"Love...?"
The girl behind the table stared intently at their clasped hands, momentarily speechless and exasperated.
Their hands were clearly clasped together, so why bother with a fortune-telling about fate? If they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, were they perhaps biological siblings?
"Yeah, yeah." Shouko pulled Tsuna to the table, observing the crystal ball, which was made from a fish tank and colored lights.
"Ahem..." The girl, wearing a black lace veil, coughed lightly, drawing their attention.
"If I may ask, what is the relationship between the two of you?"
"Siblings."
"Childhood sweethearts."
Both spoke at the same time, then Shouko lightly stepped on someone's shoe tip in dissatisfaction.
"Isn't there any fortune-telling for fate here?" Shouko pressed.
"Yes, yes, just a moment..." The girl, who had come back to her senses, hastily pulled out a brand-new deck of tarot cards from the table drawer. "One hundred yen per reading, no bargaining."
"Okay." Shouko skillfully pulled out change from a hidden pocket in her sailor skirt and handed it to the shuffling girl in front of her.
"This customer, you exude a strong peach blossom energy... but it seems to be enveloped by a black 'single barrier'!"
As the girl finished speaking, she spread the cards on the table and said mysteriously:
"As long as you draw one card from these tarot cards, I can find a way to break the barrier."
"..." Tsuna, feeling a bit speechless.
This one hundred yen was basically spent on this 'half of the mystery' and the other party's earnest nonsense.
"Oh, oh... okay." Shouko nodded, then nervously reached out and randomly drew a card from the tarot cards. "What does this card mean?"
The girl saw the card Shouko had flipped over and exclaimed, "Love luck UP!!"
The card depicted a small figure with golden curly hair, a pair of small wings on its back, holding a heart-shaped bow and arrow.
Upon hearing this, Shouko seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but just as she was about to ask, the girl in front of her interrupted:
"Congratulations! You drew 'Cupid, the God of Love'! And the way to break the barrier is to bring your crush a bento every day."
Shouko turned her head to look at Tsuna in disbelief. This was too much of a coincidence...?
"Do you two have anything else you want to have fortune told?" The girl quickly collected the tarot cards on the table; this was the effect she wanted.
"No more, let's go, Tsuna."
"Okay."
Shouko thanked the girl in front of her and led him out of the fortune-telling room. There were other people here, so it wasn't suitable for them to whisper.
"Have a good day, you two." The girl, wearing the black lace veil, waved to them, and the deck of tarot cards in her hand accidentally fell to the ground.
The girl hastily glanced at the two of them, and seeing that they hadn't turned back because of the noise she made, she breathed a sigh of relief. She then quickly bent down to pick up the 'Cupid, God of Love' cards, which all had different card types.
After leaving the fortune-telling room, the two of them started wandering around again. But due to time constraints, more and more classrooms and stalls were closing.
They visited five or six interesting stalls before leaving the school gate.
The shadows of two figures were stretched long by the setting sun.
The cuffs of the sailor uniform and the hem of the stand-collar uniform gently swayed, ten centimeters apart, and the road home, where the cherry blossoms had already fallen, was dyed amber.
As they counted the steps from the third utility pole to the railroad crossing, their school bags suddenly collided, startling a string of cooing pigeons on the wire into flight.
————————
Twilight flowed down from the eaves like indigo dye mixed with ink. The moment the convenience store's automatic door opened and closed, the incandescent light cut through the dimness of the street.
"There's still one day left of the School Festival, and I have to work in the kitchen for another day... I'm so tired, Tsuna..." Shouko lay on someone's bed, shaking her legs and complaining.
"Yes, yes, yes."
Tsuna, sitting in front of the computer, could tell what she meant in her words. He stood up and walked to her side, ready to give her a massage.
"What are you doing?" Shouko lifted her foot to dodge his outstretched hand.
"Didn't you want me to massage you and help you relax?" Tsuna also withdrew his hand when he saw this.
"Slap..." Shouko gave the person next to her a slap without hesitation. "Who massages someone's feet first? Aren't you perhaps up to something else?"
"I like to massage feet first. Is that not allowed?" Tsuna pulled her hand and started massaging with controlled pressure.
Shouko rolled her eyes at him and closed her eyes to start enjoying it. To be fair, Tsuna's massage was very comfortable, but it was a shame that she still owed him five massages.
If only he owed her, hehe...
"Shouko...?"
"Are you asleep?"
Twenty minutes passed. Tsuna stopped his movements and called out softly several times, but there was no response. He then took his blanket and covered her.
After confirming that she was really asleep, he got up, took the laptop from the desk, and went downstairs, not forgetting to leave a sticky note on the desk.
He was typing on the computer, and the keyboard sound was a bit loud. He was afraid of waking her up, and she had been busy all day and hadn't closed her eyes, so it was understandable that she had fallen asleep.
"Where's Shouko?"
Shizuka, who was watching a drama in the living room, was a little confused when she saw only him coming in with the laptop.
"She was too tired today and fell asleep." Tsuna quickly scanned the TV content, confirmed that it was a mindless Mary Sue plot, and then paid no more attention.
"Confirmed." As soon as she finished speaking, Shizuka didn't ask any further questions. For example, whether he had touched anything while Shouko was asleep.
Sorry, she had great confidence in her son, and given their relationship, if he wanted to touch her, he would have done so long ago. Why would he wait until Shouko was asleep?
The two in the living room thus started their respective activities. Tsuna continued typing, and Shizuka continued watching her drama.
He was currently writing Your Lie in April. Over the past ten years, his memory of these light novels had started to become a bit hazy.
For example, some details. He remembered the overall story or some more famous scenes, but most of the details felt blurred.
He had to recall for a long time each time to remember, and he was afraid that the more time passed, the less he would remember, so he was quickly writing everything down now that he had time.
Based on memory, he would write down the entire volume first and then check and update the details.
From writing Anohana in the summer of sixth grade until now, he had already finished writing several of the more famous ones from his previous life.
Shouko knew about this, but she chose not to read them because he used the computer to type whenever he had time.
"Can you keep your voice down, kid?"
Five or six minutes passed, and Shizuka was distracted for the third time by the sound of his keyboard, a little dissatisfied:
"Also, didn't you finish writing that Anohana of yours? Why are you still typing?"
Regarding his first book, Anohana, after he finished writing it, Shizuka had not read the content after the first volume.
Mainly because she would forget about it each time and get busy with other things.
Or, he would be typing, and she would remember, but since she was watching a drama and he was using the laptop, the matter would be left unresolved again.
"I'm just checking some details and fixing typos or something." Tsuna lied without turning his head.
He felt that if he told his mom he was typing another book, she would most likely ask a lot of questions, like where the inspiration came from and so on.
Then, if he told her the truth—that he had read it in his previous life—he would most likely get a slap for being too casual.
There was also a small chance of getting an eye roll, followed by a slap...
"Then keep your voice down; you're disturbing me." Shizuka continued watching her drama. "Also, remember to let me read it when you're finished. It's been almost a year."
"Yes, yes, yes..." Tsuna nodded perfunctorily, just in time to receive a flying cushion.
"Mom, how about I go to the study?"
Shizuka casually replied, "Your dad is having a video conference there. If you go, he might ask you to leave."
"Alright..."
As his words fell, only the sound of the TV and keyboard tapping remained in the living room.
————————
"It's this late; you should go back to sleep."
Tsuna stopped what he was doing when he heard this and glanced at the time on the screen: '22:34'. Thinking of the cute little girl sleeping in his room:
"Mom, Shouko doesn't seem to be awake yet..."
He considered anyone under fifteen a loli, and he would not accept refutation, thank you.
"Go sleep at Shouko's house," Shizuka replied without hesitation.
"..."
"It's not like we don't have spare rooms. Is it really necessary...?" He said, feeling speechless.
"I haven't cleaned it."
"Never mind, I'll go wake her up." Tsuna closed his laptop and stood up.
Shizuka's gaze shifted from the TV to him. "You and Shouko have slept together before, just squeeze in with her. I'll call Yaeko and tell her, and it will be fine."
"No, I'll still wake her up."
He was a little receptive when he heard her first sentence, but after thinking about the next one, he decided against it...
Seeing this, Shizuka shrugged and ignored him, continuing to watch her drama.
"Click..."
Tsuna turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. As expected, he saw that Shouko was still asleep, even with light snoring.
"Shouko, wake up." He put the laptop on the desk, walked to her side, and gently shook her.
"If you don't wake up soon, Aunt will come looking for you."
"Just five more minutes..." Shouko lightly patted his hand away, hugged the blanket, and turned over.
