[Hey...]
Motoba Kirie had been staring at Umaru the whole time. Then her eyes flicked upward, caught sight of Saiki too, and her expression changed drastically, turning back into that gloomy, terrifying look.
(This contrast is way too extreme.)
"Saiki-shishou, this..."
[Come in first.]
Saiki said quietly to Umaru.
[She hasn't recognized you. Relax.]
The three sat at the table. The atmosphere felt a bit heavy. Saiki stood up and left.
[I'll go make some tea for you guys. Take your time talking.]
"Okay, Saiki-shishou."
After Saiki left, Motoba Kirie's face finally wasn't so gloomy anymore. Umaru looked at the person in front of her and fell into thought. [What exactly did she come here for?]
In the end, Umaru spoke first: "Um..."
Motoba Kirie instantly became tense: "Sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I... my name is Motoba Kirie."
Umaru nodded. [From this reaction, it seems like what Saiki-shishou said is right. She hasn't figured it out.]
"Um, this is just my guess, but are you..."
Motoba Kirie gave a dazed smile: "Umaru-san's little sister?"
Umaru paused for one second of thought, then answered decisively and quickly: "I'm her little sister, Komaru."
Motoba Kirie looked like she had expected it: "I knew it. You two have such similar vibes."
"No way, that's not true at all."
Umaru replied calmly. [Made up another character on the spot again.]
(Well, this works. Saves us from any future misunderstandings.)
Motoba Kirie looked around, her face slightly flushed as she said: "Um, it seems like Umaru-san isn't home. So... about when will she be back?"
"Mm, well... actually, it's just Komaru and big brother living here. Big sister lives somewhere else."
Motoba Kirie lowered her head in disappointment: "I see!"
Then she thought of something and spoke again: "But I saw Umaru-san come here after school before."
Umaru answered nervously: "Um, big sister sometimes comes by after school to check on Komaru, then goes back."
"Oh~"
Seeing the explanation worked, Umaru let out a sigh of relief. Then she started wondering. [How did she even know my house is here? And she actually saw me come to this apartment. Is our route the same? How have I never seen her?]
(Because she was tailing you.)
"How did Kirie find out my sister lives here?"
Motoba Kirie snapped out of her disappointment, then said with an innocent, admiring look: "Well, that's because for this whole week, I've been following Umaru-san from behind on her way home..."
In Motoba Kirie's mind, for the past week she had silently watched Umaru from behind. No one had noticed.
Umaru heard this and immediately tensed up. In her heart, she had already labeled the person in front of her as a stalker.
Motoba Kirie frantically rummaged through her bag while explaining in a panic: "Th-this is bad, bad, bad... This is terrible! I have to give this to her first, or else I'll really look like a stalker!"
Umaru slowly calmed down from her tense state. [Isn't that exactly what you are?]
(She totally is!)
Motoba Kirie pulled out a student ID and placed it on the table. While nervously rubbing her hands, she explained: "This is the student ID I picked up before. I could never find a chance to give it back to her, so..."
Umaru recalled what Ebina and Saiki Kusuo had said, and remembered how weird Motoba Kirie had seemed at school. [So that's why she kept staring at me in school.]
Then Umaru picked up the student ID, showed Motoba Kirie an innocent smile: "Kirie, thank you. :ஐ٩(๑´ᵕ`)۶ஐ:"
A direct critical hit straight to Motoba Kirie's heart.
After freezing for a moment, she leaned in closer to Umaru and asked: "Um... um, can I call you shishou?"
Umaru was a little surprised and nervous: "Sh... shishou?"
"Yes. This is a sudden decision, but I want to become your disciple."
Umaru had no idea what to do for a moment. [Wh-what's going on? What do I do? Saiki-shishou, why is making tea taking so long?]
(Yare yare daze, guess it's about time I showed up.)
Saiki, who had already prepared the tea and eavesdropped at the door for half the time, carried the tea in, acting like he knew nothing and hadn't heard a thing.
[Here. How's the chat going?]
Saiki placed the tea on the table, handed cups to both of them, then sat down. When Motoba Kirie saw Saiki come in, her aura shifted back to the scary one that others found intimidating. She kept staring at Saiki.
On the surface it looked like that, but inside she was extremely nervous and scared. [Wh-what do I do? How do I say this? Should I thank him first? But...]
(As expected. Total social-phobe.)
Umaru also noticed Motoba Kirie's behavior. [I get it now. She doesn't dare talk to strangers. She only dares talk to little kids.]
(Maybe she only dares talk to you.)
Seeing Motoba Kirie stay like that the whole time, Saiki looked at Umaru and asked.
[How's it going?]
Umaru walked over to Saiki Kusuo, grabbed his arm, and said to Motoba Kirie: "Kirie, this is my shishou. If you want to become my disciple, then you might have to call him grandmaster."
[What are you even saying?]
What kind of situation is this?
In Saiki's view, a social-phobe girl was better left to Umaru to handle. He figured it was best not to get involved himself, or it might backfire badly.
Motoba Kirie grew even more tense.
"This shishou... he seems to be Umaru-san's shishou too. I heard about it before."
Umaru nodded: "Mm, yes. He's the shishou for both me and my big sister."
Only after saying that did Umaru notice something else. [Heard about it? Didn't we just start talking about it today? Whatever, never mind.]
(Because she was tailing you back then.)
Saiki had noticed from the start that someone was following. For someone with this level of social anxiety, even though they talk little, their inner thoughts are quite complicated. They think more than the average chatterbox, so they're actually easier to spot.
Motoba Kirie walked in front of them, knelt down, and bowed her head: "Grandmaster!!!"
(What a hassle.)
Motoba Kirie didn't want to just randomly call someone grandmaster, but this person was Umaru-san's and Komaru's shishou. Plus he's the top in the grade, so he must have other strengths too. Since Umaru-san willingly became his disciple, becoming his grand-disciple to get closer to the two of them wasn't a big deal.
"Shishou, what do you think? Komaru brought you a new disciple! I'm pretty amazing, right!"
[Yeah, you're really something.]
Saiki looked at Motoba Kirie in front of him.
[If you want to be Komaru's disciple or whatever, I don't care. But don't call me grandmaster. If you're going to do that, then don't become her disciple.]
"Ah, but shishou..."
Motoba Kirie looked at Umaru as if seeking help.
Umaru looked at Saiki and said: "Don't say that. Come on, Saiki-shishou..."
Saiki cut her off directly.
[No way. I don't care what disciples you take, but if you're going to call me that at school, forget it. Even outside school, if someone familiar hears it, it'll be really weird.]