4 and 5 are kind of irrelevant lol so have the first half of 6 instead
If Hayama Akira had known that the Autumn Elections would change the course of his life forever, he would probably have been more courteous to the concept of the program in general, and he definitely would have been more courteous to the pink-haired girl that would come to steal his heart.
It had been four and a half years since he made the biggest mistake of his life, and it was a blessing in the end.
“You sure about this?” Akira asked as he pulled at the sleeves of his blazer. He and Arato Hisako were on the front steps of the Arato estate, her hand poised over the large bell.
“Of course,” she replied.
“He’s not going to like me,” he said, half to himself.
Hisako frowned. “What makes you think so?”
Akira gave her a look. “I think you already know the answer.” He ran a hand through his hair, slightly unnerved by how exposed his neck felt. It had been a while since he’d cut his hair so short, but some part of his consciousness insisted that having it long would not make a better impression.
“Then that’s a him problem,” Hisako replied. “I chose you and that’s all there is to it. Nothing could change how I feel about you, Hayama Akira.”
He grinned. “You’re crazy.”
Hisako raised a smug eyebrow. “Crazy about you, yeah.”
Akira took a deep breath and rang the bell.
A butler ushered them to the dining hall, and as he passed the intricate portraits of the Arato patriarchs, he realized just how out of place he was in this manor, inundated with the legacies of the generations of medicinal chefs that were his girlfriend’s conservative ancestors.
But he repressed such thoughts, because he was going to meet Arato Hiromatsu for the first time as his precious only daughter’s boyfriend and thinking of all the shit he lacked would do nothing to help him.
What the fuck was he even supposed to say?
Please let me date your daughter. Although we’ve technically been together for like three years now.
This was probably going to be the hardest thing he’d ever done.
As expected, the conversation did not start too well.
Akira cringed at how unworthy his name sounded. “Yessir,” he replied, and shocked himself with how steady his voice was. Maybe doing this wouldn’t be so hard after all.
“What do your parents do?”
He stood corrected. Hisako stiffened next to him, and he reached under the table to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Shiomi Jun runs a seminar at Totsuki,” he offered.
“I asked about your parents, child.”
“She is my parent,” Akira replied. “She’s the only reason I’m alive.”
Arato Hiromatsu considered this for a moment. “Why are you interested in my daughter?”
Akira reflected on the last few years, on what he’d said back during the Autumn Elections. Yes, he could answer this question.
“I want to be a part of your daughter’s world, sir. Hisako taught me how to trust people, and she brings out good parts of me I had no idea even existed. I understand I have no family name, and I have nothing to offer save for myself, but I never want to let go of your daughter’s hand. I want to love her as much as she deserves, and then more. Her world is limitless. I want to strive for new heights with her, and exceed our maximums and then everything beyond.”
“I don’t approve of you,” Hisako’s father said after a prolonged silence. “I believe Hisako would fare much better with another man that I have deemed adequate.”
Hisako started to protest but Akira silenced her with a shake of his head.
“You are too far from ideal to be worthy of the Arato name. You have nothing save for your cooking and your nose.”
“But I cannot bring myself to forbid you from seeing Hisako.”
“I sense your virtue, Hayama Akira. You walked into my home with my daughter’s hand in yours and asked me to let you hold it. That is brave, and I respect that. I value my daughter’s intelligence enough to have faith that she is more than capable of choosing the right man to support all her endeavors. Therefore I will allow you to continue your relationship with Hisako. Be true, child. You have my blessing.”
Arato Hiromatsu extended his hand. Akira stared at it for a long moment, shook it, then turned to Hisako with a broad smile.
yeah i changed the name of the fic bc this is deadass the only time i mention the word genesis
