Chapter 298

Several peaceful days had passed, bringing us to Friday, right before the weekend. Miyuki parted ways with me as soon as we arrived at school, heading to the Student Council Room for some business. I was strolling across the schoolyard alone when a voice called out, "Huh!? Senior Matsuda!"

I turned toward the welcome voice behind me. Hiyori was walking in through the school gates, waving her hand wildly. She was accompanied by the friend she usually hung around with.

But just 'Matsuda', huh? It was a little disappointing that she hadn't combined my first and last name. Did we need to get a little closer before she gave me one of her unique nicknames? I needed to work harder.

Unlike the bubbly Hiyori, her friend bowed politely in greeting. As I'd thought before, pretty girls really did hang out with other pretty girls. Her chest was a bit on the smaller side, though.

The two of them were in civilian clothes. They must have been told they didn't have to wear uniforms yet. Had she shortened her skirt? Hiyori was extremely outgoing, but she wasn't a total delinquent, so she had probably just bought a new one.

I acknowledged their greeting by raising a hand over my shoulder. As they drew closer, I offered them a smile.

"Hey."

The casual greeting had slipped out naturally. For a brief moment, I worried I'd made a mistake by dropping the formalities, but both Hiyori and her friend took it in stride.

"Hello! Are you on your way to class now?"

It was a relief to see they didn't mind. I breathed a silent sigh of relief and nodded.

"Yeah. What brings you two here? Is there something going on today?"

"They're doing club introductions today, so we dropped by to take a look."

Club introductions... Renka had definitely brought that up yesterday. They were planning to give a presentation in an empty first-year classroom this morning. Since it was just a brief overview, she'd told me out of courtesy that it was fine if I sat it out.

"What are you interested in?"

"We're planning to check out most of them for now, but we're especially interested in the Swimming Club and the Archery Club."

"Really? Both?"

"Pretty much. But swimming can be taken as a regular class in the summer, so we're still debating."

Given how energetic Hiyori naturally was, it made sense that she was leaning toward the athletic clubs. I figured a manga club or a movie appreciation club would suit her well, too. Or maybe even a barista club.

"Which club are you in, senior?"

I flashed a toothy grin at Hiyori's question and answered.

"I'm in the Kendo Club."

"Oh, really? Miho briefly mentioned the Kendo Club, too."

Miho was the name of the friend standing next to Hiyori. Her last name was definitely Mitsushima. I hadn't been entirely sure, but hearing Hiyori say it jogged my memory.

"If you're interested, you can head to Class 1-D. They're doing the introduction there."

"Really? Got it!"

Her voice was already nice to begin with, but the way she refreshingly pitched up the ends of her sentences made it sound even better. Just hearing it was enough to make me feel like I was going to climax.

I wanted to keep talking, but I decided to leave it at that for today. It wasn't that I lacked interest, but treating her like a casual underclassman was the perfect distance for now. Besides, they wouldn't just leave right after the club introductions, so there was a good chance I'd bump into them again during lunch. With that in mind, I spoke.

"I'd better get going. Have fun looking around."

"Okay. See you later."

After a simple goodbye, I parted ways with Hiyori. Spotting a familiar back among the students walking ahead, I took long strides to catch up.

"Hey, you just getting here?"

"Cough."

I couldn't tell if she was startled by my sudden appearance from behind or if that was meant to be her answer. I stepped up beside Bread Girl, who had let out a cough as usual, and asked her a question.

"Wanna stop by the School Store together on the way?"

"Ack...!"

"Yeah. Do you like things like hamburgers too, by the way?"

"Cough! Cough!"

Bread Girl shook her head back and forth as her coughing fit grew more intense. Her vehement refusal left me feeling a bit awkward. There was nothing hotter than making a girl eat a hamburger patty drenched in thick white sauce, so it was a real shame. I'd just have to make Renka do it instead.

"Matsuda-kun."

