CH. 118 - Plans For the Future

Some time later, now in early May, the group continues to grow. Ryuji packs some folders and writing supplies in a backpack before letting out a sigh. He looks nervous as Lucy places her hand on his cheek.

“You nervous?” She asks softly. He looks at her softly before nodding a bit. Lucy gives him a loving look. “Aw, don’t be, babe. You’ve got this. You’ve probably got this more than anyone else in that room!” She says encouragingly. Ryuji smiles a bit before looking down a little. Lucy picks up on his nerves and lifts his head with a finger under his chin. “Hey. Don’t worry about all that other stuff right now. Just focus on that test and prove to yourself just how good of a chef you are.” She gives him a gentle kiss as he smiles before throwing the bag over his shoulder and heading out. Ryuji soon approaches a large building with many other people entering it in the early morning.

‘Okay. Time to get certified. This will dictate the direction of my future. I can do this! For Lucy. For Chizuru!’ He thinks before walking inside the test hall.

Lucy sits on the couch in her house tapping her foot before sighing and falling back into the couch with a worried look.

“Hey.” A familiar voice calls to her. Her brother Yamato steps into the room. Lucy looks at him for a moment before looking back at the ceiling.

“Hey.” She responds.

“Ryuji’s taking his certification test today, huh?” He asks. Lucy nods. “And you’re worried about him?” He asks again. Lucy hesitates for a moment, pressing her lips together before exhaling and venting to her brother.

“His whole life he’s only ever wanted to be a cook, a chef. And I know he’s more than capable, he’s better than anyone else I’ve ever met, including dad.” She says. Yamato rolls his eyes a bit. “But still… Actually getting to this point? It’s scary. What if he fails? He shouldn’t but if he does, what happens then?” She asks openly, venting her anxieties. Yamato sighs a bit as he sits down next to his sister.

“Listen, don’t worry so much about him. If he fails.. Well, let’s be honest, we saw this coming. He’s not good for anything.” Yamato says with a shrug and a nod. Lucy gets mad and punches her brother on the arm softly but still enough to show her frustration. “Right, right. No, but seriously. Don’t worry about him. I’m sure he wouldn’t want you sitting here stressing like this. Just relax and he will too.” Yamato says, trying to genuinely comfort his sister. She looks at him surprised as he stares at the ground with a soft look before closing his eyes and sitting back. “Besides, he may not be all that but.. he’s got the right stuff.” He opens an eye and smirks at Lucy. “Whether I like it or not.” He says. Lucy smiles before sitting back too, letting out a soft exhale. 

“You’re right. Thanks, bro. I really do appreciate you coming down when… everything happened…” Lucy says softly with a sad look. Yamato looks at her softly before bumping her shoulder with his.

“Of course. I couldn’t just let my little sis go through that. What kind of big brother would I be?” Yamato says. Lucy smiles at him a bit before smirking and pushing herself to be excited.

“Anyway, what am I even worried for? It’s Ryuji we’re talking about. He’s totally got this!”

“I failed.” Ryuji says, looking at the ground out front of the testing center. Lucy stares at him in shock as does her family with her.

“WHAAAT??” They all shout. Lucy grabs hold of Ryuji’s jacket collar and yanks him close.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! What happened??” she yells as Yamato steps next to Ryuji and quickly grabs the test results paper from his hand and reads it. He gets an annoyed look before speaking.

“He’s lying. He passed with flying colors.” Yamato says, mockingly. Lucy looks at her brother with surprise as Ryuji giggles to himself a little, looking away. Lucy sighs in relief before lowering her head with a giggle, looking back at Ryuji before lifting her gaze to match his with an angry look, shaking Ryuji around.

“..don’t do that..! You almost gave me a panic attack, you jerk!” She shouts then throws him to the ground. Kenji sighs as Yuri laughs.

“This boy! Haha!” She says.

"Almost gave me a heart attack there, son.” Kenji says, holding his chest. Ryuji chuckles on the ground.

“Sorry, I knew how much Lucy would be stressing. I just wanted to see her face.” He says with a big smile as Lucy blushes and pouts. Kenji exhales softly as he puts his hands on his hips.

“I’m just glad my plan is still good. I mean, who else was I gonna hand my restaurant over to?” Kenji asks. Yamato helps Ryuji up as they both look back at him confused.

“What?” they ask at the same time, equally shocked. Yuri then shushes Kenji quickly.

“Oh shush! That was supposed to be a surprise!” She whispers but they all hear her. Lucy looks at her dad with surprise across her face.

“Wait, dad. What did you say?” She asks. Kenji smiles and shakes his head.

