Hiratsuka Shizuka followed Yuno Gasai, who was dressed in a black dress, winding through the yard—come to think of it, even though both of them were here for the first time, why did she seem so familiar with the place?
"Miss Hiratsuka."
While Hiratsuka Shizuka followed behind, the pink-haired girl in front suddenly stopped and called out to her without turning around.
"What is it?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka asked casually as she walked to her car, leaned against the door, and lit a cigarette for herself.
Ssh— Ssh—
Thick smoke was soon exhaled by the woman.
Yuno Gasai stood calmly in the smoke, her expression unchanged as she made a request: "Could Miss Hiratsuka please stop disturbing Tsukisa and the orphanage so often in the future?"
"Huh?" With the cigarette dangling from her crooked mouth, the girl in front of Hiratsuka Shizuka had calmly uttered some very rude words.
"Disturbing? What do you mean by that? That's too rude. I came here today to apologize."
Yuno Gasai showed an extremely standard smile: "Of course, you've already done what you needed to do, haven't you? As for what follows, there's no need to trouble Miss Hiratsuka and that eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita Family."
The girl put extra emphasis on the words "eldest daughter."
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at Yuno Gasai with some displeasure through the drifting smoke from her fingertips.
She and Sen Getsusa had witnessed a'supernatural event' together. As a mere friend, what right and standing did she have to say such rude things?
"You'll be my student once school starts. Don't you know to use honorifics when speaking to an elder?"
She used the fingers holding her cigarette to point critically at the girl who maintained an elegant posture.
Since the other party wasn't being very polite, the lively and unconventional personality that Hiratsuka Shizuka had been suppressing internally began to resurface.
"I am your teacher, you know?" The woman raised her chin provocatively.
"Once school starts, I will face you with an attitude of great, great respect for Miss Hiratsuka. But... before that, I'd like you to listen to my'suggestion'."
"After all, you and the lady from the Yukinoshita Family have already caused a lot of trouble for Tsukisa and the orphanage. Haven't you?"
"Didn't I say I already had Haruno handle it?" Hiratsuka Shizuka scratched her head impatiently, threw away her cigarette butt, and crushed the sparks with her high heels: "I've apologized too, you're just a—"
"Then please get lost, alright?"
This sentence made Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes widen.
"Wh-What did you say?! You're saying that to me?"
"Telling me to 'get lost'?!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka simply couldn't believe it!
The elegant and relaxed girl in front of her didn't care at all. She even kicked her heels slightly. Then, her profile finally turned, facing Hiratsuka Shizuka directly, the wind swaying the hem of her black dress.
Then, that composed expression suddenly became hideous and distorted!
"I suppose so. Get lost, don't you understand?"
"You're such a troublesome woman, even sending messages to Tsukisa. But luckily, I helped her delete them."
Her pale pupils stared straight at Hiratsuka Shizuka, giving the woman leaning against the sports car a chilly sensation.
"You and your friend, don't come disturbing Tsukisa again, understand?"
Yuno Gasai suddenly laughed eerily, her mouth pulling back to reveal neat teeth that seemed even colder in the sunlight: "If Tsukisa is troubled because of you again..."
"I'll cut your head, and your friend's head... off!"
"Cut them off!!"
Yuno Gasai giggled, her fingers twisting irregularly while her other hand gripped her skirt tightly, trying her best to restrain some internal impulse.
Hiratsuka Shizuka's mouth hung open, and she subconsciously pressed herself tightly against the car door, trying to keep her body as far away from Yuno Gasai as possible.
She wanted to loudly scold this young girl, wanted to reply to that childish threat—'Who would be afraid? Why don't you try cutting it off then?!'
But Hiratsuka Shizuka's throat seemed to be choked by something, allowing only airflow to pass through without being able to utter any complete words.
That terrifying aura made it feel as if the girl in front of her would swing a giant axe and chop off her head in the next moment.
She gasped with a raspy throat, her chest heaving.
This feeling... where exactly had it appeared before?
And at this time, the girl across from her had already readjusted to an elegant and modest posture. She gave the speechless Hiratsuka Shizuka a deep bow, her mouth curling into a huge arc that lacked even a shred of a smile.
"Goodbye, Hiratsuka Shizuka... Teach-er."
The girl turned and walked away, her pink hair swaying, leaving behind a stunned and uncertain Hiratsuka Shizuka by the sports car... "Are the things packed?"
Sen Getsusa asked casually, twirling her hair with her finger.
Aria nodded: "We don't want the rest. I thought about it for a long time; since Tsukisa is prepared, let's just throw away those old things. The important stuff is packed and ready for them to come over anytime."
Sen Getsusa took out her phone, made a call, and said a few words.
Aria stared out the door thoughtfully, muttering to herself: "That girl has a very strong sense of possessiveness."
"What?" Sen Getsusa tilted her head to listen.
Aria hesitated for a moment before asking indirectly: "It's nothing. That Child Yuno... what do you think of her?"
Sen Getsusa finished her call with the moving company on the other end, confirming they were ready, and put down the phone.
"What? What's wrong with Yuno?"
Aria repeated: "I said, that Child Yuno."
"What do you think of her?"
Sen Getsusa wanted to make a joke, but was interrupted by the old woman's continued words: "I mean your opinion. Don't tell me things like 'I watch her while bathing'. You've certainly become quite open lately. That Child has some psychological trauma, doesn't she?"
"Yeah. But Yuno is a very good person. She's been taking care of me all this time. Although I've been the one taking care of others since I was little, after experiencing it for a while—I have to say, the feeling of being taken care of is really nice."
Sen Getsusa nodded, stood up, took a box of snacks from the drawer next to Aria, pulled out a chocolate stick and held it in her mouth. She rested her face in her right palm, the snack stick bobbing up and down.
Aria's lips moved, and with a complex expression, she rephrased: "You and Yuno... cough. Just get along well."
Sen Getsusa gave Aria a strange look: "We get along very well? What's wrong, Grandma?"
Aria was speechless.
The girl she had watched grow up seemed to be terribly weak in certain areas.
"That one from the Tojo... family, she was the one who took the initiative to pursue you back then, right?"
Sen Getsusa nodded.
As expected.
Aria understood.
"Actually, that Child Yuno's feelings for you—"
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps interrupted the answer the old woman was about to reveal.
"Grandma Ailiya, let me help you pack!"
Yuno Gasai, who had been listening for who knows how long, suddenly appeared. She walked on tiptoe to the old woman's side, grabbed her arm, and shook it affectionately.
Aria looked down, meeting those pink eyes.
The old and the young stared at each other.
Stare—
"...Fine. Let's pack. I won't say... won't say anymore."
Aria sighed and gently patted Yuno Gasai's arm with her rough, aged palm.
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