<46> The Oath in the Bathhouse

Chapter 46: The Oath in the Bathhouse

5:00 PM

"Today was so much fun!" Sendo said with a stretch.

"I didn't have fun at all!" Sawamura grumbled under his breath.

"Huh? Why not?"

"You're seriously asking? My face still hurts!"

"Alright, don't worry about that. I'll scrub your back in the bath, and I can even give you a massage!" Sendo smiled.

"No thanks!!!" Sawamura shook his head furiously.

"Hey, don't start imagining weird things. That's just rude!"

"Come on! When someone offers something nice, you should just accept it!" Sendo said, pulling Sawamura along into the bathhouse.

.....

"Ah~! Oh~!"

"Feels good, right? I told you I'm good at massages, but can you stop making those sounds? It's a bit weird and gross!"

"I can't help it!"

"Alright! Now, get up!"

"That's it?"

"How long were you hoping I'd massage you? I could give you a full facial massage, too!"

"No way!"

"Alright, let's all just relax and enjoy the bath!"

"Eijun!"

"What's up?"

"This middle school life—these three years will fly by."

"Come on! We still have high school! We'll always be together!"

"But middle school is only three years. Time goes fast. Before you know it, years will have passed. Like from fourth grade until now—it all felt like a blink."

"Okay, okay, you sound like an old man."

"Oh, really? Alright, then let's talk about something else. How far do you hope to go this fall?"

"Isn't it obvious? All the way to Nationals! Hahaha!"

"…"

"Alright, enough of him. What about everyone else?"

"I think we should aim to win our first game together!" Takada said.

"You're right; we haven't won one yet."

"Are you guys seriously ignoring me?"

"Ei-chan!"

"Hmm?"

"We're definitely going to take you to Nationals! Right, everyone?"

"Yeah! Just wait, Ei-chan/Eijun!"

"Yep!"

"That's right! Just wait, Eijun!"

"Yes! Let's make it to Nationals, all of us!" Sendo suddenly added.

"Sen-chan/Sendo?"

"Absolutely! We're bringing this knucklehead to the national stage!"

"Minna (everyone)!!!"

Everyone didn't say anything to Sawamura—they just looked at him, smiling.

...

"What should we do tonight?" The group, still wide awake after their bath, sat around in the room discussing plans.

"Sen-chan went out to get a Coke again—he's always wanting one."

"You're only stuck now that Sendo isn't here to give you ideas, huh, Eijun? You always leave the planning to him!"

"Of course! That guy has amazing reflexes, he's smart, and he's always so calm… so cool!"

"Ei-chan, you're an idiot," one of them teased, "but yeah, we really do rely on him too much."

"There's nothing wrong with that! We're a team, after all!"

"True!"

"Hahaha!" They all laughed together.

"What are you all doing?" Sendo said, walking in with his Coke. "You don't want to sleep, but you're not doing anything either! Haven't decided what to play yet?"

"Well, we've talked, but nothing sounds right. We're tired of cards, and there's no board games or anything… any suggestions?"

"Let me think." Sendo sat down, taking a moment.

"Got it!"

"What?"

"Okay, everyone, sit down separately!" They each took a seat on the futons, watching as Sendo chugged his Coke and went out to toss the empty bottle.

"Is he messing with us? Telling us to sit down just so he can go throw out his trash?"

"Come on, Ei-chan, he's probably preparing something for us," Takada guessed, used to Sendo's ways.

"Mmm…!" Eijun muttered, looking impatient.

Then Sendo returned, closing the door and squatting down with a pillow in hand.

"How about a pillow fight? Since everyone's still up."

"We can do that anytime! We should play something with a little more depth," Eijun said.

"Got it," Sendo frowned thoughtfully, but the others were already giggling.

The next moment, Sendo suddenly threw the pillow squarely at Eijun's face!

"Ha ha ha!" Everyone burst out laughing.

"Who cares if you want to play or not!" Sendo grinned as he looked at Eijun, who now had the pillow stuck to his face.

"You jerk!"

Eijun pulled the pillow off and threw it back at Sendo, who dodged it with a quick tilt of his head. The pillow's edge accidentally went straight into Takada's open mouth mid-laugh.

"Oh no!" Eijun gasped, covering his mouth in shock.

Takada picked up the pillow Eijun had thrown and one of his own, flinging both at Eijun. Eijun dodged, but both pillows landed on Omura and Kondou, and the battle erupted. Shouts and laughter filled the air as pillows flew.

Sendo, being the nimblest, got hit the least, while Eijun, the group's "mascot," got the brunt of the attacks.

"You jerks!" Eijun shouted, lifting a blanket in mock rage to counterattack. But before he could do anything, they all ganged up on him, knocking him back down.

As Eijun got back up, he paused, realizing every pillow was now piled at his feet. His shout turned into laughter, giving off a "nobody's coming to save you" vibe as he looked at everyone else.

Eijun grabbed pillows in both hands, launching them like a machine gun, firing all his "ammo" wildly.

Some shots hit, others missed as the group dodged and began throwing pillows back.

What started as a chaotic free-for-all of nine quickly turned into Eijun versus eight, as the others ganged up on him.

Eijun was having a blast, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. He could barely keep his eyes open as pillows kept hitting his face, and with his vision blocked, his aim got worse and worse.

"Stop! Why did this turn into eight of you against just me?!" Eijun demanded, giving them an indignant yet determined look as they paused with pillows raised.

"Ei-chan, you're the one who started it by grabbing nine pillows and attacking us all at once!"

"Did I really?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Yes!" The eight of them agreed in unison.

"But… why?" Eijun looked bewildered.

"You idiot! Who brings out a blanket in a pillow fight? With that huge target and wild attacks, we all had to team up just to stop you!" Sendo said, shaking his head as if humbled.

"Is that so?"

"Yes!!!" The eight voices rang out in harmony.

"So… are we still fighting?" The group slowly raised their pillows again, grinning.

"No more! Why am I always the one who gets picked on?!" As he sighed, it felt like a crow flew over his head, squawking, "Idiot, idiot, idiot!"

"All right, we all had a lot of fun. Time to sleep!" Sendo announced.

"Yes!" they all responded together, sounding more like Sendo's squad than Eijun's.

"This wasn't fun at all," Eijun muttered, wanting to shout it out… but instead, he let out a small, reluctant, "Fine."

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