"Riki, if tomorrow's performance goes well, let's celebrate together." Takamatsu Akari looked at Riki as she spoke.
Don't worry. I'll make sure the kids' table doesn't get away from me.
After saying goodbye to the three beautiful girls, Riki returned to his rental apartment. Just as he arrived, he saw Sakiko coming back too. Looking at her pretty face, Riki couldn't help remembering how it had felt to hold her hand that morning—soft and gentle.
"You're back," Toyokawa Sakiko said with a light laugh.
"You're back too."
Toyokawa Sakiko smiled. "The teacher assigned us quite a bit of homework today. Could you help me finish it? And would it be okay if I made dinner in your room?"
I don't mind.
That evening, Toyokawa Sakiko made a simple dinner of miso soup, grilled fish, and rice. It was simple, but surprisingly delicious. Riki thought it was far better than the instant-noodle-level cooking he could manage.
"Is it all right?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked.
"I was going to praise you loudly, but since you put it that way, I can only give you a slightly lower score of ninety-nine. Otherwise, you'll get conceited," Riki mused.
"That's way too much. It's just an ordinary school home economics class dinner," Toyokawa Sakiko said with a laugh.
Oh, this is home economics class food?
I thought you'd used some kind of magic. How else could it taste this good?
Damn, is this what it looks like to have a one-track mind when you're in love?
"Akari's band has a live performance tomorrow, right? Mutsumi and I are planning to go watch," Toyokawa Sakiko said. "It'll be a way for me to say goodbye, but also to help Akari take a new step forward."
Seeing her familiar friends form another band made her sad, but