Toru and Kaguya walked hand in hand through the bustling market, stopping now and then at the stalls.
Kaguya's face was glowing with a happy smile as she stared blankly at a doll in front of her.
Toru smiled, paid the stall owner, picked up the air gun, and easily popped the balloon, winning the not-so-large doll.
"Toru-kun is amazing!"
Kaguya clapped vigorously, her fair palms turning red from the force. A blush spread across her cheeks, and her crystal-clear eyes watched as Toru handed the small doll to her.
The doll's craftsmanship was quite exquisite, but for the young lady of the Shinomiya family, such a doll was not worth much.
But Kaguya held the doll preciously in her arms, because this doll had not been given to her by someone from the Shinomiya family. It had been won by Toru himself while she walked through the market with him.
For Kaguya, this doll held extremely important meaning, something that could not be measured by money at all.
With Toru's skill, if he wanted to, he could even make the owner go bankrupt right there.
However, Toru naturally would not do something so outrageous. After winning the doll Kaguya had her eye on, he intentionally missed the remaining shots and only took a consolation prize.
After getting the doll, Toru continued strolling around the market with Kaguya.
Seeing the ring toss game, Toru did not personally participate but handed the rings in his hand to Kaguya.
Kaguya excitedly took the rings, aimed for a long time, and then threw the rings in her hand.
However, Kaguya's skill was truly not good. After throwing ten rings in a row, she did not even get the simplest item. This made Kaguya angry and embarrassed, and she questioned the owner, "There's something wrong with this ring!"
The owner said innocently, "Ms., what could be wrong with the ring? If you can't get it, then it's just your own skill."
Kaguya was angry and wanted to throw a tantrum like a young lady, but when she caught a glimpse of Toru's smile from the corner of her eye, her heated emotions immediately vanished, and she calmed down.
She grabbed Toru's hand and mumbled, "Let's go, Toru-kun! This game isn't fun. Let's move on to the next one."
The boss shouted loudly, "Please wait a moment, this is a consolation prize!"
The boss picked out the closest small keychain from the ring toss prizes and handed it to Kaguya.
Although it was still a cheap little trinket and not something she had won, Kaguya still happily accepted it.
Toru smiled at this. Sometimes, this girl was actually quite easy to understand.
The keychain, like the doll, did not belong to the Shinomiya family, but was something Kaguya had obtained herself.
Holding the keychain in her hand, she took out the latest mobile phone she had recently bought from the small bag she carried with her, and somewhat awkwardly attached it to her phone.
Next to the takoyaki stall, Toru and Kaguya sat on chairs, using two skewers to eat the takoyaki that Toru held in his hand together.
These roadside takoyaki were almost all made of starch, with very little octopus meat inside. Both in terms of quantity and sauce, they were incomparable to the food made by the top chefs Kaguya usually ate.
But when Kaguya ate them, she only felt that this was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten in her life, which made her eat almost half a box by herself.
However, Kaguya's appetite was still too small. After eating half a box, she finally could not eat anymore, and even one takoyaki had been bitten in half by her, already unable to be swallowed.
Toru smiled and ate the half takoyaki himself under Kaguya's flushed gaze.
Immediately after, he took out a tissue and gently wiped the sauce left on the corner of Kaguya's mouth.
Kaguya's heart was beating so fast at this moment that it was almost jumping out of her chest. She shyly got up, grabbed Toru's wrist, and shouted, "Let's go quickly, Toru-kun! The fireworks display is about to start if we don't hurry!"
Toru threw the empty box in his hand into the trash can beside him, letting Kaguya drag him along. The two of them jogged toward the levee by the riverbank.
Toru had excellent stamina, and his breathing did not even change after running this distance.
Kaguya's stamina was barely decent. She breathed softly and walked to the railing with Toru.
At this time, there were already many people in this area, but compared to the areas farther ahead, it was more scattered, and Toru and Kaguya still found an empty spot.
The two of them stood by the railing like this, with Toru standing behind Kaguya, his two arms wrapped around her neck, holding her in his embrace.
At first, Kaguya's body stiffened for a moment, but she quickly relaxed and leaned her delicate body into Toru's embrace...
"Bang!"
Suddenly, the first firework flew up in the distance, exploding in the sky, and the fireworks display began.
And as the first firework flew up, the crowd cheered.
Kaguya also could not help but smile, her beautiful eyes wide as she watched the fireworks bloom, letting the traces of fireworks shimmer in her ruby-like eyes.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"..."
Fireworks exploded one after another, illuminating the sky with dazzling colors, making Kaguya unable to help but say, "Toru-kun, it's really beautiful, much more beautiful and spectacular than what I saw on TV."
Toru embraced Kaguya. This was also his first time attending a fireworks display in Japan, and his first time watching a fireworks show with a girl.
"Yes, it's very beautiful."
He nodded gently and said.
Kaguya leaned in Toru's embrace, gently closing her eyes. In her ears was the laughter of people, with her eyes closed was Toru's warm embrace, and with her eyes open were the brilliant fireworks.
At this moment, Kaguya felt as if she were in a dream.
But if this was truly a dream, she hoped this beautiful dream would never end, and that she could continue doing this forever.
Kaguya murmured softly, "Toru-kun, is this really not a dream?"
Toru suddenly pinched her cheek hard, making Kaguya cry out in pain and stare at him shyly. "What are you doing, Toru-kun!"
"I'm just telling you that this isn't a dream," Toru replied with a smile.
Kaguya puffed out her cheeks and gently hummed. Unconsciously, her arms wrapped around Toru's hands and placed them on her chest.
Toru raised his eyebrows.
So small, she really was on the same level as Hayasaka!
Just as Hayasaka's figure flashed through his mind, several girls called out from beside him.
"Brother, Kaguya!"
"Young Master Fujiwara, Kaguya-sama!"
"Brother, Kaguya!"
This sudden sound made Kaguya's body tremble. She turned her head and saw that the Fujiwara sisters and Hayasaka, whom she had been thinking about, were all here.
Kaguya suddenly understood.
Besides secretly bringing her out to watch the fireworks display, Toru had also called her best friend and the person she missed the most.
At this moment, Kaguya was completely immersed, immersed in Toru's unintentional gentleness.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)