Childhood Part XVII – Costumes – Start
For some reason, Makoto felt nervous.
To begin with, he was going to visit Tsumugi's house for the first time and while going to his friends houses for a day wasn't something that Makoto hasn't done before, he felt slightly nervous because of Tsumugi's, well, wealth, one may say.
Of course he knew that she wasn't going to be mad at him for going to her home in a casual outfit, but still.
Being in a limousine wearing simple brown pants, a plain white t-shirt and his hoodie, sure does make someone feel self conscious.
Now, for the second reason he was feeling nervous-
"We're almost there!" Tsumugi exclaims as she hugs the boy's left arm.
"Gosh! I can't wait to see where you live Tsumugi-chan!" Komaru replies while sitting on his lap.
"Zzzz." Chiaki sleeps peacefully while hugging his right arm.
The brunette turns his head and looks at all of the empty spaces to sit on the limousine's back, yet everybody decided to sit closer to him, or in Komaru's case, on him.
With a sigh, Makoto smiles. ' Well, what can you do about it?' He looks to his left side and sees Tsumugi hugging his arm while happily chatting with Komaru.
With a smile, he turns to the sleeping Chiaki and sighs again.
Well, it could be worse.
The group of friends step out of the limousine.
All except for Tsumugi and her butler let their jaws hit the floor.
"Oh my gosh, that's MASSIVE!" Komaru yells while looking towards a white colored mansion with a giant garden as it's front yard.
"It's not that big really." The blue-haired otaku comments. "At least once you get used to it." She then walks in front of them and puts her hands behind her back while leaning forward. "C'mon let me give you a tour before we start talking business!" Tsumugi winks, before turning around and starting to guide them.
The group walks into a beautiful green garden, full of flowers of all types arranged in a perfectly landscaped way that made a path towards a small wooden gazebo.
"This garden is beautiful." Chiaki comments as they enter the gazebo and start looking around. "It must take a lot of work to maintain… I think."
Kubo smiles and puffs his chest. "Glad you liked it young lady. It does take a lot of work to keep everything perfect like that."
"Kubo-san is quite proud of this garden, especially because he is the one that takes care of it." The blue-haired girl explains.
"You take care of it alone?" Makoto asks and the man nods. "Wow, that amazing Kubo-san!"
"Not really young man, after years of practice, it becomes almost second nature." The man replies with a smile.
"This place looks perfect for a afternoon snack!" Komaru exclaims while jumping around the wooden structure.
Her older brother sighs with a soft smile on his face. "Of course you're thinking of food."
The brunette girl turns around and puffs her cheeks, making her brother giggle.
"I do agree with Komaru-chan on that." Chiaki closes her eyes as a breeze flies past her. "This looks perfect for a nap in the afternoon… I think."
"After I take all of your measurements, we can have a tea party here!" Tsumugi smiles happily. "I always wanted to have tea with my friends here!"
Makoto smiles back at her and nods. "Sounds like a plan."
"Oh, just thinking about it is making me hungry already!" Komaru squeals in place, making her friends laugh.
"Well, let's go to the house!" The otaku excitedly exclaims and the others nod, following her towards the mansion.
Tsumugi's house was just as luxurious as the group thought it would be.
The polished white floor reflected their image, not just that, but there are maids walking around cleaning most of the rooms.
While walking around the hallway to the kitchen, the group walks past a bunch of framed pictures, before Chiaki stops in front one of them.
"Nanami-san?" Tsumugi calls as the mauve-haired girl analyzes the picture in front of her.
That being of a tall woman with blue hair dressed in a elegant dress, holding her arms around a little girl, also with blue hair and wearing glasses.
"Is that your mom?" Chiaki asks and the group walks to her side.
The otaku nods with a soft smile on her lips. "Yes, that's mama." Her smile then turns into a sad one.
"Kanon-sama is quite magnificent isn't she?" Kubo comments as something clicks in Chiaki's mind.
"Oh! So that's where I recognized your surname!" The older girl turns around and looks towards her otaku friend. "You're the daughter of Shirogane Kanon!"
Tsumugi puts her hands in her back and looks to the side. "Y-Yeah."
Makoto looks again towards the photo. "Oh. You mean the actress?" He turns to Tsumugi and smiles. "That's pretty cool." His smile disappears once he notices the look in his friend's face.
"I know right? Mama is super cool!" Although her words, Makoto could easily see the sadness behind her statement. "She's filming a movie somewhere in the country right now, or something like that."
Komaru was about to asks something, but Makoto quickly interrupts her. "W-Well enough about that, how about we get back to our tour?"
Tsumugi's instantly became more lively and pointed to the end of the hallway. "Right!" She turns around starts running. "Quick, next stop is the kitchen!"
Makoto nods and they all start following her, but not before Komaru grabs his sleeve and pulls on it. "What was that for?" She asks and Makoto sighs.
"She was getting uncomfortable with all those comments." The older brother replies and Komaru blinks, finally understanding him.
"Oh." The younger sister whispers before shaking her head. "Sorry, I didn't even noticed."
"You shouldn't be apologizing to me, anyways let's go." Makoto replies and the others nod, soon following the blue-haired girl.
Kubo, who was watching their interaction smiles. "Naegi Makoto-kun, huh?" He adjusts his suit and starts walking towards the kitchen.
After touring the rest of Tsumugi's mansion, the group finds themselves in front of the door to her room.
The blue-haired otaku turns around and starts playing with her thumbs timidly. "Uh, t-this is m-my room." She blushes. "I normally don't have a lot of people going there, so, it might be a bit… uh… messy."
"It's okay, it can't be that bad." Makoto replies with a smile.
The others nod and Tsumugi gulps, opening the door to her room.
Welp, she wasn't lying.
There are dirty clothes thrown everywhere, with dresses and skirts all over the floor, shirts under her bed and even some loose pieces of underwear thrown over her computer desk.
The otaku turns around and laughs awkwardly. "I-I hope it isn't so bed."
All three of her friends silently stare at each other, until Chiaki breaks the silence. "Wow, someone more messy than me and Komaru-chan… I think."
"Hey!" The brunette girl yells with indignation. "I'm getting better at organizing my stuff!"
Makoto simply chuckles at his sister comment, before turning around and looking at the only part of the entire room that was neatly organized.
"Great collection." The brunette boy comments while looking towards Tsumugi's 'otaku' corner.
Various figurines and statues serve as decorations above the multiple shelves with her long collection of manga and anime boxsets, just under those wall shelves, there is a bunch of sewing equipment in a table.
"Wow! There's so much stuff!" Komaru's eyes shine with excitement as she approaches the collection and starts eyeing everything up. "That's so cool!"
Chiaki checks on some of the names in the spines of the manga. "And all very well organized."
Tsumugi blushes again. "Well, I might be bad at keeping my room clean, but when it comes to my collection, I go above and beyond!" The otaku exclaims with pride. "But enough of gawking at my treasure, it's time for us to get down to business!" Out of nowhere, the blue-haired girl pulls out a tape measure and points to a, cleaner, part of her room. "Now everyone, I will need to take your measurements!"
The three nod and walk to the spot she pointed at.
Tsumugi then starts to work her magic.
After taking their measurements, the group sits down and starts talking.
None of them notice when a limousine enters the mansion and a blue-haired woman walks out of it.
"Welcome home, Kanon-sama." The butler bows as the woman smiles.
"Where is Tsumugi?" The woman asks while looking around.
Kubo smiles. "She's in her room with some friends."
"…" Kanon blinks rapidly, before yelling in surprise. "Tsumugi? With friends?" The woman smiles excitedly, before quickly moving towards the mansion. "I need to see this!"
The older man simply smiles.
Childhood Part XVII – Costumes – End
And another chapter done.
From now, until the end of this arc (3 or 4 chpaters from now), we will be focus on Tsumugi once again, so for those anxious to get to Hope's Peak, we're almost there.
Well, hope ya liked the chapter and see you around!