So...as just a little recap here,Sora invited me to join him and his friends shopping trip.
And these friends of his are actually Super popular people at our school,well except for that one guy.
Right now we're going to a mall but I learned a few stuff about them on the way here.Like how Nakamura-San gives of a gangster aura but is actually a cheerful guy,and with his blonde hair he has a an aura that's bright,and filled with pure happiness illuminating from him.But is also stupid.Like how did he get into high school??
With Matsumoto-San and Suzuki-San,the couple of the group.they were the ones talking to me the most,I would've expected that they would like to talk to each other more since y'know...they're a couple.
Unfortunately though they only talked about the other guys and not about themselves
Now Taro-san,I heard his last name is Nakahara from Matsumoto-San.he's apparently the smartest in the group.I should've expected that from someone who looks like a mastermind with his poker face kinda like kiyotaka ayanokoji from that anime I watched
He seems to also be the baby sitter of Sora and Nakamura-San,trying to make them not cause ruckus with that ADHD Brain of theirs.Always getting distracted by small stuff
"Hey I see the mall!" Sora shouted excitedly while pointing in a direction
"Hmm? Where is it–" My jaws dropped as I saw what Sora was pointing at.It wasn't just no ordinary mall.It was a whole SUPERMarket
Even if it was far.It was so big that we can see it half a mile away
"WOW I saw in the pictures that this place is big,didn't expect it to be THIS big" Matsumoto said shocked too at what he was looking at
Meanwhile me,holding in the urge to say "that's what she said"
***
"Damn!" Sora and Nakamura said at the same time with sparkles in their eyes "This place looks even bigger on the inside!"
"That is how it works"Nakahara said with a straight face
As they take a look around,amazed by the mall they stumbled upon
"Just so you guys know,I don't know that much about fashion"
"Oh don't worry we can tell" Matsumoto tells me
"But not to worry.Unlike you I am an expert at fashion,I already have a vague idea on what suits you"
Wow,he just looked at my face and he already knows what suits me.I am kinda uncomfortable by that though I don't know why
As we started making it to the clothing store we came across an arcade on the way there
"WOAH" Sora and Nakamura said at the same time again.Now I'm starting to think that if those two are together they share the same braincell
"Listen guys,we gotta go to that arcade!!"
"We'll see.We might get other plans once we start seeing more of this mall" Nakahara-San said
"Ughhh fine" 2x
"Actually they are going to play at the arcade" Matsumoto-San said startling all three of them
Nakahara,confused by what Matsumoto said tilted his head as an imaginary question mark appeared above his head
"You guys aren't going to buy anything at the clothing store aren't ya? So go have fun in the arcade before we get back"
"Heh??" Nakahara was shocked by what Matsumoto said
Matsumoto claps his hands together as he says "Alright u understand what i said right? Well we gotta go see ya guys later!!" He says as he starts pushing me to opposite direction
I can hear a faint sound in the background,I'm pretty sure it's Nakahara-san screaming "dont leave me behind!" But I'm not entirely sure
"Hey...do you think they're gonna be alright?"
"Of course I am.Taro-san has experience with dealing with them so they're gonna be fine.Believe me" Matsumoto says
"...alright"
"Ohh by the way,what are you planning on buying Saito-San,Shiunji-Kun?" Suzuki says
"You'll see when we get there"
Heh.Im a little concerned
***
As we went to the clothing store Suzuki-San went around the mall looking if there's a beauty store.Matsumoto-San picked out some clothes for me and I went into the changing room with him waiting outside to review my "transformation"
"Hmph,well would you look at that.I was right that color does suit you" Matsumoto proudly expresses
I couldn't really understand it though.Not that I didn't understand what he was saying but what was so cool about what I was wearing.It was just black jeans and a white polo shirt.I don't see the vision that he sees
I couldn't help but ask "what's so amazing about this fit? Don't take it the wrong way like I think your sense of fashion seems off.But how does this fit me?"
"Well,what was your reaction when you first saw the clothing that I brought you"
I went silent for a bit wondering how to answer that question,thinking back to when I first saw it
"I guess you could say I thought of it as something normal.That it's not something moderately expensive or is from some famous brand"
And for a second there I thought you were cheaping out on me was something I could not say to the guy paying for my clothes
"Exactly it's normal.Now can you tell me what's another word for normal?"
Now I'm kinda at a loss here...did this just turn into my English class?
"Umm....Ordinary?"
"Nope try again.But you do get a hint,it was what Sora described you when he texted us"
"??" Thinking back to when we first met.....oh yeah I asked them what did Sora described me,it kinda agitated me what was it again?.....oh yeah
"Another word for normal is average"
"Ding ding ding.Correct" Matsumoto said playfully
"It's because your an average guy Saito-San,and that is an normal or average fit.So my thought process was what would happen with an average x average combination.And as you could see it turned out great"
....I honestly didn't think it would be that simple,still though what's with everybody calling me average
He honestly seems like the cool uncle that always get his nephew's/nieces anything they want
"....alright I'll trust that logic."
