[Warning 15+]
Part Two~Save That Old Energy Only For Me, Seriously!~Chapter 49Oh, by the Way
Evening—well, actually, it was still that golden twilight hour just before sunset.
At the Kirishimas dining table, two girls were busy voicing their complaints.
"Big Bro, this is just... ...no."
"Yeah, even I'm kind of... ...mm, yeah..."
"...I get it. Even I'm looking at this thinking, 'What was I even doing?'"
Spread out on the dining table were salted edamame, sliced chilled tomatoes, and cut cucumbers with a spicy miso dip. The main event was chicken skin ponzu topped with onions and scallions. Pair all that with some chilled tofu instead of white rice, and you've got yourself a perfect "bar snack" menu that's just begging for a cold beer.
"That's right, I totally forgot that Big Bro's cooking skills are basically restricted to bar food."
"A-Ahaha—... ...Even for Hayato, yeah... ...ahaha—..."
"I-I mean, it might look like that, but it's totally diet-friendly, right?"
So yeah, that's basically what just went down.
By the way, despite all their whining about how it looked, both Haruki and Himeko completely polished off their plates.
For what it's worth, Hayato had done his own little deep dive into what makes a good diet meal.
Hayato'd picked some stuff from his repertoire that stuck to the basics—hit the protein hard, keep the calories and carbs low, and load up on fiber. The result? That dinner menu with the "totally tragic visual" he'd been roasted for.
"Man, diet food is tough..."
Hayato grumbled to himself while rolling around on his bed.
Deep down, if Hayato was gonna go through the trouble of cooking, he obviously wanted them to actually enjoy eating it.
But no matter how much Hayato racked his brain, he couldn't come up with any killer ideas.
(Maybe I should ask for a second opinion...)
With that in mind, Hayato pulled up Mitake Minamo's contact info. He attached the photo he took of dinner and sent a quick message: 'This was a total flop.'
About 10 minutes later, Hayato got a reply with nothing but a sweat-drop smiling emoji plastered on it. He could practically feel Minamo's secondhand embarrassment through the screen.
'Sorry, I sent you something that's totally awkward to comment on. When I think of a diet, I just picture a veggie-heavy menu... ...you got any ideas? I don't want my little sis complaining again.'
'Hmm, let's see... ...something like summer veggie nibitashi picked straight from the garden would be tasty and pretty good, I think.'
'Wait, don't you have to flash-fry those in oil first before soaking them in dashi? Ugh...'
'Yeah, the calories might be an issue there. Sorry, I wasn't much help.'
'No, it actually sounds delicious. Send me the recipe later if you can.'
'Sure, I'll send it over soon.'
'Thanks.'
After that back-and-forth, Hayato sat up and scratched his head.
Hayato checked his other contacts, but aside from Mori Iori, there were only a few names of boys from his class. There was no way he was gonna get any diet menu tips from them.
(I don't really know that many girls to begin with... ...oh, by the way.)
The thought suddenly hit Hayato, and he headed for Himeko's room. It was right across the hallway.
"Himeko, you got a sec?"
"Gah! Wh-What's your problem?! Don't just barge in without knocking!"
"Whoops, my bad."
Without waiting for an answer, Hayato swung the door open, only to get barked at by Himeko, who was sitting cross-legged and pressing her palms together with all her might. There was a magazine spread out in front of her; Looks like she was in the middle of some kind of stretching routine.
Himeko clearly didn't want anyone seeing her like that, 'cause she growled and glared at Hayato, basically telling him to spit out what he wanted and get out.
"I was thinking maybe I could get Murao-san's ID or something."
"Huh? Saki-chan's?"
Hayato's request was so out of left field that Himeko looked totally baffled. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what her big bro was actually up to, gave him a long look, and then let out a massive sigh.
"Big Bro, I know you're not exactly Mr. Popular, but trying to hit on your little sis' friend is a new low."
"Hey! That's not what I'm doing! I just, you know, wanted Murao-san's contact info...!"
"Whatever you say. Besides, even though Saki-chan kept an eye on you, she's always been super awkward around you, Big Bro."
"Ugh, now that you mention it, you're right..."
The vibe between Hayato and Himeko's bestie, Murao Saki, had always been awkward. Even when they were all together, Saki'd usually hide behind Himeko's back, and if they ever ran into each other alone at school or on the street, Saki'd usually bolt. Himeko had grilled him more than once, asking if he'd pulled some kind of prank on Saki or something.
Remembering all that made Hayato slump his shoulders in defeat, which just earned him another huge sigh from Himeko.
