[Warning 15+]
Part Two~Save That Old Energy Only For Me, Seriously!~Chapter 54So Different from Me—That Smile is Friggin' Blinding
"Um, well, you see..."
"Y-Yeah? Can I help you with something?"
It was a total spur-of-the-moment move.
It's not like Haruki actually had any business with Minamo.
So, even though Haruki'd managed to call out to Minamo, Haruki had zero clue what to say next. As Haruki stumbled over her words, Minamo just gave Haruki this awkward, "I'm-so-lost" kind of smile.
"I-I was just wondering, eh, what you were up to?"
"I'm, uh, just pruning and weeding..."
"A-Ahaha, right! Obviously!"
It was exactly what it looked like. Not exactly something you'd go out of your way to ask.
Minamo couldn't figure out what Haruki was aiming for, so Minamo just stood there with a strained little smile.
"...."
"...."
A heavy silence settled between the two of them. The vibe was just... ...awkward as heck.
I mean, normally, Haruki and Mitake Minamo didn't even run in the same circles.
Trying to figure out her next move, Haruki started scanning Minamo from head to toe.
Minamo was more than a head shorter than Haruki, who stands at 157 cm, and that curly, bouncy hair of Minamo's was definitely her trademark. Minamo had that "small animal" charm, and if you actually looked, she had a pretty cute face.
(Wait, is Mitake-san actually kind of a beauty? ...She's a totally different type from me, though.)
Is it possible that the real reason Hayato joined was—
"Ugh, for real?!"
"N-Nikaidō-san?!"
Once her thoughts hit that point, Haruki just lost it and yelled out loud.
Trying to shake off that murky feeling in her chest, Haruki started aggressively scratching her head, not giving a d*mn that she was totally ruining her hair.
Obviously, for Mitake Minamo, seeing Nikaidō Haruki act this freakin' weird was way too much to handle.
Minamo was stunned, and thinking she'd somehow messed up, she started panicking and flailing around in a total state of shock.
Seeing Minamo like that helped Haruki regain a bit of her cool, and Haruki let out a self-deprecating little laugh.
"A-Ahaha, my bad. I (boku) was, eh, being kind of a j*rk just now."
"Did you just use... ...'Boku' to say 'I'? Um, are you, like, going through something?"
"Oh, yeah. It's been a bit much lately."
"I see..."
Haruki let out a heavy, frustrated sigh.
Honestly, Haruki was just totally disgusted with herself.
If I stay here, I'm just gonna overthink things—just as Haruki thought that and started to turn back, it happened.
"G-Getting your hands dirty!"
"...Huh?"
"Let's get our hands in the soil! It's the best, seriously! It'll totally calm you down. Here, take this!"
"Wait, what? Whoa, hang on a sec!"
One second Minamo was looking at Haruki all worried, and the next, Minamo'd shoved her own straw hat onto Haruki's head. Then, Minamo straight-up dragged Haruki along by the hand.
For a girl who looked so tiny and quiet, Minamo was surprisingly pushy.
When they got in front of some eggplants with purple flowers, Minamo gave a big grin and handed over a pair of shears. Apparently, it was Haruki’s turn to work.
"Let's just clear out the extra branches here and here. Just snip 'em off, flowers and all—bam!"
"Eh, you sure it's okay to cut this much? I'm gonna take out like a third of the plant?!"
"Yep, just go for it! It's basically like giving them a haircut."
"W-Well, if you say so... ...here goes!"
Feeling totally out of her element, Haruki started pruning while Minamo coached her through it.
Being face-to-face with the veggies, Haruki realized for the first time that no two plants are the same; They've all got their own vibe.
Because of that, there's no "one-size-fits-all" answer when it comes to pruning. You have to deal with each one individually or you'll have no clue what to do. It was actually a lot more of a brain-teaser than Haruki expected.
Before Haruki knew it, big beads of sweat were rolling down her forehead, and her cheeks were just as caked in dirt as Minamo's.
But Haruki was so into it that she didn't even care about the mess anymore.
"Should I just go snip-snip right here? Or is that overkill?"
"It's fine! These little guys are tougher than they look, so they can handle it."
"Alright, slash! Hehe, but man, it's so trippy to think these flowers actually turn into veggies!"
"Yeah, it really is amazing."
"Oh, hey! Next time you guys harvest... ...I..."
"You should totally come—Nikaidō-san?"
Haruki, who'd been totally zoned in on the veggies, turned around and caught a glimpse of Minamo's face. Minamo looked so incredibly kind and caring.
At that exact moment, Haruki realized just how much she'd been geeking out. Haruki could feel her face starting to heat up.
"Um, I (boku)..."
"Hehe, you finally smiled."
"Ugh..."
It felt like Haruki'd been totally seen through, and she was dying of embarrassment.
Seeing Haruki like that, Minamo just gave a warm smile and moved to stand right next to Haruki, turning her attention back to the garden.
"So, before I started gardening, something pretty shocking happened to me. I was so sad and hurt that I just couldn't stop crying... ...but then, my stomach started growling anyway, and I thought that was just so hilarious. I heard that once a flower blooms, that's the end of it, but with veggies, the blooming is just the beginning because that's when they start growing fruit... ...so, I basically started this just out of curiosity."
"Mitake-san?"
"Once I actually started growing them, I realized I didn't know anything at all. Taking care of them is way harder than I imagined, but it's even more fun than it is hard... ...Ugh, what am I even saying right now...? ...I guess, what I mean is, I feel like I was saved by finding something I love to do..."
"...Oh."
Even though Minamo was blushing while talking about herself, she clenched her hands in front of her chest. Between all the "Au"s and "Um"s, she kept her eyes locked on Haruki with total sincerity, trying to find the right words.
This was Minamo's way of cheering Haruki up.
It was simple, though. Minamo saw that Haruki was down in the dumps and was just trying her best to make Haruki feel better.
Looking back at Minamo, Haruki could tell—she just knew—that there wasn't a single manipulative or shady bone in Minamo's body.
(Man, Mitake-san's actually a really good person.)
Unlike Haruki's own "perfect girl" act, Minamo was someone who could genuinely care for others—that was just who Minamo was.
The way Haruki saw Minamo completely shifted.
Right then, a feeling that was almost like admiration started to sprout. To be real, Haruki still had some ulterior motives mixed in there.
But still, Haruki found herself wanting to learn way more about everything.
"Hey, is it cool if I come by here again?"
"Oh... ...yeah, I'd love that!"
The look on Minamo's face as she gave that big, bright smile—to Haruki, it was absolutely blinding.
Author's Notes:
Baaaa baaaa~
・,. .,. ., .,
＠"・ω・"＠
;' .:. ,;
';,,.u.,.,.u,;'
Oh, and for the reviews—feel free to just "Meow" at me! Or "Kon" like a fox! Whatever works!
Your feedback is what keeps me going as an author.
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.
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"Um, well, you see..."
"Y-Yeah? Can I help you with something?"
It was a total spur-of-the-moment move.
It's not like Haruki actually had any business with Minamo.
So, even though Haruki'd managed to call out to Minamo, Haruki had zero clue what to say next. As Haruki stumbled over her words, Minamo just gave Haruki this awkward, "I'm-so-lost" kind of smile.
"I-I was just wondering, eh, what you were up to?"
"I'm, uh, just pruning and weeding..."
"A-Ahaha, right! Obviously!"
It was exactly what it looked like. Not exactly something you'd go out of your way to ask.
Minamo couldn't figure out what Haruki was aiming for, so Minamo just stood there with a strained little smile.
"...."
"...."
A heavy silence settled between the two of them. The vibe was just... ...awkward as heck.
I mean, normally, Haruki and Mitake Minamo didn't even run in the same circles.
Trying to figure out her next move, Haruki started scanning Minamo from head to toe.
Minamo was more than a head shorter than Haruki, who stands at 157 cm, and that curly, bouncy hair of Minamo's was definitely her trademark. Minamo had that "small animal" charm, and if you actually looked, she had a pretty cute face.
(Wait, is Mitake-san actually kind of a beauty? ...She's a totally different type from me, though.)
Is it possible that the real reason Hayato joined was—
"Ugh, for real?!"
"N-Nikaidō-san?!"
Once her thoughts hit that point, Haruki just lost it and yelled out loud.
Trying to shake off that murky feeling in her chest, Haruki started aggressively scratching her head, not giving a d*mn that she was totally ruining her hair.
Obviously, for Mitake Minamo, seeing Nikaidō Haruki act this freakin' weird was way too much to handle.
Minamo was stunned, and thinking she'd somehow messed up, she started panicking and flailing around in a total state of shock.
Seeing Minamo like that helped Haruki regain a bit of her cool, and Haruki let out a self-deprecating little laugh.
"A-Ahaha, my bad. I (boku) was, eh, being kind of a j*rk just now."
"Did you just use... ...'Boku' to say 'I'? Um, are you, like, going through something?"
"Oh, yeah. It's been a bit much lately."
"I see..."
Haruki let out a heavy, frustrated sigh.
