At first, Shirase thought the girl stepping into his path was just another con-goer trying to chat.
But once he got a clear look at her face, a familiar name instantly surfaced in his mind.
Sawamura Spencer Eriri.
She looked completely different from her usual image—plain white T-shirt, pale overalls hanging loosely on her slender frame, a brown cap shading part of her golden hair, and oversized black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose.
If Shirase hadn't met Sawamura Sayuri recently—and if he weren't already familiar with the daughter's features—he might not have recognized her at all.
"You were looking for me?" he asked first, already piecing it together.
Eriri didn't respond immediately. Her sharp blue eyes studied him up and down several times before she tightened her lips. "So you're the Shirase my mom keeps praising?"
"Oh? Sawamura-san praised me? How exactly?" His tone was playful. "Go on—let's hear it."
"Eh?"
Eriri blinked, caught off guard.
Then it hit her. "Wait—you know who I am?"
"Nope." Shirase shook his head. "This is our first meeting."
"Impossible," she shot back instantly. "If you really didn't know me, then your reaction just now—"
"My reaction?" he interrupted calmly. "There's nothing strange about it. You mentioned 'my mom,' and you look like her, so I just guessed."
Eriri crossed her arms, tilting her chin up with a faint huff. "Looks like Mom wasn't exaggerating—you really do have an idol-tier face."
"That's what she said about me?" Shirase made an exaggeratedly disappointed face.
"What's with that reaction? Shouldn't you be happy to be complimented? Especially by an elder!"
"I've heard that kind of thing too many times already."
Then he smiled faintly. "You're pretty relaxed talking to me. Is that your usual personality?"
"I—"
Eriri started to answer but stopped halfway. She wasn't naturally outgoing at all. The only reason she felt oddly comfortable around him was because her mother had been mentioning Shirase constantly—so often that the name had practically carved itself into her brain.
Sawamura Sayuri was notorious for teasing her own daughter, often saying, 'If you don't use your child for entertainment, what's the point of having one?'
And once Shirase entered Sayuri's orbit, he became her new favorite topic.
Every day, she'd gush about "how amazing Shirase-kun is," until Eriri couldn't stand hearing his name anymore.
Still, thanks to that meddlesome mother of hers, Eriri already knew plenty about him.
Aoyama High's ace striker. Second-best grades in his entire school. And, more embarrassingly—
She'd seen the viral highlight videos online: his dynamic runs across the soccer field, his calm focus under pressure, the confident grin after every goal.
Even she had to admit… he'd looked cool.
So when she spotted a familiar face at the convention, curiosity overpowered reason, and she'd followed him to confirm it.
"I can tell what you're thinking," Shirase's voice cut in, snapping her out of it.
Eriri flinched and turned away. "W-what are you talking about?"
"I recognized your glasses," Shirase said seriously. "One of my teammates has the same pair."
Eriri blinked, processing. "...That's it?"
"That's it."
Before she could come up with a retort, Shirase spotted Kana and Rikka a short distance away. Smiling, he said, "I've got to go meet my friends. Take care."
That smile—bright, natural, confident—momentarily stunned her.
He walked a few steps, then paused and turned back. "By the way, this might sound random since we just met, but I'm curious about something."
"What?" she asked automatically.
"Do you know Aki Tomoya?" Shirase asked with genuine interest.
"I don't."
Eriri blinked, shaking her head.
"Ah, too bad," Shirase sighed, genuinely disappointed. "Guess he's not around."
He waved lightly and walked off.
Eriri didn't stop him. She'd only wanted to see what kind of boy her mother wouldn't shut up about.
Now that she had, the reality didn't quite match the image in her mind.
"So Mom was lying after all," she muttered, pouting slightly. "He's not that modest, sunny honor student she described… he's actually kind of weird."
But after a brief pause, she added quietly, "Still, that smile was… pretty nice."
...
On the other side, Shirase found Kojima Kana and Takanashi Rikka surrounded by a crowd watching a group of Kamen Rider cosplayers perform mock battles.
He didn't even have to ask who'd dragged them there.
"You were gone forever," Kana said as she turned toward him. "Didn't you find your classmates?"
"I did." Shirase exhaled. "Honestly, I would've been better off not finding them."
"Huh? Why? Did you get into a fight?"
"Nothing like that… It's just hard to explain."
He wasn't about to betray Fukuda's secret. Still, he couldn't help imagining his teammate somewhere in the crowd—blonde wig, frilly skirt, confidently posing for photos.
Kana didn't pry. Instead, she smiled excitedly. "We saw so many cute girls just now! Some of their outfits—I've never even seen that kind of thing on TV!"
"That's because most of them are game or anime characters," Shirase said. "But if you want to take pictures with them, just ask. Most cosplayers won't refuse."
"You can take pictures with them?" Rikka turned, eyes sparkling.
Shirase could practically see her imagination running wild. "Actually, I was planning to get photos with the Kamen Riders myself. Want to go together?"
---
T/N: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3 do u think itd be better to do it earlier in the week to make u guys wait more for the bonus chapters
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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