The rest of the lunch passed with leisurely conversation between Sasaki and the Miyajima family.
Since Sasaki and Sakura had just confirmed their relationship, he didn't immediately leave after the meal.
Instead, he spent some time practicing kendo with her before finally deciding to head out.
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Promising to visit often, Sasaki waved to the Miyajima family standing at the door as he left.
Walking down the sunlit street, Sasaki took out his phone to check the time and the messages from his underlings.
[Boss, they've arrived.]9:00 "Read"
[Boss, the guy you had us watch is terrible at studying. He's only slightly better than us, and he goes to the bathroom every half hour. This kid's kidneys must be failing. (Laughing.jpg)]9:30 "Read"
[Boss, is this kid made of water? He goes to the bathroom every ten minutes. We've spent the whole morning just watching him go. (6.jpg)]11:30 "Read"
[Boss, this kid is poor and weak. How did he get a girlfriend like that? She even paid for their meal. At least they could have gone Dutch... (Frowning.jpg)]12:00 "Read"
[Boss... he's peeing again... (Speechless.jpg)]12:00 "Read"
[Boss, their tutoring session is over. We'll follow them.]15:40 "Read"
[Boss, they didn't go anywhere else. They split up after leaving the cafe.]15:43 "Read"
[Boss, the girl got home safely. (Mission Accomplished.jpg)]16:00 "Read"
Seeing the messages, Sasaki transferred 10,000 yen to his informant and asked:
[Good job. How was the girl's expression during the tutoring session?]16:20 "Read"
The message was immediately marked as read, followed by a quick response.
[How to describe it... her eyes showed disappointment, like 'expecting more than she got.' She looked very disappointed but didn't cry.]16:20 "Read"
After knowing the situation over there, Sasaki sent a message to Nogami saying "thank you for your hard work" and did not reply.
Needless to say, he wasn't surprised a bit.
Sasaki had already seen through someone like Talagi.
He was all about lustful thoughts but lacked the courage to act on them.
He had the guts to confess his feelings when he got heated up but didn't dare to hold hands or hug.
Moreover, he only had eyes for himself... This might sound harsh, but he really didn't appreciate Chifuyu's efforts.
Sasaki roughly understood his thoughts.
He thought his academic performance was beyond saving, so he hoped to achieve something in football, and then find a good path after graduation.
This was a normal thought, but he failed to communicate properly with his family... Otherwise, he wouldn't have been caught out.
Well... if it weren't for Sasaki, his girlfriend would've already been converted into a sex tool of someone else and most of it was that guy's fault.
And Chifuyu being an idiot didn't help either.
Fortunately he was there..
Speaking of which... Kirishima was also in the football club... Takagi's current focus on football might be due to seeing an opportunity because of a vacancy in the team?
With various thoughts running through his mind, Sasaki looked up at the sky tinged red by the setting sun, enjoying the breeze that carried tiny cherry blossoms as he walked home.
"Hmm?"
Looking at the red clouds in the sky, Sasaki walked for a while before he felt like he had stepped on something causing him to move his foot.
A small dinosaur plush, sewn from green fabric scraps and resembling a screaming chicken but much smaller, lay quietly on the ground.
There was even a gray footprint from Sasaki on it...
'So ugly…'
That was his first impression of the dinosaur plush.
Picking up the palm-sized plush, Sasaki dusted off the footprint and looked around for its owner.
Although ugly, the plush looked quite new to him, and since it seemed handmade, it was unlikely to have been deliberately discarded.
Walking a few steps forward, squinting against the hazy, glaring sunset, he saw a girl with twin tails sitting on a bench in an empty park.
The girl's hair, due to the orange sunlight, appeared golden-brown.
Since she was facing away from Sasaki, he couldn't see her face.
All he could see was her slightly thin and lonely back and her shoulder bag covered in plush charms beside her.
Glancing at the dinosaur plush in his palm, Sasaki then looked at the identical ugly plushies hanging on her bag and knew that he had found the owner.
Threading his fingers through the strap on the plush's head, he walked slowly to the girl's side.
Unlike the golden-brown hue of her hair from a distance, up close, he saw her hair was a light brown with a pinkish tint.
Her fair face, illuminated by the golden sunlight, was soft and beautiful.
Though he could only see her profile, it was clear she was a very cute and pretty girl.
Standing by her side, Sasaki took a moment to observe her face, then followed her gaze into the park.
It was dusk, so the children who had been playing there had already been taken home by their mothers.
All that remained was a sandcastle in the park's center, built by the children in the afternoon, and two swings swaying in the wind on one side of the park.
Seeing nothing particularly noteworthy, Sasaki's gaze returned to the girl.
This time, their eyes met directly as he stared into those eyes as clear as a lake.
After a few seconds of silent eye contact, Sasaki lifted his hand, causing the dinosaur plush to sway slightly as if happy to see its owner.
"Is this yours?"
"Yes, thank you~"
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The gentle voice was like a drifting cloud in the sky, or the soft plush toy he had held in his hand just moments ago.
But the slight sweetness it contained made one think of cotton candy.
"I am Kashiwabara Momo."
As the girl turned to face him, Sasaki finally saw her entirely.
She wore a light brown V-neck wool sweater over a pure white shirt.
From the unbuttoned collar, he could see a hint of her beautiful and delicate collarbones, like coral branches.
Although the oversized sweater made it less noticeable, with Sasaki's experienced eye, he could tell that her figure was not far behind that of the stupid Chifuyu which was quite impressive.
The girl wore a red plaid skirt issued by the school on her lower half.
Her exposed thighs, covered only by mid-calf socks, were tightly pressed together, giving the impression that lying on them would be incredibly comfortable.
After a brief glance, Sasaki responded:
"Hello, I am Sasaki Fuyumi."
With that, he placed the plush toy into the girl's outstretched hands.
But after removing the strap from his finger, the girl didn't retract her hands.
Instead, she moved forward, holding Sasaki's hand with both of hers, and asked:
"Hey~ Fuyumi-kun, do you want to come to my house?"
The latter was taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise at her sudden invitation.
He hadn't paid much attention to the familiarity with which Kashiwabara Momo had called his name.
"Ah?"
Taking the plush toy with her right hand and placing it on her plump thighs, holding it tightly,
Kashiwabara Momo's lake-blue eyes sparkled in the golden sunlight as she stretched her slender fingers, interlacing them with Sasaki's.
And spoke in her soft, sweet 'cotton candy' voice;
"Fuyumi-kun~ would you like to come to my house?"
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