âThe Heijo-kyo Capital was built back in 710, to imitate Changâan in Tang Dynasty China, in what is now Nara Prefecture.â
It was the time of Japanese history class, with a somewhat relaxed atmosphere peculiar to the late afternoon.
However, from the seat next to Hayato, a disturbing air was emanating.
ââŠ.Hii!~!â [PRN: screeching]
âHaa~âŠâ
He tried to look to the side to see what was going on, but when he noticed Harukiâs gaze, he immediately turned her face away.
Apparently, it made Haruki disgusted and looked at him like he was some thrash in the street.
(âŠIâm in big trouble.)
The cause is obvious.
++++++++++
It was because Hayato had his eyes glued on the sweat-stained uniform of Minamo Mitake, a peculiar undergarment for girls.
Of course, itâs instinctive for boys of his age to be drawn on to such things, and Hayato hopes sheâll somehow understand and forgive him, but apparently itâs something Haruki canât tolerate.
âIn addition, various systems were reformed, including the taxation system⊠âŠThis is interesting to compare with the Asuka period that we had last month. The printout I handed overâŠâ
ââŠAh.â
It was a print that Hayato didnât have.
Itâs been half a month since Hayato transferred to the new school, and although heâs starting to get used to the class and the lessons, there are still times when he needs help from Haruki, who sits next to him.
âAh, um, N-Nikaido-sanâŠ?â
ââŠHmm?â
Haruki, who is in the midst of navel-gazing, exhales a big sigh and gives the printout toward Hayato and pulls the desk closer to him.
(Well, something similar happened to me when I first transferred to this school.)
Hayato is sure that she was in a bad mood right now, but she still helped him for some reason.
âThank you.â
ââŠMou~.â
He remembered that they were somehow the same, and a small laugh escaped from his lips.
But Haruki didnât like Hayatoâs attitude, which made her act like that.
âHereâs the print, but please donât look at it in the same s*xually suggestive way to that girl.â
âWha!?â
Harukiâs small but bell-rolling voice echoes well in the classroom as she frowns and turns her head away.
After a moment of silence, there was a burst of laughter.
âHey, hey, whatâs that Kirishima guy doing?â
âHey, what kind of eyes are those?â
âKirishima, you know that sexual harassment is bad and not allowed in this school right? Câmon, letâs go back to class.â
âYou b*stardâŠ.â
While the heat of the laughter didnât quite cool down, Hayatoâs face also heated up in shame and he shrunk back.
Haruki, who was sitting next to him, still turned away and sniffled.
âââ
As soon as the class ended, Hayato was surrounded by boys.
âHey Kirishima, what kind of eyes did you give Nikaido-san?â
âIsnât that the girl from your home town and also your childhood friend there?â
âDid you see something so extreme that you couldnât help but look at her like that?â
âNo guys, wait, IâmâŠâ
Their eyes reflected the same color of curiosity, signaling that they would not let him go until they heard something interesting.
The reason for this was Harukiâs attitude earlier.
She is innocent and pretty, even in both literary and athletics sheâs good at it, and is kind to everyone.
This was the first time she had spoken as if she was blaming someone.
It would be more difficult not to be interested.
âWell, Kirishima, what exactly did you see in her erotic eyes of hers that flip some switch in you? Did it expose some kind of weird fetish since Nikaido was the one who said that?â
âEven Mori tooâŠâ
Suddenly, Mori said something like that, as if to agitate Hayato and the people around him.
âI see. Well, If thatâs the case⊠Actually. I like armpits!â
âIâm actually worried about the line around the ankles.â
ââŠCollarbones!â
âI donât care what kind of fetishes you guys have, Iâm notâŠ!â
And the topic immediately went to discussing the girlsâ body proportions when the boys gathered themselves.
More and more, the conversation went into such strange directions, without the girlsâ attention.
The fetish discussion that had started to take place around Hayatoâs seat was suddenly getting more lively, when more fuel was added from the person that was sitting next to him.
From the boys, there are voices that are close to cheers, such as âOh, wow!â, âWell, thatâs obvious!â, âThe word âboobsâ coming from Nikaido-sanâs mouthâŠ!â
The girls whispered to each other, âUwaa~, boys are grossâ, âI know Kirishima-kun looks innocent, but⊠the girl in the photo is⊠Oh, so thatâs his hobby.â Haruki is also among those girls.
The situation became as chaotic as it had been this morning, and Hayato was still at the center of it, again. Becoming the center of attention.
âGive me a breakâŠâ
Hayato plops down at his desk with his head in his hands.
The commotion soon developed into a sterile argument between the boys and girls, and they decided to ignore it.
But in the midst of all this, he could hear Moriâs voice, a mixture of surprise and confusion.
ââŠSo Nikaido has that kind of face like that too.â
âMoriâŠ?â
âOh, Kirishima. No, itâs nothing.â
ââŠâŠâ
When Hayato looked for Haruki to see what was going on, he found her turning a dumbfounded face to the girls.
Her eyes contained a little bit of the mischievous color that Hayato was used to seeing.
(âŠWhat is it?)
He felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Is it really just him being the center of the conversation? Or itâs just Haruki that stared at Hayato, scratching her head with one hand, trying to deceive something.
â-Fufu!â
ââŠTsk, you b*tchâŠ!â
She showed the tip of her tongue with a somewhat triumphant look, as only Hayato could see.
Strangely enough, seeing it made him feel not so bad.