Chapter 364: Not a Coincidence, but Fate
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 364: Not a Coincidence, but Fate
“Asahina! Come play basketball with us.”
During the break after third period.
I was wandering around in front of the building to shake off some stiffness when a guy called out to Hiyori from a distance.
Curious, I looked over and saw her on the bleachers, holding a jump rope and chatting with her friends.
It must be gym class. Maybe they had a jump rope assessment and were given free time afterward?
“But I’m not good at basketball.”
At Hiyori’s hesitant reply, the male student asked as if it were no big deal.
“You know how to bounce a ball, right?”
“Yeah, I know how to do that.”
“Then that’s all you need. Wanna play?”
“Okay!”
With a bright reply and a nod, Hiyori headed toward the basketball court where the male students were.
The game started soon after.
To put it nicely, Hiyori’s basketball skills were far from good.
Thump! Thump-!
She’d bounce the ball once, catch it with both hands, and scurry around before bouncing it again.
Then she’d fail to catch the ball as it bounced up quickly, losing it…
Even though she was dribbling with incredibly stiff movements, none of her classmates said a word.
They only pretended to try and steal the ball, simply enjoying the game with her.
If Tetsuya had been there, he probably would have told Hiyori it was a traveling violation, a foul, and killed the mood, right?
Just for being so perceptive, Hiyori’s classmates over there deserved some praise.
The fact that they all had crushes on her was a problem, though.
It’s a thought I have often, but Hiyori possessed every single trait that guys find attractive.
Her lips were especially charming. They weren’t thin and long like Renka’s, but round and cute. Her upper lip was thin, so when she spoke, her two pearly white front teeth would show faintly.
When she smiled, her lips parted wide horizontally, and the glossy tint she wore made her look stylish.
Simply put, she had the kind of lips that made you want to kiss her like crazy.
Her face needed no explanation, she had a playful and easygoing personality, and on top of that, large breasts…
It was only natural that she was popular.
Her classmates must have a feast for their eyes every single day.
Thwack!
The ball she shot with both hands hit the bottom of the rim and bounced back hard. Hiyori looked extremely disappointed.
Was she satisfied just by the fact that her own shot got near the net?
It was an incredibly cute sight.
Anyway, it was clear Hiyori had no athletic ability.
Miyuki was good at pretty much everything… but it’s not like I was disappointed.
If anything, I liked it because it fulfilled a certain moe factor.
“Shoot! Shoot!”
When Hiyori unexpectedly caught the ball at the free-throw line, the guys around her encouraged her as if they were dealing with a toddler learning to walk.
Did their encouragement give her a boost of confidence? Hiyori hopped and threw the ball high into the air.
The ball, which failed to even trace a proper arc,
Thud-!
hit the edge of the backboard and veered off sharply.
“Oh, come on!”
“It’s okay. Just hitting it is good enough.”
Seeing one classmate coddling the annoyed Hiyori, and another handing her a clean bottle of water as she finished the game and headed to the water fountain, knowing she was a hindrance to the game, felt somehow awkward.
It was like a crow had flown into a peaceful, pastoral scene and started wrecking the place.
This is why Hiyori gets more and more brazen by the day.
If she asked them to buy her a cold drink, they looked ready to stampede to the school store.
I could see just how comfortable her academy life was.
But wasn't she shuffling around like a zombie just this morning?
She seemed to be in pain from muscle soreness… or was it just because she hadn't slept well?
Or was she exaggerating? Was she trying to set things up for a legitimate early dismissal by showing her pitiful state to any teacher she passed?
With Hiyori, that was entirely possible.
Just as I was thinking that, Hiyori turned her back to the male students and began fiddling with her inner thigh.
Then, her eyes met mine, up on the bleachers.
“Oh? Matsuken!”
Hiyori walked toward me, looking pleased to see me.
It was funny how she walked up the rather high and wide bleachers one step at a time, leading with the same leg.
“What are you doing out here at this hour? Skipping class?”
“What are you talking about? Class just ended early.”
“Why’d it end early?”
“The teacher let us out early. Were you playing basketball?”
“Yeah. Aren’t you going to praise me?”
“Praise you for what?”
“For exercising.”
“Wasn’t that more of a talent show than exercise? You were super stiff.”
“Hey, what do you want me to do about being clumsy…!”
She feigned annoyance, but her reaction was quite something.
Deciding I needed to recharge my energy for the day, I flicked her ahoge.
Then I opened my mouth.
“Still, it was nice to watch. Seeing you play basketball, your legs look fine now.”
“They were killing me this morning, but I felt better after resting and giving myself a massage in the nurse’s office.”
So she did end up taking a break. What a character.
Still, I couldn’t believe the school nurse let her into the infirmary for mere muscle soreness.
A clear dereliction of duty. She deserves to be punished.
I’ll have to draw the curtain on a bed in the corner of the nurse’s office and order her to give me a paizuri between her voluptuous breasts.
In any case, the fact that her muscle soreness healed so quickly… does this mean the hypothesis that she was exaggerating her pain this morning now carries a lot more weight?
She did seem to be in pain just now, but not to the extent of being sick and groaning like she was in the morning.
Should I call this typical Hiyori…? It was utterly baffling.
“So, were you peeping?”
At Hiyori’s playful tone, I shook my head firmly and answered.
“Peeping? What are you talking about… Some kid was being loud, so my eyes just drifted over.”
“I wasn’t being loud.”
“That’s what you think. Give me some water.”
“You want to drink it?”
“Yeah.”
“100 yen.”
She was copying the exact same thing I did last time.
Smiling as if her cute act was ridiculous, I tried to snatch the water bottle from Hiyori with lightning speed.
But she pulled the bottle to her chest and turned her body to the side, catching me off guard for a moment.
“What are you doing?”
“You were going to snatch it.”
“You know me well. Hand it over before I take it.”
“Are you going to give me 100 yen?”
“Maybe 10 yen, but for 100 yen, I could just buy my own water, couldn’t I?”
“10 yen, then.”
Hmm. Our Hiyori seems like she’d be good at taking pocket money from kids.
“Fine. I’ll give it to you later.”
“Kay.”
I glanced at Hiyori as she obediently handed over the water, then tilted my head back and held the bottle up so my lips wouldn’t touch the cap.
As I tilted the bottle to drink,
“Boo!”
Hiyori tried to startle me and make me spill the water.
I’d expected as much, so I drank without reacting. Hiyori, looking embarrassed, smacked her lips.
After I finished drinking, I tilted the bottle slightly and wet my hand.
Then, I flicked my fingers at Hiyori’s face, spraying her with water.
Droplets splattered against her skin with a light patter.
Hiyori, who let out a strange exclamation like “Eugh!”, scrunched her long, slender eyebrows.
“What are you doing?”
“Spraying you with water.”
“Payback for earlier?”
“That’s right.”
“Okay. I’ll give you that.”
With a look that promised ‘next time,’ Hiyori nodded. The faint sheen of sweat on her long neck looked incredibly sensual.
I felt an urge to rush over and lick it right then and there.
Did she sense my gaze?
Hiyori, lightly brushing the water from her face, broke into a mischievous grin.
“A neck fetish?”
There she goes again, coming at me out of nowhere.
I let out a dry laugh and said.
“Stop talking nonsense and brush off that piece of plastic on your neck.”
Hiyori swept a hand over her neck and asked, looking puzzled.
“There’s nothing here. Where is it?”
Without answering, I reached for the translucent scrap stuck to the very base of Hiyori’s neck… right on her collarbone.
At the same time, a vein popped slightly on her neck.
It seemed she had tensed up unconsciously when I touched an unexpected spot.
She was so quick to joke about fetishes, yet she gets nervous from a simple touch.
Pretending not to notice her reaction, I showed her the small piece of plastic on my index finger.
“This.”
“Ah… that’s my collarbone, not my neck.”
“It’s a connecting part, so you can call it the neck.”
“You should have been more specific.”
“Say thank you first.”
“Why?”
“I took the plastic off for you.”
“Friends can do that much for each other.”
“Don’t get cheeky.”
“Alright, alright. What are you doing tonight? Hanging out with Hanazawa-senpai?”
She seems really conscious of Miyuki. Or am I mistaken?
Her tone is the same as usual, so it’s hard to tell.
“Not sure. Why?”
“I need a driver. After riding in a car once, I can’t stand public transport anymore.”
“You want to get scolded?”
“Just kidding. I was going to ask you to go to a cafe.”
“Just the two of us?”
“Nope. With Miho and my friends. What do you think? Wanna come?”
A thought just occurred to me. Hiyori seems to like cafes more than other girls.
Why is that? Does she want to chat with her friends about her day?
Or is it just the most standard place to hang out?
“No.”
At my firm refusal, Hiyori stuck out her lower lip as if she’d expected it.
Her expression was so haughty it made me want to give her a forehead flick.
“I’m heading back in. Don’t skip too much.”
At my words, Hiyori gave a bright smile and placed a hand on the side of her head.
Then she wiggled her fingers up and down.
“Okay. Bye-bye!”
The moment I heard that farewell, I stopped turning to leave, my eyes twitching as I looked down at Hiyori.
“Huh? What is it?”
Deciding that I needed to deepen my connection with her right here and now, I put on a serious face and asked the puzzled Hiyori.
“What did you just say?”
“Huh? That I understood?”
“After that.”
“After that? I said… bye-bye? Why?”
“You went to… where was it… Shinjuku with your friends a while back, right?”
“Shinjuku? I go there pretty often…”
“The big shopping district near the central park.”
“Ah, there…? When?”
“In the winter. It was probably during the school break.”
“Winter? Hmm…”
Hiyori thought back, then slowly nodded her head.
“I think I might have gone there.”
“I saw you there.”
“What…? You saw me, senpai?”
“Yeah. I was on a bus heading to a kendo tournament, and you were crossing an intersection, shouting ‘bye-bye’ loudly to your friends. I remember because you were dressed so lightly for the winter. Thinking back now, it was definitely you.”
“For real…?”
“You have a navy blue jacket at home, right? With red sleeves and two white lines on the arms.”
At the specific description, Hiyori’s eyes went wide.
“Oh!! I do!! The one with the white pocket lines, too! I guess it really was me…?”
“Looks like it.”
“Woaaah…!”
She let out a gasp filled with genuine awe.
She seemed amazed that I had seen her before we even enrolled here, before we even knew each other.
With a proud face, I grinned, showing my teeth.
At that, Hiyori, whose already large eyes were wide open, snapped her parted lips shut.
It seemed my bright, innocent smile—a sight she’d never seen before—had left her speechless.
I guess she was struck by this new side of me? A very positive reaction.
Looking down at Hiyori, I checked the time on my phone, then lightly patted her on the back as if it were no big deal, yet with a genuinely pleased expression.
“Good to see you. I’m off.”
Then, without waiting for her reply, I turned away.
“B-Bye…!”
Hiyori’s farewell came from behind me.
Hearing that dazed voice, as if she’d just snapped back to her senses, made me feel good.
Please think of it not as coincidence, but as a fated connection—or better yet, destiny.
Swallowing those words, I entered the building with a light spring in my step.