Dating
The bus to downtown Tokyo was extremely quiet.
Kikumaru Eiji leaned against the back of the chair in front of him, his cat-like eyes wide open, looking at the two people in the front row with a puzzled expression.
This is not quite what I imagined.
The imagined intimate whispers did not occur; the two people sat quietly in their seats, each doing their own thing.
After greeting everyone, Kanade sat down in the window seat in front of Tezuka's usual spot. After exchanging a few words with Tezuka, she took out her tablet from her bag, entered the National Diet Library's website address, opened the website link, and then focused intently on reviewing the catalogue, reserving the documents she needed to access.
As the only national library, the National Library of Congress has the most comprehensive collection, but it primarily serves readers who are engaged in research and investigation. The vast majority of its books cannot be borrowed and can only be obtained by applying at the library.
To save time, she usually orders the books she needs online in advance.
Tezuka put his tennis bag down and sat down next to her. He didn't try to find a topic of conversation. Although there was someone else next to him, he sat quietly, just like he always did when he went out with his teammates.
Although Kikumaru Eiji didn't have much dating experience, he watched a lot of TV dramas, so he at least knew that treating his girlfriend like this wasn't a good idea... right?
He scratched his head, looked anxiously at Oishi, and then at Fuji.
But both of them had peaceful smiles on their faces.
"Guoguang".
At that moment, Tezuka's name rang out in the quiet space, making everyone in the car prick up their ears.
"Hmm?" Tezuka responded, turning to look at her.
He Zou's attention was still on the screen, and he didn't notice the change in the atmosphere inside the car.
Without raising her head, her fingers slid across the screen, her gaze rapidly scanning the search page. Her head was slightly tilted towards Tezuka as she asked him in a low voice, "You said earlier that you were reading Karl Jaspers's 'The Spiritual Condition of the Age,' were you looking for the earliest German annotated version for comparison?"
Tezuka was slightly taken aback, not expecting that she would remember the book he had mentioned casually before so clearly. He looked down at the top of her head, a smile in his eyes, and replied, "Yes."
After receiving his reply, He Zou browsed through the publication information of various versions of "The Spiritual Condition of the Times," finally stopping at a line of the book on the screen.
“Found it. The 1931 Stuttgart edition; the Tokyo main library happens to have a copy.” After confirming that the Tokyo main library could borrow it, she looked up at him, her expression delighted, and said, “Would you like me to make a reservation for you?”
"Okay." Seeing how much she cared for him, a warm feeling reached his eyes.
Kikumaru Eiji: "..."
What about the era?
He sat back down, nudged Fuji next to him, and gestured with his lip: What's going on with these two? Listen to their conversation, what's the difference between study partners?
Turning his head, he saw that Fuji had his eyes open for the first time, his icy blue eyes filled with a smile.
Just then, the bus braked slightly abruptly to avoid a vehicle that suddenly changed lanes in front.
Everyone in the carriage leaned forward slightly due to inertia.
As He Zou focused on the screen, her body instinctively lunged forward, her forehead about to collide with the back of the seat in front of her, when a hand with distinct knuckles quickly blocked the space between her forehead and the back of the seat in front of her.
Her forehead struck his warm palm firmly, the impact completely cushioned by his hand.
When Kazusa looked up, he met Tezuka's worried gaze.
"Are you alright?" he asked in a low voice, his hand still in a protective posture, not immediately withdrawing.
"It's nothing." Kazuna blinked, recovering from her brief surprise, feeling the reliable warmth of his palm against her forehead...
She put the Pad away, then held his left hand in her palms and carefully massaged every finger bone.
This is his hand holding the racket.
“Melodia,” Tezuka curled his fingers to hold her hand, his fingertips deftly weaving between her fingers, and whispered reassuringly, “I’m not hurt.”
"Ah." Kazusa stopped checking and smiled.
She knew that the impact force and the area of force application were not enough to injure her hand bones, and the examination was just a subconscious reaction.
Tezuka knew perfectly well how much she cared. He gently smoothed her slightly disheveled hair. Finally, as if an irrepressible flutter stirred within him, he couldn't help but ruffle her soft hair, making it a little messy, before fixing it himself.
He Zou simply looked up at him, smiling as she let him do as he pleased.
As Kikumaru Eiji fell silent, Fuji closed his eyes again.
The bus, now quiet again, stopped as it passed through Chiyoda Ward.
Watching the two who waved to them, got out of the car, and walked side by side, Fuji said to the cat beside him with its head down, "Eiji, isn't this good?"
Oishi and Miki Sadaharu exchanged a glance and laughed, "Yes, that's good too."
Eiji didn't know why he felt down, but Fuji and Oishi both said that their captain was doing well, so he must be doing well.
Anyway, a minister will always be their minister.
—
The National Library's spacious reading room was full of people, but it was so quiet that the only sounds were the turning of pages and the scratching of pens on paper.
Kanade found an empty round table by the window and sat down. After a while, Tezuka returned through the lending window carrying several thick books.
She watched as he carefully placed the heavy, precious books on the table.
Guoguang is someone who treats books with gentleness.
It was just a small thing, but somehow, as Kanade looked at him, a tenderness and an uncontrollable love welled up in her heart.
She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and gently tugged at his sleeve, silently saying to her hardworking boyfriend, "Thank you for your hard work."
