Sakiko walked into the apartment, her left hand reaching inside the jacket Rikuo had draped over her, trying to hide the mug.
"Sakiko-sensei, why are you carrying your true form?"
Rikuo was no ordinary person! He wasn't even human... he spotted the mug Sakiko was trying to hide at a glance.
Sakiko's face instantly turned red upon hearing him, as red as the peeled apple in Blade's OP1, Kenzaki's apple!
"Haha, Rikuo, this... this was a gift from a friend at my part-time job. She said it suited me quite well, haha..."
Rikuo looked at Sakiko with a strange expression, placed his hands on her shoulders, and turned her towards him.
"You're not Sakiko-sensei! Who exactly are you?! Sakiko-sensei at this moment should be saying: 'Stop being so childish! What does this have to do with you!' and then go back to her apartment and lock the door! Who exactly are you?!"
Not just Rikuo, but Mutsumi also looked at Sakiko with a strange expression, though she was probably more interested in that mug...
"...Rikuo, if you keep talking like that, I'll get angry! I haven't been... like that for a long time, okay!"
Sakiko pulled Rikuo's hands off her shoulders and gently pushed him away.
"Rikuo, I'm going to take a shower first before eating. I feel sticky and uncomfortable. Don't wait for me, you two can eat first."
Sakiko opened her apartment door and darted inside as if escaping, not daring to lock the door, afraid Rikuo would continue to mock her. She also held the mug tightly in her hand, not daring to put it down, fearing Mutsumi would bring Rikuo in to take it.
"Saki, very strange!"
Mutsumi's voice rose several pitches; one could feel her strong desire for knowledge.
"Indeed, Sakiko-sensei didn't even sigh! She must have a crush on me!"
Mutsumi looked at Rikuo.
"Saki, said, likes Rikuo."
"I wasn't talking about that kind of liking... Never mind, I won't say it. It's quite embarrassing to say such things so seriously. Mutsumi, let's go into the apartment first, don't get wet."
...
50 minutes later, in Rikuo's apartment.
"Girls do take a long time to shower."
"Do they? I take about 10 minutes."
Rikuo looked at Mutsumi, and Mutsumi looked at Rikuo. The air suddenly fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the news program Togawa Kiyotsugu was watching.
'Perhaps the android's movements are more precise?'
Rikuo stroked his chin, offering his conjecture.
"I'm here! Haven't you two started eating yet?"
Sakiko pushed open the apartment door and walked in, only to see Rikuo and Mutsumi staring at each other, and her father lounging on the sofa. On the dining table, however, there were no dishes.
"We've waited this long, a little more time won't hurt. Besides, the food would be cold by now; we can just reheat it when we're ready to eat. I'll go reheat the dishes now."
Rikuo got up and went to the kitchen.
'Thank you, Sakiko-sensei, for saving the day. I didn't know what to say just now.'
"Mutsumi, did Rikuo say anything else about me just now?"
Sakiko saw Rikuo leave and leaned close to Mutsumi's ear, asking softly.
"Rikuo, said Saki likes him."
Mutsumi thought for a moment and replied to Sakiko. Upon hearing this, Sakiko's little face turned redder than a god after a bath.
"Also, Saki's shower."
Mutsumi added the content of their earlier conversation.
'Rikuo, did he actually tell Mutsumi that he wants to shower with me?'
Sakiko's blue hair was clearly blow-dried before she came over, but steam was still rising from her head.
"This kind of thing, isn't it too soon? At least after marriage! Is it too late if Rikuo wants that... No! At least after we're dating!"
Mutsumi tilted her head, unable to understand what Sakiko was saying.
Rikuo: "Saki, eat."
Rikuo came out of the kitchen, announcing that dinner was ready.
"Mo, don't copy Mutsumi's way of speaking! It's very impolite!"
Sakiko stood up, intending to pat Rikuo's head, but realized she couldn't reach. To ease the awkwardness, she could only pat Rikuo's shoulder.
"It's fine, Mutsumi knows I'm joking. Besides, isn't she learning to be rebellious?"
Mutsumi also stood up and saw Sakiko pat Rikuo's shoulder. She thought about their conversation for a moment and then punched Rikuo in the side of his waist.
"?"
Rikuo and Sakiko looked at Mutsumi in confusion.
"This, isn't this a greeting? Rebellious, so it's different!"
Rikuo thought for a while and understood Mutsumi's thought process.
'She must have seen Sakiko pat my shoulder and thought it was a way to greet, wanting to learn it. And wanting to differentiate, she chose the way of delinquent teenagers she saw in manga?'
Rikuo recalled that Mutsumi had been watching anime recently, wanting to try everything since Wakaba Takafumi had forbidden it before.
"Mutsumi, it's fine to do this to me, but you absolutely must not punch other people."
"Mm, I know. Rikuo, different, durable!"
'Is she saying that because Sakiko greeted me this way first, she's doing it too? And because I'm male, she can greet me this way?'
Looking at Mutsumi smiling at him, Rikuo felt that his Mutsumi-language skills could probably pass Level 8.
"Anyway, let's eat."
...
There weren't many dishes, just three main dishes and a soup. Stir-fried pork with chili, spicy fried chicken, stir-fried yellow beef, and chicken soup that Togawa Kiyotsugu had stewed in advance.
"Although it's a bit spicy, I think it's quite good, Rikuo's cooking."
Sakiko ate the spicy chicken, her lips stained with a little oil, and slightly reddened from the spiciness, making them appear even more translucent.
Sakiko, who didn't seem to handle spice well, was already breathing out heavily, though not the usual kind of sigh.
Mutsumi, on the other hand, showed little reaction, just slowly eating bite by bite. However, the beads of sweat on her smooth forehead proved that she also wasn't very good with spicy flavors.
Togawa Kiyotsugu also alternated between a bite of food and a sip of beer to relieve the spiciness, truly a family trait.
"Is it spicy? It's not too bad, right? I removed all the seeds from the chilies; it shouldn't be spicy at all!"
Rikuo held his homemade spicy sauce dish, dipping every bite into the sauce.
Sakiko seemed to have discovered a blind spot!
"Rikuo! You must have this dipping sauce to relieve the spiciness, right?! Is it your mischievous pleasure to watch us eat spicy food? We've all eaten it; quickly give us some dipping sauce too."
Rikuo paused upon hearing Sakiko's words, then showed a playful expression.
"Well, Sakiko, why don't you try it first?"
Rikuo offered the spicy sauce.
"Hehe, I caught you."
Sakiko didn't mind using the same dipping sauce. She picked up a piece of spicy chicken, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in her mouth.
This time, Sakiko was truly red, redder than her mischievous mug.
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