[Warning 15+]
Part Four
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 131
You've Been Supportin' Her All Along, Haven't You?
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 131
You've Been Supportin' Her All Along, Haven't You?
After partin' ways with both Hayato and Himeko, both Saki and Haruki headed toward the shrine where Saki lived, pushin' their rattlin' bikes along.
Even though it wasn't a long walk from the Community Center at the foot of the mountain to the shrine halfway up, the slope was steep as hell.
"..."
"..."
There wasn't a single word between 'em.
Or rather, they just didn't know what the heck to talk about.
In the silence, the sounds of bugs and small critters sang the tune of a summer night in the sticks.
Feelin' a bit awkward, Saki kept stealin' glances at Haruki while Saki's mind drifted back to everythin' that'd just gone down.
The way Haruki had that charm, blendin' into the crowd like she'd lived in Tsukinose for ages.
The way Haruki was so on top of things, handin' out drinks and snacks and helpin' Hayato out.
And then there was Haruki's performance—the way she sang and left everyone totally speechless.
That crystal-clear voice, those captivatin' moves, and that heart-wrenchin' look in Haruki's eyes.
Every single thing about Haruki was sparklin'—she was a girl with a presence so massive, she was basically like the sun.
That's why Saki couldn't help but compare herself to Haruki.
A gorgeous city girl who was sophisticated, stylish, dazzlin', and even had a crazy talent like that.
Haruki felt like someone from a whole 'nother world, and Saki let out a long, heavy sigh she couldn't even put into words.
"Hey, Saki-chan, you got a sec?"
"Wait, huh!?"
"There's somewhere I wanna swing by. Come with me, okay?"
"Eh, oh, y-yeah!"
Out of the blue, Haruki called out to Saki.
Since Saki'd been lost in those kinds of thoughts, her voice came out all high-pitched and squeaky.
By the time Saki snapped out of it, the Torii gate was already right in front of 'em. Saki's place was just around the corner.
Even though Saki'd answered on reflex, she didn't really get what was goin' on.
While Saki tilted her head in confusion, Haruki gave an awkward grin and gestured for her to follow.
"It's just right over there."
"This way is..."
They left their bikes there and headed down a side path overgrown with weeds, veerin' slightly off the main trail to the shrine.
It was the kinda path leadin' to the tiny sub-shrines that nobody really uses.
Truth be told, Saki almost never had any reason to go there, so she was gettin' more and more confused by the second.
The path, which looked like it'd been hacked right through the mountain trees, barely got any moonlight or starlight, makin' every step feel sketchy as heck.
But Haruki, walkin' up ahead, kept pushin' forward with a steady pace like she'd walked this trail a million times before.
Saki scrambled to keep up, even though she was totally lost.
Noticin' how much Saki was strugglin', Haruki let out an awkward laugh and reached out a hand while mutterin' under her breath.
"You're pretty amazing, Saki-chan."
"Wait, what!?"
Saki let out a total dork voice at those completely unexpected words.
Amazing? Where from? What the heck was this girl talkin' 'bout after puttin' on a show like that earlier?
Even though her head was spinnin' with questions, Saki timidly and hesitantly took Haruki's hand. It felt soft and had a faint warmth to it.
"It's kinda chilly. They say people with cold hands are..."
"Huh?"
"Eh, nevermind. More importantly, it was you all along, wasn't it, Saki-chan? The one who's been supportin' Hayato."
"---!? U-Um, well, eh, e-er...!?"
"I heard it from everyone. You went around askin' what kind of chores even a little kid could help out with, right?"
"That's..."
"And that's not all. Even today, you were fetchin' the beer stock, gettin' the plates and cups ready, low-key wipin' down the dirty tables... ...and you even helped me out."
"I-I didn't really do anythin' that special..."
"Hehe, that's exactly what makes you great, Saki-chan―oh, we're here."
"....Whoa!"
The second they stepped out of the dark tunnel of trees, the moonlight and starlight came floodin' in.
Lit up by the spotlight of the summer night sky were sunflowers, bloomin' in all their glory around an old shrine building as if they were offerin' up a prayer.
Compared to the sun, the light was faint, but they still gave off a mystical glow while soakin' up the shine from the moon and stars.
It was gorgeous—like, seriously gorgeous.
And this was somethin' you could only catch because it was nighttime.
Saki had no clue a place like this even existed at her own shrine, and she couldn't help but gasp, totally mesmerized.
"Pretty cool, right?"
"Yeah, definitely!"
"This is my little secret spot that I haven't even shown to Hayato yet."
"Not even to Big Bro? Wait... ...eh..."
"...Ahaha."
Haruki's face clouded over a bit as she gave a weak-*ss smile.
Haruki knew about this place at night, a place Hayato had no clue about... ...which basically meant exactly what it looked like.
This spot had to have been somewhere incredibly special to Haruki back in the day.
"...Why are you showin' me this place?"
"Because it's you, Saki-chan."
"Because it's... ...me?"
"The reason Hayato is who he is today, and the reason he didn't have to feel all lonely all the time, is definitely thanks to you, Saki-chan... ...that's why I wanted to show you."
"---!"
Then Haruki looked Saki straight in the eye.
With eyes that felt like they were lookin' right through to the bottom of Saki's heart.
Saki caught her breath without even thinkin'.
Man.
Most likely.
Haruki'd already figured out exactly how Saki felt.
But it was such a weird-*ss feelin'.
Saki was so embarrassed she couldn't stand it, and honestly, she wanted to bolt from that spot right then and there.
And yet, for some reason, Saki couldn't take her eyes off Haruki.
Saki squeezed her fists tight.
Then, Haruki's expression softened up.
"Well, it doesn't look like Hayato has noticed any of it, though... ...anyway, was it over here?"
"Oh..."
Then Haruki turned around with an awkward grin and started feelin' around under the floorboards at the back of the shrine.
Haruki pulled out some old junk like a decayed wooden sword, a deflated ball, and a shiny flat stone—kid's toys, or rather, old treasures.
Lookin' at all that stuff, Haruki muttered.
"We used to use this place as our secret base back in the day, y'know. Man, this takes me back. I was super into this kinda stuff back then, totally obsessed with collectin' 'em."
"A-Ahaha, they definitely look like the kinda things kids would dig."
"But I don't really get what someone like Hayato would like or what'd make him happy these days. Do you know, Saki-chan?"
"Wait, what!? U-Um, well... ...au..."
Then Haruki stood up and turned around, fidgetin' with her fingers near the hem of her skirt with a shy blush creepin' up her cheeks.
"August 25th."
"Eh, that's..."
"Hayato's Birthday. Remember when I said I want to visit Tsukinose recently and said I had somethin' I wanted to talk to you 'bout? Well, I was hopin'... ...maybe we could make a Birthday present for Hayato together..."
"...Oh."
"Is that... ...a no-go?"
Together.
Even though Haruki knew exactly how Saki felt, Haruki wanted 'em to do it together.
Those words were packed with all sorts of feelings from Haruki, and they were also her way of showin' she'd accepted Saki. It came through loud and clear.
Saki's eyes went wide and started shakin', then actin' on pure impulse, she grabbed Haruki's hand.
"Yeah! Let's totally blow Big Bro away!"
"Yeah, lookin' forward to it, Saki-chan."
Then the feelings wellin' up in their hearts sang out just as they were.
The two girls held hands, their shoulders shakin' together.
Under the shine of both the moon and the stars, even the sunflowers swayed as the breeze swept through.
Author's Notes:
＿＿＿＿__
/........../
||::: ∧∧ | Meow.
|￣＼(=゜ヮ゜).＼
| |:￣￣￣~:|
| |: :|
￣￣￣￣￣￣
Sorry guys, the update schedule is all over the place right now 'cause I'm swamped with work for the Light Novel publication.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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