CH 58

What Do People Essentially Do During Summer Vacation?

Translated by HamletJr

Edited by HamletJr

“All right, Mom, I’ll be going out now.”

“Take care.”

On a certain day during summer vacation, Shizuna left her home and went outside on a day when the temperature was quite high, if not blazing hot. It was only about nine o’clock in the morning, but it was already very hot.

“It’s so hot…but then again, it is summer, so I guess that’s to be expected.”

Shizuna muttered to herself as she started walking toward the home of her beloved boyfriend. Coincidentally, it was at that moment that Sohei too came out of his house as if he was going somewhere.

“Ah, morning, Shizuna.”

“Good morning, Sohei-kun.”

They had originally been close with each other, but Ryuichi’s appearance had soured their relationship, though things had cleared up between them now. She laughed at how it was Ryuichi as well who’d brought them the opportunity to face each other as normal childhood friends, and that he was truly a mysterious person.

“Were you thinking about Shishido again?”

“Oh, you can tell?”

“Yeah. Because when you smile like that, it’s usually related to Shishido.”

“…Muu, am I really that obvious?”

That said, she didn’t deny him either. Poking him lightly with an amused smile, she left him and started walking again.

“…Fuu.”

In truth, she’d actually had no plans to visit Ryuichi today. Normally, they would have called each other that day or the day before, but she thought it’d be nice to have days like these every once in a while too. She wouldn’t be angry if he had something to do or if he was not home, she would just do a little shopping and go home.

“Hmm~ hmm~ hmm~ ♪”

She looked very happy as she walked down the road in a good mood.

Naturally, she wasn’t wearing her usual school uniform, but she was dressed casually in a gray top that boldly showed her shoulders, and pants that gave off a refreshing feeling.

Many passersby stared at her as she displayed both the adorableness of a high school student and the sexiness of a young adult transitioning to adulthood.

“Hey, little girl, are ya free?”

“No, I am not. I’m on my way to my boyfriend’s place right now.”

She used to hate and even fear getting called out to like this. However, she had grown completely accustomed to it because she had gained some courage by spending time with Ryuichi, and more importantly, she often saw men worse than this one when she visited Ryuichi at the club where he worked part-time.

“Now, now, you don’t have to say that.”

“You’re being annoying, you know?”

Shizuna glared at the man who was picking her up. Although she wasn’t really conscious of it, her glare seemed to have been quite a shock to the man, and he froze, even if only for a moment. Taking advantage of this opportunity, she backed away from the man.

“Looks like I’ve gotten braver than before. Yup, yup, not bad.”

She might’ve still gotten scared if they’d touched her body like last time, but at the very least, she wouldn’t get flustered by a mere playboy. It did make her a little sad that she would never be able to be saved like she’d been when she’d encountered Ryuichi back then, though.

“…Ah, but what would I do if Ryuichi-kun was hit on?”

Ryuichi was the type of handsome guy who was popular with older women. Recently, his true nature had become apparent at school, and he had more friends and could be seen conversing with a good number of girls in his class, including Shizuna’s friends. She wasn’t jealous of this, however, and as a result of her strange maternal nature, she’d watched over him with a somewhat pleasant feeling in her heart.

“Hmm…”

For the time being, she put the class aside and pondered over the matter intently. In her opinion, hitting on Ryuichi would be quite the challenge and would only be possible with a woman who was confident in herself. 

In the first place, she felt like if someone hit on Ryuichi with half-hearted determination, they’d be melted into a soggy mess in no time…No, she was sure they would be melted into a soggy mess. The thought of it made her laugh.

“Well, here I am, but…”

She’d been immersed in her thoughts and before she knew it, she had reached his apartment. There was no sign that he had gone out anywhere, so she assumed he was probably inside.

“…Oh? It’s open.”

She took out the duplicate key that he’d given to her and tried to unlock the door, but apparently the door was already unlocked and open.

“Hmm?”

When she entered, she found a pair of shoes she did not recognize. Since they were men’s shoes and not women’s, she thought that perhaps Makoto or Kaname had come to visit.

“Pardon me for the intrusion, Ryuichi-kun.”

