I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

"You can choose your own flavor," Tetsufumi Hirakawa emphasized again.

"Shiori is choosing a flavor... Shiori wants... um... strawberry flavor is fine."

"Is it strawberry flavored?" The owner behind the stall said to Miss Shinohara.

"Ah."

"Then I'll have... mango." Hirakawa Tetsufumi also said.

"Okay, please wait a moment, both guests."

The shaved ice machine roared, and the crystal shaved ice fell and piled up in the cup.

The boss operated skillfully and finally poured red strawberry jam on it.

"Okay." The boss handed the strawberry-flavored shaved ice to Shinohara Shiori.

"Okay." Tetsufumi Hirakawa reached out to take it.

"..."

The boss looked at him, then looked at Shinohara Shiori, and then looked at him again.

Shinohara Shiori laughed softly, and Hirakawa Tetsufumi took the shaved ice, his face unchanged, and just said, "There's also a bowl of mango flavor."

"..."

After a final puzzled look, the boss started operating the machine again.

The mango-flavored shaved ice was quickly ready. After hesitating for a moment, he handed the bowl to Tetsufumi Hirakawa again.

"This is……"

"It's Shiori." Shinohara Shiori reached out to take it.

"..."

"..."

When they finally paid and left, Tetsufumi Hirakawa saw the boss looking at them both in confusion.

"Teacher Hirakawa, you got the wrong one. The strawberry flavor should be Shiori's, and the mango flavor is yours." Turning back, Shinohara Shiori seemed to say to him seriously.

The corners of his mouth were clearly slightly raised, revealing a smile.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa also pretended to be serious.

"Did you take the wrong one? No? The mango flavor is indeed mine...just wait," he said.

Just as he finished speaking, the sound of the radio rang in his ears.

"The fireworks festival is about to begin. Tourists who want to watch, please go to ..."

The broadcast was repeated several times.

Tetsuo Hirakawa was looking at Shiori Shinohara, and Miss Shinohara was also looking at him.

Afterwards, the crowd, which had been quiet for a while because of the broadcast, became noisy again, and the stagnant footsteps started again, but in a different direction.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa and Shiori Shinohara laughed together.

"Then let's go." When he stopped laughing, Tetsufumi Hirakawa held Shinohara Shiori's hand.

"Yeah." The girl leaned on his shoulder.

The fireworks display is about to begin.

Chapter 344 Towards the End - Shinohara (Part )

Fireworks displays and summer festivals are a perfect match, just like Miss Shinohara and yukata are a perfect match.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa still remembers what he was thinking at this time last year.

Indeed, it is true. At the summer festival, the heat is rising, the crowd is noisy, and they look up at the clear night sky above them in hope until the colorful fireworks burst into life. No matter how many times they have experienced it, when the light of the fireworks lights up in front of their eyes and illuminates the profile of the girl in a yukata next to them, this scene is always unforgettable.

But now, perhaps we should add:

"Just like Hirakawa-sensei and Shiori are a perfect match."

On the way to the fireworks festival venue, when Tetsufumi Hirakawa told Miss Shinohara about his thoughts last year, all he got was this comment from the girl.

"What?" Hirakawa Tetsufumi laughed for no apparent reason.

"Teacher Hirakawa, do you think it's wrong?" the girl asked cutely.

"Yes, yes, of course it's right." Under the gaze of the eldest lady, Hirakawa Tetsufumi quickly admitted.

“It feels a bit perfunctory.”

"No way."

"..."

After a few whispers, we slowly moved forward with the crowd and finally arrived at the venue of the fireworks display.

"It's about the same as last year." Tetsufumi Hirakawa said after looking around.

"It's not the same for Shiori at all." Shiori Shinohara took a bite of the cool shaved ice with a spoon.

"Hmm?" Tetsufumi Hirakawa bit the shaved ice spoon.

"After all, last year, Shiori was always thinking about what to do to Mr. Hirakawa." Shinohara Shiori said seriously, making Hirakawa Tetsufumi smile.

"The final decision is to kiss me when I'm not paying attention?"

"People like Shiori would get angry if they were always rejected."

"I am the eldest daughter of the Shinohara family. How dare you reject me - do you have such an idea?" Hirakawa Tetsufumi smiled and imitated the tone of Miss Shinohara.

“I may have this thought occasionally.”

“…Is it true?”

Miss Shinohara nodded her lips and said, "Teacher Hirakawa, who always rejects Shiori, is really annoying."

"That doesn't make sense."

"What can Shiori do? I even thought that if this doesn't work, I might have to lock up Mr. Hirakawa."

"..." Hirakawa Tetsufumi remained silent, and Shinohara Shiori laughed cheerfully.

"Anyway, last year, Shiori stood beside Mr. Hirakawa with full intentions and a desperate attitude."

"What about this year?" Tetsufumi Hirakawa asked quickly.

“As for this year…” The girl kept looking at him and didn’t speak for a long time.

