Sneak preview Chapter 122:
Shouko noticed. "What's wrong, Akira?" she asked curiously.
Akira glanced at her and suddenly felt like teasing. With a playful grin, he mouthed silently, "Our future child can't be raised by my mom. Trust me, okay?"
Shouko blinked, puzzled for a moment. Then she read his lips—and her face turned bright red. She slapped his hand lightly.
"W-what are you even saying!? Children… and stuff like that…" She took a deep breath and added softly, "It's way too early for that."
Akira noticed the blush that had spread all the way to her ears and chuckled softly. "Shouldn't you be saying something like, Who wants to have kids with you anyway?"
Just as she opened her mouth to respond, Akira leaned in and exaggeratedly covered his own mouth. "Wait… don't tell me… you do want to have kids with me!?"
--------------------------------------------------------
"Miu, slow down!" Ito Chika called out as she hurried to catch up, her bento clutched tightly in her hands.
Their group had long established a lunchtime routine—two desks pushed together where the four of them ate. The rest of the class had grown used to it.
They were also used to seeing Akira eating lunch with three girls. At first, some boys snickered and gossiped behind his back, but when they saw that Akira couldn't care less, they quickly lost interest.
As for bullying or ostracism? That had no effect. Akira rarely initiated conversations except with Shouko and a few others. And anyone who considered trying something physical quickly remembered how he'd handled the boys who used to bully Shouko—moves way beyond elementary school fighting.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the classroom, a small group of girls sat together chatting over lunch.
"The boys in our class are seriously childish," sighed a blonde girl, sitting cross-legged in her seat.
"Totally. They're still into cartoons and manga," a red-haired girl beside her added.
A gray-haired girl across from them chewed thoughtfully before mumbling, "I quit that stuff back in third grade." Swallowing her bite, she added, "And I heard one of them still secretly picks his nose and eats it."
"Ewwww~" all four girls groaned in unison.
"Natsuki, seriously?! We're eating!" the purple-haired girl scolded.
"Sorry, sorry," the gray-haired girl chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.
"Oh, and yesterday," the blue-haired girl chimed in, "when I was walking down the hall, I saw Tanaka making a fake basketball shot in the air right in front of the class monitor."
"Honestly," the blonde girl sighed, "the only normal one is probably Miyamura. He doesn't act like the rest."
The red-haired girl smirked. "Oh? Why bring up Miyamura all of a sudden?"
The blonde blinked, not realizing her slip. "Well, think about it. He doesn't play rough games with the boys, so he doesn't smell bad."
The Natuski leaned forward with a grin. "Wait—how would you even know? Did you sniff him?!"
The blonde's face turned red. She had once accidentally caught a faint scent when he walked past, but there was no way she could admit that. "Don't interrupt me!"
"Okay, okay," the redhead laughed, covering Natsuki's mouth before she could tease more. "Go on, we promise not to interrupt."
Clearing her throat, the blonde continued, still blushing, "Miyamura's always top of the class, and he's really brave too. He's always protecting Nishimiya when something happens. It's kind of... cool, don't you think?"
The redhead raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Wait... do you like him?"
That got everyone's attention. Suddenly, all eyes were on the blonde, full of teasing curiosity. Some looked skeptical, others already imagined the rumors spreading.
"Y-you like him!" the blonde shot back, flustered. "Otherwise, why would you say that?!"
But even she couldn't help glancing at Akira's desk, wondering if he'd overheard.
The redhead turned defensive, muttering, "Who'd like a guy who hangs out with girls all the time..." but she too stole a glance at Akira, hoping maybe—just maybe—he'd noticed.
After all, at this age, any rumor of crushes spread like wildfire. And hanging out with the opposite sex too much? That was practically an invitation for teasing.
Akira pointed discreetly across the room. "Shouko, don't turn out like those girls over there... they're way too noisy."
Shouko followed his finger and simply nodded. "Mm-hmm."
"Thump... thump... thump...!"
Blowing her whistle, Teacher Minagawa clutched a volleyball and addressed the class. "Alright, class dismissed! Students on cleaning duty, don't forget to finish before heading home."
Lines disbanded immediately.
"Let's go, Shouko. We'll grab our bags from the classroom first," Akira said gently.
Most students brought their bags to P.E. if it was the last class, but some preferred to return to the classroom afterward. Shouko was one of them.
"Okay," she nodded, then turned to her friends. "Chika, you go ahead. I'm grabbing my bag. See you tomorrow!"
"Bye-bye!" Ito Chika waved cheerfully.
"Then we'll go first. Enjoy your time alone~" Miu teased with a grin.
Shouko heard this and blushed. "Miu, what are you talking about!" She was now extremely regretful—why had she ever told her anything?! She glanced quickly at Akira, who was calmly drinking water and paying no attention. Thank goodness.
After closing his bottle, Akira walked ahead naturally. "Let's go."
They made their way quietly back to the classroom. Akira reached out instinctively for her hand, but Shouko shyly pulled away. "A-Akira... we're still on campus. What if a teacher sees us?"
He understood. Ever since fourth grade, Shouko had stopped holding his hand at school. But once they passed the school gate, she'd always reach out on her own.
"I'll check my desk too," Akira added after she reminded him not to forget anything.
He crouched to take a look—and immediately froze.
Inside was a pale pink envelope. A red heart sticker sealed it shut.
His first ever love letter.
He blinked, stunned.
And across the room, Shouko, who had just turned to glance at him, went completely still.
Her eyes locked on the envelope in his hand.
Her world, just for a moment, stopped.
-------------
POWER STONE!!!
Support me at patréon com/Lukas25