The Groups Assembled

"Kirino!"

"Cousin! So you're here after all!"

The two cousins greeted each other, and the same happened on Homura's side.

"It's indeed slower coming from Chiba, Saori."

"Mwahahaha~ Well, there's nothing we can do about it, de gozaru~" Saori pushed her glasses and laughed.

"After going through so much trouble to invite you, can't you change your outfit?" Homura furrowed his eyebrows.

"I'm already used to wearing this attire, you know!"

He sighed and turned to look at the quiet Kuroneko beside her, accompanied by two little girls.

"Hey! Kuroneko, it's been ages since we last met, right?"

Kuroneko nodded. "Yeah, Minamiya-senpai. Although we haven't seen each other for such a long time, your name has been popping up everywhere."

"'Your Name.'? Well, it might be because of the manga too, right?"

Kuroneko suddenly realized that 'your name' had a second meaning now! Since that game was talked about everywhere, they can't help but think of that aspect!

"No, it's 'your name' as Minamiya-sensei, not the game 'Your Name.'!"

"Yeah! I know, I did it on purpose."

Kuroneko gritted her teeth in frustration. 'Are we really that close? How come this joke feels so natural between us?!'

"Ruri-nee, why does this person call you 'Kuroneko'?" The oldest of the two little sisters, Gokou Hinata, suddenly asked.

"Well..." Although Kuroneko couldn't help but occasionally said something chuunibyou-like in front of her sisters when at home, she had never mentioned her online alias to them.

Homura squatted down and smiled at Hinata, saying, "Is Ruri your big sister's name? It's a lovely name!"

"Yes! You have good taste! By the way, who are you?"

"Hinata, that's impolite!" Kuroneko spoke up.

"I'm Minamiya Homura." Homura waved his hand at Kuroneko, indicating that he didn't mind.

"Then..."

"Onii-chan?" a cute voice came from the other sister of Kuroneko, Gokou Tamaki.

Damn! His heart was about to melt!

"Yes!" He smiled and reached out his hand, looking at Tamaki, who showed no intention of avoiding it. He ruffled her little head and said, "Then call me Onii-chan. What's your name?"

"Tamaki, I'm Gokou Tamaki, Onii-chan!" Tamaki blinked her adorable big eyes and introduced herself.

"We're all Ruri-nee's younger sisters. I'm Gokou Hinata. What should we call you?" Hinata thought for a moment. "Hmm, for now, let's call you Minamiya-kun!"

"That works! By the way, Kuroneko should be your sister's online alias. I called her that when we first met."

"So, Minamiya-kun and Ruri-nee are online friends, right?"

Homura shook his head. "Not really. It was a fortunate encounter with your sister."

Then he looked up at Kuroneko. "Speaking of which, your sisters have told me their names, but what about you, Kuroneko?"

Kuroneko turned her face away slightly and said somewhat uneasily, "Didn't Hinata already say it..."

"Hoh~ did you really make your sister introduce you?" Homura's words were filled with teasing.

Kuroneko: "..."

Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him and gave a formal self-introduction. "I'm Gokou Ruri. Minamiya-senpai, nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Let's get along with each other."

Looking over at Honoka and Kirino...

"Cousin, what was that video Minamiya-sensei posted this morning? Since when did you become an idol? Why didn't I receive any news of it?" Kirino fired off a barrage of questions.

Honoka was about to answer when he walked over and said, "Let's talk about it inside, everyone's here now."

"What do you think, Kirino?" Homura looked at Kirino again.

Kirino was quite surprised that he called her by her first name directly. However, she didn't mind; in fact, she didn't feel averse to it. So, be it!

"It's okay!"

"Then, Saori, let's go."

===

After a brief self-introduction, everyone became clear about each other's names.

There were nearly thirty people in the foyer! Fortunately, the Kotobuki Family's villa was spacious enough.

Yui had a crowd around her because Haru was sleeping on her.

And it can only be said that Yui truly lived up to her reputation. To ensure Haru could sleep peacefully on her lap, she maintained a motionless posture on the sofa, while the people around her refrained from making any noise that could wake Haru.

"It feels like we have a group as big as a school trip." Nico suddenly remarked.

"Nico-chan is right." Nozomi agreed. "This scene does resemble our school trip back then, except this time we have a boy."

Homura stroked his chin. "Nozomi-senpai, I can't help but feel that you are implying that I'm unnecessary."

"That's just your imagination! This time, it's all because of you that so many people could gather. How could you be unnecessary?" Nozomi said with a smile. "Or rather, thanks to your presence, it's more interesting, right?"

Homura shrugged. "Oho? Nozomi-senpai actually thinks that way..."

Nozomi nodded. "Of course! With you around, it will definitely be fun! Just like how you understand us, we also understand you."

Homura could only smile. Was that a compliment?

===

"What?! School idol?!" Kirino exclaimed.

"Yes! Since our school is going to close down, we have to find a way to save it!" Honoka smiled at her cousin. "It's not just our school, it's also our parents' and grandparents' alma mater. They don't want to see it disappear like this!"

Although Kirino could hardly believe it, her scatterbrained cousin had actually embarked on the path of becoming an idol. But given the circumstances, it was understandable.

"And... if the school closes down, the first-year students like Hanayo-chan, Maki-chan, and Rin-chan won't have any juniors anymore. Their lives would be so incomplete, don't you think?" Honoka's words moved the first-year students present, even those from other schools.

Umi raised an eyebrow. "By the way, who was the one that said she was afraid of being transferred to another school for placement exams because she hadn't studied at all, and therefore didn't want the school to shut down?"

Honoka broke into a cold sweat, and her eye twitched slightly. "H-Hmm... w-who said that? It's obvious that the school would close down after all current students graduate, right? How could someone speak like that?"

"It was you!" Umi said, not pleased.

Okay, after Umi's interference, the sense of touch and sympathy that Honoka had just brought disappeared in an instant!

Kirino silently stared at Honoka with her mouth twitching. "Cousin... you really are... the same as always..."