Chapter 249: Boyfriend, Girlfriend

Winter snow had laid a thick, plush blanket over Advanced Nurturing High School. As far as the eye could see, the whole campus was a pristine white.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Outside the dormitory entrance, the biting cold wind howled past, carrying winter’s signature piercing chill. As it filled their lungs with each breath, the two who had rushed eagerly out of the dormitory shivered on the spot.

“…”

Fuyuji Mikage and Morishita Ai exchanged a glance. Each saw reflected in the other’s eyes their own face, pale from the cold, and the flush rapidly spreading across their cheeks.

Two neat, synchronized steps backward. The two tacitly retreated into the dormitory lobby. Spring-like warmth descended upon them once more.

“Aah…”

Both closed their eyes and let out a comfortable sigh in unison.

“It started snowing again so soon. Now I get why there are so few people out today.”

Gazing at the completely frozen pond in the distance, Fuyuji voiced this sentiment.

“We’re already out. Going back now would be such a waste. Almighty boyfriend, think of something fast.” A small foot clad in fuzzy ankle boots and black tights kicked Fuyuji’s calf, neither too light nor too heavy.

“The solution is…”

Fuyuji pondered for a moment, then dropped into a crouch with a swoosh. One arm hooked under Morishita’s delicate knee, the other supported her neck. He scooped her up horizontally, and with the bearing of a dragon and the stride of a tiger, covered two steps in one, plunging into the wind and snow.

“Charge! Burn, my cosmo!”

“Aaah, perverted boyfriend, ambushing me like that! Put me down!”

…

Twenty minutes later.

The two had a snowball fight on the empty sports field. At first, Morishita clutched snowballs and chased Fuyuji from one end of the field to the other. After Fuyuji finished his call with Miki, Morishita was chased back the way she came, clutching her head and fleeing, yelling the whole way about how heartless her boyfriend was.

When Morishita’s energy was mostly spent and she truly couldn’t run anymore, the two helped dust the snow off each other. They ducked into a convenience store, grabbed some food to replenish their energy, and then began wandering the campus aimlessly.

The snow beneath their feet was packed down, giving off soft crunch crunch sounds. The distant school buildings looked especially serene under their white covering. It was as if the whole world had shrunk to this one corner, and the person beside them.

“Hey hey, boyfriend-kun.” Morishita tilted her head slightly, looking down, idly poking the yellow fishballs in her cup with a bamboo skewer.

“What is it?”

“Where’s your home?” Morishita speared a fishball and naturally held it up to Fuyuji’s mouth.

Fuyuji’s steps suddenly halted. Without changing his expression, he bit down on the fishball and mumbled, “Why bring that up all of a sudden?”

“Because I want to know more about my boyfriend.” Her voice was very soft.

“A fishing village far away from Tokyo, I guess.” Fuyuji tried to change the subject with a perfectly normal expression. “What about you, Ai?”

“Tokyo. The Morishita family in Chiyoda Ward. Boyfriend-kun, you’d better remember that.”

“Okay.”

Fuyuji nodded and reached out to gently tuck a strand of her wind-blown hair behind her ear.

…

After walking a bit further, Morishita’s pace suddenly slowed. Her body also leaned slightly toward Fuyuji.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“That…”

Morishita pointed with her skewer at a bench not far away, covered in thick snow. A heavy layer had piled up on the backrest. Above the backrest, a few bare branches crisscrossed, sketching simple, powerful lines against the pure blue sky.

“Tired?”

“Yeah.” Morishita nodded emphatically.

“Then let’s go. Take a rest.”

Fuyuji walked over quickly. Not caring about the cold, he used his gloved hand to sweep most of the snow off the bench with a whoosh. He patted the empty space beside him. “Please have a seat, my lady girlfriend.”

Morishita walked over but didn’t sit immediately. Her small mouth puckered slightly, her face full of disdain. “Stupid boyfriend, not like that.”

“Huh?” The smile on Fuyuji’s face froze. He said, startled. “Then how?”

She let out a helpless sigh, looking like her boyfriend was beyond saving. Then she extended a hand in a woolen glove and swept an even larger area clear on the partially cleared bench. She took Fuyuji’s hand, led him to the edge, and pushed him down to sit.

“Boyfriend sits down first. Then,” she turned sideways, her back to the bench, spread her arms, leaned her body slightly backward, rose onto her tiptoes, a faint blush coloring her cheeks, “you have to hold me. That’s the right way.”

