The third week of July brought with it the kind of oppressive, suffocating humidity that signalled the true peak of summer.
For Mikan and the students of Sainan Elementary First School, it was a time of celebration, their summer vacation had officially begun last Friday. But for the high schoolers like Rito and Lala, they still had one final, gruelling week of classes to endure before their own break started, but a sudden Teacher's Planning Day had mercifully granted Sainan High a rare Monday off.
Inside the air-conditioned sanctuary of the Yuuki household, the atmosphere was a stark, peaceful contrast to the wild, exhausting beach trip they had taken just yesterday using Lala's warp device.
In the living room, Rito was bent over the coffee table, intensely focused on the latest manuscript pages for Dragon Ball Z. Sitting right beside him, Mikan was diligently helping him apply screentones and organize the finished panels, acting as his highly reliable and cute assistant.
Trring! Trring!
Suddenly, the shrill ring of the house's landline broke the comfortable silence.
Mikan set down her screentone scraper and stood up. "I'll get it," she said, padding over to the hallway to pick up the receiver.
Rito continued drawing, immersed in his work, until he heard the click of the phone being placed back on the hook. Mikan walked back into the living room, but instead of sitting back down beside him, she remained standing. She crossed her arms, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Rito," Mikan began, her brow furrowing. "We have a… situation."
Rito looked up from his manuscript, setting his pen down. "What's wrong? Who was on the phone?"
"That was my homeroom teacher, Haruko-sensei," Mikan replied. "She's coming over this afternoon for a formal home visit."
"A home visit?" Rito blinked, confused. "That's pretty sudden, isn't it? Don't teachers usually send a notice beforehand or schedule these things way in advance?"
Mikan rubbed her forehead, looking slightly guilty. "Well... the truth is, she has asked me many times before about scheduling a home visit. But I've always dodged the question or made up an excuse to delay it."
"You dodged it?"
"Of course I did!" Mikan sighed, gesturing around the house. "Given our home's… unique situation, with three alien princesses currently living here, not to mention Run-san and even Haruna-san's random visits and your activities…"
"Cough! Cough!" Rito coughed with visible embarrassment when Mikan stressed on the term activities.
"So yeah… I didn't want to risk a teacher poking around. Plus, I knew that mom and dad would probably be absent, which will make a terrible impression on her and complicates things even more."
"Ah, right. That makes sense," Rito nodded in understanding. "Dad won't be picking up his cell right now. He's currently stuck in his studio downtown, pulling consecutive all-nighters to meet a publisher deadline as always. And mom… she's not even in the country right now."
"Exactly," Mikan said. "But Haruko-sensei sounded really strange on the phone just now. It didn't sound like she was just planning to do a usual check; she sounded unusually eager. Like, determined to visit our house. And the weirdest part is, other than asking if my parents were present or not, she kept asking if you were going to be home or not."
Rito frowned, a sense of foreboding settling in his stomach.
***
Meanwhile, walking briskly down the sun-baked pavement of a residential district, Nitta Haruko adjusted her glasses and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead.
She was a dedicated, passionate teacher, but as she thought about her visit to the Yuuki residence, her professional composure was warring with a chaotic blend of anxiety and overwhelming excitement.
'Yuuki Mikan,' Haruko thought to herself, reviewing her mental notes. 'She's the top student in my class. She's incredibly mature and responsible for her age, gets perfect grades, and from what I know, she does household chores. She is an exemplary student in every sense of the word.'
And yet, it was precisely because Mikan was so perfect that her recent behaviour had set off alarm bells in Haruko's head. For weeks, Mikan had smoothly and consistently dodged every single attempt Haruko made to schedule a routine home visit.
'Why would a model student like Yuuki-san be so evasive about a simple visit?' Haruko wondered, her grip tightening on her glasses. 'Is she hiding something? Or rather... is she covering for someone?'
This suspicion tied directly into the viral internet rumors that had been keeping Haruko up at night.
Following the sensational debut of the new idol, Run Elsie Jewelria. During that broadcast, which was also her debut, the idol had boldly and shamelessly declared her love for a high school boy on camera. Internet sleuths had gone into a frenzy, digging up rumours and connecting dots.
The viral gossip currently blazing through forums and social media claimed that Yuuki Rito, Mikan's older brother, was living as a degenerate "Harem King", supposedly having relationships with multiple girls, there were even claims that he was cohabiting with them.
