"Shouko-chan, just listen to me first..." Ajitani was a bit overwhelmed by her gaze. "My purpose for coming here is indeed similar to what Miyamura said..."
"Then am I... Mmm mmm mmm..."
Before she could finish, Ajitani reached out and physically interrupted her.
"That was my purpose when I was halfway here, but it changed when I was almost there. Now, I'm just here because I'm feeling down and wanted to hang out with you to cheer myself up.
If possible, I'd also like to find out what you two do together every night."
"Oh, oh..." Shouko nodded obediently, letting her hand swing up and down.
The wind seeping through the door crack carried rain and a damp chill.
Tsuna relaxed his guard slightly, no longer having to worry about the other party suddenly pouncing on him, 'acting on behalf of heaven' or something... Besides, he wouldn't know how to explain it to Shouko then. He also felt fortunate that only a few of his friends knew he was the author of Anohana.
Shouko pulled her hand free and led Ajitani to a chair by the desk, while Tsuna went downstairs to get some snacks and drinks.
"What's there to find out...? Every night, Tsuna and I are busy with our own things. I draw my illustrations, and he checks his novels."
"Novels? What novels? Is it Miyamura's new light novel?" Ajitani's eyes lit up, and combined with her slightly red eyes, she looked even more pitiful.
"Hmm..."
Shouko hesitated whether to nod, as this was Tsuna's business, even though she had already accepted the illustration commission for I Want to Eat Your Pancreas.
"Hmm, if there are no surprises in the next few days, I'm planning to submit it to my original editor to take a look."
While Shouko was still hesitating, Tsuna walked into the room carrying a round tray, answering Ajitani's question at the same time.
He placed the washed grapes and papaya milk in front of them, then sat down next to Shouko and asked curiously:
"Class Monitor, did you just finish reading the second volume of Anohana today and immediately come to find us?"
"Pretty... pretty much." Ajitani nodded. "I originally thought of re-reading it a few times after finishing it, but with this ending, I don't dare to re-read it at all now..."
With that, she grabbed a few grapes and stuffed them into her mouth, chewing fiercely, as if she wasn't eating grapes, but someone else.
"Oh, how about this?" Tsuna hesitated repeatedly but still couldn't resist the mischievous urge in his heart:
"Since you came to find us, as compensation, how about I let you read my new novel?"
"??"
"!"
"Tsuna, this..." Shouko looked at the certain person who was seeking death in surprise. She couldn't even imagine it.
This time Ajitani-chan came directly to their door, so next time, will she directly come to their door and bash Tsuna's head in...?
"Huh?" Ajitani was a bit tempted. "Is that really okay? Isn't it about to be internally submitted?"
"It's fine, this is another one."
Tsuna waved his hand, "But you can only read it here, you can't take it back, and you can't tell Takagi or Nishikata. If you can do that, then it's fine."
As for secretly taking pictures, he wasn't afraid, unless the other party could continuously secretly photograph the entire book without him noticing.
"Tsuna... If Ajitani-chan hits you like this, I won't stop her." Shouko immediately leaned into his ear and whispered.
"Yes, yes! Absolutely no problem!" Ajitani immediately patted her chest and repeatedly assured him, even forgetting her main purpose for coming here.
"Alright, wait a moment. I'll upload that novel to my spare phone for you to read."
With that, Tsuna gave Shouko a reassuring look, then got up and went downstairs to look for his spare phone.
Ajitani watched him go down, already completely impatient, and turned her head to ask Shouko beside her:
"Shouko-chan, can you at least tell me the name of Miyamura's new novel first?"
"..." Shouko looked at her smiling face, even the sadness she wore when she first arrived had completely vanished. For a moment, she really couldn't bear it...
She hadn't read this book since Tsuna finished writing it, but she had heard Tsuna tell her about it a few times when she was little.
She only remembered that she was a snotty mess at that time, and was even disliked by someone...
She thought about reading it when the book was released, as it would feel much better than reading it on a phone, and it would have her personally drawn illustrations.
'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas'...
"..." The smile on Ajitani's face gradually disappeared. Finally, she narrowed her eyes and hesitantly asked, "It's... it's not a horror novel, is it?"
Shouko slowly shook her head in denial: "Romance..."
"Romance!?" Ajitani unconsciously widened her eyes. "This weird name is really for a romance theme!?"
"You can rest assured." At this moment, Tsuna walked back into the room holding a black phone. While charging the phone, he also formatted it. "It's really a 'healing' type, romance theme."
"..."
Seeing her completely disbelieving expression, Tsuna just smiled and didn't explain much. She would know when she read it.
For the next ten minutes or so, Shouko shared with Ajitani the interesting things that happened in the past few days when they didn't go out to play.
"Alright, you read first, remember to keep it a secret." Saying that, Tsuna got up and handed the phone to Ajitani.
Ajitani eagerly took it. As soon as she opened the copied light novel, she couldn't help but read the title aloud, her tone full of doubt:
"'Even If This Love Disappears From the World Tonight'??"
She then looked up at Shouko, asking in confusion: "Shouko-chan, didn't you say it was called I Want to Eat Your Pancreas?"
"Tsuna, you..."
Ajitani didn't understand Shouko's surprised expression. Seeing that neither of them explained immediately, she felt it wasn't very important and directly adjusted to what she considered the most comfortable sitting position, beginning to savor the story.
She wanted to lie on Tsuna's soft bed to read, but she was afraid of being hit by Shouko...
Shouko saw that it was too late to persuade her, so she could only give up. At the same time, she didn't forget to secretly step on a certain person's foot lightly, as if she was getting revenge for her good girl...
Just after 9:30 PM, the heavy rain from the evening had stopped. Tsuna and Shouko decided to walk Ajitani home. At this time, neither of them felt comfortable letting her go home alone.
Tsuna also told her that in the next few days, she could directly take the phone to Shouko's house to read, and could even comfortably lie on Shouko's bed while reading.
He completely ignored Shouko's resentful gaze until her fingers quietly pinched the soft flesh around his waist.
"Then in the next few days, you have to come to my house and keep me company too." On the way home, Shouko looked up at the twinkling stars in the sky.
"You two girls are going to whisper secrets, so I won't go." Tsuna felt the cool breeze on his face and shook his head without hesitation.