First period had ended, and I was sprawled face-down on my desk. When Miyuki started shaking my back wildly, I weakly hauled my upper body up like a zombie.

"What."

"Senior Nanase is looking for you. She said it's about the club."

"Huh?"

"Over there."

Following Miyuki's pointing finger toward the back door, I saw Chinami peeking her pink hair and tiny face out from behind the sliding door. The way she stared directly at me with those wide, round eyes was absolutely hilarious.

She looked incredibly cute from in here, but she had to be striking a ridiculous pose on the outside. Sure enough, the students out in the First-Year Hallway were giggling as they looked at her. If they had been mocking her, I would have slapped the taste out of every single one of their mouths, but their laughter was the warm, affectionate kind, completely disarmed by her overwhelming cuteness. I decided to let it slide.

I scratched the back of my neck. Giving a dismissive nod to Miyuki's scolding about my behavior, I walked over to Chinami.

"Hello, Master. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes. I trust you are faring well too, my junior?"

"Yeah... well... I guess. But are you going to keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Peeking your head out like that."

"Aha."

Letting out a soft exclamation, Chinami stepped inside, stood up straight in front of me, and adjusted her uniform. She looked pretty in her winter uniform, but it made me want to see her in her summer short sleeves. I suddenly missed the refreshing, cool vibe she used to give off.

"I heard this was about the club... What is it?"

"Ah... It's nothing major. I was just wondering if you could help Renka and me for a moment after second period."

"Is it for the club introductions?"

"Yep! Having you there would be a huge help to us."

"The President told me to sit this one out."

"I'm sure she didn't mean it. Renka has been looking forward to presenting the club with you just as much as I have. Besides, you're the manager. We have to join forces to ensure the Kendo Club's great success."

"That actually makes sense. Should I head to Class 1-D after second period?"

"Yes."

"Do I need to wear my Training Uniform?"

"No, there's no need to go to that much trouble. Renka and I will be in our school uniforms as well. Oh, by the way, if you stop by the Faculty Office and tell the head of student affairs that you'll be missing third period for club promotions, he'll call the Kendo Club to check. The coach will approve it, meaning you won't be marked absent."

"Understood."

"Good. Would you like a peach jelly?"

Chinami pulled a cute little wrapper from the inner pocket of her blazer. Accepting it, I gave her a bright smile.

"Can I share this with Miyuki?"

"Oh, I actually already gave one to Hanazawa."

At that, I glanced over my shoulder and caught Miyuki secretly pulling peach jellies out of her desk drawer to share with Bread Girl and the Vice Representative.

Why was she being so sneaky about eating it? Was she afraid someone would snatch it away? That definitely wasn't it... Chinami must have told her it was a special treat and to eat it in secret.

Miyuki had her own eccentric side, it seemed. Or maybe Chinami's quirkiness was rubbing off on her. Either way, it was nice to see that the two of them had grown closer. I looked back down at Chinami.

"Thanks for the treat."

"Of course. I'll see you after second period, then."

"Sure, see you then."

Chinami waved both her hands with the bubbly energy of a kindergarten teacher, cheerfully greeting every underclassman she passed on her way back.

I watched the hallway until the incredibly polite Chinami was out of sight. Returning to my seat, I placed the jelly on my desk. Miyuki slyly reached out to snatch it, but I swatted her hand away, leaving her pouting in disappointment.

Had she tried one and liked it? At this rate, Miyuki was going to be completely obsessed with peaches, too. I had originally planned to corrupt her with a totally different kind of fruit, so it was both baffling and hilarious that she was getting corrupted by this instead.

"Why the hell are you here?"

The moment we ran into each other in the First-Year Hallway, that was the first thing Renka snapped at me.

"Am I not allowed to come?"

"I told you to sit this one out."

"I decided not to."

"...Whatever."

Why was she being so prickly when I knew she was happy I was here? Was she acting up on purpose, hoping I'd spank her right in front of the prospective freshmen during the presentation? If that was her game, I had to applaud her sheer audacity.