Tsuna ignored her words, reached out his hands, pinched her soft cheeks, and began to knead them.
Five minutes is often followed by another five minutes, so waiting was not an option.
Shouko finally couldn't bear it anymore, slapped his hand away, rubbed her blurry eyes, yawned, and sat up.
"Tsuna, you're so mean. I'm so tired today, I just wanted to sleep for a bit, and you wouldn't even agree."
"It's almost eleven o'clock, okay?" Tsuna picked up the clock from the bedside table and handed it to her.
"It's this late, why did you wake me up?" Shouko gently rubbed her slightly red cheeks.
"If I don't wake you up, where will I sleep?"
"Pat, pat..." Shouko patted the empty space next to her. "Squeeze in with me..."
"Then what will you do if Aunt comes looking for you later?"
They looked at each other calmly, and Shouko looked away because of his words.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I'm leaving, good night." Shouko stood up, and before leaving, she didn't forget to lightly slap him, getting revenge for her cheeks.
"Good night."
"Yeah, yeah." Shouko turned back, waved to him, and closed the door.
"Click..."
The morning light hung over the eaves of the convenience store like unopened gold leaf, and the frost particles on the asphalt road shimmered like salt stains.
A boy in a navy uniform exhaled white mist and chased the train. A sailor uniform skirt suddenly cut diagonally into the mass of briefcases.
Dry leaves curled in the hum of the vending machine, and as crows flew over the utility pole, school bag straps and tie clips simultaneously reflected the cold cobalt blue of November.
"Mom, are you going to school today?" Tsuna asked casually as he wiped his hair after coming out of the bathroom.
"Yes, there are still some places I haven't visited, and I also reserved three tickets for the play today."
"Three tickets? Is Dad going today too?" Tsuna looked at the Old Man reading the newspaper at the dining table.
But before he could speak, Shizuka interrupted and denied it. "No, your Aunt is off today and will also be going."
Tsuna didn't ask any more questions when he heard this. Seeing that his hair was half-dry, he pulled out a chair and sat down, starting to eat.
Normally, if Shouko didn't help him blow-dry his hair, his hair would be roughly half-dry after wiping, and the rest would rely on the power of nature.
Shortly after sitting down, Shouko opened his front door and walked in. After greeting Daisuke and Shizuka, she sat next to Tsuna and chatted with Shizuka.
Tsuna also sped up, finished breakfast in five or six minutes, went upstairs to get his school bag, and came to the entrance with Shouko to change shoes.
"Uncle, Auntie, I'm leaving!"
"I'm leaving!"
"Watch where you're going and the cars on the road, be careful."
"Tsuna, take good care of Shouko on the way!"
"Got it!"
"Click..."
————————
"I've realized that we can't really explore the School Festival properly these two days. There's just not enough time."
"Then next year." Tsuna looked at her complaining and unconsciously squeezed her little hand. "Anyway, there are still two years left."
"It's different, Tsuna. The things held each year are different. If you miss it, you miss it." Shouko looked at the traffic light across the street that hadn't turned green yet.
"However, what I'm most looking forward to is the school trip."
"..." Seeing how quickly her mood changed, Tsuna was really a bit speechless for a moment.
"The school trip, if nothing unexpected happens, should also be this month or next month." Tsuna recalled what she had told him at the time.
At this moment, as the traffic light turned from red to green, a dozen shadows on the asphalt road suddenly unfroze.
The heels of a woman in a camel coat sank into the cracks of the white paint on the pedestrian crossing, and the laces of the boy's canvas shoes and the tassels of the suit-wearing briefcases were simultaneously lifted by the cold wind.
"Let's go, let's go." Shouko held his hand, and between the two of them, she was the first to take that step.
"Yes, Ajitani-chan said at the time that there would be a school trip in November or December, but our next one should be the sports meet."
"After all, it needs to be held before the weather gets completely cold." Tsuna, feeling the cold wind on his cheeks, involuntarily got goosebumps. "In that case, the school trip can only be in December."
"Yeah, yeah, let's go, Tsuna. Let's pick up the pace and see which classrooms and stalls are open first, and take a look around."
Shouko held his hand and was about to start running, but he stopped her.
"It rained early this morning, be careful, it might be slippery."
Seeing this, Shouko could only slow down, after all, her hand was still held by someone.