[Warning 15+]
Author's Notes:
I totally caved under the pressure from the reviews and updated the chapter (eyes rolling back).
I totally caved under the pressure from the reviews and updated the chapter (eyes rolling back).
Part Two~Save That Old Energy Only For Me, Seriously!~Chapter 60Kind of Floating on Air
Not a single cloud in the sky this morning.
The midsummer sun was beating down, turning the asphalt into a total frying pan.
"So d*mn hot..."
Just walking outside today in this concrete jungle was enough to make you break into a serious sweat.
Hayato shot a hateful glare at the sun before heading off to school.
Behind the school building, at the Gardening Club's spot with its neatly arranged flower beds.
Hayato headed that way while double-checking the Club Application Form inside his bag.
Since there was nothing to block the sun, the place was a total heat trap. Even though it was early, the air was already stifling.
"Whoa, there are all these bumps growing all over the tomato stalks?! Mitake-san, is this okay? Is it some kind of disease?!"
"Nikaidou-san, those are actually just aerial roots."
"Wait, those are roots?!"
"Yeah. Apparently, they pop up when the plant's low on water or nutrients, but since tomatoes are naturally from dry areas, getting the balance right is pretty tricky..."
When Hayato got there, he couldn't hide how shocked he was.
It wasn't just Mitake Minamo—for some reason, Haruki was right there with her, wrestling with the veggies. Both of them were dripping with sweat, and they even had bits of leaves and dirt on their faces from pulling weeds.
"...What are you girls even doing?"
"Oh, Kirishima-san! Good morning!"
"Morning, Kirishima-kun. What does it look like? Just... ...helping out with the harvest and some other stuff around the flower bed."
I mean, anyone with eyes could see that.
What Hayato didn't get was why Haruki was there in the first place. Haruki was even letting her true colors show a bit, and she seemed pretty chummy with Mitake Minamo. They were splitting up the pruning work, and every now and then, Hayato'd hear Haruki ask, "Should I clip this part too?"
(Well, if Haruki's cool with it, I guess I am too...)
It was definitely a weird sight. But they both looked like they were in a great mood while taking care of the veggies.
Even though Hayato had a worried look on his face, he tried to just roll with it, thinking that if Haruki was happy, that was all that mattered.
"Um, Kirishima-san..."
"Oh, Mitake-san...?"
"About those tomato aerial roots... ...eh, are they really gonna be okay...?"
Mitake Minamo snuck over and whispered to Hayato, looking pretty worried.
For a second, Hayato braced himself, thinking Minamo was gonna bring up Haruki, but Minamo's eyes were glued to the flower bed.
Tomato aerial roots are no joke—they pop up out of nowhere like dozens of tiny bumps all bunched together. If that happened to a person, it'd be like having a massive cluster of warts break out on your arm. Honestly, it's pretty gross to look at.
"Well, it hasn't rained lately, so the plants are probably just thirsty. Don't sweat it, it's not a disease or anything, and it won't mess with the fruit. It actually happens all the time."
"Oh, I see. What a relief..."
Hearing Hayato's words, Mitake Minamo let out a soft, melty smile of pure relief.
Minamo'd acted all high-and-mighty as a Gardening Club member in front of Haruki while talking about those roots, but deep down, Minamo was clearly freaking out.
Plus, Minamo probably genuinely cared about those crops since she'd raised them like her own kids.
Looking totally stress-free now, Mitake Minamo skipped back to the flower bed all hyped up.
"Hmph, I see."
"Whoa! Haru—eh, Nikaidou."
Just as Hayato was watching Mitake Minamo and feeling all warm inside, thinking about how much Minamo really does look like a little sheep, he caught Haruki snorting at him with those judging, "I-see-how-it-is" eyes.
With her arms crossed, Haruki gave a slow, knowing nod while looking back and forth between Hayato and Mitake Minamo, then let out a massive sigh and shrugged her shoulders.
"Yeah, that's just so Mitake-san."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"
Haruki just laughed.
Hayato frowned a bit and leaned in to whisper to Haruki on the down-low.
"...Are you, like, doing okay?"
Hayato didn't ask "Doing okay with what." Even without putting it into words, Haruki knew exactly what he meant.
"Mitake-san is a good girl, so I'm fine."
"I see... ...No, I mean, that too, but are you okay with the sun? You're gonna get a nasty sunburn if you're not careful."
"Ugh... ...I mean, if it's just for a bit it's fine, but what about you, Kirishima-kun? Are you already all tanned up?"
"Whoa, hey!"
With a mischievous grin, Haruki suddenly flipped up Hayato's shirt.
Haruki started going "Ooh, I see, I see" while staring intently, comparing Hayato's stomach to the tanned skin on his arms and face.
Hayato was totally blindsided by Haruki's sudden move and just stood there frozen, feeling super embarrassed under her shameless gaze.
"Whoa, okay, your stomach is seriously pale. You're like 'Mr. Pale-Belly.' Wait, damn, are those abs?! Hey, hey, can I touch 'em? Just with my fingertip, I promise!"
"Wahaha, stop—quit it! Your fingers tickle...!"
"Ahaha, come on, don't be a party pooper. The surface is soft, but it feels kinda weird~"
"Hey, I said stop... ...Nikaidou...!"
"Aw, come on, just for a second, okay?"
"No, that's not it! Look! Mitake-san...!"
"...Oh."
Where Hayato was pointing, there was Mitake Minamo, clutching her face and totally panicking.
Minamo's eyes were glued to Haruki and Hayato's stomach. Minamo was clearly bright red from seeing a boy's bare skin—something she wasn't used to—and she looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole.
"U-Um, I mean, it's great that you guys are close, but we're outside and—au... ...I-I don't think doing lewd things is allowed!"
"Mitake-san...! Hey, Haruki! Oh, cr*p, I haven't even handed in my Application Form yet."
"A-Ahaha, sorry. I guess I got a little too carried away."
Mitake Minamo was straight-up pure.
Having been shown a stomach—a part of the body you don't normally show people—Minamo just bailed out of pure embarrassment.
"...What are we gonna do now?"
"I-I'll apologize to Mitake-san later too..."
Haruki acted like she felt awkward, but her voice sounded like she was actually in a pretty good mood.
It was that exact same "bratty tomboyish girl" look from back in the day; That face where you can't tell if they're actually sorry or just thinking, 'Whoops, my bad' or 'Better be careful next time.'
Hayato let out a sigh of pure disbelief.
"Come on, let's head to class so we're not late, okay?"
"...Yeah."
Hayato felt like, for some reason, Haruki was acting way more hyped up and restless than usual.
(Do her best, huh...?)
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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Not a single cloud in the sky this morning.
The midsummer sun was beating down, turning the asphalt into a total frying pan.
"So d*mn hot..."
Just walking outside today in this concrete jungle was enough to make you break into a serious sweat.
Hayato shot a hateful glare at the sun before heading off to school.
Behind the school building, at the Gardening Club's spot with its neatly arranged flower beds.
Hayato headed that way while double-checking the Club Application Form inside his bag.
Since there was nothing to block the sun, the place was a total heat trap. Even though it was early, the air was already stifling.
"Whoa, there are all these bumps growing all over the tomato stalks?! Mitake-san, is this okay? Is it some kind of disease?!"
"Nikaidou-san, those are actually just aerial roots."
"Wait, those are roots?!"
"Yeah. Apparently, they pop up when the plant's low on water or nutrients, but since tomatoes are naturally from dry areas, getting the balance right is pretty tricky..."
When Hayato got there, he couldn't hide how shocked he was.
It wasn't just Mitake Minamo—for some reason, Haruki was right there with her, wrestling with the veggies. Both of them were dripping with sweat, and they even had bits of leaves and dirt on their faces from pulling weeds.
"...What are you girls even doing?"
"Oh, Kirishima-san! Good morning!"
"Morning, Kirishima-kun. What does it look like? Just... ...helping out with the harvest and some other stuff around the flower bed."
I mean, anyone with eyes could see that.
What Hayato didn't get was why Haruki was there in the first place. Haruki was even letting her true colors show a bit, and she seemed pretty chummy with Mitake Minamo. They were splitting up the pruning work, and every now and then, Hayato'd hear Haruki ask, "Should I clip this part too?"
(Well, if Haruki's cool with it, I guess I am too...)
It was definitely a weird sight. But they both looked like they were in a great mood while taking care of the veggies.
Even though Hayato had a worried look on his face, he tried to just roll with it, thinking that if Haruki was happy, that was all that mattered.
"Um, Kirishima-san..."
"Oh, Mitake-san...?"
