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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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Miyuki, who had been closely following Matsuda from behind, sneakily looked at his back.
Was it her imagination, or did she just catch a glimpse of the lean muscles under his white uniform shirt?
His broad back naturally gave off a dependable aura.
‘…’
Until not long ago, she truly despised Matsuda. She even exaggeratedly wished he’d get expelled.
Who would have thought she would share such a relationship with him now?
It was an unexpected turn of events.
Miyuki lightly bit her lips.
Their second kiss inside the classroom…
It was brief, their lips merely touching for about ten seconds, but… it felt wonderful.
She honestly felt this kiss was sweeter than the first one.
Maybe that was because this time, unlike the first time, she felt prepared and even initiated the kiss, making it feel more ‘right.’
It felt as if she had discovered an entirely new world.
She yearned for another, but… was that it for today?
Perhaps Matsuda would ask for a goodbye kiss when he drops her off at home?
Miyuki, who had been stealing occasional glances at Matsuda’s back, abruptly stopped in her tracks.
She was dumbfounded by the absurd things that had crossed their mind.
She had been the one always calling Matsuda a pervert… But now, wasn’t she acting like one herself?
‘I’m going insane…’
Scolding herself internally, Miyuki continued walking, her head hung low.
And then,
*thump*
“Ah!”
She bumped her forehead into Matsuda’s back and wobbled, losing her balance.
The impact was strong enough to disrupt her balance entirely.
Just as she was about to fall backward…
Matsuda’s arm shot out with incredible reflexes to catch her, his brows slightly furrowing.
“What are you doing? Lost in thought?”
Unable to meet Matsuda’s eyes properly, she answered,
“Wh-Why did you stop all of a sudden, Matsuda-kun?”
She wanted to say thank you, but why were complaints the only things coming out of her mouth?
She was exceptionally awkward at expressing these new emotions.
What would Matsuda think of her now?
“Because we’ve arrived at the locker room.”
“Ah… already?”
“It’s a short distance, so of course we’d get here quickly. Are you both tiny and dumb?”
“…I didn’t know.”
A short puff of air escaped from Matsuda’s nose.
With a light laugh, he spoke.
“Go ahead and change, too. I’m going in.”
Saying this, the corners of Matsuda’s mouth stretched outwards.
The resulting bright, refreshing smile seemed to light up the area.
These days, she’s been seeing that smile quite often when she was with him.
Her heart began to beat faster.
It was a smile she felt she could never get tired of seeing.
Was it too greedy to wish that he’d show that smile to only her?
“Okay… I won’t take too long.”
“Why are you talking as if you’ll be alone? I’ll change first and wait, so take your time coming out.”
Upon closer inspection, it felt like Matsuda could read her heart.
Even now, he was saying the very things she had hoped to hear.
Their personalities were so different that they could almost be described as polar opposites, and yet…
For some reason, she felt like she and Matsuda were strangely compatible.
“Okay…”
“So timid…”
Matsuda gently pressed down on Miyuki’s bangs with his large hand before heading into the men’s locker room.
Placing her hand where he had just touched, Miyuki, her face flushed, whispered the words she’d been holding back.
‘I like you, Ken-kun.’
Even though she’d only said it to herself, her heart pounded wildly.
Her vision narrowed, her head dizzying with emotion.
Could she actually say those words out loud?
And what would it feel like to hear Matsuda say the same?
Her inability to predict the outcome actually cleared her mind.
Miyuki headed toward the women’s locker room, praying that Matsuda would once again read her feelings, all while trying to steady her racing heart.
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“I’m going to check some new equipment we’ve brought in, so Matsuda-kouhai, you keep practicing your pushing technique with the shinai.”
“Should I come with you?”
“Matsuda-kouhai, you’re already falling behind. Starting today, we’re ramping up the practice sessions. Just focus on your training. What did I say is the key when practicing footwork?”
“Natural movement.”
Nodding approvingly, Chinami strolled away, her legs playfully bobbing with each step.
She looks adorable, moving like a soft rice cake does when you poke it with your finger.
Chuckling to myself, I gripped the shinai and aimed it at the empty air.
From that position, I moved the foot in the direction I wanted to go, dragging the other foot behind me as I practiced the pushing technique.
Being here all by myself doing this makes me feel like I’ve gone a little crazy.
Just as I was diligently practicing,
“Your shinai is trembling. Keep your center balanced.”
Renka’s dry voice came from behind me.
Startled, I was about to lower the shinai when Renka waved her hand dismissively, as if to say ‘It’s alright.’
“I heard everything from Chinami. She’s been coaching you separately. Just be careful not to get caught by the coach.”
“Ah, yes…”
“I thought you’d quit if the Coach kept refusing to teach you for a few days, but surprisingly, you’re still here.”
I’ll stick around even if you tell me to quit—until you accept me in your heart.
“Uh…”
Murmuring, I took my stance to resume practice. Renka then came to face me and crossed her arms.
“Assume your stance. Let me take a quick look.”
“Okay.”
“Try to place the sharp edge of the shinai straight to your solar plexus, and the end of the hilt at your navel.”
“Like this?”
“Exactly. From there, think of your thumb and index finger merely as guides for balance. You should be applying force with just the remaining three fingers.”
Renka curled her thumb and index finger while bending and extending the other three fingers.
I gave her a half-hearted nod and did as she instructed.
“Good. Now maintain that stance and begin your pushing moves.”
Under Renka’s watchful eyes, I tried the pushing technique again, moving up, down, left, and right.
I wasn’t passionate about it.
I only displayed just enough enthusiasm to avoid annoying Renka.
‘Matsuda Ken is skilled but lacks enthusiasm for competition, treating club activities merely as a way to pass the time.’
That was the kind of impression I was aiming to make on Renka.
Of course, behind the scenes, I’d be practicing diligently, improving to the point where they’d have no choice but to include me in competitions.
I’ll be stacking my efforts quietly until, one day, I’ll reveal the true skills I’ve been honing.
This will completely overturn Renka’s idea of me.
A very strong image transformation tends to leave a lasting impression, after all.
With this blueprint for the future in mind, I kept putting on a show for Renka until Chinami returned.
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Tetsuya and I headed for the parking lot after finishing our club activities.
While we were having some idle chatter and waiting for Miyuki, we saw her approaching us quickly from a distance, the student council badge displayed on her chest.
“You’re here?”
Tetsuya greeted Miyuki cheerfully. Miyuki, taking a quick glance at me as I sat on the car’s hood, responded while looking at Tetsuya.
“Yeah. But Tetsuya-kun, why do you keep touching your arm? Is it hurting?”
“Ah… We learned overhead strikes during today’s practice. Swinging the shinai over and over got my muscles a little…”
“Ke… Umm… Matsuda-kun didn’t hit you, did he?
She seemed like she was trying to say ‘Ken,’ but stopped short.
If only she had a little more courage… What a pity.
Trying to divert my disappointment, I scowled.
“Why, you…!”
As I raised my fist as if to threaten, Miyuki, laughing softly, spoke to Tetsuya.
“You should’ve been more careful. You’ll feel it tomorrow.”
“Yeah… I guess I should’ve exercised more. Could you massage it for me?”
At Tetsuya’s request, Miyuki briefly glanced in my direction.
Eventually, she made a troubled face and shook her head apologetically.
“I too had a tough time carrying heavy stuff today. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, do you want me to massage your arms then?”
“No need. I appreciate the thought. But let’s get going quickly, or Matsuda-kun might get mad at us.”
Miyuki brushed off Tetsuya’s words with a smile and got in the car.
‘Miyuki, you’ve been particularly adorable today. As a reward, maybe I should place a dildo in your panties?’
‘How about you attend class like that? Sounds fun, right?’
Miyuki took the passenger seat like it was second nature and fastened her seatbelt.
Tetsuya, watching her, tilted his head in confusion.
But he didn’t ask why she took the passenger seat again.
