Chapter 44 – Osaka City

Third person POV

 Two days later, Hoshi and his friends, alongside Mariya and Sha, went on a trip together. They went northwest to Osaka City by train. Luckily, Mariya was allowed 2 weeks off from work because she had worked hard for the past 6 months. Sha also has the same amount of time off from work, although he had only started working 3 months ago. The purpose of this is to visit Hoshi and Mariya's relatives on his mother's side. Those relatives all lived in Osaka city, and most of them are either teachers or nurses. While riding a normal train, Hoshi and Mariya expressed to their friends how excited they are to arrive at Osaka city.

 "Yeah, we know," Taro responded positively.

 "I hope we can go to Kobe city after that," Bokuto added while reading a book.

 "Sure, after our stay in Osaka," Mariya responded back.

Sha was looking at the window, gazing at the scenery as the train passes by.

He was allowed by Master Demon Blood to go with them so he could monitor Kuro.

Saki was sitting next to Hoshi, making her blush by just touching his hand.

She avoids that so she wouldn't let him know that she is in love with him.

 By 11:20 a.m., the train arrived at Osaka city's main and big train terminal, and they all get off, stepping on the platform. They then made their way through the station, pass through the ticket gates, and finally, left the station and into the vast landscape of Osaka city. "Wow…" Taro commented on how amazing the city was as he holds his smartphone.

 "This is so awesome!" Saki commented in positive delight.

 "Yup, that's Osaka city for you," responded Hoshi.

They then all began to walk through the city streets towards the home of Hoshi and Mariya's maternal relatives, which was…

 "Woah…" Sha commented upon looking at the walls of the Taka residence, which was actually a traditional Japanese compound containing several houses within.

 "This place is…" Saki added.

 "Are your relatives rich or something?" Taro looked at Hoshi and Mariya.

 "Well…our maternal grandfather is a headmaster of a high school in this area," Mariya replied, "and our great-grandfather is the founder of a well-known sake factory in the city."

 "And one of our uncles was the current CEO of it," Hoshi added another fact.

Their friends were amazed by the roles of some people in the two siblings' family tree.

 "Amazing…"

 "Your relatives are well-known, right?" Bokuto asked in conclusion.

Hoshi then nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

And so, Mariya knocked on the wooden door, which also acts as a front gate.

And then, someone answered it; it was Hoshi and Mariya's maternal aunt, who was a housewife.

 "Oh, Hoshi-kun, Mariya-chan, it's been a while," she greeted them nicely in her pink and sky blue, traditional kimono.

 "Hi there, aunt," Mariya greeted back. "How are you?"

 "I'm fine, thank you."

The young woman then noticed their friends with them. "Oh, are those people with you your friends?"

Hoshi then looked at Bokuto and the others, then back at his aunt. "Yes, they are."

 "Nice to meet you, miss," Saki greeted with a quick bow.

Bokuto and the others said the same thing with a quick bow.

 "Nice to meet you all," the woman replied with a bow, "come in, come in."

Hoshi and his group did so, before his aunt would close the wooden gate door close.

Shortly thereafter, Hoshi and his group are walking across the Taka estate, which was a big one and often, people from the Taka family owned the majority of the houses within the estate. These people are mostly distant relatives who doesn't want to leave. The rest of the houses were rented out to either students who can't afford housing in the neighborhood or to the employees of the family business. In doing this, the family had a diverse array of businesses.