53 - Shizuku's sermon?

RAW

The day after participating in the barbecue hosted by the Tojo family, Haruto calls out to Shizuku after practice at the dojo.

"Shizuku, can I have a word with you?"

"What is it, Haru-senpai? Are you proposing? Sure, let's get married."

"Have you decided what you're going to have for lunch today?"

Haruto ignores Shizuku's jokes, which are as silly as ever, and asks her about her lunch.

"No, I haven't decided what I'm going to have. I had some natto and bananas in the fridge, so I was going to put them on a slice of bread and have that for lunch."

"...That's a pretty unusual combination. Do natto and bananas go well together?"

"Do you want to eat, Haru-senpai? Shall we have lunch together?"

Shizuku says, with a blank look on her face, "I'll give you a treat."

"No, I'll be polite. But if you don't mind, can I buy you lunch?"

"Huh? Why are you suddenly confessing your love to me?"

"Well, I just asked you to have lunch."

In their back-and-forth conversation, Shizuku would occasionally throw some amazing magic balls. Seeing her like that, Haruto would smile wryly.

"You came to take care of me when I was sick, right? It's my way of thanking you."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I did it because I wanted to."

"I see... You say that, but you're still looking for a place to eat lunch quickly."

While she was being polite, she started to quickly search for a place to eat lunch on the smartphone she was holding.

Shizuku was swiftly sliding her thumb over the screen and searching for possible places to eat lunch, and Haruto smiled at her usual attitude.

Just then, Ishikura, who had changed from his judo uniform to casual clothes, came over to the two of them.

"Hey, what are you two flirting about?"

"Haru-senpai and I are always so lovey-dovey. Kazu-senpai is such a nuisance."

"I thought I'd buy her lunch as a thank you for taking care of me the other day. Do you want to come along, Kazu-senpai?"

Ignoring Shizuku's expressionless words as she looked up from her smartphone and leaned slightly closer to Haruto, Haruto invited Ishikura to lunch as well.

"Oh, I'll pass."

Ishikura waved his hand to decline Haruto's invitation.

"Do you have something planned?"

"Kazu-senpai is such a nuisance."

"I was thinking of making sweets in the afternoon."

Ishikura had quite a tough look.

However, contrary to his appearance, his hobby is making sweets. Moreover, he's quite skilled at it, and the fruit tart he had last time was as good as any you'd get at a store.

"Hmm, what are you making today?"

"Kazu-senpai is a nuisance."

Haruto asks out of curiosity, to which Ishikura answers with a bit of joy.

"I bought some pretty good butter the other day, so I'm thinking of trying my hand at making financiers."

"Financiers, that sounds good."

“I'd like to have some for tomorrow's training session. Besides, Kazu-senpai is a nuisance.”

"Hey Shizuku. You've been calling me a nuisance all this time, but you're pretty brave now, telling me to bring some sweets."

Shizuku, who had been busy weaving "nuisance" into Haruto and Ishikura's conversation, had a blank look on her face as she heard the word financier.

In response, Ishikura's temples twitched slightly.

"Kazu-senpai is amazing, cool, steak, intimidating. Okay, I praised you, so please bring me some tomorrow."

"That's pretty arbitrary! And intimidating isn't a compliment!"

Ishikura protests at Shizuku's unmotivated words.

Shizuku replies to him, "Kazu-senpai, that's selfish."

"You really have a good personality."

"No, not really."

"I wasn't praising you! Well, anyway, that's how it is, so you two go to lunch. I'm going home. See you later."

Ishikura looks a little tired after his exchange with Shizuku, waves one hand, and leaves the dojo.

Shizuku looks at his back and mutters words with a blank look on her face.

"I wonder how big a gap Kazu-senpai has to go before he's satisfied."

"Well, Kazu-senpai is the embodiment of the saying that you shouldn't judge people by their appearances."

He's a large man, standing almost 2 meters tall, with thin eyebrows and a sharp gaze. He has short hair with three shaved lines on the sides and an old scar running from his temple to his mouth.

Looking at it from the outside, he's a total outlaw.

But deep inside, he's a kind-hearted young man whose hobby is baking sweets, and who loves children and small animals.

"Will he bring me some snacks tomorrow?"

"He will bring them. Even if he complains about this and that. That's how he is.

"Will Haru-senpai come tomorrow?"

"Sorry. I have something to do tomorrow so I can't come."

Haruto also wants to eat the financiers made by Ishikura, but he has promised Ayaka that he will spend the whole day looking for a limited edition ice cream tomorrow, so he can't show up at the dojo.

Hearing Haruto's words, Shizuku, with a slightly disappointed look on her face, shows Haruto the screen of her smartphone.

"Haru-senpai. I'd like to have lunch here."

"Okay."

Haruto nods at Shizuku's suggestion and heads to the dressing room to change into his casual clothes.

After changing, Haruto and Shizuku head to a ramen shop that recently opened on a main street near the dojo.

The ramen shop, which features thick, satisfying noodles in a rich pork bone and soy sauce-based soup, had a line of people waiting because it was lunchtime.

"Wow, this place is pretty popular."

Haruto had actually been interested in this place for a while, and had been thinking about inviting Tomoya to go there someday.

"There's always a line here, and it's boring to wait alone, so Haru-senpai's invitation was perfect."

"That's true, and it's pretty tough to do it in the heat of midsummer."

While having this conversation, Haruto and Shizuku lined up at the end of the line.

The smell of the pork bone soup, unique to family-style ramen, wafting from the store's ventilation fan, stimulated Haruto's appetite, and his stomach started to complain.

"Once you get used to this smell, it's addictive."

"I agree. At first it smelled bad, but the more you eat it the more addictive it becomes."

Shizuku nodded in agreement with Haruto's opinion.

In fact, there was another ramen shop nearby that had been in business for a long time, and the three of them, including Ishikura, would often go there after practice at the dojo.

This shop also served what is known as a family ramen shop, and had a rather unique, peculiar smell. At first, Haruto and the others were taken aback by the smell, but the taste was outstanding, and after going there a few times they got used to it, and now, on the contrary, they are not satisfied unless the smell is that same.

"For now, the smell is passable. Now, what about the taste?"

Shizuku said, expressionless as usual, but with an extremely serious tone.

Beside her, exuding the air of a tough judge on a cooking show, Haruto also had a serious expression on his face.

"Also, I'm curious about the lineup of table condiments. Personally, I'd be happy if they had garlic chips."

"And vinegar is a must."

"Yeah."

They both folded their arms and nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later.

The line moved forward smoothly, and just as they were about to enter the store, Shizuku suddenly spoke to Haruto as if she had remembered something.

"By the way, Haru-senpai."

"Hm?"

"I asked you this before, but... have you found someone you like, Haru-senpai?"

"Eh!?"

Haruto let out a surprised voice at the suddenness of the situation.

"What's wrong, Shizuku? Why did you come out so suddenly..."

"Well, you were talking to Kazu-senpai before, weren't you? About the rationality of being with a woman you want to cherish."

"Oh, you heard that?"

Previously, when Ayaka was pressuring him to practice being a girlfriend, he was starting to lose control of his feelings, so he tried to talk to Ishikura about it, but it seems Shizuku had overheard the conversation.

Even though he had overheard, in the end they didn't talk much.

"So? What's going on? Have you found someone you like?"

"Well, well... I don't know."

Haruto is aware of his feelings for Ayaka. He is aware of them, but he hasn't yet sorted them out enough to admit them out loud.

However, seeing Haruto being vague about his words, Shizuku sighs in exasperation.

"I wonder, but that's like saying you have someone you like, isn't it?"

"Wh-how can you be so sure? You don't know that."

"I know."

As she said this, Shizuku looked Haruto straight in the eye.

"I've been watching you since I was little, so of course I know."

The words that came from her, who was as constant as ever and didn't seem to show much emotion, were strangely convincing and Haruto couldn't deny them.

"Was I really that easy to understand...?"

"No, I've been friends with you for a long time, so I'm special."

Shizuku said this and snorted proudly, "Hmmm."

"So, who is the person Haru-senpai has feelings for?"

Shizuku seemed convinced that Haruto had found someone he liked, and continued the conversation on that premise.

Haruto also gave up and spoke after seeing her like that.

"...She's a girl in the same class, and we had a little contact during summer vacation. So..."

"Oh. So the cat thief who stole Haru-senpai from me is a girl in the same class as you?"

Shizuku puts her hand to her chin as she speaks, and Haruto gives a wry smile and says, "A cat thief."

"Come to think of it, the famous Tojo-senpai was in the same class as Haru-senpai, wasn't he?"

"Ah... Ah. That's right, yeah."

Haruto instinctively twitches when he hears the name Tojo come out of Shizuku's mouth.

Shizuku doesn't miss that slight reaction, and looks at Haruto with fixed eyes.

"Could it be that the person Haru-senpai likes is..."

"... I'm exercising my right to remain silent."

Unable to bear it any longer, Haruto turns his face away to avoid Shizuku's gaze and mutters.

Shizuku sighs again as she speaks to him.

"So that's the same as affirming it, Haru-senpai?"

"Ugh..."

"Even so, it's Tojo-senpai of all people... Haru-senpai confessed and was defeated, so he'll be added to the pile of corpses of those fierce men, poor thing. Don't worry, I'll heal the seniors who confessed and were defeated. You can let your tears soak my chest."

Tojo Ayaka, the school idol, doesn't accept confessions.

This is a very famous story among the students at the school where Haruto and his friends go. Therefore, it is only natural that Shizuku tries to pity and comfort Haruto, assuming that he will die.

"Isn't Tojo-senpai not interested in romance in the first place? There are rumors like that going around among the first-year girls, aren't there?"

However, Haruto, who has actually become involved with her through the housekeeping service, thinks that maybe there's a chance, so he reflexively denies Shizuku's words.

"I don't think Tojo-san is uninterested in romance."

Someone who isn't interested in romance wouldn't suggest practicing being lovers or ask the boyfriend to talk in a bossy tone.

Haruto quickly denied Shizuku's words, and she looked at him searchingly.

"Haru-senpai, did something happen with Tojo-senpai? In the first place, why did you have contact during the summer vacation? Ah, maybe it was something to do with a short-term part-time job? Is that so, Haru-senpai?"

As Shizuku continued to press him, Haruto thought that if he tried to evade the question, it would only make things more complicated, so he raised his hands and said, "I give up," and told Shizuku about Ayaka to some extent.

Shizuku had been listening to Haruto in silence, and when he finished, she quietly said one thing.

"... What a wimp."

"Eh? What?"

Shizuku's words were so quiet that Haruto missed them.

When he asked her again, Shizuku spoke in a slightly angry tone. Maybe it was just my imagination, but her usually expressionless eyes seemed to be slightly raised.

"Haru-senpai, you don't understand women's hearts at all. Even if you're pretending, you're still her boyfriend, right? You wouldn't do that with someone you don't like, right? And you're practicing being a boyfriend? Tojo-senpai is trying hard to get Haru-senpai to notice her."

Shizuku shook her head in exasperation and let out a big sigh for the third time today.

"Tojo-senpai is also pitiful. Having to deal with such an insensitive, dazed, and simple-minded Haru-senpai."

"Hey, I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Yes, you are. In the first place, why did you lie to grandma? That's not like Haru-senpai."

After saying that, Shizuku pouted and muttered a little with a sulky tone, "I would have lied to you too."

"I'm sorry, I was really upset at that time and I wasn't thinking straight, or rather, when I really thought that grandma was going to leave, everything went dark before my eyes..."

Haruto said a little weakly, and Shizuku's expression softened a little, returning to her usual expressionless face.

"Well, I think I understand what grandma means to you, Haru-senpai."

Shizuku looked at the line that had started to move forward a little and continued, "Let me just say this."

"Girls don't say 'I love you' to people they don't have feelings for."

Shizuku said this and followed the person in front of her into the store.

Haruto was about to follow her when he suddenly noticed something.

"What's with Shizuku, you don't say you love someone when you don't have feelings for?"

Every time Haruto talked to her, Shizuku would joke around, saying things like, "Let's go out together" or "Let's get married." What was that about?

For a moment, Haruto stopped moving and thought deeply, but there were many people waiting behind him in line, so he hurriedly followed Shizuku into the restaurant so as not to cause any trouble.

Well, Shizuku has always been like that. She's a bit special, I guess.

Coming to that conclusion in his own mind, Haruto chose his menu from the ticket machine next to Shizuku.