“Well, these old bones aren’t getting any younger here. One of my kids is gonna graduate from college soon and the other from highschool. I think it’s about time they start taking care of their mother and I now. And what better way than having this wonderful, talented young man run my restaurant for me?” Kenji says as he opens his hand to Ryuji, who looks confused.

“You… want me to.. run the restaurant?..” Ryuji asks, totally dumbfounded by what he’s just heard.

“What do you say? Think you could take it off my hands? I can’t leave it to Lucy or she’ll destroy the place by sundown.” Kenji teases. Tears start to form in Ryuji’s eyes as his surprise stays on his face.

“Wait.. that’s..” he says softly.

“This is a dream come true!” Lucy shouts happily. She jumps on her father and gives him a huge hug. “Thank you, dad! Thank you so much! You’re so good to us!” Lucy says, totally ecstatic. Ryuji starts to cry as he buries his face in his hands. Lucy, with tears in her eyes too, rushes to him and hugs him. “This is gonna be great! I can’t believe this is happening!” She shouts.

“I’m.. so happy.. I don’t know what to say..” Ryuji says through tears and sniffles.

“Just say you’ll take care of her for the rest of your life. Oh, and the restaurant too.” Kenji says warmly. Lucy looks at her dad as she smiles warmly. Ryuji nods happily as tears roll down his face.

“I will! I promise I will! I will make you proud!” Ryuji says passionately. Kenji smiles warmly at them as Lucy hugs Ryuji again.

“You already have.” Kenji says softly as Yuri snuggles up to him a bit. Yamato watches them before he sighs, putting his hands on his hips.

“Guess I have no choice but to accept you now. You’ve got my whole family turned against me.” Yamato says with a smile. Ryuji looks at him as Yamato smiles and offers his hand. “I guess there’s only one thing left to do.” He says as Ryuji reaches out and shakes his hand. “Welcome to the family, Ryuji.” Yamato says warmly. Ryuji smiles a warm and truly happy smile.

“This is the greatest day of my life!” Ryuji says softly as they all smile and cheer together. Suddenly, they all hear someone call his name from behind.

“Ryuji!” The woman’s voice calls out. They turn around and see his mother rushing their way happily.

“Fuyuko?” Yuri says, surprised, as Kenji looks a little concerned. Ryuji sweats as he looks at her.

“Mom..? Mom!” he calls out before rushing her way, but she meets him first and hugs him tightly while laughing.

“You did it! My sweet baby boy, you did it! I’m so proud of you!” She cheers before letting go and holding his face in her hands. Soon, Jun comes rushing up behind them out of breath. He puts his hands on his knees as he catches his breath.

“I tried.. to stop her.. but when she got your text.. I couldn’t keep up..” Jun says, panting. They look at him shocked before Ryuji looks at his mother.

“Mom, but.. your condition-” he says before Fuyuko shakes her head.

“I don’t care! I wasn’t gonna miss this for the world!” She says happily before coughing into her hand harshly. Ryuji takes a step before she lifts her hand to him, stopping him as Jun quickly steps close and helps her take her inhaler. She inhales sharply as she smiles at her son. “I knew you could do it.!” She says softly. Jun sighs in relief before looking at his son too.

“We both did.” He says softly with a gentle smile.

“Now get over here and hug the rest of your family!” Fuyuko shouts, offering her arms to him. Ryuji smiles, tears in his eyes as he rushes into the embrace of both his mother and his father. They hold him tightly as Lucy’s family watches happily.

“I see where he gets… well, everything.” Kenji says softly to Lucy as she nods with a big smile.

At Sugawara’s home, early in the morning, Haru wakes and sits up with a sleepy look and messy hair. He looks around before noticing Sugawara isn’t in the bed with him. He gets up and walks out of the room before noticing Sugawara sitting at a large desk, tinkering with something, sparks zapping and scattered parts spread out across the desk.

“Good morning, love.” Haru says with a soft smile, approaching him from behind. Sugawara looks up surprised wearing crafting goggles.

“Oh, it’s morning already? Sorry, I couldn’t sleep. Something was on my mind.” Sugawara says quickly as he refocuses on his work. Haru gently places his hands on Sugawara’s shoulders as he stands behind him, Haru's arm freed from his cast but still in a light brace.

“Well, with a brain that big, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t something on it, haha!” He says with a laugh as he rubs his shoulders a little causing Sugawara to relax subtly. Haru then leans over him with a loving smile. “But you remember what I told you. No tinkering before having breakfast. It’s bad for your body. That’s why you’re so short and look like a girl.” Haru says. Sugawara instantly stops and pulls up his goggles, looking at Haru with an upset look.