Tezuka lowered his eyes and looked at her moist eyes as she looked up at him. If they weren't in the solemn library, he felt he would really lean down and kiss her.
Seeing the thought in his eyes, He Zou quietly stuck out her tongue, gently tugged at his sleeve, and asked him to sit down beside her.
She pulled out a copy of "The Yearbook of Trauma of the Central Nervous System" from a stack of books, and placed "The Spiritual Condition of the Times" in front of him, making a "please" gesture with a serious expression.
He was easily amused by her again. Tezuka clenched his fist to suppress the smile that was about to spill from the corner of his lips, and tapped the watch face on her wrist with his finger.
Time was precious, so the two quickly put aside their thoughts and focused their attention on their books.
Wakana's eyes were glued to the complex charts and data; Tezuka, meanwhile, was meticulously comparing the text word by word with the standard version, his expression focused.
The air was filled with the scent of books and the warmth of sunshine, quiet and peaceful.
He Zou was quite engrossed in the music. When he came to some obscure parts, he unconsciously frowned slightly, his fingers twirling a strand of hair that was hanging down.
Before she knew it, the hands of her watch had already pointed to noon. She gently closed the thick yearbook in front of her and rubbed her slightly sore eyes.
Almost at the same time, Tezuka also carefully put away his book, his movements slow and deliberate.
"Going to lunch?" Kanade asked in a low voice, pointing to his stomach and making a hungry face.
Tezuka's eyes softened, and as he nodded, he helped her tidy up the books and stationery on the table.
The cafeteria attached to the third floor of the library is clean and bright.
The two took simple set meal trays and chose a quiet spot by the window to sit down.
"How was it?" Kazusa picked up a piece of grilled fish, still seemingly immersed in the quiet atmosphere of the reading room, and spoke softly, "Did you find anything?"
“Hmm,” Tezuka’s voice was also very low as he leaned closer to her, “The Stuttgart version’s side notes are indeed more incisive, and the criticism is much more direct than the later versions. Is your progress going well?”
“Better than expected,” He Zou’s eyes lit up as he mentioned this, and he said excitedly under his gaze, “The yearbook provides several very crucial long-term tracking datasets, which perfectly fill in the gaps in my model. Professor Antberg’s advice was indeed correct! There’s still a part I haven’t had time to look at yet; I need to finish that this afternoon—”
She was clearly very happy. Tezuka smiled and placed a bottle of water next to her: "Eat first."
The deep, warm voice pulled the harmony out of the conceived idea.
Realizing she might have neglected her boyfriend, she put aside her thoughts of data, tilted her head, smiled at him, and said, "Hmm~"
Let's eat.
Noticing that the boiled broccoli on Kazusa's plate was almost untouched, Tezuka naturally reached out with his chopsticks and picked up the few bright green florets of vegetables, placing them in his own bowl. At the same time, he picked up a piece of tamagoyaki from his set meal and put it on Kazusa's plate.
Kazusa paused slightly when she saw the extra golden-yellow tamagoyaki on the plate, then looked up at him.
She wants to maintain a balanced diet and isn't a picky eater, but she doesn't really like the taste of broccoli, so she'll eat it last.
They had dined together before, but she had never told him...
Seeing her looking at him, Tezuka said naturally, "The tamagoyaki tastes good, you should like it."
So, Kanade picked up the tamagoyaki and tasted it. Sure enough, the egg flavor was rich and the delicate texture made her squint her eyes.
Seeing that she liked it, a faint ripple appeared in Tezuka's eyes.
The weather is nice today. Sunlight streams through the huge glass windows and falls on the wooden dining table. It must be spring that's coming soon; the cool sunlight has finally brought a touch of warmth.
After lunch, the two returned to the reading room to continue their afternoon research.
As the sky outside the window began to turn orange, He Zou finally finished reviewing the core data she needed. She gently put down her pen and stretched her stiff fingers and neck.
She turned to look at the quiet Tezuka beside her.
He remained upright as he looked at the book in his hands, his clear and smooth profile appearing particularly soft under the reading room lights.
Looking at the few remaining pages in his hand, Kanade chuckled, picked up a mechanical pencil, and using his skills from his anatomy drawing class, drew a small person in the blank space of the last page of the notebook, and next to it wrote a small "Kunimitsu" in cursive script.
She subtly pushed the notebook closer to his hand.
As Tezuka closed the book, his gaze fell on the small illustration and word. If it weren't for the name next to it, he probably wouldn't have recognized it as a drawing of himself.
However, after a few seconds of silence, he picked up the pencil beside him and drew a perfectly neat checkmark under the little figure.
().
Looking at the meticulous checkmark, Hezai found it strangely cute. She couldn't help but lower her head, her shoulders swaying slightly, and she laughed silently, her heart bubbling with excitement.
Tezuka watched her shoulders tremble slightly as she tried to suppress a laugh, a faint smile curving his lips. He then picked up the books from the table, preparing to return them.
It wasn't closing time yet, but it would take her some time to get back to Kanagawa, so she had to go back early.
He Zou rested her chin on her hand and watched him walk towards the book return point, just like when he came, holding the book. A sense of peace settled in her heart.
They are very busy, and the rare moments of solitude are precious to them.
But there's no need to rush; they'll be together for a long time to come.
For now, this is fine.
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