Honestly, Haruki was just totally disgusted with herself.
If I stay here, I'm just gonna overthink things—just as Haruki thought that and started to turn back, it happened.
"G-Getting your hands dirty!"
"...Huh?"
"Let's get our hands in the soil! It's the best, seriously! It'll totally calm you down. Here, take this!"
"Wait, what? Whoa, hang on a sec!"
One second Minamo was looking at Haruki all worried, and the next, Minamo'd shoved her own straw hat onto Haruki's head. Then, Minamo straight-up dragged Haruki along by the hand.
For a girl who looked so tiny and quiet, Minamo was surprisingly pushy.
When they got in front of some eggplants with purple flowers, Minamo gave a big grin and handed over a pair of shears. Apparently, it was Haruki’s turn to work.
"Let's just clear out the extra branches here and here. Just snip 'em off, flowers and all—bam!"
"Eh, you sure it's okay to cut this much? I'm gonna take out like a third of the plant?!"
"Yep, just go for it! It's basically like giving them a haircut."
"W-Well, if you say so... ...here goes!"
Feeling totally out of her element, Haruki started pruning while Minamo coached her through it.
Being face-to-face with the veggies, Haruki realized for the first time that no two plants are the same; They've all got their own vibe.
Because of that, there's no "one-size-fits-all" answer when it comes to pruning. You have to deal with each one individually or you'll have no clue what to do. It was actually a lot more of a brain-teaser than Haruki expected.
Before Haruki knew it, big beads of sweat were rolling down her forehead, and her cheeks were just as caked in dirt as Minamo's.
But Haruki was so into it that she didn't even care about the mess anymore.
"Should I just go snip-snip right here? Or is that overkill?"
"It's fine! These little guys are tougher than they look, so they can handle it."
"Alright, slash! Hehe, but man, it's so trippy to think these flowers actually turn into veggies!"
"Yeah, it really is amazing."
"Oh, hey! Next time you guys harvest... ...I..."
"You should totally come—Nikaidō-san?"
Haruki, who'd been totally zoned in on the veggies, turned around and caught a glimpse of Minamo's face. Minamo looked so incredibly kind and caring.
At that exact moment, Haruki realized just how much she'd been geeking out. Haruki could feel her face starting to heat up.
"Um, I (boku)..."
"Hehe, you finally smiled."
"Ugh..."
It felt like Haruki'd been totally seen through, and she was dying of embarrassment.
Seeing Haruki like that, Minamo just gave a warm smile and moved to stand right next to Haruki, turning her attention back to the garden.
"So, before I started gardening, something pretty shocking happened to me. I was so sad and hurt that I just couldn't stop crying... ...but then, my stomach started growling anyway, and I thought that was just so hilarious. I heard that once a flower blooms, that's the end of it, but with veggies, the blooming is just the beginning because that's when they start growing fruit... ...so, I basically started this just out of curiosity."
"Mitake-san?"
"Once I actually started growing them, I realized I didn't know anything at all. Taking care of them is way harder than I imagined, but it's even more fun than it is hard... ...Ugh, what am I even saying right now...? ...I guess, what I mean is, I feel like I was saved by finding something I love to do..."
"...Oh."
Even though Minamo was blushing while talking about herself, she clenched her hands in front of her chest. Between all the "Au"s and "Um"s, she kept her eyes locked on Haruki with total sincerity, trying to find the right words.
This was Minamo's way of cheering Haruki up.
It was simple, though. Minamo saw that Haruki was down in the dumps and was just trying her best to make Haruki feel better.
Looking back at Minamo, Haruki could tell—she just knew—that there wasn't a single manipulative or shady bone in Minamo's body.
(Man, Mitake-san's actually a really good person.)
Unlike Haruki's own "perfect girl" act, Minamo was someone who could genuinely care for others—that was just who Minamo was.
The way Haruki saw Minamo completely shifted.
Right then, a feeling that was almost like admiration started to sprout. To be real, Haruki still had some ulterior motives mixed in there.
But still, Haruki found herself wanting to learn way more about everything.
"Hey, is it cool if I come by here again?"
"Oh... ...yeah, I'd love that!"
The look on Minamo's face as she gave that big, bright smile—to Haruki, it was absolutely blinding.
Author's Notes:
Baaaa baaaa~
・,. .,. ., .,
＠"・ω・"＠
;' .:. ,;
';,,.u.,.,.u,;'
Oh, and for the reviews—feel free to just "Meow" at me! Or "Kon" like a fox! Whatever works!
Your feedback is what keeps me going as an author.
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: