(50 Power Stone Bonus)
Chapter 145: Playing in the Water (Long Chapter)
The shadows of the trees lining the road were dim and flickering, dancing as a gentle breeze blew by, the leaves tilting to follow its lead.
A stray tuft of hair atop a lowered head swayed slightly in the soft wind.
The weather was quite hot, so this particular gust brought a well-timed touch of coolness.
Hachiman walked slowly, hearing the sounds of rowdy laughter. Passing through a thicket of bushes, a small, crystal-clear stream came into view, sparkling under the sunlight. The river wasn't deep, averaging only about mid-calf height.
"This feels so refreshing! Hahaha, Komachi, take this!"
"Yui-nee, you're cheating..."
Komachi and Yui were wearing swimsuits while playing in the river water, their cheerful voices audible from a distance.
Komachi wore a light yellow swimsuit with ruffle accents, showing off a youthful figure that looked very tropical, while Yui...
Hachiman's gaze was pulled toward her involuntarily.
Yui was wearing a blue bikini, revealing a great figure, clear white skin, and long, straight legs. Beads of clear water trailed down her body, passing her slender neck and pausing briefly at her collarbone. Her pink hair was tied up into two buns...
Yui's chest was, honestly, the largest Hachiman had ever seen!
Komachi and Yui spotted Hachiman and stopped their playing. Komachi cheerfully waved toward him and shouted: "It's Onii-chan! Over here, over here..."
Having been caught staring, Hachiman's face flushed slightly when his eyes met Yui's. He looked away and asked: "What are you guys doing? By the way, why are you both in swimsuits?" So this is what 'playing in the water' meant?
Well, in weather this hot, playing in the water was exactly what one should be doing.
"Onii-chan, take this!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Komachi scooped up water and splashed him. Hachiman's hair became soaked, large droplets dripping down his bangs. That slightly fluttering feeling from a moment ago was instantly shattered.
Hachiman stared at Komachi with a grim expression.
Komachi didn't seem to have a shred of awareness that she had just harassed her older brother. She replied in a casual tone: "The prep work was seriously exhausting, so we came here to play in the water."
"Hiratsuka-sensei said it was okay to play in the river, so we changed into swimsuits... But Hikkigaya, why are you here?"
Yui covered part of her chest, hiding behind Komachi as she answered. Her expression was slightly red; she likely felt that wearing a swimsuit was something quite embarrassing.
Hachiman looked away again, answering: "I came looking for you guys. I heard voices so I came this way. Why is it just the two of you..."
"Don't talk about that yet!"
Hachiman's words were cut off by Komachi: "Onii-chan, look! This is Komachi's new swimsuit." She then proceeded to strike various poses like a swimsuit model to show off to Hachiman.
Komachi blinked her large eyes expectantly and asked: "What's Onii-chan's impression?"
"That..."
Hachiman's expression looked as if he couldn't bear to look directly at her. He turned his face away, no emotion visible in his dead fish eyes: "Number one cutest in the whole world!"
Even a fool could see that it was just empty lip service.
"Wow, how half-hearted..."
Komachi didn't hide her look of disappointment.
But you couldn't really blame Hachiman. Komachi usually dressed like this at home anyway; he was used to it. A younger sister in the real world was absolutely incapable of triggering a romantic scene.
Komachi showed great dissatisfaction with Hachiman's reaction, but a second later her eyes sparkled again as she reached behind her.
"Then... what about Yui-nee?"
"Wah! Komachi, don't!"
Komachi pulled the hiding Yui to the front. Caught unprepared, Yui didn't know what to do and stood panickily in front of Hachiman, her face so red it looked like it might drip blood.
"Ah... this..."
Yui's face was flushed. she spoke haltingly while looking away, but seeing that Hachiman hadn't said a word, she stole another glance with a lack of confidence.
Yui really wanted to know Hachiman's impression. Part of it came from a woman's natural love for beauty and a desire for praise; the other part was because the person was Hachiman...
Hachiman's expression was extremely unnatural, and he felt like he was struggling.
What exactly was this situation?
Suddenly, he felt like he just wanted to die.
To avoid the atmosphere becoming awkward, Hachiman searched his brain for vocabulary as hard as he could. He spoke up cautiously: "Well... how should I put it... it's nice, and it suits you very well."
"Is... Is that so... Thank you."
Yui covered her face while smiling shyly, her exposed skin turning slightly pink.
Hachiman really didn't dare look directly at Yui again. Realizing his cheeks were becoming very hot, he immediately turned around and sat down under the shade of a tree.
'No good, I can't look at her directly anymore. Why does a high school girl have a body shape like that?! As expected, my resolve is still lacking. It seems I need to train harder...'
"Oh~, Hikigaya-kun, you're here too!"
