Chapter 18: Cherry Blossoms (I)

A/N: This is in first person point-of-view. Honestly, I don't know whether or not to write in 3rd or 1st person since the need changes for some events. Sometimes writing 1st person makes me awkward, but sometimes it can convey the things I want to convey in a smoother way.

So...enjoy this chapter I guess.

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After hanging out in the music room for a while, we decided to go home since it was late already.

"Goodbye Shouko-chan, Fuutarou-kun, Haruma-kun! Goodbye to my little kouhais as well!" Kaori waved goodbye at the school gate where they went on opposite ways.

We waved our hands at her as well before leaving for their own home.

"See you tomorrow as well!" I said.

Kaori's expression turned a little stiff before she left, but it passed too quickly for anyone to notice anything.

"Y-Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow as well."

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Five days passed quickly with us going to the music room every day after school. At this point, it became a habit to go to the music room instead of my home after school. However, we noted that Kaori didn't come back to the music room ever since that day, and we wondered why.

I didn't know where Kaori lived, so I tried asking the teacher for her address, but was rejected as elementary students were not allowed to receive confidential information. So we had no other choice but to wait for Kaori to come back to school before asking her about her leave of absence.

[A/N: Random excuse I made, don't say anything]

I had a hunch of Kaori's reason for absence from school, but it was too early to jump to a conclusion. My presence had caused a lot of butterfly effects, and nothing from the anime itself was reliable anymore like Arima Kousei not existing. I tried asking her about Arima Kousei and the only reply she gave me was "Huh? Who's that?".

It seems like her fondness for the violin grew because she heard me playing in the music room last year and not because of a piano competition.

Today was a Saturday, the 12th of April, and the week where the cherry blossoms were the prettiest to watch.

Both Shouko's and my family lived in Matsuyama, located northwest of Japan, and the cherry blossom season comes later than in other provinces.

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"We're home!" A loud voice rang out in the house when I was still in bed.

I woke up groggily as I turned to look at my alarm clock which showed the numbers '7.30 am'. Seeing that it was way too early to get out of bed, I decided to ignore that voice and go back to bed.

However, before I could do that, my door slammed open, and a man I was very familiar with came in without reservations.

"Rise and shine, my son! It is a good day to see some cherry blossoms today!" My father said loudly, as if afraid that the whole world wouldn't be able to hear him.

"Urgh...dad...it's 7.30 in the morning, let me get some sleep first..." I groaned as I covered my ears with my pillow as I turned to face the wall, trying to block out my senses.

"Nope! Today, we're going to have a family outing together with Yaeko-san and her family!" While saying that, he walked over to the side of my bed and pulled the blanket away from me, leaving me to feel slightly cold from the spring wind.

I turned to look at my dad, and just as I was about to retort back at him, I heard the same conversation happening in the other three rooms. Yaeko-san was in Shouko's room, which was next to mine, while mom was in Raiha and Yuzuru's room. I knew that with the three adults working together, there would be no escape from the early family outing.

"Fine, but can you let me get ready first?" I asked annoyedly at my father who is still grinning at me. After not seeing him for a month, I would, of course, miss him. But he was as loud as always, and it was not a good way to start a good Saturday morning.

My father just continued smiling at me, but nodded and left the room, closing the door on his way out.

'Sigh, so early...but still, a family outing doesn't seem to be a bad idea...'

About thirty minutes later, all of us had gotten ready for the outing.

"Where are we going to see the cherry blossoms though?"

We all stood outside of our house, seemingly waiting for something.

"Oh, not far. Do you know Tegu Plateau?"

"Tegu Plateau? I think it's located at the outskirts of the city..." Shouko thought for a while before replying.

Our teacher has mentioned some of the more famous places near Matsuyama during history lessons, and Tegu Plateau was one of them.

I recalled what our teacher said last time before frowning a little,"Isn't Tegu Plateau a big meadow filled with many Sakura trees? But the problem is that it is located at the cities' outskirts. We live in the middle of Matsuyama, how are we supposed to reach there just by walking?"

Our family, although not too poor, could barely afford three meals per day. We didn't have excess money to buy a car, even with both Yaeko-san and my father pitching in the money.

"Who said we're walking? Why do you think we're waiting out here?" My father grinned and replied to me.

"Huh? Don't tell me you're doing something illegal to get some transportation..." I pretended to be afraid of him and backed off, hiding behind Shouko.

"You brat!" His lips twitched a little before landing a punch on my head. Even with my intermediate taekwondo proficiency, I wasn't able to react to the punch.

"Are you sure you're a photographer and not a fighter? Why is your punch so fast?" I complained as I rubbed my sore head while Shouko and everyone else just giggled at our antics.

"Hmph, I'll tell you, this old man has a lot of contacts and friends, alright? I have trained in many things before, but photography is my passion and calling in life, that's why I settled down as a photographer. However, that doesn't mean I don't know how to fight. Besides, photography is so much more interesting, isn't that right, Yuzuru-chan?"

"Yes! Photography is very good!" Yuzuru laughed and jumped, climbing into my father's arms. Among the four children, we are all very close to the three adults. But amongst them, Yuzuru was the closest with my father as both of them had a shared interest in photography.

For some reason, Yuzuru was very interested in photography, so both of them got along very well.

"Then how did you get the transportation for us? Don't tell me your client is kind enough to lend you a car or something."

"You're right. But it isn't my client that lent me his car..." Just as he said this, a car pulled up in front of us. The door opened, and seven scary-looking women came out.

Three of them were wearing suits, while four of them were loosely dressed in Yukatas. But they all had one thing in common. They all had some scars and tattoos on them.

"Good morning, Isanari-san and family!" One of them came in front of us and shouted as she shook my dad's hand while the others stood with their hands behind their backs, looking menacingly at the deserted neighborhood.

"Good morning to you too, Fumio-san. I see that the boss has sent you guys to pick us up?"

"Yes. They're all heading for Tegu Plateau as well."

"Very well. Alright, let's hop in the car!" My father said as he looked at us.

Meanwhile, the children just stared blankly at this scene while the adults treated this as something normal. Raiha and Yuzuru were too young and were afraid of the scary faces they made, so they hid behind their mothers while peeking out from behind.

Shouko and I weren't faring much better.

'This is a freaking Yakuza gang! Since when did my father work for Yakuza‽' I freaked out internally as I stared at my father's back.

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A/N: For some reason, the app isn't working properly. I have released a new fanfiction called "My Hero Academia: Spirits' power". For those who prefer some OP mc who doesn't need to really train, and some action fanfic, you might want to check this out as well!

And thank you to all those who consistently give me all of your power stones despite being low in the rankings! Your power stones truly give me the motivation to write!

Special mention to Atapath who have supported me for a long time! Of course, the others also motivate me to continue writing, so I'm sorry if I didn't mention your name despite you supporting me a lot.