...
A day or two after helping Cherino reclaim Red Winter, I was doing my work, as usual, when Kayoko texted me.
Is there any particular genre of music you prefer?
Rock and metal have always been my favorites, but I'm sometimes listen to classical stuff.
I see. Those are good choices.
What kinda music do you like?
Well... I like normal stuff, so I think our tastes are probably the same.
As I sit my phone back down, I recieve another text, this time from Shizuko.
"...What the fuck is this?" I ask myself as I see the slew of texts she just sent me.
Momoyodou Pavilion x Kivotos Strawberry Heaven campaign begins!
Strawberry rice cakes! Strawberry pastries! Strawberry yatsuhashi! And strawberry anmitsu!
Taste Momoyodou's traditional strawberry-filled desserts from all around Kivotos!
One week from today! Come feast at the Strawberry Festival!
Show this text message for 10% off!
We'll be waiting for you at Momoyodou! Nyan!
...What the fuck? Really, Shizuko?
I thought I had spam blocked.
It's not spam, Sensei! There's an event at Momoyodou!
I'm going to give you the best treat ever!
Can you please come to see me?
I... think I'm free, so I'll swing by later.
Heehee. Yay! I'll be waiting!
Chuckling to myself, I get up and make my way to the Hyakkiyako district.
—————
"Oh, Sensei!" Shizuko cutely greets me as I enter the tea shop, Momoyodou. The place is surprisingly full, most booths and seats are filled, likely due to the strawberry even which started today, unlike what her text said. "Oops, I mean... Welcome, Master!'
"Uh, yeah... I'm here, like I said." I say, a bit awkward from the sudden maid persona.
"You look surprised. It's a shop tradition to refer to our customers as Master." She explains. "Why not order something off the menu? I recommend the strawberry anmitsu. But all of our other traditional desserts are just as good."
"I'm fine with the first one, I haven't had anmitsu in a long while." I say, as I sit down in a booth.
"Okay! Coming right up!" She says, before dashing to the kitchen.
Soon, she returns, bringing food to a neaby customer. "Here's the strawberry red bean bun set you ordered!"
"How do you recommend eating it, Shizuko?" Said customer asks.
"Oh! I know a special trick!" She says, excitedly. "If you take a sip of the tea along with a bite of the red bean bun, the tea's bitterness and the red bean's sweetness make a fantastic combination!" She finishes with a cute giggle.
"Wh-Whoa! Shizuko is so cute!" The customer says.
"Here's the strawberry rice cake set you ordered!" She says, bringing food to another person.
"Huh? This isn't what I ordered." The person says. "You're right that I ordered rice cakes, but this is yatsuhashi."
"Huh? Oh! I-I'm so sorry, Master!" Shizuko says, shakily, before looking apologetic. "I must have made a mistake. I'll have it out in a minute!"
Suddenly, the person chuckles. "It happened! One of Shizuko's famous scatterbrain moments! That look of concern on your face, your cheeks flushed red with embarrassment... You're so adorable!"
I get the feeling I should cull- I mean... throw some of these weirdos out. Honestly, it kinda feels like they're here for her and not the food...
"S-Stop. Don't tease me." Shizuko pouts cutely as she leaves with the mistaken order.
After a while, Shizuko eventually makes it back to my table. "Thank you for your patience, Master! Here's your order! Strawberry manju! The deluxe version!"
"But I ordered the anmitsu." I point out.
"Ah, I made another mistake!" She says, worried again, before, again, looking apologetic. "I-I'm so sorry, Master. I'll bring you what you ordered."
"Nah, it's fine. I'll stick with the manju. I can get the anmitsu some other time." I say, causing her to look even more worried than before.
"That's it?" She asks.
"Whaddya mean 'That's it'?" I ask, eyebrow raised.
"Okay, th-then I'll be right back with the next part of your order." She says happily, before walking off quickly.
Next part? What next part? I only ordered anmitsu...
A minute later, she comes back, but shouts. "Oh, Master! P-Please get out of the way! C-Coming through!" As I look over, I see her falling. Before she can get too far though, I've already jumped out of my seat and caught her and the tray of food she was carrying.
"You okay?" I ask.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine." She says.
