Tachibana Tomoku’s dim gaze slightly lifted as Shirakawa Sawahei turned and took a few steps before softly answering Tsukimi’s call.
"Hello."
"Hello~ Shirakawa..."
"What’s up?" Hearing the lazy and sweet voice tinged with a hint of playfulness from the girl on the other end, Shirakawa Sawahei couldn’t help but smile, his voice becoming a bit gentler. He could almost picture Tsukimi Sakurazawa’s expression on the other end, surely smiling with narrowed eyes, perhaps pouting her rosy lips, her eyes brimming with affection.
"Nothing much, where are you now?"
"At the shrine, it’s the New Year’s visit... Have you done the first shrine visit of the year yet?"
"My house is a temple, why would I go out for the first visit?"
"Did you make a wish?"
"I did."
"What wish?"
"I wished for us to be happy this year."
"Hmm? How coincidental, I wished for the sa thing."
"Are you sure the ’us’ you an is the sa ’us’ I an?"
"Ahem... that’s not important... Do you want to accompany you tomorrow?"
"Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I?" Tsukimi Sakurazawa said with a hint of annoyance, "I promised to tease you, so of course I should keep my distance... Are you free tomorrow?"
"Yes, I’m free."
"Really free?" Tsukimi Sakurazawa skeptically asked, "You’re not currently with soone else and scheduling tomorrow’s date with , right?"
"..."
"How could I be such a jerk..." Shirakawa Sawahei walked a bit further with a guilty conscience, "It’s just Tachibana..."
"..."
The silence over the phone lasted a mont before she sighed softly, "Indeed, Shirakawa, you still can’t let go of Xiao Mo..."
"But it’s also my fault... I actually asked you to ss with Xiao Mo... What kind of failure of a bad girl am I... it’s really a failure... sigh..."
"It’s not as terrible as you say." Shirakawa Sawahei said with a bitter smile, "Tachibana and I..."
"What happened?"
"I don’t even know." Shirakawa Sawahei sighed, "I’m afraid I’ll screw it up."
"At least you have a bit of conscience." Tsukimi Sakurazawa snorted, "Did sothing happen between you two?"
"What, do you seem eager for sothing to happen between your boyfriend and your best friend?"
"You’re dead... Shirakawa." Tsukimi Sakurazawa said angrily, "I never had such a strange thought!"
"Alright, then I’ll pretend you never did."
"No need to pretend, I didn’t have it at all!" Tsukimi Sakurazawa coldly snorted, "If you want to do sothing bad yourself, don’t use as an excuse... I just don’t want to see Xiao Mo sad, I never said you could do whatever you want."
"I won’t."
"Then what happened with you two?"
"Nothing happened." Shirakawa Sawahei recalled the scene of Xiao Mo holding a blanket and coming to his room alone last night, wanting to say sothing but leaving silently, and couldn’t help but sigh.
"Shirakawa... do you seem regretful?"
Shirakawa Sawahei: "..."
"No, why would I be regretful?" The scheming old rogue imdiately said full of self-preservation, "I just feel... Tachibana is too well-behaved..."
"Yeah... good kids always suffer more grievances..." Tsukimi Sakurazawa thought of a certain friend’s cute face and softly said, "Get hurt and have to forgive, have to be gracious and yield, can’t complain if wronged, can’t be aggressive and throw a tantrum... losing a lot, and finally only getting a ’good child’ praise..."
"Shirakawa... am I being unfair to Xiao Mo?"
"..."
"No."
"It’s not your fault." Shirakawa Sawahei softly said, "You’re also very well-behaved."
"Hmph, at least you know... well then, you’re still at the shrine, so keep Xiao Mo company first." Tsukimi Sakurazawa said gently, "Don’t let her wait too long alone..."
"Alright."
"See you tomorrow."
"I’ll co pick you up."
"Okay~"
The girl said and hung up the phone, but Shirakawa Sawahei’s mood wasn’t as relaxed as he imagined. He thought of Tachibana Tomoku’s face, and Tsukimi’s words unconsciously floated in his mind.
Trying to be a good child... must be very aggrieved, right...
He shook his head, clearing away those chaotic thoughts, only to realize that the little transparent behind him had disappeared.
Where did the little transparent go?
With doubt in his heart, Shirakawa Sawahei was about to call her when his phone chid with a ssage.
[Shirakawa, I’m asking the shrine people to handle the wish plaques... don’t co looking for , just wait for at the entrance.]
[If it’s too cold outside, Shirakawa, please go ahead, I told my father and mother.]
[Don’t worry.]
Shirakawa Sawahei was silent for a while, then gave her a ’got it’ in response, and stared blankly at the ssage she sent.
Such a good child.
It seed there was nothing else to say but this.
A gust of wind blew across the torii, making the hanging ema chi clearly, the sound carrying far, and Shirakawa Sawahei looked around, hearing the distant tassel bells ringing, seemingly carrying the news of the gods.
[Together with everything I love]
Not long ago, he had just written this wish, and as it caught his eye, Shirakawa Sawahei looked at his own handwriting and smirked.
He stepped closer, scanning through the nurous New Year’s wishes to find the na and handwriting of the little transparent, going over each one, his photographic mory functioning well, and the girl’s na quickly stood out among the ema.
[I hope I can be a good child and not make mom and dad worry.]
This seed like an ema from seven or eight years ago, the tassel was already discolored with age, and Shirakawa Sawahei held the small wooden plaque, his mind seemingly conjuring Little Tachibana Tomoku coming to the shrine alone and earnestly making a wish to the gods.
Being a good child from a young age must involve a lot of grievances...
He continued looking, and it seed that Little Tachibana Tomoku visited this shrine every year for blessings, her handwriting evolving with age into the style Shirakawa Sawahei now recognized.
[This year I’ll graduate elentary school and soon beco a middle school student... I hope my dad can attend my graduation ceremony this year.]
This was elentary school Tachibana Tomoku, her handwriting childish and cute, and Shirakawa Sawahei gently touched the ema, smiling lightly.
[Next year I’ll beco a high school student... everyone says high school life is colorful... I hope so.]
This was middle school Tachibana Tomoku.
[This year I made two friends... Departnt Director Tsukimi is very kind, and Shirakawa is also very kind... I hope I can get along well with them next year.]
This was high school Tachibana Tomoku.
During primary school, the little transparent seed to hope year after year to make good friends and for her parents to spend more ti with her... but judging by the fact that her wishes were always of this type, they didn’t seem to co true year after year. After entering middle school, she no longer made such wishes.
During middle school, her wishes were for the people around her to be safe and everything to go smoothly. Such plain and sowhat perfunctory wishes were her compromise after experiencing many disappointnts.
In high school, her wishes began to involve Shirakawa Sawahei and the Calligraphy Club.
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