Chapter 314

"Here you go."

Hiyori offered me two of the five Suichus she had bought.

I took them and started to slip them into my pocket, but Hiyori let out a sharp "Ah" and stopped me.

"You have to eat them now."

"Why?"

"Give me a review. Tell me how they taste."

I couldn't exactly tell her I had already tried it.

"Are you going to buy me something else if it tastes bad?"

"No. I'll just keep giving it to you until you find it delicious."

What a terrifying thing to say. Cheeky girl.

I let out a dry laugh and got to work on the Suichu Hiyori had given me right then and there.

Making a show of it, I tore open the wrapper and tossed the small, bright yellow rectangular treat into my mouth.

A sharp mix of sour and sweet hit my tongue the moment I bit down.

Not a bad texture. I thought it was pretty good yesterday, and it was the same today.

As I chewed, the muscles under my eyes twitching from the sourness, Hiyori curled her lips into a pleasant smile and asked a question.

"Do you have trouble with sour things?"

"Not really."

"It looks like you do, though?"

"I told you I don't."

"All right. So how is it? Good?"

Would it be rude to tell the person who bought it that I'd probably only crave it occasionally when I wanted something to snack on?

I swallowed the softened Suichu and replied.

"It's good."

"But why did you swallow it without chewing it all the way?"

Was she trying to fluster me, or was she asking out of pure curiosity?

"Isn't this how people normally eat it?"

"Nope."

"Well, I do."

"Can you chew the next one completely?"

"You want me to eat another one?"

"Yep."

Why was I suddenly feeling so exhausted?

It felt like dealing with a five-year-old brimming with curiosity.

"Hm? Isn't that my junior?"

I was just about to tell her I'd eat it when I got back, but Chinami's voice rang out from behind me.

Peeking around my side, Hiyori spotted Chinami, stepped out, and bowed her head politely.

"Helloo."

"Mhm...?"

Chinami blinked, perhaps flustered by Hiyori's drawn-out, cheerful tone.

Since they hadn't actually spoken during the last orientation session, this was probably her first time hearing it.

Chinami's own way of speaking was far more peculiar than Hiyori's; she should have felt a kinship rather than surprise.

"Greetings."

As Chinami recovered her wits and bowed in return, Hiyori asked with a bright smile.

"You're the manager of the Kendo Club, right?"

"Yes. Ah, come to think of it, the lovely person standing before me... is the one I saw at the orientation session."

Hiyori beamed at the pure compliment.

"That's right."

"May I ask your name?"

"Of course. I'm Hiyori. Asahina Hiyori."

"It is a pleasure to meet you again. My name is Nanase Chinami."

Chinami offered another polite bow.

It was such a deep bow that her head practically pointed at the floor, prompting a hesitant Hiyori to mimic the gesture.

I had never seen Hiyori act like that before.

She seemed a little thrown off by Chinami radiating such untainted innocence.

Just watching them, I got the feeling Chinami would be Hiyori's natural counter.

Chinami taking teasing remarks completely literally... Hiyori apologizing and explaining it was just a joke... I could already picture it perfectly.

I chuckled at Chinami as she slowly straightened back up, then asked a question.

"What brings you here, Master? Did you come to buy Peach Milk?"

"Yes. Is it sold out, by any chance?"

As if.

The Peach Milk is always fully stocked.

"No. There's plenty left."

"I see. And what might you and Junior Asahina be doing here?"

"Asahina said she was going to buy me some Suichu. Have you tried this? It's pretty good."

I held up the long, bright yellow wrapper for Chinami to see, and she gave a simple nod.

"Mhm. Yes."

"Have you had it before?"

"No."

For a student who usually lived and died by the School Store's menu, it was an incredibly lukewarm reaction.

Probably because it wasn't peach-flavored.

"Would you like to try one?"

Hiyori, who had been listening to our exchange, tore open a new wrapper and made the offer.

At that, Chinami's previously uninterested eyes darted around.

Did she read the pure goodwill in Hiyori's gaze and find it too hard to refuse?

With a bright smile, Chinami replied.

"What an incredibly kind junior you are. If you are offering, I will gratefully accept."

Surprisingly, the two of them made a good combination.

It felt like they wouldn't get along, yet simultaneously like they'd get along perfectly... that sort of ambiguous but positive vibe.

Hiyori with the lemon-flavored Suichu I just ate, and Chinami with her peach obsession. A worthy matchup indeed.

The rhythmic bouncing of a ball echoed against my eardrums.

"Here! Pass!"

The voices of my classmates having fun playing basketball grated on my ears. It was annoying.

It especially made me frown to see Tetsuya rolling the short sleeves of his gym shirt all the way up to his shoulders, subtly showing off his changed physique to the girls.

No. Let's look at this positively.

A hot-blooded young guy might naturally want to show off when he notices visible improvements in his body.

It was just because I disliked Tetsuya that everything he did seemed annoying.

As I'd concluded before, the right move was to just ignore him.

Slip.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I felt a slight pressure around my eyes, and my vision went pitch black, as if a curtain had been drawn down from above.

Someone had covered my eyes with their hands.

At the same time, the strong scent of plums wafted over me.

