Volume 2 - CH 3

When Arisa and Kazuya contacted Naoki Amagi, he easily agreed to let Arisa stay out overnight, saying, “I can trust Takasegawa-san with my daughter.”.

Then, with Sayuri accompanying them, they went to a nearby convenience store to buy the bare necessities such as underwear.

Since they had already finished their dinner at the festival, they decided to take a bath.

And ……

“It’s my kimono. …… What do you think? Arisa-chan. Is the size okay?”

“Yes. It’s just right.”

Arisa answered.

What Arisa is wearing is the kimono that Sayuri uses as her nightgown.

It’s not the kind of beautiful yukata that you would wear to a festival or on a sunny day, but a very plain azure-colored one with no pattern.

Perhaps it was because she had just finished taking a bath, but Arisa’s flaxen hair was damp.

Her skin is slightly rosy and flushed, and she has a good skin tone.

Maybe that’s why it looks a little …… or quite glossy.

In addition, Arisa replied, “It feels just right.” …… It seems to be slightly out of size.

The size of the chest, in particular, is not right.

It looked a little painful, and if she bent over, her cleavage would be visible.

However, Arisa didn’t seem to be that bothered by it.

Rather, she seems to have accepted it as “that’s the way it is,” perhaps because she has not had much experience wearing kimono in the first place.

“Well, Yuzuru. You go and take a bath next. In the meantime, we’ll listen to what Arisa-chan has to say about Yuzuru.”

“Yes, yes. …… Arisa, don’t say anything too strange, okay?

“I will properly protect Yuzuru-san’s honor.”

The way she said it, it was as if she was telling Sayuri and the others that there was something unsavory going on.

However, as far as Yuzuru could remember, there was nothing that he didn’t want his family to know about.

Yuzuru decided to take bath quickly.

When he got out of the bath and returned to the living room, he found that Arisa and the Takasegawa family were having a great time.

Apparently, they were talking about Yuzuru’s past, while using the souvenirs that Arisa had brought with tea.

“Oh, Niisan. We were just talking about you.”

“I can see that. What are you talking about?”

Yuzuru sat down on the cushion next to Arisa and reached for the sweets in the center of the bowl.

He removed the wrapping paper and brought it to his mouth.

It seems to be a type of western sweet that can be eaten chilled.

Yuzuru raised his opinion of Arisa’s adoptive father, thinking that his sense of style was not bad.

Of course, he was talking about his abilities, not his personality.

” Yuzuru had always been a child who didn’t clean up properly. When he took out a toy, he would leave it all over the place. When he played a game, he would just leave it there.”

” It took a lot of effort to teach him to put things away after he played with them. I would give him exaggerated praise for putting one toy back in the box.”

” “Rightt~!” ” Kazuya and Ayumi said happily.

As Yuzuru can at least clean up after himself, they were probably talking about when they were very young, perhaps in kindergarten or just entering elementary school.

“That’s what all kids do, I guess. …… Is there a fun factor there?”

Yuzuru asked as he sipped his barley tea.

Then Kazuya and Sayuri looked at each other and smiled happily.

“You’ve learned to clean up your toys, but you never cleaned up your room, did you?”

“He didn’t even let me clean my room, saying, ‘What I do in my room is my business!’. “

“…… So what?”

Somehow, he felt that he could read the direction of the conversation.

Until a while ago, Yuzuru was the kind of person who didn’t take the time to clean up his own private space.

But now he was different.

After he met Arisa, he started to clean his room.

“I was wondering how you were ‘disciplined’ by Arisa-san you see.”

“Even though I told him to do it, he still didn’t do it. But after his girlfriend told him, he started to do it. You’re making mom jealous.”

“Did Arisa-san tell you that you’re doing a great job cleaning up and that you’re a ‘good boy’ or something, Niisan?.”

Kazuya, Sayuri and Ayumi made fun of Yuzuru.

As expected, Yuzuru was embarrassed and a little irritated when he was told this much.

And when she looked at Arisa, who would have told them this story, …… she shrugged apologetically.

“I’m sorry. I mean, I didn’t mean to offend you. …… I thought I explained that Yuzuru-san is now so respectable that he cleans his room.”

“…… Well, it’s not your fault. It’s these guys who are to blame.”

Yuzuru consoled Arisa and then …… glared lightly at her parents and sister.

Nevertheless, it was true that he had not cleaned his room, and he could not argue with his parents on that point.

So……

” Hey, Ayumi, even you can’t clean your room properly, it’s a mess isn’t it?”

“Nii, Niisan! You peeked into my room without permission!”

“No, I was just imagining. But from the looks of it, I think I got it right.”

Ayumi’s expression got twisted.

She shook her head from side to side in panic.

“No, it’s not right. It’s not messy!”

“Then…… Why don’t you have Arisa and Mom check it out? Same-gender people should be fine with entering.”

“No, no!　It’s an invasion of privacy!”

When Yuzuru and Ayumi were having such an exchange, ……

Arisa giggled and laughed pleasantly.

“Aaah! Arisa-san, you’re terrible!　You laughed at me!”

“Fufu, sorry. I was just thinking that you guys are really close.”

She looked very amused, but there was a hint of longing in her expression.

By the time Arisa and the Takasegawa family had finished their time together, the clock had struck twelve.

Yuzuru led Arisa to the guest room and pulled out a futon from the closet.

“I’m sorry. I had to have it laid out for me.”

” Don’t worry about it. You’re our guest, after all.”

After he finished laying out the futon, Yuzuru asked Arisa,

“You know where the bathroom is, right?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“If you get thirsty, you can open the refrigerator and drink some barley tea. …… Is there anything else you’re worried about?”

When Yuzuru asked that, a hint of hesitation appeared on Arisa’s face.

Then she looked anxiously at the ceiling and the lights.

“Well, is there an …… orange light here?”

“Orange light? ….. Is it a nightlight?　Somewhere between a bright one and a dark one.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Arisa nodded her head.

Then she confided in Yuzuru, looking extremely anxious and embarrassed.

“I …… hate the dark. I mean, I can’t sleep unless I have a nightlight. …… Do, do you have one?”

“Don’t worry about that. Yes, there is one, and this is the remote control.”

Yuzuru gave her the remote control for the lights and also the air conditioning.

Arisa pointed the remote at the light and pressed the button.

The lights dimmed a bit…..

But it was bright enough that she could see her surroundings with the orange light.

Relieved, Arisa let out a small sigh.”

“Okay then, Arisa. Good night, ……, and if you need anything, just come to my room.”

“Yes, I understand. Good night.”

Yuzuru waved his hand to Arisa and closed the sliding door.