When I Let My Runaway Senior Stay at My House, Beautiful Seniors Started Gathering Around Me

Chapter 20: Hinata and Mom

“…Wow, it felt like a dream.”

On Sunday morning, I muttered to myself with deep emotion.

Until yesterday evening, I had spent time with Hinata-san and Arisa-san. It was just such a fun time… I really had a great time.

‘I like being with Tsubaki.’

‘I like being with Tsubaki-kun.’

Hearing them say that made me feel happy, and I couldn’t help but smile.

While fully aware that I was grinning like that, I went down to the living room and saw that Mom, who had come home last night, was about to go out.

“Huh, going somewhere?”

“The fridge is getting kind of empty, so I’m going shopping.”

“…I’ll come too.”

“Oh, are you sure?”

“I’d rather you ask me. I’ll carry the bags or whatever.”

“…Aww, how sweet♡”

“Please don’t do that.”

Mom’s beautiful, but I really wish she wouldn’t react like that.

I almost had a reflexive ‘ugh!!’ reaction because of it.

“Well then, let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

And so, I left the house with Mom.

(…Well, this actually works out.)

I had wanted to talk a little at home too, but this is just fine.

As I glanced at Mom’s face while she drove, I opened my mouth.

“Hey, Mom.”

“What is it?”

“…If I said I wanted to go to college—”

“Oh? You want to go? Then you’ll have to work hard at studying, okay?”

“…I figured you’d say that, but that was kind of fast.”

Well of course, Mom said with a laugh.

“Whether you choose college or work, I won’t complain. And if you want to go to college, it’s only natural for a parent to support you.”

“…Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about the money either. And more than that, ever since your father passed away, you’ve had to go through a lot… I want to grant your wishes as much as I can.”

…Really, thank you, I told her again.

Even though it was a weekend outing, the mood turned kind of heavy, but by the time we reached the supermarket, things were back to normal.

I walked beside Mom watching her shop, and after going through the checkout and packing the groceries into bags, it was my turn.

“Heave-ho.”

“I always buy more when Tsubaki’s with me than when I’m alone.”

“That’s totally fine. So, where to next?”

“Hmm…”

Since we’d only planned to buy food from the start, Mom thought for a bit, but she said that was it for today.

As we left the store with our shopping bags in hand, something unexpected happened.

“…Ah.”

“Huh?”

A woman walking past us—it was Hinata-san.

Even though I tried not to stare, my eyes were drawn to her amazing figure as usual, and the way she was happily licking a candy was more than enough to bring back some very naughty memories.

“Tsubaki… right?”

“H-hi.”

“Oh my, you know her?”

When I stopped walking, of course Mom stopped too.

Hinata-san looked back and forth between me and Mom with a knowing look, then quickly took the candy out of her mouth and hid it behind her back.

“Hehe, you could’ve left it in your mouth, you looked really cute.”

“Uh, um… well…”

Whoa… Hinata-san is all nervous for once!

And even though Mom doesn’t know who Hinata-san is, she can still call her cute—that’s so like her.

(But… how do I explain this?)

I can’t say she’s a sex friend, and Hinata-san wouldn’t say that either.

I had to think for a moment, but introducing Hinata-san to Mom isn’t something I should be embarrassed about… because lately, she’s been someone who brought a lot of change into my life, in many ways.

“This is Motomiya Hinata-senpai. She’s a year older than me and a really kind person.”

“T-Tsubaki!?”

“Oh my, really! A girl friend of Tsubaki’s—first time since Rio-chan, isn’t it!?”

Mom said that excitedly, and it’s true… now that I think about it, the last time I introduced a girl to Mom was Rio… right? That really shows how little I’ve connected with girls.

“Um… I’m sorry for the sudden interruption. I couldn’t help but react.”

“No, no need to apologize.”

Hinata-senpai chuckled and turned to face Mom.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Hinata Motomiya, a third-year. I got to know Tsubaki through some strange coincidence, and we’ve become close.”

“I’m Tsubaki’s mother, Midori. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah… yes. Nice to meet you…”

Mom was smiling, but Hinata-san looked a bit stiff.

Even though the other person is an adult, seeing Hinata-san this nervous is unexpected.

“Is something wrong?”

“W-well… same with Arisa’s mom, but I’m not really used to kind moms, I guess.”

“Ahh.”

I see, that made sense.

I’ve heard about Hinata-san’s family situation—or rather, that she doesn’t get along well with her mother—and honestly, that’s part of the reason we got so close in the first place.

It doesn’t seem like things are completely broken, but that’s also why she’s so nervous now.

“Was it a bother when I called out to you?”

“Absolutely not. So please don’t even joke about that.”

“…Okay, I’m sorry.”

I don’t know why… even though she scolded me in a strong tone, I was really happy.

By the way, while we were talking close together, Mom was watching us with a warm smile, and under her gaze, Hinata-san blushed even more.

“Can I briefly explain Hinata-san’s situation?”

“Huh? I don’t mind, but…”

“Thank you.”

I explained the situation to my mom, who clearly couldn’t wait any longer.

“Actually—”

Of course, there were some parts I couldn’t say, but just like Hinata-san mentioned, we grew close by chance, and during that time, I heard about her family situation. I told Mom that she doesn’t get along with her mother, and now, being around a kind mother figure makes her act like that because she’s not used to it.

“Oh… I see.”

“I’m sorry… for such an embarrassing reason.”

“No, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Mom stepped closer to Hinata-san and gently took her hand.

Hinata-san looked surprised, but Mom smiled at her, looked her straight in the eyes, and continued.

“Thank you for being friends with Tsubaki. He seemed so happy when he talked about you, so I’m sure you must be a really good person.”

“Uh, um…”

“I don’t want to butt in too much and be a bother… but if something ever happens, don’t hesitate to rely on me, okay? You might think it’s sudden, but if you’re close to Tsubaki, I want to be close to you too♪”

“……………”

That quick ability to get close to someone is one of Mom’s strengths.

But it’s not like she crosses the line—she reads the situation well… proof of that is how Hinata-san’s confused expression gradually softened.

It seems Mom really took a liking to Hinata-san after just this short interaction, and now she’s chatting away, totally ignoring me.

“…That said—”

It’s still hard to explain if we’re like sex friends.

So naturally, I have to go with the “close senior-junior” thing… Well, it’s not really a lie, so I guess it’s fine for now.

Hinata-san and Mom were having a great time talking, but since we had to head home soon, it was time to wrap things up, even though we didn’t want to.

Just before leaving, Mom said she needed to use the bathroom, so I ended up alone with Hinata-san for a bit.

“Um… sorry for all of a sudden.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize. I had a really good time too.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

She wasn’t just saying it to be nice—Hinata-san really meant it.

She’s apparently not good with mothers, but even so, hearing her say that made me happy.

“I mean, there’s no way I could tell her we’re sex friends.”

“Haha… yeah, exactly.”

“We’re sex friends, but… to me, Tsubaki isn’t just a sex friend. But trying to explain that is hard, too.”

“……………”

Hinata-san giggled softly, then gently leaned in.

She kissed my cheek with a little chu sound, and now she had this look on her face that she’d definitely be inviting me for sex if we were alone, while raising her hand.

“Well then, Tsubaki, I hate to go, but that’s it for today.”

“Ah, okay…”

“Don’t look so down. I’m sad too, you know?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Your voice got all gloomy.”

Apparently, it was very obvious.

I did feel like “we finally got to meet,” but I didn’t think my face showed it that clearly, so now I feel a little worried about that.

It might be late to say this, but it really makes me feel like I’m too weak or something.

“…Sigh, meeting Hinata-san really throws me off.”

“Maybe that’s because it’s me? That just means I’m the kind of woman who can mess with your heart in a good way.”

“Come on, after how we met, this was bound to happen!”

Hinata-san just shook her shoulders and laughed happily at my loud reaction.