[Warning 15+]
Part Two~Save That Old Energy Only For Me, Seriously!~Chapter 41Things Changed, Just a Lil' Bit
The summer sun was already flexing its muscles since early morning.
"D*mn, it's hot..."
Summer in the city seriously sucks.
Unlike back in the countryside of Tsukinose, there's nothing but asphalt everywhere you look. Instead of trees rustling in the breeze, you've got buildings crammed together with AC units blasting out lukewarm air. And man, even the traffic lights here never just blink yellow like they used to.
As Hayato trudged to school, he was feeling totally miserable. Every step he took made him break into a sweat, and his uniform was sticking to his skin, cranking his discomfort levels through the roof.
But more than anything, there was something else that was really getting under his skin.
"Yo, Kirishima."
"Mornin', Mori."
"Yo, Transfer Student."
"Good morning, Kirishima-kun."
"Oh, it's Kirishima. Morning."
"...Morning."
The second Hayato stepped into the classroom, he was bombarded with those "I know what you're up to" looks and smirks from Mori and the rest of the class.
Ever since Hayato lunged for Haruki's smartphone after she showed him that prank photo last week, it seems like everyone's convinced he's head-over-heels in love with Nikaidō Haruki's childhood friend.
Thanks to that, the whole class is freaking obsessed with how Hayato's supposed "crush" is gonna play out, especially after he had such a huge reaction. Now, they're all just watching him with these annoying, "supportive" grins.
(Ugh, the person in the photo was literally my little sis, Himeko...)
Meanwhile, Haruki—the actual mastermind behind this mess—just looked away and tried to play it off with a shaky voice, saying, 'R-Rumors about people only last about 75 days, though.'
Keeping all that in mind, Hayato headed over to his seat.
"...Morning, Nikaidō."
"G-Good morning, Kirishima-kun."
Maybe that's why Hayato ended up giving Haruki such a cold shoulder. He just turned his head away all grumpy-like. Haruki just stood there with a wry, apologetic smile on her face.
Little did they know, that whole vibe just made everyone else even more convinced about the misunderstanding, but neither of them noticed a thing.
Watching Hayato act like he was just playing hard to get, a group of girls finally made their move. They looked totally restless and immediately swarmed Haruki, squealing and whispering like crazy. Every now and then, they'd steal glances over at Hayato.
Looks like they were the type of girls who just live for some meddling. Even Hayato could tell Haruki was desperately trying to resist, but she was no match for a pack of hyped-up girls with literal stars in their eyes.
Eventually, Haruki turned back to Hayato with an apologetic look, holding her smartphone.
"Um, Kirishima-kun."
"...What now?"
"Well, about that girl, eh... ...do you wanna take a look at this?"
"Pass. I told you I'm not interested."
"C'mon, don't be like that... ...okay?"
"..."
Hayato had no clue what those girls told Haruki.
In the first place, Haruki's childhood friend was Himeko, who's literally Hayato's own little sis. Honestly, being shown his little sis' photo over and over was just a pain in the neck.
But seeing Haruki looking so apologetic and troubled—and knowing she was just "faking it" to keep up her "good girl" act—Hayato couldn't just leave her hanging.
Sigh. Hayato let out a long breath. As he reluctantly leaned in to check the screen, it wasn't a photo of Himeko staring back at him, but a bunch of text instead.
'Sorry about everything. Also, I'm gonna grab lunch with those girls today to make sure I clear up all this mess!'
When Hayato looked over at Haruki, she gave him a wry smile and a wink, as if she was saying, "I got this."
Looks like Haruki was feeling pretty guilty about the whole thing.
Normally, Haruki avoids drama like the plague and sticks to her rule of eating lunch solo. The fact that she's willing to break that rule just to fix this situation really showed Hayato how serious she was.
Plus, Haruki had already apologized a ton during dinner the other day, explaining that it was just a little prank and she never thought it would blow up like this.
(...Man, seriously.)
Thinking about that, Hayato's gaze softened, and he couldn't help but let out a small, "what can you do" kind of smile.
"Alright, I get it."
"---! Okay!"
Looks like Haruki read Hayato's mind, and they both shared a look of total relief.
But then, totally ruining the moment, a chorus of high-pitched squeals of """Kyaaa!""" filled the air.
"Mya?!"
The girls suddenly grabbed Haruki's hand and started dragging her off somewhere. They were radiating this "Don't even think about resisting" energy.
"Nikaidō-san, shall we have a little convo?"