"Sigh... ...Fine, I'll go ahead and give Saki-chan your email address, Big Bro. But whether she actually hits you back or not is totally up to her."
"I'm counting on you."
With that, Hayato left the room as Himeko basically shooed him out like an annoying stray cat.
Thinking he'd totally struck out with Murao Saki, Hayato left his smartphone in his room, got busy with chores like the dishes, and headed straight for the bath. Quite a bit of time had passed.
"...Huh?"
When Hayato got back to his room, his smartphone was buzzing with a notification. The sender was an e-mail address he didn't recognize.
But the subject line read 'It's Murao Saki,' and when Hayato opened the message, he found a blunt, no-nonsense sentence: 'Did you need something?'
Checking the timestamp, it had arrived about an hour ago—right after Hayato'd left Himeko's room. Looks like Saki'd reached out the second she heard from Himeko.
(Man, this is rough...)
Thinking about how much he'd kept Saki waiting, Hayato started typing back.
'Long time no see—is it okay to say that? Anyway, about why I'm hitting you up: Himeko's been on a diet lately, so I was wondering if you knew any good meal plans.'
Even though Hayato'd left Saki hanging for a while, her reply came back lightning fast. Message after message popped up so quickly that Hayato was actually impressed by how fast Saki must be at flick-typing.
'I see.'
'I've never had to diet, so I wouldn't know.'
'Can't you find something if you just search for 【Diet】【Meals】【Recommended】?'
Every single reply was totally blunt. But Hayato just gave a wry smile, figuring Saki was only responding as a favor to her bestie.
'I see, thanks.'
'Is that all?'
'I'll hit you up again if I need anything.'
'I see.'
And that was pretty much the end of that.
Same old vibe as always, but Hayato figured not getting left on read was a win in itself as he gave himself a long, satisfying stretch.
"Well, since I'm at it, might as well do some digging before I hit the hay."
Hayato tried searching exactly like Murao Saki suggested, but all he got were 'best diet picks at convenience stores,' calorie counts for fast-food chains, and deep dives into the nutritional value of different ingredients.
In the end, Hayato just kept browsing as the night dragged on, until he eventually drifted off to sleep.
....
....
"...Ugh, did I seriously pass out?"
The next thing Hayato knew, the morning sun was streaming into the room, and the clock showed it was already his usual wake-up time.
Unlike a PC, you can use a smartphone while lying down, so it looked like Hayato'd just drifted off to sleep without even realizing it.
"Ow, ow... ...my neck... ...huh?"
Then, Hayato noticed that a bunch of messages had popped up on his screen.
"Shirataki pasta, some creative chicken breast dishes, and a mushroom-loaded omurice... ...Man, this is incredible. But wait, all of this..."
Every single one of them was from Murao Saki. She'd been surprisingly diligent, writing out clear, easy-to-follow recipes for everything. With meals like these, even Haruki and Himeko would probably be stoked about how they looked.
But looking at the timestamps, every single message had been sent late at night, well after midnight.
(I guess since I told Murao-san it was for Himeko, she went all out to find these for me... ...wait, what's this...?)
Tucked away among the food photos, there was one image that definitely didn't belong.
'This is my outfit for this year's Festival. What do you think?'
Attached to that message was a photo of Murao Saki in her special miko outfit, the kind she only wears during festivals.
On top of the white kimono and red hakama you'd usually see at a shrine, Saki was wearing a breezy chihaya with gold embroidery, complete with hair accessories and a full face of makeup.
It took Saki already ethereal, delicate beauty and cranked it up to a whole new level of otherworldly with that special-occasion gear.
Plus, Saki's expression was this totally natural smile that Hayato had never seen before. Even though he knew she was just his little sis' buddy, he couldn't help but gulp—she was just that captivating.
(This is... ...no, no way. Okay.)
Hayato had no clue why Saki'd send him a pic like this.
But then it clicked—his little sis, Himeko was always asking for Hayato's take on her new clothes and stuff.
So, this was probably just more of the same. Hayato definitely shouldn't go getting any weird ideas.
Ahem. After clearing his throat, Hayato figured he should at least send a thank-you message for now and started typing.
'Thanks, Himeko's gonna love these. Also, that outfit looks great on you. You look really cute.'
And unlike last night, the reply came back in just a couple of minutes.
'I see.'
The text was just as blunt as ever.
Hayato wondered if he'd accidentally woken Saki up by replying so early in the morning.
(Maybe I should think twice before hitting Murao-san up so I don't end up being a nuisance to her.)
Hayato could only let out a wry smile as that thought crossed his mind.
Author's Notes:
ヘ⌒ヽフ
( ・ω・） Ba-dump ba-dump
（ ∪ ∪
と＿_）__）
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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Donations are very much appreciated.
