"Miyamizu-san aside, I think I'd get along better with your family than she would, right, Megumi?"
Kyousuke's thoughts drifted away from Mitsuha's gentle voice as he smiled and continued.
He'd already met Megumi's cousin, Keiichi, once before.
Her brother-in-law was apparently one of his fans, and even her father kept up with his work in the papers.
The elder Katou, who read The Yomiuri Shimbun, had even asked him for an article once—seeing his own name in the same paper as his friend's would give him endless bragging rights.
And thanks to cousin Keiichi, those Katou sisters—who were always forced to watch that viral "grass-cutting with a sword" video of him at family gatherings—were probably more than familiar with his face by now.
Damn it.
Just remembering that embarrassment made Kyousuke cringe.
He suddenly recalled that he'd promised to invite cousin Keiichi to the Soubu High kendo club's summer camp.
He'd already asked Kisaki Tetta to handle it.
With the national tournament drawing near, the club's training had intensified to the point where some members, like Gorou Hatake, were practically living in the classroom between practices.
Still, although Kyousuke organized the camp, he had no intention of joining it himself.
He'd just let "Brother Keiichi" enjoy the full manly collision of spirits.
When he'd first met Megumi, she'd pointed at him and said, "Ah, you're the guy from TV—the 'ha, ha, ha!' guy," while imitating his sword swings with a deadpan expression and a flat Shizuka-like tone.
It made Kyousuke want to bury his face in his hands from sheer humiliation.
If he ever met her relatives and they all went, "Ohhh, you're the one from Keiichi's video!
The 'ha, ha, ha!' guy!"
He'd probably die on the spot.
That'd be it—he'd forever be known as Mr. Ha-Ha-Ha.
"Eh—??"
Megumi let out a confused, flustered noise, her smile freezing mid-expression.
She'd been waiting to see how Kyousuke would react to teasing about his embarrassment, but somehow the topic had boomeranged back to her family.
Thinking about her dad, sister, brother-in-law, and cousin, Megumi had to admit—Kyousuke was right.
Her cousin alone was enough to make her die of secondhand embarrassment.
Thankfully, she'd already convinced Kyousuke that her cousin was a bit of an airhead.
But her sister…
In Megumi's world, her sister wasn't just family—she was a role model.
Even her talent for lying by telling the truth came from her sister.
If that important person acted like her cousin in front of Kyousuke, she'd never be able to stay calm.
Alert mode: ON.
Pressing her lips together, Megumi's eyes suddenly hardened with resolve.
Back when her sister was dating, Megumi had always been the one quietly helping out behind the scenes.
Now it was her turn to repay that favor—and protect her dignity.
Her married sister had become even harder to handle these days—practically a full-fledged "neighborhood auntie" at this point.
Still, after that brief fluster, Megumi quickly regained her usual calm and said evenly,
"Yeah, if Hojou-kun could just show everyone that sword move again—the one where you go 'ha, ha, ha!' and slice a bamboo mat into pieces—they'd all be thrilled."
"Hahaha, please spare me! Saying yes to that promotion video was probably the single biggest mistake I've made in the past decade." Kyousuke immediately surrendered.
Megumi's counterattacks were still as sharp as ever.
The conversation soon shifted to his latest work. Kyousuke asked what she thought of it, and Megumi replied softly,
"Must be nice to have talent, You can literally make money by roasting people, and they can't even fight back. Just thinking about it makes me depressed."
"That wasn't roasting anyone! It was artistic expression!" Kyousuke protested.
Sure, those judges in his novel were loosely based on real-life critics—he'd only changed a few details—but come on, fiction is inspired by reality!
You can't make everything up from scratch!
"Ohh~~ so you're just gonna keep pretending, huh?" Megumi's voice carried a faint smile.
Even through the phone, she could picture his shameless grin.
He'd become a lot more real lately.
"Haha, like you said—if I made money off it, I might as well save face while I'm at it."
For the sake of his image, Kyousuke at least tried to defend himself a little.
Deep down, he was a good guy, after all.
"…It must be exhausting, having to do so many things at once."
For some reason, Kyousuke thought her tone sounded… different.
But when he thought about it, it was the same calm voice as always.
Maybe it was just because he couldn't see her face—Megumi's emotions were harder to read than ever through the phone.
"It's fine. Busy, sure, but I've got plenty of help. You know—Eriri, Utaha-senpai, the others."
Thinking she was curious about a writer's workload, Kyousuke was about to elaborate, but then Megumi spoke again, her calm voice dripping with subtle sweet danger.
"Ohhh right~ with Eriri and Kasumigaoka-senpai around, I guess it's not hard work so much as living the dream…
You know, at school, there are tons of students who want to join the art club just because of Eriri.
When the new semester started, I was called to the office to help, and I saw the teacher bring this huge box of applications for the art club—like, literally full to the top.
Even people who can't draw want to join, just to get Eriri-senpai's personal guidance.
And the drama club's the same—there's always some poor guy confessing to Kasumigaoka-senpai and getting publicly rejected, but still, so many people keep joining…"
Megumi rarely talked that much in one go.
Kyousuke was listening with interest—after all, it was a glimpse of Eriri and Utaha's school life he'd never seen before.
But as she kept talking, something in her tone made him pause.
'Wait… why did this sound more like complaining?'
"Um…" he cut in cautiously, "This might just be me overthinking, but—Katou-san, are you… mad right now?"
"Yes"
She answered cheerfully, without hesitation.
Oh crap—she is mad?! Kyousuke froze.
"How could I not be mad?!" Her voice was still calm, but now carried a quiet sting.
"Why is it that when Hojou-kun needs help, I'm never the one you think of? You're always busy, helping me study, even dropping off manga in the middle of the night—but when it comes to your own work, you never ask me to help?"
"Because, you're—"
Before he could finish, she interrupted him—her usually serene tone now a little breathless.
"Just thinking about it makes me furious, furious that you don't rely on me—and furious that I can't do anything to help you!"
Kyousuke froze in surprise.
He hadn't expected Katou Megumi to be feeling that way the whole time they'd been talking.
Hearing the uncharacteristic tone in her voice, he hurried to comfort her.
"Hey, the tutoring thing is because of the Service Club's request. If anything, you're the one helping me out—as an observation subject, you know? Don't make it sound so serious. You had class earlier, otherwise I'd have—"
"Then it's fine if I want to thank you, right, Hojou-kun? Helping out is my own choice, after all~"
Megumi's voice softened a little, though she was still slightly out of breath from speaking too quickly.
"I mean, at the very least, I can make tea, snacks, or lunch for you. Or maybe look after Kasuko-chan, or take Momotarou for a walk. I could even dust off your keyboard or do your laundry…"
She kept talking—listing one thing after another that she could do.
Kyousuke didn't dare interrupt her.
Somehow, she suddenly felt… different.
The girl who used to tease him about his blunders was now talking like she'd be fine washing his dirty socks.
What was this new vibe? A… housewife?
His conscience immediately jumped up to scold him.
'Look at her! This sweet girl is trying so hard to help you, and you didn't even invite her when you went shopping? You monster!'
Then his conscience started lecturing him even harder:
'Explain yourself, idiot! Tell her you already have Miki doing the cooking—she's a professional chef with her own restaurant, remember?'
'Her food's delicious, healthy, and keeps you full of energy.'
'And as for housework, Mitsuha's been doing that since she was a kid—she even cleans the entire Miyamizu Shrine every morning before sunrise.'
'Compared to that, taking care of this tiny dorm is nothing!'
'Shouko, Naoka… everyone's been looking after you, Kyousuke. Megumi doesn't need to feel guilty at all!'
Solid logic, persuasive reasoning—Hojou Kyousuke nodded to himself, fully convinced.
