Chapter 64: 63: Reunion~!!

With the snow falling and the chatter that permeated the area, Erina and Yuiko ran over towards Suzuki and Shousuke who had called out to them. 

Dragging their luggage carts along behind them, Erina turned to Yuiko as they weaved around a group of students chatting without a care in the world, “We should still meet up with the other three sometime over break, they’re staying in the area, right?”

“Yeah, no one is traveling too far, just enjoying time with family,” Yuiko nodded, leaning back to avoid running into someone’s half upright suitcase, “Anyway, do you know why Suzuki is on top of Shousuke’s shoulders?”

Looking back towards where Suzuki had called out to them from, Erina paused, having looked back just in time to watch Shousuke drop Suzuki to the ground, then dust his hands congratulating himself on a job well done. 

“I’m not sure,” Erina murmured, moving along once more, “We’re practically there, we can always ask once we get there...”

“True...” Yuiko agreed, slowing down to a walk as they neared the group, waving her hand over her head as the parents came within earshot, “Mama! Papa!”

With the two of them running over, letting the hand of the luggage carts drop back into the snow blanket, a sweet reunion blossomed, each family taking some time to let their feelings out, squeezing each other in tight hugs after the long separation. 

“How are you doing, Erina?” Suzuki asked, having waited for Erina to finish speaking with their parents. Continuing on, while squeezing her little sister like a teddy bear, snow still all over her clothes, white specks still dotting her blue hair, Suzuki elaborated, “I know we call and text a lot, but it’s been so long since I've seen you in person, you’ve grown so much~!!”

Flailing her arms in an attempt to free herself from her unrelenting captor, Erina sputtered, trying her best to pry Suzuki’s arms off of her, “I-I’m okay... Nothing... Nothing has changed since we last texted on the train...”

Letting Erina out of her hug, Suzuki grinned, patting her on the head, “Okay, okay, I was just checking~ It’s my duty as the older sibling to be annoying like that, you know?”

“I know, sadly... very well,” Erina conceded, taking a few deep breaths to appreciate the continued existence of her breathing abilities. Catching her breath and brushing her hair out of her own face, Erina looked up at Suzuki, asking, “How are you? Has anything changed with you? And also... Why were you thrown on the ground earlier?”

Laughing and looking away with a nervous chuckle, Suzuki began, “Well, firstly, I’m quite well, why thank you~ I too, have not changed much since we texted while you were on the train. The only real thing of note was we drove past that bridge that overlooks the forest, and true to the reputation, as always, it’s unbelievably pretty.”

“As for the snow... journey,” Suzuki acknowledged with a bemused expression, “I don’t quite know, I guess because Shousuke said he’d drop me, and I called his bluff... sadly he was not bluffing.”

Kicking some of the powdery snow, letting it stick to Suzuki’s boots, Erina retorted, “Everyone knows that Shousuke will absolutely commit to anything like that, even Yuiko and I know! So how don’t you know?”

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Patting Erina on both of her shoulders, Suzuki murmured, a rueful grin on her face as she provided a vague answer, “Don’t mind it. I just forgot we weren’t at school... Shousuke is a prim and proper student at school, you know?”

“I guess,” Erina muttered, nodding in understanding, bending down to pick her luggage off the ground, “Should we go then? There’s not much to do around here other than stand around...”

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Returning home as the afternoon sky was still bright, but as the snow began to fall harder, a family cracked open the door to their house, the whole family together once more. A rush of warmth shooting out of the door, as if embracing the returning family, revealed the familiar entrance way. 

Slamming the door shut behind them, Suzuki stretched out, kicking her boots off, “Finally homeeeee~ Life is good! It was too cold out there waiting for the train to arrive~”

“Maybe if you had worn a thicker jacket you wouldn’t have had that problem,” Garret nodded, an expression of a wise sage plastered over his face, “But the past is the past, no use in trying to change it.”

“Suzuki, weren’t you and Shousuke spending half of the time we were on the platform arguing about who was less cold?” Miyuki asked while raising her eyebrows, a little bit of a laugh creeping into her question as she put her shoes back onto the shelf. 

Then, as Miyuki looked up, opening the closet door and motioning for everyone to put their coats away, she continued, back in mom mode, “So, since the Mitsuyas are coming over to eat dinner and hang out after they put down their stuff at home, I want you two to put away all your stuff in each of your rooms. Suzuki, I know all you have is the one bag from shopping earlier so that’s your own responsibility, but I can help you Erina because you have your luggage.”

Picking her bag full of clothes, Suzuki promised as she walked off towards her room, “I’ll have it done! No biggie~ watch me! I’ll even have time to change before they arrive!”

Shaking her head as Suzuki walked off and as Garret plopped down one more suitcase, Erina asked, seeing the pile of luggage in the entrance way, “Do we need to unpack... all of this? Before Yuiko and the others come?”

“Oh, of course not!” Miyuki shook her head, laughing while patting Erina on the shoulder, “Don’t be so worried, we just need to get all of this into your room, or the room next to it, the winter break is long, we’re in no rush!”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Erina took off her shoes, placing them near Suzuki’s haphazardly kicked off pair, “Alright, then uh... I guess we can start... now?”

“Mhm, mhm,” Miyuki nodded, a smile blooming on her face seeing Erina in person again, “Let’s get started~”