Chapter 102: Chapter 101 - Most Dangerous Mother

It was finally the day Namida Asakura decided to go back home.

To Minami, it felt as though a war was finally over.

However, a very embarrassing one.

A war which she had repeatedly lost to her mother.

Namida Asakura was the worst opponent.

That morning, when Minami entered the living room, she immediately became suspicious.

Namida was smiling.

Not normally.

Not that ’about-to-ruin-your-day’ kind of smile.

Nor a teasing one.

A different kind of smile.

One which worried Minami even more.

"Mom."

"Good morning."

"What are you planning?"

Namida looked really surprised.

"Nothing."

"That’s impossible."

As usual, Kuro was entering the living room, carrying groceries.

He glanced at both girls.

Then quickly escaped.

"NOPE."

"GET BACK HERE."

Unluckily for Minami, she managed to catch him.

Kuro sighed.

His survival instinct betrayed him once again.

The morning meal was quite peaceful.

Which was odd.

Very odd.

The apartment was silent.

No teasing.

No embarrassing comments.

No showing old photos.

No ’futute son-in-law’ statements.

Anything related to Namida was strangely absent.

Including her.

Namida Asakura was behaving unexpectedly well.

So well, it was actually scary.

Minami frowned.

"Mom."

"Yes?"

"Why are you acting normal?"

Namida laughed.

"Such a horrible thing to say."

"Answer the question."

"I am normal."

"That’s a lie."

Kuro drank tea in silence.

The smartest decision ever.

Namida packed all the other items she brought after eating breakfast.

The train would arrive in a couple of hours and she needed to pack.

Her suitcase rested next to the door.

It was finally time to leave.

The apartment was cleaner than Minami remembered it being in her life.

Cleaner even than when Kuro first visited.

All the mess was organized.

Laundry was neatly folded.

Shelves were arranged properly.

Kitchen looked as if it belonged to an ideal family.

Strange how Minami managed to clean the entire apartment without even noticing it.

A strange sensation filled her chest.

Gratitude?

Really?

What a weird feeling.

"Thank you."

Kuro raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"The apartment."

"Oh..."

Such an ordinary reply.

Although Minami felt the atmosphere turning extremely awkward afterwards.

Fortunately for her, Namida existed.

Therefore, the awkward situation could not last forever.

"Daughter just thanked me for the cleanliness."

"Mom."

"Historically important occasion."

"Mom."

"Should we record this?"

"Mom."

Kuro laughed.

Minami regretted it already.

Around noon Namida stood up.

"Kuro-kun."

"Yes?"

"Could you please help me carry my suitcases downstairs later?"

Minami immediately pointed her finger at her mother.

"No."

Namida looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"No secret conversation."

"Secret conversation? Whom with?"

"With you."

"I did not mention secret conversation."

"You implied it."

Namida grinned.

Her dangerous smile appeared.

Minami knew she was doomed.

After lunch Kuro found himself carrying Namida’s suitcase towards the apartment entrance.

It was quite nice weather outside.

The sky was blue.

The atmosphere serene.

For a moment they remained silent.

Then Namida smiled.

"Thank you."

"For carrying luggage?"

"For helping Minami."

It was an immediate and sincere reply.

Complete opposite of the usual one.

Kuro stopped walking for a minute.

Namida kept going towards the door.

"My daughter is very hard to please."

"Not at all."

Namida chuckled.

"She is really stubborn."

"She definitely is."

"Also independent."

"Totally."

"Begs for help even less."

"Yeah."

They exchanged glances.

Then laughed.

Because each of those statements was absolutely true.

Namida’s face grew softer.

"You know."

"What?"

"She seems much happier lately."

Kuro looked at her surprised.

"Happier?"

"Yes."

Namida directed her glance towards the sky.

"Last time we talked on phone, she was always tired."

She lowered her voice.

"A bit lonely too."

Such words shocked Kuro a bit.

Minami seemed completely fine to him in school.

Competent.

Strong.

Capable of handling everything alone.

Yet behind that exterior...

She lived alone.

Worked day by day.

Shouldered responsibility.

Maybe she was a little lonely.

Namida smiled.

"But recently?"

She looked much relieved.

"She laughs a lot more."

For some reason, it reminded Kuro of their beach trip.

The festival.

The cleaning of the apartment.

The arguments.

Teasing.

Smiles.

Maybe Namida was right.

Then unfortunately the sincerity lasted only thirty seconds.

Because Namida immediately followed her statement with:

"Thank god for that."

"For what?"

"Well now I do not have to worry about her future husband anymore."

Silence.

Kuro stared.

Namida smiled.

Dang her dangerous smile!

It killed the previous atmosphere completely.

Gone.

Back upstairs, Minami impatiently waited for them.

Right after entering the apartment, she jumped up.

"What did she say?"

"Nothing important."

"That’s a lie."

"It isn’t."

"Sure it is."

Namida looked happy.

Which proved everything.

Minami suffered.

Again.

It was finally the time to leave the apartment.

The station was packed with people. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Everyone was busy.

Namida held her train ticket.

Minami accompanied her.

Kuro was nearby.

This time they didn’t joke around.

There was even a bit of an emotional atmosphere.

Namida looked at her daughter.

Then smiled.

"My little girl became a teacher."

"Mom."

"You have your own apartment."

"Mom."

"You have students that respect you."

"Mom."

"You have friends."

