Chapter 38

Shuya walked through the door with his head held low. He quickly took off his shoes, hung his jacket on the coat rack and quickly dashed through the hallway, but he didn't get very far.

"Stop right there, young man,” said Hayato, and Shuya gulped. 

“You’re back,” said Himiko as she emerged from the kitchen, a look of worry painted all over her face as she looked at her husband and son. “What happened? Is everything okay. Son, are you okay?” Himiko walked over to Shuya and took a good look at him.

“There’s no need to worry,” said Hayato. “Shuya wasn’t the one who was beat up, as expected. You should have seen the other guy.”

“Shuya!” exclaimed Himiko and stared at Shuya who quickly diverted his eyes.

“I already told you he was harassing Iyori. I had to do something,” said Shuya in his defense.

“Doing something doesn’t equal to beating another guy up that bad,” said Hayato and glared at his son.

“Now now, let’s all calm down for a second,” said Himiko and got in between the two. “Let’s go to the living room, there’s no need to stand out here in the hallway like savages. Go, I’ll make some tea and we’ll all sit down and talk this out.” Himiko sent Shuya and Hayato a strict look. Her usual sweet and endearing demeanor made it hard for anyone to believe she could even raise her voice, but the men in this house both knew that when Himiko spoke in a voice like this, there was no way around. They would eventually do as she said.

“Alright then,” said Hayato and walked into the living room, quickly followed by his son, while Himiko watched them with a satisfied expression. 

While Himiko was busy brewing the tea, Hayato and Shuya were sitting across from each other, Shuya on the couch and Hayato in his arm chair. Neither of them looked at each other and they didn’t dare start a conversation either. They already knew how it would end.

“There you go, a nice warm cup of tea to help us all calm down,” said Himiko as she placed a cup in front of Shuya and one in front of Hayato, whereafter she took a cup for herself. She sat down next to Shuya on the couch and took a sip of her tea, taking in its scent and feeling the warmth spread through her body.

“Shuya,” said Himiko after putting her cup down on the table. “I think you have some explaining to do. Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Shuya looked at his mother. Knowing there was no way around it, he put his cup down as well. After taking in a deep breath, he sat up straight and began talking. 

It took a lot of patience from Hayato to keep quiet during Shuya’s story, and when he eventually lost patience, Himiko did her best to make him calm down and make him stay silent until Shuya was done talking.

Shuya spilled everything and with every word that left his mouth, a stone fell from his heart. The worry and anticipation of a scolding kept growing, but even still, he felt more at ease than he had been feeling for a long time.

“...I think that’s everything,” said Shuya and looked at his mother, her smile giving him the strength to turn to his father as well.

“But... why?” said Hayato, still trying to wrap his head around everything. “Why would you spend all that money on her? Why would you push yourself to that limit and why would you get into a fight when that was the one thing I asked you not to do?”

“Because!” said Shuya, triggered by the words his father spoke. “Even though you want me to be this perfect son, who’ll get the best grades and go to the best University, I also want a life. And renting Iyori as my girlfriend seemed to be the only way I could make a friend. I know it’s stupid and I don’t expect you to understand, I know I’m just a disappointment to you and–”

“Woah, just stop for a second!” said Hayato and interrupted Shuya. “A perfect son, the best grades, the best University, a disappointment? Where did you get all this?”

“What... What do you mean? That’s what you always–”

“I have never said any of those things before,” said Hayato firmly. “I might’ve pushed you a little hard, because I want the best possible future for you, but those words never left my mouth.”

“Okay, maybe you didn’t say them directly, but I still know that’s what you think. Do you think I can’t sense it? I’m trying my best, pushing myself beyond my limits, even though it’s costing me the only thing I’ve ever truly cared about, but I’m still doing it because I want you to be proud of me.”

“What are you even–” Hayato raised his voice as he began talking again, but Himiko was quick to intervene.

“Shuya, if you just think about it for a second, do you really think what your father and I want is for you to be this stressed out?” Himiko looked into Shuya’s eyes while waiting for his answer.

“Well, no–”

“Okay then, if we don’t want you to feel this way, then do you think you might’ve made up this whole distorted version of your father, being unkind and harsh, even though that’s not even close to the truth.” Shuya looked at his mother for a while, finding it hard to come up with anything to say in return.

“But... But my exams... your reactions...” Shuya stuttered while looking back and forth between his mother and father.

“Did you actually think I would be mad just because you had a few mistakes on a test? How many mistakes do you think I made when I first started my business?” Shuya looked at his father and shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know, a few?”

“I made a lot of mistakes, I was even on the brink of bankruptcy at some point,” said Hayato. “We have to learn our whole life. It would be nice to get everything right from the start, but that’s not how things work. So as long as you don’t let it break you whenever you make a mistake or things seem to be going downhill, you don’t give up, you just keep going.”

“That’s easy for you to say, but when you’re in the middle of it, it just feels a lot easier to give up,” said Shuya and lowered his head. “I don’t know... if I’m even fit to be your successor.” Hayato and Himiko looked at each other, watching their son’s expression turn even sadder than before. Hayato took in deep breath and moved to the egde of his seat, his arms resting on his thighs while he looked directly at his son.

“Shuya,” said Hayato and Shuya looked up. “Do you want to be my successor?” Shuya nodded.

“I do, I really do.”

“Then you’re already half there. All that’s left is that you keep moving forward and then you’ll reach it eventually. Just, don’t get into fights anymore.”

“Your father is right, a part of being a grown up is learning how to deal with your emotions,” added Himiko. “I want you to be happy, and I think you are happy with that girl, am I right?”

“I am...” said Shuya.

“Do you think she is happy when you act like you did today?” Shuya shook his head.

“No, she even made me promise never to get into a fight again..”

“I like this girl already,” said Hayato.

“Too late, she’ll never forgive me for what I did, I couldn’t keep my promise.” said Shuya and let out a sigh. 

“Now now,” said Himiko and put her arms around her son. “If you really like this girl so much it must be because she’s a wonderful person. If that’s the case, then I’m sure she’ll forgive you, just like your father and I forgive you.” Shuya looked up in anticipation.

“You do?” asked Shuya and Himiko nodded.

“People aren’t as coldhearted as you make them out to be,” said Himiko. “But I guess that’s just how it is when you’re a teenager.”

“We weren’t any better,” said Hayato and chuckled.

“You’re right, we were so insecure about ourselves all the time.” said Himiko. “I was convinced you hated me for years.”

“I was just too shy to tell you,” said Hayato.

“Well, I’m glad you managed to tell me eventually.”

“Alright,” said Shuya and stood up. “If you two are gonna reminisce about the past, I’ll just leave you to it. Besides, I have to get ready for school and think about how I get Iyori to forgive me. So, goodnight.” Shuya walked to the doorway while his parents wished him goodnight as well.

“Oh, and Shuya,” said Hayato just as he was about to leave. “I know I don’t say it enough, but I really am proud of you and think you’ll be a great successor.”

Shuya stayed in the doorway for a second, looking at his father until a smile finally appeared on his face.

"Thank you."

Hello everyone!

I don't know if anyone noticed, but it's been a while since I updated this book. I've been so busy with work, the past few months just flew by! 

But we're almost at the end and I'm starting to think about what to write for my next story. It's been a while since I thought up something new and I feel at a lack of inspiration. But it'll come, it always does.

Until then, I hope you're still enjoying this story. Thank you to whoever is reading, and please stay safe.

Love, Annalise~