Chapter 9: Conversation with Hiyori-san on the Way to School
“Yusuke! Gooood morning!!”
“Morning, Hiyori-san. You’re full of energy this morning.”
“That’s a good thing, right? You gotta start the day off with a bang!”
The next morning, as I was walking to school, Hiyori-san called out to me from behind, and I returned her greeting.
She jogged up to me, and as I slowed my pace to match hers, Hiyori-san started talking, a happy smile on her face.
“Thanks for yesterday. The curry was delicious.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Was your walk home okay?”
“It was fine, that’s why I’m here at school all bright and early! Thanks for walking me part of the way!”
“I just did what anyone would. Can’t let a girl walk home alone at night, right?”
“Aww, you’re so kind! Your little brothers were sweet too, and I can tell Marie-san is a great mom.”
It felt a little ticklish, hearing her talk about my family when we’d only just met.
But having Hiyori-san, smiling so happily, praise my family made me doubly happy, and a smile naturally spread across my face too.
“Ah… but hey, we have that fitness test today, huh… Seriously a pain!”
“Yeah, I know. If it were playing an actual sport, that’d be one thing, but just running and jumping is a drag.”
“Exactly! I’m not really good at sports, you know? So it’s especially depressing for me…”
“Hiyori-san, you’re not good at sports? I didn’t really get that impression.”
“Hmm… I think I’m pretty fast on my feet. But, you see, on top of being this short, this and this have grown quite a bit, so…”
“Pfft…?!”
As she said that, Hiyori-san patted her own butt through her skirt, and then lifted her chest with both hands.
While I did think, well, they were indeed very, very impressive as she claimed, I felt a different kind of embarrassment than when she’d praised my family, and I couldn’t help but splutter. Hiyori-san looked at me with a teasing grin and said.
“Yusuke, you’re so innocent, or rather, you have no tolerance for this kind of talk, do you? The way you get flustered so easily is cute!”
“Don’t tease me… I think my brother mentioned it yesterday, but I’ve never had a girlfriend or anything. I seriously have no idea what the right way to react is.”
“I think that’s fine for you, Yusuke! Actually, I can’t even imagine you getting into dirty jokes! If you were ogling a girl’s chest or butt, like, drooling over them, that’d be kinda gross!”
“…Oh no. I just imagined it myself and got goosebumps.”
“See?” Hiyori-san said cheerfully, and we laughed together as I mentally banished the image of myself enthusiastically engaging in lewd talk.
Still, it was rather sudden for the conversation to turn this way… or rather, I hadn’t expected Hiyori-san to steer the conversation in that direction.
When I mentioned that to her, Hiyori-san gave a wry smile and then replied.
“Well, you know. You already saw me at my most pathetic right from the start, and the original topic was kind of like this anyway… so maybe that’s why I feel like I can lay everything bare. And, well, it’s also simple trust and interest!”
Her following words probably weren’t a lie either, but as I listened to her answer, I thought that for Hiyori-san, the first reason she gave was likely the biggest one.
Indeed, if a classmate had witnessed you confronting your cheating boyfriend, only for him to turn defiant and say things like “let me grope your chest,” there weren’t many disgraces worse than that.
I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing… but I was genuinely happy that I was becoming someone Hiyori-san could talk to about anything without hesitation.
“Still… I see, I see, so Yusuke’s ‘never had a girlfriend’ history equals his age, huh…!”
“Th-that’s not particularly unusual, is it? I’m still only a first-year in high school, you know.”
“Ah, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to tease you. It’s just, I was thinking how fun it is to get to know each other like this, little by little…”
Looking a little embarrassed, Hiyori-san replied with a small laugh.
A smile touched my lips at her words, and I agreed, conveying my own feelings to her.
“I’m happy too. Getting to know you little by little, Hiyori-san, understanding you more… I think it’s fun.”
“Mmh… I see. So that’s how you feel.”
Hiyori-san looked momentarily stunned by my words, then her face turned red as she spoke.
As I slightly regretted saying something so out of character for me, she spoke to me, her voice bright and cheerful.
“But there’s still a ton of stuff about me that you don’t know, Yusuke! Like my favorite things, my special skills, I haven’t told you those yet!”
“That’s true. Like your birthday, and you haven’t told me your height either.”
“Oh? Is that sarcasm, you fiend?! Just ’cause you’re so tall, don’t get cocky…! Ahh! My affection points for you just went down! You’re one step further from completing my profile!”
“Ehh? Isn’t that too harsh? Judge me a little more leniently!”
Joking around, laughing together, we headed to school at a slow pace, matching her smaller steps.
Little by little… I just need to enjoy this time and get to know Hiyori-san. Thinking that, I continued my enjoyable conversation with her, walking the path that led to school.