[Warning 15+]
Part Four
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 164
Sheddin' Tears of Blood in Dead Silence Under the Moon I Looked Up At
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 164
Sheddin' Tears of Blood in Dead Silence Under the Moon I Looked Up At
Even from Haruki's own eyes, Hayato's total panic was crazy-*ss easy to read.
Hayato's cheeks flushin' bright-*ss red.
Hayato's eyes dartin' all over the place.
A bunch of jumbled-*ss vowels spillin' out of Hayato's mouth in a total stutter.
Well, duh, that was a given.
Even to Haruki, who was a girl herself, Saki was the kind of drop-dead gorgeous girl that straight-up made you let out a heavy sigh.
When a girl like that aims her straight-up, honest affection at you along with a gift, it's only d*mn natural you'd lose your cool.
But seeing Hayato freezin' up like a total statue, Saki probably got anxious, both her eyelashes and voice tremblin' like crazy.
"E-Eh, I mean, even if I'm suddenly-*ss handed somethin' like this, it's probably just a total drag for you, right…?"
"―! N-No, no way in heck! This is straight-up the first time I've ever gotten a birthday present from anyone, so I'm just a bit lost on how the heck I'm supposed to react, or like… …basically, I'm crazy-*ss happy, yeah…"
"O-Oh, thank goodness!"
"Eh, so, what exactly is…?"
"I-It's an apron. I heard from Hime-chan that the one Big Bro's usin' right now is straight-up fallin' apart."
Sayin' that, Saki unfolded the thing she'd been huggin' to her chest right in front of Hayato's eyes.
It was a slightly-*ss cute, handmade apron accented with a stylized little fox patch.
Haruki remembered so d*mn well how Saki had painstakin'ly-*ss put it together while searchin' for guides online, strugglin' like crazy to force the needle through that thick-*ss patch.
A gift that was straight-up packed with all of Saki's deep feelin's.
Every single d*mn time Hayato looked at the apron and tossed comments like, "A fox, that's straight-up like you, Murao-san," or, "Did you make this whole thing yourself?", Saki's expression kept flippin' back and forth between total joy and nerves. It was a crazy-*ss heartwarmin' sight to see.
Because of that, for a split second, Haruki straight-up thought they looked perfect for each other.
And honestly, this was definitely-*ss the kind of scene that would've played out between them sooner or later if Hayato hadn't packed up and moved to the big city. Haruki could say that with absolute-*ss certainty.
"…Ugh."
A sharp-*ss, bitter feelin' slowly started leakin' right into Haruki's chest.
Haruki started feelin' like she was just completely-*ss out of place by even standin' there.
So, Haruki k*lled her footsteps and quietly-*ss slipped away from the spot without makin' a sound.
◇◇◇
The moon was straight-up blazin' bright in the night sky.
The night wind rushin' down the mountain was makin' the leaves rustle like crazy.
Haruki was runnin' through the dark with her long hair flyin' all over the place, lookin' like she was desperately-*ss tryin' to shake somethin' off.
"…Ugh."
Haruki thought she was just runnin' completely-*ss wild without any destination.
And yet, unfoldin' right in front of her eyes was the secret base at the sub-shrine—the place Haruki used to sneak out of the storehouse to visit with her Grandparents whenever shit hit the fan. The sunflowers, lit up by both the moon and the stars, were swayin' gently just like they d*mn did back then.
Haruki tightly-*ss grabbed the shirt over her chest.
Seein' both Hayato and Saki—two of Haruki's most precious buddies—gettin' along so well should've been somethin' to celebrate and welcome with open arms, but for some d*mn reason, Haruki's chest was churnin' with anxiety.
That might straight-up be because of a feelin' that had been growin' and blowin' up deep in the bottom of Haruki's heart.
But still. No matter what.
Even so, there was a fierce-*ss pride inside Haruki that she absolutely-*ss refused to back down on.
"…Saki-chan has straight-up loved Hayato ever since they were total kids."
Haruki let the words out of her mouth, almost like she was just tryin' to lock down the facts.
Haruki was definitely-*ss the very first girl in this whole world to fall for Hayato, way ahead of anyone else.
And it wasn't just that; Lookin' at how Saki acted back in Tsukinose, you could straight-up tell she'd been supportin' Hayato through thick and thin behind the scenes. No hidden motives, and without asking for a single d*mn thing in return.
Because Saki loved Hayato, because she wanted to help, she'd straight-up been there for him.
So, the person who gets to confess their feelings first absolutely-*ss has to be Saki.
Plus, Saki was Haruki's close-*ss buddy.
To Haruki, buddies were on a whole different level of special. Way more special than family, more than anythin' else in the world.
'Haruki, we're straight-up gonna be buddies forever!'
Out of nowhere, Haruki flashed back to that promise she'd made with Hayato back in the day.
Those old words turned into a invisible-*ss chain wrappin' tight around Haruki, lockin' her down so she couldn't even d*mn move.
Tryin' to at least squeeze her hand into a tight fist, that's when Haruki first noticed she'd been grippin' her smartphone case like crazy the entire time.
"…Ugh."
That was straight-up the birthday present Haruki'd put together, plannin' to hand it over to Hayato along with Saki.
