Volume 2 Chapter 5 The Beautician’s Secret is Out – The Gift Reveal Comedy
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Hey, somethin’ ain’t right, right?”
”Yeah, totally. Something’s definitely off.”
Golden Week was over, and two stylish high school girls were meeting up at a family restaurant. They were Hibiki’s friends, Himari Motoya and Kairi Ihara (who everyone called Umirin).
There was a big reason why the two of them had decided to meet alone that day.
”Koharu and Kirino, their hair is all glossy and pretty now, too… that’s totally weird.”
”I mean, Hibiki just got super gorgeous, and then after just one little break like Golden Week, both of them get beautiful at the same time? No way, that can’t be a coincidence.”
Himari and Kairi, who were now in the same second-year class as Koharu and Kirino, had started talking to them more because they were friends with Hibiki.
Now, a month later, both of those girls had shown an obvious change in their hair quality. Before, it was only Hibiki, so they’d just thought she’d been working super hard on her beauty routine. But having two people show the exact same kind of change as Hibiki, and all at once? That made them have to start suspecting something.
”Plus… Hibiki only started changing after she got close to Hirose. They say Koharu was Hibiki’s friend from way back, but Kirino, too? That’s weird.”
”So, if those three are always hanging out with Hirose at the center of it all… and all three of ’em get beautiful hair… then it just has to be—”
The two girls reached the same conclusion.
””—It’s gotta be Hirose’s Gift.””
They both blurted it out at the same time.
And yeah, that conclusion was spot on. But there was one huge problem. Hibiki hadn’t told them anything about it, not for a whole year.
Since their close friend Hibiki had kept it a secret for so long, the two girls immediately came up with a couple of ideas why.
”Is Hibiki trying to keep Hirose’s Gift all to herself?”
”Or is she trying to keep it quiet for Hirose’s sake?”
But the two of them knew Hibiki’s personality really well. So, the answer was pretty obvious.
”…It’s for Hirose’s sake, isn’t it?” Himari murmured, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
”Considering Hibiki’s own Gift, she must’ve been drawn to Hirose.”
”But still…”
”Uh-huh.”
In the end, neither of them could hold back their intense curiosity when it came to beauty.
””—We wanna be gorgeous, too!””
Himari and Kairi decided they had to make a move.
* * *
Part 2 of 4
The very next day after school.
”Heeey, Hirose! Got a sec?”
”Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Each of his friends had their own things going on that day, so Hirose was about to walk home alone. He was just outside the school building when Himari called out to him. Kairi was right next to her, waving him over.
”It’ll only take a little bit of your time, promise.”
Hirose found himself following the two of them.
It took maybe fifteen minutes of walking. They chatted casually along the way, but they ended up at Himari’s house.
”Wait, we’re going inside?” Hirose asked, a little nervous.
”Yeah. You got a problem with that?” Himari questioned.
”No, not a problem, but…”
”I just wanna ask you about Hibiki’s stuff, that’s all.”
”Oh, well, if that’s all…”
(They’re her friends, after all. A little talk can’t hurt.) Hirose tried to guess what they were up to, but nothing concrete came to mind. Since they were good friends with Hibiki, he figured nothing weird would happen, so Hirose stepped inside Himari’s house.
”Excuse the intrusion…”
”Nervous, are we?”
”I mean, you’ve been to Hibiki’s place.” Kairi chimed in.
”Anyone gets a little jumpy the first time they go to a new place, duh.”
Himari’s room, decorated in that gyaru style, smelled sweet and nice. It was a stronger, more feminine scent than Hibiki’s house, and just being in the space made him feel a little tense.
After Himari set out some drinks and they all settled down, the real conversation started.
”So, I’m gonna be straight with you, okay? You’re using your Gift, that ability that makes hair and stuff beautiful, on Hibiki and the others, aren’t you?”
”—?!”
Hirose was shocked by the sudden accusation. He knew it was possible, but he never thought he’d be asked about it here, right now.
”Hmm. That face says ‘Bingo,’ you know.” Himari observed.
”W-what are you talking about? I don’t have a Gift like that,” Hirose stammered.
Even to an outsider, his reaction was obviously unnatural.
”Okay, let’s look at the facts. Hibiki originally only liked handsome guys. But then she suddenly got close to you, Hirose? We get that she really likes you now, but the thing that kicked it off had to be you, right? And then, boom—suddenly her skin’s perfect, she loses weight… and now her hair, too.”
”We work just as hard as Hibiki on our beauty routines, we swear, but you just can’t get that beautiful normally.” Kairi insisted.
”I don’t know much about, uh, girl stuff, but… is that how it is?” Hirose muttered.
Both Himari and Kairi had been at the top of the social hierarchy in their first year and were both seriously good-looking. But, at some point, Hibiki started leaving them far behind. They’d asked Hibiki about it a bunch of times and got vague answers, but now the difference was massive.
”Just spill it. You’ll feel better.” Himari said, sounding like a detective trying to make a criminal confess.
”Look, we’ve been friends with Hibiki forever, so we don’t wanna force you or do anything mean, seriously.”
”But, you see, girls? We’re creatures who want to be beautiful! This feeling? Hibiki would totally get it!” Kairi cried out, her voice cracking with desperate emotion.
”That’s…”
It was almost the exact same thing Hibiki had told Hirose when they first met. Hibiki had been dancing with happiness when she first heard about Hirose’s Gift and Skill. These two must feel the same way.
Whether to reveal his Gift or Skill, or whether to use it, was entirely Hirose’s call. But now that Hibiki was his girlfriend, he usually decided who to use it on based on everyone’s opinion, mostly targeting people who were ‘shining’ with the help of Hibiki’s Skill. He hadn’t heard anything about Himari or Kairi ‘shining’ so far…
”Ugh, man.” Hirose groaned.
”Still not gonna tell us, huh?” Himari’s tone sharpened.
”Well, I guess we don’t have a choice then.” Kairi added, a wicked grin spreading across her face.
”Huh?”
Part 3 of 4
Suddenly, Himari rushed forward and pinned Hirose’s arms behind his back in a tight grapple. The soft sensation of her body pressed against his back made him tense up. Meanwhile, Kairi rubbed her hands together playfully and closed in on Hirose from the front.
”H-hey, what are you doing?!” Hirose cried out, panicking.
”Heh…heh… just for a little bit, okay?” Kairi breathed heavily.
”Wha—ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha?!”
The next instant, Kairi’s ten fingers launched a tickle attack on his sides. Immediately, Hirose let out a loud laugh, unable to control the overwhelming ticklish feeling.
”Come on, Hirose! Tell us, and we’ll stop right now!” Himari pleaded, but her grip was steel.
”Ah-ha-ha?! No! Stop it?! This is bad!” Hirose gasped, squirming.
”Is this the spot you like, huh?! There! Your underarms are totally open!” Kairi crowed, escalating the attack.
”K-Kairi! No! Ah-ha-ha?! Stop it! Stop, I’m gonna die laughing!”
Hirose’s eyes were watering from the intense ticklishness, and he thrashed to escape, but he couldn’t get away from the two girls.
(This is kinda fun… I’m making a guy feel something just with my hands…) Kairi realized, a strange new feeling awakening within her as she tickled him.
”How about this?! Is it here?! Or here?! Come on, I’ll even go for your stomach or your n* * ** * *ples if you want!” Kairi yelled, fully in the moment.
”No! Ah-ha-ha-ha?! Stop! I’m gonna go crazy! Please!”
The tickle assault didn’t stop. At first, both girls just wanted to get information about the Gift, but gradually, their objective began to change.
”Umirin, switch!” Himari yelled.
”Roger!” Kairi barked back.
Now, Kairi held Hirose from behind, and Himari started tickling him. Surrounded by the girls’ close scent and tight embrace, Hirose’s face was red and twisted with a comical mix of pain and pleasure.
”The ears?! Or the neck?! Nah, the side of your stomach is still the best!” Himari declared, trying to find his most sensitive spot.
”Ah-ha-ha-ha?! H-Himari?! Stop! I mean it! I’m gonna laugh myself to death! I’m losing it!” Hirose bawled.
”Yeah, Hirose… that’s a good look on you…! Hah… hah…” Himari panted, getting excited herself.
But continuing this also wore them out.
”I can’t do it anymore!” Himari gasped.
”Woah?!”
Seeing a split-second opening, Hirose broke free and quickly put light into both of his hands.
”—Skill: ‘Skin Quality Improvement’!”
”Hyan?!”
”Ann?!”
He quickly touched both Himari’s and Kairi’s ears simultaneously with the activated hands, and the two girls jolted and trembled as if they’d been hit by an electric shock.
”Y-you, Hirose…” Himari breathed heavily.
”Y-you made us make a weird noise…” Kairi whispered, her face red.
”Well, you guys started it first! So—”
Just then, the doorbell rang.
—Ding-dong.
”Huh?”
—DING-DONG DING-DONG DING-DONG DING-DONG DING-DONG DING-DONG!
”W-what the—?! Who’s mashing the doorbell like that?!” Himari shrieked.
”I-I gotta go! See ya!” Hirose yelled, seizing his chance.
”Agh…”
Hirose grabbed his bag and bolted out the front door, leaving the two girls behind, who were momentarily paralyzed from the electric jolt to their ears.
And who was standing there—
”Wait, Asami-chan?!”
It was the unbelievably beautiful, silver-haired doll girl—Yaginuma Asami, standing there looking small and worried. Asami, who now looked absolutely perfect in her school uniform, was carrying her own bag, heading home. Hirose even called her by her first name now.
”W-why are you here?”
”A-aba¹… I-I just thought Takanashi-senpai was in trouble…” she whispered anxiously.
”How did you know…?”
”B-but… if you didn’t need me, then it’s… fine. So, goodbye…”
”Wait!”
Hirose still didn’t understand the conversation at all, but he stopped Asami from leaving.
”Since you’re here, let’s walk part of the way home together.”
”Aba?!”
”And… thank you for worrying about me.”
Hirose reached out his hand and gently stroked Asami’s head.
”A-abaaa…”
The moment he stroked her head, Asami’s expression melted like a little slime, a look of pure, blissful comfort washing over her face.
”It… feels so nice…” Asami breathed.
”You like this, don’t you, Asami-chan?”
(She’s seriously cute… some people just make you wanna pet them naturally, huh?) Hirose thought. Her hair was so easy to stroke, and thanks to his own Skill, her now perfectly straight hair felt the best to touch.
”Hey, Asami-chan, I wanted to ask you… have you ever been on a ‘Dungeon Tourism’ trip?”
Dungeon Tourism—Hibiki had suggested it to him during their hot spring trip, and Hirose was still on the fence about going. He wanted to hear someone else’s opinion.
”Aba… I might have…?” Asami replied quietly.
”Really? What was it like?”
”Ababa… It depends on the place, but… they’re places that don’t exist in Japan. Like being overseas. Big grassy plains, clean lakes, mountains covered in crystals… and also, caves.”
”Wow, you know a lot about it.”
Hirose didn’t think she’d been to all the places she just listed, but Asami was definitely knowledgeable.
”Was it fun?”
”Fun… I don’t know… maybe it was fun?” Asami questioned herself.
”Haha. You’re questioning it?”
”Takanashi-senpai wants to go?”
”I’ve been thinking about it.”
”…Are you scared of the monsters?”
”That’s part of it, but… I originally wanted to be an adventurer.”
”Aba…”
Hirose hadn’t told Asami about his old dream of becoming an adventurer. But somehow, he felt like he could talk about it with her. Maybe it was because she felt like a little sister.
He couldn’t be an adventurer anymore, but with Dungeon Tourism, he could legally enter a Dungeon. And Hibiki was trying to help him overcome his trauma.
”You should feel safe… (I’ll protect you.)” she muttered under her breath.
”Huh? I couldn’t hear that.”
”Aba! Dungeon Tourism is fun. I owe Takanashi-senpai a favor. I want him to know about all sorts of fun things… so, yes.”
”Asami-chan…”
Asami owed Hirose a favor, too. If Hirose wanted to take a step forward, Asami would push him. She would take care of all his worries—she said so without words.
”Thanks—I think I’ll try going sometime.”
”That would be good.”
The two continued their walk home together for a while.
* * *
”W-we messed up so bad…”
”Hibiki’s gonna be so mad at us…”
Meanwhile, Himari and Kairi, having returned to their senses, were regretting what they’d done.
They’d only meant to talk things out. But somehow, they had ended up pinning him down and tickling him. They’d even gotten a thrill out of seeing Hirose’s face twist up, which had made them feel all excited, too.
”And he said, ‘Skin Quality Improvement,’ right?” Himari mumbled.
”He did… but when he touched our ears…”
”Yeah. We totally jumped.”
”What even was that?”
The two of them had glimpsed a piece of Hirose’s Skill, but they still couldn’t figure out why touching their ears made them react that way.
But either way—
”We gotta apologize tomorrow…”
”Yeah, totally…”
They decided they had to apologize to Hibiki, and especially to Hirose.
* * *
”Hiiii-biii-kiiii!”
”W-what’s wrong with you two?”
The next morning, Himari and Kairi spotted Hibiki in the hallway as she was arriving at school and clung to her, looking tearful.
”We’re so sorry, Hibiki!”
”So sorry!”
”Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?”
Hibiki, completely confused, patted the heads of her two friends who were gripping her uniform.
”Um, I told them about my Gift,” a voice said.
Hirose had walked up behind them. He was about to explain the full story, but—
”They were just wondering why your hair and the others’ suddenly got so beautiful. They’re your important friends, Hibiki, right? I felt really bad about keeping it a secret, too… so I’m sorry.”
—A surge of emotion.
In that moment, Himari and Kairi felt their chests tighten painfully.
(Wait, why isn’t he saying we forced him?) Himari thought.
(We were one hundred percent the bad guys there), Kairi realized.
”So I’m sorry for telling them without asking you first. I think they’re apologizing because they asked without going through you, Hibiki.” Hirose continued.
”Is that so… but Hirose, you don’t have anything to apologize for, do you?” Hibiki murmured, her eyes softening.
”Really? My Gift isn’t just mine anymore. I just wanted to go through you first, you know.”
”Hirose… you’re such a good person.”
”Haha…”
Hirose scratched his head and gave a wry smile. Hibiki, for her part, didn’t show a shred of anger.
”Himari, Umirin. Well, I was wrong for lying and keeping secrets, too. If the secret’s out now, there’s not much we can do, right?”
”Hiiibiki!”
”Hirose!”
Moved by their kindness, Himari and Kairi rubbed their tears and snot all over Hibiki’s school uniform.
”Hey! That’s gross, stop it!” Hibiki squealed, jumping back.
”But we’re sad~!”
”Yeah~!”
(Well, the truth is they probably tried to force Hirose’s hand… but honestly, Hirose is just…) Hibiki thought, knowing her friends.
She’d been friends with them for a year. They’d always asked her about her beauty routine, and she’d had to lie every time.
If she hadn’t been the one to find Hirose, things might not have turned out this way. She didn’t really have the right to decide what Hirose did with his Gift anyway. But Hirose loved and trusted her. That’s why he wanted to do things the right way.
If that was the case, there was no need to hide anymore. Hibiki looked at Hirose for confirmation.
”Hirose…”
”Yeah, it’s fine… but are you okay with it, Hibiki?”
”I… yeah. They’re my friends, after all.”
With few words, Hibiki and Hirose understood each other.
”Alright, you two. Come over to my place next weekend, either Saturday or Sunday. —But seriously, it’s a big deal, so you better be ready for it, okay?”
And just like that, Himari and Kairi’s session with Hirose’s Gift was scheduled.
—
Notes:
1 [Aba]: An onomatopoeia used in Japanese to represent a cute, babbling, or panicked sound—a verbal tic for the highly shy Asami. ↩
—
Summary:
The golden week break is over, and two of Hibiki’s closest friends, Himari and Kairi, are getting super suspicious about the sudden beauty and perfect hair of their classmates. They figured out that Hirose’s secret Gift must be the cause and cornered the shy boy at Himari’s house.
Their attempt to force a confession turned into a funny tickle-torture session, which Hirose only escaped by zapping them with his ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ Skill. The intense scene was only broken up by the timely, super-cute arrival of Asami, who comforted Hirose and offered him advice about Dungeon Tourism. In the end, Hirose took all the blame for the sake of his friends, and Hibiki gave her blessing for the girls to finally get their own beauty enhancement from her loyal boyfriend.”,
—
Character Insight:
Hirose continues to show his selfless nature, choosing to take the blame for Himari and Kairi’s aggressive actions to preserve their friendship with Hibiki. This makes him a good boy but also shows his tendency to be a pushover, which is a key part of his personality in this harem comedy. Kairi discovered a strange sexual pleasure in the act of tickling, which might lead to new kinks and ecchi developments later on in the story.”,
—
Behind the Scene:
The confrontation was fully resolved, and Himari and Kairi’s attempts to get Hirose’s Gift by force ended up working, though not in the way they planned. By letting the secret out, a new group of girls is now in line to receive the beauty power. The scene with Asami was important to show her unwavering loyalty and to set up the next plot point of Dungeon Tourism as a way for Hirose to face his trauma and grow.
Notes:
• Kirino – Strikingly beautiful with blue long hair (F, 168cm), Kirino is gifted with ice magic and feels isolated because of her appearance. Hirose’s Beauty skill helps her improve her self-image and social comfort, directly affecting Kirino’s relationship with her family and classmates.
• Yaginuma Asami – 16-year-old 1st-year, many inherited/stacking gifts, stores items, reflects attacks, teleports, resists conditions, mixed Japanese-English.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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