Chapter 6: Hiratsuka Shizuka and Yukinoshita Haruno
Half an hour later, Akishin Chishima returned carrying several heavy grocery bags. Inside was a bounty of fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, and a variety of seafood.
Being a city nestled right by the sea, the prices for seafood in Chiba were incredibly cheap.
Besides the groceries, a distinct clinking sound echoed from one of the bags; it contained four bottles of cocktails and a single, rather expensive bottle of sake.
The cocktails were meant to be casual dinner drinks with negligible alcohol content. However, considering Shizuka Hiratsuka had driven here, he wasn't sure if she'd actually indulge. If she didn't, well, he'd just keep them for himself.
As for the sake, that was strictly a reward for his own hard work. Paired with a side of fried peanuts and some soy-braised beef, he could already see himself having a wonderful night.
Akishin liked his alcohol. Initially, it had been a tool to drown out his anxieties so he could catch some sleep, but over time, it had morphed into a habit—a small indulgence he allowed himself every now and then.
As he approached his residence, he noticed a black sedan parked right behind Hiratsuka-sensei's sports car, directly in front of the Chishima gates.
A gentle breeze brushed past, carrying away withered leaves to make room for the new. Akishin glanced left and right, wondering if some random person had decided to use his driveway as a public parking lot.
He didn't mind it too much for now, but since he was officially living here and preparing to reopen the izakaya, he couldn't exactly let people block the entrance indefinitely.
The location on Konishi Street was prime real estate. Every afternoon, the area swarmed with students and office workers. It was a well-known shopping street; letting a spot like this go to waste would be a crime.
That's right—Akishin planned to balance being a teacher with running an izakaya. To do otherwise would be a total waste of his Master-level cooking skills and the sheer agony he had endured within the Patch space.
Students in Japan finished school remarkably early. They always had plenty of free time to kill or part-time jobs to hunt for pocket money. The same went for teachers. Other educators usually spent their after-school hours running cram schools or private tutoring, but what kind of PE teacher would actually open a tutoring session?
Even if he could, he had zero interest in it.
He had spent his past life being far too exhausted. Now, Akishin was ready to take a breather—a mental reset, of sorts.
It wasn't a stretch to think that his previous mental breakdown had been caused by the mountain of negative emotions he'd kept bottled up for so long.
"I'm home."
Following the local custom, Akishin called out as he pushed the door open. Sadly, there was no wife dressed in a kimono sitting seiza-style by the entrance to greet him with a, "Welcome home, dear. Would you like dinner first, or perhaps...?"
He hauled the ingredients onto the kitchen counter. After stowing the alcohol in the back cabinet, he pulled out a watermelon—a square one. Watermelons in Japan were notoriously overpriced; this single fruit had set him back three thousand Yen.
This was purely to entertain Hiratsuka-sensei, of course. It definitely wasn't because he wanted to eat it himself. Definitely.
After slicing the square watermelon and arranging it on a platter, Akishin made his way into the living room.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, sorry to keep you waiting. Please, have some fruit while I get started on the cook—"
Akishin's sentence trailed off, the polite smile on his face freezing as he spotted an additional figure in the room.
It was a girl—and a strikingly beautiful one at that. Her looks easily rivaled Shizuka Hiratsuka's. She had short black hair, a pair of large, captivating dark eyes, a delicately straight nose, and a charming smile resting just beneath it.
She wore a long white dress with a black vest layered over it, giving off an aura that was naturally refreshing yet carried an undeniable sense of prestige.
Noticing Akishin staring at the newcomer, Shizuka Hiratsuka stood up to take the fruit platter, her tone carrying a hint of apology. "I'm sorry, Chishima-sensei. This is Haruno Yukinoshita, a good friend of mine. She had some business with me and since I wasn't at the school, I had to ask her to come here."
"It's fine. I trust your judgment, Hiratsuka-sensei," Akishin replied casually.
He had wondered whose car was outside; it turned out his house had gained another guest. He shifted his gaze to Haruno Yukinoshita. She stood up and extended a hand toward him.
"Hello, Chishima-sensei. I am Haruno Yukinoshita. My apologies for the intrusion."
"Hello, I'm Akishin Chishima. No need for such formalities, Ms. Yukinoshita. I'll be starting on lunch shortly, so please, join us."
Akishin reached out and briefly shook Haruno's hand.
"In that case... I'll be in your care," Haruno said with a polite, slightly hesitant smile.
"It's no trouble at all. You two beautiful ladies enjoy the watermelon for now. I'll go handle the kitchen."
With a nod to Hiratsuka, Akishin left the living room and headed back to the counter.
Adding one more person wasn't a big deal.
Still, that Haruno Yukinoshita... she was a businessperson, wasn't she?
Back in the living room, the moment Akishin was out of earshot, Haruno leaned in toward Hiratsuka with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Shizuka-chan, this Chishima-sensei is quite the catch. He might not be 'drop-dead gorgeous,' but he's easy on the eyes. And that aura of his... it's very unique."
During that handshake, even though Haruno hadn't been trying to intimidate him, she naturally carried her own sense of authority. Yet, standing before Akishin, she felt like she was the one on the back foot.
It was a bizarre sensation—so strange that she almost dismissed it as an illusion.
Hiratsuka set the fruit plate on the table, handed a slice to Haruno, and took one for herself.
"Haruno, what are you getting at?"
"Shizuka-chan, is Akishin Chishima your boyfriend?"
"I told you, we're just acquaintances."
Hiratsuka shot her a sharp look. When it came to this woman—her former student and current friend—she always felt a bit helpless. Hiratsuka wasn't great at dealing with people like Haruno, whereas Haruno could read her like an open book.
At least, that was how it usually went.
Haruno nibbled on the watermelon, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons as she hummed playfully. "Just acquaintances? Hehe, Shizuka-chan, I know you. You haven't been alone with a man in years, and now you're suddenly hanging out at a guy's house. And Mr. Chishima is so sweet to you! Look, he even bought a square watermelon and high-end ingredients just to treat you—and by extension, me, who's just a friend of a friend."
In Japan, serving watermelon was a sign of great respect due to its price. However, since neither of the women sitting there was exactly hurting for cash, the gesture didn't hit quite as hard as it might have for others.
Still, hearing Haruno lay it out like that made Hiratsuka wonder if she and Akishin were getting too close. They'd only known each other for a week, yet here she was, making herself at home in his house.
She knew the main reason was that fateful meeting on a rainy day, but the facts remained. She doubled down anyway. "We really are just acquaintances. He's a fellow teacher at Sobu High, and I've helped him out a bit... Haruno, don't talk nonsense. If someone hears you, it'll cause a misunderstanding."
"Shizuka-chan... Chishima-sensei...?"
Haruno's interest only grew. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and continued her interrogation with a playful smirk. "Come on, Shizuka-chan, spill. How did you two meet? This Chishima-sensei really is something else."
"I'm not telling."
Hiratsuka focused intently on her watermelon. It was actually quite good; she made a mental note to buy one on her way home.
"Shizuka-chan, just a little bit?"
Haruno didn't give up, clinging to Hiratsuka's arm.
Defeated, Hiratsuka sighed. "I just took him to the hospital, that's all."
Haruno's eyes widened slightly. "Give me the details."
"Remember that heavy rain last week? I was taking a shortcut home and found Chishima-sensei sitting in the middle of the downpour. He'd been mugged and slashed three times by some thugs..."
Hiratsuka gave a brief summary of how she'd met Akishin.
Haruno sank into thought. After a few seconds, she laughed. "Shizuka-chan, and you're still saying he's not your boyfriend? Not only did you drive him to the hospital yourself, you paid his medical bills and checked on him for a whole week. Even a real boyfriend doesn't get that kind of treatment. And besides! Shizuka-chan, if it's like you said, you're his literal savior. He's bound to be grateful, maybe even catch some feelings. After all, our Shizuka-chan is—quite the beauty~"
Haruno playfully pinched a strand of Hiratsuka's hair with a wide grin. Hiratsuka brushed her hand away, grabbed another slice of fruit, and forced a change of subject. "Didn't you say you had something to talk to me about? What is it? Out with it." Haruno had arrived just as Akishin returned, so they hadn't had a chance to talk business.
At the mention of serious business, Haruno let go of Hiratsuka's arm and sat up straight. Though the smile remained, her expression sharpened—truthfully, she wasn't actually interested in Akishin; she'd only pried because she didn't want her friend to be scammed.
