"But it's hard to say. Ajitani-chan will probably mention it to you then, or maybe she's just talking." Shouko scooted over to the tatami mat beside Tsuna and sat down.
"You're right." Tsuna nodded. He wasn't even sure if he'd be tied up with other things by then.
After all, it had been two months, so it was really hard to say.
The two continued to busy themselves with their own things: Shouko with her unfinished illustrations, and someone else watching a comedy variety show.
Later, Shouko, whose attention kept wandering, complained. Only then did Tsuna return to his unfinished work.
Dusty willow catkins accumulated on the convenience store awning. As the automatic door opened and closed, the cold air mixed with the salty smell of oden wafting out.
Middle school students had switched to short-sleeved white shirts, with two buttons undone at the collar. Their backpack straps left dark sweat marks on their damp backs.
Elementary school boys rolled up their yellow hats to use as fans, squatting in the shade of the vending machine, licking melting soda popsicles.
Girls from the track and field club, wearing their gym uniforms, jogged across the intersection, their ponytails glistening with sweat.
Thin quilts hung drying from residential balconies, and in the wind, the burnt aroma of someone's pan-fried salmon mingled with the distant honking of a tour bus.
"Shouko-chan! Absolute insider info—do you want to hear it?" Ajitani excitedly returned to her seat, winking at Shouko.
This sentence piqued the interest of someone nearby, who was looking at his phone.
Life had been uneventful for the past half-month. Tsuna had even started thinking about asking his father for some relevant information about his agency to study.
Sales of the first volume of Anohana were slowly rising, and Jun had stopped visiting him last week. Everything was progressing steadily.
Since the release of Anohana, no one in the class had suspected he was the author, although there had been online discussions about the identity of the author.
However, it remained just a simple discussion. No one suspected the author was a first-year high school student.
"Ajitani-chan, are your eyes bothering you…?"
"I…" Ajitani returned to her usual expression, her excitement dissipating somewhat from Shouko's words. "I have some good insider news. Do you want to hear it?"
"Is it about the school festival in October and the school trip to Osaka?" Shouko countered.
"..."
"How did you know!?" Ajitani exclaimed, now completely unexcited.
She had originally wanted to see Shouko's surprised or excited reaction…
"Because yesterday at noon, Miyamura told us, but you were still out washing your bento box then."
Just then, Takagi walked down the aisle to their left, pulled over her chair, and sat down. "We didn't take it seriously, but looking at your expression just now, I think it must be true."
"..." Ajitani slowly turned her head to look at Tsuna, her face full of resentment, as if she wanted to cut him with her eyes.
Tsuna shrugged. "I thought they told you yesterday."
Ajitani rolled her eyes dramatically, no longer looking at him, and continued to share the insider information she had overheard in the teachers' office with the two beside her.
"I heard that for the school trip, we're staying at a hot spring ryokan for three days," Ajitani said, holding up three fingers.
"Can we have free time there?"
"It's hard to say. For the students' safety, it should probably be limited to the area around the hot spring ryokan," Ajitani shook her head, dismissing Shouko's question.
"Hot spring ryokan…" Tsuna muttered softly, a bad feeling creeping up on him.
"The Sports Festival might be held in late September, or if not, then early November," Ajitani continued sharing.
It wasn't until the bell for the last class rang that Ajitani finished sharing the insider information she'd heard in the teachers' office. By then, she was surrounded by a circle of listeners.
"Alright, disperse, disperse," Ajitani waved her hand.
The listeners also returned contentedly to their seats before the teacher entered the classroom.
After the teacher finished the opening remarks, Tsuna stared out the window, drifting into a daze as he slowly processed the news Ajitani had just shared.
"Dong… dong… dong…!"
After the teacher announced dismissal and left the classroom, Tsuna said goodbye to a few people, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left school.
He got on his motorcycle and rode toward Futaba Publishing, following the mental map in his head.
Near dismissal time, he received a LINE message from Jun, asking him to come to Futaba Publishing, without explaining why.
However, since he had nothing to do after school, he went without much thought.
After about twenty minutes of riding, he parked his motorcycle downstairs at Futaba Publishing. His gaze swept over the staff members coming and going.
Looking at their lifeless faces, he vaguely saw his own future self a few years down the line.
He pulled his thoughts back and, under the gaze of the security guard, walked into the building, took the elevator to the Futaba Publishing floor, greeted the security guard at the door, and went straight to Jun's cubicle.
"Jun, why did you call me?"
"Miyamura-sensei, the ending of the second volume of The Flower We Saw That Day—"
Before she could finish, Tsuna turned to leave, but she stopped him.
"Alright, alright, I'll get to the point. Really, you're not like a high school student at all. You can't take a joke." Jun ignored Tsuna's speechless expression and sighed lightly.
"Is it about the second volume?" Tsuna entered an empty discussion room with her, guessing.
"Yes," Fengye Shun nodded, unsurprised that he had guessed correctly. "It's about the discussion and revision of the manuscript for the second volume, as well as the confirmation of the binding and layout."
The two then talked in the discussion room for over an hour before leaving. As Tsuna left, he also received a razor blade model pendant from Jun.
"I've already thought about it. Once your book is out, I'll put this pendant up for sale on the official website. I don't even know how much I'll earn."
"..." Tsuna ignored her daydreaming, accepted the pendant, thanked her, and turned to leave.
By the time he picked up Shouko and returned home, it was already past five o'clock. He also conveniently gave the razor blade pendant to Shouko.
After some playful banter, Shouko left his house. When she returned, the night sky was already filled with stars, and the streetlights had all turned on.
"Tsuna, what do you think if I open an account on 'Skeb' specifically for Anohana illustrations?" Shouko suddenly sat up from someone's bed and suggested.
Upon hearing this, Tsuna didn't immediately offer an opinion. Instead, he first searched for 'Skeb,' the platform she mentioned.
He learned that 'Skeb' was a platform for illustration and design commissions and submissions, where creators could publish portfolios, accept paid commissions for custom content from users, and also supported anonymous submissions and commissions to protect privacy.
"'Pixiv' would also work, right? You can also take commissions and monetize there, right?"