[Warning 15+]
Part Two~Save That Old Energy Only For Me, Seriously!~Chapter 48I-I'm Totally Not Used to This Kind of Stuff!
Lunch break. At their usual secret base.
Hayato and Haruki were sitting there, just scowling at each other.
"Ugh..."
"..."
Haruki was giving Hayato's lunchbox a look that was basically pure salt.
The main dish was last night's leftover ginger pork, re-seasoned with a stronger kick for the lunchbox, plus some mustard spinach with sesame dressing, cherry tomatoes and broccoli for a pop of color, and some fluffy rolled omelets with chopped green onions. It was the kind of meal that made your mouth water even when it was cold.
On the flip side, Haruki's lunch was just a "68 Calories!" salad chicken bar and some veggie juice. That's it.
With Haruki's eyes glued to Hayato's lunch, she took a sad little nibble of her chicken bar. When Haruki's stomach let out a cute little growl, Hayato couldn't help but let out a massive sigh.
"...You want a bite?"
"N-No way!"
"But, Haruki."
"I-I've gained like 9 pounds!"
"...Haruki?"
Suddenly, Haruki turned bright red, looking down and dodging Hayato's gaze.
A 9-pound jump sounds like a lot, but looking at Haruki, Hayato honestly couldn't see where any of it had gone.
"...I mean, I don't think you've changed that much, honestly."
Because of that, Hayato felt like Haruki didn't need to push herself so hard to lose weight—but then he remembered her getting all into that diet talk with the other girls earlier, so this time, he was the one who looked away.
But Haruki, looking like she wanted to scream that Hayato didn't get the gravity of the situation at all, raised her voice.
"Hayato! You seriously have zero clue how much 9 pounds actually is!"
"Wh-What gives?"
"Listen! That's like four cartons of milk, or six to seven weekly manga mags, or basically the same weight as a medium-sized watermelon or a small bag of rice! All that meat! On my body! It just... ...attached itself!"
"O-Oh, well when you put it like that..."
Being told "9 pounds" didn't really click for Hayato at first, but hearing the specifics made him realize, yeah, that's actually pretty intense. He couldn't help but imagine Haruki lugging around eight water bottles, a stack of magazines, or a whole watermelon, and realized all that extra weight was now part of her.
No wonder Himeko was screaming about going on a diet too. It's hard to just ignore that much extra baggage. Hayato felt like he finally understood a little bit why girls were so obsessed with dieting.
Right now, Haruki was giving off this super high-tension vibe.
Haruki kept her scowl, but her eyes were darting all over the place—between the lunchbox, Hayato's face, and just anywhere else. Getting those constant side-eyes made him feel restless too, and he ended up knitting his brows in frustration.
"Um, hey..."
"Huh?"
"Are you... ...mad at me...?"
"What?"
That came out of nowhere.
Haruki suddenly dropping that question totally caught Hayato off guard.
Haruki had this anxious look on her face, peering up at Hayato like she was trying to read his vibe.
"I mean, Hayato, you've had this intense, scary look on your face since this morning."
"No, look, this is just..."
"I was thinking maybe I went a little too far yesterday... ...so, um, I'm... ...I’m sorry..."
"What are you even...?"
This isn't like the usual Haruki at all, Hayato thought.
The usual Haruki would've just brushed something like that off as no big deal and wouldn't have given it a second thought. Then she'd go right back to messing with Hayato.
But the Haruki standing right here had this fragile, pleading look in her eyes.
(So they really do get emotionally unstable, huh...?)
Hayato remembered what Mori Iori said this morning. And the "fix" he suggested too. But man, that was a pretty high bar to clear.
'There's a rumor going around the girls that Kaidō-san's actually got his sights set on Nikaidō-san.'
Thinking back to Mitake Minamo's words made Hayato's blood boil, and before he could even think, his body just moved on its own.
"Haruki!"
"Wait... ...M-Mya?!"
Even Hayato thought, 'Yeah, this is totally not like me,' as he did it.
Hayato forcefully slapped his right hand onto a shocked Haruki's head, ruffled it up, and then started slowly stroking her hair as if he were running his fingers through it.
Haruki's hair was silky smooth, like actual silk threads, and it felt amazing to the touch. As it slipped through Hayato's fingertips with a ticklish sensation, it felt way better than he'd ever imagined, and he just got lost in the zone, unable to stop petting her.
Haruki must've really liked getting petted, 'cause those intense eyes of hers slowly started to droop and go all hazy, just letting Hayato have his way with her.
