Mrs. Suzuran

Listening to the stream behind him, Akimoto Yoichi had no intention of waiting for her to get a good look at the blond hair on his head.

He had to leave. As soon as possible.

Before Mrs. Suzuran behind him woke up and recognized him.

Though he was a blond, Akimoto Yoichi was a blond with ideals and an education.

With that thought, Akimoto Yoichi didn't bother buttoning his shirt and headed straight for the door.

But before he could take two steps, someone tugged at the hem of his shirt.

He didn't need to guess. It was Mrs. Suzuran.

"Darling, get me some tissues, please. There aren't any in here, and I'm so sleepy."

Still half-asleep, Mrs. Suzuran tugged at Akimoto Yoichi's shirt. She sat there with her eyes closed, her body limp and delicate.

If only she'd opened her eyes and looked at Akimoto Yoichi, she would have realized the man before her wasn't her husband.

Faced with his classmate's mother, Akimoto Yoichi hesitated over whether he should explain things now.

"Hurry up. What are you doing?"

"I stayed up too late writing yesterday. I didn't go to bed until after four in the morning."

"I'm so sleepy now. I'm sorry—I guess I didn't see your message saying you were back, but I've had enough. I've decided to move out and live separately for now, then divorce you without telling Ayano."

Now Akimoto Yoichi had heard something he wasn't supposed to.

Mrs. Suzuran, wasn't she practically alone in an empty marriage? No wonder she hadn't held back when she took a bite out of him just now.

Ayano still had no idea that her parents' relationship was in trouble.

Akimoto Yoichi didn't dare respond. He wasn't Mrs. Suzuran's husband. He was a blond!

All he could do now was open a cupboard and look for tissues, then make his escape as soon as Mrs. Suzuran let go.

As long as he wasn't caught in the act, he could make up an excuse and play dumb afterward.

After taking out a fresh roll of tissues, Akimoto Yoichi turned his back to Mrs. Suzuran and handed it to her.

At last, Mrs. Suzuran let go once she had the tissues.

Hearing the sound of tissue being pulled free behind him, Akimoto Yoichi wasted no time. Now that he was free, he hurried toward the door.

But just as he reached it, with his hand almost on the doorknob—

"Mom? Mom, are you downstairs? That's strange. I thought I heard your voice just now. I forgot to tell her we have a guest, Akimoto-kun. Mom hasn't come in there, has she?"

At that moment, Suzuran Ayano's voice rang out.

Akimoto Yoichi's hand froze on the doorknob. Someone knocked on the door in front of him, while behind him, Mrs. Suzuran finally opened her bleary eyes.

Their eyes met. To Akimoto Yoichi's surprise, he felt himself relax.

So this was what it felt like when all hope died.

"Akimoto-kun? Can you hear me?"

Looking at his classmate's mother as she covered her mouth in alarm, her gaze darting away in utter embarrassment, a blush spreading across her skin as white as a young girl's—

Akimoto Yoichi touched the blond hair on his head and let out a sigh of relief.

As long as he lowered his moral standards a little, he could get through anything.

"No, I haven't seen your mother," Akimoto Yoichi replied to Suzuran Ayano through the door.

"Oh, good. Mom works late, and I didn't want to disturb her, so I forgot to tell her."

"Oh, I see."

"Then I'll go look for her. We have a guest, and I don't want her doing anything rude. Don't mind her, Akimoto-kun."

"..."

Well, Akimoto Yoichi wouldn't mind too much.

After all, he wasn't the one sitting on the toilet right now. Your mom was.

The footsteps outside gradually faded as Ayano went elsewhere to look for her mother.

Little did she know, her mother was right in front of Akimoto Yoichi.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Suzuran." Akimoto Yoichi apologized, then turned around and lowered his head, facing away from her.

He'd been worried that Mrs. Suzuran might make a sound and let Suzuran Ayano catch her and Akimoto Yoichi together. The scene would be impossible to explain.

Clearly, there was no salvaging things between Akimoto Yoichi and Mrs. Suzuran. All they could do was limit the fallout.

They had to keep Suzuran Ayano from finding out and limit the number of people in the know.

"N-no, it's my fault for being rude. I'm so sorry." A note of embarrassment was unmistakable in Mrs. Suzuran's languid voice.

She still tried her best to maintain her dignity as an adult, keeping her voice from trembling too much with embarrassment.

Mrs. Suzuran clearly understood, too: if Ayano saw her with her daughter's classmate in their current situation, she would have completely failed as a mother in her daughter's eyes.

So she understood Akimoto Yoichi's look and stayed quiet, making sure Ayano didn't realize she was there.

"Are you Ayano's friend? Her classmate?"

"That girl, Ayano, is pretty independent. She didn't tell me about this beforehand."

"I'm really sorry. I was half-asleep, and on top of that, you were wearing exactly the same clothes I bought for my husband. I thought you were him... Ah!"

While Akimoto Yoichi obligingly looked away, giving her a chance to dress without being watched, Suzuran Mari hurriedly wiped herself off and tried to stand up and put on the bulletproof vest hanging in midair.

Now thirty-eight years old, she felt utterly mortified.

Thinking of what she'd just done in front of her daughter's classmate, the wife wished she could turn back time.

But the more flustered she got, the more frantic her movements became, and the less her body cooperated.

The instant she sprang up from the toilet, her foot slipped, and she started to fall.

Her bulletproof vest still wasn't on properly, and she didn't have time to pull it up.

The next moment, she fell face-first into the arms of a strong young man.

A warm, magnetic voice sounded gently by her ear.

"My name is Akimoto Yoichi. I'm Suzuran Ayano's classmate. It's nice to meet you."

Akimoto Yoichi reacted quickly, catching Mrs. Suzuran before she could fall. With one hand, he also pulled up the bulletproof vest that had caught halfway, then lowered the thin curtain.

After drawing the curtains fully over the window, Akimoto Yoichi helped Mrs. Suzuran back to her seat.

He had to admit, Mrs. Suzuran was very light.

Most married women her age had put on some weight. They didn't have to weigh two hundred pounds; even a hundred and fifty or sixty was normal.

Yet Mrs. Suzuran had kept the figure she'd had in her youth. She probably weighed only a little over a hundred and ten pounds.

She was a few centimeters shorter than Suzuran Ayano and twenty or thirty pounds heavier, but she was fuller and more voluptuous than Ayano, who still looked a little green.

So, really, Akimoto Yoichi shouldn't have said, "It's nice to meet you." He should have said, "Thank you for the treat."

Of course, on the surface, Akimoto Yoichi still behaved as if he were following the rule of "see no evil," acting with the calm composure of someone merely helping an old lady across the street.

Under Mrs. Suzuran's somewhat nervous gaze, Akimoto Yoichi crouched in front of her and lifted her small foot.

"You seemed to twist your ankle just now. Yes, you did twist it."

"It's a little swollen. You might have trouble walking."

"Why don't I take you back to your room? Ayano was looking for you just now."

Mrs. Suzuran immediately understood what Akimoto Yoichi meant.

She looked down at the thin-strapped nightgown she was wearing, and her cheeks instantly grew so hot they felt ready to smoke.

If Ayano saw her dressed like this with Akimoto Yoichi, her standing as a mother in Ayano's eyes would surely plummet.

"I-I see. I really have been rude. I'll leave it to you, then."

Looking at Akimoto Yoichi, who was so polite and considerate, like a gentleman, and so unlike his blond appearance, Mrs. Suzuran felt as if she'd grown ten years younger.

Before her, Akimoto Yoichi slowly bent his knees and leaned forward.