(A/n Notes: I finally managed to finish writing this chapter! Good job me!)
"…"
"…"
Inside a luxurious car, Ichiro and Sakurako both sat beside each other in silence, Sakurako was quiet due to her lacking talking skills, while Ichiro was quiet to hide his bit of embarrassment from sitting next to Sakurako when she was looking even prettier and cuter than usual. But neither of them looked particularly concerned with the silence, rather they found it quite enjoying, as they both held hands while sitting.
As they enjoyed their quiet time together, they eventually felt coming to a soft halt, and when they looked outside they saw a very large building in a rather isolated location, giving it a very luxurious vibe, of a place meant only for those who could afford it.
The doors of the cars were calmly opened, as an employee wearing an expensive-looking uniform and with refined movements helped Ichiro to leave the car. When Sakurako moved to leave from the same as Ichiro, the one who offered her a helping hand was Ichiro instead of the employee. Which Sakurako readily accepted.
"Shall we get going, Sakurako-san"
"Of course, Ichiro-san"
Without releasing each other's hands, the two followed after Hansuke and Emma, Sakurako's parents, who were waiting for them a short distance away. Once the four had gathered with each other, they all walked towards the building together, the entrance double doors were opened by a pair of employees, and they all walked into the building. And the first thing that was revealed to them was a very adorned entrance hall filled with all sorts of expensive objectives and decorations.
"…"
Ichiro looked in silence at the hall with his usual smile, as only one thing could pass through his mind right then.
… Yes, that was everything that Ichiro's mind accepted to process, that everything in that single hallway was just awe-inspiring from the amount of expensive it contained, each of them, valuing more than his house many times over. Noticing Ichiro's slightly longer than usual silence, caused Sakurako to look and ask him.
"Is something wrong, Ichiro-san?"
"No. Everything is alright, Sakurako-san. I was just impressed by how expensive everything here is"
"I see, then shall we go to the dining hall to meet with the others?"
"Of course. Hm? Sakurako-san, by the others you mean?"
"Yes, Himari-chan, Kohaku, and Kazuo-san are all attending this event as well"
"That's good to know, it's always nice to be in an event with acquaintances you know"
"Nn *Nods*"
The two continued talking with each other as they kept on following after Hansuke and Emma until they reached another door, which again was opened by employees of the building, and this time what was revealed was a large event hall, filled with tables, as even more expensive chandeliers illuminated the room, and not counting the stage at the far end of the hall, which was currently with its curtains closed, as if something was planned to be played on it later.
"…"
Ichiro once again turned silent as his brain skillfully ignored the more worrying bits of that hall, namely the price tags of everything in there. Then Sakurako's parents turned to talk with him and Sakurako.
"Sacchan, Ichiro-kun, we will be going to greet some of our friends and partners. So you two can just take a sit somewhere, eat the snacks they are offering, or just walk around. But do not leave the hall alone, got it?"
"Yes, father"
"Okay, Father-in-law"
"Also, Ichiro-kun, make sure to protect Sacchan under any circumstance, okay?"
"Of course, and in fact, I didn't plan on leaving Sakurako's side whatsoever"
"Thank you"
With that, Hansuke and Emma both began walking away, thus leaving Ichiro and Sakurako practically by themselves.
"… Sakurako-san, is there something you want to do?"
"… … … I want to sit down"
"Alright, then let us go find an open for us to sit… Hm?"
As Ichiro was about to go searching for a free table, he noticed someone wildly waving their arms in their direction, causing him and Sakurako to both look in that direction.
"Ah!"
"?"
When they both carefully discerned the identity of the person waving their hands at them, Ichiro realized who it was, while Sakurako who was quitting her eyes a lot could only see a blurred figure whose identity she couldn't make out, a reminder of how little care she had given to her eyes.
"Sakurako-san, it appears that Mochizuki-san is trying to have us go to her table"
"Huh? Ah… I saw it as well, then we should go there, right Ichiro-san?"
"… Of course, Sakurako-san"
Ichiro's smiled loosened up a bit as he found Sakurako's attempt, of faking the fact that she hadn't noticed that it was Kohaku, to be quite cute, so as they still kept on holding each other's hand, they both made their way to Kohaku's table.
.
.
.
"Sacchan! You're finally here! *Intense coughing*"
"Oi! I told you not to over-exert yourself!"
"There, there, Kohaku, here's some water, also you could've just asked me to wave for them"
At the table, Himari, Kohaku and Kazuo were all sitting close together, with Himari and Kazuo flanking Kohaku, who was currently sitting on a wheelchair, on both sides almost as if to protect her her, not from others but from herself, as she always tended to get overly excited about small things, and especially Sakurako.
"It's good to see you today, Kohaku, Kazuo-san. And I'm also happy to see you too as well, Himari-chan"
"I'm glad to be in the company of you three, Kohaku-san, Himari-san, Kazuo"
Sakurako and Ichiro both greeted the three at the same time, as they ignored the banter between the three because of Kohaku's excitement and in a perfect show of synchrony, the two respectfully bowed down at the same time, that when combined with their kimonos, made their bow look way classier than usual. When they both went back to standing properly, the banter between Kohaku, Himari, and Kazuo had finished, allowing for the three to greet Ichiro and Sakurako back.
"Sacchan! You're looking really cute in that kimono! And Ichiro-san, good job at picking an outfit that would fit with it as well!"
"It's good to see you two in good health, Sakurako-san… Ichiro-san"
"Sacchan, you really came here wearing your kimono…"
The three all greeted the two in different tones and ways, with Himari being the only one who didn't greet either Ichiro or Sakurako, as she was too perplexed at the fact that Sakurako had come to this event wearing a kimono, just as she said that she would do from now on when she bought the kimono and that no one in her family tried to stop her.
And when she looked at Ichiro, Himari couldn't help but feel a headache at the fact that he had also gone with Sakurako's idea of wearing a kimono for this event. Then as Himari was sighing both inside and outside of her mind, Ichiro pulled a chair for Sakurako to sit down.
"Sakurako-san, if you please"
"Thank you, Ichiro-san"
Then just as Ichiro sat down, Kohaku spoke up once again.
"Nee, Sacchan, when is your performance going to start?"
"I think in about three hours or so, I think?"
"You sure are lax as usual"
"I'm looking forward to your performance, Sakurako-san"
"Hm? You're going to perform today, Sakurako-san?"
"… Ah… Right, I forgot to tell you, Ichiro-san… Then… Ichiro-san, every time I have to come to events like these, I'm also requested to make a violin performance for the other guests"
"… … … Huh? That explains why you've been carrying that bag with you all this time"
Omitted all this time, but I'm now revealing that Sakurako had been in fact! Carrying her violin around all this time. This is definitely not a last-minute addition by the Author because he needed to justify Sakurako's ability to play musical instruments! Yes, this is an all-natural plot progression! What do you mean I need to properly set up my plot points?