Akira replied without hesitation, "Plus the few cute keychains I bought you when we went shopping last time."

He walked to the bed and reached out to place his hand on her forehead.

"I'm having my period, okay? It's not a cold," Shouko looked at him quietly, not resisting his actions, just complaining a little.

"When I was researching, some experts said a small number of girls might also have a slight cold when they get their period."

Seeing nothing unusual, Akira pinched her slightly fleshy cheek before withdrawing his hand.

Shouko rolled her eyes at him. "I think you just wanted to pinch my face, okay?"

She still held a hint of doubt about the "expert" he mentioned.

After all, it was her first period, and Mom and Aunt Miyamura hadn't said it would come with a cold.

So… she decided to tentatively believe Akira's expert anyway.

"How does your stomach feel?" Akira, seeing she'd seen through him, quietly changed the subject.

Shouko shifted inward to make a little space and said weakly, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt much. As long as I'm lying down, I don't feel it."

"That's good. Then you don't need to take the painkiller Mom bought you for now," Akira nodded and sat down.

The doctor had also said: if the pain isn't obvious, try not to take painkillers.

"Okay, okay—can you lie down?" Shouko sighed when he just sat there doing nothing else. Sometimes he really was a block of wood. She'd made space for him to lie down, yet he chose to sit.

"Is that okay?" Akira hesitated.

This was Shouko's house. If Grandma Nishimiya or Yuzuru suddenly opened the door and saw them lying together… would they think he was taking advantage of Shouko while she was uncomfortable?

Although, most likely, they'd just pretend not to see.

As for Aunt Nishimiya—sorry, she was at work and wouldn't see.

"I'm the patient now. You should listen to me," Shouko said, tossing the panda doll she was holding aside and patting the bed next to Akira.

"Alright then."

Seeing this, Akira stopped hesitating, lay down, and conveniently pulled Shouko's pink blanket over his belly.

Once he lay down, Shouko scooted close, draped a leg over him, and wrapped her arms around him.

Hugging a panda couldn't compare to hugging Akira.

She even thought maybe she could use the same excuse every time she had her period. Just thinking about it made her want to grin… but she forced the corners of her mouth to behave.

"Shouko, can't you be good and rest? You're still uncomfortable…"

"Shut up. Don't talk. I need to sleep now."

Akira, cowed by her bared teeth, obediently chose silence.

"Turn over and face me. This is inconvenient."

"Oh."

He turned to face her. Shouko burrowed into his chest, hugged him tightly, and used his arm as a pillow.

But thinking his arm would go numb, she adjusted: head on the pillow, his arm under her neck—comfortable for both.

After tweaking positions, she chatted a few more lines and slipped into a deep sleep.

Before long, the bored Akira also nodded off.

"Knock, knock, knock…"

After who knew how long, knocking sounded, followed by Yuzuru's worried voice:

"Sis, how are you now? Still uncomfortable?"

"Knock, knock…" With no answer, Yuzuru knocked again.

"Sis? Are you asleep?"

"It's fine, Yuzuru. Akira is in there keeping your sister company. Nothing will happen," Grandma Nishimiya called from the living room. Googlᴇ search novelꜰire.net

"…Akira is inside?" Yuzuru blinked. "But no one answered when I knocked…"

She hesitated at the door, then gently turned the knob, pushed it open—

—and froze at the sight.

She wasn't a little kid anymore. Friends and classmates talked about boys and girls.

She knew Sis liked Akira, and Akira liked Sis.

But she hadn't expected them to be this bold, not even afraid of being seen by her or Grandma.

Judging by their posture, Sis had even initiated it!

She remembered Chizuru saying something about this being a "giveaway girl" situation…

Even if it wasn't, it seemed to be heading in that direction.

See no evil, hear no evil. She took one quick look, ran out for her camera, snapped a photo, and left the room—gently closing the door behind her.

"How is it? Is Shouko feeling better?" Grandma Nishimiya asked when she saw Yuzuru walk back into the living room with a camera.

Yuzuru waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, Shouko's fine. She's sleeping soundly."

She plopped onto the coffee table bench and checked the photo on the camera.

If it was a little blurry, she'd go take another. Sharing it with Aunt Miyamura—oh, she'd definitely like it.

Grandma Nishimiya nodded. Hearing Shouko was sleeping soundly meant no discomfort. Then she asked, curious:

"What about Akira?"

"Him? He's also sleeping soundly—"

Yuzuru clapped a hand over her mouth mid-sentence, then slowly turned her head toward Grandma on the sofa…

Seeing Grandma's eyes still glued to the TV, she patted her chest in relief. Good—she hadn't heard.

After an unknown while, Akira slowly opened his eyes to the soft weight in his arms.

He rubbed at them, and seeing she was still asleep, he slipped his phone from his pocket to check the time: 10:26.

Seeing it was about time, he gently shook the person in his arms. "Shouko, time to get up."

When she didn't react, he shook her again. "It's past ten. If you keep hugging me, Grandma Nishimiya and Yuzuru might see you.

Why don't you let go of me and keep sleeping?"

"Mmm…"

Akira waited for her to let go after that muffled reply—

—but she only hugged him tighter.

"You really should wake up. You don't want Grandma Nishimiya and Yuzuru to know, do you?" Akira said helplessly, giving her another little shake.

"Just five more minutes…"

"Alright then," Akira sighed, stopping. He glanced at the time and silently mapped out the plan in his head.

In a few days, he'd start drafting the opening volume of "Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day" and submit it to test the waters.

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