Chapter 367: Confrontation #2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 367: Confrontation #2
“Why is Asahina here?”
The question was clearly for me.
But Hiyori was the one who answered.
“I’m here to learn how to work out from Matsuken-senpai.”
“Work out?”
“I’ve gained a little weight recently. I want to go on a diet.”
“Is that so?”
Miyuki crossed her arms, her expression nonchalant.
She looked fine on the outside, but to me, the air around her felt menacing.
Miyuki’s gaze swept over my face.
I should have been confident, but that feeling vanished, and I found myself wanting to avoid her eyes.
“I was on my way to work out with Matsuda-kun, too. Let’s do it together, then.”
It seemed she had no intention of saying anything right now.
She probably planned to send Hiyori away first and talk to me alone. That was just like Miyuki.
“Huh? You’re going to work out in flip-flops?”
Hiyori looked at her, bewildered, as if asking what she was talking about.
Miyuki scoffed and pointed inside the gate.
“I have clothes to wear in there. Just wait, I’ll go change.”
“Did you really come here to work out?”
“I just said I did.”
“Matsuken-senpai didn’t say anything about it.”
“Of course he didn’t. I came without telling him.”
Thinking they might start an open fight if I left them alone, I spoke to Miyuki in a gentle voice.
“Go get changed. I’ll wait.”
“Okay.”
While Miyuki went inside to change, Hiyori poked me in the side with her elbow.
Then, she asked in a mischievous tone.
“Are you in trouble?”
“Nothing like that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Seems like you are.”
Thwack.
Instead of answering, I flicked Hiyori’s ahoge as she made that suggestive comment. When Miyuki emerged, having changed at incredible speed, I bit my lower lip.
The bows on her shoelaces were uneven.
Considering Miyuki’s usual meticulous personality, where she pays close attention to even the smallest details, it was clear how badly she didn’t want to leave me and Hiyori alone.
The situation is a little scary, but it’s also fun.
As I had that thought, Miyuki, now in shorts that revealed her thighs, came over and stood there blankly. I faced her from a suitable distance.
“You’re supposed to hold my shoulders and bend over.”
“Huh…? Oh, right…”
She flinched slightly at my words, which were a signal to start stretching, then placed her hands on my shoulders as I bent my knees a little.
Even though this was her first time doing this kind of exercise with me, the way she said “right” and pretended to be familiar with it was incredibly cute.
“Wow, you’re so flexible.”
That was Hiyori’s observation as she watched Miyuki bounce, using momentum while bent all the way over.
She naturally moved behind me, grabbed my waist, and started to bend over. I said to her,
“Miyuki is flexible, but you’re also unusually stiff.”
“I can be flexible too if I just put my mind to it, you know.”
“You think it’s something you can just decide to do?”
“I don’t think it’s impossible.”
“It’s probably genetic, so it’ll be tough.”
“You can do anything with practice.”
“But you don’t practice.”
“I’m going to start now.”
If anyone else saw this, they might think it looked like two bulls headbutting each other with a wall between them.
Just before Miyuki, who had finished her light stretching, straightened up, Hiyori let go of my t-shirt.
Such a foxy move, like she was sending a signal meant only for me.
I have a feeling that starting today, my academy life is going to get a lot more intense.
Lifting one leg back and pulling the top of the foot, or clasping her hands, raising them high, and stretching to the side…
Miyuki, who had been staring holes through me while finishing her stretches on her own, let out a sharp breath. “Hoo!”
“All done.”
“Shall we get going now?”
“Yeah.”
“Asahina, are you ready?”
I turned to Hiyori and asked, and she tilted her head to one side before answering.
“Nope.”
“Good enough. Let’s go.”
“Kay.”
She was being difficult just a moment ago, and now she's suddenly changed her tune.
Forcibly suppressing a laugh, I started the brisk walk with Hiyori and Miyuki, who was shooting daggers at her.
