[Warning 15+]
Part One~She Only Acts Like Her Old Self When She's with Me... Wait, Hold Up!~Chapter 26I'm Borrowing Haru-chan Tomorrow, 'Kay?
Friday, right before the weekend. The evening of the last weekday when they'd promised to go pick out a new smartphone for Hayato.
It'd been muggy since morning, and even as evening rolled around, the heat didn't let up one bit.
"Ugh... ...I'm home... ...Big Bro, I want some ice cream..."
"It's in the freezer, just grab it yourself."
"Oh, welcome home, Hime-chan~"
When Himeko came home drenched in sweat, she was greeted in the air-conditioned room by her big bro Hayato, who was busy in the kitchen making dinner, and Haruki, who was sprawled out on the living room sofa reading manga.
Having promised to have dinner together, Haruki had wasted no time dropping by Hayato and Himeko's place. Since they were so close, Haruki clearly didn't feel the need to hold back at all. Then again, maybe she was just feeling extra lonely.
But man, Haruki was a mess. She was so relaxed it actually made Himeko cringe a little.
Haruki was lying facedown on the sofa clutching a cushion, not giving a single damn that her skirt was hiked up, kicking her bare feet back and forth.
Haruki's guard was so non-existent for a girl that, sure enough, Himeko got a full view of Haruki's plain, unsexy navy blue boxer-style shorts.
"Haru-chan, that..."
"Hm? Oh, this! It's that Taisho-Era manga that blew up when it got an anime a while back! It was sold out everywhere so I couldn't get it, but I finally scored a copy. Here, Hime-chan, come over and read it with me."
"No, that's not what I mean..."
"Huh...?"
Haruki tilted her head with a blank look. It was so adorable that Himeko couldn't help but let out a little "Ugh."
But even though the whole situation should've been risky and sexy, it was honestly just too pathetic, and Himeko instinctively facepalmed.
When Himeko glanced over at her big bro, she saw him hacking away at some veggies like that was the only thing that mattered.
It was as if this was totally normal for Hayato; He didn't seem bothered by it at all.
For better or worse, their relationship was exactly the same as it used to be, and Himeko found herself exasperated yet unable to suppress a grin.
"Hime-chan, come on, come on!"
"…Gosh, seriously!"
Haruki sat up, clutching her manga in one hand while patting the spot next to her on the sofa with sparkling eyes. Apparently, she really wanted to read the manga together.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Himeko decided to join Haruki in reading the manga.
It was a shounen battle manga, but it seemed to hit home for these two girls because they got totally sucked into it.
"Haru-chan, where's the next one?! Where's volume two?!"
"Here ya go. Welcome to the rabbit hole!"
"What the heck are those two doing...?"
In the end, they both stayed glued to the pages in total silence until dinner was ready.
◇◇◇
"Let's eat!"
"Ugh, Big Bro, this is..."
"Eat your tomatoes. Don't leave a single one."
Tonight's dinner was cold shabu-shabu salad udon.
Thin udon noodles were chilled thoroughly in ice water, then topped with mizuna, baby greens, green onions, cucumbers, radish sprouts, and tomatoes, all paired with chilled slices of pork belly.
They could top it off with ponzu, sesame sauce, or any other dressing they liked.
It was so hot today that no one really had an appetite, but since this was so light and refreshing, they polished it off in no time.
By the way, Himeko, who was served raw tomatoes—which she hated—made a sour face, but she forced herself to swallow them under some weird pressure from Hayato.
After finishing the meal and taking a breather over some tea, Himeko suddenly spoke up as if she'd just remembered something.
"Oh, right, Big Bro. Can I borrow Haru-chan tomorrow, on Saturday?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Well, you guys can just go look for the phone on Sunday instead."
Himeko knew that Hayato was finally going to pick out a smartphone with Haruki.
And Himeko knew that Haruki's taste in casual clothes was an absolute train wreck. Himeko'd seen too much. As a girl around the same age, there was no way Himeko could just look the other way.
"Yep, yep, let's go on a date, Haru-chan. A friend date."
"A-A-A-A-A-A date?! With me?! I've never been on a date before?!"
Haruki reacted to the word "date," her face suddenly turning bright red as she flustered. It was a fresh, innocent reaction, as if she had no resistance to such things. Himeko suppressed the strong urge to tease Haruki.
"It's not such a big deal. I mean, Haru-chan, you've gone on plenty of dates with Big Bro already, right? Strolling through hills and fields dates, jumping into the river and getting soaked dates, or maybe that six-hour cricket-catching marathon dates?"
"Oh, that's true."
"Man, those are some dates with zero sex appeal."
"Oh, I see," Haruki said, clapping her hands. Remembering those days, Hayato stifled a laugh deep in his throat.
"So you mean just me and Hime-chan are going out to play?"
"Yep, exactly."
"Eh, then what should we play? Wait, is Hayato okay with this? He'll be left out, you know? Personally, I think the three of us—"
"Clothes."
"The three of us—"
"We are going to buy Haru-chan's clothes."
"—Lady Himeko...?"
Himeko's eyes weren't smiling. They even carried a sense of mission. And as if determined not to let her prey escape, Himeko wore the smile of a hunter who had found her target.
A chill ran down Haruki's spine, and her smile froze.
"H-Hayato!"
"W-Well, I better get started on the dishes."
"Traitor...!"
Despite Haruki's desperate pleas for help, Hayato retreated into the kitchen as if he couldn't bear to be dragged into it. His back loudly proclaimed that a man would only be in the way.
Haruki was bad at those kinds of girly things.
You could even say Haruki had intentionally avoided getting involved with them.
"The thing is, I want to look at clothes with you, talk more, and get even closer than we used to be, Haru-chan."
Those were Himeko's heartfelt words.
That's why Haruki, when faced with Himeko's earnest plea, found her heart giving in.
And then, Haruki let out a long sigh as if admitting defeat.
"Alright. Then let's go on a date tomorrow."
"Haru-chan!"
Overcome with emotion, Himeko beamed and squeezed Haruki's hand tight. Haruki felt truly adored by her younger childhood friend, and it warmed her heart.
Then Himeko forced Haruki up and started dragging her away. Himeko's face wore a refreshingly bright smile.
"Um, Hime-chan?"
"I'm lending you my clothes, so let's go pick out what you're wearing tomorrow, okay?"
"Huh? What? Eh?"
There's no way Haruki's going out in those dorky casual clothes, right? With an intensity that left no room for argument, Himeko dragged Haruki into her room. And so, the forced fashion show began.
"Hmm, something's off. Okay, next is this one."
"Mya~~, you're still going?!"
That night, Haruki's pathetic cries echoed throughout the Kirishima Family Residence until late.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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