The meal passed by quickly, and although they exchanged some light conversation it was generally a little quieter than usual.
"....Are you mad?" Haruna asked, her head drooping slightly because she couldn't muster the courage to look at him properly.
Reiji, who was cleaning the plates in the sink, sighed with exasperation. Granny had excused herself and retreated to the bedroom to take a nap, her accumulated stress crashing onto her after the fulfilling lunch.
Well, that's what she claimed anyway.
"Why on earth would I be mad?"
"Because.... you know?"
"I am a little frustrated that you two were so resistant to my help, but it's not like I don't understand. We haven't know each other for that long and sharing your problems with others can be a bitch." Reiji chuckled, handing her the wet dishes for her to dry off. "But I just want to say that if you have people that can help, relying on them doesn't have to be seen as a burden, whether that's me or your other two buddies at school. That's what friends are for, isn't it?"
Haruna had a thoughtful pout, but then she narrowed her eyes at him and pinched his waist as hard as she could.
"OW, WHAT THE FUCK?"
Reiji rubbed his hip, wincing at the unexpected attack.
"Blah blah blah, it's easy to give advice like a sage, but hard to follow it. With that logic, why do you keep dodging the topic about your background when I just want to help?" she snapped with frustration, her arms crossed over her bountiful chest.
Reiji repeatedly opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to deny her retort.
"...That's a little different. I just don't want you to be too involved with those things, because it could lead to a lot more trouble than you think. If I gave you the impression that I simply didn't trust you, I'm sorry, but that's not why."
Haruna wiped the plate in her hand with a paper towel and didn't respond. She bit her lower lip as if she was struggling with something, her hands moving robotically even though the dish had been dry for a while now.
"I..."
She hesitated.
Reiji, noticing her inner turmoil, didn't push her and decided to just wait. He didn't know what she was thinking, but it clearly put him in an awkward position.
She finally lifted her head, looking at him with eyes that screamed 'I can do this!'
"My scumbag of a dad was a gambler. He squandered all the money my mother worked hard to save and disappeared from our lives only after he built a massive debt that we were forced to pay off."
Reiji's eyes almost popped out in disbelief, never expecting her to open up to this extent. It took a lot longer for her to discuss her issues with either Hina or Riku in the game, so this was more than unexpected.
The earliest he had managed to get her to share her story in the game was after the school trip, just before the start of the second semester!
He softened his gaze when he saw her trembling hands, keeping his mouth shut so that she could continue at her own pace.
She took a deep breath and continued, "My mother....she passed away a few years ago in a car accident. She wouldn't have even been out that late if she hadn't had to work overtime to pay off that shitty debt. Granny took me in, raised me, fed me, clothed me, and worked so that she could lift the burden off my shoulders, even though she should be retired and relaxing by now....."
Reiji knew all of this already, but to hear those depressing memories coming out of the mouth of your friend hurt more than he had anticipated.
Her voice, which broke occasionally, her eyes, which had formed glittering drops of tears, and her posture, which had hunched over the counter as she spoke.
Every single one of those was like an arrow through his heart, so he could only imagine how she was feeling.
He didn't know what the law regarding debts was in the other world, since he never had any. But in this one, it was passed on from generation to generation if the debt-holder had died or vanished.
A shitty plot device the devs used to make this storyline possible.
'Those assholes....'
He lifted his hand and gently patted her head, rubbing it backwards in a soothing motion as he replied to her, "I may not know what exactly you are going through.... but I also lost my mother a few years ago."
The gloom-filled blonde girl snapped her head up in shock, staring right at his face for the first time in a while.
In his past life, he had lost both his parents, but he couldn't say that. Still, his predecessor really did lose his mom, so it wasn't a lie either way.
"Even though I can't sympathize with the stress of being shackled by something you didn't even do, nor can I feel your guilt at the fact that your grandmother has to work at her age, I do know the pain of losing someone you love."
He continued to pat her head slowly and smiled when he saw her wide eyes.
