Chapter 364

"Asahina! Let's play basketball."

It was the break after third period.

I had stepped outside to stretch my stiff body and was wandering in front of the building when a boy called out to Hiyori from a distance.

Curious, I glanced over and spotted her on the bleachers, holding a jump rope and chatting with her friends.

It seemed to be her physical education class. Had they finished a jump rope performance assessment and gotten some free time?

"But I'm bad at basketball."

The boy brushed off her hesitation with a question.

"You know how to bounce the ball, right?"

"I know how to do that."

"That's all you need. You in?"

"Sure!"

Nodding with a bright smile, Hiyori headed over to the basketball court to join the boys.

The game soon began.

Even putting it nicely, Hiyori's basketball skills were terrible.

Thump! Thump!

She would bounce the basketball once, catch it with both hands, scurry a few steps, bounce it again, and then completely miss the ball when it rebounded too fast.

Despite her incredibly stiff dribbling, not a single one of her classmates complained.

They just pretended to try and steal the ball, simply enjoying the excuse to play basketball with her.

If Tetsuya had been out there, he probably would have killed the mood by calling her out for traveling and committing fouls.

Just for having that much tact, Hiyori's classmates deserved some praise.

Even if the fact that they all had a crush on her was a bit of a problem.

I thought about it every time I saw her, but Hiyori possessed absolutely every trait that guys went crazy for.

Her lips were especially attractive. They weren't thin and wide like Renka's; instead, they were round and cute, and because her upper lip was thin, her two pearly white front teeth faintly peeked out whenever she spoke.

When she smiled, her mouth stretched wide in a refreshing grin, and the glossy lip tint she wore gave her a sophisticated look.

Simply put, she had the kind of lips that just made a guy want to kiss her senseless.

Her face needed no explanation, she had a playful and easygoing personality, and she even had a large chest.

Her massive popularity was only natural.

I figured her classmates must enjoy the daily eye candy.

Clang!

She shot the ball with both hands. It hit the bottom of the rim and bounced off hard, causing Hiyori to lament the missed shot.

Was she satisfied just getting the ball near the net?

It was an incredibly cute sight.

Regardless, Hiyori definitely had zero athletic ability.

Miyuki was good at just about everything... but that didn't mean I was disappointed in Hiyori.

If anything, I liked it because it perfectly fulfilled that moe appeal.

"Shoot! Shoot!"

When Hiyori unexpectedly caught the ball near the free-throw line, the boys around her cheered her on like they were coaxing a toddler to take its first steps.

Maybe their encouragement gave her a boost of confidence? Hiyori hopped into the air and lobbed the ball high.

The ball didn't even manage to form a proper arc before—

Smack!

It slammed against the edge of the backboard and careened off in a wild direction.

"Oh, come on!"

"It's okay! You did great just hitting the board!"

Watching one classmate coddle a frustrated Hiyori, and then seeing another hand her a fresh water bottle as she headed over to the sinks—clearly realizing she was just getting in the way of the game—felt somewhat bizarre to witness.

It felt like watching a crow fly into a peaceful pasture and wreak absolute havoc.

No wonder Hiyori was getting bolder by the day.

If she asked them to buy her a cold drink, they looked ready to stampede to the School Store.

It really put into perspective just how easy her life at the Academy was.

But wait, wasn't she shuffling around like a zombie just this morning?

She looked like her muscles were aching so badly... Had she really just been sleep-deprived?

Or was she faking it? Maybe she planned to parade her pitiful state in front of the teachers she ran into so she could score a legitimate excuse to go home early?

Knowing Hiyori, that was entirely possible.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Hiyori turned her back to the boys and began massaging her inner thigh.

Then, she glanced up at the bleachers and locked eyes with me.

"Oh? Matsuken!"

Looking glad to see me, Hiyori started heading my way.

It was funny watching her step up the tall, wide bleachers, stubbornly using the exact same leg to climb each tier.

