Chapter 48 Youth (Bonus Chapter for Landmines/Nutritional Solution/Pampering the Little Angel) ...
As the dinner party drew to a close, Risa quietly left the table under the pretext of going to the restroom.
She handed a bank card to the cashier: "Please pay."
The cashier smiled and took the money: "Okay, your total is 83,000 yen. If you sign up for a membership card and become a member of our store, you can enjoy..."
She was listening intently to the promotional information when a cool, refreshing scent came from behind her. Before she could turn around, a slender hand was already on her bank card.
"Matsuno-kun, what are you doing?"
Yukimura's voice came from above, carrying a hint of helplessness, yet also a touch of indulgence.
Risa turned around and saw that he had slightly furrowed his brows.
"Oops...we've been found out."
She stuck out her tongue, but insisted on pushing the card forward a little. "Consider it a thank you for making me have a great time tonight, and also a small payment for image rights?"
"It's not gentlemanly to let a girl pay the bill." Yukimura pushed her card back a few cents.
"But this is..."
"Minister!" Akaya's loud voice suddenly came from behind, "So you're here! Niou-senpai, you've got the last piece of beef tongue... Ah!"
Sanada covered Akaya's mouth with a dark expression: "That's so rude!"
Niou, who had somehow followed us over, leaned against the doorframe and whistled, "Puri, looks like we've disturbed something?"
Seeing the two locked in a stalemate, the cashier tentatively asked, "So... what's the bill...?"
Yukimura: "I'll pay."
His actions were faster than his words; he placed his index finger between Risa's lips, cutting off her words.
“Next time, it’s your treat,” he said.
"......"
Risa felt a tingling sensation as his breath brushed against her neck.
"bite--"
After the cash register beeped, Yukimura slowly withdrew his hand.
“It’s settled.” He folded the receipt neatly. “We’ll be looking forward to our next get-together.”
"Minister Yukimura~" Niou Masaharu drawled, his fox-like eyes sharp and mischievous, "You didn't actually have to include 'us' in your name~"
Marui Bunta whistled in agreement. Yagyu pushed up his glasses, reflecting a meaningful white light.
Yukimura smiled: "Niou, I heard you're really looking forward to Yanagi's special training package?"
"Pfft! I didn't say anything!" Niou was hit right on the spot and instantly straightened up.
"Too lax!"
"Pfft, hahaha!"
Sanada's reprimand and Akaya's suppressed laughter rang out at the same time.
-
On the way back, Risa walked at the back.
The streetlights cast a hazy glow as she watched the group of playful teenagers. The spray bottle she carried with her seemed to be her ticket to join this group.
Once an observer outside the screen, they have now become witnesses within the scene. They have witnessed this passionate period of their lives, witnessed Sanada's concern for his juniors beneath his serious mask, witnessed the gentleness hidden in Niou's sly smile, and witnessed the thoughtfulness concealed in Yukimura's composed demeanor.
Such pure and beautiful times, when one can laugh and play without restraint, fight over a piece of burnt meat, and simply cheer for a victory, will only be etched in the short years called "three years of high school".
"What are you looking at?" A gentle voice came from beside me.
Risa turned her head and saw the blue-haired boy slow his pace and walk beside her.
Not far away, Akaya's hair was being ruffled by Marui, while Niou was hiding behind Yagyu making faces at Sanada. All of this was reflected in his gentle purple eyes.
"look in......"
She gazed at the backs of the figures playing and laughing ahead, and her voice softened.
"Fleeting youth."
Yukimura was slightly taken aback.
After a moment of silence, he raised his hand, hesitated for a second, and gently placed his palm on the top of her head.
"Stop spouting such old-fashioned nonsense. You, standing here..."
He leaned down slightly, a gentle smile in his eyes.
Isn't that precisely youth itself?
Risa suddenly held her breath.
These words were like a drop of water falling into the heart of a lake, creating ripples in her heart.
The night breeze swept through the streets. In that instant, the 25-year-old soul suddenly felt very light, as if all the traces of time had been shed, and she had become the girl whose heart would flutter wildly at the slightest gentle word.
The distant laughter of the boys and the rustling of the leaves nearby all became distant and indistinct at this moment, as if seen through frosted glass, hazy and unclear.
"Matsuno-kun."
A gentle voice startled her from her daze. When she turned her head, Yukimura was looking down at her, his hair falling over his brow bone, his purple eyes incredibly tender.
So, don't just look at fleeting youth...
He brushed aside her wind-blown bangs, paused for a moment, and said, "Want to create some... memories that are just for you?"
The streetlights overhead flickered, startling the sparrows perched on the treetops. The sound of their wings fluttered past her ears, overlapping with the beating of her heart.
The night breeze was cool, but my palms were burning hot.
Some moments are precious not because they are fleeting, but because the person standing in the light and shadow makes every second shine.
Risa's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she opened her mouth. Just then—
"Aaaaaah! Niou-senpai stuffed a snake into my collar!!"
