Jitsu -A different story-

"So you were here, Akio. Mom and I completely lost track of you." After the quick hug she gave her grandfather, Rena noticed that Akio was in the room.

Akio felt that there was no need to explain anything, but he wouldn't even have been able to do so since Rena's voice had made itself present once again.

"Looks like Kurono-san and Grandpa have already introduced themselves, mom will be happy to know that nothing over the top happened." Rena was talking to herself, but this didn't go unnoticed by Ryo.

"Yes, we recently introduced ourselves and were talking about some things related to Akio's work, but why do you mention Shizune in all this?" Hearing that question, Rena was about to say something quite obvious to her, but before she could say anything, she noticed how Kurono made several signs to her making her understand that that moment had not yet come.

"Hahaha... It's nothing, it's just that we were a bit worried about Akio since it must be a lot of pressure for him to be with his "bosses" in the same room." The nervous laugh from Rena at the beginning made Akio pay attention to what she said and then do the same affirming what she said.

"So that was it..." Ryo had a small doubtful expression, too was about to ask again where his beloved daughter was, but that wasn't necessary as a new pair of figures were seen entering the room.

"Looks like everyone is already here, I don't see anyone with injuries or a broken wall, so I guess it will be a quiet lunch." That calm voice could only belong to Kyoko, her steps were careful, but at the same time fast since she was carrying a container in her hands with what was surely some of the food they had prepared.

Shizune came after her in the same way, but she was even more hurried to leave the dishes she brought with her on the table and then walk in the same direction as Ryo.

He had also been aware of Shizune's movement and started to stand up to greet her right there.

"..." Shizune wanted to say something, but suddenly it seemed that her voice had left her, although that wasn't too important since Ryo would be the first to speak.

"You don't need to say anything else, I'm already happy just knowing that you're okay." Yes, it seemed like a pretty unique way to greet each other, Shizune didn't feel strange since, throughout her life, Ryo had treated her that way, which made her feel like she was still a little girl, although that was not the case.

"Yes, I'm back." Shizune repeated the same words that he had said to Kyoko, but she felt that it was necessary to make that clear. A simple smile now adorned her face when she saw her father again; as with Kyoko, she had many things to tell him, but the main one was not really far from her, which made her feel nervous again.

"There are still more things to bring. Is there not, Grandma?" Rena asked that question suddenly, actually, there was nothing strange about it since they were preparing the table, but Rena had something on her mind.

"Yes, there are still several dishes in the kitchen, can you help me with them?" Kyoko knew Rena quite well, so it wasn't too hard for her to guess what was on her mind.

"Count me in, come help us too, Akio." Rena's instruction had reached Akio's ears, and although he hadn't understood the plans that both women had, he still got up to follow them down the same corridor as before.

The people in the room had been reduced by half after Rena, Kyoko and Akio had left, Ryo had taken a seat again since he had realized that he had to prepare the table, Shizune was still standing a little petrified at the realizing what her mother and daughter had done, though after thinking about it, she felt grateful for the opportunity.

Shizune's eyes turned to Kurono's figure, he had done the same and they only needed a simple nod to know that the perfect moment had arrived, so, without taking much time, Shizune approached Kurono and then sat down next to his side making the distance between them barely visible.

Now there was a new silence in the place, although it was clear that what Shizune had done had not gone unnoticed by Ryo, he still didn't see it too strange, but it was then that Shizune began to say that she had in mind.

"Dad… I'd like to tell you something important." Shizune's voice was a bit low, but at the same time clear enough for both Ryo and Kurono to understand.

"Something happens?" Ryo would be lying if he said that he didn't care a bit about Shizune's somewhat serious attitude and expression, so she was paying quite a lot of attention to what was coming next.

"Actually... Something happened in all these months that I was away from home, but it's nothing bad." Shizune still didn't specify, but Ryo quickly formed some ideas about what she told him next. "It seems that you and Kurono already know each other, so that makes things a little easier."

Ryo had stopped paying attention to Shizune so that later his gaze was focused specifically on Kurono for a few seconds, this had made Kurono stiffen a bit, but he didn't lose his composure and simply remained silent since, this time, Shizune showed the intention of being the one to tell everything.

"You see… A lot of things happened, so many that it would take me some time to say them, but what I can tell you is this…" Shizune was actually quite calm, so much so that she herself was also a little surprised, maybe it was because Kurono was with her, but now he didn't want to back down for anything. Her gaze fell on Ryo's figure and she said those words that came from her heart. "I met Kurono the first days I arrived in the city with Rena, we both made a good friendship as a result of that and it was not uncommon for us to spend our time together whenever we had the chance, and it was impossible for me to not develop those feelings even though I lied to myself."

No one interrupted Shizune, it was quite obvious that she was now quite focused on letting out everything that was inside her, and in this way, Ryo would understand what she felt.

"In the end, I couldn't ignore what a wonderful person Kurono was, I thought that was only the case for me, but it seemed that Kurono was experiencing the same thing as me… Everything was so sudden as well as special, maybe you already found out what I mean, so I'll make it as clear as possible…" Shizune closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them once more letting a gleam of determination appear in them the next second. "Dad, he's Kurono, he's not just the person that he has shown me a new happiness in all this time… He's also the person I fell in love with, but above all… He's the person I love right now."