~ Third Person Pov ~
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"Oh my... These muffins are quite, delicious!" Minami exclaimed, with her eyes widening, and her hand held to her lips.
Kotonoha blinked, almost in disbelief. "Wait—really?" She turned toward Ayano, who simply gave her a small, smug shrug as he leaned back against the kitchen counter. The scent of baked vanilla and just-browned sugar lingered in the air, cozy and warm.
"Yes, really," Manami said, her expression genuinely surprised as she took another bite. "They're soft, sweet—not overly so—and there's a lovely little crunch on the edge. I don't know what you two did in here, but it worked."
Kotonoha, clearly trying to keep her composure, crossed her arms and nodded once like it had all been intentional from the start. "Well… I did help mix the batter."
Ayano raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean before or after you tried to put salt instead of sugar?"
She shot him a narrow-eyed glare, though her cheeks flushed the faintest pink. "You promised you wouldn't bring that up."
"I promised I wouldn't make fun of it." he corrected, with a calm smile, "didn't say anything about mentioning it."
Manami chuckled quietly into her hand, savoring another bite as she watched them. Her gaze lingered on Kotonoha for a second longer, softer now—something thoughtful glinting behind her eyes. She then looked back toward Ayano...
"You've... Got a good presence here." she said, voice much gentler than before. "It's, comfortable. In fact, it's easily he kind that settles a room."
Ayano didn't reply right away. He just rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "W-well, I--well... just, try not to get in the way." He was mildly irked at himself for stuttering so much in a single sentence.
Manami hummed thoughtfully at that but didn't press. Instead, she set her empty plate down, eyes still twinkling. "Well, I hope you don't plan on leaving right after this. I think I'm going to be expecting you for dinner next time too."
Kotonoha blinked, halfway into reaching for another muffin. "W-Wait, what?"
"I like him." Manami said, already walking off toward the living room... "And I have a feeling you do too."
Kotonoha froze up completely.
Ayano, meanwhile, coughed into his sleeve, trying to stifle his laughter.
He stopped, saying, "Well, I like you both too... But~ unfortunately." He raised his phone, checking the time. "I can't make the cut... I've pretty much got prior commitments, and I can't not be a man of my word on it."
Kotonoha, frowned slightly, but Ayano hadn't noticed it, "If... that's the case, you can take some of the muffins on your way back if you want."
He shrugged, "No, It's fine. Think of those muffins as like a gift from me... Enjoy them." He finished, walking towards the door.
Manami seeing him passing by, quickly but carefully stopped him, "You're leaving already? I thought you would stay for dinner?"
Ayano paused, hand already on the doorknob, and turned slightly... "I would love to stay, really... but, I kind of promised someone else I'd be back by late evening. And, well... I try not to make promises I can't keep."
Manami studied him for a moment, then slowly nodded, an understanding smile on her face. "I see... That's, rare. A lot of people say that, but not many follow through."
Ayano chuckled softly. "Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot lately." he muttered under his breath.
Kotonoha remained relatively quiet, standing a few steps behind them both, arms still loosely crossed. She wasn't looking at him, exactly—not, directly. Just... near him. At the floor, or the doorway. Maybe even both. But her voice came low, and clear all the same.
"T-Thanks for comingover."
He looked back, something faint and sincere in his expression. "Thanks for inviting me."
And just like that, the door clicked behind him, leaving a small silence in his wake. It wasn't heavy, just... still.
Kotonoha's eyes lingered on the door for a moment longer. Then she looked down at the muffins—their muffins—and let out a slow breath.
Manami's voice came from the living room, light but carrying just enough weight. "You could always just ask him to stay next time honey..."
Kotonoha didn't answer right away...
But, she smiled.
...
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~ Ayano's Pov ~
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'Well, that little trip of mine wasn't too bad, it was nice even...' I checked the time, realizing it was around 5 PM. I stayed over a bit longer than I had anticipated, way longer.
'Though~ what's even the chance that she's still over there waiting on me?' It was pretty much bar none; but on the off chance she was, I might as well make myself available, right?
I rubbed the back of my head, 'Wait a second... What should I even prepare? Miso Cod? Miso Solmo-'
Bump!
'Son of a-' Before I could finish my thought, I felt someone bump right into me... When I looked down, I saw a kid. He couldn't be younger, or more than a year older than I was right now, but he looked as if he had just escaped some place with his life barely intact...
"Hey, uh... you ok man?"
The guy looked up at me with wide, panicked eyes. His breath was hella ragged, chest rising and falling like he'd just sprinted a marathon—or worse. There was a streak of dirt down one cheek, and his clothes were torn in places, like he'd been dragged through the underbrush or something. He didn't answer me right away, he just kept staring off in the distance, as if trying to figure out if I was real, or if he was safe...
"I..." he finally choked out, voice dry, hoarse. "I didn't mean to—Sorry—just—please! M-my life, i-it's ruined!"
He's losing it... "Take a second," I said, keeping my voice calm. "You're not in trouble. Just, breathe."
I then crouched slightly, lowering my voice too. "You said, ruined...? What do you mean by it's ruined?" But, before he could answer, I could see it. A single poker chip in his pocket, and then everything made sense to me...
'You've got to be kidding me...'
His hands continued to tremble, but he didn't let go of mine once I grabbed it...
Still crouched, I glanced back toward the alleyway he came from. Narrow, dark, reeking of mildew and something coppery, sharp...
"Tell me; What exactly happened back there?" I asked, keeping my voice low.
He looked like he wanted to disappear. His eyes darted back toward the alley, then back to me. His lips moved before any words came out...
"I... I didn't want to do anything illegal!" he muttered, almost like he was talking to himself. "I swear, I wasn't trying to gamble or anything shady—I just… I just needed the money!"
I didn't say anything. I just continued letting him speak.
He swallowed. "My mom… she's sick. Real sick. Bedridden. She's been in the hospital for months now, and the bills are getting worse. I dropped out of school just to keep up with part-time work, but it's not enough. It's never enough."
I saw it then—not just panic. Shame. The kind that sits heavy in your chest, that settles in your bones.
"I heard about this place," he went on... "from some random guy behind the ramen shop near the station. Said there's a way to earn fast cash underground—he said it was the real hush-hush kind, off the books. Said if I could pass one of their 'tests,' I could easily walk away with enough to pay for a year's worth of treatment."
He laughed, but it was bitter. Empty. "Sounded like bullshit, right? But I was desperate. Desperation makes you stop caring about how things sound."
I nodded slowly, barely...
"So, I went..." he whispered. "Down into the alleyway. They took me through a side door, and then it was all black walls and that red light. Said it'd just be a simple game... But, those things they do, it ain't normal man.
He looked at me again. Haunted. "And when it was done, they handed me that chip, telling me I could come back again. then they let me go..."
I stared at the alley, jaw tight.
No... they didn't let him go. It's a tactic so that he could come around again. Manipulation 101. They wanted to see forgiving, but they're planning to rob him blind again.
"Listen..." I said, pulling him gently along with me, "We can talk more once we're away from here. You're lucky to have walked out at all."
He looked at me, still lost. "Who... who are you?"
I sighed, "That's not important... You can't keep going there either. At least, not without a plan."
PING!!
I heard the system going off in my head...
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{MAIN QUEST PART 2: Find out more about the underground casino...
REWARD: +1 Bronze key}
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...
Not only was this a new quest, it was a main quest too. Which means, it's important that I do it...
'If I wasn't going to be involved before, I had no choice in it now...'
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END