CH 38

“Hmmm… Yeah? And yes, it was…”

Hayato woke up at the same time as usual, in a different room, feeling uncomfortable. His neck and back ached a little, because he slept on an unfamiliar sofa.

As he slowly stretched and looked around, he noticed a stack of books on the dining room table.

“Thank you for yesterday. I’m going back to get a change of clothes. Also, please forget about last night. Okay?”

The last part of the letter is written in a strong, punching style, which reveals Haruki’s state of mind.

Next to it was the neatly folded T-shirt that Haruki had been wearing, and as he picked it up, He could smell the slightly faint sweet lingering scent.

“You should’ve at least eaten breakfast here before you leave…”

He was somewhat embarrassed by the scent of someone else other than himself, and muttered something like that as an excuse.

Although there was no proof, Hayato breathed a sigh of relief because he felt that Haruki was already fine.

“Now, let’s get things ready.”

Monday mornings are always busy, and somewhat depressing. But there are many things to do.

He had to take out the trash, prepare for school, prepare breakfast, and make lunch. Hayato did all of these things with ease and without a care in the world.

If he didn’t, he would remember the embarrassing line he had said to Haruki last night, and he would be in agony.

“Fu~aah. Good morning, Onii. Where’s Haru-chan?”

“She’d got to get ready for school, so she went back home first. Himeko, go wash your face. You have a bad sleeping habit. I’ll prepare breakfast in the meantime.”

“Ugh, it’s exploding…. Hmm? Onii, what happened to your neck?”

“My neck? Uhm, I had a little trouble sleeping.”

“No, I mean, there, on the right side, it’s red.”

“On the right? But it’s the left side that hurts… Himeko?”

As he was having a conversation with Himeko, who had just woken up, Hayato suddenly felt a tug on the shirt on his back as he was cooking.

When he turned around to see what was going on, he was greeted by Haruki’s face, which looked a little sad, yet as if she was forcing a smile.

“…Haru-chan, are you okay?”

“Himeko…”

It seems that Himeko also had some thoughts about Haruki’s behaviour last night.

Maybe she knows what’s going on to some extent from the communication on her phone. Even so, this expression meant that Himeko, like Hayato, may not be able to step in from the refrain of the seven-year gap.

But Hayato had one thing he could say for sure.

“It’s okay.”

“Why?”

“That’s because I-we, have friends on our side.”

“…Pfft! Hahaha!”

“Uh, shut up!”

Himeko’s eyes fluttered, and then she suddenly erupted and swore. But then her face turned into a smile. [PRN: Raws said Himeko, but I feel like it should be Hayato.]

“Fufu… but that’s right. I’ll have to work hard too.”

Hayato was also caught by Himeko and overflowed with laughter.

◇◇◇

The sky was clearer and bluer than usual after the rain had ended last night.

The early morning sun of early summer burned Hayato’s skin as he walked to school.

“There’s… but after the rain…”

Rain. A blessing from heaven. As it is called upon, crops will grow rapidly after rain.

But it’s not all good. If it rains as hard as it did last night, there’s a risk of the crop rows collapsing, or of the fruit bursting from the sudden moisture.

Because of the promise made the other day, his feet naturally went to the flower bed.

“Good morning. Looks like a good harvest, huh?”

“Ah, Kirishima-san!”

On the outskirts of the school building, there was a small girl with curly hair, Minamo Mitake, who was busily harvesting.

Thanks to last night’s rain and this morning’s weather, many of the vegetables she planted are bearing fruit. There were two small cardboard boxes nearby, which were already mostly filled. The soil that had been washed away by the rain had been re-collected, suggesting that she had already taken care of it very early on.

“I’d like to say I’ll help you out, but I think you’re already done.”

“Thanks to you, I got a lot! But…”

“Oh, maybe you’ve got too much?”

“Yes…”

Minamo Mitake smiled with a troubled look on her face. There were so many vegetables piled up on the cardboard that even if Hayato split them up, they wouldn’t be able to consume them all. In particular, there were a lot of eggplants.

The word “bountiful harvest and poverty” passed through Hayato’s mind. In the countryside of Tsukinose, it is not unusual to have too much produce and be forced to share it.

“I can share the tomatoes with you at grandpa’s place, but eggplants are…….”

“Why don’t you try marinating it overnight? In the countryside where I used to live, they used to serve it as a snack.”

[TL/N: I also tried this and it’s delicious. Since eggplants are prone to spoiling (same goes with tomatoes). Just grill it using oil. After grilling, mix it with spices (salt, pepper, chilis, garlic) and put it in a jar. You can preserve it for up to 1-2 weeks.]

“Um, how do you do that?”

“I’ll take a picture of how to make it and send it to you.”

“Oh! You bought it!”

“Yesterday.”

Then Hayato exchanged his contact ID with Mitake Minato.

(Did I manage to say it in a natural way?)

Although he tried to make it sound casual, Hayato was quite nervous.

Unlike Haruki and Himeko, he had only known her (Mitake) for a short time, and she was a girl. Hayato had simulated it in his mind several times, and he was relieved that he was able to fulfil his promise.

In contrast to Hayato’s face, he noticed that Minamo Mitake was blushing and looking up at him with a somewhat apologetic expression on her face.

“Well, um, was it okay with me and that…?”

“Huh? What…?”

“Well, um… Your girlfriend…”

“Girlfriend?”

Hayato tilted his head at the unexpected word.

When he followed Minamo Mitake’s gaze to see what was going on, he saw that it was on the right side of her neck. This is what Himeko had pointed out to him this morning.

“Oh, this. My sister pointed it out to me. Is it that obvious?”

“Well, it’s good to see you guys getting along! But the kiss mark is…. Hauuu!!”

[ED/N: I knew it, I f*cking knew it!! oooooouuuggghhhhhhhh!!!!!]

“Mi-Mitake-san?!”

With some serious misunderstanding and misinterpretation, Minamo Mitake ran off with a blushing face.

Hayato, who was left behind with the harvested vegetables, was at a loss as to what to do.

“I’ll be taking care of the vegetables, while my neck is just a bug bite.”

The first message Hayato typed on his phone was such an awkward excuse.

◇◇◇

◇◇◇

As he approached the classroom, the only thing that came to Hayato’s mind was Haruki.

His former best friend.

A childhood friend who made scratches together and played with muddy clothes. They were childhood friends who swore to be friends forever, accumulating each other’s loans and memories.

However, when they met again, they were far removed from their former selves.

If they were side by side, one head taller than the other.

The hands that held them together were at a full turn.

The speed at which they ran was the same, but the difference can be seen in their stride.

Her short hair was long and shiny, her scratched skin was white and smooth without a single blemish, and the dress she wore yesterday was so fashionable and pretty that it could never be stained with mud.

There were times when Hayato was flustered and dismayed. It was only natural that she had become such an attractive girl.

However, once they hang out together, they can share the same feelings of fun as what they did back then, and Hayato still feels that she’s an irreplaceable partner.

Even if he’s the dull transfer student and she’s the neat, dainty, popular girl at school, it’s–

“Good morning… Uhmm…”

“Hey, Kirishima! What’s wrong with your neck?”

“It seems that it’s a kiss mark. Unfortunately, someone said it’s an insect bite but… What is that? That’s a rare sight.”

“Haha, that’s true. I’ve never seen Nikaido like that before either.”

As soon as he entered the classroom, Hayato’s eyes caught sight of Haruki in her seat, surrounded by everyone.

That much could be said to be the usual scene. But this morning, Haruki was actively talking to him.

“This is the one I picked out with Hime-chan, and here’s the one I picked out with her.”

“Wow, very cute!”

“I like how you dress in different outfits.”

“There are a few weird ones in there that are obviously tacky, but it’s like they’re playing around with them too.”

“Duh, lame…ah, haha…”

Haruki Nikaido is a popular person. Her appearance and demeanour can make her something of an idol of sorts.

Even if you leave her alone, she will be surrounded by people in no time and talk to them, and it’s almost impossible for her to talk to you.

If Haruki is proudly showing off the screen of her phone, it’s hard not to stand out and take an interest.

(…You talk to other people like that, don’t you?)

When Hayato saw that Haruki was in a state of buoyancy, he felt something inexplicable pass through his mind.

“It’s a picture of my childhood friend. I went shopping to buy clothes together on the weekend.”

“Heh, heh.”

“Well, your reaction is weak, Kirishima! Her childhood friend is also a beautiful girl, but you know what? Nikaido-san’s casual clothes are in that picture! I want to see it, too!”

“Oh, yeah right.”

Although Mori was excitedly making a strong argument, Hayato’s reaction wasn’t so positive. It was easy to imagine Haruki in yesterday’s outfit, but also in his own clothes, and the said childhood friend in the picture was his own sister, whom she had known since birth. The only thing he can do is that he can’t help but smile bitterly.

Even so, the sight of Haruki happily telling everyone about his childhood friend Himeko seemed like a positive change, as if some of the barriers she had built around her had been broken down. Hayato tried to think of it as a positive change.

Perhaps the tears of last night had triggered some kind of positive change in Haruki.

「This is a good thing for Haruki.」 – he thought as he made his way to his seat.

“Good morning, Nikaido-san…”

“Oh, good morning, Kirishima-kun…”

“You’re a popular guy this morning, aren’t you?”

“Would you like to see it, Kirishima-kun? It’s a picture of my childhood friend. Here it is, don’t you think it’s well taken?”

Haruki then appealed to him to show her the screen of her phone.

The childhood friend of Nikaido Haruki whom she’s boasting about… is none other than Himeko. If Hayato were to ask why she was enjoying the image of his sister that he was so used to seeing, only Haruki would know.

Because of the bewildered feelings he had just experienced, I became curt. I ended up with an unfriendly attitude.

However, Haruki was persistently pushing her phone towards him. To the casual observer, it looked like she was trying to show off her precious childhood friend.

“No, I’m not really–“

“Kyaa!”

The moment Hayato saw the screen, he unintentionally snatched the phone from Haruki’s hand.

Then, Haruki’s adorable surprise echoed around her, and everyone rolled their eyes at Hayato’s sudden action.

What in the world did the people around him think Hayato was thinking when he saw Nikaido Haruki’s childhood friend now – he didn’t care about it since he was struck by such surprise.

“Oh, wait, wait, wait, this is…!”

“How’s that? Isn’t that a good shot? She’s my dearest childhood friend…”

The picture was a selfie of Haruki wearing Hayato’s uniform shirt and crawling with her lips on his neck while he was on his arm pillow. He’s not sure if it’s an incentive or not, but the words “Hayato is sleeping next to me” are also dancing on it. Apparently, this was the cause of the congestion on his neck.

The Haruki in front of him smiled.

But it’s not the neat, graceful smile you see in front of everyone, it’s the somewhat mischievous smile he’s been used to seeing since they were a child.

Suddenly, many things ran through Hayato’s mind.

He didn’t know what had happened in the last seven years.

He’s sure it’s not something that can be easily said yet.

But he’s sure she’ll tell him that when this void is filled.

『Oh well, we’ll always be friends, Haruki!』 [PRN: A line of the past btw]

There was no hurry.

The small promises they’ve made in the past are still alive and well today.

Still, Hayato now had a feeling in his heart that he wanted to say out loud.

“Haru-……Nikaido….!”

“Mmm-hmm?”

–You’re just going back to your former self in front of me. No, wait!