It was not a good idea to chat at the school gate. Katsuragi Ren led the three girls and Hachiman Hikigaya to a nearby dessert shop that looked nice. Hikigaya was still ready to call the police at any moment.
"Shoko, is this enough?"
After ordering a few desserts, Ren put the menu on the table. Shoko Nishimiya had climbed onto his lap as soon as they found a seat. She looked at the menu carefully.
"Mm-mm," Shoko Nishimiya said while nodding. She took out her small notebook to write.
Shoko had not been practicing her speech for long. Right now, she could only make simple sounds for "yes" or "no."
Even saying Ren's name was the result of practicing in front of a mirror many times at home.
Ren was happy that Shoko was learning to speak. Because of this, he did not use sign language to talk to her anymore.
Now that Shoko wanted to change, Ren didn't want her leaning too heavily on sign language. If he relied on it the way they had when they first met, it might slow her progress toward that goal.
That would not be good for her future.
"Yuzuru, and you too, little girl. You do not have to be so shy. Just order whatever you want to eat."
Ren noticed the two little girls sitting across from him were very stiff. He spoke to make them feel more comfortable.
"Yuzuru, your friend came here with you. You should take good care of her."
Yuzuru Nishimiya had told him that this pink-haired girl in an elementary school uniform was her best friend.
When she heard the Nishimiya sisters were going to Sobu High to find Ren, she offered to lead the way.
"Ren-nii, is it really okay?"
Yuzuru Nishimiya's eyes lit up when she heard Ren's words. She had been worried about what to order.
The Nishimiya family saved as much money as possible to pay for Shoko's medical bills. They only ate desserts on very important holidays.
Because of this, Yuzuru felt a little bit of low self-esteem, even though she did not say it.
At school, Yuzuru usually acted like a tough boy. But in front of Ren, she acted like the little girl she actually was.
"Why wouldn't it be okay? Yuzuru calls me nii, so of course you are my sister."
"Isn't it normal for a nii to buy a meal for his sister?"
Ren reached out to rub Yuzuru's head. However, Shoko was sitting in his lap, so he could not stand up easily. He stopped his hand halfway.
Yuzuru was very smart. She moved her head under Ren's hand so he could rub it.
"You little rascal."
Ren laughed at how clever Yuzuru was. "Order whatever you want. If it is not enough, we can order more."
"Yes!" Yuzuru nodded happily.
"Hello, onii-san! I am very happy to meet you! My name is Futari Gotoh. I am Yuzuru's friend."
"This onii-san too!"
Futari Gotoh was very cheerful. She politely introduced herself to Ren and to Hachiman Hikigaya, who was sitting next to him.
Futari's older sister, Hitori Gotoh, also went to Sobu High. Futari wanted to help her friend Yuzuru find the way, and she also planned to pick up her shy sister.
Because of this, Futari asked Ren if they could sit near the window. Ren did not say no.
"Hello, Futari. My name is Katsuragi Ren. You can call me Ren-nii-san like Yuzuru does."
Ren did not dislike polite children. He responded to Futari's introduction with the same politeness.
"Hello, I am Hachiman Hikigaya."
Hikigaya's answer was much colder.
It was not because he did not want to say more. He was just not familiar with them. He was also afraid his "dead fish eyes" would scare the little girl, so he kept it simple.
Shoko Nishimiya picked a few desserts on the menu. Then, Ren moved the menu over to Hachiman Hikigaya without saying a word.
Hikigaya took the menu and started to order too.
He thought Ren would just order for him. He did not expect Ren to let him choose for himself. He decided not to be shy about it.
After picking a few cheap desserts, Yuzuru passed the menu to Futari Gotoh.
"Yuzuru-chan..."
Futari Gotoh felt a bit embarrassed. She pushed the menu back toward Yuzuru.
Ren was already very kind to bring her along. Futari did not want to do anything rude.
"Please, do not be shy."
Ren saw that Futari was worried. He smiled and showed that he did not mind at all.
"Then... thank you, Ren-nii."
Since Ren said that, Futari stopped resisting. She thanked him and took the menu from Yuzuru.
Futari and Yuzuru were similar. They did not want Ren to spend too much money. They picked the cheapest items on the menu. Shoko did the same thing.
"Okay, please wait a moment."
The waiter took the menu back. He bowed to everyone and walked toward the kitchen.
"Shoko, how is school life lately?"
While they waited, Ren started to chat with Shoko about her life.
Bullying in school is not just about physical or mental pain. Being isolated is also a form of bullying.
Shoko had sent the students who bullied her to the police station. Ren worried if the other students in class were ignoring her because of that.
The weak get bullied, but the strong are often feared by others. This often leads to being alone.
Ren and Yukino Yukinoshita were "strong" in that way. They did not care about being alone because they were different from others. They could deal with the loneliness.
But Shoko was different. Her "strength" came from Ren. If she was isolated, it would be just as bad as being bullied.
Shoko was writing about happy things in her notebook. Her hand stopped for a moment. Her eyes turned dark for a second, but Ren could not see her face.
"Yes!"
Shoko turned around and gave Ren a warm smile. She did not want him to worry.
Yuzuru Nishimiya saw her sister's face and wanted to say something, but she stopped.
It is hard for family members to hide things from each other. Shoko was not good at expressing herself, so Yuzuru knew her school life was not going well.
But this was Shoko's choice. Yuzuru did not have the right to change it.
Ren did not owe the Nishimiya family anything. Instead, the family owed everything to Ren.
Shoko answered Ren that way because she wanted him to stop worrying about her.
She wanted to stop the Nishimiya family from owing Ren even more.