Miyahara Ruri, like everyday, was walking back home from school with her friend Kobayashi Miki.

Sometimes, Miki's elder brother, Kobayashi Takeshi would also join them. But he was a junior high schooler and he had also joined the baseball club, so he could always be there with them.

Today, both of them were a little bit more late than usual. The primary reason behind it was one of their friends, whose birthday was today. As both of his parents had to go on a business trip, they asked the school to arrange a party for him so that he didn't feel bad. They paid for the arrangements of course.

"The cake was yummy, right Ruri chan?" Miki asked Ruri as she licked her lips, trying to remember the taste of the strawberry birthday cake.

"Yeah it was." Ruri preferred chocolate cakes more, but she was not opposed to strawberry cakes.

"The cake on my birthday party will be even tastier, just you watch! I will ask Mama to make her special vanilla fruitcake!"

"Ooh." Ruri felt herself drooling a little. Koharu-sans fruitcakes are on a league of its own. Even Takeshi kun, who only eats meat and avoids fruits and veggies like plague, devours them like eating A5 beef. Not that she knew how it tasted.

"Your birthday is also coming up next month, right Ruri chan?"

"Yeah."

"Are you also going to do nothing on it like last year?"

"...I don't know."

Ruri had not celebrated any of her birthday since her parents died—well, except for the last year maybe? That's only because Koharu made a fruitcake for her daughter's friend because she looked sad. Sad? No. It was not that she couldn't afford to have a party. It was just... she did not feel like celebrating it at all. Even other celebrations—she never truly enjoyed them.

She still remembered that night, when she nagged her father to take her to some wedding party one of his colleagues were having, and guilt tripped her mother to join them as well.

Only because she wanted to eat delicious food and have fun.

"—ri chan? Are you listening to what I am saying?"

"Huh? Sorry... just thinking about something."

Miki pouted when she figured out that Ruri was not paying attention to anything she said. "Anyways! we are having a party for your birthday next month, okay?!! I cannot let you turn into those boring adults already!!!"

Ruri simply blinked at her friend. For a shy and timid girl, she could be surprisingly persuasive at times. The only thing she could do in those moments is sighing.

"...Okay, we'll see."

"You're talking like an adult again! Trying to make excuses and playing with words like Mama and Papa! I will not allow it! The party will happen, and you will be the star of it!!!"

Ruri's mouth gaped like a goldfish for a few seconds. Well, she never managed to win against Mi-chan's cuteness before. This time wouldn't probably be any different either. She was healing with time for sure, but she wasn't sure she was still okay with everything happened. A part of her found it annoying, another part yelled that she had no right to ruin other's festive mood just because she was edgy, and another part just shrugged. Mi-chan was just a kid who wanted to have fun. And you're a kid too. So why don't just behave like the kid you are and simply have fun?

But sometimes... you did need to look at things from an adult's point of view, or you miss some important things. Like how she noticed that her uncle was behaving strange for the last four or five weeks. Like... he was troubled about something, but did not want to show it. Wouldn't she be causing trouble for him if she acted like a kid and demanded stuff and all?

"What party are you two kids talking about?"
"W-wow! I've never seen Miki chan this much fired up before!"

Ruri and Miki both snapped their heads hearing the familiar voices, and they saw their neighbors smiling at them.

Sayuri san and Gojima uncle the ogre.

Why were they together?

 

---

 

Gojima Kenzaburou was returning home after his work was done. He was carrying a shopping bag with some necessary stuff as he had also gone to a convenience store.

It had already been a month since he got released from the hospital. Two weeks after his release, Sayuri san got released as well.

The first day he returned to his workplace after his release, his colleagues and students were happy to see him again. The most happy at the beginning was that damned Principal, until Gojima directly told him that he did not wish to be glorified in the news. He did learn an interesting piece of news though.

That fire incident—was not completely natural. Someone had tempered with the wires of that floor so it had higher chances of a short circuit. Many of them connected this incident to that Mori-chan incident. The committee decided to keep it under the wraps for now—school reputation and student morale and such.

Only the teachers and the student council knew about it at the beginning. But the secret did leak somehow. Now there were rumors going around, with people bashing the authority for not being able to deal with it.