Haruki'd made the whole d*mn thing after flashin' back to that time they went to pick out a smartphone together, where the whole deal about what to do with the smartphone case had just straight-up been left up in the air.
"Didn't Hayato just d*mn say it was his first time ever gettin' a birthday present from someone…?"
Haruki thought back to when she'd gotten that crazy-*ss long-bodied cat plushie from the arcade claw machine the other day. And along with it, the exact d*mn feelin' she'd felt at that moment.
Haruki's face twisted up in a total-*ss painful grimace.
Inside her head, everythin' was a complete-*ss, jumbled mess of a million different emotions.
"―!?"
Right at that exact d*mn moment, Haruki's smartphone buzzed with a sudden notification.
Checkin' the screen, it was a text message from Minamo.
'I worked my b*tt off and did a ton of plowin' today.'
Along with those words, there was a picture showin' a corner of an unused flowerbed that Minamo'd straight-up turned into raised ridges of soil.
Just a random-*ss snapshot cut straight out of their everyday life, nothin' special at all.
But the second Haruki saw it, her finger hit the call button on total reflex.
"Hey there, Minamo-chan. You plannin' on plantin' somethin' new over there?"
'Oh, Haruki-san. Yeah, just tryin' to get the spot ready for fall ahead of time, y'know?'
"Oh, gotcha, gotcha. So it's probably stuff you harvest around late fall or early winter, huh?"
'Potatoes, radishes, napa cabbage, broccoli… ...haha, honestly, what we actually end up goin' with is somethin' I'd love to discuss with everyone once the new semester kicks off.'
"…Ugh."
The new semester.
Those words Minamo threw out without a single d*mn thought made Haruki's entire body completely-*ss freeze up and stole her words, lookin' like someone had just dumped a bucket of freezin' cold water straight over her head.
A sudden-*ss feelin' like Haruki'd been dragged kickin' and screamin' right back into reality.
The loomin'-*ss breakup and separation from Saki was rushin' right at Haruki.
Bein' forced to face that reality made Haruki feel a crazy-*ss nasty sensation deep down, and she straight-up hated every single bit of it.
'…Haruki-san?'
"Oh, nah, it's nothing. Just got a little dust in my eye, that's all."
Maybe Minamo had caught onto Haruki's vibe in total detail, because Minamo called Haruki's name with a voice that was crazy-*ss thoughtful.
Haruki was thrown off for a second, lookin' for an excuse, but then she remembered that the person on the other end was Minamo—her close-*ss buddy. Wantin' to just vomit out all these unmanageable feelin's, Haruki started lettin' out the thoughts inside her chest with a stutterin', slightly-*ss spoiled tone.
"…Saki-chan, she's seriously such a good girl, y'know? After meetin' her for real in Tsukinose, I realized that down to my core."
'Haru-…'
"Saki-chan notices every little thing and follows up without bein' pushy, and she's helped me out so much too—I've been helped by her way more than I can count. She's like the unsung hero, y'know? Just havin' her around makes me feel so d*mn secure… …everyone in Tsukinose gets that about Saki-chan too, that's why everyone loves her so much…"
Haruki flashed back to the sight of both Hayato and Saki from a little while ago.
Hayato had called Haruki his partner.
Hayato said that when they were together, things Haruki couldn't do alone would finally become possible.
Flip that around, what kind of existence was Saki to Hayato, though?
Saki was straight-up the unsung heroine who built a place for Hayato to work and do his thing back in Tsukinose.
Honestly, the whole reason little Hayato managed to grow up and become the Hayato he is now is probably all thanks to Saki.
If Haruki was just one wing meant for soarin' high into the sky together, then Saki was straight-up the perch he was supposed to fly back to. The place he was meant to return to.
Yeah, that's exactly the kind of thought that popped into Haruki's head.
"…Oh. I straight-up get it now…"
'…Huh?'
Out of nowhere, somethin' clicked right into place deep inside Haruki's chest.
That was definitely-*ss the true form of whatever had been makin' Haruki subconsciously push Saki forward all this time.
"Saki-chan grew up bein' loved by absolutely-ass everyone… …that's exactly why she's a girl who can truly love someone with all her heart…"
―Totally-*ss unlike my own twisted self.
Didn't that sacred Kagura dance Haruki'd just witnessed speak way louder than any d*mn thing else about that exact fact?
The words straight-up wouldn’t come out of Haruki's mouth.
An indescribable-*ss awkward silence flowed through the line, sendin' Minamo's total confusion straight through the smartphone screen.
Feelin' kinda cr*ppy about how hard Minamo was scramblin' to find the right-*ss words to say to Haruki, a soft, self-deprecatin' chuckle slipped out of Haruki.
"Welp, see ya later, Minamo-chan!"
'…Oh!'
Slammin' the call end button on total instinct, Haruki tilted her head way back toward the sky to keep the rushin' emotions from straight-up overflowin'.
A sharp-*ss gust of wind blew right past.
In the dead-*ss silence of the moon and the starlight, the sunflowers sang a lonely-*ss song about the aftermath of the Festival.
Author's Notes:
Meow (meowin' sound).
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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