Chapter 2.2

"Aaand, that's why the ball is not your frieeeend."

Masachika rubbed the back of his head and complained while sitting on the stairs just outside the gym.

Even though Masachika had good reflexes, he had always sucked at ball games of any kind. The point is, he wasn't the greatest of friends with ball games. It was probably more like any ball was his sworn enemy, much less a friend.

If he was to play baseball, he would, without a doubt, get hit by the pitch. Whenever he played basketball, the ball would sprain his finger. One time, while playing dodgeball in elementary school, he was sent to the nurse after being hit in the face five times in a row. It felt like they had aimbot. Since the ball always managed to get a solid hit on him, he made for a very good goalie. Masachika himself wasn't too happy about that though, since every shot they took hurt.

"Hahhh…"

He hung his head down in disappointment and let out a deep sigh. At the same time, his stomach growled, making the scene even more depressing than it already was.

"Ahh, I'm so hungry…"

Actually, he'd been feeling out of it all morning, and for good reason. Worrying over Alisa and what she did… Nope, it wasn't that. He was hungry because he didn't have the strength left in him to eat breakfast after messing around with Yuki in the morning.

Speaking of Yuki, the reason he was so awake in class today was because he went to bed earlier yesterday, as they didn't do their anime discussion. And he didn't forget anything because the driver that came to pick up Yuki that morning somehow knew Masachika's schedule and had prepared everything he needed ahead of time.

So basically, Alisa was overthinking the entire thing… But Alisa had no way of knowing why things turned out this way.

"Kuze-kun, are you okay?"

"Wha?"

She suddenly asked him with worry in her voice, which made Masachika suddenly look up. When he saw how anxious she looked, he sat up, confused.

"A-Alya? Did something happen for you to come here…?"

"I thought you got injured… …Right…?"

"Ahh, so you did see… Nah, it's nothing, really…"

Masachika shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment, thinking he looked pretty uncool as he was. Alisa sat down next to him, still looking at him with worried eyes.

"Are you really okay? Want to go to the infirmary?"

"No, I'm fine, really. It was just hot in the gym, so I came here. I can make up for a bit of lost time.."

"…Hm. Hold up."

"Eh, ah…?"

She reached out for his forehead and he reflexively pulled back. Then he felt his bangs get pushed away, and felt a sudden chill when her hand touched him. The coolness of her hand felt good on his hot face. He squinted his eyes unconsciously as it happened.

Alisa had her other hand on her own forehead, comparing the temperatures. She pulled her hand away a few seconds later and raised her eyebrow.

"Seems fine to me, hm?"

"Y-Yeah…?"

She shrugged her shoulders and sat next to him, her hands around her knees. As he looked over at her…

She's really an E-cup…?

He thought about disgusting things as he was looking at twin hills crushed by Alisa's long white legs.

He remembered Yuki's words last night. He always thought that hers were pretty big, but the raw information about the number of cups provided by her sister was too exciting for an adolescent boy.

(No, wait… Is it possible that they are even bigger than she estimated!?)

Masachika was in full adolescent mode of thinking. According to one theory, appetite and sexual desire are linked, so it may be the effect of that.

Alisa didn't seem to notice his ulterior motives, and she tried to fix the bangs that she had scraped up. When she untied her hair that was bundled up behind her neck, with a hairband in her mouth, she began to tie her hair back.

Immediately, the nape of her neck and the pure white armpit peeking out from the sleeve of her gym uniform were exposed.

(W-wait, what!? A peek of an armpit!? You are not doing this on purpose, are you!?)

There was no special reason for it. In the first place, Alisa probably didn't know the concept of "peek of an armpit". Masachika knew that.

But exactly because he knew that, because she did it completely unconsciously… Its destructive power was immeasurable.

Masachika gulped inwardly. The cuffs of her sleeves swayed in time with the way Alisa tied her hair back. He saw a glimpse of the border between her armpits and chest.

(Yuki… This is what I'm talking about!!)

After all, Masachika was convinced that chiralism is justice. Alisa finished tying her hair, lowered her arm and shook her head.

"...What?"

"Oh no…"

There, Alisa finally noticed Masachika's line of sight and withdrew a little. The latters gaze wandered a little, desperately trying to come up with what to say…

Alisa had a slightly suspicious look on her face, but she didn't push the subject, and instead suddenly stood up with pensive look.

"For the time being, you should drink some water."

"Oh, oh…"

While thinking "No, there are no signs of heat stroke or dehydration, aren't there?" Masachika quietly followed Alisa, who was unprecedentedly gentle, with a feeling of guilt.

When he moved around the gym and headed for the hand-washing area located between the schoolyard and the gym, turned the faucet up and turned on the water. Masachika, who was thirsty for the coldness of the water that blew out in an arc, quickly drank the water. Apparently, he was losing more water than he expected.

(In this case, Alya's judgment may have been correct)

While saying this inwardly, he stopped the water, wiped the mouth with his arm and casually looked next to him…

(Oh...)

He saw Alisa drinking water next to him.

Alisa carefully received the thin stream of water with her mouth, not the way Masachika did it. He saw the long eyelashes that tended to be looking downwards, the sexy gesture of her silky silver hair on her ears with her fingertips.

In addition, the slightly sweaty white skin and the chest, which insisted on the presence of the bent upper body, stimulated the boy part of Masachika, and Masachika became hungry and hot. He was about to become alive in another sense.

"Fu…"

Alisa, who moistened her throat, stopped the water and got up. So, when she casually looked at the water that could be heard from next to her…

"…"

"Eh… Kuze-kun!?"

There was Masachika, with the faucet turned all the way up, covering his head with water.

A few seconds later, he gently pulled his head out from under the faucet, scraping his hair from the back of her head and draining it.

"What are you doing?"

"No… I'm trying to cool my head.."

Masachika said with a sloppy look, with the water dripping from his hair and chin. In that strange atmosphere, Alisa has no choice but to nod, "Oh, yes…".

"Oh, what's wrong with Kuze-kun? Why is water dripping from your face?"

At that moment, Masachika suddenly heard a familiar voice and looked at it in surprise… And looked at the sky.

"Hello, Masha. Don't worry, I just chilled my head."

There was Maria in gym clothes. She seemed to have physical education in the schoolyard. While wiping her face with a white towel around her neck, she tilted her neck toward Masachika, who had turned his face away.

"What happened? Is there something in the sky?"

"There are clouds."

"Yeah…"

"What are you talking about…"

Alisa made a frightening voice, but he couldn't look down, because her sister was very tall.

(Gym clothes… nice.)

He understood the reason why physical education classes were separated by gender. Well, if there was such a thing nearby, a healthy high school boy would not be in class.

Masachika vaguely thought about such things while looking at the sky.

"You're so wet… Do you have anything anything to wipe it off with?"

"No, I don't. Well, I hope it will dry itself naturally…"

Masachika answered Maria's question in a braindead state. Because she said it so vaguely… the reaction was delayed.

"Yes, head down!"

"What? Woah!"

Maria was approaching to a distance where he could feel her sigh. Immediately after he reflexively lowered his face to the closeness of her voice, a towel was placed on his head and stirred.

(What is this! I've never expected an event like this!?)

Masachika was completely confused by the unexpected development of being wiped by a beautiful senior.

However, even if the thoughts were messed up, the instinct was honest. Masachika's gaze was nailed to Maria's magnificent sister, who could be seen through the gaps in the dancing towel.

"Yes, that's it."

"But, oh"

Whether she sensed it or not, Maria nodded in satisfaction as she wiped Masachika's face with a towel.

"How was it? Feeling refreshed?"

"Well… I felt like a dog."

"Ah~ Shiba Inu?"

"No, I don't know the breed of dog … I'm sorry, it's a bad dog that isn't disciplined."

"Naughty doggy, so cute, isn't it?"

"Hahaha…"

Masachika is getting more and more guilty about his senior who made those natural remarks. He felt bad for having such a perverted gaze towards his senior.

Then, Masachika's arm was pulled behind him, and at the same time, a slightly steep voice was heard.

"Look, I'm going back, Kuze-kun. Shouldn't Masha go back to class soon?"

"Well, you just came here?"

"Oh… well, I'm going back."

"Yes. After school again?"

"Ah, yes. See you again. Thank you for the towel."

While giving a bow to Maria, who was waving with a smile, he returned to the gym with his arm pulled by Alisa.

(Ah ~~ That's the thing. That's the thing they call "filthy" or "disgusting")

As he was dragged along by Alisa, Masachika was prepared to be seen with contempt. In fact, he was aware that he had viewed Maria with perverted eyes, so he couldn't argue.

To affirm his expectation, Alisa stopped right when she came near the gym, and looked back at him.

"So… Are you okay now?"

"Huh?"

"Your head was just hit by a ball, did you need to cool it down?"

"......Ah!"

There, Masachika realized. Alisa thought that he wanted to cool his head after getting hit.

(Isn't it wrong? It's a misunderstanding!!)

In many ways, Masachika felt sorry for Alisa, who was worried while looking at him a little steeply. Unable to look straight at her, he answered with his eyes swimming.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. It's not like I have a bruise."

"...Really?"

"No, it's really okay!"

Masachika tried his best to keep a distance from Alisa, who tried to actually touch and confirm how she perceived his crisp response.

(Why? Why is she so kind to me?! Is it the dere period? Is it the dere period!?)

As he saw her unusually kind behavior, thoughts about her confession and cheek kiss that happened yesterday came to his mind, and he tried to cancel them.

(No, this is, but… should I ask it directly?)

While keeping a distance from Alisa, Masachika made a bet.

"Ah ~ Alya-san? Aren't you being strangely kind today?"

In response to Masachika's question, Alisa's eyebrows twitched and she stopped moving.

(What? Now, Arya would say something like, "No, I was just a bit worried about you" and go back to normal! I'm sure she won't say, "Because I'm worried about you!" I'm sure!)

In the face of Masachika's gulping and spitting, Alisa averted her gaze with a raised eyebrow and fiddled with the tips of her hair.

"I'm just a little concerned because you've been kind of down since this morning…"

"Hmm? Ah, ah …"

At that moment, Masachika grasped the whole situation. At the same time, he knew what he had to do next.

"Well…So you noticed…"

"What happened?"

"Oh, actually…"

When Alisa lowered her eyebrows in concern, Masachika put his hand on her forehead and made an unnecessarily serious face, and said in a tone as if he was about to make a serious confession.

"I'm hungry… I want to eat."

"...Yes?"

"I'm hungry… I don't have the power…!"

Immediately after, Masachika's stomach, which was flooded with a large amount of water, made a wonderful noise.

Reacting at the sound, Alisa's previously puzzled expression twitched, and her eyebrows lifted. All the things that have happened since last night ran through her mind, and her cheeks turned red with anger and shame.

"So… I thought you were taking your classes pretty seriously, but you were too hungry to sleep..?"

Ashamed of herself thinking, "Maybe he's serious for me !?", Alisa asked in a small voice.

"No, that's because I slept well today."

"… Hmm, hey"

Hmm, so he slept well…

So I couldn't get any sleep because of yesterday's events, yet this unscrupulous, easy-going man was yawning without worrying about such things. I see, I see...

Alisa's face was pale and her body was trembling. Masachika smiled and said "I'm sorry"

"Well, listen, Alya. The Lord is saying."

"What? Are you going to say 'Love your neighbor'?"

"No? The Lord is saying…'If you got hit on a right cheek, give him your left cheek.'"

Saying that with a clear smile, Masachika silently offered his left cheek. Alisa quickly swung her right hand.

"You've got some nerves!"

"Thank you!"

Alisa gave him a merciless slap on his left cheek. For some reason, Masachika fell down while thanking her.

"Oh, come on! Why don't you just go back to class !?"

Then, exhaling roughly, Alisa turned on her heel, leaving the fallen Masachika behind.

(Trash! Scum! After all, I can't like such a playful person!)

After that, Alisa returned to the gym, strengthening her conviction that yesterday was done in a heat of the moment. Masachika stood up sluggishly, watching her back.

(Good, Alya is back to her usual mood)

He secretly stroked his chest.

　　　　◇

"Alya-san? Would you like to come with me to the student council room?"

After school, when Masachika called out to her in a reserved manner, Alisa gave him a stare and then nodded. Alisa, who still seemed to be reeling from her fourth period, stood up with her bag in silence and strode out of the classroom.

As he followed her like her servant, Masachika thought, "I wonder if I overdid it a little" When the student organization room came into view, several male students came out of it.

"Excuse me!!"

Then, in a somewhat shaky voice, they all bowed their heads toward the room and walked gingerly toward us.

"Hey...?"

They were the executives of the baseball club and soccer club who made the ruckus yesterday. Alisa stopped and Masachika lined up next to her, but they both tilted their heads as they noticed that they all had a somewhat frightened expression on their faces.

At the same time, they seemed to have noticed the two, and with a huff, they rushed over to them. It was Masachika who came out to protect Alisa last time, but what happened the next moment was a completely unexpected situation.

"We are sorry!"

To Masachika's surprise, when they came in front of them, they all bowed to Alisa. They bent their hips 90 degrees, which was a wonderful apology. It's tempting to admire the fact that it's an athletic club, but it's really scary when all of them come to you at once.

"Ah~? What do you mean?"

When Masachika asked the director of the baseball club he knew, he slowly raised his face and said.

"That… I'm sorry, Kujo-san. I think we got too heated yesterday and said a lot of terrible things. I regret that, we should have talked a little more calmly. I'm really sorry! "

"We should have listened to you more. I'm also sorry."

Subsequently, the manager of the soccer club also apologized and bowed again. Alisa nodded quietly, slightly warping against the spirit.

"It's okay. Please raise your head."

"Oh! Excuse me!!"

Then, they gave a pleasant greeting again, and they left with a quick movement like an army.

"What was that…?"

As Masachika was stunned to see them back off, Alisa said in a soft voice, though still slightly moody.

"That… Thank you. Thank you for helping me."

"Hmm? Oh… don't worry."

While shedding lightly and giving up his shoulders, Masachika was relieved that Alisa's atmosphere had eased a little.

[...It was so cool]

Sudden hit here! Because it was the moment when he relaxed, the pressure suddenly doubled!

(Ah, yeah… Yes, as usual…)

Inwardly bleeding from the corner of my his, he quickly made his way to the student council room so that no one would see his expression.

"Excuse me"

And he opened the door of the student organization room ──

"?"

He saw a sukeban, who gave off a terrible murderous vibe (TN Note: Sukeban – woman gang leader). Her short-cut black hair exhaled a crisp, dignified and neat appearance. She was a slender model with a curvy and tall body. She was a beautiful girl who seemed to be a professional model at first glance, but he could only say that her appearance was completely sukeban-ish.

Her eyes, which were fixed on Masachika, were filled with the glare of a bloodthirsty beast, and she stood there with an uncanny air that seemed to distort the space around her. And the most important thing… she was carrying a bamboo sword on her shoulder for some reason.

(Oh shit, she's going to kill me.)

Masachika instinctively thought so. Then, he instantly had chosen the best action to protect himself.

Masachika smiled widely, showing that he was not hostile. In addition, he spoke with a gentle voice so as not to irritate his opponent.

"I'm sorry"

And then closed the door gently.