Ch. 77.2 - Harutaki’s Final Booster Stage Pt2
Nogami doubled over laughing.
Rejected with the most cliché line imaginable, and yet Harutaki looked almost proud saying, “Now we’re friends.”
The absurdity hit her right in the stomach.
“Shihou, becoming friends with a guy like Hoshikawa is way too much of a downgrade.”
“Nogami-san, if you keep making fun of Hoshikawa-kun, he looks like he’s about to crawl under the table.”
That’s not what I said at all…
Chouko fumed silently.
Taken out of context, it sounded like it was all Harutaki’s fault, like he confessed out of nowhere, got rejected, and was now desperately clinging to the “let’s be friends” consolation prize like a clown.
It wasn’t like that…!
“Hoshikawa, have some self-awareness. Aside from me—your owner—who would want a disobedient, un-cute little dog like you?”
“Huh? Suddenly no one wants me?”
Harutaki, who had been sulking face-down on the table, suddenly straightened up and turned to Minako.
“Sanada-san, would you take me in?”
“Sorry, I’m afraid if I adopted a dog like you, I’d come home to find chewed-up underwear all over the floor.”
“A shame. I was hoping to bathe together with a blonde bombshell someday.”
Ignoring the three synchronized looks of disgust, he turned to the girl across from him.
“What about you, Shihou-san? Nogami abandoned me. If you don’t take me in, I’ll become a homeless stray dog~”
“My my, then I can only wish Hoshikawa-kun the best of luck in his future stray-dog life. I hope the shop owners don’t beat you with sticks when you steal food.”
Thinking back to the way he’d just been staring at Minako’s chest with those lecherous eyes, Chouko suddenly felt a flicker of irritation for no reason at all—
She wasn’t that much smaller than Sanada, was she?
But if he liked breasts so much, then why hadn’t he laid a single finger on her last night?
“‘Good luck’? That really does sound like something you’d say, Shihou.”
Nogami took a sip of what was probably orange juice, speaking as naturally as she would when chatting with Sae or Minako.
But sitting beside Harutaki, Sae tugged unhappily at his arm.
“Hey, Harutaki, how come you asked Shihou-san and Minako, but completely skipped me?”
“Because you and I are bros. Right?”
“Ohh, bros… wait, no—Harutaki, aren’t you supposed to be a dog right now? Who’d want to be bros with a dog?!”
Still fuming, Sae squeezed the muscle on his upper arm. But barely a second later, she seemed to realize something, and with a sweet-but-not-really smile, hooked an arm around his neck, pulling him toward her.
“Harutaki? Who exactly are you calling your bro? Wanna take me outside to a quiet alley and introduce me? Sae would love to meet them~”
“Hah… good thing you didn’t make me go into the girls’ restroom. I’d have died on the spot.”
He said this while looking directly at Nogami.
Everyone else at the table knew exactly what she’d done to give Harutaki a hard time at the beginning.
“W-Why are you looking at me…?! I-I already apologized…”
Nogami had started off calm, but as his eyes lingered, her composure crumbled. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to escape his gaze.
But then she noticed Chouko beside her, looking oddly embarrassed. Nogami assumed it was because she remembered how she’d once sided with Harutaki and opposed her, so hearing about it again must be awkward.
“Th-That time… thank you for helping him move those desks. If not for you, I would’ve…”
“Eh?! Ah—n-no, it’s fine! I just happened to be there, that’s all…”
Chouko waved her hands frantically, telling Nogami not to worry about it.
But in truth, none of them knew the real reason, she’d remembered the feeling of using Harutaki’s desk as a power source, and her whole body had gone weak and tingly.
Honestly, thank goodness it had been his desk and not that creepy fat guy sitting next to him, right?
But still… what kind of messed-up mindset had she been in to do something like that?!
“Anyway, no need to dig up old stuff. We’re all here eating dessert together. Even if Sae insisted on getting omurice.”
Minako stepped in before Harutaki could, smoothing the mood with a light joke.
“I’m fueling my growth, okay?”
Arms crossed over her chest, Sae said something even she didn’t sound convinced by.
But hey—dreams come true eventually, right? Breasts grow.
She was only sixteen! Still plenty of development ahead!
As they chatted, Harutaki drained the last of his coffee. The bitter aftertaste mixed with a faint sweetness, and a rich aroma filled his senses as he exhaled.
Time to ignite the final-stage booster, he thought.
“Speaking of which—Nogami-san, even if you’re planning to abandon me, the truth is… Shihou-san became the second beautiful girl to stay over at my house yesterday, right after you.”
“H-Hoshi… Hoshikawa-kun?!”
Chouko had no idea why someone as sharp as Harutaki would deliberately bring up something that was obviously going to tick Nogami off.
Wasn’t he trying to get them to be friends?
She’d only just managed to get a proper conversation going with Nogami—why destroy the atmosphere now?
“Hoshikawa, you—”
“Eh? Izumi, you stayed at his place? Wait… was it that day Minako and I couldn’t find you anywhere?”
Nice. Direct hit. As expected of my best wingman, Sae.
Harutaki praised her mentally—Sae never missed a blind spot.
“I—I… that day… it was all an accident!”
Nogami, who’d meant to question him, completely fell apart under Sae’s sudden strike, unable to string together a proper explanation.
“It really was all accidental. Both with Nogami-san… and with Shihou-san.”
He pulled everyone’s attention back to himself and began the explanation exactly as planned.
“That day, I ran into Nogami-san on my way home. For certain reasons, she left school without any of her belongings and ended up angering a group of delinquents who cornered her…”
“Delinquents?! Izumi, are you okay?”
Sae immediately leaned forward, worried.
“Relax. The fact that Izumi’s sitting here is proof enough, right?”
Minako patted Sae’s shoulder, signalling for her to calm down.
“Just when she was backed into a corner and about to be assaulted by a pack of vicious delinquents… I, Kamen Rider Hoshikawa, descended upon the scene! With lightning-fast punches and kicks, I took down every last one of—”
“Pfft. Hoshikawa, you really dare say that with a straight face…”
Remembering what he’d actually done, Nogami burst into laughter, her anger melting away. Her smile widened as she ruthlessly exposed him.
“First, this guy yelled for help at the top of his lungs… and the neighbors yelled at him to shut up.”
“So lame!”
Whatever admiration Sae had left evaporated instantly.
“Well, he is just a scumbag.”
Minako commented with a foxlike smile.
“Honestly, it sounds like something a middle-aged guy boasting in a bar would say.”
Shihou-san, if Asama-sensei heard you, he’d blow a fuse!
“And then guess what? Hoshikawa here—” Nogami flashed him a prankish grin, continuing, “—he started shouting in the street that he was the target. Told everyone the delinquents were after him, that they were gay guys wanting to sleep with him. While they were busy stopping bystanders from filming, he grabbed my hand and we bolted as fast as we could.”
“Ew. Disgusting~”
Sae looked at him like she was staring at a piece of trash, then scooted closer to Minako.
“Haha, that really was unexpected.”
Minako’s turquoise eyes lowered slightly as she looked at him, her tone playful, yet tinged with something he couldn’t quite place.
It definitely wasn’t ridicule. He was sure of that.
“Hehe… Hoshikawa-kun, can I recommend a place for you? Aokigahara Forest would really suit your vibe.”