The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 5: Higo’s Family
"I am home..." Higo groaned as he entered the house; all the exhaustion accumulated earlier finally hit him hard. The fact that the house was still dark even though the sky was dark outside only hit his psychological state harder, as it seemed that no one was at home. "Urgh... I need to prepare dinner for mom first..." He grumbled.
Fortunately, this wasn’t his first rodeo in this depressing atmosphere, so Higo managed to do everything almost in an autopilot mode. First, he switched all the lights inside the building on, making sure that it looked like it wasn’t a dilapidated house. Then, as he heated up the water in the bathtub, while waiting, the boy started preparing the ingredients for dinner.
The fridge was almost half empty, but there was still quite a lot to make something. After checking what kind of veggies he still had, Higo finally made up his mind for dinner tonight.
Curry.
’Hmm... Potato... There! Carrot... There! Hey, the leftover cabbage from yesterday is still here! Good! Might as well put in there! Oh, the chicken cutlet in the freezer is still good as well! Where is the block, where is the block... Ah! Here it is!’
Higo started dancing foolishly as he put all the ingredients on the cutting board, ready to show off his knife skills. Honestly, if anyone who knew him saw Higo so domestic like this, they would be surprised. Well... Anyone, except for Kumiko, as the girl was a regular guest in this house.
The reason was simple. Since his father died from cancer three years ago, he lived with his mother and older sister, and since his mother was the only one who could still work, she often left the two kids at home alone, and that was when they started learning how to take care of themselves.
Usually, Higo would be responsible for cleaning things up, from sweeping and mopping the floor, throwing the trash, setting up the table, and so on. His elder sister, meanwhile, was in control of the kitchen, from cooking to washing the dishes.
That lasted quite a long time before his sister had to go to Tokyo for university. That was when Higo had to step up again, taking over the role of the cook in this house.
"I am home..." A tired voice suddenly came from the door, snapping Higo from his work. When he leaned his head slightly, the boy could see a mature woman with slightly disheveled hair from working too hard for the day, taking off her shoes, and a little smile curled slightly on his face.
"Welcome back, Mom! Go take a bath first! The water should be hot right now!" He answered.
The woman was his mother, Minami Higo. She was a 40-year-old widow, working as a manager at a very successful seafood company that distributed Hakodate’s very best product to the entire of Japan. It was a glorious job, especially for a local woman like her. Moreover, the salary was sky high, which was something she needed the most to make a living with her two children. The only downside, though, was that she would have less time spending with her children, which was something that she regretted the most.
"Well, you haven’t taken a bath as well, right? Go first, don’t worry about me!" She said as the woman noticed her boy was still wearing the school uniform, trying to act nonchalant.
Still, how could Higo not see through her façade? He knew she loved a hot bath after a long day, so the boy just chuckled and replied, "It should be me who said that, right? Don’t worry about me, I still have a lot of things to do in the kitchen! Just go first, I swear I will be okay!"
Knowing how capable her son was, Minami finally swallowed her guilt before finally nodding, following the instruction silently. After taking a hot bath for about fifteen minutes, the color gradually came back to her face, and the tension on her shoulders also dissipated a little bit. It didn’t help that the smell of the curry that Higo cooked was something to die for, enough to make her forget about everything that had happened in the office.
"Just eat first, Mom! I will take a quick shower!" Higo called from his room, giving up the idea of a hot bathtub already.
"How could I do that?!" Her face was flushed with embarrassment. "Just take it easy, I will wait for you!" She shouted from the living room.
While waiting for her son to finish taking a shower, she also opened her phone, and a small, genuine smile curled on her face as Minami saw the top message there.
Ayaka: Hey, Mom! How are you doing there?! Has Ryukkun done cooking for dinner? Don’t forget to ask him to fill the fridge, okay? Make sure that you both will not lack food! Also, don’t forget to lock the door at night! Just because you are exhausted doesn’t mean you can neglect your safety! Remind Ryukkun of that, too!
"That brat... Does she think she is the mother here?" Minami sighed helplessly. However, her ecstatic tone couldn’t hide her happiness here.
Honestly, she didn’t know what kind of good deeds she had done in her past life. To have two responsible kids like this... It was as if winning a national lottery that only had a 1 in a million chance, and somehow, she got it in her life, which only made her grateful for whatever deity above.
"What are you doing, Mom?" Higo finally popped out of nowhere. Gone was the school uniform, replaced by a casual shirt that he used in daily life. "Does Aya-nee send her nagging again?" He asked knowingly.
"Yes, she still thinks she is responsible for everything..." Minami sighed helplessly.
"Well, that’s just how she is, right? I mean, she also nags a lot at me, and I think half of the content we receive is the same." Higo shrugged.
"Yeah, you are right. That’s how she is..." Minami smiled in melancholy. Then, she shook her head quickly, turning around at Higo before asking, "How about you? Anything new in school today?"
