Chapter 105: Kei's Tanabata Promise, The One Who Wants to Steal the Base? (Two-in-One 5k) (Patreon)

When Hikaru Naruse woke from deep sleep, the first thing he felt was a warm, fuzzy touch.

Cracking his eyes open, he realized he'd dozed off leaning against the sofa. Outside the window, the sky had turned pale yellow — the sun was almost down.

"Naruse-san, you're awake."

"Uh... yeah, I actually fell asleep."

Naruse sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Only Airi Sakura remained in the room — Kikyo Kushida was nowhere to be seen. He pulled out his phone to check the time: 17:52.

He'd only meant to close his eyes for a moment, but he'd ended up sleeping for over an hour.

Naruse folded up the blanket, set it on the arm of the sofa, and sat up straight.

"Naruse-san, water."

Once she saw he was awake, Airi immediately handed him a cup of warm water.

"Thanks."

Naruse drained the water in one go and rubbed at the corners of his slightly sore eyes. "Sakura-san, how'd the studying go today?"

Airi nodded and answered calmly.

"It went fine. Around five-thirty, Kushida got a phone call and left early — said someone was looking for her."

Naruse nodded slightly at that.

Kikyo Kushida was the first year's "little angel" and self-appointed friend to everyone — her social circle really was wide, with all sorts of people looking for her to chat or grab a meal every day.

"It's about dinnertime — are you hungry, Sakura-san?"

"I already bought bentos."

It was indeed dinnertime, but Airi had no intention of going out to eat — while Naruse had been asleep, she'd already bought food.

After setting out two bentos, the red-haired girl got up, walked to the kitchen, and pulled two cups of cold tea from the fridge.

"Is this okay?"

"Anything's fine. It's all the same to me."

Looking at the bento and cold tea laid out before him, Naruse suddenly felt like he was being waited on hand and foot.

Sakura... was actually pretty good at taking care of people.

The two of them sat around the small table and ate. Partway through, Naruse asked casually,

"Sakura-san, since I ate your bento today, let me treat you to a meal next time?"

After all, Airi was a Class D student too — she probably didn't have many points to spare.

"Going out to eat... might not really be appropriate."

Airi was a little nervous. Though she'd been alone with Naruse many times in private, she still wasn't used to eating with him in public, under everyone's gaze.

It wasn't just about shyness — she cared more about what other people would say.

Being able to eat together like this in her dorm room was already more than enough for her.

Naruse studied her expression and teased her.

"Something bothering you, Sakura-san? We could just book a KTV private room."

"Really?"

"Yeah, no one would see us in a private room."

Naruse understood exactly what was bothering her and quickly offered a solution.

"That's not really a good idea either... you do have a girlfriend, after all."

"...?"

Airi took a sip of the cold tea and lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

"If you and I ate alone at a restaurant, Karuizawa would probably be upset, right?"

That caught Naruse completely off guard.

In all their time together before, Airi had never brought up Kei Karuizawa on her own — there'd never really been anything ambiguous between the two of them, after all.

Aside from that one time they'd hugged when she nearly fell, Naruse had been careful to keep things proper whenever they were alone together.

Even though she was a girl with a nearly perfect face and figure, he couldn't afford to rush things.

In all this time, they hadn't even held hands — nothing had crossed any line.

"Hm... your worry does make some sense, Sakura-san."

Naruse popped a piece of chicken from his bento into his mouth and said calmly,

"Alright then, from now on, whenever we eat together... can we just stay in your dorm?"

"That's fine."

Airi nodded. Her dorm room was like her fortress — whatever she did with Naruse in it, she felt safe.

The moment she stepped outside it, anything besides the two of them going out together to some empty corner of the school to shoot photos for material made her uneasy.

"Then I'll have to think about what to make for lunch next time."

Naruse didn't find her a killjoy at all — if anything, he thought her little act of self-deception was cute.

She worried about eating alone with him at a restaurant upsetting Kei — but did eating together in her dorm room really give her nothing to worry about?

If anything, being alone together in a dorm room cast an even more ambiguous light over things.

But of course Naruse wasn't about to point that out. She needed room to get used to things at her own pace, so he changed the subject.

"That Kushida's probably taught you a lot about making friends. Have you figured out how you're going to put it into practice, Sakura-san?"

"Um..."

Airi hesitated, then said,

"Actually, Hirata and Horikita from our class already came up with something. To get ready for the final exam at the end of next month, they've decided to organize group study sessions for the class."

"Group study sessions?"

