Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093083511177921/episodes/16818622175892446556
The next morning.
I arrived at the usual shopping mall.
The message sent by Hina said, “I’m already here.”
Feeling a little nervous, I headed toward my destination and found Hina standing next to the Christmas tree-decorated plaza, holding her smartphone.
She was dressed in her usual cute clothes and looked especially radiant in the clear winter air. When she noticed me, Hina smiled softly and waved her hand lightly.
“Hikaru, sorry to keep you waiting. I am late.”
“No, I thought I might have arrived too early.”
I was too embarrassed to say that I had arrived a little early simply because I was looking forward to seeing her.
“What about Sakine?”
When I asked, Hina smiled slightly, looking a bit troubled.
“Well, Sakine suddenly said today, ‘I want to play with my friends!’ So I dropped her off at her friend’s house this morning.”
“I see. Then it’s just the two of us shopping.”
Just the two of us.
Those words brought a sweet resonance to my heart.
Hina also seemed to blush slightly.
“Yeah. I have to make sure to pick out something nice for Sakine too.”
Hina said, looking at the note she was holding.
It was filled with items ranging from decorative materials like felt and tinsel to cake ingredients, party drinks, and snacks.
“There’s quite a lot.”
“Yeah. But I’m sure it’ll be a fun party.”
Hina smiled as she said this. Seeing her smile, I naturally nodded in agreement.
First, we headed to a large variety store to buy materials for making handmade ornaments. The store was filled with Christmas goods, and just looking at them was fun. Hina carefully examined the felt color samples with a serious expression and happily looked at the sparkling tinsel she held in her hands.
She looked like a little child, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Sakine-chan would love this, wouldn’t she?”
When I pointed to a felt kit shaped like an animal, Hina exclaimed, “Oh, it’s so cute!”
“Yeah, Sakine could easily make this, and it would be easy for me to help her.”
Hina picked up the kit and put it in the shopping cart. She also selected various colors of felt, star-shaped sequins, and sparkling ribbons.
Standing next to Hina, I took on the role of putting the selected materials into the cart.
“What do you think of this color combination?”
Hina lined up red and green felt and asked me.
The distance between us was so close that her sweet scent tickled my nostrils.
“Hmm, both are Christmassy, but… maybe green is more calming.”
“I see. Then I’ll go with green.”
Seeing Hina take my opinion seriously warmed my heart.
Even though it was just shopping, it was so much fun because Hina was there with me.
After leaving the variety store, we headed to the grocery section.
The supermarket was crowded with people preparing for the New Year’s holidays.
Hina pushed the cart and put the items on the list into the basket one after another.
“Is this everything we need for the cake? Eggs, milk, flour, sugar… Oh, we can’t forget the whipped cream.”
Hina said as she checked. I stood beside her, helping to hold items that were about to overflow from the basket and carrying heavy items.
“What about the chicken? Should we buy it ready-to-cook, or should we buy it cooked?”
“Hmm, we’re making a cake and don’t have time, so let’s just buy it cooked.”
Hina and I worked together to select chicken, vegetables for salad, and party drinks and snacks.
Walking around the spacious store together, we felt like a newlywed couple, and I was secretly excited. Hina would occasionally catch my eye and smile.
When we got to the register, there was a long line. Looking at the cart full of items, Hina said apologetically,
“I’m sorry, Hikaru. This is going to be a lot of luggage.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal,”
I said that, but deep down, I was happy that carrying these heavy bags together felt like it was deepening our bond.
After paying, we packed the large amount of groceries into eco-bags. Holding bags in both hands, we left the supermarket. Outside, the sunset had already begun.
“Wow, we ended up with a lot of stuff, didn’t we?”
Hina looked at the eco-bag she was holding and smiled wryly. I also felt the weight of the bags in both hands and realized how much we had bought.
“This is going to be tough to carry home.”
“Yeah. It’ll be a bit of a detour, but if we walk to the bus stop across from the station, there’s a bus that goes near our house, so let’s walk there.”
When I suggested this, Hina nodded.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
The path to the bus stop was uphill, and the bags were heavy. Hina occasionally looked at me with concern, asking, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Are you okay, Hina?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. But I guess I couldn’t have done this alone.”
Hina smiled softly.
Her smile seemed to blow away my fatigue.
“Ah!”
With that cry, Hina stumbled and lost her balance.
“Watch out!”
I instinctively reached out and supported Hina.
At that moment, Hina leaned against my body.
Hina looked up at my face with a surprised expression.
“I’m sorry! Thank you, Hikaru.”
“No, are you okay?”
I could feel my heart racing.
Hina’s face was slightly reddened.
“It’s dangerous,” I said naturally, placing my hand over hers.
Under the pretext of preventing her from falling.
Hina’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but she said nothing and squeezed my hand tightly. The warmth that flowed through our connected hands warmed my heart so much that I didn’t even feel the weight of the luggage.
The walk to the bus stop felt like our connected hands and occasionally touching shoulders were bringing us even closer together. Even while waiting for the bus, our hands remained connected, and a calm, comfortable silence flowed between us.
We boarded the bus and headed toward Hina’s house. Inside the swaying bus, we quietly exchanged glances and smiled at each other. The warmth of Hina sitting beside me and the firm sensation transmitted through our joined hands filled my heart with a sense of happiness.
We arrived at the nearest bus stop to the Matsumura household and walked to Hina’s house.
We unloaded the luggage at the entrance and surveyed the results of our shopping.
“Phew, now we can relax,”
Hina breathed a sigh of relief.
“Yeah. With all this, it’s going to be the best Christmas party ever.”
When I said that, Hina nodded happily.
“Yes! Thank you so much, Hikaru. I could never have carried all this by myself, and you helped me with so many things.”
“Don’t worry about it. I promised, after all.”
As I smiled, Hina returned the smile.
“Then let’s get ready. Let’s do everything we can before Sakine-chan comes back.”
“That’s right!”
And so, we began preparing.
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