Chapter 91

Click.

Sprawled out in bed, I opened my eyes at the faint sound of the doorknob turning.

A moment later, there was a rustle outside, followed by the window sliding open with an eerie creak.

A sudden rush of cold wind blew in.

I furrowed my brow and pulled the blanket all the way over my head. In response, Miyuki patted my butt.

"Wake up, idiot. It's already seven o'clock."

Seven o'clock?

No wonder the sky had looked so quiet and still when the window opened.

"Why are you here making a fuss so early?"

"I came because I missed you."

Man, how am I supposed to react when she says things like that?

It melts my annoyance right away.

Letting out a long breath through my nose to chase away the sleepiness, I pulled the blanket back just enough to uncover my head.

Blinking my heavy eyes, I looked up at Miyuki.

"Come here and lie down."

"You smell."

"Smell like what?"

"Sweat."

I scoffed, grabbed Miyuki's wrist, and yanked her down.

With a tiny yelp, Miyuki collapsed right on top of me.

Resting my hand on her waist, I stroked her butt just as she had done to me a moment ago.

Then I tapped my lips with my free hand.

A gesture demanding a kiss.

Did I look endearing doing that with a sleep-drunk expression?

Miyuki broke into a radiant smile, puckered her lips—colored with a crimson lip tint—and planted a loud, smacking kiss on mine.

Seeing her pour out so much affection, I let out a low chuckle.

"Did you get permission from your mom?"

"Yeah."

"Can you get off now? I need to get up."

"No."

"I thought you said I smelled."

"It's a good smell, so it's fine."

"You just said it was sweat."

"I like the smell of your sweat."

She rubbed her face against my chest as she bantered, looking for all the world like a cat trying to rub its scent onto its owner.

I smoothed out Miyuki's messy hair and rolled her over onto her side.

Miyuki blinked her bright eyes at me and asked,

"What are you going to do today?"

"I haven't thought about it. What time did you go to sleep last night?"

"Hmm... Around one in the morning?"

"What were you doing until then?"

"I watched a movie with my sister."

"Then you must be sleepy now."

"Not really sleep— Ah, what are you doing...! I already washed up, I don't want to lie back down...!"

Miyuki suddenly started making a fuss.

I had spread the blanket wide and completely covered her with it.

Pinning down her thrashing form with my arms and legs, I whispered softly.

"You can just wash again. We can wash together when I take a shower."

"T-Together...? Again...?"

"Don't you think it'd feel nice to sit in the tub and feel the cold breeze?"

"..."

Her body instantly went still.

Seeing as she didn't say anything, she was definitely tempted.

"Let's bring a can of beer in, too. How about it?"

"Are we just going to stay home? Not going out?"

"After washing up and taking a nap, I was thinking about going out to buy some Kendo gear. Want to come?"

"Kendo gear?"

"Yeah. So I can practice alone at home."

Footwork practice could be done without gear, but anything else required a shinai or Bogu to be effective.

I could borrow equipment from the Club Room, but I wasn't keen on sharing things that other people had used.

They weren't broken in to fit my body either, which made my ears feel uncomfortably pinched.

So it seemed like the right time to buy my own.

"Matsuda-kun, you're surprisingly serious about Kendo."

"Did you think I'd quit right away?"

"No, but I never imagined you'd actually buy gear... Hyaack! It tickles...!"

I lightly tickled her waist as payback for her teasing, causing her to writhe wildly and let out a sweet, breathy laugh.

Continuing to torment her, I brought my lips down to the peak of her t-shirt, took it into my mouth, and blew a puff of air.

"Haaah...!"

Her entire body tensed instantly.

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled hard, seemingly overwhelmed by a hot, deeply erotic sensation.

Pulling my lips away from her chest, I asked quietly,

"You're coming with me, right?"

"I-I'm going... I never said I wasn't going in the first place..."

"Are you sleeping over tonight?"

"I can't... We have to go to the Academy tomorrow..."

My mother-in-law keeps trying to get in the way of our relationship.

So what should I do? I guess I'll have to seduce Midori so she can enjoy spending time with me, too.

Swallowing those words, I wrapped one arm around Miyuki's tense waist.

"Let's wash up in a bit."

"...Okay."

The place I took Miyuki was a Kendo equipment shop located a little ways outside the city center.

The reason I had bypassed several nearby shops to come all this way was that this was the shop Renka frequented.

In other words, it was close to Renka's home.

"The atmosphere here is really nice..."

That was Miyuki's impression upon entering the small shop, which inexplicably smelled a bit like a secondhand bookstore.

Placing a hand on the small of her back, I replied.

"You like this kind of smell, don't you?"

"Yeah. It makes me want to buy something. Do you think they have books here, too?"

"They probably have books about Kendo."

We walked past the aisle where the Bogu were displayed and headed for the counter, only to run into an unexpected figure.

"...Matsuda?"

It was Renka, inspecting a new shinai.

To be honest, I couldn't really call it unexpected.

I hadn't banked on it, but I did have a feeling she might be here.

What I truly hadn't expected, however, was for her to have company.

"Miyuki...? Matsuda?"

That distinct voice dripping with simultaneous innocence and stupidity.

Miyuki and I widened our eyes as we spotted Tetsuya standing next to Renka.

"Tetsuya-kun...? Why are you here..."

Snapping to his senses at Miyuki's startled question, Tetsuya glanced at me and answered.

