"I'm back!"
A few hours later, Izumi Sagiri returned from school. As she stepped inside, she was surprised by the silence in the living room.
"Mom?" she called out, puzzled. Usually, her mother would be waiting for her here.
"Good evening, Sagiri-chan!" Ryuji greeted her, coming down the stairs from the second floor. He waved with a warm smile.
"Ah, good evening!" Sagiri replied, a bit startled to see him in her house. However, since she had seen Ryuji a few times before, she wasn't scared. Instead, her curiosity grew.
"Well," Ryuji shrugged and explained casually, "Sae-san said there was an issue with the water pipes in the kitchen, so I came by to fix it. But she got a bit tired helping me and went to rest in her room."
Technically, it wasn't a lie. After all, Sae was indeed tired and resting in her room.
"Oh, I see!" Sagiri nodded, accepting the explanation without suspicion. She sighed softly. "Things keep breaking around the house. Yesterday it was the bathroom, and now the kitchen. What's next?"
"Haha!" Ryuji chuckled at her complaint. "Sagiri, you haven't eaten yet, right? Since Sae-san is asleep, how about I make you something?"
"Huh? Really?" Sagiri looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure that's okay?"
Ryuji waved off her concern. "It's no trouble at all. Sagiri-chan is cute, and I can't just let you go hungry, can I?"
Sagiri blushed, embarrassed by his compliment, but she smiled shyly and nodded, sitting down obediently at the table. Her small feet swung under her chair, a cute habit of hers. A short while later, Ryuji came out of the kitchen with plates of food, having used the ingredients stocked in the fridge.
"All done!" he said, setting the dishes down.
"Whoa… that's a lot of food!" Sagiri's eyes widened at the sight of the feast.
"It's fine," Ryuji said with a smile. "When Sae wakes up, she can join us."
As he cleaned up the kitchen, he added, "Alright, I'm heading out now."
"Huh? Brother Ryuji, aren't you staying to eat with us?" Sagiri asked, feeling a little disappointed. Although they hadn't spent much time together, she had grown fond of Ryuji during their encounters.
"Nah, I've already eaten," Ryuji replied with a grin, glancing toward Sae's room for a brief moment. "I'm more than full."
"Well… okay then," Sagiri pouted slightly but didn't push further.
"Enjoy your meal, Sagiri-chan!" Ryuji waved and left the house.
Sagiri, now alone at the table, took a bite and her eyes lit up. "Wow, it's so good!" she exclaimed, thoroughly impressed. Ryuji's cooking skills had clearly improved over time, likely due to his enhanced control and precision from his growing strength and refined senses.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Sae slowly woke up from her nap, feeling a bit sore.
"Ugh… what a beast!" she muttered under her breath, blushing slightly as she recalled the earlier events. "Is this because he's young? Still, that was… too much."
Shaking off the thoughts, she got out of bed. Sagiri would be home by now, and she hadn't prepared dinner yet. As Sae walked downstairs, she spotted Sagiri already seated at the table, happily eating.
"Hmm? What's all this?" Sae asked, trying her best to walk normally so Sagiri wouldn't notice anything strange.
"Brother Ryuji made it!" Sagiri said cheerfully. "Come on, Mom, join me! The food's amazing!"
"Ryuji made this?" Sae blinked, looking at the spread on the table, and then at her daughter. A soft smile appeared on her face.
"Well then, I can't refuse," she said, sitting down next to Sagiri. She took a bite and her eyes widened with delight, much like her daughter's.
"Wow… this really is delicious!" Sae exclaimed, savoring the flavors. However, as she continued eating, a thought crossed her mind. She turned to her daughter, feeling something was off.
"From now on, just call him 'Uncle Ryuji,' okay?" Sae said, a little flustered. The dynamic between them was starting to feel a bit confusing.
"Huh? Why?" Sagiri asked innocently, clearly not understanding why the change was necessary.
"Just because, that's why!" Sae huffed, avoiding a more in-depth explanation. "You'll understand when you're older."
"Fine…" Sagiri pouted but decided she would talk to Ryuji about it later. Why should she call him 'uncle' when he was obviously more like a big brother?
The two continued their meal, enjoying the delicious food Ryuji had left behind.
---
The next day during the lunch break, Ryuji was surprised to see Utaha visit the service club. She arrived with her usual elegance, barely blinking an eye at the other girls already there. She had known about Ryuji's situation for a while, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her.
"I made you a bento," Utaha said with a small smile, handing over a neatly packed lunchbox.
"Thanks, Shiyu," Ryuji accepted it gratefully. He then introduced her to the other girls in the room.
"Hello, I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha, and I'm Ryuji's girlfriend," she said, her tone calm and collected.
The others responded in kind, except for Yukino, who only offered her name in a somewhat frosty manner, though not out of malice.
Miko, as always, was her warm and gentle self, greeting Utaha politely.
But then there was Hana.
"Oh, what a coincidence!" Hana piped up cheerfully. "I'm also Ryuji-kun's girlfriend! I'm Yurikawa Hana!"
Utaha blinked, clearly taken aback by Hana's bright and innocent demeanor. It was hard to process at first, but soon enough, she smiled back.
"They seem friendly enough," Utaha thought to herself. Despite her outward calm, she felt relieved that there wasn't any hostility or exclusivity among the girls. After all, they were all part of Ryuji's strange life now.
"By the way, where's Eriri?" Ryuji asked, curious about her absence. After the incident with the curses, Utaha and Eriri had become surprisingly close.
