[Warning 15+]
Part Four
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 139
The BBQ Crasher
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 139
The BBQ Crasher
By the time the sun started leanin' a bit toward the western sky.
An early afternoon that was a little too late to be called lunch.
The front yard of the Kirishima Residence, perched up on a hill, was bustlin' with noise and thick-*ss clouds of smoke risin' up.
In the vacant lot next door—nobody knows who actually owns the place—a bunch of mini-trucks, small cars, and bikes were parked.
"Whoa, look at those flames! Saki-chan, did you see that!? It shot up like a pillar of fire!"
"The fat on the pork belly is... ...h-hey, Hime-chan, flip it quick~"
"Roastin' marshmallows is so much fun...!"
In front of the charcoal grill, both Himeko and Shinta were havin' a blast, while Saki was lookin' all anxious, tryin' to keep 'em in check.
They were grillin' up Tsukinose-grown veggies like corn, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and king oyster mushrooms, along with some wild boar meat.
The sizzlin' sound of the food was music to the ears, with flames dancin' and laughter echoin' through the smoke.
"Hey, bring some more beer over here!"
"Isn't the corn good to go already?"
"Grilled tomatoes are ready, man, I mean, you can even eat 'em raw, gahaha!"
And it wasn't just Hayato and his gang enjoyin' the BBQ.
After that, Old Man Gen, who’d hit up Kanehachi-san from the poultry farm, didn't just bring the veggies and herbs they asked for—he rolled up to the Kirishima house with Kanehachi-san, a bunch of meat, and a whole crowd of other villagers. And yeah, they brought the booze too, for real.
Hayato was totally caught off guard at first, but when they rolled up with way more food than he'd asked for and told him it was on the house, he—bein' the one in charge of the household budget—couldn't exactly say no.
Instead, Hayato was all over it and welcomed 'em with open arms, and that's how this broad-daylight feast kicked off.
In a place like Tsukinose where there ain't much to do, it's a total-*ss common thing for people to sniff out a party and just show up uninvited.
"Hayato, is it ready yet? The smell leakin' out of this is already insanely good!"
"Oh, should be about time, I guess."
What Haruki was starin' at so restlessly were the two main stars of the day: Two kinds of chicken.
First, the grilled herb chicken—rubbed with a bit of extra salt, grilled over charcoal 'til the skin was crispy-*ss gold, and then wrapped in foil with fresh-picked herbs like thyme, basil, and rosemary.
Then the tandōri chicken—marinated in salt, pepper, and lemon juice, then soaked in a sauce made of grated ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and yogurt, before bein' skewered, brushed with butter, and grilled.
Both of 'em looked and smelled straight-up k*ller.
"Ugh~, they've both been cookin' for a minute now, right!?"
"Well, they're prob'ly cooked through by now, so it’s all good. Wanna try openin' one up?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll do it—whoa!"
As soon as Haruki ripped open the foil, a crazy-ass concentrated scent of fresh herbs and chicken blasted into the air.
And just like that, all the convo died down.
Everyone who'd been makin' a racket until then was suddenly locked in on that grilled herb chicken. You could hear the sound of people gulpin' their spit from every which way.
It was exactly the moment the star of the show made its grand entrance.
"Alright, first I gotta carve this up."
"Big Bro, hurry, hurry!"
"Big Bro, I got the paper plates ready right here~"
"Hayato, is my portion smaller than everyone else's!?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't trip, I grilled a ton of 'em."
As soon as Hayato carved the chicken, both Haruki and Himeko unleashed their beast-mode appetites and started packin' it away.
Hyped up by their energy, Shinta stuffed his face 'til his cheeks were burstin' and ended up chokin' a bit, gettin' some water and a back-rub from Saki (his Big Sis).
And it wasn't just them whose hunger was kickin' in.
"Hey Haya-bō, bring some over here too!"
"I want the spicy ones, they go perfect with beer, for real!"
"D*mn straight!"
"Gahaha!"
"Alright, alright, just give me a sec."
The adults like Old Man Gen and the gang were also rushin' Hayato to get fed.
Hayato kept carvin' the meat efficiently even with a strained smile.
Doing stuff like this for others wasn't something Hayato hated.
It had basically become a habit for Hayato.
Sure, this kind of stuff is a hassle and pretty exhaustin'.
But still, hearin' people say "It's delicious," "More please," or "I wanna eat this again" fills up Hayato's heart that still carries old scars. A small smile crept onto his face.
"Oh, I'll take these over to Gen-san, Kanehachi-san and the others~."
"Murao-san?"
"Big Bro, you've been cookin' this whole time and haven't eaten a bite. Oh, and I'll handle the rest of the carvin' too~"
"Wait, but... ...oh."
Sayin' that, Saki just snatched the paper plate right outta Hayato's hand like it was nothin'.
While Hayato was just blinkin' there in total-*ss shock, his stomach let out a loud-*ss growl like it was answerin' for him.
When Saki flashed him a wry smile that basically said "Told ya so," Hayato didn't have a single comeback.
So, Hayato grabbed some of that grilled herb chicken onto a plate and finally started chowin' down.
"Mmm, d*mn, this is good. Came out perfect."
With the crispy-*ss skin and the juice burstin' out, that fresh herb scent just took over his whole mouth.
Eatin' under the blue sky while lookin' out at the endless fields with the breeze hittin' just right—the total-*ss freedom made everything taste even better.
Plus, Hayato was starvin' for real, so he couldn't stop packin' it away.
Before Hayato knew it, the plate was clean.
Then, from out of nowhere, someone shoved a fresh plate in front of Hayato. It was loaded with wild boar and veggies. A total-*ss double portion, too.
"Here, you gotta eat this stuff too, Hayato."
"Haruki."
Looks like Haruki brought Hayato a refill after all.
Haruki sat down right next to Hayato and started diggin' into her own portion she'd set aside, lookin' totally satisfied. He followed suit.
Eatin' with someone—eatin' with Haruki, it felt like the food tasted twice as good.
"I was just thinkin', we could never do a BBQ back there, right?"
"True. Our apartment's no go, and your yard isn't exactly huge either, Haruki."
"Heh, plus if we actually tried it, the neighbors would get pissed about the smoke and chew us out."
"Speakin' of smoke, the exhaust fans at that yakiniku place were legit, though."
"Mmm, yakiniku! I remember you hittin' that place with Kaidō and Mori-kun without tellin' us! You better take me next time, got it!?"
"Yeah, yeah."
They kept grillin' and eatin' meat while havin' that kind of pointless-*ss convo. Over and over.
Both Himeko and Shinta were still stuffin' their faces while lookin' like their stomachs were 'bout to burst, and the adults like Old Man Gen were havin' a blast eggin' 'em on to eat more, only to get scolded by Saki.
But everyone had a smile on their face.
Suddenly, Haruki, who'd been watchin' the whole scene, muttered under her breath like it was no big deal.
"It's not just both Hayato and Hime-chan, but Saki-chan, Shinta-kun, then Gen-san, Kanehachi-san... ...there's so many people here."
"Yeah."
"I'm... ...really glad I came to Tsukinose."
"...Haruki?"
Then Haruki let out this complicated-*ss smile, lookin' like she was both happy and strugglin', with a hint of loneliness mixed in.
It was a look that had been seen somewhere before.
But it couldn't quite be placed.
Hayato tried to find the words but came up empty-handed, and his chest felt all tight.
But Hayato had to say somethin'—driven by a feelin' almost like a sense of duty, just as he was tryin' to force some words out, somethin' happened.
"Eh, well—"
"Baaa~~~~, baa-baaa~~~~!!"
""!?""
The air that was startin' to get all heavy and tense was suddenly ripped apart by a loud-*ss, frantic bleat.
What showed up was a sheep that looked pretty d*mn familiar.
It wasn't just Hayato and the gang who were shocked by this random-*ss crasher; Everyone was lookin' at each other like, "Yo, what's the deal?"
"Oh my? I wonder what's wrong... ...huh~?"
"Baaa~~~~, baaa~~~~!"
"!? Not headin' for Saki-chan, but comin' straight for me!?"
The sheep blew right past Saki, who it's usually all over, and headed straight for Old Man Gen, chompin' on his shirt and tuggin' for dear life.
Old Man Gen's sheep catch a break and wander off for a chill-*ss stroll every now and then.
But even for them, this was lookin' pretty sus.
The sheep seemed like it was tryin' to say somethin', but nobody could figure out what.
While everyone was gettin' more confused and scratchin' their heads, some boy who'd gone to grab more booze on his bike started screamin' his head off, lookin' pale as a ghost.
"Yo, it's crazy! One of Old Man Gen's sheep is in labor!"
""""!?""""
The news of a sheep givin' birth way out of season was more than enough to snap everyone outta their drunken-*ss buzz.
Author's Notes:
Meow!
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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