A sudden voice broke Hachiman's reverie. Reflexively, he looked up, and Yukino's figure entered his field of vision.
For a moment, Hachiman's breath nearly stopped.
Yukinoshita Yukino, just like her name, was truly the incarnation of snow.
Translucent white skin, slender calves—the lines extending up to her waist had an aesthetic quality that was hard to put into words. Her waist was incredibly thin, and while her chest certainly couldn't compare to Yui's, it still possessed a subtle curve...
However, this view was only seen for a split second before Yukino donned a beach wrap.
Hachiman looked away, answering in his usual manner: "Everyone disappeared, so I went looking for you and ended up here."
He couldn't help but use a breathing technique; otherwise, he was genuinely afraid he would embarrass himself. Seeing this in reality versus seeing it on television were two completely different things.
"What's this, Hikigaya? You came as well?"
Hachiman felt someone pat his shoulder from behind. He turned his head and saw it was Hiratsuka-sensei, followed by a faintly smiling Akishin, with Yumiko and Ebina behind them.
Shizuka wore a white bikini, showing off beautiful long legs and a full chest. Perhaps because she was used to practicing martial arts, her body was proportional and toned, giving off a healthy impression along with a certain wild charm.
Miura Yumiko wore a neon purple bikini with gold stripes on the fabric. It looked very striking, and her figure was nearly perfect.
Ebina Hina wore a dark blue competitive swimsuit, prioritizing functional design, which matched her slender body perfectly.
"Ah, Hiratsuka-sensei, Chishima-sensei..."
Even though Hiratsuka-sensei's body was great and alluring, Hachiman's gaze was drawn to Akishin beside her, his eyes full of shock.
Akishin had also changed, wearing light green board shorts with a coconut tree motif and a pair of flip-flops. His upper body was bare, fully revealing a perfect physique.
Akishin had a perfect eight-pack; his muscles weren't overly bulky, but every part was clearly defined, as if carved by the golden ratio, ready to explode with terrifying power at any moment.
It was a physique like Bruce Lee's.
And on this perfect body, there were two distinct scars on his left chest and arm. Not only did they not detract from his appearance, but they added a fierce edge—Akishin's other wounds had already been healed by the system previously; these two remained from his final battle against Gin.
Usually, when he wore clothes, you couldn't tell and he seemed somewhat thin, but once the shirt came off, it was like dark clouds in the shadows vanishing to reveal the dazzling stars across the sky. Combined with his extraordinary aura, he was a total magnet for attention.
And when Akishin appeared like this, whether it was Komachi and Yui who were there from the start, or Saki, Yuika, and Kaiko who appeared later... everyone directed their gaze toward him. Their faces all flushed slightly in unison, yet their eyes were somewhat difficult to pull away...
There was an urge to try and touch him, to feel what that sensation would be like.
Even Yukino was no exception.
This wasn't a matter of being flirty or anything; it was simply a natural attraction toward 'beauty' and 'strength.'
Who said only a woman's body was attractive? As long as a man's body was trained to the right level, its charm was also immeasurable.
It's just that 'the right level' was something most men could never reach.
Hachiman's body was also trained currently; you could see a six-pack clearly, but if compared to Akishin...
It was still like the difference between a star and a full moon.
Shizuka saw everyone staring at Akishin. She raised a hand to her mouth and coughed a few times.
"Ahem."
All the girls snapped out of it, finally looking away, though their expressions were all a bit unnatural.
Shizuka glanced at Akishin once more, a blush appearing on her own face as well. Even though this wasn't the first time she'd seen it—she'd caught a glimpse when helping Akishin change into his Kendo uniform—she still felt shy when paying attention to this perfect body again.
Meanwhile, the other boys looked at Akishin's eight-pack and then at their own stomachs, instantly losing all self-confidence.
What kind of situation was this!?
Wasn't a physique like this something you only saw in model magazines? No, even the male models in magazines couldn't compete with this.
"Shizuka-chan, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing, nothing at all."
Akishin looked toward Shizuka, then swept his gaze over everyone around him. Finally, his gaze landed on Hachiman, and he asked with a smile: "Is everyone going to play in the water? Why haven't you changed into a swimsuit?"
"...I didn't bring swimming trunks."
Hachiman looked at Zaimokuza, who had already changed into trunks, and spoke gloomily.
Actually, Shizuka had intended to tell Hachiman about this earlier, but Hachiman kept failing to reply to messages, so she had left word with Komachi. Most likely, Komachi forgot to tell Hachiman.
So Komachi was the culprit.
...
Yui and Komachi were playing with the most energy; Yumiko and Ebina were vigorously splashing water repeatedly and enjoying themselves. Shizuka would occasionally shout "Take this!" as she launched waves of water.
