To Misaki’s House!

"To your house on the weekends?"

The next day at school in lunch time.

Misaki finally asked Sakura and Shinomiya if they could go to her house later.

"Yes, do you want? But it's okay if you can't."

Misaki said as she hurry waved her hand.

To be honest, she was a little nervous to ask them, since it was the first time she had invited friends other than Endou to her house.

"Looks like it's going to be fun! How's Shino-chan? Are you going?"

Sakura who always seemed energic seemed to have a great interest to visiting.

"I will try my best to get my parents to allow me."

Shinomiya replied with a charming smile.

"Well, I will definitely be allowed by my mother. But, if not..... Hehe, I will definitely still be allowed by her! After all, I have plans to do with Misaki at her house."

On the other hand, Sakura had an evil grin and seemed to be up to something, which gave Misaki a bad feeling. Her smile was similar to devilish smile of her mother's.

However, hearing they were interested to coming made her feel good.

"Okay, let me know later then."

And a few days later, they said they were allowed to go to her house. Misaki gets excited about it and gets impatient waiting for the weekend to come.

....

"So Sakura, why did you bring that suitcase?"

The appointed day has arrived. After school, Sakura and Shinomiya who had prepared things such as a change of clothes, pajamas, toothbrush and anything they need to stay for 1 day at Misaki's house, met in front of the bus stop.

And what made Shinomiya wonder was why Sakura carrying a suitcase that was half her height. She was sure she had brought more than enough stuff from Sakura's struggling face to carry it.

"Phew, that's fine. I'm sure my hard work will pay off."

She said as she wiped the sweat off from her forehead with a big smile.

"And Shino-Chan has to help me later to make it run smoothly!"

"?"

Shinomiya couldn't help but stare with confusion eyes at her friend who looked even more excited than usual.

Could it be that she is planning something naughty with Misaki? She thought.

"Come on Shino-chan, the bus has arrived! Help me carry this suitcase. I'll explain the plan inside!"

"But I haven't even agreed to..."

She wanted to say that she didn't agree yet, but it seemed that saying so would be of no use in the face of an excited Sakura. So he couldn't help but let out a tired sigh and help her push the suitcase.

She wasn't sure how she could be a friend with someone who was the opposite of her personality. Maybe their first meeting was when they were in kindergarten.

On that day, Shinomiya sat quietly and enjoying her peaceful time. Since it was the first day of kindergarten, she was sure it would be quite noisy later, so she enjoyed her time as much as she can. Her mature image has been seen even since childhood. Instead of being nervous because it was her first time outside without parental supervision, she remained calm as she observed the new place with her clear eyes.

"Hey."

But someone came to her while sitting right in the chair next to her which made her surprise. Who came so early? Ask her in her mind.

"My name is Sakura! What's your name?"

In an excited manner, the girl with pink hair introduced herself.

The sudden introduction made Shinomiya blink for a moment in reaction.

"Shinomiya."

The answer is short.

She could catch a glimpse of the personality of the child beside her, and felt it would be troublesome to interact more with her. She knew this type of kid in front of her was the one who talked a lot no matter how tired she was. She wanted to avoid as much as possible to interact with her at all costs.

A troublesome child who talks a lot. That's the definition of Shinomiya for Sakura.

She had hoped it would all end with that brief introduction, but that seemed to be just a wish.

"Hey, what fruit do you like, grapes or strawberries?"

Sakura asked again with a curious face.

It seemed that the calm and peaceful atmosphere had disappeared, and she also couldn't help but to reply her because there were only the two of them in the room now.

She looked back at Sakura.

She smiled broadly as she waited for an answer. Shinomiya groaned at how excited the child in front of her was.

"Not one of them."

"Then what fruit do you like?"

"Nothing special for me."

"Do you like looking for bugs in the summer?"

"No."

"Then...."

Sakura had a barrage of questions directed at her, and Shinomiya answered quickly thinking she would quit after seeing her apathetic attitude. But she underestimated Sakura's spirit as if she hadn't noticed any of it, or had not seen it at all.

"Nee, want to be friends with me?"

Sakura had sparkling eyes as she asked.

"No."

Shinomiya answered without hesitation. Talking to her for a while was exhausting enough, so what if she agreed to be a friend with her?

"Eh!? Why?"

"You're too noisy, and please keep your face away, you're too close."

She held back the face of Sakura who suddenly approached with her hand on her forehead.

"But we're friends now, right?"

"How did that happen?"

With her hands still holding her head, Shinomiya asked in confusion.

"My mother once said that speaking 100 words to someone made them be acquaintance, while 1000 words made them be friends. In other words, now we are friends because we exchanged more than 1000 words!"

Sakura said with a passionate smile. Shinomiya's hand couldn't hold Sakura's head anymore until she finally stopped doing it.

We didn't even reach 100 word yet... She though.

"That's right, isn't it?"

Her bright eyes made Shinomiya want to step back from her seat.

This child's positive energy is too strong made me wanna die if she stay close to me... Shinomiya only nodded after taking a deep breath. She somehow couldn't refuse.

"Is up to you."

"Yay! We're finally friends!"

Sakura cheered for having found a new friend, while Shinomiya seemed to sigh. However, rejecting her was even impossible, as Sakura seemed determined to try to befriend her.

And with that in their first meeting, their friendship began.

Their days continued after that. And with that, they played together at school, or rather Sakura clung to Shinomiya like glue. Sakura will always act cheerful and make quick friends with others, but she's also a bit clumsy and Shinomiya acts like she's the older sister who takes care of all the trouble she gets into it. And to be honest, it was very troublesome for her. But somehow she survived.

Shinomiya thought she could avoid Sakura at least at home, since her positive energy was too strong for her despite acting passively.

However, it turns out after her house is not too far from her. Sakura moved with her family recently to her area, so she doesn't know. So Shinomiya raised the white flag, giving up on avoiding that girl and accepting her (suffering) state.

So in the end Sakura always asked (forced?) her to play.

And, the years passed until Shinomiya finally got used to Sakura's positive and energetic nature.

Back to the present...

"Ugh..."

Recalling that past, instead of feeling nostalgic with happy feelings, Shinomiya felt that it was a tragedy in her childhood.

She looked at Sakura who was sitting next to her.

She thought that she would not be able to get along with her. But as the years passed, she was quite able to overcome Sakura's overly energetic and positive nature.

"Hmm? Is there something on my face?"

Sakura tilted her head in confusion, as she saw that Shinomiya continued to stare at her.

"No, it's just that I started to think that you are actually the reincarnation of the demon lord of mischief after hearing your plan."

Shinomiya only replied with an indifferent face.

"Hey!"

Sakura was about to scream when she heard that, but Shinomiya interrupted.

"That's a compliment, I just praise you."

"....Is that true?"

Sakura asked innocently.

"Yes, so don't shout on the bus. It will annoy other passengers."

"Who would believe that sentence is a compliment!"

"Ah, well...."

With a little noise on the bus, they finally reached station and got off. Meanwhile at the bus stop, a girl was standing there alone and it was Misaki who was waiting with a smile. She couldn't wait to bring her friends to her house.

"Shino-Chan, Sakura-chan!"

She waved her hand when she saw them get off the bus.

"Saki-chan! I really miss you!"

Sakura suddenly ran away leaving Shinomiya with her suitcase when she arrived and hugged her passionately.

"It's only been an hour after we left school, you know. Did something happen?"

Misaki was a little surprised when Sakura suddenly came and hugged her.

"Uwaaa, Shino-Chan was making fun of me on the bus."

Sakura said while pretending to make tears in her eyes.

"Don't make reckless slander, and leave your suitcase with me. You must be on purpose."

Bonk!

Shinomiya came and lightly hit Sakura's head. Her face was slightly irritated as she slightly sweated. She seemed annoyed at having to carry things that didn't belong to her, moreover it was quite heavy.

"Ouch! Look at that! Look what she did to me!"

Misaki could only laugh at them. It felt like she'd seen this often, but never got tired of Sakura and Shinomiya's usually irritated rowdy behavior.

