Aunt Kyouka's worries

At Sasaki's home.

"Goodbye."

"Thank you."

After signing for the express delivery, Tachibana Kyouka, dressed in light purple loungewear, looked at the shoebox-sized package in her hands and wondered:

'Did Fuyumi buy shoes? Why the express delivery?'

Unable to figure it out but not dwelling on it, she followed her habit of putting Fuyumi's things in his room.

Wearing pink plush rabbit slippers, Kyouka walked leisurely upstairs to Sasaki's room.

Click—

Turning on the light, the warm white light filled the room, illuminating the darkness.

Because the window was slightly open, there was no musty smell inside.

The room was spacious but sparsely furnished.

In fact, it wasn't exactly sparse; rather, compared to the size of the room, the furnishings seemed 'empty.'

The large desk only had a computer on it.

There were no books, no figurines that boys typically liked, and no other decorations.

Between the desk and the wardrobe in the corner, there was nothing, creating a large empty space.

In Kyouka's memory, this space between the desk and the wardrobe was where Fuyumi used to keep his bookshelves filled with manga.

But after his parents passed away, those things were stored in the downstairs storage room.

Walking to the desk, as she placed the package on it, her peripheral vision noticed Sasaki's school bag carelessly tossed in the corner.

Pulling out the chair, the loose-fitting purple and white plaid pants tightened slightly, outlining a very full and round curve, as she sat down, the cushion of the chair compressed slightly under her weight.

Seated properly, Kyouka picked up the school bag from the corner of the desk, gently dusting off the thin layer of dirt on it.

Then she placed the school bag on her tightly closed, plump legs with no gap in between.

In this higher position, she noticed a corner of white paper sticking out from the bag's zipper.

Zip—

Opening the zipper, intending to properly store the exposed 'homework paper,' Kyouka suddenly realized it looked more like test papers... indeed, there were several test papers inside.

No adult can resist looking at a child's test papers.

So, Kyouka, who was now very interested, pulled out the test papers, which were mostly covered in red check marks.

12... 16... 10... 11...

Reading through all the exam papers, because she had already known that Fuyumi had not been to school for a long time and his grades had indeed deteriorated significantly,

Tachibana Kyouka had mentally prepared herself for this, but seeing such "surprising" test papers still made her blood pressure rise a bit.

"Hu~"

Placing the papers on the table and rested her smooth elbows on it, she crossed her fingers, her thumbs gently rubbing her temples.

She felt that it was time to have a good talk with Fuyumi.

...

Back home, she changed into slippers.

Sasaki stood at the entrance, looking at the brightly lit living room, which had no sound of the television.

He thought it was the light left for him by Aunt Kyouka and didn't pay much attention, walking slowly out of the entrance.

Entering the living room, the first thing he saw was Aunt Kyouka sitting on the sofa with a blank expression.

Her appearance wasn't bad. Although not stunning, she had a certain charm.

However, the larger something is, the more it attracts people's attention.

So, the first thing people noticed about Aunt Kyouka was often her figure, and Sasaki was no exception.

Since she was at home, Kyouka wasn't wearing the professional attire that perfectly outlined her beautiful hourglass figure.

She wore a light purple, oversized short-sleeved shirt, which could serve as a nightgown.

Although the short-sleeved shirt was extremely loose, it still couldn't conceal Aunt Kyouka' plump assets, comparable to those of Mrs. Shinomiya.

The curves that propped up the front of the shirt looked like two plump rabbits nestled in her bosom, seemingly about to tear the fabric apart.

Because Aunt Kyouka was sitting up straight, her hands were clasped together and placed between her knees, and the visual effect only made Sasaki feel that those plump rabbits were even larger, drawing hus gaze naturally along her slender waist to her prominently displayed hourglass-shaped hips.

Strictly speaking, Sasaki didn't consider Aunt Kyouka to be particularly voluptuous.

Excluding the disproportionately large melons, her figure was not as full as Mrs. Shinomiya's, and even less so than Miyajima Tsubaki's.

Among the group of women, she was the tallest and had the longest legs.

Perhaps because of this, Aunt Kyouka gave Sasaki a sense of balanced beauty.

After looking her up and down, his gaze slowly moved up, noticing the serious expression on her smooth, oval face.

Because Aunt Kyouka always looked like a workaholic, her hair was tied up even at home.

Additionally, for business discussions, she needed to appear sharp and efficient.

So, her bangs often swept across her forehead, hanging down to her collarbone on both sides of her face.

This beautifully showcased her soft, elegant, oval face.

As a result, her expressions were always very clear.

Just like now, even though there was some distance between them, Sasaki could see the serious and solemn aura between her brows.

'Why…?'

Before he could figure out why Aunt Kyouka, who usually wore a gentle smile, was so serious, he noticed the familiar exam papers neatly placed on the coffee table.

.

.

.

'How stupid, I should have thought of it. The only thing that could make Aunt Kyouka treat me so seriously must be related to my studies…'

Worried that Aunt Kyouka might take something from the package and use it as perfume to spray at him, diverting his attention, Sasaki realized her seriousness was due to his grades and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Aunt Kyouka, aren't you going to rest in your room?" Pretending not to see the exam papers on the table, Sasaki made a nervous expression that Aunt Kyouka could clearly see and said, "I'll get you a glass of water."

Thinking her stern expression had scared him, Kyouka's icy, stern aura slowly dissipated, and a soft smile gradually appeared on her previously expressionless face:

"No need, Fuyumi."

Stopping Sasaki, who had turned to leave, she patted the sofa beside her:

"Sit here and chat with me, okay?"

"Okay~"

Acting with the nervous and constrained manner a normal student would have after being caught with poor grades, Sasaki sat obediently on the sofa.

Seeing his current anxious appearance, completely devoid of the dominance he had when they last met, Kyouka found it somewhat amusing.

She turned and took his hand, placed on his knees, and said:

"Sorry, did I scare you earlier, Fuyumi?"

The boy shook his head, then squeezed her hand a bit tighter, looking down guiltily and said:

"No… I just… I disappointed Aunt Kyouka… It's been so long since I went to school… I can't understand anything."

Feeling a bit of pain from his grip, Kyouka knew he must have tried hard and felt bad about his struggles.

Her heart softened, and she discarded the lecture she had prepared, offering comfort instead:

"It's okay, it's okay, Fuyumi. You've already tried very hard; you just need a little bit of help."

Struggling to squeeze out a tear, Sasaki looked up with red-rimmed eyes and muttered:

"Help?"

"Yes!"

"Although I've been working for many years, I'm still capable of tutoring some high school subjects."

This was exactly the result Sasaki wanted.

His face, previously clouded with disappointment, now lit up with excitement and joy.

Then, as if unable to control himself, he reached out and hugged her slender but firm waist.

In Aunt Kyouka's stunned state, he quickly kissed the corner of her smiling lips.

"Indeed, with Aunt worrying for me, I won't be afraid."

After saying this and not hearing a reply, Sasaki looked at Kyouka, who seemed frozen in place, and called out in confusion:

"Aunt Kyouka?"