* * *
“Tired?”
“Hah… hah… No? I’m not tired.”
Anyone could see she was panting. What does she mean, not tired…
Our Miyuki might have great stamina at night, but her basic fitness is lacking.
I guess it’s because Hiyori is here, making her tense up.
Walking backward to watch them, I checked on Hiyori, who now had a soulless expression on her face.
“What about you?”
“.... I’m not tired either…?”
It was absurd that even Hiyori, who I expected to start whining, was pretending to be fine, as if she were competing with Miyuki.
Even though she looked like she was about to die.
Their pace had slowed noticeably, and now they were practically just walking, not even looking at each other. The two of them looked like comedians on a variety show.
I’d intentionally made them do a brisk walk that was closer to a run to tire them out a bit, but it was impossible to continue.
Having made my decision, I stopped them and opened the nozzle of the squeeze bottle I was holding.
Without a word, both of them simultaneously approached and started to reach out their hands.
It was a clear sign they wanted it first.
I’d never imagined such an awkward situation would arise. After a moment of hesitation, I turned the water bottle upside down.
And then I said,
“Both of you, open your mouths.”
At that, Miyuki and Hiyori came right up to me without any hesitation and opened their mouths, like puppies waiting to be petted.
What kind of scene was this?
I could see Hiyori doing it, but I never expected Miyuki to act like that.
Are we filming a comedy sketch?
They must be really tired and desperate for water… This is incredibly awkward.
In the end, the choice I made was to squeeze the bottle and give them water as if I were squirting ketchup, starting with Miyuki, aiming for the corners of their mouths.
Since their faces weren't pressed right up against it, water inevitably trickled down from the corners of their mouths, and the scene was surprisingly sensual.
In the distant future, I wonder if I’ll get to see them do this with a different kind of liquid?
Just imagining it is ecstatic; I can’t even fathom what it would be like to experience it for real.
“Don’t drink it all at once, hold it in your mouth and…”
Before I could even finish my advice, they both gulped down the water in their mouths.
Immediately after, they both made refreshed expressions. Their personalities are different, and they clearly have issues with each other, but their actions are so… like twins.
If they got along, couldn’t they be a great match, like Renka and Chinami?
Holding onto that hope, I jerked my thumb over my shoulder, pointing in the direction of the house.
“That’s enough for today. Let’s go back and shower.”
At my words, Miyuki shot a sideways glance at Hiyori.
Sharing the bathroom was clearly awkward for her, but it seemed she thought forbidding it would be going too far.
Even though Miyuki isn’t fond of Hiyori, her kind heart is still the same.
If only Hiyori could understand Miyuki’s consideration…
“Can I use the big bathroom?”
Seeing her say that with such a straight face, I realized that understanding was a very, very distant emotion for her.
Miyuki let out a breath of disbelief, but seemed to just let it go, as if she didn't even want to waste words on Hiyori.
Then her gaze fell to Hiyori’s legs, and she furrowed her brow.
“Wait a minute…”
“Yes?”
Miyuki looked down at a bewildered Hiyori.
Squinting, she scrutinized Hiyori’s shoes, then spoke as if she’d remembered something.
“....Hey, were you late to school recently?”
At that, Hiyori’s body gave a tiny, almost unnoticeable flinch.
She had just realized that the shoes she was wearing now were the same ones she’d worn when she ran away from Miyuki the other day.
“Recently, when?”
“The week before last, I think? Around then.”
“I don’t know about last week, but I definitely went to school the week before last.”
“You really weren’t?”
“I wasn’t. Why do you ask?”
Hiyori’s confidence seemed to waver slightly.
Well, she had escaped a situation where she would have definitely gotten demerit points, so for someone with at least some conscience, she must feel a little guilty.
“The shoes are the same as the girl who ran away then.”
“These are pretty popular shoes, so a lot of other people wear them too.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I know you have a prejudice against me, senpai, but aren’t you being a little too obvious about singling me out as the culprit…?”
