Haruki Nikaido is the flower of high mountains, and her actions are the focus of everyoneās attention. (T/N: Last chapter, I used āFlower of Takamineā which literally means flower of high mountains/stake. I wonder which is better)
Haruki herself had acted as she should have, and she knew the consequences.
The fact that she talked to a boy without any particular reason was a special thing that would cause a lot of speculation towards her.
[Nikaido-san and the transfer student?]
[Is it probablyā¦she likes him?]
[No way, heās a transfer student, so I guess they have their own business, I guess!]
I can hear their curious, whispering voices and also (sense/see?) their jealous glances
Iām now the center of attention. Thereās no way for me to run.
Both Haruki and I understand it.
[Ettoā¦ Uhhā¦. Thatāsā¦ thatā¦]
[Haaā¦ Nikaidoā¦]
Even so, Haruki said [that] with a cool face as before. Thatās exactly what it is.
But from the side, it was more like Hayato was being blamed for why he didnāt understand.
But I could tell that Haruki made a mistake, so I decided to try my best to cover her up.
(Speaking of which)
It reminds me of something that once happened.
When I was a kid, Haruki was walking up the wooden fence that separated the farm with the field, and it suddenly broke down.
Thanks to the help of the adults who were working there, the sheep didnāt run away and we were saved.
The wooden fence was rotten, so Haruki was neither blamed nor injured, fortunately. But in the times she had done something wrong, just like now, sheād keep saying āThat thing, that thingā¦ that thing was like that..ā
Although she tried to put on a clear face, I could see that the present Haruki was reacting the exact same way as the Haruki back then. Even her eyes that seemed to ask for help were the same as back then.
(Honestlyā¦)
I laughed for a bit and tried to think about what to say.
[Ahā¦ that thing. Iām the one who was asked to do the flowerbed this morning]
[Oh yes, thatās it! I want to finish it as early as possible, Are you free now?]
[I understand]
[Ah also, bring your bag please]
[Ok]
It was a spur-of-the-moment improvisation.
However, with this, I succeeded in changing the situation into one where I needed her to help
After that, my classmates began to lose interest and said, [Oh I see] and [Thatās right].
Haruki quickly left the classroom as if to deceive me. After that, I let out a sigh of relief. Mori-san seemed to be grinning.
[Way to go, transfer student]
[Haha, shut up]
āāā
After that, I went to a small, empty room, in the old school building.
It was about a quarter size of my classroom, the room itself is long but narrow with wooden flooring. It also looks a bit old.
However, the floor was dust free and showed signs of having been well maintained.
[Here?]
[A secret base. This area is only used for storage, so no one ever comes here]
[Itās a bit too empty to be called a base]
[Thatās true, how about we bring something here next time. You can also call this a shelter]
[A shelter?]
Iām not sure if itās because nobody is around, but Haruki was in the bratty mode that sheĀ was in her room the other day.
She doesnāt care about skirts andĀ sits cross-legged. But she seemed hesitant to take off her socks.
(I canāt show this Haruki to everyone in the classroom)
I held my temples as I looked around.
A small, empty, boarded-up room.
It was a lonely place for a secret base.
A refuge to get away from the hustle and bustle.
A room with no furniture or anything in it, just windows.
[How did you find this place?]
[I accidentally found it. Look, thereās a key too]
[Are you serious? This is fine?]
[As long as we didnāt get caught, yes. Anyway, why donāt you sit down, Hayato?]
[Geez]
Iām not sure what to do, but I guess Iāll just do what she says for now.
[Well? What kind of idea did you come up with this time?]
[Ah, Uhm. I donāt understand what youāre talking about]
Haruki groaned while giving me a crisp reply. She seems hesitant about something.
She was the one who invited me earlier.
Even though she was in her āschool modeā, she made a careless act. However, her eyes left an impression on me.
I guess she had something to tell me.
[Promise me you wonāt laugh]
[Thatās something for me to decide]
[If you laugh, you owe me one]
[Ah]
Harukiās sharp eyes were staring at me.
I turned around and decided to hear her out.
[Honestly, Iāve always dreamed of having lunchā¦ with my friendsā¦]
[Huh?]
Involuntarily, a stupid voice came out.
Haruki, who misunderstood it, lifted her eyebrows and protested.
[Mou! Itās a really important thing for me! You see, thatās whyā¦ Iām having trouble asking them outā¦ thatās why Iām alone, soā¦]
[ā¦]
The last part of the word almost disappeared.
Itās easy to imagine what Haruki said.
The scene in the classroom up to the point that she used this room as her personal shelter. Iām pretty sure that was the case.
It hurts when I imagined that she has been alone in this room for lunch.
(Honestly, what a troublesome girl)
I scratched my head and pulled out my lunch box from my bag.
[I seeā¦ then, your dreams will come true everyday, from now on]
[Hayatoā¦]
[Is it different?]
[Nah, itās no different. Well then, this is a loan from me!]
[Itās too cheap for a loan]
[Ahaha, well, multiply it by 10!]
[Well then, If thereās no particular business, we will be here at noon. How about you promise me that?]
[A promiseā¦ I see, A promiseā¦Yes, itās a promise, Hayato! ]
[Oh, Ok then]
Harukiās eyes fluttered as I looked at her, but then she turned around and smiled innocently just like a child.Ā Perhaps itās because she couldnāt control her emotions that she held my hands so close, causing our foreheads to almost stick together.
(Too, too close!)
The fact that sheās a beautiful girl is a fact that I had to admit.
If Haruki got close with her big smile that she would never show to others, I couldnāt help but feel nervous..
I felt a bit frustrated that she didnāt know what I was going through.
[Back off]
[Ah, sorry, sorry]
I pushed Haruki away and bluntly held out my little finger of my right hand.
I was aware that I was doing something childish.
[Promise?]
[Yes, I promise! Ehe~]
Our pinkies entwined. Now, we shared another small, secret promise. After that, a small laughter spilled out from both of us.
Another memory was born between the two of us, just like that timeā¦