[Warning 15+]
Author's Notes:
Volume 4 got a reprint!
Volume 5 drops in three days on July 29th (2022).
Since I made it all the way to Volume 5, I welcomed a kitty into my home! He's a Norwegian Forest Cat boy named Tsumugi-kun!
Volume 4 got a reprint!
Volume 5 drops in three days on July 29th (2022).
Since I made it all the way to Volume 5, I welcomed a kitty into my home! He's a Norwegian Forest Cat boy named Tsumugi-kun!
Part Six
―With the Same Energy as Before, Wearin' a Smile
Chapter 207
The Start of a Changed Routine
―With the Same Energy as Before, Wearin' a Smile
Chapter 207
The Start of a Changed Routine
Fall had fully set in, and the mornin's were chillin'ly cold enough to make crawlin' out of bed a total pain.
The nights had gotten longer too, with the sun taking its sweet time to show its face.
"...6 o'clock, huh."
Lyin' on the bed in her room, Haruki checked her smartphone, glanced at the soft mornin' sunlight bleedin' through the edge of the curtains, and rolled over. The faint dark circles under her eyes showed that she hadn't been sleepin' well at all.
In fact, Haruki'd been havin' trouble fallin' asleep lately.
And the reason was clear as day.
Even now, whenever Haruki recalled Kazuki's words at the Fall Festival, questions like 'What' and 'Why' turned into a jumbled mess, swirlin' in her chest.
"Kaidō is—"
Havin' spoken up to that point, Haruki lightly shook her head as if brushin' the thought away.
Haruki went out of her way to mutter, "Time to wake up," and headed to the bathroom.
Haruki's reflection in the mirror was wearin' a pretty d*mn grim expression.
◇◇◇
Early in the mornin', a satisfyin' sizzle echoed through the Kirishima Family kitchen.
"Al-right."
Along with Hayato's cheerful shout, the beaten eggs danced across the fryin' pan.
Hayato was makin' an omelet stuffed with tuna, shiso leaves, and plenty of mushrooms—fittin' for fall.
With the weather gettin' so cozy, standin' in front of the hot stove was nowhere near as miserable as durin' the summer.
It was fall, the season of bountiful harvests and big appetites. As the cook, it felt like inspiration was strikin' left and right.
"Himeko, breakfast is ready—Wait."
"Hold on, Big Bro! Just a little bit longer!"
"...Eat it before it gets cold."
As for Himeko, she was constantly checkin' herself out in the full-length mirror in the livin' room. Looks like she was obsessin' over her switched-up uniform.
Unlike Himeko's summer uniform, which was all about fresh and cute vibes, this one featured front buttons and a classy, muted color tone that gave her a somewhat mature vibe.
With the change in style, Himeko seemed super worried about tiny details like her hair or the length balance of her socks, but Hayato couldn't really get it. Especially since she'd been doin' this every single day since switchin' uniforms a few days ago.
Hayato swallowed a gulp of coffee down his throat right along with an almost-spilled sigh.
◆
After rushin' Himeko, who was stallin' in front of the full-length mirror, and makin' her scarf down her breakfast, they headed out of the apartment.
The air brushin' against their cheeks was nice and chilly, and lookin' up, the sky was impossibly high and blue, like the ceilin' had blown wide open.
Weeds along the side path held mornin' dew that glistened in the sunlight, and the leaves on trees here and there were gradually losin' their color.
The season had fully shifted into fall.
"Hime-chan, Big Bro!"
"Oh, Saki-chan! Mornin'!"
"Mornin', Saki-san."
Saki was already waitin' at the meetup spot.
The second Saki caught sight of them, she came runnin' over.
"Saki-chan, is that cardigan the one you bought the other day?"
"Yeah~ It's gotten crazy chilly out of nowhere these past few days~... ...Big Bro, what do you think?"
Saki took a step closer to Hayato instead of Himeko, holdin' out the hem of her tawny cardigan to ask for his take.