"Great.Now let's buy a whole bunch of them"
"What??? You mean like the exact same shirt and jeans???"
"Huh? That's not what I meant,I mean clothes with the same color scheme"
"Oh.....my bad"
"Nah don't apologize.I guess I should've specified"
We bought 7 pairs of clothes for both going out and just casual wear.7 different types of shirts and pants each So in total we got 28 pieces of clothing.Does that make sense? Im gonna need a new wardrobe at this rate,maybe 2
***
After we bought the clothes,Matsumoto-San got a text from Suzuki-San.
He looks at me and puts the shopping bags full of clothes the he was holding near my legs
"Hey.I gotta go meet up with Yuna-Chan now so see ya later!"
"Huh,wh-what am I gonna do with these??"
"Oh I know the cashier there.Just leave it next to him and I'll help you bring it back to your house later!!"
"O-okay"
Looks like he does this a lot
After doing what Matsumoto-San said I decided to go back to the arcade to see how those 3 are doing
Are they playing Tekken 9?? I didn't even know they made that many.Looks like Sora is doing a 1v2
"Grahhh! I lost" Sora says as he looks like he was about to win a tournament but chokes at the last second.He notices me and then goes "Oh Hiroto,what's up"
He instantly wipes that look of misery on his face upon seeing me and has a cheerful smile again
"Nothing much.We finished shopping but Matsumoto-San left me behind,he said hes gonna meet up with Suzuki-San"
"Yeah you better get used to that" Nakahara-san says to me
You know,when I got here I felt like Nakamura-San would be like just watching them play games.But actually he's playing along
"Anyways,did y'all go through all the games here already?"
"Nah,this is the first game we played.We weren't gonna stop playing until we have beaten Sora" Nakamura said
"Oh ok–,wait..what?!" I take a look at their screen to see both Nakahara-San and Nakamura-San..at low health
They could die in one hit...Sora you are too good at playing video games
"W-wow Sora.Didn't know you play Tekken"
"Oh yeah.Not a lot though,this is my second time playing it"
??....I take a look at the Nakahara-san and Nakamura-San and they just nodded.
After clearing my head we decided to go around the arcade playing some games.And of course Sora and Nakamura-San's shinanigans but yet again,Sora surprises me by getting every single jackpot in every game we played,even getting some stuff from claw machines
He even got the maximum points you can get in the basketball game or whatever it's called.Not only Sora but Nakamura-San too,When we got to the punching machine that tests your strength.Nakamura-San got the maximum points there and it looks like he put zero effort in that lunch.Although Sora did get the maximum too,he put more effort then Nakamura-San did
***
"Yo what's up guys" Matsumoto says
We got a text from Matsumoto-San to meet up at a coffee shop after we finish playing at the arcade
"You fucking bastard,leaving me alone with the 2 knuckleheads.And leaving Saito alone too" Nakahara-San said clearly angered
"Woah woah Taro-San everything went well right?" Matsumoto-San says trying to calm Nakahara-san down
Then Suzuki-San follows it up with "yeah Taro-San,look at the bright side of things.Looks like we all had fun"
Looks like you had all kinds of fun.....wait I don't mean it like that! I meant they had a romantic couple date.Suzuki-San's even holding a shopping bag full of beauty supplies.Oh fuck who am I even talking to
Nakahara-San goes silent for a bit thinking back to when we were playing.He takes a deep breath knowing that what Suzuki-San said was true
"Fine.I guess I can't argue with that" Nakahara-san reluctantly agreed
"aha see,I knew you'd understand.And oh yeah by the way Saito-San"
"Hmm?"
"About your clothes.I already had guys deliver them to your house."
Somehow I am not surprised by that.....wait a minute
"No wait how do you know where my house is??"
"Sora-san told me"
What the fuck
I glance at Sora listening in on the conversation.
"And how do YOU know where my house is?!?"
"I took a look at your notebook and it has a "if lost,return to this adress" on the first page"
"That's...a much more straight forward answer than I thought you would say"
"Mhm,now it's time for you to answer my question"
"Huh?"....is this a gameshow or something
"Did you bring a shopping list like I told you?"
"...yeah?"
"Great.Give me that real quick"
I was a little hesitant on if I should give it to him or not.But I realized it was just a piece of paper with my shopping list and not money
So I took out a piece of paper from inside my phone case and I gave it to Sora
Oh yeah and while this was all happening Nakamura-San and Suzuki-San were talking about the beauty products she bought
After Sora took it he put up a little smirk then takes a step towards where Nakahara-san was standing and puts a hand on his shoulder
"It's all up to you now" Sora says
"Yeah yeah" Nakahara-San says sounding a little reluctant
After that,The couple and The ADHD duo started running to the grocery store inside the mall
As you might expect I was confused on what was happening
"Huh? W-what?"
"They're going to get you're groceries"
That's one of my questions and how do you know??
