[Warning 15+]
Part Five
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 201
Fierce Battle
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 201
Fierce Battle
After fully enjoyin' the treats at the food stalls, everyone's stomachs were finally startin' to settle down.
Glancin' over at Himeko gettin' brain freeze from scarfin' down shaved ice, Hayato spoke to Kazuki, who had an unusually serious look on his face.
"Um, sorry about my little sis causin' you trouble."
"Hayato-kun, not at all! I had a great time too. But, well, er..."
"...Kazuki?"
Hayato tilted his head in confusion as Kazuki stammered.
Hayato'd assumed Kazuki was annoyed after being dragged around by his clueless, shameless glutton of a little sis, but apparently that wasn't the case.
An awkward silence hung between them for a moment.
Finally, Kazuki opened his mouth with a slightly sheepish look.
"Um, in the area where I live, there's a community cat that everyone adores..."
"Like one of those 'Sakura Cats'?"
"Yeah, exactly. But since they're strays, they're super wary, so most of them run away as soon as they see people..."
"Huh, and?"
"Still, they always respond to food, so some people diligently feed them... ...and I kind of get how those people feel now..."
"......Pfft! Ahahaha!"
"D-Don't tell Himeko-chan, okay!?"
"I know, I know!"
The Little Sis (Himeko) shot her Big Bro a confused look as he suddenly burst out laughin'.
Himeko herself was currently sticking out her tongue, which had turned green from melon-flavored shaved ice, showin' it off to both Haruki and Saki.
Seein' Himeko like that, both Hayato and Kazuki looked at each other and started crackin' up all over again.
Just then, someone gave Hayato's sleeve a gentle tug.
Turnin' his eyes in that direction, Hayato saw Haruki lookin' all fidgety.
Haruki's eyes held a spark of curiosity mixed with a somewhat provocative fire.
"Hayato, look at that over there."
"Super ball scoopin'... ...Oh, super balls, man that brings back memories."
"Right!?"
"Su-per... ...balls? What are those?"
Hayato narrowed his eyes wistfully at the toy he used to play with back in the day.
Saki joined the convo with a clueless look on her face. In response, Hayato put a hand on his chin with a hum, thinkin' of how to explain it.
"Simply put, they're like rubber balls that bounce insanely high."
"Yup yup! We used to slam them onto the ground and compete to see whose bounced higher, remember?"
"Ahaha, yeah, and they'd always end up stuck on roofs. But with so many people around here, who knows where it'd fly off to, so it'd be pretty tough to play like that."
"But we can still compete to see who scoops up more, right?"
"Oh, you're on?"
"Hehe, I'll show you my legendary poi skills. Though, I've actually never done it before!"
"You've never done it before!? Well, I haven't either, but still."
"I have a feelin' this is gonna be an awesome matchup. Oh, Saki-chan, wanna come too?"
"M-Me too!?"
Without wastin' a second, Haruki grabbed Saki's hand and sprinted off.
Seein' that, Himeko, refusin' to be left behind, scarfed down the rest of her shaved ice, givin' herself another brain freeze.
As Hayato shrugged his shoulders in exasperation at his little sis, Iori walked up and spoke to Hayato.
"Well then, while you guys are over there, we're gonna hit up the katanuki booth next door."
"Hehe, there's no way I'm losin' to Ii-chan in this! I'm settlin' the score for all my past losses up to last year!"
"Oh, gotcha. Sounds good."
Whatever happened to their usual awkward tension?
Both Iori and Ema were practically burnin' with competitive fire.
There was probably somethin' at stake in katanuki that only the two childhood buddies could truly understand and refuse to back down on.
"Himeko-chan, why don't we head over to the katanuki booth too? It looks like they've got quite a few different flavors."
"Gasp!? You can actually eat those katanuki candies!?"
Himeko instantly latched onto the edible part of katanuki.
Kazuki chuckled merrily, his shoulders shakin' with amusement.
Hayato made an indescribable face and followed behind both Haruki and Saki.
◇◇◇
Inside a small pool with a gentle breeze-like current, super balls swarmed and swam around packed tight.
There, both Hayato and Haruki held their poi scoops in hand, locked in a fierce battle.
"Heck yeah, got it, I got one~! I win~!"
"Grrrrrrr...!"
Hayato raised his fist holdin' the poi high into the air in a victory cheer.
Haruki gnashed her teeth in frustration.
Their first super balls were finally placed inside their previously empty bowls. Beside them lay five ruined poi scoops each.
The battle between the two of them was at an embarrassin'ly low level.
In fact, the elementary school kids playin' next to them already had a handful of super balls in their bowls.
"Pops, one more scoop!"
"Whoa whoa, the match is already over, y'know."
"...Little lady, you still wanna keep goin'?"
The shopkeeper shot them a sympathetic look given how terribly they were doin'.
Even Hayato, who had gotten way too competitive and stubbornly stuck it out until he got one, stepped in to stop Haruki.
Haruki pouted her lips in a huff and glanced over in a certain direction.
"I mean, look at that over there..."
"That's... ...yeah..."
"Whoa, whoa, got another one! Looks like I can get this one too... ...hup! Got it!"
Over there was Saki, with a bowl practically overflowin' with super balls. Right now, she was still completely engrossed in scoopin' them up.
The super balls moved as if they were magnetically pulled toward Saki's poi, leapin' right into her bowl. It was straight-up god-tier skills.
The elementary school kids around Saki stared with sparklin' eyes full of respect, shoutin', "Big Sis, you're awesome~!" The shopkeeper was practically on the verge of tears.
"...It really sucks that I'm the only one who didn't catch anythin'."
"I feel you. But man, Saki-san's legit insane at this."
"Maybe since we're at a shrine, Saki-chan gets a shrine maiden field buff or somethin'?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Ugh, I wanted to get that many too so I could tease Hayato and say, 'So weak♡, so weak♡'."
"Ahahaha, too bad for you!"
As Hayato laughed mockin'ly, Haruki puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
It was a familiar scene they'd replayed countless times since they were kids.
But suddenly, Haruki let out what was on her mind in an unusually serious voice.
"...I really don't wanna lose to Saki-chan."
"I mean, turnin' things around now is--"
Haruki herself looked surprised by her own words.
Seein' such a shockin'ly unexpected look on Haruki's face, Hayato swallowed back the rest of his sentence, 'Pretty much impossible.'
Then, as if blowin' away the mood that was about to turn weird, Haruki shouted, "Alright, Pops, give me one more scoop after all!"
Seein' that, Hayato scratched his head aggressively and said, "Count me in too," flashin' a smile at Haruki who blinked in surprise.
"Hayato...?"
"Let's go for round two!"
"—Nnh, yeah!"
And so, with poi scoops in hand, both Hayato and Haruki glared once again at the pool where the super balls swam around.
Author's Notes:
Tenbin Volume 1 is now out as an audiobook on ListenGo!
Hope you guys check that out too!
Meow~.