“I don’t look like a girl!” He is then interrupted by a kiss that Sugawara melts into after a moment. Haru then pulls back a little.

“I like that you look like a girl. Now come on, I’ll make us some breakfast.” Haru says, walking to the kitchen. Sugawara softly complies before putting his stuff down and getting cleaned up. Swiftly, breakfast is made as they sit together and watch TV while they eat. Haru speaks with a mouthful of food.

“What are you working on, anyway?” Haru asks.

“It’s the SSD Ms. Samuel gave me the other day. She said to put it towards my future and to fill it with my ideas.” Sugawara explains casually. Haru then looks at it over his shoulder surprised and slightly confused.

“So you decided to tear it apart..?” He asks, looking at the SSD torn apart on the desk. Sugawara giggles a bit.

“No, silly. I’m upgrading it. I tried it but it just wasn’t doing what I wanted it to so I’m changing it.” Sugawara says. Haru just shakes his head a bit with a subtly baffled look.

“I’m glad you can just do stuff like that because there’s no way I could. Makes me confident that if anything in our house breaks, you’ve got it covered.” He says with a smile as Sugawara smiles warmly.

“Yeah, I got it.” Sugawara says happily.

Another day, at school, Sugawara walks into class behind Haru as everyone’s beginning to take their seats.

“Sugawara! I hope the drive I gave you is working well.” Samuel says with a smile. Sugawara smiles back excitedly.

“It is! I tore it apart.” He says with a big smile. Samuel sweats a bit, confused.

“Great.. Whatever works I guess.” She says softly.

“Well, if I’m gonna fill it with ideas that will innovate and change the direction of technology as a whole, I’m gonna need more than 500 gigs of data.” Sugawara says confidently. Samuel looks at him surprised and proud.

“Oh yeah? Finally decided to put that big brain of yours to use, have you?” She asks. Sugawara nods softly, a little embarrassed.

“Yeah.. After what happened… I figured if I had something, anything to help, maybe things would have turned out differently.” Sugawara says softly, lowering his head a bit with a sad look. Samuel smiles sympathetically, understanding his feelings as he lifts his head with a proud look. “I’m going to make a difference. Create something that can help anyone, any time, anywhere!” He says with a bold tone as Samuel smiles proudly.

“And I can’t wait to see you succeed.” She says as Sugawara blushes with a smile and nods happily. Later, as the group walks down the hall, Haru walks next to him.

“So, a company to change the direction of science, huh?” Haru asks. Sugawara nods happily.

“Technology specifically, but yes. Technology is the key to the future and I will evolve technology.” Sugawara says with burning determination in his chest, shining through his eyes. Haru smiles softly at him.

“I know you will.” He says warmly. Haru then throws his arms behind his head with a slightly concerned exhale. “But something like that would take a lot of money and considering how your brother left last time… I’m surprised we still even have the house.” Haru expresses his concern. Sugawara lowers his head a little, realizing he’s right.

“Yeah…” Sugawara says under his breath. Haru thinks for a moment.

“Hmmm, maybe I can ask my mom and dad for some money? At least to get us started? Maybe Hikigaya will help too. Isn’t his mom loaded?” Haru says. Sugawara sighs.

“No, I’m not asking Natsu, Fuyu or Asami for money. That’s just.. awkward.” Sugawara says as he continues to think. As they walk, Riley steps in front of them.

“I hear you have a predicament in front of you.” Riley says, stopping them. Haru immediately pouts.

“Yeah, a short one…” he mumbles. They ignore him.

“Yeah, kinda. It’s fine, I’ll figure it out.” Sugawara says casually before Riley suddenly offers a large stack of Isos out of nowhere. Haru’s eyes pop out of his head at the sight.

“WOAH, THAT’S A LOT OF ICE!” Haru shouts. Sugawara looks stunned before shoving the Isos back into her hands and out of sight. The rest of the group stopping at their sudden shock.

“Riley! You can’t just pull out that much money!” Sugawara says with an anxious sweat.

“Why not? Have the others not seen Isos before?” Riley asks, genuinely.

“Not that much..” Haru says with a sweat.

“That’s not the point.. Come on, let’s talk somewhere private.” Sugawara says with frustrated exhale. He takes her hand and pulls her along for a moment as Riley blushes and breathes out a steamy breath. She tugs at the collar of her overly lavished uniform. 

“Oh Suga… I didn’t realize you were so forward… I don’t know if I’m ready…” Riley says, flustered. The others giggle as Haru is stunned.

“Hey hey hey! Nuh uh! None of that! That’s my boyfriend, thank you very much!” Haru shouts, rushing to them. He yanks Sugawara away from Riley who immediately looks back to normal as Haru holds both their wrists apart.

