CH 39

–Hey, Hidetsugu. You should show up at my house.

One day during spring break at the university. It was Marina Ando who called me.

“…… How did you get my number?”

–You exchanged contact information with me when you came to my house before!

“Oh, that’s right. I made a mistake~”

–Why!

“Because just now I was relaxing at home alone with Hiyori. Right?”

“Y-Yes.”

I said, and Hiyori snuggled up to me.

–So annoying, die. You idiot couple. Just show your faces over here once in a while!

“Eh~.”

–Tch~… here, Mitsuki. You should say something too.

Marina said.

–… Hello, Hidetsugu-san?

“Ah, Mitsuki-kun. It’s been a while.”

–Indeed it has. Well, how can I say… why don’t you come over to our house once in a while?

“Okay, I’ll be there.”

–Thank you.

–Hey, what? Hidetsugu, why are you so sweet only to Mitsuki!?

“Shut up, Anyway, please give my regards to your father.”

–Damn it…We’ll be waiting

Then she ended the call.

“…I decided on my own, but is that okay with you?

“Yes. I will follow Hidetsugu-san.”

“Hiyori …”

We looked at each other and kissed.

“…. you’re so cute, Hiyori.”

“……Hauuuuu~”

Then we did some embarrassing things in our space together.

******

Second visit to the Ando family.

“You’re here Hidetsugu, Hiyori.”

“What, Marina?”

“Hey, what’s that look on your face?”

Marina’s cheeks twitched.

“Ah, Hidetsugu-san, Hiyori-san. Hello.”

“Ah, Mitsuki-kun!”

“Wait, why is your attitude so different towards him!?”

Ignoring Marina, who was screaming, we entered.

“Oh, Hidetsugu-kun, Hiyori. Glad you are here~”

“It’s been a while. Oh, here’s a souvenir.”

“Ah, thank you. Please come on in.”

A smiling Toru-san led us into the living room.

“How’s it going? Is your relationship going well?”

“Yes, fortunately”

I said smiling.

“Saying that, but Hidetsugu might cheat on you with me~”

“No, no, not you.”

“Wha…shut up.”

“You talk too much, Nee-san”

“Shut up, little brother.”

Marina glared at Mitsuki-kun.

“Ah, that’s right. I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while, Hidetsugu-san.”

“What is it”

I looked at Mitsuki-kun’s face.

“Um… Hidetsugu-san, you won second place in Koshien when you were in high school, right?”

“Well, it was all thanks to everyone’s efforts.”

“I think that’s very impressive,…… but you still wanted to win the championship, didn’t you?”

“Haha, yeah.”

“Then how did you … manage to quit baseball completely? I heard the reason from my dad,….”

Mitsuki-kun asked me with a serious stare.

“I … can’t imitate that probably. Because I entered the world of professional gamers because I wanted to be the best, and I can’t .. afford to lose.”

“Mitsuki-kun, you are surprisingly competitive.”

“Yes.”

“Well, …… it may be just lip service, but I don’t think it’s all about being the best. I loved that Koshien, even if we were the runner-up. Of course, it was frustrating when we lost.”

Mitsuki-kun silently listened to me.

“Sure, I love baseball, but I don’t think that’s all there is to life.”

“Hidetsugu-san…”

“And now that I’m away from baseball, right now, the best, best thing for me… my wife is by my side.”

“Hidetsugu-san……me too, you’re the best.”

“Hiyori….”

We gazed at each other.

“Hey, don’t flirt in front of my family.”

Marina said,

“My bad. But, well, it’s not good to be too tense, to be obsessed with being the best. Life is long, so it would be good to cultivate a mentality of sustained activity.”

“I see… As expected of you, Hidetsugu-san. Thank you.”

“No, It’s fine”

“I couldn’t talk to my father and sister about this.”

“”What!?””

The parent and children glared at each other, but Mitsuki-kun showed no sign of concern. Hiyori and I laughed.

At that moment, the doorbell rang

“Hm? Who is it? Hey, Marina, go check it.”

“I don’t want to. Why don’t you answer it?

“Hah~, this foolish daughter of mine~”

Toru-san walked out of the living room with a heavy heart.

“Ah, it’s almost lunch time. I want to eat Hiyori-san’s home cooking for the first time in a while.”

Mitsuki-kun said.

“R-really? I’ll cook it then”

“Thank you. Oh and Don’t worry about my sister’s portion.”

“Why not! I’ll have some, too!”

“You’re a very greedy woman, aren’t you?”

“Hidetsugu, I’ll stab you?”

“Uwa~, Scary~”

“Nee-san, stop”

“What’s the matter with you guys!?”

Marina’s face contorted as she was teased by me and Mitsuki-kun.

Then, Hiyori.

“Fufufu.”

“Wait, what are you laughing at, Hiyori?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“… Well, that’s okay. You should cook lunch.”

Marina said, and Hiyori smiled.

“Yes, wait for me.”

Hiyori then stood up.

“–Hey, Hiyori, are you there?”

At that moment, the door to the living room opened with a bang.

“What..?”

The gaze of everyone gathered on him.

“Oi, Nii-san! Don’t go in there without permission!”

“Don’t be so hard on me, Toru~!”

A man suddenly arrived.

“D…Dad?”

Hiyori said, her voice trembling.

“N….”

The man spotted Hiyori.

“Oh~! Hiyori~! I’ve missed you so much, my darling!”

He walked up to her and hugged Hiyori.

“What’s wrong? Hm? Aren’t you happy to see your favorite father?”

The man said, but Hiyori’s face was tense and she was trembling.

So–

“Please let her go.”

I pulled Hiyori’s hand and held her close to me.

“…… hmm?”

The man stared at me.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Hidetsugu Matsuo. Hiyori’s…future husband.”

“Hidetsugu-san ……”

Hiyori’s voice trembled, but she smiled faintly. The man narrowed his eyes and stared at us.

“Heh~. That innocent Hiyori has become a woman.”

The man laughed.

“You are…”

“Yeah”

The man said,

“My name is Ando Jinta….Hiyori’s real father.”