Chapter 201: School Trip
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 201: School Trip
The rooftop, where a major incident had occurred this semester, was no longer off-limits.
There was no sign, and the door wasn't locked.
I strode confidently onto the rooftop and, like the protagonist of a drama, waited for Miyuki while enjoying the cool winter breeze.
Before long, the rooftop door opened quietly, and Miyuki appeared.
I grinned at her, showing my teeth, and asked.
"You made it?"
Her expression was incredibly bright as she nodded.
She seemed proud of my high score.
Straightening the hem of her uniform skirt, she approached me and looked up with her large eyes.
"Why did you want to meet on the rooftop?"
"To get my reward."
"Reward?"
"I surpassed my target score, so there has to be a reward. That's how you build more passion."
"But... you didn't take the test for other people. I set a goal for you, but that was so Matsuda-kun could feel satisfied with..."
"Why are you talking so much? Lock the door."
Miyuki's eyes widened to twice their size.
As if sensing what was about to happen, she took half a step back and said.
"N-no... not now..."
"Why not?"
"We still have the afternoon exam...!"
"So?"
"What do you mean, 'so'...? At least until the exams are over..."
"You need to focus?"
"...Right..."
It's not like the feeling lingers for that long...
I shook my head firmly and strode toward Miyuki, who had backed herself against the door.
Then, I locked the rooftop door, which was right at her waist.
Click-!
I gently lifted one of her legs and pushed her uniform skirt up.
"Ah...!"
Startled, Miyuki instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck.
The indoor slipper on her lifted foot was stretched straight down, as if to prove just how tense she was.
I pressed my body against hers, gently caressing her fair, overly tensed leg.
"D-do we really have to do this...? Can't we do it this afternoon...?"
Miyuki's voice began to tremble slightly, but I just grinned at her suggestion.
"Nope."
"But it's lunchtime right now...? We have to eat..."
"I'll make it quick."
"B-but Matsuda-kun, you always say that and you never finish quickly... Hmph!"
Miyuki, who had been muttering rapidly, suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.
The bulge in my uniform pants had pressed against her crotch.
Her face instantly turned crimson, and she bit her lower lip, mumbling.
"It's cold..."
"You'll warm up."
"...Th-then make it really quick... Promise..."
"I told you I would."
"A-and don't do it inside... do it outside..."
The fact that she was saying this, assuming I was going to finish inside her in the first place, was a huge turn-on.
"Got it," I replied, and began to explore her body, starting by placing my lips on her pale neck and my hand on her breast.
* * *
"Miyuki, did you take a shower?"
Tetsuya asked Miyuki, who had returned to the classroom just as lunchtime was about to end. Her face still flushed, Miyuki fanned herself with her hand as she answered.
"Yeah. I sent you a text, didn't you see it?"
"I saw it, but... why the sudden shower?"
"Ah... I was feeling a little sleepy today, so I thought I'd wake myself up... Did you wait for me in front of the cafeteria?"
"Nah. I saw your text and ate with a friend."
"Good... Let's do our best on the next test, too."
"Yeah..."
Tetsuya's expression as he agreed wasn't exactly bright.
He was down because he had lost to me in the math exam, too.
You should have tried harder.
Your place as her childhood friend is already fading, so it's your own fault for not fighting for it like your life depended on it.
I sneered at him inwardly, then shot an innocent smile at Miyuki, who glanced my way as she demurely took her seat.
Miyuki scoffed in disbelief and turned her head away.
And to top it off, she was unconsciously fiddling with her thigh.
I smirked, seeing that the afterglow from the rooftop still seemed to linger. When the proctor entered, I looked up at the ceiling, squeezed my eyes shut, and opened them again.
Why do I hate exams so much?
Of course, exams are a classic cliché in youth stories, and I was confident I'd do pretty well on the rest of the tests after the math one, but still... it's so annoying.
"Focus. You idiot..."
Miyuki chided me.
I propped my elbow on the desk, turned to her, and asked quietly.
"Are you sleeping over at my place tonight?"
"...I don't know. I'll think about it and decide."
Whenever we did something major at the academy, Miyuki would act a bit coy for a while.
It was always like this. She'd get mad at herself for breaking the rules, but it wasn't like she disliked it either, so she felt a little guilty...
That mixed reaction just came out unconsciously.
I chuckled at her cute behavior, then turned my gaze back to my desk as the proctor tapped the podium a couple of times.
Like Miyuki said, I should focus. I need to ace this last test so I can say it with confidence during the school trip.
That since I did well on my exams, I'm sleeping in the same room as you.
* * *
Once the final exam was over, the gloomy expressions on the students' faces brightened instantly.
Feeling a sense of liberation, I stretched with a similar look on my face.
Then I spoke to Tetsuya, who was letting out a long sigh.
"Did you do well?"
"Me? So-so..."
The same confidence he had before we self-scored the math test was plastered on his face.
Did he actually do well? Or is he just deluding himself again?
It was probably the latter, but since he'd already dropped the ball once during lunch, it seemed his confidence wasn't entirely baseless this time.
"How about you?"
At his question, I shrugged and replied.
"I think I did okay, too."
"Really? I hope you did well."
Saying things you don't mean.
I ended the conversation with a dry laugh and turned my attention to Miyuki, who, after a word with the proctor, asked for everyone's attention.
"You all know we're going to Hokkaido for our school trip the day after tomorrow, right? You'll need to pack a change of clothes and your own toiletries. I hear it's going to be very cold, so make sure to bring warm clothing. I'll give you another notice tomorrow."
""Yeees...!""
Pleased with the unanimous response, Miyuki told everyone they did a great job and returned to her seat.
Then she leaned toward me and asked.
"No club activities today, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then hang out with Tetsuya-kun. I have to stop by the student council room."
"What are you doing in the student council room?"
"The usual. Solving any problems that have come up on campus, meetings about the next semester, and..."
"Problems on campus? Like at lunch today?"
At my words, Miyuki jumped in surprise and glanced around nervously.
Relieved by the noisy classroom atmosphere, she smacked my thigh hard enough to make a sound and glared at me.
"Be quiet...!"
"I was being quiet."
"Just don't say anything at all...!"
"Sorry, sorry. Call me when the meeting's over. You can leave your bookbag."
"...Okay."
Miyuki stuffed a pile of books into her bag and placed it neatly on my desk.
Then, taking advantage of a moment when the other students were looking away, she gently caressed the back of my neck with her slender hand before leaving the classroom.
If only Tetsuya had seen that bit of skinship from Miyuki...
But he's too busy talking to his friend. What a shame.
Still, I plan to openly stick to Miyuki during the school trip, so I'll take comfort in that.
I stood up, slung Miyuki's heavy bag over my shoulder, and tapped Tetsuya, who was talking about games with his friend.
"Hey. I'm heading out."
"Where? Miyuki said we should go to a cafe today. To self-score our tests..."
"I'm going to drop Miyuki's bag in the car and stop by the club room for a bit."
"The club room? There are no activities today."
"But we have them tomorrow. I'm just going to fold a few towels in preparation."
"You're so diligent. Need help?"
"It's fine. It won't take long... I'm off."
"Alright, see you."
This is why you lose all the heroines to me, because you only think on such a superficial level.
To capture a heroine, isn't it essential to explore even empty places?
You might run into a heroine and get a chance to raise her affection level. Not putting in the legwork means you're disqualified as a protagonist.
So reassuring, so reassuring.
* * *
In the quiet club room, with not even the coach around, I did some simple manager duties.
I checked the condition of the protective gear, then started gathering and folding the towels hanging in the drying room. Before long, Renka came in.
"What the, it's you, Matsuda?"
I knew that if I waited here, either Chinami or Renka would show up.
This is why I come to the club room.
If it had been Chinami, I would have tried to do that kind of thing with her in the dim club room... It's a bit of a shame that Renka came.
With that thought, I offered a half-hearted greeting.
"Hey."
"Now you're even shortening your greetings."
"Where's Master?"
"Sleeping in the lounge. She said she used her brain too much and needed to rest."
"Couldn't she just go home and sleep?"
"She's supposed to hang out with me today, so she's just taking a quick nap."
Renka emphasized the part about hanging out with her.
Was she trying to tell me not to even dream of hanging out with Chinami today? Or was I just imagining it?
"Did you do well on your exams?"
"So-so. I probably did better than you, though."
"Are you trying to provoke me? You'll regret it."
"...Can't I even make a joke?"
Her confidence deflated in an instant. Cute.
"You used to hate joking around with me."
"Well... I can try..."
"The truth is, it wasn't a joke, you're just tucking your tail between your legs now that we're talking about grades, aren't you?"
"Do you always jump to such wild conclusions?"
"I was just joking, too. Where are the second-years going for their school trip?"
"Okinawa."
Okinawa in the winter... It'll be quiet, so it should be nice for sightseeing.
I should ask Chinami to send me pictures.
I nodded and gestured for Renka to come over.
She flinched, her eyes darting around nervously.
"...What's with that gesture?"
"Help me fold towels."
"No."
"Help me."
"I said no. Oh, right. I have something to show you."
With that, Renka went into the coach's office and came back out holding a thin, gray piece of paper, about the size of two palms put together.
She placed it on top of the towels I had folded.
"What's this?"
"Look."
It was a neatly cut-out newspaper clipping.
And it had my picture on it.
Wondering what it was, I looked closer. Under the rather cringey headline, [A Supernova Appears, Ready to Shake Up the Kendo World!], was a picture of me taken when I received both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards.
"That's me?"
"Yep. It's you. The coach cut it out from a local paper. He told me to put it up on the club room bulletin board."
So that's why Renka came to the club room.
It wasn't the front page or anything, just a passing article in a local paper, but it didn't feel too bad.
If it was enough to get an article written, it meant the tournament officials had been watching me closely.
Accepting it for what it was, I said.
"Nice. Please be careful not to tear it when you put it up."
"...Listen to you. You're so annoying."
Grumbling, Renka went to the bulletin board in the middle of the room and started pinning up the article about me.
Very, very carefully.
Despite her complaints, she must be proud that one of her club members made it into the newspaper.
I let out a short laugh at her cute behavior and quietly folded the towels, thinking of the many memories I would make with Renka during the upcoming break.