His moral flexibility came in handy as he firmly shoved his conscience back into its box.
But seriously, what kind of explanation was that?
He'd practically said, "See? Everyone already takes care of me, so the best thing you can do is just sit there and look pretty."
No wonder she sounded like she was about to cry.
She was now suggesting that she could even stand in the garden as a scarecrow to keep away the birds.
That was it—he had to stop her before she got any more self-deprecating.
None of her words sounded angry, but they stabbed right into his heart.
She praised Eriri and Utaha-senpai for being amazing, then admitted she couldn't compare—but was still happy to do small things for him.
"I get it! I'm sorry, okay? My bad! Next time, I promise—I'll call you first thing if I need help!"
At that moment, Kyousuke finally understood why Japanese people bow even when talking on the phone.
Megumi's words had him so flustered, he felt like clasping his hands together over his head in apology.
There was a pause on the other end—just soft, steady breathing picked up by the mic.
Just as Kyousuke started to get nervous, she suddenly said, "No matter what I'm doing!"
Her tone was a bit sharp—so even the ever-composed Megumi wasn't immune to girlish emotion, huh?
"Right! No matter what you're doing, I'll call you first!" he assured quickly.
"Mm~" Megumi hummed softly.
Kyousuke wiped his forehead, realizing it was damp with cold sweat.
Just as he was about to relax, her voice came again—gentle this time.
"Actually, I'm pretty confident in my cooking, you know? It's not as good as yours, Hojou-kun, but I promise I won't let you starve"
Kyousuke couldn't help but chuckle. His lips curved into a smile.
"Yeah. I believe you."
He could tell from her words—Megumi was genuinely caring.
The kind of person who made a house feel like home.
Funny thing—she'd gotten mad at him twice in just one phone call, yet he didn't feel annoyed at all.
If anything, the mood between them had become warmer, more natural.
He wanted to ask about their next tutoring session—after all, it was nearly the end of April. Golden Week was coming, and so were exams.
Of course, Megumi wouldn't fail, but their goal wasn't just to pass—it was to stand out.
But as soon as he brought it up, Megumi cut him off.
"You must still have a ton of things to do, right, Hojou-kun? Taking the time to tutor me when you've got so much on your plate… I'd just feel guilty.
It's fine, really—you've already taught me a lot. If I don't improve now, even Keiichi would laugh at me!
Don't worry, I'll be fine maybe I'll even have time to help you for once. Don't forget that, okay~?"
With that cheerful laugh, the call ended.
Kyousuke stared at his darkened phone screen, the smile on his face lingering.
'Next time… I'll have to try her cooking.'
What would she look like in an apron? The thought made his heart beat a little faster.
Tomorrow was the weekend—perfect.
He'd just have to send her cousin off to kendo camp, then invite Megumi over to "take care of him." Flawless plan.
"Hey—HEY!"
Just as he was basking in that wonderful thought, a voice called from the yard below.
"Did the mosquitoes eat you alive up there? The oven timer's done! Midnight snack's ready—come eat!"
It was Eriri.
Her crisp, slightly spoiled-sounding voice carried clearly through the cool night air.
Kyousuke leaned out from under the eaves and saw Eriri and little Kasuko standing on the grass, cupping their hands around their mouths as they called to him.
He opened his mouth to answer, but Eriri's expression suddenly changed—her eyes went wide.
"Ah—idiot! Get back inside! You'll fall!"
Then she actually ran toward the house, stretching out her arms like she meant to catch him if he fell.
Kasuko, a beat late, waddled after her with his tiny legs, copying her gesture and looking up at his brother expectantly—like he really thought he could catch him.
"You idiot. With those twig arms? If I fell, I'd have to dig you out of the dirt afterward," Kyousuke teased.
"You're the idiot!" Eriri shot back, puffing her cheeks. "Even if I can't catch you, I can still cushion your fall!"