"So, Nejire-chan, you're asking if my Shun-kun can go with you to Akita Prefecture over summer break?"
Kako rubbed her chin in mock seriousness, flicking a glance at Isshun's deadpan expression.
'Well… if Shun-kun isn't saying anything,' she mused, 'then this was probably Nejire-chan's idea, like usual.'
It felt strange not to have Isshun be the one trying to convince her. Still, Kako merely shrugged inwardly before turning her attention back to Nejire's determined face.
"Yeah!" Nejire nodded rapidly.
Isshun had told her to try convincing his parents herself, but in practice, she'd practically begged him for advice beforehand.
Her original argument had been that they'd be apart for a whole month. While that would probably tug at Kako's and Genzai's heartstrings, it didn't guarantee anything.
So now, armed with the Tutorial A.I. (Isshun), Nejire was ready to make her case!
On the other hand, Kako was already calculating how many vacation days she could squeeze out of her schedule to follow along.
She hadn't had siblings, or even parents, growing up, which was one of the main reasons she'd poured herself so completely into her career before having Isshun. Genzai had lived a similar life, which was why the two of them had grown close despite choosing such different paths.
Because of that, their usual vacation options like visiting parents, were nonexistent. And given their shared pasts, "vacation" had usually just meant staying home and resting, with no experience with any traveling.
Now that an opportunity had finally presented itself, why wouldn't she take it?
Akita seemed pretty safe too.
'And Nejire-chan will probably bring Shun-kun everywhere!'
That mental image alone was something to look forward to.
Still, Nejire's expression told her this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment whim. She'd clearly put thought into it.
So why not let her play it out!
"Why do you want to bring Shun-kun with you to Akita?" Kako asked.
She interlaced her fingers and rested her chin on her hands, the imaginary glint of her nonexistent glasses flashing with exaggerated interest.
Faced with Kako's uncharacteristically serious expression, Nejire gulped nervously. She instinctively glanced at Isshun for support—then snapped her gaze back forward.
'No! I have to do this without Shun-chan's help!'
'If I lean on Shun-chan, where will my big-sister authority go?!' she chanted to herself, mustering her courage.
Isshun watched Nejire's expression shift from anxious to determined and shot his mother an exasperated look.
'Why are you making this difficult?'
Kako, naturally, ignored him, her focus entirely on Nejire.
"Hmm? Nejire-chan?"
She didn't notice that just before Nejire spoke, Isshun stared at her in confusion, then dragged a hand down his face in resignation.
"Shun-chan promised that we'd be partners for life!"
Nejire slapped the tabletop with absolute sincerity.
'No—where did this come from?!' Isshun blinked, completely dumbfounded.
Let it be known, Isshun had recommended that Nejire say that since he only left the house usually because of Nejire's insistence, go down that route, not… whatever this was.
Kako froze.
The room went quiet in a very specific, dangerous way, like the calm right before someone decided whether they were amused or deeply invested.
"…Partners?" Kako repeated slowly.
She turned her head toward Isshun, a teasing smile creeping onto her face.
"For life~?"
"Just to clarify—" Isshun started, only to be cut off.
"Oh?" Kako tilted her head, eyes narrowing. "So you didn't promise Nejire-chan something like that?"
Isshun opened his mouth again. "It was never—"
Nejire, meanwhile, leaned forward, brimming with confidence she absolutely did not feel five seconds ago, interrupting him outright.
"Yep! Partners!" she said brightly. "Like, no matter what! Through hero work, school, and—uh—life stuff!"
"We're the Blueberry Vanilla duo!" Nejire added.
Isshun threw his hands into the air in exasperation.
'How the hell am I supposed to explain if I don't even get a chance to speak?!'
"So basically—"
But Kako had already stopped listening to him. She knew the truth from his reaction alone, but really, why pass up the chance to tease Nejire-chan?
Her gaze returned to Nejire, one eyebrow lifting in curiosity.
"And what does 'partners for life' mean to you, Nejire-chan?" she asked gently.
Nejire stiffened.
'Hmm… Maybe this wasn't how it's supposed to go?'
Her eyes darted sideways toward Isshun for half a second before she caught herself.
'No! Independent argument!'
Completely forgetting that she'd begged Isshun for advice before coming over, Nejire had fully derailed his entire plan.
"Well!" She straightened up, hands planted on the table. "It means we look out for each other! Train together, work together, eat together—"
Isshun winced.
"—and if one of us is in trouble, the other shows up no matter what!" she finished proudly.
Kako blinked once.
Then she smiled, not the teasing smile she'd intended, not even a playful one.
But a fond one.
'Shun-kun is a lucky boy~'
"…That sounds very serious," Kako said, nodding slowly.
Isshun stared at his mother in mild horror.
"That was not a legally binding statement," he said quickly, just in case.
"So, Akita," she continued, steering the conversation with suspicious ease. "Is this about spending time together? Or is there something specific you want to do there?"
Nejire relaxed just a bit.
'This—this is what Shun-chan talked about!'
"Oh! Both!" she chirped. "My family's there, and there are hot springs, and mountains, and I wanted to show Shun-chan where I grew up! I talk about it all the time, but it's different if he actually sees it, right?"
She paused, then added more softly, "And… I don't like the idea of being away from him for that long."
Isshun slapped a hand over his face.
'What are you doing?'
Kako noticed Nejire's hesitation, her gaze softening further.
"Hmm… I see," she said quietly.
She leaned back in her chair, tapping a finger against the table in thought.
Isshun just wanted this entire shitshow of a conversation to be over. How did a simple convincing session go this wrong?
Nejire clasped her hands together under the table, practically vibrating.
After a long moment, Kako sighed.
"Well," she said, "I can't decide this on my own. You haven't asked your mom about this either, right?"
That got Nejire's attention.
'I forgot I haven't even told my mom! She even said not to disturb Shun-chan's family!'
A chill ran down her spine.
"We'll talk it over as a family," Kako continued. "But Nejire-chan—"
Nejire snapped to attention, her nervousness still there.
"I appreciate you being honest," Kako said warmly. "And brave enough to say all that without Shun-kun helping."
Nejire beamed.
Isshun groaned softly and buried his face in his hands.
I'm never letting her prepare an argument again.
--<>--
A/N: Since we hit over 2k powerstones(which is crazy) you guys will get an extra chap this saturday!
Since we didn't hit 4k, I won't change the goal this week, so it'll stay 2k and 4k respectively!
Not really anything else to say, just that there's prolly 2-3 advance chaps on patreon if you want to support me or read them.
[email protected]/Cypresss
Thanks for reading!
--+--
2000 PS - Not Complete
4000 PS - Not Unlocked