Chapter 76 – A Sense of Crisis
Eriri positioned herself beside him in the poised, ladylike manner he rarely saw and spoke courteously. "Hello, I'm Sawamura Spencer Eriri, Asakura-kun's classmate."
Kosaka Honoka merely smiled brightly. "Hello, senpai! I'm Kosaka Honoka!"
Minami Kotori, thanks to her family background, gave Eriri a slightly surprised glance. "Nice to meet you, senpai. I'm Minami Kotori."
Sonoda Umi instinctively slipped into her most formal home etiquette, bowing deeply. "Pleased to meet you, senpai. I'm Sonoda Umi.
Asakura himself, after a brief blink, wore a faint, knowing smile.
If he wasn't mistaken, Eriri was feeling… threatened?
Understandable. The Kousaka sisters were bright and lively; Kotori was a rare beauty with an adorable voice, and Umi, though reserved, was the perfect yamato nadeshiko in the making.
Any one of them alone might not bother Eriri, but all four at once? No wonder she'd switched to high-alert mode.
Yet her performance astonished him.
She couldn't help it. The moment Honoka had pounced on Asakura and he hadn't flinched, alarm bells rang; then two more girls appeared.
Add the warnings from her mother and Utaha, and Eriri decided it was time to assert a little authority.
Hmph—she might concede on certain measurements, but in everything else she refused to lose.
After introductions, Honoka studied Eriri's blond hair. "Senpai, are you half-Japanese?"
"Yes, my father's British."
"Wow! I've never met a half-Japanese girl before—your blond hair is so pretty!"
Don't worry, girl; once you start high school next year you'll meet another half-Japanese blonde—only she'll greet you with "Harasho."
Flattered, Eriri smiled. "You're beautiful too."
"Hehehe~~~"
Yukiho, unable to watch any longer, interjected. "Onee-chan, since you're back, why don't you take Kotori-san and Umi-san upstairs? Kaede-nii brought a guest today!"
"Oh, really? All right."
Instead of heading up, Honoka turned to Asakura. "Kaede-nii, stay a bit! I'll treat you and senpai to something yummy!"
Asakura patted her head. "Not today. I came straight from school and have to head back. Next time. For now, look after Kotori and Umi."
"Mm… okay."
Honoka led her friends upstairs.
Once the shop quieted, Asakura and Eriri resumed choosing wagashi while Yukiho boxed them up.
Payment made, Asakura lifted the package. "Thanks for your help, Yukiho. We're off."
"Thanks for coming! Come again, Kaede-nii and Eriri-nee!"
Outside Homura, Eriri glanced at the darkening sky. "It's late; I should head home."
"I'll walk you to the station."
She didn't refuse, and they set off together.
As they walked, she finally asked, "Are you close with the Kousaka sisters?"
She hadn't meant to pry, but Honoka's affection and Yukiho's easy familiarity set off every alarm.
By comparison, initially wary Kotori and Umi seemed lower-risk—but still risks.
Hmph—she'd thought Asakura wasn't interested in girls, yet here were four cute ones he knew.
A small sulk settled in her chest.
At least he wasn't hiding anything.
Asakura, oblivious, nodded. "Pretty close. We met after middle school—Honoka was only fifth grade then. She was always cheerful; whenever I came for wagashi she'd drag me off to play, and we just stayed friends. Naturally I met her two buddies as well."
"So they're all still in middle school?"
"Yep. They start high school next year; Honoka says she's aiming for Otonokizaka, her mom's alma mater."
"Otonokizaka… that's the traditional girls' school, right?"
"Exactly—Otonokizaka Girls' Academy in Chiyoda Ward."
Kaede chuckled and said, "That girl originally said she'd come to Toyosaki with me, but after she saw her mom's alma mater and looked at some of her aunt's old photos, she instantly decided on Otonokizaka. Still, it's for the best—Kotori's mother is the chair of Otonokizaka, so it's actually the better choice. As for Umi, her family runs a traditional Japanese dance school and she's practiced archery since childhood, so she always seems so prim and proper, but she's actually super shy."
"Is that so? I never imagined the three of them would end up friends."
"A lot of things in this world come down to fate, don't they?"
Kaede smiled and glanced at Eriri beside him, but the girl didn't notice, merely nodding in agreement.
Soon the two of them reached the bus stop; Asakura waited with Eriri for about ten minutes until the bus arrived.
Watching the bus pull in, Eriri smiled and said, "I'm off, then. See you tomorrow!"
"Mm, see you tomorrow. Take care."
After seeing Eriri onto the bus, Asakura turned and headed for another stop to catch his own ride home.