"Hmm…" Yuzuru's gaze fell on the students doing relay races on the field, and after a moment of thought, she slowly said, "It's been… almost a month, hasn't it?"
The seating area buzzed with noise, and the participating classes below shouted 'Victory' slogans so loudly that it made their ears numb.
In the distance, the broadcast speaker occasionally blared 'Contestants, please gather' before crackling and cutting out.
"Almost a month? So that's shortly before our School Trip?" Tsuna recalled.
"Then how exactly did you meet?"
Ajitani, who had just returned to the spectator stands, immediately squeezed into the conversation, wrapping her arm around Yuzuru and pulling her into a hug.
This sudden movement startled her, but Tsuna seemed to have noticed it long ago, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.
Tsuna asked curiously, "He's three grades above you. How do you two usually talk to each other? Isn't there a generation gap?"
"We talk about novels, games, mostly those things," Yuzuru's voice buzzed like a mosquito, and her little head quietly lowered:
"As for how we met…"
If the truth were told, she was afraid she wouldn't escape Onii-san and her sister's nagging and lecturing; her sister might even get physical…
"What's wrong? Is there something you can't say?" Tsuna opened his eyes and looked at her. He sensed the guilt in Yuzuru's words.
An unreliable thought inexplicably popped into his mind: It couldn't be that two young girls met because of some embarrassing topic, could it?
"He… he just treated me to snacks for two days, and I accepted him as a friend."
"…" Tsuna withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes again.
"Just… just that?" Ajitani didn't believe it.
"Yeah, he just treated me to snacks for two days, and then he'd treat me once every few days," Yuzuru started counting on her fingers:
"But at the beginning of the month, as soon as Mom gives me my allowance, I immediately treat him back!"
She lifted her small face, as if she was talking about something very proud.
"Little Yuzuru, have you ever thought about one thing?"
"What?" Yuzuru looked at Ajitani with a puzzled expression.
"That is, never eat things given by strangers!"
"I… I had Hachiko… Hachiko test it for poison before I ate it…"
"…"
Ajitani's stern little face, as she lectured Yuzuru, looked quite fierce in her eyes.
But to the male students around, who were trying to deal with adults while secretly glancing over, her bristling kitten-like appearance made them pause.
After a while, it was their class's turn for the relay race. The broadcast speaker began to call out the participating classes and told them to gather at the starting point on the field.
Nishikata was one of them. He walked off the field amidst cheers, while continuously encouraging himself in his heart.
… … … … …
In the co-ed relay race, Nishikata, Takagi, Kitano, Tanaka, and Rinko participated.
Nishikata took the baton and bib, then quickly ran to his starting line and stood ready. Four other figures beside him were already crouched, poised to go.
His whole body was tense, thinking about how to coolly overtake them in Takagi-san's eyes and make Takagi-san admire him.
"Slap!"
A hand suddenly smacked the back of his neck, sending his nervousness and fantasies flying!
Nishikata turned his head in confusion and saw Takagi-san standing beside him, her lips curved into a smile.
"Good luck, Nishikata-kun!"
Her voice trailed off for a long time, and before leaving, she even gave him a special one-eyed wink.
"!!!"
"Contestants, take your positions immediately! The race is about to begin!"
He felt as if the entire world had fallen silent, the surrounding noisy sounds and the loudspeaker seeming to instantly vanish from his world.
… … …
"Ready!!"
"Bang!!"
"Damn it! Is Nishikata possessed?? Everyone else has started running, but he's still standing there!"
"I report! I report! We have a mole in our class!"
"Nishikata!! What the hell are you doing?!"
… … … …
As soon as the relay race ended, their class, as expected, came in last.
"Takagi-chan, did you do something to Nishikata back then?" As soon as Takagi returned to her seat, Ajitani couldn't help but lean over and start asking.
At the same time, two others nearby were also perking up their ears to listen.
"N-No,"
As Takagi recalled that wink she'd given, her earlobes began to feel hot, and her voice unconsciously started to stammer:
"I just casually cheered him on…"
She really just wanted to cheer him on at the time, but she didn't expect… it went overboard…
— — — — — —
Two events remained for the morning.
Tug-of-war. Two classes competed, with everyone participating, not a single person left out.
Even Nanase-sensei changed into a gym uniform and joined in, which was a surprise for them.
Cavalry Battle. Three to four people formed a "horse" (base), with one person acting as the "rider" on their shoulders.
The goal was to snatch the opposing rider's hat or pull them off the horse.
In this event, Tsuna took the lead, snatching the most hats, though Nishikata and the two others who were his "horse" were nearly exhausted by the end.
After these events, it was noon, and Tsuna's drowsiness had been dispelled by the previous activities.
After lunch break, only two events remained before the closing ceremony, but the most important thing now was lunch.
… … … … …
"For lunch, where do you want to eat?" Tsuna looked at the two sisters walking beside him.
Ajitani's and the other two families' parents had brought bento boxes and enthusiastically invited Tsuna and the other two to eat with them, but all three declined with a wave of their hands.
Yuzuru: "Anywhere."
Shouko: "Whatever you want, as long as it's what Tsuna wants to eat, I'll like it."
"…"
Tsuna didn't respond immediately, continuing to lead the two girls out of the school. He had already decided: they would eat at the first restaurant he saw outside the school gate.
Ultimately, the three chose a tonkotsu ramen shop.
Pushing open the door, there were already many students and parents inside, a busy and laughing kitchen manager, and a waitress serving dishes with a stern little face.
"Not inviting your friend to join us?"
While waiting for their noodles, Tsuna casually asked Yuzuru, who was playing on her phone across from him.
"I asked," Yuzuru looked up at him, "He said he'd just grab something from the convenience store, and I didn't push it."
"Yuzuru, your new friend?" Shouko asked, puzzled.
She was the first to know about Yuzuru's new friend; they had sisterly late-night talks almost every half-month.
However, she hadn't asked whether the friend was male or female.
"Mhm."
"Will you introduce us to him this afternoon?"
"That… I'll ask him if he agrees…"
When the three bowls of noodles were served, the conversation ended there.
When they returned to the spectator stands, Ajitani and the others had already finished lunch. The three sets of parents were gathered, chatting, with occasional laughter, and sometimes they would all look at one of the children.
"This afternoon is 'Two-Legged Race' and 'Borrowing Race.' They're both fun events, so relax, okay?" Ajitani said with a beaming smile.