6.3
Sudou opened his mouth as wide as a crocodile’s, yawning and tousling his mussed hair.
“Sorry I overslept. Got way too exhausted from all my club stuff,” he said, apologizing to Horikita, who responded as if he was merely an annoyance.
“Don’t give me that,” she said. No sign that he'd made any progress at melting her heart.
Ichinose and her friends, who’d been waiting for Sudou so we could all go to the pool together, were talking with Kushida at the center of the group.
“Hey, Ayanokouji-kun.” Horikita said to me, ignoring Sudou. Sudou, for his part, glared at me. “Don’t you think this is a little strange?”
“What is?”
“At a time like this, Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun would normally be pushing their luck, right?”
Sudou stiffened when he heard Horikita make that sharp observation. Since he was standing so close, she didn’t miss that.
“Did something occur to you, Sudou-kun?” she asked.
“Not really,” he muttered.
That only made Horikita look more guarded. Ike and Yamauchi walked together, shoulder to shoulder, both wearing stiff expressions.
“I can’t help but think they have ulterior motives,” said Horikita. She focused her attention on the bag that Ike held. “Even though they shouldn’t have brought anything with them except towels and swimsuits, that bag looks really heavy.”
Ike’s bag appeared to weigh more than any of the guys there, myself included.
“Huh, really? Doesn’t seem like that to me,” replied Sudou nervously.
“It doesn’t? Just look at the bag,” Horikita pressed.
Horikita’s suspicions had merit. The bag swung heavily back and forth when Ike walked, and it strained against his arm.
“Don’t you guys have plans for after the pool? Maybe he brought stuff for that?” I said, backing Sudou up. Sudou grabbed the lifeline I gave him.
“Y-yeah. I think that’s it.”
“I see. I suppose that’s credible,” said Horikita.
It was a known fact that those three horny idiots loved women. Given how meek they suddenly were, it was no wonder Horikita felt concerned. The three were extremely nervous right then, and it wasn’t because beautiful girls surrounded them. Nor was it because they’d be able to see those girls in swimsuits soon.
I decided to change the subject in order to maintain the deception.
“Sudou.”
“Wh-what?”
“How’d your club activities go? Did you get any points?”
“Huh? Y-yeah, I got a few from playing in the tournament. I think about 3,000 points or so,” he replied.
Sudou was being humble. Horikita looked genuinely impressed. “You gained points through personal activities?” she asked.
“Yeah. But lots of second and third years have gotten tens of thousands of points, so I can’t get too cocky yet. If you accomplish a lot for a club, it can even affect your class points. I’m gonna try to do way more in the second semester and onward,” he replied, crossing his arms and flexing in triumph.
Horikita, hearing of Sudou’s success in a field she could not master, offered him honest respect. “The day when you contribute more significantly to the class might be near,” she said.
To tell you the truth, I thought the same. If all went well, Sudou might become a net benefit to the class. That said, I had my concerns. Sudou made enemies easily. I needed to monitor him and Horikita, who had the same tendencies.
We made our way to the swimming club’s special facility, which adjoined the side of the school building. Since it wasn’t part of the main building, we were allowed to enter without wearing our uniforms. It looked as though the pool would be a popular spot, especially considering that this was the last day.
Even before we got to the pool’s entrance, students crowded the place. Just as you’d expect from a state-of-the-art school, every grade level had a separate locker room. It was easy to get lost there, but we followed the instructions on a signboard and found our way.
“Okay, let’s meet up back here in twenty minutes,” said Ichinose, pointing at the hallway that led to the pool. It was good to have an organized leader like her around.
“Hoo… Hoo…” Ike huffed.
As the girls walked off, Ike started breathing loudly, as if aroused. He walked faster, making him the first to arrive at the locker room. Inside, Ike and Yamauchi immediately went to the innermost locker, all the way in the back.
“H-hey, you guys. Today is going to be special. Don’t you get that feeling?!”
“Yeah. We’re going further than anyone in our class has gone. Further than anyone in our whole school!”
Ike and Yamauchi were attracting the attention of people around them. Sudou immediately went over and put both of them in headlocks, one in his left arm and one in his right.
“Geh! What the hell, Ken?!”
“You guys are causing too much ruckus! Look, I know you’re impatient, but we can’t get noticed,” hissed Sudou.
“Y-yeah, guess you’re right. Sorry, dude. Ow!”
Sudou smashed their foreheads together as a lesson. It was a little aggressive, but not a bad method.
“You’re surprisingly calm, Sudou,” I said.
“Guess I just wasn’t expecting all that much, honestly. Besides, I dunno, it kind of feels wrong. When I really think about this, it’d make Suzune sad. I don’t want them to see Suzune defenseless, you know? If you’re a man, you gotta make a girl fall for you,” he replied.
Sudou had the right idea. I wanted Ike and Yamauchi to learn that lesson themselves, but for the moment, their primary focus was immediate sexual gratification. I checked my phone. I had a message from Karuizawa saying that she’d just entered the locker room.
“Who’s messaging you?” asked Ike, his face red and a suspicious gleam in his eyes. He tried to take a peek at my phone, so I quickly put it away.
“Come on. It’s a girl, isn’t it?”
“Do I look that popular?” I replied.
“I guess you got a point. All right, let’s get changed! Spread out the towels!” shouted Ike.
I kind of wanted him to protest that I did look popular, but I let that expectation go. It was time to see how Ike and Yamauchi’s luck would hold.
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