Kanao Can't Communicate

•~chapter fifty-four: bowling~•

For a long while, Kiyoko has been absolutely dying to introduce her friends to Kanao. And who wouldn't? Kanao is beautiful, fair, has quite a few friends herself, and she is kind. If Kiyoko is being frank with herself, she still can't believe that Kanao is actually her friend.

And Kanao has already done Kiyoko a favor by introducing her to so many of her friends... so Kiyoko wants to return such a favor by introducing Kanao to her own friends.

So, one day after school, Kiyoko turned to Kanao as she was packing her things up in her book bag.

"Kanao-san... would you like to go bowling with me?" Kiyoko asked tentatively.

Kanao soon jolted up at this question. She stared at the ceiling for a moment. What was bowling again? she thought to herself. Is it... like construction? Oh, no... it's that sport where one rolls a heavy ball to knock down white and red pins.

She nods excitedly. Yes! I've always wanted to try it! she writes, making happy little noises.

"That's great! Some of my girls will be coming too. My friends, I mean... don't worry, I don't have as many as you do." Kiyoko says with a small smile.

Kanao's eyes get progressively bigger. Oh no. Oh no, no no, no no no-!

Nod?

Yep. She nodded. She couldn't decline now, because Kiyoko looked overjoyed, and she already said yes before!

On the side, Tanjiro noticed that Kanao was in a rather... sticky situation, to say the very least. So, he decided to tag along (inconspicuously with his own friends, of course) to see how this would play out...

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After check in at the bowling alley, Kanao and Kiyoko both made their way to the seating area, wearing their bowling shoes and ready to get some strikes!

But when Kanao soon spots Kiyoko's friends, she remembers her social anxiety all over again. Her chest feels tight as Kiyoko leads the way to her impending doom- I mean, a nice little bowling outing with friends.

Kanao's anxiety increases tenfold when Kiyoko suddenly winks at her friends and does a little handshake type-thing with all three of them! Kanao starts trembling in her shoes. Is she also supposed to have a little handshake with Kiyoko?

Thankfully, before Kanao can stress too much, all three of Kiyoko's friends catch sight of her. They all greet her in such a sugary sweet and bubbly manner, that Kanao feels that she might get a toothache or something.

Despite the energy, the three friends were so formal with Kanao: "Hello, Tsyuri-san! Thanks you much for looking after Kiyoko-chan for us~"

Kanao looked a bit shocked at being treated like a princess. She definitely did not need this in a non-formal setting, with her school uniform and bowling shoes.

You all don't have to be so formal, you know... Kanao writes, hiding her face shyly behind her notebook.

The three girls blink once. Then twice. And then a third time.

Then, they all start squealing happily. "Seriously~? Yay! Let's get along well then, Kanao-chan!"

First, there was Raito Kagimura. Soon after, her younger sister, Kimari Kagimura. They both greet Kanao with such a sunshiny personality, and they look so alike, that for a second Kanao thinks that they're twins. (They are not, though!)

And finally, there's Saki Hamamoto. Like the previous two, Saki, when greeting Kanao, was such a big ball of energy, that Kanao started to sweat and get a bit overwhelmed.

Kiyoko soon noticed Kanao's discomfort. "Ah... sorry about that. They're already acting so buddy-buddy... it must be hard to keep up, huh?"

Kanao is about to nod, but she stops herself. She gazes at the three giggling girls, then back at Kiyoko. She lifts up her notebook, and writes: If everyone else is having fun, then I feel at ease too.

Kiyoko hadn't been expecting that answer from such a socially anxious girl. "O-oh... is that so?"

Kanao and Kiyoko both stand in silence for several beats of time. Suddenly, Raito, Kimari, and Saki call out to the pair, "Hey~! Why don't we all choose our bowling balls, hmm~?"

Kiyoko and Kanao nod enthusiastically, and walk over to grab their bowling balls. However, Kanao was in for a surprise when she saw Kiyoko, Raito, Kimari, and Saki wearing little animal costumes.

Saki handed a small plastic package to Kanao. It held a small black kitty-cat onesie... which Kanao absolutely adored, because it fit her style perfectly.

Once the girls were completely in costume, they began to bowl!

Kimari went up first. She got a strike, right on the first try. Victoriously, she went around to each of her friends, "high-tenning" them (or essentially, high fiving with two hands). Kanao absolutely sucked at "high-tenning", and only made it to Kimari's wrists.

Next, it was Kanao's turn to bowl. Kiyoko and her friends thought she was very good at bowling, so they all were chanting: "Strike! Strike! Yaaaaaay~!"

But boy, were they wrong.

Kanao toddled up, holding her ball... and she slipped. She dragged herself up back up, but when she extended her arm, she dropped the ball backwards instead. She definitely sucked at bowling, and it was obvious that she had never played before.

Kiyoko, sweatdropping, walks forward and shows Kanao how to properly bowl. She shows her how to properly hold the ball, and how to properly aim and swing her arm... and soon, she was able to get a strike!

But she still sucked at high-tenning.

Anyways... next, it was Raito's turn, then it was Saki's turn. After a few more strikes (and failed high-tens), Kiyoko left for a bit to go to the toilet.

After she left, Kiyoko's friends stared at Kanao for a bit. Then, Kimari piped up.

"Thanks for being Kiyoko-chan's friend, Kanao-chan. When she had to go to a different class, we were really worried for her, see- she puts on flashy makeup simply because she's a total wallflower and has no self confidence." Kimari said rather bluntly.

"What we're saying is that we are so relieved and glad that Kiyoko-chan is friends with someone like you, Kanao-chan."

Kanao froze in her seat. She scooted on the couch, grabbed her notebook, and wrote... but also spoke.

"I'm glad... that I was able to become Nishiyama-san's friend, too."

Kanao suddenly let out a gasp as all three girls, costumes and all, leaned in for a huge bear hug. They all called her things like "cute" and "adorbs"... Kanao couldn't help but feel a little happy about this.

Kiyoko was standing to the side, having come back from the bathroom. Kanao, along with Raito, Kimari, and Saki, joyfully waved her over to join their little group hug.

That day, Kanao made... not one, nor two... but three new friends.

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Raito and Kimari Kagimura belong to the one and only Chocopelle! Saki Hamamoto belongs to yours truly.
(Also, fret not, your author has not died... school is killing her, and she started a business.)