Night. Dressed in her pajamas, Utaha lay on her bed, phone pressed to her ear, listening to Miyahito vent with a hint of grievance.
"Sigh... Even though Dad's right, I did promise Ayase I'd come home once a month. Failing to keep that promise is my fault. But this time, I really didn't know she'd sneak out to Tokyo! I'm totally innocent here... Utaha."
Her lips curving slightly, she gently comforted the sulky boy on the other end.
"Alright, alright. I know you're a great big brother. Don't be so hard on yourself."
Resting against her windowsill, recalling how he'd taken Ayase to visit the Kousaka family earlier, Miyahito sighed in relief, his tone brightening.
"But still, Mr. and Mrs. Kousaka are really nice people. Their family upbringing is excellent too..."
"So, you're also really glad Ayase-chan managed to make a genuine friend like Kousaka-san, right?"
Before Miyahito could finish, Utaha cut in smoothly.
He didn't mind her interrupting, instead nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, exactly."
Honestly, setting aside the Kousaka siblings' infamous "German orthopedics" meme, as Ayase's friends, Miyahito thought both siblings were pretty decent.
Plus, Mr. Kousaka was a police detective, and his family had a solid, upright reputation. It was suitable for maintaining ties with the politically prominent Aragaki family.
Remembering how, due to their family background, Ayase had struggled to find close friends growing up, Miyahito sighed with emotion into the phone.
"Seeing Ayase finally find a friend who genuinely cares for her... as her big brother, it really warms my heart."
Hearing his words, a faint realization flickered in Utaha's mind.
Even though she'd just met Ayase today, the girl didn't seem like the type who couldn't make close friends.
How could a polite, lively, and adorable girl like Ayase-chan struggle to find friends, just like she (Utaha) used to?
Could there be another reason?
Or was the Aragaki family actually some formidable political dynasty, making Miyahito so relieved that Ayase found a sincere friend from a normal family like the Kousakas?
After a moment, Utaha smiled and dismissed the thought.
Right. If the Aragakis were truly some untouchable elite family, would Miyahito be attending Toyogasaki Academy with her?
With that kind of background, he'd definitely be at Shuchiin.
"Miyahito-kun, I really think you'll be a great father someday." Lying on her bed, hugging the phone, Utaha rolled over, a hint of amusement flashing in her wine-red eyes reflecting the ceiling.
"Huh? Why's that?" Catching the tease, Miyahito played along with a smile.
"I don't know."
Rolling over again, her legs hugging the blanket, Utaha whispered into the receiver, a shy smile on her lips.
"It's just a feeling."
"Utaha, that's way too vague."
Hearing her ambiguous explanation, Miyahito replied with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
"Hehe. That's just a girl's intuition, dear Mr. Miyahito."
"Yeah, yeah. Girl's intuition, huh? That's completely unreasonable, dear Ms. Utaha."
"Yep. That's just how I am~"
"I really can't win against you, Utaha."
"....."
Just as Miyahito was chatting with Utaha in his room,
outside in the hallway, three "highly suspicious" figures—two adults and one child—were carefully avoiding the light spilling from the door crack, curiously listening to the conversation inside.
"....Yeah, it got too late after dinner, so I didn't head back to Tokyo..."
"....I already asked Tachibana-sensei for leave. Sorry, I won't be able to make you a bento tomorrow..."
"....And you, make sure you eat properly, got it? Don't just fool around with bread and call it a meal..."
"....Oh? I'll definitely go ask Kyoko about that later..."
Listening to their son (brother) on the phone, the Aragaki couple outside shared a deeply bizarre feeling.
What's going on? Is that really our son in there?
Overwhelmed by confusion, Seiichiro and Satomi instinctively turned their gaze to their daughter, Ayase, standing between them.
At the exact same moment, Ayase looked up, her eyes filled with equal bewilderment.
After a moment of silent, three-way eye contact,
Realizing that as a father, he shouldn't be eavesdropping on his son's phone calls, Seiichiro slowly straightened up.
Suppressing his curiosity, he signaled the mother and daughter to "talk downstairs" with a glance, then led the way off the second floor.
Following behind, Satomi and Ayase exchanged a few glances, then instinctively followed their father downstairs.
Back in the first-floor living room,
Sitting on the sofa, Seiichiro turned to his youngest daughter, hesitating before asking,
"Ayase, do you know who your brother is talking to?"
Hearing the question, Ayase instinctively shook her head. Just as she was about to say "I don't know,"
She suddenly remembered Utaha, the "Utaha-nee" who had been with her brother when she arrived in Tokyo.
"Big Brother is probably talking to Utaha-nee."
"Utaha-nee?" Sitting next to Seiichiro, Satomi's eyes instantly lit up at the term. She leaned forward, curious. "Who? Is she your brother's..."
"I don't know." Not actually knowing the exact nature of their relationship, Ayase pouted and shook her head.
Then, she recounted everything she'd seen in Tokyo and every detail of her conversation with Utaha-nee to her parents.
After listening to their daughter's account, Satomi, for some reason, smiled with a hint of relief and satisfaction. She turned to her husband, her eyes seemingly saying:
Should we find a chance to secretly check out this Utaha girl?
Catching his wife's signal, the stern-looking Seiichiro glanced at her eager expression, then at his daughter's confused face.
After a long silence, Seiichiro silently nodded to his wife.
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