Episode 145: The Usual Two

「Hello, everyone!」

「Hello… Takanashi-kun, thanks for meeting us.」

The ones coming out of the station were Tachikawa-san and Hanako-san.

Everyone was supposed to gather in front of the station today. Right now, it was me, Hayato, and Todo-san, but with the two of them joining, we were up to five.

Sara-san and Natsumi-senpai live close by, so they’re probably coming together.

Todo-san and Tachikawa-san are doing a high-five as a greeting(?).

Hanako-san walked right up to me, stared up at me blankly without saying anything, and suddenly raised her hand.

…?

「Ngh!」

Uh… does she want a high-five?

Slap.

I gave her hand a light tap.

「Soul greeting complete.」

…I don’t really get it, but it seems I didn’t do it wrong.

I thought she’d go greet the others next, but she just started waiting right by my side. Has she taken a liking to me?

While I was thinking that, Yuji came out of the station.

「Kazunari! Did I keep you waiting?」

「Nah, not everyone’s here yet, so it’s fine.」

I gave Yuji a partial explanation over the phone after that, but I told him the details would wait for the next meeting(?).

「It’s been a while.」

Hanako-san, who was next to me, spoke to Yuji in her usual flat voice.

That’s right, these two were acquaintances.

「Long time no see. I never thought you’d meet Kazunari without me.」

「This encounter was guided by destiny.」

Saying that, she looked up at me again.

U-um… Hanako-san isn’t a bad person and she’s easy to talk to, but she’s a bit dramatic… or rather, she says anime-like things out of nowhere.

Yuji looked at me and Hanako-san, tilting his head curiously.

「Hm? Did you guys actually get pretty close?」

「A community of fate.」

Well, as far as being against Yamazaki and Yuzuha goes, she’s not wrong… though that applies to everyone.

While I was giving a wry smile, a small punch flew into my stomach from the side.

Seeing that, Yuji gave a wry smile too.

Apparently, Hanako-san is like the mascot character of our「community.」

Even based on her looks…

「Hey, nice to meet you.」

While I was doing that comedy routine with Hanako-san, Hayato had approached us before I realized it.

「Yeah, nice to meet you too. I’m Tachibana Yuji. I’ve been hanging out with Kazunari since right after we started middle school.」

「I’ve heard a bit from Kazunari. I’m Yokogawa Hayato. We became friends at the same high school. Nice to meet you.」

Hayato held out his right hand, and Yuji held out his and they shook hands.

Good. It makes me happy to see my friends becoming friends.

While I was thinking that, my arm was tugged repeatedly.

?

Looking down, Hanako-san was beckoning me while looking up.

She put her other hand to her mouth in a pose like she was about to tell a secret, so I leaned down and brought my ear close to her. She put her hand to my ear.

「Did something happen between these two? The handsome one seems strangely nervous… like he’s conscious of Tachibana-kun.」

I hadn’t felt it that much, but maybe women are sharper about that kind of thing.

If that’s the case, it’s probably about Natsumi-senpai.

It was fine when Natsumi-senpai suddenly called Yuji that time, but they’d been talking pretty happily after that.

I’d given Hayato a basic explanation since he was worried about it, but did they get that close at the pool the other day?

「It’s hard to explain, but I’ve got an idea.」

When I whispered back, Hanako-san nodded repeatedly with an expression that made it hard to tell if she was actually interested or not.

「………Kazunari-san.」

!?

What’s this? I feel a strange chill.

It was just the voice of my beloved Sara-san calling my name, but…

Creeeeak… I turned around with my neck making a sound like it had lost all lubrication.

Sara-san was looking at me with a freezing smile.

「…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? I haven’t done anything wrong, yet I feel like a boyfriend caught cheating by his girlfriend.

「S-Sara-san, is something wrong?」

I looked around to see if anyone would back me up… but everyone was already gone.

Starting with Natsumi-senpai, Todo-san and the others had somehow gathered a distance away… and wait, looking to the side, Hanako-san, Yuji, and the others were gone too.

I see. That’s how it is… I guess I really am…

「Kazunari-san, where are you looking?」

「Y-yes, I’m sorry.」

Sara-san is the type to stay quiet and angry for a long time, so if I don’t fix her mood, it might interfere with today’s discussion.

To be honest, I didn’t think I’d done anything to be scolded for, but I guess I’m just weak for her… I can’t beat Sara-san.

To get out of this, I have no choice but to explain that I had a reason for whispering.

I approached Sara-san, lightly pulled her close, and started stroking her head.

「Kazunari-san?」

It was sudden, so Sara-san seemed a bit surprised, but she immediately puffed out her cheeks to show she was still angry. But not trying to pull away even when she’s mad is the cute thing about her.

「Sara-san, that just now was a conversation I didn’t want Yuji or Hayato to hear, so I had to talk at close range.」

「Something you didn’t want them to hear…?」

She seems willing to listen, so I’ll just tell her. It’s not like Sara-san’s gonna go blabbering to anyone anyway.

「Actually, Hayato likes Natsumi-senpai.」

「Eh!? Is that so!」

Sara-san let out a surprised voice. I continued.

「When we were talking at the karaoke place before, Natsumi-senpai called Yuji, right? Hayato saw them talking happily after that. So, it seems Hanako-san noticed Hayato was acting weird, thinking Yuji might be a rival, and she whispered to let me know.」

Sara-san listened in silence, looked like she was thinking for a bit, then her expression changed like she’d just come up with something. She grabbed my hand and pulled.

I guess she wants me to follow.

Once we got to where everyone was gathered, she let go of my hand, made me lower my head a bit, and put her hand to her mouth, whispering in my ear like she was telling a secret.

Uh… why go out of your way to do it here…?

「It might be a good idea to ask Tachibana-san what he thinks of Natsumi. It might not even be a misunderstanding. I’ll try asking Natsumi casually too.」

True, I haven’t heard anything like that from Yuji. Yeah, it might be worth asking.

…But if they both feel the same way… what am I supposed to do?

Wait, it’s too early to think about that when I haven’t even asked yet.

Looking at Sara-san, she was unnaturally tilting her ear toward me.

Eh… does this mean I’m supposed to do it too?

Thinking it might help fix her mood, I took the plunge, brought my mouth close to Sara-san’s ear, and started talking in a low voice.

「Understoo—」

「Hyan!」

Letting out a cute voice, Sara-san pulled her face away looking surprised.

…Ah, was I too close?

Just as I thought her face was turning brighter and brighter red, she hurried to hug my arm and hide her face.

This is what Sara-san always does when she’s embarrassed.

Meaning she was embarrassed… Sara-san is bold when she’s the one doing it, but she’s weak when it’s done to her.

I almost smirked at how cute she was, but then I felt a piercing gaze. Looking forward… everyone was staring at us coldly.

Yes, I am very sorry…

「Sorry to keep you waiting! Now everyone, greetings can wait until we’re in the car… um, is something wrong?」

Nishikawa-san arrived, and now everyone was gathered. But she seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere and let out a curious voice.

「Good work, Eri. No, it’s fine.」

Sara-san, who was part of the cause, had completely recovered and was talking to Nishikawa-san like nothing had happened… she’s strong.

「Now everyone, please get in the car first. Let’s talk after that.」

Come to think of it, with this many people, we can’t fit in a normal car.

Maybe a minibus or something…

I guess I was underestimating what it means to be the daughter of the Nishikawa Group president.

In front of me was a long… an incredibly long-bodied luxury car…

Eeeeeh, this is one of those limousine things, right?

The presence is insane… and it really stands out.

「Kazunari-san, please get in first.」

For some reason, Sara-san pushed me to get in first. I hesitated a bit since it was my first time in such a luxury car, but the man who was presumably the driver was holding the door open, so I took the plunge and climbed in.

Whoa… what is this!?

There was a long seat like a sofa, creating a space that didn’t feel like a car at all.

「Kazunari-san, please sit in the back.」

Whoops, if I don’t go in, everyone behind me will be stuck.

I sat in the very back seat, and Sara-san sat right next to me, glued to my side.

Of course, the other side was a wall, so the only person next to me was Sara-san.

Everyone else followed one after another, all looking equally shocked as they sat down.

「Sara… honestly… well, I guess it’s a girlfriend’s privilege to monopolize her boyfriend.」

Natsumi-senpai didn’t seem that shocked, and just muttered that while looking at Sara-san next to me.

I don’t think Sara-san is doing anything weird, though…?

Hanako-san, who came in next, looked over.

「…I can’t sit.」

She muttered with a slightly dissatisfied look.

Hearing that, Sara-san… for some reason, gave Hanako-san an incredibly sharp look.

「Ugh… this is impossible.」

Hanako-san took a recoiling stance, looked away, and immediately sat down next to Todo-san, who had a space open.

Seeing that, Sara-san leaned back against me and stuck close again.

Well, the other side is a wall, so I don’t mind her leaning on me…

「Double personality? I’ve never felt such intense killing intent before… that person is dangerous.」

「That’s why I told you before that getting close to Takanashi-kun is risky.」

Todo-san and Hanako-san were whispering something to each other.

And maybe it’s because of what Hanako-san said, but looking at Yuji and Hayato sitting on either side of Natsumi-senpai, there’s definitely an awkward atmosphere… or so I feel…

「Well everyone, since I only participated by phone last time, let me introduce myself again. I’m Nishikawa Eri. It’s a pleasure to meet you.」

Starting with Nishikawa-san’s introduction, everyone gave their greetings. Come to think of it, we were supposed to talk on that night, but Nishikawa-san had some urgent business and we ended up not talking.

「I’m Takanashi Kazunari. Nice to meet you.」

「Yes, nice to meet you. …Sara, I get that you’re close, but why don’t you pull away a bit? Won’t it be hard on Takanashi-san if you’re stuck to him like that?」

Sara-san was still glued to me.

…It might just be that she hasn’t shown it on her face, but she might still be dragging around that thing from earlier.

If that’s the case, I’ll let her do as she likes for a bit longer.

「…Kazunari-san, is it a nuisance?」

Being told that with such a lonely look, there’s no version of me that can say yes.

「No, it’s totally fine.」

When I said that and lightly stroked Sara-san’s head, she gave a happy smile and pressed her face right up against my shoulder.

Nishikawa-san, who was watching this, looked shocked, as if she were seeing something unbelievable.

「…………Who are you? The Sara I know was a woman who looked at men like they were trash and would cut them off saying, ‘It’s a pain, so please don’t talk to me.’」

「How rude. Please don’t lump my precious Kazunari-san together with the rest of the masses.」

「No, that’s not the part I meant…」

It looks like she responded to a different part of what Nishikawa-san was trying to say.

「Hey, let’s get to the point already.」

Natsumi-senpai asked for the main topic, sounding exasperated.