She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 61)
by BrDPirateMan

"Thanks for your hard work!" said Mr H, adding as I was on my way out, "Say hi to Eri for me."

"Thanks, will do!"

In the relative comfort of my car I opened the envelope containing tonight's salary. Heh… another 11000 yen in the pocket, another 11000 yen richer.

By now I already had enough in my savings to fund another vacation getaway. Summer break had already begun, so I was hoping to have a little 'us time' with Eri at some romantic location. We could go back to the Red Tide again, and she certainly would say yes, but if we could try something different that'd be nice. I heard the mountains were a good choice, but it wasn't what I had in mind.

Some good idea was bound to come up. Humming a tune to myself, I drove home in good spirits. When I arrived home I was ready to throw myself into the arms of my beloved girlfriend and bask in her love and warmth…

"Eri, I'm ho– "

"Neku!" she shrieked, before devolving into verbal diarrhea. "I've… uh, I… this, I didn't… I mean, I couldn't… I had no choice!"

I'd seen her panic before but it was usually on unimportant things. Maybe a sale was about to finish and she hadn't completed her shopping. Or she wanted to hang out with her buddies and her best dress was in the laundry. Or a limited-edition flavor ice-cream was no longer in stock. That kind of stuff. This, however, I wasn't so sure.

"Calm down, Eri. Take it slow and tell me what's wrong… Actually, why don't you join me in the bath? I bet a nice soak will help."

"Y-You know what? Yeah, I'll do that. Let's… Let's go."

My suggestion seemed to work. I sponged her back in long sweeping motions and her frame, previously tense like a coiled spring, loosened up little by little. When it was time to get inside the bath, I let her sit in my lap like I was a chair and hugged her from behind. I could feel her go soft in my arms. Her muscles were still kind of taut, but at least she dropped the jumpy antics entirely. We stayed like that for what felt like minutes, not saying a word.

I whispered in her ear. "You okay now?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "God, you really know how to make a girl feel good."

"Ahem… innuendos aside, can we talk about what's gotten your panties in a knot?"

"Oh, that…"

I felt her tense up again, but gave her a gentle reminder, "Relax, you can tell me anything."

"Right. Whew. Alright, where to begin…"

Eri gently disentangled herself from my arms and the two of us now sat face-to-face. She curled up into a ball, hugging her knees to her body.

"I received a call while you were out," she began. "It… It was from my dad."

Her father… I stiffened when I heard that, but bravely continued to listen. She must've known what I was thinking and shared with me her feelings of concern.

"I know, Neku. I freaked out when I saw his name on my caller ID. Almost didn't wanna pick up too. I mean, he called up out of the blue!"

"What did he want to talk about?"

She looked like she was going to faint and dissolve into the water. But she clung onto her molecular structure long enough to drop the awful truth on me.

"Dad told me to return to Fukushima for a marriage interview he'd arranged for me."

My stomach was suddenly besieged by a horrible sinking feeling. Shocked, all I could do was parrot the keywords. "M-Marriage interview…"

"Dad said he and Mum were tired of me having all of these boyfriends behind their backs, so they decided to find one for me. Of course I said I didn't want to go, but he insisted that I did. And that's when I made my biggest mistake…"

She relayed to me what she and her father said over the phone.

"…so be sure," said Eri's father, "to come back. I won't take no for an answer. It's high time you took control of your life and if you're not going to do that then we'll do it for you."

The sternness of his words barely fazed Eri. "Dad, look. I know you mean well but this marriage interview isn't necessary."

"I already told you, I'm not taking no for an – "

"Dad! I… I already have a boyfriend."

He gave a disgruntled sigh. "Again? Why am I not surprised? You listen to me, Eri. We're your parents and we know what's best for you. We've picked out a nice boy – "

"I'm serious, Dad. I already found someone I like, and I've been going out with him for about a year and a half. It's precisely because he's such a good boyfriend that we've been able to stay together this long. I don't need anyone else."

She could sense his growing irritation over the line, even though he'd been silent the whole time she was talking. She was sure he'd explode in her ear like he had a habit of doing, but his approach to the situation was eerily calm for once.

"One and a half years, you say. I hope you're not making things up simply to escape this marriage interview - which, mind you, you are still going to attend."

"Why do I need to go when I already told you I have a boyfriend I'm going steady with?"

"You don't exactly have discerning taste when it comes to finding a good man in your life. All of your previous boyfriends were… questionable at best. So even if you do have a half-decent boyfriend, it's not like I can take that to be the truth."

Eri had nothing to counter him with. He was right on the money about her being terrible with men.

"Which brings me to my next point," said her father. "When you come to Fukushima, bring that 'boyfriend' of yours with you."

"Huh? Wh-Why?"

"I'd like to see for himself if he's as good as you say. I want to ascertain his personality and see what kind of person he is."

"Y-You can't just – "

"Your mother and I simply want to have a talk with him. That should be no problem."

"No way. You're just gonna try and break us up, like you did with all of my other boyfriends! But Neku is different! He's not like them, so don't you dare try and put a wedge between us!"

He was growing weary from their discussion and decided to end it the best way a good ol' dad knew how.

"You are bringing your boyfriend to Fukushima with you and that's final."

"But…!"

"Now, about your marriage interview…"

"And that's how it went," sighed Eri. "I'm sorry, Neku. Sometimes I just can't win against my dad."

By the time she had fully recounted her tale, I had become as nervous as her. We sat there in the bath, trembling with dread. But I tried to maintain some semblance of calmness, for what that's worth.

I muttered, "Well, this is a toughie. Not only do your parents know about our relationship, but they also want to meet me. Or rather, I'm going to have to meet them."

"Yeah, I tried to stop my dad but once he gets an idea in his head, it's really difficult to change his mind."

"Like father, like daughter, eh?"

"Get serious, Neku!" she hissed. "You're going to have to meet my parents! They are not easy people to deal with. They'll be sure to ask lots of tricky questions, so you need to be ready!"

"What will they want to know from me?"

"I can help you with that. A few of my ex-boyfriends had to go through some grueling interrogation sessions from my parents, so I know what's in store for you, more or less." A grimace marring her pretty face, she added, "Not surprisingly, those ex-boyfriends of mine were all scared off. My parents can be downright brutal, so try to hang in there."

"I'll… I'll do my best…"

We later convened in her room to formulate a foolproof strategy against her parents.

"As a rule of thumb," she said, "tell the truth where possible. Mum and Dad are not idiots; they can smell lies from a mile away. They do not like it when you lie."

I shrugged. "It's easier to tell the truth anyway. I don't want to have to keep track of a bunch of fibs. I'll just trip up sooner or later."

"Even then, there are some things you absolutely cannot be honest about, no matter what."

"Like what?"

Eri threw her next words at me casually, but the emphasis on their importance was clearly there.

"Like whether we've already had sex." Then, less casually, she said, "SAY. NO."

I gulped.

She continued, "Listen, I love you deeply and I'm happy we have such a great sex life, but if my parents find out I've been spreading my legs for a boy before marriage, no matter how nice he is… we're doomed."

"O-Okay, got it, we're still virgins. What else should I keep in mind?"

"They will want to know about your financial standing. It's something they've always liked to ask of my exes. 'What do you work as? How long have you been working? How much do you earn?' That sort of thing."

I raised an eyebrow. "How much I earn? I-Isn't that a bit… you know…"

"Shameless? Intrusive? Yeah, I know, right?" She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "They don't care what you think. It's embarrassing how thick-skinned they can be."

I offered a different angle from which we could view their questions. "Maybe they just want to see if the guy can properly take care of you. They'd be rightfully worried if you ended up with a bum."

