[Warning 15+]
Part Two~Save That Old Energy Only For Me, Seriously!~Chapter 46A Famous Story Among the Girls
'Big Bro, we're going on a diet.'
'I see, good luck with that... ...wait, by "we," you mean Haruki's doing it too?'
'Yup. So, we're counting on you to whip up a diet menu for dinner, okay?'
'Huh? I don't know any recipes like that, you know.'
That was the exchange they had last night.
Hayato mulls it over as he walks the path to school.
Hayato didn't think either of them actually needed to lose weight, but seeing how dead-serious Himeko looked, there was no way in heck he could tell her that.
(My cooking repertoire is basically just bar snacks and stuff like that, anyway.)
Plus, for Hayato, the word "diet" had always been something from a completely different world.
Tsukinose is the kind of countryside where everyone owning their own car is the norm. Everywhere is a trek, even for just a little shopping trip, and since Hayato and the others are still students, they're forced to walk or bike everywhere. They've lived a life that's totally unrelated to being out of shape. Hayato's never even spared a thought for stuff like calorie counts in his food.
So, this was a pretty annoying problem for Hayato.
And honestly, Hayato was feeling a bit salty about it, since he and Himeko were supposed to be taking turns with the chores.
However, Hayato also recalled how Haruki maintained a well-balanced figure.
That was likely the result of all kinds of effort Haruki'd put in.
'Hayato, you've actually gotten pretty good at cooking.'
'Ugh, so this is what they mean when they say "the way to someone's heart is through their stomach"...'
'It really is better to eat with everyone instead of being alone.'
At the same time, the image of Haruki happily stuffing her face with the food Hayato'd prepared flashed through he's mind.
It seemed Hayato felt responsible for Haruki's packing on those extra pounds.
"Guess I might as well use this as an excuse to level up my cooking game."
Hayato said it out loud, as if giving himself a pep talk.
A faint, cheerful smile played on Hayato's lips.
◇◇◇
The gap between getting to school and Morning Homeroom.
Whenever he had a bit of extra time, Hayato made it a point to drop by the veggie flower bed.
Part of it was just that messing around in the dirt kept Hayato grounded, just like back when he lived in Tsukinose.
But Hayato also did it so he could talk to—or rather, make excuses to—Mitake Minamo, since things between them tended to get misinterpreted a lot.
By the way, lately, "tending the garden" basically just meant weeding.
At this time of year, the weeds take over the second you let your guard down. It's way easier to just pluck 'em while they're still tiny sprouts.
They split up the work and knocked it out pretty fast. It wasn't even enough to bother with a bag; If they really tried, they could've hauled the whole pile in one hand. Once they carried it over to the collection area, the morning chores were officially wrapped up.
"Is that all of it?"
"Yeah, thank you so much, Kirishima-san."
With a little smudge of dirt on her cheek, Mitake Minamo answered with a smile.
Minamo's current getup—gym clothes, a straw hat, and work gloves—was light-years away from being "trendy." It was the peak "Tsukinose Girl" style (basically looking like a kid in an oversized tracksuit), which honestly just made Hayato feel even more at home around her.
To be real, Hayato was lowkey stressing because he had zero clues for a diet menu, so he tried to feel Minamo out with some casual small talk.
"Hey, Mitake-san, have you ever gone on a diet before?"
"Wait, what?! D-Do I look fat?! Should I go on a diet?!"
"N-No! It's my little sis! My little sis' making me help with her diet! You definitely don't need one!"
"I-I'm so sorry, I jumped to conclusions again... ...ugh..."
Typical Minamo, her face was busy switching between pale and beet red after her usual freak-out. But once she cooled down, she tilted her head to the side with a little "hmm" and actually started brainstorming with Hayato.
"I guess it really comes down to exercise and diet, right?"
"Yeah, but the part I'm stuck with is the food. Since I'm the one cooking. The problem is, my recipes are all basically 'man food'—you know, heavy flavors and all that."
"Oh, so you cook too, Kirishima-san? Now that you mention it, that overnight pickled eggplant recipe you gave me the other day was a total lifesaver!"
"Haha, glad to hear it. I've just been doing it forever out of necessity... ...Mom's a bit of a situation, you know."
"Oh, so maybe that hospital thing the other day was..."
Mitake Minamo blinked a few times before leaning in to look at Hayato.
Minamo had this mysterious look on her face.
It was hard to tell if it was admiration or empathy, but just as Hayato was wondering what was going through Minamo's head, her expression melted into a soft, squishy smile.
