[Kasumiko: Tsukihime-sensei's words were of great benefit to me.]
[Kasumiko: Shouldn't it be time to treat me to a big meal?]
[Tsukihime: There's no need. This is friendship between friends; Kasumiko, you're being too polite.]
[Tsukihime: I heard (secretly) that there's a new sushi restaurant in Ginza that's quite good...]
[Kasumiko:...]
[Kasumiko:...When food is mentioned, Tsukihime-sensei's replies are much faster than usual. By the way, it's the weekend; what are you doing, Tsukihime-sensei?]
[Tsukihime: I'm going to visit my parents.]
She locked the screen.
Yuno Gasai held a light-colored parasol and stood quietly behind Sen Getsusa.
Before them was a lush, verdant landscape filled with the scent of grass.
The Sun shone bright and warm, mist crawled between the flourishing branches, and the damp air, like a lit incense burner, was thick with the scent of plants.
Small tombstones were arranged in neat rows and columns. The secluded stone paths were swept clean, with only occasional soft sobs and murmurs drifting into the ears of passersby with the refreshing breeze.
Sen Getsusa and Yuno Gasai climbed the steps.
Beside a massive, leafy tree, two tombstones huddled close together, sleeping silently in the shade.
Sen Getsusa stood there, and the photos on the tombstones caught her eye.
The man was about forty years old, smiling happily.
He had short hair and eyes that seemed to know the ways of the World. Dressed in a sharp suit, he was grinning broadly at the camera.
Amidst the solemn gravestones, the man looked both cheerful and spirited.
A name was written on the stone.
[Mori Toda]
Below it, a passage was engraved.
[He was a good husband and a good father.]
[He gave everything he had to his wife and daughter. His passionate love will flow forever in the hearts of the living and will not end with death.]
Right next to it was the tombstone of Sen Getsusa's mother.
The woman's photo was very young. Her black hair was coiled at the back of her head. Unlike Sen Getsusa's slightly drooping, charming eyes—
The woman had large, round eyes. Paired with her youthful face, she looked both cute and adorable, appearing much younger than her age.
The photos of the two seemed to be in conversation.
[Yemi Keiko]
[In the end, I still decided.]
[To return her to the long, bright seasons.]
[Let her build a garden of flowers with her beloved in another World.]
[May the gods look upon your immortal love with favor.]
Sen Getsusa took out the water and silk cloth she had prepared from her bag. She bent down and gently wiped the two tombstones, clearing away the fallen leaves that had accidentally landed on them. Then, she lifted the ladle from the water bucket, filled it halfway, and slowly poured the water over the stones.
Yuno Gasai helped from the side.
She lit incense and candles and placed the yellow and white chrysanthemums, trimmed to the perfect length, on both sides of the tombstones.
After they finished, Yuno Gasai held the parasol and quietly retreated a short distance away. Standing on the stone path, she looked at the silent, still figures, giving Sen Getsusa some space to be alone.
"Lately, the weather has been getting hotter."
"Have you finished planting your flowers?"
Sen Getsusa curled her legs and squatted before the tombstones, her delicate palm slowly stroking the rough stone base.
The man and woman in the photo smiled as they always did, gazing forward.
"Dad doesn't need to worry about helping me find my parents anymore. Speaking of which, it's quite interesting. Did you know?"
Sen Getsusa playfully furrowed her brows at the photo, holding her hand up and whispering, "I'm actually not human!"
"Isn't it amazing? I was startled when I first found out, too!"
"Grandma Ailiya is being well taken care of by me. Now, her biggest headache every day is that group of children."
"We've moved into a big house, the very large one that Dad left behind."
The girl babbled about daily trifles, both the troubling and the happy ones.
It seemed that only at this moment could she freely express the secrets and hesitations in her Heart—needing no explanation or guidance, her voice soaked through the slightly warm air like a stream of cool spring water splashing onto a stone monument, her true self only able to be expressed here without reservation.
The Sun tilted, and the temperature rose.
Yuno Gasai was gradually beginning to enter a daze.
Sen Getsusa gently patted her shoulder.
She turned her head with a bright smile.
"Let's go." Sen Getsusa took the umbrella from Yuno's hand and held it up for her. "Thank you for coming with me today, Yuno."
Yuno Gasai smiled and naturally took Sen Getsusa's arm, once again showing her true colors as a clinging accessory.
"Isn't it great? I got to see a different side of Tsukisa." Saying this, Yuno's nimble fingers kneaded Sen Getsusa's arm. "Are you okay, Tsukisa? Are you still very sad?"
Sen Getsusa shook her head.
"I feel some regret." Sen Getsusa suddenly remembered something and looked at Yuno Gasai. "By the way, Yuno's parents..."
Yuno Gasai grinned. "They're still 'missing,' of course. I don't want to spend money to buy them a cemetery plot or set up a headstone. Donating the money would be better than that."
"Besides, if I bought a plot, would I come to visit the grave?" She brushed her light pink hair, casually mingling it with Sen Getsusa's black hair. "Visiting the grave is out of the question."
"That would be a day for universal celebration."
Sen Getsusa smiled.
Regarding Yuno Gasai's still 'missing' parents, she couldn't say much. After all, Yuno's past experiences far exceeded the pain most people felt; no one had the right to advise her otherwise.
"Let's not mention them anymore. Tsukisa, what do you want to eat today?"
Eh, speaking of eating... "Ahem, Classmate Yuno Gasai." Sen Getsusa held the umbrella and turned her head solemnly.
"I have a very serious question I'd like to ask you."
Yuno blinked blankly. "Oh, okay?"
Sen Getsusa put on a serious face. "Tell me, if a girl has gotten fat lately..."
"But she's very cute and very kind..."
"Then..."
"Then can she have hot pot tonight?"
ヽ(?×?')ゞ
Pfft.
Yuno Gasai covered her mouth and rolled her eyes sweetly at Sen Getsusa. "That depends on the feeder's mood."
Sen Getsusa looked up timidly, bending her knees to look up at the girl carefully from below. "So... how is the feeder's mood today?"
Yuno Gasai tilted her head up, putting on an arrogant expression. "Not great."
Looking at the delicate girl below her, Yuno Gasai slowly adopted a strange tone. "If if there's a loving kiss, maybe, just maybe, she'll consider it..."
Mwah!
Like a little Rocket, the girl quickly pecked Yuno Gasai's cheek with her lips!
Hehe... "There, is that enough?" Sen Getsusa pouted, swinging her arm with her accessory attached—the other girl clung even more tightly to her, her whole body soft as if she had no bones.
"Mm..."
Subconsciously hiding her dazed eyes, Yuno Gasai lowered her head and pursed her lips, her fingers gently stroking the cheek that had just been kissed.
"Hot pot! Hot pot! Hot pot! Ohhh!"
"Heehee! Let's go! Hot pot today!"
Holding her hands up, the bouncing girl ran down the slope, followed by a cherry blossom-pink figure.
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