Jitsu -A different story-

"I won't say that I fully understand it, but now I feel something like what you experienced that time… I'm so happy to see you, Mom." Those were the words Rena spoke when Shizune had just arrived next to her, and without waiting for anything else, Rena rushed forward to hug her.

"Hehe, I missed you a lot too, but with you here, I'm already calmer and happy to see you're okay." Shizune didn't reject the small show of affection and instead hugged Rena tighter until they both separated again.

"It also makes me feel better that you came back safely, Mother." Akio hadn't taken long to approach once he saw the little scene end, and he also took the time to share his thoughts. "Let me help you, Kurosawa-san."

"I appreciate it, Akio-kun." In turn, Kurono had also just gotten close enough for Akio to see how he was carrying a large part of the luggage, so he didn't take long to offer his help. "Has everything been okay here, Rena-san?"

"Of course, everything has been perfect." Rena showed a simple smile as she raised her arm and raised her thumb in a sign that everything was fine, thus answering Kurono's question. "I really want to ask them about the trip, but let's get back to the apartment."

That seemed to be the idea to follow that everyone had in mind, but besides that, Shizune had something else to say.

"Didn't you bring Makoto-chan with you?" Shizune's gaze was moving around the place looking precisely for her beloved grandson, but Rena's answer would give her the explanation she was looking for, even a little more detailed.

"I know you miss him too and can't wait to see him, but I left him with Akira-nee, by the way, Kazumi-san is also at the apartment." That last thing had taken Shizune a little by surprise, but once her gaze turned to Kurono, it was his turn to clarify the situation a little.

"When I sent her a message telling her that we were coming back today, she said that she would go to the apartment for a visit since she assumed that we would go there directly." Rena's previous words had clarified that aspect for Kurono, and, on one hand, he was grateful that Kazumi was already there since that gave him and Shizune the perfect opportunity to convey the news they had.

Shizune had a rather similar thought, so she thought that everything was more convenient that way. She didn't ask any further, and instead, she further demonstrated her desire to go to the apartment.

…

…

They hadn't spent much time outside the station as they hurriedly put all the luggage in the trunk before getting into Kurono's car. Akio had tried to give Kurono the keys, but he refused them as he wanted to get some rest from the trip back, and Akio had perfectly understood that.

Shizune and Kurono took seats in the back while Akio was the driver, and Rena was in the passenger seat. It wasn't too hard to guess that Akio was quite focused while driving, but unlike him, Rena was quite lively, and although she had said that she wanted to wait until she got to the apartment to ask many questions that she had in mind, she still asked Shizune and Kurono a few things, which made silence the least present thing during the drive.

It wasn't long before they reached their destination, and as everyone dutifully helped with the luggage, they left the car behind before approaching the building and carefully climbing the stairs.

When that happened, even though Shizune didn't feel a similar feeling to when she last went to the town, returning to the apartment also gave her the slight feeling that she had returned home once again, which was also a nice feeling for her.

"We're back!" Rena forcefully pushed open the front door as if it were her own home… Although that was the case. The volume of her voice had broken the silence of the place, but her greeting wasn't really answered.

Akio was rubbing his ear a bit as Rena's shout had taken him by surprise and he wondered if the neighbors would come to complain. Shizune just laughed a bit at it as she helped Kurono inside with all the luggage they were carrying.

The group of four slowly entered the apartment that hadn't changed at all since Shizune last saw it, and when they reached the main room, they were greeted with a somewhat peculiar scene, but not out of place.

"Yes, that's right. You're so cute I could eat you... Well, not literally, but you get the idea." Those words sounded somewhat confusing due to the lack of context, but in general, the scene they had found was that of Kazumi sitting on one of the sofas in the living room while holding little Makoto in her arms, who was awake and with an interested look towards Kazumi.

"I really doubt he can understand you right now..." The group hadn't said anything and had simply stood still right at the entrance of the living room, but that new voice, which had just crossed the door of the kitchen, was Akira, who was carrying a tray with some drinks that she was possibly preparing for when they all arrived at the apartment.