"Ah... I mentioned I was going to buy new Kendo gear, so the President said she'd help me pick it out. We came together."

Look at this bastard. He was already close enough to Renka to contact her personally?

When did he even get her number? For a guy with no guts, that was pretty impressive.

Or did Renka ask for his first?

Either way, it was surprising. And very much like him.

He feels threatened by me, yet the moment Renka offered to help him with gear, he grins like an idiot and wags his tail...

Of course, Miyuki had already slipped out of his grasp, but for him to be acting like this when he should be fully committing to one girl...

It was a spectacular mess. He was acting exactly like the pathetic loser who couldn't make a choice between three girls.

I'm so proud of you, Miura Tetsuya!

"Really? Then..."

Miyuki looked over at Renka, who was standing blankly beside Tetsuya.

At that, Tetsuya stepped between them, introducing Miyuki to Renka with a smiling face.

"Yeah. The person next to me is the President. President, this is my childhood friend of fifteen years, Miyuki. I mentioned her before, didn't I?"

It felt like he was emphasizing the phrase 'fifteen years'... How utterly laughable.

I watched the three of them in silence.

"I've seen you around a few times, but this is my first time formally introducing myself. Hello, I'm Hanazawa Miyuki."

Miyuki bowed politely, just as a model student should.

Renka, who had been watching her steadily, accepted Miyuki's greeting with a genuinely polite attitude.

"I'm Inoo Renka. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Miura."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. You're the class representative for Class 1-A, right? He said you were a bold and energetic girl... He was definitely right. I can tell just from your vibe."

That was true for the usual Miyuki.

Though she was different at night.

Covering her mouth as her eyes curved into a smile, Miyuki said,

"You're complimenting me, right?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. Tetsuya-kun talks about you often too, sunbae-nim. He said you were an amazing President..."

"Did he?"

Renka's gaze shifted to Tetsuya.

It was a warm expression on a completely different level from how she treated me.

"Yes. Please take good care of Tetsuya-kun. And..."

Miyuki's gaze shifted to the side.

Glaring at me with a look one might give a troublemaking son, she continued,

"Please take care of Matsuda-kun as well... I know he'll be a lot of trouble. He'll probably cause a lot of accidents, so feel free to scold him harshly whenever he does."

'He's a good kid deep down; please guide him well, teacher.'

She sounded exactly like a mother saying that.

Renka set down the shinai and crossed her arms.

Looking back and forth between Miyuki and me, she slowly nodded.

"I'll try my best."

That I was unnecessarily violent, or incredibly over-competitive during sparring...

I thought she was going to tear me down with comments like that, but she was surprisingly letting it slide.

Then again, Renka wasn't so twisted that she would talk trash right to a person's face.

If Renka brought up the movie with Chinami right here, things would get troublesome.

I had a way out, of course, but it would be annoying if my plan got derailed by a third party rather than my own mistake.

So I needed to step in and move the situation along.

"President. Can you help pick out my Bogu too?"

"You're here to buy gear as well?"

"Yeah."

"...Alright. What are you looking to buy?"

"Bogu and a shinai."

"Why not just use the ones in the Club Room?"

"The Men is uncomfortable. And the shinai doesn't fit my hands well."

"Do you even have the drive to practice properly?"

Of course. Because there is someone I really want to discipline properly.

"Yes."

"Understood. Follow me. It was nice meeting you, Hanazawa."

Renka offered Miyuki a gentle smile.

Miyuki answered with a polite bow, watched Renka's back as she headed for the Bogu aisle, and then lightly jabbed me in the back.

Then, she held up an index finger.

"We're talking later."

Judging by her heavily lowered voice, she didn't like my blunt attitude toward Renka.

Shrugging dismissively, I gestured with my chin toward the pathetic Tetsuya, who had slinked away into the background at some point.

"You two chat for a bit."

"Okay. Make sure you thank her for helping you pick it out, alright?"

"I'll handle it."

"It's basic courtesy. Got it?"

Nodding to Miyuki's strict reminders, I approached Renka, who was standing tall and inspecting the Bogu.

At that moment, picking up a Men, Renka spoke quietly, as if in passing.

"That's an unexpected combination."

"What is?"

"You and Hanazawa. I heard from Miura that the three of you hang out together, but... you really can't stand tall in front of Hanazawa, can you? Are you that scared of her?"

Normally, shouldn't she first suspect the nature of the relationship between Miyuki and me, since we had walked into a Kendo shop alone together?

Seeing her brush it off so casually, Tetsuya must have mentioned it to her.

He must have told her that Miyuki, he, and I often hung out together.

Because of that, she probably assumed we were just hanging out as friends and didn't suspect a thing.

At times like this, he was actually quite helpful.

Then again, if he didn't even have use value, what good would he be?

"Miyuki is pretty scary when she's mad."

"You call Hanazawa by her first name, but you call Miura by his last name?"

"I don't make a habit of calling other guys by their first names."

"That's a weird stubborn streak."

"It's not stubbornness; it's a preference."

"...Whatever, just bring your head here. Let me measure your size first."

Renka let out a deep sigh.

When I leaned my head forward, she slid the Men over my head and pulled the cords tight.

My ears and temples immediately throbbed with pain.

Seeing how she didn't even ask if I was okay, it seemed she was exacting some petty revenge by tying it extra tight on purpose.

She has a surprisingly cute side. Keep it up.

The more you do things like this, the more my desire to conquer you surges.