The light suddenly drained from Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes, and then she yanked Tsushima Kagami by the collar.
"Say that again!"
Haha, she's flustered, she's flustered!
If smartphones were a thing right now, Tsushima Kagami would absolutely have to fire off a Tom-and-Jerry-slapping-his-leg.jpg sticker.
At this point, Tsushima Kagami got ready to nonchalantly pry Hiraya Shizuka's hand away from his collar.
He pressed with a bit of force.
Hm?
A bit more force.
Eh?
He kept pushing.
"Um, Koharu, could you let go? I'm having a little trouble breathing!"
Tsushima Kagami looked at Hiraya Shizuka, who was at this moment beaming brightly back at him.
"Sigh — can we make up?"
"I... I take back what I just said."
Only then did Hiratsuka Shizuka, still smiling sweetly, withdraw the hand that had been gripping his collar.
And then gently smoothed out the wrinkles she'd pulled up.
"Oh my, Kagami, really now."
"Even if we are good buddies, you can't go saying things like that, you know~"
Who would have thought that the Hiratsuka Shizuka who could send people flying with one punch in the anime already had this kind of monstrous strength back in high school?
I'd underestimated the heroes of the world.
You know — she's a lady, you know!
"Ahaha, I get it, I get it."
Hiratsuka Shizuka also smiled and patted Tsushima Kagami's collar.
Hard to tell whether she was pleased with his answer, or with the wrinkles she'd already smoothed out to invisibility.
Just then, the boss came over with two bowls of ramen, beaming a smile of his own.
Steaming hot, the fragrance hitting their noses.
"Here you go — special tonkotsu, with extra egg! Enjoy!"
My mouth is watering!
The two of them picked up their chopsticks and started eating.
The shop was very quiet, with only the slurp-slurp sound of noodles being eaten.
After a while, Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly spoke up.
"Kagami." "Mm?"
"Why did you... think to walk me home today?"
Tsushima Kagami stopped his chopsticks and thought about it for a moment.
"Because you looked like you weren't very happy."
Hiratsuka Shizuka froze.
"When we passed by each other a moment ago."
Tsushima Kagami said.
"That look in your eyes — it gave me the feeling... that you had something you wanted to say, but didn't."
Hiratsuka Shizuka lowered her head and looked at the noodles in her bowl.
"So this is Kagami taking pity on me?"
Tsushima Kagami also set down his bowl and chopsticks, looked at Hiraya Shizuka, and said with a smile.
"Is there really anywhere about Koharu that needs my pity?"
"If it's not pity, then what is it?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka pressed on.
"Because we're buddies, of course!"
"When a buddy's unhappy, isn't it only right to keep them company?"
"Naturally — a buddy can never become a wife!"
"There you go again!"
"All right, all right, I'll stop — eat your noodles!"
Tsushima Kagami hurriedly turned his head and resumed eating his ramen.
With him cracking jokes around like this, Hiratsuka Shizuka also felt her mood become inexplicably much lighter.
Hiratsuka Shizuka was silent for a little while.
Then she softly said a single line.
"Thank you."
Tsushima Kagami shook his head.
"What's there to thank? We're buddies."
"Don't tack that second part on again!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka hurriedly stressed.
Then she smiled and went back to slurping up her noodles.
"Making noise while you eat noodles really sounds awful!"
Tsushima Kagami bumped Hiratsuka Shizuka's shoulder.
"What do you know — loudly slurping your noodles is the highest acknowledgment and tribute one can pay to the ramen the master crafted!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka shoulder-bumped him right back.
Once they'd finished their noodles, the two of them walked out of the shop.
The night had grown deeper, and the foot traffic on the streets had visibly started to thin out.
The wind was a bit strong, snapping at the hems of their clothes with a rustling sound.
Because of tonight's Livehouse performance, she had changed into the stage outfit she'd brought along before leaving school, which now made her look somewhat thinly dressed.
Tsushima Kagami took off his uniform jacket and draped it over Hiraya Shizuka.
Walking ahead, Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly felt a wave of warmth wrap around her.
Only then did she realize that Tsushima Kagami had given her his jacket.
"Thanks."
Without bothering with much politeness, she pulled Tsushima Kagami's jacket a little closer around herself.
And so the two of them walked, once more in silence, along the street that led home.
"Lately..."
Tsushima Kagami once again broke the quiet atmosphere.
"Mm?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka also turned to him curiously.
"Haven't seen you smoke much lately, have I?"
"Have you quit?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka gave a little smile.
"Well, wasn't it Kagami who said smoking makes your teeth yellow, your breath stink, and is bad for your health, too?"
"So after giving it some thought, I figured it'd be best to just quit."
"I didn't realize you were the kind of person who cared so much about other people's opinions!"
Tsushima Kagami widened his eyes at Hiraya Shizuka.
"What are you talking about? I just felt it really had some merit, that's all."
"It's not like I care about anyone's opinion!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka hurriedly said.
"Oh~?"
"So, did you quit?"
Tsushima Kagami also smiled and pressed on.
"Oh my, sort of..."
"A little bit, I guess."
Hiratsuka Shizuka said with a touch of embarrassment.
"What's a 'little bit' supposed to mean?"
Tsushima Kagami pressed further.
Hiratsuka Shizuka thought for a moment.
"I'm trying not to smoke at school anymore."
"That really isn't your style, is it."
Hearing Tsushima Kagami say that, Hiratsuka Shizuka knit her brow.
"What? Wasn't it you who wanted me to stop smoking?"
"Oh my, that is indeed the case."
"But I never thought to force you, either."
After all, you've been a chain-smoker for ages now.
Tsushima Kagami once again thought of the nearly-thirty Hiratsuka Shizuka from the anime.
He felt that making Hiratsuka Shizuka quit smoking and the like wasn't all that realistic.
Sure, this was a parallel world now, but what if some kind of world-line correction kicked in?
Thinking that, Tsushima Kagami patted Hiraya Shizuka's shoulder with a smile and said.
"If you can quit, that's best; if you can't, it doesn't really matter either."
"The most important thing about being alive is being happy."
Tsushima Kagami thought back to when he himself had been ill — the doctor's orders saying you can't eat this, can't eat that.
And hadn't he gone right ahead and eaten them anyway, unable to hold himself back?
Health and the like — it simply couldn't compare to a craving on the tongue.
Things he himself couldn't even pull off, there was no need to harshly demand others pull off.
As long as they didn't affect anyone else, it was the person's own choice.
And so Tsushima Kagami continued.
"Aren't there those good girls out there who perm their hair, get tattoos, smoke, drink, and live to ninety-nine all the same?"
"So long as it doesn't affect anyone else, it's fine."
"You do have a point, but the way you put it."
"Why do I just keep feeling annoyed!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka said with her brow furrowed.
"Haha, anyway, no need to take what I say too seriously."
"As long as you're happy!"
Tsushima Kagami said, waving his hand.
"All right, all right."
"I'll do my best to keep at it on my own — I don't need you saying it!"
"Then I'll wish you success."
Tsushima Kagami said with a smile of his own.
The two of them came to a halt in their footsteps as well.
"I'm home."
Hiratsuka Shizuka said.
Tsushima Kagami looked at the tower building in front of them, which was plainly a great deal more upscale than his own apartment in Bunkyo Ward.
"That's really nice."
"Living in such a high-end tower."
Hearing that, Hiratsuka Shizuka also smiled.
"Then how about coming up to my place for a bit?"
"My place is pretty big."
"I live there all by myself."
"Next time."
"It's too late — Shizuku is still waiting for me back at home."
"And I can still make the last train if I leave now."
Tsushima Kagami said after glancing at his watch.
"I see."
Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes plainly carried a touch of disappointment.
"Then, thank you for walking me home."
"Be careful on the way."
Having said that, Hiratsuka Shizuka also gave a bow.
"All right — I'll watch you go up, and then I'll head to the subway station."
Tsushima Kagami waved his hand with a smile.
Hiratsuka Shizuka also nodded, turned, and walked toward the building's keycode-locked door.
Then she turned back once again to look at Tsushima Kagami.
"Actually, once it passes midnight, it'll be my birthday."
____
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