“…”

Fuyuji froze for a moment, then caught on. A smile spread through his eyes.

He reached out, steadily supporting her shoulders and the sides of her waist, and little by little lifted Morishita onto his lap, settling her securely. His chin rested lightly on her shoulder. His cheek pressed against her soft hair. He felt the incomparable softness of the girl in his arms and the peachy fragrance of her scent.

Their body heat passed through their clothing, driving away each other’s chill.

“This works, right, my dear girlfriend?”

“Mmhm, not bad.” Morishita raised her small face and nodded coolly. “As expected of my boyfriend. Here…”

Another bamboo-skewered fish cake, this one with a crescent-shaped bite taken out of it, was held up to Fuyuji’s mouth.

“Why is it one you’ve already bitten again?”

“If you have a complaint, please call the Blue Hotline complaint number,” Morishita said with a stern little face, utterly serious. “It will shut down 0.01 seconds after the call connects.”

Fuyuji: “…”

So basically, complaints aren’t accepted?

A few minutes passed.

After quickly finishing the fast food they’d bought, the two sat stacked on the bench amid the empty snowy scenery. Their breath condensed into little white puffs in the cold air. It was so quiet around them that they could hear the soft rustle of snowflakes falling, and each other’s steady breathing.

Morishita rested her head against Fuyuji’s chest. She looked down and playfully kicked at the fluffy fresh snow by her feet with the tip of her boot, watching it scatter like fine powdered sugar and settle back onto the snow, giving off a faint shh shh sound.

“Boyfriend-kun.”

“Hm?”

“…Nothing.” She paused, burying her face a little deeper into her soft scarf, leaving only a pair of bright eyes gazing at the empty, deserted tree-lined path ahead. “Just feels… really quiet.”

Fuyuji looked down at her profile, wrapped in scarf and hat so that only a small half of her face was visible. A tiny snow crystal clung to her long eyelashes. He silently tightened the arm around her, drawing the girl in his arms deeper into his embrace.

After a good while, Morishita spoke again in a low voice, muffled in her scarf, carrying a soft, fuzzy quality.

“Boyfriend-kun, I want ice cream.”

Fuyuji blinked, then laughed soundlessly, a faint tremor passing through his chest.

“Let’s go to Keyaki Mall together later? Just so we’re clear in advance, you can only have one.”

“Okay! And also…” Morishita’s voice perked up, then suddenly stopped.

Fuyuji blinked. “And also what?”

“Boyfriend-kun, I really do like you.”

“…”

A smile naturally traced itself at the corner of Fuyuji’s mouth. He said softly, “I like you too, Ai.”

…

By the time night fell, the moon quietly climbed above the branches. Its cool light spilled like silver gauze over the snow of Advanced Nurturing High School. The pure white snow blanket of the day now shimmered with a faint, deep blue glow.

Ding!

A crisp sound rang through the corridor. The elevator doors opened in response.

“Zoom, Lightning Blue makes her entrance.”

Morishita was the first to step out of the elevator, her steps as light as a cat that had just stolen a dried fish. Her deep blue hair bounced at her shoulders with each movement. She ran a few steps to her room door, pressed the doorbell with a smack, and raised her hand high.

“First place, arriving first. Boyfriend loses!”

Fuyuji trailed a step behind, a half-human-height dolphin plush tucked under his arm. His gaze stopped indignantly on that small face, expressionless yet tinged with a faint pink glow under the light.

“You actually snuck ahead? So cunning, girlfriend-chan.”

“Heh heh, boyfriend-kun, this is something you don’t know,” Morishita said, solemnly raising a finger. Her purple-pink eyes were startlingly bright under the light. The corner of her mouth curved up in a tiny arc. “Mother told me that girls out in the world have to be a little cunning, or else they’ll get tricked by their boyfriends. However, boyfriend’s task completion rate today… ninety-eight percent! Two points deducted because boyfriend-kun ate my ice cream.”

“Hey hey, Morishita-sama,” Fuyuji stepped closer and said irritably, “didn’t we agree on one bite each? Eating too much ice cream in the dead of winter isn’t good.”

Morishita’s excited little face turned cold in an instant. Without sorrow or joy, she stated, “Then why did you bite off half in one go? And I paid for it.”

“Cough cough, well, that’s…” Fuyuji looked a bit awkward, his eyes darting around. “Because the ice cream in Ai’s hand tastes better.”