"Oh, I may have sent her in the wrong direction," Utaha admitted, smiling mischievously.
"..."
Ryuji couldn't help but laugh. Not long after, Eriri burst into the room, visibly annoyed and out of breath.
"Kasumigaoka Utaha, you evil woman!" she practically growled. "I almost searched the entire school thanks to you!"
"How scary," Utaha feigned fear, hiding behind Ryuji with exaggerated theatrics. "Ryuji-kun, help me! Eriri's going to hit me!"
"You little—!" Eriri's hands balled into fists, but she stopped herself. She didn't want to appear overly aggressive in front of Ryuji, especially with Utaha watching her smugly.
"Alright, alright," Ryuji intervened, laughing. He patted Utaha's back and said, "I already punished her, so don't be mad, Eriri."
"Fine…" Utaha said, stepping away, a playful glint in her eyes. She knew not to push things too far.
Eriri huffed, sending a glare toward Utaha. She couldn't help but notice how Utaha seemed to savor Ryuji's touch. Was this really a punishment? It felt more like a reward.
That woman must have some strange hobbies, Eriri thought, her imagination running wild, a habit from her days as a doujinshi artist.
With Utaha and Eriri now joining the service club, the atmosphere became more lively. Surprisingly, there was no tension, no animosity, and no secretive competition between the girls. In fact, they all got along quite well.
This was exactly the kind of peaceful scenario Ryuji preferred.
Just as everything seemed to settle down, the door to the service club opened once more.
"Ryuji-kun!" Kawasaki Saki called out excitedly as she walked in, looking eager to share something. However, she froze when she saw Utaha and Eriri in the room, her excitement faltering for a moment.
What is this, some kind of harem meeting? Saki thought to herself.
"What happened?" Ryuji asked, bringing her back to reality.
"Oh, right!" Kawasaki Saki snapped back to attention. "Come in!"
At her invitation, another figure entered the room—though only Ryuji could see her. It was none other than Sakurajima Mai, the girl who had been gradually fading from existence due to a strange phenomenon.
"Who's there?" Utaha asked, glancing around.
The other girls exchanged confused looks. They didn't see anyone around Saki.
"Uh… well, I can't see her anymore either," Saki admitted, scratching her head. She explained that she had met Mai on her way to the service club. After learning about Mai's problem, she had brought her here, hoping Ryuji could help. But along the way, Mai had disappeared from her view too.
"Mai Sakurajima… the campus legend?" the girls murmured, recognizing the name. Utaha and Eriri, hearing it for the first time, exchanged curious glances.
They couldn't see anyone, but from the conversation and context, it was obvious that someone was there.
Feeling disappointed, Mai, who had been standing in the middle of the room, slowly started to turn away. Her hope was fading, and it seemed like no one could truly see her or help her after all.
But just as she took a step toward the door, a voice stopped her.
"Are you leaving before your problem is solved?"
Startled, Mai spun around and stared at Ryuji. She couldn't believe it. "You… can see me?"
"Of course," Ryuji smiled, his calm demeanor giving off an air of reassurance.
Mai stood frozen for a moment, her disbelief slowly morphing into relief. For so long, she'd been slowly vanishing from people's lives, to the point where no one could acknowledge her existence anymore. And now, this boy could actually see her.
"Hey, Ryuji, what's going on?" Eriri asked, looking around in confusion. "Are you saying that she's actually here?"
"Yup. Right in front of me," Ryuji nodded. "Her name is Sakurajima Mai, and she's… well, she's dealing with some unique circumstances."
"Can you explain it to us?" Utaha chimed in, adjusting her glasses. She was clearly intrigued by the situation.
Ryuji nodded and turned back to Mai. "Don't worry. We're going to figure this out," he said, giving her a reassuring smile before addressing the rest of the room.
"As you all know, there's a strange urban legend about Mai Sakurajima. She's a celebrity, but she's been slowly becoming invisible to people due to a phenomenon connected to her sense of existence. It's a type of curse energy affecting her, and that's why she's been unable to interact with anyone."
"A curse energy? So, it's like what happened to me before?" Saki Kawasaki asked, connecting the dots to her own recent brush with the supernatural.
"Exactly," Ryuji confirmed. "It's not as intense, but the problem is that Mai's presence is fading from everyone's perception. People stop noticing her until she essentially disappears from their world altogether."
"But why hasn't it affected you, Ryuji?" Yotsuya Miko asked, her brows furrowed.
"I can see her because of my abilities," Ryuji explained. "My connection with curse energy allows me to perceive things that others can't."
"That's incredible," Yotsuya Miko murmured, clearly impressed.
Mai stood quietly as Ryuji explained her situation. It felt surreal hearing someone talk about her so casually when she had been ignored and forgotten for so long. The girls in the room, even though they couldn't see her, were now fully aware of her presence.
"So… can you help her?" Utaha asked, cutting to the point. Her analytical mind was always focused on solving the problem at hand.
Ryuji turned to Mai, who looked back at him with hesitant eyes. "Yeah, I can help," he said confidently. "It'll take some work, but I should be able to break the curse that's affecting her."
"Really?" Mai's voice was hopeful, though she tried to temper her expectations.
"Trust me," Ryuji reassured her. "You won't disappear. Not while I'm around."
The sincerity in his voice was enough to make Mai feel a flicker of hope she hadn't felt in a long time. Maybe this strange boy really could help her after all.
"Thank you," Mai said softly, her voice laced with emotion.
"No need to thank me yet," Ryuji smiled.
"Let's get started on fixing this mess first."