[Warning 15+]
Part Four
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 140
The K*ller Line
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 140
The K*ller Line
Unlike the countryside, city cicadas don't hang out on forest trees—they just latch onto the walls of buildin's and scream their heads off since dawn.
In a residential area where those cicadas were doin' their thing, inside the bathroom of an old-ass Japanese-style house in one corner.
Minamo was pullin' a serious-*ss face in front of the mirror, strugglin' for real with a brush and a hair tie in her hands.
"Ugh, does this look weird or what...?"
A mumble leaked out, soaked in total-*ss anxiety.
Reflected in the mirror was Minamo with her curly-*ss hair done up in a half-up braid.
It was a mix of total-*ss innocence and lookin' all grown up, really bringin' out Minamo's charm.
Usually, this was the hairstyle Hayato's Mom, Mayumi, would do for Minamo.
Lately, Minamo'd been practicin' so she could do it solo, while also gettin' some tips from Haruki.
The tied-up hair in the back bobbed around like it was feelin' the nerves, too.
"Alright, I better get movin'."
With that, Minamo changed into her school uniform and headed out.
Then, Minamo got a loud-*ss "Woof!" from the yard next door.
Lookin' over, there was Rentō, a rough collie, racin' toward the fence waggin' his tail like crazy.
"Rentō, mornin'. It's another scorcher today, huh?"
"Woof! Bark bark, arf!"
"Oh, Minamo-chan, good mornin'... ...well, well, well, well! Your hair looks crazy-*ss cute today!"
"Amami-san, mornin'! Eh, it's not weird or anythin', is it?"
"No way, not at all! Heh, it suits you perfectly. Off to school?"
"Yeah, got club activity."
"Oh, wow, club activity stuff! That's youth for ya... ...heh, have a good one."
"Right!"
Fueled by the warm-*ss smile of her neighbor, Minamo headed down the road toward the school's flowerbeds.
Alright, what kind of work needs to be done today?
Minamo was thinkin' about the plants, but since her hair was different than usual, she felt a little twitchy about everyone starin' at her. She naturally started walkin' way faster.
Once she passed the school gates, she could hear some loud-*ss, energetic shoutin' comin' from the field.
Even though it's Summer Break, there's a ton of students other than Minamo hittin' the school for club activities and whatnot.
"Let's do this!"
Reachin' the flowerbeds, Minamo pumped a fist in front of her chest to get hyped up.
This time of year, all kinds of summer veggies were hittin' their peak harvest. There's flowers bloomin' all over the place.
Plus, if you slack off for even a second, the place gets totally trashed with weeds, so meticulous-*ss care is a must.
On top of that, word is a typhoon's on the way. Minamo's gotta prep for that, too.
Takin' a quick look, it didn't seem like there was anythin' to harvest today.
Instead, Minamo got to work trimmin' the branches and leaves of the summer veggies that were growin' like crazy, and yankin' out weeds to clean the place up.
Watchin' the flowerbeds get all neat and tidy, Minamo let out a little giggle, thinkin' it was kinda like fixin' up her own hair.
Once Minamo finished the whole routine, she took a breather and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.
Right then, Minamo's smartphone suddenly buzzed with a call.
"Huh? ...Hello, Haruki-san?"
'Heyo! Long time no see, Minamo-chan, whatcha up to? You good? Wait, are you outside? You busy?'
It was Haruki.
Haruki's voice was bubblin' with excitement, and her energy was way off the charts.
Minamo gave a wry smile, wonderin' if somethin' good had happened, then she stopped her work completely and moved into the shade.
"I just finished lookin' after the veggies in the flowerbeds. Just gotta prep for the typhoon now... ...but did somethin' happen?"
'Yeah, yeah, so listen up, it was totally insane! The birth! The sheep! It's been goin' on since yesterday noon! It was a mess since it's out of season, and everyone was runnin' around like crazy, so we ended up stayin' up all night!'
"Oh my gosh!"
'We weren't ready at all, it was a tough labor, and we even had to go way out to fetch a vet. Not just Old Man Gen, but everyone in the whole countryside was freakin' out! We literally just finished everythin' a second ago!'
Looks like she’d been right there for the sheep's birth since yesterday noon.
For Haruki, it seemed like a totally-*ss unexpected and unforgettable experience.
Still hyped up, Haruki was desparately spittin' out details like 'We gathered a ton of straw!', 'We pulled it outta the momma sheep’s belly with a rope like a tug-of-war!', and 'This was only the third time a sheep's given birth in Tsukinose!'.
You could almost see Haruki through the smartphone, gesticulatin' wildly while she talked. It sounded like it turned into a massive-*ss event that pulled in the whole countryside.
'Everyone worked so d*mn hard. Hayato was busy doin' all kinds of favors, and Saki-chan was the MVP supportin' everyone behind the scenes... ...but I was just a hot mess... ...but man, the moment it was born was straight-up incredible. Right at dawn, everyone just threw their hands up in joy, and I couldn't help but cry, for real.'
"I see. So you were there for the moment a new life came into the world."
It must've been way tougher and more mystical than what Haruki was lettin' on.
Minamo narrowed her eyes, lost in thought as she looked at the summer veggie flowers in full bloom.
