Chapter 247: A Rare Holiday, Nothing to Do

December twenty-third, the second day of Fuyuji Mikage's official winter break.

It had snowed yesterday at noon, then snowed again at night. It only officially stopped this morning. Looking out from the dormitory balcony, the whole of Advanced Nurturing was covered in a blanket of white. Only the faint outline of the campus paths remained.

In the morning, a bit of sun came out. Its pale light slanted across the window glass, only to be met by the wind. The cold air, wrapped around bits of snow, slapped against the glass, making it feel even colder.

Advanced Nurturing dormitory building, Fuyuji's room.

The air conditioner's fan blades swung slightly up and down. Warm air hummed steadily from the vent. The warm current brushed over the windowsill, aimed right at the bird's nest that had just been moved in.

"Coo..."

Savoring the spring-like warmth of the room, the fat pigeon, who had relocated here along with its nest, comfortably ruffled its feathers and let out a satisfied sigh. Its whole body relaxed, belly pressed against the soft grass of its little nest, unable to move again.

"Where are your little brothers? If you can't handle it, call them over here to shelter for a couple of days."

Fuyuji pinched his chin and leaned in close to the nest, inspecting the fat pigeon's noticeably thinner frame. Two weeks without seeing it, it looked like it had been through a thrilling and dangerous adventure in Marley.

"Coo coo..." (No problem. I found them a place.)

The fat pigeon rolled over, revealing its white belly feathers. Its two pigeon legs stretched out, and it lay there like some big shot.

"That's good." This was the Ginyu Force lineup he'd spent a huge amount of time assembling. Losing it would be a huge loss.

Withdrawing his gaze from the fat pigeon, Fuyuji stretched. His spine gave a faint crack. He looked around the warm, cozy room.

With nothing to do, Fuyuji officially began his holiday life.

He turned on the TV and sat cross-legged on the carpet, watching Japanese prank variety shows for a while, all the way through the commercials.

He logged into the game to see how many quartz his bro had saved up for him. His fingers mechanically tapped the screen. Self-destruct, exit. Self-destruct, exit. The cycle repeated endlessly. In the end, halfway through his dailies, his bro kicked him offline.

He opened a drawer and pulled out the mystery novel Shiina Hiyori had given him, reading it once more. Probably because his memory was still intact, he finished it in no time.

Finally, with truly nothing left to do, he actually, shockingly, did another university entrance exam paper that Mashima had given him.

"Rumble rumble..."

With a kick of his legs, the office chair slid forward a few steps. Fuyuji, sitting in the chair, tilted his head back, his neck against the cold backrest. He glanced at the time on the wall clock.

"..." Only three hours had passed?

Fuyuji stared at a corner of the ceiling and suddenly felt the heater was making him stuffy.

That was how holidays were. During class, you looked forward to break every day. When the break actually came, you didn't know what to do with yourself.

If it were a normal day... he'd probably be roughhousing with Morishita during the break, wouldn't he? He wondered what she was doing now that she was up.

Feeding her fish? Writing observation diaries? Or repairing Fuyuji Mikage Number Two?

[Heh heh, boyfriend-kun, break is almost here. Don't miss me too much during winter vacation, okay...]

For no reason at all, Morishita Ai's voice, tinged with a smug little giggle, echoed in Fuyuji's mind.

As he thought about it, his expression suddenly darkened.

So Morishita-sama had actually guessed right!

Shaking his head a few times to clear away the stray thoughts, Fuyuji got up from the chair and returned to his bed. He pulled the little blanket over himself and closed his eyes peacefully.

There, there should be sunshine, beaches, and lions...

Tick... tock... tick... tock...

The wall clock marched on methodically. From outside the window, birdsong drifted in now and then...

A few minutes later.

Fuyuji's eyes snapped open. To hell with lions. Time to get up and have fun!

He abruptly tensed his body, flung off the blanket, and pulled out his phone. His fingers slid skillfully to the contact. His thumb hovered over the call button for a moment, then tapped dial.

Beep... beep... beep...

After a few rings, the call was picked up with a click. Fuyuji pressed the receiver tight to his ear, holding his breath. A faint sound of breathing came through the phone.

Fuyuji: "..."

Morishita: "..."

Neither of them spoke. Outside, the wind stirred up snow powder that beat against the glass. Or perhaps both of them wanted to say something but didn't know what to say, silently brewing the words in their throats.

The air conditioner's outdoor unit hummed. The sky-blue curtains were lifted by the airflow, then slowly fell back...

Finally, Fuyuji opened his mouth. His throat felt a little dry.

"Ai..."

"Boyfriend-kun..." Morishita's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"I kind of miss you."

"Me too."

"..."

Having blurted out the words they'd been brewing all at once, the two of them deflated like punctured balls, once again sinking into silence.

A few seconds later.

"Um..." Fuyuji gripped his phone tighter. "What are you doing right now?"

"Chatting with my boyfriend. You?"

Fuyuji couldn't hold back a laugh. His tone was light. "I'm chatting with my girlfriend."

"But my boyfriend is a bit bored, and his girlfriend is a bit bored too. We don't know what to say."

"Then..." Fuyuji licked his lips. His gaze passed through the foggy window glass, toward the snowy scene outside. "How about... going on a date? The scenery at Advanced Nurturing is nice today. Want to go together..."

"Okay!" Almost the instant his words fell, Morishita's voice arrived, blurting out, "I'm coming right now!"

"Where to?" Fuyuji grabbed the coat off the chair back and quickly replied.

"Doesn't matter! We'll figure it out once we're out. Hurry, hurry!"

"Can you be down in ten minutes? I'll change clothes right now."

"Five minutes! Lightning Blue makes her entrance!"

"Then I'll do three!"

A few minutes later, the entryway was a mess. Fuyuji, his scarf even tied crookedly, yanked the door open, running straight into Morishita Ai, who had come dashing down the stairs in a flurry, forgetting even her bag.

"Want to go have a snowball fight?" Fuyuji grabbed Morishita's little hand.

A stray lock of hair stuck up from Morishita's head. Her usually cool little face showed a look of impatient excitement. "I don't know, but I want to go out and play with you."

"Then let's run. See who gets outside first?"

"Just what I wanted. You're going to lose, boyfriend-kun."

"Heh heh. The old me with average stamina is dead. The current Fuyuji Mikage is invincible."

"People who say they're invincible always end up losing."

...

The door slammed shut with a bang, completely cutting off the light, cheerful voices of the two childish idiots.

"..."

Inside the room, having witnessed everything with its own eyes, the wild pigeon propped itself up on one wing, shook its pigeon head helplessly, turned around, and shifted to a more comfortable position to continue lying flat.

"Coo coo..." (Humans...)

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50 [Power Stones] = Bonus Chapter!