[Warning 15+]
Part Four
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 126
Kids Shouldn't Be Thinkin' 'bout Such Complicated Cr*p!
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 126
Kids Shouldn't Be Thinkin' 'bout Such Complicated Cr*p!
The sun had dipped pretty low in the west, and in that soft afternoon light, Hayato was pushin' his bike down a narrow, steep-*ss hill—nothin' like the roads back in the city.
By the time Hayato got back to the center of Tsukinose along the main road where the co-op and post office were, a small pickup truck comin' toward him honked its horn.
"Oyo! There you are, Kirishima boy!"
"Grandpa Gen?"
Old Man Gen stickin' his head out the driver's window and wavin' was a local old-timer Hayato knew way too well.
Since Old Man Gen lived solo, Hayato used to help Old Man Gen out with farm work like harvestin' and mowin' grass to score some extra pocket money.
Looks like Old Man Gen had some business with Hayato. Hayato stopped walkin' and propped up his bike.
"I got another favor to ask ya—"
"Oh yeah? What is it—?"
"We're havin' a little banquet tonight to plan for the Festival—think you could whip up some of your dishes again?"
"Oh, sure thing. I'll go tell Himeko first, then head over to the usual spot."
"Nah, don't sweat it. I already picked that one up."
"Huh?"
When Old Man Gen flicked his chin toward the back of the truck, Haruki popped her head out, lookin' all shy while wavin' a piece of harvested corn in one hand.
For a sec, Hayato couldn't even process what he was seein'.
They looked like veggies from Old Man Gen's field. There were other greens loaded up for the banquet too, so Haruki was probably back there under the excuse of "Watchin' the cargo." Hayato got that much.
Ignorin' how totally clueless Hayato looked, Old Man Gen just let out a massive laugh.
"Ahahaha! Man, color me shocked! One of those brats who used to have a blast puttin' socks on my sheep has turned into a total knockout!"
"U-Um, well, that was just kid stuff back then..."
"Heck yeah, way back! You'd come showin' off bugs you caught or snake skins you found, and you even wrecked your stomach eatin' weird-*ss wild grass—but now look at ya, all quiet and cute. Man, people really do change!"
"G-Geez! Old Man Gen, stop it...!"
Looks like Old Man Gen was havin' a field day being surprised by how much Haruki had changed.
Under Old Man Gen's gaze, Haruki hunched her shoulders, covered her mouth with her hand, and looked away.
Haruki looked like the perfect picture of a refined, bashful maiden—somethin' you'd never imagine if you knew her back when she was a total terror. Old Man Gen's eyes went wide for a sec before he let out a cough, like he felt a bit bad for teasin' her.
It was that "two-faced" act Haruki pulled at school, but today she'd cranked it up like crazy.
When Haruki locked eyes with Hayato, she just hit him with a troubled-lookin' smile.
As Hayato stood there scowlin', he heard some annoyed voices comin' from behind Haruki.
"Grandpa Gen! You're goin' too fast! We're on bikes, remember!?"
"Hah... ...hah...!"
"Ahahaha! My bad, my bad, Himeko-chan, Saki-chan!"
It was both Himeko and Saki, pedalin' like their lives depended on it.
Saki, for one, was lookin' pretty out of breath.
Seein' that, Haruki hopped down from the back of the truck with an apologetic look on her face.
"Grandpa Gen, since we've met up with Hayato-kun, I'll hop off here. Thanks a ton! Go ahead and take the veggies on ahead."
"Oh, gotcha! Probably better for you youngsters to stick together anyway! Man, the Kirishima boy's really got game, huh!"
As soon as he noticed Saki was there too, Old Man Gen flashed a huge grin and gave Hayato a big-*ss thumbs up.
Ignorin' how totally lost Hayato looked, Old Man Gen let out a little cough. Then, Old Man Gen turned to Haruki, actin' all serious for once. Old Man Gen looked kinda bashful, like he was trippin' over his own words.
"U-Um, look, we were all shocked when the Nikaidō-san place suddenly went empty, but all that drama was way before our time—from the older generation's days. So, eh, what I'm tryin' to say is..."
"Old Man Gen...?"
"Well, looks like Saki-chan was worried sick about it too, and—Oh, screw it! Welcome back! Yeah, welcome back! Kids, you shouldn't be thinkin' 'bout such complicated cr*p! Alright, I'm headin' out!"
Old Man Gen blurted out the words like a machine gun, face turnin' a bit red as he slammed on the gas and peeled out in the pick-up truck, disappearin' in a heartbeat.
Guess Old Man Gen was tryin' to say "Don't sweat the small stuff."
Haruki just blinked in surprise, and when she locked eyes with Hayato, she just let out a little "Ahaha."
"Grandpa Gen hasn't changed a bit, huh?"
"Yeah, Grandpa Gen's helped me out a ton, too."
"Maybe I was just overthinkin' things after all."
"...Maybe so."
It felt kinda like a letdown, honestly.
Right then, Haruki gave a massive stretch. Then she let out a huge sigh, lookin' like she was totally spent, and let her shoulders slump.
"...But man, how do I put it? It's just awkward when people know all your childhood stories."
"Well, that's just how it is, Haru-chan. You were always gettin' into trouble with Big Bro back in the day, so you can't really complain."
"U-Um, well, does that mean Haruki-san was a bit of a... ...brat? Or maybe a tomboyish girl? If that's the right way to put it..."
"Ugh... ...if my past self were here right now, I'd seriously give her a piece of my mind..."
"Wait, hasn't Haru-chan's true self basically stayed the same since then?"
"H-Hime-chan!?"
"A-Ahaha..."
Both Himeko and Saki hopped off their bikes and gave Haruki's shoulders a few sympathetic pats.
The contrast between Himeko crackin' up and Saki lookin' all flustered was pretty hilarious.
Looks like Haruki had been actin' like this ever since she set foot in Tsukinose.
I bet the same kind of stuff was goin' down back at Saki's place too.
No doubt, Haruki's "two-faced" (high-class young lady) mode—actin' all refined like a perfect Japanese maiden, Yamato Nadeshiko—was gonna be a hit, especially with how rare that vibe is in the sticks and the total 180 from how she used to be.
I mean, judging by what just happened, people are totally diggin' it.
But for some reason, there was this weird, restless feelin' swirlin' around inside Hayato that he couldn't quite put into words.
"...Hayato?"
"Whoa! Wh-What's up, Haruki?"
"I mean, the banquet Grandpa Gen mentioned—is it at the Community Center?"
"Yeah, it's near the shrine entrance at the foot of the mountain, right next to Grandma Murao's candy shop."
"Oh, I remember now! Wait, Grandma Murao's candy shop... ...is that actually Saki-chan's family place?"
"Huh!? O-Oh, yeah, that's right. It was originally a Community Center managed by our shrine, but since people kept gatherin' there to hang out and make noise, we started usin' it to stock snacks and drinks."
"Ahahaha, so that was the deal. No wonder they had such a k*ller selection of dried squid, jerky, and scallop rims."
They kept chattin' like that as they headed for the Community Center.
There was still a little bit of time left before sunset.
But even from a distance, they could see a ton of pickup trucks, mopeds, and bikes already lined up.
For Hayato, it was a totally normal sight. He could hear a bunch of rowdy laughter from way off—looks like the party had already kicked off early.
Plenty of people were definitely gonna be there, just like always. When that thought hit him, Hayato's hand moved on pure reflex.
"Haruki."
"Hmm? Hayato?"
"Eh... ...oh, never mind."
Before Hayato knew it, he'd grabbed Haruki's arm.
It was a total spur-of-the-moment move. As for why he did it, Hayato himself didn't even really get the reason.
But one thing was for sure: Once they stepped in there, Haruki'd become Nikaidō Haruki. And that thought alone made Hayato scowl.
Seein' the look on Hayato's face, Haruki let out a cramped little laugh and gave him a sweet, refined smile from behind her "two-faced" mask.
"It's gonna be okay, Hayato-kun."
"...I get it."
Hayato gave a half-baked reply and started scratchin' his head like crazy.
Author's Notes:
It's the second weekend since the release.
Thanks to you guys, the initial sales actually managed to snag a spot on the edge of the Oricon charts.
But, I still haven't heard a peep about a follow-up volume!
I feel like I'm gonna get an ulcer... ...meow... ...I'M SO ANXIOUS I CAN'T EVEN GET MY PEN MOVIN'.
If you wanna see the next volume happen, please go out and grab a copy this weekend!
Meow!
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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