Realizing Miyuki was standing behind me, I spoke up.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

She had disguised her voice well, but that gentle tone remained the same.

I reached up and gently stroked the back of Miyuki's hands as she played her easily guessable prank.

"It feels nice having the sweat from your hands on me."

Miyuki gasped in shock and instantly yanked her hands away.

"What the... Are you a pervert...?"

"I'm just wiping off your sweat. How is that perverted?"

"You're totally a pervert."

"I suppose I am."

Miyuki giggled at my quick admission.

She wiped her forehead with a sweat towel, sat down next to me, and pulled her knees up to her chest.

Then she rested her chin on her knees.

"Matsuda-kun, aren't you going to play sports with your friends? Shimizu invited you earlier."

The heroine staring at me in such a pretty posture... It was a scene straight out of a romantic comedy.

Leaning my back against the Gymnasium wall, I replied.

"I'm not."

"Why not? Can't you just try playing basketball once? You're tall, so I think you'd be good at it."

"It's a hassle."

"Do you even know how to play?"

"Of course. I'm good at anything that involves using my body."

"...You didn't mean that in a weird way, right?"

Miyuki's flushed face turned even redder.

I wondered what had gotten into her, but it seemed she had taken my comment about being good at using my body in a dirty way.

Turns out Miyuki was the real pervert here. I had just been boasting, and she completely misinterpreted it... Unbelievable.

"A weird way? Like what?"

"No... well... nothing..."

"Are you saying you want to do it right now?"

"H-how did you interpret my words to jump to that conclusion...!?"

Startled out of her wits, she frantically looked around to see if anyone had overheard me.

I snickered and said, "Weren't you the one who took it weirdly first?"

"I did not...?"

"Whatever you say."

My brazen attitude must have irked her, because Miyuki pouted sullenly.

Pretty and gentle one moment, cutely grumbling the next...

She truly had a thousand faces. It felt like Miyuki was perfect in every aspect.

Thwack!

"Ugh!"

While she and I were bickering, a heavy thud rang out, followed by a pathetic yelp.

Wondering what happened, I turned toward the noise to find Tetsuya clutching his face, with several people crowding around him.

"Tetsuya! Are you okay?"

It was the concerned voice of a classmate who had recently grown quite close to him.

It looked like he had accidentally hit Tetsuya while passing the ball.

Rubbing his temple, Tetsuya let out an awkward laugh.

"I'm fine."

"Sorry, man. But why'd you suddenly look away?"

"My bad, my bad. Let's keep playing."

He looked away?

I suspected he might have been peeking at Miyuki and me playfully squabbling.

His body might have improved, but his gloomy personality hadn't changed a bit.

Bounce, bounce!

Watching Tetsuya bounce the ball again with a worried look, Miyuki spoke.

"Looks like he got hit by the basketball. Will he be alright? I should ask him later."

"Sure, do that."

"A lot of the kids in class have been praising Tetsuya lately."

"Praising him for what?"

"They say he seems much brighter. I've been feeling that way too recently."

Brighter, my ass... Didn't you just see what happened?

Swallowing those words, I simply shrugged.

"Working out naturally makes people brighter."

"Is that so? Then why is Matsuda-kun still so sinister?"

"I'm brightly sinister. Anyway, good for him."

"Yeah. He might even get a girlfriend. If he does, the four of us should hang out."

It was highly unlikely, but if... by some remote chance Tetsuya did get a girlfriend, she was destined to be stolen by me.

It wouldn't be the four of us; it would just be the three of us having dirty fun, leaving Tetsuya out.

"If you say so. Want a Suichu?"

When I pulled out the snack Hiyori had bought me from my pocket, Miyuki's eyes went wide.

"What's that? Did you buy it?"

"No. Asahina bought it for me."

"Asahina did? Why?"

"While I was waiting for you yesterday, she was standing out in the rain, so I let her share my umbrella. She bought it for me today to say thanks."

There was no need to go into too much detail.

I figured this much explanation was just right.

"Really? That was nice of you. But why was she standing in the rain?"

"It suddenly started pouring right around the time club activities ended, remember? She must have been outside then. So, are you going to eat it or not?"

"I'll eat it."

Opening her mouth wide and waiting to be fed, she looked just like a baby bird.

She didn't seem to care in the slightest that there were other students all around us.

Without a word, I tore open the wrapper and popped a Suichu into her mouth.

"Is it good?"

"Not really."

"Your eyes are smiling like it's delicious."

"How can eyes show that something tastes good? Give me another one."

"You just said it wasn't good."

"It's edible."

Her inability to be honest was just like me.

I let out a soft snort and handed Miyuki a whole Suichu.

Then, after scanning the Gymnasium to make sure there were no teachers around, I sprawled flat on my back right there on the floor.

I wanted to rest my head on Miyuki's lap, but I held back, knowing that doing so would half-force her to skip participating in the class.

"Who said you could sleep during class?"

Ignoring Miyuki's scolding, I wordlessly crossed my arms over my chest, prompting her to mutter in a low voice.

"I really can't stop you, can I..."

Mmm... What a peaceful day.

So peaceful that a long yawn slipped out on its own.

I was looking forward to seeing what else might happen during lunch, so I figured I might as well sleep just to fast-forward the time.