"You're such a good big brother, Kirishima-san."
"Wait, what?! I—I mean, it’s not really like that!"
"Fufu."
Now it was Hayato's turn to lose his cool.
Mitake Minamo might not care about being trendy, but she was a total diamond in the rough with a naturally cute face. So, those words had more than enough power to make Hayato—who has zero resistance to girls his age other than his own family—get all flustered.
"I think it’s really wonderful when someone can work hard for the sake of others, even for things they aren't used to. In my family, back then, my grandpa......"
"...... Mitake-san."
Minamo's voice was a mix of a bunch of different emotions.
When Minamo looked off into the distance toward the hospital with that slightly pained expression, Hayato's thoughts suddenly chilled out.
Minamo probably has stuff that's hard to talk about, too.
"Ugh, d*mmit," Hayato thought as he scratched his head aggressively before turning back to face Minamo.
"...So, about what you asked."
"Yeah?"
"Since you asked if I cook too, does that mean you're into cooking as well?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"It doesn't have to be a diet menu or anything specific, but if you have any recommended recipes, let me know, okay?"
"I don't mind, but... ...well, my cooking is kind of the stuff grandpas would like..."
"Then it's probably perfect for a diet. Low on grease and all that."
"Oh! ...Hehe, you might be right about that."
They looked at each other and shared a laugh.
Both of them had something weighing on their minds.
They'd only just met, and there was still way more they didn't know about each other than what they did.
But that smile was like a mutual nod—a sign that they felt for each other, respected one another, and were basically comrades in arms.
"Okay, so next time I'll send the recipe over in a message—oh!"
"Yeah... ....wait, huh?!"
Behind the school building. The trash collection area near the incinerator.
Unless it's cleaning time, this isn't exactly a spot where students hang out.
But despite that, there was a boy and a girl standing there, giving off this super intense, high-tension vibe.
Even Hayato wasn't clueless enough to miss what was going down here.
(I-Is this a confession?! Am I actually witnessing a confession right now?!)
But being a first-time witness to this kind of "boy meets girl" drama, Hayato was totally losing it.
Hayato knew he shouldn't look, but he couldn't help being curious. Peeking is bad, but if he made a move, wouldn't they spot him? All these conflicting thoughts were spinning in his head, and he was just getting more and more confused.
"Oh, that boy over there, that's Kaidō-san, right?"
"Kaido... ...huh?"
"Kaidō Kazuki. He's that Soccer Club boy who's famous for being a total chick magnet."
"H-Huh, I see..."
Once Mitake Minamo pointed it out, Hayato actually took a good look at the boy for the first time.
Lanky and tall, a toned body from all that practice, sharp eyes, and a face that was basically eye candy.
Even from Hayato's perspective, Kazuki was a straight-up hottie; It was easy to see why Kazuki'd be so popular. No wonder the girls were all over Kazuki.
But Mitake Minamo was acting weirdly chill about it, which only made Hayato feel even more out of the loop.
And as if Minamo already knew exactly how this was gonna end, she predicted the next move with a totally flat voice.
"The girl's gonna get rejected and bail any second now. Just watch—"
"Oh..."
Just like Minamo said, it didn't take long for the girl to turn and bail, her shoulders shaking.
The only one left standing there was the boy—Kaidō Kazuki—looking all apologetic.
To Hayato, actually witnessing someone call someone out to confess their feelings felt like seeing an urban legend come to life. But despite that, both Kazuki and Mitake Minamo seemed weirdly used to the whole scene.
Still totally dazed, Hayato let a blunt question slip out.
"...How?"
"You just get used to it. I was shocked at first too, but this place is apparently a huge 'confession spot.' Oh, and it's not just them, you know?"
"Oh, really?"
For someone like Hayato, who's never dated anyone in his life, even the word "confession" sounded like some foreign language from a place far, far away.
"But still, I'm impressed you knew the girl'd get rejected. I mean, she was actually pretty cute."
"Oh, there's this famous story going around among the girls."
But the words that followed were even more impossible for Hayato to wrap his head around.
"They say the one Kaidō-san is actually crushing on is Nikaidō-san."
"…Wait, what?"
Those words were more than enough to blow Hayato's train of thought straight to heck and leave his brain completely blank.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
If you like our work, please consider supporting us on Ko-fi. 🙏
Support Us: https://ko-fi.com/ninjacross
Donations are very much appreciated.
Your donations really support us to finish this novel from here until the end, so please consider to support us.
