Chapter 353: The Cliché of a Stormy Day
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 353: The Cliché of a Stormy Day
“What the?”
The next day, as I was circling the sun-drenched outdoor parking lot, my eyes widened when I saw that my car’s rear bumper was scraped.
When did this happen? I’m sure it wasn’t there when I left yesterday…
I know I didn’t scrape it myself. I would have noticed while driving.
Did another car hit it in the parking lot while Hiyori and I were watching the movie?
Or maybe some kids were running around and hit it with a toy robot or something?
Whatever the case, I couldn’t help but curse.
If you damage someone’s car, you should call the number on the dashboard. There are just too many shameless people these days.
My luck was just terrible yesterday… Is this an extension of that?
I didn’t think something this unlucky would happen.
I should’ve known when the melon milk spilled on my neck. This was my mistake.
I could report it to the police and check the CCTV footage to catch them easily, but… forget it.
It’s better to spend that time with the other heroines. Besides, the scrape isn’t that big, so I’ll just chalk it up to getting rid of some bad luck.
That’s just how life is sometimes.
I’ll be the bigger person and let it go. Instead, I’ll just have to smack Hiyori’s ahoge around and absorb some of her good luck.
Looking at my arm, I noticed a small, raised bump.
A mosquito bite—proof that summer was on its way.
Those damn pests were starting to show up. I’d have to prepare to get rid of them.
After a very short walk, I watered the flower bed that Miyuki’s care had kept so beautiful, then went inside and lay down on the futon.
I was lazing around, killing time, when my phone vibrated. I checked the screen.
[Matsuken.]
It was a message from Hiyori.
The distance between us had shrunk considerably since yesterday, and this morning text was probably proof of that.
My already good mood got even better.
Still, Matsuken, Matsumatsuken…
Can’t you just pick one? It would help me get used to the nickname.
Of course, that was just a passing thought. Matsuken, Matsumatsuken, Matsumatsu… as long as it was a nickname from Hiyori, I didn’t care what she called me.
[What.]
[You’re up early?]
[Looks like it. You’re up early too?]
[I always wake up around this time.]
[So that’s why you sleep so much at the academy.]
[Can you stop talking about that? I don’t sleep that much, you know?]
[So you’re admitting you do sleep.]
[Shut up. Did you use the items well?]
[I used a few, but I saved most of them.]
[I only gave you useful stuff, so you should be grateful.]
It was cute how she wanted credit for it.
Should we meet up? Miyuki was sleeping over at a friend’s house and would be back late. The answer was a no-brainer.
If I have free time and don’t meet up with a heroine, I’d be disqualified as a protagonist.
[I was grateful yesterday.]
[Be grateful again.]
[Thank you.]
[Good boy. I’ll pat your head.]
Can’t you do it somewhere other than my head?
I swallowed the words and was about to ask Hiyori if she had plans when…
[What are you doing?]
Another message from her arrived.
It seemed like Hiyori wanted to see me, too.
Feeling that strongly, I sent a reply.
[Lying down.]
[Going to sleep?]
[No. You have plans today?]
[Nope.]
[Then pay back your debt.]
[Didn’t I pay it back yesterday?]
[I said you had to come out when I called on the weekend, so that includes both Saturday and Sunday.]
[That sounds forced...]
She’s just playing hard to get.
In this situation, rather than acting like I don’t care to bait a response, it’s better to push one more time.
[Let’s meet in an hour.]
[What are we going to do? Watch another movie?]
[No.]
[Okay.]
There we go. That’s the answer I was looking for.
With our plans set, I quickly got up to take a shower.
* * *
As if to make a point, Hiyori showed up wearing another revealing outfit, just like yesterday.
A sleeveless, skin-tight crop top and a pair of light blue hot pants, frayed at the hem. The sight of it was already giving me a headache.
It was good that her chest was completely covered, but the crop top itself was stretchy, and Hiyori’s large breasts made it look even more suggestive than yesterday’s outfit.
On top of that, her perfectly straight belly button and her slim, pale waistline were exposed between the top and bottom. Unacceptable.
After all my nagging yesterday, after taking her all the way home to change, for her to do this again was proof she was expecting me to act all conservative.
It also seemed like she wanted to tease me.
My face soured the moment I saw her.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Whyyy? I brought something to wear over it.”
Hiyori held up a white cardigan draped over her arm, which anyone could tell was paper-thin.
I let out a deep sigh that came from the bottom of my heart and pointed toward her house.
“Go get something else.”
“It’s supposed to be hot today.”
“That’s what you said yesterday.”
“What do you want me to do? It’s the truth. Besides, all my other clothes are in the wash.”
Right. I knew you’d say that, so I came prepared.
I gave her a look that said, “I don’t know what to do with you,” and gestured to the car with my chin.
“Haaah… fine. Just get in.”
Hiyori’s thin, long eyebrows twitched slightly.
She seemed surprised by my unexpectedly easygoing reaction.
At the same time, she looked a little disappointed.
“Is it really okay for me to get in?”
“Yeah.”
“Really…? Okay.”
With a flick of her long, blonde hair, Hiyori got into the passenger seat. She tilted her head when she saw the navy oversized shirt lying on the seat.
“What’s this? Did you buy clothes on your way here?”
At her question, I smirked and answered.
“It’s for you to wear today.”
“This? For me?”
“Yep.”
“Ah… so that’s why you let me get in so easily?”
Hiyori’s eyes curved into half-moons.
It was a seductive eye-smile. For a moment, it made me want to pounce on her.
“That’s right.”
“You’re unnecessarily well-prepared.”
“What do you mean, unnecessarily? You should be thanking me.”
“I don’t think this will match my outfit. And the color is so drab, it’s off-putting.”
Mhm. I love it when Hiyori starts revving up her motor mouth.
“Put it on before we get out.”
I stated it as a fact and started the car.
Hiyori draped my shirt over her torso like a blanket and asked.
“What are we doing today?”
“No plans. We’ll just walk around and go into any shop that looks interesting.”
“Ooh, I love that. Like an unplanned date.”
The word “date” came out of nowhere.
Slightly flustered, my shoulders instinctively flinched.
Crap. I glanced at Hiyori, but she was fiddling with her phone.
It seemed she hadn’t seen my reaction, which was a relief.
For some reason, with her, I feel like I can’t let my guard down for even a second.
Breathing an inward sigh of relief, I drove downtown through the refreshing weather.
* * *
“Uh… what do we do?”
Swoooosh-!
Hiyori asked, watching from a building entrance as rain hammered down onto the pavement.
I clicked my tongue in disappointment and looked around.
“...I don’t know.”
We had just arrived downtown and parked the car. As we were walking side-by-side, a sudden downpour had started.
I thought it was just a passing shower that would stop soon, but a wide stretch of the sky was dark, and the rain, far from letting up, was only getting stronger.
My luck has been rotten since yesterday.
As I thought that, I saw people flocking to a nearby convenience store.
At this rate, it felt like all the umbrellas would be sold out.
I turned my head to Hiyori and said.
“I’m going to go buy an umbrella. Wait here.”
“Now? It’s raining so hard. Don’t you think it’ll stop if we wait a little longer?”
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to.”
I stated it as a fact and stepped out into the downpour.
Hiyori shouted for me to use the shirt I’d given her to cover my head, but I ignored her and sprinted to the convenience store.
Even though I’d just been thinking about my bad luck, I wasn’t in a bad mood.
That was because there was a classic romantic comedy cliché that often appeared during a sudden rainstorm like this.
I went to the umbrella stand and reached out with a satisfied smile.
‘Of course.’
There was only one umbrella left.
It wouldn’t be DokiAka, a game that practically beats you over the head with tired clichés, if it didn’t include a scene where the protagonist and heroine have to share it.
After paying for the umbrella, I fought through the strong wind and returned to where Hiyori was waiting.
“Let’s go to a department store or something and look at clothes.”
Seeing how soaked I was, she shook her head.
“You can be so reckless.”
“Says you. Come on, before the rain gets heavier.”
“Okayyy.”
Hiyori didn’t seem to have any qualms about sharing an umbrella.
She didn’t hesitate or glance at me nervously, and her tone was calm.
A little disappointing. I was hoping for a more bashful reaction.
I guess this is how she must have felt earlier when I didn’t nag her and just told her to get in the car.
The moment Hiyori stepped under the umbrella I was holding, an incredibly strong gust of wind blew in and hit us.
Flap-!
The umbrella instantly flipped inside out, and Hiyori was met with a headwind.
Her body staggered as she took the full force of the gale.
“Aah…!?”
As she started to fall, her hands shot out instinctively and grabbed my waist.
And I, without a moment to think, ducked my head and arms, shielding Hiyori’s body as she pressed her head against my chest to brace herself.
We returned to the shelter of the building. After fixing the umbrella, I gently patted the back of Hiyori, who was still clinging to my waist.
Then I asked.
“Are you okay?”
The skinship was something I did out of habit.
It was just an action to soothe the other person, something I often did with Miyuki, Renka, or Chinami.
But it seemed Hiyori didn’t take it that way.
I could see her flinch away from me, her ears turning red in real time.
“...Yeah...”
The wind had blown my shirt, which Hiyori was wearing, up to her chest.
Meaning her waist had been exposed.
To put it simply, I had just touched Hiyori’s bare skin.
And with my damp, rain-slicked hand, no less.