Chapter 58: Dinner Invitation from the Hikigaya family
Aragaki Takiya wasn't sure where his feelings for Kato Megumi were heading—whether it was pure friendship or something deeper buried in his heart... Aragaki Takiya didn't dwell on it and quickly changed the subject, burying the unfinished sentence in his heart. After all, the current atmosphere was barely within his acceptable range, but if he really said something so ambiguous... "The train has arrived at the station, so I'll be going now, Aragaki~"
Kato Megumi's voice came from the side.
"Ah? So soon..."
Looking at the girl who had already stepped off the train, Aragaki Takiya just stared blankly at her back. It wasn't until this moment that he suddenly realized something.
"If this club were to fall apart, who would it affect the most?"
Aki Tomoya was excluded first; he wasn't within the scope of Aragaki Takiya's considerations.
Next was Kasumigaoka Utaha. Based on their last conversation on the balcony, she was likely only there to repay a debt of gratitude; whether the club existed or not didn't matter much to her.
Eriri hadn't made any other moves since her falling out with Aki Tomoya, so the impact shouldn't be too great. Then... Looking at the girl's back not far away, Aragaki Takiya still chose to follow her.
"Let's walk together, Kato."
A voice suddenly came from beside Kato Megumi, who was originally heading home alone.
"Eh? But Aragaki, isn't your home in..."
"I'm just stopping by to buy something on the way."
Aragaki Takiya blinked, choosing to use a clumsy lie instead.
"I see, then let's walk together."
Hearing this, Kato Megumi didn't say much and directly accepted the invitation. There were naturally many loopholes in Aragaki Takiya's words, but what did it matter?
She happened to dislike being ignored, so the feeling of having someone to walk with was naturally for the best... Buzz~
The phone in his pocket vibrated, giving Aragaki Takiya, who was walking alone after seeing off Kato Megumi, a bit of energy.
"Let me see... Is it a message from Komachi?"
Aragaki Takiya quickly browsed the messages on his phone screen and soon gathered three pieces of information.
To thank him for visiting Hikigaya when he was injured, Hikigaya Komachi specifically invited him to the Hikigaya family for dinner, followed by the time and location.
"Hmm... So that's how it is."
Aragaki Takiya was somewhat surprised to receive such an invitation.
But on second thought, it made sense. Given Hachiman Hikigaya's personality, it would indeed be difficult for him to invite others to his home as guests. However, Hikigaya Komachi was different; after all, she was a rare social butterfly.
"But should I bring Moeha along?"
After thinking for a few seconds, Aragaki Takiya immediately decided to call her. After all, it was the Hikigaya family, and they weren't strangers. Besides, Aragaki Moeha should be very happy to see them too.
Aragaki Takiya had a natural fondness for the Hikigaya siblings. Although their personalities were complete opposites, there was no denying that both were good people and easy to get along with. However, he didn't know if the Little one at home would like them as much as he did.
"...Thank you very much, Classmate Shiina, for taking care of Moeha for me..."
At the Aragaki Residence, after patting Aragaki Moeha's little head, Aragaki Takiya first thanked Shiina Mahiru for helping him look after his "younger sister," and then mentioned that he was taking her to visit a friend.
"I see, no problem. It just so happens that Kaede and I were also planning to go out for a stroll."
Hearing Aragaki Takiya's words, Shiina Mahiru didn't show any other emotions, but compared to her, Shiina Kaede behind her was filled with disappointment.
It couldn't be helped; it was just emotion. Even though she knew there were reasons for everything, she was still just a child and found it hard to control her feelings.
"Sorry, Kaede. I'll bring Moeha to play with you another day..."
Noticing the expression on Shiina Kaede's face, Aragaki Takiya didn't think much of it. He simply assumed she was reluctant to part with Aragaki Moeha, so he crouched down to comfort her.
"It's, it's okay, hehe. I'll come play with Moeha another day."
Aragaki Takiya's words instantly restored Shiina Kaede's mood. She quickly regained her usual expression, and the disappointment that had just appeared on her face was immediately replaced by a smile.
Noticing her rapid change in expression, Aragaki Takiya just gently patted her little head. After standing up and having a brief exchange with Shiina Mahiru, he left home with them.
"What was with Kaede's expression just now?"
On the train, after settling Aragaki Moeha down beside him, the scene from earlier couldn't help but resurface in his mind.
Logically speaking, it wasn't strange for a child to show such disappointment. For instance, if a parent's promise wasn't kept, or if something they had been looking forward to suddenly fell through.
But none of those situations applied to Shiina Kaede. In that case, why was she like that?
Aragaki Takiya didn't think she had psychological issues. From the moment they met, whether in conversation or during their brief time together, Shiina Kaede had always been very polite.
In contrast, his daughter, Aragaki Moeha, had communication problems due to her past family environment. If that was the case, what could be the reason... Aragaki Takiya didn't believe that just a few days of interaction could create such a deep friendship between Aragaki Moeha and Shiina Kaede, and they weren't lacking this one afternoon. Then... "By the way, Moeha, what did you play with Kaede and Sister Shiina this afternoon?"
Having no luck thinking about it, Aragaki Takiya set the question aside for now and began asking Aragaki Moeha how she spent her afternoon.
"I played games with Kaede for a while, and then Sister Shiina told us stories. Also, we talked about you, Papa."
Aragaki Moeha reminisced and then dropped a question that piqued Aragaki Takiya's interest.
"What did you talk about regarding me?"
"Some were about Papa at school—Sister Shiina told us, and Kaede and I listened. And then there were things about Papa usually at home. Kaede was interested in that, so I said a few things."
Along with Aragaki Moeha's intermittent answers, Aragaki Takiya didn't gain any useful information because, in his view, their conversation topics were quite normal.
After all, even Aragaki Takiya himself had talked with Hikigaya Komachi about Hachiman Hikigaya's daily life during that visit, so he wasn't surprised that the Shiina Sisters talked about this topic.
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