But you are the culprit.
“When did I say you were the culprit? I just asked. You must have a guilty conscience, huh?”
“I have nothing to hide. Senpai…”
Looking at the shape of her mouth, it seemed like the word ‘tone’ was about to come out.
If it went that far, it would stop being a cute squabble and turn into something that would hurt them both.
To prevent that from happening, I shoved the water bottle into Hiyori’s mouth before she could say anything.
“Eub!?”
Her mouth completely blocked, Hiyori’s hands instinctively grabbed the bottle.
It felt like giving a baby bottle to a whining child and watching them instantly quiet down.
Even so, the way she was sucking on the bottle was surprisingly sexy.
I gave a grin to Hiyori, whose eyes narrowed in displeasure, then patted the back of Miyuki, who wore the same expression, and headed home.
Afterward, I quickly washed my face at the bathroom sink and came out.
Shaaaaaa-!
The sound of powerful streams of water coming from the bathrooms on either side created an atmosphere of a lull before the second round.
They hadn’t really had a proper fight, but from my perspective, it was still nerve-wracking.
The first one to finish showering was Miyuki.
She was wearing one of my boxy t-shirts, the sleeves coming down to her elbows.
The shorts were mine too. Considering she rarely wore my shorts, saying they were too big, it seemed like she was trying to make a point to Hiyori.
“Were you two planning to meet alone?”
Miyuki said as she approached, drying her hair with a towel.
Unlike her usual calm and thoughtful self, her words were laced with thorns.
I moved behind her and answered while carefully drying her hair.
“If I’d been planning that, I wouldn’t have met her here. We would’ve worked out somewhere else. I even gave you a key to the house, so why would I choose such a risky place?”
At that, Miyuki’s gaze softened a little.
“....That’s true. But…”
Just as Miyuki was about to continue,
Click.
The bathroom door opened, and Hiyori, finished with her shower, stepped out.
And Miyuki’s eyes went wide when she saw Hiyori, who was wearing a t-shirt so sheer you could see her orange bra right through it.
“Wh-what are you doing wearing something so see-through?”
“It’s fashion, why? I always dress like this.”
Hiyori looked down at herself, examining every inch as if to ask what the problem was.
Miyuki stared at her in bewilderment, taking in the short shorts that barely covered her butt and left her legs completely exposed.
“If you always dress like that, then… I guess it’s not my place to say anything…”
“I’m heading home now, can I borrow Matsuken-senpai?”
“Borrow him?”
“Yep. He promised to give me a ride. The streets are scary at night. It’s dangerous.”
“....Fine. Then go together.”
“Oh, then should we get a late-night snack together?”
“Didn’t you say you were on a diet? If you eat after working out, you’ll gain weight.”
“Then why are you going to eat, senpai? Aren’t you on a diet like me?”
“I’m just maintaining my weight.”
“I’m working out to maintain my weight, too.”
“You said you were on a diet before we started. You just said it again, too.”
Hiyori’s lips jutted out in a pout.
She seemed annoyed that her argument had been so easily refuted.
Miyuki’s face, on the other hand, was much brighter than before.
After being pushed around by Hiyori the whole time, she seemed pleased to have successfully landed a counterattack.
My dear Hiyori… You should really think before you speak…
I’ll have to comfort her tomorrow.
“Shall we go?”
Miyuki said, then pressed her nose to my chest and sniffed.
“You don’t smell too sweaty, so a quick trip should be fi— Hey, what are you doing…?”
She, who had been acting so confident, drunk on her victory, was completely startled.
Because Hiyori had suddenly come over, grabbed the hem of my shirt, and buried her face in it.
While Miyuki and even I stood there stunned, Hiyori sniffed a few times and said nonchalantly,
“You don’t smell like sweat, just fabric softener. It’s nice.”
I thought things were starting to calm down, but it looks like the battle will continue.