Under the watchful eyes of Hayakawa and the others, Haru walked straight up behind Hiratsuka-sensei.
As he approached, he overheard her saying to the man in front of her, "I'm sorry, Mr. Sawada. I just want to walk alone today."
It was a clear rejection.
But the man seemed not to understand. Wearing a guilty smile, he said, "Hiratsuka-san, I was wrong to stand you up last time, but I really had an urgent matter. Please, give me another chance."
Hiratsuka-sensei sighed, a hint of exasperation in her voice. "The urgent matter you're talking about… is that the same day you went on a date with your ex-girlfriend instead of coming to our arranged meeting?"
The man froze.
She continued coldly, "On the day you stood me up, the staff arranging the meeting even called to apologize for their oversight. You're single, yes, but your reputation in the matchmaking circle isn't great."
His face flushed crimson, and he stammered, "H-Hiratsuka-san, please let me explain… those are just rumors…"
Before he could finish, Haru reached Hiratsuka-sensei's side and tilted his head with curiosity. "Sis, who's this?"
"Huh?"
Shizuka's heart leapt at hearing this familiar voice, but then she froze.
The man blinked in surprise. "Hiratsuka-san… this is your younger brother?"
Shizuka instinctively turned, seeing Haru staring at her. She nodded, "Yes, he's my little brother."
The man's eyes lit up with enthusiasm, but before he could interact with Haru, the boy cut in sharply: "Is this the same unreliable guy you mentioned last time? Standing you up on the day of a matchmaking meeting? Even my classmates wouldn't do something like that."
"..."
The atmosphere went completely silent.
The man's embarrassment deepened.
Not only was his mistake being called out by the person he wronged, but now her little brother knew about it too.
This probably meant that everyone in Hiratsuka's family knew.
"That's right, this is Mr. Sawada I was talking about," Shizuka said, trying not to laugh.
Haru glared at the man, his tone deliberately scolding. "Even though you're older than me, this kind of despicable behavior? None of our classmates would ever do this."
The man squirmed, trying to change the subject. "Uh… are you… a college student now?"
Because Haru was quite tall and had changed out of his school uniform, the man assumed he was a university student.
Shizuka was about to speak when Haru quickly interjected: "I'm an elementary school student, thank you."
"Huh?"
The man froze, dumbfounded, and Hiratsuka-sensei stared in disbelief.
To keep the conversation rolling, Haru added, "I'm eight years old this year, in third grade."
The man's jaw twitched as he stared incredulously. "You call that eight years old?"
Shizuka could barely hold back her laughter, her shoulders trembling slightly. "Yes… he really is eight."
Haru took the opportunity to continue: "Uncle Sawada, I think your behavior is perfect for a negative example. Can I share this story at school?"
"No! Uh… sorry, I just remembered I have somewhere to be… I'll be going now…"
The man could no longer bear the shame. He hastily made an excuse and ran off.
If Haru had been a college student, the encounter might not have been so humiliating.
But as an adult being publicly mocked by a child? That was far too embarrassing.
Though he didn't fully believe Haru was really in elementary school, Shizuka had been supporting the claim the entire time. Half convinced, he decided it was best to flee.
As soon as the man left, Shizuka could no longer hold it in. She laughed so hard she had to lean against a nearby billboard, her back nearly collapsing.
Between laughs, she gasped, pointing at Haru. "Hahaha… eight years old… How can you say something so ridiculous with a completely straight face?"
Haru remained perfectly calm. "Because mockery from an elementary schooler often delivers the most genuine damage to adults."
"That… actually makes sense," Shizuka said, bending over in laughter again.
Haru glanced back at Hayakawa and the others, who were still lingering nearby, and casually gave an "OK" hand gesture—his way of saying, I win again, Hayakawa.
"Damn it, he actually fell for it!" Hayakawa muttered, exasperated.
Even without hearing the conversation, they could tell from the fleeing man and Shizuka's delighted laughter that their guess about her having a boyfriend was completely wrong.
Shizuka finally managed to straighten herself. Following Haru's gaze, she noticed Hayakawa and the others from who had helped the photography club last year. She waved cheerfully.
They awkwardly waved back, silently deciding it was time to leave. Earlier, they had thought she was on a date, but now that their eyes met, their faces couldn't maintain a normal expression. And being teachers, Hiratsuka's presence naturally carried an authority that made them uneasy.
So, ignoring Haru, they turned and walked off, leaving him behind.
Haru paused briefly, then received a message on his phone: You handle Hiratsuka-sensei, we're out. We'll pay back the 500 yen later!
Pathetic, he thought.
Haru put his phone away, just as Shizuka spoke first. "Do you have time now? Walk with me a bit."
"Now?"
Haru looked up at the sky, already darkening.
Shizuka smiled. "I'll treat you to ramen."
"I'm not that into ramen."
"Then I'll treat you three times."
"Deal!"
"…I should have guessed."
She laughed and gave him a mock glare, a little less cheerful and a little more playful than usual.
Haru wasn't interested in the ramen itself—he was full—but he agreed because her sudden invitation hinted at some emotional shift. She was the only adult he shared common interests and topics with, and since he had nothing important to do, a walk and chat sounded fine.
They went to a nearby ramen shop. Shizuka sat down first and teased, "I should have brought you to a proper restaurant. This place doesn't even have alcohol."
"No alcohol is perfect. I wouldn't want to take a drunk woman home," Haru replied.
Her face turned red. She remembered that Christmas night when she had drunk a little and ended up squeezed together with Haru under one blanket. Though she had been happy with the gift, recalling that moment still made her cheeks burn.
Haru, unaware of her thoughts, said he'd already eaten, so the three meals of ramen could wait.
She agreed quickly, ordered herself a bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen, and got him a drink.
"Was that Mr. Sawada looking for you on purpose?" Haru asked, looking for conversation.
She shook her head. "We ran into each other on the street. I saw him first. He was with a woman at a lipstick shop, but when he saw me, he abandoned her to come after me."
Haru analyzed, "He probably used that classic excuse."
"What classic excuse?"
"'I saw a friend, I'll say hi, then come back.'"
"…Now that you mention it, that's probably exactly what he did," she admitted, slightly annoyed again. "If it hadn't been a public place, I might have slapped him for pestering me like that."
"Then he'd probably be in the ICU tonight," Haru joked.
Shizuka paused, then laughed, realizing he was teasing. "You seem to have some misunderstandings about me."
She leaned back into teasing mode. "Actually, when it comes to strength and physical ability, your Yukino—is way stronger than me."
Haru said, "That's the result of her training regimen."
"I also exercise and take good care of my figure, so why am I not that good?"
"Because you never train with me."
"???"
Shizuka looked baffled. She thought for a full five seconds and still couldn't figure out what he meant. Train with him? Wouldn't her own workouts be more effective than that?
She let it go and asked, "After we finish ramen, can we go buy a charger?"
"Sure," Haru nodded, adding, "And that's on account of the three meals of ramen."
"Tsk, you're so practical, Amamiya."
"This is called smart. Yukino always compliments me like this."
"Hahaha, yeah right!"
After finishing their ramen, they walked to the nearby mall. Haru was examining the display cabinets when Hiratsuka patted his shoulder and pointed ahead.
"Yukinoshita always says your physical abilities are ridiculous. Want to try that thing over there?"
"Which one?"
Haru turned to see three black machines, one already occupied by someone he knew—his old high school trio: the blond, the glasses guy, and the most delicate-looking boy.
It had been ages since they last met, except for occasional online contact after their appearance in High School Return of a Gangster. Running into them here was quite the coincidence.
Shizuka, unaware of his thoughts, encouraged him. "That machine's called the Dragon Fist Punching Machine, right? Since Yukino says you're so strong, why not try it?"
"You're bored, aren't you?" Haru muttered.
Shizuka smiled, quoting a classic line from Kung Fu: "It's not that I don't believe you—I just want to see it myself."
~~~~~~~~~~
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