Nishikata stared at the half-finished milk in his cup, and to the sound of cicadas outside the window, he continued to tell his 'friend's' story.
"In high school, the boy bravely confessed to the girl. She was very surprised, but didn't give him an answer, and then inexplicably disappeared after that."
"..."
"Later, the boy accidentally met the girl at the hospital, and he also learned from her mother that the girl had cancer and only half a month left."
After saying that, Nishikata even sniffled.
This ending sounded like a sad, regrettable story, but Tsuna and Ajitani didn't feel any such emotion. Instead, a vague sense of unease welled up in their hearts.
"What happened next…?" Takagi sat up straight and asked seriously.
"The girl, in turn, smiled and comforted the boy a few words. As the boy was about to leave, she muttered disappointedly, 'I originally wanted to keep it from you and have a snowball fight together after I recovered. It seems it won't happen now.' This not-too-loud, not-too-soft remark was just heard by the boy."
"Miyamura, at this moment, shouldn't we say something?" Ajitani leaned closer to Tsuna and whispered.
Tsuna saw Nishikata's gaze fixed on the cup and quickly shook his head repeatedly:
"I think we should run or stop him from continuing to speak right now. I have a bad feeling."
Before Ajitani could speak, Nishikata's expression became excited:
"The boy suddenly turned back to look at the girl! He exclaimed excitedly: 'Isn't it just a snowball fight? I'll help you fulfill this wish!'
With that, the boy grabbed a handful of feces and threw it at the girl: 'Although there's no snow, we can use this instead!'
And so, the two people in the hospital room happily started a snowball fight with feces!"
"Pfft…!" Ajitani, who had just taken a sip of milk, almost spat it out.
Takagi covered her mouth and transferred the recording she had just saved into her favorites.
"The nurse coming in would at least be the end of the world." Tsuna quietly moved away from Nishikata and commented seriously, then asked incredulously:
"Nishikata, what part of your body did you use to come up with such a plot?"
"Wh-what?!" Nishikata quickly waved his hands in denial upon hearing this: "I already said, this was written by my friend! Not me!"
Perhaps his movements were too vigorous, even the tips of his ears started to turn red.
"Alright, alright." Tsuna nodded perfunctorily. "Your friend, your friend."
"Click…"
Just then, a door opening sound interrupted their laughter.
"Tsuna, I'm home!"
Pat-pat-pat…
Shouko's small feet in white socks stepped on the corridor, and she soon appeared at the living room door, carrying a bulging large plastic bag in her hand.
The brilliant smile on her face instantly turned to surprise when she saw the people in the living room. "Why are you here?! You didn't even tell me."
"Welcome home, Shouko-chan." Ajitani spoke before Tsuna.
Immediately after, Takagi and Nishikata also greeted Shouko.
"You guys play first, I'll go put these things in the kitchen." Shouko shook the items in her hand at them and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
When Shouko returned to the living room, Ajitani looked left and right but didn't see Shizuka enter, so she asked doubtfully:
"Shouko-chan, didn't Auntie Miyamura go with you? Why haven't I seen her come back after so long?"
"Godmother dropped me off and drove away. She didn't tell me where she was going." Shouko shrugged helplessly, her peripheral vision noticing the three books on the coffee table, and she guessed:
"You guys came today, you wouldn't be trying to get the signatures right away, would you?"
The three of them nodded in unison, then pulled the conversation back to the main reason for their visit today.
In front of Tsuna and Shouko, Nishikata tore off the plastic protective film wrapped around the books. He was the first to open the first page and hand it to Tsuna, feigning sincerity:
"Miyamura-sensei! Please! Could you please sign it for me!"
Tsuna's mouth twitched involuntarily, but he still silently signed his pen name on the book.
Nishikata eagerly reached out to stop him from putting down his pen: "And also, please write the signature date next to the name."
"…" Tsuna did as he was told, and the pen once again fell next to the name.
After it was signed, Nishikata contentedly moved in front of Shouko, but before he could speak, Shouko quickly wrote down her pen name.
After all three signatures were done, the group discussed recent gossip while Nishikata leaned next to Tsuna and chatted with him about light novel writing techniques.
Every time Nishikata asked a question, Tsuna would think carefully before answering. Gradually, Shouko and the others were also drawn in.
It wasn't until Shizuka returned that the three of them left contentedly with their signed books.
— — — — — — — — — —
The glaring midday sun baked people into a daze, the shade of the trees shrunk into tiny clumps, and even the cicada's chirping wilted. The sun slowly shifted a bit to the west, and only then did the heat seem to be drawn away slightly, and the tree leaves began to sway lazily.
"Shouko, are you really not going shopping with Auntie?" Shizuka, changing her shoes in the entryway, turned back to confirm with Shouko in the hallway again.
Shouko shook her head like a rattle drum. "Godmother, you and my mother can go. I want to draw illustrations this afternoon."
"Alright then." Shizuka, seeing this, no longer tried to persuade her. She took the bag Shouko handed her, reminded her a few things, and then left.
"Click…"
As the door slowly closed, Shouko withdrew her gaze and immediately bounced back into the living room, looking at a certain person lying on the sofa, feeling a strange sense of guilt in her heart.
"Tsuna."
"What? Do you want to lie down?" Saying that, he even moved a small bit to the side.
"..."
"Tsuna, the illustrations."
"Oh, then you can draw them." Tsuna nodded and continued to close his eyes.
"Hmm…"
Shouko waited for a while but didn't see him open his eyes. She pouted unhappily, then walked to his side and started pounding his chest relentlessly to vent her dissatisfaction.
"Stop, stop, I was wrong." Tsuna quickly grabbed her hands and begged for mercy. "I was just teasing you. Now go get the clothes for me. I'll change into them now."
Shouko bumped him with her head in dissatisfaction before choosing to forgive him, then turned and ran out of the living room.
Just as Tsuna wondered why he hadn't heard the door open or close, Shouko returned to the living room with a white shirt.
"You didn't go into my room to get these clothes, did you?" Tsuna stared into her eyes, guessing.
"Yes, I did." Shouko nodded in affirmation, then threw the clothes in her hand to him. "You change first, I'll go prepare the props."
"Props? Don't I just pose a few times? What props do I need?"
Shouko looked at his puzzled expression, didn't explain, just narrowed her eyes at him with a smile, then turned and left the living room.
"…" His current intuition told him that something bad was about to happen, constantly urging him to run.