Chapter 38: Facing the Storm

The air in Aiko's room felt thick, the silence stretching taut between her and Riku after the phone call ended. Aiko stared at her phone as if it might sprout legs and flee, while Riku leaned against the doorframe, his mind racing.

"Both of them?" he asked, breaking the quiet. "Your mom *and* your dad?"

Aiko nodded, her expression grim. "Yeah. They said they wanted to 'surprise' us for Family Day. Surprise." She let out a dry laugh, running a hand through her hair. "More like a heart attack."

Riku rubbed the back of his neck, his stomach twisting. "Okay, okay. We can handle this. We've been handling everything else, right? Rumors, Yuna, my mom's matchmaking schemes—"

"This is different," Aiko cut in, her voice sharp. "They don't know anything, Riku. Not about the rumors, not about… us." She gestured between them, her eyes flickering with unease.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Then we keep it that way. We've been careful so far. We just need to get through Family Day without—"

"Without what?" she interrupted, standing up to face him. "Without someone noticing how we look at each other? Without Yuna blabbing to the whole school? Without your mom asking why I'm glaring at every girl she tries to set you up with?"

Riku opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. She wasn't wrong. The storm wasn't just brewing anymore—it was barreling toward them, and they were running out of places to hide.

---

The next morning at school, the atmosphere buzzed with pre-Family Day excitement. Posters lined the hallways, and students chattered about the performances and games. Riku and Aiko sat through a final rehearsal, their nerves frayed from the night before. The director barked orders as they stumbled through their lines, the infamous kiss scene looming like a guillotine.

"Focus!" the director snapped as Riku tripped over a prop chair. "You're supposed to be in love, not auditioning for a slapstick comedy!"

"Sorry," Riku muttered, his face heating up as Aiko stifled a laugh beside him. Her amusement faded when their eyes met, the weight of their situation pressing down again.

From the audience, Haruka watched with a furrowed brow, her usual cheer tempered by concern. Mika sat beside her, picking at her nails, her silence louder than words. And Yuna—well, Yuna lounged in the back row, smirking like a cat who'd just cornered a pair of mice.

"Need some pointers on kissing, Riku?" Yuna called out during a break, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. "I could volunteer."

Aiko's head whipped around. "Volunteer to keep your mouth shut, maybe," she shot back, earning a ripple of laughter from the other students.

Yuna grinned wider, undeterred. "Oh, I'm just trying to help. You two looked so *tense* up there. What's wrong? Trouble in paradise?"

Riku gripped his script tighter, resisting the urge to hurl it at her. Haruka intervened before things escalated, tugging Yuna back into her seat with a whispered, "Enough."

But the damage was done. Whispers rippled through the crowd, and Riku caught Mika's gaze—brief, fleeting, and heavy with something he couldn't name.

---

That afternoon, Riku's mom cornered him in the kitchen, a determined glint in her eye. "I invited Emi and her family to Family Day," she announced, chopping vegetables with unnecessary force. "I think it'll be good for you to spend more time with her."

Riku nearly dropped the glass he was holding. "Mom, I don't—"

"She's a nice girl," she continued, steamrolling over his protest. "And I've been thinking… maybe it's time you started considering your future. You can't just hang around with Aiko all the time."

He froze, the words slicing deeper than she intended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She paused, setting the knife down to look at him. "It means people talk, Riku. I've heard things—rumors about you and Aiko being… closer than cousins should be. I know it's nonsense, but appearances matter."

His throat tightened, a mix of guilt and defiance churning inside him. "They're just rumors," he managed, the lie tasting bitter.

She studied him for a long moment, then sighed. "I hope so. Just… be careful, okay?"

He nodded mutely, escaping to his room as soon as he could. Aiko was already there, sprawled on his bed with a textbook she wasn't reading.

"Your mom's on a mission," she said without looking up. "I heard the Emi thing."

"Yeah," he replied, flopping beside her. "And your parents are coming. We're screwed."

She rolled onto her side, propping her head on her hand. "Maybe we should just tell them. Rip the bandage off."

Riku stared at her, incredulous. "Are you serious? My mom's already suspicious, and your dad would probably kill me."

"Probably," she conceded, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "But at least we wouldn't have to keep sneaking around."

He groaned, rubbing his face. "I'd rather face Yuna's teasing for the rest of my life than that conversation."

She laughed, the sound softening the edges of their panic. For a moment, they lay there, the storm held at bay by the quiet between them.

---

Family Day dawned bright and chaotic, the school grounds transformed into a festival of noise and color. Riku and Aiko stuck close, their nerves masked behind forced smiles as they navigated the crowd. The harem members orbited them—Haruka offering encouragements, Mika lingering silently, and Yuna dropping cryptic comments like breadcrumbs.

The performance went off without a hitch, the kiss scene drawing gasps and cheers from the audience. Riku's heart pounded as Aiko's lips brushed his—a staged moment that felt all too real. They pulled apart to applause, but the relief was short-lived.

"There you are!" a voice called, cutting through the chatter. Aiko stiffened as her parents emerged from the crowd—her mom waving enthusiastically, her dad scanning the scene with a stern frown.

"Aiko! Riku!" her mom exclaimed, pulling them into a hug. "You two were adorable up there!"

"Thanks, Mom," Aiko said, her voice tight. Riku nodded, his smile plastered on.

Her dad's gaze lingered on them, sharp and assessing. "Quite a performance," he said, his tone neutral but heavy with implication.

Before they could respond, Riku's mom appeared with Emi in tow. "Oh, good, you're all here! I was just telling Emi's parents how well she and Riku get along."

Aiko's smile faltered, her hand brushing Riku's behind their backs—a silent anchor in the rising tide. The parents exchanged pleasantries, oblivious to the undercurrent of tension, while Yuna sidled up, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Wow, a full house," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "This should be fun."

Panic flashed in Aiko's eyes, but before Yuna could say more, the loudspeaker crackled. "All participants to the main stage for the final event!"

Riku grabbed Aiko's hand, pulling her away under the guise of duty. They slipped into the crowd, leaving the parents and Yuna behind, their breaths ragged.

"We're not going to make it through this, are we?" Aiko whispered, her grip tightening.

"We have to," Riku replied, his voice firm despite the chaos in his chest.

The final event—a relay race—passed in a blur, their focus split between the task and the eyes watching them. As they crossed the finish line, breathless and flushed, Aiko's dad approached, his expression unreadable.

"We need to talk," he said, his voice low. "Now."

Riku's heart sank, the storm breaking over them at last. Aiko's hand slipped from his, her face pale but resolute.

"Both of you," her dad added, his gaze pinning them in place.

The world seemed to shrink, the laughter and music fading as they faced the reckoning they'd tried so hard to avoid.

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