Riku's Past

Ichika served the bowl of chicken soup on the table. Mizuki shook her head weakly while staring at it. She doesn't want to eat anything. She only wants to sleep as she feels like she is out of energy.

"If you will not have the soup, I'll bring you back to your home already." Her threat worked and Mizuki started to have the chicken soup. She fixed her hair to the side and wiped those almost dried tears with her palms.

The two boys can't do anything but to eat the breakfast they prepared. Ichika started to eat the breakfast as well when she saw the younger getting busy with the soup.

After the breakfast, they decided to continue the movie marathon. This time, Makoto snuggled his twin just like what he used to do when they were kids. Mizuki is still hugging the hot compress on her stomach but after some moments, she fell asleep again.

The two oldest decided for a light lunch and dinner. The food from the restaurant is too packed and heavy for the stomach, so they cooked instead. For a whole day, Riku and Ichika became instant parents.

It is already Sunday when the twins went home. Riku hailed a cab for them and also, paid for the fare. When he went back to Ichika's apartment, he saw her cleaning the living room.

"How was it?" He asked and she looked at him with a questioning look. He smiled at her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Being a parent to the twins." He added and she heaved a sigh, feeling tired after all of those. She sat on the couch and hugged the throw pillow.

"I don't think I'm ready to be a parent. Taking care of grownups is already hard. What more if it is a baby?" He nodded his head while folding the blankets.

"That’s right. But if it is your own child, you will never get tired taking care of him or her, right?" He smiled once more and went to the bedroom to put back the blankets inside the closet.

-

Months had passed and they already finished their first year in university. Ichika and Riku are with the babies since they asked to help them from enrolling. They are on their way to the Admissions' Office when Ichika saw Eiji at the corner and talking to someone. Riku squinted his eyes and pulled her closer to him. Mizuki, Hokuto, Yua and Megumi saw this and wondered who that purple-haired guy is.

"Let’s go. Have you chosen the courses you want already?" Ichika asked to turn their attentions to her. They filled up some forms and after that, they went to the cashier to pay for their tuition fees.

Fumiko and Makoto enrolled to the other university while Megumi's boyfriend will enroll later on because he is still at Fukuoka and busy with some things. The younger ones compared their class schedules and found out that they have some classes where they are classmates.

"When will you enroll?" Riku asked her. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Since they have the same course, it means that they will still be classmates throughout the whole academic year.

"Let's have lunch already?" She asked the babies while smiling. She suddenly remembered what happened that day, so she glared at Riku. How can she forget that the pizza he ordered is the reason why Mizuki got stomach cramps and indigestion?

"Fastfood!" Mizuki's eyes started to twinkle when she heard the word, 'lunch.' Hokuto pinched her cheeks lightly to stop her.

"What did we talk about fastfood?" Hokuto asked while smiling widely. She puffed her cheeks and shoved his hands away.

"I want fastfood." The 'couple' started to argue on where they will have lunch and Riku scratched his not-really-itchy head.

"Let's have barbecue, then. Is that okay?" Ichika smiled at them and they all nodded. He heaved a sigh, realizing that handling babies like them will definitely make them crazy.

"Rikkun!" His brows raised when he heard that nickname. He turned around and saw his ex-girlfriend from high school.

"Ah. What are you doing here, Arisa?" He asked to the girl who just approached them. She smiled at him and noticed the others.

Arisa slightly bowed her head and Ichika's eyes widened when she linked her arm on Riku's. Mizuki's mouth went 'o' when they saw this. The younger examined Arisa from head to toe but of course, she didn't make it too obvious.

"Can you help me for a bit?" Arisa asked and Riku told them that he will follow later after helping Arisa. Ichika didn't say anything and just started walking away from them.

-

"It's his ex-girlfriend." Mizuki said while staring at her phone screen. With her stalking skills, she immediately found the social media account of Arisa. She is still friends with Riku and her brows raised when she saw Arisa's photo with a baby.

They are already at the barbecue restaurant and waiting for their orders to arrive. Mizuki is still browsing when Hokuto stopped her for a while. He clicked the old post and they saw a bunch of congratulatory messages for Arisa.

"She gave birth to a baby girl last year. Look. Riku-san even congratulated her." He pointed Riku's comment on the post and Ichika is already so curious on what they are reading but she is still refraining herself from snatching the phone from them.

"What if this Arisa cheated on Riku-san? Like she got pregnant by another man and Riku-san decided to let go of her and move on." Ichika shook her head when she heard Mizuki's speculations.

"Stop that. Our orders are here already." Ichika said when she saw the waiter carrying their orders. The waiter served the food and drinks on the table. Before they can eat, Mizuki sent their location to Riku.

Half an hour later and Riku finally came. He took the empty seat besides Ichika and he smiled at them. She kept herself quiet and busy with her food. He ordered more food for himself and also for the others.

"Who is she? That Arisa girl." Mizuki's mouth started its work and Riku chuckled at her question.

"Ex-girlfriend. She is also a friend. She is already married though. Just last month." He answered and he got his own chopsticks to take a piece of cooked meat from the plate.

"Why did you break up with her?" Mizuki asked again and Ichika gave her a look. She just smiled playfully and waited for Riku to answer her question.

"She got another man while we were in a relationship. She got pregnant and then, we broke up. Any more questions, Miss Detective?" He smiled and then, he ordered a glass of beer.

"Was she your first girlfriend?" He shook his head and took another piece of cooked meat. Ichika bit her lower lip while stealing glances from him. Deep inside, she felt relieved that Arisa is already married.

"Do you still love that Arisa girl?" He shook his head again and chuckled softly. Another thorn has been pulled out from Ichika's heart.

"Do you consider her as your first love?" Riku stopped for a while but then, he shook his head. Now, she is thinking if he is just answering those because she is around.

"Why would I consider her as my first love when she cheated on me the whole time we were in a relationship?" Everyone went quiet when he said that. His orders finally came and Ichika is just staring at him.

She can feel the bitterness in every word from that question. It must be hard for him. Being cheated on is one of the most painful for someone who is only loving his or her partner faithfully.