Balls are the enemy, and that’s final

"Good morning!"

"Hey."

"Did you catch that episode last night?"

"Yeah, it was insane."

As her classmates' merry voices filled the air, Alisa opened her textbook and began

preparing for class like she always did, but her eyes traced the same paragraph over and over,

so she was clearly having trouble focusing. Although a hardworking model student, there

was one thing preventing her from concentrating, and it was something obvious if you paid

close enough attention.

Rattle!

"…!"

Every time the classroom door opened, she would look up in surprise, then glance at

the desk next to hers without fail before returning her gaze to her textbook. It was exactly

what it looked like.

What am I so worried about? He's just going to show up all sleepy like he always does.

Worrying isn't going to change anything.

She twirled her hair around her finger and tried to persuade herself, and she had been

repeating that thought ever since she'd arrived at school that day. She even realized this

herself, so she exhaled slowly to shift emotional gears.

I just need to act how I normally do… Yes… Just act natural.

After finally deciding she wasn't going to care anymore, she turned her attention to her

textbook once more…when she suddenly heard the classroom door opening again. But Alisa

didn't look to see who it was this time because she was concentrating solely on her studies.

Nothing could distract her whenever she decided to fully focus her mind on something.

"Oh, Masachika. Hi."

"Hey."

"…?!"

Or at least, that was what she believed until a voice grabbed her attention. She jumped

in her seat, and not subtly, either. Still, she continued to turn the page of her textbook as if

nothing had happened…even though the next page was completely unrelated to what they

were going to study in class that day.

"Hey, Alya."

"Oh. Good morning, Kuze."

Masachika was the one who initiated the conversation. Alisa looked up like she hadn't

noticed him come in and put on a bold face as if to say, "Yesterday? Did something happen?"

Masachika, on the other hand…

"Oh, preparing for class?"

"Y-yes…"

He was wearing a brilliant smile.

Huh? Wait. Hold on. Why is he smiling like that?

She was perplexed, having never seen him so open with his emotions.

"…Is something the matter?"

"Huh? No."

"If you say so."

Masachika didn't pry but instead began to talk to Hikaru, who was in the seat in front

of him. Alisa continued to glance at him out of the corner of her eye while pretending to

prepare for class.

Kuze seems…down, for some reason.

That was the impression she got watching them chat.

They were talking about the same stuff as usual, and yet he seemed kind of sullen that

day. She couldn't help but wonder what was wrong…and why he looked so handsome

today…

What am I thinking?!

Alisa suddenly had a flashback to what had happened the night before and frantically

tried to clear her mind.

It's nothing…! Yeah. He probably just didn't get much sleep. That's all.

He's only a little down because he was sleep-deprived. That's how Alisa pacified herself

until class eventually began.

He's not sleeping…

Not only that, but Masachika also didn't yawn. He was actually paying attention in class

for a change. He didn't forget to bring anything today, and he wasn't rushing to finish his

homework in between periods, either. Alisa, on the other hand, was caught off guard. She'd

totally thought that Masachika was going to come in today and act like his characteristic

unmotivated self, so seeing him taking school so seriously reminded her about what had

happened the previous day.

"You won't be alone anymore. From now on, I will be by your side to support you."

Alisa could feel her cheeks burning as she thought back to the look on his face when

he said those words to her.

Is he seriously trying to change himself…for me?

As the thought popped into her mind, Alisa promptly shook her head in embarrassment.

"Kujou? Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I'm fine."

It was now fourth period—time for gym class.

One of her classmates was looking at her dubiously. They were in the middle of a

volleyball match, so Alisa shook her head to clear her thoughts and viciously spiked the

incoming ball into their opponent's court to avoid being stared at any longer. Volleyball was

easy for someone as tall and athletic as Alisa. Although some of her opponents were on the

volleyball team, she could easily hold her own against them. If anything, they were having a

hard time keeping up with her. And yet despite demonstrating impressive skills on the court,

her head wasn't in the game. Before she realized it, she was suddenly staring in Masachika's

direction, where the boys were having their own match on the other side of the court.

I wonder if Kuze's okay…

Alisa was still worried about him because he had seemed off since that morning. There

was a large net hanging from the ceiling that split the gym in half, separating the boys and

girls. While she may have had 20/15 vision, it was impossible to tell who was who on the

other side of the small-holed net from such a great distance…or at least, there usually would

be no way. Alisa, however, somehow was able to easily pick out Masachika from the bunch.

The reason was extremely simple, but Alisa didn't seem to realize it herself, at the very least.

"Ah…!"

All of a sudden, one of Masachika's teammates served the volleyball directly into the

back of Masachika's head, who then staggered before ultimately collapsing. The boy who

had hit the ball rushed over in concern.

"Alisa!"

"…!"

A voice called out to Alisa from behind, bringing her back to her senses right as her

teammate's toss was rising overhead. She unconsciously squatted in preparation to hit the

ball into their opponent's court when she noticed someone on the other team simultaneously

leaping into the air to block, so she hastily changed plans. She gently bounced the descending

ball back into the air, creating a slight arch that went over her jumping opponent's hands

before falling into their court. Her teammates erupted into cheers, and the teacher, who was

the referee that day, blew his whistle.

"Game, set, match! Team B wins!"

After Alisa briefly thanked the teammates surrounding her, they cleared the court to let

the next two groups play. But only after moving over to stand by the wall did Alisa realize

that Masachika was gone. He had apparently left the gym.

"Is everybody ready? Great! Let the game begin!"

The teacher blew his whistle, and the next match started, drawing everyone's attention.

"…"

Alisa debated the idea for a few moments…then snuck out of the gymnasium as well.

"'The ball is your friend,' my ass," muttered Masachika, sitting on the stairs outside the

gymnasium while rubbing the back of his head. Although he was surprisingly athletic, he had

never been good with ball sports. Put simply, Masachika and balls didn't get along. It always

felt as if he had killed the balls' parents, and they were trying to exact revenge on him. If it

was baseball, he'd get hit by a pitch. Playing basketball meant unavoidable jammed fingers.

And dodgeball? The balls would home in on his face in groups of five, once resulting in the

first doctor stoppage in dodgeball history and making him a legend. He was essentially a

ball magnet, which made him the perfect soccer goalkeeper, but he was never thrilled about

feeling pain every time the other team tried to score.

"Sigh…"

He let out a deep sigh as he lazily hung his head low…when all of a sudden, his stomach

began to roar as well.

"I'm starving…"

Yes, the reason Masachika seemed down all day was because he was hungry, more or

less. Alisa was really worried that something had happened to him, but in reality, it wasn't

a big deal. His exchange with Yuki this morning had exhausted him both mentally and

physically, and not having time to eat breakfast did his body no service, either. Incidentally,

the reason he didn't fall asleep during class today was because he'd gone to bed early, since

he hadn't shared his impressions of last night's episode with anyone, and the reason he didn't

forget to bring anything to classtoday was because Yuki's butler had given him everything he

needed when he came to pick her up. Forsome reason, he knew Masachika's classschedule…

Therefore, most of it was ultimately nothing more than Alisa's imagination. She had no idea

that she was really just overthinking things.

"Are you okay, Kuze?"

"Huh?"

Masachika lifted up his head in surprise when he heard the sudden compassionate voice

and found Alisa's worried gaze looking down at him. Flustered, he immediately sat up

straight.

"Alya? What are you doing out here?"

"I thought you got hurt, so…"

"Oh, you saw that? I didn't get injured or anything. Maybe just a little bump…"

Masachika cringed after realizing how lame he must have looked, but Alisa took a seat

by his side and fussed over him.

"Are you sure you're okay? Want me to take you to the infirmary?"

"I'm fine. Seriously. The gymnasium's really hot today, so I came out here to cool off

for a few minutes."

"…Oh. Hold on a sec."

Alisa suddenly reached toward Masachika'sface,so he reflexively jerked his head away,

but then she pushed back his hair and placed a cool hand on his forehead. Her hand felt good

against his burning head, and his eyes closed in pleasure. Alisa placed her other hand on her

own furrowed brow to compare their temperatures for a few seconds.

"I never really could feel much of a difference just using my hands like this."

"R-really?"

Alisa shrugged, then wrapped her arms around her legs as she sat by his side. She was

being extremely thoughtful today, and yet Masachika…

E cups… Seriously?

His mind was deep in the gutter now. It didn't help that he was staring…at her chest

being squished behind her long, milky-white legs, either. He was reminded of what Yuki had

said the night before. While he had always thought they were big compared with those of

his other classmates, being graphically told exactly how big they were was information far

too stimulating for a boy in puberty.

Hold up… She did say "most likely"…which means they might be even bigger than an

E cup?!

His raging hormone-addled mind broke free from his usual restraint. There was a theory

that appetite and libido were connected,so perhaps his hunger was weakening his composure.

Alisa, oblivious to his thoughts, slowly untied her ponytail, then held the hair tie with her

mouth as she began fixing her ruffled bangs. Masachika caught a glimpse of her bare nape

and then the pale skin of her armpit through the gaping sleeve of her gym shirt.

Wh-what is this?! It's like a nip slip but with her armpit! Is she doing this on purpose?!

Does she want me to look?!

No. Not at all. Alisa probably didn't know that some guys got off on stuff like this, and

Masachika knew that…which was exactly why it was so tantalizing. She was unknowingly

being alluring. He couldn't help taking in a sharp breath as the motion of her tying her hair

back into a ponytail revealed the unexplored frontier between her armpit and chest.

Yuki… This is what I was talking about!

This only further confirmed what Masachika believed: Almost being able to see was

way more exciting than simply seeing a woman completely naked because the brief hints of

skin added an element of mystery. After Alisa finished tying her hair, she lowered her arms

and shook her head.

"…What?"

"Huh? Nothing…"

Alisa had finally realized he wasstaring at her, and she leaned slightly back. Masachika's

eyes wandered as he searched for the right words to say, but Alisa gazed at him dubiously

and said nothing. Instead, she shot up as something occurred to her.

"You should probably drink some water."

"Huh? Oh. Right…"

It's not like I'm dehydrated or having a heatstroke, he thought, but he kept quiet and

followed, racked with guilt, behind his uncharacteristically kind classmate. They walked

around to the other side of the gymnasium, where the handwashing station stood between the

gymnasium and schoolyard. There, he adjusted the faucet until it was facing upward, then

turned the tap on. When Masachika lowered his head toward the arch of flowing water, the

pleasantly cold sensation made him suddenly feel thirsty, and he began to guzzle it down.

His body seemed to have lost far much more water than he'd initially thought.

It looks like Alya made the right call.

After turning off the tap, he wiped his mouth with his arm and casually glanced to the

side.

Oh…

He was struck speechless by the vision of Alisa drinking water as well. However, unlike

Masachika's guzzling, she delicately sipped from the narrow stream with pursed lips. Her

long eyelashes framed her downcast blue eyes. The captivating way she held back her silky

silver hair behind her ears with her fingers and the faint sweat glistening on her milky skin

as she leaned forward, drawing attention to the swell of her breasts—all of it stimulated

Masachika's pubescent impulses. He immediately felt lightheaded but not due to hunger or

the heat.

"Phew…"

After quenching her thirst, turning off the tap, and lifting her head, Alisa heard water

still running and glanced over…

"Wh-what the…?! Kuze?!"

…and found Kuze with his head under the faucet, the water running at full force. After

a few seconds went by, he slowly pulled himself out from under the stream, combed his hair

forward from the back, then flicked his head back to dry off.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Just trying to keep cool…," Masachika replied with an exhausted expression, water

dripping from his chin and the tips of his hair.

"O-oh, okay…"

That was the only way Alisa could respond to such a bizarre situation.

"Oh my. Check out this tall glass of water. What happened, Kuze?"

Masachika's eyes immediately shot toward the sudden yet familiar voice, but he quickly

redirected his gaze up into the sky.

"Hey, Masha. I was just cooling off. That's all."

Maria stood before him in the schoolyard, sporting her gym clothes as well. She wiped

her face with the white towel around her neck and curiously tilted her head at the boy, who

had immediately averted his gaze.

"What's wrong? Is there something in the sky?"

"There are clouds."

"That there are."

"What are you doing?" Alisa barked in frustration, but Masachika still couldn't lower

his head…because the older, mature woman in front of him was…very much matured.

I never realized how much I loved gym clothes until now…

It became evident at that moment why the girls and the boys had separate gym classes.

No healthy young man would be able to concentrate in class otherwise. Masachika considered

this idly and gazed into the vast blue sky.

"You're soaking wet… Do you have a towel?" asked Maria.

"No… I was planning on just letting the sun do its thing…," the brain-dead teenage boy

absentmindedly replied…and because he was so out of it, he was very slow to react.

"Okay, lower your head. ♪"

"Huh? Ah?!"

Before he realized it, Maria was so close that he could almost feel her breath. He

reflexively looked down in surprise at the proximity of her voice, and she immediately threw

a towel over his head, then vigorously rubbed his scalp.

Wh-what's going on?! Nothing like this has ever happened before!

Masachika was utterly confused as he had his hair dried by an older, beautiful maiden.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected such a thing. Despite his bewilderment, his

instincts were still working as normal. Every time the towel ever so faintly moved, his gaze

would lock right onto Maiden Maria's impressive…maidens.

"All done. ♪"

"Bfft. Th-thanks."

Regardless of whether she noticed, she took the balled-up towel and patted his face dry.

She then nodded as if she was content.

"So? Feel better?"

"Yeah, I guess…I know how dogs feel now."

"Oh my. Are you an Akita?"

"I'm not sure what breed I am… Sorry. It looks like I've been a bad boy."

"…? I think naughty dogs are cute, too."

"Ha-ha-ha…"

Maria's innocent, oblivious response made Masachika feel even guiltier. He felt bad for

wickedly ogling a holy maiden such as Maria and being a creep. Suddenly, someone grabbed

his arm and jerked him away.

"Come on, Kuze. We have to get back. Masha, shouldn't you be heading to class now,

too?" suggested Alisa sharply.

"Whaaat? But I just got here."

"…! Do whatever you want, but we're returning to class."

"Okay. ♪ See you after school! ♪"

"Oh, right. See you later. And thanks for the towel."

Masachika bowed to Maria, who was cheerfully waving him good-bye, as Alisa dragged

him to the gymnasium by the arm.

Sigh… Yep. Here it comes. She's going to call me "gross" and "a creep."

Masachika prepared to suffer Alisa's disdain as he wastugged along. After all, he'd been

looking at Maria's chest like a pervert, so there was no use arguing. Just when they were

about to arrive at the gymnasium, Alisa came to a sudden stop and turned around to face him

as if to confirm his prediction.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Huh?"

"The back of your head where the ball hit you. Are you sure you don't want to ice it?"

"…Ohhh!"

That was when he realized that Alisa thought he had run cold water over his head as

an alternative to icing it.

What the…?! She has no idea what really happened!

While her gaze was somewhat sharp, she was worried about him, so he just felt even

guiltier now. He couldn't look her in the eye.

"Oh, uh… I'm fine now. The ball didn't leave a bump or anything," Masachika assured,

his eyes wandering.

"…Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm positive! Really!" he replied, but when Alisa tried to touch the back of his head

and check, he flinched away with every fiber of his being.

What's going on? Why is she being so nice?! Is she going to be this nice from now on?!

Alisa's perplexingly kind gestures made him think back to her confession (?) to him the

previous day and the kiss (?) on the cheek, but he frantically rid his mind of those images.

No, this is… But… Why don't I just ask her?

He decided to take a risky gamble as he leaned away from the slowly approaching silverhaired girl.

"Hey, Alya? Is it just me, or are you being unusually nice today?"

One of Alisa's eyebrows twitched, and she froze.

Take that! Next, she's going to say, "I'm not. I was just a little worried. That's all," then

she'll turn back to normal! And under no circumstances will she say, "That's because I'm

in **** with you!" …Maybe!

She frowned sourly and looked away.

"I was just a little worried that something was wrong because you seem kind of down

today. That's it," Alisa replied, twirling the ends of her hair around her finger.

"Huh? Oh… Ohhh…"

That was when it finally hit him, and he knew exactly what he had to do now.

"You noticed, huh?"

"Did something happen?"

"Yeah…"

Masachika met her worried gaze with a grave expression on his face, then spoke in a

low tone as if he was about to make an extremely important confession.

"I'm really hungry…so I don't have any energy today."

"…What was that?"

"I'm really hungry…so I don't have any energy today…!"

Thanks to all the water he had gulped down, his stomach chose that exact moment to

growl loudly. Alisa's dumbfounded expression instantly tensed as her brow narrowed.

Everything that had happened between last night and now flashed through her mind, her face

boiling from rage and embarrassment.

"I was wondering why you were paying attention and taking class seriously for a

change… You were too hungry to sleep, huh?" Alisa replied in a deep voice, feeling ashamed

about thinking even for a moment that he'd been doing it for her. Masachika, however, just

tilted his head with an aggravatingly puzzled expression—a really punchable face.

"No, it's just that I got plenty of sleep last night."

"…Hmph. Oh, you did?"

Interesting. He got plenty of sleep last night, huh? And here I was thinking about what

happened last night so much that I could hardly sleep. But look at this carefree guy. He was

snoring like a bear without a care in the world. Interesting… Interesting, indeed…

Alisa turned purple from anger, her entire body trembling.

"Listen, Alya. You know what the Bible says?" Masachika said smugly.

"What does it say? And you better not say, 'Love thy neighbor.'"

"No. It says, 'If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek

also,'" he replied with a brilliant smile before turning his left cheek to her, and Alisa wasted

no time before raising a right hand. "That's the spirit!"

"Thank you, Kuze!"

While thanking him, she mercilessly slapped him across the face, knocking him down.

"Hmph! Just go back to class already!" Alisa huffed as she turned on her heel, leaving

Masachika on the ground.

What a jerk! Unbelievable! There's absolutely no way I'd ever fall in love with a buffoon

like that!

Deciding that she had just been confused the day before, Alisa headed back to the

gymnasium. Masachika watched her go and slowly stood back up.

Finally, she's back to normal. That's the Alya I know.

He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alya? Shall we head to the student council room…together?" Masachika hesitantly

asked after school. Alisa shot him a sharp glare but nodded—she still wasn't over what he

had said during fourth period—so she grabbed her bag without saying a word and briskly

walked out the door. Maybe I went a little too far, he mused and followed close behind her

like a loyal servant. The thought continued to plague him until they approached the open

door to the student council room, and a few male students came out.

"""Thank you very much!!""" the students shouted with somewhat trembling voices

as they bowed toward the room and then hastily walked away. After taking a closer look,

Alisa noticed it was the managers and leaders of the baseball and soccer clubs who had

argued the day before. She immediately stopped, and Masachika stood by her side, but they

soon realized that the male students seemed almost scared for some reason. The boys almost

simultaneously noticed them as well, and after looking momentarily surprised, they rushed

over to the pair. Masachika promptly stood in front of Alisa to protect her, but they never

could have imagined what came next.

"""Please accept our apologies!!"""

They bowed to Alisa at a ninety-degree angle, bending at the waist. The powerful gesture

of the sportsmen was admirable, but their overwhelmingly vigorous display was actually

kind of frightening as well.

"Uh… What's going on?"

Masachika turned to his acquaintance, the captain of the baseball team, who then slowly

lifted his head back up and replied:

"Just… Kujou, I apologize. We got too worked up yesterday and said some terrible

things. We should have cooled off before trying to discuss anything. I'm sorry!"

"We should have given some thought to what you said before arguing with you like that.

I'm really sorry," the captain of the soccer team added before they all lowered their heads in

unison once more. Although awkwardly recoiling in shock, Alisa timidly nodded.

"It's fine. Just please stop bowing."

"""Thank you for your kindness!"""

After properly expressing their gratitude, they finally began to march away like a group

of soldiers.

"What was that all about?" Masachika said in bewilderment as he watched them walk

away.

"Hey, uh… Thank you for trying to protect me like that," Alisa mumbled in a small

voice, even though she was still in a bit of a mood.

"Huh? Oh… Don't worry about it."

Although he shrugged it off like it was nothing, he was actually pretty relieved that she

seemed to be in a better mood.

"<…You were really cool.>"

Masachika was taken by surprise! And it was supereffective! Because he had just let

his guard down!

Uh… Yep. Sh-she's definitely back to normal.

He rushed ahead to the student council room so she couldn't see his face. He imagined

blood trickling out the side of his mouth after an attack like that.

"Hey, uh…? What was all that about?" Masachika called into the room as he opened

the door, when all of a sudden…

"Huh?"

…he saw a stereotypical delinquent with an incredibly menacing aura, and he froze.

She had short black hair and intimidating features that were somehow both masculine and

delicate. She had the statuesque figure and gorgeous face of a model, and yet…she looked

like she belonged in a biker gang. There was no other way to put it. Her glare locked onto

Masachika like a starving beast's would when stalking its prey. Her powerful stance revealed

no openings or weaknesses, and the air around her was dark and eerie. What stood out most

of all, however, was the bamboo sword resting over her shoulder.

She's gonna kill me.

Masachika's instincts instantly chose his best course of action for survival. His tense

cheeks reflexively perked up into a smile, showing that he meant no harm. He even spoke in

a gentle voice as if to avoid provoking her in any way.

"My apologies. I must have the wrong room."

And he gently closed the door.