Kirihara's scream shattered the ambiguous silence.
Risa seemed to wake from a dream, blinked, and after seeing the farce in the distance, her tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, and a smile unconsciously spread from the corners of her eyes.
"If nothing unexpected happens, these two will soon be punished by Sanada Iron Fist."
“Sanada…” Yukimura’s gaze shifted from the playful teammates to her smiling profile. “Matsuno-san seems to admire him quite a bit?”
"Huh?"
“Just now at the store, you praised him for being ‘tough on the outside but gentle on the inside’ and for his ‘cool hairstyle.’” He turned his head, the glow of the streetlight illuminating his eyelashes. “Matsuno-kun thinks Sanada is very handsome.”
Risa was taken aback: "...Isn't that what everyone thinks?"
"So, in your eyes, what kind of person am I?"
"Huh?" Risa's heart suddenly raced.
(What does he mean by asking that? Could it be...?)
(No, I need to change the subject quickly!)
Yukimura took half a step forward, and their shadows intertwined and overlapped on the asphalt road.
"What does Matsuno-kun think of me?"
Risa's throat tightened, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the strap of her schoolbag.
(But it was too late! If things continued like this, their friendship would really be over.)
"Yukimura-kun is of course very handsome! His tennis skills are superb! His leadership is perfect! Everyone admires you!" She spoke very quickly, even more so than when Kirihara was memorizing English words.
Yukimura raised an eyebrow slightly, his eyes darkening slightly: "Is that all?"
His gaze was focused and earnest, as if trying to see through her eyes. Risa was speechless for a moment, and hurriedly looked away, staring at the overlapping shadows of the two of them on the ground.
Just then—
"boom!"
The roar of the motorcycle pierced the air, and the blinding headlights swept in from the blind spot at the alley entrance.
In that instant, time seemed to slow down: the tires rolled over the puddles on the road, and the splashing water droplets reflected shimmering light under the streetlights.
A flashback from the depths of my soul: the screeching sound of brakes, shards of glass flying everywhere, the darkness after the world spins...
Risa's pupils contracted sharply.
"Yukimura!"
Her body acted before her thoughts. She grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him forcefully toward her. Her other hand instinctively reached behind him to protect him.
Startled, Yukimura leaned forward with her force, his back hitting the barbed wire.
"Zheng—"
The barbed wire emitted a vibrating hum.
The motorcycle roared past, the wind it created lifting Risa's hair.
"That was close..." she gasped, still shaken. "Are you... alright?"
Yukimura looked at her, his eyes deepening in thought.
The girl's soft hand rested beside his ear, her warm palm pressed against his wrist, and her other hand wrapped around his waist.
Despite its slender shape, it unleashed astonishing power in that instant, as if trying to encircle him and protect him from harm.
"I'm fine," his voice was a little hoarse, "but..."
"Being protected by a girl..."
"This is my first time."
Risa froze. Only then did she realize that their posture was rather ambiguous.
"I'm sorry. I was just..." She hurriedly tried to back away, but Yukimura grabbed her wrist.
"Minister! Risa-nee! Are you alright?!" Kirihara shouted from afar.
Niou whistled: "Puri~ Hero saves the damsel in distress?"
"Too lax! Niou! Akaya!" Sanada roared from afar, "You two, stop fooling around in the middle of the road!"
Risa abruptly pulled her hand back. When she looked up at him, her heart pounded with fear.
Yukimura lowered his eyes and stared at her, his deep iris-colored eyes churning with emotions she couldn't understand.
The crisis radar was going off in her mind, and Risa's cheeks burned with a "boom".
"Hey, Matsuno-kun..." Yukimura looked directly into her eyes, "You want to be my friend—"
Before she could finish speaking, Risa suddenly pointed to the sky: "Look! Fireworks!"
Only a few stars twinkled in the night sky.
Yukimura's expression froze for a moment, then he chuckled: "There are no fireworks festivals in Kanagawa this season."
Risa's ears burned, and as the other person leaned closer, she jerked back, pointing to Sanada in the distance: "Ah! Sanada is calling us!"
Before Yukimura could respond, she had already darted several steps away like a startled rabbit, waving her hand with feigned composure: "Minister, hurry up! We'll get scolded if we don't leave now!"
Yukimura stood there, watching her flee in panic, his right hand covering the wrist she had just grasped.
(...They escaped really fast.)
But he didn't chase after them. He just sighed softly and muttered to himself, "It seems... I still can't be impatient."
next time--
We need to choose a place where she can't escape.
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Author's Note: There's no extra chapter for every few likes, my darlings! Thank you all for your love! [kissing emoji]
I can write more over the weekend, and I'm so grateful for everyone's enthusiastic feedback that I'm adding an extra chapter! [laughing and crying emoji]
I don't usually have that much time to write, let alone something even more difficult. Tonight I'm destined to lose a landmine, the author lamented, pounding his chest. Sending love to everyone!
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