"I can't do anything about that, but as for the others? Don't worry, I'll make sure you get into the Top 10, and I'll make sure we can earn enough money to pay off whatever is left of that debt. It's about time that old bat relaxed on a lawn chair, sipping on a margarita!"
".....Mhm."
***
Reiji frowned as he analyzed Haruna's notes, homework, and practice tests, which were laid out in front of him. He rubbed his forehead in disbelief at the simple mistakes she was making, ones that could only be attributed to a lack of focus rather than not understanding the material.
For example, in math, she used the right formulas and knew the steps she needed to take, and yet lost marks because of an inaccurate calculation or a small bumble that messed up the consequent questions.
"....Is it that bad?" she asked nervously, biting her nails again.
"The opposite. It's actually really good."
Reiji grinned as he looked up, his already handsome face brightening even more as he looked at her with confidence.
Haruna blinked at the sudden change in expression, her cheeks reddening slightly.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"A lot of the mistakes you made can be solved easily!"
"REALLY? HOW?"
Reiji tilted his head, and his grin widened.
"Just don't be an idiot."
"...."
Haruna's excitement died down, her joy replaced by an intense glare as she stared daggers at him.
"What the fuck does that mean??"
"Hey, don't get so worked up. Come, look at this," Reiji said, shifting closer as he sat right next to her to point out the errors.
Haruna stiffened when their shoulders touched, and when she smelled the oaky scent of his emanating from him, she instinctively leaned in to get a deeper sniff.
'....This isn't fair, Reiji-tan.' she thought internally, her mind a little hazy.
"...So if you hadn't forgotten to carry the 2 here, you would've been golden!"
Reiji looked down to see her with her eyes slightly closed, clearly not paying attention. He furrowed his brows with dissatisfaction and flicked her on the forehead.
"OW!"
"Earth to Haruna! Come on, focus! What were you thinking about?"
"N-Nothing, continue," she stammered, rubbing the sore spot with a deeper blush than before.
She was sitting slightly behind Reiji, so he didn't notice because he turned back right after flicking her.
'Snap out of it, you idiot! Reiji-tan is spending his free time to do this, I can't get distracted!'
She smacked herself on the cheeks and leaned forward to read the papers more clearly, following the extremely long and detailed explanation that he was spouting nonstop.
Haruna got more and more embarrassed as he pointed out all the idiotic things she did, covering her face in shame.
She had never tried to review her work, getting disheartened by the mediocre scores and losing hope as soon as she got them back from the teachers.
But through the shame, she realized what he meant by 'just don't be an idiot'. If she took note of the areas where she commonly made those mistakes and made sure to watch out for them in the upcoming midterms, more than half her problems would be solved!
This wouldn't take more than a few days, and after that, she could focus on the topics she truly couldn't understand!
'Maybe I...No. Maybe WE can actually do this!' she thought, glancing at Reiji through the corner of her eyes.
When she saw his utterly focused expression and calm blue irises, she smiled softly, her eyes crescenting into moons.
The pain and fear from the notice this morning had completely vanished, and she didn't even know when.
All she knew was that she now had hope.
Something she hadn't felt in a long time.
***
Reiji yawned as he packed up the pot he had brought over, the remaining content transferred into containers that were placed in the fridge.
"I'll come over tomorrow morning as well. No rest days until after the midterms, okay?" he muttered tiredly as he turned to look at the two women standing near the door.
Granny had woken up a while ago and had watched them study with a silent encouragement.
Since they were so zoned in the whole time, they didn't notice the complex mix of delight, guilt, and sadness on her weary and wrinkled face.
"It's dark outside, so make sure not to get jumped in an alleyway," the old woman said quietly.
Reiji's reaction was filled with bemusement, raising an eyebrow at the ridiculous statement.
"....Did your memory go bad already? You realize who I am, right?" he chuckled.
Unexpectedly, she didn't retort with a comeback.
"Just be careful, you brat. Now get lost!" she muttered, kicking him out of the house.
Reiji shook his head and walked off, waving his hand at the cranky woman and the giggling girl who was leaning against the doorframe.
"See ya tomorrow!"