Chapter 58: At Yakumo's House
Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"Hey, Tsukamoto." A relatively tall girl, standing at 5'7" tall, with shoulder-length dark blue hair, grey eyes, and a busty figure wearing the Yagami High School's female uniform, said as she approached Tenma Tsukamoto's desk with two other girls. "Did you talk to Yakumo-Chan?"
"Sure did, Mikoto-Chan." Tenma, Yakumo's older sister, replied with a smile. "She said she'd make those yummy snacks you like for us."
"Oh, hell yeah." The blue-haired girl, Mikoto Suou, cheered happily.
"Yakumo is a really nice girl." A girl with short black hair, and black eyes standing at 5'3" and wearing the same school uniform said in a flat tone with little expression on her face.
"I know, right?" The last of the girls, a girl standing at 5'5" tall with long blonde hair tied into pigtails and amber eyes, added. "She's so talented, too. It's hard to believe the two of you are related sometimes."
"That was mean, Eri-Chan!" Tenma said with a pout.
"Yeah, Sawachika." Mikoto said with a shrug. "That wasn't cool."
"Oh, don't act like you weren't thinking it, too." The blonde girl, Sawachika Eri, replied nonchalantly.
"Even if it is true." The black-haired girl said dryly. "We would have kept it to ourselves, at the very least."
"Takano's right." Mikoto added. "You gotta have more tact."
"Et tu, Mikoto-Chan and Akira-Chan?" Tenma asked dramatically as she pressed her hands on her chest above her heart.
With that, the four girls laughed happily for a while.
"Anyway, let's go." Tenma said as she finished putting away her school supplies. "Yakumo will be home before us. But she'll be bringing some of her friends to the house, too. And I told her that we could help them with their study group if they needed it. You know because we all already did those middle school tests."
"Okay, let's go." Mikoto said with a smile.
While the four girls were playing around and having fun, Yakumo led Tatsuo and Chiho to her house, which was a traditional Japanese residence.
"Wow! Your house is so cool." Chiho said as she looked around curiously. "I only live in an apartment. But I always wanted to live in a house like this with sliding doors and stuff."
"Actually, the sliding doors are only on the outside, and in certain places." Yakumo said. "Most of the house is the same as any other house you can find."
"Still, it looks so cool." Chiho said in admiration.
In response, Yakumo smiled faintly as she led the two to the living room.
"Anyway, you guys can wait in here." Yakumo said. "I'll go make some tea and snacks for us, my Nee-San, and her friends."
"Okay." Tatsuo replied as he took a seat on the floor in front of the table in the living room. "Thanks for the trouble."
"Yeah, thanks." Chiho added as she, too, sat down at the table. Then, when Yakumo left the living room, Chiho turned her attention to Tatsuo as she started taking her books out of her bag. "So, are you nervous about the upcoming tests, Soramoto-Kun?"
"Not really." Tatsuo replied casually as he started taking his books out of his bag, as well. "I just haven't started revising yet. So, I thought it would be nice to find an excuse to get away from home for a few days."
"I see." Chiho replied. "It must be nice. *Sigh* Even though I get good grades at school, I usually have to work really hard, cramming before every exam. But you make it sound so easy."
'Well, if you had any idea what I've been through, you would probably pity me.' Tatsuo thought as he smiled at Chiho's frustration.
"Anyway, with the three of us working together, you shouldn't have to wrack your brain so hard this time, right?" Tatsuo asked.
"Yeah, that's true." Chiho replied happily. "I just really hope that either you are Tsukamoto-San are good at English."
"Well, I speak it fluently." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "so, I guess you could say I'm good at it."
"Ah! That's right!" Chiho said as she pressed her hands on the table and leaned towards Tatsuo excitedly. "I completely forgot about that. Then, you have to help me with English, Soramoto-Kun!"
"Sure." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "Just let me know what you don't' understand and I got you."
Around that time, Yakumo returned to the living room with a platter holding teacups and a pot of tea.
"Please, have some tea." Yakumo said as she placed teacups in front of Tatsuo and Chiho. "The snacks will take a little longer, though."
"Wait! Are you making the snacks from scratch, Tsukamoto-San?" Chiho asked.
That was not just a random question. Rather, Chiho asked because, now that she had calmed down, she could smell the scent of confectionaries wafting through the house.
"Yes." Yakumo replied with a nod.
"But wouldn't it have just been enough to bring some chips and cookies?" Chiho asked.
In response, Yakumo shook her head.
"Nee-San and her friends asked me to make these for when they got here." Yakumo replied. "So, I'll just make enough for all of us."
"Well, I'm looking forward to it." Tatsuo said with a smile. "I've seen your lunches, and they look really good. I'm guessing you make those, too, right?"
"I do." Yakumo replied. "I make all of mine and Nee-San's lunches."
"Thought so." Tatsuo said. "Then, we're probably in for a treat."
Hearing that, Chiho was suddenly looking forward to the snacks Yakumo would make, as well. Yakumo, on the other hand showed a small smile. Though, she did not realize it.
"Then, I'll get back to preparing the snacks. Feel free to start studying, I'll be back soon."
"Okay." Chiho replied with a smile of her own.
Like that, Yakumo left the living room again. Meanwhile, Tatsuo and Chiho started studying, with Tatsuo explaining the problems Chiho was having with their English course work.
A short while later, the sound of the front door opening could be heard.
"Yakumo! I'm home!" Tenma shouted from the house's front door. Mikoto-Chan, Eri-Chan, and Akira-Chan are here, too."
"Okay!" Yakumo replied, though, her voice still sounded as soft as ever. "You can wait in the living room. The snacks are almost ready."
Hearing the conversation between the sisters, Tatsuo and Chiho's study session came to a temporary stop as they looked towards the living room's entrance. Only a few moments later, four girls wearing the Yagami High School's uniform walked into the room.
Immediately, Tatsuo and Chiho examined the four new comers.
'Tsukamoto Tenma, Suou Mikoto, Sawachika Eri, Takano Akira.' Tetsuo thought to himself. 'They look just like they did in the School Rumble anime. On top of that, I can tell that Suou is quite skilled in martial arts for a girl her age. Tsukamoto and Sawachika are average girls, though.'
When his thoughts reached that point, his eyes landed on Akira. Then, they narrowed slightly.
'But this one, Takano, is on a completely different level.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'Her physical abilities are way above even Suou's. On top of that, she's got four pistols concealed on her body. Impressive.'
Not only Tatsuo and Chiho were examining the new faces. Tenma, Mikoto, Akira, and Eri were doing the same. And their gazes all landed on Tatsuo, thanks to his extremely handsome face. And while Tenma, Mikoto, and Eri were taken aback at how handsome he was, Akira narrowed her eyes.
'No wonder the mission to recover Soramoto Tatsuo was taken down a few months ago.' Akira thought to herself. 'It looks like he had already been rescued. But there was no explanation for why it was taken down back then. At least I know the reason now.'
As it turned out, Akira had an identity other than a high school student. Unbeknownst to her friends, she was also an international secret agent employed by the Japanese government. In fact, her skill in hand to hand combat and mastery in firearms was quite high, on par with Tatsuo's before he went to the ICDS Universe, at the very least.
"Wow! You're all so pretty." Chiho exclaimed excitedly. "Hi, I'm Tsukamoto-San's classmate, Sasaki Chiho. It's nice to meet you."
Chiho's exclamation broke the staring contest. After that, the four introduced themselves.
"So, you're officer Sasaki's daughter, huh?" Mikoto asked. "I've met him before, when I beat up a molester. He's a really nice man."
"Huh?" Chiho exclaimed in confusion. "You're the girl he was talking about back then?"
"Yup!" Mikoto said proudly. "I hate people like that. So, I've beaten up a lot of those kinds of jerks before."
"Mikoto, you're so violent." Eri said while shaking her head. "If you don't stop with that, you'll never get a boyfriend."
"Shut up!" Mikoto replied with a slight blush on her face. "You can talk to me about a boyfriend when you get one yourself."
"Hmph! Like I'd really be interested in just any guy." Eri said haughtily. "They have to be able to match my stature, at the very least."
With that, Mikoto and Eri began bickering, something that has become common since they became friends at the beginning of the school year.
"Now, now…" Tenma said, trying to break up the budding argument. "Don't' fight, okay?"
"Just let them be, Tenma." Akira said. "That's how they show their affection to each other."
After saying that, Akira turned her attention to Tatsuo.
"Instead, let's talk about you." Akira continued. "What are your intentions for our little Yakumo? She never brings boys home."
"I feel like I just fell into a cliché." Tatsuo muttered while scratching the side of his head.
"That's because you have." Akira replied. "If you say you like her, I'll say something like, 'Do you think you're good enough for her.' But if you say you have no intentions towards her, I'll reply with: 'Oh, so you think our little Yakumo isn't good enough for you, huh, Punk?'"
Hearing that, Tatsuo could not help smiling, despite himself. And when he did, the four girls who just met him were all dazed, though Akira, thanks to her training, did not show it.
"Hold on, you said your name was Soramoto, right?" Eri asked.
"That's right." Tatsuo replied.
"How are you related to Soramoto Sumire?" Eri continued her questions.
"She's my mother." Tatsuo replied.
Hearing that, Eri opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"What's up, Sawachika?" Mikoto asked curiously. "What's so crazy about that?"
"Don't tell me you've never heard of Soramoto Sumire." Eri asked while looking at Mikoto incredulously.
"Um… I can't say that I have. Mikoto replied while scratching the side of her head.
Everyone looked at Eri curiously after seeing her reaction. And Tatsuo was no exception. Although he knew that his mother was a world-class assassin in the past, very few people should know that. She was that good, after all. But ever since he was rescued, he had heard very little about her public persona. She always told him that he did not need to worry about that. Instead, he should just focus on getting used to living normally.
"She's the owner and CEO of one of the biggest music companies in Japan." Eri said. "All her artists play instruments such as the piano, violin, etc. Yet, they all play both classical pieces and more modern pieces, as well."
"Really?" Chiho asked with her eyes wide open. Then, she turned to Tatsuo and continued. "Is that why you're so good at the piano, Soramoto-Kun?"
"No, that has nothing to do with hit" Tatsuo replied while waving off Chiho's question dismissively. "But I really don't wanna talk about it. It's not really a good memory for me."
Naturally, that made most of the girls curious. However, when they saw the expression on Tatsuo's face, they did not ask. The only one who had an idea of what might have happened was Akira, who knew that he had been kidnapped when he was a child.
'Now, I'm curious to know what he went through when he was missing for the last eight years.' Akira thought to herself as she looked at Tatsuo, who was still smiling despite the change in atmosphere.
"So, you play the piano, huh?" Eri asked curiously. "And you say that your mother's business had no effect on that? That's kind of strange."
"Jeez, Sawachika, he said he didn't wanna talk about it." Mikoto said.
"And that's fine if he doesn't." Eri replied. "I just found it curious, is all."
That led to another round of Mikoto and Eri bickering. However, that did not last long, as Yakumo entered the room with the snacks she prepared. After that, the group of seven continued to chat casually before they finally got to studying.
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