Shishio had expected several reactions from Rui's mother after he had said those words, but...
"Well, of course, why not?" Tsukiko was beaming with a smile and said, "Rui, why didn't you tell me that you have a boyfriend!" She felt a bit annoyed when Rui didn't tell her that she had a boyfriend and only told her suddenly today, which somehow made her baffled. However, she had to admit that she was delighted with Rui's choice.
"...." Shishio, Rui, and Hina.
"Come on! Let's eat first while we're talking to each other!" Tsukiko said without hesitation.
"..."
Looking at how excited Tsukiko was, they weren't sure how to explain this misunderstanding.
Rui wanted to say something, but Tsukiko quickly interrupted them and said, "Let me introduce you, my new husband, first." She then held her new husband's hand first and said, "He's Fujii Akihito. He'll be your step-father."
Akihito showed a gentle smile and bowed his head lightly. "Hello, everyone." In truth, he was a bit nervous when he met Tsukiko's two daughters, which was why he didn't expect that two of her daughters would be nervous too and invited Shishio to this meeting. However, since he knew that they were quite nervous, he couldn't do the same, and as an adult, he needed to try to make them comfortable.
"Ah, yes, Fujii-san. My name is Tachibana Hina," Hina said, introducing herself. As for calling him a father, there was no way that she could do it immediately.
"I'm Rui Tachibana." Rui wasn't good at talking, so she only introduced her name.
"Come on. The food won't be good if it gets cold. Let's talk while we're eating," Tsukiko said.
They nodded and thought that they could fix the misunderstanding later.
---
As they sat, Shishio quickly talked with Akihito and apologized. "I'm sorry, Fujii-san. I've interrupted your important day." He didn't tell the truth that Rui suddenly invited him without saying anything since he was sure that Rui would be punished by her mother. The situation would become awkward, so he decided to go along with the flow without revealing what really happened. He also felt like it wasn't manly when he put all the blame on Rui for inviting him to this meeting.
By inviting him into this meeting, it meant that Rui trusted him, so Shishio couldn't let down her trust since he also felt a bit guilty toward her. Talking with an adult was something easy for him, so even though this meeting was quite surprising, he could naturally handle it.
"No, no, it is alright." Akihito smiled and said, "I'm sure that Tachibana-san's daughters are nervous about meeting me since this is our first time meeting each other. I'm glad that you're here, Oga-kun. By the way, you can call me Fujii-ojisan."
"Yes, Fujii-ojisan." Shishio nodded without hesitation.
Tsukiko looked at Shishio with a smile since she could see that he was very well-mannered, and she was delighted with her son-in-law's candidate. She looked at Rui and asked, "So your boyfriend, is he a college student? And where did you meet him?"
Rui knew that Shishio wasn't her boyfriend, but she didn't know why she didn't deny it and said, "No, he isn't a college student. He's one year younger than me."
"Eh? Really?" Tsukiko was dumbfounded since she didn't expect that Shishio was one year younger than Rui.
"Mom, he's a student at my school," Hina suddenly said with an awkward smile, then looked at Rui, wondering why Rui didn't deny the fact that Shishio wasn't her boyfriend.
"Eh? Really? Such a coincidence?" Tsukiko was even more dumbfounded.
"What's wrong?" Akihito, who was talking with Shishio, couldn't help but be attracted by Tsukiko's exclaim, making him look at them curiously.
"Oh, Oga-kun, here's a student at Hina's school," Tsukiko said with a smile.
"Eh? Really?" Akihito was surprised since he thought that Shishio was a college student of how mature he was. "Where's your high school, Oga-kun?"
"Me? I study at the high school that is affiliated with Suimei University of the Arts," Shishio said.
"What? My son is also studying there!" Akihito even became surprised.
"Huh? Fujii-san, is your son also studying at Suimei?" Hina was dumbfounded.
"Yes." Akihito nodded with a smile and said, "His name is Fujii Natsuki. He's in his 2nd year at Suimei. Do you know him Oga-kun, Hina-san?" As for Hina calling him "Fujii-san," he didn't think too much since Hina was an adult, calling him "Ojisan" was a bit weird, and it was their first time to meet each other, so it was normal for her to be awkward or couldn't call him a father immediately.
"Ah, is it that Fujii-kun?" Hina was surprised since she didn't expect her student would become her stepsibling so suddenly.
"Do you know my son, Hina-san?" Akihito asked curiously.
Everyone was also looking at Hina curiously since they were curious about Akihito's son's identity. After all, they would become a family in the future, and they would live together from then on, so they needed to know each other.
"Ah, yes, I know about him. He's my student. He has this face, this hair, and...., right?" Hina said with a smile, trying to show the appearance of Fujii Natsuo.
"That's right, that's him!" Akihito nodded without hesitation, showing a smile.
Everyone then continued to talk to each other, and this time, they quickly shortened the distance between them. However, they had to admit that the world was so small that they didn't expect that they would know each other.
"How about you, Oga-kun? Do you know my son?" Akihito suddenly asked.
Shishio shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Uncle. I don't know your son since he's in his 2nd year. I'm a freshman, after all."
"Huh? You're a freshman!" Akihito was dumbfounded since this guy was too tall, right?
"Well, but it is okay. I can get to know him later since we might be good friends, right?" Shishio said with a smile.
"Well said! I'm sure that both of you are going to be good friends!" Akihito said with a smile.
"Uncle, let me pour you a beer," Shishio said and thought that he might not become Fujii Natsuo's good friend, rather he would become Fujii Natsuo's brother-in-law. Not that he was going to say it out loud, though.
"Sure! Sure!" Akihito was happy at this moment since Shishio treated him better than his own son. Shishio was also very good at talking, and Shishio's praise from time to time made him feel good.
Shishio shook his head inwardly, thinking that Akihito was so simple, but well, it didn't really matter since he knew that he might disrupt their family from time to time, so he needed to make a good relationship with him from now on.
Tsukiko looked at Shishio then looked at Rui with a smile. "It seems that he's working hard to please his father-in-law."
Rui blushed and quickly became embarrassed. "Mom, what are you talking about?!"
"....." Hina didn't say much, only kept smiling, but his expression was a bit complicated.
The dinner was very eventful, and everyone was happy with this first meeting.
Shishio then poured water on Akihito's glass, looking at his eyes straight, and said, "Uncle, before you go drunk, there might be something that you want to tell to aunty's daughters, right?"
Hearing Shishio's words and watching his eyes, Akihito nodded without hesitation since he knew that there was something that he needed to say at that moment. He took a deep breath and said, "Hina-san, Rui-san, can you please listen for me for a moment."
Hina and Rui then looked at Akihito in doubt, wondering what he was going to say.
Akihito then stood up straight, showing a manly expression, bowed his head, then said, "From now on, I'll become Tsukiko-san's husband and your step-father. I know that you might not be able to accept it for now, but I'll do my best as your step-father and Tsukiko's husband from now on. I know that it is a bit sudden, but please give Tsukiko-san to me and believe me that I'll treat her as the most important person in my life!" He poured all of his feelings into these words, and in truth, he didn't expect that he would be this brave. However, it might be because Shishio had gently supported him on his back, which was why he was so grateful to him at this moment.
Looking at how bold and manly Akihito was, Tsukiko couldn't stop her tears and wanted to hug him. "Akihito-san!"
Akihito was surprised when Tsukiko suddenly hugged him, but he also felt happy at this moment since he could say something that he wanted to say.
"......"
Rui and Hina were quite surprised, but then they looked at each other and nodded. Both of them then bowed their heads and said at the same time, "Please take care of our mother from on." They could see how happy their mother was, and they wanted to see her happy from now on.
"Yes, I'll." Akihito nodded without hesitation, facing both Hina and Rui without hesitation.
Shishio smiled and couldn't help but feel moved by Akihito's words. However, he then realized that Akihito didn't say "I love you," but even so, Akihito could convey how important Tsukiko in his heart was. He might not be able to say "I love you" to both Nana and Saki, but he knew how important they were to his heart, and if Akihito was able to convey such a feeling to Tsukiko, then why wouldn't he?
Then after that confession, both Tsukiko and Akihito became even sticky, which made Shishio, Rui, and Hina feel helpless.
"They're drunk," Shishio whispered to both Rui and Hina. "Is it okay to let them keep drinking?"
"Well, let them, they're so happy now," Hina said helplessly. She then looked at Shishio and said, "But thank you, Oga-kun."
"What's wrong, Sensei?" Shishio looked at Hina weirdly.
"If you aren't there, Fujii-san might not be able to say those words to us. That's why I'm, no, we're grateful toward you," Hina said with a smile.
Rui also nodded since she also felt the same.
Shishio smiled and said, "If you're so grateful, then you should forget the porn book matter."
Rui couldn't help but chuckle, and Hina really wanted to strangle this student somehow, but in the end, she sighed and said, "Well, I'll forget the matter of the porn book."
"That's good." Shishio nodded.
"But you love maids, huh? What about other genres, such as an older woman or a teacher? Do you read something like that?" Hina asked curiously.
"......."
Shishio was wondering whether this woman was drunk right now.
The happy time also ended, and it was their time to go home. Shishio didn't hesitate and offered Akihito to drive him back. "Uncle, do you want to go back with me?"
"Ah, is that alright, Oga-kun?" Akihito asked with a red face since he was a bit tipsy.
"Yes." Shishio didn't mind driving Akihito back to his house since Akihito might become his father-in-law in the future.
When Akihito put on the helmet and sat behind Shishio, Tsukiko, who also sent them along the way, looked at Shishio in doubt and asked, "Um, Oga-kun, how old are you?"
"I'm 15," Shishio said without hesitation.
"Then how can you get a driving license for a motorbike?" Tsukiko asked in doubt.
"........" Akihito, Rui, and Hina.
"Um... you don't need to worry, aunty. My father knows someone, so he has given me a driving license. Here, if you don't believe me," Shishio said and took out his driving license for everyone to see.
Tsukiko, Hina, and Rui looked at Shishio's driving license for a bit and nodded. "Well, just be careful, alright?"
Tsukiko might have been worried before since she realized that Shishio was underage, but well, since he had a driving license, she didn't need to worry too much.
"Well, my mother aside, I'll need to talk with you regarding this matter at school, Oga-kun," Hina said while staring at Shishio.
"...." Shishio then looked at Tsukiko, hoping to help her.
"Well, just forgive him this time, Hina," Tsukiko said directly, helping her son-in-law.
Hearing her mother's words, Hina didn't really want to, but she couldn't do anything. "Well, I'll ignore this matter for now." She then looked away while pouting.
"Then we'll go back first. Bye aunty, Sensei, Rui-nee," Shishio said.
"See you later, Tsukiko-san, Hina-san, Rui-san," Akihito said with a smile.
"Yes, see you later," Tsukiko said with a smile.
Rui moved closer to Shishio and said, "Once you've gone back, send me a text."
"Yes." Shishio nodded then after saying goodbye. He left together with Akihito.
Looking at Shishio and Akihito, who had left, Rui was still looking at their back for a while until her shoulder was patted.
"You should watch him over. He's so handsome. You must have a lot of competitors," Tsukiko said without hesitation. She had been betrayed by her previous husband before, and that was the cause of her divorce. Even though she knew that Shishio might be well-mannered and gentle, it was also the reason why she wanted her daughter to be more careful since such a man. She was sure that he didn't lack a girl, and she didn't want her daughter to be hurt. "You'll be transferring to his school later shortly. At that time, you can meet him every day."
"Yes." Rui nodded and felt quite happy when she thought that she could be at the same school as him.
"Well, let's go back. It is a bit chilly outside." Tsukiko stretched her hands with a smile, feeling that this was a wonderful night.
Rui nodded and followed her mother.
Hina looked at Rui then made up her mind, thinking that she should help her sister at this moment since she knew that Shishio's popularity was very high.
---
On the night street, Shishio rode his motorcycle with Akihito on his back. "Uncle, tell me, where is your house?"
"Ah, yes, you should go straight, then turn right when you see the bridge," Akihito said, but then he felt quite sober after the night wind hit his face.
"Alright."
Hearing Shishio's voice, Akihito suddenly asked, "Say, Oga-kun, can uncle ask you a question?"
"What's wrong, uncle?" Shishio asked.
"Do you think that I can be a good husband for Tsukiko-san and a good father for both Hina-san and Rui-san?" Akihito asked.
Shishio took a deep breath and said, "In truth, I don't know. I didn't know about you before, uncle, which was why I've decided to tag along for your important meeting. However, after I've met you, I know for sure that you won't hurt them, and I'm sure that you can treasure them as the most precious people in your heart."
"Hiks... Hiks... Hiks..." Akihito suddenly cried.
"Huh? Why are you crying, uncle?" Shishio was dumbfounded.
"No - nothing, dust just entered my eyes," Akihito quickly said while wiping his eyes.
"I see...." Shishio nodded and pretended that he didn't see anything
Akihito knew that he would treat Tsukiko as the most precious woman in his life from now on, and he would also treat both Rui and Hina as the most precious daughters in his life too. Looking at Shishio, he felt grateful to meet him since he had given up a push on his back.
"Say, Oga-kun, we'll move to a new house next week. Do you want to come?"
Shishio was stunned, but then he said, "With pleasure!"