Episode 230: Hanako-san’s House

On the way home after the Student Council meeting.

The sociable Todo-san seemed to be fitting in already, but the conversation with Hanako-san, whose distance was still a bit hard to gauge, remained mostly small talk. It might take a bit more time with her, but Hanako-san is a good person, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.

「Takanashi-kun, about that, well, that report meeting…」

The President, who had no qualms about trapping me in situations (apparently he got a serious earful from Sara-san later), spoke up, looking unusually hesitant.

I hadn’t passed on the message from Nishikawa-san yet. It was just a short one, though…

「Come to think of it, I have a message for you from Nishikawa-san.」

「!? I-I see. Yeah, I’m happy she remembered me. And…」

Seeing the President clearly excited and waiting for the rest of the message, I felt a strange sense of cognitive dissonance.

It wasn’t something I needed to drag out, so I’ll just tell him.

「She said, ‘Thank you for your help back then.’」

「…I-I see.」

What kind of reaction was that?

He didn’t exactly look happy, but I couldn’t say he looked disappointed either.

Actually, by this point, even I can figure it out.

By any chance, is the President…

「Also, Nishikawa-san might come to the upcoming school festival. I invited her, and she said she’d try to adjust her schedule.」

「!! That’s great news. If she can make it, I’d like to welcome her myself.」

This time the President was definitely happy. I’m sure of it now. However, judging by Nishikawa-san’s attitude, there’s no doubt she just sees him as an acquaintance.

This looks like it’s going to be tough… for him.

As we walked and talked, the smartphone in my pocket on silent mode started vibrating. It didn’t stop and kept vibrating repeatedly, so I figured it was a call and checked the screen. It was a call from Masaomi-san.

「Hello?」

「Hello, Takanashi-kun. Sorry for the sudden call. I just wanted to give you a quick report. Do you have a moment?」

「Hello. Yes, I’m fine. Is something wrong?」

「You’ll probably hear from your own parents too, but once Takanashi-kun’s father’s business trip is over, we’ve decided to have a formal meeting between the families.」

Finally, my parents and Sara-san’s parents are going to meet face-to-face.

Masaomi-san and Mayumi-san should be fine, but the real wildcard is my old man. I want to believe it’ll be okay, but still…

Wait, how is it that I didn’t know my old man was going on a business trip, but my girlfriend’s father is the one reporting it to me?

「I, I see. I’ll let Sara-san know.」

Hearing her name, Sara-san seemed to judge that the person I was talking to was her parent. She stepped right up next to me with a complicated expression, so I lightly stroked her head to reassure her. It was incredibly cute the way she smiled happily and tilted her head onto my shoulder.

「…Why are they suddenly flirting?」

「…Flirting even during a phone call…」

「…I still can’t believe it… is that really Satsukawa-san?」

「Sigh… it’s just as I expected, they’re even doing it at the Student Council.」

「Y-Yeah.」

「Also, about your current residence, Takanashi-kun’s father and I have become joint guarantors, so don’t worry about that.」

「Eh? Oh, okay. Thank you?」

I didn’t quite understand what Masaomi-san meant by being joint guarantors. Of course there’s no problem, but why go that far?

Once I ended the call, Sara-san spoke to me as if she’d been waiting.

「Was that Father?」

「Yeah. It sounds like he talked to my parents, and the formal meeting is set.」

「「「「「 …!? 」」」」」

Hearing about the meeting, Sara-san showed a very happy smile. She’s been looking forward to meeting my parents so much, so I guess she’s just that happy it’s decided.

「I’m looking forward to it! I need to consult with Mother soon and prepare a kimono for the day…」

「No, you don’t have to go that far yet…」

「It’ll be my first time meeting your Father, and above all, as Kazunari-san’s fiancée… no, as your future wife, I want to give a proper greeting without any embarrassment.」

「…Whoa, w-wife!?」

「…Ooh, Satsukawa-san getting married, the guys at school are in deep trouble (lol).」

「…That isn’t even a joke, those two are already like that.」

「「……………」」

It looks like Sara-san is seriously fired up. It’s not like it’s a problem for me, so if she’s okay with it, I’ll just leave it to her. Besides…

「I understand. I’m looking forward to seeing you in a kimono too, Sara-san.」

「Yes!! I’ll do my best!」

Sara-san gave a powerful reply with the biggest smile of the day.

Saturday

I have a promise to go to Hanako-san’s house later today. I had thought about just stopping by on the way home from school, but we decided I should go home once to change clothes first.

It wasn’t anything fancy, but I’d bought a small gift yesterday. I thought a gift for just going to a friend’s house was a bit much, but…

「You might think it’s an exaggeration, but in times like these, it’s better to bring a gift and give a proper greeting. Don’t forget to say the phrase, ‘It’s not much, but please have this.’」

Come to think of it, I remember seeing scenes in dramas where people said exactly that when handing over a gift.

And now I’m the one doing it…

In the end, I decided to follow Sara-san’s instructions for my outfit too. I’d planned to go in something casual, but the outfit Sara-san prepared for me, a jacket and slacks, was close to what I wore when I was invited to the hotel by Nishikawa-san.

It seems I had too much of a「just going to a friend’s house」mentality and was taking it too lightly… I’ll have to be careful from now on.

After I finished changing, Sara-san held out the jacket and waited for me to put my arms through the sleeves.

She looked so devoted, or maybe the word is ticklish…

Once I had the jacket on, Sara-san gave it a few light pats here and there as if to straighten it out for me.

「There, that should do it. Don’t forget the gift, okay?」

「Thank you. Well, I’m heading out then.」

「……」

Just like the other day, Sara-san clearly had some thoughts on the matter. She seemed to have accepted it, but no matter how close we are to Hanako-san, there’s no way she can just comfortably see me off to a girl’s house alone. If I were in her shoes, I’d be incredibly anxious.

「If you don’t like it, Sara-san, I…」

「No, it’s fine. I told you the same thing the other day, please listen to Hanako-san’s story. Please accept a few things from her.」

Sara-san brushed away her earlier anxious expression and acted cheerfully.

To be honest, if this were just some random girl’s house, I’d firmly say I’m not going, but Hanako-san is my best friend. She knows everything about us, and I don’t think anything’s going to happen. It’s just going to a friend’s house to talk. That’s why Sara-san is trying to send me off.

「However, it’s only for today. And…」

I wasn’t going to let her say any more.

It’s only natural for a person to feel anxious even if they trust you, and I could tell from the atmosphere that today was going to be meaningful. That’s why Sara-san was saying things she wouldn’t normally say and feeling uneasy.

When I placed my hands on both of her shoulders, Sara-san seemed to feel my intent. She tilted her face up slightly, gave a small smile, and closed her eyes.

Doing this on my own really makes me nervous…

Chu…

It was a short kiss, but I put my feelings of wanting her to trust me into it.

After confirming that the Sara-san who opened her eyes had a genuine smile on her face, I decided to depart.

「Well, I’m off then.」

「Yes. Take care… Dear.」

When she calls me「Dear」, I can feel my own face heating up from the embarrassment. But conversely, Sara-san looked happy about it as she watched me with a satisfied expression before waving me off.

I was meeting Hanako-san at the station. I’d left the house early to arrive before the promised time, so it seemed Hanako-san hadn’t arrived yet.

As I waited idly while looking around, I eventually saw a figure walking toward me, her characteristic twin-tails swaying softly.

「Sorry for the wait.」

Even though she has such a cute appearance, her blunt way of speaking really doesn’t match, which made me give a wry smile.

「What?」

「Nothing, shall we go?」

「Follow me.」

As she said that, Hanako-san smoothly held out her hand to me. A handshake… no, she was trying to hold hands. I guess she was planning to lead the way. Since Sara-san told me to accept a few things, I decided to just hold her hand.

Squeeze…

Her hand is so small…

I thought Sara-san’s hands were small, but Hanako-san’s are even smaller. I was a bit surprised by her cute hand that felt like it might break if I gripped too hard, but her firm hold on my hand made me feel a sense of warmth.

When I squeezed back, Hanako-san’s expression softened slightly as she led me along by pulling my hand.

We walked for a while, and once we were near the shopping district, we turned down a side street and Hanako-san stopped in front of a certain apartment building. It seems her home is here.

She took a key from her bag and unlocked the apartment entrance, and the automatic doors opened. We took the elevator inside to the third floor and eventually stopped in front of a door that said「Hanasaki」.

I’m getting nervous… at Sara-san’s house, I already knew Masaomi-san and Mayumi-san, so I wasn’t this nervous, but this is the first time I’m meeting Hanako-san’s family.

「I’m home.」

Hanako-san opened the front door and went in first, putting out a pair of slippers for me. As I was about to take off my shoes, I heard the pitter-patter of footsteps approaching.

「Welcome back, Riko. Your friend…… is…」

The person who appeared was her mother. It seems Hanako-san takes after her mother; she has a somewhat youthful face and is also a bit short.

I thought it would be rude to stare too much, so I planned to greet her first… but for some reason, her mother just stood there frozen, her eyes wide as she looked at me.

「Um… Riko, is your friend a boy?」

「Yeah. I thought I told you.」

「Eeeeek, I don’t remember hearing that. A-A boy… Riko brought a boy home…」

It seems the reason she was so surprised was a simple miscommunication. It’s true that for a parent, hearing「friend」usually brings to mind a friend of the same gender. When it turns out to be the opposite gender… and their daughter brings a boy home, this reaction makes sense.

Then, another set of slow pitter-patter footsteps approached.

「Riko, you’re back? You brought a friend, right? Don’t just stand in the entryway, have them come in………」

I didn’t expect her father to be home too…

Well, it is his house, so it’s not strange. While her mother was just frozen in shock, her father started trembling.

I have a bad feeling about this…

「L-Look, Riko. You said a friend was coming, right? Th-this boy is…」

「I told you, a friend… but maybe we’re a bit closer than that.」

「!!??」

Hearing Hanako-san’s vague reply, her father froze with an expression of pure shock.

For me, being told we were closer than friends made me really happy. It meant she saw me as a best friend rather than just a normal friend, which is genuinely something to be happy about.

But…

It’s happened before, but Hanako-san is a bit short on words sometimes.

I understand our situation, so I can interpret her words without any misunderstanding, but how would someone with no prior knowledge interpret that?

A best friend? Or…

「Mother, have him come in first. I want to ask all sorts of things, and we need to talk in the living room.」

With only those words, he retreated deeper into the house with a solemn face. There was a high chance he’d misunderstood, whether I liked it or not.

「Father?」

「Riko, I have some things I want to ask too, so for now, come in. I’m sorry, um…」

「Ah, sorry, my name is Takanashi. Nice to meet you.」

It seemed we were going to have a talk in the living room, so I gave a simple introduction for now.

I can give a proper greeting after this.

「Takanashi-san, is it? Thank you for always looking after Riko. I’m sorry for making you wait at the entrance, please, come in.」

Matching her mother’s bow, I bowed back.

After a quick「Pardon the intrusion,」I followed after Hanako-san… all while trying to think of how I was going to explain this.