Both Akashi and Kentaro were left dumbfounded by the news they received about Haruki's condition later that day.
Maki chose to share the truth with them after dinner, believing that the weight of the revelation would hinder their ability to enjoy their meal. Once the plates were cleared and their stomachs were full, Maki decided it was time to reveal everything that had transpired. She recounted the events of the day, from their visit to the hospital to their return home, leaving no detail unspoken. Occasionally, she couldn't help exaggerating to captivate their attention.
Haruki, however, responded to his mother's explanation with nonchalance, dismissing the severity of his situation. "Don't make it sound like I'm about to keel over any moment. But yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Mom shared her own version, though, especially the part about me having to stay in the hospital."
Maki refuted, "Dr. Uehara mentioned it briefly."
"That's for people with serious head injuries, old hag. Dr. Uehara said I'm stable," he reminded, accompanied by a resigned sigh. "You can't go around telling everyone I'm dying."
Akashi observed his son carefully, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "You don't appear to be dying," he remarked, scanning Haruki from head to toe, searching for any visible signs of change. The boy seemed just as composed and collected about the situation as his father, as there were no apparent physical manifestations of distress.
Haruki rubbed his forehead and replied, "I don't feel any dizziness or pain right now, so I guess I'm fine. The doctor didn't prescribe any serious medication either, which means it's not that serious. I might experience occasional headaches, but they'll be manageable."
"Both of you are far too calm about this," Maki complained. "Come on, Akashi, did you even listen to me?"
"I did," her husband admitted with a shrug. "You're just... overreacting a bit, perhaps?"
"Exactly," Haruki chimed in.
Maki felt the urge to throttle both of them. She turned her attention to Kentaro, who sat by her side.
"You understand, don't you, Ken-chan?" she began, still simmering with anger. However, her fury dissipated when she noticed the complexity etched on Kentaro's face. It was then that she realized the boy had fallen unusually silent ever since she revealed Haruki's condition.
Suddenly, Kentaro muttered, "I'm sorry."
His words left the other three stunned.
Haruki raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Huh? What the hell are you sorry for?"
"It's because the more I listened, the more I realized that this is all my fault. So I'm sorry," Kentaro's voice carried a tinge of self-pity.
"Are you going to blame yourself for every little thing that happens to me?" Haruki's frown deepened, his tone laced with unhappiness. "You're just trying to annoy me, aren't you?"
"Calm down," Maki interjected. "There might be a reason for it."
"What reason? He's not the one who caused the injury," Haruki retorted, glaring at Kentaro. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"Do you really not remember, Haruki?" Kentaro finally locked eyes with him.
"Remember?" Haruki appeared puzzled. "Remember what?"
"A fall... The dent at the back of your head... It all makes sense now," Kentaro attempted to explain. "The day you saved me from that fall."
Haruki absentmindedly scratched his head, mumbling to himself as if struggling to recall the memory.
Meanwhile, the two parents watched the exchange silently from the sidelines, completely unaware of the events unfolding before them.
"A fall?" Akashi finally spoke up.
Snapping back to reality, Maki's anger resurfaced. "Haruki, hiding things from us again?!"
"It was entirely my fault. So please, place the blame on me," Kentaro pleaded with them. He proceeded to recount the details of his second encounter with Haruki, remembering the day vividly as if it had happened yesterday, including how it had unfolded at a nearby park.
Maki and Akashi had been away on a business trip at the time, oblivious to these events. Haruki had also made Kentaro promise to keep it a secret, leaving Ginger with no recourse.
But now, the tables had turned. Haruki was suffering the consequences of that very incident.
"Oh, I think I remember now," Haru mused, his bewilderment giving way to a dawning realization. Suddenly, he let out a scoff, his voice tinged with a mix of surprise and amusement. "So that's where this little dent came from? Funny how it used to bother me back when I was a first year. Can you believe it?"
As it turned out, Haruki hadn't suffered any concussion or memory loss. He had simply forgotten about that incident, plain and simple.
"He bled?!" Maki gasped, her expression teetering on the edge of fainting.
"Relax, he's perfectly fine now," Akashi reassured, shaking his head.
"But this happened over two years ago," Haruki marveled, still struggling to comprehend. "Why is it affecting me now?"
"It's possible because you didn't report it at the time," Akashi explained. "Remember what Kentaro said? You took quite a nasty blow to the head that day. Even hit a rock."
"And bled a little," Kentaro added.
Annoyed, Maki clicked her tongue. "Keeping everything hidden from us. You even twisted your ankle. One day it'll be something even worse! Thank goodness Ken-chan didn't get hurt."