Thinkin' back to how hyped Minamo was when her plants first bore fruit, she totally got why Haruki wanted to tell someone. It really hit Minamo deep that Haruki chose to share those feelin's with Minamo.
'...Yeah, and even though it was born by mistake—just like me—everyone was actually happy for it.'
"Haruki-san...?"
Haruki suddenly muttered under her breath.
Haruki's voice went totally-*ss flat, like you couldn't find a trace of emotion in it. Actually, it sounded more like she was desparately suppressin' somethin'.
Minamo gasped at those words. Her chest felt all tight and achy.
Minamo knew a bit about Haruki's family drama.
As a buddy, Minamo wanted to say somethin'.
But Minamo just couldn't find the words.
Even so, with her brain spinnin' in circles, Minamo tried her best to squeeze out some kind of feelin'.
"Gr-Grandpa's gettin' discharged from the hospital really soon!"
'Huh?'
"Hayato-san's Mom is too, like, any day now..."
'...Aha! Yeah, I get it. That's good. ...Thanks, Minamo-chan.'
"Haruki-san..."
'Yawn... ...man. I'm gettin' crazy-*ss sleepy all of a sudden. Sorry, I'll hit you up later.'
"Oh..."
And then the call cut out before Minamo could even get a word in.
It was obvious Haruki was just tryna be polite.
"Hah," Minamo let out a pathetic-soundin' sigh.
Lookin' up at the sky, the sun that was right overhead got blocked by a puffy cloud, castin' a shadow on the ground.
Right then, the noon chime went off.
"Alright, time to clean up."
Shakin' it off, Minamo quickly stuffed the trimmed branches and weeds into a trash bag and headed over to the dump site.
The spot behind the school buildin' wasn't exactly a popular hangout for students even on a normal day. Since it was summer break, it was even more ghost-town vibes.
So Minamo never expected anyone to be there.
"Why not!?"
"Well, it's just that I... ...I already got someone else on my mind..."
"That's a lie! Despite the rumors, I know exactly how you really feel about Nikaidō-san, Kazuki-kun!"
Standin' there was a boy and a girl lookin' like they were havin' some lover's spat.
This spot was famous-*ss for bein' a confession hotspot.
Minamo had seen this kind of scene a bunch of times, so she was pretty used to it. Especially when the boy was Kazuki.
Normally Minamo'd just hold her breath and wait it out, but hearin' the name Nikaidō—which obviously meant Haruki—totally threw Minamo off. Minamo jumped so hard her shoulders shook and her trash bag hit the dirt with a loud-*ss thud. Obviously, they noticed Minamo right away.
"!? ...Oh."
"Wh-Who's there!?"
"...You're that girl from the Gardenin' Club with Hayato-kun, right?"
"Eh, well, I was just... ...trash..."
Wearin' a totally-*ss awkward face, Minamo scrambled to pick up the bag and held it up to show she wasn't tryin' to creep or anythin'.
And it's not like they didn't get the hint.
In the middle of that awkward-*ss silence, Minamo's dry-*ss "Ahaha" laugh rang out.
"..I'm not givin' up!"
"Takakura-senpai!"
"...Oh."
With that final-*ss line, the second-year senpai—Takakura-senpai—turned on her heel and bounced.
Minamo had heard the rumors about Takakura-senpai, too.
A rich-*ss girl in the Drama Club and the undisputed winner of last year's Beauty Pageant; Even the way Takakura-senpai walked away was stylish as heck. Even though she knew she shouldn't be there, Minamo couldn't help but be starstruck. Takakura-senpai's a second-year celeb for a reason, for real.
Maybe 'cause that awkward-*ss look was all over Minamo's face, Kazuki flashed a wry smile to smooth things over. He turned toward Minamo.
"Ahaha, sorry you had to see that weird-*ss scene. Anyway, I'd be stoked if you could just forget what happened, okay? ...Later."
With that, Kazuki gave a little wave and started to bail.
"U-Um, wait up...!?"
"!? Eh, err...?"
But Minamo had totally-*ss blocked Kazuki on reflex.
It wasn't just Kazuki who was shocked; Minamo was feelin' it too, and her voice was drippin' with total-*ss confusion by the end of it.
For starters, both Minamo and Kazuki didn't even have a direct connection.
At best, they'd only heard about each other from either Haruki or Hayato, so they were basically buddy of buddy.
Plus, Minamo had seen Kazuki shut girls down at this spot a million-*ss times. It wasn't exactly rare.
So why the heck did Minamo stop Kazuki today of all days?
"K-Kaidō-san, right now... ...you got that same look on your face as both Haruki-san and Hayato-san... ...like you’re in total-*ss pain...!"
"!?"
It was that same look they had—like someone desparately tryin' to hold back somethin' deep inside their heart.
For some reason, Minamo just couldn't look the other way.
Especially since Minamo'd just gotten off the smartphone with Haruki, it hit Minamo even harder.
Kazuki froze up, his eyes goin' wide as heck.
Then Kazuki looked up at the sky and let out a heavy-*ss sigh.
"D*mn, you got me. For me right now, that's the ultimate-*ss k*ller line."
Kazuki muttered that while lightly raisin' both hands like he was totally surrenderin'.
Author's Notes:
Baa-baa VS Doggie
Fight!!
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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