Everyone's gaze shifted. Although they'd expected Yu to be given a hard time, not even being allowed to stay in the same house was a bit on the cruel side.
Having held her tongue for a while, Nanaka's eyes dimmed for a moment. Then, she took a deep breath, steeled herself, and tried to reason with her mother!
"Mom! Even though Yu... anyway, I can't go over to your place to sleep!"
"Nanaka-san!"
Yu kept his eyes on the road. His expectations were much higher than this. Nanaka being taken away for a week or two was just "splashing water" for him; he wasn't a child who couldn't sleep alone.
In contrast, he absolutely didn't want to see a mother and her daughters turn against each other during their reunion.
When you do something wrong, you take the punishment. Whining and complaining everywhere while ignoring the premise is something only an immature child would do!
"It's okay. Mother-in-Law's place should be much larger. It just so happens that five beds here are enough."
"But!"
"Chotto matte! Not quite! What are you two talking about..."
Seeing her well-behaved eldest daughter's brow furrowed in a rare display, Sayaka bit through her candy and pulled out the plastic stick, waving it to interrupt the couple's dramatic dialogue.
She had to admit that aside from the boy not being very decent, his relationship with her daughter was indeed so close it left nothing to be said—even she, as the mother, couldn't compare.
But back to the point: she hadn't called Nanaka and Chisa here to fight.
"Nanaka and Chisa will take the twin room. Iori will sleep in the loft. And this pair—you're a couple too, right? The king room goes to you~"
"Ah?"
Pointed at by the chewed lollipop stick, Yoshiwara Aina froze for two seconds. Her small face instantly turned as red as a boiled crab. Pointing at herself and then at Kohei, steam rose from her head as she shook it frantically.
Although they had slept in the same room before, sharing a bed was too fast! Unacceptable!
"Eh? You aren't? Then Iori and the other boy take the king room, and Aina sleeps in the loft. No problem."
"Hiss..."
Listening from the front row, Yu felt things were increasingly "not right." In both scenarios, Nanaka was undoubtedly staying with Chisa.
Could it be that the mother-in-law didn't actually want Nanaka to stay with her, but instead wanted him to just get lost?
This hostility was a bit too much!
No! He had to find a chance to sneak through a window into Nanaka's room to borrow half a bunk. Chisa shouldn't mind! Mmh!
"Mom, what about Yu?"
It had to be said, Nanaka was the only kind-hearted one. The other four bastards had no objection to the room assignments. Only the sharp girl noticed her mother's malice.
No matter what, since they agreed he'd come to help and be provided lodging, they couldn't just toss Yu out...
"This kid? This kid is staying with me~"
With a whoosh, Sayaka unwrapped another candy and popped it into her mouth. She knew her daughter would ask, so she calmly announced the final arrangement.
"Don't worry. Once a deal is made, I won't go back on it. Then it's settled happily."
"Eh?" x5
A giant question mark floated over everyone's head. At the same time, the car swerved across two lanes without signaling— "EH?!!!"
Half an hour later, after dropping Iori and the others off, Yu stood at the door of a modest studio apartment, looking dazed like a tagalong child following his mother home.
With two click-clacks of the key in the lock, Sayaka pulled open the door, which had seen better days, and tossed her belongings onto the shoe rack.
"Come in. The environment might be a bit simple, but complaining is useless; this is all I have."
"Then... I'll be in your care?"
Even after stepping into the apartment, Yu still couldn't believe his mother-in-law's arrangement. Not letting Nanaka stay but instead "kidnapping" him—what kind of move was this! He'd never seen it before!
No! Calm down! Mother-in-Law must have a deep meaning for doing this.
Could she be trying to make him give up out of hardship? Then he wouldn't be polite!
"Um, Mother-in-Law, I could actually go stay in a hotel. At this hour, a 24/7 budget hotel should still have a vacancy..."
"In your dreams!"
She quickly removed her hair tie, letting her ponytail fall. With her daughters gone, Sayaka's movements were much broader, and her tone was no longer as polite.
"You brat, if I let you go, you'd knock on Nanaka's window tonight even if Chisa was there, wouldn't you?"
"Ugh..."
