When I Let My Runaway Senior Stay at My House, Beautiful Seniors Started Gathering Around Me - Chapter 11: Hinata-san’s Ex-Boyfriend

Chapter 11: Hinata-san’s Ex-Boyfriend

“We’ve really ended up just wandering around aimlessly, huh?”

“But it doesn’t feel bad, you know? We’ve been talking the whole time.”

“…Yeah. Same here.”

We kept walking around the city, but we didn’t have any destination at all.

Hinata-san walked beside me, firmly linking her arm with mine, not showing any signs of letting go, just walking on and on… but even though it was just that, I was having fun.

“It’s not exactly a date… but going out with a girl is fun, isn’t it?”

“Aren’t you too simple? You’re gonna get tricked someday, you know?”

“I know I’m simple, but it’s not like I get excited like this with just anyone.”

“Is it because it’s me?”

“Yes.”

“…Geez, you really say things directly, don’t you, Tsubaki?”

Did I nod too confidently…?

That’s what I thought, but Hinata-san hugged my arm even tighter, so she probably didn’t mind all that much.

“I’m kind of surprised too… we’re just walking like this, and yet my cheeks keep loosening up naturally.”

Hinata-san smiled, and I smiled along without meaning to.

“Your upper lip’s stretching out, you know.”

“…!”

“Just kidding.”

“Hinata-san!”

“Hehe.”

Even if I glared at her, it wasn’t strong at all.

Proof of that was the reflection in the glass of a nearby building—my face was just red, with no hint of intimidation.

(…?)

Of course, the glass reflected me and Hinata-san.

An average black-haired guy like me, and beside me, Hinata-san, with the same hair color but beautiful, busty, and sexy—she slowly brought her index finger up to her cheek, poking it as she stared at the glass, just like I was.

“Poke poke success.”

With her usual cool expression and flat voice, Hinata-san flashed a peace sign and said, “Yay.”

“…You’re way too cute.”

“Told you.”

We kept walking while having that kind of conversation.

Partway through, we passed by a supermarket that had opened two weeks ago, and Hinata-san bought some snacks—Pocky sticks.

“Let’s take a break and eat these together.”

I accepted Hinata-san’s invitation, and we sat on a nearby bench.

As I absentmindedly munched on the Pocky while watching people pass by, Hinata-san tapped me on the shoulder.

“Huh?”

“If you’ve got Pocky, there’s a game you want to try, right?”

“What?”

“The Pocky Game.”

The Pocky Game—the moment I heard those words, it was like lightning struck me.

That thrilling game where two people eat from opposite ends of a Pocky stick, getting closer and closer!

“Interested?”

“…I am.”

“Then let’s do it.”

I was happy, of course… but we were still technically outside.

Since it was around the time people were heading home, trying to play the Pocky Game here would definitely attract attention… but Hinata-san didn’t seem to care at all.

“I’ll hide us, so it’s fine.”

Hinata-san pulled out a math textbook from her bag and opened it.

I didn’t think it would hide us completely, but that still wasn’t enough to stop me from looking forward to playing the Pocky Game with her.

“Okay, hold it in your mouth.”

“Okay…!”

Of course, I’d never played the Pocky Game before.

I bit down on the chocolate-covered end, and Hinata-san took the other end in her mouth… that meant we were staring at each other from really close. Even though we’d kissed a few times and I was used to it, the strange tension still hung in the air.

(Tsubaki, here I go…!)

Slowly, slowly, we both started eating.

Hinata-san also chewed as she moved forward, and I could tell she was really enjoying herself… even though the reflection of me in her eyes showed a super nervous face, she giggled and suddenly chomped down the rest of the Pocky.

“Ngh!?”

Do you know what happens when someone eats the whole thing at once?

The distance between our mouths becomes zero, and our lips touch—along with the taste of chocolate still in our mouths, a sweet scent tickled my nose.

And when I thought the chocolate in our mouths was mostly gone, Hinata-san’s tongue slipped in between my lips.

“…Mmm, thanks for the treat.”

Hinata-san pulled away and ran her tongue across her upper lip.

If we were at home right now… I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop. That’s how good it was—I definitely wanted to do it again.

“Let’s do something like this again, okay? Well, compared to the stuff we’ve already done, this is pretty tame.”

“Since it’s with you, Hinata-san, I’d love to do it again anytime… huh?”

Hinata-san silently held a Pocky stick in her mouth and stared at me.

It totally seemed like we were done… and now she wasn’t even hiding behind the textbook anymore.

(What is this… she’s seriously way too cute.)

It was like Hinata-san had been turned into a little animal, holding the Pocky stick in her mouth like, Come on, let’s do it again, and honestly, it even looked like she was swinging her arms around begging for it.

“Th-Then, shall we do it one more time?”

Just as we were about to get close again, a voice calling out to Hinata-san echoed.

“Hinata?”

The voice had the distinct low tone of a man.

When we turned our eyes in the direction of the voice, there stood a boy — he was wearing a different school uniform from ours.

“…Kaito?”

“So it really was you, Hinata.”

Kaito… was he someone Hinata-san knew?

He didn’t look flashy or especially handsome, but he gave off an honest and sincere impression. He didn’t seem like a bad person—in fact, he seemed like an extremely nice guy.

“It’s been a while… hasn’t it? I haven’t seen you at all lately.”

“Yeah. I didn’t feel like seeing your face either.”

“…”

Kaito’s expression twisted at Hinata-san’s words.

“Ah, sorry. I kind of left you out of the loop — this is my ex.”

“…I see.”

W-What!?

This guy is Hinata-san’s ex… She had said she had one, but I honestly wasn’t curious enough to ask.

“You were childhood friends, right?”

“Yeah. But ever since we broke up, we haven’t met at all. I even deleted his contact info.”

“…Oh.”

Hinata-san was completely indifferent.

It reminded me of how she was the day we first met, back when I still hadn’t gotten involved with her. If she reacted to me like this, I think I’d be depressed for a few days.

“…Hinata! I want to apologize for back then… I did something terrible to you… so—”

“I don’t need an apology, and I have nothing to talk to you about. So if you care about me even a little, just go home.”

“Hinata!”

“…Ugh, you’re so annoying.”

Hinata-san even clicked her tongue.

She wasn’t exactly showing her emotions, but I could tell just how deeply she found this whole situation a hassle.

“…You just ruined what was a perfectly fun moment.”

I didn’t miss that small murmur — my body moved on its own.

“Sorry, Hinata-san.”

“Eh… mff!?”

“…!”

Right in front of Kaito, who looked like he still wanted to say something, I kissed Hinata-san.

I held back the urge to laugh at the lingering taste of chocolate, and kept the kiss going for a few seconds… Once her eyes started to go soft, I pulled back and looked at Kaito.

“We’re in the middle of a date right now, so please don’t interrupt.”

“A date… H-Hinata?”

Kaito looked stunned by the sudden kiss and turned a pleading gaze toward Hinata-san, but she only glanced at him briefly before pulling me close.

“That’s how it is. So could you stop getting in the way of our time together?”

Soon after that, Kaito ran off.

Since it was getting late, we decided to head home too, and while walking together for a bit, she told me what had happened with him.

“Well, it’s a common story. He heard rumors like I was sleeping around while ignoring my boyfriend, or that I was just doing compensated dating… and he totally believed it, and that was it.”

“………”

“Back then I looked kind of plain, but when I started high school, I decided to change. I made friends like Arisa, and I became who I am now. That change apparently made the rumors seem more believable. He told me he liked the old me better and dumped me.”

She told me things I hadn’t known before, but Hinata-san didn’t seem bothered at all. In fact, she laughed like she was having fun.

“I heard the rumor came from some girl who went to the same school as him. I didn’t get along with her, so that might’ve been part of it too.”

“Haa…”

“Back then I was like, ‘What the hell is all this noise about?’ But it stopped bothering me quicker than I expected, so I guess it wasn’t that serious of a relationship to me… Besides, being with Tsubaki now is a hundred billion times more fun.”

Saying that, Hinata-san pulled out her phone and showed me a photo from the past.

“Here. This is me back in junior high.”

The photo showed a completely different version of Hinata-san.

Compared to how flashy and gyaru-like she looks now, the Hinata-san in the photo had slightly messy hair, no earrings, and a fresh, plain look.

“I think you looked cute though.”

“Thanks.”

“And also…”

“And also?”

I remembered what Kaito had said to her.

“When he said he liked the old you… I mean, I haven’t known you as long as he has, but you’re so beautiful and cute now, I don’t get what he wasn’t satisfied with.”

I didn’t say “not to mention how sexy you are,” though it crossed my mind.

“…Hehe, ahahaha!”

“Hinata-san?”

“Sorry, it was just funny. It made me realize I really don’t care about him at all anymore — because I’ve found someone better.”

After that, I said goodbye to Hinata-san.

But since we ended with a pretty intense kiss, I couldn’t calm down even after getting home — and that was a problem.