Follow Our Official WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaRa6nHCsU9OAB0U370F
Read in other languages:
• Indonesian / Bahasa Indonesia
←Previous Table of Contents Next→
'Big Bro, we're going on a diet.'
'I see, good luck with that... ...wait, by "we," you mean Haruki's doing it too?'
'Yup. So, we're counting on you to whip up a diet menu for dinner, okay?'
'Huh? I don't know any recipes like that, you know.'
That was the exchange they had last night.
Hayato mulls it over as he walks the path to school.
Hayato didn't think either of them actually needed to lose weight, but seeing how dead-serious Himeko looked, there was no way in heck he could tell her that.
(My cooking repertoire is basically just bar snacks and stuff like that, anyway.)
Plus, for Hayato, the word "diet" had always been something from a completely different world.
Tsukinose is the kind of countryside where everyone owning their own car is the norm. Everywhere is a trek, even for just a little shopping trip, and since Hayato and the others are still students, they're forced to walk or bike everywhere. They've lived a life that's totally unrelated to being out of shape. Hayato's never even spared a thought for stuff like calorie counts in his food.
So, this was a pretty annoying problem for Hayato.
And honestly, Hayato was feeling a bit salty about it, since he and Himeko were supposed to be taking turns with the chores.
However, Hayato also recalled how Haruki maintained a well-balanced figure.
That was likely the result of all kinds of effort Haruki'd put in.
'Hayato, you've actually gotten pretty good at cooking.'
'Ugh, so this is what they mean when they say "the way to someone's heart is through their stomach"...'
'It really is better to eat with everyone instead of being alone.'
At the same time, the image of Haruki happily stuffing her face with the food Hayato'd prepared flashed through he's mind.
It seemed Hayato felt responsible for Haruki's packing on those extra pounds.
"Guess I might as well use this as an excuse to level up my cooking game."
Hayato said it out loud, as if giving himself a pep talk.
A faint, cheerful smile played on Hayato's lips.
◇◇◇
The gap between getting to school and Morning Homeroom.
Whenever he had a bit of extra time, Hayato made it a point to drop by the veggie flower bed.
Part of it was just that messing around in the dirt kept Hayato grounded, just like back when he lived in Tsukinose.
But Hayato also did it so he could talk to—or rather, make excuses to—Mitake Minamo, since things between them tended to get misinterpreted a lot.
By the way, lately, "tending the garden" basically just meant weeding.
At this time of year, the weeds take over the second you let your guard down. It's way easier to just pluck 'em while they're still tiny sprouts.
They split up the work and knocked it out pretty fast. It wasn't even enough to bother with a bag; If they really tried, they could've hauled the whole pile in one hand. Once they carried it over to the collection area, the morning chores were officially wrapped up.
"Is that all of it?"
"Yeah, thank you so much, Kirishima-san."
With a little smudge of dirt on her cheek, Mitake Minamo answered with a smile.
Minamo's current getup—gym clothes, a straw hat, and work gloves—was light-years away from being "trendy." It was the peak "Tsukinose Girl" style (basically looking like a kid in an oversized tracksuit), which honestly just made Hayato feel even more at home around her.
To be real, Hayato was lowkey stressing because he had zero clues for a diet menu, so he tried to feel Minamo out with some casual small talk.
"Hey, Mitake-san, have you ever gone on a diet before?"
"Wait, what?! D-Do I look fat?! Should I go on a diet?!"
"N-No! It's my little sis! My little sis' making me help with her diet! You definitely don't need one!"
"I-I'm so sorry, I jumped to conclusions again... ...ugh..."
Typical Minamo, her face was busy switching between pale and beet red after her usual freak-out. But once she cooled down, she tilted her head to the side with a little "hmm" and actually started brainstorming with Hayato.
"I guess it really comes down to exercise and diet, right?"
"Yeah, but the part I'm stuck with is the food. Since I'm the one cooking. The problem is, my recipes are all basically 'man food'—you know, heavy flavors and all that."
"Oh, so you cook too, Kirishima-san? Now that you mention it, that overnight pickled eggplant recipe you gave me the other day was a total lifesaver!"
"Haha, glad to hear it. I've just been doing it forever out of necessity... ...Mom's a bit of a situation, you know."
"Oh, so maybe that hospital thing the other day was..."
Mitake Minamo blinked a few times before leaning in to look at Hayato.
Minamo had this mysterious look on her face.
It was hard to tell if it was admiration or empathy, but just as Hayato was wondering what was going through Minamo's head, her expression melted into a soft, squishy smile.
"You're such a good big brother, Kirishima-san."
"Wait, what?! I—I mean, it’s not really like that!"