"Good. You had me worried for a sec." I say, sitting back down.
"I-I'll bring your next order." She says, before rushing off again.
What the hell is she up to...?
Soon, she comes back with a drink while berating herself. "Stupid Shizuko! Stop making mistakes!"
"Huh?" I ask.
"Sensei, I mean, Master, I accidentally put hot sauce in the drink I made for you!" She says, covering her face with her hands.
"How does that even happen?" I ask, surprised.
"D-Do you still want it, Sensei?" She asks, peeking from between her hands. "Ah, Shizuko, you scatterbrain! I can't believe I did that!" She says, trying to be cute.
"I'm pretty resistant against capsaicin, so sure." I say with a shrug.
"S-Seriously?! That's it?!" She suddenly shouts.
"That's it." I say.
Suddenly, she gains a mean look on her face. "Gah! I can't take this anymore! Come with me, Sensei!" She suddenly grabs my arm and drags me to the back room of the tea shop.
"What do you think you're doing, Sensei?!" She shouts, her face close to mine.
"Trying to eat." I say, confused. "What are YOU trying to do?"
"What do you mean? I'm just... I'm the scatterbrain of Momoyodou! Everyone knows that." She says, like it explains everything. "I already told you on Momo Talk. Remember? Top notch service?"
"And 'top-notch' means acting like an idiot...?" I ask slowly.
"Exactly! The customers eat it up!" She says, proud for some reason. "That's my act and they love it!"
"I don't see why, it's kinda annoying." I say simply.
"Wha-?!" She shrieks. "A-Anyway, the cutsomers call me the Idol of Momoyodou! They find my mistakes charming, and I love seeing them smile. It's a win-win business model!" She suddenly looks very stern as she gets close to my face and jabs her finger into my chest with each word. "So, why. Isn't. It. Working. On. You?! I practiced all night to make you laugh today! I tried extra hard!"
Wait, that was rehearsed? Now I feel kinda bad. "I guess... I find the normal you cuter than that fake idiot everyone eats up." I say with a shrug.
Shizuko's cute face then lights up like a fucking christmas tree as she makes a truly shaken face, unlike the ones she made earlier.
"Gah! H-How can you say that so nonchalantly?!" She shouts.
"Natural talent." I joke, with a smile.
"You just want me to just act natural, Sensei?!" She says, pointing at me again.
I simply nod.
"You just want me to be me?!" She shouts, pointing again.
I nod again.
The brown haired girl sighs in defeat. "My true self does seem to come out more when I'm around you. I'm definitely not acting now."
"I still don't see why you're having to try to be cute, when you're super cute already." I say, teasing her a bit.
"You mean that...?" She asks, seriously.
"Yeah." I reply, seriously.
"I-I don't know what to say..." She says with a happy smile.
"Just say what you want, not what others want." I say, returning her smile.
Shizuko was in a better mood after our little conversation. She even gave me a bunch of traditional sweets on the house, which was nice of her.
Eventually, though, I bid the cute girl farewell.
—————
As I left the tea shop, Shizuko texted me shortly after.
It didn't work out this time, but I'm going to try again! With my scatterbrained charm!
I don't think being stupid is charming.
You just watch and see!
...Reminds me of a meme I saw once: God, I just love when girls are retarded.
Shaking my head, I begin my trek back to Schale.
—————
As I neared home, I saw Kayoko walking down the street, lost in thought with her head down.
"Yo, Kayoko!" I call out to her, but she keeps walking.
"Kayoko...?" I ask, looking closer.
Suddenly, I hear her hum. Looking down, I see she has earbuds in. I tap her on the shoulder, causing her to jolt. "...Huh? Sensei?" She asks, taking out an earbud and pausing the song on her phone. "Sorry, I was listening to music."
"It's fine, I just was wantin' to say hello." I say. "What're you listening to?"
She smiles. "My favorite band's newest single. It's awesome! I put it on loop when I'm walking to and from school."
"Must be a banger." I say with a chuckle.
"You wanna listen too?" She says, holding out the earbud.
"Sure." I say, putting it in.
As she hits play, my eardrums are assaulted by heavy metal. And I mean HEAVY.
"DEATH'S RELEASE IS ALL I NEED! SURVIVAL IS A POINTLESS PLEA! RIP OUT THE HEART OF YOUR ENEMY, DRINK THEIR BLOOD IN ECSTASY!"
"Damn." I say, pulling out the earbud.
"Catchy, right?" Kayoko asks. "It's a new song from a heavy metal band called Black Death Poison."
"Sounds more like death metal or maybe even black metal rather than just heavy metal." I observe. "Though those guitars were more reminiscent of thrash metal than anything."
My observation seems to impress the monochrome haired girl. "They were on hiatus for a while. I started getting worried when I heard rumors about them breaking up. But they're back, and they released another absolute banger. Though, maybe you don't think the lyrics are educational or whatever."
"Nah, I don't care about the lyrics. Sing what you want." I shrug.
"Seriously?" She asks, surprised. "Well, even if you did, you'd be wrong!"
"Hm?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Black Death Poison's songs might sound violent, but they draw on all kinds of important life lessons. Listen to their debut album and you'll see what I mean." She says.
"You're real passionate about this, huh? All right, I'll give 'em a listen later." I say, drawing a happy smile from the punk girl.
We talked about music, mostly her recommending stuff to me, for a while, before we parted ways.
I wonder if I can somehow bring music from Earth here...?
As I ponder, I get a text from Hina.
Sensei. About today...
Hina. Have you been taking breaks?
Not recently.
Truth be told, I was up all night.
Well, it's nice out today, you wanna go for a walk?
You know, get your mind off stuff?
A walk?
U-Um...
Now?
I don't see why not? I'm already out and about.
Oh... Okay. Maybe just for a little while.
Thus, the two of us decide to meet in a park near Gehenna.
—————
As I sit on a bench, waiting for Hina, I look around. In the distance are skyscrapers and the like, but here? A nice, crystal clear lake sits in front of me. Interestingly, behind me is a forest of pink trees that look like sakura trees, but much larger. Were they brought from Hyakkiyako?
"...Hi, Sensei." A small voice calls out.
"Hi, Hin-AH?!" I all but shout upon seeing the short prefect leader's face. "You look kinda pissed. What's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh." She then relaxes her face. "My apologies, I did mention I was up all night doing work. I still haven't slept, and I have bags under my eyes. Not to mention my hair is a mess since I didn't wash it. It's your fault for asking me to meet you like this!" She says, pointing at me.
"Oh hush." I say with a smile, before dropping it. "But seriously, you HAVE to start takin' better care of yourself, Hina. You look like you're about to fall over, for Christ's sake!" She steps back a bit, eyes wide with surprise. "Now sit." I order, patting the bench.
"Well... the weather IS nice today..." She says, before sighing in defeat and sitting down next to me.
"Hmm." Hina made a small noise after a moment of sitting. After another minute or so, Hina suddenly jumps to her feet. "Nope. This isn't doing it for me."
"Huh? Whaddya mean?" I ask.
Hina, with a blush on her face, in a bold course of action, suddenly sits down in my lap. I jolt as I raise my arms slightly in surprise.
"I, uh... What are...?" I ask, struggling to form a sentence.
Her small body rests upon my lap. Her hair, despite supposedly not being washed smells of strawberries. Wonder what brand shampoo she uses?
The short girl then chuckles to herself. "Something about this is so unsettling, but... it's still comfortable."
"Thanks, I guess." I say, still a bit shaken by this course of action.
"Oh, what's this?" A slow voice asks. Turning to see the voice's origin, I see...
"Hoshino? What are you doin' here?" I ask.
"I was coming to buy a book. Truth be told, I was thinking of inviting you, but it looks like you were busy." She says, averting her gaze from Hina.
"You are... Takanashi Hoshino...?" Hina asks the other short girl.
"That's me." The pink haired girl says, nonchalantly.
"You seem... different than I last heard." The prefect leader says.
"Yeah, well... a lot can happen in a few years." Hoshino says with a shrug. "You're different than I expected too, Miss Head Prefect." She says with a sly grin.
"What do you mean?" Hina asks, confused.
