"Yu, what secrets were you whispering to Aina back there? I feel like her state of mind is all wrong!"
"We didn't say anything~ Iori, stop worrying about nothing."
Landing in Palau after 10:00 PM, Miyazawa Yuu kept his eyes straight ahead as they exited the terminal, completely ignoring the idiotic Iori, who was sporting two dark circles under his eyes and acting paranoid.
Rather than worrying about Aina's state, this guy should be thinking about how to get Chisa to forgive him.
Although no one else took Iori's casual nonsense seriously, Chisa clearly had. She was currently walking at the very front in a state of "charging boar" momentum, her face beet red, refusing to look back.
Truly untactful. I'll have a heart-to-heart with Nanaka tonight to keep her from being so sad that she kills Iori.
"By the way, Nanaka-san, is there someone picking us up? It's so late, we probably can't go straight to Dolphin, right?"
"Mmh, we're going to a guesthouse tonight and meeting in front of the shop at 6:00 AM tomorrow to assign tasks. However..."
Trailing closely behind Chisa, Kotegawa Nanaka grabbed the former's hand to force her sulking sister to slow down. She then turned her head apologetically to look at Miyazawa Yuu, pleading for mercy. "Also, I'm sorry, Yuu! I'll make it up to you tonight!"
"Eh? Why the sudden apology..."
It was the first time Yu had seen Nanaka wear such an expression. Carrying the luggage while Iori constantly nagged him about helping Kohei and Aina with their "final push," Yu looked at her in confusion.
There was no answer, because her mouth was plugged!
A cool-looking woman with a high ponytail and skin perfectly suited for the tropics strode out from the darkness, passing Nanaka. Before anyone could see what was happening, Nanaka's mouth was stuffed with a lollipop.
"I'm the one who told Nanaka not to tell you. I wanted to see what you looked like without any preparation."
"Ah~ Hello, Auntie! Gulp~"
"Good evening, Iori. It's been so many years—has your sexual orientation changed?"
Similarly stuffing a lollipop into Iori's mouth, Kotegawa Sayaka stood before Miyazawa Yuu and lowered her sunglasses slightly. Her sharp eyes stared at Iori's pitch-black eye circles for a long time. "Staying up late?"
"Ugh..."
A guilty shiver ran through him. Cold sweat quickly broke out on Chisa's back. Compared to her relaxed attitude around her father, the moment Sayaka appeared, she acted like a child desperate for approval.
She straightened her walking posture and subconsciously reined in her expression. These weren't conscious choices; they were pure physical instincts.
Similarly, she didn't want her mother to know she had resorted to violence...
"Well... you could say that."
Auntie Sayaka was just as authoritative as she was years ago. Perhaps that was why she had come all the way to Palau to run a branch shop alone...
Thinking this, Kitahara Iori glanced at the pitiful Chisa, sighed, and changed his tune. "That's right, I've been excited about going abroad for days!"
"Is that so?"
Keenly catching the look Iori gave her second daughter, Kotegawa Sayaka didn't expose him. She shrugged and continued distributing candy. The slightly socially anxious duo both got one until...
"Miyazawa Yuu?"
"Yes! Hello, Mother-in-Law!"
"Tch~"
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Sayaka stared at the guy in front of her. His image and aura were passable, and she couldn't think of a word to pick on, so she could only use a click of her tongue to express her dissatisfaction!
"Your portion. Open up!"
"Ah-num."
The moment the candy touched his tongue, an unspeakable bitterness spread out. But Yu was prepared; his face didn't flush, and his heart didn't race as he calmly accepted the little "surprise."
"Thank you for picking us up, Mother-in-Law. It's late; why don't I drive the car back?"
"Then I'll trouble you. Chisa, it's been a long time since I've seen you."
Taking the tossed car keys, Yu waited until Sayaka turned around before pulling the candy out of his mouth with a sigh. However, to avoid leaving a bad impression, he couldn't just spit it on the ground.
"Iori, water!"
"What's wrong with you, grimacing over a lollipop? Is your tongue out of commission?"
"I wish it were out of commission! Who makes bitter-melon-flavored lollipops? Does the manufacturer have some kind of trauma?"
Rinsing his mouth frantically and then swallowing, Yu looked at the yellowish lollipop in his hand with an unfriendly gaze and held it toward Iori. The latter resisted stubbornly, refusing any secondary contact that might be contagious!
Well, he actually believed Yu. Judging by the other's expression—somewhere between constipation and agony—he would have believed it if Yu said it tasted like canned herring.
