Chapter 382: The Women of the Fujiwara Family Are All Weird
After dinner, even though Chika's house was quite close, Sakurai Saki still intended to walk her home.
Minamoto Mashiro's car was parked right nearby. At first, she said she'd drive both Saki and Chika home, but midway she got a call — sounded like someone was inviting her out for a second round of drinks.
When it was time for kids to be going to bed, that's exactly when the nightlife of adults began.
Arriving at the Fujiwara residence.
Sakurai Saki saw the kadomatsu that he'd noticed during the last Christmas still standing in the yard, placed there by the Fujiwara sisters.
Who would've thought that thing still hadn't been thrown away by now?
All three Fujiwara sisters were strange in their own ways.
Among them, perhaps the most normal one was Fujiwara Moeha?
"U… u… u… u!!!"
Just as he thought that, a strange sound came from inside after he pressed the doorbell.
"What's wrong? Moeha! What's going on?" Fujiwara Chika shouted.
Very quickly, the door lock clicked open.
Chika rushed inside.
Even while wearing a skirt, she still moved with impressive speed.
No wonder she called herself an athletic "low-calorie JK" — Chika-chan really could run fast.
Sakurai Saki figured something must've happened and hurried in after her.
The moment they stepped into the entryway—
Both of them froze.
Fujiwara Moeha was tied up, her mouth sealed with black duct tape. Anyone who didn't know better would've thought they'd stumbled upon a home invasion!
"Moeha~"
From the living room beyond the entryway came a voice that Sakurai Saki had never heard before.
A woman's voice — with a mature tone.
'Who's that?'
He quickly got his answer.
"Big sister?"
At Chika's voice, Sakurai Saki turned and saw the person —
Long pink hair tied into a side ponytail, dressed casually in comfortable home clothes, looking light and airy as if she were floating.
Unlike the lively Moeha and the somewhat scheming Chika, this one looked like a genuine airhead.
"A guest?" Fujiwara Toyomi tilted her head, smiling sweetly with the gentle aura characteristic of an older sister.
It was the first time she'd seen her little sister bring a boy home.
So this was the Sakurai boy she'd heard her sister mention so often?
He really did look quite charming in person.
"Hello, I'm Sakurai Saki, Chika's friend."
"Just a friend?" Fujiwara Toyomi hadn't even finished asking before Chika quickly shoved her away.
After pushing her older sister out of the living room, Chika turned back and helped Moeha remove the black tape from her mouth.
"Moeha, what were you and sis even playing just now?"
How did things end up in such a bizarre situation?
"Poker…"
"What kind?"
"Uh-huh."
Listening to the sisters' cryptic exchange, Sakurai Saki couldn't help but wonder — what kind of poker game could possibly turn into a bondage scenario?
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a logical explanation.
There was really only one thing he could say: Sasuga, the Fujiwara sisters!
"I'll be heading home now."
Sakurai Saki decided to make his escape.
"Alright, Saki-kun, bye bye~" Fujiwara Chika noticed her younger sister seemed to be having some suspicious thoughts, so she hurriedly pushed Sakurai Saki toward the door.
Fujiwara Moeha looked a little disappointed. She waved and said, "Sakurai-senpai, come play again next time, okay?"
"Umu~ bye bye."
...
Leaving the Fujiwara house, Sakurai Saki looked back several times — under the dim streetlights, Fujiwara's house looked like some nameless creature waiting to swallow someone whole.
After walking just a few steps, he suddenly saw Fujiwara Toyomi — the woman who had just been pushed back into the living room — standing at the corner of the street.
Seeing a ghost at midnight?
No.
Sakurai Saki suddenly remembered that the Fujiwara family's living room and yard had a side door, and also a large sliding glass window.
Perhaps she had gone out through there.
"Chika's sister, is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Sakurai Saki thought for a moment, deciding to address her that way.
He still didn't know her name.
"Just call me Toyomi-nee." Fujiwara Toyomi smiled sweetly.
"It's nothing important. I just wanted to ask — where did you all go for dinner just now?"
Sakurai Saki was a little confused, but he still told her the name of the restaurant.
"Umu umu, thank you."
"Toyomi-nee, you came all the way here just to ask that?"
"That's right."
"…That's really unexpected," Sakurai Saki muttered.
"I smelled the spicy scent on you guys, and it made me kind of hungry." Fujiwara Toyomi said as she pulled out her phone and began searching for the restaurant's name.
A moment later, she raised her phone, waved goodbye to Saki, and slowly disappeared from sight.
Sakurai Saki watched her back fade away.
And came to a conclusion.
The women of the Fujiwara family were all abnormal.
And this one was on another level!
...
The Golden Week ended peacefully, without a hint of disturbance.
The world wouldn't change just because the Earth had spun one more time.
Unless tomorrow was the end of the world — but things like asteroids crashing into Earth only happened in sci-fi movies.
Or maybe in some manga glorifying individual heroism. Just imagine — a man in a tight suit, wearing a cape and bald, shattering a massive meteor with a single punch. The fragments fell to the ground, smashing his newly bought house, leaving him with a 20-year loan still to pay…
"How tragic."
Pulling himself out of that train of thought, Sakurai Saki looked at the chalk marks on the board and tossed all the manga he'd read yesterday out of his mind.
So what if you're a superhero — in the end, you're still dirt poor.
And even if you're not poor, you'll still have some kind of weakness.
Superman has a weakness called kryptonite. Apparently, kryptonite wasn't enough, so later they added the Red Sun and magic too...
In One Piece, those who eat Devil Fruits are restrained by the sea and seastone.
"Sakurai-kun, stand up and answer the question."
The homeroom teacher, Oobayashi Hikaru, called him to stand.
Sakurai Saki stood up, went to the board, solved the problem, and returned to his seat.
On the way back, he saw his little sister.
With her shining golden hair, she looked like a doll, staring straight at him.
In the last quiz, she had ranked in the top 5 of the entire school… Saki had originally worried she might not keep up with her studies.
Recently, Yami and Chika had gotten really close.
He still couldn't understand what on earth those two found in common.
...
The night of the second day after Golden Week.
The welcome party for the French exchange students was proceeding as usual.
The sounds of clinking glasses and cheerful laughter filled the grand hall.
At the entrance, the group of student council members, having just finished the opening ceremony, were standing and chatting.
"Phew, we made it in time."
Fujiwara Chika placed a hand on her chest, her tone a little uneasy.
"That's because Secretary Fujiwara forgot to prepare the script, isn't it?" Shirogane Miyuki said irritably.
"Ehe~" Fujiwara Chika tilted her head, making a cute face.
"You were the one who volunteered for it, weren't you?" Sakurai Saki pinched her cheek.
"Uwuuu~ that hurts!" Fujiwara Chika teared up, whining, "I already said I'm sorry!"
Shinomiya Kaguya watched the two interact, covering her mouth and letting out a small laugh.
She smiled as she said, "Fujiwara-san's French is really good. The exchange students under the stage were all completely stunned."
Fujiwara Chika puffed out her chest proudly and replied, "Kaguya-san, my mom's a diplomat, you know!"
At that moment, Shirogane Miyuki suddenly wanted to ask something —
"Does everyone here speak French?"
Sakurai Saki let go of Chika's cheek and answered indifferently, "Not really, I only know some basic stuff like 'Bonjour.'"
Shinomiya Kaguya: "I'm about the same."
That was a lie!
Unfortunately, Shirogane Miyuki didn't notice at all.
"Crap, don't tell me they'll make me go on stage later?"
Shirogane Miyuki longed to be a superhero!
The kind whose house gets destroyed by a meteor!
...