CHAPTER 6
A girl bad for the heart, a girl good for the heart.
“Yuki Suou did that?”
“She did. That’s why, while I know this is sudden, I was hoping if you, Sayaka, could form one of our teams with Takeshi and Hikaru…”
The next day, after Takeshi and Hikaru agreed to help them in the Run, Alisa and Masachika visited Sayaka in Class F during break time to explain the situation.
“Well, sure. That’s fine… That was really careless of you, though. She completely manipulated everyone into changing the match’s format so that it would only benefit her,” replied Sayaka while slowly pushing up her glasses.
“Yeah… She completely outsmarted me this time…”
Sayaka shot a sideways glance at Alisa, who had her head down and her shoulders slumped.
“Anyone can mope around and be depressed, so how about you start thinking about what you could do next time to prevent this from ever happening again?” Sayaka said bluntly.
“…Yeah.”
Alisa could only nod in agreement with Sayaka, despite how relentless and harsh she was being, and that was exactly why Masachika couldn’t help but say something.
“I mean, there wasn’t much we could have done, though. Yuki had a point. She came at us with a perfect strategy.”
He tried to mediate, but Sayaka simply snorted.
“But even then, you didn’t have to simply agree to her proposal. If she was going to use physical differences as an excuse, you could have countered by saying, ‘Then we’ll balance it by only asking girls to be our helpers.’ After all, Nonoa and I already agreed to help you, right? There would have been absolutely no downside.”
“…I didn’t even think of that.”
“Even with team battles, you could have proposed that you would each disclose who’d be participating beforehand. You had plenty of conditions that you could have come up with.”
““…””
Masachika and Alisa were speechless, their eyes wide as Sayaka calmly laid out her argument in a matter-of-fact tone. She had a point, too. Masachika hadn’t even thought of that because he was so busy focusing on what was happening in front of them when Chisaki and Maria were agreeing with Yuki.
Instead, he was already thinking about who else they could recruit. However, when he sat down to calmly think about it, he realized there was absolutely no need to accept Yuki’s proposal unconditionally.
“You’re absolutely right. It sounds like we’ve got a lot to think about.”
“We do…”
Sayaka snorted at Masachika and Alisa, who were so eager to raise the white flag and admit defeat.
Unable to even look at them, she seemed colder than usual, almost sullen…which made Masachika tilt his head in confusion. Alisa, on the other hand, nodded back, looked Sayaka straight in the eye, and exclaimed:
“I really appreciate the feedback. We’re lucky to have your help.”
“…Good,” Sayaka curtly responded, all the while pushing up her glasses…but there was something about how she was reacting that made Masachika’s face twist as a certain realization hit him.
Wait. Is she…?
He immediately tried to reject his own hypothesis, but it was the only explanation that made sense anymore.
Is she just in a bad mood because her spot on Alya’s team was taken away from her?!
Although Sayaka hid her expression behind her hand as she readjusted her glasses, Masachika could sense that she was actually in a good mood. The more he watched her, the more shocked he became as his image of her from middle school gradually crumbled.
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.”
“No, not at all.”
Masachika had been summoned by Maria to the student council room during lunch, and when he opened the door to the quiet room, he found her sitting alone on the couch.
“…”
The situation, eerily reminiscent of his recent interaction with Maria, gave Masachika a strange sense of unease as he approached her.
“So… Uh… What’d you want to talk about?”
“Mn… Have a seat.”
Maria gestured to the seat next to her, once again reminding him of what had happened before exams, as he swallowed his breath.
Obviously, she asked me to meet her here to talk about what happened the other day, right?
Maria had been acting a bit awkward around him ever since that incident. Although Masachika understood that his awkwardness stemmed from his feelings for his first love resurfacing…he couldn’t quite understand why Maria was acting so strange now.
If we’re going to talk about that…then let’s do it. I’m not going to be a coward and run away. I want to process all these feelings I’m having, too.
After bracing himself for battle, Masachika sat down beside Maria, then patiently waited as she stared at her lap, seemingly searching for the right words until an entire minute ticked off on the clock.
“So… Kuze…”
“Yes?”
After seeing Masachika sit up straight with a serious demeanor, she took a deep breath and asked, “You look at me…in a sexual way, don’t you?”
“…What?”
His mind went blank at the completely unexpected question, causing Maria to panic, waving her hands frantically.
“Oh! No! I’m not scolding you or anything… It’s just…I know that teenage boys like stuff like that! So I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but…”
Her voice trailed off as she lowered her head in embarrassment… Then, out of nowhere, she bent at the waist, bowing deeply.
“I’m so sorry! The thought never even crossed my mind! And I’ve been…touching you and hugging you so much…” Slowly lifting her head, Maria looked away and bashfully added, “It must be very…troubling for you, right? Since it makes you feel ways, and you can’t do anything about it… So I’m very, very sorry! I had no idea what I was doing!”
Masachika stared at the top of her head as she bowed once more…and pondered.
H-how am I supposed to respond to that?
It was hell. For a boy going through puberty, it was nothing short of hell. It felt like being caught reading a dirty magazine by your mom. Of course, Masachika had never experienced anything like that, but the situation was pretty similar, seeing as a woman was confronting him head-on about his urges and intentions.
Uh… Should I accept her apology? But that would be an admission of guilt… I mean, I do check her out sometimes… I do look at her lustfully! But that’s only because I’m a teenage boy, just like she—
He suddenly shook his head.
No, that’s just an excuse. I don’t look at Nonoa or Elena like that at all…
That was when it finally hit him.
He did feel something when he looked at Maria, and the very fact that he was harboring these feelings was the clearest evidence that he saw her in a romantic light. However…
But that’s not everything… It’s weird. I feel…really guilty now that I’m finally able to admit that Masha = Mah…
Masachika felt as though he was tainting the beautiful memory of that girl with his own filthy desires. Now, belatedly, an overwhelming sense of disgust toward his own lustful thoughts surged within him, making him feel like he wanted to just die on the spot.
“Please stop bowing… You didn’t do anything you need to apologize for.”
Overwhelmed by a heavy sense of guilt, he tried desperately to end the conversation, but before he could do anything about it, Maria suddenly looked up sharply, making him flinch.
“So Kuze…!”
“Y-yeah?”
She spread her arms wide, leaning slightly back toward Masachika, and with a serious expression and flushed cheeks, she exclaimed:
“To make it up to you…I’ll let you touch my body as much as you want!”
“…What?”
“I want you to get it out of your system for all the times you wanted to do it but couldn’t.”
“This is not the direction I saw this conversation going!!”
Normally, wouldn’t this kind of situation lead to them being more careful and not being as touchy as much anymore? How did the situation escalate in the complete opposite direction? And why, of all things, would she be basically accepting these terrible, lustful thoughts of his?
“I-it’s okay! I don’t mind if it’s you, Kuze! I’m a little embarrassed, but I’ll try my best!”
“Well, I do mind, and you don’t have to try your best!” cried Masachika while her spinning eyes opened wide, her cheeks tinted with crimson.
This isn’t going to work. She overthought this whole thing until she fried her own brain!
Masachika’s mind was fruitlessly racing in bewilderment as Maria went completely off the deep end…
“A-anyway, I get how you feel, Masha! And I appreciate the thought!”
Unable to make sense of anything, Masachika thrust his hands forward, blurting out whatever came to mind to try and stop Maria.
“But please don’t do this! Yes, I… I admit that I do look at you like that, but, like, I hate that about myself…and if I touch you, then all this self-loathing is probably going to kill me!”
Without really knowing what he was saying, he closed his eyes while he shouted at the top of his lungs… A painful silence filled the student council room, broken only by the ticking of the clock…until he eventually heard Maria’s faint laughter, prompting him to slowly open his eyes, where he then saw Maria smiling softly, as if she were somewhat relieved.
“…Masha?”
“Oh, no. It’s nothing. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about how you really are Sah.”
“…?”
Although confused, Masachika cautiously lowered his arms, since Maria seemed to have calmed down. She then looked at him with a composed expression and reverently bowed once more.
“I’m sorry. I just realized that you’re a man now, and it scared me.”
“Uh-huh… Okay…”
In other words, she realized I was having filthy thoughts about her and got scared? thought Masachika, feeling a wave of despair swallow him. But just as he was about to sink to his knees in anguish, wanting to die again…Maria smiled and admitted:
“But I’m okay now…because I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. You’re still the same sweet Sah from years ago.”
“Uh…”
Ruminating on Maria’s words, Masachika arrived at a certain conclusion, despite still being utterly confused.
“Were you testing me?”
“I… I’m sorry. I guess that was kind of what I was doing deep down.”
“‘Kind of,’ huh?”
Maria apologetically knit her brow.
