"What did you bring me?" Holding Kawasaki in his arms, Oikawa gently stroked her silky hair with obvious affection.
She smelled wonderful.
There was a faint floral fragrance clinging to her, something like cherry blossoms in bloom, mixed with a fresh, grassy scent he couldn't quite put into words.
Whatever it was, it was intoxicating.
"I made curry, grilled fish, and tuna sashimi. Oh, and your favorite. Shrimp tempura." Kawasaki slipped out of his embrace and opened the three-tier lunch box she had brought, proudly showing him everything inside.
Feeling the warmth of the containers, Oikawa immediately realized something.
She must have hurried all the way here.
Her hands were icy cold as always.
Without thinking, he took both of them and tucked them inside his jacket against his chest.
A blush spread across Kawasaki's face, but the smile tugging at the corners of her lips only grew brighter. "So? How did the signing event go?"
"It went pretty well." Still holding her hand, Oikawa led her to the sofa, set the lunchbox on the coffee table, and switched on the heater.
The room quickly began to warm up.
Kawasaki took off her coat and rested her chin on one hand, quietly watching him eat. A quiet sense of happiness welled up inside her.
"Is it cold?" she asked with concern. "Should I heat it up for you?"
"No, it's perfect... Oh, wait!" Oikawa suddenly stood up, grabbed a copy of Clannad from the table, and handed it to her. "This one's for you. A personally signed copy from Copycat-sensei himself. The only one like it in the entire world."
Smiling, Kawasaki accepted it.
The moment she opened the cover, she saw the message written on the title page: {Fifty years from now, I hope you're still by my side.}
She froze for a moment.
Knowing Oikawa, she'd expected him to write something embarrassingly cheesy.
Instead... It was simple. Almost plain.
But after thinking about it, she realized this one sentence carried more warmth than any elaborate love confession ever could.
Oikawa was a liar. Yet she was absolutely certain that when he'd written those words... he truly wished she would still be with him fifty years later.
"...Okay." She looked into his eyes and nodded firmly. "Fifty years from now... I'll still be by your side."
"And you'll still love me just as much." Naturally, that shameless line came from Oikawa.
Before Kawasaki had a chance to respond, he picked up a piece of shrimp tempura and held it to her lips. "This one's really good. You've got to try it."
Kawasaki could only let out a muffled protest.
"Mmph..."
After shooting him an exasperated look, she reluctantly accepted his "kindness."
Oikawa had always been shameless.
Halfway through dinner, he started getting a little too handsy.
Only after she'd finally escaped his grasp did Kawasaki, breathing a little unevenly, manage to say, "I... I'm going to take a shower."
"Want company?" Oikawa raised an eyebrow.
Fortunately for her, Kawasaki had no intention of giving him another opportunity to tease her. She darted into the bathroom.
Click.
The sound of the door locking finally restored Oikawa's common sense.
With a helpless sigh, he went back to finishing his dinner.
Strangely enough, the delicious meal suddenly tasted bland.
Probably because his attention had long since wandered away from the food... and drifted toward the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.
About half an hour later, Kawasaki stepped out.
Her damp hair hung loosely around her shoulders, and she was wearing one of Oikawa's oversized shirts, which concealed most of her figure.
Oikawa had been waiting. The instant she appeared, he swept her up into his arms and carried her toward the bedroom.
"At least... Go take a shower first..." Kawasaki's face was scarlet as she protested.
"What for? We'll just have to shower again afterward. Let's take care of the important stuff first."
The bedroom lights flickered softly. Much like Kawasaki's conflicted emotions.
But the second time was far less awkward than the first.
Oikawa felt that his relationship with Kawasaki had somehow reached an entirely new level.
If he had to describe it... It had gone beyond love itself.
...
..
After an exhausting night, somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, Oikawa vaguely heard Kawasaki whisper beside his ear, "I made breakfast for you. Don't forget to eat. I'm heading home."
He instinctively reached out, wanting to catch her arm and stop her from leaving.
But when he opened his eyes... the bed beside him was already empty.
Only a sticky note remained: {I still have to go home and cook for Taishi and Keika. Don't forget to eat your breakfast. And next time, you're not allowed to bully me like that anymore. You're especially not allowed to ask me those weird things again!!!}
The three exclamation marks made one thing perfectly clear.
Kawasaki was completely serious.
Oikawa sighed helplessly.
Weird requests? How could they possibly be weird?
They were both young. Wasn't it perfectly normal for a guy and a girl to... learn what was special about pose 69?"
Sometimes Oikawa genuinely thought Kawasaki was far too easily embarrassed.
After stretching lazily, he got out of bed. In the kitchen, breakfast was already waiting for him.
Besides the rice, she'd prepared several small side dishes, probably leftovers she'd brought over the night before.
Pulling over a chair, Oikawa sat down and happily dug in.
Kawasaki's cooking really was incredible. Even something as simple as plain rice tasted amazing.
While eating, he casually scrolled through Twitter. Before long, one trending topic caught his eye.
#"Clannad Sales Figures Faked."#
After reading through the discussion, a teasing smile appeared on his face.
So that's where the saying writers are each other's worst critics came from.
Most of the people accusing Clannad of faking its sales were light novel authors from other publishers.
Oikawa figured it was simple jealousy. The first-day sales had been so absurdly high that they couldn't stomach it.
After thinking for a moment, he opened Twitter and typed out a post."People only throw shade at what's shining. (Image attached: "Kermit sipping tea.")
Satisfied, he hit Post.
Within seconds, the replies exploded.
His comment section filled up so quickly it looked like his fans had bought beachfront property there.
["Damn, that's arrogant."]
["Copycat-sensei really has the confidence to back it up. It pisses me off... but he kind of earned the right to brag. That's what real strength looks like."]
["Strength my ass. He's just some hack who only knows how to write emotional stories."]
["Somebody's coping hard, but I won't say who."]
["So Mr shiny, can you please give us a happy ending this time?"]
[...]
Reading through the comments, Oikawa couldn't help but smile.
A happy ending?
Actually... it is a happy ending... in the end.
But a creator had to stay true to his brand. Whatever the ending, there was one rule he refused to break. His specialty was simple: Bring sorrow to his readers and keep all the fun for himself.
He was Oikawa Toru, the Heartless Harvester of Tears.
.
.
.