Bockwalker Special: The Ideal Existence

It's commonly said that parents are supposed to give unconditional love and care to their children.

For Mahiru, however, this saying was impossible to understand.

From her perspective, she had no memory of being loved or cared for. Since birth, she was only given money and was avoided by her parents. They solely gave her the bare minimum of care she needed.

She had been treated in such a way since before she could even remember, so it's no surprise to anyone that she grew up without feeling any affection towards her parents.

Even though she didn't love them, Mahiru had warped feelings of seeking love from her parents, while also being averse and insecure toward them. Recently, however, these contradictory feelings have slowly been vanishing from her heart.

"Good morning, Mahiru-chan. I'm sorry to say that Amane isn't up yet⁓"

After spending a few days at Amane's parents' house, I've gotten used to living here.

Mahiru woke up at her usual time and went down into the living room, where she was greeted by Shihoko's bright smile. She suddenly squinted at the gaze.

"Good morning. I just woke up early. Amane-Kun usually wakes up around this time, too, but he must've been getting up so early over the past few days that he's tired himself out."

"Well, I'm not going to complain just because he's at his parents' house having a good night's rest."

"Fufu. If he doesn't get up after a while, I'll go to check up on him for a little bit."

"Oh my, you really do adore Amane, Mahiru-chan."

"... You would look at Shuuto-san if he was sleeping, wouldn't you, Shihoko-sun?"

"I'm not sure why, but whenever I look at him sleeping, he wakes up."

Mahiru thought it was probably because of her voice, but she didn't dare point it out. She continued giving a smile to Shihoko, who then laughed with delight.

While Mahiru and Shihoko were smiling at each other, Shuuto, who seemed to have woken up, appeared with a gentle smile on his face.

"Oh, Shuuto-san. Good morning."

"Good morning, Shihoko-San."

The two of them embraced each other with a passionate smile different from the one they gave to Mahiru, who couldn't help but look away from them.

She knows that Amane's parents are very close, but still feels uncomfortable when they express their affection for each other so openly in front of her. However, for Mahiru, they embodied the ideal couple and ideal parents, so she still ended up watching them despite that.

(...Parents, huh?)

Needless to say, she rarely saw her parents. Her mother spent most of her time with her new lover, and her father mostly focused on his job, rarely coming home to her.

Both of them were unfit to be parents, but her father's attitude toward Mahiru was softer than her mother's, which was a good thing.

(Just what am I thinking about?)

Unlike her father, who didn't give her hostility. Mahiru's mother was different and always acted in that same manner but wasn't abusive. If only she cared for Mahiru, it would've been different.

What her parents gave her was indifference. Rather than hurt her, they instead chose to do nothing. At best, arrangements were made to keep her financially topped up, but didn't do anything more.

She didn't know or—want to know—if she should consider them as her own parents.

"Mahiru-Chan? You look a bit pale. Are you feeling unwell? Maybe this is too much for your eyes?"

Shihoko, who appeared to have noticed Mahiru's daze, called out to her in a concerned tone, and Mahiru shook her head in panic.

"No, I'm just a little jealous and uneasy. I never saw my mother come home. From the start, she never even acknowledged my existence."

"...Did I remind you of something unpleasant?"

"It's not that. I just admire couples like you two. I always think that they must have a wonderful family."

This was her true intention.

She envied Amane for being born to such lovely parents. It was inevitable for Mahiru to envy him for having parents who cherished not only each other, but also cared for their children in such a loving way.

She didn't mean to imply anything more and tried to smile as gently as she could manage.

"I won't take any chances with you, Mahir-Chan," she said. "Come on, come here."

The gesture shown to Mahiru was likely the one also shown to Amane. It was gentle, warm, and soft, as if she was caring for her own beloved child.

Perhaps for that reason, Mahiru was naturally drawn to Shihoko's bosom.

"Oh, she's so cute, isn't she? The first time I saw her, I thought, 'Oh, that's so cute. She's a shy girl.'"

Shuuto also wondered if he should comfort her.

He knew better than to touch a girl of her age. Of course, Shuuto thought of her as his own daughter. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to stroke her head, but if Amane found out, he would definitely be jealous.

"Morning, Amane."

"...Why are we having a Mahiru lovefest so early in the morning?"

"I'm not sure if I can do this alone. Are you going to join us, Amane?"

"I could, but if Mahiru is being spoiled, I think it's fine to comfort her until she's satisfied. I can take my time and have her all to myself later, after all."

Shihoko smiled slightly at him, and he said, "I'm going to go wash my face."

"I wonder if that's true."

"Then, Shiina-San..."

Mahiru wasn't very familiar with Shuuto, but she could tell from his words and actions that he and Amane really were father and son.

In other words, she thought the way that Amane expressed his affection was similar to Shuto's.

"...I think you just want a relationship like ours, Mahiru-Chan, don't you?"

At her whisper, Mahiru disguised her embarrassment and hid by burrowing her head into Shihoko's body.