Hakuta took a deep breath of relief once he found himself free from Ninka’s family. Not only were they a handful, he had no intentions on wanting to meet any of them. This was Ninka, she wasn’t exactly what he would call a close friend of his. Yet from the way they talked to and treated him. It was clear they seemed to be more on the friendly side of things.

Those two were strange as well, not because there was anything wrong with the. It was just that they definitely appeared to be related to Ninka alright. The only odd one out for the family would be her father.

He seemed to be perfectly normal, at least in Hakuta’s eyes. Just a quiet man who apparently had a solid job which afforded his family a nice home. Honestly, it was something he hoped he’d be able to do in the future.

Wait a second, he was a lot like her dad right now. And that man was surrounded by family whom were all a bunch of a strange mix of outlandish individuals. Was this the future Hakuta was doomed for!?

Probably not, but it was no wonder why Ninka seemed to be interested in him. While he hated to admit it, if she truly was serious about dating him in a manner beyond that of the other boys she had already done. Then him being close to what she viewed her dad to be, who was a successful individual, was a good idea.

Though the idea of it made Hakuta a bit sad. That man seemed like a kind person and he would be disappointed to believe that his wife only married him because of the financial stability. Perhaps it was the upbringing he had, where his mom definitely couldn’t have thought his dad was anything but bad with money.

But it wasn’t like he knew her parents or their past at all. There was no telling at what point in their lives they were in when they first met. When they first began their romance which eventually led to this real wacky family.

Hakuta shook his head and went up the stairs. This wasn’t a subject he needed to worry himself about. This was Ninka’s family, whom he wasn’t that close with. She wasn’t someone he needed to get closer with. Despite her efforts, which only served to make him appear more of a jerk than anything else. But not any different than what he was like before moving in with Shiuka.

“I’m back.” He announced himself as Hakuta simply opened the door to Ninka’s room where he saw everyone else who had planned on coming for this study session had arrived. “Oh, you’re all here now.”

“Wow, we were a little worried you wouldn’t be coming back.” Yuusen laughed as he walked inside to join them. “For a second, it sounded like you might’ve gotten lost on the way back.”

“The house isn’t that big.” He sat down, rolling his eyes. While it wasn’t directly spoken, it was clear the point of the joke was mocking Hakuta’s original small home. Back in the day before he moved elsewhere, his house was so tiny that his room didn’t even have a bed in it and still got cramped when his two buddies came over. “And I’m not a someone who can’t read a map either.”

“That was only one time.” Itsuki responded to that moment where the boys found themselves lost in a strange city when they roped Hakuta into going to an idol’s convention. At least he was lucky enough to actually meet the girl, but would’ve preferred not to have been so messed up from all the stupid things they went through for that moment.

“Yeah, and besides we made it out okay.” Yuusen followed up.

“I swear, Hakuta was complaining about having to tutor everyone, but he’s the one who’s getting all talky today.” Shiuka laughed, reminded of what she had told him. Though judging from his reaction, it wasn’t that he valued this method of interaction in the same way as her.

“Whatever.” Hakuta pulled out all his school work and prompted everyone else to do the same. “Let’s just get this over with so I can go home.”

“Don’t rush us too much or else we won’t learn anything.” Rouko teased him. “I mean, what’s the point of doing it fast if we’re not doing it right?” Despite her raising a good point. He knew that considering this was her, she likely had more devious motives in mind while giving her explanation.

“How about you sit down here.” Ninka patted on the pillow seat set right beside her. Everyone else already had taken their seats, so it wasn’t like he had any other choice. Of course, Hakuta had an inkling of an idea as to why this was the situation he found himself to be.

“Come on Hakuta, it’ll be fine.” Shiuka assured him, as he would end up between the two girls. His friends looked on in envy as he took his spot. The boy knowing they’d much rather be where he was and admittedly he wished he could trade places with them in this moment.

“Anyway, does anyone have any question?” He asked, giving them all a good glare. They were the ones who needed his help, not the other way around. This all being despite the fact that he was far from the smartest in class, simply the smartest among this group outside of Yuusen.

If only they had asked Yuusen for help, then he wouldn’t be in this mess. That boy was certainly destined for great things if he could just kick his wear desire to date a girl. At one point, he even wanted to date Ninka but it seemed that dream had been put on hold after it became obvious she wasn’t interested in him.

Normally Hakuta would be glad to see his buddy not waste his time with a gyaru. But this time was different as it would’ve at least given him a chance to get away from that girl. Though this could’ve also just as easily backfired if she continued to go after him instead. There was no way he’d want any strife with one of his closest friends whom he knew growing up.

“I do!” Ninka raised her hands as if they were in class. She sprung quickly on this opportunity to take him away from the others. Everyone else simply went about talking and chatting while doing their own homework, seeing as most of them weren’t at threat of failing.

“It doesn’t look very complicated at all.” He commented, taking a look at her coursework. Since they were in the same classes, he went through the same things she was taught as well. So he was already experienced, but assumed practically anyone would be able to handle math questions. “You really need my help for this?” His question earned him a somewhat strong nudge from Shiuka. She didn’t appreciate his rude way of talking to her friend.

“Some of us are just a little slow, that’s all.” She responded. “Besides, I barely have time to focus on rereading the stuff the teacher did. So can you just show me how to do it?”

“I’m not going to do your work for you.” He scolded her, giving the girl a bump on the head. “Come on, it’s done like this.” He provided an example to explain the concepts taught in class to her. “It’s not hard, you just need to pay attention to a few details and it’ll come to you, no problem.”

“Ah, I see.” He didn’t believe for a second that she actually paid attention to his words. If she really did like him, then it was probably just staring at him like a girl trying to sneak a peek at some boy they like. “You know, you could be a great teacher when you grow up.”

“Not planning on it.” He replied. Hakuta didn’t even know what he wanted to do in life, but it certainly wouldn’t be that. Hanging around teenagers or children meant he’d have to risk seeing gyarus for the rest of his professional life. At least once people turned into adults, they seemed to move that phase behind them.

Then again, considering Ninka’s mom, not all of them felt the shame of needing to become a bit more responsible looking. “Shiuka, you need any help?” He turned his attention to the other girl to try and keep occupied.

“Huh?” She hadn’t been doing much while he was conversing with Ninka. Actually, Shiuka had been propping her head up with her arm while staring at him. “Oh, um, sure.” The girl wasn’t prepared for him to suddenly look back at her to talk.

“Geez, don’t be that distracted.” He whispered to her. “It’s not like I’m actually going to fall for her.” Hakuta had misunderstood her strange actions and simply assumed it was the obvious problem. He knew they were both worried too much about their friends, but he also wanted to make sure they were both aware things would be fine as long as they did their best.

“Of course.” She spoke back, her heart racing a bit from nearly being caught. Being in someone else’s room did mean more risks, but not in the way he would’ve thought. “If you’re offering, then maybe you could help me with this reading.” So even though they were in Ninka’s turf, it was her turn to monopolize some time with Hakuta.