“I smell something good,” Madoka said as she came to the living room.

“I made breakfast. It’s in the kitchen. Help yourself.”

“You are not joining us?”

“Umm… No. I have a flight to catch.”

“Eh…” I was surprised by the words that came out of his mouth.

“What do you mean?” I asked

“I am going to pay my parents a visit. We always get together during my summer break for three days.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep… I should be back by Friday. Then after spending Saturday solving my summer homework at school. I will enjoy the rest of summer.”

“Eh… You are going to solve your summer homework so soon?”

“It’s better than doing a rushed job at the end.”

“Is that so?”

“Just how did you get the first rank in your school sister?” Madoka asked.

“I will be going now.” He said but I couldn’t help but hold the sleeve of his shirt.

I didn’t want him to go. I know he was going to see his parents but I didn’t want him to go.

“I will be back soon. I promise and when I do. Why don’t you, me, your sister and friends all go to the beach. My treat.”

“I can’t accept such…”

“You are on!” my sister butted in.

“Madoka!”

“It’s okay Hinata. It’s my way of thanking her for letting me know you were in danger. Had anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself.”

I seriously didn’t want him to go at that point.

“Okay…” my sister said before coming in between us. “You don’t want to be late for your plane right? Hurry up and leave. I will take care of my sister.”

“Okay… Thanks, Madoka. Hinata. I will see you real soon okay?”

I could only node my head at his question. And with that, he left.

“He is too good for you. I hope you know that Hinata.” Those were the words Madoka chose to say to me.

“I know and thank you. Had I listened to you then…”

“Had you listened to me then your friends would have been all alone with those bastards. From what Takashi told me, your friends were the targets and you were just a bonus.”

“Even so…”

“It’s not your fault. Don’t you dare blame yourself for what happened? Those guys were just wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

“But you saw right through them.”

“Hump… I am good at seeing the masks on people’s faces. That’s why, what happened between you and my ex, I know you weren’t at fault I was just so angry at the time that it blinded me to the truth.”

“Madoka…”

“Hey, sis. Let’s start over, okay?”

“Yeah… I would like that very much.”

We hugged each other. I can’t remember the last time we did such a thing.

“Who was that boy and what is that smell?”

The person who had just entered and asked that question was Kaya.

“That’s Hinata’s boyfriend. He came to let us know that he was leaving for a while and he made us a surprise breakfast.”

“Breakfast! Do you mean that smell is his cooking? I finally get to test the cooking Hinata has been praising as higher than mine.”

“What? There is no way anyone can cook better than you Kaya.” Madoka said while following closely behind her.

They both took a bite of the Scrambled Eggs with Furikake he had made.
/******************/
Scrambled Eggs with Furikake

These eggs are a bit sweet thanks to the coconut aminos and furikake yet savory and rich. They make an excellent change of pace for breakfast eggs.

Total Time10 mins
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 1
Calories: 467kcal
Author: Jenny Ross

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons cream
• 1 teaspoon coconut aminos
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Furikake for garnish

Instructions

• Whisk to combine the eggs, cream, coconut aminos, and sesame oil.
• Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat and add the butter. When foaming subsides, add the eggs, stirring constantly to prevent large curds from forming, about 2-4 minutes. The mixture should thicken and begin to clump, at this point, stop stirring constantly, and scrape large curds off to one side of the pan until desired consistency is reached. You will end up with a soft, custardy curd.
• Plate and top with furikake.

/************************/

“It is my loss,” Kaya said with tears pouring down her face.

“Sorry Kaya, but your right. To think a boy would be this good at cooking.”

Madoka was right. Takashi was indeed talented beyond belief. He was smart, good at cooking and he was a fighter too. Just how lucky was I to have him for a boyfriend.

***

“So that is what happened.”

Haruko and Kurumi had woken up by afternoon. I explained everything that had happened to them and their faces went pale.

“It’s a lie, right? Tomokazu would never do such a thing, right?” Kurumi said that like a broken record. “I am going to call him and…”

“Don’t Kurumi!”

“Eh… Haruko but…”

“Hinata would never lie to us. I see no reason to not believe her. If you call his number it will destroy the effort Takashi went to erase our connection with those two. If the school and our parents find out that we were dating college boys and went to a shady place with them, it will be bad.”

“But…”

“Face reality. We were deceived.”

Kurumi broke into tears when she heard Haruko’s hash words. She herself was fighting the tears in her eyes.

“I am sorry Hinata but I think we should leave and I am sorry. Had I listened to your warning about that place being shady then…”

“Enough you two. It was nobody’s fault but those two and you guys are going nowhere.”

“Eh…”

“When I lost sensei I was all alone and because of that, I did things that I now regret very much. That’s why I won’t let you guys be alone. You have me and we have each other. I am going to cheer you guys up if it’s the last thing I do!” I said before striking a dramatic pose.

“Ku… kuhahaha… kuhahaha… Whats with you? And that pose. You’re killing us.” Haruko said as they burst into laughter

I was glad. I knew it was not going to be easy for them but they were not alone and I too was no longer alone.

Takashi. Hurry back okay.

***

It was Saturday and I was at school. Doing such a thing while on summer vacation would have been unimaginable. Takashi had returned from his trip abroad. He was thanked by Haruko and Kurumi who had returned to their old selves.

After receiving some souvenir gifts from Takashi we headed off to solve our summer homework.

I didn’t want to disturb Takashi because he was in his third year. That is why before he returned, I and my friends had already solved most of the homework. What was remaining was the easy and some super hard questions.

After Takashi helped us out solving the questions and giving us pointers on the easy. I had him go to class 3-A to solve his own homework.

The school was virtually empty. Those who were doing makeup classes had already left for the day and skeleton staff was around.

After finishing our work. I suggested we head up to 3-A to check if Takashi is ready to go.

Only to have Haruko and Kurumi give me a devilish look.

Just how did it come to this?