In the end, once the awkwardness dissipated in the air, the chat became more casual, and Higo couldn't help but sigh in relief when he noticed that the strange atmosphere was finally gone.
While yes, Ayaka was still quite shy and sometimes stole a glance so subtly at Miki Yamane—she would deny it at all costs, mind you—it was still within an acceptable range, so Higo didn't mind it and even tended to ignore her.
If anything, he just used this moment to spend more time with his mother, as it had been a long time since they met like this.
Or… So that was what he wanted, before Minami decided to grill Morita about everything that Higo did back in Gelsenkirchen.
"You mean to tell me that Ryukkun is not someone sociable? Always going home right after the training session is over?!"
"Oh, that doesn't surprise me! You know that when he was in high school, he had to be dragged by Kumiko-chan just to go out of his room, right?"
