Ken couldn’t contribute too much to the conversation outside of his love for baseball. He did talk about Daichi joining his family, however he left out the specifics of his abusive mother, feeling it was a little too heavy for their first proper conversation.
Soon enough, the duo arrived in front of Ken’s house.
Ken carefully placed the bicycle on the ground and asked Ai to wait there for a moment.
“Mom, I’m home.”
After opening the door, Ken called out to his mother. However, a moment later he suddenly felt a familiar dangerous aura coming from the kitchen, causing him to freeze on the spot.
‘Damn it! I forgot that mom was in that mood.’
Ken panicked, trying to figure out what to do next.
“M-Mom, I need the first aid kit please.”
It wasn’t ideal, but he would have to do the first aid on Ai himself.
His mother peaked her head around the corner, her eyes seeming almost red as they reflected the sunrise which peaked in through the window.
“You don’t look injured.” She hissed.
Ken gulped, feeling his body stiffen out of instinct.
“I-It’s for my friend. We collided by accident.”
After being stared at intently by the beast, Ken had no choice but to tell the truth.
Yuki paused for a moment before answering. “Bring them in.”
Ken shuddered, silently praying for the woman he was about to bring into his home.
He poked his head out and motioned for Ai to come inside, doing his best to not show how panicked he was feeling.
Ai felt a little nervous as this was the first time she had entered a boys house, however she gathered her courage and walked in the door.
“Sorry to bother you” She called out sweetly, before taking off her shoes.
The moment her words ended, Ken felt as if the atmosphere suddenly changed, putting him on edge even more than before.
“Kenny, you didn’t tell me we had a young lady visiting~”
His mothers sweet voice rang out as she suddenly appeared in front of them both, a wonderful smile on her face.
Ken stared in shock at the sudden transformation of the banshee into this woman in front of him.
Yuki looked between her son and the teen that he had brought with her, her face full of warmth and smiles. However, Ken could still feel a little undertone of annoyance directed at him whenever their eyes met.
“A-Ah, this is Ai Koyama. We’re in the same class and she’s also a manager at the baseball club.” Ken said, finally remembering his duty to begin the introductions.
“Ai, this is—”
“I’m Kenny’s mother, you can call me Yuki~” She said, not even allowing Ken to finish talking. Her eyes darted to the blood on Ai’s elbow and instantly went into motherly-mode.
“Oh honey, your elbow looks painful. Come inside, I’ll make sure to clean it up.” With that, Yuki led Ai inside by the hand and took her to the dining room to be patched up.
Ken stood awkwardly at the entrance, not exactly knowing what was going on. His mother had done a complete 180 once Ai entered the house, yet instead of being relieved, he actually felt in even more danger.
“Kenny, go grab the first aid kit please darling~”
Ken shuddered. His mother never called him darling, which made him uneasy. But in order to avoid any more trouble, he quickly made his way into the cupboard and procured the first aid kit.
His misery didn’t end there. All the while his mother was patching up Ai, she kept saying embarrassing things like how this was the first time he’d brought a lady to the house. She even said how she was relieved that he was taking an interest in women.
He could only silently wish for a swift death as he sat uncomfortably at the dining table and listened to the folly coming out of his mothers mouth.
Ken didn’t even want to look at Ai’s face, afraid he would see her mortified expression.
Thankfully, after 5 painful minutes which felt like an eternity, she was done.
Placing the bandage on her elbow, Yuki smiled sweetly. “Thank goodness it was only a small scrape, it won’t leave a scar.”
Ken breathed out a sigh of relief and was about to quickly usher Ai out of the house before he was tortured any further. However, his mother had other plans.
“Ai honey, I’m just about to serve some breakfast. Would you care to stay and eat with us?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose Mrs. Takagi.” Ai replied, however her eyes moved to Ken who looked as if he swallowed a sour lemon.
Ken was about to get up and insist that he would walk Ai home, at least that was until he felt a murderous gaze from his mother assault him.
He quickly swallowed whatever he was about to say and spoke up, doing his best to smile. “Y-You should stay. Mom is a great cook.”
Ai smiled in response, inwardly happy she would be able to spend more time with Ken.
Seeing the wonderful smile that seemed to accentuate her beauty even more, Ken suddenly felt a bit better. He wouldn’t mind being bullied by his mother if he got to eat with such a beautiful woman.
‘What am I thinking? She’s like 15 or 16 right now…’
Ken felt at odds. Since his mental age was 24, he couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming guilt whenever he thought of Ai as a woman.
‘Friends… We’ll just be friends okay.’
Without waiting for a response from Ai, Yuki quickly got to her feet an announced that the food would be ready shortly.
Not long later, Yuki set a bowl of rice and some wonderful side dishes such as miso soup, grilled fish, omelet, seaweed and even natto on the table.
The spread was amazing as usual, at least for both Yuki and Ai.
Ken looked down at the lonely bowl of rice in front of him and couldn’t help but sigh.
‘Yep, she’s still pissed at me.’