"What are you doing out here at this hour? Skipping class?"

"What are you talking about? My class ended early, so I came outside."

"Why did it end early?"

"The teacher let us out. Were you playing basketball?"

"Yep! Aren't you going to praise me?"

"Praise for what?"

"I exercised."

"More like a talent show than exercise. You looked stiff as a board out there."

"Ugh, I can't help it if I'm totally uncoordinated!"

She let out a fake groan of annoyance, putting her full dramatic flair into the reaction.

Figuring I needed to recharge my energy for the day, I flicked the loose strand of hair sticking up on her head.

Then I spoke.

"It was still nice to watch. Seeing you play basketball, it looks like your legs are feeling fine."

"They were killing me this morning, but I feel much better after resting and massaging them in the Nurse's Office."

So she actually did go and slack off. Unbelievable.

Though I couldn't believe the school nurse had actually let her use a bed just for some muscle aches.

That was a clear dereliction of duty. She deserved to be punished.

I should draw the curtains around that corner bed in the Nurse's Office, shove my cock between her plump breasts, and order her to give me a titjob.

Either way, the fact that her muscle soreness had vanished so easily practically confirmed my theory that she was just faking it this morning.

She did look like she was in a little pain just now, but nowhere near the sickly mess she had been this morning.

It was so typical of Hiyori... The sheer absurdity of it left me speechless.

"Wait, were you peeping on me?"

At her playful accusation, I firmly shook my head and replied.

"Peeping? Please... I just looked over because someone was being loud."

"I wasn't being loud."

"That's just what you think. Give me your water."

"To drink?"

"Yeah."

"100 yen."

She was copying exactly what I had done to her last time.

Chuckling at her cheeky little stunt, I tried to quickly snatch the bottle from her hands.

But she pulled the bottle to her chest and twisted her body away, leaving me momentarily flustered.

"What are you doing?"

"You were trying to snatch it."

"You catch on quick. Hand it over before I steal it."

"Are you going to give me the 100 yen?"

"I might consider it for 10 yen, but for 100 yen, I could just go buy my own water."

"Then 10 yen."

Right. Our dear Hiyori would be absolutely ruthless at stealing pocket money from little kids.

"Fine. I'll pay you later."

"Okay~."

I gave Hiyori a long look as she obediently handed over the water, then tilted my head back and raised the bottle, making sure my lips didn't touch the rim.

Right as I angled the bottle to take a drink—

"Boo!"

Hiyori lunged forward, trying to startle me into spilling water all over myself.

I had fully expected her to pull something like that, so I just kept drinking without a single flinch. Seeing her prank fail, Hiyori awkwardly smacked her lips together.

Once I was done, I tipped the bottle slightly and let a little water gather on my fingers.

Then I pinched my fingers together and flicked them right at Hiyori's face, splashing her.

The drops of water splattered against her skin.

Hiyori let out a weird "Eugh!" and scrunched up her long, delicate eyebrows.

"What was that for?"

"Splashing you."

"Revenge for earlier?"

"Bingo."

"Fine. I'll accept that."

She gave a nod, her expression clearly plotting her future revenge. As she did, I noticed a faint gleam of sweat on her long neck. It looked incredibly erotic.

It made me want to lunge forward and suck on it right then and there.

She must have felt my gaze on her.

Hiyori lightly wiped the water from her face, and the corners of her lips curled up into a mischievous smirk.

"Got a neck fetish?"

There she went, throwing another sudden curveball at me.

I let out a dry chuckle.

"Stop saying stupid things and wipe off that piece of plastic stuck to your neck."

Hiyori brushed a hand down her neck and gave me a confused look.

"There's nothing there. Where is it?"

Without answering, I reached out toward the very base of her neck... right where a translucent fleck of plastic was clinging to her collarbone.

The moment my fingers made contact, her neck tensed up.

Touching an unexpected area seemed to have caught her off guard, making her instinctively tense up.