"Fufu."
Now it was Hayato's turn to lose his cool.
Mitake Minamo might not care about being trendy, but she was a total diamond in the rough with a naturally cute face. So, those words had more than enough power to make Hayato—who has zero resistance to girls his age other than his own family—get all flustered.
"I think it’s really wonderful when someone can work hard for the sake of others, even for things they aren't used to. In my family, back then, my grandpa......"
"...... Mitake-san."
Minamo's voice was a mix of a bunch of different emotions.
When Minamo looked off into the distance toward the hospital with that slightly pained expression, Hayato's thoughts suddenly chilled out.
Minamo probably has stuff that's hard to talk about, too.
"Ugh, d*mmit," Hayato thought as he scratched his head aggressively before turning back to face Minamo.
"...So, about what you asked."
"Yeah?"
"Since you asked if I cook too, does that mean you're into cooking as well?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"It doesn't have to be a diet menu or anything specific, but if you have any recommended recipes, let me know, okay?"
"I don't mind, but... ...well, my cooking is kind of the stuff grandpas would like..."
"Then it's probably perfect for a diet. Low on grease and all that."
"Oh! ...Hehe, you might be right about that."
They looked at each other and shared a laugh.
Both of them had something weighing on their minds.
They'd only just met, and there was still way more they didn't know about each other than what they did.
But that smile was like a mutual nod—a sign that they felt for each other, respected one another, and were basically comrades in arms.
"Okay, so next time I'll send the recipe over in a message—oh!"
"Yeah... ....wait, huh?!"
Behind the school building. The trash collection area near the incinerator.
Unless it's cleaning time, this isn't exactly a spot where students hang out.
But despite that, there was a boy and a girl standing there, giving off this super intense, high-tension vibe.
Even Hayato wasn't clueless enough to miss what was going down here.
(I-Is this a confession?! Am I actually witnessing a confession right now?!)
But being a first-time witness to this kind of "boy meets girl" drama, Hayato was totally losing it.
Hayato knew he shouldn't look, but he couldn't help being curious. Peeking is bad, but if he made a move, wouldn't they spot him? All these conflicting thoughts were spinning in his head, and he was just getting more and more confused.
"Oh, that boy over there, that's Kaidō-san, right?"
"Kaido... ...huh?"
"Kaidō Kazuki. He's that Soccer Club boy who's famous for being a total chick magnet."
"H-Huh, I see..."
Once Mitake Minamo pointed it out, Hayato actually took a good look at the boy for the first time.
Lanky and tall, a toned body from all that practice, sharp eyes, and a face that was basically eye candy.
Even from Hayato's perspective, Kazuki was a straight-up hottie; It was easy to see why Kazuki'd be so popular. No wonder the girls were all over Kazuki.
But Mitake Minamo was acting weirdly chill about it, which only made Hayato feel even more out of the loop.
And as if Minamo already knew exactly how this was gonna end, she predicted the next move with a totally flat voice.
"The girl's gonna get rejected and bail any second now. Just watch—"
"Oh..."
Just like Minamo said, it didn't take long for the girl to turn and bail, her shoulders shaking.
The only one left standing there was the boy—Kaidō Kazuki—looking all apologetic.
To Hayato, actually witnessing someone call someone out to confess their feelings felt like seeing an urban legend come to life. But despite that, both Kazuki and Mitake Minamo seemed weirdly used to the whole scene.
Still totally dazed, Hayato let a blunt question slip out.
"...How?"
"You just get used to it. I was shocked at first too, but this place is apparently a huge 'confession spot.' Oh, and it's not just them, you know?"
"Oh, really?"
For someone like Hayato, who's never dated anyone in his life, even the word "confession" sounded like some foreign language from a place far, far away.
"But still, I'm impressed you knew the girl'd get rejected. I mean, she was actually pretty cute."
"Oh, there's this famous story going around among the girls."
But the words that followed were even more impossible for Hayato to wrap his head around.
"They say the one Kaidō-san is actually crushing on is Nikaidō-san."
"…Wait, what?"
Those words were more than enough to blow Hayato's train of thought straight to heck and leave his brain completely blank.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
If you like our work, please consider supporting us on Ko-fi. 🙏
Support Us: https://ko-fi.com/ninjacross
Donations are very much appreciated.
Your donations really support us to finish this novel from here until the end, so please consider to support us.
Follow Our Official WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaRa6nHCsU9OAB0U370F
Read in other languages:
• Indonesian / Bahasa Indonesia
←Previous Table of Contents Next→