Hayato felt like he was being doted on by a cat that usually just messed with him on a whim. He felt this weird, itchy sensation in his chest, and before he knew it, he was thinking out loud.
"...Your hair."
"U-huh."
"They say if you go too hard on a diet, you won't get enough nutrients and your hair'll end up all dry and frizzy, right?"
"Y-Yeah, you're right. I'll be careful."
"I'd hate for that to happen."
"Eh, yeah."
"Don't overdo it, okay? I'm rooting for you, so just do your best without pushing yourself or rushing into it."
"Mm, I'll work hard."
"Oh, well... ...your hair's so nice it's actually kinda addictive."
"R-Really? Ehehe... ...I'll keep working hard to take cyare of it."
"Whoops, if I keep this up I'm gonna mess up your hairstyle. Better stop here—"
"―Oh."
As he kept petting Haruki, Hayato started to snap out of it. The embarrassment finally started to outweigh the moment, and even though he lowkey didn't want to stop, he pulled his hand away.
But then, Haruki let out this totally heartbroken sound. It was like she was grieving because something she was totally into just got snatched away. She gave Hayato this pained, pleading look, like she was asking 'Why are you being so mean?'.
"Hayato..."
"H-Haruki?"
"..."
"..."
And then, they just locked eyes.
With her eyes still all misty, Haruki—now freed from Hayato's hand—seemed to slowly come back to her senses. Her face, not just her cheeks, started turning a deeper and deeper shade of red from pure, unadulterated embarrassment.
"...Mi."
"Mi?"
"Myā!!"
"Haruki?!"
Haruki just let out a full-on screech like she couldn't hold it in for even another second.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-What the heck was that?! Scary, Hayato, you're scary! Wh-When did you even learn a move like that?! J-Just how many girls have you played with your 'poison fangs' until now?!"
"Wait, chill out! There aren't even any girls our age back in Tsukinose! At most, besides Himeko, I've only ever petted sheep or cats!"
"Y-You seduced Hime-chan?! That's like, 'that thing,' you know! 'That' is just 'that' and 'that' and 'that'!"
"As if I'd seduce my own little sis! Ugh, seriously, give me a break!"
Haruki must've been dying of embarrassment from how she acted just now. Since her brain was totally fried, she kept spamming 'that' over and over to try and cover it up.
But since that felt exactly like the usual Haruki, Hayato couldn't help but let out a laugh. Seeing that, Haruki puffed out her cheeks and let out a huff of protest.
And just like that, the usual "them" were back.
"Seriously, I'm totally not used to being praised or spoiled like that! I literally thought I was gonna lose it for a second!"
"...Huh, that's unexpected. You're popular, right? I figured you'd be used to hearing that stuff when boys confess to you or whatever."
As he said it, Hayato's chest tightened. That was the one thing he'd been dying to know. But even as he asked, he was immediately hit by a wave of 'actually, I don't wanna know,' and he instantly regretted opening his mouth.
"Nope. I've never actually had a direct confession or anything like that. I mean, I've basically played my cards so that nobody can confess to me in the first place. That's why I make sure never to give out my smartphone ID, either."
"Oh, is that right...?"
"Scandal."
"Huh?"
"You know how it is with celebrities—if they date someone, or how their work goes once they're in a relationship—just that alone becomes this huge deal, right?"
"I mean, I guess...?"
"That's why 'I'—the 'good girl' Nikaidō Haruki—can't be dating anyone."
"...I see."
Hayato was totally thrown off by Haruki's sudden words.
Hayato could kinda tell what Haruki was tryna say, but he couldn't read between the lines because those seven blank years were getting in the way. It was beyond frustrating.
Hayato's face must've looked pretty intense.
Noticing that, Haruki let out a fake "Ahaha" to brush it off and forcefully changed the subject back, as if signaling that the convo was officially over.
"Well, anyway, I gotta work hard on this diet for my health, you know? For my health."
"For your health, huh. Himeko's working at it too, though."
"Yeah."
Haruki was really doubling down on the whole 'For my health' thing.
There were plenty of things still weighing on Hayato's mind.
But the fact that Haruki had never dated anyone—let alone even had a boy confess to her—man, that was a massive weight off Hayato's shoulders.
Author's Notes:
ε⌒ヘ⌒ヽフ
( ( ・ω・) Oink
ε⌒ヘ⌒ヽフ⌒ヽフ
( ( ・ω・) ・ω・) Oink oink
ε⌒ヘ⌒ヽフ⌒ヽフ⌒ヽフ
( ( ・ω・) ・ω・) ・ω・)
'し-し-Ｊ し-Ｊし-Ｊ
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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Lunch break. At their usual secret base.
