bookrandom Ch. 115.1 - And Thus, Shihou Chouko Takes a Step Forward Pt1
Ch. 115.1 - And Thus, Shihou Chouko Takes a Step Forward Pt1
Dense shrubs crowded along the mountain path, like attendants waiting to welcome their princess. The uneven dirt trail was barely wide enough for Harutaki and Chouko to walk one behind the other.After several dozen steps, Harutaki’s view suddenly opened up.
It wasn’t that the road had widened. Rather, the faint footpath that people had once walked had simply disappeared—blending back into the forest itself. The moment it vanished, a strange sense of liberation surfaced in his chest, as if all restraints had suddenly been cast off.
This small mountain resembled Kifune Shrine in one way: both were already overflowing with greenery and life even in the early summer of May, the vegetation lush and vibrant.
And yet, the feeling they gave was completely different.
If Kifune Shrine possessed a quiet, restrained beauty—so solemn that one would hesitate to raise their voice for fear of disturbing the gods above—then this mountain was the opposite.
It made him want to shout.
To run freely.
This place truly felt like summer.
Chouko moved lightly through the woods, pushing aside branches and slipping past thickets with ease, like a small woodland creature perfectly at home here. Her lively figure flickered between tree trunks and rocks, like a butterfly dancing among flowers—free and pure.
“I haven’t come here since middle school… it’s really been a long time.”
She stopped, spun around, and looked at Harutaki, who was quietly taking in the scenery.
“…Harutaki-kun, what do you think?”
What do I think…
After pondering for a moment, he replied jokingly,
“It definitely seems like a good place. A place capable of growing a cute girl like Shihou.”
“What do you mean growing?! That makes it sound like I sprouted out of the mountains or something! I’m Chouko, not a mushroom!”
She puffed up her cheeks in protest. Then, as if remembering something, she hurried over, grabbed his hand, and dragged him deeper into the forest.
Soon, they stopped beneath a massive rock roughly as tall as a one-story building.
The stone was irregularly shaped. Moss covered its upper surface, while fresh fallen leaves lay quietly on top. Its pitted surface and patches of yellowing told a silent story of time’s slow erosion.
“This is…”
Harutaki had been about to ask what the rock meant to her when he noticed something faint etched into it.
Marks that clearly weren’t natural.
Crooked horizontal lines roughly at his waist height.
And beside them, crudely carved characters—“Shihou” and “Sato.”
Sato had even misspelled one of the strokes in the character for Tō.
“This is where we recorded our heights when we were kids.”
Chouko bent slightly and gently traced the lowest mark with her fingers.
“Most children go through a phase where they can’t wait to grow taller and become adults, right?”
More accurately, Harutaki thought, until around the time they enter university.
But in reality, most people who once dreamed of growing up quickly and escaping their parents eventually regret that wish.
In a world that has never lacked hardship, the purest and most carefree time for most people is probably the period when they lived under their parents’ protection.
You didn’t need to worry about food, clothing, or shelter—because your parents took care of you.
You didn’t need to worry about going astray—because they would warn and correct you.
You didn’t even need to fear making mistakes—because people are generous toward children.
“I used to want to grow up quickly too,” Chouko said quietly. “So I could escape my family’s control.”
She looked at the rock.
“But before I realized it, I’ve already grown this tall… this big. And yet I still haven’t achieved what I dreamed of when I was little.”
“You already are.”
Noticing the sudden melancholy, Harutaki tried to lighten the mood with a joke.
“But did little Shihou ever imagine her chest would grow this big?”
“Ahh! Harutaki-kun, you’re the worst!”
Bonk, bonk.
She punched his chest twice—not very hard, but enough to vent the gloom in her heart.
“I was talking about something serious!”
She glared at him with those pale golden eyes, then picked up a thin stone from the ground. Standing beside the “height record rock,” she drew a straight line above her head.
Then she neatly wrote the character Shihou beside it—far tidier than the childish scribbles below.
Handing the stone to him, she said,
“We have to record it every time we come here, okay?”
A moment later, two new marks appeared on the rock.
One of them, close to the top, had Hoshikawa written beside it—standing more than a head higher than the mark labeled Shihou below.
“Looking at it like this,” Harutaki said, “Shihou seems pretty short.”
“For girls, 160 cm is enough!”
She pushed him toward the path they’d come from, leaving the giant rock behind to silently continue recording time and growth.
Just before it disappeared from view, Chouko turned back and glanced at it.
The marks—old and new, shallow and deep, childish and mature—stood out clearly.
Goodbye… Onii
Perhaps he had never truly done anything wrong to her.
Perhaps it was she, Shihou Chouko, who had placed too many expectations and too much admiration onto him.
And perhaps she had never truly wronged him either.
She was simply pursuing her own happiness.
Pursuing what she truly wanted.
Childish fantasies should end here.
I can’t just grow taller without moving forward, she thought.
I have to take a step ahead.
…
“Harutaki-kun, look at this!”
Chouko held up a stick she’d picked up somewhere. It was straight and bare, almost perfectly shaped.
Harutaki examined it and gave an approving verdict.
“For kids it might be childish… but for adults it’s just right.”
Come on—having a stick that looks like a sword is awesome.
He still remembered picking up branches as a child and swinging them like magic swords. As if doing so would let him destroy buildings, change the world, and earn the admiration of girls for his cool strength.
There was nothing embarrassing about that.
After all, imagination is the natural privilege of innocence.
“When I was little,” Chouko said, looking at the stick, “I used to wish I had a weapon like this. One that could cut away everything that made me unhappy… and split open the walls that blocked my freedom.”
But the way she said it made Harutaki suddenly feel a chill down his spine.
The stick somehow felt a little more dangerous now.
Smack.
“Hey!”
He clutched his butt and glared at her. She was grinning mischievously.
“Hehe. If you’re holding a sword, you’re bound to want to cut something, right?”
“Where did you get that murderer mindset?!”
Even though he kind of agreed internally—like slashing leaves off bushes or carving “sword marks” in soft dirt.
But when he was the one getting hit, that was a different story.
It reminded him less of heroic swordplay and more of childhood memories of his mother smacking his backside with a broom.
“In a one-on-one sword duel, running away is disgraceful, you know—Hoshikawa Hanbei Harutaki~”
She still remembered that nickname.
Smack.
Another hit landed on his butt.
“In a sword duel both sides should at least have swords!”
“This isn’t a duel—it’s fallen-samurai hunting!”
“Hey! I just complimented your memory!”
“You ungrateful traitor who forgot his benefactor after reaching the capital.”
“I’ll perform your beheading for you, Hoshikawa Harunobu-kun~”
And so the two of them chased each other through the forest—laughing, running through the trees and bushes.
Until Chouko tripped on an exposed root.
Harutaki turned back to catch her—and the two of them tumbled to the ground together.
Huff… huff…
Her warm breath brushed against his face. A faint floral fragrance drifted into his nose.
She must have eaten breath mints or used mouthwash while waiting for him earlier.
“…Mmm.”
Noticing his gaze, she leaned closer.
But after the intense running, she had to stop halfway to catch her breath.
“See? Now you know the power of my Harutaki-Slash, right?”
Smack.
“Hey! Harutaki-kun, what are you doing?!”
“I believe in gender equality.”
As he said that, he suddenly remembered Nogami back in Tokyo and silently apologized to her in his heart.
“You perverted creep. Disgusting.”
“It’s unfair if only you get to hit me.”
“I’m a girl.”
An unbeatable argument.
Harutaki helped her up, and they brushed the dirt and leaves off their clothes.
Once he was done, he went to pick up the stick again—thinking it would be a waste to abandon such a fine “sword.”
But seeing this, Chouko clearly misunderstood something.
She shrank back slightly and asked nervously,
“H-Harutaki-kun… what are you…”
Seeing her guilty expression, he decided to tease her and stepped forward with a stern face.
“Tell me. Do you want—”
“I… I want Harutaki-kun’s other stick…”
“—the golden stick or…?”
Wait.
What did she just say?
Noticing his confused expression, Chouko’s face instantly turned bright red.
“I meant you should find another stick to use!”
Smack.
“Eek!”
She clutched her butt and glared at him, though inwardly she let out a huge sigh of relief.
Thank goodness he didn’t hear clearly… that would’ve been way too embarrassing.
Thinking about it, she couldn’t help blaming him a little.
It was all Harutaki’s fault for always making dirty jokes—now even she had started thinking like that…
Still, Chouko thought with a small smile,
Being able to play freely like this with him…
really was wonderful.
…
Harutaki and Chouko walked on and off along the mountain path, and after about fifteen minutes they arrived near a gently flowing stream.
The current wasn’t fast, but even while they were still moving through the woods, Harutaki could faintly hear the soft trickle of water. Accompanied by the crisp, melodious chirping of birds in the mountains, the restless feeling in his chest gradually calmed down.
Incidentally, the two “weapons” discovered earlier—“Harutaki-slash” and the newly found “Chouko-slash”—had both snapped after proving unable to withstand a prolonged battle.
Rustle…
Rustle…
The two of them parted the bushes and stepped out.
The scenery suddenly brightened. Clear water that revealed the riverbed and pebbles scattered like stars came into view. A few small birds drinking at the shore were startled and immediately flapped their wings, fleeing into the distance.
The river in front of them wasn’t grand or particularly striking.
But perhaps that was exactly what made it enjoyable.
Hidden and quiet, it felt almost like stepping into a secluded paradise—
a world that belonged only to the two of them.
“I’m going to change clothes now~ Harutaki-kun, turn around! No peeking!”
As she spoke, Chouko set down her backpack, pulled open the zipper, and took out the dress she had bought earlier from Granny Chihiro.
Rustle…
The sound of fabric rubbing against fabric.
The sound of cloth brushing against skin.
Even with the nearby stream masking some of it, the noises reached Harutaki’s ears with startling clarity.
When someone specifically says don’t look, doesn’t that mean they secretly expect you to peek?
Still…
He took out his phone, thinking that if he was going to do it, he should at least be a little subtle about it.
“Hmm…”
On the other side, Chouko glanced at Harutaki’s obediently turned back and pouted slightly, silently complaining about how unromantic he was.
Was her changing clothes really that uninteresting?
Of course, changing in front of someone would normally feel embarrassing.
But if it was Harutaki… she didn’t really mind.
After all… eventually he would see anyway…
And she had already seen his body before, so letting him look at hers wasn’t really a big deal.
Just as she was thinking that, she suddenly noticed something strange.
What was Harutaki doing holding his phone with the screen turned off?
And why was he holding it so high? Wouldn’t his arms get tired?
Wait—
“Pervert…”
Chouko muttered under her breath.
Then, with a mischievous thought, she squeezed her arms inward and drew her shoulders together slightly toward his direction.
When she saw the boy’s hand tremble and nearly drop his phone, she couldn’t help it—she burst into laughter.
“Harutaki-kun, you’re such an idiot~”
A little while later, she finished changing and quietly crept up beside him, tapping his shoulder.
“Hehe. Well? What do you think?”
“Very… very cute…”
Harutaki stammered, repeating the exact same words he had used earlier in the vintage clothing shop.
It wasn’t that he wanted to brush it off.
He was genuinely at a loss for words.
A snow-white dress.
Snow-white skin.
Her smooth black hair stood out all the more vividly in contrast.
The dress itself had almost no decoration—only two small butterfly knots sewn onto the shoulder straps, just like Chouko herself: pure and unblemished.
If he had to describe how he felt right now, only one word came to mind.
First love.
Holding the straw sunhat on her head, she spun in place. The simple skirt flared outward like an opening umbrella, like a swan dancing gracefully upon a lake.
“Eh? Can’t you be a little more specific?”
Chouko poked his cheek.
“Cute… like you’re wearing a shopping bag.”
Bonk.
As expected, he took a punch to the head.
“The shopping bag contains the world’s cutest first-love girl.”
“…Hmm. I guess that passes.”
Something warm brushed lightly against his cheek for a brief moment before disappearing.
Chouko grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the river.
But while she had already prepared by wearing sandals that could get wet, Harutaki had to take off his shoes and socks by the riverbank before stepping into the water.
Splash splash.
Splash splash.
“I used to catch crayfish and crabs here.”
Chouko ran freely against the current, splashing water everywhere like a tiny fairy from a story—innocent, lively, and just a little childish.
Sometimes she kicked at the slow-moving water with her feet.
Sometimes she bent down and scooped up clear water with both hands, tossing it into the air.
Countless sparkling droplets scattered under the sunlight, refracting brilliant rainbow colors. For a moment, the girl looked as if she had stepped straight out of a dreamlike fairyland.
After a while, perhaps tired from playing, she ran back to Harutaki and excitedly announced she would wash his feet for him.
Although he was certain she had thought up another prank, he had no reason to refuse. He simply sat down on a rock by the shore.
But soon his gaze was drawn elsewhere.
To the valley squeezed between her thighs.
“Harutaki-kun… what are you thinking about right now?”
Chouko asked meaningfully while rubbing the top of his foot.
“This mountain is really white.”
“Oh?”
Suddenly she pressed hard against the sole of his foot.
But when she looked up to check his reaction, she felt slightly disappointed.
Why is he completely unfazed?
How was she supposed to get revenge for that foot-wiping incident at home?
“If you press the wrong acupoint, it won’t work. Want me to teach you?”
“Mm-hm!”
Chouko immediately sat where Harutaki had been and placed her soft foot into his hands.
Her toes stretched naturally toward him.
The sole of her foot was smooth like polished pearls, faintly tinted pink, with delicate little creases in the arch—almost inviting someone to touch it.
But determined to show her his “power,” Harutaki curled his finger and poked beneath her soft sole.
“Uwaa—! That hurts…”
“Do you know why it hurts? Because this acupoint represents the kidneys. Kidneys rely on the balance of yin and yang…” he said with complete nonsense. Swallowing, he continued, “Shihou, this means you have kidney yin deficiency. How many times a week are you doing that kind of thing to end up with depleted yin energy?”
“R-Really?”
“Of course it’s—”
“I… I only do it three times a week…”
“—a lie.”
The moment he said it, Harutaki looked up.
His eyes met Chouko’s face, which had turned red all the way to the tips of her ears.
“You’re the worst!”
Smack.
Chouko planted her foot directly onto his face and kicked him backward into the river, soaking his entire upper body.
Watching the drenched Harutaki scramble back up, she burst into laughter—
Only to be immediately splashed with water in return.
“A soaking-wet Shihou… your skin looks even better now~”
“Then I’ll help improve Harutaki-kun’s skin too!”
Laughing, she stepped into the cool river and splashed water back at him.
Before long, both of their clothes were completely soaked.
Yet when Harutaki saw the white cotton underwear faintly visible through her thin dress, he felt no lust at all.
Snow-like white suited her perfectly.
Noble, elegant gold suited her perfectly.
And so, that soft pale-gold—both pure and graceful, yet lively and playful—was the color that suited Chouko best.
He wanted to protect her liveliness and childishness.
He wanted to safeguard her purity and innocence.
She was the kind of person who made him think that way.
Meanwhile, watching Harutaki’s smile—one completely free of impurity—Chouko quietly thought to herself:
Harutaki-kun… have you realized?
Only when I’m with you can I play freely… and laugh without worry.
Because you’re willing to share my responsibilities.
Because you’ll run and fool around with me without hesitation.
I want you to understand me more.
I want to share everything with you…
My past, my present, and my future.
And… I want to move forward with you.
I want to walk by your side.
Harutaki-kun… you’re the first person who has ever made me feel this way.
…
We will be giving out 5 bonus chapters after reaching 25 vote on NovelFire!
Feel free to leave a vote or review!!
20/25