By the day before the scheduled lunch date, the rumors about the Art Club had died down, especially after the principal addressed the school reminding them that engaging in rumor-mongering was a punishable school offense, equal to outright bullying. Very few students approached the group after the Principal's message, giving them a bit of relief from the start of the week.
Gamo's cover story of Senpai and Nagatoro tutoring her in French ended up getting blown thanks to Sakura's boyfriend on the team, He told her about Hosokawa's lunch date, which resulted in a tense lunch in the Club Room on Tuesday.
"Gamo-chan, are you excited about your lunch date?" Sakura said sweetly, making her, Senpi and Nagatoro freeze up.
"WHAAAAAAA?!" Yoshi exclaimed.
Hana looked at her, "Gamo-Nee-San, you've gone rather red in the face, is what Sakura-Senpai said true?"
Gamo looked at Hayase and Senpai, "Hayacchi, Piasen, help me out here," she pleaded. Senpai sighed and squeezed Nagatoro's hand.
"I guess there's no hiding it, is there, Hayase?"
She sighed, "I guess not, Senpai,"
"Wait, you two knew about this? Is that why you said you were tutoring her?" Sakura asked. For the next 10 minutes, Senpai explained how the date came about and that they wanted it to just be the four of them so that Hosokawa wouldn't be intimidated by the rest of the girls.
"I'm a bit disappointed, Hachiouji-Senpai, but I understand your reasoning for your deception. You did it out of concern for Gamo-Nee-San's well-being right?" Hana was good at sussing out the crux of anything she came up against. "I will forgive you and Nagatoro-Senpai, but please, in the future, remember, we are all friends here, and that I like to think that you would do better by us."
Naoto blushed deep red as did Hayase, "I'm sorry we should have been more honest with you all." Gamo nodded, "Paisen and Hayacchi were just trying to make this as stress-free as possible for me, honestly, I'm really scared about this, and not being able to tell you guys was killing me."
Yoshi and Sakura came over and hugged her, "You big dope, you think we wouldn't want to support you on a big thing like this?" Sakura said. "Sisters!" Yoshi exclaimed. Hana joined the hug, "Gano-Nee-Chan, you have us to lean on, we're here for you."
Gamo did something none of the girls had seen in a long time, she started to tear up. "You guys…" she hugged them back as Hayase leaned on Naoto, "Well, that went better than I expected." He merely nodded and kissed her softly on the side of her head.
"Okay, now that it's out in the open, maybe you can tell me why I'm a nervous wreck right now," Gamo sat down as she pushed her lunch away. Hana put down her chopsticks, "Perhaps, Gamo-Nee-San, you're feeling nervous because this is the Undiscovered Country for you,"
Naoto sat up, "Undiscovered Country, Hana? Have you been reading Shakespeare again?" Hana looked at him, "No, Hachiouji-Senpai, a Star Trek movie. What Gamo-Nee-San is nervous about is that this is something she's never experienced before, and I also share that lack of experience. However, she does have someone to look upon to help her navigate this new world she is entering, that would be you, Nagtoro-Senpai, thanks to your relationship with Hachiouji-Senpai."
Sakura, playfully pouted, "hey, what am I shaved tobiko flakes?" Gamo laughed, "Sakuracchi, You're way past first dates, you know." She winked at her, making her laugh. "Yeah, plus I was kind of the reason why you had to come clean, so how about I handle the three of us, and you handle the rest?"
Sakura, Yoshi, and Hana agreed to dinner and a movie together on their own "Girls' Night Out," with Yoshi and Sakura introducing Hana to the wonder of the RomCom. There were a couple of movies out that they wanted to take her to see and a local theater was hosting a double feature that afternoon. By the end of Lunch, all fences were mended and the girls returned to class. Hayase stayed behind a monet longer so Naoto could walk her to her floor, kissing her before he headed back up to his class.
Wednesday night, Hayase came over for dinner at Naoto's so they could prepare the bentos for the following day's lunch date. Although the dinner with her family was still on for Sunday, barring any last-minute work emergencies, the two agreed that Gamo and Hosokawa's lunch date would be catered by the two of them. He had taken the liberty to stop by that morning to ask if there were any foods they should avoid due to allergies or diet restrictions. Luckily, he wasn't on any kind of diet at the moment, just that he avoided extremely spicy things because they gave him heartburn.
They walked home together, hand in hand, stopping at the convenience store to pick up the necessary ingredients for the lunch date. They got ingredients for his lemon Karaage Chicken, figuring both athletes would benefit from his fatigue-reducing flavors. Hayase gathered up ingredients for some onigiri rice balls, taking some filets of salmon and red bean paste, as well as some canned meat to make the Hawaiian treat, Spam musubi.
They arrived at his house as the sun set, walking into the house to find his mother already in the kitchen, finishing up dinner.
"Well, good evening, Hayase, I wasn't expecting you to join us for dinner," his mother said as they walked into the kitchen.
"We're going to be making a bento lunch for a couple of friends of ours for school tomorrow," Naoto said as he placed the items on the counter top, handing the perishables to Hayase to place in the fridge.
His mother noticed the can of meat, "you're making musubi for this lunch date? Interesting," she said as she carried a hot pot tureen to the table, "I assume you're staying for dinner, Hayase-chan, right?" She nodded, "if that's alright, Hachiouji-San."
"Always, now you two go wash up, and Naoto, tell your father that dinner's ready." Naoto nodded and headed to the back hallway where his parents had a small office where they worked during the rare times they weren't traveling. He knocked on the door frame, "Dad, Mom says Dinner's ready, oh and Hayase's staying for dinner." His dad looked up from the drafting table he used for his architectural work. "Thanks, Naoto, be there in a minute."
Dinner was an experience as both Naoto and Hayase explained the lunch date to his parents. His father was impressed by his son's willingness to help their mutual friend with a new potential romance, but his mother was more interested in the idea of the lunch menu. "So what made you come up with this menu? Did you both work on it, or was it all you, Nao-Kun?"
He looked at Hayase, "We both put it together, Mom. Hayase has known Gamo for years since, what, you were in elementary school?" Hayase nodded, "We've been classmates and judo partners for almost a decade now." His Dad smiled, "I'm glad that you two are doing this, Naoto has such a way with his cooking, I keep telling him that if he ever wants to go to culinary school, I'd pay for it if for nothing else than to see what kind of dishes he could invent."
Naoto blushed at his father's praise, he never thought seriously that he could be a chef. He had a simple love for cooking and since he started the bento agreement with Nagtoro, he started to expand his meal options for the two of them. He always took her athletic needs into consideration for her meals, and she really enjoyed the flavorings. At first she would occasionally spike his meal with something spicy as a joke, but a few months before their relationship deepened, he asked her to help him get used to spicy foods.
As the four sat around the table, Naoto went over the plan with Hayase for the following day. They'd meet before school and head up to the art Club Room to put the bentos into the little refrigerator to prepare for lunch. Then Naoto would escort Hosokawa and Nagatoro would escort Gamo up and the four of them would spend a quiet lunch together, with the door closed to keep prying eyes away.
"Hayase-kun, is it really necessary to do that?" Naoto's mother asked. Naoto stopped eating and looked at her, "Well Mom, you see…" She put her hand up, "Naoto, I asked our guest the question, please don't be rude like that."
He put his hand down from the table, taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently, "Well, Hachiouji-San, because Hosokawa is a very popular athlete, and he tends to have a following. Plus, this is actually Gamo's first lunch date with a boy, so she's nervous as well. We want her to have a good time, so that's why we're doing this for them." Naoto nodded in agreement.
