"I also think I'm super amazing!"
Hahaha, I'm being praised!
Asuka Youyou's lips curved into a wide smile, revealing two little canine teeth, and her deep pink eyes crinkled into crescents, making her look like a sweet little peach.
"I wonder if Asuka-san knows about a newly opened plant shop in Kanagawa?"
A plant shop?
There seemed to be one. It was right next to the dessert shop she frequented, and the plants inside were quite special. Sometimes she would even go out of her way to take a look when passing by.
"I know it. The plants there are quite special. Is Shusuke Fuji planning to go there?"
"Yes, I heard in Tokyo that a shop opened here, so I came specifically to take a look. But I don't know the exact location."
He paused, then continued.
"Thinking that Asuka-san goes to school in Kanagawa, I wanted to ask if you happen to know where it is."
"I'll take you there directly."
She couldn't tell east from west, nor could she describe directions. Even the dessert shop's route was only memorized with difficulty out of pure love for sweets. Having her guide the way with directions would be far less convenient than simply leading him there.
"Won't this interfere with Asuka-san's plans?"
Perhaps not expecting the girl to directly offer to guide him, Shusuke Fuji looked somewhat surprised.
"It won't interfere at all. I haven't decided where to hang out anyway, and going to a plant shop might just be a great choice."
The girl patted her bag, blinked at Shusuke Fuji, and said playfully, "Consider it my thanks for Shusuke Fuji's wet wipe!"
"Then thank you, Asuka-san."
"Sigh, please don't call me Asuka-san. It sounds so strange. Call me Asuka or Youyou, either is fine."
Having grown up in America, she had a somewhat hard time accepting Japanese cultural norms of addressing people strictly by first or last names. Anything would do—even giving her a nickname—but insisting on adding suffixes like "-san" felt rather awkward to her.
Even when she called him Shusuke Fuji, she had to think for a long time before remembering the etiquette Brother Renji had taught her.
Shusuke Fuji wasn't fussy either. Judging by how the girl could snap a man's arm with one hand, it was clear she was different from others and probably didn't grow up in a traditional Japanese household.
"Alright, Youyou. Then you can call me Shusuke too. From the look on your face when you called me Shusuke Fuji earlier, you seemed rather uncomfortable, as if it didn't roll off the tongue easily."
Amidst their conversation, the train soon arrived at their destination.
Asuka Youyou led Shusuke Fuji to the plant shop he had been longing for, and the two began examining the plants together.
Inside the plant shop, all kinds of exotic greenery dazzled the eyes. The most numerous species, however, were cacti.
The cacti came in various shapes; some looked like round spheres, some like palms, and others like pillars.
Their spines varied as well—some were slender and needle-like, while others were thick and segmented.
Among them was a potted cactus whose body glowed a vibrant red, resembling a cloud dyed by the setting sun.
Asuka Youyou looked at it in wonder. In all her life, she had never seen a cactus of this color.
Weren't cacti supposed to be green? Had this red one mutated?
There was another potted cactus whose spines were covered in white fuzz, making it look just like a cute little rabbit.
It made Asuka Youyou itch with the desire to touch it—what should she do, she kind of liked it! But remembering her track record of killing every plant she ever tried to grow, she put it down with tears in her eyes.
Sob, sob, my baby, Mommy can't take you home. In the future, grow up well in a place where Mommy can't reach you. I hope that next time I visit, you will have already met an owner who loves you.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Suddenly, a soft voice sounded right by her ear, and the warm breath from the boy gently brushed against the girl's flawless earlobe.
Asuka Youyou felt a tingling sensation run through her entire body, as if electric currents were coursing through her.
She instinctively tried to dodge, but her legs had grown somewhat numb from squatting for so long. This movement proved fatal, and she tumbled directly forward.
And she had to remember that right in front of her were nothing but cacti!Those spiky, thorny, rare, aggressive plants—cacti!
Her highly developed athletic reflexes instantly kicked in, and she threw her hands out to catch herself.
*I'm sorry, hands, but my face has to be saved!*
Paralyzed by fear, she squeezed her eyes shut. A slender, delicate hand grabbed her firmly by the arm, averting any possibility of injury.
She felt herself pulled into a warm embrace, and a scent as pleasant as sunshine permeated her nostrils.
How should she describe that fragrance?
It was like the body wash steaming off someone's skin right after a hot shower, diffusing all its aroma into the air, lingering together with the mist of water that hadn't yet completely dried.
It didn't just hover on the surface; it soaked into every pore, as if her entire being had been completely marked by it.
"Are you all right? I'm sorry, did I frighten you?"
At this moment, Shusuke Fuji was no longer the squinting, gently smiling sly bear. His eyes were wide open, revealing that pair of frost-clear, sapphire-blue eyes, resembling a vast ocean, resembling the azure sky.
"Your eyes... are so pretty."
As if under a spell, the girl couldn't help lightly tracing those eyes with her fingertip, murmuring softly before covering them entirely with her hand.
The boy's long, slender eyelashes brushed across the soft palm of her girl's hand, and for a moment, the two of you seemed to have forgotten to pull apart.
"What are you two doing?"
The commotion between them drew the attention of a store clerk.
As soon as the voice rang out, the two of them sprang apart as if they had been electrocuted, neither daring to look at the other.
Ah, ah, ah!
How mortifying! What on earth was she doing?
What did she mean by "your eyes are so pretty"?
Were the rest of his features not pretty, then?
No, what she meant was—how on earth did she suddenly blurt out something like that?
wasn't that hitting on someone? And she'd even laid hands on him!
She felt she had no face left to face Shusuke.
Regardless of the dramatic little plays running through the girl's mind, the boy seemed to have recovered his composure, completely shedding the awkwardness from a moment ago.
He even looked back at the girl with a smile, though this time his smile was much deeper than usual, as if brewing a massive storm, no longer that distant smile that never reached his eyes.
He opened and closed his palm, as if trying to catch something.
"Excuse me, could you please help me box up this potted cactus?"
Shusuke Fuji pointed to a cactus—the very one the girl had been staring at just a moment ago.
"Certainly."
*Hey!*
Isn't that her precious darling?
Catching the girl's gaze, Shusuke Fuji smiled even more gently. He took the bag from the clerk and walked over to her side.
"I saw you staring at it just now, so I took the liberty of buying it. Consider it compensation for startling you earlier. I hope you'll accept it."
"No, no, no, I couldn't. I'm a plant killer; everything I try to plant dies. Giving it to me would just be ruining its life."
Asuka Youyou stepped back in fright, as if the cactus might die in her hands the very next second.
Shusuke Fuji rested a finger against his chin in thought, murmuring, "Well then, how about this: I'll keep it for you, and whenever you want to see it, you can come over to my house. I'll cook you a delicious meal."
"No need, that's way too much trouble. Or perhaps—"
Before she could finish, he cut her off.
"Do you not want to forgive me, then?"
The boy looked at her with an aggrieved expression, making her feel as though she had committed some heinous crime.
"No, I don't. I just think it would be too much trouble for you."
Besides, were people in Tokyo all this warm and friendly? They actually liked inviting people they had just met over to their homes.
Yet upon seeing the boy's handsome face, the caution that had just arisen immediately settled back down.
Someone this good-looking could never be a bad person.
"It's no trouble at all. If you come to visit me, I'll only be very happy."