Chapter 2 - Together in the Infirmary (2/8)

They had swimming for their third period PE class. This was the first time, so after a test of each individual's skills, they were given half an hour to swim as they liked.

The seven-lane pool had been split in half so lanes 1-3 were for the girls and 5-7 for the boys. However, Mutsuki's friend Sakae had dragged him over to join the other boys hanging out at the very edge of lane 5.

"Oh, nooo! The boys are leering at us!"

"Hey~! Get that dirty look out of your eyes~"

Just as the girls suggested – while looking somehow happy – the boys were carefully observing the girls in their swimsuits.

"Ibekusa's been hiding those amazing things this whole time?"

Their focus had turned to Ibekusa Machina who sat on the edge of lane 1 with her feet soaking in the water.

She was silent, expressionless, hard to get along with, and inconspicuous, but she was secretly well-known for having a good shot at the top spot in the class when it came to looks.

Her figure did not normally stand out, but she really drew the eye when she removed her clothes.

"Huh? How big are those? At least an E. Maybe an F? Or even a G?"

Her pure white skin gained a milk-like sheen when it was wet. Her arms extended smoothly down from her slender shoulders. Her thighs were surprisingly well developed and her calves were tight.

But what grabbed the attention of Sakae and the other boys most of all was her ample bust that stretched the chest of her swimsuit tight enough that the nametag saying "Ibekusa Machina" was difficult to read.

"…"

She was about two sizes bigger than Micha's F cup.

While muttering that fact in his heart, Mutsuki felt a little discouraged.

It did not feel particularly good to have so many curious eyes focused on the exposed skin of the girl he had been watching since the spring. That was just how the selfish male heart worked.

"Hmm, I'd thought everyone would be talking about Jiyuuni this year, but we had a surprise hiding in plain sight the entire time."

Sakae grinned and finally turned to look at the others.

"Bwah! Ah, ah… Wait! Too fast…too fast!"

"Nya ha ha♪ Sorry, sorry. Okay, now go. One, two! One, two!"

"Uph…nn…ph…abhbhh!"

Saya was helping Ange as the girl drowned (swam?) with a kickboard in one hand.

"You're so athletic, Ange-chan, so I never thought you couldn't swim."

"Shut up! Land animals don't need to know how to-…bhhbh! Don't let go…bhbhbh…"

It seemed drowning was the correct verb.

Angels were supposedly created from fire, so they seemed to have trouble with water.

Ange had several times the athletic ability of a normal person on land, but she became incredibly cute when she was thrown into the water. No one seeing her kicking her small little legs while holding onto the kickboard would have ever imagined how dignified she had looked training with that large sword in a single hand the night before.

"I'll give her a 97. She has some decent tits and she gets high marks for that kickboard with her height."

Sakae had some odd tastes.

"And the winner of the ass category is Kurikara Saya! She beats out all the rest! The guys who came equipped for underwater combat will be able to battle that plump ass for another decade at leasgah!"

A kickboard thrown by Saya (the softball team's ace pitcher) hit him square on the head.

Sakai somersaulted over in the water and Ange began to sink with nothing to support her.

And then…

"Wah!?"

Something suddenly rubbed against Mutsuki's thigh…no, against his crotch over his swimsuit.

"Gasp~~ Hey, hey, Mutsuki-kun. Come play over here."

Lucia had stealthily approached underwater and began clinging to Mutsuki's bare skin.

Despite Machina's unexpected figure, Ange's cuteness, and Saya's (as rude as it was to say it) nice butt, this boy was gathering the very most attention in the class.

His body was at the exact midpoint between a beautiful girl and boy and he was wearing a swimsuit, so a lot of the girls were naturally looking at him. He had a slender frame, a small indented navel, and temptingly pink nipples. His coquettish aura had a way of tickling at the male fancy as well, so he had also grabbed the attention of quite a few of the boys.

"Now this is just plain cheating. Satowa Lucia.........I'm cool with it!"

Even Sakae was losing his way.

In fact, Mutsuki himself felt an odd feeling rising within him as Lucia clung to him with his soft and squishy skin.

"Um, sorry, Lucia-kun. I have to go."

"Mhh. That's no fuuuun."

When Mutsuki moved away with a bitter smile, Lucia pouted his lips in displeasure but did not try to pursue.

Mutsuki then climbed out of the pool.

"…"

He glanced toward Machina and she looked his way as well. When she realized he was signaling her, she gave a slight nod.

They were free to go wherever they wanted during this free time, so he told the teacher he was feeling sick and easily got permission to leave the pool.

He returned to the classroom they were using to change in and put his uniform back on. They had not set a specific place to meet, but he went to the infirmary. Sure enough, Machina had realized what his signal had meant. She had apparently not changed, so she still wore her swimsuit with a towel over her neck.

Conveniently, a note saying "I'm in the faculty room" was placed at the infirmary's entrance and the teacher was not there.

The unique smell of disinfectant made him nervous as he faced her "in private" as she had wanted.

However, there seemed to have been a misunderstanding.

"…Where is Jiyuuni-san?"

"Eh?"

Mutsuki was confused.

"I wanted to speak with you and Jiyuuni-san."

"Eh? Oh! With Ange too!? S-sorry, I didn't ask her to come…"

He had mistakenly thought she wanted to speak with him alone, so he blushed and bowed deeply.

"I see," said Machina as she calmly sat on a nearby sofa. "That is not a problem. If the two of us leave at the same time, she will notice and eventually find us here. We can wait until then."

He realized she was right and breathed a sigh of relief.

"…"

Then he realized that he was the one who had wanted to be alone with her.

He had wanted to speak with her alone.

"Um, Ibekusa-san."

They had time until Ange arrived, so this was a good opportunity. His Adam's apple moved a little as he swallowed his tension.

"So…you're definitely part of FeTUS then?"

He got right to the point.

Her face tensed briefly, but she quickly recovered her expressionless look.

"Positive." She nodded. "I am FeTUS Witches #5, aka Miss E."

She added on more information he had not asked about.

He had known this, but he did not like having it reconfirmed and he frowned.

"Um."

He wondered whether he should really ask this or not.

"Why…are you here?"

"To observe you."

"…I see."

He regretted having asked.

He had been interested in her ever since meeting her that spring, but to her, he was the Serpent's Eye holder rather than Fujita Mutsuki.

It was a painful realization and he had to wonder how he looked to her as he kept glancing over at her.

After some silence, he began wandering aimlessly around the room. The school was unpleasantly quiet while classes were in session and it only exacerbated their awkward silence.

Machina was just as still and unconcerned as always.