211 Don’t be a picky eater

yuki narrows her eyes on yuta. she can't comprehend his words, but her senses are telling her that he's making fun of her. she glances at his mother who is glaring at him. "lady, i thought that you were going to make him apologize to me."

are all adults liars? yuki wants to ask. the boy is looking at her with laughter in his eyes. she has the urge to claw his eyes out. recalling how he hugged her earlier, she shrugs her shoulders and looks away. if he just apologizes, she doesn't mind befriending him. 

this child won't let go. rie exhales. she looks at yuta with a straightforward gaze. "apologize now."

"mother, why should i apologize to her?" yuta feels that his mother is being impartial. he's the one who got his family jewels almost ripped out by this crazy girl. why isn't his mother thinking about the wounds on his pride? his father doesn't care either. he's their only son, isn't he? well, for now, he is. 

"because you did wrong." rie stares at her son. "if you did wrong, you must have the courage to apologize. your pride won't get destroyed if you take responsibilities for your mistakes and apologize. if you keep clinging to your ego and hurt people, that's nothing but empty pride. apologize to her now."

he lowers his head. he doesn't think that he made any mistakes. yuki kirishima killed him in his previous life. she cheated him. she lied to him about everything. whatever her reasons were, how can he just forget about it? but, he did make mistakes. yuki is still a child. who knew that the girl would turn out to be this curious? 

"i am sorry," he mumbles. he shouldn't have shown her the picture book. if he had known that things would escalate to this point in his life, he would not bother proving that she's a female.

"apology accepted." yuki doesn't want to stretch the issue. but, yuta's mother's words have affected her a bit. she knows that she's at fault too. though it was rabid dog who started it, she did hurt him. with a small voice, she adds, "i am sorry for trying to rip it off."

"if you are truly sorry --" yuta looks at her with a dark expression. "never mention it again."

did she pull it too hard? she looks at his crotch. "does it hurt a lot?"

"he deserves it," rie mutters under her breath. what can she say to her perverted son? even if he might have lived up to the age of 24, the boy doesn't have a drop of sensibility. if he had, he wouldn't be asking a six years old girl if she wanted to see his male organ. at least, yuki is distracted now. she's not asking those questions again.

"food is ready." kiyohira walks into the room with a tray of food. rie scowls at her husband. does it take that long to cook? he's been waiting for her to resolve this situation.

"come." yuta takes yuki's hand and takes her to the table. his voice is low and calm. "sit."

though yuki doesn't like being commanded, she still sits on the chair. she watches the silent interactions between kiyohira and rie. they talk with their eyes more than words. the lady grumbles something inaudible and serves breakfast. strange. she picks up the fork and stabs the fried egg. why are her parents not like this?

"what's wrong?" yuta asks while scooping the fermented soybeans from his bowl and pouring over the rice in her bowl. "aren't you hungry? don't be shy."

she stares at the pile of fermented soybeans in her bowl. why is this boy giving her more food? she can't eat all of this.

when he sees that she's still not moving, he takes her bowl and mixes the natto with rice. she's such a child. she would always make him do this. "there, it's good now. it's not as bad as it looks. the soup will get cold if you don't eat it in time." 

"this is…" stumped, rie leans closer to her husband. yuta is trying to feed yuki who is refusing to get spoon-fed. her son scolds the girl and then, coaxes the girl to eat. the children don't look like siblings or friends. there's a deep caring look in yuta's eyes. yuki is a little annoyed, but she gives in to his nagging in the end and opens her mouth. yuta feeds her with a satisfied look.

"they look like an old couple."

"she's likely to be our future daughter-in-law," kiyohira replies in a low voice. it hasn't been long since he found out that he's a father and his son has already brought a girl over. the girl happens to be his son's ex-lover. nothing will surprise him anymore. 

besides that, he can see that yuta still loves the girl. 

"why do you keep feeding me soybeans?" yuki can't take it anymore. yuta's bowl doesn't have a single soybean while her bowl has a mountain of it. 

"i am giving them to you because you like them." yuta grimaces at her. "you told me that you love fermented soybeans a lot. so, i gave you mine."

"when did i tell you that?" even if she's not picky, she doesn't like eating fermented soybeans that much. what she doesn't understand is why this boy keeps assuming that she likes this or that. "don't makeup stuff. i don't like fermented soybeans."

"what?" yuta's face turns pale. did she lie about this too? he told her once that he likes to eat fermented soybeans. she told him that she also liked to eat fermented soybeans. since then, he always gave his share to her. "what do you like then?"

"the miso soup is good," she tells him with a soft voice.

"have my soup then." yuta pushes his bowl of soup toward her.

"i am not a pig." yuki snaps at him. "i have hands. you eat your food and let me eat mine."

the kids start to argue again.

seeing them fight like old grumpy couples, rie can't help but feel jealous. her son never fed her. she's forgotten when yuki is here. looking at the couple with indignance, she pouts. her son is neglecting her. he didn't give her a single fermented soybean. 

"give up." kiyohira rolls his eyes when he notices the jealousy in her eyes. "he's already taken. you have me now."

he's not as cute as her son. she snickers. "tsk! who wants you?"

"i wonder if you will say the same thing when we are alone." he smirks at her "you don't want to eat the crab's third leg anymore?"

before rie can reply, yuki interjects out of nowhere, "lady, why do you only like to eat crab's third leg? all legs of a crab taste the same. don't be a picky eater. you should eat all the legs of a crab."

"..." 

"..."

they should keep quiet in front of this dangerous kid.