Chapter 42
[60]
Ren Amamiya stepped off the subway in Yongen Jaya. Tired after his flight home, all Ren wanted to do now was lie down in his bed. With a bag packed full of souvenirs for his friends, the boy made his way through the streets until he arrived at the cafe door.
“Aloha everyone!” Ren greeted as he entered Leblanc.
As he looked around inside the cafe, he noticed that Sojiro, Futaba, and Yusuke were not present. Instead, the only individual present was a woman sitting at one of the booths. The woman had short black hair, glasses, dark brown eyes, and appeared to be in her early 40s.
“Oh um, hello.” Ren waved awkwardly. “Are you a customer? I could make you some coffee if you’d like.”
The woman let out a small chuckle before standing to greet him. “You must be Ren. Futaba’s told me a lot about you.”
Ren simply stood there with a perplexed look on his face, one could practically see the gears turning in his head. Suddenly, the answer donned on him. He’d seen this woman’s face before, in a photo he’d seen months ago.
“You’re Wakaba Isshiki, Futaba’s mom.”
The woman seemed surprised to be recognized, but glad nonetheless. “That’s right, I guess we’ve both heard of each other. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
Suddenly the bell of the cafe rang once more. The form of a small girl carrying a large bag of groceries entered the room.
“Moooom, we’re back from the store! I brought-” Futaba paused when she saw her best friend home again. “REN!” The girl dropped her groceries and immediately sprinted at Ren, jumping onto his back and wrapping her arms around him.
Ren accepted the odd hug as he held his friend aloft, she weighed practically nothing to him so he didn’t mind carrying her. “Hey there Futaba, glad to be back.”
Wakaba couldn’t help but smile at the situation, seeing her daughter so excited to see someone other than her made the mother immensely happy. Only getting to see her daughter and Sojiro in person once a year made it hard on Futaba, so seeing her overjoyed at the sight of another person was a welcome relief.
“Futaba did you just drop your bag? We had eggs in there dammit!” The grouchy voice of Sojiro called as he entered the cafe door carrying several more bags of groceries. When he saw Ren, the older man did little more than give him a welcoming nod.
“Oh, let me help you with those, Boss.” Ren picked up Futaba’s forgotten groceries and some of Sojiro’s, all while still carrying the younger girl on his back.
When they finally finished putting the items away in the fridge, Sojiro turned to Ren. “Welcome back kid. I see you and Wakaba have already become acquainted.”
“Yeah,” Ren nodded in response. “She seems very kind. I see why you two became friends...Speaking of friends, where’s Yusuke?”
“Oh, he’s off in Shinjuku looking at cheap apartments. Said he couldn’t rely on the kindness of others forever. He should be back late tonight.”
Suddenly from the booths, a gasp could be heard from Futaba. “I just had the best idea! Let’s have hotpot together! It’ll be like a real family dinner!”
Sojiro looked unsure. “I dunno Futaba, I’m sure Ren’s pretty jetlagged.”
“I’m up for it.” Ren replied simply. “I’d love to join, if you’ll have me, that is.”
Wakaba smiled at the boy once again. “It’d be our pleasure dear.”
Ren and Sojiro prepared the meal together, working side by side like an apprentice and master chef. Meanwhile, the mother-daughter duo sat conversing with one another.
“So mom, what do you think of Ren? He’s pretty great right? He’s only been here 4 months and already he’s like family.”
Wakaba nodded at her daughter before looking back at the boy assisting Sojiro. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think the two were a father and son with how they got along.
“He is indeed.” Wakaba leaned forward and whispered to her daughter. “I see you’re quite smitten with him.”
“W-What!?” Futaba leaned back in shock, her cheeks bright red. “I-I’m n-not!” She looked over at the guys, too distracted by their cooking to notice the outburst. Looking back at her mother, she saw her giving her the sarcastic ‘Really?’ look.
Futaba leaned in and whispered back to her mother. “Okay, maybe a little.” She shot a glance back over at Ren. “What do you think I should do?”
“Honey, as glad as I am to have this talk. I’m not the one to talk to about romance. My suggestion; be yourself. He seems to like you just as you are.” Wakaba reassured her.
Futaba didn’t seem satisfied with this answer, but before she could say anything more, Ren and Sojiro walked over with the former holding a large pot of food.
The four of them dug into their food, and it was everything Futaba had hoped it would be. For the first time, dinner felt like a true family meal, despite the fact that only two people at the table were actually related. But that didn’t matter, Futaba’s real family was right here with her.
“Whoa, that was filling.” Sojiro patted his belly in satisfaction. Everyone at the table similarly stuffed, (minus Ren who was only faking it, enhanced metabolism and such, you know the deal.) Sojiro checked his watch. “Well after that, I’d say I’m ready to hit the hay.”
Ren stretched and let out a yawn, his jetlag catching up with him. “Same here.”
Futaba wanted to speak in protest, not wanting the moment to end. But seeing everyone getting up to leave stopped her from acting.
The family decided to turn in early for the night, Ren heading up to his room in the attic while the rest of the family entered the Sakura household.
As Ren entered the attic he immediately noticed how off everything seemed. Someone had clearly been here messing with his stuff while he was gone.
“Oh fuck, what is that smell?”
[Bonus]
Wakaba jolted awake, quickly examining her surroundings before remembering where she was. She was in Sojiro’s house, spending the night on the pullout couch, the room only illuminated by the static on the television screen.
Wakaba quickly examined her hands, watching as they shifted from their normal pale color to a glowing black with white smoke emitting off of them.
“No...No...Nononono.” She shook her head. Trying and failing to return them back to normal.
She quickly got up from the couch, grabbed her jacket, and ran out the front door, not daring to look back at the home.
“Please.” She sobbed to herself as she ran.
“Not here.”