Praying for blessings at the shrine

"Moshi moshi, this is good-looking guy Gojo. Edano, are you awake~?"

The special ringtone Satoru Gojo had set for himself on my phone rang out. Still half asleep, I forced myself to answer.

"Hmm? Yeah..."

The girl's not-quite-awake voice was husky. Her unconscious little murmur sent pink flowers blooming all around Satoru Gojo on the other side of the wall.

"Edano~ Get up~ It's a day off, and your teacher's taking you out to have fun~"

"Huh? Oh... Let me sleep a little longer..." Before she had even finished speaking, the sound of her steady breathing came through the phone.

Thirty minutes later...

Knock, knock, knock.

"Up you get, Edano~"

"..." I shot upright in bed, only for my vision to go black from getting up too fast. I took a moment to recover before climbing out of bed and opening the door.

"Morning, Edano, you..." Satoru Gojo abruptly stopped talking.

The sunlight gilded the girl's long black hair, with a few unruly strands sticking up from sleep. In her fair, fresh face, clear, gentle green eyes stared straight at him, lively yet dazed, making it impossible not to feel tender toward her.

Satoru Gojo's eyes darkened, his gaze growing deeper.

That's just unfair. Don't look at me with such a defenseless expression. It makes me want to tease you...

Shoko Ieiri: Stay away from her, you scumbag!

As they stood in the doorway looking at each other, the girl seemed to gradually wake up. She shook her head hard, then gave him an exasperated look. "Satoru Gojo, you're right next door! Why did you call me?"

"Satoru just wanted to let Edano sleep a little longer~" Gojo curled his fingers affectedly, putting on his schoolgirl act.

"..." Since your sunglasses actually leave your eyes visible, and you rarely get a day off, I suppose I'll forgive you for waking me.

Bang! The door slammed shut.

The girl reluctantly offered an explanation. "Getting changed."

Ah~ The devastatingly handsome Mr. Gojo has been shut out again.

Gojo the cat kept scratching persistently at the door. "Edano~ I brought your new uniform!"

The shrine

Quiet shrines and temples nestled around the foot of Mount Fuji, their ancient buildings seeming to pay homage to nature. In the early morning light, melodious Buddhist chants drifted from the temples, mingling with the mountain breeze.

"Mmm, it really makes you feel peaceful and calm deep down."

A striking young man and woman stood out in the crowd. Though the girl's eyes were covered, her natural, breathtaking beauty was still apparent, while the man had a handsome face and eyes as bright as stars. Both wore exquisitely made white outfits, setting them apart from everyone around them.

"But, Mr. Gojo, you come to a shrine on your days off? Shouldn't you be going to an amusement park or something?" I'm starting to feel a little sorry for you, Gojo-sensei...

Satoru Gojo draped his arm over my head, leaning against me and putting his weight on me. "Ah~ What are you thinking, Edano? I brought you here to pray for blessings~"

I knocked his arm away in exasperation. "Okay, okay, I get it. It looks like there's a temple fair today. Let's have a look around."

"Yay! Let's go, let's go!"

"Let go-! Don't run so fast while dragging me along!"

"Nope, nope. There are so many people here, I'll get separated from Edano." Still, he slowed his pace.

Satoru Gojo took my hand, using the lofty excuse that "Edano's short and weak. If you get lost and run into a cursed spirit, your teacher doesn't want to have to rescue you."

Hah, you scumbag teacher. Hide those red ears before you try telling me that!

Honestly, all that swagger and nothing to back it up!!!

"Excuse me. Hi, handsome. Could I get your contact details?" Urged on by her friends, a beautifully dressed woman came up to ask for his number.

Satoru Gojo's looks really are deceiving! Even an eagle-like woman such as myself was stunned when we first met!

"Oh, sure." Satoru Gojo took out his phone. Just then, a handsome young man of mixed heritage approached me for directions. "Excuse me, do you know where the takoyaki stall is?"

Satoru Gojo slowed down, discreetly pricking up his ears.

"Huh? Oh, I think it's over there." I pointed in one direction.

"Sorry, I'm still not quite sure. Would you mind taking me there?"

"Of course. Let's..." Satoru Gojo grabbed my hand. "Edano, are you really going to walk off with another man right in front of your teacher?" Why did it sound like he was speaking through gritted teeth?

I looked at Satoru Gojo again. He was clearly smiling. I must have imagined it.

"Sir, are you her teacher? I think you ought to give your student some space."

"Exactly! Satoru Gojo, let go."

Satoru Gojo tightened his grip. "No can do, Edano. Your teacher has to make sure no bad guys carry you off~"

"But..." I glanced hesitantly at the handsome young man.

"One more word and you get extra training."

"..."

Fine. You win.

In the end, Satoru Gojo slung me over his shoulder and ran off.

My struggles were useless as I hung over his shoulder, feeling faintly dead inside. "...This is so mortifying. Could you put me down?"

"Ah, they have festival-exclusive strawberry daifuku over there! Edano, let's grab some!" Satoru Gojo left me on read and forcibly carried me over to join the line.

All I could do was silently bury my face in his back.

Luckily, Satoru Gojo liked to keep clean, and he smelled faintly of powdered sugar. Come to think of it, did he smell sugary because he loved sweets so much?

I heard people whispering around us. "Are they a couple? They're awfully close, aren't they?"

"Are we part of their little game, too?"

"Oh my god, they're so sweet! He's handsome, she's pretty. I ship it!"

My face was so red it was going to explode. Was this some new kind of humiliation ritual?!!!

Out of the girl's sight, Satoru Gojo felt her embarrassment and curled his lips into a smile, which prompted another round of stifled squeals from the onlookers.

Satoru Gojo finished the last daifuku in two bites. "Edano, come write your omamori wish!"

"Coming, coming!" I took a wooden plaque and thought for a moment, then turned away to write, "May everyone I love be safe and well," before quickly slipping it into the omamori.

"Huh? Edano's even keeping secrets from her teacher? I'm so hurt!" Gojo the cat leaned his head over, looking aggrieved.

I gave his head an absentminded pat, smoothing his kitty fur a couple of times. "You haven't shown me what you wrote either, Mr. Gojo."

"Heh-heh, I've already put it away. If you open it, Edano, it won't work anymore!"

"Fine, fine. My omamori is for [Safety]. What's yours, Mr. Gojo?"

"Mine's for [Safety] too, but don't think you're finding out what I wrote, Edano!" The smug cat lifted his chin haughtily and tucked his omamori into the breast pocket of his shirt beneath his outer clothes, guarding it as if from a thief.

Honestly, did he think I'd pull his clothes open to check?

"Ah~" Satoru Gojo was scrolling through his phone when something made him let out a complaining groan.

Before I could ask, he answered on his own. "Edano, we have another mission. So annoying. What happened to our promised three days off?"

The dejected cat tugged me over to sit on a nearby bench, then hugged me and rubbed his cheek against the crook of my neck. "Let your teacher recharge first, or I won't have the energy to work~" I had absolutely no resistance to his clingy kitty act.

So I let him lean against me, and for a while, neither of us spoke.

On that quiet path with hardly anyone around, we savored this brief moment of peace.