Kaiko chased Yuika to gang up on Komachi. Saki couldn't really blend in; after rinsing off, she sat on a rock to sunbathe. Yukino didn't understand how to play with everyone, so she stood alone at a bit of a distance, observing...
However, Yui looked for an opportunity and launched a water wave attack at Yukino.
Yukino leaped across the water's surface, launching a counterattack. A splash of water flew fiercely, hitting Yui right on the forehead.
Yui was hit so hard she couldn't parry. Komachi joined the great battle, forming a two-on-one situation, but for a Yukino who had turned serious, this wasn't a big deal; she faced them calmly.
Even when it came to splashing water, she refused to lose.
Then Yumiko came in to stir things up with ill intent; this time, Yukino finally couldn't manage to fend them off.
After that, Shizuka also brought a water pistol to provide cover fire...
Everyone was having a great time playing. The girls splashed each other, and the boys caught fish with their bare hands or something like that—nothing much to talk about there.
Hachiman sat alone under the shade of a large tree, observing everyone's laughter, watching the bustle of the girls. Finally, his gaze landed on Totsuka Saika.
Totsuka said his skin was quite fragile and he couldn't get too cold, so while playing in the water, he wore a jacket over his top.
Hachiman's gaze shifted to his junior, Soichi. He was standing in the middle of Hayama's group, holding up a large fish about twenty centimeters long and receiving everyone's praise, faintly looking like he was becoming the center of attention.
Finally, his gaze looked toward Akishin...
Hmm? Where was Sensei?
Hachiman looked around but didn't see Akishin, even though he had been there just a moment ago.
"What are you looking at?"
Akishin's voice sounded beside him. He then sat down next to Hachiman, his body carrying traces of water and his hair wet.
"Why isn't Sensei continuing to play in the water?"
"The water is too shallow, it's not very interesting. And playing with you seventeen or eighteen-year-old students feels a bit strange, so I got out."
Akishin ran his hands through his hair to loosen it, helping it dry faster. He really did find it a bit uninteresting, mostly due to the difference in mentality; conversely, Shizuka could splash around with Komachi and the others without any burden.
"How are things going? Have you explained things properly to that kid?"
"...Sorry, Sensei. I was going to look for her, but I forgot for a moment. I'll go right now."
Hachiman finally remembered he still had important business to attend to. Just as he was about to stand up to search, he was held back by Akishin.
Akishin looked toward the girl walking toward them; he smiled kindly and nodded.
Speak of the devil.
Tsurumi Rumi also nodded to Akishin and sat down naturally on Hachiman's other side. She looked at the people in the water and asked: "Why are you here all by yourself?"
Hachiman was stunned for a moment. After realizing the question was for him, Hachiman said: "I didn't bring swimming trunks. What about you?"
"Yeah, I... today is free activities. After breakfast I went back to the room, and there was no one left..."
Rumi's voice panicked for a second, as if afraid of being found out, but she soon became listless, giving up on covering up this kind of 'shame.'
'So cruel. This uncomfortable reality... I feel like I want to slash it down with a sword.'
Hachiman's dead fish eyes vanished, his palms clenching at the air as if about to grip the bamboo sword he usually used.
He didn't practice the sword the day before yesterday, he didn't practice yesterday, and he hadn't practiced today either. Turns out, he was getting a bit unaccustomed to it!
"Hachiman, do you have any friends that have continued from elementary school until now?" Tsurumi Rumi called Hachiman by his first name directly.
"None. Other people are probably about the same, so you don't need to think about this. After you graduate, you'll never see them again anyway."
Hachiman looked up at the tree canopy above. Mottled shadows of light fell between them. He thought about how to start.
Better to just speak honestly!
This kid seemed very smart.
"Is that so? Hachiman, it turns out the two of you really are different." Rumi couldn't help but look at the camera in her hand. Perhaps because she had found someone who could understand, she began to pour her heart out: "If only I could think like you guys.
But my mom always asks if I'm getting along well with my friends. This time, the Summer Forest Camp specifically gave us digital cameras, asking me to take lots of photos to bring home.
But I... I can't do it anymore.
If I'm ignored, I feel like I'm the person in the lowest position, so I feel a bit unwilling, and it feels too tragic...
I've already been left behind. I can't get along cordially with them anymore. Even if we make up this time, I don't know if it will become like this again in the future, so... I feel it's better to just leave it as it is now."
By the end of the sentence, her voice carried a hint of sobbing.
Has this kid already understood that 'as long as you change yourself, the world will change' doesn't exist?
How could such a thing be possible?
Humans always judge others based on existing concepts and impressions: a person who is alone will be asked to remain alone. Even if you try to draw attention, it will only become a bullet used to attack you. This is the rotten rule within the kingdom of children...
"Rumi!"
Hachiman suddenly looked toward Rumi and said with a smile: "We've decided to help you. Are you willing to accept the help?"
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