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Evening—well, actually, it was still that golden twilight hour just before sunset.
At the Kirishimas dining table, two girls were busy voicing their complaints.
"Big Bro, this is just... ...no."
"Yeah, even I'm kind of... ...mm, yeah..."
"...I get it. Even I'm looking at this thinking, 'What was I even doing?'"
Spread out on the dining table were salted edamame, sliced chilled tomatoes, and cut cucumbers with a spicy miso dip. The main event was chicken skin ponzu topped with onions and scallions. Pair all that with some chilled tofu instead of white rice, and you've got yourself a perfect "bar snack" menu that's just begging for a cold beer.
"That's right, I totally forgot that Big Bro's cooking skills are basically restricted to bar food."
"A-Ahaha—... ...Even for Hayato, yeah... ...ahaha—..."
"I-I mean, it might look like that, but it's totally diet-friendly, right?"
So yeah, that's basically what just went down.
By the way, despite all their whining about how it looked, both Haruki and Himeko completely polished off their plates.
For what it's worth, Hayato had done his own little deep dive into what makes a good diet meal.
Hayato'd picked some stuff from his repertoire that stuck to the basics—hit the protein hard, keep the calories and carbs low, and load up on fiber. The result? That dinner menu with the "totally tragic visual" he'd been roasted for.
"Man, diet food is tough..."
Hayato grumbled to himself while rolling around on his bed.
Deep down, if Hayato was gonna go through the trouble of cooking, he obviously wanted them to actually enjoy eating it.
But no matter how much Hayato racked his brain, he couldn't come up with any killer ideas.
(Maybe I should ask for a second opinion...)
With that in mind, Hayato pulled up Mitake Minamo's contact info. He attached the photo he took of dinner and sent a quick message: 'This was a total flop.'
About 10 minutes later, Hayato got a reply with nothing but a sweat-drop smiling emoji plastered on it. He could practically feel Minamo's secondhand embarrassment through the screen.
'Sorry, I sent you something that's totally awkward to comment on. When I think of a diet, I just picture a veggie-heavy menu... ...you got any ideas? I don't want my little sis complaining again.'
'Hmm, let's see... ...something like summer veggie nibitashi picked straight from the garden would be tasty and pretty good, I think.'
'Wait, don't you have to flash-fry those in oil first before soaking them in dashi? Ugh...'
'Yeah, the calories might be an issue there. Sorry, I wasn't much help.'
'No, it actually sounds delicious. Send me the recipe later if you can.'
'Sure, I'll send it over soon.'
'Thanks.'
After that back-and-forth, Hayato sat up and scratched his head.
Hayato checked his other contacts, but aside from Mori Iori, there were only a few names of boys from his class. There was no way he was gonna get any diet menu tips from them.
(I don't really know that many girls to begin with... ...oh, by the way.)
The thought suddenly hit Hayato, and he headed for Himeko's room. It was right across the hallway.
"Himeko, you got a sec?"
"Gah! Wh-What's your problem?! Don't just barge in without knocking!"
"Whoops, my bad."
Without waiting for an answer, Hayato swung the door open, only to get barked at by Himeko, who was sitting cross-legged and pressing her palms together with all her might. There was a magazine spread out in front of her; Looks like she was in the middle of some kind of stretching routine.
Himeko clearly didn't want anyone seeing her like that, 'cause she growled and glared at Hayato, basically telling him to spit out what he wanted and get out.
"I was thinking maybe I could get Murao-san's ID or something."
"Huh? Saki-chan's?"
Hayato's request was so out of left field that Himeko looked totally baffled. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what her big bro was actually up to, gave him a long look, and then let out a massive sigh.
"Big Bro, I know you're not exactly Mr. Popular, but trying to hit on your little sis' friend is a new low."
"Hey! That's not what I'm doing! I just, you know, wanted Murao-san's contact info...!"
"Whatever you say. Besides, even though Saki-chan kept an eye on you, she's always been super awkward around you, Big Bro."
"Ugh, now that you mention it, you're right..."
The vibe between Hayato and Himeko's bestie, Murao Saki, had always been awkward. Even when they were all together, Saki'd usually hide behind Himeko's back, and if they ever ran into each other alone at school or on the street, Saki'd usually bolt. Himeko had grilled him more than once, asking if he'd pulled some kind of prank on Saki or something.
Remembering all that made Hayato slump his shoulders in defeat, which just earned him another huge sigh from Himeko.
"Sigh... ...Fine, I'll go ahead and give Saki-chan your email address, Big Bro. But whether she actually hits you back or not is totally up to her."
