#ushiaki

And now, a year later, Ushio found herself with another bento tucked into her bag; the box enveloped within a cloth parading colourful patterns to reflect Chiaki’s vivacious personality. Never mind the fact that she rifled through a plethora of designs until finding the perfect one⋯ and the extra money she had to spend to secure it.

Ushio held onto her bag cautiously, a protectiveness exuding from her movements as she sauntered outside of ES’ main building in search of the recipient of her affections. With a gentle regard sweeping across the pavement, Ushio spotted Chiaki easily.

It seemed kismet was showering her in benevolence today, and she didn’t squander another second as she ambled over to his crouched form. “Chiaki-san,” Ushio called out to him, cheeks already emanating warmth from the thought of what she was about to do—of gifting him the fruits of her toil. “Are you busy?”

Swarming at Chiaki’s feet were a multitude of birds, chirring joyously as they hopped around him, and he tilted his head up to look at her. “Ushio, hey!” he greeted her, letting her make out a plastic bag brimming with birdseed in his hand, “I fed one of these little guys earlier and now they’re all attached to me. I think they want to thank me!”

At Chiaki’s high spirits, a smile curved on Ushio’s lips. “Thank you? And get more food by the looks of it,” she quipped with mirth, incapable of suppressing the chortle from overflowing as his guise contorted in betrayal.

“You think so?! Ahaha, well, that’s okay too!☆” Chiaki rolled the joke off his shoulders, an effervescent laugh following his retort. He continuously spread out birdseed; which only seemed to make even more birds flock over to the promise of food. “Even if they’re only after food, I’m still helping them. And what more do you need than that?”

Ushio couldn’t stop her smile from stretching wider, his sentiments so true to him. “You’re right! Right now, you’re probably their biggest hero,” she mentioned, pointing out how they chirped in appreciation.

“Do you want to feed them, too?” Chiaki asked, holding out the plastic bag to her.

Eyes widening at the thought, Ushio didn’t hesitate to accept the bag from Chiaki; flattening down her skirt underneath her as she crouched down next to him. “I’d love to,” she whispered, the idea making her eager.

Slowly, Ushio pulled out a cluster of birdseed and began to scatter it onto the ground before them. “Just like that~” Chiaki grinned, peering over at Ushio as they huddled close together to approach the birds as favourably as possible.

The two of them were retained an iota of space between them, the propinquity making Chiaki’s head swirl with heat and awkwardness; yet, even so, he couldn’t pry his eyes off her—how her cheeks glowed with hotness and a sense of jubilation.

“They like you, Ushio!” Chiaki remonstrated as he gesticulated to how the birds twittered excitedly, jumping up and down off their little legs. They wanted more seed; more nourishment for their growing bodies. Yet she looked uncertain of herself at that moment, trying to hand the bag back as if she didn’t want to take away from Chiaki’s bird feeding experience. “Go on. I don’t mind if you empty the bag.”

Truthfully, Chiaki also simply wanted to luxuriate in this sight a little longer. Of Ushio smiling as the birds venerated her as if she was their hero. It made his heart flutter in his chest, sending a rush of exhilaration and warmth through the fissures of his veins.

“Thank you, Chiaki-san⋯” Ushio breathed out, her mind already forgetting what she came here to do in the first place. “They’re so cute, aren’t they? I’m going to feel really bad when we finish the seed.”

On a detonation of elation, Chiaki unintentionally got closer to Ushio—to the point there faces were only inches apart and the tips of their noses grazed each other’s. “We can always come back!” he reassured her, eyes sparkling.

Ushio’s countenance burst with white-hot embarrassment as she realised a single movement from either of them would make them kiss; and if you looked closely enough, you could practically see the copious wisps of steam emitting from the poor girl’s face. “Y-Yeah, we can⋯” she trailed off, lips parted and quivering, “b-but we’ll never kiss in front of them, okay?”

The way Ushio said that, so enticingly shy and yet still trying to deflect with wit, made Chiaki gasp—and he pulled back hurriedly, his own cheeks becoming florid. “I-I wasn’t?! You’re right, we shouldn’t?!” he spluttered, vocals double-crossing his rationality.

Ushio was teasing him, just slightly, and yet he reacted so strongly to her words. It was so cute; so, so cute. She loved that about him⋯ although she didn’t vocalise such thoughts to him.

“O-Oh, wait, that reminds me—didn’t you need me for something?” Chiaki abruptly asked, trying to divert the topic away from this flustering theme. “I’m sorry, I got sidetracked.”

Shaking her head, Ushio finally laid out the final bits of birdseed; and the two of them promptly stood up to their full heights. “I-I wanted to give you this⋯”

When Ushio had first given Chiaki a bento, her fingers were shaky and unsteady. Right now, her heart was still hammering just as much as that day⋯ assailed by feelings of discomfiture and trepidation that she wouldn’t be received well.

She was always an overthinker, after all.

But as she pulled out the bento from the confines of her bag, Ushio’s fingers were imbued with a new strength she cultivated alongside her time with Chiaki and the rest of RYUSEITAI—as their relationship blossomed more and more each day since then.

“A bento?” Chiaki drew in his breath as surprise overtook his features, yet it was clear how exultant he was over the idea.

Nodding her head, Ushio held it out to him. “Yeah, it’s been a while since I last made you one; and you’ve been working really hard lately, so I thought⋯”

Placing his hands over Ushio’s fondly as he clasped onto both her and the precious bento, Chiaki beamed. “I’m so happy! Ushio, your cooking is the best!” he praised her with heaps of sincerity redolent to that very first day. “Thank you!!”

“You’re welcome,” Ushio meekly murmured, the words ‘anything for you’ tingling on her glossy lips as she felt him tighten his grip over her.

There was a pause—Chiaki refusing to let go of her just yet as they stood together—and the birds were already flitting about and moving on with their lives as they pecked away the vestiges of Chiaki’s and Ushio’s solicitousness.

“You know,” Chiaki began, eyes glimmering with ruminations, “you’ve been working really hard, too. Can I⋯ make you a bento next time?”

“Do you even know how to cook, Chiaki-san?” Ushio curiously inquired, head tilting as her short hair cutely descended with her motion and making Chiaki even more nervous at how irresistible that was.

“I don’t,” Chiaki answered veraciously, squirming and averting his gaze as a feeling of self-consciousness overwhelmed his entity.

“I could always teach you—I think it’d be fun, and then we can eat whatever we make together,” Ushio smiled, patently growing excited over the idea just by speaking of it.

Vehemently nodding his head, Chiaki’s grin was unbridled with euphoria. “It’s a promise!” And just like that first time Ushio made him a bento, Chiaki had a pledge etched on his heart he’d do anything to keep.

[omake]

“Why is Taichou suddenly so obsessed with feeding the birds?” Midori groaned, lamenting his entire existence as he watched his leader scattering more and more seeds onto the ground with a pitifully overzealous visage.

“Apparently Ushio-san and him promised to feed them together but he wants to increase his affinity with them before they do in order to impress her!” Tetora elucidated, although for poor Midori it still didn’t make any sense. “He’s been doing this every day for the past week.”

Peeking furtively behind the pair as they all watched with a morbid, rapt attention, Shinobu piped up, “I think it’d be best to leave Morisawa-dono behind for now⋯”

The other two nodded their heads in solemn agreement, silently gyrating on their heels to abandon their Ryusei Red⋯⋯ so he can continue his quest to befriend the birds.