The fact that Mikan was actively avoiding a home visit only fuelled Haruko's worst fears. Was her star student being forced to live in a chaotic, inappropriate environment surrounded by such circumstances. She needed to verify with her own eyes if Mikan was safe and living in a healthy space.
But underneath her noble, educator-driven concerns, Haruko harboured two selfish motives.
She was a massive otaku and a big fan of Yuuki Saibai's manga. The thought of stepping into the household where he lived, possibly seeing his workspace, or, heaven forbid, getting an autograph, made Haruko's heart pound with joy.
Also, amidst the chaotic internet deep-dives regarding Yuuki Rito, a bizarre but persistent rumour had also surfaced on a popular manga forum. The rumour alleged that this "Harem King" was somehow personally acquainted with Hoshino Ryūto, the legendary, highly secretive creator of the cultural phenomenon Dragon Ball, and its currently exploding sequel, Dragon Ball Z.
As a manga fanatic, Haruko was dying to know if there was even a shred of truth to that rumour.
'No! I have to be strong,' Haruko hyped herself up. 'I am here to protect Yuuki-san's future! And... maybe ask for a signature or two. But mostly protect Yuuki-san!'
***
Back inside the Yuuki residence, the atmosphere was one of frantic preparation.
Rito, Lala, Mikan, Nana, and Momo had spent the last hour making sure the living room and hallways were completely spotless.
Momo stood by the freshly wiped coffee table, her finger tapping against her chin thoughtfully.
"Rito-san, we might have a small problem," Momo pointed out. "If Mikan-san's sensei walks in here and sees three young girls totally unrelated to you guys living in this house without any adult supervision, it is absolutely going to validate whatever suspicions made her force this sudden visit. It might cause serious trouble for Mikan-san."
"Momo is right," Nana agreed, crossing her arms. "Maybe we should just stay in our rooms inside ane-ue's private dimensional space until the teacher leaves?"
"Oh! Wait! I have a better idea!" Lala cheered, taking out her D-Dial and pulling out a bizarre, laser-pointer-looking gadget. "I can use the Change-Change-Chameleon-Kun! I can disguise Rito, so he looks and sounds exactly like his dad! Then the teacher will think an adult is home!"
Rito stared at the gadget, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
He shook his head repeatedly.
"No," Rito said firmly. "We're not lying to Mikan's sensei."
"Eh? But Rito, won't she get suspicious?" Lala tilted her head.
"She's already suspicious because Mikan dodged her previous requests," Rito reasoned. "She'll get even more suspicious if I put on a disguise and end up acting weird because I'm nervous about getting caught in a lie."
He looked at Mikan, who seemed a little anxious about the impending interrogation.
"I'm the eldest son of this house. With mom and dad away, I'm the acting head of this household," Rito stated, his voice calm. "I'll face her as myself. As for Lala, Momo-san, and Nana-san... Momo is right. It might raise too many questions if she sees all of you right now, especially with the rumours going around. Just stay upstairs in your rooms for a bit. I'll handle Mikan's sensei."
Mikan looked up at her brother. Seeing the quiet, mature confidence in his golden-brown eyes made her own anxiety melt away. She nodded, offering him a small, trusting smile.
Ding-Dong!
The doorbell echoed through the house.
"Alright, upstairs, you three," Rito ushered the alien princesses toward the stairs. Once they were out of sight, he took a deep breath, smoothing down his shirt, and walked to the front door.
He opened it to find Nitta Haruko standing on the porch. She was wearing a light green long-sleeved shirt and blue pants, looking incredibly nervous but fiercely determined.
"Good afternoon," Rito greeted her with a polite, welcoming bow. "You must be Nitta-sensei. I'm Yuuki Rito, Mikan's older brother. Please, come inside. The heat is terrible today."
Haruko blinked, entirely caught off guard.
"O-Oh! Yes, thank you for having me," Haruko stammered, quickly stepping into the cool air of the entryway and trading her shoes for slippers.
Rito led her into the living room. Mikan was already there, carrying a tray with three glasses of iced barley tea.
"Welcome, sensei," Mikan smiled perfectly. "Please, have a seat."
Haruko sat down on the sofa, her eyes darting around the room. She looked back at Rito, who took a seat across from her, offering her a calm, polite smile as he slid a glass of cold tea toward her.
Haruko gripped her thighs, realizing that getting to the bottom of the rumours was going to be much more complicated than she had anticipated.
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
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✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
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