socalfunplaces Page 36
Page 36
She imagined the scene of Yatohime displaying her prowess on the basketball court, drawing cheers from the entire crowd.
After much internal struggle and reflection, she finally confirmed one thing.
As a friend, she shouldn't use her own judgment to hinder Yatohime from achieving a better future.
She took a deep breath and said, "Teacher, I'm thinking, wouldn't it be better to let Yato join the basketball team?"
With her outstanding physical attributes, her future would definitely be much brighter in the basketball team than in the philosophy club.
After saying these words, Hoshino Saori felt that the expression on her face must have been more solemn than ever before.
This was the first time in her life that she had made a decision filled with "sacrifice".
Yato-hime was slightly taken aback, then, as if she had heard something extremely funny, she burst out laughing: "Haha..."
Unrestrained laughter echoed along the quiet school path, even Qingze, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh.
Hearing their undisguised laughter, Hoshino Saori suddenly felt like a clown who had thought he was being clever. Her cheeks flushed red, and she said in embarrassment and annoyance, "W-what are you laughing at?"
"Because you suddenly put on a serious expression like a little adult and said those lines that only appear in TV dramas, saying things you think are profound and righteous. It was so funny!"
Yatohime smiled, her eyes crinkling. Then, her smile faded slightly, and she said seriously, "Don't decide for me what's suitable for me and what's not."
I know very well what I want right now.
I want to stay in the philosophy club; my goal isn't to become an athlete.
She looked at Hoshino Saori and said, "As a friend, I hope you can acknowledge and respect my current choices and decisions, instead of putting on that 'for your own good' adult act and 'lecturing' me."
Yatohime wasn't sure if her future self would regret giving up basketball today, nor was she sure if her amazing shooting touch would disappear in the future.
But these unknowns are left for the future Yato-hime to ponder.
Now, all she wants to do is walk the path she believes is right.
Hoshino Saori stared at her blankly, but her eyes gradually brightened.
The word "friend" and the way Yatohime cherished this friendship filled her with boundless excitement, and inspiration flowed like a spring.
She excitedly opened her arms and declared in an almost chanting tone:
"Friendship is the free revelry of the soul amidst differences; it is a passionate affirmation of life itself that transcends worldly judgments of good and evil!"
It brings forth a brilliant dawn, with two suns shining brightly together, from the deepest abyss of loneliness!
As soon as she finished speaking, she leaped forward with unbridled joy, nimbly landing on Yato-hime's back. She wrapped her arms affectionately around her neck and laughed, "With this famous quote, future history books will surely remember our great friendship!"
"Hey, do you know you're heavy? Get down and walk yourself!"
Despite complaining, Yatohime caught her steadily.
"It's okay~ You're so strong anyway!"
"There's really nothing I can do to you..."
Yatohime muttered a helpless complaint, then used both hands to support her knees from behind to prevent her from falling.
Then, Yatohime even turned to look at Aozawa beside her, a playful smile curving her lips: "Teacher, would you like to come up too?"
Even if one more person is added, I can handle it.
Qingze sighed and complained, "If any passing student or teacher saw this, my teaching career would be over on the spot."
This answer made Yatohime laugh out loud again, startling several small birds perched on the cherry tree branches by the roadside, which flapped their wings and flew away into the distance.
As Hoshino Saori lay on Yatohime's back, listening to her friend's laughter and her teacher's teasing, she felt as if the warm spring breeze around her had transformed into a tangible hand, gently stroking her hair.
As far as the eye can see, there are clusters of cherry blossoms bathed in the afternoon sunlight, filtering out dappled light and shadow across the ground.
The azure sky overhead was as clear as if it had been washed clean, reflecting the familiar club building in the distance.
A warm and joyful feeling welled up from the bottom of my heart without warning, filling my entire body.
"If every day could be as happy as today, how wonderful that would be..."
She thought to herself, then immediately dismissed it, "No, that's not right, the future will definitely be better than today!"
Because she has a true friend and a good teacher who knows how to guide and tolerate her.
At this moment, Hoshino Saori was extremely grateful that Aozawa was able to take up a position at Nagato High School.
She was certain that if this teacher hadn't appeared, she probably would never have crossed paths with Yatohime.
Even though they sat at desks in front of and behind each other.
The [Paradox Fairy] above her head flashed a green light and suddenly shot into Qingze's brow, almost making him groan with pleasure before he could react.
He immediately controlled the impulse.
His heightened senses allowed him to hear their conversation even before the girl spoke.
"hey-hey……"
What are you grinning about again?
"nothing."
Hoshino Saori pressed her cheek against her friend's warm cheek, her voice filled with a satisfied, innocent tone, "I just feel that it's really great to have met you all."
Let's spend the rest of our lives together like this.
"We will all graduate eventually, and the teachers will welcome the next batch of students."
"At times like this, can't you just cooperate and say yes?"
"it's a pity."
There was no trace of regret in Yatohime's tone; instead, it carried her unique nonchalance: "I've always cared more about the reality of the present moment."
For her, even if they are destined to part ways in the future, as long as they are undoubtedly good friends at this moment, that is enough.
……
Time slipped away quietly amidst laughter and joy.
In the evening, after the club activities ended, Qingze rode his little motorcycle back to Dongye Apartment in the afterglow of the setting sun.
As soon as I reached the door of room 302 and unlocked it with my key, Big Yellow rushed up to me enthusiastically, wagging its tail like a propeller.
Qingze smiled and ruffled its fluffy head, then closed the door behind him and casually tossed his briefcase onto the sofa.
He went straight to the kitchen, took out the ingredients he had bought that morning from the refrigerator, tied on an apron, and began to skillfully wash rice, cook rice, wash vegetables, and cut meat.
Soon, the aroma of the food filled the small apartment.
He sat at the head of the table, took out the book with the "Secret Collection" label from his briefcase, and began reading while eating.
After finishing his dinner, he mixed the remaining food into Big Yellow's food bowl and added food and water to the sparrows in the birdcage.
He then returned to the head seat at the table.
With only a few pages left in the book, he planned to finish it in one go before going out to search for new tags.
When the last word on the page was memorized, a miraculous change occurred.
The words "Secret Treasure" on the book seemed to come alive, flowing and merging, finally transforming into a dazzling golden stream of light that "whooshed" into his brow.
In an instant, a wealth of knowledge about a new magic flooded into his mind.
This is a spell about spatial storage. Its effect is to create a separate subspace outside of the real world for storing items.
It should be noted that this space can only store non-living entities.
Any living creature that is put in will die very quickly.
Moreover, it is different from the type of [Eye of the Birds] that disappears once the magic effect is removed.
The subspace created by the [Secret Vault] is permanent. Even if the magic is dispelled, the space itself still exists, but it requires a certain amount of mental energy to reopen it.
Qingze quickly processed this information.
With a thought, he tried to activate [Secret Treasure].
A warm current immediately gathered in his palm.
Qingze raised his right hand, and an exquisitely structured azure magic circle instantly appeared above his palm.
At the center of the array is a standard six-pointed star, surrounded by two concentric rings, which are engraved with complex unknown runes and emit a faint glow.
As the light flowed, a thin, water-like blue film covered his entire right hand.
Qingze curiously stretched his hand forward, and in his vision, a part of his hand seemed to disappear into thin air.
But he could clearly sense that his hand was entering a strange, alien space.
With his mind's control, the blue light membrane covering his palm rapidly expanded outward, like inflating a balloon, creating a square space of about 20 cubic meters in his perception.
He actually has the ability to create more space, but there is no need for it at the moment.
He didn't want to expend too much mental energy at this moment, since he planned to use [Eyes of the Birds] to search for tags later.
Qingze's mind stirred again, and he withdrew his right hand, causing the blue light wave covering it to disappear.
He got up, went into the bedroom, and went to his desk.
On the table, a katana lay quietly.
The black and red scabbard and hilt are covered with strange patterns, giving off an ominous aura.
He raised his hand and stopped about ten centimeters from the blade, without touching it directly.
The next second, with a thought, the katana on the table vanished without a trace, stored in the subspace he had just created.
Qingze turned around and put away the fox mask, the gloves he had used before, and other items.
After doing all this, he left his phone in the living room and then opened the birdcage.
It's time to search for those labels that might be hidden in the corners of the city.
Chapter 43 Who is the hunter and who is the prey?
Tonight, there's a slight chill in the air in Tokyo.
Qingze wore only a white sports vest on his upper body, a pair of light blue sports pants on his lower body, and professional running shoes on his feet.
This outfit makes him look like an ordinary night runner.