CH 53

Chapter 53 – Same as before, alone during launch break

After parting ways with Kaido Ikki, Hayato returned to class and was soon surrounded by his male friends.

“Hey, that was great.”

“Yeah, that's great, Kirishima!”

"You are the hero who prevented a beautiful girl from being eaten by a handsome man."

"Okay, you're free in the afternoon and after school, right?"

"We have to talk about breasts in detail."

“And also about Nikaido-san's childhood friend!”

The boys casually pressed their shoulders against Hayato's and spoke enthusiastically like idiots, but all their eyes were very serious.  They had the determination that they would never let him go.

Hayato looked around for help, but all he saw was Mori shrugging and Haruki saying “Baka!”.  Hayato could only look down disappointed.

He was aware that he was doing something that would attract the attention of the surroundings, so he decided to prepare himself to be chased by his friends.

Meanwhile, Haruki felt very excited when she saw Hayato's state.

She knew about the rumors of Kaido Ikki that were being spread among the female students.

However, from her experience, she also knew that Kaido Ikki had no interest in her.

It's just hype created by others.

Haruki realized that Kaido Ikki must be very popular with the girls, even in his own eyes.  It's hard to find a reason to turn it down.

However, he might as well have grown tired of that sort of thing and will stay away from people who are too obsessed with him.  There is empathy for the rumours.

That's why she was surprised by Hayato's sudden action, and...

(Wait, why am I feeling happy...?)

She was confused by his own feelings.

She was sure that earlier she was patting Hayato's back enthusiastically because of that.

But it's not a bad feeling.

Whenever she saw Hayato being reprimanded for his previous actions, she couldn't help but smile on her face.

With that kind of expression on Haruki's face, even if she met Hayato's eyes, she would look away with a sullen expression.

(Fufu...)

Maybe because she had been made that way by Hayato too many times recently, Haruki is getting more and more smiling.

But when lunch break arrived, Haruki's smile froze at the arrival of the second visitor of the day.

“Is Kirishima-kun here?”

“Kaido...huh?!”

Kaido Ikki, with a playful cheerful smile, came to meet Hayato.

Not Haruki, but Hayato.

Not only was Haruki surprised by the sudden situation, but the entire class fell silent.

Even Kaido Ikki himself couldn't hide his wry smile.

“...What business do you have with me, or rather, what did you come here for?”

“Of course I came to deepen the friendship with Kirishima-kun.  Did you bring bento?  May I sit there?”

“Uh, yes... Please”

“Yeah, yeah, do you have any other vegetables photo like before?”

“Indeed there is, but...”

"It's okay, show me."

Ikki remained in his natural demeanor.

With an innocent expression, he slipped into Hayato's circle who was already surrounded by boys.

“Kirishima, oh yeah, there's a photo of miko, right?”

“Mori, you... yes, there are, but...”

"Wow, miko is good huh.  Festivals too.  I also like maids and stuff.”

Responses to his words came from the other boys and a few girls.

“Oh?  I actually like nurses and such.”

“Chinese dresses are also beautiful, you know.”

“You can say this too, Kaido!”

“What about Gothic Lolita?  I'm actually a bit interested too.”

"Me too actually—"

Whether swayed by Kaido's surprising magnanimity, not just Hayato, but everyone else joined in on the conversation.  As expected of a popular person, he fully displayed his charisma.

Seeing that, Haruki became flustered.

She didn't understand what was going on.

When Haruki saw Hayato and Kaido deep in conversation, she didn't know how to handle her own feelings.

Meanwhile, from the surroundings that weren't in the circle, the gazes that were looking at her and Kaido were concentrated.

“O-oh yes, I have to go,”

Haruki said, saying it quietly without telling anyone, then she stood up from her chair.

It wasn't unusual for Haruki to go out during lunch break.  Nothing suspicious.

When she looked at Hayato before leaving the classroom, she saw a troubled smile on his face.  There was something bothering her about his smile.

.....

After leaving the classroom, Haruki has only one intended place.

Secret base.  Shelter.  An empty room about the size of 6 tatami, long and thin in the former clubroom building.

“...It feels spacious.”

She said that spontaneously.

Spreading out a naked pillow, Haruki sat down with an uncharacteristic female walk and took out a chicken salad in lieu of his lunch and began to eat silently.

(...)

For some reason, Haruki had a hard time swallowing his lunch.

After successfully swallowing it, when she looked at the clock, only 2 minutes had passed since she got there.  There's still plenty of lunch break left.

Looking at the naked sitting pillow that Hayato usually used, made her remember the moment when everyone gathered earlier.

“Unfortunately Hayato has been caught huh...”

Even though she knew it wasn't the truth, she felt as though she was being exiled like an unwanted person.

She even had the feeling that Hayato had been kidnapped or taken away from her, though she didn't know if that was true or not.

Feeling lonely, naturally her hands reached for her head and she remembered the time when she had stroked her hair, then shook her head.

(Oh, never mind... Hmm?)

At that moment, Haruki's phone gave a notification.  The sender was Hayato.

'Sorry, looks like I can't escape.  I borrowed from you for today.’

A frown appeared on Haruki's forehead.

It's hard to escape from a situation like that.

She also recently had trouble to escape.

"Oh, I see ..."

The moment she realized that she was alone, she felt an emptiness rising within her.

Even though it wasn't Hayato's fault, she felt a little dejected.

In the end, not only time, but also her emotions went out of control, making Haruki feel helpless, so she left the room and started walking aimlessly.

However, she tried to avoid people's gazes.  So in this case, the choice of places to go is limited.

Actually, one could say that place for sure.

"Ah..."

There, there was a petite girl with a very conspicuous straw hat in this school and wearing a jersey—Mitake Minamo.

For some reason, Haruki hid when she saw her.

Minato seemed engrossed in tending to the vegetables in the flower garden and didn't seem to notice her.

There is no special relationship between Haruki and Mitake Minamo.  They are of different classes and only know each other's names.

Since she wanted to avoid people's gazes, she could have just left the place.

‘Gardening is so much fun!’

However, she remembered Hayato's words that he would enter the gardening club which was also Minamo's club.  Unknowingly, her feet brought her closer.

"Ah, hello, Mitake-san."

“Fuhe, Kirishi... Ni-kaido-san?!”

She looks like a little animal and gives very adorable reactions.

Just as she was about to say “Kirisima-san”, Haruki felt a tightness in her chest.