Summer Vacation Arc: 85 Sprint and the End of Summer

Summer Vacation Arc
85 Sprint and the End of Summer

Hayate released Meru.
She looked him over again and let out a sigh. Hayate was also wearing a yukata, and his extremely good looks were set off by it. Despite that…

“I’m late in saying so, but…your yukata suits you.”

Meru narrowed her eyes as Hayate said those words. The other executives had already told her the same thing. She had the same serious thought every time when this kind of thing happened that since their own appearances were so well-proportioned, they thought that those who weren’t looked better than they actually did.

The atmosphere having become amicable between them before they realized, the two of them had forgotten. That there were still delinquents passed out here, that is.

“Y…ou…”

A boy fallen close to Meru came to.
With him coming from behind, Meru didn’t have enough time to turn around. Hayate also immediately pulled Meru’s arm, but she couldn’t avoid that delinquent’s fist. Hayate tried to protect her and pivoted halfway around.

Thud.

There was the staggering sound of a blow. It wasn’t the sound of someone being hit.
Meru and Hayate were both uninjured. Meru stared at the idiotic face of the delinquent who had been rushing to attack over Hayate’s shoulder and watched him collapse. The one who appeared behind him was the person Meru had expected. She was relieved upon seeing him, but she smiled wryly because his switch was already flipped.

“You’re late, Yuuri.”

A fearless smile floated on Hayate’s face as though he had known Yuuri would come. With his switch flipped, Yuuri was coldly overlooking the person he had just mowed down with his wooden sword.

“…‘Nnoying. Ya didn’t get hit, so why’re you complaining?”

Saying that kind of rough thing with Yuuri’s face didn’t match up after all.
However, with Yuuri by their side, there was nothing to be scared of anymore.

“You don’t need to go easy on them.”
“Wasn’t plannin’ to, anyway. Look, isn’t he unconscious?!”

Yuuri said and forcibly slapped the boys Meru had knocked out awake.
The minute they woke up, the delinquents focused on Meru, but Yuuri blocked their view with his anger on full display.

“Heh! You’re in the way, move!”
“I’ll fuck you up!”
“Do you think we’d lose to a thin guy like you! Iiiiiidiot!”
“…Ah?”

The boys threw out those reckless remarks at the current Yuuri of all people. They really didn’t know how to appreciate life. It goes without saying that Yuuri showed those foolish boys who didn’t know their place to hell after that.

Meru thought that it would have been better if they’d immediately run away.

“Meru-chan!”

As she did, she heard Fuuga’s voice from the distance.
Meru looked in that direction with a smile.

“Ruu-chan, you’re okay, right?”

Meru grinned and replied, “Yeah, I’m fine,” to Laila who had asked that for confirmation.

“Kusuhara-san…”

Kouri slowly approached Meru. She knew that she should apologize for getting Meru wrapped up in things, even if she was unharmed. Despite that, that wasn’t what she most wanted to say.

“Thank…you…”

She said with a low bow.
Meru smiled happily seeing that.
Seeing the two of them smiling shyly, Laila and Fuuga who were next to them also subconsciously broke into smiles.

“Aidou. Isn’t that enough already?”

Shoutarou walked up to Yuuri in order to bring things to an end. However, Yuuri turned a deaf ear to him. His face belied the strong words he shouted at the frightened delinquents.

“Shoutarou-san.”

Kouri came up to Shoutarou who was at a complete loss. She kept enough distance between them that he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable and told him, “Leave my brother to me.”

Shoutarou curiously tilted his head, wondering what exactly she was going to do.
Kouri went to Yuuri’s side without explaining anything in particular.

“Brother.”
“Ah? Yer annoyin’…”

Clap.

Kouri clapped her hands together right in front of Yuuri’s face, causing a loud sound.

“…Kouri. …I’m sorry. Thank you.”

At her action that was very much like clapping in front of an opponent to distract them, Yuuri regained his awareness.

“Even Hayate-kun can’t easily stop Yuuri-kun when he’s like that.”
“It really feels like ‘As expected of his younger sister.’”

Fuuga and Laila were moved upon seeing that scene. Seeing her stop Yuuri in an instant even though he was usually uncontrollable when his switch was flipped was close to magic for the executives.

“Kamishiro. How far should I deal with their memories?”
“For the time being, I’ll ask you to have them forget we were here. Something like they fought each other and passed out.”

Nodding at Hayate’s suggestion, Shoutarou took off his glasses. He hypnotized the delinquents one by one.

Hayate and Shoutarou continued to handle the cleanup of that incident. At the same time, Meru reported that she and Hayate had reconciled, making Fuuga and Laila happy.

Then, Kouri once again faced Yuuri. She hadn’t looked at his face properly since yesterday morning when they faced off in the dojo. It had only been a number of hours since then. Even so, what she had thought at that time was entirely different.

“Thank you, brother. And also…I am terribly sorry for my rudeness yesterday.”

Kouri said and bowed to Yuuri. Yuuri gently said, “Please stop that,” and raised her head.

“Kouri, I am glad you’re safe.”

Yuuri stroked Kouri’s head comfortingly.
The feelings and thoughts that that familiar hand transmitted to her made tears flow anew from Kouri’s eyes.

She would only be a burden for Yuuri. She had thought she wasn’t important to him anymore.
Even though she had prepared herself for him to be mad at her for dragging Meru into her situation, neither he nor the executives blamed her.

The girl called Kusuhara Meru might be someone who was just as wonderful, if not moreso, than those executives.

That was a thought that remained within Kouri’s predictions even up until the end. It was an indefinite answer. Despite that…

“Brother. There aren’t many girls like Kusuhara-san.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened at Kouri’s words.
The feelings Kouri had until yesterday, or more accurately until just a short time ago, didn’t seem connected to the words she spoke just now.

Yuuri’s expression relaxed just slightly and he smiled at the thoughts Kouri had come around to.

“I know.”
“If you miss this chance, you might be single your whole life.”

Kouri joked with a smile.
It had been many years since he had seen Kouri smile like that.
It almost felt like she had returned to the Kouri from the past, and the fog in Yuuri’s heart cleared.

“Hey, everyone is here, so let’s go back to the riverbank. The fireworks are going to start.”

Fuuga proposed, and everyone headed toward the riverbank to watch the fireworks.

This year’s final fireworks blossomed innumerably in the starless, pitch black sky.

No one’s eyes could leave the fireworks.

When they finished watching the fireworks, Kouri said she still had work to do at home and left earlier than the others, making the rest have slightly disappointed expressions.
Since they had all finally managed to gather, they felt like going around the stalls one more time, so they began to return along the path that the executives had originally come alone on. But one mask-wearing person was emitting a discontent aura.

“Everyone should wear a mask, right! Why is it just me!?”

Fuuga’s complaint was uncharacteristically spot-on, but everyone pretended they didn’t hear him and ignored it. Even if it was a mistake, nobody wanted to wear a mask and walk around in this crowd.

“There, there, it can’t be helped since you’re the best looking, Rengetsu-kun.”
“…If you say so, Meru-chan.”

Looking at Fuuga wearing a mask and being all shy, Laila couldn’t hold back his laughter. Shoutarou smacked Laila lightly, seeming to be on the verge of catching his smile.

“You’re good at handling Fuuga.”
“Well, it’s the truth, right?”

Meru replied to Hayate who was walking beside her with his arms crossed. Hayate’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“What?”
“I’m going to increase Fuuga’s workload next month.”
“Why…?”

Meru, feeling pity for Fuuga who had to face Hayate’s whims, didn’t think that her own remark was the cause of his workload doubling.

“Hey, Shou-chan. Let’s have a match with that.”

Right in front of Meru, Laila grabbed Shoutarou’s sleeve and pulled him toward the target shooting stall.

“A match? You should just do it alone. I’ll watch, so hurry and finish.”

Shoutarou said to Laila, pushing up his glasses and looking like he couldn’t be bothered. Laila looked at Shoutarou as though he was looking at something really boring.

“Wh-What?”
“Ruu-chan. Did you hear him just now?”

Laila came up to Meru and pointed at Shoutarou.

“He refused to have a match with me because he’s scared. What do you think about that for a man? Don’t you think it’s pathetic?”
“Eh? Well, I guess…”
“Hiiragi!!”

As Meru halfheartedly agreed while looking helpless… Shoutarou made a horrific face and grabbed Laila by the scruff of his neck.

“Fine, then. There is no way I would lose to someone like you. It’s a match.”

Shoutarou grew heated for some reason and paid the man running the stall ahead of Laila. Seeing that, Laila smiled in satisfaction.

“That’s the spirit.”
“Ah, me too, me too!”
“Fuuga, have a little chat with me.”
“Eh, a chat? Owowow! Hayate-kun, you’re grabbing me! Wai— eh!?”

Before Hayate increased his workload, it seemed like he had something to say to Fuuga first, so he dragged Fuuga off by the nape of the neck of the yukata.
Fuuga was really pitiful in front of the unchanging tyrant Hayate.

“Kusuhara-san.”
“You don’t have to do it, Aidou-kun? That target shooting test of manliness.”

Meru smiled in entertainment as she gave a nonsensical name to what was just target shooting.

“I’m fine. Is there anything you want to do?”
“It’s fun just watching.”

She wasn’t restraining herself or anything like that; Meru was truly having a good time.
You wouldn’t enjoy something that you had no interest in. But Laila and Shoutarou’s target practice and Hayate’s lecturing of Fuuga that he called a chat, it was all fun for her.

“Kusuhara-san, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For saving Kouri.”

When Yuuri said that, Meru ducked her head.

“Well, if I hadn’t helped Kouri and abandoned her…even that would be a problem, right? That’s why you shouldn’t thank me.”
“…That kind of thing is really like you.”

Yuuri smiled wryly.
Even though it was a good thing to be thanked sincerely, Meru said that what she had done was only natural.

Just as Kouri had said, if Yuuri let go of Meru, there would probably never be another girl that could rival her in his eyes. Yuuri ended up thinking about that.

Not to mention, it was because Yuuri wasn’t the only one thinking that way that it became an uncomfortable topic.

“Aidou-kun? What’s wrong? It’s rare that you sigh like that.”
“It’s more difficult than taking the championship at any tournament…”

Meru didn’t understand what Yuuri meant in the end. She thought about asking what he was talking about, but the angry shouting of a man from in front drew her attention.

“Hey! All of my prizes are going to disappear!! My business is doomed! Think about moderation!”

At the end of the heated match, the stall owner got mad at Laila and Shoutarou who were shooting targets at a rate that would knock over almost all the prizes.

“Kyaaaaa! Rengetsu Fuuga is over there! And the other person there is also super good-looking!”

When she looked toward Hayate and Fuuga at that girl’s scream, she saw that Fuuga’s mask had gotten out of place while he was being scolded by Hayate.

The number of people around increased with the synergy between the two incidents.
The petite Meru would definitely get swallowed up by the crowd and get separated from the others.

“Kusuhara-san.”

Before that, Yuuri took Meru’s hand.

“Aidou-kun?”
“Let’s escape.”

Yuuri’s pulled Meru’s arm. At the beginning, she was pulled along, but she quickly began to run on her own side-by-side with Yuuri.

“I agree.”

They ran through the festival.
Summer vacation that seemed long at the beginning but ended up feeling short was already coming to an end.
With a refreshed spirit and new resolution in her heart, Meru continued forward.

Youth and the ups and downs of the new school term had already arrived in front of Meru’s eyes.

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<TLN>
That’s the end of the summer vacation arc! Next is the intermission

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