4 I swear, she's in highschol

"Wanna come over my house, Kasumi-san?"

...

Everyone except Seki's jaw dropped to the ground.

As the four were walking around while trying to understand the situation, the muscle-headed idiot asked such an absurd thing out of the blue.

'Sex. He's definitely thinking about sex. He wants to bring me to his house and do indecent things. That's exactly it. Are all boys like this? Or perhaps lust just completely taken over his body once he saw me. Heck, maybe that was his plan from the very beginning!'

"What the hell are you saying, Seki?! Aren't you rushing things too quickly? We're only on chapter three!"

"Eh? What are you talking about? It's just that I find it really uncomfortable that we're dating but we know nothing of each other. I was thinking that maybe we could hang out a bit in my house."

Though quite unbelievably, Seki wasn't lying when he said that.

"Don't try to fool me! There's no way a virgin highschool boy like you wouldn't make a move on a girl."

"You son of a bitch just how little do you trust me? And my parents and little brother are home right now so indecent things are thrown out the window."

"I see. So if your family wasn't home then you WOULD have done something."

"Tomo, please shut up before I engrave my fist on your nose."

Seki said that with such a serious face that Tomozaki just completely zipped his mouth shut.

"Anyway, Kasumi-san. Do you want to come over? You can decline if you really don't want to."

Eru was fidgeting all this time as she was losing her mind from overthinking.

'He doesn't look like he's really lying. Even though he looks a bit scary, I don't think he's the type of person to do anything bad. But still, a girl coming over to a boy's house is a bit... That's right. I have to be a mature person and rejec—'

"Sure!"

...

Once again, she answered out of panic.

"Eh?! You'll actually do it, Eru?"

Even Yuu, who was silent this whole time was quite flustered.

"W-Well..."

"Aren't you two doing these developments out of order?"

Indeed, the normal order would be:

Meet each other > Introduction > Get Along > Date > Introduce to Family

Instead, the two followed quite a strange pattern:

Meet each other > Date > Introduction > Introduce to Family > Get Along

'Sigh.'

"Fine. We'll leave you two alone for now. Eru, contact me when something happens."

"Eh? Wait a minute, I'm still not done with you, Seki!"

Drag. Drag. Drag.

Tomozaki continued to complain relentlessly as Yuu dragged him away.

Step. Step. Step.

"You and Jin-san are pretty close, huh?"

"W-We're childhood friends. He's pretty overprotective though."

"Is that so... must be nice to have such a nice guy around since you were kids."

"Eh? Aren't you and Omaru close friends?"

... Seki's face crumpled as Tomozaki's face popped in his head.

"That idiot? No, not at all."

"R-Really? Did I perhaps touch a sensitive topic? Did something happen to you two in the past? Did you fight over a girl and swore for eternal rivalry? Have you two ever punched each other? Did it hurt? What's your social security number?"

"Uhm, I don't think that last question is necessary, let alone relevant. But I was being sarcastic! I met Tomo back in middle school so you could say we're pretty close."

Embarassed, Eru started fidgeting all over the place.

"S-Sorry... I guess I'm still pretty nervous, haha."

"Don't worry! You can just relax and speak casually when you're with me."

With a smug face, Seki raised his thumb as if it was reassuring.

"That's a bit easier said than done though..."

"Eh? Why? You speak to Jin just fine."

'Well, I mean he isn't wrong. But Yuu and I have been together since elementary school so I'm pretty used to him. Besides, I don't really see Yuu as a man. Seki on the other hand confessed to me! How could I possibly act as if it's not a big deal? It's not that I feel uncomfortable around him, it's just that I'm afraid I'll do something wrong that will leave a bitter impression. His chill and light attitude are comforting and I'm sure I can also do the same with him and get along with him someday but...'

As they continued to walk, Seki noticed Eru's intense thinking.

"Alright, fine. You can speak to me whichever way you're comfortable. But mark my words when I say that I'll definitely make you speak casually with me!"

"I-I'm counting on you."

After a while of walking and Seki's endless blabbering, they finally stopped walking in front of a fairly large house.

"Kasumi-san, brace yourself."

"E-Eh? What do you mean?"

Seki's usual relaxed face crumpled as he held both of Eru's shoulders quite tightly.

"Inside this house are ferocious monsters that is feared by many. Don't ever make eye contact with them or else they'll gobble you up in no time."

'J-Just what awaits me inside this haunted house? Ferocious monsters? Aliens? Unidentified evil creatures? Zombies? Or perhaps the most terrifying of them all... a completely normal and healthy family!'

Just the thought of these heinous beings sent a chill down Eru's spine. But this was no time to be faltering.

It was as if time itself was in slow-motion as Seki approached the door.

Sweat. Sweat. Sweat.

The girl who often overthinks, is indeed sweating bullets.

Slowly...

He grabbed the door handle and carefully twisted it.

"Yo, Seki! Are ya' back from school?"

"Waahh! Don't hurt me please!"

...

"?"

A completely normal looking middle-aged man greeted them and somehow due to the tension, Eru was completely baffled.

"HAHAHA! You should have seen your face, Kasumi!"

"E-Eh?! The monsters weren't true?"

Eru is indeed in 2nd year highschool but her mental age is still unknown and is beyond human comprehension.

"Obviously!"

'I'm starting to regret what I said. There's no way I can get along with this guy! I mean, sure. It was dumb of me to believe him but he said it with such a serious face, how could I not trust him?!'

Wheez. Wheez. Pant. Pant.

Seki laughed too much he almost choked.

"Sorry, sorry. I just had to!"

"Hmph."

Eru faced the other way and pouted.

"Cute."

Seki simply spoke his mind.

"Hey, Seki. Who's this pretty girl you brought? Are ya' single? You're really cute, want to ditch this good-for-nothing son and grab a cup of coffee with me?"

"Please don't instantly hit on a girl your son brought home. And 16 is still underage you know."

"Love is eternal and age is just a number!"

"Yeah, and jail is just a room. Now shut up before I tell mom."

"Tch."

The two were glaring daggers at each other as Eru simply stood from the side.

'I-Is this what a normal father-son relationship is like? Or are these two special? Maybe they had a dark past? Maybe their mother died because of Seki's birth and the father took grudge over it. Or maybe it's like those cliches in mangas where the parents are too busy at work that they failed to spend time together. Families are scary..."

"Anyway. Kasumi-san, this is my father, he's a dangerous man so be careful. And be sure not to look into his eyes."

"B-Because I'll turn to stone?"

"No. It's 'cause his eyes are ugly."

"Please don't refer to the person who raised you in such a degenerate manner."

"And dad, this is Kasumi..."

"My girlfriend."

Bam.

As soon as the father heard those two words, he slammed head first on the ground with foam coming out of his mouth.

"Can everybody stop acting so surprised whenever I say that?!"