"That's all for today's lesson. Class dismissed."
"Namu... Amitabha..."
Gyomei Himejima, who was in charge of moral education, had an image that stood in stark contrast to the subject he taught. Standing over two meters tall with a muscular build and a majestic face, he nonetheless had a habit of bursting into tears from time to time... and he was blind.
How Teacher Himejima could accurately detect students slacking off in class despite being blind was a question on every student's mind.
As he left, the classroom finally grew lively. Shinobu leaned over her desk; having woken up too early, her eyelids were fighting a fierce battle during class. However, as an excellent student, she would never sleep during a lesson.
Her dazed gaze fell forward. The pink-and-green tips of the hair at the desk in front of her swayed back and forth, and as her thoughts drifted, she unconsciously thought of cherry blossoms.
A scent of cherry blossoms and sweetness gradually approached, and a cute face suddenly zoomed in before her eyes. Meeting those grass-green eyes, Shinobu blinked, trying to dispel her drowsiness. Her purple eyes looked at Kanroji Mitsuri as she asked softly.
"What's wrong, Mitsuri?"
With her hands gripping the edge of Shinobu's desk and her chin resting on the back of her hands, Kanroji Mitsuri gave an embarrassed smile, her lively tone carrying a hint of shyness.
"Shinobu... could I borrow your notes from Teacher Gyoumei's class just now?"
With a suppressed chuckle, Shinobu took out her notebook and handed it to Mitsuri, her gentle voice tinged with teasing.
"Did your mind wander again?"
"Hehe... just thinking about the Tempura Mom made for lunch got me a little excited..."
"Thank you, Shinobu!" Mitsuri reached out to hug Shinobu, rubbing her head against her before returning to her seat to copy the notes.
Sighing helplessly, Shinobu leaned back onto her desk. Her thoughts drifted once more as Mitsuri continued to mutter in front of her.
"Shinobu, there are dango for lunch today too!"
"Ah~ I'm so looking forward to it."
"Oh, right, right."
"I heard there's a flower field that never withers."
"I really want to go..."
Kanroji Mitsuri spoke for a long time without getting a response. Turning around, she smiled softly; she had fallen asleep... Shinobu had woken up early today to make breakfast for Junior Yoizumi... Yoizumi's speech this morning was wonderful.
Even though everyone else around was drowsy, Shinobu listened intently... How romantic... Mitsuri stood up to cover Shinobu with a jacket.
Shinobu... Good luck!
I, Kanroji Mitsuri... will always support you!
Having finally endured until the end of class, Shinobu felt a strange surge of nervousness. Glancing down at the lunch box in her desk drawer, which was meticulously tied with a beautiful bow, she couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Mitsuri, at the front desk, noticed and turned around to gently hold Shinobu's hand, an encouraging look on her face.
"Shinobu! Good luck!"
"Good luck with what..." she mumbled embarrassedly. Seeing Mitsuri holding her hand, she chuckled softly. As Mitsuri's hand moved, Shinobu tilted her head slightly, following her gaze in confusion.
"..."
Yoizumi stood at the corridor entrance. Most of the gazes of those around him were focused on him, but he didn't care at all. His blue eyes were fixed steadily in her direction, as if he wouldn't be distracted by anything else regardless.
Seeing Shinobu look over, Yoizumi's expressionless face finally showed a slight change.
Mitsuri propped her head up with both hands, her grass-green eyes sparkling.
"Go on, Shinobu."
"Mhm..." Picking up the lunch box, Shinobu walked over to Yoizumi. Yoizumi glanced at the lunch box in Shinobu's hands, looking a bit confused.
Is Shinobu going to eat this much today... Could it be that she's learning from Senior Kanroji... It was likely hard for Yoizumi to forget the image of that overly lively girl eating so much food at once.
But on second thought, Yoizumi felt it was a good thing.
It was better to eat more; Shinobu was too thin.
"Shinobu... Senior."
He had called her Shinobu out of habit, but then remembered being forbidden by her this morning, so Yoizumi had to correct himself.
"He called Kochou-san'Shinobu'!"
"What exactly is their relationship?"
"Speaking of which, I often see Kochou-san with him..."
"Eh? Could they be..."
Hearing the students' gossip and seeing Yoizumi's nonchalant attitude, Shinobu grabbed Yoizumi's hand and fled the scene.
"?"
Though he looked confused, Yoizumi let Shinobu lead him away.
Ah... right.
"Senior, you shouldn't run in the corridors."
"Shut up!"
"...Okay."
They ran all the way to the tree by the south gate of the sports field from this morning. Yoizumi timely handed Shinobu a handkerchief. When Shinobu took it, she recognized it as the birthday gift she had given Yoizumi the year before last.
A butterfly landing on wisteria flowers was embroidered on one corner of the light purple handkerchief. Her sister had said back then whether it would be bad to give a boy such a girly item... Yoizumi had been carrying it all this time... Smiling with pursed lips, her purple eyes unconsciously softened as she looked up at Yoizumi.
"Yoizumi, you haven't had lunch yet, right?"
"Mhm." Following Shinobu's words, he had come to find her as soon as class ended, so he naturally hadn't had time to buy lunch.
"Then eat with me," Shinobu said softly, lifting the lunch box in her hand.
"I'll go buy some first." Before Yoizumi could turn around after speaking, he was pulled by his tie. With his neck jerked back, he looked at Shinobu blankly.
"I said eat with me..."
With his tie re-adjusted, Yoizumi's jacket was now spread out for Shinobu to sit on. He held the lunch box, looking at the dishes inside.
"Did you make this specifically for me, Shinobu?"
"No..." Shinobu tilted her head, the shadows of the tree flickering over her, but Yoizumi still noticed her reddened earlobes.
Picking up a piece of perfectly made Tamagoyaki, the sweet flavor filled his mouth, and a gentle light appeared in his sapphire eyes.
"It's delicious."
"Thank you, Shinobu."
"..." Shinobu ate her food in silence, but the smile in her eyes was obvious.
———— Side Story ————
"Shinobu can't eat lunch with me anymore..."
Mitsuri thought somewhat troubledly as she held her tall stack of lunch boxes.
"That... if you don't mind."
"Kanroji, would you like to eat with me?"
Iguro Obanai spoke cautiously.
"Ah! That's great! You're so kind, Iguro-kun!"
On the other side.
"Brother, isn't Yoizumi-nii joining us?"
Nezuko asked while biting into the Yakisoba bread in her hand.
Beside her, Zenitsu stared at her with a face full of bliss.
"Yoizumi-nii might be busy," Tanjirou thought as he ate a Rice ball.
"Wow! Kanao, did you make your own bento today? It looks delicious!" Tanjirou exclaimed upon seeing Kanao's bento.
But doesn't Kanao usually eat with Shinobu-san?
As Shinobu's cousin, Kanao often visited the Kochou household, and over time, Tanjirou had become quite familiar with her.
Kanao ate her food in small bites. She nodded slightly at Tanjirou's question, then her grape-purple eyes looked out the window. Her excellent eyesight allowed her to clearly see her sister under the tree over there.
A faint smile appeared on Kanao's face.
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"