ajisai | s. shinichiro

二十一

The birth of the new couple at school immediately spread like wildfire. They couldn't comprehend as to how a Sano and a Mitsuya would suit and compliment each other, but nevertheless, the two of them were an adorable sight for sore eyes.

"Just look at the two of them being lovey dovey in campus." Seiko sulks, eating a spoonful of yogurt while watching Airi and Shinichiro sitting on a bench in the grass area. "The two of them makes me want to look for a boyfriend too."

"Maybe I should abandon the softball club and transfer to arts so I can get a boyfriend too." Roa says, a pout visible on her face. 

Meanwhile, Takeomi, Benkei and Wakasa were on the other side, watching their friend with wide eyes and jaws dropping.

"He...I....What..." Takeomi says, unable to form a sentence as his eyes are trained on the two.

"I guess were going to see him less and less now." Wakasa spoke. "We'll miss you, Shin."

"Goodbye night trips to bars, goodbye hooking him up with girls. We didn't noticed the signs." Benkei says. "Great man he is." He adds, shaking his head slowly. "Gone but never forgotten."

All the while the two friend groups were lamenting for the loss of their friends into going into a relationship, Airi and Shinichiro were very much into their own little world to notice other people talking about them.

Cupping his cheeks in her hands, a bright smile immediately paints Airi's lips. "Oh look at you, Shin! You look so cute and handsome! I'm really so in love with you!"

Copying her actions, Shinichiro smirks and cups her cheeks in his hands as well. "Oh look at you, Airi chan! You're so cute, you remind me of the full moon!"

Airi frowns, cheeks still being squished by him. "Is that your way of saying that my face is getting rounder?"

"Nope! If anything, you're looking more lovely than ever." He tells her. "And you're definitely much nicer to me than before!" He chuckles softly. "Even if your face slowly becomes round, you'll still look cute in my eyes."

"What happened to your hands?" Airi asks, taking a hold of them before lifting them up to level with her eyes. "Did you get into a fight?"

"Nope." Shinichiro responded, watching the girl before him holding both of his hands. "I...actually tried to make your favorite when we got home last night." He shyly admits, pink tint splotching on his cheeks.

Hearing his words made Airi giggle. "I'm guessing that you've never held a kitchen knife before and that you mistook salt and sugar, correct?"

"Hey! How did you know that?" Shinichiro asks, bewildered at how she got both right.

"Just a lucky guess." She says, cleaning his wounds before dampening it all with ointment. "Um...I hope you don't mind band aids with a Hello Kitty design."

Shinichiro grins, shaking his head. "I don't mind."

And with that, Airi proceeded to place band aids on his cuts, adorning most of his hand with yellow and pink colored aids that Shinichiro knows he'll be teased later on.

. . . . . . . . . . ♡

Later on that night, Airi sat on the foot of her bed while analyzing her painting of the afternoon sun setting from sitting a patio's point of view. Majority of the color she had used for this painting is orange, explaining why she was all out of orange and the other hues needed for it. But though that was the case, Airi was still lacking something she need to pass to Mr Gold before he would drop by the school again.

The problem is, she didn't what or who to use as her subject for that painting.

If she didn't get her thoughts organized, she'll never know what she wants to paint and if she doesn't know what to paint, she'll cram about it in the last hour which will affect Mr Gold's view on her and how he could possibly not give her dreamed recommendation letter to Musashino.

Sighing softly, she stood up on her bed and placed the large canvas on the art corner of her room, leaning it against the wall. Making a mental note to herself, she needed to get an orange oil paint tubes when visiting the crafts store. Taking out her backpack, she placed blue, pink and white and black tubes of oil paint, her paint brushes and sketch book before wrapping her 50 x 60 cm canvas with a large cloth.

If she wasn't going to get any ideas on what to paint, then she best knows which place to go to.

"Really?! You're dating older sister now?!" Emma gasps, her eyes gleaming upon hearing the news from Shinichiro himself. "Yay! I finally have an older sister!"

To say that Emma and Shinichiro are the only ones pleased to know about his love life was an understatement. Looking at it in a bigger perspective, Mikey and Izana were sulking on the couch, one had his arms crossed and other watching the television to divert his thoughts away.

"What did Airi nee even see in Shin taro." Izana complains, watching the TV with a bored expression.

"I wish I was five years older. Then I will be able to get Airi chin from Shin nii." Mikey sulks, arms crossed over his chest.

All the while the two were sulking and pouting in the living room, Emma continued to yank on the lower hem of Shinichiro's shirt with her small hand.

"Shin nii! Please invite older sister at our house on the weekend!"

"Shin nii! I want to play with older sister!

"Shin nii! I want to bake cupcakes with her!"

Due to Emma's never ending requests and demands, Shinichiro already felt dizzy and couldn't keep up with the many things Emma wanted to do with her. All he could do was lay down on the ground and see stars circulating above his head.

"Huh? Shin nii? Are you okay?" Emma asks, peering over at his face.

"He looks out of it already." Baji suddenly chimes as he enters the living room of the Sano household.

"He just needs some vitamin A!" Mikey responded, grinning at his older brother. "He just need some vitamin Airi chin!"