"Did you tell the Faculty Office before coming?"

Chinami trotted up between Renka and me to ask. Wiping the wicked smirk off my face, I quickly answered.

"Yeah. They said they'd mark me as present for third period."

"That's a relief. Shall we head in and welcome the prospective freshmen, then?"

"Sure. Is it just the three of us, though?"

"Yep! Senior Yamazaki originally offered to help, but we told him we had it covered. He's in his final year, so he's quite busy. Now, right this way."

She opened the door to the fourth classroom down the hallway. The placard by the door, which should have read 'Class 1-D', had been swapped out for one that read 'Kendo Club'. There were even little peach characters drawn on either side of the sign.

When had they managed to prep all this? They hadn't mentioned a word of it to me, aside from the promotional posters... Were they worried I'd find it annoying to help? A pang of guilt hit me for leaving them with all the work. Renka had obviously helped make it, but I decided I'd definitely chip in and help Chinami next time.

We walked inside and distributed the posters, placing one on each of the thirty-odd desks. Then, as if on cue, the three of us turned to stare out into the hallway, waiting for the freshmen to arrive.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when the hallway outside both the front and back doors began to buzz with noise.

It sounded like the freshmen were filtering into the classrooms... so why was ours completely empty? Were the other clubs poaching all the students who were planning to check us out? Just as I was about to step out into the hallway to investigate, a voice called out, "Um... Hello? Is this... the Kendo Club's information session...?"

A young-looking male student tentatively stepped through the open back door. Chinami's face lit up, and she hurried over to welcome him personally.

"It sure is! Come on in. Right this way... go ahead and grab a seat in the front row."

"Huh? Oh, okay..."

The male student seemed a little thrown by Chinami's uniquely enthusiastic tone. He awkwardly shuffled over and took a seat directly in front of the teacher's podium. Chinami immediately presented him with a disposable bowl of sliced peaches she had brought from home, complete with a little plastic fork.

"Have some of this first."

"P-Peaches...? I heard Winter Peaches were in season right now. Is this that...?"

"Oh! You mean the Winter Peach from Yamanashi Prefecture? That's a newly developed variety, so I couldn't guarantee its flavor and decided against sourcing it. These are actually peaches I froze right as summer was ending!"

"I-Is that so...?"

The bewildered student looked back and forth between the promotional poster on his desk and the bowl of fruit. He was probably wondering if he had stumbled into a peach appreciation society instead of the Kendo Club. I couldn't blame him.

"We're going to give it about ten minutes before we start. Would you like to chat with me while you enjoy some cold peaches?"

"Uh, sure... I guess."

"So, what made you interested in the Kendo Club, my new junior?"

"Well..."

As Chinami and Renka chatted amiably with the prospective student, more students began filtering in little by little. Three minutes in, two more arrived; five minutes in, another six showed up; and right at the two-minute mark before the presentation, seven more students piled into the room.

To be completely honest, I hadn't expected a massive turnout. I figured kendo had far less mass appeal than the other clubs, but my worries were entirely unfounded. I had completely forgotten that Renka was practically a celebrity in the Kendo World.

By the time two more stragglers slipped into the room, the ratio of girls was about seventy percent. The girls were all staring at Renka with outright admiration as she graciously handed out servings of peaches.

Two people were hovering around our Chinami, both of them petite girls. She might not have been on Renka's level, but Chinami was clearly quite well-known in her own right.

Had absolutely no one come just to see me? I might not look it right now, but I had been in the newspapers... It stung a little. Still, I did catch a few girls sneaking interested glances at my face. And having the attention of pretty girls was infinitely better than being surrounded by sweaty dudes anyway.

Armed with that bit of mental gymnastics, I scooped out some more peaches and kept glancing at the back door. Hiyori was probably at the Swimming Club's presentation by now, right? Since the club introductions were broken up into several short sessions rather than one long block, I really hoped she'd swing by our room for round two.