[Warning 15+]
Part Five
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 185
Late-Night Convenience Store
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 185
Late-Night Convenience Store
Tonight's dinner was the 'Return to Chicken!' prepped earlier, plus a salad.
On top of that, there was one more dish.
Sauté a generous amount of minced onions in olive oil in a skillet until caramelized, then toss in diced potatoes, sausage, king oyster mushrooms, and asparagus, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Once cooked through, pour in an egg mixture blended with parmesan cheese and milk, mix it around, cover with a lid, and let it slowly bake on low heat until fluffy—and boom, Spanish omelet done.
"Mmm~ this chicken is so tender! Requestin' this was totally the right call!"
"Hayato, there's a ton of broth in this, did you really not use a single drop of water?"
"Yeah, even I was shocked by how much moisture onions actually have."
"This omelet is pretty fillin'. It's packed with ingredients, so it could easily be the main course all by itself."
Dinner went on lively with everyone chattin' away.
All the dishes were served on large platters in a buffet style where everyone scooped out their own portions.
It gave off a bit of a party vibe, gettin' everyone's spirits up.
"Btw, Haru-chan, I saw some kind of case in your bag, what'd you bring?"
"Oh, that music series I mentioned the other day! Man, I never cared about music shows before, but the reviews online were so good that once I gave it a watch, I was totally hooked! So I figured I had to spread the gospel!"
"Oh, I was actually curious about that one too! Let's watch it after this then."
"Keep it in moderation, and make sure you girls actually study, alright?"
"I know, I know! Geez, Big Bro, you're so uptight!"
"Hayato, read the room a bit~!"
"A-Ahaha."
"...Seriously."
Even while exasperated, Hayato let out a sigh, thinkin' to himself, 'Well, it is a Sleepover after all.'
◇◇◇
With dinner over and a short breather out of the way, Hayato quickly knocked out the dishes.
The whole time, Haruki, Himeko, and Saki didn't utter a single peep in the livin' room, completely glued to the TV screen with dead-serious expressions. Must be that good.
Still, since all three of them were still rockin' their cosplay gear like it was nothin', an exasperated chuckle slipped out of Hayato.
Right then, Hayato's smartphone chimed with a message notification.
At the sound, Himeko's shoulders twitched ever so slightly.
Knowin' Hayato'd be in deep trouble if he ruined Himeko's mood by bein' noisy, he rushed into his room and unlocked his screen. The sender was Iori.
'Honestly, I kinda dig yukata with this kind of design too.'
Attached along with the message was a picture of a yukata with a super flashy pattern, low-cut off the shoulders, and an obi sash stacked crazily in the front—reminiscent of an oiran courtesan.
If anyone actually walked outside wearin' somethin' like this, they'd be guaranteed to draw eyes from everyone around.
'How do I put it... ...it's pretty loud, feels like only certain people could pull it off.'
'Haha, right? But don't you see girls wearin' stuff like this every now and then?'
'But Big Sis actually wore somethin' pretty close to this last year though.'
'For real, Kazuki?! That's wild!'
'Someone who'd look good in this and is Kazuki's Big Sis... ...feels like I can almost picture it, but not quite.'
'Ahaha. But Isami-san's an athlete, so she's got a nice, well-balanced body line. I think somethin' like this would actually look surprisin'ly good on her.'
'Mmm... ...hearin' you say that, Kazuki, I'm startin' to think so too. I was thinkin' only someone like MOMO could pull off a design like this.'
'MOMO...? Y'know her, Kazuki?'
'Gh! U-Um, MOMO's a model, if I remember right.'
'Yeah, exactly! You really know your stuff, Kazuki. I only remembered MOMO cause she kept poppin' up in the magazines Ema has. MOMO's got huge glam, or like, a crazy presence.'
'Huh, wonder if Himeko would know a lot about MOMO?'
'M-More importantly, Iori-kun, if this is your taste, do you want Isami-san to buy somethin' like this on tomorrow's shoppin' trip?'
'Nah, I mean I'd love to see it, but this is way too flashy, man. It's practically cosplay.'
"—!"
Cosplay. That single word unconsciously made Hayato think of both Haruki and Saki back in the livin' room.
Did they own outfits like that too? If they did... ...right at that point, Hayato was on the verge of imaginin' some pretty scandalous looks, so he shook his head to banish the thought. Then he remembered he was still wearin' the cat ears and frantically whipped them off.
Hah... ...Hayato let out a single sigh. On his smartphone screen, convos like 'What kind do you like, Kazuki?' and 'Hmm, maybe somethin' with a pattern that pops against bright colors?' were still rollin' on.
