As The Wind Blows Your Scent To Me

In the coming days, neither Kazuya nor Himari was able to meet each other for a long time. When they met, they would be accompanied by the two children as the light bulbs.

Kazuya suddenly found his niece and nephew annoying especially when Chiharu clung dearly to Himari.

How could he cultivate more good feelings with his girlfriend if this dumpling always acted this way?

Unfortunately, Himari loved having Chiharu with her. Whenever Kazuya suggested leaving her somewhere, especially with Shuichi, Himari denied the silly suggestion. 

If it wasn't due to Himari's refusal, Kazuya would pick her up at home and send her to school together with Chiharu and Izumi. But, mostly his offer would be rejected by her.

Himari wanted to finish grading her students before Friday came. Today, she went to school an hour earlier than usual. Kazuya said he could come before the usual time but, Himari still refused.

All this while, she had been going to school alone without much problem. Himari didn't want to make the children feel rushed in the morning because their uncle wanted to accommodate her time.

"Why did I think that you prioritize the children more than me, your boyfriend who wanna find an excuse to meet you?"

When Kazuya pointed it out like that, he just received an eye roll from Himari. The man responded by giving her forehead a poke.

Right now, Himari was sitting alone inside the spacious teachers' room. She was enjoying the quiet time before the school was occupied by the employees and students running around.

A cup of black flower tea was placed in front of her, a waft of hot steam rose from the cup, dispersing its faint fragrance to the air. 

Himari didn't prepare breakfast for herself today. She planned to go to the school cafeteria in a bit and just had her breakfast there.

"En, I've keyed in everything. I hope there's no other problem," murmured Himari faintly as she browsed the grading portal of the school.

When she thought of what would come after home visitation, Himari almost sigh.

The school would continue to be busy in the coming weeks. After rescheduling, the sports festival would be held in early summer, in the middle of June. Three weeks after that, before summer break started, it was the turn for the trip to Hiraya Falls.

The students were already excited about the incoming sports festival. A few classes had even sent their Sports & PE representative committee to Teacher Goda, asking what kind of sports would be held and when should they fill in the contestants' names. 

In the end, as he was unable to deter the highly active students, Teacher Goda shooed them to run across the field twice.

"Thankfully, there's a gap of two weeks before the sports festival preparations," Himari sighed in relief.

She felt like the time passed by so quickly. In a blink of an eye, summer would arrive soon, leaving spring behind.

Creak...

Himari snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the sound of the door opening. When she saw who came, her eyes twinkled in an instant.

"Teacher Masuda, good morning," Himari greeted the female teacher who had just come, "You're early today."

Yuina was pleasantly surprised to see there was someone else already inside the office. She walked to where Himari sat instead of heading to where her working desk was.

"Good morning, Teacher Kato," Yuina returned the greeting. Her face softened as she talked to the English teacher, "You're even earlier than me. It's only 7:30 AM right now."

The school won't start in another hour. What made her came so early?

"Do you still have to grade the students?" Yuina asked after a short pause.

"Hehe, I've just finished," Himari grinned, "How about you? Do you come early for that too? Ah, have you eaten breakfast already?"

The two teachers decided to go to the school cafeteria together after Yuina put down her bag. Like Himari, Yuina also hadn't had her breakfast. She wasn't in the mood to cook one for herself today.

At this time, they were the only ones inside the cafeteria. True to the school's prestige, the food prepared by the cooks here was delicious and had plenty of varieties. They were also cooked by using fresh ingredients. 

Yuina's eyes drifted from her tray to the one in Himari's hands. 

Himari just chose to have the usual breakfast rice set with grilled salmon, cucumber salad, rolled omelet and miso soup. The cafeteria auntie gave her chicken karaage as well. Although the portion was small for each dish, the total amount was actually bountiful.

As Himari noticed Yuina's gaze on her tray, she asked with a smile, "Would you feel full by just eating that?"

On Yuina's tray, she only had two pieces of toast with some jam and cream cheese. A very simple breakfast.

