Chapter 531

"Isn't this a bit much...? It's the first day of school..."

"Tell me about it... I thought we'd finish early..."

The grumbling voices of the underclassmen drifted over.

I completely understood how they felt. Except for a tiny handful, the rest of the clubs took it easy on the first day or had no schedule at all.

He should have let the members who only joined the Kendo Club as a hobby leave freely...

Just as they said, Goro was being a bit too harsh.

I approached the two juniors whispering in the corner and gave a small wave.

"Hey."

They flinched, then quickly offered polite standing bows with brightened expressions.

"Hello, sunbae-nim."

"Yeah. Having any trouble?"

"Trouble? What do you mean?"

"I noticed your posture was a little off earlier. Want me to take a look?"

"Ah, I'd really appreciate that."

One of the girls beamed and stepped forward.

She had better realize I was only being nice to her because she was a girl.

If it had been a guy, he wouldn't have gotten anything but nagging.

As I was correcting the junior's posture in a friendly tone, I noticed Renka looking my way.

The corner of her mouth twitched as she instructed another junior.

It seemed my sweet demeanor toward other girls rubbed her the wrong way. But she was too scared of getting scolded to confront me about it... yet too irritated to just let it go...

I could practically hear her inner thoughts from here.

"Stay right there... don't drop your hands. Exactly. Hold this position."

Pressing close behind the girl, I manually guided her hands—which were wrapped around the shinai—into the proper positions.

Then I smiled and said, "It might be boring and difficult, but you'll feel proud of yourself if you keep at it."

"Ah... I-I'm sorry."

I didn't know if that apology was for practically gossiping earlier, or for the fact that I was basically back-hugging her while fixing her posture.

But it didn't really matter. The important thing was that my skills had improved enough to correct a junior's posture.

Renka didn't say anything, and neither did Chinami or the other seniors.

I felt proud; the fact that they stayed quiet meant my Kendo skills were genuinely that good.

Wait, did I even have a reason to be proud? I was going to quit anyway... I shouldn't get swept up in the mood.

"Matsuda, can you come here for a second?"

Having finished correcting the junior's posture, I walked over to Renka at her call.

"You're calling me by my last name now, unlike before."

"...Whatever. Go fold the towels over there."

"Didn't you say I didn't have to do manager work today?"

"Just do it when I tell you to."

Was seeing me with another girl really that much of an eyesore?

If she was this jealous now, what was she going to do later on... I was seriously worried.

"Fine. But can you handle the consequences?"

"Wh-What... Why are you bringing up consequences all of a sudden?"

"For bossing me around."

"Don't be so petty...! This is the Kendo Club...!"

"So I should follow my superior's orders?"

"Of course you should...!"

"That last order felt a bit unfair."

"Wh-What's unfair about it...!"

"You clearly said the manager work was..."

"Ah, stop it...! Just don't do it."

She really was scared of the fallout.

Seeing as how she hurriedly cut me off and waved me away.

Chuckling at her sudden change in attitude, I stepped up beside Chinami, who was practicing in the corner.

"Shall we practice together?"

"Ah, yes. You looked cool earlier."

"Doing what?"

"When you were teaching the other juniors. I'm glad to see our own junior has become a respectable and excellent Kendo practitioner."

Ah... I wanted to scatter my seed wildly inside our angelic Chinami.

I wanted her to carry my child. But if we did have a baby, what kind of personality would it have?

I wondered if they would be pure and kind like Chinami, or the total opposite—a little troublemaker.

Time would answer that question.

It would take a long time, of course, but it would be answered eventually.

After club activities ended and I listened to Goro's well-wishes alongside Renka and Chinami, I went to the Academy's main gate to wait for Miyuki.

It wasn't long before she trudged down the stairs with her hair in a messy tangle. Judging by her expression, Student Council work had been more than a little hectic.

"I'm here."

"What's wrong with your face?"