"what's wrong?"

"Well~ nothing." Finally, under his gaze, she just shook her head with a faint smile, and she walked forward and leaned on him.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa held Shiori Shinohara in his arms.

"It should be starting soon, right?" she said in his arms, looking up at the night sky.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi's attention was diverted, and he also looked up: "It should be soon."

"Ah."

The warmth from my body is transmitted through the soft yukata in my arms, and the sweet smell wafts in the summer evening breeze. I am surrounded by the lively crowd of people at the summer festival, and all kinds of conversations enter my ears.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi leaned his head gently on Shinohara Shiori's head again, and the sweet smell lingering at the tip of his nose became more obvious.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

When he was quietly enjoying the quietness amidst the hustle and bustle and even had his eyes closed, Tetsufumi Hirakawa suddenly felt the movement of the girl in his arms.

Shinohara Shiori raised her head and her eyes met his as he just opened his eyes.

"Nothing." The lights at the festival were not bright, but in the dim night the girl's eyes reflected a glittering light. She smiled very beautifully and simply denied it.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa lowered his head and lightly touched Shinohara Shiori's lips.

"Well... it's mango flavored."

"Because it's mango-flavored... shaved ice?" He was just explaining casually, but as he was speaking he looked towards the bowl of shaved ice in his hand. The finely shaved ice was already showing signs of melting.

"If you don't eat it, it will melt."

"Teacher Hirakawa's is about to melt too." Shinohara Shiori looked at the shaved ice in Hirakawa Tetsufumi's hand which was also showing signs of melting.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi took a look and said, "That's right."

He hugged the girl's body, put his right hand around her, grabbed the shaved ice spoon that his left hand had been holding, scooped a spoonful, and put it to Shinohara Shiori's mouth.

The eldest lady gave him a puzzled look.

"Ah——" Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked like he was feeding a child.

The eldest lady was amused, but she still opened her mouth, revealing half of her white teeth, and gently bit the spoon that scooped the shaved ice.

"So cold." After swallowing it, he narrowed his eyes slightly, looking a little cute.

"Of course it will be cold if you swallow it all in one gulp."

"It was Hirakawa-sensei who scooped it for Shiori, why are you blaming Shiori?"

"No, how could that be."

The eldest lady in his arms glanced at him, then she moved her hands, scooped up a spoonful of shaved ice, and handed it to Hirakawa Tetsufumi's mouth.

"Teacher Hirakawa, ah——" She imitated the look that Hirakawa Tetsufumi had just done.

"What is this for?" asked Tetsufumi Hirakawa with a smile.

"Of course I feed it to Mr. Hirakawa, ah——"

What? The sight of this girl opening her mouth slightly and making an "ah" sound was a little too cute, especially the way she was looking at him seriously, with a smile and love in her eyes.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa ignored the scoop of shaved ice and leaned down to kiss the girl.

It seemed too sudden. The moment their lips touched, Shinohara Shiori was stunned for a moment. She blinked her eyes continuously, revealing a slight confusion, and then quickly closed them again.

It was not until they separated that the closed eyes and long eyelashes parted, revealing the girl's gaze.

"Shiori is cute." Hirakawa Tetsufumi responded to her gaze.

"..."

"She's cute at normal times, too, but she was even cuter just now." The moment Shinohara Shiori's eyes changed, Hirakawa Tetsufumi quickly said.

Shinohara Shiori laughed, and Hirakawa Tetsufumi also laughed.

Just a few seconds later, Tetsufumi Hirakawa suddenly took a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Shinohara Shiori asked quickly.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked to the side, and Shinohara Shiori followed suit. On the arm of the yukata, there was a ball of ice that had not yet completely melted.

"..."

Shinohara Shiori looked at the spoon in her hand again, and of course, the smoothie on it was empty.

After waiting for a few seconds, Tetsufumi Hirakawa heard the serious voice of Miss Shinohara.

"It's all Mr. Pingchuan's fault for not eating just now. Everything fell down."

"...Yes, yes, of course it's my fault. Miss Shinohara can't be wrong no matter how you think about it." Hirakawa Tetsufumi also began to speak seriously.

A smile appeared on her face again but was suppressed. Shinohara Shiori took out a handkerchief from her handbag and helped Hirakawa Tetsufumi wipe the ice cream off her arm.

After wiping it, Shinohara Shiori scooped another spoonful of smoothie and handed it to Hirakawa's mouth.

"Teacher Hirakawa, ah——" it started again.

"Yes--"

Hirakawa Tetsufumi responded and finally opened his mouth.

But before he touched it, the coolness of the shaved ice just touched his lips along with the summer evening air, and suddenly, Tetsufumi Hirakawa saw the light.

From Shiori Shinohara's upturned eyes and from her fair cheeks hazy in the night, I saw colorful colors.

There was just a pause, and the noisy sounds in my ears suddenly became silent, replaced by a huge explosion in my ears.

It was fireworks going off.