Chapter 556: Practical Battle at the Furniture Store in Daylight

Chapter 556: Practical Battle at the Furniture Store in Daylight

The next morning, despite whatever mess was happening at home, Himekoji calmly got up, washed his face, and left the house.

He had no time to make a Bento today. Otherwise, if Akiko caught them later, all four of them would skip school! All of them would skip!

Of course, Himekoji didn’t expect that he would still skip school after arriving there.

He was dragged by Yukinoshita to skip school!

It was simply unbelievable!

That Yukinoshita, who was top with the highest test score in the whole school and an absolute honor student, who seemed like she never broke any school rule even once, was now pulling him out of school, going against the stream of students heading inside.

It felt like she was leading him to fly out of his cage.

“No, no, Yukinoshita, what are we doing?” Himekoji ran after her, completely confused.

“We are going to buy furniture,” Yukinoshita replied simply and clearly.

As for why they needed to buy furniture, it was to prepare for living together, of course!

True to her nature, Yukinoshita was quick and decisive, without any hesitation. That neat and efficient style was what Himekoji admired most.

But —

“Isn’t today a school day? This is skipping class!”

“Then skip it,” Yukinoshita said in a matter-of-fact tone, like talking about eating or drinking.

Himekoji was stunned.

“No, umm, you’ve never skipped school before, right?”

So, was her first time skipping meant for him?

Thinking that way felt amazing!

“Yes, I never skipped before, and I won’t skip later. Are you implying I’m the black sheep who ignores school rules or acts selfishly?” At this point, Yukinoshita paused her steps and gave him several meaningful looks.

This gesture instantly made the image of a “black sheep” vivid in Himekoji’s mind, like looking in a mirror.

Yes, he knew she meant him—he often skipped school, after all!

But —

“It’s surprising that one day, Yukinoshita would become my co-conspirator too.”

Making someone who never skips school skip it with you? That must be love!

“Don’t act all familiar; that’s gross! What co-conspirator? You’re the only criminal here, not me,” Yukinoshita snapped, letting go of Himekoji’s hand. Like a proud Ice Queen, she backed away from him with disgust and exaggeration.

“Huh? Didn’t we skip school together? We’re both criminals!” Himekoji was confused, not understanding what she was playing at.

“You skipped all on your own. I applied for exchange student status, so now I’m enjoying a nice holiday.”

Yukinoshita calmly tidied the hair by her ear, trying to act composed, but the next moment, she couldn’t help tilting her head and sneaking a sideways glance up at Himekoji’s face.

Seeing Himekoji look dumbfounded, the corners of Yukinoshita’s mouth curved slightly, as if a kid’s long-planned prank had finally worked, and she couldn’t hold back her smile.

“Heh!”

So Himekoji laughed too.

He didn’t mind her prank—no, quite the opposite. If just being tricked once could reward him with such a bright, sparkling, and charming smile from Yukinoshita, it must be a great deal.

“Alright, alright, I’ll be the sole criminal then.” Himekoji suddenly stepped forward grinning and grabbed Yukinoshita’s hand. “But hey, Ms. Beauty, you’re all alone in the hands of a poor yet evil criminal like me now. Aren’t you scared?”

“Why should I be? Are you going to eat me or something?”

Yukinoshita glared at Himekoji. It was a challenge—absolutely a challenge!

But Himekoji resisted!

“I would never eat you. I’ll hold you in my grasp and make you my hostage forever.”

“Okay, then forever…”

Yukinoshita lowered her flushed face and whispered in agreement.

Amid the noisy car horns on the street, Himekoji heard it clearly.

…

At the shopping mall.

They had lots to buy, but Yukinoshita and Himekoji both agreed to start by choosing a big double bed, one sturdy enough for the two of them to move around freely.

The bed was the top priority!

They looked all around the furniture store, but in the end, Himekoji had trouble deciding.

“It would be great if we could try each one.”

Offhand, Himekoji’s comment sparked an idea in Yukinoshita’s mind.

With a strange look and a bit of hesitation, she still spoke quietly: “Then, let’s try each one?”

“Huh?!”

Yukinoshita didn’t waste time—she pulled Himekoji down to a net cafe under the mall. They got a small booth, and the space was just enough for two people to lie side by side.

