Chapter 102 - Negligence, A Slack Atmoshpere (2/2)

“Once Haruka-san returns to normal, we can flirt as much as we want. Until then…”

“Eeeeehhhh…?”

As I was heading home, Hiiragi-chan couldn’t accept it as she bent her mouth into a frown.

If from the start, she already had this side of her, then I would have accepted this lazy Hiiragi-chan. However, she wasn’t like that. She wasn’t clumsy in that sense. Knowing what type of woman she was before, it is inevitable for me to tilt my head in confusion.

“Hmmm… am I just being close-minded…?”

I want to say that isn’t the case.

“No, but still…”

One week. I’ll just watch the situation for one week. I have already told her that I can’t accept her current slacking self.

And so, the week started and it became Monday. A clearly depressed Hiiragi-chan arrived at class.

“Sensei, what’s wrong? You don’t seem energetic?”

“Did she have a pet that died?”

“You don’t look so great either.”

The girls all came around asking Hiiragi-chan, but all she did was give them a forced smile in return. Just by saying that I wouldn’t meet her over the weekends, seems to have given her quite the large shock.

Even like this, we can see each other in class, and during lunch, we can eat our meals together with everyone in the home economics room. It’s not like we actually can’t see each other.

“Nii-san, Sensei was a little weird, right?”

Sana seemed to have also sensed this incongruity, as she asked me that on the way home. I passed it off with some random response.

Even during our customary nightly phone calls, Hiiragi-chan was unenergetic.

“I live only for the weekends… and yet, Seiji-kun isn’t going to even come and visit me…”

She sulked in an easily understandable way.

And then, just like that, days of seeing an unenergetic Hiiragi-chan continued. During that time, on a Friday night, a phone call came from Natsumi-chan.

“Hey, Thief-kun! What did you do to Haru-chan? She’s super depressed!”

“Wait, wait. Listen to what I have to say first.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

Towards the Natsumi-chan that seemed to be in a bad mood, I explained the situation that has resulted in the few weeks after leaving the Hiiragi house.

“Haru-chan is like that? What’s with that? I don’t know a Haru-chan like that… That’s not Haru-chan at all! …So, that’s how it is.”

Even for the siscon Natsumi-chan, it was a surprising change.

“And so, I thought maybe I could shock her back.”

“I see. That seems like it would work the best. But it might work too well and backfire.”

“Eh?”

I heard a chuckle from the other end of the phone.

“I mean, just think about it?Isn’t it terrible to declare that you won’t meet her just because she got a little lazy?”

“W-well… yeah… I thought that as well.”

Her lazy behavior could probably not be encompassed by just a “little”.

“Because of that, even Haru-chan might get tired of a 100 year love.”

Natsumi-chan’s voice seemed to be laughing a bit.

“……”

Well, that certainly seems like it would be the case.

To find out that Seiji-kun was this type of person!? I can’t continue on with this!

There is a possibility for that to happen. It’s not out of the question…!

While under distress, the day had turned into Saturday by the time I noticed it. During the nightly calls that we never missed, she was a little bit less cold, is it possible…?

“I-it’s been about a week, well, it should be fine…”

Well things won’t change whether I do or do not go. After I confirmed whether she was still awake at home, I headed towards Hiiragi-chan’s place. When I pressed the doorbell, Hiiragi-chan’s face popped out after the door opened a slight crack.

“Didn’t you say… that you wouldn’t come?”

“Well, it’s been a week.”

“Then, you’ll come in?”

Since she opened it, I entered the room while being a little nervous. Hiiragi-chan’s place was back to how I knew it to be.

“I reflected on it a lot. I thought you were terrible, but when I complained to Natsumi, she told me, “He’ll get tired of you, you know?” and so I reflected some more.”

Hiiragi-chan was sitting in seiza on the couch.

That’s right, Natsumi-chan did talk to Hiiragi-chan.

“I was also told the same thing by Natsumi-chan.”

That girl… she was just trying to fan our sense of danger.

“I thought that maybe I had pushed my ideal version of Haruka-san onto you, and so I was reflecting…”

“I-it’s okay. I won’t be lazy again! Because of everything with my mother, I started slacking a bit, and became a little soft on myself…”

“I-it’s okay. In times like that, I’ll do the chores.”

Pun pun pun, Hiiragi-chan shook her head.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! I won’t do something like that again!”

“It’s fine. You can slack off a bit sometimes.”

Finally understanding that we felt the same way, Hiiragi-chan and I laughed along with each other.

“I hadn’t had enough of Seiji-kun, and was going to die, you know?”

Hiiragi-chan opened her arms. She closed in on me and hugged me tight.

“I didn’t think that Haruka-san would ever become like that, so I was really worried as well.”

“Then, you should have said that sooner.”

I lightly kissed the pouting Hiiragi-chan. It’s somehow gotten embarrassing.

Now that I think about it, Natsumi-chan was laughing right…? Was that because Hiiragi-chan and I had the same reaction?

I should give her my thanks later.