Translator: RaidenTL
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Tailing behind Matsuda, Miyuki secretly examined every inch of his back.
Was it just her imagination, or could she catch a glimpse of lean muscle under his white uniform shirt?
His back was so broad it naturally made him seem dependable.
'.....'
Until recently, she couldn't stand the sight of him. To be honest, she'd even wished he would get expelled or something.
Who would have thought she'd end up in a relationship like this with him?
It felt surreal.
Miyuki pressed her lips together.
Their second kiss, in the classroom.
It was just their lips touching for ten-odd seconds, but... it had felt so good.
Honestly, she thought it was sweeter than their first kiss.
Maybe it was because, unlike last time, she had been ready for it and had initiated it herself, allowing her to properly savor the feeling.
It felt like she'd discovered a whole new world.
She wanted to do it again... Was that it for today?
Maybe when he walked her home, he'd suggest a goodbye kiss?
As she kept stealing glances at Matsuda's back, Miyuki flinched and stopped dead in her tracks.
She was dumbfounded at herself for having such a shameless thought.
She was always calling Matsuda a pervert, but at this rate, wasn't she the pervert?
'I'm going crazy...'
Scolding herself internally, Miyuki lowered her head and started walking again.
And then, thump.
"Oof!"
She'd walked right into Matsuda's back, losing her balance and stumbling.
The impact was surprisingly strong, and Miyuki's balance gave way for a moment.
She started to fall backward.
With incredible reflexes, Matsuda grabbed her arm, his brow furrowing slightly.
"What are you doing? Spacing out?"
Unable to meet the eyes of the boy who had just steadied her, she replied.
"W-Why did you stop, Matsuda-kun...?"
She wanted to say thank you, so why did such a snappy complaint come out instead...?
She was just too clumsy at expressing her feelings.
What must Matsuda think of her?
"Because we're at the changing rooms."
"Oh... already...?"
"It's not far, of course we got here quickly. Are you an idiot?"
"...I didn't realize..."
A short puff of air escaped Matsuda's nose.
He let out a light laugh and said,
"You should get changed too. I'm heading in."
As he said that, the corners of Matsuda's mouth stretched into a wide grin.
It was a refreshing smile that seemed to brighten his surroundings.
Lately, she'd been seeing that smile a lot when she was with him.
Her heart pounded.
It felt like she could never get tired of seeing it.
Was it greedy to wish he would only show that smile to her?
"Okay... Don't be late..."
"Why do you say that like you're going alone? I'll change first and wait for you, so take your time."
It seemed like Matsuda could see right through her.
He was saying exactly what she'd wanted to hear.
Their personalities were so different they were practically opposites, but...
somehow, she felt that she and Matsuda would be a good match.
"Okay..."
"You're so timid..."
Matsuda gently pressed down on Miyuki's bangs with his large hand before heading into the men's changing room.
Placing her own hand where he had touched her, Miyuki, her face flushed, spoke the words in her heart.
'I like you, Ken-kun.'
Even though she'd only said it in her mind, her heart was hammering.
Her vision narrowed, and her head felt dizzy.
Could she ever say it out loud?
And what would it feel like to hear those words from Matsuda's lips?
She couldn't even begin to imagine it, which paradoxically cleared her head.
Hoping that Matsuda would somehow read her mind again, Miyuki tried to calm her racing heart as she headed for the girls' changing room.
"I'm going to check on the new equipment for a moment, so Junior Matsuda, please practice your push-walks with your shinai."
"Should I come with you?"
"You're quite behind in your progress, Junior Matsuda. I plan on increasing your practice load starting today, so don't worry about me and focus on your training. What did I say was most important when practicing footwork?"
"The natural stance."
Chinami nodded in satisfaction and toddled away.
Cute, like a little mochi on the move.
Letting out a silly laugh, I gripped my shinai and aimed it at the empty air.
From that position, I practiced the push-walk, moving my front foot forward first and then dragging the other to meet it.
Doing this by myself made me feel a bit like a lunatic.
I was practicing diligently in secret when,
"Your shinai is shaking. Keep your center straight."
Renka's dry voice came from behind me.
I pretended to flinch and was about to lower my shinai, but Renka spoke as if to say it was fine.
"I heard from Chinami. She's coaching you separately. Just be careful the director doesn't find out."
"Ah, yes..."
"I thought you'd quit after a few days. This is unexpected."
Even if you told me to quit, I'd stick with it until you start to like me.
"Well, you know..."
I trailed off and got back into my stance to practice.
Renka then came to stand in front of me and crossed her arms.
"Get into your stance. I'll watch you for a bit."
"Yes."
"Position the tip of the shinai at your solar plexus, and the end of the hilt at your dantian."
"Like this?"
"Right. Think of your thumb and index finger as just supporting your center. You only apply force with these three fingers."
Renka made a circle with her thumb and index finger, then flexed her other three fingers.
I gave a rough nod and did as she said.
"Good. Hold that stance... and begin the push-walk."
With Renka watching, I began practicing the push-walk again—forward, backward, left, and right.
I didn't do it with much passion.
I showed just enough enthusiasm to not annoy her.
'Matsuda Ken is talented, but he has no passion for competing and just thinks of club activities as a way to kill time.'
This was all to make Renka evaluate me that way.
Of course, I'd be practicing like crazy behind the scenes, improving so much that they'd have no choice but to let me compete.
I'll keep building this up, stacking the deck, until one day, I'll make it all explode.
Completely flipping her perception of me.
A dramatic change in image is something people don't forget easily.
With this blueprint for the future laid out, I continued my little show for Renka until Chinami returned.
After club activities, Tetsuya and I headed to the parking lot.
We were waiting for Miyuki, making small talk, when we saw her approaching in the distance, walking quickly toward us with a student council badge on her chest.
"There you are."
Tetsuya greeted Miyuki brightly.
Miyuki glanced at me sitting on the hood of the car before looking at Tetsuya and replying.
"Yeah. Hey, Tetsuya-kun, why do you keep touching your arm? Does it hurt?"
"Ah... we learned head strikes in the club today. My muscles are a little... from swinging the shinai so much."
"It wasn't because Ke... um... Matsuda-kun hit you?"
It looked like she was about to say 'Ken-kun'.
If only she'd been a little braver... What a shame.
Suppressing my disappointment, I scowled.
"I oughta..."
As I raised a hand threateningly, Miyuki giggled and said to Tetsuya,
"You should have taken it easy. You're going to be sore tomorrow."
"I know... Maybe I should have worked out more. Can you give me a massage?"
At Tetsuya's request, Miyuki instinctively glanced at me.
Then, with a troubled expression, she shook her head apologetically.
"I was carrying heavy things today, so I'm tired too. Sorry."
"Then should I massage your arm?"
"No, it's okay. I appreciate the thought. Let's get going. Matsuda-kun will get mad."
Miyuki just laughed off Tetsuya's words and got in the car.
She's being extra cute today. As a reward, I should put a dildo in her panties.
And make her sit through class like that. Sounds good, right?
She naturally got into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt.
Watching her, Tetsuya tilted his head in confusion.
But he didn't ask why she was in the passenger seat again.
He probably knew that asking would make him look incredibly pathetic.
Looks like he managed to read the room this time... but it's already too late.
I sneered at Tetsuya internally and started the car the moment the guy got into the back seat.
A friendly atmosphere. But inside the car, which was filled with a strange, subtle tension, the three of us chatted about various things until we arrived at Tetsuya's house.
The guy got out of the car, walked over to the passenger side, and said to Miyuki,
"You're going for a walk tonight, right?"
"A walk? Yeah, let's."
"Alright. I'll call you. Thanks again for today, Matsuda."
I gave a bored nod to Tetsuya as he thanked me, and the moment he started walking toward his house, I stepped on the gas.
Miyuki fiddled with her phone and then asked,
"The day before yesterday, before our movie, they showed a trailer for that comedy starring Hayato, right?"
"Yeah."
"Doesn't it look fun?"
Tsk, tsk... Miyuki.
Let me teach you a little something about life.
If a movie trailer uses the phrase [So-and-so's Hilarious Rebellion],
then that movie, while not a nine-out-of-ten guarantee, has about a fifty-fifty chance of being absolute shit.
And the trailer for the movie you just mentioned had that exact phrase right at the beginning.
It looks painfully unfunny.
But if you really want to see it... I guess I can endure it.
Because I really do love you.
"You want to see it?"
"It's not that... I was just wondering if we could go see it when we have time..."
"Then pick a day."
"Okay... I'll get going then...? Thanks for the ride..."
Having arrived at her house, Miyuki unbuckled her seatbelt slowly, very slowly.
I watched her intently and said,
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"You said you were carrying heavy things today. Want me to massage your arm?"
I saw Miyuki's shoulders jolt noticeably.
She realized. That I was repeating Tetsuya's exact words.
She rolled her eyes for a moment, then,
Swoosh.
She shyly extended her arm toward me and turned her head to look out the window.
With a meaningful grin, I took her slender wrist and began to massage it, pressing firmly from her palm up to her forearm.
I always feel this, but Miyuki's body is so warm.
I want to hold her tight and sleep.
As I silently massaged her arm, I asked,
"Feel good?"
"...Yeah... it feels good..."
Her voice was trembling slightly.
She seems flustered.
Once our relationship gets deeper, we should go to a drive-in theater.
We could park the car facing away from the screen and lie down together in the back to watch the movie.
And if the mood gets heated... we could do this and that.
When I was done with the massage, I gently let go of her wrist to signal that I was finished.
"There. You can go in."
"Ah... um... do you want to stay for dinner...? You could say hi to my mom and dad..."
"Next time."
"...Why? Is it uncomfortable...?"
"It's not that. It would be rude to just show up without any notice. Go inside and ask them if it's okay for me to visit soon."
"Oh, okay... You promise?"
"Yeah."
Her face brightening, Miyuki opened the passenger door.
Clutching her bag straps with both hands, she,
"Bye... Ken-kun."
looked back at me and blurted out the words she couldn't say earlier. Then she got out, closed the door gently, and ran toward her house as if escaping, clutching that always-heavy bag of hers.
Hearing my name at such an unexpected moment, I froze for a second.
I could see Miyuki fumbling to open her front door, glancing back several times.
She dropped her keys, startled, and squatted down to pick them up.
That incredibly embarrassed-looking display snapped me out of it, and a laugh escaped my lips.
So it's not 'Matsuda-kun' anymore, it's 'Ken-kun,' huh?
Knowing Miyuki's personality, she won't call me by my first name every day, but I think I'll get to hear it sometimes.
Thanks for being brave today.
Next time, I'll be waiting for you to drop the honorific and just call me Ken.
I kept chuckling as I watched the very flustered Miyuki. Once she finally managed to open the door and quickly slipped inside, I took my foot off the brake.