[Warning 15+]
Author's Notes:
Tenbin Volume 3 has straight-up been reprinted.
Tenbin Volume 3 has straight-up been reprinted.
Part Four
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 156
Heart, Ragin' Wild
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 156
Heart, Ragin' Wild
"―Good night."
Saki's soft-*ss whisper was instantly washed away by the heavy pourin' rain drummin' against the roof.
Saki gently-*ss pulled her hand away from Hayato and pressed that very same hand right against her own chest.
"…Ugh... …whew…"
Before long, the sound of Hayato's steady-*ss breathin' filled the room as he drifted off.
Hayato's face was still crazy-*ss flushed from the fever, but for some wild reason, his expression looked low-key peaceful now.
"Big Bro…"
But Saki's side of things was totally-*ss the opposite—it was complicated as heck.
Saki's lips were tightly-*ss pursed, and she balled her hands into the collar of her yukata, wrinklin' the d*mn fabric up.
"I straight-up want to go to high school over there too, Big Bro…"
Saki's shoulders gave a tiny-*ss shiver, like she was desperately-*ss tryin' to hold somethin' back.
That was Saki's absolute-*ss heartfelt wish.
Along with that soft whisper, a single tear dropped right onto the back of Saki's hand as she gripped her yukata.
The room was completely-*ss dominated by the heavy rain drummin' against the roof.
Who even knew how long she'd just been starin' down at Hayato's face.
Eventually, Saki let out a heavy-*ss warm breath and scanned the room around her.
And then, locking her eyes straight onto the lips of the sound-asleep Hayato, Saki slowly-*ss leaned her own cherry-pink lips closer, as if she was gettin' pulled in by some wild-*ss force—
"―!"
Watchin' that whole-*ss interaction play out from the crack in the slidin' door, Haruki instantly-*ss whipped her eyes and her entire body away. She straight-up couldn't bear to look anymore.
The hallway was dark as heck.
With the typhoon rain slammin' against every d*mn corner of the house, Haruki gently-*ss slid her back against the wall for support.
Haruki's chest was throbbin' with a nasty-*ss ache.
Gritting her teeth hard as heck, Haruki tightly-*ss squeezed the chest of Hayato's shirt—the one Himeko had handed her right after their shower, which Haruki'd borrowed back when she crashed at his apartment—wrinklin' the d*mn fabric up.
Haruki was supposed to already know about Saki's feelin's. Those d*mn feelin's that had been left stranded back in Tsukinose.
But even knowin' it beforehand, actually-*ss witnessin' that sudden outburst of affection with her own two eyes gave Haruki a shock she couldn't straight-up handle.
Especially-*ss since Haruki couldn't help but compare it to how she'd handled things herself under the exact-*ss same terms.
The words Saki had let slip just a moment ago refused to leave her d*mn ears either.
From Tsukinose to the nearest high school, it took a crazy-*ss two hours and change one way. Because of that massive distance, a lot of folks straight-up left the countryside the second they graduated.
But even then, they'd usually-*ss stay within the same prefecture down the mountain, or at the very most, the neighboring one.
It was pretty much a textbook-*ss tradition to go somewhere where you could still haul your *ss back to your parents' place on the weekends.
High school kids aren't straight-up toddlers anymore.
But they aren't exactly-*ss full-blown adults either.
So it makes sense folks want to keep them right where their parents can still keep tabs on them.
On the flip side, the city and Tsukinose are miles-*ss away.
Like, crazy-*ss far.
Haruki knew that massive distance inside out from her own damn experience.
And that's exactly-*ss why Haruki chest was throbbing with pain.
It wasn't a distance you could just casually-*ss commute back and forth.
The cost of livin' and rent were straight-up worlds apart between the countryside and the big city.
In fact, Hayato and his crew couldn't even haul their asses back unless it was the summer break.
Just how much d*mn emotion had Saki packed into those words when she let slip that she wanted to go to the city?
And to top it off, Saki'd made sure not to let Hayato hear it―
Haruki bit her lip hard as heck.
Haruki k*lled her breathin' and footsteps, slippin' away from the spot.
When she got back to the livin' room, Himeko was blow-dryin' her hair.
Noticin' Haruki's vibe, Himeko kept her head turned away and asked in a stiff-*ss voice.
"…How's Big Bro doin'?"
Haruki gave a quick-*ss clear of her throat.
Desperate-*ss not to let her current expression show, Haruki instantly-*ss slapped on a fake-*ss smile.
"Hayato's totally-*ss out cold. Looks like a regular fever from wipin' himself out, so I bet he'll wake up tomorrow feelin' totally-*ss fine, y'know?"
"…Man, Big Bro seriously-*ss sucks at taking care of himself! And he's always-*ss naggin' everyone else, too!"
At Haruki's words, the tense-*ss air around Himeko instantly-*ss softened up.
Relieved as heck, Himeko started talkin' smack in her usual-*ss bright tone.
And Haruki just let out a weak-*ss laugh, runnin' her fingers through a damp strand of her own hair.
"Hey, Hime-chan. Can I borrow the blow-dryer next?"
"Yeah, totally. Actually, I just finished, so let me straight-up do it for you."
"Eh? Oh, okay…"
No sooner had she said it, Himeko jumped to her feet, slinked behind Haruki, and nudged her shoulders to make her sit down on the floor cushion.
Then, takin' a handful of hair, Himeko started buzzin' the dryer around while hummin' a tiny-*ss tune.
"Haru-chan, your hair is crazy-*ss long. Isn't it a massive pain to take care of?"
"Ahaha, since I've kept it like this ever since I moved from Tsukinose to the city, I guess I'm just totally-*ss used to it by now."
"Huh… …but still, it's so silky and beautiful."
"Ahaha, thanks."
"Long hair is awesome, honestly. It straight-up gives off major... ...girl vibes."
"…Yeah."
At Himeko's mention of being a girl, Haruki kept her response vague as heck.
The corner of Haruki's mouth twitched a little bit. She felt a wave of relief that her face couldn't be seen right then.
Just like that, without any real-*ss talk, Haruki left her hair in Himeko's hands.
The way Himeko handled it was delicate as heck, like she was touchin' some fragile-*ss glass, which felt super weird since Haruki knew exactly how rowdy Himeko usually-*ss was.
Eventually, the buzz of the blow-dryer cut out.
Haruki's hair was totally-*ss dry now.
Maybe because Himeko'd been way-*ss gentler than usual, runnin' her fingers through it felt smooth as heck.
"Alright, all done."
"Thanks, Hime―Hime-chan!?"
"I was straight-up so happy you rushed over here for us…"
And just like that, Himeko locked her arms around Haruki from behind, huggin' her tight as heck.
A wave of anxiety rolled off Haruki's body, which was givin' off a tiny-*ss shiver.
That bright-*ss mood Haruki had goin' until now was probably just her puttin' on a brave-*ss face.
Haruki gently-*ss placed her own hand over Himeko's hands wrapped around her.
Unlike Hayato's, the feel of those small, soft-*ss hands hadn't changed one bit since the days they used to kick it back in Tsukinose.
"…I was low-key scared that Big Bro might straight-up vanish to somewhere far away too."
"It's totally-*ss fine, Hime-chan. That's never gonna happen."
"Yeah, I know, but still…"
"Hime-chan, seriously, you've straight-up been a massive Big Bro's girl since way back in the day."
"…Am not, I think this is pretty-*ss average."
"Ahaha."
"…Geez, Haru-chan, stop it!"
When Haruki let out a tiny-*ss chuckle at Himeko's poutin' face, Himeko squeezed her arms around Haruki even tighter in mock protest.
Haruki lightly-*ss tapped Himeko's arm twice to quiet Himeko down, then stood up to face Himeko straight-on.
And then, Haruki flashed a smile at Himeko—one meant to straight-up put Himeko's mind at ease.
"'Don't sweat it, Himeko.'"
"…Oh."
Then, Haruki aggressively-*ss ruffled Himeko's hair, messin' it all up.
―Just like Hayato always-*ss did for her.
Looking low-key happy, Himeko let out a soft whine, "Geez, I just got my hair straight-up done, too."
The typhoon was still ragin' wild, dumpin' heavy-ass wind and rain all across Tsukinose.
Author's Notes:
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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