Yuina laughed softly, "I don't have a good appetite lately."

As Yuina coming to terms with her pregnancy, she gradually realized that her body tended to feel exhausted even though she didn't work too much on the day. Even the simple act of forcing herself out of the bed to go to work already tired her. 

Although she still could eat like usual, safe for the rare times she felt nauseated, Yuina's appetite didn't improve. If not for thinking of the small bean growing inside her womb, Yuina won't force herself to eat.

"Make sure you don't skip your meal," said Himari with a light smile, "If not, someone would be worried."

Yuina blinked before she curled up her lips. Both of them understood who Himari was referring to. 

"Hehe, I won't."

They just had a simple interaction this morning but, Yuina's mood was good throughout the day. She finished her work accordingly and reviewed the lesson plan for tomorrow before going back home. Yuina also ate more than usual during lunch.

Teacher Kato was right, Yuina secretly thought. If she didn't eat well, Ryuu wouldn't be the only one who got worried. She also might be putting harm on their baby.

"I have to tell him," Yuina murmured under her breath, "But, how?"

When she first received the confirmation that she was pregnant, Yuina was thoroughly shocked. She also wasn't sure what should she do next.

Confusion, sorrow and uncertainty lingered in her mind, making her questioned the sudden arrival of the child.

Could she be a good mother?

Could she provide a safe and warm home to their child?

Could Ryuu cut down on his career for the sake of her and their child?

Kanna was even worried to see her in such a depressing state. Her friend hadn't ever forgotten to check on her frequently even though she herself was busy with her duty as a doctor.

Yet, as days went by and after Yuina thinking things through, since the baby was already here, why couldn't she just accept it?

Yuina couldn't shake off all of her fears that had been embedded in her mind since before but, she also wanted to take a step forward and learn what she should as a new mother.

Since she wanted to give the baby the best she could offer, Yuina understood she shouldn't keep quiet about her fears again.

She had to tell Ryuu without sugar-coating anything. He had to understand that if they wanted to raise this child properly, both sides had to make sacrifices, especially coming from him who was always away due to his work.

Instead of going home straight after school hours ended, Yuina dropped by a supermarket to buy some groceries. Kanna told her to increase her intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Although it was still early in her pregnancy, it would always be good to start early.

"These apples look juicy," Yuina picked a red apple and held it in her hand.

The apple felt firm under her touch. Its red color was lustrous in her eyes. Yuina could already imagine how it would taste once she took a crunching bite of the apple.

Yuina happily filled her trolley with a pack of red apples, peaches and green grapes. She also didn't forget to stock up other items - detergent, tissues, beef, poultry products etc.

"Mommy, Mommy, I want that."

"Didn't you say you want this instead?"

As Yuina pushed the trolley to the cashier area, she walked past a mother and a daughter pair. The pair was choosing which candies should they buy. 

The daughter was holding a chocolate stick candy while the mother showed her a pack of caramel-flavored ones. 

The little one was so cute with her curly hair parted into two braids. She wore a soft yellow dress paired with a pair of black shoes. 

In the split second, Yuina envisioned the pair was her and the child that she was carrying in her womb. Warm seeped into her heart as she thought that, in the future years, she would have a mini her accompanying her doing even the most mundane things.

It was different from the fear that she felt, the one when she thought doing so would just bind her child to her selfishness because she was often lonely.

"...Ah!"

"Sorry!"

Yuina didn't realize she almost ran into someone. Her gaze was fixated on the mother and daughter pair until she didn't see that someone was walking in front of her.

"Are you okay? Boy, I'm so sorry!"

The one she almost crashed onto was a young teenager. The teenager bent down as he patted on one side of his tighs. 

"It's okay. It's okay. It's just a light bump."

The boy grinned as he waved her off as if nothing had happened. He slowly lifted up his eyes before they met Yuina's concerned look.

While Yuina was assessing the boy, she didn't notice someone was focusing a camera lens in her direction.

Kacha.