"It'll be quick, seriously, just for a sec!"
"I mean, this is getting so interesti—eh, I mean, I was wondering if there's anything I can do to help!"
Hayato watched the whole scene in a daze, but he also noticed that compared to when he first transferred, the girls were acting way more casual with Haruki now.
Haruki's basically the definition of "Standing like a peony, sitting like a tree peony, and walking like a lily"... ...Haruki lived that out for real, plus she was a beast at both sports and grades and a total teacher's pet. Because of all that, she was popular but also felt like a "flower on a high peak" that everyone kept their distance from. It made sense, though, since she was the one building those walls around herself in the first place.
Even though Haruki was still herself, her vibe had shifted just a little bit.
The fact that everyone was acting so friendly with Haruki now was proof of that.
(Man, that looks like a total drag. Good grief, Haruki's probably gonna spend all through dinner venting to me about this.)
To be honest, for some reason, Hayato felt a weird tightness in his chest sometimes. But still, whenever Haruki came over to Hayato's place, she'd always lounge around and show him her completely defenseless side, acting just like they did in the old days.
Just thinking about it made Hayato let out a little chuckle.
"Kirishima, did you just see something 'extra special' from your precious sweetheart or what?"
"Mori? No, I didn't—"
But how the peanut gallery interpreted the look on Hayato's face was a whole different story.
Before Hayato knew it, Mori Iori had spotted it with his hawk eyes and threw an arm around Hayato's shoulder. A bunch of boys—sporting grins that were just as thirsty as the girls surrounding Haruki—swarmed Hayato, making sure he wouldn't escape.
"C'mon now, don't you think we're long overdue for some 'bonding time'?"
"Heck yeah. I mean, Nikaidō-san's childhood friend was a total beauty, for sure."
"Right? So, what exactly was it about your chick that caught your eye?"
"Wait, no, hold on, I—!"
Ignoring how totally flustered Hayato and Haruki were, everyone else just kept hyping themselves up.
Compared to when Hayato first transferred, Haruki had definitely changed.
And now, the world around Hayato had started to change as well.
Author's Notes:
Bookmark it? Checked!
Changing those ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★? Checked!
Wanna leave a comment? Just a 'Meow' is totally fine!
Writing a review? Do it!
Nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice!
Seriously, why are y'all only reading this on the app?!
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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The summer sun was already flexing its muscles since early morning.
"D*mn, it's hot..."
Summer in the city seriously sucks.
Unlike back in the countryside of Tsukinose, there's nothing but asphalt everywhere you look. Instead of trees rustling in the breeze, you've got buildings crammed together with AC units blasting out lukewarm air. And man, even the traffic lights here never just blink yellow like they used to.
As Hayato trudged to school, he was feeling totally miserable. Every step he took made him break into a sweat, and his uniform was sticking to his skin, cranking his discomfort levels through the roof.
But more than anything, there was something else that was really getting under his skin.
"Yo, Kirishima."
"Mornin', Mori."
"Yo, Transfer Student."
"Good morning, Kirishima-kun."
"Oh, it's Kirishima. Morning."
"...Morning."
The second Hayato stepped into the classroom, he was bombarded with those "I know what you're up to" looks and smirks from Mori and the rest of the class.
Ever since Hayato lunged for Haruki's smartphone after she showed him that prank photo last week, it seems like everyone's convinced he's head-over-heels in love with Nikaidō Haruki's childhood friend.
Thanks to that, the whole class is freaking obsessed with how Hayato's supposed "crush" is gonna play out, especially after he had such a huge reaction. Now, they're all just watching him with these annoying, "supportive" grins.
(Ugh, the person in the photo was literally my little sis, Himeko...)
Meanwhile, Haruki—the actual mastermind behind this mess—just looked away and tried to play it off with a shaky voice, saying, 'R-Rumors about people only last about 75 days, though.'
Keeping all that in mind, Hayato headed over to his seat.
"...Morning, Nikaidō."
"G-Good morning, Kirishima-kun."
Maybe that's why Hayato ended up giving Haruki such a cold shoulder. He just turned his head away all grumpy-like. Haruki just stood there with a wry, apologetic smile on her face.
Little did they know, that whole vibe just made everyone else even more convinced about the misunderstanding, but neither of them noticed a thing.
Watching Hayato act like he was just playing hard to get, a group of girls finally made their move. They looked totally restless and immediately swarmed Haruki, squealing and whispering like crazy. Every now and then, they'd steal glances over at Hayato.
Looks like they were the type of girls who just live for some meddling. Even Hayato could tell Haruki was desperately trying to resist, but she was no match for a pack of hyped-up girls with literal stars in their eyes.
Eventually, Haruki turned back to Hayato with an apologetic look, holding her smartphone.
"Um, Kirishima-kun."
"...What now?"
"Well, about that girl, eh... ...do you wanna take a look at this?"
"Pass. I told you I'm not interested."
"C'mon, don't be like that... ...okay?"
"..."
Hayato had no clue what those girls told Haruki.
In the first place, Haruki's childhood friend was Himeko, who's literally Hayato's own little sis. Honestly, being shown his little sis' photo over and over was just a pain in the neck.
But seeing Haruki looking so apologetic and troubled—and knowing she was just "faking it" to keep up her "good girl" act—Hayato couldn't just leave her hanging.
Sigh. Hayato let out a long breath. As he reluctantly leaned in to check the screen, it wasn't a photo of Himeko staring back at him, but a bunch of text instead.
'Sorry about everything. Also, I'm gonna grab lunch with those girls today to make sure I clear up all this mess!'
When Hayato looked over at Haruki, she gave him a wry smile and a wink, as if she was saying, "I got this."
Looks like Haruki was feeling pretty guilty about the whole thing.
Normally, Haruki avoids drama like the plague and sticks to her rule of eating lunch solo. The fact that she's willing to break that rule just to fix this situation really showed Hayato how serious she was.
Plus, Haruki had already apologized a ton during dinner the other day, explaining that it was just a little prank and she never thought it would blow up like this.
(...Man, seriously.)
Thinking about that, Hayato's gaze softened, and he couldn't help but let out a small, "what can you do" kind of smile.
"Alright, I get it."
"---! Okay!"
Looks like Haruki read Hayato's mind, and they both shared a look of total relief.
But then, totally ruining the moment, a chorus of high-pitched squeals of """Kyaaa!""" filled the air.
"Mya?!"
The girls suddenly grabbed Haruki's hand and started dragging her off somewhere. They were radiating this "Don't even think about resisting" energy.
"Nikaidō-san, shall we have a little convo?"
"It'll be quick, seriously, just for a sec!"
"I mean, this is getting so interesti—eh, I mean, I was wondering if there's anything I can do to help!"
Hayato watched the whole scene in a daze, but he also noticed that compared to when he first transferred, the girls were acting way more casual with Haruki now.
Haruki's basically the definition of "Standing like a peony, sitting like a tree peony, and walking like a lily"... ...Haruki lived that out for real, plus she was a beast at both sports and grades and a total teacher's pet. Because of all that, she was popular but also felt like a "flower on a high peak" that everyone kept their distance from. It made sense, though, since she was the one building those walls around herself in the first place.
Even though Haruki was still herself, her vibe had shifted just a little bit.
The fact that everyone was acting so friendly with Haruki now was proof of that.
(Man, that looks like a total drag. Good grief, Haruki's probably gonna spend all through dinner venting to me about this.)
To be honest, for some reason, Hayato felt a weird tightness in his chest sometimes. But still, whenever Haruki came over to Hayato's place, she'd always lounge around and show him her completely defenseless side, acting just like they did in the old days.
Just thinking about it made Hayato let out a little chuckle.
"Kirishima, did you just see something 'extra special' from your precious sweetheart or what?"
"Mori? No, I didn't—"
But how the peanut gallery interpreted the look on Hayato's face was a whole different story.
Before Hayato knew it, Mori Iori had spotted it with his hawk eyes and threw an arm around Hayato's shoulder. A bunch of boys—sporting grins that were just as thirsty as the girls surrounding Haruki—swarmed Hayato, making sure he wouldn't escape.
"C'mon now, don't you think we're long overdue for some 'bonding time'?"
"Heck yeah. I mean, Nikaidō-san's childhood friend was a total beauty, for sure."
"Right? So, what exactly was it about your chick that caught your eye?"
"Wait, no, hold on, I—!"
Ignoring how totally flustered Hayato and Haruki were, everyone else just kept hyping themselves up.
Compared to when Hayato first transferred, Haruki had definitely changed.
And now, the world around Hayato had started to change as well.
Author's Notes:
Bookmark it? Checked!
Changing those ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★? Checked!
Wanna leave a comment? Just a 'Meow' is totally fine!
Writing a review? Do it!
Nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice!
Seriously, why are y'all only reading this on the app?!
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: