Volume 2 Episode 5 – Is that a confession of love?
Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093093152263860/episodes/16818622175621273996
Toka’s eyes are serious.
No, wait, isn’t a “daughter development plan” something you do for your own child? I thought for a moment, but I didn’t say it out loud! If I had, I felt like a bomb close to the core would have exploded.
I’m not sure what the plan is called, but I guess she really wants to be accepted by my family…
“By the way, what exactly are you planning to do?”
“Earn daughter points.”
“Daughter points?”
“Cooking, laundry, cleaning—leave it all to me!”
“Those are all areas Toka is bad at, right?”
It overlaps with what I’m trying to nurture. I’m happy about it, but if I really let her do it, I feel like it’ll turn into a big mess.
“You’re saying weird things.”
“It’s not weird…”
Toka rolled over and turned her face toward my body.
“…Toka, you’re probably shocked by that conversation with your father earlier, aren’t you?”
Toka’s body tensed up.
“How did you know!?”
“Just a hunch.”
“Are you a psychic, Ryo kun?”
“No.”
I smiled wryly, and Toka rested her head on my knee and closed her eyes gently.
“Do you think I’m hated?”
“Huh?”
“I always feel a distance between me and my father. He helps me when it matters, like today, but…”
I didn’t know what to say. I’m no good at this. I can’t think of anything clever to say.
“What’s it like to have a family… When I was a child actor, it felt different from now. I was so busy that I don’t remember much.”
Toka’s voice was tinged with a hint of loneliness and emptiness.
“I was rushing back and forth between the filming location and home every day. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by adults all the time. I’m not sure if I ever had time to be a ‘child.’ Even though I was a child actor.”
Toka said this in a somewhat resigned tone. I gently stroked her hair again. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t just casually say, “It’ll be okay.” But…
“Toka, I’m on board with that daughter-raising plan!”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know what the future holds, but we’ll be living together for a while, right? So Toka, you’re going to be a member of the Kuga family! No special treatment just because you used to be in showbiz! As I said before, I’ll need your help with the housework!”
“So, is that a confession of love?”
“How did it come to that?”
Toka finally smiled softly. Yeah, I guess I prefer Toka smiling to Toka looking down.
“Ryo-kun…”
Toka sat up slightly and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“You’ve been getting pretty close lately.”
“It’s okay, we’re dating, after all.”
Saying that, Toka leaned even closer to me. The soft sensation and faint sweet scent drew near.
“You know, I have so many things I want to do with Ryo-kun.”
“Yeah, once this matter settles down, I’d like to go on a proper date too.”
“…There are things we can do right now, aren’t there?”
Toka stared at me intently. Her eyes were so sparkling that I felt like I was about to be swallowed up by them.
Her face was close. Her thin eyebrows, well-shaped nose, flushed cheeks… and her soft-looking lips were right in front of me.
The distance between Toka and me slowly closes…
“Ryo! Asahina-san! Lunch is ready!”
My mother’s voice came from downstairs. At the sound of her voice, Toka and I stopped, maintaining a distance of just a few centimeters.
That was close. No, I wasn’t trying to do anything bad, but it was still close.
“Ryo kun, your mother is calling.”
Toka blushed all the way to her ears and moved away from me.
“She’s calling us, so we should go quickly… right?”
“U, uh…”
We descended the stairs in an awkward silence. Toka’s face was still red, and I’m sure mine was too. This is bad, I can’t look Toka in the eye because I’m conscious of it.
When we entered the living room, my mother was wearing an apron and setting the table.
“I don’t know if it will suit Asahina-san’s taste, but… hmm?”
Seeing our expressions, my mother furrowed her brow.
“Ryo, come here for a moment.”
Then, I was taken to the kitchen by my mother.
“What’s with that scary face?”
“Ryo, are you really doing this for Asahina-san?”
“Of course I am!”
“I believe in you, Ryo. So, make sure you behave properly so that her parents won’t be ashamed of you. If something happens, I’ll feel so sorry that I won’t be able to let Asahina-san stay here anymore.”
“Ugh…”
My mother must have sensed something and gave me a stern warning.
Feeling embarrassed and pathetic, I returned to the living room, where Toka and Yuzuha were sitting across from each other at the table. Neither of them was speaking.
“Ryo-kun! We’ve been waiting for you!”
“Onii-san…”
Both of them looked like abandoned puppies. Yuzuha, in particular, had changed the way she addressed me from “onii chan” to “nii san.” For some reason, Yuzuha always calls me “nii san” when we’re not with the family…
“The fried rice looks delicious.”
Watching the two of them, I sat down next to Toka, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.
“Asahina-san, is the fried rice okay?”
My mother also came over and sat down next to Yuzuha.
“It’s fine! Thank you, I’ll gladly accept it.”
“I hope it suits your taste…”
No, everyone’s expressions are stiff! My family is completely overwhelmed by Asahina Toka’s name. Toka, who used to talk about a “daughter-raising plan,” is shrinking back when it comes down to it!
“Oh, do you want to watch TV?”
Mom, wanting to break the awkward silence, turned to the TV for help. But for Toka, the TV was…
“Mom, it’s okay. There’s nothing she wants to watch.”
“Oh, then maybe we could watch some old videos of Asahina-san? Ryo really loved Asahina-san, you know.”
Gehhhhh! The conversation has come full circle and back to where it started! I thought we had avoided the issue earlier!
“He really liked her. He said he watched TV every day just to see Toka-chan.”
“Really!?”
Toka latched onto the topic like a carp in a pond. Please, stop talking about that right now! It’s too embarrassing to talk about it in front of her!
“Yuzuha, there’s a DVD under the TV, so put it in for her.”
“Okay.”
Yuzuha made a slightly annoyed face and walked toward the TV. Toka’s expression tightened.
[Hello! I’m Asahina Toka, seven years old!]
When Yuzuha set the DVD, a variety show appeared on the TV.
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