Mirai forced the awkward pair to one of the corner seats at her favourite cafe. She saw how her son's frustrated expression and felt extremely amused. It was rare seeing his son feeling this disturbed as he normally gave ladies' the kind of security that would make them fall for him. On the one hand, she wanted to cheer her son up, as she knew that he was hurt by what happened earlier, but on the other hand, she thought Megu looked really dejected. Whatever that happened between them, she felt it is only right to give them time to resolve it cause it is evident they didn't mean to fall out this way. In fact, as much as her son is confused with what Megu is feeling, Mirai too is bewildered by why she reacted so strongly against him cause she swore she saw Megu's spark for Ryuu. The two weren't talking. Ryuu retained his irritated expression, while Megu continued to have her head lowered such that it was hard to see if she's feeling better. Mirai became desperate to help the two reconcile.

"okasan, I'll go make the orders," Ryuu offered to excuse himself from the silence exchanges and from the look from Megu which he deemed to be hostile. Unfortunately, his mother was faster than him by a whole second.

"mister, u sit down. I'll go order," Mirai pushed Ryuu back to his seat then refused to listen to his protest. Instead, she turned to face Megu with a soft smile on her face, "darling, what do you want to eat? don't be shy with me"

Megu took a quick glance at Ryuu's dismay then quickly responded by shaking her head shyly, "I should go, Nakajima-san..."

"yes, she should. Okasan, she's just gonna be uncomfortable facing someone she hates... so we shouldn't impose on her," Ryuu reacted almost instantly. Mirai gave her son a stern look as if telling him to shut up. Ryuu quickly got the hint and slouched back on his seat with more irritation. She turned back to Megu who felt really awkward being in Ryuu's presence after her unreasonable confrontation, but Mirai gave her just no room to refuse her every attempts to escape.

"Megu, I'll just order their chef's recommendation for you and as for the drink, is ice lemon tea okay for you?"

She nodded after realising that it seemed running away was impossible. As soon as Mirai left the seats, the situation the two was stuck in became even more strange that they found it almost difficult to breathe properly when their relationship has just snapped. From the sides of Ryuu's eyes, he could see her head fully bent down; there was no absolute intention to face him. After an extended silence, he decided this just wouldn't do. There's just no way he could tolerate this stress for the whole day when it should actually be a loving day for him and his mother.

"since my mum is not here now, if you want to leave, you should take this opportunity," he said with a deep, emotionless voice. Megu looked at him with a face of sadness as if he has said something hurtful, then without any acknowledgement, she sprung up on her feet. However, before she could leave, Ryuu has been painfully wrenched on his ear.

"ahhh itaiiiiii itaiii okasan" Mirai was pulling his ears, punishing him for getting Megu to leave without her permission. "and you, sit down, unless you want to upset me" Mirai said to Megu.

"gomenasai Nakajima-san... b-but I shouldn't be here..." Mirai saw Ryuu's pout and felt even more sorry for being a pain to him.

"who said so. I want you here... besides, Ryuu, today is my valentines and you're here to celebrate for me right. So whoever I want to invite, you should respect too"

"she's the one who is being really harsh..."

"that's between the 2 of u, so you two can resolve it after today. Now I just wanna spent time with the two of you'"

"okasan, you're being absurd. You barely know her."

"you barely know her too. and I do want to know her better, ne Megu" Mirai turned to Megu after a meaningless bickering between the mother-son, where Ryuu eventually admitted defeat by his no response. Megu too could only agree after sensing Mirai's persistence. Luckily the food came fast, so Megu became so distracted by the fragrance her food is emitting that she just preoccupies herself with gobbling it up. She thought the faster she finishes her food, the earlier she could excuse herself from this daunting situation. However, her famish look caught the attention of Mirai and Ryuu.

"eat slowly, Megu. You'll choke," Mirai reminded while patting her back lightly. 

"it's really delicious..." she uttered with full. Ryuu tried his best not to chuckle, but he thought he really missed this innocence of Megu where she tries only to be herself instead of acting overtly demure like the other girls he met which always made him feel uncomfortable.

"what do you normally eat?" Mirai asked casually.

"b-bread.." Megu answered absentmindedly until she saw their worried faces that she realised she shouldn't have blurted out so casually. 

