[Hina’s P.O.V.]

As we were getting changed back to our normal uniform, I looked at Eri with a slightly worried look, my fox ears drooping a little, and asked, “Are you sure you are okay? You don’t feel weird or still hurting anywhere?”

Yami-nee looked at me with some concern before Eri smiled and started rubbing my ears, causing me to relax a little and purr. Then she replied, “I promise, I feel perfectly fine. In fact, I've never felt better. It’s sweet that you're still worried about me, but I love seeing your smile even more.”

Hearing Eri’s response made my face turn bright red, and I mumbled a little, “I love seeing you smile too, you know.”

Eri giggled a little and looked at me with love-filled eyes and said, “I love you so much.”

My face became even brighter, and I replied, “I love you too.” As we were starting to leave the atmosphere and go to our own pink world, Yami-nee brought us back to Earth when she started rubbing my other ear that Eri wasn’t rubbing, causing me to purr even more, and petting Eri’s head who responded with a glare. Yami-nee started laughing at our opposite reactions and said, “You two are making me feel a little jealous, going to a new world without me, and it seems that a certain friend of ours is starting to get a little impatient.”

Yami-nee looked over her shoulder and nudged her head to where we saw a fully dressed Sakura standing next to Sayori, who was as well. She had a hand on her hip and was tapping her foot with an exasperated smirk on her face. She then sighed and said, “While this scene is really cute and sparkly, you two should remember where we are.”

Eri and I both looked at each other and then around the room, and we noticed all the girls were looking at us with sparkling eyes. Both of our faces became bright red, as Sayori and Yami-nee started laughing.

I immediately fell to my knees and hid my face behind my tails, then I yelled, “Eri, you baka!”

Everyone started laughing at my reaction. Then after I calmed down, Eri got me and herself dressed in a rapid manner. I was still a little pouty after being embarrassed for the 100th time in the dressing room. When Sayori patted my head and said, “It’s okay, Hina; everyone thinks you two are cute when you get like that. Even Sakura.”

“Sayori!” Sakura stammered with a slightly red face, which caused both Eri and Yami-nee to give her a teasing smile.

“So, cheer up, let’s go eat lunch.” Sayori continued while giggling at Sakura.

My ears twitched when I heard Sayori mention lunch, then I replied, “I completely forgot it was lunchtime. Thank you, Sayori.” After which I gave her a hug, to which she hugged me back while laughing, and said, “You're welcome.”

I started walking at a swifter pace to the vending machine, saying, “Come on, everyone, let’s hurry; it's time for food.”

As I was walking even faster, I could hear Sakura say, “She was one of the two that held us up, and now she is rushing us.”

Sayori, Eri, and Yami-nee all started laughing at Sakura’s statement, before Eri and Yami-nee caught up to me and held my hands.

Sayori and Sakura soon caught up with us as well, and I started singing, “Meat, meat, cookies, and meat.” My tails were swaying happily from side to side, following the rhythm of my song as we walked.

After we stopped and got our drinks from the vending machine, we finally made it to the classroom.

We all pulled out our lunch boxes, and my eyes sparkled when I noticed that Sayori and Sakura had the same lunch.

“Y’all have the same lunch,” I cheered.

Both Sakura and Sayori started showing a slight blush. Sakura then sighed a little and said, “My mom is away for a business trip, so I asked Sayori if she could make me lunch.”

I smirked a little, and Eri said, “That was nice for you to do, Sayori, especially with how Sakura loves your food.”

I giggled as both Sakura and Sayori became an even brighter shade of red.

“Hush, you baka,” Sakura hissed as Eri and I started laughing even more.

Yami-nee laughed to herself as well, but it seemed as though she decided to seize an opportunity and give me the first offering while Eri was distracted, as I noticed she was messing with her lunch box. She then grabbed a piece of fried chicken out and called out, “Hina.”

I turned to look at her and asked, “What is it, Yami-nee?”

“Say aww?” Yami-nee said as she held her chopsticks to my mouth.

My fox ears twitched happily, and my tails started swaying back and forth as I smiled, saying, “Nyaaa~,” as I took a bite.

Yami-nee giggled, looking at my reaction, and asked, “Is it good?”

“Mmh, it’s so good,” I mumbled as my eyes sparkled while savoring the taste.

Eri, who finally noticed that Yami-nee fed me first, grumbled, “Hey, no fair,” before she quickly grabbed a piece of meat from her lunch as well and tapped my shoulder, saying, “Hina, you can have some of mine too, say aww.”

My tails started moving even faster, and I did as I was told, saying, “Nyaaa” again. As I was happily eating, I heard Yami-nee say in a quiet tone, “Hina’s way of saying ahh is just too cute. I want to take her home.” As they both watched me eat with bright smiles, Yami-nee grabbed more meat from her lunch to feed me.

Sayori and Sakura both watched on, as Sakura showing an exasperated smirk and said, “You two won’t have any lunch for yourselves if you keep feeding her, you know.”

Eri and Yami-nee both looked at Sakura with a confused look, and I looked at Sakura with a pitiful look, implying to ask her not to stop them. It seemed my reaction caused them to ignore Sakura’s advice and start feeding me even more.

As Sakura sighed like she gave up, Sayori giggled and said, “Let them have their fun. Besides, we are all going to Hina’s house after school to eat her cooking anyway. I bet they are saving their appetite for then.”

I, who had chipmunk cheeks full of food and couldn’t speak, looked at both Eri and Yami-nee with a quizzical look, asking if Sayori was right. They both laughed a little and said in unison, “Of course, Hina’s cooking is the best.”

I finished swallowing and showed a bright smile, saying, “If that is the case, I will do my best to cook you everything you want today.”

They all smiled at my excitement, and Eri and Yami-nee both started petting my tail, while Sakura and Sayori reached over, rubbing my ears, causing me to purr and go into a daze from the pets. We all said in unison, “We can’t wait.”

After I finished eating the lunches Eri and Yami-nee fed me, I started eating my own when I felt like I saw a shiny blue glimmer move quickly from the classroom door. I stared at the door for a minute as my ears twitched with curiosity as to what I saw. For some reason, I felt a sense of longing for whoever or whatever that was.

My expression caused some worry as Eri and Yami-nee looked at me with concern, and Eri asked, “Hina, are you okay?”

I smiled to show I was fine and answered, “Mm, I’m fine; I just felt like I saw something.”

They both gave a slightly worried look, and Yami-nee asked, “What did you see?”

“It felt like I saw a shiny blue glimmer run away,” I answered honestly, before taking a drink of my strawberry milk, only to realize it was empty.

Yami-nee, who seemed to be thinking about something, noticed my drink and said, “I am going to get another drink; do you want another one too, Hina?”

I smiled as my tails started swaying happily and said, “Mm, strawberry milk please.”

Yami-nee giggled and said, “You got it,” before patting my head and getting up to leave.

“Thank you, Yami-nee,” I said with a bright smile, my ears twitching happily.

Author Notes: Hello, everyone! Long time no see; sorry for the lack of update. I have been sick since getting home from visiting family, still not feeling very good, to be honest. As I reread on the last chapter, I've realized it might not have lived up to the quality I aim for in my writing, partly due to my health. So, I took the time to rework it and present a new version. I hope you find it more enjoyable, and I appreciate your understanding. Looking ahead to the next chapter, I'm curious about your preferences. Would you like to see the continuation of the school day combined with the walk home, or would you prefer to skip to the walk home and the cooking party at Hina and Eri's? I want to thank everyone again for the support for this series. Until next time, bye-bye.

Some Images of Hina and Eri: