Yomogi Yakura and Shizuku Shinomiya

*Sigh*...

Just bite into it... *Munch*...

Mm...! Mmm...!!

That smile... I want to see it again...!

Oh! That's it...!

Something you want to give me?

Yes...! This is for you, Shizuku-san.

An assortment of sweets? I don't recognize any of them.

They're called dagashi, cheap, old-school snacks!

I figured you might not have had them before, so I ordered a whole bunch online...!

Oh, I recommend this one! It's a DIY candy kit, you mix powder and water to make it yourself!

Just powder and water... and it becomes candy?

Yomogi, would you show me how to make it?

Of course...! Let's open it up, then!

(She's interested...! Keep it up, Yomogi...!)

There are even more little packets inside... Do I open all of them and mix them with water?

There's an order to it! First, we mix this powder with water, and then...

Oh... What a vivid color.

This is where it gets even more fun! Add the next powder, stir it up, and then...

The color changed...

It's gotten all fluffy, too. I'm curious about the flavor, but I want to know what the texture's like, too.

Yomogi, is it ready now?

The finishing touch is this last powder! Scoop some up with the spoon, dip it in this powder, then eat it!

Understood. Now, where's the spoon...?

Oh, I'll get it! It comes with a little spoon...

Yomogi, your sleeve...

Ah!

Aaaaaaaah!!! I knocked the container over~!!

I put all this together because I thought it might make you smile, Shizuku-san, and I still made a total mess of it... I'm the world's most hopeless klutz~!!

I see... So that's what this was about.

Yomogi, let me borrow the spoon.

Huh...? But...

There's still some left around the edge. I'll have a taste... *Munch*...

Mmm... Mmmm...! What incredible sweetness... My taste buds... even my brain... are trembling ever so slightly...!

...!! Shizuku-san is smiling~!!

Thank you, Yomogi. You've shown me a sweet that's as interesting to make as it is to taste.

You don't have to thank me...! Next time, I'll make sure you get to try it once it's properly finished!

I'm looking forward to it.

*Pant*... *Gasp*... Shizuku-san... I'm so, so sorry...!

If hiding behind me makes you feel safe, I don't mind.

Still, we've been here for about ten minutes. Wouldn't it be better to head back?

No... That would be a very serious problem... I have to buy it on release day...!

I absolutely have to get the "Onishigu Reissue Collab T-Shirt" today...!

You said not getting it would shorten your life by fifty years.

If it concerns your life, Yomogi, I want to help. But...

*Pant*... *Pant*... *Pant*...

But if you run out of breath right here, wouldn't that defeat the whole purpose?

You have a point...!

Before, I would've given up the moment I saw "in-store only"...

But by some miracle, there's a store just one station away...! This is something I can only get my hands on because I left my hometown...!

So I have to go... but...!!

All right. Yomogi, take some oxygen.

Y-yes...!

Haaaaaa...

You seem a little calmer now. Yomogi, I have an idea.

An idea?

I could go buy it for you, but I don't know how to get to the store.

You know the way to the store, Yomogi but then can't breathe.

Ugh... That's true...

So we'll work together. I'll help you use the oxygen spray as we go, and you'll tell me which way to go, Yomogi.

That way, we should be able to reach the store.

Sh-Shizuku-saaaan...!

Let's go, Yomogi. If we make up for what the other lacks, there's nothing we can't do.

That means we're two halves of a whole...! That's so cool...!

Then let's go! At that corner, we turn left first, mmph!?

Oxygen spray in position at Yomogi's mouth.

I'll press the button on the oxygen spray every few meters. This position may be uncomfortable, but we'll keep walking like this.

Eep...!?

Forward, march! One, two, one, two, one, two...

Sh-Shizuku-san...! Wait, you're walking way too fast...!?

Oxygen.

Haaaa...

One, two, one, two... Yomogi, what comes after the turn?

T-turn right at the third intersection...

Oxygen.

Haaaa...

One, two, one, two, one, two...

*Pant*... *Gasp*...!

Yomogi Yakura's miracle mission, complete~~~!!

I'm glad you were able to buy it safely. Fifty years of Yomogi's life were spared as well.

It's all thanks to you, Shizuku-san!! How could I ever thank you enough...!?

I have something to thank you for, too. Thanks to you, Yomogi, I got to see unfamiliar streets.

There really wasn't anything we couldn't do...!!

Yes. Together, we make a whole.

Hmm-hmm-hmm~♪

Yomogi. There you are.

Ah, Shizuku-san... Did you have to come looking for me!?

I wanted to ask about lunch. My stomach has been growling nonstop.

Ah! It's just you and me for lunch today, isn't it...?

S-Sorryyy~! I went ahead and ate without you! I'm such a thoughtless, hopeless fool...!

It's all right. I'll have this for lunch, then. The rest of what you brought to share... this should be it.

Please, at least let me reheat it to make up for it, Shizuku-san...!

I'm sorry, but please let me do it. I'm still learning the basics of "everyday life."

I already learned that I can use the microwave to heat cold food.

I see... Then... good luck...!

All right. Put the food inside, then press this button...

Aaaaaaaah, waitttt~!! You can't microwave it in the foil~!!

Foil...?

Th-this silver paper! It'll explode in the microwave!!

Goodness... I nearly blew up the whole house.

First, um... a plate! Let's move it to a plate first! Then we can use the microwave!

Understood.

(Th-That was terrifying~!)

(Shizuku-san is getting better at so many things, but... I can't help feeling nervous...!)

(No, I'm overthinking it... right...? Shizuku-san's so much more capable than I am, so surely...)

Gyaaaaaaah!! Shizuku-san, don't touch the iron yet!

What? I turned it off.

It doesn't cool down right after you turn it off~...! Are... are your hands okay!?

Yes. You called out before I touched it. That saved me.

Gyaaaaaaah!! Shizuku-san, your face is way too close to the stove~!!

I'm sorry. I heard that turning this knob would light the flame, but I couldn't see any fire.

At that distance, your face could catch fire...! Um, this stove is old, so there's a trick to turning it on...!

Haaaaaaah...

(That was not okay at all...!)

(Could the Nanny everyone's always talking about have done all of this, every day, for over a decade...!?)

She's basically a superhuman... I could never...

Yomogi, I poured you a soda. Is this the same one you were drinking at lunch?

Yes... But, Shizuku-san, you poured me a soda...!? Wh-wh-wh-what's the occasion...!?

This is a token of my gratitude for everything today. Please accept it.

Gratitude? No, please, I don't deserve it...!

Thanks to you, Yomogi, I learned so many things I didn't know.

Thank you, Yomogi.

(That earnest determination... it's dazzling~! I'm not tired at all anymore~!)

Thank you for the soda, too...! I'll enjoy it...!