She sure talked a big game about fetishes, but all it took was a little touch to get her flustered.

Pretending not to notice her reaction, I held up my index finger to show her the tiny piece of plastic.

"Here."

"Ah... that's my collarbone, not my neck."

"It's connected, so calling it your neck is close enough."

"You should have been more specific."

"Try saying thank you first."

"For what?"

"I got the plastic off you."

"Friends do this kind of stuff for each other all the time."

"Don't get cocky."

"Okay, okay. What are you up to this evening? Hanging out with Miyuki Hanazawa?"

She seemed to be incredibly conscious of Miyuki. Was I just imagining things?

Her tone sounded completely normal, so it was hard to tell.

"Hard to say. Why?"

"Because I need a chauffeur. Now that I've gotten used to riding in a car, I can't stand public transit anymore."

"You looking to get scolded?"

"I'm just kidding! I was going to ask if you wanted to go to a cafe."

"Just the two of us?"

"No. With Miho and my other friends. What do you think? Want to come?"

Come to think of it, Hiyori seemed to love cafes even more than most other girls did.

I wondered why. Was it because she wanted to gossip with her friends about the day's events?

Or was it simply the easiest, most casual place to hang out?

"No."

Hiyori thrust her lower lip out in a pout, looking as if she had fully expected my flat refusal.

She had this slightly arrogant look on her face that made me want to flick her right on the forehead.

"I'm heading back inside. Don't skip too many classes."

At that, Hiyori flashed a bright smile and raised a hand to the side of her head.

Then, she wiggled her fingers up and down in a wave.

"Okay. Bye-bye!"

The moment I heard that farewell, I stopped midway through turning around. My eyes twitched as I stared down at her.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Sensing a perfect opportunity to deepen my connection with her right here and now, I put on a serious expression and asked the puzzled Hiyori a question.

"What did you just say?"

"Huh? You mean when I said okay?"

"After that."

"After that? I just said... bye-bye? Why?"

"A while back... didn't you go over to Shinjuku with some friends?"

"Shinjuku? I used to go there all the time, though..."

"The big shopping center near Central Park."

"Ah, there...? When?"

"During the winter. It was probably around winter break."

"Winter? Hmm..."

Hiyori searched her memories for a moment before slowly nodding her head.

"I think I did go there."

"I saw you there."

"Huh...? You saw me, sunbae-nim?"

"Yeah. I was on the bus heading to a Kendo tournament, and you yelled 'bye-bye' to your friends while crossing the intersection. I remembered it clearly because you were dressed way too light for the winter weather. Thinking back on it now, it was definitely you."

"Wait, seriously...?"

"You have a navy jacket at home, don't you? With red sleeves and two white stripes going down the arms."

Hiyori's eyes went wide at the highly specific description.

"Oh!! I do!! The pocket lining is white, too! Wow, it really must have been me...!"

"Looks like it."

"Whoa...!"

She let out a gasp of genuine amazement.

She seemed completely shocked that I had seen her even before we enrolled here, back before we even knew each other.

I flashed a proud, toothy grin.

At that, Hiyori, whose already large eyes had gone completely round, suddenly snapped her gaping mouth shut.

She seemed completely stunned into silence by my bright, innocent smile—an expression I had never once shown her before.

Did seeing this new side of me feel like a breath of fresh air? Whatever it was, it was a very positive reaction.

I stared down at her for a moment before checking the time on my Cell Phone. Then, acting like it was no big deal—yet still letting a trace of genuine gladness show—I reached out and gave her a light pat on the back.

"Glad we crossed paths. See you."

Without waiting for her reply, I turned and walked away.

"B-bye...!"

Hiyori called out from behind me.

Hearing that bewildered stutter in her voice, like she had just snapped back to reality, put a huge smile on my face.

'I hope you don't just write this off as a coincidence. Think of it as a twist of fate... or better yet, destiny.'

Swallowing those thoughts, I stepped back into the building with a light spring in my step.