Haruka (1)

"Aaaaah! Pervert! Get out! Get out of here!"

Watching her throw whatever she could lay her hands on while desperately clutching a towel with one hand, my mind went completely blank.

Shit, what is this? Did I get the wrong house?

We had only just moved in, and I had left for the US training camp almost immediately after. I had simply followed the address written down for me...

...I'm screwed.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, cold sweat began to pour. It wasn't the pain of the flying objects hitting me that worried me; it was the terrifying realization that my life might end right here.

Judging by her face, she wasn't an adult. She was a minor, around my age. And depending on the circumstances, a sexual scandal involving a minor could get me permanently banned from the football world.

The sight of her upper chest above the towel—and the tiny, shy mole resting there—along with the towel parting to reveal her thighs every time she threw something, was incredibly distracting. But driven by the sole determination not to throw away the second chance at life I had fought so hard to get, I covered my eyes and screamed back.

"Wait a minute! Just wait! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Get out! I said get out!"

"Hold on! I'm leaving! Just give me a second!"

Click.

Right then, the front door swung open. There was no escaping it now. My life was officially over—

"Haruka?"

But the person who walked through the door was someone incredibly familiar to me.

"Luna-chan! That pervert...!"

Yes, it was indeed someone I knew. I had never been so glad to see Luna in my entire life! I wasn't the type to cry easily, but seeing her face brought me close to tears.

"Luka? Wait, Haruka, your clothes... Don't tell me?"

Luna looked back and forth between the girl and me, her expression slowly hardening.

"You... didn't, did you?"

"Luna, I know exactly what you're thinking, but I swear it's not what it looks like."

"Ugh..."

Perhaps relieved to see a familiar face, tears began to well up in the towel girl's eyes.

"Haruka, let's get you dressed first. We can talk after. ...Luka, you stay right there."

Luna, who had been looking at the girl with the sweetest expression, turned a gaze of absolute zero upon me. It was unfair, but given the circumstances, it was an easy misunderstanding to make. I quietly nodded.

"Sigh... Dammit, but this is our house."

Since Luna was here, this was definitely the right place. I was the one who felt like crying from the sheer injustice of it all, but the relief that I wouldn't have to retire over something so ridiculous made my knees go weak.

A few minutes passed.

The towel girl, now fully dressed, returned to the living room with Luna. My mind threatened to superimpose the image of what lay beneath those clothes, but I desperately fought to suppress it.

"...I'm sorry."

Fortunately, she wasn't some spy sent from Japan to ruin my career, as she was the first to offer an apology.

"...I'm sorry too."

Of course, I had only walked into my own home, but the atmosphere dictated that I apologize as well. When our eyes briefly met, her face flushed a deep crimson. An awkward silence settled over the three of us.

"Ahem. Haruka, this is Luka. You know him, right?"

Once Luna broke the ice, my curiosity finally flared. Why on earth was this girl showering in someone else's house?

"Y-Yes... Hello."

"Yes... Hello."

"Luka, this is Haruka. Tsukishiro Haruka. You know of her, right?"

Luna spoke as if I should naturally know who she was. Hearing the name, a faint memory began to stir.

I hadn't been able to get a proper look at her face earlier in the chaos—and absolutely not because my eyes had drifted downward; I was genuinely too startled to check—but now I took her in. Black bobbed hair reaching just above her shoulders, a sharp nose, soft pink lips, long eyelashes framing large eyes, and a cute snaggletooth.

Though she was undeniably beautiful, and I had never met her before, her face felt strangely familiar.

Wait, Haruka?

Putting her name and face together, a long-forgotten memory suddenly clicked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into place.

The female lead of the original manga, the manager who encouraged Haruto when he lost his passion for soccer and helped him start the high school soccer club, was named Haruka. I recalled the PD from the iTube shoot mentioning that fans called the main couple the "Haru Couple."

Is she really that Haruka?

But why was she here? The more I thought about it, the more tangled my thoughts became.

"Luka? Did you forget? I told you we were taking in a boarder."

"A boarder?"

Come to think of it, the house was indeed too large for a family ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of four, with plenty of spare rooms. I vaguely recalled my mother mentioning on moving day that she was going to take in a lodger. She had also specified they wouldn't accept boys because of Luna.

"Sigh. Luka, you didn't check your phone again, did you?"

"...How am I supposed to check my phone when I barely have time to train?"

It was an excuse. I wasn't used to the messaging app popular in Japan, and the family group chat was constantly flooded with vacation photos and endless chatter—my mother and Luna were incredibly talkative even via text. I had muted the notifications, occasionally tapping in and out just to clear the unread count.

Still, it wasn't entirely my fault. Even if I had checked, it wouldn't have magically prevented this disaster.

"...Even if I did read it, it's not like I could just not come back to my own house."

"Well, that's true, but..."

"I'm so sorry once again! I should have been more careful! I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought the only person coming home would be Luna-chan, so I assumed it was her...! I'm so sorry!"

Haruka stood up and bowed deeply, bending almost ninety degrees at the waist.

Whoa... the mole...

As she bowed, her loose white T-shirt gaped open, treating me to a rerun of the earlier scene. The tiny mole on her chest, which felt like a focal point, continued to scramble my brain, but she seemed completely oblivious.

"Haruka! ...Hey! Eyes front!"

"What? I didn't even..."

"Hey!"

Luna was the one making a fuss. Right, the Haruka from the anime was exactly like this.

She was clumsy and energetic, yet kind enough to comfort a despondent Haruto.

The memories were slowly coming back.

Right, didn't she say she was going to study abroad near the end?

The last episode I had watched was episode 12.

And that episode had ended with Haruka announcing her plans to study abroad. Since the manga had run for a long time, I knew the main couple wouldn't break up, but I had still been curious. After the shoot, I had asked the PD what happened to them.

That was exactly how the PD had answered. I remembered going home thinking, How predictable. Naturally, I hadn't bogged to look up the rest of the story.

Maybe I should have read it back then? No, that's not what's important right now.

I could piece together what had happened.

Japan held a deep admiration for the UK, making it the second most popular destination for Japanese students studying abroad after the US. I had learned this while researching my own move overseas, so a Japanese student coming to London wasn't unusual at all.

Since I hadn't verbally abused Haruto in this life, he must have gone to... whatever high school it was. The one that had scouted me. He was probably playing soccer there, and since Haruka had never met him, she never formed the soccer club. With nothing holding her back, she had decided to study abroad now that the first semester was over.

But why of all places did she have to end up at my house?

Luna was the one who answered my unspoken question.

It made sense, considering Haruka was still sitting there with a bright red face, completely silent after I had seen her practically naked.

"Apparently, Mr. Tsukishiro is an acquaintance of Dad's. She was looking into studying in the UK, and since we have so many empty rooms, it just worked out. I don't know the exact details either. But that's not the important part here."

Well, it made sense. When sending a daughter abroad, it was far better to place her with someone you knew. Strict boarding schools rarely accepted international students easily, and sending her somewhere else entirely risked exposing her to who-knows-what in a foreign country.

"...I suppose so."

I understood the gist of it, but I was still curious about how her father knew mine, and which school she would be attending.

Would it be weird to ask for details? Or would it be weirder not to? Fearing that pressing any further might make Haruka's face literally explode, I simply nodded.

I'll find out eventually... Actually, there's no need to. It has nothing to do with me anyway.

When I thought about it, her being the female lead of the manga didn't really matter. Even if she lived here, between my training and away matches, I wouldn't even be home that often.

"Um, Mr. Tachibana."

"Just call me Luka."

"Y-Yes?"

"There are four Tachibanas in this house, so it gets confusing. Besides, calling people by their first names is normal in England."

"Hmm. Luka, is that really the only reason?"

"W-What other reason would there be...?"

I wasn't used to being called Tachibana anyway, and I told everyone I met to call me Luka, so it wasn't out of the ordinary. Yet, Luna's knowing gaze made me feel strangely guilty.

It wasn't that I didn't understand Japanese honorifics and naming customs. I had played professionally in Japan in my past life, and I had Luka's memories. But having spent a lifetime in a culture that didn't use them, and since we weren't even living in Japan, I saw no reason to force myself to conform.

Why did my teammates call me by my last name, then? Well, that was just because it felt more natural to them.

"Ah, okay..."

"You can speak casually, too. We're the same age, right?"

"Yes... Then, you can call me Haruka, too."

"Haruka?"

"I-I have to adapt to studying abroad, too."

"Hmm..."

Luna narrowed her eyes, this time directing her gaze at Haruka. Was I imagining things? Her expression seemed even colder than when she was looking at me.

"I guess so. You do need to adapt."

But she immediately beamed as she spoke, so it must have been my imagination.

"Um, Luka-san."

"You should probably drop the '-san' too. People here might find it weird."

"Ah, Luka... Could you keep today a secret? I mean, could you? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You too, Luna-chan. Please."

"Of course! It's not like we'd go around bragging about it. Right, Luka?"

I readily agreed. I had absolutely no intention of telling anyone. It was just an accident. I didn't want any misunderstandings or suspicion, and I definitely wanted to avoid any kind of scandal involving a minor.

"Of course. It's a bit awkward for me to say this, but let's just pretend today never happened."

"...Okay."

"Yeah, exactly. We're going to see each other for the next three years anyway, so it'd be awkward to hold a grudge. It'd be trouble if our parents found out, too. Don't worry, Haruka. My brother might live like a free spirit, but he has his decent moments. He won't say a word."

I couldn't tell if that was a compliment or an insult. Still, Luna's reassurance seemed to brighten Haruka's expression. It looked like the two of them had built up some trust while I was away.

"By the way, where are Mom and Dad?"

"Oh, they went out with Mr. and Mrs. Tsukishiro. Haruka and I decided to stay home and rest today."

"...Then where did you just come back from?"

"Ah! Right! The ice cream! Oh no, it's all melted because of you! This is your fault, so you have to take responsibility!"

"What does that even..."

"Ah! Just go buy some more ice cream, hurry!"

A sigh escaped my lips at her childish tantrum. But in a way, Luna had just saved my life, so I walked over to the entryway.

"...But I just got back today."

"Luka!"

Well, as the older sibling, I had to be the bigger person. Besides, I felt a bit guilty toward Luna, and staying in the house with Haruka was still too awkward, so I headed straight out the door.