Ch. 40 - This Is Payback

“This way—”

Compared to the delinquents who’d stumbled into this backstreet for the first time, Harutaki—who’d been walking this route to school almost every day for the past month—was clearly much more familiar with every corner and narrow passageway.

Taking advantage of his head start, he quickly outpaced the three pursuers, pulling Nogami along as the two of them vanished at the first intersection.

“You—”

“Shh.”

Just as Nogami was about to speak, the sharp clack of hard soles against pavement echoed past them, followed by the delinquents’ frustrated curses.

Harutaki, this guy... don’t tell me he planned this...?

Nogami shifted uneasily. Unfortunately, the movement only made their position more awkward.

They were wedged in a narrow gap between two walls—barely wide enough for one person. Below ran an old drainage channel strewn with dead leaves.

Harutaki had found this little hideaway one evening after school, when he’d changed his route home upon hearing a faint meow.

After all, he was an unapologetic cat person.

Kittens, skinny cats, fat cats—or even cat-eared girls—he loved them all.

Whenever he came across a friendly stray in a quiet area, he couldn’t resist crouching down for a few pets.

The gap between the two walls was just wide enough for him to squeeze through carefully—but pulling Nogami along with him...

Why the hell did you have to squeeze in across me?!

Even if he tilted his head up, he could still smell the faint herbal scent of her shampoo tickling his nose. And if he looked down—her flushed, delicate face was right there, so close that it was dangerous.

It’s just Nogami, he told himself. Just Nogami...

But that subtle, lemon-sweet scent—it hit him straight in the strike zone of first-love nostalgia.

And to make matters worse, unlike Sae —who always wore sports bras and never stirred any particular thoughts—Nogami’s figure, though not quite as voluptuous as Minako’s, was definitely well above average.

If he had to rank them, he thought it’d probably go something like:

Noticing that Harutaki’s mind was clearly elsewhere, Nogami felt her cheeks burn.

This was the second time—no, counting that prank from before, the second time she’d ever been this close to a boy.

That clean jawline, that straight nose, and those violet eyes that seemed to draw her in with every glance...

Oh no. This is bad. Really bad.

Why are we standing like this—like lovers in an embrace?!

And what’s with that faint milky scent?! What kind of guy uses milk-scented body wash at his age?!

It wasn’t even that she’d run that far, but her heart was pounding like she’d just sprinted a thousand meters. Each beat slammed against her chest, echoing in her ears, hot and restless.

“Hoshikawa...”

“...What?”

“Why are you tilting your head up like you can’t look at me?”

At the very least, have some self-awareness about your beautiful-girl attributes, will you?!

Just as Harutaki was trying to come up with an excuse, a pair of soft, smooth hands cupped his face.

Hold it together... Hold it together—

This was clearly one of those tricks bad girls pulled. Don’t fall for it.

When he didn’t respond, Nogami suddenly tightened her grip and forced his face down toward hers.

This is exactly the kind of moment where a plastic bottle should roll dramatically across the floor, he thought vaguely.

But really, this was entirely in character for her.

Violet and rose-red eyes met at dangerously close range.

“Hoshikawa...”

Her lips were glossy—soft pink and shimmering faintly in the dim light, like morning dew. Her breath carried the faintest floral sweetness that seemed to pull him in.

As he slowly leaned closer, Nogami instinctively closed her eyes. Her body trembled.

Would it hurt, like in those TV dramas? Would she be able to breathe? Would it taste strange and awkward?

Minako had warned her: Men think with the lower half of their bodies. Tease them a little, and they’ll turn into beasts.

Well then... let’s just pretend it’s like being licked by a dog.

Her mind was a complete mess. In the pitch darkness, when the expected sensation never came, she couldn’t help but whisper impatiently—her tone half shy anger, half nervous anticipation.

“Stupid dog… hurry up…”

But what she got wasn’t the heated, breath-stealing kiss she’d imagined—no wet warmth, no dizzy sweetness—only her cheeks being yanked sharply to both sides.

“Ugh… it hurts!”

That was a sound completely unlike anything the proud and domineering Nogami izumi would ever make.

“What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!”

When she opened her eyes, she realized Harutaki was tugging both her cheeks out to the sides.

“Just because I helped you once, you thought I’d fallen for you? You’re sweeter than macarons, Nogami-san—too sweet for your own good.”

Gritting his teeth, Harutaki fought to suppress the instinctive urge rising from deep within his body. Forcing a cold smile onto his face, he feigned composure and mocked her.

“The kind of girl I like is someone gentle and graceful, like Shihou-san—not some haughty, ill-tempered princess.”

“Think I’m a dog? Well, this ‘good guy’ doesn’t hand out his first kiss that easily.”

Damn it. Striking such a tempting pose and even closing her eyes, I’d nearly lost control—I’d almost kissed her on the spot.

But a pretty face was fifty thousand yen a session; a fascinating personality—a soul worth knowing—might not be found even if you searched the world over.

Compared to her looks and figure, it was the person called Nogami Izumi inside that body who interested Harutaki far more.

He wanted to see her show that unspoken shyness.

He wanted to see her anxious regret when she couldn’t get what she wanted.

He wanted to watch her wrestle with her pride, torn between appearance and feeling.

What Harutaki longed for was not a pet-like handout or some self-congratulatory sacrifice—it was the real affection of the girl before him, a romance full of awkward sincerity and youth.

And besides, he prided himself on knowing Nogami well enough.

He knew she was a girl with a bad temper. He didn’t want to drape his own rose-colored fantasies over her and then end up crushed by his own disillusionment.

“When you truly see me as someone who can stand beside you…Not as a pet, and not as some thank-you gift against your real feelings— You want my first kiss? Catch me first. Date me. I’m a hard man to win over, Nogami-san.”

Trying to dispel the awkward air between them, he deliberately poked at Nogami’s temper.

Only, he seemed to have forgotten that today, events kept unfolding in ways he couldn’t predict—like right now.

Something like a reverse-hanging snare snapped tight around the back of his neck—

Harutaki found himself worried for the poor collar of his shirt, which had already survived several calamities today.

“Ugh…”

An awkward tongue slid into his mouth like the soft omelet topping on a pork-cutlet bowl. Before its owner could even react, the coppery-sweet taste of blood spread across both their mouths.

“Sluurp…”

“You—remember this, you bastard—!”

That cruel little smile he knew so well bloomed once again on Nogami’s face as she seized the upper hand, declaring her dominance.

“—This is payback!”

“Payback for making me furious… for making me bite my own lip… for making my heart race and then dousing me with cold water—”

“Handout? Sacrifice?”

She pressed her soft, smaller frame against his 185-centimeter body as if trying to stuff him inside her, her cheeks burning scarlet.

“Stop flattering yourself, you idiot!”

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