You really hated this. "Why do we have to go? Better yet, why do I have to go?" you grumbled as your mother practically dragged you into the car.
The reason for your discontent? You were headed to your mother's best friend's house. She had lost touch with this friend for a while, but recently they reconnected, and she was eager to introduce you to her.
The thing was, you had a pretty busy week. You'd been out shopping with Yumiko, spent your afternoons playing with Bachira, and to top it all off, you had to deal with those annoying quests from the system. So, the idea of spending your precious free time meeting some friend's mom wasn't exactly thrilling.
Not to talk about the fact that the car ride was making you motion sick...
After what felt like an eternity in the car, you finally arrived at your destination. The car ride had been quite long and taxing, and you even had to endure a couple of bouts of nausea along the way. However, you were feeling much better now, thankful that the journey was over.
Your mother rang the bell and soon a pretty women with long under eyelashes, opened the door.
"Pretty" without thinking you blurted out and the women looked at you before laughing as she said "Thank you cutie pie" and booped your nose.
You giggled and followed your mother in. Your mother and the pretty lady were talking as they were walking, after sitting down on the living room couch, the pretty lady gave you some snacks to munch on.
Both of the women were talking while you quietly sat there. Soon after two kids came in. Both of them had the same pretty eyelashes as the pretty lady.
"Sae! Rin!" The lady told them to come closer and so they did. "This is my best friend from college and this is her daughter" you waved at him.
Your mother nudged you to introduce yourself, "hi I'm Ego y/n, I'm 7 years old, nice to meet you" you greet them.
"Hi, I'm Itoshi Rin, 6 years old" the guy with dark green hair introduces himself. It was now the other one's turn but he just stood silent.
"Sae, introduce yourself now" his mother said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Itoshi Sae, 8 years old" that's all he uttered before going upstairs. On the other hand, the younger brother sat beside his mother, looking at you with his big bright teal eyes.
His mother apologized "I'm so sorry about Sae, he's pretty moody" your mother just laughed it off, "He's just like you."
You and him just had a staring contest while both of your mothers were busy talking. His mother noticed this and told him to show you his room and stuff. He agreed, got up, and so did you.
"Um, Itoshi-kun," you hesitated, attempting to kickstart the conversation. "What kind of stuff do you like?" You wanted to get to know him better.
His eyes lit up, and he replied eagerly, "I really like soccer and horror games or movies!" He swung open the door to his room, inviting you inside.
"Really??" You responded with genuine excitement, although your enthusiasm for soccer was somewhat exaggerated. Everyone around you seemed to love it, but then again you did isekaied into a soccer manga.
"Then do you wanna play soccer with me??" He asked, though honestly, you wanted to refuse because 1: you don't like it, 2: you would rather watch a horror movie, and 3: you were tired.
But of course the world hates you because as you were about to say no, a screen popped up with a new quest.
ᴺᵉʷ qᵘᵉˢᵗ
ᴾˡᵃʸ ʷⁱᵗʰ ⁱᵗᵒˢʰⁱ ʳⁱⁿ
[ᴬᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗ] [ᵈᵉⁿʸ]
With a sigh of frustration, you reluctantly clicked "accept." "Sure, Rin! I would love to!" you replied, putting on a fake smile and clasping your hands together in front of you.
Inside Sae's room, Rin burst in excitedly, exclaiming, "Nii chan! Let's play soccer!" Sae appeared a bit skeptical, asking, "Right now? She's here though?" He seemed to be referring to you.
"Y/n onee-chan said she will play with us!" Rin chimed in.
Sae then turned his gaze toward you, raising an eyebrow. "You know how to play that?" he questioned, his tone carrying a hint of irritation.
Your response was swift, and you retorted, "Better than you, actually."
Sae's eyes widened in surprise at your confident comeback. He had likely expected a different response from you. You were just a kid, after all.
With a competitive spark, he accepted your challenge. "Alright, 'Y/n onee-chan', let's see if you can keep up," he teased, leading the way to a small open area in their backyard where they often played soccer.
The three of you spent the afternoon playing an impromptu soccer match, with Rin on your team. While Sae was indeed skilled, you surprised them with your agility and knack for scoring goals.
As the game continued, your team scored goal after goal, and you couldn't help but gloat playfully. "Looks like you underestimated me, Itoshi-kun!"
Sae, despite his initial skepticism, was a good sport about it. He grinned and said, "Alright, you win this round, Ego-kun. But I'll practice, so next time, it won't be so easy!"
It was a fun and memorable afternoon, and you found yourself enjoying this unexpected soccer match more than you had expected.
"Did you all have fun?" Your mother inquired, her eyes dancing with amusement as she observed the three of you, your clothes smeared with dirt from your play.
"Oh yes, Mom, it was a blast!" You chimed in, a mischievous grin on your face. "And guess what? I even managed to beat Itoshi-kun a couple of times!" You giggled, earning a playful scowl from Sae.
"Hey, that's just beginner's luck!" Sae protested, his competitive spirit clearly showing.
Caught up in your banter, you and Sae seemed to momentarily forget about Rin, who had been part of the game as well. He couldn't help but pout, feeling left out.
"Hey, you two! I was playing too, you know," Rin chipped in, a mock look of hurt on his face.
"We didn't, Rinnie" you petted his head as you smiled at him.
After that the three of you watched a horror movie, both you and Rin enjoyed it but Sae on the hand...
"How do you even watch this stuff?!" He asked pretending to be not scared of it "Cuz we like it?" You explained "You can hold my hand if you're too scared?" You smile, seeing as he had too much pride to admit the fact that he's scared. "No way" he shooed you away but as soon as a jumpscare appeared he clung to your arm.
You and Rin exchanged amused glances as Sae tried to hide his fear. It was clear that he was pretending to be brave. You chuckled and whispered to him, "Are you sure you don't want to hold my hand now?" Sae reluctantly nodded, and you held his hand, making him feel a bit more secure during the movie's scary moments.
The car ride home was quick as since your tiny body got tired and was sleepy.
But before you could go to the world of dreams a new message appeared.
² ⁿᵉʷ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ⁱⁿᵗᵉʳᵉˢᵗ ᵘⁿˡᵒᶜᵏ
ᴵᵗᵒˢʰⁱ ʳⁱⁿ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁱᵗᵒˢʰⁱ ˢᵃᵉ
You stare at the screen, almost falling asleep one thought going through your mind 'how many more love interests are there..?"