When she announced her arrival, Ryuichi appeared from inside the room. She felt sorry for disturbing him, seeing as how he was completely enjoying his time off in short sleeves and short pants, but he himself only seemed surprised for a moment before he immediately walked up to Shizuna.

“Morning, Shizuna… Pretty sudden of you, huh.”

“Sorry. But I wanted to see you.”

“Heh, you don’t have to apologize. I’m glad to see you.”

With that, Ryuichi pulled Shizuna into his arms. She loved burying her face in his sturdy chest, and was twenty times happier when she was surrounded by his masculine scent like this. They both laughed simultaneously when they thought about how they shouldn’t stay hugging each other at the entrance of the apartment for too long.

“You got a visitor?”

“Yep. To be honest, Kaname has been here since yesterday. He slept over.”

“…Huh?”

“Hey, just so you know, it goes without saying that there’s nothing between us, alright?”

“I know.”

She probably knew that they’d gotten in this situation because they’d played around in that place, along with Makoto. They moved into the room where Kaname was watching TV while reading manga leisurely, and his eyes widened when he saw Shizuna appear.

“Rindo? You two had plans to meet today?”

“Nah, she just came on a whim.”

“Yup.”

She sat there with them. She was surrounded by two guys, her boyfriend and his friend, but again, she didn’t seem particularly bothered by it. When she’d asked Kaname for his side of the story, what she heard was exactly as she’d expected. After the three of them had spent the night having fun in the city, Kaname missed the last train, so he came to stay here.

“What do you think he was doing while me and Makoto were having fun with the girls?”

“What?”

“He was having hamburgers all by himself at a nearby restaurant.”

“Of course I did,” Ryuichi spat. He no longer had relationships with many women, save for Chisa and Satsuki with whom he continued his relationship unchanged, but that was something everyone had already accepted. Even so, the amount of times he slept with them was dwindling, so it was only natural that one could tell he found Shizuna special.

“Well, I think I’m gonna get going now. It’s a bit awkward for me to be third-wheeling you two lovers.”

“I see. Off with you then.”

Kaname then quickly packed his bags and left. Thus, Shizuna was alone with Ryuichi, just as she’d hoped for, and she jumped on his body again just as the door slammed shut.

“Oof… Heh, you’re a needy girl, aren’tcha?”

“Only for you, Ryuichi-kun. ♪”

They hugged each other for a while, and then Ryuichi suddenly let out a gasp and spread a printout on the table. It was an assignment given for the summer vacation, in other words, homework.

“There’s a part here that’s got me a little stumped. Can you help me?”

“Sure. Which part is it?”

She finished the problem that he’d told her stumped him as if it were a breeze in the park and left the apartment with Ryuichi, who had finished his preparations in the meantime. They walked together in the heat as usual, but they obviously didn’t link their arms this time.

“…It’s hot, huh.”

“Really hot.”

It was well and truly hot. Still, leaving Ryuichi aside, Shizuna did not seem uncomfortable at all and continued to enjoy staring at him amusedly by her side. Well, there was a time in the past that she’d stared at him too much that she almost slipped and fell, so he told her to try to keep it to a minimum, but apparently she couldn’t stop herself from the act of staring at the person she loved.

“Hey, Shizuna—”

“Sliiide~ ♪”

An elderly man walking in front of them came into view, and Ryuichi called out to her to warn her not to bump into him, but she was well aware of him. She moved her body to the side to avoid the old man, who was propped up on a cane.

“Don’t worry, I can see everything.”

“…Are you some kind of final boss?”

“I’m a final boss that’s undefeatable if I’ve appeared after capturing you, Ryuichi-kun.”

The heck is that? Ryuichi laughed. 

This was their first summer vacation since the two of them got a boyfriend or girlfriend, but it would surely prove to be a fulfilling one, that’s for sure. Just thinking about what they should do, where they should go, and other such things was enough to make Shizuna happy and smiling the entire time.

“Man, seeing you like that makes me happy, too.”

Their long vacation had only just begun. Shizuna was excited and happy to be able to spend a long time with her boyfriend, and had high hopes for what was to come.