“Hello, everyone!”
“Hello... Thanks for coming out to meet us, Takanashi-kun.”
The ones who emerged from the station were Tachikawa-san and Hanako-san.
We had all agreed to meet at the Station Front today. At that moment, it was just me, Hayato, and Todo-san, but our group grew to five once the two of them joined us.
Sara-san and Natsumi-senpai lived near each other, so they would likely be arriving together.
Todo-san and Tachikawa-san were busy exchanging greetings with a high-five.
Hanako-san walked right up to me and stared up at my face blankly without a word. Then, she suddenly raised her hand.
...?
“Nn!”
Uh... so she wanted a high-five?
Slap.
I tried giving her palm a light tap for the time being.
“The soul greeting is complete.”
...I didn’t quite get it, but I apparently hadn’t missed the mark.
Just as I thought she was going to greet the others, she took up a position right beside me. Had she taken a liking to me?
While I was wondering about that, Yuji emerged from the station.
“Kazunari! Did I keep you waiting?”
“No, everyone isn’t here yet, so it’s fine.”
I had given Yuji a rough explanation over the phone after everything happened, but I had told him we’d go over the finer details at the next meeting.
“Long time no see.”
Hanako-san, still standing by my side, called out to Yuji in her usual detached voice.
That’s right—these two were already acquaintances.
“Long time no see. I never thought you’d meet Kazunari without me being the middleman.”
“This encounter was guided by fate.”
As she said that, she looked up at me again.
U-Umm... Hanako-san wasn't a bad person, and you could actually talk to her, but she had a tendency to say these exaggerated, anime-like things quite abruptly.
Yuji looked at Hanako-san and then at me, tilting his head curiously.
“Hm? Did you two get pretty close, by any chance?”
“Shared destiny.”
Well, in terms of our alliance against Yamasaki and Yuzuha, that wasn’t technically wrong... though that applied to the whole group.
While I was giving a wry smile, a small punch flew into my stomach from the side.
Seeing that, Yuji also let out a dry chuckle.
It seemed Hanako-san had become the mascot character of our group. Even her appearance fit the part...
“Hey there. Nice to meet you.”
While I was engaged in what felt like a comedy routine with Hanako-san, Hayato had approached us before I knew it.
“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Yuji Tachibana. I’ve known Kazunari since right after we started middle school.”
“I’ve heard a bit about you from Kazunari. I’m Hayato Yokokawa. We became friends at the same high school. Good to meet you.”
When Hayato held out his right hand, Yuji reciprocated, and the two shared a handshake.
Good. I’d be happy if those two became friends.
Just as I was thinking that, I felt a repeated tug on my arm.
?
Looking down, I saw Hanako-san beckoning me.
She put her other hand to her mouth in a pose as if she were about to share a secret. I bent down and brought my ear close to her. She then cupped her hand against my ear.
“Did something happen between those two? The handsome one seems unusually nervous—or rather, I feel like he’s overly conscious of Tachibana-kun.”
I hadn’t noticed it to that extent, but women were probably sharper about those kinds of things.
If that were the case, it likely had to do with Natsumi-senpai.
It was one thing when Natsumi-senpai had suddenly called Yuji back then, but they had talked quite happily afterward.
I had tried to explain things to Hayato since he’d been bothered by it, but had they really gotten that close at the pool recently?
“It’s hard to explain, but I have an idea why,” I whispered back.
Hanako-san nodded with an expression that made it impossible to tell if she was actually interested or not.
“.........Kazunari-san.”
!?
Suddenly, I felt a strange chill in the air.
Even though it was just my beloved Sara-san’s voice, and she had only called my name...
Creak, creak... My neck felt like it had lost all lubrication as I slowly turned around.
There stood Sara-san, looking at me with a frigid smile on her face.
“...Sorry to keep you waiting, Kazunari-san. You seem to be having quite a lot of fun with Hanako-san, don’t you?”
