"Ah, this one's cute too!"
We had come to a nearby home improvement store to buy all the daily necessities Ayaka-chan would need.
"But even if it's cute, it might not be practical enough. A dresser needs more storage space."
While selecting a small wardrobe for herself, she displayed an un-middle-schooler-like pragmatism. Though she looks adorable, she can be quite strict in her own way. Then again, someone who wasn't strict probably wouldn't have run away from home in the first place.
"Hey, Koichiro-san, what do you think? Which one's better—this one or that one?"
She pointed to a simply designed but stylish dresser and a plain, transparent plastic storage case. By the way, since it was Saturday, I had the day off work. The store was packed, but strangely, being with her made the crowd feel unimportant.
"For a girl, the dresser would be better, wouldn't it? Besides, you wouldn't need such a big storage case."
A small dresser would be enough for Ayaka-chan's clothes alone. For things like her uniform or larger outfits, we could just buy a separate hanger rack.
"What are you talking about? You'll be using it too, so we need something bigger, right?"
"N-No, I'm fine. I'll just keep doing what I've been doing—leaving them on the floor..."
Embarrassingly, until now, I'd just left my laundry scattered on the floor. Living alone as a man, that had been enough.
"No! From now on, we're living together. Clothes, daily necessities, even underwear—everything goes in the same place!"
"Even underwear...?"
I thought most girls would at least want to keep those separate, but pointing that out might earn me a bite, so I kept quiet. If we kept living together like this, every time I opened the dresser, I'd be greeted with the sight of her E-cup bras and panties. That seemed like a heart-straining scenario.
And so, bit by bit, we gathered everything we'd need for our new life together.
Things I'd never needed as a man living alone suddenly became necessities now that there was a girl in the house. The amount of furniture grew to about one and a half times what it had been before.
"We don't need a futon. We'll be having sex every night anyway."
Ayaka-chan muttered something that made me flinch. I really wished she'd show a little more restraint.
"At least a pillow would be good, don't you think?"
"Nah. I've got Koichiro-san's arm to use as one."
We flirted like a newlywed couple.
To an outsider, what would we look like?
With a twenty-year age gap, we could easily pass as father and daughter. But I've always had a baby face—even now, people mistake me for someone in their late twenties. So maybe we'd seem like siblings with a big age difference? At the very least, no one would guess we were complete strangers who had a nightly (and morning) sexual relationship. And with Ayaka-chan wearing her middle school uniform, it only made things more complicated.
"Hey, isn't that the uniform for Kamiiizawa First Middle School? Even a young lady from a place like that comes to a home improvement store like this?"
Suddenly, I overheard a conversation between what sounded like a couple of housewives behind us.
A young lady?
I'd assumed "First" in the school's name just meant it was a regular public middle school, but maybe Ayaka-chan's school was some kind of elite institution for the wealthy? That aside, even a "young lady" would come to a home improvement store, wouldn't she?
"Next up, clothes. You said I could buy anything, so prepare yourself."
Either she hadn't heard the conversation or was pretending not to, but she remained as composed as ever.
Earlier that morning, before we left for shopping, I'd promised her, "You can buy anything you want."
It wasn't like I had money to burn, but since we were starting a new life together, being stingy would just kill the mood. This was my chance to show off my "adult dignity."
Or so I'd thought.
"Hey, Koichiro-san! Isn't this one cute too?"
Dragged into the lingerie section of the shopping mall, I was already losing my will to fight. In front of me stood Ayaka-chan, holding up a frilly bra for me to see.
"Or do you prefer this sheer one instead?"
The bra she held up next nearly made me choke.
Sheer was an understatement—it was practically just strings. Probably something couples used for play, but I doubted there was a single 13-year-old in Japan who wore something like that.
A female clerk in the lingerie section was giving me a very suspicious look.
I might need to reconsider letting her call me "Koichiro-san" in public too. The whole situation was... problematic.
In the end, between daily necessities, furniture, and clothes, we'd spent close to ¥100,000.
Adding the ¥100,000 I'd given her before, that made ¥200,000 in total.
But considering what she'd done for me, it was a bargain. In fact, earlier today, in the mall's multipurpose restroom, she'd given me a uniform paizuri handjob. Wearing the sexy underwear we'd just bought, she'd proven just how practical it could be.
And then, we returned home—our home.
We'd rented a truck from the home improvement store to bring the furniture back the same day.
Once everything was set up and arranged, my dingy one-room apartment instantly transformed into "a girl's room."
This must be what a middle school girl's room looked like. Still, traces of her pragmatism remained—like the floral tablecloth on the kotatsu or the pink toilet seat cover. Little touches of femininity were everywhere.
Arranging everything like this made it sink in—we were really living together now.
Until today, there had never been two toothbrushes side by side in the bathroom, and the number of dishes had doubled.
These were changes that only happened when two people started sharing a life.
"Are you really okay with me living here with you?"
That was probably her final question.
If I said no now, she'd walk out immediately.
Even after buying all this furniture, she still needed to hear it. The uncertainty in her face spoke volumes about the life she'd lived until now.
A life with no one to rely on, no place to call home.
If she'd had someone, she wouldn't have spent a month homeless, nor would she have ended up sleeping with a stranger like me.
That's why she was afraid.
If I abandoned her now, she'd have no one again.
She might go back to the park, finding another man to sell her body to.
Fully aware of that risk, I finally brought up what I needed to say.
"We're going to see Mr. Kutsuki Daijiro now."
"Eh...?"
Instantly, I saw the color drain from her face.
Kutsuki Daijiro—the name written on that disownment letter—was her father.
They weren't related by blood, but given that document, he still held her custody and guardianship rights.
"Why...? Did I end up being a burden after all...?"
Her voice trembled, on the verge of breaking.
"That's not it. Just hear me out."
I made her a proposal.
We'd go see Kutsuki Daijiro together and talk.
If they could reconcile and she could return to her old life, great. If both of them were okay with that, it'd be the happiest outcome.
But if that wasn't possible, I'd formally request custody and guardianship of Ayaka-chan from him.
The reason I'd bought all this furniture was so she'd know—even if things with her father fell apart completely, she still had a place to return to.
Even if she lost everything, I'd be there to catch her.
I wanted her to know that.
"But I hate that man... I don't want to see him..."
Like a child throwing a tantrum, she burst into tears.
If she was saying this much, she truly didn't want to face him.
Even so.
No—because of that—
"There are times when you can't run away. For you, Ayaka-chan, this might be the biggest one."
And for me, it was a life-defining decision.
"I'll be with you. I'll take everything that comes, so you don't have to face it alone."
For the first time, I hugged her—not for sex.
Maybe embrace was the better word.
Her body was so small, so fragile, shaking in my arms. Was I forcing something too cruel onto this 13-year-old girl?
"Why...? To you, I'm just a stranger..."
She'd reverted to calling me "mister"—probably because she couldn't figure out how to define our relationship anymore.
"That night, you chose me. And I chose you too. At first, it might've been about money or sex, but it's not just that anymore. I'll protect you. No conditions, no expectations. Just stay by my side—that's enough."
—Please, let me protect you.
When I said that, she silently wrapped her arms around my back.
An embrace that would never turn sexual.
No groping, no undressing, no penetration.
And yet, I'd never felt closer to her.
For the first time in my 34 years of life, I realized—
This must be what family feels like.
====================
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