"I'm counting on you."
With that, Hayato left the room as Himeko basically shooed him out like an annoying stray cat.
Thinking he'd totally struck out with Murao Saki, Hayato left his smartphone in his room, got busy with chores like the dishes, and headed straight for the bath. Quite a bit of time had passed.
"...Huh?"
When Hayato got back to his room, his smartphone was buzzing with a notification. The sender was an e-mail address he didn't recognize.
But the subject line read 'It's Murao Saki,' and when Hayato opened the message, he found a blunt, no-nonsense sentence: 'Did you need something?'
Checking the timestamp, it had arrived about an hour ago—right after Hayato'd left Himeko's room. Looks like Saki'd reached out the second she heard from Himeko.
(Man, this is rough...)
Thinking about how much he'd kept Saki waiting, Hayato started typing back.
'Long time no see—is it okay to say that? Anyway, about why I'm hitting you up: Himeko's been on a diet lately, so I was wondering if you knew any good meal plans.'
Even though Hayato'd left Saki hanging for a while, her reply came back lightning fast. Message after message popped up so quickly that Hayato was actually impressed by how fast Saki must be at flick-typing.
'I see.'
'I've never had to diet, so I wouldn't know.'
'Can't you find something if you just search for 【Diet】【Meals】【Recommended】?'
Every single reply was totally blunt. But Hayato just gave a wry smile, figuring Saki was only responding as a favor to her bestie.
'I see, thanks.'
'Is that all?'
'I'll hit you up again if I need anything.'
'I see.'
And that was pretty much the end of that.
Same old vibe as always, but Hayato figured not getting left on read was a win in itself as he gave himself a long, satisfying stretch.
"Well, since I'm at it, might as well do some digging before I hit the hay."
Hayato tried searching exactly like Murao Saki suggested, but all he got were 'best diet picks at convenience stores,' calorie counts for fast-food chains, and deep dives into the nutritional value of different ingredients.
In the end, Hayato just kept browsing as the night dragged on, until he eventually drifted off to sleep.
....
....
"...Ugh, did I seriously pass out?"
The next thing Hayato knew, the morning sun was streaming into the room, and the clock showed it was already his usual wake-up time.
Unlike a PC, you can use a smartphone while lying down, so it looked like Hayato'd just drifted off to sleep without even realizing it.
"Ow, ow... ...my neck... ...huh?"
Then, Hayato noticed that a bunch of messages had popped up on his screen.
"Shirataki pasta, some creative chicken breast dishes, and a mushroom-loaded omurice... ...Man, this is incredible. But wait, all of this..."
Every single one of them was from Murao Saki. She'd been surprisingly diligent, writing out clear, easy-to-follow recipes for everything. With meals like these, even Haruki and Himeko would probably be stoked about how they looked.
But looking at the timestamps, every single message had been sent late at night, well after midnight.
(I guess since I told Murao-san it was for Himeko, she went all out to find these for me... ...wait, what's this...?)
Tucked away among the food photos, there was one image that definitely didn't belong.
'This is my outfit for this year's Festival. What do you think?'
Attached to that message was a photo of Murao Saki in her special miko outfit, the kind she only wears during festivals.
On top of the white kimono and red hakama you'd usually see at a shrine, Saki was wearing a breezy chihaya with gold embroidery, complete with hair accessories and a full face of makeup.
It took Saki already ethereal, delicate beauty and cranked it up to a whole new level of otherworldly with that special-occasion gear.
Plus, Saki's expression was this totally natural smile that Hayato had never seen before. Even though he knew she was just his little sis' buddy, he couldn't help but gulp—she was just that captivating.
(This is... ...no, no way. Okay.)
Hayato had no clue why Saki'd send him a pic like this.
But then it clicked—his little sis, Himeko was always asking for Hayato's take on her new clothes and stuff.
So, this was probably just more of the same. Hayato definitely shouldn't go getting any weird ideas.
Ahem. After clearing his throat, Hayato figured he should at least send a thank-you message for now and started typing.
'Thanks, Himeko's gonna love these. Also, that outfit looks great on you. You look really cute.'
And unlike last night, the reply came back in just a couple of minutes.
'I see.'
The text was just as blunt as ever.
Hayato wondered if he'd accidentally woken Saki up by replying so early in the morning.
(Maybe I should think twice before hitting Murao-san up so I don't end up being a nuisance to her.)
Hayato could only let out a wry smile as that thought crossed his mind.
Author's Notes:
ヘ⌒ヽフ
( ・ω・） Ba-dump ba-dump
（ ∪ ∪
と＿_）__）
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: