Chapter 24: Nini’s Surreal Play House

Miyamura Daiki had just stepped out onto the rooftop of his office building when he noticed that Akira's red tracking dot had returned to normal. Before he could process what that meant, his wife's voice came through the phone.

"Honey, what's wrong? Did you forget something important at home?" asked Miyamura Shizuka.

Daiki quickly responded, "No, nothing like that. I just wanted to ask—on your phone, does it show Akira's location as Futaba Park?"

"Wait, let me check."

Shizuka put the call on hold, opened the location-tracking app, and confirmed the icon on her screen several times before saying, "Yup, it shows he's in Futaba Park, near the children's playground. Why?"

Seeing that their positions matched, Daiki let out a sigh of relief and laughed, "Nothing, just me overthinking again. Alright, I'll bring you your favorite cake when I come home tonight."

Shizuka glanced at the now-ended call with slight confusion. Still, she didn't dwell on it for long and returned to prepping lunch.

Once the sound of the honking car in the distance faded away completely…

"Ahem… Ahem…" Akira cleared his throat to draw attention. "Didn't we all agree to play Nini's 'super-realistic house' game? Why's everyone standing around like statues?"

Aside from Shouko and Sakurada Nini, the rest of the kids looked visibly uncomfortable.

Sakurada Nini didn't seem to notice—or care. She puffed her cheeks and snapped, "What are you staring at? Is there a problem with playing super-realistic house with me, Nini!?"

All four kids shook their heads in perfect unison, immediately agreeing that it was a great idea and they were thrilled.

Pleased, Nini cheerfully began explaining the roles and rules for her very surreal version of house-playing.

They settled roles with a game of rock-paper-scissors:

Akira and Shouko were the married couple (father and mother).

Sakurada Nini played their daughter.

Toru Kazama was cast as Akira's mistress.

Shin-chan (Nohara Shinnosuke) was the illegitimate son of Akira and Kazama.

Sato Masao played a homeless man who had feelings for Shin-chan.

A-Dai was the wildcard—he claimed to like the homeless man but was secretly in love with the mistress.

By the time Nini finished explaining the bizarre character backstories, Akira finally understood why the others had been so hesitant. Still, Shouko, who had never played such a convoluted game before, looked genuinely excited.

Akira turned to Nini with a bewildered expression and asked, "Nini… where did you even get all of this?"

"Oh, I wrote it down while watching my mom's 8 PM drama shows," she replied nonchalantly.

When the group finally parted ways around noon, none of them had fully recovered from the chaotic roleplay.

In the end:

Akira and Masao eloped.

Toru Kazama died of excessive blood loss from a miscarriage—while pregnant with A-Dai's child.

Shin-chan and Nini got together, but their relationship was revealed at the wedding, causing them to split.

Shin-chan and A-Dai ran off together.

Nini, heartbroken, was comforted by Shouko—and gradually began harboring feelings for her mother.

Shouko patted Akira on the shoulder sympathetically. Akira managed a dry chuckle to show he was still alive—barely.

Everyone said their goodbyes and headed home to find their respective mothers. Akira took Shouko with him, having already informed Grandma Nishimiya that she'd be having lunch at their house today.

When they reached the gate, Akira knocked firmly.

A voice from inside called out, "I'm coming, hold on!"

Moments later, Shizuka opened the door, walked right past Akira, scooped Shouko into her arms, and rubbed her cheek against the girl's face.

"Auntie, that tickles!"

Ignoring her son, Shizuka finally turned to him, ruffled his hair, and beamed. "Hungry? Your beautiful mommy made a feast today."

"Yeah, yeah. Wow! Beautiful Shizuka made a feast!" Akira replied half-heartedly. Then he sniffed the air and asked cautiously, "Uh, Mom… you didn't forget to turn off the stove again, did you?"

Without answering, Shizuka gasped and bolted toward the kitchen.

Akira led Shouko inside, pulled her slippers out from the cabinet, and gave them to her. Like always, their family and the Nishimiya family kept a set of slippers for each other.

Once both had changed, they walked down the wooden corridor and turned left into the living room. They flopped onto the tatami, turned on the TV, and relaxed.

Shizuka's voice rang out from the dining area, "Akira! Don't stuff yourself with snacks! We're eating soon!"

"I knooow!" Akira shouted back, lying flat on the floor.

After a few minutes, Shouko realized Akira had dozed off. She stared at his peaceful face for a while, then curled up beside him and drifted off too.

Shizuka soon returned to the living room to call them for lunch. Seeing them fast asleep, she chuckled, went to her room, and came back with a small blanket. Gently covering them both, she smiled and tiptoed away to enjoy lunch on her own.

"That's the end of today's weather forecast. See you tomorrow!" The TV's ending theme stirred Akira from sleep. He lifted his right hand to rub his eyes—his left hand was pinned under Shouko.

Carefully slipping it free, he sat up and noticed the sky outside had gone dark.

"Was the TV volume too high? We should start getting ready for dinner, Akira," said Daiki from the sofa behind him.

Shizuka strolled in with slow steps and grumbled, "You sleep like a rock. Not like little Akira—he's adorable even in his sleep."

"Haha…" chuckled Yaeko Nishimiya as she entered, holding Yuzuru in her arms. "Akira's always been the 'perfect kid' of the neighborhood since he was a baby."

Shouko, still half-asleep, noticed her pillow (Akira) had moved and instinctively wrapped her arms around him.

Akira yawned, "Did I really sleep that long…?"

"You still know time exists?" Shizuka teased with a pout. "You fell asleep with Shouko and left me all alone for lunch." She wiped imaginary tears before suddenly gasping. "Wait! You two didn't eat lunch at all!"

She knelt beside him and asked quickly, "Are you hungry now, Akira? We're going out to eat later, but I can get you some bread first if you want?"

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