15.1 — Chiharu's Home: Heart on Her Sleeve
Chiharu stepped into her house like she was walking on clouds. Her uniform felt warm against her skin. Her cheeks were still flushed from the kiss, and her lips tingled with phantom memory.
> "I'm home…"
Sayaka peeked out of the kitchen. "Welcome—oh."
Her daughter, who usually walked in with stoic calm or silent exhaustion, looked… utterly dazed.
Her steps were floaty. Her hand remained on her lips. Her eyes sparkled like someone who just watched their favorite movie five times in a row.
Sayaka quickly wiped her hands and approached.
> "Something… happened?"
Chiharu blinked. Then slowly nodded.
And then—without warning—she burst.
---
15.2 — Sayaka's POV
It started with a small sentence:
> "We kissed again."
Sayaka paused mid-breath.
Then:
> "Wait—again?!"
Chiharu covered her face, the words pouring out in one long, breathless chain:
> "It wasn't like before—this time it was slow, and soft, and his hands were so gentle, and I wanted it, and it was like he meant it—like he remembered something I forgot and I didn't want it to stop and now I can't stop thinking about it and Mom—what do I do?!"
Sayaka just stared.
Her daughter—the perfect, logical, graceful warrior-princess—was pacing around the kitchen island, speaking in emotional run-on sentences with a bright red face and no filter.
She looked like a high school girl in love.
Because she was.
Sayaka exhaled, stepped forward, and gently pulled her into a hug.
> "You don't have to do anything, sweetheart."
> "You're in love. It's okay to feel like this. It's okay to be vulnerable."
> "And from the sound of it... it wasn't just a kiss."
Chiharu buried her face in her mom's shoulder.
> "I think I've always loved him… even before we were born."
Sayaka blinked.
> "...That's oddly poetic and slightly unnerving."
Chiharu laughed into her blouse.
---
15.3 — Meanwhile: Minato's Home
Back at the Tachibana household, Aki watched her son toss his bag to the corner, open the fridge, and grab a bottle of orange juice like he did every day.
Ryo was on the couch.
Aki: "You're home early."
Minato: "Yeah. Nothing big today. I'm gonna work on some neuro-signal VR mapping."
Ryo: "You didn't kiss anyone this time?"
Minato blinked. "Huh?"
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "You're acting weirdly normal for someone who just redefined his teenage romantic arc."
Minato tilted his head.
> "It wasn't weird. It felt… right. Like I'd done it a thousand times before."
Aki leaned against the counter. "And that doesn't bother you?"
> "Not really. My heart's calm."
He took a long sip of juice, then added:
> "She looked really happy after, so… I think I did something good."
> "Anyway. Back to the blueprint."
He walked away casually, like he hadn't just created permanent brain-scorching emotional turbulence for another human being.
---
15.4 — POV: Aki & Ryo
Ryo: "How is he this composed after kissing the love of his life?"
Aki: "Because it's Minato. The only person who can commit to a soul-bonding kiss and then go study the fall of empires immediately after."
Ryo: "...You think they'll end up together?"
Aki smiled faintly.
> "They already have. He just doesn't know it yet."