It was a complete mess.

Things got worse after that psycho tried to mess with the chemistry lab. A lot of the students including an SF girl from the third year who also was a famous idol or something, got injured as a result of someone tempering with the chemicals.

Now her fans were bashing the school. Things couldn't be anymore worse.

Maybe it's time you went through the recordings of the hidden cameras you had? If you are anymore reluctant, people might seriously get hurt you know?

'Yeah, but... I just do not feel it okay to be looking at young girls changing their dresses. But you're right. We really have to put an end to this. But even if we do catch something, I cannot just take those recordings to the authority, right? I would get fired in an instant.'

Well... we will have to trap him somehow. And to do that, we will have to at least figure out who that is.

'...I guess you're right. I—'

Gojima stopped to see a familiar face trying to gather some apples that had fallen on the ground. It was his neighbor Hanazono Sayuri who had a torn paper bag full of apples as she uselessly tried to put them back in the bag. He walked towards her.

"Do you need help, Sa-Hanazono san?"

"Aah! Who—oh, it's Ken chan."

"...Hai?"
"..."

They both remained silent for a few seconds. Then Sayuri's whole face blushed like a ripe tomato, as she started flailing her hands.

"G-G-G-G-Gojima san! T-t-t-t-that was a mistake by me! Yes! A mistake! It's just Mom always calls you Ken chan on the phone so I also subconsciously called you that! I really apologize!" She bowed.

"Oh no no, you don't have to be sorry, S-Hanazono san! I don't mind at all."

"In fact, I will be really happy if you keep calling me Ken chan from now on. I'll also call you Sayuri." Come on dude, say it! DEW IT!!!

He completely ignored Ubs as he asked to help her and she shyly agreed. They started collecting the apples and putting on inside his shopping bag.

"Are you sure you're completely okay to be go around shopping, Hanazono san?"

"Well... I think I'm fine? I do feel weak sometimes, but I also need to do some light exercise as the doctors said. Going around the neighborhood can't harm much, right?"

"Well, if you say so—" He stopped as he saw something blocking his vision. Before he could react, he felt something soft and pleasing bumping into his face. A sweet and musky scent filled his nose. He wanted to keep feeling the soft touch and the musky scent until he heard a yelp and realized what it was.

Sayuri yelped as she jumped after feeling something brushing her bottom in her sensitive areas. She turned and saw that she accidentally bumped in Gojima.

"Ah! Gojima san! I'm sorry that I bumped into you! Did I injure your nose?!"

"No, not at all! I'm not hurt, you do not need to worry."

"But I hit you really hard..."

"I-I'm fine, really! It was too soft to hurt me anyway."

"Eh?"
"Eh?"

They again became silent for a few seconds. Then Gojima immediately turned the other way.

"A-anyway!!! Let's just collect the apples!" He continued to collect the apples. Soon she also realized what he just said and blushed really hard. Sayuri also followed suit to hide her own embarrassment.

Good job hiding your boner, Ken.

'Shut up. Damn, she must be creeped out by me.'

Well... she wouldn't after all that happened between you two. You have earned enough affection points for her to ignore minor offence like these.

'...Affection points?'

Did you forget what kind of system I am. I can rate how close you are to conquering your targets. Although, her score is still quite low to willingly allow you to feel that soft  plumpness and that sweet feminine scent that can drive almost any man crazy—

'Shut up and don't distract me.'

Oh, look at how much you've grown since the early days of violently punching me~

After Gojima completed collecting the apples, which deliberately took a few minutes, they started walking towards their home.

The silence felt really awkward. Gojima tried to strike a conversation.

"Uh... that's a lot of apples you've bought."

"...Satoshi is returning home from his trip today, so I thought I'd make Apple Pie for him... and maybe a few more for the kids... and you..."

"O-oh."

And their conversation ended with that.

Until they saw a shy timid girl being uncharacteristically energetic and the other usually fiery girl getting swept along.

"—an adult again! Trying to make excuses and playing with words like Mama and Papa! I will not allow it! The party will happen, and you will be the star of it!!!"

They approached the two familiar kids.

"What party are you two kids talking about?"
"W-wow! I've never seen Miki chan this much fired up before!"

And the day ended and evening came.