"Do you have anything urgent to deal with later?" Teacher Fujiro pulled over a chair and sat down, looking at the two people in front of her.
"No," both of them shook their heads simultaneously.
"Alright, wait a few more minutes, and those students will be here. You can get to know each other before you go back. I will have your painting supplies ready for tomorrow. When you come tomorrow, you can use them directly."
Tsuna thanked her, and Shouko, who was beside him, quickly echoed, "Then we'll trouble Teacher Fujiro."
As soon as she finished speaking, the tightly shut door was knocked on from the outside.
Knock knock knock...
"It must be one of them who arrived early," Teacher Fujiro said, taking a sip of tea, her gaze shifting from their faces to the Art Club entrance.
Click...
As the knocking stopped, the doorknob of the wooden door was turned from the outside.
"You two are here so early?"
"Miyagi-senpai, good afternoon."
The wooden door was pushed halfway open. From his angle, Tsuna could clearly see the person who had arrived: it was Miyagi Yuki-senpai, whom he had met at the Art Club yesterday.
After Shouko saw who it was, she also greeted her. Miyagi Yuki nodded to the two of them, then greeted Teacher Fujiro who was in front of them.
She instantly guessed what the two of them were waiting for. After saying something to them, she returned to her designated spot and got busy with her own matters.
The two waited for another five or six minutes until the regular members of the Art Club had all arrived. They were the third-year Art Club Leader (female), and third-year Ito Valley (male).
Second-year Miyagi Yuki (female), second-year Kudo Ueto (male), and second-year Murashita Sami (female).
There was also one person in the same year as them, but he took leave because he was busy today.
The two greeted the people present, got to know each other, and then stayed at the Art Club for about an hour before leaving.
They asked the seniors some basic questions, and Shouko also diligently took out her notebook, noting down the personal tips shared by the others one by one.
Shouko's anticipation for spending time with everyone in the future grew with their enthusiasm.
---
The lingering warmth of late summer still hung lazily in the air. The sky was a piece of silk dyed with watercolor, revealing soft indigo and orange-pink.
The glass of the vending machine reflected shimmering light spots. Several boys gathered around the machine, dropping coins. The moment a carbonated drink "clunked" down, the sound of bubbles mixed with laughter erupted.
At a certain corner, Ajitani, who had changed into casual clothes, stopped, raised her phone towards the sunset glow in the sky. The light from the screen illuminated the dimple at the corner of her mouth.
"The person the Art Club Leader just mentioned who is in the same year as us is named Kawai. Tsuna, do you think it could be the Class Monitor from our sixth grade?"
On the way home, Shouko couldn't contain her curiosity and spoke up.
She felt relatively good about the Class Monitor from sixth grade.
She had never bullied her or anything, and there were no strange looks either.
But Tsuna told her to spend less time playing with her, so their relationship remained that way.
"Japan is not that big, but there are many people with the exact same surname and given name. And our school is so big, the probability of it being her is very small."
Tsuna held her hand and shook it, dismissing her idea.
"That's true."
Shouko gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, smiled, and nodded, then unhesitatingly looped her arm through the arm of the person beside her.
Ding... ding... ding...
Following the girl's movement, a rhythmic clanging sound came from the distant tram tracks.
A boy riding a bicycle in the distance sped over the slope. The wheels made a crisp, rustling sound as they rolled over fallen leaves. The backpack on the back seat was slightly open due to the bumps, revealing a corner of a Japanese language textbook.
"What's wrong?" Tsuna felt curious.
"Nothing." Shouko lightly shook her head, her gaze on the setting sun on the horizon, her peripheral vision catching the boy's profile.
"Oh, by the way, Tsuna."
"Hm?"
"You promised Mr. Sakai you'd join the Track and Field Club, so tomorrow after school, are you going to report to the Track and Field Club?"
"Hmm..." Tsuna looked at the tram speeding past in the distance, thought for a moment, "It's not too late if I accompany you to the Art Club to talk to the seniors tomorrow, and then go report to the Track and Field Club."
"I can go by myself, okay?" Shouko was displeased with his tone treating her like a child, and forcefully bumped his shoulder with her head. "Tomorrow I'll go to the Art Club and tell those seniors for you. You can just go report to the Track and Field Club directly."
"Then I'll come back to the Art Club quickly."
"Okay..."
"Sister, how long are you two going to be so lovey-dovey? This road only takes about five minutes to walk the whole way, but you've been walking for almost thirty minutes."
At this moment, the speechless voice of a black-haired girl, who had appeared at some point, sounded from behind them.
Shouko immediately let go of Tsuna's arm, creating a distance of half a meter from him before turning to look behind her.
It was the black-haired girl walking a dog, and her eyes were overflowing with speechlessness.
"I saw you from a long distance away, but I didn't expect your walking speed to be like a turtle's."
Woof! Hachiko, who was beside her, wagged its tail and echoed.
"You wouldn't understand." Shouko waved her hand, pushing Yuzuru, who was trying to squeeze between them, to the side.
"Right, right, right, I don't understand."
Having said that, Yuzuru ran a few steps forward, turned back, and shouted at Shouko:
"Sister, Mom bought strawberries today. I was originally planning to eat them with you when you came back. But now I've changed my mind, I'm going home early and eating them all!"
As her voice fell, Yuzuru started running towards home.
Hachiko, who was beside her, looked back at the two of them and followed closely.
"Hmm..." Shouko's gaze shifted back and forth between the running Yuzuru and Tsuna beside her. Finally, she hardened her heart and said:
"Tsuna, I'll grab some extra strawberries for you!"
"You two are running so fast, be careful not to fall!"
Tsuna shouted loudly at the two who had run off but received no response, so he could only join them.
---
Dusk fell. Streetlights and constellations lit up simultaneously. The rolling light spots on the asphalt road were the tungsten filaments of the Milky Way falling into the human world.
"Tsuna, come, eat a strawberry."
Shouko picked up one of the washed strawberries from the transparent fruit plate and fed it to the person watching TV.
"Why are there so many? Did Yuzuru fail to snatch them?" Tsuna looked at the fruit plate full of strawberries, swallowed the one in his mouth, and asked with a puzzled smile.
Shouko also picked one up, bit off half, and slowly replied, "Not exactly. To be precise, Yuzuru succeeded. But Mom gave her a flick on the forehead, and only then did she reluctantly give up half. Then Mom also said that there was a share for you in there too. Finally, Yuzuru, holding back tears, gave up another half, but I didn't take it..."
---
Listening to her description, the image of the black-haired girl protecting her food but having to give up half flashed through Tsuna's mind.
"Here, have another one." Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Shouko picked up another one and brought it to his mouth.
"No, you eat it. I don't really like strawberries." Tsuna turned his head and dodged.
...
Shizuka, who was sitting on the sofa beside them watching the two, felt extremely speechless, even though Shouko had also given her a share of strawberries.