"Why does it sound like you're glad I'm the only one who suffered?" Haruki grumbled.
"OH, WE CAN'T HAVE TWO DIMWITS, CAN WE?!" Maki retorted sharply, before shifting her attention to Ken, her anger melting away. "Kenta dear, don't ever listen to this foolish child. Even if he begs you, don't give in."
"Honestly, I'm worried he'll stop telling me anything altogether," Kentaro admitted, a tinge of sadness in his voice.
'Kenta dear'? This brat keeps getting promoted by the old hag. What gives? I'm her real son here; Haruki sulked, propping his head up with his hand. "Now that you two are partners, naturally I won't be sharing anything with Ginger anymore," he declared.
"You and your habit of giving people weird nicknames. You're no different from your grandfather, always focusing on physical appearances," Maki scolded.
"Oh, so you can call him 'little Ken-chan,' but I can't call him 'Ginger'?" Haru shook his head in disagreement. "I don't think so. Tsk, both of you sure know how to make my life a living hell..." He then turned to his father, raising his fist for a fist bump. "I can always count on you, right old man?"
Akashi grinned, reciprocating the fist bump, and the two of them turned to glare at the other pair simultaneously.
Maki pulled the unsuspecting Ken closer to her, her narrowed eyes defiantly meeting their gaze. "Don't listen to those selfish boys. They're no match for us."
Despite his initial surprise, Ginger nodded, playing along. "Yeah, they don't stand a chance when I'm teamed up with the strongest person."
Haruki nearly scoffed: What a flatterer!
Their little act and temporary escape from reality lightened the atmosphere in the room, easing the lingering anxiety about Haruki's condition. In the end, it wasn't as bad as they had feared. For now, they could finally relax, if only for a moment.
Still, Kentaro couldn't shake off the feeling of responsibility for what had happened to his friend.
Maki and Akashi saw things quite differently. They didn't hold him responsible, even after discovering that Kentaro had been a troublemaker in his own right during his younger days. Who in their right mind would attempt such a stunt without any safety gear?
But perhaps it was precisely because he was just a child back then that they couldn't blame Kentaro now that he had grown up a bit. Children of that age tended to be carefree and stubborn.
Kentaro felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for being embraced by such a compassionate family.
"Actually, there's something else I need to tell you," he suddenly interjected, recapturing everyone's attention.
"I swear if it's about Haru again..." Maki was already preparing herself to admonish her son once more.
"No, this time it concerns myself. I've been keeping a secret from Auntie and Uncle."
Haruki immediately perked up, wide-eyed: Wait, is he really going to...?
Kentaro pondered for a moment, then mustered the courage to continue, "My legal name isn't Nomura. It's Harada."
Maki: "....."
Akashi: "....."
Haruki: DID HE REALLY JUST TELL THEM?????
Kentaro didn't wait for a response and further explained, disclosing that he was one of the heirs, albeit illegitimate, belonging to the Harada family which owned significant businesses and companies all over Japan, with their most prominent one being a game development company in Asahikawa: Interactive Entertainment Ltd.
He couldn't bring himself to meet the adults' eyes as he revealed this, afraid of whatever expressions they might be wearing.
Instead, Ginger reassured himself that it would be alright even if they didn't accept his truth or weren't willing to continue playing the family game with him. He simply wanted them to know everything about who he truly was.
If they were to accept him, it would be the real him, not the façade he had constructed to conceal himself from the world.
He divulged everything about his family: his mother, who had been a maid in the Harada household; the unfortunate incident that led to his birth; how both of them had been treated as outcasts in their own home for most of their lives; and finally, how he ended up in Chiba Prefecture.
And, of course, all of this culminated in the current events and how Satoshi Harada was gradually starting to take notice of him.
Having laid bare so much, Kentaro sat there silently, head bowed, anxiously awaiting their verdict.
Even Haruki struggled to break the suffocating silence, unsure of what to say. However, the way his parents exchanged conflicted glances between each other was rather... weird.
"You're Satoshi Harada's son," Akashi was the first to speak, before clearing his throat awkwardly and stealing another glance at his wife. "Ahem... actually, regarding this matter..."
Taking the hint, Maki finished his sentence. "We had already suspected that might be the case."
Kentaro, who had anticipated a much more dramatic reaction, with his mind dwelling on the worst-case scenario, was dumbfounded by those words. For a moment, he didn't even know how to respond.
They knew? But how? He was certain he had never carelessly let that information slip.
After managing to somewhat calm his racing heart, Ginger finally gathered himself to say something.
Yet before the first word could leave his lips, Haruki suddenly blurted out, "Huhhh???"
~~~~~~