His mother looked at the two of them, "You are both good friends to be doing this, I hope it goes well for them." After dinner was done, the two cleaned the table and Hayase helped Naoto with the dishes, joking about it being "good practice for when we're married," saying it loud enough for his mother to hear. Her gasp in response made both of them giggle a bit, and she leaned on his arm as they stood over the sink, drying the dishes. "So do you want to stay and watch some TV or do you need to get home right away?" Before she could answer, the doorbell rang. Naoto's father answered the door, finding Hayase's siblings standing there.
"Good Evening, Hachiouji-Sama, we're here to pick up our little sister," a dark-suited Taiga said, all smiles as Hayase's groans from the kitchen could be heard. Miskai nodded, holding up a dress, "I hope you don't mind if she changes here, we are meeting our parents at the shrine, a family friend passed away and we are paying our respects tonight."
Hayase came out, "Wait, who died, Misaki, and why didn't anyone text me about this?"
She sighed, "We only found out a little while ago ourselves, it was Uncle Shojo, Haruna was dealing with a lot of things and nearly forgot to call Mother."
Hayase gripped onto Natoto's arm, suddenly feeling crestfallen. "Uncle Shojo was the Master of the Dojo where our family has trained in Judo. He was Mother's Uncle, we just saw him a couple weeks ago in Yokohama."
Naoto put his arm around her, "Do you want me to come with you?" Taiga looked at him, "You don't have to do that, Senpai-kun," Misaki put her hand up, stopping her brother. "If he wants to be there for Hayase, I have no objections."
Naoto's mother invited them in, "Please come in, Hayase, you can use the guest bedroom to get changed in, Naoto, your suit is in the Hallway closet, it's still in the bag from the dry cleaners." Naoto nodded and headed upstairs, while Hayase followed him up to the guest bedroom. Taiga and Misaki took a seat on the couch.
"Would you two care for something to drink while you wait? We have some juice and some sodas if you wish," She said. Misaki nodded, "Thank you, Hachiouji-Sama, that won;'t be necessary." She nodded. Naoto's father sat down, "So, did I hear you correctly, the entire family is involved with Judo?"
Taiga smiled, "Yes, Sir. Both Misaki, Hayase and I have all been practicing for years. We've all been competitive at many levels. Misaki won the Inter-High School Judo Championship twice in her three years in school, and I won my first year. We're hoping that this year, Hayase can earn herself a title."
Naoto's Dad smiled, "wow, I didn't realize she was that good. Naoto mentioned she's part of the Judo Club, but he never mentioned this."
Misaki grinned, "Hayase took a break from Judo during Middle school, but your son motivated her to resume her training. I'd be happy to tell you some more stories this weekend at dinner." Misaki's eyes flared at the thought of telling tales of her little sister to her potential in-laws.
"Oh that's right, your family is coming this weekend, I almost forgot. I think I will convince Naoto to let me get out the grill for some of my famous steaks," Naoto's Dad was genuinely excited to meet the Nagatoros, he could see how much his son loved the little tanned spitfire that captured his son's heart.
"I would enjoy that, Sir," Taiga said as Hayase and Naoto came down from upstairs. He and Misaki stood up.
"Okay, we're ready, Sis. let's go see Aunt Haruna, she must be a mess," Hayase said, concerned for her great aunt, holding Naoto's hand tightly.
Misaki nodded, then turned to his parents, "We will get your son back at a fairly decent hour so he isn't late for school. It was a pleasure to meet you both and we look forward to Sunday dinner with you," Naoto's parents nodded, "It was nice to meet you both and we'll see you Sunday afternoon." The four walked out as Naoto grabbed his house keys from the key hanger.
"Senpai-kun, I know you didn't have to, but thank you for coming with us. Uncle Shojo was proud of Hayase returning to Judo and wanted to meet you at some point to thank you," Taiga said as he looked out the side window. Hayase was sitting in the back seat with Naoto, holding him for comfort.
"Hayase mentioned him a few times in the past, but I never knew how important he was to her Judo training. I am very sorry for your loss," the car was quiet for a while, only the sound of Hatyase's occasional siffling from her crying was heard. Naoto kept his arm around her as she held onto him.
It took about a half hour to reach the shrine where the memorial services were being held. Naoto held Hayase's hand as he followed her elder siblings, walking to their parents. Hayase's mother hugged Misaki as they came, then noticed Naoto with them, "Why did you bring the boy?"
Naoto bowed, "Nagatoro-Sama, Hayase was with me at my house, helping me prepare a special lunch for our friends tomorrow, when your children came to retrieve her. Hayase told me how Important your Uncle was to her judo training and I wanted to pay my respects as well."
Her mother looked at him, her face blushing slightly, "I… am touched by your compassion, Naoto-kun. Thank you for coming," she bowed slightly then took her husband's arm, "If you would please join us, Naoto-kun, I'll introduce you to Uncle Shojo's family."
He nodded as Hayase gripped his arm, leaning on her boyfriend for support. He smiled at her, gently patting her hand as they followed her mother into the hall. She stayed quiet as her mother introduced Naoto as Hayase's Senpai and Boyfriend, surprising her. Uncle Shojo's family were also happy to meet the boy who had reignited their cousin's desires for Judo.
After a couple of hours of meeting people and paying their respects to Uncle Shojo's memory, Hayase and her parents headed home, while Misaki and Taiga, who were able to skip class the next day, opted to spend the night keeping the overnight vigil with their cousins. They drove Naoto home and let Hayase take him to the door.
"Naoto, thank you for coming with me, you really won Mom over by showing up," she said as she hugged him. He gave her a small kiss, "Get some sleep, I'll be waiting for you at the bus stop, my love." She nodded and headed back to the car, waiting until she and her parents drove off before he headed in.
As he walked in, Hayase's Dad looked at her through the rear view mirror. "Hayase, you know I wasn't thrilled about you getting involved with your Senpai at first, but, I have to say, he really showed me what an honorable young Man he is,"
Hayase was floored, "Really, Dad?" she smiled at his words.
"Now if he can cook as well as you tell me, I just might be willing to let him marry you," Her mother smacked him on the arm. "All right, let's not marry her off so quickly, I'd like to see her finish school first and maybe try for a spot on the National Judo team before she and the Boy start talking about marriage." Hayase suppressed a giggle from her mother's actions. But hearing her praise her Senpai, especially to her relatives from the Dojo, made her feel good.
As they drove off, Naoto opened the door and walked inside, "Mom, Dad, I'm back."
"Welcome back, son, how did things go?" His mother asked as she took the suit jacket from him.
"I think I impressed her parents by coming," he said with a small smile. "Her mother was floored that I wanted to pay my respects to her Uncle, apparently he was thrilled that she resumed her Judo training, and his family was happy to meet the boy who had reawakened her love of the sport." Naoto was feeling a bit self-assured, His first encounter with the Nagatoros hadn't gone over very well, but his presence seemed to win over them. "I think Sunday's going to go very well, Mom."
She smiled, "Good, now get out of those pants and get some sleep, you and Hayase have a long day tomorrow, remember?"
He nodded, "I do, Mother, thank you, I'll leave the pants by the door, okay?" He kissed her goodnight and headed upstairs to his bedroom. He stripped off the suit and put on his shorts and shirt. As he lay on the bed, his phone buzzed.
Hayase: We just got home, Mom and Dad couldn't stop talking about you…
Naoto: good or bad?
Hayase: Good… Dad was impressed that you showed. Mom was touched that you were there to support Me. Then they talked about us getting married! Geez, let me graduate from High School first!
Naoto: So… you're not opposed to that idea?
Hayase: …
…
Well… maybe if someone asked Me, when we're older…
Naoto: Hmmm… I'll keep that in mind…
A Shocked Face Emoji popped up…
Hayase: SENPAI!
Naoto: a Sideways Grin emoji… I love you, Hayase…
Hayase: *A blushing Emoji* I love you too, good night…
He smiled as he put the phone down and went to sleep.