But Eri was not impressed with my line of logic. "All of my past boyfriends have been school and college students. How much can they earn anyway? That question is moot. I mean, what the heck?"

"Calm down. I'm sure they mean well… Anyway, I'll tell 'em the truth. I'm a college student part-timing at a nice little coffee shop. That should be okay, shouldn't it? Least I'm not jobless."

"I guess that's fine," she grumbled, "though they'd prefer if you were interning at a big company."

"I haven't even gotten to that stage yet…"

"Exactly!"

Eri suddenly had a brainwave. I could tell from the way she perked up from the sideways slouch she had in her chair.

"You know what? I've got a great idea. First, can you leave the room for now?"

Perplexed, I asked, "Why?"

"If we're gonna get you good at talking to my folks, then the fastest way is to experience it for yourself. Now come on, out you go!" She dragged me to my feet and pushed me out the door. "I'll call you back in real quick-like."

The door clicked shut behind me. I pressed my ear against it, and I could just about make out the sounds of clothing being taken off and put on. What was she doing in there? This came completely out of left field.

I didn't wait long. Her voice went right through my ear, startling me. "Okay, you can come in now."

What awaited me behind this door exactly?

Just as I suspected, she'd changed her clothes. Eri swapped her shorts and cardigan for a getup that screamed business… literally, since it consisted of a formal jacket and a skirt. Well, the skirt was a little too short to be considered work-safe, but otherwise she looked the part of a white-collar worker. A clipboard in her hands and a pair of glasses completed the look.

I cocked my head, expecting an answer. But she didn't give me one, not a direct one anyway.

"Sit down, Neku," she ordered – yes, ordered. "How are you today?"

Her behavior had changed too. She was totally no-nonsense now. Completely baffled, I sat on her bed as I was told and muttered, "Uh… I'm fine, I guess…?"

She waggled her finger. "Tut tut! You're making a bad first impression here! You need to speak up, for starters. I don't want to have to ask you to repeat yourself. And fix that bad posture of yours!"

"I-Is this some kind of role play or something?"

"Role play? Neku, if this is your idea of a joke, you're not going to endear yourself to anyone. This is a serious matter! If you're going to survive an interview by your girlfriend's parents, you'd best shape up and good!"

I slowly began to pick up on the scattered pieces of information and made an educated guess. This was role play. She's pretending to be one of her own parents while I was… well, me. By simulating a typical interview she was hoping to get me up to speed. If that's the case I was all for it. Plenty weird though.

She was taking this seriously. Won't be fair if I didn't either.

"Once more," she said. "How are you today?"

"I… I'm fine, Mrs… Tanikawa." It felt so strange calling her that. "And you?"

"Quite well, considering. Now let's talk about your relationship with my… daughter."

Heh, she probably thought as much as I did that the whole roleplaying thing was clunky. Whatever snarky comment I was about to fling her way out of force of habit, however, quickly dissolved when she gave me a stern gaze.

"Don't expect me to go soft on you," she warned. "Now tell me: how long have you been going out with her?"

"By now, it should be about one and a half years."

"I see. How far have you gone with her?"

I hesitated for a second, wondering if this was going to be a good answer. "O-Only as far as hugging and kissing…"

"Nothing else?"

"No, n-nothing else."

"You haven't seen my daughter naked yet, have you?"

I spluttered, "Wh-Wha…?"

Eri reiterated her question with unnecessary emphasis. "My daughter. Have you seen her naked before? And tell the truth."

Was that something any self-respecting parent would ask? I'd been careful up till now, adhering to the most important rule of telling the truth whenever I could, but this strange query tripped me up. And it was here I made my first blunder.

"Uh… I think I might have, you know, accidentally – "

"Bzzt! Wrong answer!"

She reverted briefly to her normal self to explain where I had gone wrong.

"That won't do, Neku!" she huffed. "You absolutely cannot tell the truth here. My parents will feed you to the dogs."

"Oh… g-got it. Golden rule, say no."

Well, yeah, no parent would be able to sleep right if they knew their kid has been flashing their naughty bits for their boy or girlfriend. Good thing this was a mock interview. Otherwise I'd have died a million times over.

"Back to business," she said, going back to parent mode. "How did you get acquainted with our daughter in the first place?"

"I knew her from high school. She was within a circle of friends I was a part of. We've been pals for a good long while, but it's only when college began that we began to grow really close."

"Why is that?"

"After we all graduated, we went our separate ways… but Eri and I happened to move into the same neighborhood, so we ended up visiting each other a lot."

The story's a lot more complex than that as you probably know by now, but I wasn't going to complicate things for myself. Best to keep it short and straight to the point. Besides, Eri was almost always drunk when she popped by, so how could I mention that to her parents?

But for now that answer seemed to satisfy her. Again she broke character to dispense advice.

"That'll definitely come up sooner or later," she said. "Just leave out the unflattering details, yeah? Mum and Dad do not want to know I used to be an alcoholic."

"They didn't know?"

"No, they'd have murdered me long ago if they knew about my heavy drinking."

"My lips are sealed. You have my word."

Eri got back to her charade. "I'd like to know why you want to date my daughter to begin with. Choose your words carefully." The deadly straight line she'd turned her mouth into was proof that this was a very important question to take note of.

But there really wasn't a need to hide the truth for this one, was there?

I began, "She's very nice towards me and I'm certainly grateful for that, but that's not the sole reason I'm attracted to her. Rather, I think she's a genuinely good character."

"Hmmm. Care to elaborate?"

"Wow, heh… there's a lot to talk about." I gave a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of my head. "Where should I start…"

"Anywhere you like. Just tell me everything. We have a lot of time to spare."

That's good news. Because I had truckloads to say about this girl.

"Eri is a caring person," I began. "She may seem the flighty type, but she really is concerned about not just my welfare but her friends' too. I've had some dark periods in my life, but she was always there to listen to my problems and pull me out of my funk, and I really appreciate that.

"She's my greatest source of emotional strength as a result, and she's always happy to support me in my endeavors. That said, if I ever goof up, she never hesitates to call me out on it, but she always means well, even if she can get kinda blunt.

"Eri's a hard worker too. She's constantly pushing the boundaries of what she can achieve. Really, she's such an inspiration to me. Seeing her do her best in everything makes me wanna do the same.

"Finally, there's never a boring day with her around. I'll admit it took a while for me to get used to her eccentric sense of humour, and being strung along on her schemes has led us to some crazy situations, but she still makes me laugh at the end of the day and for me, that's all that matters."

At this point I was starting to run dry of things to say so now was the time to cap things off with a couple more of her good points.

"Well, uh… she's an interesting girl to talk to… and, um… she's really pretty too which is a nice plus. And…"

And she's blushing. Oh crud, I was so focused on pretending I was talking to her parents that I forgot it was her I was talking to instead. And I had just rattled off a list of things about Eri that, for all intents and purposes, was akin to a love confession. Whoops! Then again, she asked for it. It couldn't be helped…

Her composure crumbled and she could no longer keep up the 'parent' facade. For what it was worth, she did try to keep things going, but it just wasn't happening.

"Not bad," she said, awkwardness in every word. "I mean, w-well… what I mean to say is, if that's the way you feel about my daughter, then that's… uh… good. And stuff…"

"'And stuff'?" I chuckled. "You're not even speaking coherently anymore, Eri. I say we have a timeout for now."

It was a sentiment she wholeheartedly shared with me. "Yeah, let's get back to it later."

Eri took her glasses off and slumped back in her chair, clutching the front of her shirt and fanning it against her chest in an attempt to cool down.