"About those tomato aerial roots... ...eh, are they really gonna be okay...?"
Mitake Minamo snuck over and whispered to Hayato, looking pretty worried.
For a second, Hayato braced himself, thinking Minamo was gonna bring up Haruki, but Minamo's eyes were glued to the flower bed.
Tomato aerial roots are no joke—they pop up out of nowhere like dozens of tiny bumps all bunched together. If that happened to a person, it'd be like having a massive cluster of warts break out on your arm. Honestly, it's pretty gross to look at.
"Well, it hasn't rained lately, so the plants are probably just thirsty. Don't sweat it, it's not a disease or anything, and it won't mess with the fruit. It actually happens all the time."
"Oh, I see. What a relief..."
Hearing Hayato's words, Mitake Minamo let out a soft, melty smile of pure relief.
Minamo'd acted all high-and-mighty as a Gardening Club member in front of Haruki while talking about those roots, but deep down, Minamo was clearly freaking out.
Plus, Minamo probably genuinely cared about those crops since she'd raised them like her own kids.
Looking totally stress-free now, Mitake Minamo skipped back to the flower bed all hyped up.
"Hmph, I see."
"Whoa! Haru—eh, Nikaidou."
Just as Hayato was watching Mitake Minamo and feeling all warm inside, thinking about how much Minamo really does look like a little sheep, he caught Haruki snorting at him with those judging, "I-see-how-it-is" eyes.
With her arms crossed, Haruki gave a slow, knowing nod while looking back and forth between Hayato and Mitake Minamo, then let out a massive sigh and shrugged her shoulders.
"Yeah, that's just so Mitake-san."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"
Haruki just laughed.
Hayato frowned a bit and leaned in to whisper to Haruki on the down-low.
"...Are you, like, doing okay?"
Hayato didn't ask "Doing okay with what." Even without putting it into words, Haruki knew exactly what he meant.
"Mitake-san is a good girl, so I'm fine."
"I see... ...No, I mean, that too, but are you okay with the sun? You're gonna get a nasty sunburn if you're not careful."
"Ugh... ...I mean, if it's just for a bit it's fine, but what about you, Kirishima-kun? Are you already all tanned up?"
"Whoa, hey!"
With a mischievous grin, Haruki suddenly flipped up Hayato's shirt.
Haruki started going "Ooh, I see, I see" while staring intently, comparing Hayato's stomach to the tanned skin on his arms and face.
Hayato was totally blindsided by Haruki's sudden move and just stood there frozen, feeling super embarrassed under her shameless gaze.
"Whoa, okay, your stomach is seriously pale. You're like 'Mr. Pale-Belly.' Wait, damn, are those abs?! Hey, hey, can I touch 'em? Just with my fingertip, I promise!"
"Wahaha, stop—quit it! Your fingers tickle...!"
"Ahaha, come on, don't be a party pooper. The surface is soft, but it feels kinda weird~"
"Hey, I said stop... ...Nikaidou...!"
"Aw, come on, just for a second, okay?"
"No, that's not it! Look! Mitake-san...!"
"...Oh."
Where Hayato was pointing, there was Mitake Minamo, clutching her face and totally panicking.
Minamo's eyes were glued to Haruki and Hayato's stomach. Minamo was clearly bright red from seeing a boy's bare skin—something she wasn't used to—and she looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole.
"U-Um, I mean, it's great that you guys are close, but we're outside and—au... ...I-I don't think doing lewd things is allowed!"
"Mitake-san...! Hey, Haruki! Oh, cr*p, I haven't even handed in my Application Form yet."
"A-Ahaha, sorry. I guess I got a little too carried away."
Mitake Minamo was straight-up pure.
Having been shown a stomach—a part of the body you don't normally show people—Minamo just bailed out of pure embarrassment.
"...What are we gonna do now?"
"I-I'll apologize to Mitake-san later too..."
Haruki acted like she felt awkward, but her voice sounded like she was actually in a pretty good mood.
It was that exact same "bratty tomboyish girl" look from back in the day; That face where you can't tell if they're actually sorry or just thinking, 'Whoops, my bad' or 'Better be careful next time.'
Hayato let out a sigh of pure disbelief.
"Come on, let's head to class so we're not late, okay?"
"...Yeah."
Hayato felt like, for some reason, Haruki was acting way more hyped up and restless than usual.
(Do her best, huh...?)
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: