Chapter 60 – Floating Somewhere
Cloudless morning. The summer sun shines brightly on the asphalt and makes it feel very hot.
"Today is hot..."
Just by walking outside like today, in a city lacking in trees, sweat was already pouring down.
Hayato stared at the sun hatefully and walked towards the school.
He headed to the back of the school building, where the gardening club had flower beds.
While checking the registration form in his bag, he walked towards it.
There was nothing blocking the sun around him, and even though it was still early, the heat was already boiling.
"Wow, there are lumps growing on the stem of this tomato? What is this, Mitake-san? Are the tomatoes sick?”
"Nikaido-san, those are called aerial roots, a special type of root that exists on certain plants."
“Eh, this is a root?!”
“Yeah, it seems to appear when the plants don't get enough water and nutrients. However, tomatoes themselves are plants that grow in dry areas, so it's quite difficult to manage the conditions…”
Upon arriving there, Hayato couldn't hide his surprise.
Not only Mitake Minamo, but Haruki also took care of the vegetables. The two girls had sweat dripping down their foreheads, and there were leaves and dirt stuck to their faces from working in the garden.
"...What are you doing?"
“Oh, Kirishima-san! Good morning."
“Good morning, Kirishima-kun. What are we doing...? Help with the harvest or various things in this flower bed?”
It's obvious.
What Hayato didn't know was why Haruki was there. It seems that she is very familiar with Mitake Minamo. Currently they were pruning the plants together, and occasionally Haruki's voice asked, "Should I cut this part?"
(Well, as long as Haruki is happy, it's fine...)
It was an unexpected sight. However, both of them seemed to be in a good mood while tending the vegetables.
Hayato furrowed his brows, but tried to reassure himself that Haruki would be fine.
“Excuse me, Kirishima-san...”
"Hm, Mitake-san...?"
“The problem is about this tomato aerial roots, is it alright...?”
At that moment, Mitake Minamo, who had a slightly worried expression on her face, quietly spoke to him.
Even though he had been wary of Haruki, her consciousness and gaze were directed towards the flower bed.
Aerial roots of tomatoes have small lumps that grow densely and stick together suddenly. When compared to the human body, these are like small lumps that grow in clusters on the hands or arms. Honestly, it looks scary.
“Recently it rarely rains so maybe there is a shortage of water. But it doesn't matter, it's not a disease and it doesn't affect the fruit. In fact, the results are often better.”
“I see, I'm glad…”
Hearing Hayato's words, Mitake Minamo looked relieved and smiled gently.
Even though Hayato had previously explained about aerial roots, apparently Minamo was still feeling anxious. In addition, as someone who takes care of the plant, she naturally feels very worried for the plant that is considered as her child.
With a cheerful face, Minamo returned to the flower bed where she planted the plant she loved.
"Hmmm"
“Woah, Haru…Nikaido”
When he saw Mitake Minamo who was similar to a sheep and felt warm at heart and looked at her intently, Haruki snorted.
Haruki crossed her arms and nodded, looking alternately at Hayato and Mitake Minamo, took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders.
"I just felt that it was Mitake-san."
"What do you mean by that?"
She said that and laughed.
Hayato furrowed his brows and quietly spoke to Haruki.
“...Is everything all right?”
Even if Hayato didn't ask anything, Haruki would understand.
"Mitake-san is a good girl, so it's fine,"
“I see… but have you taken measures to avoid sunburn? If you don't, you could get pretty badly burned."
"Ah, just a little bit is fine right? What about Kirishima-kun? You've had enough already, haven't you?”
"Hey, wait!"
Haruki teased Hayato with a mischievous smile, then she quickly uncovered Hayato's shirt.
“Houhou…,” she muttered while comparing the skin color of Hayato's stomach, arms, and face.
Hayato was taken aback by Haruki's sudden action and froze, feeling embarrassed by Haruki's glaring eyes.
“Ah, I see, your belly is really white. You have a white belly. But wow, you have some great abs, huh? Hey, can I touch it a little? Just fingertips!”
“Hahaha, stop it, stop it! Your fingertips amused me.”
“Hahaha, just relax. The surface is soft and feels weird.”
“Hey, stop, that's enough... Nikaido...!”
“Uh, why? It's fine, right?”
"Not that! Look! There's Mitake-san...!”
"...Ah."
Where Hayato pointed out, there was Mitake Minamo standing with her hands covering her face.
Her gaze was directed to Haruki and Hayato's stomach, blushing and fidgeting at the skin of the opposite sex she clearly didn't recognize.
“Although it is very good to have a good relationship, but we are outside and, ah… I think that being too perverted is inappropriate!”
“Mitake-san... Hey, Haruki! It's enough. And I haven't submitted the club registration form either."
“Ahahahaha, sorry. I was a little too excited."
Mitake Minamo is still very innocent.
After she saw the part of the stomach that wasn't usually shown to others, she felt very embarrassed and left.
"... How about this?"
“I-I want to apologize too...”
Haruki looked awkward, but her voice sounded like she was in a good mood.
It was the face of a delinquent that Hayato often saw when he was little, she talked about them making mistakes and having to be more careful next time.
Hayato sighed.
"Hey, let's go to class so we won't be late?"
"......Ah"
Somehow, Hayato felt that Haruki was a little more agitated than usual.
(Doing the best, huh...)
Translator: Janaka
PDA!!!
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