Chapter 288

Early on the morning of the tournament, I arrived at the assembly point carrying the lunchbox Miyuki had packed for me. I immediately spotted Director Goro. He was staring down at a document, murmuring something, with Renka and Chinami standing beside him.

All three wore serious expressions. Were they looking at the tournament bracket? Or had someone suddenly dropped out? If it was the latter, I could only hope it was Tetsuya. I walked over, offering a greeting when Goro sensed my approach and looked up.

"Good morning, Director."

"It's been a while. Have you been well?"

"Yes."

"Have you been practicing your Kendo?"

"I've been practicing hard."

"Glad to hear it. Do you want to join the meeting, or would you rather get on the bus?"

He was probably giving me the choice because I was a manager like Chinami.

"I'll get on the bus."

"Alright."

I bowed to Goro as he nodded in acknowledgment. I was about to head toward the bus when Renka grabbed me, pulling me a good distance away from the director.

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"You haven't actually been practicing hard."

"How would you know whether I practiced hard or not?"

"What...? Y-you just...?"

She was visibly flustered by my effortless shift into informal speech. Making sure no one was looking, I gave her rear a stealthy pat and offered a smiling reply.

"I'm just joking. Did you really drag me all the way over here just to nag me about practice?"

"...No, not that. Um... if you're going to give me that candy... I wanted to ask you to give it to me later... after the tournament."

I thought she was going to lecture me, but she just wanted to talk about candy. She was being exceptionally cute this early in the morning; I would definitely have to pamper her a lot later.

"Got it. When the meeting is over and you get on the bus, come grab a seat near the back with Master."

"I don't want to. Why should I..."

"Just come when I tell you to. Before I punish you."

"Are you seriously doing this here...?"

"Answer."

"A-alright... I got it...!"

Fuming as if throwing a mild tantrum, Renka huffed and stomped away. I was watching her retreat when a thick arm suddenly thrust into my field of vision, prompting me to turn.

"How have you been?"

A man with a rather fierce face was greeting me. Who was this guy again? I was certain he was the senior who had competed as the anchor during the last tournament... but I couldn't recall his name for the life of me.

"Matsuda? What's wrong with you? Are you feeling sick?"

He looked puzzled by my blank stare. He would definitely be disappointed if I let on that I had forgotten his name. How was I going to smooth this over? Should I just offer a vague greeting and be done with it? Just as I was racking my brain for a solution—

"Yamazaki sunbae-nim! The director is asking for you!"

A fellow Kendo Club member shouted from a distance.

'Ah, right.'

Yamazaki... right, his last name was definitely Yamazaki. Mori, Ikeda, Yamazaki, that piece of trash, and myself made up the main team. The substitutes were Yoshida and Fujii.

"Good morning, Yamazaki sunbae-nim."

Yamazaki gave me a dumbfounded look, scanning me up and down in response to my incredibly delayed greeting.

"What was that about? Finally snapped out of it? Anyway, let's catch up later. I'm heading off."

"Sure."

I saw him off and finally boarded the bus, immediately spotting Tetsuya sitting in one of the front seats. He was furiously tapping away on his Cell Phone, presumably texting someone, and his eyebrows twitched the second he saw me.

"You're here?"

"Yeah."

His gaze swept over the lunchbox in my hands.

"Miyuki packed that, right?"

"Yeah."

I untied the wrapping cloth right in front of him, removed the top two tiers—which were wrapped in a separate cloth—and handed them over. I wasn't doing it out of pity; Miyuki had explicitly asked me to pass them along when I saw him. The only reason Tetsuya had brought up the lunchbox in the first place was probably because she had already told him to get his share from me.

"Give the empty boxes back to me when you're done, or just hold on to them yourself."

"R-right..."

Tetsuya wasn't happy that Miyuki had gone out of her way for him; if anything, he looked offended. In the past, Miyuki would have handed the main lunchbox to him and asked him to pass a few portions over to me. Now, our positions were completely reversed.

From his perspective, it probably felt like he had his childhood friend stolen from him. Though considering that childhood friend didn't have a single drop of romantic interest in him to begin with, saying I'd stolen her was a bit of a stretch.

"Enjoy the food. I'm heading to the back."

"Oh? Right, sure."

"Good luck today."

Leaving Tetsuya behind, I exchanged brief greetings with the female club members who were competing, then planted myself in the empty seats at the back of the bus.

I drew the window curtains shut and reclined the seat back slightly to get comfortable. It wasn't long before Chinami climbed aboard. I waved to catch her attention.

"Master, over here."

"Ah, there you are."

"Take a seat right here."

Chinami trotted over, and I patted the empty window seat next to me. A soft blush instantly bloomed across her face.

"Y-yes...! But... you'll have to let me past..."

"There's plenty of space right here."

"I-I can see that, but isn't it a bit too narrow...?"

"Someone your size can easily slip through, Master."

"Aha...! I suppose so... Then..."

Letting out a small, amazed gasp as if she had just learned some grand secret, Chinami wedged her legs into the gap between my knees and the seat ahead. She whimpered softly, gripping the headrest of the front seat tight to keep her body from brushing against my legs. After an awkward struggle, she finally plunked down into the window seat and let out a long sigh.

"Nicely done."

"Hehe... Thank you."

She wiped her forehead despite not having broken a single bead of sweat—an incredibly cute gesture. Looking down at how genuinely proud of herself she was, I asked, "Do I seem dirty to you or something?"

"Pardon? Dirty?"

"You were trying awfully hard not to touch me just now."

"O-oh, no...! I just didn't want to be a nuisance, that's all! It absolutely wasn't because I thought you were dirty...!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am...! To hear you say such a thing, I can hardly hide my disappoint—Ah...!?"

Frowning cutely, Chinami cut her sentence short and flinched. I had casually rested my hand on her modestly pressed thighs. Startled by the sudden physical contact, her rosy lips parted, fluttering in confusion.

"Your hair has gotten a little longer, hasn't it?"

Seeming to melt at my gentle tone, Chinami let out a soft, peculiar little hum. She pulled a lock of her side hair forward, twirled it around her finger, and nodded.

"Y-yes... I need to get it cut, but it's been such a hassle..."

"Why is it a hassle?"

"Well, I spend so much of my day just lying around... You know how it is. The more you lie down, the lazier you get about everything..."

"I deeply relate to that. But you look pretty even without cutting it."

"N-nyah!? D-do you think so...?"

I watched the flush on her cheeks spread all the way to her ears. She was so incredibly shy... I just wanted to wrap her in a tight hug.

"U-um... by the way..."

"Yeah?"

"Doing this here is a little... embarrassing..."

"Doing what?"

"Your hand is..."

"I'm just giving you a massage. What's embarrassing about that?"

"Aha... So it was a massage... But even so..."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Yes, please..."

Despite her cheerful and eager-to-please image, Chinami was surprisingly firm about her boundaries. It was almost as if she and Renka had swapped personalities, considering how unexpectedly timid the latter could be. But it suited Chinami perfectly. The same went for Renka.

"Alright."

As Chinami started squirming in her seat, I lifted my hand from her thigh. Relieved, she reached into the plastic bag she had brought and pulled out a small plastic container.

"Would you like some peaches...?"

So she brought some from home. I had been wondering when these would make an appearance. They probably wouldn't taste as sweet as they did in season, but getting to eat peaches in the middle of winter was a rare treat all on its own. It was a win no matter how I looked at it.

"I'd be incredibly grateful if you spared even a single slice."

"I could give you two slices..."

"How about three?"

"Ah, you can! Four slices, five slices, whatever you'd like!"

Our Chinami was just too pure. Was there really anyone else in the world this sweet? I wanted to bite her cheek. I gently ruffled her bangs with my fingertips and flashed a warm smile.

"Then let's share the lunchbox first and save the peaches for dessert."

"Lunchbox?"

"Miyuki packed it for me."