Naruse raised an eyebrow. This had indeed happened in the original work, but it shouldn't have started until the third semester — another butterfly effect, it seemed.

"What are the exact rules?"

"Hirata said we can form study groups of five or six people, and help each other strengthen our weak subjects."

Airi was actually quite anxious about the whole thing, but part of why she'd agreed to work on making friends was Naruse's encouragement.

Nervous as she was, she still hoped she could make some female friends, because it was something Naruse wanted for her.

"That's great. I hope you manage to make some friends you can really talk to this time, Sakura-san."

Naruse smiled slightly, his tone gentle.

In the original work, Airi had met a blue-haired girl named Haruka Hasebe at one of these group study sessions.

Through a series of interactions, the two of them had become extremely close friends.

If he could get Haruka Hasebe to influence Airi's choices ahead of schedule, that would be a good thing too.

After they finished eating, Airi brought up the next magazine cover shoot on her own. Now that the outfit and theme had been decided last time, the magazine would probably need her to get it done soon.

"Has the package shipped?" Naruse asked.

"Yeah, it's already shipped. The outfit for the shoot is on its way, and this time we won't need any extra setup."

Airi was already used to the whole process, but having Naruse's help for this shoot had her looking forward to it.

"We'll go pick up the package together when it arrives — I am your editor, after all."

"Okay."

Naruse nodded slightly and asked about the exact shooting time — he wanted Airi to decide that herself.

"Saturday would probably be best — that leaves Sunday for touching up the photos."

"Alright, I'll clear my Saturday, then."

Naruse took this seriously — he didn't want his involvement to end up hurting her modeling work.

"I can spend the whole day with you on Saturday, until we get the cover shot right. I've got to answer to the higher-ups too, you know."

"I'll do my best," Airi said, nodding firmly.

After Naruse left, Airi sat on the sofa, and her mind suddenly drifted back to what Kikyo Kushida had said earlier.

*

"Sakura-san, I've got a way to make Naruse your boyfriend."

The weight of that statement was terrifying. Airi had never been good at expressing her feelings, which was exactly why she'd been so torn.

But Kushida didn't care about any of that — she just pushed her own opinion and encouraged Airi outright.

"I'll just ask you one thing: do you want to get closer to Naruse or not?"

Airi's answer was yes, so Kushida went on bluntly.

"Naruse might be an amazing, one-of-a-kind guy, but at the end of the day he's still a guy — he'll like whatever guys like."

"And as it happens, you've got exactly what guys like."

"Got what?"

Airi hadn't revealed her true identity at this point, and Kushida had no idea about her real face or her online idol persona.

"A body!"

Kushida had never dated anyone, but not having eaten pork didn't mean she'd never seen a pig run.

"Naruse is absolutely going to love your body."

"I don't even need to say it — when you two are alone, he definitely sneaks looks at you. I'm sure you already know that much yourself."

"When it comes to someone you care about, you've got to be a little braver."

Kushida's real intention was to get a little payback on Naruse, dropping him into a love-triangle battlefield between Kei Karuizawa and Airi Sakura.

"So? Have you figured it out, Sakura-san?"

"You could... do it like this."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, men are just that shallow a creature."

What Kushida suggested was for her to just walk up and "A" him directly — she was confident she hadn't misread Naruse, and that this move would definitely work.

"...What should I do..."

Alone in her dorm room, Airi was tangled up in indecision.

She knew Naruse's girlfriend was Kei Karuizawa.

But you couldn't control who you fell for — there was no shame in that.

At first, out of wariness, she'd deliberately kept her distance from Naruse.

But now they'd known each other for almost a month.

From their first meeting, to the resolution of the stalker incident, to walking together to gather material, to their private study sessions alone.

Naruse's kindness wasn't the deliberate, ingratiating kind — it was a warmth that came straight from the heart, needing no reason at all.

He never looked at her strangely. Every time they were alone together was the happiest time of her day.

Airi took a deep breath, and then her gaze landed on a spot on the clothes rack beside her.

A pink bikini hung there.

The last time Naruse had visited her dorm, he'd brought up this topic himself. His attitude at the time had been casual, but Airi knew he must want to see it — and she was willing to let him.

What did "going up and A-ing him" even mean?

Airi had no idea what she was actually supposed to do.

But one thing was clear in her mind — at Saturday's magazine shoot, she had to do something.

"Naruse-san..."

The days passed, one by one.

Before anyone noticed, June's calendar had turned to its final pages — less than a week of the month remained.

On Friday afternoon, Naruse and Kei Karuizawa ate together at a restaurant.

The honey-haired girl sat across from him, her pretty eyes fixed intently on him, her expression brimming with anticipation.

"Hikaru-kun, can we go on a date tomorrow?"

Their relationship had grown quite intimate — pretty much everything a couple could do together, they'd already done, short of that one last step.

But Kei never used that kind of thing to demand Naruse cater to her needs — every date's schedule was always worked out between the two of them together.

After all, she knew her boyfriend was a busy man.

"Tomorrow?"

Naruse thought it over — tomorrow was Saturday, when he needed to go accompany Airi for her photo shoot.

"Tomorrow probably won't work — I've got something important tomorrow. Sunday, though... if nothing else comes up, let's go out together, Kei."

"Tomorrow's no good, huh."

Kei looked a little downcast, but she never tried to force Naruse to change his plans.

She knew Naruse wouldn't turn her down without reason — if he said it was something important, that meant he wasn't going to change his mind.

She quickly composed herself, because there was something even more important to bring up.

"Then can I reserve a date in advance?"

"Reserve in advance?"

Naruse blinked, then asked, "When?"

"July 7th, next month. Tanabata."

"Hm?"

Japan's Tanabata also fell on July 7th by the solar calendar — the tradition had come over from the Tang dynasty.

After centuries of localization, Japan's Tanabata wasn't really a lovers' festival symbolizing the reunion of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl anymore — instead, it had taken on meanings of "praying for skill" and "making wishes."

People would write out wish plaques and hang them high up in trees, hoping their wishes would come true.

A school as well-equipped as Advanced Nurturing High School naturally held this event too, and it wasn't exclusive to couples — friends could write wishes together as well, hoping they'd come true someday.

"I'd love to make a wish together with you that day, Hikaru-kun."

"I already looked it up — there are several big trees on campus covered in wishes past students have written."

"Sure, works for me."

Seeing how excited Kei was, Naruse obviously wasn't about to say no — if something else came up, they could just adjust the schedule.

"Mm-hm, then it's a date — we won't leave till we see each other that day."

"Pinky promise."

"Okay."

Their pinkies hooked together, and a sweet smile spread across Kei's face.

Tanabata wasn't Japan's Valentine's Day, but it carried its own unique meaning — Kei had spent the last few days specifically looking up the festival's origins online, and it seemed to stem from an ancient love legend.

So she'd decided that on that day, she and Naruse would take things a step further and become a real couple, in every sense.

She'd been preparing for this for a while now, and thinking about it, the smile at the corners of her mouth grew even wider.

"What's got you smiling so much?"

The smile on Kei's face made Naruse ask.

"You'll find out that day, Hikaru-kun. We're definitely going to have the most unforgettable Tanabata ever."

"Sure."

Saturday morning.

Naruse got up around seven-thirty, washed up, got dressed, and even stopped by the cafeteria to buy two breakfasts.

He needed to see Airi early today, so he arrived at her dorm around eight.

When the door opened, Airi came into view.

Her look this morning seemed a bit different — since it was shoot day, she'd simply skipped the disguise from the moment she woke up.

Without the red-framed glasses, her pretty, delicate face was on full display for Naruse. She'd also tied her red hair back into two cute pigtails, making her look even more adorable.

"You look really cute today, Sakura-san."

"Thank you, Naruse-san..."

Carrying the breakfast, Naruse stepped into the living room and suddenly caught a strange, sweet scent.

It wasn't the faint lavender smell that usually lingered in her living room — this one was richer, carrying a sweeter note.

"Hm... what smells so good?"

"What are you looking at, Naruse-san?"

Airi noticed him glancing around and asked on her own.

"I'm catching an unusual smell — you haven't noticed it, Sakura-san?"

"Oh, I switched to a different one today... so the scent's a bit different."

Airi's face turned red on the spot, and even her voice dropped noticeably.

Switched to a different... what?

Naruse was about to press her on the vague word she'd glossed over, but as his eyes moved over her short sleeves, he quickly realized what she meant.

After all, Kei Karuizawa used it too, and so did Ai Morishita.

It was body lotion.

"Ah, I see. Well, it smells really nice..."

"Mm."

Honestly, Airi was quite nervous right now.

She'd never dated before and had no idea what she should do to please a boy.

But after Naruse arrived, looking at his gentle face, ideas suddenly flooded her mind.

As she'd thought... Naruse really was special.

She gathered her courage, and her eyes turned resolute.

"Naruse-san, let's get started once we finish breakfast."

"Mm-hm."

Naruse's gaze swept over the clothes rack in her living room. For some reason, he had the persistent feeling that something was missing.

What was it?