Ch. 40 - This Is Payback
“This way—”
Compared to the delinquents who’d stumbled into this backstreet for the first time, Harutaki—who’d been walking this route to school almost every day for the past month—was clearly much more familiar with every corner and narrow passageway.
Taking advantage of his head start, he quickly outpaced the three pursuers, pulling Nogami along as the two of them vanished at the first intersection.
“You—”
“Shh.”
Just as Nogami was about to speak, the sharp clack of hard soles against pavement echoed past them, followed by the delinquents’ frustrated curses.
Harutaki, this guy... don’t tell me he planned this...?
Nogami shifted uneasily. Unfortunately, the movement only made their position more awkward.
They were wedged in a narrow gap between two walls—barely wide enough for one person. Below ran an old drainage channel strewn with dead leaves.
Harutaki had found this little hideaway one evening after school, when he’d changed his route home upon hearing a faint meow.
After all, he was an unapologetic cat person.
Kittens, skinny cats, fat cats—or even cat-eared girls—he loved them all.
Whenever he came across a friendly stray in a quiet area, he couldn’t resist crouching down for a few pets.
The gap between the two walls was just wide enough for him to squeeze through carefully—but pulling Nogami along with him...
Why the hell did you have to squeeze in across me?!
Even if he tilted his head up, he could still smell the faint herbal scent of her shampoo tickling his nose. And if he looked down—her flushed, delicate face was right there, so close that it was dangerous.
It’s just Nogami, he told himself. Just Nogami...
But that subtle, lemon-sweet scent—it hit him straight in the strike zone of first-love nostalgia.
And to make matters worse, unlike Sae —who always wore sports bras and never stirred any particular thoughts—Nogami’s figure, though not quite as voluptuous as Minako’s, was definitely well above average.
If he had to rank them, he thought it’d probably go something like: