[Warning 15+]
Part One~She Only Acts Like Her Old Self When She's with Me... Wait, Hold Up!~Chapter 10It's a Promise, Okay?
The classroom was in an absolute uproar.
Nikaidō Haruki was "the girl on a pedestal," and everyone watched her every move like hawks.
Haruki herself always made sure to act the part, and she knew exactly how much her reputation was worth.
For Haruki to strike up a conversation with a boy for no apparent reason—that alone was enough to set off a million rumors. It was a huge deal.
"Nikaidō-san's talking to the transfer student?"
"No way, don't tell me Kirishima's her type…"
"Nah, Kirishima's new, so Nikaidō-san probably just has some business with him. Please, let that be it!"
Jealous glares and curious whispers started flying all over the room.
They were already the center of attention. There was no way they were getting out of this unnoticed now.
Both Hayato and Haruki understood that clearly, whether they liked it or not.
"Um, well…… y-you know, that. It’s about that thing."
"Huh… …Nikaidō…?"
Despite the chaos, Haruki kept a totally chill face while spamming the word "That." Just "that" over and over. Total "that" vibes.
From the outside, though, it looked like Haruki was grilling Hayato, like, "Why don't you get what I'm saying?!"
But Hayato knew better. He could tell Haruki'd just realized she messed up big time and was now in full-blown damage-control mode.
(Now that I think about it…)
Hayato had a flashback.
Back when they were kids, Haruki once got a little too hyped and tried walking along the wooden fence between the ranch and the fields, only for the whole thing to come crashing down.
Thanks to the adults farming nearby, the sheep didn't make a break for it, and everything turned out fine.
The fence was rotting anyway, so Haruki wasn't in trouble and didn't get a scratch. But she was convinced she'd caused a total disaster, and just like now, she started babbling, "It's that thing, you know, that did that, and then that happened…" on a loop.
Haruki was acting all composed now, but to Hayato, Haruki's reaction was a carbon copy of how she was back then. Even that "please save me" look in her eyes was exactly the same.
(…Good grief.)
Suppressing a chuckle that was bubbling up, Hayato carefully chose his words.
"Oh, that thing. The favor you asked me about at the flowerbed this morning, right?"
"! Y-Yeah, exactly! I wanted to get it over with ASAP… …Are you free right now?"
"Got it. I'm coming."
"Oh, bring your bag with you too, please."
"Yeah, yeah. On it."
It was a total split-second ad-lib.
But with that, Hayato successfully flipped the script to: "Nikaidō-san's just rushing Kirishima because she wants a favor done ASAP."
The crowd around them relaxed, with murmurs of "Oh, is that all?" and "Makes sense," as they lost interest.
To Hayato's eyes, Haruki looked visibly relieved as she hurried out of the room to play it off. As Hayato let out an exhausted sigh, Mori sidled up to him with a massive smirk.
"Living the dream, huh, Transfer Student?"
"Haha, shut it."
◇◇◇
Where Haruki led Hayato was this tiny, empty room in the old school building.
It was maybe a fourth the size of a regular classroom—long, narrow, with wooden floors, and had that total run-down, old-school vibe.
But surprisingly, there wasn't a speck of dust on the floor, so someone was definitely keeping the place tidy.
"…What is this place?"
"My secret base. This wing is only used for file storage, so nobody ever comes back here."
"A bit too empty for a 'base,' don't ya think?"
"Haha, true. I'll have to bring some stuff in later. It doubles as my personal shelter, anyway."
"A 'shelter,' huh?"
Since they were finally away from prying eyes, Haruki flipped right back into her "Tomboyish Boss" mode, just like back in her room.
Haruki didn't give a d*mn about her skirt and just flopped down, sitting cross-legged. She seemed to hesitate for a split second, but perhaps she figured taking off her socks would be going a bit too far.
(Man, the kids in class can never see Haruki like this.)
Hayato rubbed his temples as he took in the room.
A tiny, empty room with wooden floors.
A pretty lonely spot for a "secret base."
Just a shelter to get away from all the noise.
Even for an empty room, there wasn't a single piece of equipment or junk in sight—just a bleak, bare space with a lone window.
"…How'd you score this place?"
"Just stumbled across it. I've even got the key, see?"
"Is that even allowed?"
"It's fine as long as we don't get caught. Why don't you have a seat, Hayato?"
"Good grief."
Hayato sat down in front of Haruki, crossing his legs as they faced each other.
"Alright, so? What's this all about?"
"Oh, well… …how should I put this…"
Haruki groaned, her response coming out all choppy. She definitely seemed to be hesitating about something.
Just a minute ago, Haruki had basically dragged Hayato away.
Even while keeping up Haruki's usual act, you could say it was a pretty reckless move. But the way her eyes were practically screaming at Hayato for something—that really stuck with him.
Haruki clearly had something huge on her mind to go that far.
"You promise not to laugh?"
"Depends on what it is."
"If you laugh, you owe me one, okay?"
"Fine."
Haruki's dead-serious gaze locked onto Hayato.
Hayato squared up, ready to take whatever Haruki was about to throw at him.
"The truth is… …it's always been my dream to have lunch with a friend."
"…Wait, what?"
The most clueless sound ever escaped Hayato's mouth.
Mistaking Hayato's confusion for being totally over her, Haruki's eyebrows shot up as she started to protest.
"Hey! This is actually a huge deal for me, okay?! Since I'm... ...well, you know how it is... ...if I pick one person to eat with, it'll just start a whole drama between everyone else… …so I've been alone this wholeeee time, and, well…"
"…"
Haruki's voice trailed off at the end, barely a whisper.
It wasn't hard for Hayato to picture exactly what Haruki meant.
Between the scene in the classroom earlier and Haruki calling this empty room a "shelter"—it all clicked.
It actually hurt Hayato's heart a little, thinking about Haruki spending every single lunch break in this place all by herself.
(Good grief…!)
Trying to brush off that painful feeling, Hayato gave his head a rough scratch and pulled his lunchbox out of his bag.
"Is that so? Well, I guess that means your dream's gonna be coming true every single day from now on."
"Hayato…"
"Am I wrong?"
"No, you're totally right. Okay then, I guess this puts me in your debt!"
"That's a cheap debt."
"Haha, fine then! Let's say every ten lunches counts as one 'debt' I owe you."
"Your debts are just gonna keep piling up at that rate… …Look, if we're both free, let's just agree to meet here for lunch. How's that for a promise?"
"A promise… …yeah, a promise… …It's a promise, Hayato!"
"O-Oh, sure."
Haruki blinked in surprise for a second, then her face lit up with the most innocent, kid-like grin. In her excitement, she leaned in so close their foreheads were practically touching.
(Hey, way too close, girl!)
There was no denying it—Haruki was a total knockout. Even Hayato had to admit that.
Having a girl like Haruki show a beaming smile that she definitely didn't show anyone else, and having it happen that close to Hayato's face... it was only natural for his heart to start racing.
Still, Hayato felt like it'd be a total loss if he actually let Haruki find out how he was feeling inside.
"Get off me already."
"Oh, haha, my bad!"
Hayato gave Haruki a bit of a shove to get some space, then bluntly stuck out the pinky of his right hand.
Hayato knew he was being totally childish, and he was well aware of it.
"It's a promise, okay?"
"Yeah, a promise. Ehehe."
Pinkies interlocked. A small, secret promise. The sound of their shared laughter.
Just like back then, another memory was being carved into the story of their lives.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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