"Well~" Hoshino says with a teasing voice. "I always thought you were the stoic, straight-laced type, but here you are, sitting in Sensei's lap." Hina then tenses up in my lap, as the pink haired girl's grin seems to widen. "Is there something between you and Sensei I should know about?"
"Huh?!" Hina shrieks, standing to her feet quicker than I believed she could. "No, there's nothing going on between me and Sensei!"
"Oh, really? Then why were you in Sensei's lap?" The pink haired girl teases.
"Well, that's... uh..." The white haired girl stutters.
"Okay, okay. Enough o' that." I say as I stand up, shutting them down. "Hina was just takin' a break since she's been overworking herself."
"Oh." Hoshino says simply, a tad surprised. "But why was she in your lap?"
I merely shrug as I see Hina clearly wanting to sprint away from sheer embarrassment. "Anyways, you said you were going to buy a book?"
"Yeah. The one I'm looking for isn't available back at Abydos." The pink haired girl says.
"I'm surprised you were willing to come out this far." I observe. "Hina, you up for a trip to the bookstore?" I ask.
"You want me to come with?" The white haired girl asks, surprised.
"I don't see why not." I say simply.
The horned girl remains silent for a moment. "Very well. If you'll have me."
"Then let's go." I say. Hoshino merely shrugs as the two short girls and I begin to walk to a nearby bookstore.
—————
After walking around a small mall for a while, Hoshino bought the book she was looking for. Hina looked at a few books, at least.
"Thanks for showing me a good time today, Sensei." Hoshino says happily. "Abydos is out in the countryside, so it's hard to find new editions like this."
"What book did you buy, anyway?" Hina asks, politely.
Hoshino grins and holds out the book with a dramtic flourish, moving closer to the other girl, causing her to reel back.. "Ta-da! It's the special edition of Water Lovers Monthly! It comes with a hardcover codex for two thousand types of tropical fish! And it's only one-thousand yen for all that information! They're practically GIVING it away!"
"F-Fish...?" The white haired girl asks, stupefied with her purple eyes widened from the other girl's sudden closeness and speed of talking.
"I can't wait to take a peek at it!" The pink haired girl says happily. "Let's find a place to sit inside. Anywhere will do!" She then runs off, looking for a seat.
I just look down at Hina and shrug, her face just as confused as mine.
—————
We eventually catch up with her and stop at a cafe inside the mall. All three of us order simple drinks while Hoshino happily reads her book, sat in the booth next to me.
Hina is sat opposite us. She doesn't seem tired anymore, either. Perhaps the prefect girl is having a bit of fun.
"Wow, would you look at that? An article about how to raise your very own sea urchins." The girl with multi-colored eyes says, her eyes pratically glued to her book. "I heard that saltwater aquariums are really hard to maintain, though. Hmm."
"You really like fish, huh?" I ask, more to myself. She was obsessed with those fish stickers, after all.
"Well, I do want to keep some for myself... but I'm happy just looking at them." The pink haired girl says, before she jolts, realizing something. "It's kind of childish... isn't it? It's not as though a lot of people my age have this kind of hobby..."
"Nah. Hobbies have nothing to do with age." I say, causing both girls attention to perk up to me. "I remember seeing an article about an eighty year old man playing a diffcult video game every day to keep his mind sharp."
"R-Really?" Hoshino asks, bewildered by the story.
"The tag-line for the series is 'Prepare to Die'. Death isn't the end, it's just a game mechanic." I say, seriously. "I haven't played those games in a long time, either. I wonder if I can somehow get them to Kivotos..." I say to myself, rubbing my chin in thought.
"I'm... not very interested in video games, but... I would like to see what kind of games interest you, Sensei." Hina says, her face red with a small smile.
"Yeah, I bet you play all kinds of cool stuff." Hoshino says smiling as well. She then stops when she turns a page and something falls out.
"Hm? Wazzat?" I ask.
"Oh! There's a scratch-off ticket here!" The pink haired girl says, holding the ticket. " 'Aquarium Grand Opening Celebration. Free Admission Ticket for up to thirty people.' " She reads off, eyes widening in anticipation with each word. "...Wh-Whaaat?! I-Is this what I think it is?!"