"Quite the flatterer, are you, Neku? You gave my heart a bad case of the flutters."

"Hey, I was just telling the truth," I said, with a teasing tone. "It's your fault for swooning."

"Oh, it's my fault now, huh. Well, you know what? Hearing you talk about me like that was a real turn-on. Any more of your praise and I'd have to change my underwear."

"Okay, too much information. Anyway, how did I do?" I wrung my hands, breath held fast. "Am I ready to meet your parents?"

She gave a small laugh, though not out of meanness. "You still have a long way to go."

"Ulp… I thought as much. I knew it wouldn't be that easy."

"Don't worry, I'll help you practice as much as we can. We have till Sunday to get you prepared, so that gives us about four or five days. I'm gonna train you ragged, that much you can be sure of! So be ready!"

"This is going to be one long week…" I fell back onto her bed, heaving a sigh. "But I hope it all works out in the end. I really wanna get along with your folks."

"Yeah… that'd be nice. But if, in the first place, my parents were more easygoing like your aunt and uncle, we wouldn't even need to get to this point." The smile that was on her face turned a bit sour. "And, well, my parents and I would probably have argued a lot less."

I could tell she didn't hate her parents. Beneath her complaining tone was a genuine wish to get along with them. And while I had no concrete idea what they were like, I liked to think that they had the best intentions for her but didn't quite know how to show that they cared. I was confident that with a little effort, the Tanikawas could be good terms with one another again.

One thing at a time, though. For now, we should focus on convincing them that I was a worthy suitor for their daughter.

"We'll work something out with your parents, I promise," I said. "If I can impress them, maybe they'll go easy on you. I mean, it'd be proof that they can count on their daughter to find the right man for herself, right? That might be the stepping stone we need to strengthen your relationship with them."

That brought a hopeful smile to her face. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'm tired of having to fight with them on all sorts of things. I want to break out of this vicious cycle… Maybe they probably feel the same way."

"Then break out of it you will. But for now, shall we continue where we left off, or are you still dazzled by my words?"

She straightened herself up in an instant and even put the glasses back on. "Don't be silly. I'll be darned if I'm going to go easy on you. Now come on! Get up and let's keep things rolling."

"Yes, ma'am!"

XOXOXOXOXO

Over the next few days I was subject to a grueling slew of mock interviews. Eri asked me all manner of questions - some were a cakewalk to answer, others required some mental dexterity. Quite a few questions sounded too strange to be true, but she insisted her parents weren't above flinging them my way. I had to be prepared for absolutely everything.

She often popped questions out of the blue on stuff we'd covered in earlier interviews. It was her way of reinforcing whatever ammo I had against her parents, but damn if those weren't the most inopportune moments ever.

Here's an example.

"So Neku," she said, "tell me again how you met my daughter."

"Uh… um, uh…"

"Neku, we've gone over this a million times already! You should know what to say by now!"

"Um, no offense, b-but can this wait? I'm… uh, in the middle of a raid boss event here…"

"You and your video games! You can play them anytime you want. But we don't – "

"It's a limited-time raid boss event! It'll be over in a couple hours and if I don't take part in it I'll lose out on some really good loot. Gimme ten minutes and I'll get back to you."

She sighed as I went back to my current session on HoZ. "My parents won't wait half that long. Oh, and for the record, they won't like it if you keep checking your phone while they're talking to you. So remember to turn it off."

"I… I understand."

"You'd better!"

In addition to these impromptu 'pop quizzes', she went over some other tips such as what to wear and the importance of bringing a gift of some kind. Regarding the latter issue, Eri had some words of wisdom for me.

"Bring a bottle of wine. They'll appreciate it."

Almost immediately I was stumped. "But what kind should I get? I'm not familiar with liquor."

"I know a type of rice wine my parents are fond of. We can get that."

She pointed it out to me on the internet and I nearly balked at the price.

"9800 yen for a 1 litre bottle?" I thought my eyes were fooling me. They weren't. "I… I could easily get a two-litre bottle of soda at a fraction of that price."

"That's one of the better-quality ones. We could get a cheaper one… some go for around three to four thousand yen, but this is their favorite. They should have a better first impression of you if you bring this along."

"'Should'…?"

"Nice presents mean squat if they still don't like you. It just means they get free wine. Make sure the interview goes smoothly, okay?"

"R-Right. That I will."

With her help I was able to build up some much-needed confidence, and I felt that I could pull this off despite the odds that were stacked against me (it didn't hurt that she looked good in a suit and glasses).

On the night before Armageddon, however, my nervousness reared its ugly head anew. It's almost ten and I'd rather be asleep to conserve as much energy as I could for tomorrow, but my worries kept me from attaining peaceful slumber. I tried to imagine a waterfall to soothe my nerves, but all it did was make me visit the bathroom three times in the space of half an hour. Counting sheep didn't pan out either. The sheep got stuck underneath the fence.

Eri, who was lying next to me in bed, rolled to her side to face me. The skin on my arm prickled when she touched it.

"Still can't sleep, Neku?"

I sighed, frustrated at myself. "Yeah. I'm trying to, but… no luck."

"Me too," she admitted, snuggling closer. "I'm anxious, you know. Mum and Dad will throw at me as many questions as they will you."

"We should have done a little role play. I can pretend to be your dad or something."

"Nah, you won't know what to ask. I've been his daughter for long enough; I know how he works. So I'll be fine. …You'll be fine too, Neku. You've trained hard enough for this."

"I hope so. You know, Eri… You've got a lot of guts to go against your parents' wishes."

"Ain't the first time I've done it," she huffed. "Not exactly proud of it either. I'd rather not have to fight them to get the things I want, but I have no choice. I won't be a fashion design major if I played yes-man to their every whim… I just wish I didn't have to… disappoint them."

I stroked her cheek gently with the knuckles of my hand. "You'll get your chance to prove your worth to them, I'm sure. Then maybe they'll realize being a fashion designer isn't as bad as they think."

"Yeah… that'll be the day." A yawn stretched her jaws wide open, which she covered with one hand. "C'mon, Neku, get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

If sleepiness was contagious, I must have caught it from her. My eyelids were starting to droop. She'd already dozed off… Time to follow suit.

Let's see what tomorrow had in store for us.

XOXOXOXOXO

Maybe it's the anxiousness, the feeling of which we'd formed an intimate connection with ever since Eri's Dad called up and spooked the hell out of us. Maybe it's the adrenaline that has been pumping through our bloodstreams at dangerously high levels. Maybe it's something else altogether.

But whatever the reason, Eri and I woke up an hour earlier than usual. It's like our bodies were telling us that we didn't deserve to relax until the issue with her parents was over and done with.

Eri appeared to shrug it off. "On the plus side, we now have more time to prepare ourselves!"

She didn't seem nervous at all. "You sure you're okay, Eri?"

"Don't be filly," she laughed. "Of horse I'm fine! I'm peeling grate!"

Never mind, I take back what I said! It's like our positions had reversed. Now I'm the calmer one between us, though that's not saying much…

"Today's gonna be one heck of a day, Neku. While you're facing off against my parents, I'm going to have to attend that marriage interview. Ugh!" She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I don't care who it is they're planning to hook me up with, I'm gonna turn him down and send him packing!"

"I'm glad you're with me, Eri. C'mon, we can get through this, you and me. We've practiced day and night for this. We'll ace it. And who knows? Maybe your mum and dad might actually like me after all."

She beamed at the thought of finally making peace with her folks. "Yeah! Let's do our betht – gah!"

"D-Did you just bite your tongue?"

"Uh… yeth."

And this is the normally unflappable Eri we're talking about. That's a sure sign we had real business to contend with.

I felt like I was getting ready for a big exam. In some ways, I wasn't too far off my mark with that analogy. We constantly went over our 'learning materials' and 'cheat sheets'. We brought out the energy drinks to give us the extra boost we needed to tackle the day's challenges. There was a strict examiner we had to overcome. And we prayed. We prayed hard.

But no amount of praying could put off the inevitable. We boarded the train and off we went to Fukushima. I fancied the doors closing to be akin to our fates being sealed. In a coffin.

Nonetheless, we tried to remain chipper throughout the journey. The upcoming clash between parent and kid (and tag-along boyfriend) was like a thundercloud hanging above us, but we tried to distract ourselves by bringing up all manner of unrelated topics.

"What's there to see in Fukushima?" I asked.

"It's a pretty quiet residential area. You won't see much that you haven't seen already. Mostly shops and a lot of houses. It's got a great spot for swimming, at least, but other than that… honestly, if it weren't for my friends there, I'd be bored to death."

"Surely there has to be something exciting in your neighborhood."

"Well, there was that one time when I was ten, and one of the young adults in our neighborhood was discovered to be in an affair with the local school principal…"

"N-Not that kind of exciting, Eri."

"But they were both men!" she said a tad too enthusiastically. "And the age gap was at least thirty years! It was quite the scandal."

"Well, that's not something you see every day. But I was wondering if there are any interesting places to go to."

After some thought, her answer was, "There's an onsen near the edge of town if that counts. Sadly, no mixed bathing so it's less exciting that way."

"Ah… yeah, that's disappointing."

"Hang on!" she gasped. "The abandoned house! How could I forget about that?"

"Abandoned house?"

"Yeah, my friends keep telling me about it. It's somewhere in the middle of the woods, and apparently some really eccentric old guy used to live there. He loved nature or something, I dunno. But after he passed away, the place was just left to rot. No one's been in there ever since. Been that way for many years. At least, that's what I heard."

I had to question the validity of her claim. "But have you actually seen it before?"

"Sadly, no. I wish I have."

"It might just be a rumour. Maybe it doesn't exist."

Breaking into a huge smile, she said, "But if it does, it'll be fun to take a look! There's nothing quite like the thrill of exploring a place no one has touched for a long time!"

Adopting a mildly stern tone, I said, "Look, I know all this sounds fun and all, but snooping around old places is really dangerous, especially for a girl like yourself. You never know who's lying in wait."

She was about to protest, but thought about my words a little. "Fair enough, you have a point. I'd hate to get jumped by a street punk who was there to take a nap."

"Yeah, that'd be pretty ugly."

"Anyway, that's it for my neighbourhood. Real quiet place, that one. If it bores you to death, don't say I didn't warn you. That said, did I tell you about…"

Eri had a lot of bizarre tales to relate throughout the ride, which was a source of entertainment for us and had the added bonus of keeping our anxiety at bay. But then our fun came grinding to a halt when we heard the PA announcement that we were now approaching Fukushima.

We rose from our seats and she latched onto my arm as we walked out. Part of me didn't feel like leaving the train, but I knew deep down inside that this was something we had to face.

"Time to jump into the lion's den," she said, voice rattling off in a grim laugh. "You ready to take the plunge, Neku?"

"Sure, ladies first."

"Heh. That never gets old, huh?"

"Nope."

We hired a cab to drive us to her home. I took in the sights and so far found Fukushima to be rather… plain. Tourist attraction it sure ain't. Everything was calm and quiet and peaceful, with little happening. It's easy to see why Eri would think her hometown was boring. As a thrill-seeker, her thirst for adventure couldn't be quenched by living in a place where the most exciting thing around was the convenience store. What irony… she was more at home in a busy crowded city than, well, her own home.

"Driver," said Eri, "it's right… there."

"This one, miss?"

"Yes, the house with the green roof."

The cab driver swung right up to the front gate of a massive traditional Japanese bungalow. The size left me in awe.

"I-Is this your home?" I whispered to her meekly. "It's huge!"

"Too huge," she snorted. "Especially for a family of my size."

We paid the driver and alighted. Eri pressed the doorbell by the gate and while waiting to be let in, she gave me some quick trivia about the house.

"It's actually really old. It was passed down through the generations in Dad's family. So it's changed tenants quite a number of times."

"How old are we talking about here?"

"About, oh… sixty, seventy years?"

I raised my eyebrows. "It's in pretty good condition for something that old."

"Ah, we've had some renovations carried out here and there. Plus we have a really awesome housekeeper."

"Dear old Granny, huh?"

She smiled. "Yup! You'll meet her soon enough. In a sense, she's like a second mum to me."

"You're that close with her? That's cute."

The gate – one of those automatic remote-controlled types – slid open with a metallic rumble. Eri walked in, with me in tow, and I looked all around me with my mouth agape in wonderment. It was hard not to be utterly gobsmacked at the size of the place. I mean, it's not like I've never seen and been to big houses before, but the grandeur of Eri's home was something else altogether. Wood and stone made up much of the exterior, lending it an ancient feel. If it weren't for the inclusion of modern elements like external air-conditioning units and a garage with automated shutters, I'd have thought I had stumbled into a different era altogether.

The front door slid open and a middle-aged lady came out to greet us with a small bow. Her graying hair was set in a small afro of sorts and her dress sense was simple and unassuming, with an apron down the front. Eri's lips parted in a gasp of joy.

"Granny!"

She ran into the lady's arms and the two shared a hug. The older woman, whom I presumed was Granny, welcomed her warmly.

"It's so good to see you again, Eri," she said. "How have you been?"

"I've been awesome! And you?"

"I'm doing fine. I'm glad to see you're doing well." Now she turned to me, her smile never leaving her face. "And I take it this is your new boyfriend?"

"Yup!"

Eri did the introductions, and Granny and I were now properly acquainted. Her housekeeper seemed like a nice lady, one of those motherly types who were patient and good with the young ones. Even though this was our first meeting, I felt a sense of warmth and trust coming from her.

"Jubilations aside," said Granny, "I suppose it's nothing new by now, but your parents aren't exactly thrilled to know you've gotten yourself another boyfriend." The bluntness of her words was softened with how gently she spoke.

"I know, Granny. But this is the last time, I promise." Eri latched onto my arm. "Because I'm 100% positive I've finally found the perfect guy for myself. I wouldn't have lasted this long with him if it didn't work out in the first place."

"Indeed." The housekeeper studied me with a cautious eye. "Your father did mention that the two of you have been going out for more than a year. I have to say, this is quite the surprise."

Addressing me, she continued, "I don't know why, but I have a good feeling about you. You seem different from all of her other ex-boyfriends. But you'll need to work hard to convince her parents that you're the right man for her."

That was a big help to my confidence. "Thanks for the show of faith, Miss… uh, Mrs…?"

"Just call me Granny. Everyone does."

"…Granny. Okay, sure."

It's weird for someone to want to be called that, and even weirder for me to address her as such, but if that's what she wanted, then fine by me. I really would like to know why, but now's not the time for that.

"Mr and Mrs Tanikawa are waiting inside. This way, please."

She led us inside the house, where I was treated to the soothing, familiar sight of paper doors and wooden furniture – such was a staple for many houses here in Japan, of course. There were some expensive-looking vases and decorations, but I wasn't in the mood to gawk at them. I'd be meeting up with Eri's folks in a matter of seconds; now's not the time for sightseeing.

We stopped at a particular door and Granny called through it, "Mr and Mrs Tanikawa, your daughter has arrived. Along with her boyfriend."

I shared a quick glance with Eri, who looked similarly nervous.

A gravelly voice pierced the silence from behind the door. "Bring them in."

Granny slid the door open and escorted us both into a large room with tatami flooring. The furnishing was sparse, with only a dresser to the side and a low table in the middle. And sitting at this table, side by side… were Eri's parents.

Their presence was… intimidating, with faces that showed little expression. They were unhappy with what Eri had been up to behind their backs and by extension, they weren't happy to see me either. I was the scourge they were planning to eradicate; now they just needed a good reason to. Hence this interview.

Appearance-wise, however, they were fairly normal. They were neither ugly nor beautiful, just treading middle ground on the beauty spectrum, which raised the question of who exactly Eri got her good looks from. Her dad had a pair of thick-rimmed glasses while her mother had her hair done in a simple bun behind her head. There wasn't anything else that stood out, except that they looked like really smart people who had accomplished a lot in their lives.

They were just ordinary people at the end of the day… I've seen thousands if not millions of people like them out throughout my life, so I shouldn't be this scared. No matter how much I willed my heart to slow down, it wouldn't listen.

Eri offered them a slightly shaky greeting. "H-Hello, Mum, Dad. Been a while, hasn't it?"

I followed suit, trying not to sound nervous. "Hello, Mr and Mrs Tanikawa. It's good to finally meet you."

"Greetings," said Eri's father, his voice deep and impressive. "Sit down, both of you."

We did as we were told, sitting carefully on the cushions provided while Granny poured us all green tea. I wound up with her dear old Dad right in front of me. He had an intense stare that I had to work my hardest not to squirm under.

His cold exterior left me paralyzed until Eri nudged me in the arm with her elbow. Oh crud, I almost forgot!

I carefully fished out the bottle of rice wine from my backpack and presented it to them. "Um, th-this is a little gift from me. I hope it's to your liking."

Her father took it from me and inspected it with his wife peering over with minimal interest. There was neither a smile nor a frown on both of their faces to indicate if I had gotten them the right thing. With expressions like that, I bet they'd make expert gamblers. Mrs Tanikawa expressed her gratitude, albeit with no discernible emotion.

"You have our thanks," she said, before calling Granny over. "Here, take this to the kitchen."

The housekeeper gingerly fetched the wine and disappeared from the room. They didn't say much but they accepted it, so that should count as a good sign… right? If only things were clear-cut in real life, like a message that popped up in the air saying, "Mr and Mrs Tanikawa will remember that." Or something. I hated to have to guess…

I gulped hard. Eri, too, wasn't in a good way. I wanted to reach out and hold her hand to calm us both down, but with her parents watching I simply didn't dare.

"Allow me to introduce myself," said her father. "I am Shinichi Tanikawa, lead civil engineer at GeoTech Japan. It's a position I've held for nearly twenty-five years."

Her mother went next. "I am Yukiko Tanikawa. I've worked as a doctor at Fukushima General Hospital for twenty-three years."

Everyone turned to me. Nailing the introduction was important. Luckily I'd rehearsed this with Eri quite a number of times beforehand. Let's just say I was glad we had all those training lessons.

"My name is Neku Sakuraba. I'm pursuing a course in graphics design at Shibuya Institute of Art and Design and I'm currently in my final year. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Mr Tanikawa leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and tenting his fingers, which made him look sinister. "Let's get down to brass tacks, everybody. Eri, whether you like it or not, you are still going to attend that marriage interview. We've already made the arrangements. The least you can do is show up."

The finality of her father's words drove Eri into a corner and even she, quick thinker that she was, could come up with nothing to counter him. The most she could manage was a weak complaint.

"I don't see the point of it, but fine. I know fully well who I want, though."

He frowned at her lack of enthusiasm but chose not to make a fuss out of it. Instead, he continued:

"And then there's the issue of you having yet another boyfriend. We've gone over this countless times… and we are not amused by your persistence."

I felt cold sweat trickle down my body as both parents glared at me.

"That said," her mother mused, "it's surprising you were able to maintain your relationship with this boy for so long. Admittedly, we're rather… curious about him."

Eri's gaze could rival theirs in intensity. "I know you don't trust Neku, and he may not look like much at first glance, but he's a good person. Just… please, hold your judgment until you've got a good grasp of his character. Don't just dismiss him as 'yet another stupid boyfriend'. That's not fair, you know."

"We're not going to subject him to such prejudice," said Mr Tanikawa in a cool tone. "But if we're not convinced that he is what you say he is…"

"He'll knock your socks off, just you watch."

Eri, raising their expectations of me so early might not be a good idea…

Mrs Tanikawa announced, "Let's get this started. Sakuraba, tell us about yourself."

I did as I was asked. Again, this was something that I had practiced with Eri beforehand many times so nailing it was another small but welcome boost to my confidence.

Mr Tanikawa muttered, "Remind us again: how long have you been going out with our daughter?"

"By now," I replied, "it'd be about a year and a half. Our second anniversary is coming this December."

Eri took the chance to interject, "This is my longest relationship to date and for good reason. He's not like all of the others! And – "

"Eri." Her dad glared at her. "It's not you I'm talking to now. Be quiet."

"Ugh…"

Anyone can be scary when they're really, really annoyed. But her father deserved extra cred for being able to shut down someone like her. He was not someone to be messed with.

He shifted his attention back to me. "At any rate, Sakuraba, it's close to two years. What do you think of her? As a girlfriend."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Eri fiddle with her fingers. She already knew what I felt about her, heard all about it from the horse's mouth. I bet she was concerned about whether it'd have as much of an impact on them as it did on her.

"Eri is a very caring person," I began. "She…"

I told them all about what I saw in Eri that attracted me to her. It wasn't an exact dictation of what I practiced with her; I had to paraphrase some things, but the gist of what I wanted to convey was there. And, like before, she was as red as a tomato by the end of it.

However, her parents didn't seem very much affected at all. Their stone-faced expressions were hard to read and I feared that I might have said the wrong thing. Or made it seem like I was trying to butter them up too much. Or accidentally revealed a detail that I shouldn't have. I was this sure I didn't mention anything about her walking around naked at home… right? Had I messed up somewhere?

After a moment, Mrs Tanikawa spoke up. "It's nice that you speak so highly of our daughter, but are you even sincere?"

"Huh? Wh-What do you mean? Of course I am."

"What you said sounds like a speech you've prepared way ahead of time. It feels very… artificial."

Well, sure I practiced saying it lots of times beforehand, but it never occurred to me that it might sound like something cranked out of a machine. Maybe we'd overlooked a key aspect of our training.

Indignantly, Eri snapped, "What does it matter? He means every word! Whether it sounds like a speech or not is irrelevant! You can't just – "

"Eri."

This time it was her mother's turn to clam her up, and with only a single word. Realizing that she had spoken out of line, Eri backed down but remained on alert for anything they said that she didn't agree with. It was times like these when I felt like I was a defendant in court, with her as my attorney and her parents as the prosecution. And that the punishment for my crimes would be severe if I was convicted.

Interestingly, both parents took her words to heart, even if they weren't going to openly admit it.

"So you claim you're serious, Sakuraba. Very well. We'll know if you're telling the truth in due time. Moving on…"

The tension in the room was momentarily broken when the door slid open. Granny stood in the doorway with news to tell.

"Mr and Mrs Tanikawa," she said, "the candidate for the marriage interview has arrived."

Eri's parents could have jumped six feet off the floor, so eager were they to finally get their daughter acquainted with a 'proper' man. She and I, on the other hand, didn't like the sound of that at all, and who could blame us?

Mr Tanikawa spoke to his wife, "Yukiko, make sure everything goes smoothly. I'll take care of things on my end."

She nodded and stood up, motioning for Eri to follow her. Very reluctantly the latter did, touching my shoulder in a gentle manner. I could only reach out for her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze which she seemed to appreciate.

Then she had to go. She clearly didn't like it one bit, but held her head high as she followed her mother and Granny out of the room, as if to say that no matter what, she'd be okay. The door slid shut behind her, leaving me alone in the room together with her father. Her stern, stern father.

The gaze he directed at me pierced through my soul. Maybe this was one of his many ways of scaring me and trying to trip me up into making mistakes. But if he was fishing for excuses to kick me out of Eri's life forever, he had another thing coming.

He gave me a smile, but I could see the contempt veiled so thinly behind it. This was a man who did not like me at all. Gaining his and his wife's trust would be a gargantuan task.

But damned if I didn't give it a shot. They're gonna be like my own parents eventually, right?

"Don't mind the… distraction, Sakuraba. Let us continue."

I put my best foot forward. Enough of being scared. I can do this.

"Yes, Mr Tanikawa. Let's."

He raised his eyebrow, ever so slightly. "You seem confident all of a sudden. I could've sworn you were a mouse just minutes ago."

"I got tired of being one. You just want to know if Eri's been hanging out with an okay guy all this time. I… I don't see anything wrong with a little parental concern."

My words seemed to have left him impressed, if only a bit. But a bit was better than nothing.

"I'm glad you understand. If you have a daughter yourself and she's always getting herself mixed up with no-good hicks, you'd be worried too."

I said nothing to that and merely nodded. It's a potentially touchy point in the conversation. Say the wrong thing and you take a hit to that precious friendship meter. Damn, I play way too many video games.

"I feel like I can be honest with you, Sakuraba. So I hope you don't mind if my questions come across as… intrusive, for lack of a better word."

"That's fine. What would you like to know?"

Slowly, languidly, he rubbed his palms together as he threw me his next query. "What do you do in your spare time?"

Uh-oh. This has got to be a trick question. You may have all the passion in the world for your pastimes, but not everyone will see eye to eye with you on them. I've met people who discover that I like anime and go, "What, you watch that kiddie garbage? Why not take up a real hobby?" It worried me that Mr Tanikawa might be similarly narrow-minded. But I didn't want to pretend to be someone I wasn't…

At times like these when telling the truth wasn't convenient, telling the more favourable parts of it was the next best thing. It's still not lying. It's just not telling everything.

"I go swimming together with Eri every Sunday," I said. "I wasn't a very good swimmer before, so she offered to show me the ropes. And thanks to her I can swim much better now."

"What else do you do?"

"Uh… on Saturday mornings we spend time cooking. It was I who taught her how to cook; been this way for a long time, even before we started going out. By now she's actually quite a competent cook so there's not much left for me to teach her, but we still do it out of habit."

"Hmm. So in exchange for teaching her how to cook, she taught you how to swim."

"It's a good deal, if I do say so myself. Very much win-win."

He stroked his chin and pondered over this fact for long enough that I thought I was in the clear, but then he had to go and pose a real toughie, "I want to know about your talents, Sakuraba."

"M-My… talents?"

"Yes, what are you good at?"

I couldn't say I was a well-rounded guy. Drawing and playing video games were a snap, but who cares about that? I could lie to try and make myself look better, but if I tripped up and he found out it'd be far worse. I had no choice but to tell the truth though I tried to cushion the effect of the stigma that came with being a guy without any immediately appreciable talents.

My throat hurt just trying to wring the words out. "W-Well… I'm an art-focused sort of guy. One of the reasons I took up graphics design is so that I could put my creativity and drawing abilities to good use. So I can draw pretty well… if that works for you."

"What else?"

What else, he says. Boy, how difficult can one question be?

"Um… I… I can cook pretty decently."

"Yes, you said as much earlier. It's nice that you have such a dependable skill… but that can't be all, can it? Surely you have some other talents." Thinking that perhaps I needed some prompts to get me talking, he gave me some. "For example, do you play any musical instruments?"

Reluctantly I mumbled the truth. "No… well, I took piano lessons when I was a kid, but I wasn't exactly interested in them, so my aunt pulled me out after a couple of lessons."

I could see the beginnings of a frown. "And you didn't attempt to learn how to play any other musical instruments throughout your life?"

"I… I didn't. Truth be told, I'm not really into making music."

"Were you in any clubs?"

Okay, I got some ammo for that at least. "I was on the baseball team back in high school. As a matter of fact, I was one of their best pitchers."

"Do you still play baseball now?"

"No, I had to quit after I broke my arm sometime in high school. It's sad, but my pitching arm is totally ruined."

That frown of his grew a little deeper. "That's a pity, but did you not think to try some other sport?"

The noose was tightening around my neck. I could feel it. Against my better instincts and desperate for some leeway in the conversation, I decided to go for a white lie. "I… uh… I dabbled in a little table tennis when I was in high school. Just a little. I don't play it much nowadays, but – "

"Basketball? Soccer?"

"Um, n-no, but…"

"Not even a touch of badminton?"

"No, but as I mentioned earlier, I swim at least."

"You already said that. Swimming is a life skill, like driving. Everyone should know how to swim. Just because you do doesn't make it 'special'… unless you're taking part in competitive swimming. Are you, by the way?"

I was sick of having to answer in the negative, but that's the only thing I could say to him. He didn't seem wowed at all.

With a sigh, he said, "Oh well, moving on. Let's talk about your achievements. Have you ever assumed leadership positions in anything? Like projects and whatnot."

Not everyone can be a leader – I won't say I was leader material at all. So unfortunately my ammo in this conversation was extremely limited.

"W-Well, th-there was this class project… I think it was last year. We had to form groups of three, and give a presentation in front of the class on a topic of our choosing. I oversaw pretty much everything." The one detail I neglected to tell him was that my teammates were useless bums and their lack of effort nearly cost me my grade.

But just as I suspected, it made for a weak defense on my part. Mr Tanikawa didn't even need to spell it out for me to tell from the queer look on his face that he meant to say, "What else?" But therein lay my biggest problem. I had nothing else…

"U-Um, I've been involved in a handful of other class projects," I gulped. "We'd be assigned different tasks, and – "

"Were you in charge of those?"

"N-No, but our – "

"Then it means nothing. It just means you're a follower, not a leader." His words cleaved my spirit in half. "How about the student council? Did you run for president? Or vice-president at least?"

"H-Huh? Th-That's a bit, you know…"

"You didn't?"

I shook my head weakly.

At this point, he grew really frustrated. The whole time we'd been talking, he had been reining in his grievances about me, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back. He made it clear that I was not winning any favours from him.

"Then what have you been doing all this time?" he asked bluntly. "You don't sound like you've been putting in a lot of effort into… anything. You don't play any sports, or take part in any clubs. You have few talents to speak of. And you couldn't be bothered to engage in any meaningful activities in your spare time. How lazy can one person be?"

I was beginning to see why Shiki had a hand in setting up that college festival. It's good for building up your portfolio of personal achievements. I'd been going on about how all that mattered was that you gave it your best shot, but apart from getting a job and making Eri happy, I hadn't been doing a whole lot for my own personal growth. Mr Tanikawa had a good point to drive home here. You may have friends, a house and a great girlfriend whom you care for very much, but that's not something you could put on your resume.

