Takeru woke up with a foot in his stomach.He opened one eye.Yuu.He opened the other.Sora's hand was on his face.
— …
He tried to move.Didn't work.
Someone was using his arm as emotional support.
He sighed, defeated, and stared at the ceiling.
"I'll get up… go buy something…"
That's when he heard a strange noise.
Bags.Lots of bags.
He turned his head.
Harumi was coming through the door, tiptoeing, arms full of shopping bags, one nearly falling, another bumping against her leg.
She tripped.Almost fell.Caught herself on the wall.
Takeru's eyes widened.
— …!
She looked at him.They both froze.
Then he relaxed.Gave a small smile.Got up slowly and walked over to her.
Took half the bags.
— Thanks… — he whispered.
Inside, she wanted to scream with happiness.
Later, when everyone woke up, the excitement hit instantly.
Harumi was finishing organizing the towels when she heard shy footsteps behind her.
She turned.
Eight pairs of eyes.
Eight kids, now standing, still a little crooked from sleep, hair wild, wrinkled clothes, carrying that unmistakable scent of lake + someone else's house.
For a second, no one said anything.
Until Mei tugged on Harumi's shirt.
— Harumi… they're awake.
— I can see that… — she replied, smiling.
Aiko was the first to step forward.
— Good morning… I'm Aiko! — she said way too fast. — I like making little crafts and I promise I won't touch your stuff without asking!
— That was VERY specific. — Harumi laughed.
Hina waved right behind her.
— I'm Hina! — she giggled mid-sentence. — I-I think you're really pretty!
One second of silence.
Harumi was LITERALLY turning red.
— AAAAAAAH!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You're the cute one! — Harumi replied, grabbing her in a hug.
Yuu practically jumped forward.
— I'M YUU! — he said way too loud. — I run fast! — he tripped over his own foot. — …see?
— Live demonstration, I like it. — Harumi clapped.
Kenta raised his hand.
— Kenta. — he said seriously. — Is there food?
Harumi opened her mouth to answer—
GROOOOOONC.
The sound came all at once.
Like someone had pressed an invisible button.
Silence.
Harumi's eyes widened.
Then she let out a weird laugh, half broken, half choking:
— HA—H×HA— okay, okay, message received.
And then they laughed.
They laughed because her laugh was weird.They laughed because the stomach growl had been way too loud.They laughed because they already felt… comfortable.
Ren stayed a bit behind, adjusting his cap.
— Ren. — he said quietly. — Thanks for letting us sleep here.
— Of course. — Harumi replied, sincere.
— OH! I JUST REMEMBERED! — Harumi suddenly lit up. — You guys were at the banquet day, right?! You were the ones who jumped into the lake… HAHAHAH!
Everyone looked at her, surprised she'd only realized now.
Sora appeared next to Takeru, arms crossed, huge grin.
— Dude… — he looked at Harumi, impressed. — your mom is awesome.
Harumi blinked.
Automatically looked at Takeru, expecting… something.
Correction.
Expecting anything.
But he just looked away, a little awkward, scratched the back of his neck, and pretended to be very interested in the floor.
— She's not my mom… — Takeru replied.
— Ah, come on, I know — Sora said, leaning his arms on Takeru's shoulders. — But what do you want me to call her? Babysitter? She's basically your mom already!
He didn't correct him again.Didn't comment.Just turned red from embarrassment.
Harumi froze for just a second.
Then she smiled even more.
— Well… — she clapped her hands, energized. — Make yourselves at home, okay? Food's almost ready!
Immediate reaction:
— YAAAY! — everyone.
— Oh! — she added, pointing down the hallway. — And your uniforms are all clean in the laundry room. After you shower, go divide them properly, okay?
Eight kids froze.
— …shower? — someone murmured.
Harumi smiled with that dangerous, responsible-adult look of someone who had already won.
— Shower. Then food.
Respectful silence.
"Wow… I'm getting the hang of this!!!"
— …okay. — they said in unison.
She watched them scatter around the house, talking, laughing, calling each other by name, like it had always been this way.
And she thought, her heart strangely full:
"Yeah… this house is never going to be empty again. JUST THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!"
— HOSE SHOWER!!! — someone shouted.
The kids ran to the backyard.
Harumi turned on the faucet.
One drop fell.Then another.
Then…
RAIN.
— YAAAY! — someone cheered.
— WAIT, NO— — someone else said.
The sky closed in completely.
Cold rain.
Everyone froze.
— …aw. — Mei murmured, disappointed.
Silence.
Then, at the same time:
— RAIN SHOWER!!! — Harumi and Sora shouted together.
They looked at each other.Laughed.
And ran to the backyard.
The kids hesitated for half a second.
Then— chaos.
Bare feet on wet dirt.Clothes soaked.Laughter echoing through the neighborhood.
Harumi raised her arms, spinning in the rain, laughing like she was seventeen again.
And in that backyard, no one was worried about anything.
Just wet.
Just happy.
Just alive.