Minami turned away from her embarrassed.

Namida chuckled quietly.

Some things never changed.

Then she unexpectedly hugged her daughter.

In public.

A complete surprise for Minami.

Her greatest fear!

"Mom!"

"I’ll miss you."

These words made Minami pause.

Then after a long while, she hugged her mother back.

Only briefly.

However.

Namida’s smile grew even brighter.

Namida pulled away from her daughter.

Then glanced at Kuro.

The atmosphere changed a bit.

Namida bowed her head.

It was sincere gesture.

"Thank you."

Kuro stared at her.

"For what?"

"For taking care of my little girl."

There was no joking involved.

Neither any misinterpretations.

Only gratitude.

Pure and simple.

The train was arriving.

Namida picked her luggage.

Then suddenly turned to look at them.

She smiled.

Her familiar dangerous smile.

Minami knew she was in trouble.

"Mom."

"Yes?"

"Don’t."

"Don’t do what?"

This innocent act made her laugh.

Not at all.

Namida leaned a little towards Kuro.

Then whispered:

"Please continue taking care of her."

Minami’s face turned bright red.

"MOM!"

A few passersby stopped to listen.

Namida chuckled.

Kuro looked away embarrassed.

Suddenly the station became uncomfortably hot.

Namida stepped aboard the train.

Then quickly returned to the window.

Embarrassing herself further.

Wave after wave.

Minami responded reluctantly.

The train started moving away slowly.

Then picked up its pace and disappeared out of sight.

The visit was finally over.

Thankfully.

Silence enveloped them.

A calming silence.

A peaceful one.

The first in many days.

Minami breathed deeply.

The war was over.

She won.

Just barely.

However, she won it.

Then Kuro showed her something in his hand.

Small metal object.

Something very familiar.

Minami stared.

Then froze.

Her apartment key.

Silence.

Total.

"How?"

Kuro shrugged.

"Tell me."

Minami buried her face in her hands.

Not again.

Really, not again.

She had forgotten her key again.

After successfully proving she could live on her own!

Kuro chuckled.

Not loudly.

But somehow it worsened the situation.

Minami groaned.

"I hate this."

"You’ll manage."

"Unfortunately."

They started heading towards the apartment.

Sun was shining brightly.

The city moved around them.

Everything was returning to normal.

As far as it was possible with Kuro and Minami’s life.

Walking, they didn’t talk much.

The silence was pleasant.

Not awkward.

Neither forced.

Natural.

Minami cast a glance aside.

Kuro was walking calmly beside her.

Not expecting anything.

Not pressuring her.

Simply taking her as she was.

Surprisingly, it made her smile.

The most dangerous mother was finally gone.

But the chaos she left behind...

It would probably stay for a very long time.

That night, after coming back home, Minami fell to her bed.

The atmosphere of the flat seemed very strange for some reason.

Just days before, she used to listen to her mother yelling, Kuro helping out with all kinds of things, etc., and now there was nothing but silence around.

She looked at the ceiling.

Recalling how helpful Kuro was when he was working.

Cleaning the floor.

Cooking meals.

Fixing some stuff.

Carrying the boxes.

Listening to her mother’s constant teasing.

A smile crept across her face.

She did not even realize how much she started thinking about Kuro.

This was really annoying.

Extremely annoying.

Eventually, however, fatigue won.

Her eyelids got heavier.

Then fell close.

And she fell asleep.

In her dream, she came back home after a long and tiring school day.

As soon as she opened the front door, she heard a familiar voice saying,

"Welcome home, Sensei."

Minami stopped.

Kuro was standing in the kitchen and was wearing an apron.

For some reason, the sight was extremely natural.

"Don’t call me Sensei."

"Why?"

"I want you to stop when we are alone."

For some reason, her own voice sounded extremely calm, even to herself.

Kuro smiled.

"Welcome home, Minami."

For some reason, her heart missed a beat.

The dream went on.

Dinner was already served.

And everything had been prepared by Kuro.

As usual.

Of course.

Because the Dream-Kuro turned out to be even better at everything than the Real-Kuro.

After dinner, Minami sat down on the couch exhausted from all the work.

Then Kuro brought her some tea.

And started massaging her shoulders.

"Do you have a long day?"

"Yes."

"You are working too much."

Dream-Minami relaxed.

The atmosphere was warm and comfortable.

As usual.

Days passed in minutes.

The dream fast-forwarded.

There were more pictures on the walls, more furniture...

... And suddenly...

A wedding photograph.

Minami gasped.

Next to her was Kuro.

They looked happy.

But her face reddened almost immediately after that.

"What kind of dream is this?"

However, as always, dreams never answered any questions.

Disaster struck.

The front door burst open.

Akari came rushing into the flat with Aoi following after her.

And both looked extremely intimidating.

"KURO !"

Akari pointed dramatically.

"She has stolen him!"

Aoi adjusted her glasses.

"Elimination is the only logical choice."

Minami backed up slowly.

"Where are you coming from?!"

Akari drew her toy sword.

Aoi already had an elimination plan worked out.

They stepped closer.

Step by step.

Menacingly.

Minami screamed.

The whole dream world collapsed.

She woke up screaming, panting heavily.

The room was dark.

Silent.

Real.

After a while, she hid her face in her pillow.

"... What was that?"

Her heart was still beating.

And unfortunately, she could not help but recall some parts of the dream.

Particularly,

"Welcome home, Minami."