"Is she not here?"
After finishing his workout at the park, Hachiman wasn't in a hurry to go home. Instead, he stopped by a nearby convenience store.
Unfortunately, the woman he was looking for wasn't there.
Hachiman sighed and casually bought a can of MAX Coffee before leaving the store.
Since he didn't run into Kawasaki at night, he'd have to give her the money tomorrow during the day.
To be honest.
Giving his girlfriend's money to Kawasaki felt... a little off.
"Ahem."
Hachiman shook off the thought and quickly finished his MAX Coffee.
However.
Just as he tossed the empty can into the trash, a familiar figure caught his eye.
"Huh?"
Hachiman paused—or rather, two figures.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he decided to go over and check the situation.
"Kawasaki."
"I-It's you!?"
Kawasaki jolted, but when she saw it was the familiar young man, she relaxed and said with a strange tone:
"You're done with your workout?"
"Yeah. Who's this..."
Hachiman nodded, then glanced at the blonde woman Kawasaki was supporting.
A strong smell of alcohol hit his nose.
It was overwhelming.
The blonde woman, clearly drunk, was slumped over Kawasaki's shoulder.
"This is Takasu Taeko. I call her Tae-chan. She's my colleague and senior at work," Kawasaki explained, struggling to support the blonde woman.
"Let me help."
Hachiman sighed inwardly and stepped forward.
If it were just a random passerby, he wouldn't have offered to help.
But since it was Kawasaki, someone he knew and had a complicated relationship with, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"Um... she reeks of alcohol."
Kawasaki hesitated.
"You've never had alcohol before, right? The smell might be too much for you."
"Like you've had any."
Hachiman ignored her and walked up to Kawasaki.
"Let me carry her."
"You... ugh!"
Kawasaki instinctively let Hachiman take the blonde woman, then said irritably:
"How do you know I haven't had alcohol?"
"You can drink?"
"I... I can, a little!"
Hachiman let out an "oh," clearly not taking Kawasaki's words seriously.
Even though Kawasaki worked at a bar, he knew she wasn't much of a drinker—or maybe she'd never even had alcohol before.
"You don't believe me?"
Seeing Hachiman's attitude, Kawasaki got annoyed and immediately felt the urge to prove herself:
"If there's a chance, I'll... I'll show you someday!"
"Sure."
"Huh??"
Kawasaki's eyes widened. She had expected Hachiman to brush her off, but he agreed so readily that it left her speechless.
"Y-You actually want to go on a date with me? Hachiman, don't forget, your girlfriend is Yukinoshita!!"
"But wasn't it your invitation?" Hachiman sighed. The reason he agreed was mainly to find an opportunity to give Kawasaki the money.
"Huh? I, uh..."
Kawasaki's face turned red, and she couldn't find the words to respond.
Hachiman didn't dwell on the topic. The priority now was to deal with the woman in his arms—no, judging by her appearance, she was more of a young lady, or perhaps even a married woman. He needed to get her home quickly.
"Does your senior live around here?"
"Yeah, not far. Just a few hundred meters away."
Kawasaki pointed into the distance, then hesitated as she looked at Hachiman holding the blonde woman.
"Are you... okay? Tae-chan isn't heavy, but carrying her all the way to her place will still take a lot of effort... Do you need my help?"
"No, I've got it. Her weight is manageable for me."
Hachiman shook his head.
Kawasaki wanted to say more but eventually nodded and thanked him:
"Thanks, Hachiman."
Hachiman hummed in acknowledgment and tightened his grip on the blonde woman.
The two of them then headed straight for the blonde woman's home.
Along the way.
Kawasaki kept sneaking glances at Hachiman.
Seeing the young man firmly gripping the woman's snow-white thigh with one hand and holding her slender waist with the other, she felt an inexplicable sense of... envy.
"Ahem, H-Hachiman-kun, helping is one thing, but don't get any weird ideas about Tae-chan, okay?"
Kawasaki couldn't help but remind him, worried that Hachiman might be tempted by the blonde woman.
"Uh... I won't."
Hachiman responded seriously, though his eyes instinctively glanced at the blonde woman in his arms.
Her face was delicate, leaning toward cute.
But...
Along with the cuteness, there was also a subtle charm of a mature woman.
She was wearing a pencil skirt, dressed in office attire.
This perfectly accentuated her figure, with curves that were undeniably alluring.
This wasn't the kind of body a middle schooler could have.
Clearly.
The blonde woman in his arms was likely a working adult.
Moreover...
The natural, mature aura she exuded was something Hachiman had only ever sensed in Mrs. Yuigahama, Sayuri, and Yukinoshita's mother.
Hachiman boldly speculated that the blonde woman in his arms might be a married woman.
"Then why are you still looking?"
At this point, Kawasaki said irritably:
"Why are your eyes glued to Tae-chan's chest?"
"Huh? No, I'm really not..."
Hachiman quickly defended himself:
"I was just thinking, why would a perfectly fine woman drink so much? And get herself this drunk..."
"Well..."
Hearing this, Kawasaki hesitated but eventually sighed and explained:
"Tae-chan has been on a lot of blind dates recently, but none of them worked out. That's why she kind of... snapped today."
"Huh?"
Hachiman's mouth twitched.
Why are you like Hiratsuka-sensei, drowning your sorrows in alcohol because you can't find a man?
Speaking of Hiratsuka-sensei, I wonder if she's found a boyfriend yet. She's almost thirty, after all.
Just as Hachiman was lost in thought, the blonde beauty in his arms suddenly stirred.
Her eyes fluttered open.
When she saw the handsome young man holding her, the drunken Mrs. Takasu immediately became infatuated and mumbled:
"Ugh~ A-Are you Tae-chan's prince charming? Ugh... let Tae-chan hug you~ hug you..."
However.
While she said "hug," in the next second, the blonde woman suddenly lifted her head and kissed Hachiman on the lips.
Kawasaki: "!!!"
Hachiman: "???"
Holy crap!
That's a strong alcohol smell!!
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