"Seems like it." I say, leaning over to read the ticket.
"Isn't an aquarium a...?" She trails off, her brain clearly not working if she's asking what an aquarium is.
"A place with lots of fish, yes." I say, finishing her sentence.
"They have all kinds of fish?!" She asks, excitedly grabbing my shirt and getting close to my face. In the corner of my eye, I see Hina jolt, her eyes wide.
"That they do." I say with a smile.
Hoshino then releases me, as she holds the tickets like they're the most precious and fragile thing in existence. "S-So, this is saying we could win tickets worth fifteen thousand-yen each?"
Looking over at the tickets again to re-read them, I see the part about the tickets worth. "Yeah. Looks that'a way."
"All I have to do is scratch off this lottery ticket...? Wait a second! I-I need a coin..." Hoshino asks, clearly anxious. Reaching into my pocket, I hand her a coin I found on the ground as I went to meet Hina.
"Here."
She takes the coin gratefully. "S-Sensei! Hina! Wish me luck!" Hina's eyes widen to the side.
"Go for it!" I say, hopeful.
"G-Good luck." Hina says, awkwardly, due to being included so suddenly.
The pink haired girl then furiously scratches the tickets "Oh."
"Oh?" I ask.
"Did you win?" Hina asks.
"I didn't..." Hoshino says, sadly. "Haah... I knew it was too good to be true." She then, now downtrodden, moves to leave. "All right. Let's go, Sensei. Today was still a pretty good day. I got to walk around with you and Miss Head Prefect, and bought the book I wanted!" She says with a sad smile.
I make a decision. A snap decision. A sudden one. But not a stupid one.
"All right, then." I say, standing up. "But there's one more stop for us."
"Huh?" The white haired girl asks, getting up as well.
"Wh-Where are we going?" The pink haired girl asks, eyes wide in confusion.
I just keep walking and motion for them to follow.
I'm getting those tickets!
—————
"Where is he...?" Hoshino asks herself she attempts to follow her Sensei, who is walking off rather quickly.
She turns her head as she hears a quiet sigh. "He's always doing things like this..." The head prefect says. Even though those words would make her seem annoyed, she has a small smile on her face. "We should probably catch up with him."
"Miss Head Prefect?" Hoshino asks.
"And stop calling me that. Hina is fine." The girl from Gehenna says, averting her gaze from the other girl. "Come on." She says, walking away.
Hoshino just chuckles and follows.
They eventually reach their Sensei, sitting on a bench outside the bookstore, with a stack of the fish magazine next to him. Hoshino and Hina both stare on with wide eyes as he fishes through the magazines for the tickets, scratching them off with his thumbnail, having given his only coin to Hoshino.
"Sensei, are you trying to...?" The pink haired girl asks slowly, almost in shock.
"I ain't gonna give up so easy." He declares, before pointing at her dramatically. "I'm gonna get you those damn tickets if it's the last thing I do!" He then goes back to scratching the tickets with furiousness and wild abandon.
Hoshino lets out a chuckle. "If you insist! You're the boss here, so who am I to say no? I'm going to win that prize, even if it takes thirty tickets to do it!" She declares, sitting down next to them, beginning to help scratch the tickets off.
Hina stares on, surprised by this turn of events. 'But, really, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. This is Sensei, we're talking about.' She thinks to herself, before pulling out a coin and helping them.
Hoshino looks up at the prefect girl and smiles, the other girl not noticing this.
—————
I then won the tickets on the thirty-eighth magazine. I'll probably just donate these magazines to a library or something.
Er... Tomorrow. The sun's starting to set, after all.
The three of us then left the mall, with me holding a big bag of magazines, now ticket-less.
"Sensei." Hoshino says suddenly, as the three of us exit the mall.
"Yeah?" I ask, looking down at her.
"Thank you for this. It... It means a lot." She admits shyly, her face red and gaze averted.
"You're welcome, Hoshino." I say. "And thanks for coming with us, Hina. I know you're tired."
"Not, it's fine. I... I had fun." She says with a soft voice and a small smile.
"I'm glad, then. Welp." I say, popping the p. "I guess I'll see y'all around."
"Goodbye, Sensei." Hina says softly.
