"Let's go, let's go~" Yuzuru snatched the snack bag from Tomohiro Nagatsuka, moving as fast as if she feared he would change his mind.
She gestured with her chin toward a maple tree not far ahead, her tone light. "There's a long bench under that tree. It's cool and out of the sun. Let's chat there."
"Aren't you supposed to be walking your dog…?"
"Hachiko and I are out for a stroll, not for me to walk him in the park," Yuzuru said, holding up an index finger and responding righteously.
"…Alright, fine."
Tomohiro Nagatsuka's gaze lingered on Hachiko for a few seconds. He actually really wanted to borrow the leash and try walking Hachiko.
The two walked side by side to the bench in the maple tree's shade and sat down. Yuzuru, after confirming the other party had no objections, casually pulled out a bag of potato chips and opened it.
"Shh… shh… shh…" An autumn breeze rustled the maple leaves.
"Young man, which school do you attend?"
"Young man, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Are you interested in novels?"
"Young man, have you heard of 'Ginkgo Sakura High School'?"
"Hey… young man, leave some for me…"
Facing Tomohiro Nagatsuka's incessant questions, Yuzuru responded to each one until she couldn't take it anymore and used the snacks he bought to shut him up.
"Didn't I tell you my name yesterday? Why do you keep calling me 'young man'?"
"I just thought calling you 'young man' would make us seem more familiar, didn't I?" Tomohiro Nagatsuka leaned back against the chair and waved his hand.
"…"
"Actually, I think…"
"Yuzuru?"
A clear, slightly surprised call interrupted Yuzuru's words. Both of them looked toward the source of the sound.
Tomohiro Nagatsuka saw a little girl with a high ponytail and blonde hair standing at a fork in the road not far ahead, carrying a white plastic bag.
"Xiao Li-chan? What are you doing here?" Yuzuru looked at the approaching girl, her heart full of curiosity.
As the girl walked closer, Tomohiro Nagatsuka, who had been sitting next to her, subtly shifted half a step away.
The girl smiled and squatted in front of Hachiko. "I came to see Hachiko." As she spoke, she took out pre-prepared dog food from the bag and, without hesitation, opened it and fed it to Hachiko.
Hachiko sniffed the dog food, then glanced at the packaging in the girl's hand. After confirming there were no issues, it began to eat.
It was a little more cautious than Yuzuru. Hmm. Just a little.
"Her name is Haruno Rei. She's my best friend from elementary and middle school, and she's Hachiko's best friend too!"
Seeing her petting Hachiko, Yuzuru wasn't idle either. She introduced the girl to Tomohiro Nagatsuka, whose expression was a little stiff.
"Hello!" Haruno Rei took a moment to flash a smile at Tomohiro Nagatsuka before continuing to pet the obedient Hachiko.
She thought this boy must be a relative of Yuzuru's. After all, she had never seen Yuzuru hang out with any boys at school.
And the school uniform he was wearing clearly belonged to a high school. Besides being a relative, her small mind couldn't think of any other relationship he could have with Yuzuru.
"…You… hello…!" Tomohiro Nagatsuka forced a not-too-unpleasant smile onto his somewhat stiff face.
As the intermediary, Yuzuru saw that he didn't introduce himself, so she introduced him to Haruno Rei. After they both nodded and greeted each other again, they didn't speak further.
After a while, Haruno Rei, having satisfied her urge to pet, looked up at Yuzuru.
"Yuzuru, can I borrow Hachiko and walk around the park with him?"
"Of course." Yuzuru handed her the leash without hesitation. After years of their relationship, she still trusted her very much.
And the leash was just a deceptive prop. If someone wanted to do something bad to Hachiko, this leash wouldn't offer any resistance.
Once the other party led the constantly looking-back Hachiko away, Yuzuru seemed to remember something and looked suspiciously at the transparent person beside her.
"Hey, Fat Man, weren't you quite talkative just now? Why did you suddenly go quiet?"
The warm autumn breeze swept across their faces, playfully ruffling the loose hair on their foreheads, and the fragmented shadows swayed gently with it.
As the girl's back disappeared from sight, Tomohiro Nagatsuka's shoulders relaxed as if he had let out a sigh of relief.
"Wh-where did I…!"
He let out a long breath, casually wiping away sweat that might not have existed. Then, as if restored to factory settings, he hooked Yuzuru's neck, his voice instantly rising by eight octaves.
"Ahem! I was just… just remembering the extracurricular homework Nanase-sensei assigned! I was thinking too hard, so I didn't notice you two."
