CH 55

All the matches were over.

At the end, the class that won the overall competition was announced, and of course, it was our class that won.

The boys’ baseball team and the girls’ basketball team were both ranked first in all their classes.

For the boys’ side, Yuuichi had a huge role in it.

He hit a home run as well as various doubles.

I was the one that threw the most pitches and I think I did pretty well too.

The one that did the most on the girl’s side, of course, would most likely be Sei-chan.

The match that drew the most attention out of everyone was most definitely Sei-chan against Tojoin-san.

The enthusiasm during the game and the excitement after it ended was amazing.

I guess it’s only natural to do so after seeing such a crazy game unfold before your eyes.

But well, it was an amazing game. 

It was already too cool for someone like Sei-chan, it was too great.

Now both men and women are going ham over Sei-chan and Tojoin-san.

It was now past six o’clock.

Our class started an afterschool celebration party.

“All right everyone! Have you got your glasses ready? We can’t drink alcohol till we’re twenty!”

Yuuichi stood up as the representative of the group and took the lead, while everyone else just sat down and listened to him.

“Good job today! Congratulations on our win! Cheers!”

In a beat, a mix between men and women, the sound ‘KANPAIIII!’ erupted loudly.

There was a large Izakaya near the school in which we rented out a huge tatami room. [TLN: Izakaya is a Japanese pub. It’s different from western pubs so I left it in.]

As long as you don’t order alcohol, I think it’s fine for high school students to go into a pub. Why were we able to rent out such a large room, you ask?

Well, normal high school students wouldn’t be able to rent out such a big room but there was one particular student who wasn’t that normal.

“Yuuichi! Thank you for your hard work! It was a good speech so I took a video of it.”

“Thank you, Kaori, but please delete the video, okay? Also, why are you at this party even though we’re in different classes?”

Yes, Kaori Tojoin was seated right next to Yuuichi.

“My, how could you rent this place out without me.”

“That’s very nice of you but wasn’t there a party for your class as well? Didn’t they place second?”

“It’s okay, a party without Yuuichi is a party not worth going to.”

“Do you have any friends in your own class? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Thank you for your concern, Yuuichi. I’m fine, I can communicate well with  the females in my class, but not so much with the men though.”

So for some reason, Tojoin-san was at our class party instead of hers.

Well, it’s all thanks to Tojoin-san that we can even have such a big room with insanely gorgeous and delicious food.

If we went the normal route, we would have just ended up in a family diner somewhere.

It seems like this restaurant is run by the Tojoin group so we wouldn’t need to fork a single penny either. [TLN: Another thing about Izakaya is that it also functions as a restaurant and serves good food unlike the snacks in western pubs.]

What power and money, as expected from the Tojoin group.

After the speech, the party went on with everyone being full and separating into different groups to chat among themselves.

Yuuichi and I didn’t move from our seats nor did Tojoin-san who was sitting next to Yuuichi.

Everyone was full except for Yuuichi who just kept eating.

“As expected of Yuuichi. You’re always eating at your own pace.”

“It’s too good to leave behind so casually.”

There was a lot of leftover food because there were many meals that were shared by everyone in the room.

In the midst of all this, Yuuichi ate alone the entire time while talking with Tojoin-san.

“Fufu, I like this kind of Yuuichi too.”

“HMM! Y-Yeah…”

“My, did you get embarrassed?”

“I-I’m not embarrassed!”

They just entered into a world of their own…

The reason why there weren’t any girls swarming around Yuuichi, who was the best player on the team right now, was obviously because Tojoin-san was here.

However, the only girl who had the courage to face her finally sat down next to him.

“Good job, Shigemoto-kun. You were extremely cool in today’s match.”

“Ah, Thank you Fujise. I’m sorry to say but you were a lot more impressive than I thought you were.”

“Ahaha, it was nothing compared to Sei-chan though.”

“No, well, Shimada-san is a bit out of the ordinary…”

Having said that, they both glanced at Sei-chan.

I looked over to see that she was surrounded by girls.

“Shimada-san, you were really great! You were too cool!”

“O-Oh thanks.”

“Your form when you took a shot was amazing! I don’t know what that was but you looked extremely cool.”

“When you jumped to block Tojoin-san’s shot, you looked way more handsome than any of the other boys.” [TLN: Yuri?] [EDN: Yuri.]

“Y-Yeah…”

A group of colorful girls surrounded Sei-chan and were talking about the match happily.

Sei-chan was overwhelmed by the girls’ enthusiasm, but smiled a little shyly.

It’s a little sad I haven’t been able to talk to Sei-chan since we came to the party though…

Well it can’t be helped. If you were that good, you were bound to be noticed by someone or the other.

“Kaori was really good but she just couldn’t beat Shimada-san.”

Whoa, as expected of Yuuichi. To step past landmines with such ease.

It felt like the temperature had dropped a little bit around Yuuichi’s area.

It’s a line I wouldn’t dare to touch but Yuuichi touched it so easily with no hesitation whatsoever.

“…Yes, that’s right. It was my complete defeat this time.”

Kaori Tojoin had been undefeated in both athletics and her studies.

If there was a test in elementary, junior high, or high school. She would have only taken first place and nothing else.

In sports, even though she doesn’t participate much in any club activities, she still beats the ones who were actively participating in the club.

But this time, for the first time in her life, she has been completely defeated in a sporting event.

She was indeed a little depressed at that.

“I didn’t expect Shimada-san to go to that level, but if there’s a next time, I’ll definitely win. Because I’m Kaori Tojoin, remember?”

Tojoin-san smiled fearlessly as she said that.

That strength and coolness is what Kaori Tojoin is all about.

“Yeah, good luck!”

“Yes, thank you.”

At Yuuichi’s words, Tojoin-san showed a cute smile.

They just entered into their own world again…

“Shigemoto-kun, you have some rice on your mouth.”

“Oh, really? Where?”

“Over here.”

Fujise picked up a grain of rice on Yuuichi’s cheek with her finger and ate it with a bite.

“Fufu, cute.”

“……!”

She gave a mischievous smile after eating the rice grain as she went up close.

Even Yuuichi, who was famous for his denseness, blushed as expected.

“Hey Fujise, isn’t it a bit immodest to eat a grain of rice off a man’s cheek?”

“Eh really? If it was Tojoin-san she would have taken it off Yuuichi’s cheeks and eaten it too, you know?”

“I won’t. If it was me, it would definitely be better to eat it off with your mouth instead.”

“Oh, I’d like to do that too.”

“No, no, no. Let’s not do that. It’s too embarrassing.”

Yuuichi, who was red-faced and stunned, was also torn apart by their conversation.

“Yuuichi put a grain of rice on your other cheek. I’ll take it off for you.”

“No, I didn’t mean to put it on my cheek on purpose. Besides, the way things are going, you’re going to put your mouth directly on my cheek and take it off, won’t you?”

“Eh? Why shouldn’t I?”

“No. It’s embarrassing in so many ways.”

“Fufu, that’s too bad Tojoin-san.”

Why do I have to watch the scuffle between the three of them…?

There was a look on Yuuichi’s face that looked as if he needed my help in this situation. But I honestly couldn’t care less.