In truth, even if Shizuka hadn't spoken up, Haru had already planned to head over. Though, in his case, it was simply to greet the three high school boys .
He didn't care much about the so-called Dragon Fist Punching Machine. At the end of the day, it was just a glorified strength tester, and even its accuracy was questionable.
By the time the two of them approached, the blond-haired Yoshitake had just slammed his fist into the machine. A crisp electronic sound rang out as the numbers on the screen climbed rapidly.
"Not bad, but still worse than me," muttered the bespectacled Hidenori, feigning cool indifference.
Yoshitake turned, ready to retort—until he spotted Haru standing there with Shizuka. His face immediately lit up.
"Amamiya?!"
The other two whipped their heads around, equally surprised and smiling brightly.
"It's been a while, you three. Still as full of energy as ever, I see," Haru said warmly.
Beside him, Shizuka paused. So… they were Amamiya's acquaintances?
She didn't interrupt, simply watching the boys chat for a moment, until a thought struck her.
"Sorry to cut in, Amamiya, but—your three friends, are they actors?"
At her words, the trio stiffened, each wearing a slightly different expression, but equally nervous. After all, Shizuka gave off the air of a mature authority figure.
"They are," Haru explained briefly.
Shizuka's eyes lit with recognition. "Ah, no wonder. I knew I'd seen you somewhere before—it was in High School Return of a Gangster!"
She then smiled at them. "You three did a fantastic job. Especially you, blondie."
"Thank you!"
The boys scrambled to bow politely and express their gratitude.
Haru tilted his head. "You're public figures now, right? Why aren't you wearing masks when you go out? Aren't you afraid of being swarmed by fans?"
"Well, about that…"
The three looked awkward, especially Yoshitake and Hidenori, their eyes darting away.
In the end, it was Tadakuni—the most delicate-looking of the group—who answered.
"I did suggest we wear masks, but these two insisted on seeing what it's like to be recognized by fans out in the open… uuugh."
Before he could finish, the other two clamped their hands over his mouth in perfect unison.
Haru chuckled. "So? How's that experiment going?"
Yoshitake cleared his throat, trying to sound nonchalant. "Quite a few young people recognized us."
Hidenori added dryly, "Most of the ones who wanted our autographs were guys."
Haru nodded knowingly.That was as good as saying: Why aren't there any cute girls?
For the three High School boys, Haru was someone they respected deeply—and owed a lot to.
Back during filming, they'd heard rumors about him: this boy, their own age, not only wrote scripts but apparently also held absolute authority in the company his parents ran.
Later, they'd kept seeing his name in the news.
Saving people off a cliff.
Winning the national karate championship.
Each story sounded more like a legend than reality.
Back on the High School Return of a Gangster set, Haru had brought in plenty of High School students. Most were just extras or background actors, but the pay had been real enough.
And when Haru stood on TV, fresh off his championship victory, declaring proudly that he was from the "Water Stream Rock Smashing Style," that was all it took for Sanada High School to explode with interest. Students were now seriously trying to learn the new style—even if, before Haru's fame, none of them had ever heard of it.
So now, meeting him again, their hearts were both nervous and excited. The more they knew about him, the more they felt the gap between them widening.
As for Shizuka, they simply assumed she must be Haru's older sister. The age fit. And besides, the two of them looked stunning enough to be siblings.
The group chatted happily for a while, until Shizuka asked them for autographs. Then she turned back to Haru.
"Since we're here anyway, why don't you give it a try?"
"Try what?"
Yoshitake and the others froze for a moment before catching on.
At once, their playful sides took over. Without any warning, the three moved in perfect sync, stepping aside to clear a path for Haru. With exaggerated politeness, they gestured toward the punching machine.
"If you can't even beat Yoshitake's score, Amamiya, then your legendary image in my eyes is going to shatter," Hidenori teased.
Haru couldn't help but laugh. "Legendary image? What's that supposed to mean?"
Hidenori pushed his glasses up with one finger, lowering his voice theatrically.
"The undefeated myth of the Youth Karate Champion."
"Honestly, I think you didn't even use your full strength," Yoshitake nodded seriously.
Tadakuni's eyes sparkled with admiration. "The media keeps saying you've pushed the Water Stream Rock Smashing style to its absolute limits. Is that true?"
"More or less," Haru replied with a straight face. "But the finer details are something only the senior disciple of Water Stream Rock Smashing style would know. Unfortunately, I can't get in touch with him anymore."
"I see… Masters are always elusive. We understand." The three nodded solemnly in unison.
Rolling up his sleeves, Haru turned to Shizuka, who was watching him expectantly. "If I break this machine, I won't have to pay for it, right?"
Shizuka chuckled. "If you really have that kind of power, I'll pay for it myself."
It was clear she didn't believe him at all.
Neither did the three Sanada High School boys. To them, Haru was obviously joking.
Haru, meanwhile, silently gauged how much force the machine could withstand. Then he casually raised his right hand and gave it a light punch.
Thud.
The entire machine shook violently. The red numbers on the screen jittered, flashing erratically—until with a final electronic beep, all the lights cut out. The screen went black.
Haru blinked.
Wait… did he actually just break it? He had only used a little strength.
The three boys froze, jaws dropping in unison.
"…You're kidding, right?"
Shizuka quickly stepped forward to inspect it. The lights were completely dead, and even pressing the reset switch did nothing.
Slowly, almost mechanically, she turned her head, staring at Haru as though he were some kind of monster.
But Haru himself looked perfectly calm. "Seems like this machine wasn't maintained properly. Probably worn out from years of use."
"Really…?" Yoshitake and the others leaned in doubtfully.
Haru adopted a professional tone. "It's not just these punching machines. Crane games in arcades, the little pachinko machines—you name it. As long as they're not completely broken, most owners can't be bothered to maintain them."
He patted the dead machine. "This one's clearly been through the wars. Should've been retired ages ago."
The boys weren't sure whether to believe him or not. They hadn't exactly inspected the thing before. And even if they had, it wasn't like they knew enough to tell.
Shizuka, however, simply crossed her arms and stood there in silence.
Only when Haru called over a staff member did the truth come out: the machine had indeed broken down.
Of course, no one was about to believe that a high schooler had smashed it apart with a single punch. Plenty of burly, muscle-bound men had used the machine before without issue.
Naturally, the staff concluded it was just a case of long-term neglect. The idea of demanding compensation didn't even come up.
After parting ways with the Sanada High School trio, Haru was ready to head home—until Shizuka suddenly remarked,
"You were just spouting nonsense back there, weren't you?"
"Why do you say that?" Haru's expression didn't change.
Shizuka's carefully made-up face curved into a sly smile. "Yukinoshita once told me something about you. She said that unless it's something serious, whenever you start acting all serious and professional… it means you're lying through your teeth."
Her lips quirked as she added, "Her exact words, not mine."
"That… does sound like her," Haru admitted.
"So then… you really were lying just now?"
Her eyes glimmered with anticipation and unease.
After all, she had been right next to him the whole time. She saw it clearly—how Haru had thrown that punch with such a relaxed, almost lazy expression, like swatting a mosquito at home.
If he could shatter a machine like that without even trying… just how much strength was he really hiding?
Before Haru could answer, a ringtone cut the air.
"Sorry, that's my phone."
Shizuka sighed as she fished out her phone. The name on the screen made her sigh even deeper—Haruno.
She didn't bother stepping away, answering the call right there.
"…What is it? Just say it. Where am I? Out with Amamiya… What? You're coming here now?"
When the call ended, she glanced at Haru, lips twitching as if she were suppressing laughter.
"The moment I mentioned I was with you, Haruno said she's coming right over."
Haru frowned. "And what exactly are you laughing at?"
This time Shizuka couldn't hold back a chuckle. "You were about to tell me goodbye, weren't you? I was even going to drive you home. But now… looks like you're not going anywhere."
"…Fair point," Haru admitted.
If Haruno was making the effort to seek him out, then she clearly had a purpose.
Not that it would be something ridiculous like asking about that pair of panties…That was impossible.
For one thing, Shizuka was here, so it'd be far too awkward.
And even if Haruno did bring it up, Haru would just say, I washed them and threw them back in the box.
If he so much as said one extra word, that sly woman would definitely pounce with something like:"So… you played games with my underwear, didn't you? My, my, little Haru's all grown up now."
Ten minutes later, Haru and Shizuka were waiting at the mall entrance when Haruno finally appeared.
As always, she was impeccably dressed. The skin colored stockings, the small heels—every detail showed off her long, shapely legs to perfection.
But Haru's eyes immediately went to the bag she was carrying. From the bottom, he could see the outline of beer cans.
Sure enough, she confirmed it with a smile.
"I was planning to share a few drinks with Shizuka tonight. Since you're here too, I picked up some ingredients on the way."
"Ingredients? Not ready-made food?" Haru asked, picking up on the key word.
Haruno beamed and handed the bag to Shizuka. While Shizuka peeked inside, she leaned close to Haru, her lips curving into a mischievous smile.
"Take care of it, okay?"
Then, without a sound, she mouthed two words—
Onii-chan.
~~~~~~~~~~
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