinking of the consequences, I truly felt I had done something regrettable.
When I entered the living room with Dad, he poured me some warm milk cocoa.
“Here, it’s hot.”
“Thanks.”
He placed the cups in front of me and himself and sat opposite me. The atmosphere from earlier, where he seemed angry, was gone. Instead, he was refreshingly calm.
“Phew... Now then, Akito. You understand what I want to say, right?”
“...Yeah, I know. It’s the same thing Mom was saying, right?”
“Exactly. We are happy that you have grown up big and strong, Akito. Even so, as parents, we can’t help but worry. That’s why your mother was angry.”
He spoke slowly, as if gently explaining. Dad’s words have a mysterious power. It feels as if they soak deep into the bottom of my heart.
“Of course, I’m also angry. However, I won’t deny what you did, Akito. If you had turned a blind eye or run away in that situation, that woman would have been hurt, and in the worst case, she might never have recovered for the rest of her life. That’s why what you did wasn't wrong.”
“...Thank you, Dad.”
Dad is always like that. He doesn’t reject me outright or just get angry. He’s excellent at a kind of conversational technique that takes the sting out of the other person.
“Nonetheless, if you act recklessly and worry your mother or Kotono-chan again next time, an iron-fisted punishment will be waiting for you, so keep that in mind. No matter how much you train, Akito, I still won’t lose to you in a fistfight.”
“Surely you're getting on in years, Dad.”
“Who knows? You'll find out if you try.”
With a bellicose grin, he leaned across the table.
“A-Ah... maybe another time.”
“Fufu. That’s right. If we went at it here, Mom and Kotono-chan would be sad.”
And with that, he returned to his usual easygoing self. I don’t know what he did in the past, but Dad has moments like this once in a while.
“Now, that’s the end of that talk. From here on, why don’t we have a talk between men?”
“Between men?”
“About your fated person.”
Ugh. You’re bringing that up now?
“I heard from Kotono-chan. Akito, I hear you’re already dating your fated person.”
“W-Well, yeah.”
“It seems she comes over to our house quite a bit too... so if possible, I’d like to greet her once. Both you and Kotono-chan are in her debt, after all.”
Dad smiled radiantly and leaned forward slightly.
“You’ll let me meet her, right?”
“U-Ugh... Yes.”
Thus, a few days later, it was decided that my parents and Riran would meet for the first time. I hope nothing goes wrong...