Ichinose first ran over to Sakayanagi's dorm and knocked for a while.
When no one answered, she finally pulled out her phone, only to smack her own forehead in mild regret the moment she took it out.
"I totally forgot… I could've just invited Sakayanagi-san by phone. Why did I have to come all the way here in person…"
But it was already too late. By now, Yukio and Matsushita had already set out to look for a suitable viewing spot large enough for most of the first-years to sit and enjoy the blossoms.
…
Strolling across campus, Yukio had long since guessed what Matsushita was up to. He gave her a sidelong, amused look.
"Ichinose and Sakayanagi are both on the student council. They've already exchanged contact info, and they get along pretty well."
"Even though she could've just contacted Sakayanagi by phone, you were the one who insisted on having Ichinose go invite her in person. Were you deliberately sending Ichinose away?"
"As expected, I can't hide anything from you, Yukio-kun~"
Matsushita didn't look flustered in the slightest at being called out. Instead, she seemed completely at ease, happily walking beneath the early-blooming cherry trees at Yukio's side.
"I just wanted to walk under the cherry blossoms alone with you, that's all."
This was what Matsushita had wished for, and to her, it was the most romantic thing in the world.
Clusters of blossoms pressed against the branches, light as drifting clouds, white as fresh snow.
Blessed by the dancing April petals, the crisscrossing paths of the school were suddenly soaked in the warmth of spring.
Their delicate forms swayed in the spring breeze, and when the wind turned playful, it whisked the blossoms up as though they were naughty children, trying to use them to hide the sky.
But the wind wasn't strong enough to keep them aloft. Unable to bear them all the way to the heavens, it could only lay them gently down on the earth, where they crumbled into spring soil.
It made one think of the reeds beyond the railing, tonight's moonlight, and these cherry blossoms of the moment—I hope you get to have them all.
Matsushita gazed ahead, entranced by the cascade of petals—forever drifting up and then falling again like a miracle waterfall flowing in reverse, or a rain that brought no trouble at all, only beauty.
The scene was so moving that she couldn't help stretching out a hand and stopping for a couple of seconds, waiting.
A single tiny petal landed in her palm.
"Hey, Yukio-kun, did you know—?"
"I do."
Yukio also turned his gaze to the small petal resting in her palm and, before she could even finish asking, answered:
"Five centimeters per second."
"Eh? W-what?"
Matsushita blinked in confusion. Whatever she was thinking of and whatever he was thinking of were clearly two completely different things. It was like they were… chatting across servers.
"Isn't that what you were going to say?" Yukio was a little thrown himself. Seeing the way she caught the petal and the way she asked him, he naturally assumed that's what she meant.
"The falling speed of a cherry petal. It's five centimeters per second."
Matsushita froze for a beat, then relaxed into a soft laugh. She gently folded her fingers, cupping the petal between her hands.
"So there's a saying like that too. Yukio-kun really is full of knowledge~"
"…"
Yukio wasn't sure if that particular trivia really counted as full of knowledge.
"Ahem. So what were you actually going to say, Matsushita?"
Only then did Matsushita remember her original line. Her pretty face, tinted faintly pink by the cherry blossoms, deepened by just a shade.
"It's one of our legends."
"As long as you watch the spring cherry blossoms with the boy you like, then watch the summer fireworks together, then the autumn red maples, and finally the winter snow—you'll be able to live happily together forever."
"Yukio-kun… would you be willing to watch the fireworks with me in summer, the maples in autumn, and the snow in winter?"
I said it!
I really said it!!!
Matsushita forced herself to endure the violent pounding of her heart, cupping the petal in both hands as she looked nervously up at him.
It was as if that tiny cherry petal could lend her the slightest bit of courage and keep her from retreating now.
She didn't want to keep pushing things back. After their date not long ago, Yukio hadn't made anything clear. Was she just supposed to keep waiting? Or keep asking him out?
Neither was good enough.
If she wanted something, then she should reach out for it. Matsushita wasn't the type to stand around foolishly in one spot, waiting.
That was why she'd immediately agreed when Ichinose invited them to go flower-viewing together. She wanted to be part of this event.
And after seeing Yukio, she'd found a way to send Ichinose off on an errand, all so she could seize her chance.
Yukio was a little stunned.
He had just been thinking about how, back home, April Fools' differed from how it was here—how it was tied to confessions—and right then, Matsushita had suddenly confessed.
This talk of seeing the best sights of all four seasons together—every region had some variation of that. But at the core, it was clearly a confession.
Was she planning to tack on a "Happy April Fools'" afterwards?
No. He couldn't think of it that way. That would be stepping all over her feelings.
He remembered the sketches Matsushita had drawn for him. There was no way that kind of sincerity was just an April Fools' joke.
"Matsushita, you know about Hiyori and Ibuki too, don't you?"
Just like before, he wasn't going to list everyone, but he at least had to lay out the basics: the two most central people, so Matsushita could understand what his relationship situation actually looked like.
"Oh my, I think you've misunderstood, Yukio-kun."
Matsushita didn't act surprised at all; it was as if she'd anticipated this, exuding a quiet confidence that everything was already accounted for in her plans.
"When I said I wanted to watch the fireworks, maples, and snow with you… I didn't mean I wanted to wedge myself into whatever you have with Shiina-san and Ibuki-san."
"Hmm?"
Now Yukio was really interested. He looked straight into her eyes, as if he could peer through that window to her heart and see what she was truly thinking.
But Matsushita only maintained that refined little smile of hers, giving nothing away.
"It's simple, really. The thing I'm best at isn't unifying a class. It's not leading people into battle either. The thing I'm best at is knowing my own limits."
"I know I was never cut out to be the one who holds the class together. I only stepped out of hiding because Class D's situation left me no choice."
"And I know I'm not suited to leading my classmates in a fight. I still have to rely on Horikita for a lot of that."
"So of course I also know that—leaving Ibuki-san aside for now—when it comes to your heart, there's no way I can compete with Shiina-san."
"Since that's the case, instead of diving recklessly into the fray, I'd rather stay properly outside and keep my own balance~"
"In the future, I can tutor your children in art, music, even dance if you'd like."
"Wouldn't it be nice if I were the kind of home tutor who occasionally spends the night at your place, or occasionally invites Yukio-kun over to talk about children education?"
"I'm sure, when the time comes, Yukio-kun wouldn't turn down a family tutor like me—someone you already know inside and out, someone you can trust to foster your children's education~"
Yukio actually widened his eyes.
Matsushita's thinking was even wilder than Kiryuin's.
Kiryuin had also chosen to stay out of direct competition—but that didn't mean she had any fewer designs on him.
And this whole "home tutor" angle… it actually sounded… kind of good.
....
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