"Haru! Nayu! Let's go!" Homura called out.
"Senpai, I'm coming! Ahh! Haru-chan, wait for me!"
In a few strides, Haru rushed over, with Nayuta following closely behind.
"Oh? So you were all in the courtyard."
"Yup! I was just with Haru-chan, but she ran over when she heard Senpai's voice!"
Homura chuckled. "Well then, let's go!"
"Sagiri! Mashiro! Nanami! We're heading out!"
*Thump! Thump!*
'...The heck? Why are we back to using the floor language?' Homura shook his head in disbelief and headed out with Nayuta and Haru.
===
"Senpai, what kind of people are they?" Nayuta asked as they walked along.
"They're all great people." Homura rubbed her head. "You'll see when you meet them."
"Hehehe...." Although she wasn't sure, having Homura rub her head filled her with joy.
'Um? Why is she standing outside the door?' Homura noticed Rizu standing at the entrance of her shop.
"Ogata-san!"
Homura walked up to her. "Why are you outside?"
"Minamiya-san, I'm ready, so I came out early. After all, we're going to Fumino's house, right?"
Makes sense! However... although the shop door is closed, what's with the astonishing aura coming from inside?
She probably didn't want him to meet her father. Even though her father is currently snooping through the keyhole...
Homura didn't plan on exposing her father and instead introduced Nayuta. "Ogata-san, this is Kani Nayuta."
"Hello." Rizu nodded slightly. "I'm Ogata Rizu."
"Ogata-san, hello."
Homura scratched his head. "Well then, let's go."
After the three of them set off, the door of the udon shop opened, revealing an 'unsightly' face streaming with tears.
"Uwaaah~! My little cabbage is gone to feed the pigs!"
Homura: "..."
Homura, with a dark expression on his face, almost went back to confront him!
'Who's the pig here?! Look at the mirror, old man!'
===
The journey continued in silence, neither of the two girls by Homura's side spoke. He shook his head; their personalities didn't seem to match very well...
Fortunately, the destination wasn't far as they finally arrived at Fumino's place.
Rizu rang the doorbell.
"Fumino, we're here."
"Ah, Ri-chan! Wait a moment!"
Soon, Fumino appeared once again before Homura's eyes.
"Minamiya-kun, welcome!"
"Sorry to disturb you."
"No, no! We troubled Minamiya-kun!" Fumino quickly waved her hands.
"Alright, no need to be so polite." Homura pulled Nayuta forward. "This is Kani Nayuta, please take care of her, Furuhashi-san."
"Ah, no problem. I'm Furuhashi Fumino, please come in, everyone."
The three followed her inside, where her two friends were waiting in the foyer.
One had rosy red hair, purple eyes, and a tan complexion—a lively and healthy-looking girl!
The other was in a school uniform with yellow hair and red eyes—a very pretty girl.
Homura flashed a mysterious smile, but that school uniform... where had he seen it before?
Just as he was about to trigger his memory, Fumino started speaking.
"Let me introduce them! These two are my friends. This one is my schoolmate, Takemoto Uruka."
"Hey there!" Uruka smiled and casually greeted everyone, winning the heart of Homura.
"Hello, Takemoto-san. I'm Minamiya Homura, and this is Kani Nayuta. You can call us whatever you like; I don't really enjoy formalities. Please don't be as polite as Furuhashi-san and Ogata-san. Just be yourself."
"Ahahaha! Rizurin and Fuminocchi are just like that! I'm used to it!"
Fumino gave Homura a speechless look and continued with the introductions.
"This is Shirakawa Miyako. Although she doesn't go to the same school as us, we are in the same grade. By the way, we're also neighbors."
"Hello, Minamiya-san and Kani-san." Miyako greeted them politely and graciously.
"Hello, Shirakawa-san."
'Indeed, it's Miyako...' Homura said inwardly.
He brought Nayuta with him this time was the right decision. Even though they didn't know each other at all right now, he believed they would become familiar in no time.
"Let's go to my room first." Fumino said to everyone.
Homura smiled and said, "But there's someone we haven't introduced yet, right?"
"Eh?" Fumino was momentarily puzzled, then suddenly realized, "Right, the cat on Minamiya-kun's shoulder is Haru-chan. She's his family member."
After saying that, Haru jumped down from Homura's shoulder.
"Oh~ So this is Haru-chan? She's really cute~" Uruka crouched down, looking very happy as she watched Haru.
Haru looked at Uruka and Miyako, then approached Uruka a little.
"Hehehe!" Uruka happily touched Haru, and then Haru moved closer to Miyako.
"I see..." Homura laughed.
"What do you mean by 'I see'?" Rizu asked curiously.
"Haru made me realize something..." Homura continued, "It is said that cats can see through a person's heart. I don't know if other cats can do it, but my Haru definitely can."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Uruka exclaimed in surprise.
"So, what did Minamiya-kun understand just now?" Fumino also asked, curious.
"Takemoto-san must be good at cooking, right?"
"Ehh! How did you know?!" Uruka herself was the most surprised. She hadn't told anyone, not even Fumino.
"And I'm not sure if Shirakawa-san is good at cooking, but you must be good at taking care of people. At the very least, you're a very kind-hearted person." Homura said with a smile to Miyako.
This time, Miyako was flustered and taken aback! Her expression confirmed that Homura was right.
With four pairs of curious eyes fixed on him, Homura was about to explain when Nayuta spoke up.
"Because Haru-chan used to be a stray, and people's hearts... have both good and evil... so..." Nayuta's tone was filled with complexity.
Homura: "..."
'She stole my lines... but, oh well, whatever...'
But with Nayuta's words, the mood of the group became indescribable.
The words were clear enough, and they understood that because Haru had been a stray before, she would approach people with good hearts who could cook delicious food, while she would stay away from those with ill intentions or evil hearts.
Although it was said simply, who could really know how many people Haru had interacted with to reach this level?
"Alright!" Fumino clapped her hands. "Can we enter now? The introductions are over, right?"
"Let's go. I also brought gifts for everyone. Afterward, we can start our tutoring." Homura reached into his bag and patted it.
"That's something to look forward to!"
Following Fumino, Haru jumped into Nayuta's arms.
"Haru-chan... you really can see through people's hearts..." Nayuta muttered as she stroked Haru.