"…"
Yuzuru slapped his paw away mercilessly, rolling her eyes at him, silently conveying her extreme speechlessness at his improvised excuse.
"Haha…" Tomohiro Nagatsuka laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his hand, not taking Yuzuru's recent actions to heart.
Under the gently swaying tree shadows, the soft sunlight blurred their figures and expressions into a gentle softness.
"Was that your girlfriend just now?"
"Best friend, best friend, best friend!" Yuzuru rolled her eyes beautifully at Tomohiro Nagatsuka. "Didn't I just say so when I introduced her?"
"…"
"A grown man still having a female best friend, shameless," Tomohiro Nagatsuka muttered extremely softly.
"What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly."
"N-nothing, nothing."
Tomohiro Nagatsuka shook his head frantically, repeating his denial, his chubby cheeks and chin jiggling slightly with the movement.
"…" Yuzuru always felt like the other party had just insulted her.
After a while, Tomohiro Nagatsuka's small bag of snacks was almost gone, and Yuzuru, listening to him ask this and that, felt a little sleepy.
"From what you just said, you also attend 'Ginkgo Sakura High School'?" Yuzuru perked up and asked.
"Also? Young man, does someone in your family also attend this school?" Tomohiro Nagatsuka instantly caught the unusualness in her words and looked at her suspiciously.
"Yes." Yuzuru nodded her small head. "My sister and my brother-in-law."
"Sister… brother-in-law?"
"Yes." Yuzuru, in contrast to his surprised and puzzled expression, calmly nodded.
"What are their names?"
"Nishimiya Shouko and Miyamura Tsunayoshi."
"Hmm…" Tomohiro Nagatsuka thought for a moment upon hearing this, then slowly shook his head. "No, I don't know them."
He was sure they weren't in his class. Although he was quite solitary at school, he still remembered the names of his classmates.
"It's fine if you don't know them. I'll introduce you next time if there's a chance. My brother-in-law is pretty amazing!" Her words carried a hint of subtle pride.
"Okay." Tomohiro Nagatsuka nodded. He also wanted to make more friends in high school, but the results were always a bit disappointing.
After sitting for a while longer, Haruno Rei returned with Hachiko, and Yuzuru and Tomohiro Nagatsuka prepared to say goodbye and leave.
"Next time we meet, I'll definitely treat you to something delicious. I consider you a friend!" Yuzuru waved to Tomohiro Nagatsuka.
She figured she didn't know when they'd meet again, and by then, her pocket money should be sufficient.
Besides, more than half of the snacks he bought had ended up in her stomach. If she didn't say something now, she'd feel a little bad.
"Mhm, mhm." Tomohiro Nagatsuka nodded.
He didn't pay too much attention to the "delicious food" Yuzuru mentioned, but the phrase "I consider you a friend" stuck with him.
—
"Yuzuru, I'm going now. See you tomorrow."
"Mhm, mhm. See you at school tomorrow."
At a crossroads, Haruno Rei waved to Yuzuru and turned to leave. She, on the other hand, continued walking home with Hachiko, bathed in the setting sun.
"I wonder if I'll still be able to eat dinner when I get back…" Yuzuru rubbed her little belly and let out a small burp.
"Mom and Sis probably won't find out, right, Hachiko?"
"…Woof…" Hachiko turned back to look at her with a very human-like expression, a hint of exasperation in its eyes.
"Yuzuru?"
Just as Yuzuru was about to pet Hachiko, a familiar soft call came from behind her.
She followed the sound and saw Tsuna and Shouko standing side by side in the twilight glow, with the city lights gradually illuminating behind them.
Orange-red light flowed softly over them. Shouko smiled and waved to her.
Tsuna stood there holding her sister's hand, his gentle gaze quietly resting on her.
However, faster than her own steps, Hachiko, who could no longer hold back, darted out.
"Onii-san, why didn't you ride your motorcycle today?"
"Because today I wanted to walk home slowly with your sister."
Yuzuru's gaze fell on his neck, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud again.
He was already immune to this string of laughter, but it was Shouko who landed a light but firm slap on her head, which finally made her stop laughing.
"Alright, let's hurry up." Shouko gently held Yuzuru's hand, her tone habitually soft.
"Grandma is probably getting dinner ready. If we go back now, we can help out."
As she spoke, she led Yuzuru, walking briskly toward home.
Naturally, the leash Yuzuru had been holding, which had been attached to Hachiko, smoothly transferred to Tsuna beside her.
"…"
The warm sunset enveloped the figures of the three. Tsuna held the still panting Hachiko, Shouko held Yuzuru's hand, and the three silhouettes merged into a long shadow, chatting and laughing as they hurried home for a warm meal.
The next day…
"Yo! Young man!"
"…"
Same place, same spot. Yuzuru looked at the Fat Man who had appeared before her again, remembering what she had said before they parted yesterday. She turned to run, pulling Hachiko with her.
Her pocket money hadn't been given yet, so she couldn't immediately treat him to something delicious. Last night, her mother had seen through her at dinner and lectured her.
—
"Shouko-chan! Guess what I found."
Ajitani looked at the girl in front of her with a smile, hiding a little secret she had just discovered behind her back.
"I… I don't know—"
"Ta-da!!!"
Before Shouko could finish, Ajitani eagerly interrupted, not forgetting to display the magazine she had hidden behind her back.
"A regional guide for where we're going on our school trip the day after tomorrow!"
"From Osaka?" Shouko looked at the magazine held up in front of her. The cover showed Osaka Castle's main tower.
Osaka's iconic landmark.
"This doesn't seem to be the current issue, does it?" Tsuna walked into the classroom where Shouko and Ajitani were. "I still don't quite understand why we were assigned to clean this unused classroom."
His gaze swept over the forty-plus square meter classroom. Storage cabinets, blackboard, desks, podium, all items, without exception, were thoroughly covered in a thick layer of dust, making him frown involuntarily.
Ajitani didn't even think. "Pat, pat." She patted her thin chest twice, quickly and loudly, as if this would make her promise more sincere.
"Of course! I talked Nanase-sensei's ear off to get this opportunity!"
She said, then puffed out her not-so-ample chest, her eyes and brows filled with smugness.
"It's all so we can openly skip class and do our work, chat, and slack off!"
The last few words were drawn out, carrying a hint of unknown pride.
"…"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Ajitani waved her hand generously at Tsuna.
"…"
Tsuna remembered sleeping soundly in the classroom with no one disturbing him, and then being inexplicably assigned by Nanase-sensei to clean this unused classroom.
His desire to strangle Ajitani grew even stronger.
"Ajitani-chan, which class are we going with for the school trip the day after tomorrow?"
Just then, Takagi and Nishikata walked into the classroom carrying two blue plastic buckets full of water, asking curiously.
"Hmm… let me think…" Ajitani took the rag Shouko handed her and lowered her head in thought. After a short while, she suddenly looked up.
"It's with Class 5. Only our class and Class 5 are going on the Osaka hot spring school trip."
"The other classes are going to different places. This seems to have been decided by gacha pulls, and Nanase-sensei drew the hot spring."
"Huh? That's completely different from our middle school. I remember in middle school, the whole grade went together."
Listening to the girls' conversation, Tsuna and Nishikata exchanged glances and decided to move the desks and chairs outside first before starting to clean.
Nanase-sensei had given them two periods for cleaning, which was quite ample time.
"Osaka…" Shouko muttered, a fleeting memory of going to Osaka with Tsuna's family in the past flashing through her mind.
There were many hot spring inns in Osaka, but their luck this time wasn't as good. It wasn't Tsuna's grandfather's inn, and it was quite a distance away.
"Dong… dong…"
"Dong… dong… dong…"
With the ringing of two bells, Tsuna and his group successfully cleaned the dusty classroom. The desks even subtly reflected light.
"Tonight, I'll do some research on Osaka. We'll have three or four days of free time, so we can really explore Osaka!"
After cleaning, the group tacitly chose not to inform Nanase-sensei, but instead sat in the empty classroom, chatting about the Osaka school trip.
"Yabai… my wallet's going to suffer again…"
"Nishikata, don't worry. My plan is definitely the most cost-effective. It won't shrink your wallet too much."
Ajitani smiled at Nishikata. At times like this, she especially envied Shouko for being able to earn her own pocket money.
As for Miyamura, she had already excluded him. Although he was indeed very capable, even if he did nothing, his pocket money wouldn't be small.
She couldn't envy that.
The group sat for another ten minutes or so, and just before the dismissal bell rang, they returned to their regular classroom and also had Nanase-sensei come to inspect their work.
—
The night sky was dotted with stars, and one of the streetlights on Futaba Street flickered rhythmically.
"Tsuna, how about I plant a few more couple anti-counterfeit labels on you?"