After dinner at home, Hyuga Seisen rested for a while.
Then he packed his schoolbag and prepared to head to school.
As he was leaving, his grandmother called out to him from behind.
She stuffed a paper bag into his hands, filled with more than a dozen large meat buns.
"Grandma, that's too many. Two is enough for me."
Hyuga Seisen said as he prepared to hand the bag back to her.
"How is that too many? You're still growing."
Her rough, wrinkled hands firmly held him in place.
Hyuga Seisen wanted to say more, but she was already pushing him out the door.
"You'll be late. Hurry up and get to school."
By the time he arrived at school, Hyuga Ayane was already there.
She still had her head buried beneath her desk, completely unaffected by the sounds around her.
She was probably foraging for food again.
Hyuga Seisen did not disturb her. He put the buns his grandmother had given him into his desk drawer and began reading on his own.
After a while.
Hyuga Ayane suddenly sat upright and wrinkled her delicate, perky nose as though searching for something.
Even her puffed cheeks, which had been chewing away, stopped moving.
When she turned and discovered that Hyuga Seisen had actually come to class, a smile immediately appeared at the corners of her eyes.
"Why are you here?" she asked through a mouthful of food.
"The hospital matter has been settled for now," Hyuga Seisen said.
Hyuga Ayane's eyes widened, sparkling brightly as she grinned and asked happily, "Does that mean you'll come to school every day from now on?"
"What's there to be happy about when it comes to going to school every day?"
"Huh?" A trace of confusion appeared on Hyuga Ayane's face.
"Isn't it fun?