“I meant what I said, though. I do feel guilty for hugging you so much without even considering your feelings as a man. I also would be okay if you touched me. But…you have no idea how relieved I felt to see you even more flustered than I was.”
She giggled softly, her eyes affectionately crinkling at the corners.
“It made me realize that you haven’t changed at all… I just got so scared that I lost my mind for a moment, I guess.”
“Oh… But… Like…”
Masachika averted his gaze and began scratching his head while mumbling:
“You were right about one thing. It is a little…‘troubling’ when you touch me so much…so maybe you could cut back a little?”
“Heh-heh. I’ll see what I can do.”
“In other words, nothing is going to change?”
“Can you really blame me for wanting to touch someone I like sooo much?” Maria argued with her usual bubbly smile. She then switched to a more serious tone and added:
“But… Hmm… I guess I’ll try to give you a warning before touching you from now on.”
“But you’ll still keep on hugging me…?”
“Yep.”
Maria then spread her arms out, making Masachika grimace at the oddly familiar scene…when she cheerfully grinned and suggested:
“So let’s hug and make up.”
“…”
The first thing that popped into his head was What are we even making up for? But the question seemed to lose all importance before her angelic smile.
Yeah… Just like how I’m Sah… Masha is still Mah.
There was probably no deeper meaning to this hug, he thought. It was no different from two kids making up after a fight. Therefore, he just had to innocently hug her back, just like they did when they were younger.
“All right, fine. Let’s hug and make up.”
Thinking about it that way made him feel as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, allowing him to lean in with a faint smile and give Maria a gentle hug. She returned the embrace, squeezing him tightly while she giggled into his ear with evident satisfaction.
“<I knew it. This isn’t scary at all.>”
She softly muttered those words, as if she was filled with relief, then—
Smooch!
“What the…?!”
Masachika jerked back, startled by the sensation of her lips against his cheek.
Maria stood up with a playful sparkle in her eyes—a look she probably wasn’t even capable of making when they were kids. She then raised her index finger in front of her lips and teased, “I only said I’d try to give you a warning from now on. ♪”
With a mischievous wink, Maria skipped out of the student council room…leaving Masachika behind to collapse onto the couch, burying his face in the armrest while he screamed:
“I’m going to die!!”
After school that day, Masachika and Alisa, having finished their student council duties, changed into their gym clothes and headed to the back of the schoolhouse. Shortly after they arrived, Maria appeared as well, followed by Elena a few minutes later.
“Heeey, what’s up? Whew. It’s a little chilly out, huh?” Elena pointed out, rubbing her bare arms in her short-sleeved shirt while Masachika frowned.
“You okay? We aren’t going to train hard today, so you can put on a jacket if you want…”
“Eh. I’ll warm up after I start moving around a little.”
“Are you sure? Alya, Masha, same goes for you two as well. Feel free to wear a jacket if you’re cold.”
“I’m fine.”
“Me too. ♪”
“…Please don’t catch a cold, okay?”
While Masachika felt a pang of guilt for not being more considerate of the girls, Elena, who was standing beside him, looked at Alisa and Maria.
“Anyway… Those are your gym clothes, huh? Niiice,” she commented.
Masachika silently glared at her, as if he was disgusted by how passionate she sounded, but she simply grinned back at him, her eyes crinkling at the corners, like some sort of creep.
“Mm-hmm. I’m starting to drool already. Like, this is really turning me o—”
“Elena, can I take you out?”
“What? Are you asking me on a date—?”
As Elena squirmed dramatically, Masachika swiftly feigned a karate chop right in front of her eyes.
“…”
“Whoops. My bad. I won’t miss next time.”
“Wait. Ohhh! You want to take me out,” said Elena, realizing his meaning with a straight face as Masachika swiftly lifted his hand back up. She then covered her mouth and looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes.
“It’s my first time, so be gentle, okay?”
Masachika delivered a playful smack to her head, granting her wish.
“Mmm… You’re so cruel, Kuze. I can’t believe you would hit a woman. What are you gonna do if I start to like being hit?”
“Then you’d be a masochist, thanks to me.”
“Oof! What kind of monster are you?! What are you gonna do once you turn me into a masochist?!”
“Ignore you.”
“You’re just gonna pump and dump me like that?!”
After Elena casually dropped another crude remark, Masachika once again playfully smacked the back of her head. Of course, it was more of a feigned slap, with a flick of the wrist for dramatic effect, and in actuality, he was barely tapping her with his fingertips. Nevertheless, Elena dramatically clutched her head and feigned agony, which perhaps wasn’t too surprising for an actress like her.
“Mmm… I think I just lost a few lewd brain cells…”
“Just hurry up and get into position. We need to form the horse.”
He decided to ignore his older schoolmate, whose mind was completely clouded with worldly desires, and turned his attention to Alisa and Maria…who were already staring at them with indescribable expressions.
“…What?”
Maria tilted her head slightly, her finger pressed to her lips as she watched Masachika recoil.
“You two really get along. ♪”
“What? Does it really look like that to you?”
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you speak so casually with a girl before…”
“No, I—”
I always act like this around Yuki, thought Masachika, when he suddenly realized that he only spoke this casually with her in private when she was in little-sister mode.
In other words, he didn’t speak this casually with any other girl at school, much less joke around with any of them like this.
“Mn…! Come on, what’s the big deal? More importantly, I, uh… I can see your stomach, Masha,” pointed out Masachika, looking away after catching a glimpse of Maria’s belly button peeking out from under her gym clothes.
“Huh? Oh…”
After Maria managed to fix her outfit, he turned his back to her.
“All right, we’re going to start off by practicing getting into position. Masha, Elena, I want you two to hold my hands while placing your free hands on my shoulders… Yeah, just like that.”
Still facing forward, Masachika linked arms with Maria and Elena from behind…but that was when it hit him.
Hold up… We’re all holding hands like we’re dating…
But right as he realized that, two other people made the exact same comment behind and to the left of him.
“Hold on. Oh my gosh… We’re holding hands like a couple. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Oh my. You’re right. ♪”
Elena’s fingers fidgeted nervously between Masachika’s, while Maria purposefully tightened her grip on his right hand…all while Alisa’s chilling gaze pierced his cheek.
“…Alya, we’re ready for you to hop on.”
“…”
Pretending not to notice any of this, Masachika crouched in place with Maria and Elena, in preparation for their rider, Alisa, who swung her legs over the female members before slowly lowering herself onto them.
“Ooo! Alisa’s soft butt is touching my arm?!”
“You on? All right, now place your feet on our hands—”
“Wait! What kind of wrestling move is this?!” said Elena, yelping, as if her fingers were being crushed, so Masachika promptly loosened his hold, albeit with a small sigh, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch… Masachika’s fingering skills almost brought me to my knees. I wasn’t expecting it to be that hard, either.”
“You really don’t get tired of that, huh?”
“Heh. That’s what makes me me.”
“…May I?”
“Oh, sure.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
With a cold, exasperated voice, Alisa lightly tapped Masachika’s and Elena’s arms with her foot, prompting them to spread out their joined hands. Alisa then gently placed her feet, free of shoes and socks, onto their outstretched palms.
Touching Alya’s bare feet like this is—
“Ooo! Alisa’s holy feet?!”
Elena’s stupid voice managed to dispel Masachika’s worldly desires, allowing him to calmly adjust his hand position. They say that having someone more flustered nearby actually helps people stay calm, but having someone nearby being a total perv seemed to help keep Masachika coolheaded, too.
“All right, ready to stand, everyone? On three. One, two, three!”
The three of them simultaneously stood up. After Maria and Elena placed their hands on Masachika’s shoulders, Alisa added her own hands on top of theirs as her weight pressed down on him.
Mn! This is kind of…
“Ah, this is a little…”
“Oof! I wasn’t expecting you to be this heavy…! I don’t mean that in a rude way, though!”
Everyone managed to stand but was having a hard time keeping their balance.
“Uh… Okay, guys. Let’s try to move around a little like this.”
Once they were all set up, they tried moving in all the basic directions—forward, backward, and sideways—while maintaining their postures, and although they struggled to move in sync at first, they gradually began to get the hang of it, thanks to Masachika’s instructions.
“All right, that should do it for that. Next, Alya, I want you to see if you can stand.”
“What? …Are you sure?”
“Yeah, you don’t really need to stand while we’re moving, but you’re going to need to stand to steal our opponents’ headbands.”
“Okay… I’ll give it a try,” replied Alisa, raising her hips up until she could stand straight up…when Elena suddenly screamed.
“W-wait! Stop! This is getting really painful! M-my hand’s gonna slip!!”
Alisa quickly lowered herself before the others carefully placed her down.
“Phew… That was more painful than I imagined. I wasn’t expecting it to be that much harder when she stood up.”
“That’s because Alya’s entire weight is being balanced on our hands.”
“Yeah… But I think it’s half your fault, Kuze.”
“…Or maybe it’s the girl who won’t stop making lewd comments.”
Masachika quickly averted his gaze from Elena, who was resentfully shaking her hands, where he caught yet another glimpse of Maria’s stomach, forcing him to look away once more.
“…Masha, I can see your stomach again.”
“Ah! Mmm…”
Elena nodded smugly as Maria busily straightened her clothes.
“Makes sense your shirt would keep riding up so much, since your boobs are so big.”
“Cough! Hack!”
Masachika was so taken aback that he choked on his spit, unable to even comment on the blunt remark, and with no one to stop her, Elena immediately turned her attention to Alisa.
“Same goes for you, though, Alisa. I mean, mine are big, but I’m starting to feel a little insecure after seeing those honkers.”
“Excuse me! Could you please not talk about that when there’s a boy standing right there?!” cried Alisa while facing the opposite direction, as if she couldn’t take it anymore. Nevertheless, the reaction made Elena smile joyfully as she shifted her gaze to Masachika.
“Hmm? What’s the big deal? We always talk like this in the brass band club.”
“Sounds like a wonderful workplace, where sexual harassment is rampant.”
“It is a wonderful place, where everyone always has a smile on their face! And I have a harem, too!” Elena said, pouting as Masachika pierced her with his resentful glare. He then muttered spitefully:
“Hmph… A harem, huh?”
“Yes? Is that a problem?”
“I heard a rumor that at band camp, you kept pestering all your female bandmates to take a bath with you, but then you ended up taking a bath all by yourself in your room.”
“Stop!”
“I also heard that you said something like, ‘I’m gonna make sure you’re not getting any sleep tonight,’ then you dozed off before midnight.”
“Quit it! You’re ruining my rep!”
Elena waved her arms around wildly, making excuses that she only went to bed early because she didn’t want to tire everyone out, since they had work to do the following day. At any rate, the three of them ignored her numerous excuses while Maria softly asked Masachika:
“Wait. Is that what Elena’s really like?”
“She’s actually really shy and innocent. She talks a big game, but she doesn’t even hug or touch others. She’s a serious person deep down.”
“Hey! I can hear you!”
“Because I want you to.”
“You’re so dirty. ☆”
“Not trying to be.”
“Anyway! Stop spreading baseless rumors about me!”
“Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure everyone’s already realized that you’re actually a very serious person.”
That’s why you were elected to be president of your club, thought Masachika, but he bit his tongue and instead joined Alisa and Maria, watching Elena with a somewhat warm gaze that made her blush until she began to tremble. Then, out of nowhere, she buried her face in her arm, spun on her heel, and dashed off.
“Waaah! I’m gonna sue you all for defamation!”
“I don’t think that’s going to hold up in court, since you didn’t record us talking!”
But Elena continued to run away until she turned the corner of the school building and completely disappeared from sight, ignoring Masachika’s calm retort.
“Uh…? We were still in the middle of practicing…”
After watching Elena vanish with a bewildered stare, Alisa turned to Masachika with a puzzled look on her face, but he simply shrugged, as if it weren’t a big deal.
“Don’t worry. She’s not the kind of person who just leaves when there’s work to be done.”
Only a few seconds went by, when…
“Oh, she’s coming back…”
“See? I told you she was a serious person.”
“You’ve come a long way to make it here, brave warrior.”
“You could just say ‘Welcome home,’ like a normal person, you know?”
After finishing their secret after-school practice, Masachika returned home to find Yuki leisurely sitting in the living room, so he shot her a piercing, reproachful glare. He then looked around to make sure that the maid, who was usually blending into the background, was nowhere to be seen.
“…Just you today?”
“Oh? Am I not enough for you?”
“I’ve already had my fill of bull for the day.”
“So you want Ayano for dessert?!”
“No clue how you came to that conclusion.”
Yuki cackled and said, “By the way, where’d you get your fill? Did you hang out with someone exhausting today? Like Elena?”
“…!”
Masachika’s cheek twitched the instant she dropped that name, making him realize where he’d slipped up. They had been purposefully practicing secretly behind the school building after class so that nobody would see who was going to be their helpers during the Run…and yet Yuki was audaciously smirking, as if she had seen right through their plan.
“Did your practice for the Run go well, my dear brother?”
