"I'm sorry, but did you just say get married right after graduation?" He asked, making sure his ears were not playing tricks on him. The idea sounded so insane, but given his life was likely the plan.
"That's right." Tsuguto responded casually, as if the statement was not a big deal. But it indeed was a big deal to Kouji. More than just a big deal, it was massive.
"But, I haven't even confirmed if I was willing to marry her." That step on its own was a big decision for him. Having such a short time limit, or if anything, a date for it happening was not a part of his plan. Admittedly, at this point in him, the young boy had no plans either.
"It's not as if either of you will be going to university." He explained. True, given that they were planning on handing off the business to the kids at some point. They decided it would be better to train them in handling the trade, rather than spend time and money going to school for it. Especially given the more specific nature of this.
"Plus, it's like having your future all taken care of with no worries." Etsuki used that as a positive point, though for him it came off as more concern. While they might not have to be worried about what to do for their future, he was scared about being locked into something he'd hate for the rest of his life. "I don't see too many downsides with this."
"But-" Before he was able to continue chatting with them, the sound of a door opening caught their attentions. It was Yuma, coming into the living room. "Ah, Yuma. I'm glad to see you right now." Kouji did want her to be a part of this conversation in the first place. After all, she should have a say of her own future, right?
"It's… Good to see… You too." She replied in her usual manner.
"Look, I don't want to sound rude. But I think your parents are being a bit hasty with this. I mean, we're still young and-"
"Mother, father…" Yuma cut him off. "May I… Speak to him… Alone?" Instead of listening to what he had to say, she desired something a bit different to take this conversation on another path.
"Of course." Tsuguto allowed it. Apparently, this entire group was never going to have the opportunity to speak on this issue all at the same time. "We'll just leave the room here for the two of you." With that, the pair took their leave. Though Kouji doubted they'd be going anywhere far from here. In fact, he believed they were going to be listening in on this next conversation. So he prepared himself to choose his words carefully.
"Look, I assume you already know what they plan for us." He spoke up first. That was easy to do, since she was slower than a sloth when it came to vocalizing in a conversation. "I know you do want to eventually marry, and I care a lot about you... But don't you think right after school is too soon?"
She didn't say anything to respond to his question. Instead, the girl slowly walked to him right where he sat. Then, with little warning, though ample time to dodge it, the girl slapped him right in the face.
Though saying slap would be a strong way of putting it. While Yuma had strength well above the rest of the girls, she clearly held back this time. However, since she was poor in gauging actions for emotions well, it ended up being pretty weak. "Y-you slapped me?" He asked with a mix of shock and confusion on the intentions of her actions, his hand gently touching where she struck.
"I did…" Finally, she said words to him. "Because… I'm angry with you…"
"You're mad at me?" He was even more confused now knowing her reasoning. What had he done wrong? All they had been talking about was just the marriage, he had barely said or done anything else to or with her. "But, why?"
"Well… You told me… To tell you… How I feel…" She answered, misunderstanding his question. "And when you… Got mad… You slapped us…"
"No, I get that." Kouji did expect to eventually hear her speak out her grievances to him at some point. There was no way for their relationship to be perfect forever. However, he just never expected to come up now of all times. "I mean, why are you angry?" It was strange to ask, as she didn't even appear the least bit upset to him. There was no frown, her eyes didn't have that icy glare that some of the others had. Even her physical action lacked any sort of emotion to it. If she never said anything, then no one would even know her so-called rage.
"Because… You're lying."
"Lying?" She had heard his conversation with her parents for most of it. They weren't really in any secret area, so that wasn't hard to do. That meant she also heard his reaction to the news that they wished for the two to get married immediately after high school. So there was nothing she didn't know about. However, that still bewildered him, as he didn't understand at what point was he dishonest. "But how? I told them I don't think we're ready to just leap into it. Maybe you might be, but I'm not…" He admitted, a bit sad about causing her trouble. Was that the part she took issue with him? "Either way, I'm not lying."
"You are…" She denied his denial. After all, he may not realize it himself, but the truth was that she knew he was lying to himself. It had nothing to do with whether he was ready, or if she was ready, or anything about the relationship between the two of them. "It's… Because of them…"