Haru had already sensed Megumi's arrival earlier. Since she hadn't said anything, he simply continued playing by himself.
Now that she finally spoke, he took the opportunity to perform a fancy move on the horizontal bar and landed smoothly, drawing another round of excited gasps from the kids watching nearby.
Haru smiled at the noisy children, then turned back—only to see Megumi holding up her phone, clearly having filmed the entire thing.
He raised an eyebrow. "You've been filming me a lot lately, haven't you?"
After thinking about it, he realized it was true.
Megumi calmly put away her phone. "Because I'm interested."
"Interested? Don't tell me this is more of that 'observe more' advice from the club."
"Mhm." Megumi nodded without hesitation.
Haru didn't believe her for a second and was about to press further when she handed him a bottle of water. He had no choice but to accept it.
After taking a few gulps and capping the bottle, Megumi spoke again before he could resume questioning.
"The kids are still watching you. Wanna teach them a few tricks?"
Haru glanced at her suspiciously. "Smooth move, that combo."
From handing over the water to picking the perfect moment to cut in—she'd flawlessly interrupted his train of thought.
Megumi tilted her head innocently. "I have no idea what you mean."
Haru sighed, setting the bottle down. "I'm not teaching the kids anything."
"Why not?" Megumi looked over at the eager children. "They're clearly hoping you'll show them something."
He shook his head. "First, those are advanced tricks that take years of practice—not to mention proper safety precautions. And second… if I'm teaching them, who's going to keep you company?"
Megumi paused, her cheeks turning slightly pink, though her voice remained as soft as ever."So the conversation rhythm's back in your favor, huh?"
Haru chuckled. "That's how it goes when two pros go at it. It's all about the little details—timing the perfect counterattack."
"Like Utaha-senpai and Yukinoshita?"
"Uh… the skill gap between them is kinda big. Not the best comparison."
After greeting the kids one last time, Haru walked with Megumi toward a quieter part of the park. They sat down on a bench under the trees.
"So, how come you came alone? Where are the others?" Haru finally asked.
Megumi hesitated. "I didn't feel like shopping anymore, so I came to find you. It's just…"
"Just what?"
"Before I left, Hiratsuka-sensei seemed… off."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I'm not exactly sure."
Megumi gazed at the trees around them and the sound of kids laughing in the distance. With a contented expression, she said, "Utaha-senpai and Yukinoshita are always arguing. Even while shopping for clothes, they can't stop bickering."
Then, she shared her theory. "Hiratsuka-sensei probably thought it was a sign of closeness between them, so she didn't step in. But toward the end, she looked… conflicted. Like she wanted to say something but didn't."
Haru didn't think much of it. "She was probably just trying to figure out how to stop their argument."
Megumi didn't respond. Something about Hiratsuka's expression had felt off, but she hadn't stayed long enough to find out.
Suddenly, Haru remembered something. "Do you guys have anything planned for tonight?"
"Probably not, unless Yukinoshita decides to pin down Utaha-senpai again." Her tone at the end turned oddly subtle.
Haru barely held back a laugh. "Then you'd better all get some rest. You're heading home tomorrow—you don't want to be exhausted."
Megumi shot him a suspicious look. "You're planning something tonight, aren't you?"
"I am not." Haru firmly denied it.
Megumi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Got it. You are planning something. Otherwise, why would you suddenly remind me to go to bed early?"
Haru stayed quiet.
Megumi wasn't so easy to fool. She casually unlocked her phone, glanced at the date, and just as quickly locked it again.
"Alright, I won't ask." She smiled.
"Thanks for understanding." Haru exhaled in relief. He really didn't want her to spoil the surprise he'd been preparing.
They sat together for a while longer, until Haru checked the time—it was about time to head back.
Megumi, however, remained seated. "Those moves you did earlier… no normal person could pull those off, right?"
"Right. I told you, those techniques take practice," Haru replied casually.
"What about a professional gymnast? Could they do it?"
"Sure, why not? The moves aren't that hard. It's just that most people would hesitate without safety gear."
"So in other words, you're already strong enough to ignore all that."
Megumi spoke as if summarizing her analysis, her face calm and serious.
Haru gave her a puzzled look. She met his gaze with that same serious expression."If possible, can you show me that move again?"
"…Kato, are you possessed by a detective or something?"
He finally realized—this was an investigation.
Just like Yukino, who once tried to "study" his body out of curiosity.
Megumi met his eyes without flinching. "I'm just curious, that's all."
"Curious… about my body?"
"Sounds kinda lewd when you put it like that, but yeah, technically you're not wrong."
Haru was speechless. "You're not even going to pretend otherwise?"
"Why should I?" she asked.
…He was stumped.
True, she had no reason to pretend.
She was genuinely curious about the limits of his physical abilities, so saying it outright was, in a way, perfectly logical.
Still, there was no way he was going to show her his true power. Not unless she wanted to see him tear down a building with his bare hands.
So, jokingly, he said, "Well, I appreciate your honesty and curiosity… but no, I refuse."
Megumi squinted at him. "Anime quote?"
"Nope. That one's all me," Haru smiled. "We're in high school—you should focus on studying, not this kind of nonsense."
"Oh, pulling the 'wise elder' card to change the subject?" Megumi calmly analyzed.
Haru waved his hand. "Nah, if I were really acting like an elder, it'd sound more like…"
He cleared his throat and adopted a serious tone:"Kids shouldn't have such wild thoughts. Focus on what matters. Back in my day, children like you would've gotten a spanking."
Megumi blinked, then suddenly stood up.
"What are you doing?"
To his astonishment, she turned around, leaned over the bench slightly, and murmured,"If a spanking is all it takes for you to show me, then… you can hit me once."
Then she added softly, "Just once."
From where Haru was sitting, he had a clear view of her blushing face.
I knew it—this girl's my natural enemy!
He was completely defeated. Exasperated, he muttered, "…I was joking."
Megumi slowly turned back, hands behind her back. "So was I. You're a boy—you shouldn't go around spanking girls."
Haru let out a dry chuckle. "Fine, fine. If you're that curious, I'll do the trick again."
"Thanks."
For a second, Haru wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but it felt like her eyes lit up with genuine excitement as she thanked him.
After satisfying Megumi's curiosity, the two of them made their way back to the mall.
As expected, Yukino and the others were already waiting on the ground floor.
Even though they had been shopping for quite a while, they ended up buying very little.
Except for Shizuka, who held two exquisite shopping bags in her hands, Yukino and Utaha each only carried one small bag.
"Megumi, when exactly did you leave earlier?" Utaha walked over and immediately asked her question.
Megumi Kato replied honestly, "Right when you and Yukinoshita were arguing."
It was a simple, straightforward answer—normally nothing out of the ordinary. But after she said it, both she and Haru noticed something was off.
Yukino and Utaha's expressions were… strange.
And Shizuka looked even more so.
Her face flushed almost instantly as she awkwardly turned her head away, unable to meet Haru's gaze.
"What happened?" Haru asked curiously.
Yukino frowned with clear distaste. "I don't want to talk about it."
Utaha gave a teasing smile. "If Hiratsuka-sensei agrees, I can tell you two."
Immediately, both Haru and Megumi shifted their gazes to Shizuka.
Feeling all eyes on her, Shizuka had no choice but to lift her head and force out a reply."I'll tell you someday… just not now."
"How is that any different from saying, 'next time for sure'?" Haru responded, clearly unimpressed.
Shizuka's cheeks burned even hotter as she tightened her grip on the shopping bags in frustration."I said I'll tell you later! Stop pushing, Amamiya!"
Then she quickly added, "I'll treat you all to a fancy dinner tonight."
Haru chuckled and deliberately looked over at Yukino and Utaha. "You think one nice meal is enough to buy our silence?"
Yukino understood what he meant but couldn't be bothered to play along.
Utaha, on the other hand, smiled with perfect timing. "At least three meals."
"Deal!"
Shizuka agreed without hesitation. She really couldn't bear for the topic to continue any longer.
To her, if even Haru found out about the earlier misunderstanding, he'd definitely mock her for a long, long time.
She knew Haru would do something like that!
The scariest part was that he'd already seen her body. If that fact got added on top of the misunderstanding… how could she ever face him again? Could she still shamelessly show up at his place for a free meal?
In the spirit of paying the "hush money," Shizuka chose an upscale restaurant for dinner that night. Just the luxurious look of the grand lobby was enough to suggest how expensive the place must be.
"You really went all out, Hiratsuka-sensei." Yukino and Megumi were genuinely grateful.
"Please continue going all out, Hiratsuka-sensei," Haru and Utaha added mischievously.
Shizuka rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Whatever. Let's just call it a Christmas reward for myself. It is the holiday season, after all."
The moment she said that Yukino and Utaha's expressions subtly shifted.
Compared to Christmas Eve, which they didn't really care about, Christmas Day itself held far more meaning to them.
Megumi, however, remained calm as always—because earlier, when she checked her phone, she had already taken note of the date.