Chapter 36: Takanashi Touka
This restaurant seemed really odd. There was a manager off to the side who looked utterly unmotivated and was just eating, and another waitress had a sword strapped to her waist.
And then there was this high school girl who looked more like a middle schooler—there were just too many things to comment on, making it hard to even begin.
But Yuta reminded himself that he was just here to eat. Why worry about all that?
"Hina, would you like a kids' meal?" Yuta asked, focusing on what was most important—getting some food.
Hina was hungry too, but she didn't really like the sound of a "kids' meal." She raised her hand and said, "I want to eat the same thing as Uncle!"
Popura Taneshima, who had overheard, smiled and said to Hina, "If you order a kids' meal here, you get a little bear toy as a gift. Wouldn't you like a kids' meal, Hina?"
Yuta glanced at Popura, noticing that even standing, she was about the same height as Hina sitting down, probably around 145 cm tall.
It seemed like all her nutrition had gone to one particular area...
"I want the kids' meal!" Hina quickly changed her mind at the mention of a toy, like many children would.
Popura smiled. "Please wait a moment!"
After Popura left, Sora leaned in and whispered to Yuta, "Uncle, I just remembered—I heard the manager of this restaurant is a former gang leader with a lot of underlings, and she's really dangerous!"
A gangster?
Yuta glanced around but saw nothing but regular diners. The place felt odd, sure, but it didn't seem like the kind of place run by the yakuza.
"Don't overthink it. But let's try to stick together and leave right after we finish eating," Yuta said. Even though it didn't seem likely, the restaurant was definitely strange.
Miu, leaning against Sora, smiled and said, "It's not that serious. My friends told me the people here are actually really nice."
Yuta looked at Miu. She wouldn't joke about something like this, so how reliable were Sora's and Miu's sources?
Soon, their food arrived, but along with Popura, a woman dressed in red also approached their table.
The woman didn't look very old, maybe in her twenties, but she had no expression on her face and wore a collar-like choker around her neck. She casually walked over to where Yuta was sitting, right across from Sora and Miu.
"I'm Takanashi Touka." Touka glanced at Yuta, then turned to Sora and Miu. "You must be the three Takanashi kids, right? My mother told me about you. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the funeral."
Since they were distant relatives, it was enough that Touka's family attended the funeral, so Touka didn't go herself.
The surname Takanashi is quite rare, and when Popura mentioned how cute Hina was while bringing dishes into the kitchen, it made Touka think that these might indeed be the three sisters from the Takanashi family.
"Sister Touka! Please have a seat!" Sora, who didn't know Touka, wasn't sure what to call her and simply addressed her as "sister."
Touka didn't mind and sat down. "I haven't met you all before, but since I've seen you now, I can't just ignore you. How have you been lately? Why did you run away?"
Hina, sitting beside Yuta, looked up at him with a scared expression. "Uncle, what's a funeral?"
"It's okay, Hina. Sister Touka isn't a bad person. Let's eat first," Yuta said reassuringly, then turned to Touka. "Sister Touka, could we talk outside?"
Touka's father had passed away when she was young, and she had a younger sister who, despite growing up, still struggled with some issues related to their father's death. Because of this, Touka quickly realized that Hina likely didn't know her parents had passed away.
"Alright, I just finished my shift anyway. Popura, go back to work," Touka said as she stood up, shooing away Popura, who might know something about the situation.
As they watched Touka and Yuta walk outside, Sora and Miu both let out a sigh of relief.
Miu seemed relieved, saying, "Sister Touka seems like a good person. There shouldn't be any problems!" Though she wasn't very familiar with their relatives, she still felt reassured.
Sora also comforted Hina, saying, "Hina, be good and eat your food. Uncle will sort everything out soon!"
"Yep! Uncle is the best!" Hina believed in Yuta wholeheartedly, thinking he could do anything.
Meanwhile, Yuta and Touka walked to a secluded spot. Touka was the first to speak, "You haven't told Hina about what happened?"
"That's right. I wanted to, but Hina believes her parents are working far away, so I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I plan to wait until she's a bit older and can understand things better."
This was Yuta's plan, thinking it wasn't the right time to tell her now.
Touka looked at Yuta with her calm red eyes, staring at him for several seconds before she finally said, "Do you think that's what's best for her? Won't it be harder for her to accept the truth when she's older?"
"No, because my sister and I will always be there for her. Hina is a cheerful child, and I'll make sure she continues to live a happy life," Yuta replied, his voice filled with determination as he met Touka's gaze.
Touka was silent for a moment, realizing that Hina's situation was different from her own family's. Unlike her sister, Hina wouldn't grow up lacking the love and care of a father and mother.
"Fine, I'll pretend I didn't see you all here. But I heard from my family that you're going through a tough time. Are you sure everything's alright?" Although this was their first meeting, Touka still wanted to help in any way she could.
Yuta breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Everything's fine! I've already made arrangements for Hina. After school starts, I'll be renting a place nearby to make it easier to take her to and from kindergarten."
Touka, still feeling uneasy about leaving this young man to care for three children, pulled out her phone. She knew she wasn't in a position to take care of all three herself, but she wanted to offer some support.
"Sigh, give me your number. If you ever run into any problems, you can contact me.'"
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