7. First Kiss
After school, at the judo club dojo.
Kuuung. Hwiik, kung.
" Hoo..."
Sweat trickled to the tip of my chin and plopped onto the mat. I swiped it away with my gi sleeve and let out a ragged breath. Around me, the judo club members lay sprawled across the floor, groaning and squirming.
At lunchtime, I'd lost my bet with that Golden-Tanned Delinquent and even had to endure the humiliating penalty of letting him call me by my first name.
I'd been throwing the club members around twice as ruthlessly as usual, deliberately trying to shake off my foul mood. They looked up at me with pitiful expressions, but it still wasn't enough.
Quit looking so aggrieved. This is definitely a valuable experience for you, too. Just be good little stress relievers for me today.
"Nishino. Something happen today? You're wrecking everyone."
"Well, something like that."
The captain-senpai tossed me a can of sports drink and laughed heartily. I took a sip and caught my breath, when the senpai fidgeted with the bandage on his wrist and spoke with an awkward expression.
"Hey, Nishino. I know it's a bit shameless of me, but could I ask you a favor?"
"Huh? What favor?"
"We need a training partner for Kurosawa while he prepares for the National Sports Festival. You're the only club member who can hold his own against him."
"...What? Why don't you do it yourself, Captain? You're stronger than me... Oh."
At my words, the captain-senpai awkwardly tapped his bandaged right wrist.
"You know I injured my wrist last week. The doctor told me not to move it much until the competition... And if I put him up against the others, he takes them down in one move, so it doesn't seem like much of a practice session. Besides, you threw Ren yesterday, didn't you?"
Seeing the captain-senpai plead with me so desperately made me soften. I understood that he couldn't push himself while injured, and I felt a little guilty taking up space in the dojo while not even competing in the National Sports Festival, just because I called judo my hobby...
Oh, whatever. I won last time, too, so it should be fine. This time, though, I had to finish it in an instant without letting him get the better of me. That way, my Fall Progress wouldn't go up. Just as I opened my mouth to agree, the changing-room door behind me opened, and a blond head emerged, wearing his gi jacket haphazardly.
"What's up, Captain?"
"Oh, Ren! I was just asking Nishino to spar with you. You don't mind, do you?"
He put both hands on his hips and gave me a sidelong glance. Then that familiar, sly, sarcastic smile spread across his lips.
"Ah~ With 'Yuka'?"
"Hm? Since when did you two get so close?"
Twitch. The vein in my forehead throbbed at the way he deliberately emphasized my name. Hoo, calm down. Calm down. Keep your composure. If I let him get under my skin, my Fall Progress would go up. Stay calm. I was taking deep breaths when he looked at me and gave a little laugh.
"But sorry, Captain. I'll pass."
Huh?
"Huh? Why? It'd be good for you, too."
"Well, she lost a bet to me at lunch and already looks pretty upset. What if she loses again and runs home crying for real? She's the judo club ace, so we ought to protect her pride."
"Hey! You son of a bitch!"
So that's how you want to play it, huh? Fine, I'll let that one slide!
A coin toss at lunchtime was just luck. Judo was different. Last time we sparred, I'd easily slammed him onto the mat with technique, even though he'd come at me relying only on his physical strength!
The experience of winning our first sparring match, and my review of it afterward. My mistake last time had been assuming his physical abilities were nothing special, just an ordinary rookie's. As a result, he'd subdued me right away, and I'd nearly lost by ippon.
But now I was absolutely certain and confident that if we went at it again, I'd win by a landslide. This was my chance to sew that obnoxious mouth shut and pay him back for the humiliation this morning, all in one go.
Winning was a given. What I needed was a perfect victory. I'd slam him down without facing a single moment of danger. If I did that, surely this Fall Progress or whatever would go down.
"Hey, Kurosawa."
"What?"
"If you're so confident, quit running your mouth and make another bet."
His eyes glinted. The corners of his mouth curled up as if he'd been waiting for me to say that.
"Oh. What kind of bet?"