"Later, Sensei." Hoshino says, happily.
Sure, I spent quite a bit of money on these books, but...
Hoshino's smile made it more than worth it.
—————
The two girls stand and watch the retreating form of their Sensei grow smaller and smaller.
"Seriously... that guy." Hoshino says, shaking her head with a smile. "I suppose you'll be heading back to Gehenna."
"Yes. I... I ought to get that rest Sensei wanted me to." Hina admits, a bit embarrassed. "You're going back to Abydos?"
"Yeah. And, uh... thanks for helping us, Hina." The pink haired girl says with a smile, surprising the slightly shorter girl.
"Well... you're welcome, Hoshino." Hina says, gratefully.
"And hey, if you ever want to hang out, text me or something." Hoshino says, surprising the white haired girl once more.
"A-Are you sure?" Hina asks, stuttering.
"I don't see why not? People could always use more friends." Hoshino says.
'She... truly has changed...' Hina thinks to herself, surprised by the actions of this Hoshino. The Hoshino she had heard of was a stoic, elite student, but... this girl certainly wasn't that. Not any longer. 'It makes sense, considering what she went through...'
"All right, then. Sensei already texts me whenever, so why not?" Hina says, relenting with a tired sigh.
Hoshino's smile grows, before she suddenly glomps the slightly shorter girl. "Thanks Hina!"
"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" Hina asks, eyes wide and face red.
"Hugging you." Hoshino says like it's natural.
"But, wh-what if someone..." Hina trails off.
"Oh?" Hoshino asks, teasingly, before releasing her new friend. "Afraid someone will think we're an item? I didn't know the Head Prefect swung that way~"
"Wh-What?! No!" Hina denies. "I don't swing that way!"
Hoshino laughs. "I believe you. Especially after how I found you and Sensei earlier." She says, causing the white haired girl's blush to grow three times instantly.
Hina looks like she's going to snap, what with her wide eyes, gaping mouth and shaking body. "I won't tell anyone, promise." Hoshino says, giggling and walking away.
"GAH!" Hina shouts as she begins to walk back to Gehenna, frustrated, but awake enough to forget about her exhaustion, at least until she returns home.
'I suppose I'll have to delegate some paperwork to Ako...' The prefect thinks to herself as she begins the trek home.
—————
On her way home, Hoshino chuckles to herself. 'She's so easy to tease...'
She then hums to herself. 'Sensei...'
'I wonder if...'
'...'
'No, probably not.'
'But...'
'...'
'Even if that's the case...'
'I suppose I'll just ask him when the time comes.'
—————
Late in the evening, I plopped back down in my desk chair, a bit tired from my excursions.
As I relaxed in my seat, my phone pinged, signaling that someone sent me a text.
"Oh. It's from Hoshino?"
Wow, today was so amazing.
I like the way you're determined to win. Is that part of being an adult? I'd like to learn that myself. Hmm.
Nah, I'm fairly sure that's a skill anyone could have.
Still, we could have just used that money to buy a ticket, though.
It's the principle of the thing. There's principalities in this.
Heeheehee. Is that so? Well, anyway.
Thanks, Sensei.
You're welcome.
The phone showed Hoshino was typing another text, but she was hesistant, or perhaps re-writing it a lot, at it took about a minute or two to send.
Hey, so, do you wanna come with me to the aquarium some time? I have two tickets...
If you'd like to have me, I'll free up my schedule.
Yeah?
...Heehee!
You promise?
Tell me when we can go, Sensei!
Upon some investigation (read: a google search), I found out they don't open the aquarium for another week. We've got some time, I suppose.
As I went to get up from my desk, I got another text.
"And Hina this time."
Sensei...
...
Thank you for today.
I had fun.
I'm glad to hear that. Now get some sleep.
Very well.
Good night, Sensei.
Sweet dreams, Hina.
Pocketing my phone, I finally get up.
I'm a bit hungry. Wonder what I should make for dinner. But... I can't decide.
Hmm...
"Hey Arona, what should I cook tonight?"
—————
AN
Hoshino and Hina are two of the best girls. Fite me.
Next time, we start a little something special. That's right, I'm throwing a curveball!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!