Chapter 20 : A Day Out II

"Sacchan! It is not what you think!" Hana exclaimed, trying to explain this to the little girl. However, the blush on her face is getting bolder, making the smile on the little girl, most likely her little sister, get widened more.

"Is that so? Then, why are you so nervous? And is that a blush I could see on your face?"

Seeing the siblings teasing each other, Furihata's mother didn't want to be left out, so she turned around to Furihata with the same mischievous smile.

"Is this special lady that makes you want to wear your glasses outside? Care to introduce her to me, Kou-chan?"

Furihata groaned at his mother.

"Nothing like that, mom. This is Hana Hishida, my classmate. And Hishida-san, this is my mom, Anzaki Furihata. As for this little girl.." Furihata stares at the little girl beside Hana, expecting her to introduce herself.

"Oh, my name is Saya Hishida! I am her little sister. Nice to meet you! Are you the same Kouki Furihata who bested her on the student rank?"

"Sacchan!"

Furihata raised his eyebrows slightly at Hana whose blush on her face is getting uncontrollable. He decided to ignore it right now and replied, "That is probably me."

"Ooh! I heard a lot about you! Onee-chan wouldn't stop talking about you at home, People would think she has a crush on you." Saya snickered, causing her sister to panic more.

"Stop it, Sacchan!" Then she turned around and bowed, "I am sorry Furihata-san, my little sister is a bit rude."

"Oh, don't worry, dear! It's okay. And no need to be too formal. Just call me Obaa-san, okay? You will confuse me with my son if you call both of us Furihata."

"Hai, Obaa-san." Hana could only nod, didn't know what to say. Of course, like any other sibling, her little sister is there to make things worse for her.

"Hey, my name is Hishida too! If we didn't want to confuse each other, should we use our first name to call each other?"

Furihata swore he saw his mom's smile getting brighter at what Saya just said.

"Good suggestion, Saya-chan! So, Hana-chan, can I call you that?" Seeing Hana nod meekly, she squealed happily and said once again, "You should also call my son by his first name, you know. It would be less confusing. Moreover, are both of you a classmate?"

"Yes, Onee-chan! You should call Kouki-san by his first name!" Saya added, ganging against her sister.

Furihata is speechless, his mouth gaping wide. He couldn't believe how fast his mom would team up with his friend's sister to tease him and Hana, or how fast Saya and his mom acted like they are friends for a long time. When he saw how Hana is blushing hard while stealing a glance at his eyes, Furihata sighed helplessly.

"You can call me Kouki if you want, Hana-san." He decided to go with the flow. Hana's eyes shine at what she just heard, and she nodded rapidly.

"Sure, Kouki-san! You can call me Hana too!"

"Oh? Why are you so happy about getting permission to use his first name? Is it really true you have a crush on him?"

"Sacchan!"

"And speaking of Kou-chan, what do you think about his appearance? He is more handsome with his glasses, right? I have forced him to use it outside, but he always said he didn't want to look like a nerd. Can you believe that this is the look of a nerd?"

"O-Obaa-san?!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Furihata decided to interfere, afraid that Hana would faint given how red her face is. She looked like a lobster after getting boiled right now.

However, he received pouts from his mother and Saya.

"Aaw, Kou-chan.. You are no fun!"

"Yeah, Kouki-san! Can you see we are having a lot of fun with Onee-chan?"

'Of course, it is fun until you are the object of the teasing itself.' Furihata muttered wryly. Then, he turned around and see his mom has already grabbed two books in her hand.

"You will buy that?"

"Yup." His mom nodded, showing the book to him. Furihata raised his eyebrows, recognizing the book.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

The Tokyo Zodiac Murder by Soji Shimada

"Mystery thriller? Isn't it a bit unusual for your taste?" His mom only shrugged a little.

"Well, what can I say? I am a bit bored, and wanted to read something new."

Furihata flipped the books to read their synopsis.

"Well, if you find it good, I will read it after you."

"Sure!"

"Anoo…"

The pair of mother and son turned around at the source of the voice, just to see Hana smiling awkwardly while her sister still has a trace of mischievousness on her face.

"Aah! I am sorry, Hana -chan, Saya-chan! Forgive our rudeness! We always forget about everything else when we talked about books!"

"Don't worry, Obaa-san. I think it is cool to see someone other than Onee-chan enjoying books so much like what both of you did." Saya replied quickly, reassuring his mother that no harm done.

"Well, Saya-chan, Hana-san, are you done with the book?" Furihata asked, taking over the conversation.

"We are done here!" She replied, showing the books in her hand.

"Are you preparing for high school?" Furihata asked once again, skimming through the books. He could see a lot of topics covered such as biology, physics, Japanese literature, English, and Mathematics.

"Yup! I will go to Seirin with Onee-chan!"

"Well, you better work hard. Even though Seirin is not a top school, it is still considered a decent one." He couldn't help but ruffled her hair, amused at the proud face that could be seen on Saya's face.

"Moou, Kouki-san! I am just a year younger than you! Don't treat me like a child!"

"Well, you are younger than me, of course, I will treat you like a child."

"What kind of logic is that?"

Furihata didn't know why, but he seems to get along really well with Saya. Maybe it is just because he wants a little sister to pamper.

They keep bickering for a while until Hana took a glance at her watch and said,

"Sacchan, it's time to go back. Dad would be at home now." Saya's eyes widened as she realized the time.

"Ah, you are right!" Then she turned around, giving both Furihata and his mother apologetic eyes.

"Forgive us, Kouki-san, Anzaki Obaa-san. We have to go back, or our parents would be worried about us." Hana also bowed slightly, following her sister's apology gesture.

"Don't worry about it. You can visit us anytime on the weekend if you like to hang out with us. I am sure Kou-chan wouldn't mind that, right?"

Furihata smiles wryly as he couldn't object to his mom's invitation without being rude. However, after thinking for a moment, he shrugged a little, didn't see any harm in having more companions.

"Sure, I don't really mind about it."

"Really? We would be happy to visit. Right, nee-chan?" Hana nodded, trying her best to hide her excitement.

"Well, I will wait for your visit then. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"Sure, Obaa-san! Thank you for the invitation, and nice to meet you!"

Furihata waved his hand a little as he says his goodbye, staring at the pair of siblings who slowly disappeared from his line of sight.

"They are nice girls, aren't they?"

"Yup." Furihata nodded unconsciously.

"Especially the big sister, Hana, right? Even though you bested her on the school, she is still happy seeing you around. A really nice girl, right?"

"Yup."

"Do you think she has a crush on you?" For this, Furihata rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Unfortunately, mom, I wouldn't fall into that trap easily."

"Oh, come on young man! Can you have a little bit of fun?" She pouted a little.

"I have this new book to read. I think that is enough fun for me today. Speaking of fun, where would you go for the next trip?" His mom pondered for a moment, trying to remember something.

"If I remember correctly, I won't need to go abroad this time. It is just Hokkaido."

"Really?"

"Yup! Unlike the last time, the one who rents a private jet now is doing his research on which place is best to visit in April. Not some sort of rich people who throw a bunch of money to visit a weird place just because they can."

"Does that mean there will be no unexpected extended trip again like the last week?"

His mom smiles sadly at him, knowing that even though he didn't want to make it a big problem, he still didn't like the prospect of her going for a long time.

"Don't worry, Kou-chan. Last week was just one thing. I have raised this issue to my boss, and he agreed to not use me in emergency cases. Your mom will be back on time. Just be a good boy and enjoy your school, okay?"

Furihata snorted at that.

"Don't worry, mom. I will be on my best behavior. My grade would still be on the top whenever you are home and ask about it, and you won't hear even a single complaint from my teacher. I will make you proud. In return, please, take care of your health, okay?"

Her heart drenched a bit, feeling happy yet a bit saddened because of how mature his son is.

"Oh, sweetheart… You don't need to worry about me. I am the grown-up one here, right? And I will always be proud of you, no matter what. You are really the best son any mother could hope for."

She embraced him softly, trying to reassure him that she would be alright. Both of them didn't talk for a moment until Furihata whispered uncomfortably,

"Mom, stop doing it here. We are still in public, and you embarrass me here."

When she looked closely at her son's face, she could detect a faint red shade in his face. Adding to how he fidgeted the corner of his clothes awkwardly, she couldn't help but tease him.

"Aaww.. Are you blushing here? Don't worry, young man. Embarrassing my son is one of the best privileges I have as your mother, and every mother knows about it. Come here, my baby!"

She spread her arms wide, inviting him to her embrace. It only makes Furihata flushes harder.

"Whatever. It is still lunchtime, let's search for something to eat." Furihata said, trying to deflect the conversation. If he keeps answering the teasing, he wouldn't be able to stop her mom from doing so.

Fortunately, his mother decided to take mercy on him and dropped the teasing.

"Sure! Let's find a nice place and enjoy our new books too!"

Her bright smile is mirrored into her son's face, as both of them are walking together and chatting around happily. They might only meet once a week, but that is what makes this pair of mother and son closer to each other, and they are happy with it.

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Author note:

The next chapter would be back to basketball again!

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