Homura stood in the river, waiting for the others to return, occasionally tossing a fish into the bucket.
Before long, Kotori, Hanayo, and Nozomi came back, and Nozomi already changed her wet shoes and socks.
"They went to soak in the hot springs, right?" Homura said with certainty.
"Yup," Kotori nodded. "They were soaked through and they shouldn't catch a cold after soaking in the hot springs."
"Bathing together... it's a good way to get closer," Homura mused.
"So..." Hanayo's eyes trembled. "Did their relationship improve after that?"
"Very likely," Homura affirmed.
But let's not think about that for now!
"I'll catch some more fish! We don't have enough for each person yet. You guys continue preparing the ingredients. Once Honoka and the others are back, our barbecue feast will begin."
"That's something to look forward to..." Nozomi said with a smile.
===
"Honoka, how did I hear that you ended up in a sorry state as soon as I returned?" Umi complained.
"It's not my fault this time, Umi-chan! I'm the victim!" Honoka couldn't help but retort.
"Victim..." Nico's face was speechless. 'Could it be that I'm the culprit?'
"Ahh! By the way... Umi-chan! I caught a fish! With my bare hands! At first, it was clearly fishing with a fishing rod, but it turned into catching fish directly... Ehehe..." Honoka said with a cheerful tone.
While they were chatting, Homura was busy tinkering with the barbecue grill.
Before long, he had the charcoal burning.
"What does everyone want to eat? I'll start grilling."
"Grilled fish!" Honoka exclaimed, after all, she had personally caught a fish today and was eager to taste it.
"Okay."
With two large grills, there was enough space to grill a palm-sized fish for each person.
The pre-prepared fish were placed in a large bowl and marinated with his secret seasoning for half an hour.
After skillfully placing them on the grills, he took out a small bowl containing the prey that Haru had caught herself.
Because humans and cats have different tastes, the marinating methods were also different.
Once everything was arranged, Homura occasionally flipped the fish and made some preparations with seasoning, so he didn't have much free time.
"Muramasa, why don't we help?" Elf said to Muramasa. "Homura seems a bit overwhelmed."
Muramasa looked at Homura, darting between the two grills, and agreed with Elf's words.
"Alright, it doesn't feel right to leave Minamiya-kun to handle everything alone."
"That's right!" Elf grabbed Muramasa and walked over. "Homura, this lady and Muramasa-chan are here to help!"
While busy with the cooking, Homura glanced at them and said, "Great! I'll handle one side, and you can take care of the other side, how about that?"
"OK~" Elf stood proudly with her hands on her hips. "Leave it to us!"
These two are probably the best cooks among the girls. So controlling the cooking temperature for the barbecue was not a problem for them.
"In that case... I'll help too!" Ritsu rolled up her sleeves and spoke up.
"Ehh?!" Yui looked at her in surprise. "Ricchan... Did we offend you in any way?"
Ritsu's head exploded with a thought. "What kind of impression am I in your heart? Why can't I cook?!"
"A comic relief character?" Yui, holding her forehead, blinked without hesitation.
"Aaahhh!" Ritsu instantly raised her fist and ran away to Homura in a puff of smoke.
Mio laughed at the scene and reassured Yui, "Don't worry, Yui. Ritsu's cooking skills are actually quite decent."
"That's surprising..." Yui looked at the triumphant Ritsu in astonishment, voicing her inner thoughts.
"Well then, watch me closely!" After saying that, Ritsu turned to Homura and asked, "Minamiya-sensei, is there anything else I can help with?"
Upon hearing her words, Homura remembered that Ritsu's cooking skills were unexpectedly good, which seemed misleading based on her usual behavior...
With the barbecue, the two of them helping would be enough. What was left was the need for some main dishes...
He quickly identified someone among the remaining people who were skilled in cooking... Kuroneko! Just like Muramasa, she excelled at traditional Japanese cuisine!
There were others who could cook, but their skills were somewhat lacking...
"We're still lacking some main dishes. Can you help out by preparing some? Onigiri or sushi would be great!"
"Sure! No problem! But let me wash my hands first!"
"There's some water here from earlier," Megumi said to Ritsu. "I'll scoop some for you to wash here. It's quite troublesome to go back and forth."
"Alright! Thank you, Kato-senpai!"
"No need to thank me."
Homura looked at the others, particularly at Kuroneko. "Is there anyone else who can help with the preparations?"
Kuroneko: "..."
Why is he staring at me?!
The others exchanged glances. They all felt a bit embarrassed about their cooking skills at this moment...
After a while, Kuroneko, feeling a bit awkward from Homura's gaze, finally spoke up, "Um... I can also prepare some..."
"Ruri-nee's cooking is delicious!" Hinata shared the information with everyone.
"That works out perfectly! Megumi, scoop some water for Kuroneko too!" After saying that, Homura busied himself again.
"Hmm..." Saori pondered, "I feel like Homura-shi is waiting for Kuroneko to say that... Is it just my imagination?"
"I think so too..." Kirino smirked, "He was staring in this direction all the time, right?"
"Or maybe each group has someone helping out, so Homura-shi wants us to contribute as well?"
Kirino paused, thinking about how Muse and the others had helped with the ingredients earlier, and now members from Another Dimension and Light Music Club were assisting everyone with the cooking... It seemed like their own group hadn't been of much help.
"Since we're all here to have fun together, it's only natural that we all pitch in! This is what a group activity is about! Homura-shi really is amazing, coming up with so many ideas." Saori exclaimed with admiration, convinced that her speculation was correct.
In fact, Homura did have that intention. It would be more fun if everyone participated. Perhaps the shy and reserved ones could use this opportunity to be more open and make new friends?
As for what was left, it was a bit tricky to ask Nayuta to join in, as for Izumi...
Thinking about this, he winked at Megumi, indicating for her to help Kuroneko and Ritsu.
"Izumi-chan, let's go help them and lend a hand."
"...Alright, Megumi-nee. I don't really want to just stand and watch either."
They were busy preparing, and initially, Ritsu and Kuroneko were assigned separate tasks. However, knowing Ritsu's talkative nature, she couldn't stay quiet and kept chatting with Kuroneko and Izumi. Even nearby Muramasa and Elf couldn't escape the conversations. As they chatted, they became more engrossed in their discussions.
As the shy Izumi chatted more naturally, Elf and Kuroneko discussed some works, occasionally throwing in some chuunibyou vocabulary. Even Muramasa couldn't resist joining the banter between Elf and Kuroneko.
Seeing this, Homura smiled with satisfaction.