Hayato and Haruki were sitting there, just scowling at each other.
"Ugh..."
"..."
Haruki was giving Hayato's lunchbox a look that was basically pure salt.
The main dish was last night's leftover ginger pork, re-seasoned with a stronger kick for the lunchbox, plus some mustard spinach with sesame dressing, cherry tomatoes and broccoli for a pop of color, and some fluffy rolled omelets with chopped green onions. It was the kind of meal that made your mouth water even when it was cold.
On the flip side, Haruki's lunch was just a "68 Calories!" salad chicken bar and some veggie juice. That's it.
With Haruki's eyes glued to Hayato's lunch, she took a sad little nibble of her chicken bar. When Haruki's stomach let out a cute little growl, Hayato couldn't help but let out a massive sigh.
"...You want a bite?"
"N-No way!"
"But, Haruki."
"I-I've gained like 9 pounds!"
"...Haruki?"
Suddenly, Haruki turned bright red, looking down and dodging Hayato's gaze.
A 9-pound jump sounds like a lot, but looking at Haruki, Hayato honestly couldn't see where any of it had gone.
"...I mean, I don't think you've changed that much, honestly."
Because of that, Hayato felt like Haruki didn't need to push herself so hard to lose weight—but then he remembered her getting all into that diet talk with the other girls earlier, so this time, he was the one who looked away.
But Haruki, looking like she wanted to scream that Hayato didn't get the gravity of the situation at all, raised her voice.
"Hayato! You seriously have zero clue how much 9 pounds actually is!"
"Wh-What gives?"
"Listen! That's like four cartons of milk, or six to seven weekly manga mags, or basically the same weight as a medium-sized watermelon or a small bag of rice! All that meat! On my body! It just... ...attached itself!"
"O-Oh, well when you put it like that..."
Being told "9 pounds" didn't really click for Hayato at first, but hearing the specifics made him realize, yeah, that's actually pretty intense. He couldn't help but imagine Haruki lugging around eight water bottles, a stack of magazines, or a whole watermelon, and realized all that extra weight was now part of her.
No wonder Himeko was screaming about going on a diet too. It's hard to just ignore that much extra baggage. Hayato felt like he finally understood a little bit why girls were so obsessed with dieting.
Right now, Haruki was giving off this super high-tension vibe.
Haruki kept her scowl, but her eyes were darting all over the place—between the lunchbox, Hayato's face, and just anywhere else. Getting those constant side-eyes made him feel restless too, and he ended up knitting his brows in frustration.
"Um, hey..."
"Huh?"
"Are you... ...mad at me...?"
"What?"
That came out of nowhere.
Haruki suddenly dropping that question totally caught Hayato off guard.
Haruki had this anxious look on her face, peering up at Hayato like she was trying to read his vibe.
"I mean, Hayato, you've had this intense, scary look on your face since this morning."
"No, look, this is just..."
"I was thinking maybe I went a little too far yesterday... ...so, um, I'm... ...I’m sorry..."
"What are you even...?"
This isn't like the usual Haruki at all, Hayato thought.
The usual Haruki would've just brushed something like that off as no big deal and wouldn't have given it a second thought. Then she'd go right back to messing with Hayato.
But the Haruki standing right here had this fragile, pleading look in her eyes.
(So they really do get emotionally unstable, huh...?)
Hayato remembered what Mori Iori said this morning. And the "fix" he suggested too. But man, that was a pretty high bar to clear.
'There's a rumor going around the girls that Kaidō-san's actually got his sights set on Nikaidō-san.'
Thinking back to Mitake Minamo's words made Hayato's blood boil, and before he could even think, his body just moved on its own.
"Haruki!"
"Wait... ...M-Mya?!"
Even Hayato thought, 'Yeah, this is totally not like me,' as he did it.
Hayato forcefully slapped his right hand onto a shocked Haruki's head, ruffled it up, and then started slowly stroking her hair as if he were running his fingers through it.
Haruki's hair was silky smooth, like actual silk threads, and it felt amazing to the touch. As it slipped through Hayato's fingertips with a ticklish sensation, it felt way better than he'd ever imagined, and he just got lost in the zone, unable to stop petting her.
Haruki must've really liked getting petted, 'cause those intense eyes of hers slowly started to droop and go all hazy, just letting Hayato have his way with her.
Hayato felt like he was being doted on by a cat that usually just messed with him on a whim. He felt this weird, itchy sensation in his chest, and before he knew it, he was thinking out loud.
"...Your hair."
"U-huh."
"They say if you go too hard on a diet, you won't get enough nutrients and your hair'll end up all dry and frizzy, right?"
"Y-Yeah, you're right. I'll be careful."
"I'd hate for that to happen."
"Eh, yeah."
"Don't overdo it, okay? I'm rooting for you, so just do your best without pushing yourself or rushing into it."
"Mm, I'll work hard."
"Oh, well... ...your hair's so nice it's actually kinda addictive."
"R-Really? Ehehe... ...I'll keep working hard to take cyare of it."
"Whoops, if I keep this up I'm gonna mess up your hairstyle. Better stop here—"
"―Oh."
As he kept petting Haruki, Hayato started to snap out of it. The embarrassment finally started to outweigh the moment, and even though he lowkey didn't want to stop, he pulled his hand away.
But then, Haruki let out this totally heartbroken sound. It was like she was grieving because something she was totally into just got snatched away. She gave Hayato this pained, pleading look, like she was asking 'Why are you being so mean?'.
"Hayato..."
"H-Haruki?"
"..."
"..."
And then, they just locked eyes.
With her eyes still all misty, Haruki—now freed from Hayato's hand—seemed to slowly come back to her senses. Her face, not just her cheeks, started turning a deeper and deeper shade of red from pure, unadulterated embarrassment.
"...Mi."
"Mi?"
"Myā!!"
"Haruki?!"
Haruki just let out a full-on screech like she couldn't hold it in for even another second.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-What the heck was that?! Scary, Hayato, you're scary! Wh-When did you even learn a move like that?! J-Just how many girls have you played with your 'poison fangs' until now?!"
"Wait, chill out! There aren't even any girls our age back in Tsukinose! At most, besides Himeko, I've only ever petted sheep or cats!"
"Y-You seduced Hime-chan?! That's like, 'that thing,' you know! 'That' is just 'that' and 'that' and 'that'!"
"As if I'd seduce my own little sis! Ugh, seriously, give me a break!"
Haruki must've been dying of embarrassment from how she acted just now. Since her brain was totally fried, she kept spamming 'that' over and over to try and cover it up.
But since that felt exactly like the usual Haruki, Hayato couldn't help but let out a laugh. Seeing that, Haruki puffed out her cheeks and let out a huff of protest.
And just like that, the usual "them" were back.
"Seriously, I'm totally not used to being praised or spoiled like that! I literally thought I was gonna lose it for a second!"
"...Huh, that's unexpected. You're popular, right? I figured you'd be used to hearing that stuff when boys confess to you or whatever."
As he said it, Hayato's chest tightened. That was the one thing he'd been dying to know. But even as he asked, he was immediately hit by a wave of 'actually, I don't wanna know,' and he instantly regretted opening his mouth.
"Nope. I've never actually had a direct confession or anything like that. I mean, I've basically played my cards so that nobody can confess to me in the first place. That's why I make sure never to give out my smartphone ID, either."
"Oh, is that right...?"
"Scandal."
"Huh?"
"You know how it is with celebrities—if they date someone, or how their work goes once they're in a relationship—just that alone becomes this huge deal, right?"
"I mean, I guess...?"
"That's why 'I'—the 'good girl' Nikaidō Haruki—can't be dating anyone."
"...I see."
Hayato was totally thrown off by Haruki's sudden words.
Hayato could kinda tell what Haruki was tryna say, but he couldn't read between the lines because those seven blank years were getting in the way. It was beyond frustrating.
Hayato's face must've looked pretty intense.
Noticing that, Haruki let out a fake "Ahaha" to brush it off and forcefully changed the subject back, as if signaling that the convo was officially over.
"Well, anyway, I gotta work hard on this diet for my health, you know? For my health."
"For your health, huh. Himeko's working at it too, though."
"Yeah."
Haruki was really doubling down on the whole 'For my health' thing.
There were plenty of things still weighing on Hayato's mind.
But the fact that Haruki had never dated anyone—let alone even had a boy confess to her—man, that was a massive weight off Hayato's shoulders.
Author's Notes:
ε⌒ヘ⌒ヽフ
( ( ・ω・) Oink
ε⌒ヘ⌒ヽフ⌒ヽフ
( ( ・ω・) ・ω・) Oink oink
ε⌒ヘ⌒ヽフ⌒ヽフ⌒ヽフ
( ( ・ω・) ・ω・) ・ω・)
'し-し-Ｊ し-Ｊし-Ｊ
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→