...shopping street...
Onizuka and Sakura Airi walked one after the other on their way to the shopping mall.
Sakura Airi deliberately lagged a few steps behind, her gaze fixed on Onizuka's back.
She couldn't help remembering the time they'd been hanging outside the window, and her heart began to pound.
What had happened today was truly a little too extraordinary for her.
She had always lived an uneventful life and had never experienced such a thrilling moment.
Yet it was precisely this novelty and excitement that stirred an indescribable sense of exhilaration and anticipation deep within her.
It was hard to imagine that someone like Onizuka, whose build didn't look particularly sturdy, could unleash such tremendous strength.
She had almost never been in contact with boys, and she stared blankly at Onizuka's back.
Lost in her thoughts, Sakura Airi didn't notice that Onizuka had stopped walking ahead of her, and accidentally bumped straight into him.
"Yip~"
Onizuka suddenly felt something soft against his back and turned around, puzzled.
Sakura Airi was crouching on the ground, holding her nose.
"Sakura, are you all right?" Onizuka hurriedly crouched down and looked at her with concern.
"I'm fine..." Sakura Airi replied in a muffled voice.
Before long, she stood up. Her reddened eyes were slightly damp, and she gazed through tear-blurred vision at the eyeglasses shop beside them.
She tried to compose herself, hoping to hide her embarrassment.
"Onizuka, is this the place?"
"Yeah. I asked Yukimura, the classmate who wears glasses, and he said this shop is pretty good."
"But... I heard this shop is pretty expensive. Shouldn't we go somewhere else?" she said softly.
Then, as if she'd thought of something, she quickly waved her hands.
"Um, Onizuka, I don't mean anything by it. It's just that our Class Points are still pretty tight..."
Seeing Sakura flustered, Onizuka smiled helplessly.
Then he opened the eyeglasses shop door with one hand and gestured with the other for her to enter.
"Please, go ahead, Sakura. Try not to bump into anything this time."
Hearing Onizuka tease her about what had just happened, Sakura couldn't help blushing. The tension in her heart eased a little, and without worrying about anything else, she lowered her head and went inside.
She hadn't used the points she'd had before, apart from buying a camera, so at worst, she could pay the points herself.
As the two entered the eyeglasses shop, the shop assistant by the entrance immediately came over with a smile and said warmly, "Welcome! How can I help you?"
Seeing that Onizuka had no intention of speaking and was looking at something by himself nearby, Sakura Airi gathered her courage and spoke directly to the assistant in front of her.
"Um... I'd like to get new lenses for the glasses I'm wearing now. Plain lenses will do."
The assistant nodded and replied with a smile, "No problem at all. Please take off your glasses, and I'll find suitable lenses for you."
Hearing the assistant say that, Sakura Airi's expression visibly stiffened, and a trace of hesitation appeared on her face.
In the end, she slowly raised her hand, intending to take off her glasses and hand them to the assistant.
Just then, Onizuka suddenly appeared beside Sakura Airi and grabbed her wrist.
He then handed the assistant a ready-made frame from the shop.
"Could you put plain lenses in this frame?"
"Of course, sir!" The assistant took the frame and headed to the back.
Sakura Airi, meanwhile, looked at Onizuka in disbelief.
"When did you..."
Seeing Sakura hesitate, Onizuka smiled.
"Don't worry. The frame's pure black, understated and reserved, and very similar to the one you're wearing now. No one will notice you."
After saying that, he continued standing there, waiting for the assistant to bring the glasses over.
Just then, he heard Sakura Airi's slightly trembling voice.
"Your hand... Onizuka, your hand..."
Huh? What was wrong with his hand?
Onizuka froze for a moment and looked down. Only then did he realize that at some point, he'd taken hold of her hand, their fingers interlaced.
He instinctively gave it a squeeze. It was pretty soft.
"Ahem... Sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to."
"I believe you, Onizuka, but could you let go first..."
"..."
"Onizuka????"
Just then, the assistant came over with the glasses, the lenses replaced, wearing a professional smile.
The moment he saw the assistant, Onizuka suddenly felt his hand go empty. Even with his quick reflexes, he hadn't noticed how Sakura Airi had pulled her hand away.
Onizuka walked straight over, took the glasses from the assistant, and gave him a glare as well.
Assistant: ??????
Then he turned around and faced Sakura Airi, blocking the view of the others.
"Let me put them on for you, Sakura?"
Sakura Airi had clasped her hands behind her back, her face slightly red.
"Sorry for the trouble, Onizuka."