[Warning 15+]
Part One~She Only Acts Like Her Old Self When She's with Me... Wait, Hold Up!~Chapter 30Wait, Are You Lyin' To Me?
Himeko got home just before 7 PM, right around the time the sun was startin' to set.
"I'm home~"
"Welcome back. Hey, where's Haruki?"
"Haru-chan's totally wiped out today and doesn't have the energy to come over and eat, so she said she's just gonna grab whatever's around."
"Even Haruki ran outta steam... ...just what the heck were you girls doing...?"
"Just regular shopping?"
Hayato gave Himeko a skeptical look, but her face was practically glowing with a super-satisfied expression.
As for Himeko, she started sniffin' the air to check out what was for dinner tonight.
"Curry?"
"Yeah, made enough for tomorrow night's batch, too."
"Mm, let me know when it's ready, Big Bro!"
"Got it, got it."
Once she was back in her room, Himeko tossed her bag somewhere and flopped onto her bed.
Then Himeko grabbed her pillow and started rollin' around. She had this big ol' smirk on her face, reminiscing about today and totally soaking in the vibes.
The first city she ever went to just to hang out was a total shock to Himeko.
Unlike back in the countryside of Tsukinose, there were way too many train cars, and the station itself was so complicated Himeko almost got lost.
Everywhere Himeko looked, she saw all kinds of cars instead of just the usual mini-trucks.
And then there were the buildings—a forest of skyscrapers stretching straight up instead of spreading out.
It was exactly the city life she'd always dreamed of, and Himeko's hype levels were through the roof since morning.
"Whoa, incredible... ...where the heck do we even start...?"
"Hehe, if we hit up the shops along the main street one by one, check out the department store at the end, and then circle around the perimeter, we can get through it all super efficiently!"
"Haru-chan, you were dragging your feet until yesterday, but you're totally fired up now, huh?"
"Once I decide to do something, I gotta go all out! Besides, this way, we can really give Hayato a shock, right?"
"Yeah, true that."
Haruki was actually even more hyped than Himeko, like Haruki's energy levels were off the charts.
That mischievous grin of Haruki's, combined with a fresh-looking tunic and short-shorts—an outfit that actually felt pretty elegant—created a total vibe shift that made your heart skip a beat.
By the way, Himeko was the one who styled Haruki, and that tunic was actually from Himeko's own closet. Looking at Haruki like that, Himeko thought to herself.
(Goin' all out for Big Bro, huh…)
"—Wouldn't it be a total blast to dress you up in a super girly outfit and make Big Bro all flustered?"
That's exactly what Himeko had whispered to Haruki at Haruki's place a few days ago.
Yeah, Himeko was definitely the one who lit the fire under Haruki. Since the whole point was to mess with Hayato, this reaction was totally expected.
Watchin' Haruki like that, Himeko felt a tiny spark of jealousy flaring up—so Himeko slapped her cheeks to snap out of it.
"Oh, you're really fired up, Hime-chan!"
"Alright, we're gonna hit every single spot, okay!"
"Heck yeah!"
And so, the two hyped-up girls hit the town, checking out all kinds of shops. Every now and then, Haruki would get sucked into a game store, that "Yellow Submarine" hobby shop, or a gacha corner, which was just part of her charm.
They stopped at a fruit parlor that was trending online and polished off these jumbo fruit parfaits that were literally the size of their faces, all while gabbing away.
The shopping spree was going smooth for Haruki and Himeko, but the one big miscalculation was that they kept wanting to match stuff from different stores, which ended up with them doubling back over and over again.
Because of that, everything took way longer than planned. Haruki, who'd been on a total high the whole time, finally ran outta juice on the train ride home and ended up slumped against Himeko's shoulder.
Seeing Haruki with her guard down like that made Himeko can't help but smirk.
(That was a blast... ...oh?)
Just as Himeko was soaking in the day's vibes, a notification on her smartphone snapped her back to reality. When she checked the screen, it was a message from her bestie back in Tsukinose, Saki.
'What'd you do today~? I was so bored that I just spent the whole time staring at train scenery from all over the world~'
'Whoa, we're in the third year of middle school, you know! We gotta study for high school entrance exams!'
'It's weird, right~? I sat down at my desk to study, and that just happened~'
'Well, I was out shopping all day today too, anyway.'
'Oh really~? What'd you buy~?'
'More like picking stuff out than buying... Oh yeah, you remember Haru-chan? The one who was always with Big Bro back in the day?'
'Eh, yeah... ...come to think of it, according to your Big Bro, Haru-san's the one who leveled up from a monkey to a gorilla, right~?'
'Yup. I went to look at clothes for that Haru-chan... ...hold on a sec.'
With that, Himeko picked out a few of her favorites from the photos they took today and started attaching them to the messages.
Standard casual looks, a slightly more mature feminine vibe, and even a sweet, girly style that looked like total boy-bait—all of them looked great on both Haruki and Himeko, really bringing out their charm.
Himeko thought she looked pretty good in the pics herself, and she was totally hyped to show Saki how much their childhood friend had glowed up into a total beauty just to shock her.
It was supposed to be a little surprise, just something to talk about.
"?! "
That's why the fact that a call came in almost the exact same second Himeko hit send was a total curveball.
"Um, Saki-cha—"
'Who is she~, this girl?'
"Wait, what?! Saki-chan?! What do you mean who? It's Haru-chan!"
'Oh, is that so~…? …Haru-san's quite the beauty, isn't she~?'
"Y-Yeah, Haru-chan's a total beauty, right?"
The voice was bone-chillingly cold, something Himeko could never have imagined coming from the girl she knew as timid and laid-back. It had this weird, intense pressure. "Don't mess with Saki-chan"―Himeko felt it in her gut, and before she knew it, she was sitting bolt upright in a formal kneel on her bed.
'Wait, are you lyin' to me, Hime-chan~? I thought you said Haru-san was a gorilla~'
"Eh, yeah, that's still true, though? I mean, Haru-chan's personality is exactly like it was back then—she's totally got her guard down around Big Bro, she's crude, and yeah, total gorilla vibes."
'J-Just like the old days~?!'
"S-Saki-chan?!"
Himeko was completely lost.
It was the first time Himeko'd ever seen the usually chill Saki get this worked up, and Himeko had no clue why.
Over the phone, Himeko could hear Saki sobbing through stuff like, "Where's Haru-san going to school~", "I'm definitely coming over there during summer break~", "High school boys are basically animals~...", and all Himeko could do was freak out.
"Hey, Himeko! Food's ready!"
That's why Hayato's voice felt like a total godsend.
"S-Sorry, Saki-chan, I gotta go, dinner's ready!"
'Wait, Hime-chan~!'
"Coming, Big Bro!"
Apologizing in her head, Himeko took the chance and bolted from the room.
Himeko still had no idea what that was all about, even as she left, scratching her head in confusion.
Bonus
"Wait, no raw eggs?!"
"Oh, my bad, we're all out."
"Ugh…"
"I got some heavy cream, though."
"Is this medium spicy? Then I'll pass."
"I see."
Bonus of the Bonus
"It's fine, I've definitely got Haru-san's beat when it comes to chest size, though…"
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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