[Warning 15+]
Part One~She Only Acts Like Her Old Self When She's with Me... Wait, Hold Up!~Chapter 22Right by Haruki's Side
The school building in the afternoon, the sounds of gym class echoing from the field, and that blazing early summer sun shining through the window.
It was right in the middle of a Classical Japanese class—the kind of atmosphere where your brain just shuts off and the sleepiness totally takes over.
Hayato was just about to doze off when suddenly, a folded-up note came flying right in front of him.
"Huh…?"
Hayato only knew one person who'd pull a stunt like that. Sure enough, when he glanced at the seat next to him, there was Haruki, grinning at him with those mischievous eyes.
Based on the way Haruki kept darting her eyes toward the paper, she clearly wanted Hayato to read what was inside.
'Meet up at my place after school! Hime-chan's coming over, help me!'
Hayato read the note and tilted his head, totally confused.
(…The heck is this?)
Going to Haruki's place was no big deal—Hayato dropped by all the time, so it was basically a routine for him.
And Hayato got why Himeko was coming over too. She was pretty much Haruki's childhood friend as well, and they seemed to hit it off big time last night.
But that 'Help me!' at the end made zero sense.
When Hayato looked over at Haruki for an explanation, she just gave him a troubled look and put her hand up like she was praying for a miracle.
Since he wasn't getting anywhere like that, Hayato scribbled a reply on the note and tossed it back, making sure no one else saw.
'Just saying "help" doesn't tell me anything. Did you get into a fight with Himeko or something?'
The second Haruki saw Hayato's note, she whipped up a reply and tossed it back, and Hayato immediately scribbled another response and sent it her way.
Right in the middle of a sleepy afternoon class, Hayato and Haruki kept up this back-and-forth like they were sharing some juicy little secret.
'Actually, Hime-chan found out I don't own a single skirt for my private clothes, and she gave me one heck of a lecture.'
'Well, that sounds just like you. Is that really a problem, though?'
'Hime-chan's coming over to my place in a bit to do a total check on my stuff. Do you seriously think I can handle a girly-girl convo like that?'
'That's… …yeah, not happening. You'd probably have a better time talking about pro tips for starting a charcoal fire at a BBQ.'
'Right?! Wait—now I'm actually curious about that! I wanna do a BBQ! Ugh, but you can only do that in the wide-open countryside, right?'
'Yeah, you stack the charcoal in a cylinder shape so the air flows through better.'
'Whoa! Oh, is the meat still mostly just wild boar and deer over there?'
'Depends on what gets caught in the traps we set for garden pests, but it's usually boar. Other than that, maybe some badgers―'
The original topic was long gone, and the convo just kept drifting further and further away, but they were loving it. To Hayato and Haruki, these kinds of random, pointless talks were the highlight of their day.
But while they were getting all hyped up, they totally let their guard down.
"Nikaidō, has Kirishima been bothering you for a while now?"
"!!"
"?!"
The teacher's voice snapped them back to reality, making both of them jump in their seats.
Looking around, it seemed like the rest of the class had been watching them for a while. A few of them even looked like they were starting to suspect there was something going on between Hayato and Haruki. People were definitely getting curious.
These two locked eyes for a split second before Haruki put on a totally apologetic face and raised her hand.
"Um, excuse me, Sir. Kirishima-kun's been acting really fidgety for a while now… …and, well, I thought maybe he was, eh, having an emergency and needed to use the restroom…"
"What, Kirishima? If you gotta go, just say so. Hurry up and head to the restroom. And make sure you handle your business before class starts next time."
"What the—?!"
The whole classroom erupted in laughter. You could hear some of the boys snickering, saying stuff like, "How long has he been holding that in?" and "How embarrassing."
Nikaidō Haruki was the perfect student—graceful, pretty, and a total pro at both sports and grades. Nobody in their right mind would doubt her word.
(This girl just totally threw me under the bus to save her own skin!)
As Hayato's face turned bright red from the sheer embarrassment, he shot a look at Haruki. She just winked at him and stuck her tongue out playfully.
"(Sorry, Hayato!)"
"(D*mmit, you owe me big time for this!)"
Unable to protest the whole "I'm holding in my pee" narrative, Hayato had to head to the restroom with a face so beet-red that everyone around him actually bought that he'd been holding it in until the very last second.
◇◇◇
The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the school day.
With that as the cue, the whole building started buzzing as every classroom regained its usual noisy vibe.
Now that everyone was free from those boring classes, people were blabbing about their after-school plans and hitting up whoever they wanted to hang with.
"Um, sorry. I've actually got plans with a 'friend' today."
It was the kind of rejection line you hear all the time.
And yet, just because the one saying it was Nikaidō Haruki, it was enough to send the whole place into a total frenzy.
"Nikaidō-san got plans with a friend… …who?"
"I didn't think Nikaidō-san was the type to actually hang out with anyone…"
"Bet it's that childhood friend Nikaidō-san mentioned this morning, right?"
Those voices could be heard popping up all over the place.
(Being popular is such a pain.)
Hayato stood up from his seat, catching glimpses of them whispering to each other. He was planning to head home separately from Haruki.
A regular transfer male student and a popular beauty—normally, they wouldn't have anything in common besides sitting next to each other, and this was how things were supposed to go.
But as Hayato reached the school entrance with that thought in mind, he heard a commotion that was drawing attention for a totally different reason.
"Who's that girl? Isn't that the uniform from the middle school nearby?"
"Wait, isn't she like, super cute?! I went to that same middle school, and if there was a girl that hot, I'm pretty sure I'd remember her."
"What's a middle schooler doing here… …is she waiting for her boyfriend or something?!"
"If a girl on that level is coming to pick him up… …I gotta see what kind of boy she's dating. I'm checking him out!"
Hayato checked out the commotion, only to see a face he knew all too well. It was his own little sis. It was Himeko.
Himeko was being stared down by a crowd the size of which she'd never seen back in the countryside of Tsukinose. Looking like she was about to burst into tears, she kept glancing around, totally out of place and fidgety.
(Himeko, that idiot totally didn't think about how much she'd stand out…)
Hayato spotted his little sis' pathetic state and pressed his hand to his temple, letting out a heavy sigh.
To Hayato, Himeko just looked like his shady-acting little sis waiting for someone, but to everyone else, she looked like a brave girl anxiously waiting for her person to show up. Most people were actually pretty charmed by her.
Then, that little animal who looked like she'd been scared out of her wits spotted her target. Himeko dashed over with the energy of a puppy who just found its owner, wagging its tail for all it's worth.
"H-Haru-chan!"
"Hime-chan?!"
Himeko dashed over to Haruki and grabbed her arm, totally ignoring whatever Haruki had going on, and rushed her to get moving.
To Himeko, she just wanted to get the hell out of there ASAP, but to everyone watching, Himeko looked like a girl who was on super friendly terms with the famous Nikaidō Haruki.
On top of that, since she was heading to a high school, Himeko had put a ton of effort into her hair and makeup, even in her middle school uniform. Himeko looked so good that she could stand right next to Haruki without being outshined. "Who's that girl? Isn't she like, top-tier?" and "Someone in Nikaidō-san's class said they're childhood friends who just reunited," were the kind of comments flying around, making things even more awkward as they drew more and more attention.
"…"
Hayato watched the two of them walk away while the crowd continued to whisper, and after a short delay, he started heading toward Haruki's place. For some reason, his heart felt all restless.
Hayato's face was clouded with a feeling he couldn't quite put into words.
Up high in the sky, the early summer sun was still going strong, but wispy clouds were slowly starting to drift over it.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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