Buntoku High School Rhapsody: Strawberry-Colored Ai-Two Weekly Short-Short

Spring at Buntoku is noisy.
It's a massive traffic jam of pink.

Entrance ceremony.

Fresh-faced new students climb the hill,
and pass through the Buntoku gate.

A large cherry tree is planted in the schoolyard,
welcoming the new Buntoku students.

As for the Buntoku uniform,
aside from the vibrant tartan skirt,
the sweet strawberry-colored sweater is the biggest selling point.

That sweater
goes perfectly with the scattering cherry blossoms.

The girls
"Eek! So cute!"
"Let's take a picture together!" they say, holding up their smartphones,
giggling and frolicking at the collaboration of cherry blossoms and sweaters.

——But, however!

Buntoku is co-ed!
The boys wear this sweater too!!

At first,
they pulled at their sleeves
a little shyly.

But,
they get used to it within a week.

The color of the sweater shines in the spring sunlight,
and somehow even gives them confidence.

And then, from one morning on,
a regular phenomenon began in the hallway.

"Tooth!"
"Tooth!"
"Tooth!"

At first, it was one person.

Next, two.

And then, three.

No one taught them.

It's just that for that sweet strawberry color,
that greeting suited it strangely well.

Not a single person missed a beat.

They were well-synchronized.

And then,
slowly, gracefully.

Their walking speed also drops.

The hallway is a long line.

Tsumugi
"Ah! So noisy!! Is this a Kasuga breeding farm!?"

Koharu
"...Ah, Onigawara."

Tsumugi
"Who are you calling that!!"

Outside the window,
the chorus of 'Tooth' continues.

Cherry blossom petals
drift lazily
over a sea of strawberry color.

Spring at Buntoku is noisy.
But that noisiness,
is somehow a little sweet, and funny.

The End

(604 characters)

I participated in this project
by Mr./Ms. Tahara.