Game Gyaru

Past and Future 3

Hakuta went to school still as confused as ever for the rest of the week. He was just a boy, but something else was stirring inside of him that he couldn't understand himself. If only he had someone he could confide in like a parent or something, but unfortunately his dad was gone yet again on some trip. Kind of a shame, but understandable.

For once, his father would've been a good person to go to. Sure, he might've been an idiot, but he was also someone who apparently was able to get married and have a son. At worst he should have an understanding of how to handle girls.

But without him, who else could he go to?

"Thanks for all the hard work, Noto." Shiuka spoke as she led the older man out of the house. "I swear, ever since you came along. Things have gotten to be so totally easy now!"

"Of course, always happy to help." He said. Though the fact that this was his job was more the reason for him being around doing all the menial tasks. "Guess I'll see you two later."

"Actually." Seeing the man gave Hakuta an idea. It was a bit risky, considering who he was, but probably worth that risk. He too was a married man, even if a bit dense. That said, he also was kindhearted so he was confident he'd be willing to help. The major risk though was that he wasn't just some random adult they knew. He was Iruka's father. "Do you think we could talk? Um, just the two of us?"

"Ah, you need to talk about something between just us two guys." He replied, more than happy either of the kids were willing to approach him for advice. "Of course, I'm sure our fine young lady can respect the men here needing some privacy."

"Yeah, of course." She had initially wanted to listen in on their conversation, but something about his tone tipped her off that he would be very unhappy if he found out she eavesdropped on them. "I'll just... Go watch some TV, or something."

"We'll just be in the backyard." Hakuta decided it would be best if they stayed outside and as far from her as possible, just to be safe.

So they went over there to the estate's rather nice, but plain looking backyard. It had been properly maintained thanks to the gardeners which came by every so often to take care of things such as watering, trimming, and weeding. But unlike the rest of the house, it wasn't anything remarkable compared to other yards.

This was likely due to how little use it got from the family. When Hakuta moved in, that factor never changed as he was not an outdoors person. So it was rare for him to ever be in this spot and most of the time he forgot it even existed.

"It's pretty rare for you to want to talk to me." Omihiro spoke first when they finally got some privacy. "Must be pretty important if you need to come crawling to me."

"It's not something I wanted to talk to you, specifically. But since my dad's almost never around, I don't have much of a choice." He explained. "You see, it's about... Girls."

"Ah, it seems that little Hakuta has finally grown up a little." Omihiro commented, leaning on the pillar to the terrace. He clearly meant well, but the way he put his words made the boy feel a bit self-conscious. It was no wonder he felt a bit embarrassed in wanting to approach the man in the first place. "Sounds like a perfectly reasonable thing at your age." He then leaned in to whisper despite there not being anyone around them. So? Who's the lucky lady?"

"It's kind of complicated to say..." He was hesitant on wanting to say the truth. It would be easier to just pretend it was someone else and try to get his advice through a more generic sense. However he didn't just go to this man in particular just to get vague advice. Not when the opportunity had arisen. "But it kind of involves Iruka."

"You're in love with my daughter!?" Omihiro took a step back in shock, yelling out his surprise.

"Shh!" He quickly went up to him and covered the man's mouth. "Don't say that out loud." Hakuta could feel his entire face get hot from him just outright announcing his supposed feelings to the world. "And I didn't say that either. Didn't I just say it was complicated?"

"Well that's what all teens say." Omihiro replied muffled through his hand. Hakuta let go to allow him to speak a bit more clearly. "I get being embarrassed and all, but it just sounds like you really like her."

"I don't know about that." Part of why Hakuta wanted to approach him in the first place was figuring out his own emotions on the matter. "She probably won't like that I told you, but I do know she likes me that way." He kept out the part where she kissed him, practically confirming this fact. There was no way of knowing how her father would feel on something so personal such as that.

"Clearly you like her back." He answered, continuing to go full onto that. "If you didn't then this wouldn't be a problem at all. You'd just say you want to stay being friends and that's that."

"I mean, she's the one who said that." He informed the man. "I haven't actually told her at all what I think."

"She really can be one strange girl, right?" Omihiro laughed at his own joke on his daughter's expense. And it was only him who laughed. "But I guess she needs to figure things out too. If what you're saying is true, then you're her first love... I think."

"Why do you not sound confident in that?" He would've assumed that as her father, he'd be more aware of the boys she might've gotten close to. At least for her own sake.

"I used to think that Masahito, that boy you met, was someone she cared deeply about. They used to be together all the time that us parents all thought that one day they'd just end up... Well, they'd just end up falling in love." He sighed, disappointed in the results that reality brought. "I guess nothing came of it, but I always wonder what she really thought about that boy."

"It really did break her heart when they stopped being friends." Hakuta wasn't a big fan of Masahito. Hate would probably be putting his feelings too far, but he certainly didn't want to hang around that boy either. "But not to sound rude, since she's your daughter, but Iruka is a very emotional girl. She really hangs her feelings out on her sleeve."

"Guess you could say it runs in the family." Omihiro laughed again, wrapping his arm around the boy. "Listen, I know you'll probably say that you haven't figured out your feelings yet. But I want you to know that it'd make me a real happy man if you really went and dated my daughter."

"I'm not really sure how to take this." He always figured fathers would be a bit more protective of their daughters when it came to potential suitors. While he realized this man might not be the brightest of the bunch, it didn't mean he didn't care for Iruka. Especially not after showing how angry he got when she got sad in what seemed to be Hakuta's fault.

"I would hope young teenage boys don't look a gift horse in the mouth." He let go and gave him some space. "But I want her to be with someone who'll be good for her. You know, she's young and always wanting to have fun. I don't want her falling into a bad crowd because of it. You know there's always boys just looking to take girls like her for a ride."

It was evident he meant that part on her being a gyaru. While he seemed to be perfectly fine with his daughter's choices. It also appeared he wasn't naive about it either.

"And you really think you can trust me?" Hakuta asked, turning his head back towards the house. A silent indicator of him pointing out the reality of the situation where he lived with a girl all on his own.

"I don't know why you're doubting it." He replied. "The two of you really care about each other, like family. You're only just saying it because it makes for a good excuse, but deep down you're just trying to hide away from your own feelings."

"I don't know about that." He responded by walk around and taking in the sights surrounding them. It made for a good distraction to avoid having to be thinking of anything.

"Hopefully you get past the age where your pride is getting in the way." Omihiro patted him on the back. "Anyway, I gotta get going, so I'll see you later. Just make sure you keep in mind what I told you."

"I'll make sure to do that." He gave the man a goodbye and was left alone in the backyard. It seemed he had a lot of thinking to do.