Chapter 173: Parents
They finished performing the Soran dance.
Half an hour later.
Sakurai and Shirogane walked together toward the stands.
"Bab—…" Jinguuji Tamaki hadn't even finished calling out when she was abruptly interrupted by Sakurai——
"Mom, you came early today."
He immediately steered the topic elsewhere and frantically winked at her.
"Of course. This is the sports festival my most proud son is participating in. As your mother, of course I had to come." Jinguuji Tamaki's tone instantly softened, and with the black kimono embroidered with butterflies that she was wearing, her Yamato Nadeshiko aura flowed endlessly.
My beloved son is already starting to feel annoyed with me again… Jinguuji Tamaki felt a little hurt.
After the two finished talking, Shirogane Miyuki spoke up in greeting——
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sakurai's close friend, Shirogane Miyuki." President Shirogane was meeting the other's mother for the first time.
Although he had heard Sakurai mention her before, he hadn't expected this woman to truly be that beautiful.
"Oh, hello." Jinguuji Tamaki's tone suddenly turned noticeably colder.
Shirogane Miyuki: ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
Did she just start hating me?
She's my best friend's mom, and this is our first meeting—getting disliked right off the bat, is that even okay?
"Hello, uncle. It's been a while since we last met." Sakurai Saki turned to speak to Shirogane's father.
Since he often visited Shirogane's house, he was fairly familiar with the man.
"Sakurai, it's been a while since you've come over. Want to stop by later today?" Papa Shirogane spoke in a vague, elusive manner.
Sakurai felt that this person was hard to approach; even for him, it was difficult to guess what he was thinking. Sasuga DIO-sama.
Shirogane offered a forced explanation: "Kei-chan keeps nagging me lately, asking why you don't come over anymore."
He didn't want his little sister getting more involved with Sakurai.
That way lies the abyss! Kei-chan! Stop before it's too late!
( つTДT)つ (✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*( ≖‿ ≖ )
'Sakurai probably wouldn't lay a hand on my little sister… right?'
Shirogane Miyuki suddenly began to doubt the brotherly bond between him and Sakurai Saki.
I don't care if you're a scumbag, just don't lay a hand on my little sister!
"Who's Kei-chan? That name sounds so cute." Jinguuji Tamaki suddenly smiled and spoke.
Tamaki: (≖ᴗ≖ ✿)
For some reason, a cold chill passed down his back, and Sakurai Saki frowned——
"…Miyuki's younger sister, she's in junior high." He explained briefly.
Since there were two people here with the surname Shirogane, they needed to differentiate.
"So it's a younger sister, huh." Tamaki turned to Shirogane and said, "Miyuki-kun, I'll be counting on you to take care of this useless son of mine. He's got a seriously flawed personality, so I'm leaving him in your hands."
"Of course!" Shirogane Miyuki nodded and seriously said, "I'll take good care of Sakurai."
Come on, Sakurai's mom is clearly super gentle! That cold attitude from earlier must've just been my imagination!
A few minutes later, the Shirogane father and son went off to eat.
"Mom, you really scared Miyuki just now." Sakurai sat in the stands beside his mother, speaking helplessly.
His mother disliked interacting with men—except for him.
"You promised to call me 'mama' though." Jinguuji Tamaki looked at him, her eyes immediately welling with tears.
That expression, combined with her delicate features, was seriously foul play.
A few tears slid from the beauty mark at the corner of her eye.
"Mom… Mama, this is school." Sakurai Saki took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears, changing the way he addressed her while reminding her.
That "Mama" way of speaking is something only little kids really use; "Mom" or "Mother" is normal for high school students.
"Is my baby really that concerned about what others think?"
"Not exactly."
"But if you want to be normal, you have to learn how to blend in." Sakurai put the handkerchief away, realizing his mom had clearly been faking those tears.
"Let's not talk about this anymore."
"That girl over there, she's the one you mentioned last year, the one you were kinda interested in, right?" Jinguuji Tamaki clung to Sakurai's arm, her gaze shifting into the distance.
Sakurai followed her line of sight. Fujiwara Chika seemed to be getting ready to run the 100-meter dash; she was lightly hopping in place to warm up.
Today she had her hair tied in a side ponytail, giving off an athletic vibe. Very cute. The usual black ribbon had been replaced with a red hair tie.
Today's sports festival was divided into red and white teams. Chika was on the red team.
The cheer squads were also split into red and white. In the afternoon there would be a cheer battle, where both teams competed through performances—of course, nothing bloody.
Sakurai and Shinomiya Kaguya were both assigned to the white team, which didn't please him much.
The rest of the student council members were all on the red team. Ai-chan included.
Sakurai really wanted to cheer for his girlfriend.
But cheering for the opposing team—wouldn't that be straight-up espionage?
"Hello, student, could you help me take a photo?" Suddenly, a man in a suit wearing glasses approached, holding a DSLR camera in his hand.
"Sure." Sakurai Saki replied with a smile.
"Student, I think you misunderstood—it's not a photo of me, but of that girl over there. I'm about to be busy." The man pointed toward Fujiwara Chika, who was not far away.
Sakurai Saki observed him; the man's face looked somewhat similar to hers.
Sakurai probed: "Sir, are you her father?"
"Umu." Chika's father nodded and said, "You're Sakurai-kun, right? I'm Fujiwara Daichi. I hope you'll lend me a hand."
Sakurai Saki stood up and gave a slight bow: "Pleased to meet you. I'm Sakurai Saki. I look forward to your guidance."
"I've heard about you from Chika." Fujiwara Daichi said, letting out a few soft chuckles.
Chika's father revealed: "At the start of this school year, she said she wanted to beat you and take back all the games she lost last year."
"So you knew about all that?" Sakurai Saki said, a bit embarrassed.
The Fujiwara family was originally strict about not allowing their children to indulge in entertainment.
"Of course. I'm her father, after all." Fujiwara Daichi handed the DSLR camera to him.
"Thanks for fooling around with her. This kid's always been a handful since she was little."
Recalling his daughter's outrageous antics, Fujiwara Daichi offered Sakurai Saki a heartfelt thank you.
After speaking, he glanced at Jinguuji Tamaki. His expression briefly showed a flicker of surprise before returning to normal.
This woman doesn't seem interested in talking—then no need to invite trouble for himself.
Sakurai watched as Fujiwara Daichi pulled out his phone and made a call. The moment he dialed, the friendly expression he had just moments ago transformed into something much more composed and unreadable, making Sakurai Saki silently marvel—truly a politician.
Talks to humans like a human, talks to devils like a devil—probably had more masks than Sakurai himself.
That Chika managed to grow up so lively and cheerful was honestly a miracle.
Chika's father walked off while making his call.
Sakurai Saki turned back, raised the DSLR, and pointed it toward Chika.
She wore a serious expression as she focused on running her fastest, and as Sakurai Saki pressed the shutter, a faint smile unconsciously formed at the corner of his mouth.
As expected, seeing Chika immediately lifted his mood—she just had that kind of magic.
That moment was seen by Jinguuji Tamaki.
She quietly observed her son's face and felt that he had changed a lot.
Even though she had loved the cold Sakurai from a year ago, the current Sakurai was also quite wonderful—his appearance had matured a bit, and he'd learned to be gentle with people outside of himself.
She was happy to see her child grow, but at the same time, she felt a twinge of sadness.
If that person were still here, what would she say upon seeing this scene?
Carrying her surname, burdened with her expectations, this adopted child hadn't lived an easy life.
Saku and Saki means "to bloom" or "to open," often used to describe flowers—for example, cherry blossoms.
Sakurai Saki didn't like cherry blossoms. In fact, he was allergic to pollen. But he still chose this character for his name, and even his family name contained "sakura," simply because that person loved cherry blossoms.
Living for someone else—it's such a sad thing.
Thinking this, Jinguuji Tamaki couldn't help but feel a little sorrowful.
"Mom, why are you crying again?" Sakurai Saki heard sobbing, turned his head, and saw his mother crying.
He put the camera away and once again helped her wipe her tears.
She's already an adult and still crying all the time—'that really doesn't suit your usual aura, my dear mom'.
"Seeing you live happily made me so happy I couldn't hold it in."
Jinguuji Tamaki spoke while crying.
Sakurai Saki looked at her expression, feeling a bit helpless, but also amused.
He suggested: "Let's go eat at the cafeteria later. The fried tofu udon here is really good."
"Umu~" Tamaki responded softly, then a few seconds later, asked in a quiet voice:"Darling, is a mom like this really that embarrassing?"
"Not at all." Sakurai Saki replied with a smile.
After wiping away her tears and turning back, Chika had finished running and was now resting.
In the distance, Chika spotted Sakurai and waved at him.
A moment later, she came running over and shared her joy—
"Saki-kun!! I came in first!!"
₍₍◝(˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶)◜⁾⁾
"Nice job." Sakurai Saki gave her a compliment.
Even carrying the extra "weight," she still came in first—Shinomiya Kaguya would definitely be jealous.
Chika glanced at Tamaki and greeted her: "Onee-san, hello!!"
Just one sentence from Fujiwara Chika instantly opened up Jinguuji Tamaki mood!
Her raised a hand to cover her mouth and let out a gentle laugh.
'This child really has good eyes!'
If her son liked her, having her as a daughter-in-law might not be a bad idea!
"Chika, this is my mom." Sakurai Saki said helplessly.
Chika froze for a few seconds, then gasped—
"EHHH!!!! Your mom!? I thought she was your older sister!"
She truly didn't realize.