CHAPTER 8
My, have you grown.
“I need all students participating in the scavenger hunt over here, please!”
“Class 1 students in the front! Class 2 students behind them!”
Masachika got in line, following the directions of the sports festival committee members, who were waving their arms and shouting.
“Next up is the scavenger hunt. Commentary from here on out will be handled by me, student council publicist, Yuki Suou.”
A cute, well-projected voice suddenly echoed, stimulating the audience to erupt in cheers. When Masachika looked up, he saw Yuki, sitting in the commentary booth, waving with a friendly smile.
That little punk… She plans on winning more votes this way, huh? “Publicist” is such an unfair, cheap job…even though I am the one who suggested the student council have one.
Yuki’s plan seemed to be working, too, seeing as how the other students standing in line with him were visibly excited.
“What?! The princess is going to do the commentary? Seriously? She might even say my name…”
“Maybe she’ll cheer me on if I pretend I can’t run fast?”
“Excuse me! May I have your attention, please?!” shouted a committee member, since there were obviously more than a few filthy guys making their desires no secret instead of paying attention.
“Your goal is to first run over to the table, which will have pieces of folded-up paper on them! After that, you choose one piece of paper and open it! That’s where you will find your objective! Please return to the table once you find your item! After that, you need to start running to where our helper there is standing, then take a lap around the track until you reach that person holding the flag! That is the finish line! One of our checkers will confirm if you brought the correct item back. If you make a mistake, then you will have to start all over, so please be careful! And make sure you don’t forget to do your lap around the track, or you’ll have to start over!”
The committee members were working tirelessly to fulfill their duties. However…
“Hmm? Is that Alisa Kujou holding the flag?”
“Oh, you’re right. She really stands out, huh?”
“Listen to me!!”
Masachika looked at the committee member, who was shouting, with pity in his eyes, for the hormone-fueled stares of the teenage boys were already fixated on Alisa, who was standing at the finish line.
Eh. This is basically just a fun little game, so it’s not like anyone’s serious about winning. I’ll just make sure I don’t get last place…
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he felt a shiver run down his spine, as if someone was watching him, so he turned around…to find Alisa glaring right at him.
…Oh, you’re telling me that I better win? Yes, Your Majesty.
Masachika knew that look in his competitive partner’s expressive eyes and realized that losing wasn’t an option.
I guess I could at least shoot for third place. It doesn’t really get us that many points, but it’s better than nothing…
Every field day at Seirei Academy, students would be divided into four groups based on their class and would compete for the highest total score. There was no particular reward for winning, and both Yuki from Class A and Masachika and Alisa from Class B were all on the red team, so there was absolutely no reason for them to be competitive…unless you were Alisa, it seemed.
She’s always giving it her all. If she’s going to do something, she’s going to do it to win. That’s the kind of person my partner is.
Masachika rotated his shoulders as if he had no other choice, then sharply exhaled before putting on his game face. He was dead serious now, aiming for at least third place. While everyone else was taking it easy and only interested in having fun, he was going to go all out to win, even if it wasn’t the mature thing to do.
“Next group to the front! You’re up!”
When his turn came, Masachika took his place at the starting line and got in position to sprint.
“On your mark! Get set! Go!”
When the starting pistol fired with a bang, Masachika took off with all his might, and he easily reached the long table first, probably since most of the students who were participating were more interested in having fun rather than in showing off how fast they were.
Please be something easy to find and easy to carry!
When he grabbed the piece of paper in the middle and unfolded it…he found the words “someone else’s girlfriend” written inside.
“…”
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back for a second, then looked down at the paper in his hand again.
“Someone else’s girlfriend.”
And in the corner, in tiny writing, was a footnote: “*women who are already in relationships (excluding married women).”
You’ve gotta be kidding me!!
Only after reading it a second time did Masachika finally grasp the reality of the situation and let out an inner scream.
What? Am I supposed to be like, “Excuse me! Does anyone have a girlfriend I can borrow?!” Obviously, I can’t borrow someone I don’t even know, and trying to borrow someone I do know would be way too awkward!
And to make matters worse, the footnote specifically said “excluding married women,” which meant that he couldn’t even grab someone from the audience like his mom or his friend’s mom, either.
I guess they expected the hunter to go ask their sister in the audience for—wait. What kind of sister even comes to watch their sibling play on field day? Which means they wanted the hunter to choose one of the students…
Masachika gnashed his teeth in frustration when the commentator, Yuki, suddenly stated, “Whatever could have happened? Masachika Kuze on the red team seems to be having trouble, despite being the first to arrive at the table! Perhaps he drew a difficult object for the scavenger hunt? Whatever the case, he is going to be left behind, at this rate!”
She was right, too. The other students who came after him didn’t hesitate at all before scattering, and before he knew it, Masachika was the only one left standing in front of the long table.
