Power of Fate

Just comparing Rizu's father to a mother cat, it's so funny!

"Minamiya-kun, you make a lot of sense."

Fumino felt much better in her stomach at this moment.

With that thought, Rizu's father's actions didn't seem so hard to understand anymore.

Understanding aside, some things just shouldn't be done. They still needed to find a way to make him realize that his daughter had grown up and didn't need such excessive protection.

"Minamiya-sensei's understanding of human psychology is so good?" Miyako asked.

"Minamiya-kun and Ri-chan have only known each other for just over ten days, and he only exchanged a few words with Uncle Ogata, yet Minamiya-kun could come up with such a thorough understanding of why he's overprotective. That shows a deep understanding of human psychology, right?" Fumino said.

This time, Homura shook his head to Fumino.

"Never mind whether what I said is right or wrong. You don't know that is because you don't know the side of Uncle Ogata that's like an evil spirit, which is only directed towards boys. Since you don't know, you can't understand the extent of his overprotection. It's not surprising that you can't figure it out."

Fumino nodded, admitting this point. However, she still said, "But you're really amazing! After all, the time you've known Ri-chan is not a lie."

"Yosh, yosh!" Homura waved his hand. "Feel free to admire me. I won't stop you. Praise me, praise me."

Fumino: "..."

'Why aren't you following the usual script?!' Fumino looked puzzled. 

"Pfttt~" Seeing Fumino's expression, Uruka and Miyako couldn't help but laugh.

"Ah~ Although the topic of Rizurin was a bit heavy all the way, Minamiya-sensei made it much more fun!" Uruka said with a smile. "It feels so fast; I'm also home now."

"Well, you could also drop us off first you know." Miyako raised an eyebrow. "Then you can come back home with Minamiya-sensei, and you can extend this joyful time a bit more, don't you think?"

Blushing slightly, Uruka waved her hand and said, "No thanks... that would leave only me and Minamiya-sensei..."

"It's alright, Uruka-chan!" Fumino chimed in playfully, "Minamiya-kun is really dependable. He can definitely take good care of you."

"Ahh~ Moouu! I'm home now! Bye-bye!" Uruka suddenly thrust Haru into Miyako's arms and ran off!

"Scared her away, didn't we?" Homura glanced at the girls and chuckled.

"It's not us! It was Minamiya-kun who scared her away!" Fumino refuted with a dissatisfied expression.

"I didn't even say anything; I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye."

Although it was because of them that he failed to say goodbye, this was not something they could admit.

"It's all because Uruka-chan thought about going home alone with Minamiya-kun, that's why she got scared."

"That's what I'm saying. I didn't say that, you were the one who said it."

Homura and Fumino continued to banter, while Miyako, still holding Haru, just smiled at them amusedly.

===

Soon, they arrived at Fumino's place.

Handing over Haru to Homura, Miyako said, "Now that we're all here, my house is right next to Fumino's, so there's no need for you to continue escorting us."

Homura nodded, "Alright, Shirakawa-san, please keep in touch with Nayu. You are very important to her."

"Don't worry, Minamiya-sensei. I really like Nayu, and now that I know what happened to her, I won't leave her alone! Definitely!"

"Mhm, it's great that Nayu could come here with us. It's lucky for her to meet you." Homura said warmly to Miyako.

Miyako smiled and turned away, her voice still audible. 

"For Nayu, meeting Minamiya-sensei is her greatest fortune. If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have met me..."

Watching Miyako's figure fade away, Homura muttered with a smile, "Well, I believe in the power of fate. Even if I weren't here, Nayu would still meet you, even if it took a few more years."

 "Is that really what you think, Minamiya-kun?" Fumino asked curiously after she listened to Homura's mutter.

"Yep, even without me, the meeting between Nayu and Shirakawa-san was bound to happen."

"Why though?" Fumino asked curiously.

"A single encounter almost healed Nayu's heart. It's not something that just anyone can do..."

Homura looked in the direction Miyako had left.

"For Nayu, Shirakawa-san is a special existence. So, why wouldn't I believe in the fate that connects them?"

Recalling the first meeting between the two during the day, Fumino couldn't help but admit that Miyako was indeed a special existence for Nayuta.

"Yes... if it were fate, it must be inevitable for them to meet, especially for someone like Minamiya-kun who believes in the power of fate. Perhaps your presence just made their meeting happen sooner."

Fumino sighed, acknowledging that Homura was truly a unique person, affecting important changes in everyone's lives. Changes that their past selves couldn't achieve.

"Is your stomach still hurting?" Homura suddenly asked.

"It's much better now—" Halfway through her words, Fumino looked surprised, "When did you notice, Minamiya-kun? I never mentioned it did I?"

"On the way here. You were holding your stomach with a troubled expression."

"Ahaha... it's just an old problem. Whenever I get worried, my stomach starts hurting. But I didn't bring any medicine today, so I had no other choice but to endure it..." Fumino said while rubbing her stomach helplessly.

Homura hesitated for a moment and then said, "Do you want me to give you a massage?"

"Umm?" Fumino cutely tilted her head, still not quite grasping it.

"Ehhh?!"

Finally, when Fumino grasped the meaning, her face lit up with surprise.

"M-Massage?!"

"Yep... I'm quite confident in my massage skills. Your stomach ache is just a minor issue, a few simple moves will help, but of course, it won't cure it completely. So, whether to get a massage or not, it's up to you."

Homura spread his hands, explaining everything clearly in a calm tone. After all, he was telling the truth—a stomach ache was nothing for a Level 7 massage!

Fumino also calmed down. She didn't think much about it, as she already trusted Homura. She was just taken aback by the sudden suggestion.

"I actually don't mind, but... how should we do it?"

"Simple, just stand there for three minutes. There's no problem doing it over your clothes." Homura said while raising his eyebrows, didn't expect her to agree so quickly.

"Oh, I thought I had to lie down... but let's do it inside the courtyard. It doesn't feel right to do it on the street, even though we haven't done anything strange..."

Indeed, even though they hadn't done anything strange, it wouldn't look good if anyone saw them!

After all, it was just the two of them, a boy and a girl. A misunderstanding was bound to happen.