52 Don't use honorific

A fine and great morning came as it caused Todokami Ayaka to wake up and prepare for another school day. While she has already gotten used to morning wake up, that doesn't mean a yawn couldn't escape from her mouth since there are still heavy feelings bagged her whole body. She always hated that feeling and slowly understood there is no way a human body could literally get used to it to the extreme.

'Or maybe because I didn't find or meet one who has that condition. Sometimes the world could be vast and small, so I could understand that. I have only been in Japan and one city, block, and street with the same sights every day.'

Leaving her house and walking towards the school, Ayaka heard her phone ringtone and suddenly checked it out. She smiled with a small huff seeing a message from Hanayo that said the brown-haired girl was waiting at the usual place for her. Ayaka replied to Hanayo's message and started to make her way towards the usual place to meet with each other in the morning.

Why? Since Hanayo still doesn't know where Ayaka's house is, the same thing could be said with Ayaka. They didn't know each other house since it didn't cross the couple's mind, which could make anyone facepalm at how absurd it is.

And to make it worse, they still haven't had their first date either. But fortunately, Ayaka and Hanayo agreed to do that this week on Saturday and Sunday, one date each day in two days. It sounds crazy and absurd, but that is the idea that came to their minds, and both couples already agreed to do it since they think it's funny and can't get enough for a day.

'Most normal couples only have dates for a day or maybe two dates in a week, not like ours, for example, like Wednesday and Saturday, not Saturday and Sunday. But I don't think that will be fun since Hana and I want to know more about each other. More importantly, this is our first date ever, so I think it's okay to make it a bit different and unique.'

She shrugged off inwardly, and several minutes later, after walking, Ayaka could see Hanayo and Rin, who waved their hands at her, and the fellows orange-haired girls called her name with her usual smile and cheerful face.

"Aya-chan, good morning."

"Ayachin, morning!"

Ayaka nodded and replied to the greetings she got from Hanayo and Rin in the same manner of speaking, gesture, and expression. She expects Rin to show up since that girl is Hanayo's childhood friend, and Ayaka has no problem with it.

"Good morning, Rin-san, Hana! Sorry if I have to make you two wait."

"It's okay, Aya-chan. Not like it was too late since we had just arrived. Isn't that right, Rin-chan?"

However, the said Rin had her cheeks swelled as she pouted with a frown. That makes Ayaka and Hanayo confused as they slightly tilt their heads and raise their eyebrows when looking at Rin. They were confused about why Hoshizora Rin, the fellow orange-head of Ayaka and Hanayo's childhood friends, suddenly made that face.

"Ayachin, don't use a formal honorific when addressing me! We are not strangers anymore, you know? Everyone in the μ's is no stranger to you, so drop that formal way of addressing someone. Moreover, we are the same year and age, so it's weird for me to hear that."

"E-Eh… I am sorry?"

But, that answer made Rin's cheeks swollen even more since she wasn't satisfied with the answer, and she glared at Ayaka with her face frowned further. This made Ayaka and Hanayo slightly panic when they saw the expression that Rin gave to Ayaka.

"Don't say and feel sorry, Ayachin! It makes me uncomfortable, okay? It's like I have done something wrong or bad to you when you say that…."

Rin grumbled under her breath, which was picked by Ayaka's ears and made the orphan laugh nervously until she got elbow nudged by Hanayo, who whispered something to Ayaka. It causes the orange-haired orphan to draw her ears closer to Hanayo and listen to it.

"Aya-chan, I think you should stop that and just call her casually. She prefers it like that than being formal and the likes."

"Um… but is that okay, Hana? It felt like inappropriate even though we are friends."

"And friend shouldn't do that, Aya-chan. We in μ's don't call each other by surname anymore, or never because of what Honoka-chan did. Because of her, we didn't do that or be formal like everyone did. Even we call three senpais in our group casually."

"…I see. Okay then, thank you for the advice and tips, Hana."

Hanayo simply nodded and smiled as she was happy that her girlfriend quickly understood that. She then let out a fake cough and cleared her throat before saying something and called Rin, who still pouted and had a slightly bad mood, but she didn't hate Ayaka. Rin knows it since Ayaka is kind and only does that because she doesn't want to impose on her or do anything similar.

"Ahem. Sorry for that, Rin… I didn't mean to upset you or anything."

Ayaka said while bowed and apologized, causing Rin to let out small sigh and shake her head, with a slight frown on her stay still.

"As I said, Ayachin. You don't have to apologize since that is not your fault. I just want there to be no border or distance between us. I just want us to be close to each other as friends so we won't be awkward or feel alienated. μ's is kind of that group as we treasure friendships or bonds between each other more. Well… Honoka mostly who make us to felt like that."

She said, looking away while scratching her cheeks when she remembered that. Hanayo nodded in agreement with Rin since what her childhood friend said was correct. Their group, μ's, is actually like that and treasures the bonds shared between them. They prioritize it as the most important thing within the group.