"Since the captain just asked us to spar, let's have a clean match. If I win, I'm taking your permission to use my name back."
"What do I get if I win?"
"Um..."
As I hesitated, he tossed out a suggestion.
"How about you grant me one little wish?"
"What? Screw that. Who knows what you'd make me do?"
"But you won last time, Yuka. You've got the advantage anyway. If there isn't at least some kind of reward on the line, why would I bother?"
Hm. Fair enough. I wouldn't have done it either. But a wish was too dangerous. Who knew what kind of wish this guy might make? For all I knew, he might say, 'Be my slave for the rest of your life,' or some other piece of garbage... Of course, I wouldn't grant anything like that.
As I was lost in thought, he added,
"Just one week. It'll only be in effect for a week. How's that? And the wish itself will be, well, something reasonably minor. Nothing unreasonable."
"...If you ask for something shitty, I'm not doing it. I'm going to win anyway."
"Heh heh. Okay."
With that, he turned around, slowly tightened his belt, and walked to the center of the mat. His solid build and imposing presence were intimidating. But as I'd confirmed in our last spar, he had great physical abilities but lacked technique.
I was weaker than him. I accepted the difference in our strength. If I kept that in mind from the start and turned his strength against him, I was confident I could end this in an instant, even with the difference in our weight classes.
Soon, the captain's call signaled the start of the spar.
This time, I didn't rush in. I waited for him to move.
I wouldn't let my emotions or momentum carry me away this time. I'd use gentleness to overcome strength, turn his brute force against him, and slam him onto the mat.
I waited for the right moment. Until he charged at me and reached out to grab my lapel. At last, he moved. Just as expected, he was full of openings. I seized one, grabbed his arm, and slipped in toward his side.
'Hm?'
Something felt strange about his center of gravity under my fingertips. He was heavy, sure, but it felt like the weight of a rock that would easily topple with the right leverage. A smile crept over my face.
'...Hah. What was I so scared of? He's big, but his fundamentals really are lousy!'
Thinking back, it had been the same during our last spar. He'd relied on his physical abilities and charged at me, only to roll across the floor after getting caught up in my timing. The moment I saw his sloppy footwork, I was certain I'd win.
I didn't miss the split-second when his weight shifted toward me, and drove my hips deep into his center. I seized his sleeve and gripped it tight, then slid my shoulder beneath his right arm in a flawless shoulder-throw motion.
My form was perfect. The grip on his gi collar, the depth of my pivoting foot, even the angle that set his weight onto my back. It was an ippon technique so cleanly executed that I could count on one hand the number of times I'd performed one this perfect in my dozen-plus years of judo.
His heavy torso pressed firmly against my back, and I felt both his feet leave the mat and his body rise into the air with the force of my rotation.
'It's over!'
Just as a victorious smile spread across my lips, the weight that should have been floating in the air suddenly pressed down on my back.
"...What?"
Though he was slightly airborne, he used my shoulder as a pivot and twisted his body in the opposite direction.
The instant his body was lifted into the air by my throw, he used the centrifugal force to cling to my back and rotate in the opposite direction—a high-difficulty judo counterthrow. Uranage.
His left arm wrapped deep around my waist. I couldn't move at all. This bastard wasn't some rookie...
"You thought you'd won, didn't you?"
His low voice rang out clearly beside my ear.
With his arms still around my waist, he threw me over his back. The position was a lot like a suplex. My body flipped into the air, and the fluorescent lights on the ceiling came into view.
Kuuung!!
With a deafening crash, my entire back slammed into the dojo mat as if an earthquake had struck. The impact traveled up my spine to my brain, and all the air left my lungs at once with a gasp.
"Haaah...!"
[ Warning: Fall Progress has increased significantly. ]
[ Current Fall Progress: 10% (+3%) ]
Through the haze, I saw the huge figure of the guy in the hastily donned gi jacket.
"Hah, haaah..."
He looked down at me, sprawled out on the mat and panting, wiped the sweat beneath his chin with a finger, then slowly crouched down beside me. He poked my cheek with the tip of his index finger as I lay there, too drained to move. A bead of sweat fell from his blond hair and plopped onto my forehead.