“…If that was you baiting me into telling you what you wanted to know, then I’m impressed, my dear sister.”
“What? I didn’t bait you into doing anything. I was just making sure, since I couldn’t imagine any other reason why you would be getting home this late,” she said, grinning mischievously. Masachika smirked back, realizing that he had been completely played.
“So? Come to spy on your enemy today?”
“Hmm? That’s just something I figured I’d ask while I was here. Besides, it doesn’t matter who you bring. I don’t even really want to know, either. I’m going to win, regardless.”
“…Wow, pretty confident. You really think you can handle an opponent you’re not even expecting?”
“Don’t underestimate me. I can tell what someone’s capable of with just a single glance. Just like how I can tell just how dirty a comic is going to be simply by reading the first chapter!”
“Pfft. I can do that, too. Easily. In fact, all I need to see is the first few pages that are in color.”
“Obviously, because the skin-to-clothes ratio on the first few pages is always proof of how lewd a comic is going to be!” Yuki exclaimed with a trembling voice, as if she was some sort of expert on the subject, only to elicit an unenthusiastic response from her brother.
“So? What are you doing here?”
“Excuse me? Isn’t it obvious?” Yuki slowly stood and slammed her hands on the table. She glared up at her brother and barked, “We promised to marathon all that anime together after exams were over!”
“…Oh.”
“Don’t tell me you forgot?! You better have not forgotten!”
“No, my brain was just lagging a little.”
“Do you have enough RAM? We should get you some more. Let’s get you an external hard drive while we’re at it, too.”
“I’m using USB one point zero, so it’d take a while to read anyway.”
“Upgrade already.”
“Are you telling me to go through reincarnation?”
“I’ll do it with you.”
“Oh boy…”
“The heroine of the new world was actually your sister in your previous life.”
“I’d be surprised if that wasn’t already an anime.”
“And your little sister in the new world was actually the heroine in your previous life.”
“Things suddenly got complicated.”
“By the way, this isn’t a new world. You’re being reborn in the past.”
“…Hmm?”
“And right now, the little sister in the current world is yelling at the heroine, ‘Give me back my body!’ while trying to grab her.”
“Why did this turn into horror out of nowhere?! I just got chills.”
“The title is ‘My Little Sister Might Not Be My Little Sister.’”
“That’s going to really piss off all the readers who were looking forward to a rom-com with a stepsister.”
“The real meaning to the title of the series isn’t explained until later, though. I personally like this story.”
“I like it, too, but it’s different from what I was hoping for.”
“Anyway, watching anime together is only one of the reasons why I’m here.”
“There’s still another reason?”
“I got you sick before exams, and I wanted to make it up to you. Duh.”
Masachika was rendered speechless for a few moments until he eventually smiled wryly at her serious expression.
Well, I guess if Alya noticed, then there’s no way you wouldn’t.
After his little moment of reflection, Yuki boldly approached him until their faces were only millimeters away.
“Are you feeling okay now?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. What about your right leg? Does it still hurt?”
“It’s all better.”
“Really? I’m glad.”
“Sounds like we can fight fair and square during the Run, then.”
“No need to hold back, huh?”
After exchanging fearless grins, Yuki changed her smile into a more playful one as she spread her arms out wide.
“Anyway, I’m going to make it up to you by letting you cherish me and love me for the rest of the night.”
“…How’s that any different than usual?”
“It’s a mindset. Oh, hey. And while we’re at it, how about you pick me up like a princess again?”
“And now you’re even asking me to do stuff for you… You know the adrenaline rush was what gave me that strength, right?”
“Oh? So you’re saying you can’t do it? You had no problem lifting Alya earlier today, but you can’t lift me?”
“All right, all right. Ready? Mmmph!”
After pumping himself up, he slid his arms around Yuki’s shoulders and the back of her knees, lifting her up in one swift motion.
“Whoaaa! This is amazing! I’m so high up! Ha-ha-ha!”
“Hey?! Stop swinging your arms and legs around like that!”
“Okay! Now keep holding me like this until we finish watching anime!”
“My arms would literally fall off!”
“I’m going to put an end to those arms before the Run. After that, I’ll win the election…”
“What happened to fighting fair and square?!”
It was just like any other day for the two of them. Amid their casual, everyday conversation, they cleared up any lingering concerns they’d had about each other and reaffirmed their commitment to a fair and honorable fight.
And before long, the day of their showdown arrived.
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