Chapter 4:

"H-Hello?" Ugh, I stuttered again.

"Iku? Is that you?"

"Yes, mom, it's me." She tried her best to sound cheerful, but inside her head, she was thinking, Who else would it be?

"Oh, good. Your brother told me he saw you this afternoon. Did he tell you we're planning to come visit you together?"

Her grip on the phone tightened as she felt her headache getting worse. But at the same time she was a little relieved. It seems like her brother didn't tell their mom about who she was with. "Yeah, he did. I didn't think you'd want to visit; at least not so soon."

There was a moment of silence before Iku heard a reply. "I want to check again to see that this job is suitable for you…and it's been so long since we have last seen each other." Iku mumbled an incoherent response, but her mother didn't seem bothered by her lack of enthusiasm.

"Iku, we'll be coming tomorrow evening. I hope it won't cause any trouble if we stay in the dorms again." Iku almost yelped in shock. Tomorrow evening?! I need more time to mentally prepare!

"A-ah, mom-"

"And I hope you won't be keeping any secrets from us this time." Iku flinched. Her mother was referring to her keeping her position in the Task Force a secret before.

"I-I know." Iku bit her lip until it almost bled. Looks like I have to tell her about Instructor Dojo. Even if I don't, she'll probably find out from someone else anyways.

"Um, uh…mom? If, uh, well…" Even without looking at a mirror, she knew her face was starting to turn completely red. It's probably better to tell her over the phone than in person.

"Iku? What's wrong? Don't keep stuttering."

"B-but, you see…" Iku pulled her knees against her chest, and put her head down. She had the urge to cover her face even though there was no one else in the room. Ugh, I don't really want to imagine her reaction.

Iku closed her eyes, and considered hinting at her relationship with Dojo instead. But she quickly shoved away that idea. That wasn't the way she accomplish things; if she had something to say, she would say it directly.

She took a deep breath. "Remember the prince I told you about the last time you visited? I found out his identity, and we're dating now."

Silence. I knew she'd be shocked.

Iku listened hard for the sound of breathing over the phone to make sure she was still there. "…Mom?"

"Well, congratulations."

She almost dropped the phone, because the voice definitely did not belong to her mother. "Father?!"

Iku heard laughing in the background, and she realized her brother was there too. "Big brother?! Wait! Did you all hear me?!" Her face turned into a deeper shade of red.

"Yo, Iku." Her brother greeted her. "When you were busy stuttering, mother handed me the phone so we could talk. But, you see, I accidentally pressed the 'speaker' button, and well…"

Iku smacked her head against the wall. Why, why is it always like this?!

Well, at least father isn't against it.

"Mom? Are you there?" There was no reply, but she could hear her father's voice in the background.

"Ah, Iku?" It was her brother again. "It seems that mom is, well, a little speechless. Don't worry, we'll talk to her. I should probably hang up now."

Imagining her mother's reaction, Iku was too horrified to reply.

"And just to remind you, we're coming tomorrow. Bye!" And with that, he hung up while she was still staring into space.

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"Dojo? Hey, Dojo!" Komaki waved a hand in front of him.

Dojo blinked in surprise, and looked at Komaki. "Komaki? When did you come in?"

Komaki frowned at him. "Just now. You opened the door for me, remember?" He sighed and shook his head at Dojo's blank expression. "Anyways, what happened between you and Kasahara-san?"

Dojo looked away and stared out the window. "W-what makes you think something happened? Nothing happened between us. Everything's fine."

"Really?" Komaki handed him a beer, which he brought with him. "The way you're acting doesn't seem to reflect that."

Dojo sighed, and mumbled, "To think all of this started from our first date. First, Shibasaki and Tezuka shows up, then her family of all people…"

"Hm?" Komaki looked at him. "What's this I hear?"

"Nothing."

Komaki spotted Dojo's cell phone on the table. "Dojo, you should call her and clear up whatever's going on."

Dojo took a long sip of the beer. "She just called a while ago… her family is visiting again."

"Oh, so that the problem?"

"Not exactly. I think she wants to keep our relationship a secret."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Komaki lift his head up in surprise, but neither of them said anything for a few minutes.

Komaki glanced around the room uncomfortably. For once, he didn't know what kind of advice to give to Dojo concerning his love life. "So…what are you thinking?"

"I want to respect her wishes, but I don't want to date her in secret." Dojo hesitated a bit, but spoke with determination. "If her parents don't give their consent, then I'll do what it takes to earn their approval."

Komaki smiled a little. Looks like he doesn't need my advice this time.

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"Woah." Shibasaki stood frozen at the door of their room. "When I left an hour ago, you were fine. But now you just look awful. What happened?"

Iku was lying face down on her bed. She turned her head and stared at Shibasaki with a dreadful expression. "Shibasakiiiiii….."

"If you had long dark hair that could cover your face, you'd be perfect as a character in a horror movie right now."

Iku sniffled. "Stop joking around! I need advice."

Shibasaki turned around as she changed into more comfortable clothing. "What kind of advice? Should I charge a fee for each advice I give?"

"My family is coming tomorrow. What should I do?!"

"Kasahara, I can't give advice unless I know what the problem is."

"I just told my family about Instructor Dojo…but my mom…"

Shibasaki didn't say anything.

Iku sighed and ruffled her hair. "I…ugh, who knows? Maybe my mom would approve of Instructor Dojo when she meets him tomorrow. Whatever, I'm gonna sleep. G'night." She pressed her face into her pillow.

"So I guess you don't want advice?"

Iku didn't answer. Shibasaki looked at her and thought, From what I know about your mother, I doubt things would go that smoothly.