"Glad I let you win last time. I never thought you'd let your guard down this much."
He'd pretended to let himself get hit by my technique and waited for my balance to falter as I committed to the throw. Then, at the perfect moment, he'd escaped and used the force of my own rotation to turn me over. A high-level mind game.
Damn it, he let me win last time? Then the reason my Fall Progress went up even though I won before was...
"I'll take that Wish Ticket, Yuka."
I couldn't even push away his hand as it gently stroked my hair. Along with the sound of his voice fading away, I slipped into unconsciousness.
**
...An unfamiliar ceiling. The distinctive smell of disinfectant tickled my nose, and a soft bed cover pressed against my back. I was in the school infirmary. When I tried to sit up, a dull ache swept through my entire back and lower back.
"Keck..."
"Oh, Yuka! Are you feeling a little more with it?"
The captain-senpai, sitting in a chair beside the infirmary bed, stood up with a startled expression and came over. The Golden-Tanned Delinquent was leaning crookedly against the wall by the door.
"Uh, what? Why am I here?"
"Don't you remember, Nishino? You passed out while sparring with Kurosawa. I had no idea Ren could pull off such an incredible counterthrow."
...Oh. Right. I lost. I did.
"...How many minutes was I out?"
"Not long. It's been about ten minutes since we brought you to the infirmary."
The captain-senpai wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed in relief. Then he lightly patted my shoulder, his expression a mix of regret and embarrassment.
"The school nurse checked you over for a bit, then went home. Apparently, you just fainted from the shock. Still, go to the hospital tomorrow morning."
"...Okay."
"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to take on Ren. I only put you through all that trouble. Get some rest for now, and head home carefully."
"It's fine, Captain. It's nothing to apologize for... I'm okay."
The captain-senpai apologized again, opened the infirmary door, and went outside. The sound of the door sliding shut, deururu, echoed through the quiet room.
"...Why aren't you leaving?"
At my sharp words, the Golden-Tanned Delinquent pushed himself off the wall, walked slowly over to the chair beside the bed, and plopped down. He propped his chin on his hand and gave me that familiar, sly smile.
"I came to check on the loser. How are you feeling, judo club ace?"
"Shut up... You pretended to lose, you underhanded bastard..."
I glared at him, grinding my teeth, and he chuckled softly.
"Strategy is part of skill. It's your fault for letting your guard down, isn't it? But a bet's a bet. You remember our promise, right?"
For a moment, my head spun. 'Something reasonably minor that would be in effect for a week.' I had no idea what kind of bullshit he was going to pull, so I steeled myself and swallowed before asking,
"...What is it? Tell me."
He paused as though enjoying my reaction, then leaned his upper body toward me. Along with his unpleasant scent, his whisper came at my ear.
"For the next week, whenever I want, I get to kiss you."
"...Bweh?"
I couldn't believe my ears. I stared blankly at him, eyes wide, wondering if I'd misheard, but he was whistling, just to piss me off.
"W-w-w-w-what the hell is wrong with you?! How is that a little wish, you psycho, chauvinist pig, pervert!"
"What? I'm not making you my slave for life or anything. I'm just asking to kiss you for a week. Isn't that plenty minor? It's reasonable, right?"
I screamed and reached out to shove him in the chest, but Ren easily caught my wrist and pinned it down on the bed. I was completely subdued. He leaned close to my face and whispered in a low voice.
"Why am I suddenly the bad guy here? It was a fair bet. It's not like Nishino Yuka is going to refuse to accept the result of a match."
"Are you fucking kidding me? No! Fuck you, asshole...!"
Just as I started thrashing and screaming to call the captain,
[ You lost the match. Accept the result. ]
[ Warning: Compulsion activated! ]
[ Nishino Yuka cannot resist Kurosawa Ren's kiss. ]
[ Time remaining: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes ]
"What...!"
Chuuup.
That was my first kiss.