"What...? I-I'm highly doubtful that it's appropriate for me to share something junior Hanazawa prepared specifically for you..."

"She explicitly told me to share it with you, Master."

"Ah! In that case, I will gladly share it with you."

Her face instantly brightened into a beaming smile. She marveled at the contents of the lunchbox, even clapping her hands together like an excited seal. Just as we happily picked up our chopsticks together...

"Um... sorry, but could we switch? I have something I need to talk to Chinami about..."

Renka's voice drifted over from the front. Based on what she was saying, it was painfully obvious that Tetsuya had been wagging his tail, trying to get her to sit next to him. So predictable.

"I'm sorry. Let's catch up later... can you tell me once we arrive at the venue?"

Having firmly but politely shot Tetsuya down, Renka stomped her way toward Chinami and me. Seizing the brief window as she approached, I leaned in and whispered to Chinami, who was just about to pick up a piece of inari sushi.

"Hey Master, did you know?"

"No?"

"How can you say no when you haven't even heard what it is yet?"

"Because you were obviously about to tell me something I didn't know...?"

When she put it like that, I really couldn't argue. Structurally speaking, her logic was absolutely flawless.

"You know the President, right?"

"Yes."

"She's a massive pervert."

"Wh-whaaat...?"

Chinami's already large eyes flew wide open.

"She does nothing but think dirty thoughts all day long."

"H-how could that be...?"

Her jaw dropped in shock, and she quickly threw both hands up to cover her open mouth. I was about to add another outrageous claim to milk this amazing reaction when Renka, having finally reached us, shot me a deadly glare.

"What are you whispering about? Don't badmouth me."

"I wasn't badmouthing you."

Clearly displeased with my calm denial, Renka let out an annoyed huff and dropped into the seat across the aisle. She jerked her chin at me and demanded, "Switch seats with me."

"Why?"

"I need to discuss strategy with Chinami."

Discuss strategy, my ass. She just couldn't keep a close eye on us because my body was blocking her view of Chinami sitting by the window, so she wanted me out of the way.

"No thanks. You can talk to her perfectly fine from there. And it's not like me overhearing your big strategy is going to hurt the team."

"...You're so annoying."

"Thanks for the compliment. Want a piece of inari sushi?"

"Fuck of—ahem... No."

Holding back her cursing in front of the pure and innocent Chinami... how wholesome. I chuckled as Renka aggressively crossed her arms and turned her head away in a huff. I gently patted Chinami's head, leaned in close to her ear, and whispered, "Everything I just said was a joke."

"Ah...! I see...!"

Chinami placed a hand over her heart and let out a heavy sigh of relief, then puffed out her cheeks in a cute pout.

"You really shouldn't tell mean jokes like that!"

"I'm sorry."

"You had better confess the truth to my close friend later and apologize to her. Since you are my disciple, I trust that you will do the right thing."

"Understood."

"Still, it makes me so happy to see that the two of you have grown close enough to play these kinds of jokes on each other."

Clearly burning with curiosity about what we were whispering about, Renka subtly leaned out into the aisle. She immediately went back on the offensive.

"I told you to stop badmouthing me, didn't I?"

"And I told you I wasn't."

"...Hand over a piece of that inari sushi."

"I thought you said no."

"I changed my mind. Hand it over."

"If you're asking for a handout, shouldn't you be asking a bit more politely?"

"Why the hell would I ever ask a favor from the likes of you?"

"Why? Because obviously you're my sl—"

"Aaaaaah...! Shut up and give it to me already...!"

Knowing full well I was about to drop the word 'slave,' Renka cut me off with a shriek. Shooting me a vicious glare while nervously checking Chinami's reaction, she lunged to snatch the chopsticks out of my hand. Anticipating the move, I yanked my arm up into the air, leaving her to smack her lips in utter frustration.

The mood was already fantastic. Was it just because Chinami was here? The very air around us felt softer, sweeter. Between the fragrant scents of peach and blueberry lingering in the air, I already had the feeling today was going to be an incredibly satisfying day.