“Can you fall asleep?” Yukinoshita asked after closing her eyes first.

“It’s kinda hard,” Himekoji answered honestly.

“Hang in there.”

“O-okay…”

After the Nurse’s Office, he and Yukinoshita were finally at it again—

The daytime sleep test!

Luckily, this time they both slipped into dreams one after the other. Yukinoshita only waited for Himekoji a little longer. Was it thanks to sleeping badly last night?

“Let’s begin, trying each one out!”

Yukinoshita always seemed bolder and more active in dreams. Yes, this was the Yukinoshita Himekoji loved.

The huge furniture store had only Himekoji and Yukinoshita in it, empty and spacious, with all kinds of beds and sofas for them to go wild as they pleased.

Love dreams could be done this way!

Clothes scattered about everywhere, and every bed and sofa set showed signs of their “battle.”

It wasn’t until afternoon that Himekoji came out of the net cafe, holding his aching lower back, his steps shaky and his face pale. Beside him, Yukinoshita stretched lazily, looking energetic and lively.

Back at the furniture store, without pause, Yukinoshita pointed and picked the white ash wood double bed they’d seen in the dream.

It had cleared their practical test perfectly.

Compared to rubber wood, elm wood, or beech wood, white ash wood stood out in both density and toughness!

Durable and excelled in practice!

With the big item handled, they went on to buy ordinary daily bits, like Pajamas for two, couple’s toothbrushes, couple’s… well, not the last item actually.

Near evening, they visited a shrine together, passing by along the way and deciding to stop in for prayers.

The shrine’s ema, or wishing plaques, cost 250 yen each. Himekoji wanted to buy for Yukinoshita, but she refused with annoyance.

“Only self-bought ones work!” She shot him a look and said so.

“Right.”

Himekoji shrugged, put the extra money back in his pocket, then wrote his wish on his ema, tied it with a red string, and hung it up.

Yukinoshita copied him, as if seeing her own reflection.

“What did you wish for?” Yukinoshita combed her bangs, seeming curious but pretending to be casual.

Himekoji found it funny. He pointed at his just-hung ema. “Please inspect it.”

“Hmph.”

Yukinoshita pretended not to care, but her tiny pride was no match for curiosity after all.

Since the ema were openly hung up, anyone could see what others wrote.

She looked at Himekoji’s wishing plaque and instantly read the wish—

“World peace.”

“Huh?!” Yukinoshita gaped, startled and cute with her dazed face.

After recovering for a bit, she couldn’t help grumbling at Himekoji. “Can’t you be serious with wishes?!”

“World peace” was too big and vague, wasn’t it?

Compared to that, her wish seemed super selfish and embarrassing…

Himekoji explained slowly and steadily. “I was very serious!”

“World peace? How is that serious?”

“Because it’s world peace, that’s why it’s serious. What I want is ‘world’ and ‘peace’!”

“Huh?!”

“‘World’ is Yukinoshita, and ‘peace’ is also Yukinoshita—it’s all Yukinoshita for me.”

“T-that so?”

It sounded touching at first, but Yukinoshita thought it over and sensed something wrong.

“Wait! You say your ‘world’ is me? I can accept that. But why is ‘peace’ me too?”

Yukinoshita tried to kick Himekoji, and he bolted out of the shrine.

“I just like flat-chested!”

“Stop! You flat-chest-loving brat!”

“Don’t hit me! I never said I like flat-chests!” Himekoji ducked his head and ran, taking his words back.

“That makes it worth hitting more!” Yukinoshita chased after him with a scowl.

“I don’t like flat-chests—I just like you when you’re flat-chested!”

“Huh?! I have no idea what you’re saying!”

“To sum up, I like you—flat-chested you—not just your flat chest.”

The key word was “you.”

He liked Yukinoshita whether she had small or large breasts, but he’d prefer bigger ones if possible.

After more chasing around —

“Hmph, this time… I’ll let you off the hook.”

Outside the shrine, on the stone steps with fate ties, the wind lifted her skirt briefly. Like an evening bloom, a soft and content smile flashed across Yukinoshita’s face.

Her wish was —

“Be together forever.”

Really, the word “forever” was only spoken to the gods by fools in love.

Yukinoshita never believed in “forever.”

But she was one of those fools now.