"Sigh..I can tell you're confused so let's go inside this coffee shop and talk there" Nakahara-San says
I noticed something.Since meeting up with Matsumoto-San and Suzuki-San, Nakahara-San's expression changed looking more cold and mysterious like the vibe he had when we first met
"A-alright"
***
We went inside the coffee shop and took a seat.There was an awkward silence between us,not knowing when's the right time to talk Nakahara-San took the initiative
"So basically you were set up"
"....what?!"
"No wait that's not what I meant.I I mean that this whole shopping trip was a plan to get you to join our group.Those dumbasses even told me to act like a babysitter with a normal personality and not my cold one.What was even the point of that"
Did he just start monologuing
"Wait....wasn't when we first met I already joined the group?"
"Yeah Shiunji-San was just joking"
"....."
"....you believed him didn't you?"
"Yes I did"
"Wow you are oddly obedient"
"Wha–"
"Anyways,getting you to actually join was easy enough,my next task is to tell you the details of our group and members.Regarding the fact that you do agree to join our group right?"
I feel like I'm in too deep to say no in this situation
"Yes"
"Great now listen up.This friend group of ours was created because all of us are different from each other yet so similar at the same time.The reason we picked you to join our group was because you are different too,you are the most normal guy Sora knows,and Sora knows a lot of people"
Wait now that I think about it...in everything I've been apart of I've been average.No matter how dedicated I was at something,I could never grow,it feels like I was stuck at a fixed rate.Everything from my looks to my smarts,it's all average...
"So In our group,your role is the "main" side character"
"What? No actually why?"
"Well that's because.You have nothing going on in your life"
Ouch...what the fuck
"Let's be honest here.As I said you are an average guy,you would have a pretty boring life that's not fit for a mc in an anime.But with us,we can bring the fun into your life and since you are part of our group,that makes you a main side character"
"Wait..but what makes all of you a mc"
"Great question.Now it's time to tell you about the members in detail,so–"
"But..may I request something"
"Uh sure"
"Don't tell me anything about them at all"
You could say Nakahara-san was a little taken back by that.Not that I could tell with that poker face of his
"I wanna get to know them by myself you know? Like hanging out with them and all that.I wanna get to know who they are by my own means and not through a shortcut to being friends"
"Wow....yeah sure,okay"
Wooo it worked! That was so cringe
"But now that you shut down what I was gonna talk to you about for half an hour or so.Now we have to wait here for them"
Fuck,the silence is gonna be so awkward
"..."
".....may I interest you in a more detailed explanation of our group and your role? And also answer your question to how they are an mc"
I hurriedly answered "yes please" just to get rid of the silence
"Our group does something called "commissions" that people give us"
"Commissions?
"Yes,it's sort of like a mission but we call it commissions because it sounds cooler"
"I guess that makes sense"
"But for some bad news though...you are probably gonna be the last member of our group"
"Huh?! But why!?"
"Honestly,we have no more intentions of adding more members into our group.We already have a variety of different....well everything in our group just from 6 members including you"
?? Seems they are all very different from each other,but exactly how different?
I'm worried on what's gonna happen in the future
"Let's skip discussing you for now and focus first on how we are main characters.You see very different things happen in our day to day lives,things that would happen to a main character in an anime"
He is weirdly explaining all of this using anime words
"That's why I'm gonna explain they're lives with anime genres"
....right on the spot
"Sora-san and Kaito-San's lives is a weird mix of almost every single genre,The couple is your romance(obviously),and mine is...well, psychological.Though these genre like events only happen when we are alone and not together like a group,when we are together...it can be two genres but I'll let you find out for yourself"
....my predictions are pretty spot on for Nakahara-san.He really is kiyotaka
"Now about you,as a main side character,I predict that you will participate or partake in at least some of their adventures.Not willingly though maybe coincidentally"
"Don't worry about me.I already accepted my fate"
Suddenly both our phone rings
"Hey it's from Sora.....did you guys add me to your group chat?"
"Uh yeah, you're part of us now.Thought that was obvious"
I scratch the back of my head while putting off a little haha then look back at my phone
Shit...I haven't been part of a group chat before,only my homeroom class
"Looks like they want us to meet up at a mickey d's restaurant"
"Then let's go" Nakahara-San says as he gets up from his chair as I follow suit leaving the coffee shop and going to the designated location
When we got there,we saw them waving to us as usual,guess that's the way of greeting someone of this group.They were already sitting down at a table so we sat next to them.They take a look at eachother and turned back to me
"Welcome to the group Saito!!" X5
The air filled with a bright cheerful vibe.Everyone smiling peacefully
Since that,time seemed to pass by.But there was one moment that I loved more than the rest
***
"The drinks are here!" Sora says
"Hope you didn't buy alcohol Sora-San" Matsumoto-San said
The vibe turned very chaotic,very quick.Everybody was laughing,having a good time,chatting,like a true party
"Guys,cheers to Hiroto for joining!!" Sora happily said
We all put our cups into the sky
"Cheers!!" X6
As I said,I already accepted my fate.Only time will tell if I made the right choice