CH 45

It was the time when the first quarter moon had not yet appeared in the eastern sky.

There was no moonlight, but thanks to the streetlights, the streets were not too dark when the night fell.

“Haaa, haaa, haaa, haaa…!”

A girl was running alone on such a road. She was sprinting as fast as she could with her long hair in disarray.

It was clearly a bizarre sight.

Her face, which was also bright red up to her neck, would definitely attract a lot of attention if it was daytime.

“I’m home!”

Haruki shouted the same greeting in the dark as usual and jumped into the dressing room. Haruki herself didn’t realize it, but this was the first time that she had not waited for the confirmation of the reply.

She threw her sweaty blouse and other clothes directly into the washing machine and pulled the shower over her head, which was still cold and not yet been warmed.

“It’s cold!”

She continued to take a shower, which was gradually getting warmer and warmer as she said such obvious things. The sticky sweat was finally washed away, and her body felt refreshed, but the fuzzy feeling on her chest didn’t seem to be clearing any time soon.

Haruki has been feeling a bit like this since the other day.

“Ugh…”

Sometimes, she’s also aware that she says and does things that are completely out of her character.

However, Hayato hasn’t changed that much since they met, and she even feels a bit frustrated about that.

The only thing that Haruki could say is that he’s not used to girls, and the fact that she could make him flinch with a simple bold skinship was both a sense of her superiority and a trump card as she kept her mind calm and balanced.

However, earlier in the daytime, there was an incident that shocked Haruki.

That was after she had managed to escape from the questioning contest of the girls in her class, thinking that Haruki had managed to fool them.

When she went to their secret base, Haruki found it empty, so she went to a flower bed where Hayato often went to plant vegetables, and as expected, he was there.

“Hey…! Kirishi-“

Haruki tried to call out to him as soon as she found him, but for some reason she couldn’t.

With a bag of fertilizer in his hand, he tends to the flowerbeds with an air of familiarity and occasionally takes care of Minamo Mitake, a girl from the gardening club, with a gentle voice.

She is also relying on Hayato, and is eagerly asking him if she is doing it right.

That was also the side of Hayato that Haruki didn’t know.

(Oh yeah… Hayato is a caring person, isn’t he…?)

She remembered the time Hayato promised her that they would have lunch together from now on at their secret base, the time Haruki forced herself to take Hayato home, the time Hayato made her stay the night because he didn’t want to leave her alone. Haruki remembers a lot of things like that.

For Haruki, Hayato is an irreplaceable friend, and what he is doing right in front of him is a virtue and a part of this best friend that he is proud of.

But for some reason, her heart tingled.

Haruki feels confused about herself, as she observes Minamo Mitake.

She doesn’t know much about her because they went to different middle schools. She has a quiet personality and her height is about a size smaller than Haruki, but she has a notable style.

And there was a small animal-like quality to her that could be described as cute and charming, a girlish quality that Haruki never had when she was in front of Hayato.

(Oh, that’s…)

She had a bad feeling about it. But she doesn’t know what it is.

As Haruki watched Minamo Mitake playing in the dirt with a smile on her face, her emotion grew increasingly frustrated.

And that’s when Hayato blushed at the sight of her large b00ba. Haruki, who’s out of patience, stepped in between the two of them.

Haruki was also aware that her attitude after that incident was childish. It was as if she was just sulking.

That’s why Himeko surprised her, but she was also grateful to her. Although there were some things that were still bothering her, she was sure that her mind would be cleared and she would be back to normal tomorrow.

“Ahaha, right? Really, can’t he compromise and be satisfied… with only just me…” [PRN: A line from last chapter, in other words, a flashback.]

From a simple idle conversation, she was suddenly reminded of the answer to the discomfort Haruki had been feeling.

(I thought Hayato would be taken!)

It’s not even a childish jealousy, it’s something that resembles possessiveness.

As for Haruki, she knows that Hayato is a healthy adolescent boy and that’s just the way it is. She teases him because she understands him. And Hayato also had trust and confidence that Haruki understood him.

Still, she didn’t like the way he was showing his embarrassment to any girl but her.

(My chest is not small, either…)

[TLN: Medium is premium. Ulala] [PRN: Smol, Medium, or Large are always welcomed.]

While thinking about that, she strengthened the shower to try to cover it up, but it was already at its peak.

“Argh! Please stop already!”

Haruki lathered and washed her body vigorously, trying to deal with the fuzzy feeling on her mind, but the palpitations of her heart didn’t seem to subside.

Today’s shower was going to be a long one.

◇◇◇

“I-It’s hot…”

Haruki had been in the shower for too long, and her body was on the verge of burning up.

Haruki, overcome by the heat, can’t take it any longer, so she decides to take some ice cream from the freezer and goes back to her room to turn on the air conditioner.

“It hurts, but it’s delicious.”

The ice cream she bit into at once gave her a brain freeze, but it lasted only a moment as she gobbled it down with satisfaction.

She still has an anguish in her heart. And it was something that could be called desperation.

(Anyway, it’s all Hayato’s fault!)

Haruki thought about it while being disturbed by various emotions, and came to such a conclusion. Haruki knows she was just being selfish. But she couldn’t help but do so.

That’s how hard Haruki’s heart was in such a difficult state.

We’re still far from each other, but not like in the same way as in the past. I am keenly aware of this.

However, there was something about this that wasn’t so bad – and Haruki was most dismayed with herself for it.

“I wish our relationship could go on like this forever.”

She tried to verbalize those desires.

But she’s aware that this is impossible, based on her past experience.

～～～～～♪

“…!”

As if to remind her of this, Haruki’s phone made a notification sound.

“………Haru-chan”

“Hmm… oh, Hime-chan. W-What’s wrong?”

“…Haru-chan are you okay?”

“Well, what is it…?”

Himeko’s voice was very dark and serious.

Haruki’s heart beat faster and faster as she felt that she had just seen through her mind.

“…I-I’ve gained weight.”

“…….!”

Haruki was speechless. It was because she had an idea.

“Haru-chan, you had one too, didn’t you….?”

“Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

Lately, since Haruki had started having dinner together at Hayato’s house, she feels that the food she’s having tastes better than ever.

Unlike the meals that she used to take mechanically just for nutritional intake, when Haruki was eating while talking with everyone around the table, her chopsticks tended to go faster and she ended up eating more.

And just like now, there are more and more days when she comes home and worries alone and eats ice cream out of desperation.

“What about you, Haru-chan?”

“Wait, wait a minute, maybe I’m okay? Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Let’s get real, shall we? Let’s do something before it’s too late. You should measure it right now.”

“Hahaha, I’m okay. Don’t worry…”

While saying such a thing, it was also true that Haruki had been feeling something disturbing around her stomach and arms lately.

Haruki returns to the changing room while chatting, puts her phone on the sink, and stops to put her feet on the scale. Then she starts to take off her clothes and becomes completely naked.

It was a trivial resistance, even if it was only a few hundred grams.

“MYAAA~~~~~~~~~?!?!”

However, the reality is cruel, and like Himeko, Haruki also showed a growth rate of nearly 10% compared to the previous day.

“Fufu, We’re forming a diet alliance, aren’t we?”

From the smartphone on the washbasin, Himeko’s voice, who was trying to drag each other in the dark, echoed.

Haruki is definitely changing not only her mind but also her body, and the maiden’s heart that has begun to sprout is becoming more and more difficult to deal with.