Chapter 19 – Meeting the Inlaws?

[3rd POV]

The next day, Apollo found himself where he was a year ago, playing a chess match against Artemis.

He looked into the crowd, meeting eyes with Yuka. She smiled and waved, earning a glare from Artemis before she castled (queen side).

Sighing, Apollo also castled queen side. Everyone seemed to accept that that this would end in a draw. The International Federation of Chess (FIDE) had even decided that if Apollo and Artemis tied 12 times without either winning a single game, the competition would end in a draw, with both players sharing the title 'World Chess Champion.'

However, Apollo was not unhappy. While the Chess tournament was a total waste of time (other than the half a million dollars he would get from it), he had accomplished his goals.

Using his powers of foresight, he was able to run into and attract the attention of the Nintendo heiress, resulting in meeting with her influential family. Building a good relationship would be crucial, after all, Apollo had plans for a certain Italian plumber.

.

[Main POV]

6 days later, I was halfway through my games with Artemis. After every match she would try something to attract my attention, but I ignored her. While I knew she had feelings for me (I wasn't a dumb harem protagonist), I didn't want to deal with her. I wasn't going to deal with her bullshit, whether that be teenage drama, mixed signals, or edginess.

Not only that, but she had a mental age of 5. I was sure, with time, she'd get over it.

So, I spent my afternoon with Yuka's family. They had invited me for dinner. I was seated next to Yuka, across from her parents, with Hiroshi Yamauchi sitting at the head of the table as the patriarch.

"So, Apollo, how did you and Yuka meet?" Mr. Yamauchi (Yuka's dad) asked in English.

"We met at the arcade in Akihabara," I answered, "and after that, we ended up talking about games and manga."

"Yuka, you shouldn't talk to strangers." Mrs. Yamauchi said in Japanese. I don't think she liked me very much.

"He's not just anybody mom!" Yuka exclaimed. I puffed up my chest, fully expecting Yuka to brag about my being a World Chess Champion.

"He beat the world record in Donkey Kong!" Yuka finished. I was suddenly very interested in my food.

Mrs. Yamauchi glared at her daughter, "You don't even know his last name!"

"That's because I don't have a last name," I answered in Japanese. I may have had a Texan accent, but it was good enough. "I grew up in an orphanage," I explained.

Silence consumed the rest of the meal, which was perfectly fine for me. Afterwards, we had dessert, which consisted of some red bean paste pastry. I'll never understand.

Chocolate > Red Bean Paste.

It was during dessert when Patriarch Yamauchi spoke for the first time since I got there.

"Have you decided on voice actors for the anime?"

"Anime?" Yuka looked back and forth between us. "What's this about anime?"

I paused, contemplating which question to answer, since I didn't tell Yuka I was making anime. After Yuka took me to see her grandfather, we ended having a long and boring conversation regarding game mechanics and supply chains for products, which Yuka left for. Before she came back, I managed to make a smooth transition into showing him some of the anime on my phone. Of course, I had casually dropped that I was looking for voice actors while I was here in Japan.

"No, I have not yet." I responded. "Do you know anyone?"

"I have some friends who run agencies," he casually said, "they can find people for the roles you need."

"Is someone going to explain what's happening?" Yuka interjected.

"I'm making anime, and am currently looking for voice actors," I answered.

"What?! How come this is the first I'm hearing of this?! Why didn't you tell me? When did you guys talk about this? How come –"

"Yuka," her grandfather interrupted, "Calm yourself, and stop rambling. It's unbecoming of a lady." Turning his attention back to me, he said, "My friends will need a list of roles you need voice actors for, if you give me a list, I'll pass it on, along with your phone number."

"Already here, sir," I said, pulling out folded up sheets of paper from my pocket.

Mr. Yamauchi looked over the first page and was mildly surprised to find the list written in Kanji. However, he did not visibly show any shock. I knew because I read his mind.

"Okay, then," Mr. Yamauchi said, folding the papers back up, "I look forward to watching your anime in the future. Yuka, it's getting late, and I think it's time for your friend to leave. He's got to get enough sleep for his chess match."

Upon saying those words, I noticed Yuka's parents visibly surprised. While the chess championship wasn't a large event in Japan, it was talked about on the 12th page of newspapers (or on midday news). Furthermore, Yuka's parents appeared to be under the misconception that being good at chess meant you were generally smart at everything else. Not that I wasn't, but that's just not how that worked.

"Okay," Yuka replied as she escorted me to the door.

"Have a good night, come back soon!" Mrs. Yamauchi said with a bow.

.

"I'm sorry about my parents," Yuka said quietly as I was putting on my shoes.

"Don't worry about it," I brushed off, "They're just overprotective. Better than the opposite."

Just as I was about to leave, I heard a small "wait." I turned around and got closer to Yuka as she approached me, looking like she wanted to tell me a secret.

Leaning forward, she gave me a small kiss on the lips. Through the moonlight, I saw her face was red as a tomato, she was avoiding eye contact, and her two index fingers were delicately oscillating between connecting and separating. Adorable.

After a few moments of silence, I couldn't help but state the obvious, "I'm 5."

"Ehhhhh?!!?"

"I'm 5 years old," I repeated.

Yuka jumped 5 feet into the air, ran inside and slammed the door, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. As I turned and walked away, I heard a distant voice scream "I thought you were 15!"