Then, as he happened to glance up, he felt somethin' off about the alarm clock sittin' on his desk.
The alarm clock was pointin' at 4:23. Checkin' his smartphone, it was 8:45. Clearly wrong. On top of that, the clock hands showed zero sign of movin'.
Just to be sure, Hayato popped the batteries out and put them back in a few times, but it wouldn't respond at all.
"...Dead battery, huh?"
Furrowin' his brows, Hayato rummaged through his desk and storage containers around the room. But no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find any spare batteries.
When Hayato poked his head into the livin' room to see if there were any there, the place was completely deserted. Looks like they had moved to Himeko's room. He searched around for a bit, but still couldn't find what he was lookin' for. Honestly, these days, about the only thing that even uses dry batteries is a remote control.
"This sucks..."
Hayato let out a heavy sigh and gave his head a rough scratch.
Even if the alarm clock was dead, havin' Hayato's smartphone was more than enough.
Still, it was something Hayato'd been usin' and grown super attached to ever since he was a kid.
Glancin' at the alarm clock to check the time out of sheer habit was second nature by now, so havin' it stop workin' just felt totally off.
Luckily, it was only a little past 9 PM.
Hayato could just pop over to the convenience store real quick to grab some batteries.
With that thought, Hayato checked his wallet and stepped out into the hallway.
"Eek!"
"Whoops, my bad."
Right at that moment, Hayato felt a light bump against his front, and he hastily grabbed Saki's arms to catch her as she stumbled from the impact.
Hayato felt a flush of warmth radiating against his palms. From the crown of Saki's hair right in front of him—that distinctive light flaxen hair—a sweet scent tickled his nostrils, makin' his head spin for a moment.
Fresh out of the bath, Saki's face was flushed a soft shade of red. Her hair was still damp, holdin' plenty of moisture.
"S-Sorry, I wasn't lookin' where I was goin'..."
"N-No, it was my fault..."
Saki wasn't in cosplay, but in a yukata. The exact same yukata look Hayato'd seen back in Tsukinose the other day.
And for Hayato right now, Saki in a yukata was straight-up dangerous.
Hayato couldn't help picturin' that oiran outfit image Iori had attached earlier, and starin' at Saki's open neckline, Haruki's words about Saki showin' cleavage in the maid dress flashed through Hayato's mind.
Determined not to let Saki catch on to his inner panic, Hayato quickly let go of her and backed away to put some distance between them.
"That outfit..."
And those words lingerin' in Hayato's head just tumbled right out.
Hayato grimaced, instantly realizin' he'd messed up.
"Th-This is for sleepin', or like the ones you get at an inn, so it's used for somethin' different than going to a Festival! Tomorrow I'm plannin' to pick out a proper one...!"
"O-Oh, yeah, got it."
"I mean it!"
"Um, so... ...you were takin' a bath?"
"Yeah, Haruki-san is in there right now. Hime-chan is in her room readin' the manga for that anime show we were watchin' earlier."
"Geez, that girl..."
"W-Well, it is Hime-chan..."
"...Haha."
"...Fufu."
Neither sayin' a word, they both let out awkward chuckles, tryin' to gloss over the moment.
Then, as Hayato turned toward the entryway, Saki called out to him curiously.
"Big Bro, are you goin' somewhere?"
"Just headin' to the convenience store to buy a few things."
"C-Convenience store!?"
Saki blurted out, her voice a mix of shock and pure curiosity.
When Hayato turned around, Saki was fidgetin' restlessly, mutterin', "Come to think of it, over here you can shop at a convenience store 24 hours a day anytime, right...", sayin' almost the exact same thing Himeko once did.
Hayato couldn't help blinkin' in surprise.
Sure, even if this neighborhood was safe, a middle school girl wouldn't really have much of a chance to go to a convenience store alone. Especially since Saki wasn't used to city life yet.
Seein' Saki show such a childish side that she normally kept hidden made a smile slip onto Hayato's face, and before he knew it, he was invitin' her along.
"Saki-san, wanna come along?"
"Y-Yeah!"
Without missin' a beat, Saki gave a firm, enthusiastic reply.
Then Saki twirled around to check out her outfit.
"Oh, but I'm gonna go change real quick, so please wait a sec!"
"Got it."
Sayin' that, Saki rushed off with pitter-patter footsteps into Himeko's room, while Hayato warmly watched Saki go.
Author's Notes:
The Volume 4 cover has been revealed!