Once again, Yuta entered the lively Tanaka household with an equally confused and nervous state of mind. Even though it was the second time that he had visited the Tanaka household, Yuta was still struggling to control his nerves.

With such an elite family, he felt unworthy of stepping into such a prestigious land.

"Yuta, what's wrong?" Marie asked him with a worried expression.

Since they had invited him out of good will, he didn't want them to know that he was feeling anxious. Yuta knew they were good people, but he was always paranoid around other people. It was just an old habit of his.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. Let's go inside and eat the ice cream before it melts," Yuta suggested.

"If you say so..." Marie frowned at his attempt to change the subject of the conversation as she watched his lonesome back enter the house.

***

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

After Yuta had left after their small ice cream party, Marie stayed motionless on the living room couch with a complicated expression on her face. Akari noticed her sullen mood and decided to find a way to cheer her daughter up.

"Mm, Yuta's been acting weird lately..." Marie dejectedly looked at her mother. "I don't like it. I don't like it when Yuta acts distant to me..."

Ohoho? My daughter's a fast grower just like a certain someone~ I feel a bit bad for Yuta now, who knows if he can handle such heavy feelings? He should be okay though since he's just like Takei, Akari thought.

Akari was thrilled to see Marie discover a new part of her life that had been previously untouched. Yuta was a good boy, so she had no qualms about Marie entering a relationship with him. Rather, Akari would encourage it since it reminded her of her relationship with Takei when they were younger.

"Maybe, you should try getting closer and closer to him everyday?" Akari suggested through her own experience of taming an introverted loner. "If you do a constant attack on him, then there's no way he could refuse anything you ask of him!"

"Is that the case?" Marie tilted her head quizzically.

"Yep, I give you my stamp of approval," Akari proudly grinned.

Due to her years of experience with taking Takei, Akari was sure that her plan was foolproof. "Never give up and just go for it! That's the motto of the Tanaka household!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Marie stood up from the couch with renewed vigor. "I'll do my best!"

From the kitchen, Takei had heard the entire conversation as he watched the plates and dishes used during the ice cream party. There were a lot of places where he wanted to intervene in the middle of Akari's pep talk, but the girls were having fun so he didn't want to interrupt.

Glancing over to his side, Takei saw his son diligently drying the plates off with a determined expression. A lazy smile formed on Takei's face as a result of how blessed he felt to have a kind and hardworking son.

"Hey, Akira?"

Akira stopped drying the dishes for a moment and looked at Takei. "Huh? Did I mess up on drying one of the dishes?"

"No, no. You're doing great. I just wanted to ask you a question real quick," Takei explained.

"What's the question?" A curious expression appeared on Akira's face.

"What do you think of your sister's friend, Yuta?" Takei asked.

Ever since Marie had introduced them to Yuta, Takei and Akari had been over the moon with him. Just like his cautious personality, Takei made sure to carefully scrutinize Yuta for any red flags, but he never found anything bad about him. Yuta acted the same as his personality and speech patterns suggested, so there were no anomalies.

Since both him and Akari liked Yuta's influence on Marie, Takei wondered what his son thought about Yuta. Did he like having an older brother in his life? Or, did he not want an outsider joining the family?

Taking a brief moment to think, Akira contemplated what to say and turned to Takei with an expression as calm as the ocean. "He's a good big brother that takes care of me and big sis."

Even though his answer was short and simple, Takei found it easy to understand Akira's true feelings. His son was glad to have an older brother that could simultaneously take care of him and his older sister. Akira knew how hard Marie worked to take care of him, so he wished for someone to take care of Marie.

And, that someone was Yuta. Suddenly appearing out of nowhere one day, Yuta came to Marie's aid several times and helped her out in countless situations. The shining white knight that Akira had wished for had finally appeared.

"Is that so?" Takei grinned. "What would you do if he became your real big brother?"

"My real brother?" Akira looked at Takei with widened pupils. "As in, getting married to big sis?"

"Yep, but it's just a possibility right now. What do you think?"

Akira was shocked that his father was already thinking about something like this. It hadn't been that long since the Tanaka household met Yuta, but everyone was already smitten with him. He had thought that his father would be a bit more concerned about giving his daughter away, but the gentle expression on Takei's face was telling him something different.

"If Yuta does become my big bro, then wouldn't that be good? He could be with us a lot more if he was my big bro!" Akira happily exclaimed.

"Haha, that's true. Maybe, that's something to look forward to in the future."

As Takei was having a joyful conversation with Akira, it seemed that Akari was doing the same thing with Marie.

"When he least expects it, that's when you go on the prowl and attack! A surprise attack is a very effective move if you capitalize on it after! Trust me, your father was the same. Just use these tricks and you'll have him curled around your finger instantly!" Akari exclaimed.

"Yes, Ma'am! Thank you for the lesson!" Marie incessantly bowed.

Seeing the mother and daughter combo formulate a plan to capture Yuta, Takei could do nothing but awkwardly scratch his head.

"Good luck to you, Yuta. You're going to need it if Marie is anything like Akari."

—

Next chapter: Morning attack! Marie takes a few pointers from her mother and puts it to use!

Serious-san: Like mother, like daughter

Sugar-chan: Fufufu, so endearing. Go get him, Marie!