Even if the odds were low, Hiratsuka was, after all, an unmarried woman of a certain age!
But after hearing the story, a genuine seed of curiosity regarding Akishin had been planted. It wouldn't hurt to stay in touch.
"It's about Yukino-chan."
"Yukino? What's going on with her now?"
Hiratsuka knew Yukino well. She was Haruno's younger sister, a student in Class 2-J's International Education program at Sobu High. With the highest deviance value in the school, she was famous—or perhaps infamous—and carried the moniker of the 'Ice Queen.'
Since Yukino wasn't in her class and Hiratsuka was constantly buried in work, she couldn't dedicate as much time to her as she wanted.
More importantly, she didn't know how to "fix" Yukino. That girl had—for lack of a better term—grown up the wrong way.
Back when Yukino was a freshman, Hiratsuka had used her authority to create a specific club just for her: The Service Club.
A year had passed, and aside from Hiratsuka's occasional visits, Yukino spent every day after school reading alone in that room. Even in class, she didn't have a single friend.
Haruno continued, "She's a sophomore now. Over the past year, Yukino-chan hasn't changed a bit. As her older sister, I'm naturally worried. So, I was hoping you could help her, Shizuka-chan. At least try to break that stubborn streak of hers. Consider it a personal favor to me, okay?"
"!!!"
Hiratsuka stared at her in shock. A favor from Haruno Yukinoshita was no small thing—at least not in Chiba Prefecture.
Hmph. In the end, her little sister is still the most important thing to her.
"Isn't this situation partly your own fault?" Hiratsuka asked, her tone laced with annoyance. She knew full well that the woman beside her adored her sister, yet every time they met, Haruno's tongue became sharp and bitter, as if she were intentionally trying to make them enemies.
"Maybe I was a bit too heavy-handed with the pressure. That's why I'm asking for your help. If it were a small matter, I wouldn't bother you. But you're reliable, Shizuka-chan," Haruno said with a smile, though a flicker of emotion crossed her narrowed eyes.
"...I'll do what I can."
After a moment's thought, Hiratsuka sighed and nodded. Dealing with these two difficult sisters was a headache, but she agreed nonetheless, picking up another slice of watermelon to distract herself.
"Thank you, Shizuka-chan," Haruno whispered. Hiratsuka was one of the few people she could truly trust—often, Haruno herself didn't even know what she was trying to achieve.
Just then, Akishin entered the room carrying a long porcelain bowl. A mouth-watering aroma of sweet and savory notes wafted through the air, tinged with a hint of acidity that made their mouths water. Haruno's gaze was instantly drawn to the dish.
The scent was divine.
"This is Sweet and Sour Fish. I've already removed the bones, so you two can eat without any worries!"
Akishin set the plate down. It featured a fish fried to a perfect golden brown, glazed in a shimmering amber sauce and garnished with scallions and slivers of carrot.
Once that was placed, Akishin made a few more trips, gradually bringing out a spread of other dishes.
There was Shredded Pork with Green Peppers, an egg drop soup, White Cut Chicken, and a platter of seafood tempura. To suit the Japanese palate, Akishin had kept the spice levels low, leaning more toward a mellow sweetness.
Lastly, he brought in a bottle of fruit juice. After some thought, he realized that since both women had driven here, alcohol was off the table. Luckily, there was a convenience store right across the street, so he'd made a quick run for the juice.
Haruno looked on in genuine surprise. "Everything looks delicious! Most of these are Chinese dishes... have you lived in China, Chishima-sensei?" Her expression was a bit exaggerated.
Akishin handed out bowls, chopsticks, and glasses. He flashed a smile as he distributed them. "I've never been, but I have a passion for Chinese cuisine and spent quite a while studying it."
This woman is definitely a corporate shark. That smile feels as fake as they come... and yet, there's something else beneath it.
A lack of confidence? Being too young for her position? Or is someone higher up breathing down her neck? Yeah, that feels about right.
Author's Note: Character portrayal is the author's weakness.
Would you like me to continue with the next chapter or focus on a specific interaction between Akishin and Haruno?
This translation captures the distinct blend of cynical social commentary and high school drama characteristic of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Oregairu). The tone for Akishin remains grounded and slightly enigmatic, while Hachiman's internal monologue reflects his trademark "loner logic."
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