“Count yourself as having passed.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for your generosity and mercy, Morishita-sama.”

Unknowingly, the two had arrived at Morishita’s room. Fuyuji stuffed the plush into her hands and said softly, “Well then… girlfriend-chan, see you tomorrow?”

The moment those words landed, the atmosphere, so cheerful a second ago, dropped a few degrees. The corridor lights seemed to grow colder too.

“…Mm.”

Holding the plush with both hands, Morishita lowered her head. Her eyelids, framed by long lashes, blinked a few times. She gave a low response.

“Bye-bye, boyfriend…”

With one last glance up at Fuyuji, she turned with a beep and twisted open her door, slowly stepping into her room.

“Bye-bye, girlfriend…”

On the other side, Fuyuji turned his body and headed toward the elevator. His clear footsteps echoed through the empty corridor. Each step felt like it landed on cotton, both light and carrying an inexplicable sense of emptiness.

One step. Two steps. Three steps…

A few steps out, Fuyuji suddenly stopped. He abruptly turned around and strode back the way he came.

No! I still have to see her safely into her room.

What if she tripped at the door studying the carpet pattern?

Just now… there was something I forgot to say! Right. I definitely forgot to say something!

Almost at the same instant, Morishita, who had just stepped into her room, spun on her toes and turned around quickly, her skirt flaring in a small arc.

“Wait—”

“Ai—”

Their eyes met. Their gazes collided. The cold air around them seemed to freeze.

Fuyuji’s throat felt a little dry. “Ai…”

Morishita’s voice carried a faint tremor. “Boyfriend…”

“That…” x2

They spoke at the same time, then stopped at the same time. A flutter of emotion silently sprouted in both their hearts.

In that instant, the little face that had been struggling to maintain its coolness was now stained with an intoxicating pink. Morishita’s eyes darted away for a moment, then quickly looked back at him. She stammered, “M-my room’s fish can do backflips. B-boyfriend-kun, do you want to come in and see?”

“Perfect timing, Ai. Actually, I have superpowers. I’ll help you train these fish, so you won’t keep killing them off anymore.” Fuyuji blurted out, replying at breakneck speed, striding toward Morishita at the same time.

In just a few words, the two tacitly closed the distance, moving toward each other.

The giant dolphin plush was completely forgotten by its owner, sliding softly to the floor.

The next second, the two hugged tightly.

Morishita’s cool cheek instantly buried itself in the crook of his neck. Both hands wrapped tightly around his waist, as if she wanted to embed herself in him.

Fuyuji’s arms also closed in, wrapping her petite body completely in his embrace and under his coat. His chin rested against the soft top of her head. He drew a deep breath. It was all the familiar, sweet peachy fragrance of her hair.

He lowered his head. She rose on her tiptoes. They quietly gazed at each other. Their warm breaths brushed each other’s faces. Their breathing quickened in that moment.

With a bang, the door shut completely, cutting off the white fluorescent light of the corridor.

Fuyuji lowered his head, greedily taking in every scent of the girl.

Morishita responded clumsily yet fervently. Her hands unconsciously climbed to his shoulders, her fingertips instinctively clutching tight at the fabric of his coat. The cold door panel dug into her back, but it was completely isolated by the burning body heat in front of her.

In their little world, only their intermingled breathing and heartbeats remained.

A long while later, their lips parted…

Both were slightly panting, foreheads pressed together.

Gazing at the utterly familiar little face before him, Fuyuji panted roughly. “Ai, I like you. Let me eat you up, okay?”

“But boyfriend-kun, I’m a little scared.” A hint of tears crept into Morishita’s voice.

“It’s okay. I’ll be very gentle.” Fuyuji held her tighter, their bodies pressed tightly together without a sliver of space between them. “It’s my first time too.”

“Then… boyfriend, make it a little smaller—mmph!”

Before she could finish, Morishita’s lips were sealed. Her pink-blue eyes flew wide open. Her whole body was easily lifted by powerful arms. Her fuzzy ankle boots slipped off to the floor with two pats, revealing slender feet clad in black tights, toes as soft and silky as black chocolate, helplessly stretching and curling in the cool air…

Outside the window, the snow began to fall again, fluttering and swirling, silently covering the earth, over and over, without end, wrapping the entire campus in a pure, pristine quiet. So quiet that the whole world seemed to contain only the two people in that room, holding each other tightly, their breaths intertwined.