After finishing the last of the still-unmelted ice cream, Shouko felt a sudden, sharp sting in her forehead from the cold—just like Akira had earlier.
Smiling faintly, Akira reached out and gently rubbed her head, mirroring what she had done for him before.
Once she recovered, the two continued exploring activities they hadn't tried yet.
Back in the kitchen, Miyamura Shizuka glanced at Miyamura Daiki, who was still chatting with the store manager.
"Akira and Shouko just left. You keep talking to the manager; I'll go follow them."
Without waiting for a reply, she slipped out the door.
Seeing her go, Daiki exchanged a few quick words with the manager before hurrying after her.
"Who are you?"
The front-desk clerk frowned as two strangers—a man and a woman—emerged from the back kitchen, casually pulling off their masks and hair covers before tossing them into the trash.
The woman even nodded politely before leaving, while the man quickly followed.
"Manager, who were they?" she asked when she saw the manager walking out behind them.
"Heh…" The manager waved it off. "Nothing serious—just the parents of those two kids earlier."
He watched the pair disappear from view, then turned and went back into the kitchen.
Akira and Shouko played through several more attractions until Shizuka caught up and gathered them—along with Matsuoka Miu, who had been waiting at the lockers—for lunch at the park's restaurant.
The group stayed until past five before changing back into their clothes and piling into Shizuka's and Daiki's cars to head home.
"Shouko, this is for you."
In the back seat of Daiki's car, Akira pulled a plush whale from a glossy gift bag stamped with the park's logo and handed it to her.
Shouko's eyes lit up as she hugged it close. "Why'd you suddenly think to buy me this?"
Earlier, after sending her ahead, he'd returned carrying this bag—but dodged her questions.
Akira flicked a glance toward the "Old Man" driving and mouthed, This is your reward for learning to swim.
Following his gaze, Shouko smiled slyly, leaning toward his ear as if to whisper something.
Akira tilted his head, unguarded—only to feel a sudden warm, wet sensation against his cheek.
"Coach Akira," she murmured, her breath brushing his skin, "this is the tuition."
From the driver's seat, Daiki kept his eyes on the road… but his smirk said he'd seen everything.
When they finally reached home, Daiki's car pulled in a few minutes ahead of Shizuka's. Shoes were kicked off haphazardly in the entryway.
Shizuka stepped inside and called toward the living room, "I'm going grocery shopping. Anyone coming with me?"
Before an answer could come, Nishimiya Yaeko's voice sounded behind her.
"No need—I've already cooked. Come eat at my place, it's almost dinner time."
When Shizuka hesitated, Yaeko patted her hand firmly. "It's decided. And I should be the one thanking you for looking after Shouko all day."
With nothing more to say, Shizuka left with her friend—but not before telling the two "dead fish" in the living room, plus the "adorable" Shouko, that they'd all be going to the Nishimiya house for dinner.
Shouko patted her pocket, suddenly remembering something. "I'll go ahead!"
Hugging her plush, she jogged to catch up with the two women.
The boys stayed behind until Shizuka called Akira's phone past seven, telling them to come over. They slipped on their shoes, walked a few steps to the Nishimiya home, and opened the door with Akira's key.
Hachiko bounded over to greet them, followed by Nishimiya Yuzuru.
Akira asked if she'd gone anywhere today. With Daiki nearby, Yuzuru answered honestly—she'd taken Hachiko to the park to meet friends.
By the time the Miyamura family left, it was after nine. Yaeko went to bathe, leaving Shouko in the living room with Granny Nishimiya.
Pulling the omamori from her pocket, Shouko asked, "Grandma, can you teach me how to sew characters onto a charm?"
"Of course. Tomorrow in the daylight, I'll show you," Granny replied warmly.
"Okay!" Shouko nodded, then fetched scissors from the storage cabinet.
"What are you doing?" Yuzuru asked from the couch, her head resting on Hachiko.
"It's nothing," Shouko replied after a pause.
Carefully, she unpicked the stitches on the omamori, removing the fabric embroidered with Miyamura Akira, then turned the inner lining inside out.
Yuzuru watched, thinking privately that cutting open a charm like this seemed… unlucky.
The next morning, on the way to school, Akira was chatting when Shouko suddenly pulled the charm from her pocket and handed it to him.
"Here—it's clean now."
"That fast?" he asked, surprised. Seeing his name still on it, he tucked it back into his pocket without hesitation.
Only after watching him do so did Shouko quietly exhale in relief.
"Come on, we need to hurry or we'll be late," Akira said, taking her hand and quickening his pace.
They made it through the school gates with only minutes to spare and dashed into class.
Dong… dong…!
"Next period is Home Economics," Nobe announced from the podium. "Go directly to the baking classroom. Class dismissed."
Excited chatter broke out immediately.
"Finally, some hands-on work!"
"I thought we'd never get to bake after all that theory last week."
"I heard the rooms weren't ready back then."
"Who cares? We get cookies today!"
Akira, however, wasn't particularly interested. From what he'd gathered, Home Economics was really "life skills class"—cooking, sewing, ingredient selection, nutrition, kitchen safety, and so on.
For most students, it was a light, relaxing subject. For a few, it was also a chance to score a treat from someone they liked.
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