I’m going to get in the next group’s way if I don’t move soon… What should I do?! I know a few people with girlfriends, but borrowing them would be so awkward… Wait! Hold on.
In that instant, a memory from around half an hour ago flashed through his mind.
“Next, starting for the blue team is Ms. Tabata of Class 1-C, who supposedly just got a new, younger boyfriend!”
…! That’s it!
No sooner had the idea occurred to him than Masachika dashed toward the tent where the teachers were gathered, and he immediately yelled to the teachers, who were looking at him in surprise.
“Excuse me! Is Ms. Tabata of Class 1-C here?!”
While waiting for a reply, he decided to search for Ms. Tabata himself…when one of the teachers in the front suddenly mentioned:
“Somebody’s already borrowing her.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!!”
The teachers burst out laughing at his sudden exclamation. Feeling a little embarrassed, he turned around, and, sure enough, there was Ms. Tabata, holding hands with a large male student as they waited at the finish line.
Seriously? What now? Should I wait for her? No, I can’t. The checker still has to make sure they got the right “item,” which is going to take a while. Then I’d have to return to the course before running back to the finish line. It would take way too long. There has to be someone else—
Masachika was suddenly struck with another idea. He remembered someone who was known to have a boyfriend and who wouldn’t mind him borrowing her.
After hesitating for only three seconds, he ran back to the tent where he had been, mustered up all the courage he could, then extended his hand to the one person he was looking for, who was sitting in a folding chair.
“Masha! Can I borrow you?”
“Huh? Oh, sure.”
After blinking in bewilderment for a few seconds, Maria took his hand and stood up. Grasping her hand tightly, Masachika then dashed back out onto the field.
Huh… I’m starting to feel a bit of déjà vu.
Though he knew he was in the middle of a race, Masachika couldn’t help but smirk as memories of playing with Mah in the park popped into his head like a flashback.
Adjusting his pace to match Maria’s, he glanced around the track.
There’s only one person ahead… All right, I can do this!
Although one student with a parasol was walking ahead, the other students were still nowhere to be seen. Perhaps Masachika managed to get one of the easier tasks, since he almost immediately found someone. Maybe he hit the jackpot, even, he thought, only to shake the notion out of his head.
No. What am I thinking? I didn’t hit the jackpot… Then again, it could have been worse. It might have been hard actually finding someone with your objective, depending on what it was, and if you ended up not being able to find anyone with it, you might have had to go all the way back to the school building to get it. So I guess my “item” was pretty manageable in comparison, seeing as how I still have a chance of placing.
He reached the long table with the objective slips on it while lost in thought, then took off down the track in pursuit of the finish line once more, when—
“Uh-oh! Calling Masachika Kuze on the red team. You must carry your ‘item’ you borrowed all the way to the finish line.”
Masachika stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the commentator’s voice, and when he turned his head sharply toward the commentary booth, he saw Yuki with the most amused of smiles.
“Technically, your item must not touch the ground even once during your lap around the track, either,” she claimed.
The crowd exploded with cheers and jeers.
“You’ve got this, man!”
“Pick her up like a princess!”
“Prove to us you’re a man, Kuze!”
Masachika’s cheeks twitched involuntarily as the crowd provoked him.
Pick her up like a princess? That’s definitely not happening. There’s no way I could carry her in my arms while running all the way to the finish line. I might be able to carry Yuki, but Masha would snap my arms. Besides, what kind of scumbag would borrow someone else’s girlfriend, then carry her in his arms like it’s their wedding day?!
Of course, the students who were teasing him didn’t know what his actual objective was. They probably thought it was just something a little embarrassing like “find the most beautiful girl at school” or “find someone you admire.” This was further proved, when—
“L-like a princess? Oh, come on. ♪ Stop. ♪”
Maria cupped her face with both hands while swaying from side to side with a somewhat troubled smile. But the fact that she was basically grinning from ear to ear made Masachika wonder if she really was troubled at all. Her constant, hopeful glances weren’t helping, either.
Is it just my imagination, or is Masha kind of hoping that I’m going to pick her up in my arms…? It’s definitely not my imagination.
Masachika twitched his lips, as if he could hear the voices in her head saying, “I’m embarrassed, but I’ll do it if you want to, Kuze.”
“<Crossing the finish line in his arms? Makes it sound like……squeal. ♡>”
Masachika took back what he’d just thought, because she was imagining something far more extreme. She was definitely fantasizing about life’s finish line, and that realization even made Masachika start to blush, making him briefly forget about the race altogether.
“The other students are gradually making their way back, but Masachika Kuze remains still! Is this the end for him?!”
Yuki’s commentary suddenly snapped Masachika back into reality, and when he turned around, he saw a student with a DSLR camera running his way. And behind that student, for some reason, was another student carrying an ornament of a bear.
“Where in the world did you get a bear?!” Masachika jokingly remarked at the student carrying the wooden bear. He then began to grind his teeth as he became even more aware of the reality he was facing.
This isn’t good… I might not even get third place at this rate. Ugh! It is what it is, I guess!
Instantly making up his mind, Masachika stuffed the prompt into his pocket, turned his back on Maria, and crouched down. Then, ignoring the teasing from those around him and Maria’s expectant gaze, he called out to the person behind him:
“I’ll carry you on my back. Hop on, Masha.”
“H-huh? But I’m kind of sweaty…”
“I don’t care! Hurry!” he strongly urged, while inwardly giving himself a pep talk.
Listen, the person on your back is Mah. You’re going to give this sweet, innocent angel a piggyback ride while you run. Got it? So there’s nothing to be embarrassed about! And you’re not going to have any lewd thoughts, either!
Right after he managed to form a mental image of himself as Sah carrying Mah…Masachika felt something warm and soft squish against his back.
Noooooo! Mah, you’ve grown so much.
The overwhelming softness fully shattered the delicate image of Mah that he had conjured up. It not only brutally destroyed how he viewed her but also left him completely paralyzed as well.
“A-are you okay? Am I too heavy?”
“You’re fine. Hold on tight…”
Although he was troubled for reasons other than her weight, Masachika mustered all his reason to avoid showing any signs of uneasiness. Nevertheless, Maria then delicately draped her arms around his neck, surrendering her entire being to him, and the pull of gravity drew her so closely against his back that their embrace couldn’t have been any more intimate.
Gaaaaaah! Something is smushing against my back! I’m not going to say what it is, but my shoulder blades are being smothered by something huge!
A sensation he had never experienced before caused Masachika to let out an involuntary cry, somewhere between a scream and a cheer, as he started to stand erect—meaning that he was going to stand tall, of course. After all, he was crouching so that Maria could get on his back for a piggyback ride, but he needed to stand to start running. There was no hidden or second meaning behind it. This was about his legs.
Ugh! Pull yourself together, you filthy scoundrel! The girl on my back is Mah! Stop having filthy thoughts about her, or I’ll kill ya!
He was once again desperately trying to persuade himself of that while doing anything he could to ignore the sensation touching his back. He then reached around to wrap his arms under her legs—squish.
“…”
In an instant, his thoughts were blown away by the raw sensation of her bare skin, which was far more intense than what he was feeling on his back through her gym clothes. To make matters worse, Maria began to bashfully squirm while he held her as well.
“Mn! Ahn. This is kind of embarrassing…because my legs are so fat…”
“They’re not,” he reflexively replied, but his focus was on his own hands and arms, which were gripping Maria’s hamstrings and thighs. Her skin was oh-so-smooth, and her legs were soft. The door to the world of foot fetishes, which Alisa had already cracked open, was now flung wide open so hard that the hinges broke right off.
It all makes sense now… No wonder thighs are so popular.
And it didn’t just end there. He was on the verge of some strange enlightenment…only to be snapped back into reality when the student with the camera passed by him.
“…! Ready to go?!”
“R-ready!”
Determined to at least get third place, Masachika took off running with Maria on his back.
“Look at Masachika Kuze go! It is hard to believe that he can carry someone while still running this fast!”
The audience, who had been talking smack, seemed to mirror Yuki’s sentiment as well and were now cheering and roaring with surprise. Nevertheless, running so quickly would obviously come at a price.
“…!”
With every step, a heavy thud reverberated through his legs and arms. In addition, the sensation of Maria’s soft, squishy body pressing against him became more prominent.
Gaaaaaah! The girl I’m carrying on my back is Mah! The angel Mah!
Masachika gritted his teeth while he ran, as if his once rational mind had turned into mush. He ran with everything he had. He ran to forget.
At any rate, he continued to run until he saw Alisa standing right at the finish line beyond the student ahead.
Oh, crap.
That was the first thought that instinctively came to mind when he saw her. After all, Alisa’s eyes were actually burning with an azure flame, as if to prove his intuition correct. She stared at Maria, who was being carried by him, then her eyes shifted toward Maria’s arms wrapped around his body, before stopping one last time on her legs in Masachika’s hands. Finally, her gaze returned to Masachika’s face, where it lingered. It lingered and lingered.
Eeek!
A shiver ran down his spine, accompanied by a strange sense of guilt as he was once again overcome with this bizarre feeling that he was cheating on her.
“Hwoo!”
“Eep?!” Masachika squealed bizarrely, feeling someone suddenly blow into his right ear, followed by the giggles of a young maiden.
“Tee-hee. You’re so cute,” exclaimed Maria in an almost a devilish whisper, sending a chill down his neck.
“Masha? Y-you know we’re in a public place, right?”
“Don’t worry. I made sure nobody would see,” she whispered into his ear, while tightening her arms around him.
“I don’t want to give you up.”
The whisper was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Unable to see the look on her face, Masachika reached the finish line before he could even ask her what she meant.
“Masachika Kuze has crossed the finish line for third place!”
“It’s over. You can put Masha down now.”
“O-oh, right.”
“Go talk to the checker over there,” Alisa demanded coldly in a stiff voice, before turning her head away from him. However, the instant Maria hopped off his back and gently wrapped her hand around his, Alisa swiftly turned back around.
“…? Alya?”
Alisa narrowed her eyes at her clearly bewildered sister and mentioned:
“Masha, I’m pretty sure you don’t need to hold his hand.”
“Huh? But I’m his scavenger hunt item…”
“Y-yeah, but…!”
“Hey! Can I check your borrowed item over here, please?!”
A committee member called out to Masachika, and though he was still worried about Alisa, he honestly felt a little relieved as he headed over to the checker. All the while, he could feel Alisa’s gaze piercing his back, making him feel even more guilty than he already did.
It’s not like I did anything wrong, but…
Was it simply a man’s natural inclination to feel guilty, or was there a deeper, more shameful reason?
And why did Masha…?
Masachika felt that there was something off about Maria purposefully holding his hand in front of Alisa, and he glanced at her profile.
“…?”
A gentle smile played on Maria’s lips as she tilted her head at his gaze. Her expression seemed innocent enough, and yet…
“I don’t want to give you up”?
“May I see your scavenger hunt objective?”
“Oh, right.”
He took out the piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the checker.
“Heh-heh. What was your objective anyway?” wondered Maria, seemingly even more cheerful than usual. And yet—
“Hmph.”
A minute later, Maria was inside the student council’s tent with a pout, which was a very rare sight.
“Masha? Are you mad about something?” Masachika asked hesitantly.
“Yes, I’m mad,” she immediately replied, making him recoil. To make matters worse, everyone else was gone, meaning he had to face Maria’s anger directly and alone.
“Kuze.”
“Y-yes?”
He jumped as Maria, who took a seat by his side, called his name. She remained facing forward, only glancing at Masachika out of the corner of her eye, and revealed:
“I’ve never dated anyone other than Sah, you know?”
“Oh… Yeah.”
He felt a rush of embarrassment by Maria’s unexpected confession, when all of a sudden, she pivoted her entire body toward him, leaning in with an intensity that once again caught him off guard.
“I like you and have only ever liked you, Kuze.”
“Th-thank you?”
“And you parading me around the entire school…as if I were someone else’s girlfriend. Do you know how that feels?”
“Ah—”
Masachika was overcome with intense regret as he gazed into her eyes, a mix of anger and sadness.
“…I’m sorry. I should have been more considerate of your feelings.”
“I don’t forgive you.”
She coldly rejected his apology, which was muffled by the weight of his guilt, as he bowed.
“The only way I’m going to forgive you is if you go on a date with me!”
“A what now?”
Masachika unconsciously raised his head, completely taken aback by her unexpected proposal.
“A date. I want you to take me out on an extremely romantic date for an entire day, or I’m never going to forgive you.”
“‘An extremely romantic date’…?”
“One that will make my heart skip a beat.”
It was quite a challenging proposition. After all, Masachika had very little dating experience. And besides, was it really right for him to go on a date with Maria when he knew about Alisa’s feelings for him…?
“Got it?”
“Y-yeah, got it,” Masachika agreed in spite of his doubt, for the pressure Maria was putting on him was far too much.
“Good.”
She then turned back around, seeming a little more cheerful, but the sudden realization that they were going on a date made Masachika’s heart pound. Nevertheless, his bewilderment went even beyond that. He skeptically stared at Maria’s profile in silence until she noticed his gaze, tilting her head to the side in wonder.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, uh…”
Masachika hesitated for a few agonizing seconds, wondering if he should even ask. But after going back and forth in his head a few times…he eventually made up his mind and timidly muttered:
“Uh… I don’t even know if I should be asking this, but…”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you tell me…that you wanted me to understand and accept how Alya felt for me?”
It was her request to him two months ago at the park, and Masachika believed, without a doubt, that this was what Maria really wanted. That was why all of this felt so out of place: Maria holding his hand in front of Alisa and suddenly inviting him on a date—
“I did say that,” readily admitted Maria, much to his surprise. It was so effortless that he was actually taken aback. “I want you to accept how Alya feels for you. I mean it,” she added with sincerity…when one of the committee members suddenly called out to Maria from outside the tent.
“Masha! Sorry to bother you, but could you lend me a hand?”
“Oh, okay! Be right there!”
Maria stood out of her chair and took a few steps forward.
“But…”
She then turned around, her cheeks slightly red as she bashfully admitted:
“<I still want you to choose me in the end.>”
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