Indeed… what have I been doing all this time? I was like one of those 'average guy' protagonists you see in manga who have no talents, no strengths and no achievements to call their own. The only thing they had going for them was their kindness, but no company out there cared whether you're a nice guy or not. They wanted to know if you could pitch a sale, spearhead a project, or simply get things done right. And the only way they could know if you're capable was from the things you've been doing all your life.

And I hadn't been doing a whole lot…

I had no idea I was so blind, so complacent. This was the wake-up call I desperately needed.

But it might be too late for me. Mr Tanikawa was not happy. Still, it wasn't over till the fat lady sings.

I interjected with great urgency, "W-Wait… I have a job. I… I work part-time at a cafe. Sometimes I take orders, other times I'm on kitchen duty. And I do a lot of cooking…"

He responded with all the enthusiasm of a rock. "Hmm. How much do you earn?"

Th-That's the first thing he asked? I guess Eri wasn't lying when she said he has no qualms with asking personal questions.

"Uh… 11000 yen per shift. I get extra for additional work."

He took a swig from his cup of green tea, looking very bored. His lack of an immediate response spelt bad tidings did me. I think he just gave up on me altogether. In his eyes I'd done so much wrong that it was impossible for me to salvage it. It didn't help that he already had his mind set on that marriage interview candidate. I was just there to convince him beyond a shadow of a doubt that I didn't deserve his daughter.

To my dismay, he actually stood up to leave, putting a premature end to our talk.

"I have to go and see how the marriage interview is shaping up," he said. "In the meantime, please help yourself. We have tea and rice crackers."

I wanted to tell him that I'd take his words to heart and work harder than ever before. But he had erected a barrier between us that I could never penetrate, and I wound up not being able to say anything to save myself. He was a tough nut to crack.

The door slid shut behind him and I was left the sole occupant of the room. The silence could have ruptured my eardrums.

In the wake of that disaster, I heaved a defeated sigh to myself. All the training I had with Eri didn't prepare me for this. Mr Tanikawa was too tricky a man to decipher. I was a complete wreck.

"This is a nightmare," I muttered under my breath. "He must think I'm trash… I wonder how I can patch things up with the Tanikawas now."

Glancing around the room, the dresser to the side caught my attention. There was a selection of framed photos sitting on top that I didn't get a good look at before. Seized by a sudden bout of curiosity, I put my depression on hold and went over to inspect them.

I looked them over, starting from the leftmost one. Here, I saw the Tanikawa family in one group photo – four people including Granny. It must have been taken a long time ago, as everyone looked younger. Heck, Eri was a kid. A little tyke I'd reckon was about five or six years old, and a lot more innocent than her current self. One wonders how she went from a sweet kid to someone who spends her waking hours in varying states of undress.

The other photos featured different stages of her growth. One was taken on her primary school graduation day, another showed her hanging out with who I guessed must be her relatives. Then there was one that caught my eye in particular.

I could tell she was already a teenager, and she was standing side by side with a young guy who looked maybe a year or two older. He was kinda good-looking, with broad shoulders and a head of jet-black hair. Actually, merely 'standing side by side' was the wrong way to put it. She had both arms linked around one of his, like they were a couple. And they were smiling very broadly.

This single photograph puzzled me. Eri had lots of boyfriends in the past… If this dude was one of them, why did her parents have a photo of him on the dresser? More specifically, why were they okay with it? I thought they didn't approve of relationships until she graduated. Who was this guy? And what's going on?

That's something I'll have to ask Eri at a later time. That aside, I didn't count on being abandoned in a room all by myself like this, and I was a guest too. Mr Tanikawa really must not like me very much to have the gall to treat a visitor this way. I'll just see myself out of the room and take a look around the house.

I emerged into a hallway with doors that led to other rooms. As I ambled along, I picked up some voices coming from a room further away.

That must be the marriage interview in session. I tiptoed closer to try and make out what they were saying, but it was a futile effort as the voices were too muffled. Eri's was instantly recognizable, and the other woman must be her mum, and the gruff-sounding voice belonging to her dad. He actually sounded cordial for once, which was a far cry from the cold tone he used while talking to me.

And there was a second male voice… It had to be the marriage interview candidate. The man Eri's parents were hoping to hook her up with… I was just an obstacle to their plans, and they'd be more than happy to see me gone from their lives. Thinking about it made me didn't give me a good feeling at all…

…but the final nail in the coffin came when I heard soft laughter bubble up every now and then among all four of them. Eri was having fun with another man… I mean, I'm cool with her cracking jokes with Beat and Kariya and Mr H, but this was a man whom I was unfamiliar with. God, I wish I knew what was happening behind that door!

Suddenly the conversation dipped into silence for a brief moment, making me think they'd figured out I was right next to their room. Then there was a voice I did pick up on.

"Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom. Be back in a bit."

That's the other guy who was chatting up Eri. I attempted to scramble out of the way – I tried to at least make it back to my room – but I was too slow and ended up face to face with him. Surprised and no doubt confused by my appearance, he threw a quick obligatory hello my way before walking off past me.

For some reason I couldn't put my finger on, he seemed very familiar… I felt like I'd seen him somewhere –

Wait! That's the guy whom I saw Eri clinging onto in that photo! So he's the candidate they picked for her marriage interview. Now I was even more determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"Neku?" spoke a gentle voice from behind me. "Do you need something?"

Startled, I spun round to find Granny smiling at me. She was the only member of the Tanikawa household who welcomed me with open arms, so I felt more at ease with her. Then again, she didn't have a daughter whom I was dating in secret.

I plucked a quick answer from inside my head. "Oh, uh… no, I'm fine, thanks."

"Are you still chatting with Mr Tanikawa at the moment?"

Remembering how cold he was to me was like a stab to the heart. I could only reply sadly, "N-No, he left midway to oversee the marriage interview. So it's just me now, I guess…"

Although Granny was wise to say nothing bad about her employer, she at least offered me a small smile of pity. She could see that Mr Tanikawa had taken things too far.

"Why, that's a shame, Neku. I'm sorry to hear that."

This gesture of kindness, small and insignificant as it may seem to an outside observer, did wonders to cheer me up somewhat. It's nice to know that I had a friend in unfamiliar surroundings.

"I'm preparing lunch," she continued, "but I don't have enough ingredients. If you're free, will you accompany me to the supermarket, please? I really could use a hand with the shopping bags."

I pounced on the opportunity to get away from this stressful environment for a while. "I'd be glad to, Granny. Lead the way."

"Nice enthusiasm!" she chuckled. "Come, we have a lot to buy."

XOXOXOXOXO

The supermarket wasn't too far away, so we made the journey on foot. The weather was a little on the hot side; luckily, most of the houses around the neighborhood were double-storeyed and cast long shadows that we could walk around in relative comfort.

Granny made it a point to get to know me better. She was a much easier person to talk to than Mr and Mrs Tanikawa, and I actually enjoyed our conversations.

"So you've been teaching Eri how to cook? That's wonderful." When she heard about my girlfriend's weekend lessons, she was absolutely delighted. "I've tried a few times in the past to teach her myself, but she didn't like it. I'm glad she's finally come around."

I was more than happy to boast about my girlfriend. "Trust me, she likes cooking now. She really looks forward to our Saturday lessons. And she can whip up some mean beef cutlets too, among other dishes."

"My, that's impressive. I take it you're a good cook yourself, if you can teach her that much."

"If I do say so myself, yes. My aunt taught me much of what I know."

"I'll have to see Eri in action myself to be fully convinced of her cooking abilities. But just knowing that she has the interest at long last is such good news to my ears."

"Yeah, before our lessons she used to eat… poorly."