But she wondered why Sakura had brought a suitcase, when all she needed was a toothbrush and a change of clothes.

When she asked Sakura that, her answer was only a smirk that made her uncomfortable. It seemed that she would not get an answer even if she asked. While looking at Shinomiya to ask her, she instead averted her gaze as if avoiding her.

"Okay, this looks suspicious but I won't ask further."

She said even though ahe felt a little uncomfortable as she looked at the suitcase.

After that, Misaki walked and leading them towards her house.

Sakura and Shinomiya were surprised as they walked into the elite residential area. They didn't expect her to live in such a luxurious place because of Misaki's habit of not behaving in a flashy manner. But after thinking about it, when they found Misaki walking around with her brother at that time, they didn't hesitate to use the money to buy new clothes. So it should be predictable.

"Woah, look at these houses! They all look big and great!"

Ignoring Sakura's amazed voice, they finally arrived at Misaki's house.

"I'm home."

Misaki said. She invited them inside.

Now Sakura and Shinomiya were getting a little nervous. How did Misaki's parents look like? Are they arrogant people? Will they not be accepted as friends because they are not from the upper class? But judging by Misaki's gentle nature, that's impossible. They might just be watching too much of the drama that their mother always watched.

And the sound of footsteps besides them was heard, making their hearts flutter.

"Welcome."

And unlike what they had imagined, a woman's voice softly greeting entered their ears.

"I've been waiting for you two, ever since Misaki told you."

And the figure of the voice was seen. It was a very beautiful woman. Her facial features are similar to Misaki's. Her brown hair and irises which had the same eye color, as well as her oval face and smile emitted from her lips made them awe. Whichever side you looked at, it was the adult version of Misaki to them. And instead of mother, they assume that she is her big sister because she looks younger.

"Are you Misaki's friends?"

She asked in a soft voice.

"Uh, uh, yes. My name is Sakura Hideyoshi! Please treat me well!"

"Shinomiya Sasami. Sorry that my friend's rude behavior seems annoying."

"Oooo..."

Because Sakura was a little nervous, she got so excited to answer that Shinomiya pinched her arm hard to keep herself quiet. Sakura wanted to scream louder, but she knew it was rude and just whimpered.

Seeing the interaction of the two made Misaki's mother laugh.

"You guys are energetic and polite kids, fufu."

A glimpse of their personality was visible in her eyes.

"Come in. And there's no need to be nervous in front of me, act like you always do."

With that, she stroked their heads gently before inviting them in. The slight nervousness disappeared as she felt her soft hand caress their heads.

"Hahaha, just like my mom said, there's no need to be nervous. Our family doesn't eat humans."

Misaki said while laughing at her friends' nervousness.

"Ohh, look who's talking. Didn't you used to call me mama in a spoiled voice? Now you're trying to be mature in front of your friends by calling me mom?"

Said his mother with a seductive grin.

"Ma... M-Mom, I didn't mean that..."

Misaki's face was dyed red.

Now Misaki feels embarrassed and her face is half crying because her friends heard something embarrassing for her. Misaki in the past did call her parents spoiled, and she followed suit to fit in even though that's not how she calls them. And now she was quite embarrassed to call them like that in front of her friends. Now she regrets her decision in the past.

"Gosh, watching my daughter try to act mature yet childish looks so cute."

"Don't keep teasing, mom! And why do you guys look more serious about this than school lessons!!?"

Misaki was getting embarrassed to hear that. If she was alone it was fine, but in front of her friends who listened attentively than when she was studying at school made her feel her face burning.

"Aw, that's what makes us love Misaki too! She's too cute!"

"Hmm, hmm."

Sakura agreed and hugged Misaki suddenly while Shinomiya chimed in with a nod and hugged her too.

“Fufu, you all seem very close.”

Her mother seemed happy to see her daughter had such a good friend.

Meanwhile Misaki whispered.

"Ugh, I'll die in your arms if it continues like this..."

Their embrace was so tight that make she was feel it suffocating.