Halloween Party Day
“Welcome!”
“…”
When I saw the outfits of the girls who greeted me, my mind went blank, but It’s only natural. Kisaragi is wearing a witch outfit, meanwhile Kosaka is dressed as a black cat. They are dressed in very fancy costumes, but it suits them really well. It really surprised me that I can’t keep my mouth shut looking at them. Hoshikawa is equally surprised. Seeing our reaction, Kosaka nods in satisfaction.
“I love it! it’s so Halloweeny and cute!”
Kosaka is showing off her costume by saying ‘look at me, look at me!’, while Kisaragi is concerned about the length of her skirt as she turns her head down in embarrassment. The difference of tension between the two of them due to their difference in sense of shame made me flutter. It gave me such a shock that everything that had been troubling me blew away.
Cute.
Too cute.
Isn’t she too cute!?
“Close the door, quickly.”
“A-Ahh.”
Kisaragi who seems really embarrassed raised her voice. I obeyed her words and closed the door behind me with the little bit of composure I have left.
“I knew it, I can’t go out like this.”
“I don’t even think I can wear this any longer indoor.”
“It’s okay! Nao looks really cute in it!”
“Hmmm…”
The little remaining composure I had left has crumbled, evil imaginations start to fill my mind. I lightly slap my cheeks which is getting hotter and hotter as a reprimand. Suddenly, our eyes meet. No, that’s not it. You do understand that even though I think about it, I don’t have the courage to do it right? No, sorry, I’m really sorry.
Unexpectedly, she turns her gaze to Kosaka and continue her conversation with Kosaka. I wonder if she is intentionally ignoring me. Ahh, that’s right, since Hoshikawa is nearby, nothing is getting through her mind, she can’t read my thoughts with Hoshikawa around. Then it would be alright to keep thinking about it… No, no, no, I need to stop myself thinking about it, I shouldn’t think of anything like that it in front of them. So, I look at Hoshikawa to distract myself. Hoshikawa is looking at Kisaragi with tears in his eyes, it seems that seeing Kisaragi in that witch costume has made him cry.
“…eh?”
A single drop of tear runs down Hoshikawa’s cheek.
“Hey, are you crying…?”
“Instead of having a nosebleed, I cry when I look at them in those outfits.”
That is a very bad way to explain it, but he may be right, if this was a manga, he would probably have a bloody nose right now.
“A-Anyway, please wipe your tears for now.”
Hoshikawa gratefully accept the tissue paper Kisaragi offered him. While carefully wiping his tears, he expresses his thoughts.
“I’m very happy that Nao-san who once a loner has made a lot of friends, but I’m also very sad at the same time because she will be tainted by this mundane world.”
“That is the kind of feeling fans have towards their idol.”
“I don’t understand what are you saying, but please calm down. Let’s just get you inside for now. Okay?”
“Yeah. Come in, come in. Can you take off your shoes? Do you need some help?”
“No, it’s fine. I can take it off myself.”
His voice sounds slightly trembling when he said it. He seems to be even more shocked than I was, but I understand him. I was able to remain my composure just because seeing Hoshikawa react like that, if he didn’t react like that just now, I think I would have a nosebleed. While calming him down, I feel a sense of gratitude from the bottom of my heart for him.
I took off my shoes, put them together at the end of the hallway and said ‘Ojamashimasu’ before I go in Kosaka’s house. Then I put on the slippers which Kosaka had prepared for us and head to Kosaka’s room on the second floor. In the hallway, there are several certificates with her name written on them. It seems that she has received rewards for her essays in the past. Seeing them carefully framed, I thought she must be really good at taking care of her precious things.
(‘Ojamashimasu’ means sorry for intruding)
On the door of Mikan’s room, there is a tangerine shaped sign that says ‘Mikan’s Room. Always knock!!!’ That sign alone already can show how madly in love is she with tangerines. Even before I went inside her room, I can already see that her room is beautifully decorated. Then the moment I enter her room, I notice that all decorations in her room are handmade.
“You can sit on any cushion you like! In the meantime, I’ll bring out some snacks so that we can eat whichever snack we want!”
“Okay.”
As I was told, I picked up a cushion randomly and sit down at one of the four corners of the table. Sitting from my right to left is Hoshikawa, Kosaka, and Kisaragi.
“Ah, but this isn’t a very big room, so I’ll just bring out the rest after we finish these.”
As she says that, she grabs a handful of snacks and tosses them into her mouth. There are opened snacks and drinks on the table. She must’ve eaten them while she was decorating her room.
“I’m curious about the snacks you two brought, why don’t you two just bring them out now?”
“I bought some snacks similar to the ones we’re having now”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Liar.”
I’m a little surprised at Kisaragi’s words, she doesn’t usually talk like that.
“There is something in Yuma-kun’s paper bag which isn’t Halloween orange-coloured, but instead it is tangerine orange-coloured, right?”
Perhaps because it’s something tangerine related, she hurriedly took it out of Hoshikawa’s paper bag. Hoshikawa who thought he had been found out tilts his head and laugh. Then, a ‘Tangerine coloured’ package is brought out from Hoshikawa’s paper bag.
“Wow, as expected of Yuma-kun!”
A citrus-flavoured candy was really in there.