Granny sighed. "I had a feeling this would be how she took care of herself when she left for Shibuya. All the more I'm glad that she's actually capable in the kitchen now. Again, though, I'd have to see it for myself."

"You won't be disappointed."

We reached the supermarket and, carrying a shopping basket each, did our shopping quietly. I carried the bulk of the heavy stuff – meat and such – while she handled the vegetables. There was a lot that she stuffed into our baskets and it made me wonder what sort of lavish meal she was going to cook.

Hanging out with Granny was the best opportunity for me to gather intel on the Tanikawas' situation. I should start simple and casual then work my way up to deeper issues when I'd earned her trust.

"Granny, how long have you been working for the Tanikawas?"

"At least twenty years." Her reply astounded me. "I was introduced to the family shortly after the Tanikawas married. Eri was born the very next year. I helped to look after her, so in a sense I was like a second mother to her." This she accompanied with a small chuckle.

"Eri did say you two are kinda close. She's always happy to tell me about you."

"That's nice," she said. "I appreciate that I'm on good terms with her. Let me go off-topic for a bit, though. You've already met her parents. What do you think of them?"

Granny was a nice person, but she may be gathering intel about me as much as I was about Eri's family. Even though I didn't have the most pleasant experience with the Tanikawa parents, I was savvy enough not to complain openly. I had to admit it'd be nice if right about now I had someone to listen to my troubles.

"I don't know the Tanikawas long enough to have a proper opinion about them, but I do know first-hand how strict they can be… Then again I suppose all parents are."

"I appreciate your honesty, Neku. But please don't hate them. They're actually good people."

"I… I never said I hated them… Far from it."

"I know. There is a good reason they act the way they do. Mrs Tanikawa had a very difficult childbirth, you see. We weren't sure she could make it, honestly. I remember Mr Tanikawa being in tears when both mother and child turned out alright."

Him, crying? Hard to imagine with that grumpy face of his…

"They originally wanted two kids," continued Granny, "but decided it wasn't worth the risk and settled for one. It's easy to see why they'd be so worried about Eri. She's more important to them than their own lives."

"Hmm, yeah. Makes sense. She's the only kid they'll ever have…"

"They do care about Eri's well-being, even if they don't show the 'caring' part very well. The little miss isn't famous for making many good life decisions, so they have no choice but to steer her on what they feel is the right path, even if she hates it."

It's just as I thought all this time. In their own way, they were simply looking out for her.

I wish they could lay off the hostility towards me, though. Sure, to them I'm not choice number one when it came to her suitors, but…

"I know they've been cold towards you, Neku, but please give them a chance. Of course, you have to prove yourself to them too. But I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Got it, Granny. Thank you."

We rounded up our shopping trip with a batch of fresh mushrooms and then it was time to head back. I had another burning question that needed answering.

"Um, Granny? I hate to sound like a busybody, but who's the marriage interview candidate?"

"Oh, you probably don't know him." Regardless, she told me. "His name is Makoto Miki and he's a sales rep working for an Osaka-based company."

Makoto Miki?! So the guy whom I met… the guy in the photo together with Eri… That's him?! No wonder they seemed close. They're childhood friends! Eri told me about him a little while back. Said that he was like a big brother figure to her, and that she even had an affectionate nickname for him.

Granny added that the Miki and Tanikawa families have been on good terms with one another for years, and that the idea that Eri and Makoto should go out had been tossed around for a while now, since they seemed to complement each other nicely. This marriage interview was the first step to making that happen.

The competition was fierce and I already flubbed my head-start with Eri's parents. This was going to be a rough ride… It made me wonder, albeit in a half-serious way, if we really needed to elope after all.

I needed every edge I could get my hands on. Perhaps I could show how useful I was. With that in mind, I suggested, "Granny, let me help you out with the cooking. It's far too much work for one person."

It was an offer she was most delighted to hear about, but she declined. "Why, that's awfully kind of you, Neku, but it's quite alright."

"Don't worry, I'm pretty handy in the kitchen. Trust me."

"Oh, I trust you alright. But I'm actually thinking of roping in Eri's help instead. I want to see how far she's come."

"Ah, okay. In that case, maybe she and I can give you a hand?"

Granny chuckled. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Our kitchen is too small to accommodate three people. Besides, you're our guest. You should just sit back and make yourself at home."

That's a tall order when I was going to be stuck talking to Mr and Mrs Tanikawa. Joy.

Okay, so Operation Impress Granny and Hope She Puts in a Good Word didn't take off, but other opportunities might open up later. Just gotta keep my eyes peeled for those.

When we returned, the marriage interview must have either ended or it was time for a break, because Eri was sitting by herself in the living room. She looked up from her phone which she was fiddling with and came over to greet us ever so enthusiastically.

"Welcome back!" she said. Then, seeing the bags of food in our hands, she remarked, "Oh, you two went shopping? Granny, I'll help you with that one."

She took one bag off of the housekeeper's hands and almost fell over from the weight. Together we followed her to the kitchen where we deposited the bags and started to sort out the contents. Most of the meat went in the freezer; the rest we left behind on the counter along with some vegetables for Granny to work on.

"What's for lunch?" asked Eri.

Granny had a smirk on her lips. "Nabe."

"Oh, goodie!" Eri positively beamed at the sound of that. "Your nabe is the best!"

"You're going to help me," said the older woman with a smirk.

Eri pointed at herself meekly. "You mean… me?"

"Yes. Come, we have work to do."

To our delight, she was ready to take on the challenge. "Sure! I bet I can do a thing or two. Neku taught me a lot, you know."

"That's the spirit," said Granny, smiling widely. "Now roll up those sleeves. We need to get cracking right away."

"I don't have sleeves though," giggled Eri, who was wearing a spaghetti top.

Just then, someone barged onto the scene. It was that guy from earlier. The marriage interview candidate… the one and only Makoto Miki.

With a big smile and a goodnatured tone, he held up his hand, saying, "No, hold on. Lemme guess. Are we having teriyaki braised salmon steak for lunch?"

Granny smiled as she busied herself bringing a multitude of ingredients out onto the kitchen counter. "Not this time."

Eri hammered his error home by mimicking the sound of a buzzer. "Bzzt! Wrong answer, Mako! You need to do better than that!"

"Dang!" He pretended to be crushed by his failure. "Okay, I fold. What's the correct answer?"

"Nabe! It's gonna be a feast!"

That instantly put him in an even better mood. "Oh man, nabe. It's been such a long time. I really miss it. Heh, I'm glad I stayed for lunch!"

At this point, he finally noticed me and greeted me proper.

"Oh, hey. You're from earlier… Who are you?"

Eri was all smiles as she pounced on this opportunity to get the two of us acquainted.

"Ah yes! Let me do the introductions!" She cleared her throat and then off she went. "Neku, this is Makoto Miki. He's my childhood friend whom I've known for my whole life. And Mako, this here is Neku Sakuraba…

"…my boyfriend! Been together for a year and a half now."

We shook hands, saying the obligatory "pleased to meet you". Then Granny and Eri had to start cooking, and Makoto and I were shooed out of the kitchen. We returned to the living room where we, knowing fully well we were rivals in love, got to know each other.

I must make it clear that I didn't hate the guy, but knowing that he was vying for the attention of a girl whom I'd established as a girlfriend made the whole affair very awkward. But there was no reason for me to point pitchforks at him. I resolved to be nice; that much I could do at least.

"So," said Makoto with a chuckle, "uh… let's have a chat?"

Equally awkwardly I replied, "Yeah, why not. Chatting it is."

Friendly enemies, eh? I never thought it'd be a thing.

These were weird times we were living in.