Jitsu -A different story-

"It took you some time, did you take a detour to have some fun?" Rena's amused voice was heard the moment both Kurono and Shizune crossed the door of the apartment.

They didn't pay much attention to her question as they were used to her way of acting after so long.

"We're back, nothing happened while we were out?" Shizune abruptly changed the subject causing Rena to give up on her plans.

"Don't worry, we were just waiting for you, did Kazumi-san arrive safely?" Shizune nodded towards his question.

"Yes, Kurono and I made sure of that." Shizune spoke quite calmly, although she felt a little offended that Rena asked about Kazumi's safety before hers.

Rena had noticed that and had quickly asked Shizune if she was alright as well, though it clearly hadn't worked.

"Don't worry, Rena-san. If Shizune is with me nothing will happen to her." Kurono had to intervene a bit since Rena kept trying to make Shizune not be annoyed with her anymore.

Kurono's words were heard by both women, but Shizune only laughed to herself since she was only joking with her beloved daughter.

At the same time that this happened, Rena sighed in relief, although she also adopted a somewhat thoughtful pose since the way Kurono and Shizune called each other did not go unnoticed by her, but only a small smile appeared on her face.

Rena stared at the couple in front of her, the huge and honest smile on Shizune's face was something that Rena enjoyed seeing, that was something that made her incredibly calm, she is one of the few people who really know what Shizune went through, and although she always tried to help her by finding someone who could make her happy, she could never imagine a better outcome than this moment.

"Well, I wanted to go to bed soon, but Akio said there is something he wanted to talk to us about." Rena left all her thoughts aside to come back to reality again and remember what one had told her loved husband.

"What exactly?" Shizune's curiosity was sparked right at that moment.

"I don't know either, but she said that she needed Kurono-san to be present as well."

"Then we better not keep him waiting." Kurono was also a bit curious, but then he remembered something important and guessed what it was all about.

With those last words, they all headed to the living room where Akio was sitting while preparing a couple of cups from which came a faint aroma of herbs as he had just made some tea when he heard the apartment door being opened.

Kurono and Shizune appreciated the gesture, besides the fact that the cold still hadn't completely escaped from their bodies, so a cup of hot tea was just perfect. Everyone took a seat, Kurono and Shizune were next to each other while it was the same case for Rena and Akio as the attention was totally directed to the latter.

Akio looked around him before taking a breath and starting to say whatever was on his mind.

"I know it's a bit strange that I called all of you, but I need to know your opinions before I prepare anything." Akio had a rather serious attitude, which both Rena and Shizune worried a bit. "First of all, my request was accepted, Kurosawa-san?"

The attention was now on Kurono after that question.

"There is no problem as long as you show the necessary information and the results you proposed, so yes, your request was approved." Kurono spoke with total calm, but everyone could see how his attitude had a feeling that they rarely felt.

"That's a real relief." Akio couldn't help but sigh after hearing Kurono.

That interaction only happened between the two of them, so both women didn't know what exactly they were talking about, and Rena was the first to ask.

"Did something happen at work, darling?" Although Rena always acted funny, even with Akio, she knew when to drop everything and really care about him.

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong, actually I could say that it's quite convenient." Both Shizune and Rena were quite expectant at Akio's words. "I know you've wanted to go visit your grandparents lately but you haven't said anything due to my job."

Rena was a bit surprised by that, she was sure that she had never said that directly to Akio, but he was a bit right with what he said.

"You actually said it while you were still asleep and hit me saying to take you back to town, haha…" Akio had to say that since there was no other way to explain it, and that itself had made both Kurono and Shizune laugh a little while Rena blushed from pure embarrassment. "What I want to get at is that next week we will have the opportunity to do it."

"Eh?" And that was the only expression that could come out of Rena before Akio continued explaining.

"Actually I need to personally see Ryo-san because of my project, so I requested a work trip for it, I was just waiting for Kurosawa-san's confirmation to be sure to discuss it." Akio felt relaxed now that he was able to say everything smoothly.

"That means..." Rena analyzed everything for a few seconds, and it wasn't long before she pounced on Akio and kissed him showing how happy she was.

She knew it wouldn't be long before she would find it difficult to simply move around comfortably, and she really wanted to see her grandparents as well as enjoy the atmosphere of the town where she grew up.

"What do you say, mom? Will you go with us or would you prefer to stay again and enjoy your time alone with Kurono-san?" It didn't take long for Rena to ask Shizune.

Shizune clearly heard that, but Akio's voice was heard again before she answered.

"About that, I actually wanted to ask Kurosawa-san about another important point." Again, attention fell on Kurono's figure before he answered.

"Yes, about that, I want to accompany you personally." Kurono continued with his calm attitude from before, those words were simple, but in reality, they brought with them several aspects to take into account.

Akio nodded to himself, it really didn't seem strange to him that Kurono said that since the project was quite important for the company, many gave it the go-ahead after the first tests, and Akio would feel safer if Kurono gave his approval the same.

It seemed that everything would end there, but it was then that both Shizune and Rena realized something.

"That means…" Rena spoke again as she connected the dots, if she and Akio were going to the town, and Kurono was planning to accompany Akio, then…

And at the same time that Shizune understood that, he could only let out the same expression that Rena had made earlier.

"Eh…?"