In the Helper’s Club room, they discuss business. As the entire group joins them, Milo rushes to Hikigaya and Ryuji, jumping on them, giving them a big hug.

“Hey hey~ We’re so glad to see you again!” She says happily. Shiori looks a little upset at her hugging Hikigaya but doesn’t say anything. After a moment, Milo turns and looks at Shiori. “And don’t think I forgot about you, shorty!” She then hugs Shiori tightly as Tsuki approaches them.

“Guys, this is Joyce. He’s joined the Helper’s Club as another helper. Along with Riley, we’re up to four now!” Tsuki says happily as he waves to the new guy. The new, slightly timid, boy waves at the group as they smile at him.

“You’re in good hands. They learned everything they know from us.” Kitaro says casually as Lucy glares at him a little.

“From us. You weren’t exactly the most helpful helper we had.” She scolds as Kitaro smirks. Joyce nods happily as he sweats nervously. Sugawara then looks surprised as he looks at Riley.

“Wait, you’re an official member of the club now?” He asks.

“Of course. You participated here so naturally I followed. That is why I was out. I was observing the common folk for helper requests and why I brought you here. As a member of the Helper’s Club, I will personally solve your problem.” Riley says proudly with her composed look, taking a bow. Mormo then pops his head over Alice’s shoulder from her bag.

“Yeah, yeah. All this tender love and care is gonna make me sick. I’m outta here.” He says before jumping down. Alice looks confused as she looks at the others.

“We’re literally just hanging out…” she says. Mormo heads for the door when it suddenly slides shut, slamming on his head. He screams and struggles to free himself as Touma looks at the group with a smile.

“Whoops.” He says as the others laugh. Soon after, at the table, Sugawara sits across from Riley who smiles at him.

“So what was all that about back there? With the money and stuff?” He asks.

“Simple. The one I love deeply is in need of financial support. Support I am plentiful of.” Riley explains casually. Tsuki then elbows her while clearing his throat openly. Without reacting, Riley continues. “As a member of the Helper’s Club, it is my pleasure to help solve your problem.” She says instead. Sugawara sweats a bit at the sight before looking a bit skeptical.

“And there’s no strings attached? You’re not gonna want reimbursement or, like, me to do something for you..?” Sugawara asks nervously as Riley stares at him, blushing a little.

“Now that you mention it, marriage would be a great payment-” she begins before Milo elbows her from the other side and she stops, adjusting her words without reacting again. “No, we do not take payment here at the Helper’s Club.” She says. Sugawara just sighs hearing her words as Riley’s look softens a bit. She looks down ever so slightly as her blush deepens a little. Sugawara notices her look, something he’s never seen from her before.

“Sugawara… I will not blackmail you nor will I ask for anything in return. I simply want to be a part of your life for as long as you’ll let me and I believe this is the best way to accomplish our goals, for both of us.” Riley says softly as she expresses herself and her feelings even as subtly as she is. “I know you love that strange boy a lot. I am not asking you to jeopardize that for me. I only want you to accept me into your life as someone important.” She continues. Sugawara hears the sincerity in her voice and smiles a bit, shaking his head.

“You already were, and this won’t change that.” Sugawara says to her. Riley looks at him surprised as he smiles back brightly. “But sure! I’ll take your money too!” He says with a soft giggle as Riley smiles, pleased.

“Perfect.” She says in almost a whisper. Haru watches from a chair across the classroom, pouting a bit.

“Great. Now I gotta deal with little miss flower begging for his attention all the time.” He pouts softly.

“Are you really threatened by her?” Ryuji asks with a smile. Haru looks away a bit, making duck lips.

 “no…” He admits as Ryuji chuckles. Haru turns and looks at her a bit with a softer look. “I guess she is cute…” He sighs. “Whatever, it won’t be so bad.” Haru says, accepting it.

“That’s right, buddy. Let it out.” Hikigaya says as he pats his shoulder. Touma nods in agreement as Haru smiles at them.

“You guys suck.” He says. They give him a thumbs up as they stick their tongues out.

“Well, with this financial gain, it seems I can get started on my business sooner than expected!” Sugawara says with a smile as Riley nods.

“I will get to work right away.” She says. Sugawara turns to her with a surprised look.

“Oh, you don’t have to-” He says but before he can continue, Riley pulls out a binder and opens it, sorting through a large stack of papers.

“I have already thought up some corporate names that are still available. I have also researched other demographics we should shoot for to gain influence along with what Districts desire most and where such advancements would be most beneficial. We should probably start with…” As she trails off, Sugawara sighs and smiles a bit.

“I guess she’s got it all figured out.” He says softly as they continue.