That distance was so close it would've been unthinkable back when they were in Tsukinose, and as the sweet scent of a younger girl drifted softly into Hayato's nose, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
"Oh—well, it matches your hair color, so it looks super cute on you."
"Really? ...Ehe, I'm so happy!"
"Gasp!"
Gettin' hit with Saki's innocent, joyful smile—somethin' Hayato still wasn't used to—made his chest feel absurdly restless.
But if Hayato looked away from Saki's grinnin' face, it felt like admittin' he was weirdly conscious of her, so he couldn't tear his eyes away.
And as Hayato felt heat creepin' into his cheeks, he noticed somethin'.
"Huh, Saki-san, are you runnin' on low sleep?"
"...Huh?!"
"Oh, Saki-chan's eyes are red. What's up?"
"Did you stay up late studyin' or somethin'? I mean, even though you're an Exam taker, the actual Exams are still a ways off. Don't go burnin' yourself out this early. ...Though I think Himeko should probably be a little more freaked out."
"I-I've been doin' fine lately!"
"A-Ahaha... ...well, um, you see..."
However, Saki hesitated, her eyes dartin' around nervously.
When Himeko tilted her head in confusion and leaned in askin', "Saki-chan?", Saki backed away slightly and confessed with an embarrassed look on her face.
"Truth is, I was playin' video games until super late last night..."
""Video games?""
"Oh! Of course I still studied properly, okay?!"
Saki and video games.
Two things that didn't really connect in their minds, causin' the Kirishima Siblings, both Hayato and Himeko, to exchange glances.
"Huh, Saki-san playin' video games? What kind of video game are you playin'? I've been playin' that monster-huntin' one quite a bit lately."
"Big Bro, there's no way Saki-chan can handle action video games. Speakin' of which, didn't the new Puchimon video game just drop?"
"U-Um, it's not like that, it's more like a novel-based simulation video game I borrowed from Haruki-san, or somethin'..."
""Simulation?""
Simulation video games.
From Saki's words, the Kirishima Siblings pictured fantasy video games packed with RPG elements revolvin' around a flamin' emblem, or becomin' a warlord from the Sengoku Era or the Three Kingdoms aimin' for total unification.
Since it wasn't the type that required quick reflexes, and the characters were popular enough to draw in tons of female fans, they both wore somewhat understandin' looks.
However, Saki looked awkwardly put on the spot and vaguely averted her gaze.
In truth, the video game Saki was playin'—borrowed from Haruki—had the prefix 'Romance' attached right before 'Simulation', and due to ratin' restrictions, was actually somethin' Saki shouldn't be playin' in the first place.
"Mornin'~ Wait, was I the last one?"
Just then, Haruki arrived.
Himeko's eyes lit up instantly as she stared down Haruki—or more accurately, Haruki's school uniform.
"Mornin', Haru-chan... ...wait, mmh~ sailor uniforms are nice, but blazers definitely give off that cool city-girl vibe, I love it!"
"Word is our school uniform has a reputation for being pretty cute. The design really stands out, too."
"Totally! The color combo with the skirt is great, the trim color looks super stylish, I can totally see why it's popular!"
"Wait, how the heck do you even know that, Haruki?"
"I just looked it up out of a little curiosity back then!"
"A-Ahaha... ...Haruki-san..."
Hayato immediately called out Haruki for blurtin' out somethin' so inappropriate. Saki couldn't help but let out a dry laugh too.
However, Himeko blinked in surprise for a second before her face completely lit up.
"Tradin' uniforms? Does that mean you can buy them?! Woah, I kind of want one from a cute school! Uniform sales are banned on flea market apps and stuff, though... ...hey, Haru-chan, how do you even buy one?!"
"U-Um... ...Oh! Today's my day to water the veggies, so I gotta get to the garden beds ASAP!"
"W-Wait up!"
Taken aback by Himeko reactin' to such a weird detail, Haruki hurriedly made a break for school.
Hayato and Saki exchanged glances and muttered, "She totally dodged that..."
◆
After partin' ways with the middle school duo, both Himeko and Saki, Hayato walked shoulder to shoulder with Haruki toward their high school.
Come to think of it, headin' to school together like this had really turned into an everyday routine.
Walkin' beside Hayato, his childhood buddy (Haruki) stood straight with her long hair flutterin' in the breeze, wearin' her blazer so neatly that she looked like a pure, delicate, model-student Yamato Nadeshiko. It suited her insanely well.
It was night and day compared to Hayato, who looked like he was bein' worn by his unfamiliar uniform.
Same as the old days, yet completely different.
It wasn't like it didn't bother Hayato.
Grabbin' a handful of his slightly messy hair, which had grown quite a bit longer compared to summer, Hayato narrowed his eyes.
(...The hair salon Kazuki recommended, huh.)
Come to think of it, how was Haruki handlin' that kind of stuff?
Wonderin' about it, Hayato glanced at Haruki's face, only to realize she was deeply lost in thought with a surprisin'ly serious expression.
"...Haruki?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Nah, I mean... ...is somethin' botherin' you?"
"Gasp! Oh..."
When Hayato asked, Haruki's shoulders flinched in surprise.
Then, her face contortin' for just a split second, Haruki let out a troubled groan and muttered in an indescribable tone of voice.
"Y'know, Hime-chan seems like she'd be surprisin'ly popular with boys."
"...Huh?"
At those unexpected words, Hayato let out a totally ridiculous squeak.
Himeko, popular?
The utterly out-of-left-field statement, which hadn't crossed Hayato's mind even for a second, brought both his thoughts and his feet to a full stop.
Seein' Hayato like that, Haruki hurriedly sputtered out excuses at top speed.
"No, I mean, look, Hime-chan's got a super cute look goin' for her, right?"
"Well, I guess Himeko does care about her appearance."
"And Hime-chan's super upfront about what she wants to do or where she wants to go, no filter or fake front."
"That's just Himeko's havin' zero chill and no modesty... ...plus she's only tough at home and completely clams up in public."
"...Heh, Big Bro's harsh."
"It's the truth, though. Himeko's a total pain to deal with on a daily basis, and all I ever see is her slackin' off."
Hayato snorted with his brow furrowed, as if sayin' obviously.
Haruki let out a dry laugh too, but then quickly switched back to a dead-serious expression and locked eyes with Hayato.
"If... ...just hypothetical, but if Himeko got a boyfriend, what would you do, Hayato?"
"Himeko gettin' a boyfriend...?"
That was a tough question.
Knowin' how Himeko acted normally, imaginin' his little sis' non-existent boyfriend was a higher bar than findin' a Tsuchinoko or the Loch Ness monster.
"For starters, I guess I'd double-check if the boy's really cool with it bein' Himeko..."
"...Ahaha, I see."
To Hayato, who answered somewhat bluntly, Haruki just offered a vague smile.
Author's Notes:
The kitty I literally just brought home got diagnosed with FIP, aka Feline Infectious Peritonitis.
It's a brutal disease with a mortality rate of almost 100%, and a survival window of only about two weeks after onset.
There are zero treatment options here in Japan, so my only choice is relyin' on unapproved foreign meds developed just a few years ago—either through personal import or via vets who import them on your behalf. Obviously, pet insurance doesn't cover a dime, so the treatment costs are absolutely astronomical. It's the kind of nasty disease where even vets will tell you to just "get a replacement cat" or figure out end-of-life care instead of treatin' it, but I picked treatment without skippin' a beat. After all, I saved up all those royalties for a moment just like this.
The treatment course runs for 12 weeks, and every single day I have to administer medication where just one tablet costs more than a bottle of premium Dassai 23 sake.
So to earn enough cash for this kitty's treatment bills, please, I'm beggin' you, buy Tenbin Volume 5!!!! (Prostrates / Dogeza)