Beep beep. Hayato, who was reviewing his lessons, was interrupted by a phone notification. Picking up his phone, he saw a message from Kiyoko-senpai asking whether she should make his bento again tomorrow.
After giving it some careful thought, Hayato entrusted the matter to Kiyoko. He still wanted to use his mornings for training; the upcoming matches would all be intense battles, and his stamina was still lacking.
After receiving his reply, Kiyoko sent a cat giving an OK sign. Hayato could not help but smile. Despite Kiyoko-senpai's outward image as an intelligent beauty, she actually used such cute stickers when chatting in private.
He had barely put his phone down when another message came through. This one was from Hinata. After getting acquainted with everyone in the Volleyball Club, Hayato had exchanged contact information with the others in the locker room after training.
"Kuroba-senpai, there was something in today's training that I didn't understand..."
Looking at Hinata's message, Hayato knew that his arrival had also spurred Hinata on. Hinata's skills had not been very polished to begin with, and under Hayato's pressure, he would surely train even harder. Thinking that, Hayato did not hold back and kindly began guiding him.
The two chatted for a long time before Hinata finally said good night to Hayato, apparently heading off to rest. Hayato checked the time and realized he should indeed turn in as well, so he put away his books, took a quick shower, and went to bed.
Early the next morning, the familiar alarm rang. Hayato casually turned it off, yawned, and sat up in bed. Still wearing his pajamas, he walked to the window and pulled back the curtains, letting sunlight stream into the room.
He opened the glass doors and stepped onto the balcony, bracing his hands against the railing as he felt the breeze brush against his cheeks.
"This tiny, ridiculously anime-like balcony, with the childhood friend's house right across from it... If this were a harem anime, I'd probably catch a girl changing because she forgot to close her curtains."
Muttering to himself, Hayato looked toward the second floor of the house opposite his.
"Yeah, yeah, just like th—"
Before he could finish, he saw Kiyoko, who had gotten up at the same time and was changing into her uniform. She had just put on her underwear and was pulling on her white shirt when, as if sensing his gaze, their eyes met at the worst possible moment.
Kiyoko's face instantly turned bright red. She hurried to the window and pulled the curtains shut.
"Pervert!"
Kiyoko was so embarrassed that even her tone had changed. The house next door had been vacant for so long that she had grown used to not fully closing her curtains. This time, Hayato had gotten quite the view.
Hayato scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Sorry, Kiyoko-senpai. I didn't expect you to get up this early too."
Since the distance between them was not great, she could hear him as long as he raised his voice a little. So Hayato shamelessly offered an explanation. At the same time, he stored away the image of Kiyoko from moments ago in his mind.
I didn't expect her to wear such pure white...
Muttering silently to himself, Hayato decided to preserve that memory carefully.
After a rustling sound, Kiyoko, now dressed in her white shirt with a sleeveless sweater over it, opened the curtains. Her face was still flushed as she glared at Hayato with her moist eyes.
"You saw it?"
Though it was phrased as a question, her tone was certain. How could Hayato dare answer honestly? He hurriedly shook his head like a rattle drum.
Unlike her usual poised, beautiful demeanor, Kiyoko's current girlish appearance suited her age much better. Of course, Hayato did not dare say that aloud, though looking was fine.
After staring at Hayato for a while, Kiyoko finally let him off.
Seeing that Kiyoko was no longer holding it against him, Hayato started getting cheeky again.
"Still, Kiyoko-senpai, white suits you very well, but that style wasn't cute enough. I'll get you something cuter next time."
As soon as he said that, Hayato watched Kiyoko's cheeks redden at a visible speed. She then viciously yanked the curtains shut again.
"Didn't you see enough already?! Pervert!" "Kiyoko-senpai, I'm going to train first~ I'll come find you later~"
Having successfully teased her, Hayato told Kiyoko he was going to train. Without waiting for her reply, he happily returned to his room, changed into sportswear, and headed out.
When the time was about right, Hayato finished training, washed up, and made himself a simple breakfast. Just as he finished eating, the doorbell rang. He grabbed his schoolbag, walked to the entryway, and opened the door.
Kiyoko was waiting outside. When she saw Hayato emerge, she rolled her eyes at him and walked ahead. Knowing he had messed up, Hayato did not dare say anything and simply followed behind her.
"Kiyoko-senpai, I was wrong."
Feeling the chilly aura around Kiyoko, Hayato promptly surrendered. Kiyoko turned to look at him expressionlessly.
"What were you wrong about?"
"I shouldn't have teased you, Kiyoko-senpai."
Seeing that his attitude was sincere, Kiyoko walked over and gave his lower back a hard twist. Only after seeing him bare his teeth in pain did she let him go.
"Kiyoko-senpai, I'm still an upright adolescent boy. That was just a little joke. Wasn't that pinch a bit too hard?"
Rubbing his lower back, Hayato complained, only for Kiyoko to roll her eyes at him again.
"Hmph. If it didn't hurt, you wouldn't learn your lesson. And as far as I'm concerned, you're just my little brother. What boy are you talking about?"
Hayato grabbed Kiyoko's wrist, spread open her palm, and pressed his own hand against it to compare their sizes.
"See? I've already grown into a man."
"I know you're a man now, so let go. People are watching."
Kiyoko reminded him through gritted teeth. They were on the street, and she felt that she had been blushing far too often lately.
Realizing what he had done, Hayato quickly pulled his hand back, then awkwardly scratched the back of his head and laughed.
The pedestrians on the street, meanwhile, looked at the two with warm expressions.
"Youth really is wonderful." "Isn't it? Such a handsome boy and beautiful girl." "They look so good together." "When I was young, I also..."
The various comments made the two thin-skinned youths hurry away from the scene.
By the time they finally reached the school gate, Kiyoko remembered the embarrassing incident from earlier and laughed first. Looking at her radiant smile, Hayato stroked his chin.
"Kiyoko-senpai, you look really pretty when you smile. You should smile more often."
"Cut it out. Let's go in."
This time, Kiyoko was not flustered by Hayato's teasing. She shot him a captivating glance before walking into the school grounds, making Hayato shiver as if struck by lightning.
"She's really cute like that. If she keeps frowning all the time, she'll get wrinkles."
After muttering to himself, Hayato chased after Kiyoko and entered the school as well.
Near the shoe lockers, Hayato had just taken out and put on his indoor shoes when Kiyoko handed him his bento. After thanking her, he held the bento in one hand while placing his leather shoes into the locker with the other.
"Yo, Hayato. You came to school with Kiyoko-senpai again? Man, I'm so jealous."
Ryu's voice came from nearby. Kiyoko immediately returned to her aloof demeanor, but Hayato did not mind. A girl only showed a special side of herself in front of someone when they were close, after all.
After saying goodbye to Kiyoko, Hayato put an arm around Tanaka's shoulders as they headed toward their classroom.
The day's classes ended quickly. Although the lessons at Karasuno High were fairly easy, Hayato still listened attentively to the teachers and took careful notes. Tanaka beside him did the same. It seemed Tanaka was putting in a lot of effort to make sure he passed his exams.
Hayato and Tanaka arrived at the locker room first, chatting as they changed clothes.
"Hayato, I saw how seriously you took notes. How are your grades?"
"At my previous school, I was always near the top of my grade."
"Really?! My friend, please save your dear friend!"
"You mean the exams? I heard anyone who fails can't go to training camp. Fine, for the sake of our Volleyball Club, I'll give you a hand."
"Thank you so much."
The moment Tanaka heard that Hayato agreed, he immediately pressed his hands together and bowed to him.
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