Maybe Kazumi hadn't noticed anything since she was too busy playing with Makoto, but Akira could perfectly notice the four figures that had appeared not far from them, and although she was a little surprised, that didn't last too long either.

"Uh… Do you want something to drink?" A few laughs had come out at that moment due to the situation, even Kazumi had returned to reality, but just like Akira, it wasn't long before everyone calmed down and continued acting normally.

…

…

A new wave of greetings was present when Akira and Kazumi were aware of the arrival of Shizune and Kurono before everyone began to take their seats in the room. The questions hadn't taken long to come, but that too had to wait a bit since Shizune had been caught by little Makoto and didn't avoid showing him all her affection and how much she missed him right there.

All of that resulted in a rather pleasant and somewhat touching situation, but after that and Rena taking care of carrying Makoto in her arms, the main topic came up once again.

Being Shizune and Kurono the main characters at that moment, they were flooded with many questions about the trip, although the first thing was always the question of whether they were okay and if there had been any accidents, which caused everyone to calm down once they both answered that they were perfectly fine.

Rena had not taken long to ask the question that everyone had in mind, and it was basically if they had enjoyed the trip and to tell a little about their experiences, making time begin to follow its course as Shizune and Kurono spoke from their point of view about everything they had done during the trip.

Since Rena and Akio had already experienced part of it, they were not too surprised, but unlike them, Akira and Kazumi were quite interested. Various reactions and more questions were presented as the story progressed, but in general, everyone was enjoying the moment and what Shizune and Kurono had to tell.

Once they were done with that, Shizune couldn't help but ask if anything relevant had happened while they were away, but everyone's answers were similar since nothing spectacular had happened, but in the end, Rena would say something interesting and important.

"That's true, since we're all here, when will you be returning to the town, Akira-nee?" Most of those present felt that Rena's question had come out a bit out of the blue, but that didn't stop Akira from answering.

"Well... I think I can stay here for another two weeks, but why the question?" Akira's question represented the curiosity of almost everyone at that moment.

"The truth is that both Akio and I thought about it enough and we want to go to the town soon so that my grandparents and my in-laws can finally meet Makoto once and for all, so we thought it would be a good idea to accompany you, and Akio will have vacation right around that time." Rena's answer served to clear up the doubts at first, and that same thing piqued Shizune's interest.

"I guess it's something you just decided and didn't call the town, right?" Shizune had just had an idea, but she had to make sure of a few things.

"No, it'll all be a surprise. Will you come with us, Mom?" Although the question seemed a bit unnecessary since the trip was meant to be a family reunion of sorts, Rena asked the question not only so that Shizune would already be aware of the plan, but also so that Kurono would know about it and the idea of ​​accompanying them would come up, even Rena was thinking of inviting Kazumi since she was there, but before Rena could say anything else, Shizune's voice interrupted her.

"I see… Then I think it's perfect for everyone that way, and at the same time, it's also perfect that all of you are with us right now." Shizune's words caught everyone's attention, especially since they seemed a bit vague or hid something behind, but unlike the others, Kurono understood what they meant and prepared himself for what was coming next.

Shizune hadn't said anything else after that, and instead, she took her bag and opened it to look for something specific, and that something was that ring that had become something very special to her and that she had taken off before so as not to awaken any ideas before reaching this moment and giving it to Kurono.

A deep silence had taken over the room, but the eyes of some had already opened in total surprise the moment they saw Kurono took the ring so that the next second, he would raise Shizune's hand and begin to put it on her finger carefully.

That same thing had made a beautiful smile appear on Shizune's face when she could repeat that same situation, but, above all, the same feeling of happiness took over her making her heartbeat strongly before turning her gaze towards the others and letting out those words that became stronger every time she repeated them.

"I think everyone has a pretty similar idea... And yes, you are right... Kurono and I are going to get married."