Without a doubt, that was the truth! He finally felt what it was like to have his throat poked. Facing the hard evidence, Yu was as powerless to argue as someone with constipation!
"That's why I have to watch you. Besides, Toshio told me you guys can sleep even in a pile of naked men without being picky about the bed."
"Uncle Toshio..."
Clenching a fist, Yu finally understood what a married couple was. Even his most private secrets were shared; he had no advantage whatsoever here with Sayaka!
"There's beer in the fridge. If you want to drink, help yourself and clean up after yourself. If you want to sleep naked, I don't mind either, so feel free."
The corners of her mouth curved into a mocking smirk. Youngsters were just youngsters after all. Sayaka didn't mind her life being intruded upon at all.
Or rather, it would be best if she could scare this brat away with this, to save her eldest daughter from being ruined.
"You sleep on the sofa. The blanket and pillow are ready. Get some rest and don't be late for work tomorrow."
"..."
Watching Sayaka yawn as she walked into her room without even locking the door, Yu could read a sentence from her actions: she didn't view him as a threat at all!
If his relationship with Nanaka was a battle, and he was the attacker while Sayaka was the defender, the latter was proving that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't get her approval.
Truly a woman similar to Chisa—she was incredibly overbearing!
"Goodnight!"
No longer thinking of escaping, Yu smiled and strode into the apartment, locking the door behind him. From this moment, the war had undoubtedly begun; whoever showed fear first would lose!
Sayaka's apartment was small. No! From the perspective of a diving shop manager, this rental was worse off than one for a part-timer.
The one-bedroom, one-living-room design was undoubtedly a studio apartment. The only consolation was perhaps the gas stove and sink set into the hallway alcove.
The simple living room only had a small fridge and a sofa as furniture. Naturally, this was now requisitioned as Miyazawa Yuu's bed.
[Yu, we've finished unpacking. How are things on your end? Is Mom giving you a hard time? How about sneaking over to my place tonight?]
[It's okay~ Nanaka-san, Mother-in-Law is very friendly. She even prepared beer!]
There was nothing in the fridge but beer, leading Yu to suspect Sayaka had hurriedly stocked it because he was coming.
Combined with the trash bag by the door and the thick dust on the stove, everything suggested that while she looked grand on the surface, she was actually a pure corporate slave who could barely survive on takeout!
[Is that so? That's good. Please, because of Azusa's matter, my mom's attitude might be poor, but she's actually very easy to get along with!]
[Yes, yes~ I will definitely look after Mother-in-Law properly!]
"Pshhh!"
The beer tab was pulled. Yu sat on his bed, his eyes narrowing slightly as he scanned the room, like an old wolf scanning new territory, plotting a coup.
This wasn't the first time he'd done something like this. Since Mother-in-Law wanted to play with him, he'd show her the strength of an invasive species!
Does she know whose name is on Grand Blue's delivery invoices now? When he goes shopping every day, everyone calls him "Young Boss Miyazawa"!
"Jie-jie-jie-jie-jie!"
As midnight arrived, an evil snicker echoed from the cheap rental apartment under the moonlight, sending shivers down the spines of passing salarymen as if they'd seen a devious boss.
...
"Hahaha! Refreshing!"
Meanwhile, on the other side, as best friends and club partners, Kitahara Iori and Imamura Kohei were drinking beer and laughing wildly, completely unconcerned about whether Yu lived or died!
However, Yoshiwara Aina had removed her wig and was slumped over the table, looking a bit depressed. After all, she had just sought Yuu help, only for him to fall into even greater trouble in the blink of an eye.
What should I do on my end? Kohei hasn't noticed my feminine charm at all; it's so discouraging!
"Nanaka-san, is it possible Yu will be killed by Auntie and sunk in the sea..."
"Impossible! Mom is a very serious person. If she gets angry, she'll most likely just sulk and ignore people, but she won't fail to provide necessary care!"
Speaking of Sayaka, Nanaka immediately looked at Chisa. After all, a big reason her mom had come here was because of their mother-daughter conflict.
Two people who were poor at expressing themselves staying together—the atmosphere at home back then was no different from a pressure cooker!
Thinking about it now, it was for the best that someone like Yu, who could get along anywhere, was staying there. Hopefully, he could purify some of the eccentricities in her mom's heart.