But it shouldn't be. Although Aunt Sayaka had a cold aura even sharper than Chisa's, she was essentially a soft-hearted person. She shouldn't be the type for such pranks!
"I say, Yu, isn't it a bit too direct to call her 'Mother-in-Law' right off the bat? Did you get rejected?"
"Not at all! For example..."
Familiarly pressing the key fob to find the car, then helping Aina and the others move their luggage into the trunk, Yu held up a finger to the helping Iori to give an example.
"Imagine you haven't been home for years, and your sister suddenly falls for a man who's openly dating two girls at once and wants to spend the rest of her life with him. How would you feel?"
"..."
Tight! Just imagining it made Kitahara Iori's fist clench. His right hand, hidden behind his back, had somehow produced a baseball bat capable of taking out a normal-state Yu.
If this bastard dared to date two girls like that, as a big brother, even if it made his sister sad, he would kill Yu to rid society of a pest!
"See? Now put the bat down. 'Auto-loot' is a bad habit!"
"...Yu, you really are a piece of work! So you have to make Nanaka-san and Azusa-senpai happy, or I'll kill you!"
After a long silence, Iori stuffed the extra bat into the trunk. With his jaw muscles bulging, he held up two middle fingers as a "blessing."
Truth be told, without personal experience, one couldn't speak for others. If he didn't actually have a sister, he would never have questioned the relationship between Yu, Azusa, and Nanaka.
He used to think Yu was just a lucky bastard; he hadn't realized that the fact the guy hadn't been killed by Uncle Toshio yet was a result of a scheme he'd been plotting from the very start!
"I know. You don't need to tell me."
Yu sighed. This was exactly why he lacked confidence about meeting the parents. Or rather, the first time he went back to Grand Blue from Tokyo, he had already prepared to be killed outright.
Fortunately, Uncle Toshio was as kind-hearted as Nanaka; otherwise, his epitaph might have read: Killed by his father-in-law.
"Yu, I'm sorry. My mom still seems to find it a bit hard to accept. Is the candy very bitter?"
Chisa and her mother's meeting didn't spark another conflict. Kotegawa Nanaka, clutching her chest, walked to the back of the car. She pulled her lollipop out and stuffed it into her little boyfriend's mouth.
"Very bitter~"
"..."
Sensing the atmosphere was wrong and that staying would mean being fed dog food, Kitahara Iori's gaze sharpened, and he turned and walked away.
Honestly, the lovey-dovey stuff between those two is none of my business. I'd better stay out of these matters in the future to avoid being labeled a third wheel!
After Iori left, Yu didn't throw away the bitter melon flavor. His eyes darted around, and he stuffed it back in his mouth, biting it in half with a bit of force, then waved frantically at Nanaka!
Under the cover of the car and luggage, the sweet lollipop vanished. Both of their mouths were filled with bitterness, yet both were in high spirits.
"!!!"
The hand on Chisa's shoulder stiffened. Sayaka stared at her car, and the two shameless people behind it, her right hand trembling with rage.
Confused as she saw the veins popping on her mother's forehead, Chisa started to turn back to see what happened, but her cheeks were held firm by her mother.
"I'm starting to think that, compared to your sister, you're the well-behaved one..."
Sayaka took off her glasses with a trembling hand. Despite her words, she didn't rush over to break them up. Doing that would serve no purpose other than making Nanaka unhappy!
"Everyone! Get in the car! The GPS is already set for the guesthouse!"
Closing the trunk, Yu swept away his "bullied-by-the-mother-in-law" expression and sat in the front to drive. Nanaka, with a red face, covered her swollen lips and called everyone to the car!
Fortunately, they had reported ahead. The three-row van was just right for the Kotegawa women to catch up in the back, while Aina and Kohei were assigned to the "sweet second row."
As for Iori—the guy who still hadn't realized where his true love was—he was only fit to share the front seats with a married man!
"By the way, I took a look at the guesthouse layout..."
Starting the engine and pulling onto the road, logic dictated that as a guest, Miyazawa Yuu should enjoy doing nothing. Unfortunately, with his mother-in-law present, he couldn't afford to be presumptuous!
"Because beds are tight, it seems guys and girls won't be sleeping together. Mother-in-Law, is it okay if Nanaka and I take the king-sized room?"
"Hmm? You?"
Even in the car, Sayaka sat with her legs crossed. After taking off her sunglasses, her aura was even colder. Sitting between her daughters, she looked like an overbearing female boss with one on each side.
"Sorry. Until I see a marriage certificate, you two cannot stay together. At least in my presence, not even in the same house!"
"Eh?"