S-Scary...
Why did I feel this way? I hadn’t done anything remotely shady, yet I felt like a boyfriend who had just been caught cheating by his lover.
“S-Sara-san, what’s wrong?”
I looked around to see if anyone would back me up... but everyone was already gone.
Natsumi-senpai, Todo-san, and the others had already gathered at a distance for some reason. Even Hanako-san and Yuji had vanished from my side before I realized it.
I see. So that’s how it is... As expected, I’m just...
“Kazunari-san, where are you looking?”
“Y-Yes! I’m sorry.”
Sara-san was the type to stay angry quietly for a long time. If I didn't fix her mood now, it might interfere with today’s discussion.
To be honest, I didn’t think I’d done anything to deserve a scolding, but between my weakness for her and the fact that I was head-over-heels, I could never win against Sara-san.
To navigate this situation, I had no choice but to explain that there was a reason for the whispering.
I approached Sara-san, lightly pulled her close, and began stroking her head.
“Kazunari-san?”
The suddenness of it caught her off guard, but she immediately puffed out her cheeks to signal she was still angry. However, the fact that she didn’t try to pull away even while pouting was the cute thing about her.
“Sara-san, that just now was a conversation I didn’t want Yuji and Hayato to overhear. I had no choice but to talk at close range.”
“You didn’t want them to hear...?”
It seemed she was willing to listen, so I decided to just tell her. I knew Sara-san wouldn't go blabbing to anyone else.
“Actually, Hayato likes Natsumi-senpai.”
“Eh!? Is that so!”
Sara-san let out a cry of surprise.
I continued the story.
“Remember when we had the discussion at the karaoke place recently and Natsumi-senpai called Yuji? Hayato saw them talking happily afterward. Hanako-san noticed that Hayato was acting strange—worrying that Yuji might be a rival—so she whispered it to me to give me a heads-up.”
Sara-san listened silently, a contemplative look crossing her face. Then, her expression shifted as if she had realized something. She grabbed my hand and pulled.
She clearly wanted me to follow her.
Once we reached the spot where everyone else was gathered, she let go of my hand, pushed my head down slightly, and placed her hand to her mouth. She began whispering into my ear as if sharing a deep secret.
Umm... why do this right here in front of everyone...?
“It might be a good idea to ask Tachibana-san what he thinks of Natsumi. It might not actually be a misunderstanding. I’ll also try asking Natsumi casually.”
True, I hadn’t heard anything like that from Yuji. It might be worth asking.
...But if they both felt the same way, what was I supposed to do?
Wait, it was too early to worry about that.
Looking at Sara-san, she was now tilting her ear toward me in an exaggerated fashion.
Eh... she wanted me to do the same thing back?
Figuring it would help fix her mood, I took the plunge. I brought my mouth close to Sara-san’s ear and started talking in a low voice.
“Understo—”
“Hyan!”
Letting out a tiny, cute squeal, Sara-san jerked her face away in surprise.
...Ah, was I too close?
As Sara-san’s face turned a deep shade of crimson, she hurriedly hugged my arm to hide her face.
This was what she did whenever she was truly embarrassed.
In other words, I’d actually managed to fluster her. Sara-san was bold when she was the one initiating things, but she was surprisingly weak when the tables were turned.
I almost smirked because she was so adorable, but then I felt a flurry of piercing glares. I looked ahead to find everyone else staring at us with cold, judgmental eyes.
Yes... my apologies...
“Sorry to keep you waiting! Now everyone, let’s do greetings inside the car... Um, did something happen?”
Eri Nishikawa arrived, and with her, the whole group was finally gathered. However, she had clearly sensed the awkward atmosphere and spoke up in a puzzled voice.
“Good work, Eri. No, it’s fine.”
Sara-san, the very cause of said atmosphere, had completely recovered. She was talking to Eri as if nothing had happened. She was strong.
“Now, everyone, please get into the car first. Let’s talk after that.”
Come to think of it, with this many people, we couldn’t all fit in a normal car. I had wondered if it would be a minibus or something.
I realized then that I had been underestimating the daughter of the Nishikawa Group’s president.
Parked before us was a long... an incredibly long-bodied luxury vehicle.
Eeeh, this is one of those limousines, isn't it?
Its presence was overwhelming. And it was incredibly conspicuous.
“Kazunari-san, please get in first.”
For some reason, Sara-san pushed me toward the door. It was my first time getting into a luxury car like this, so I hesitated, but the man who appeared to be the driver was waiting with the door open. I steeled myself and stepped inside.
Whoa... what is this!?
The interior featured long seats that looked more like sofas, creating a space that didn't feel like the inside of a car at all.
“Kazunari-san, please sit in the very back.”
Right—if I didn’t keep moving, everyone behind me would get stuck.
As I took the innermost seat, Sara-san sat down right next to me, sticking to me like glue. Since the other side was just the vehicle wall, Sara-san was the only one who could be next to me.
One by one, the others entered, each looking just as surprised as they took their seats.
“Sara... seriously... Well, I guess monopolizing your boyfriend is a girlfriend’s privilege.”
Natsumi-senpai didn't look nearly as shocked as the others. She looked at Sara-san sticking to me and sighed as if to say "good grief."
I didn’t think Sara-san was doing anything particularly strange, though...?
Hanako-san, who followed in, looked over at us and muttered with a hint of dissatisfaction.
“...I can’t sit there.”
Hearing that, Sara-san... for some reason, shot Hanako-san a look with an incredibly sharp, piercing gaze.
“Ugh... This is impossible.”
Hanako-san flinched back, immediately looked away, and scurried to sit in the empty spot next to Todo-san.
After confirming the threat was gone, Sara-san leaned against me again, pressing close. Well, since there was a wall on my other side, it wasn't a problem if she leaned on me...
“Does she have a double personality? That’s the first time I’ve ever felt such an intense murderous aura... that girl is dangerous.”
“That’s why I told you the other day that getting close to Takanashi-kun is dangerous, didn’t I?”
Todo-san and Hanako-san were whispering to each other.
And perhaps because of what Hanako-san had pointed out earlier, when I looked at Yuji and Hayato sitting on either side of Natsumi-senpai, I could definitely sense a delicate, awkward tension between them.
“Well then, everyone, since you participated by phone the other day, let me introduce myself once more. I am Eri Nishikawa. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
Starting with Eri’s self-introduction, everyone went through a round of greetings. Come to think of it, we were supposed to talk that night, but Eri had an urgent matter, so the conversation never happened.
“I’m Kazunari Takanashi. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, it's a pleasure. ...Sara, I know you get along well, but why don't you move away a little? Won't Takanashi-san have a hard time if you’re sticking to him that much?”
Sara-san was still practically fused to my side. It might be that, even if it didn’t show on her face, she was still dwelling on the whispering from earlier. If that was the case, I should probably let her have her way for a bit.
“...Kazunari-san, am I being a nuisance?”
When she asked me that with such a lonely look in her eyes, there wasn't a version of me in existence that could tell her "no."
“No, it’s perfectly fine.”
When I said that and lightly stroked Sara-san’s head, she gave me a happy smile and pressed her face snugly against my shoulder.
Watching this, Eri looked as if she had witnessed something impossible.
“............Who even are you? The Sara I knew was a woman who looked at men like they were literal garbage—the kind of girl who would cut someone off by saying, ‘Don’t talk to me, it’s a hassle.’”
“How rude. Please don’t lump my precious Kazunari-san in with the common masses.”
“No, that wasn't even the point...”
It seemed she had reacted to a completely different part of Eri’s statement.
“Hey, let’s get to the main topic already,” Natsumi-senpai interjected, sounding thoroughly fed up with the display.