He probably thought that asking such a question would make him seem very uncool.
‘Seems like you caught the hint this time… but it’s too late.’
I silently mocked Tetsuya and as soon as the guy got in the back seat, I started the car.
The atmosphere was rather cheerful.
The three of us shared various conversations as we drove to Tetsuya’s house.
As he got out of the car, Tetsuya headed to the passenger side and spoke to Miyuki.
“How about a walk tonight?”
“A walk? Sure, let’s do it.”
“Alright. I’ll call you. Thanks again, Matsuda.”
As Tetsuya gave his farewells and headed toward his house, I gave a nonchalant nod and pressed down on the accelerator as soon as he was out of sight.
Miyuki then began fiddling with her phone and asked,
“The day before yesterday, before our movie started, there was an advertisement for a comedy movie starring Hayato at the theater, right?”
“Uh.”
“Didn’t it look interesting?”
Tsk, tsk… Miyuki, Miyuki.
I’ll teach you how to live life.
You know how sometimes movie trailers will use phrases like ‘joyful rebellion?’
If that’s the case, then there’s a half chance, if not 9 out of 10, that the movie is crap.
And that phrase popped out right from the opening of the trailer for the movie you mentioned.
It looked boring just from that alone.
But if you really want to see it… I suppose I can put up with watching it with you.
Because I really love you.
“Do you really want to watch it?”
“It’s not that… I was just thinking we could go if we have some free time…”
“Let’s pick a date then.”
“Okay… I guess I should go now…? Thanks for the ride…”
As we arrived at her house, Miyuki took her time—very slowly—unbuckling her seatbelt.
Watching her, I spoke.
“Hey.”
“Hmm?”
“You said you were tired from carrying heavy stuff today. Do you want me to massage your arm?”
Miyuki’s shoulders trembled visibly.
She caught on. That I’d mirrored Tetsuya’s words exactly.
She briefly rolled her eyes, and…
“Sigh…”
Then she shyly extended her arm towards me while turning her head to look out the window.
With a meaningful, sly grin, I grabbed her slender wrist and pressed gently, applying just the right amount of pressure as I moved from her palm up to her forearm.
As always, Miyuki’s body was warm.
‘I can’t wait to hug you and sleep with you.’
While silently massaging her arm, I asked,
“Does it feel good?”
“…Yes… It does…”
Her voice had a slight quiver.
It seemed like she was nervous.
When our relationship deepens, we could go to a drive-in movie theater.
We could park the car facing the screen and lie next to each other in the trunk to watch the movie.
And when the atmosphere heats up… I can think of a few things we can do then.
“Done. You can go now.”
“Um… Do you want to come in for dinner? You could also say hi to my mom and dad…”
“Next time.”
“…. Why? Is it because you feel uncomfortable?”
“No, it’s not that. It’d be rude to drop by without telling them in advance. When you get inside, just ask them if it’d be okay for me to come visit soon.”
“Oh, okay… So, it’s a promise?”
“Yup.”
Smiling happily, Miyuki opened the passenger side door.
Holding her bag’s straps with both hands, she said,
“See you later… Ken-kun.”
She glanced back at me to say what she hadn’t managed to earlier, cautiously closed the car door, and nearly sprinted towards her house, clutching her always-heavy bag.
Hearing my name at such an unexpected moment, I paused for a while.
I could see Miyuki, frantically trying to unlock her front door and looking back several times.
She dropped her keys, then crouched down in surprise, looking utterly embarrassed.
Seeing her like that snapped me out of my daze, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
‘So it’s not Matsuda-kun anymore, it’s Ken-kun now, huh?’
Given Miyuki’s personality, she probably won’t call me by my first name every day, but I think I may hear it from time to time.
‘Thank you for mustering the courage today.’
‘Next time, I hope you’ll drop the honorifics altogether and just call me Ken.’
Thinking so, I kept chuckling at Miyuki, who looked exceedingly flustered. Eventually, Miyuki was finally able to open the door successfully and quickly disappeared into her house. Only then did I take my foot off the brake.
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