"bread? don't your grandma cook?" Ryuu was the one who couldn't contain his curiousity anymore. He clearly recalled her saying she lives with her grandma and there's just no reason why she only eats bread. His eyes focused on her finally and he noticed that her collar bone became alot more obvious since the last time he saw her and her cheeks have disappeared. Megu's expression appeared very embarrassed to the extent they both felt that she didn't want to say. But the more she acted this way, the more it indicated that something bad has happened during this time. 

"Megu-chan?" Mirai probbed as she always do without fail. Megu averted Ryuu's worried gaze and lowered her head before she uttered softly, "my grandma is not with me anymore." 

Ryuu, especially, was stunned by the shocking revelation. He didn't know what to say, but he knew her life wouldn't be good with her left to fend for herself. He has many questions in his mind, like how no one in school seems to know what she's up to, why is she acting so obnoxious. Though he has no clue if these are all boils down to the death of her grandma, but he found it really depressing to see her isolated and alienated from the students at school. He remembered not seeing her during graduation, and wondered if this was also the reason for her absence. However, he accepted the fact that he probably isn't the best person to be questioning her about her life cause it will only come across as a busybody since she has most definitely voiced her displeasure with him. Luckily, Mirai killed the silence.

"gomenasai, Megu-chan... let's not think about all these. Let's just enjoy the day, ne.what's next on the list, Ryuu?"

Ryuu and Megu both glanced at Mirai with widdened eyes as they thought Megu would only tag along until after this meal.

"it's movie, okasan. but Megu really wouldn't want to go with us"

"Megu-chan, would you want to disappoint me?" Mirai gave Megu the puppy look face that the latter felt bad if she has to keep pushing it away, but she couldn't ignore Ryuu's protest as well. She felt really troubled, and all of her emotions became even more complex when a new person entered into the picture.

"Ryuu-kun!" a bright, cheerful voice attracted all attention to one side of their table. 

"Mariya-chan?" Ryuu was confused by her sudden appearance and felt uneasy. His hinch was right. 

"Konnichiwa, you must be Ryuu's mother. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu Nakajima-san, I'm Nishiguchi Mariya."

Mirai was dumbfounded and immensely confused by who this lady was despite her brief introduction. Ryuu has to quickly fill her in with a short one liner before it gets more complicated than it currently is. "okasan, she's my...er..sort of friend?"

"I like Ryuu, and was wondering if I could join you guys on your date today?"

"heh?" Mirai and Ryuu both exclaimed at once.

"I thought I told you another day?" Ryuu asked

"but your mother wouldn't mind me joining right? It's valentine's and I think it'll be more meaningful that way... besides, there's others in this outing too" her eyes shifted towards Megu who has retreated to the background.

"b-but she's..." Ryuu tried to explain the exceptional situation, instead he was outbeaten by his mother again, leaving him thinking that the supposed date with his mother became a dreadful outing. "it's okay for you to join in, Mariya."

"THANK YOU, NAKAJIMA-SAN!" Mirai received a friendly hug from Mariya and she found herself choking by the young girl's perfume, but held it in so it didn't appear rude. 

Ryuu wanted so much to join his father and sister instead of this complex situation he never dreamt of being embroiled in. A unreasonable girl who hate on him for no reason, a girl who so desperately clinged to him as if he belongs to her, a mother who is so accomodating that he couldn't understand her rationale for allowing 2 girls to ruin his date with her. He thought the stroll towards the cinema will give him a little more space to breathe, but he found it the most irritable one.not only could he not remain transparent by trailing behind quietly because Megu was taking up that space, his arms was likened to be chained up by Mariya's arms. He gave his mother a stare whenever he could show his dismay. Her carefree walking style just raised his intolerance that he couldn't bring himself to smile at the other girls. Even at the ticket counter, he saw many eyes staring at how he alone is bringing 3 girls out.

Then he was looking forward to the moment he could finally reconcile his thoughts in the quiet theatre but he never imagined the most humiliating part happened right before him - seat assignment! He would seriously have chosen the corner seat and have his mother sat right beside him so he needn't face the 2 other girls, but his mother left him right in the middle of all troubles.

"hi~" Mariya called for Megu in a friendly tone that made Megu felt her kind hospitality, while the mother-son were distracted over the food at the cinema