"What's wrong with it?"

Telling her she looked like she had aged a decade would be way too rude.

But it was the absolute truth.

Instead of answering, I gently patted down the frizzy crown of Miyuki's hair.

With her shoulders slumped like a zombie, she lifted only her head to look at me and asked, "Are you driving the others home?"

The "others" meant the three heroines, including Renka.

I could have asked for Miyuki's opinion here, but I decided against it.

Rather than giving Miyuki a choice, pushing my own agenda was the better move—both for now and for the future.

Besides, I had already told the three of them to come to the parking lot, so I didn't have much of a choice to begin with.

"Yeah."

"Really? Where are they?"

"The President and Master will be at the parking lot in five minutes, and Hiyori should be there by now."

"Let's hurry and go, then."

Miyuki linked her arm through mine without showing any signs of distaste.

I was so pleased that Miyuki understood my desires that, uncaring of who might be watching, I planted a deep kiss on the crown of her head.

"Ah, don't do that...! My hair smells...!"

The way she hurriedly covered her head with both hands was adorable.

"It doesn't smell."

"Even so, don't."

"No."

"Unbelievable, honestly..."

She sounded exasperated, but the corners of Miyuki's lips were turned up in a smile.

Seeing that smile made all the day's stress melt away like snow.

I figured this was just another part of Miyuki's boundless tolerance.

When we arrived at the parking lot, I spotted Hiyori leaning crookedly against my car.

Fiddling with her Cell Phone, she caught sight of us, smacked her lips, and limply raised a hand over her head.

"Yo."

She looked like a dying fish ready for the slicing board.

Was that metaphor a bit much? She just looked that utterly drained.

"Is something wrong?"

Miyuki asked the exact question I was about to ask.

Hiyori let out a heavy sigh and replied, "I'm sleepy."

"Huh...?"

"I feel like I'll fall asleep the second I close my eyes."

"Ah... so you're just sleepy?"

"Yes."

"I-I see..."

Miyuki nodded with a bewildered expression.

She must have been caught off guard that someone looking like death warmed over was merely sleepy.

Before long, Renka and Chinami approached us, having changed out of their uniforms.

Perhaps because they had all ridden in the car together that morning, neither of them nor Hiyori showed any signs of awkwardness.

Relieved, I opened the driver's side door.

A sudden thought struck me: if all four of them had kids, what kind of car would I need to switch to?

I wondered if I'd have to buy something like a limousine with a massive backseat.

After dropping the three of them off at their respective homes, I finally parked the car in front of Miyuki's house.

I got out, walked behind Miyuki as she stepped out of the passenger seat, adjusted the heavy bag on her shoulder, and said, "What's in your bag that makes it so heavy?"

"Just things. Textbooks for prep."

"Take it easy and pace yourself."

"I will. Want to come in and have dinner before you go?"

"If I eat, I'll probably want to sleep over."

"Then you can just sleep over."

"Should I?"

"Yeah. We can study together, too."

Chuckling at Miyuki's unwavering passion for studying, I kissed her forehead.

She grumbled about her face being oily, but I sent her inside, got back into my car, and was about to drive out of the neighborhood when—

'Hmm...'

I suddenly didn't want to leave, so I turned the steering wheel, parked in front of Miyuki's house again, got out, and rang the doorbell.

Not long after the cheerful ding-dong of the bell, the door opened and Kanna greeted me.

"Why are you coming in separately?"

I couldn't believe those were her first words to me the second she saw me...

She could have at least said hello. It was a little disappointing.

"I was going to head back, but I changed my mind."

"To sleep over?"

"Yes. If possible."

"Mom and Dad will obviously say yes, so it's possible."

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"Will you leave if I say no?"

"No."

"Then come in."

After that somewhat confusing, offbeat conversation with Kanna, I stepped inside.

I came back to Miyuki's house purely on instinct.

I got this slightly irritating... feeling.

Not an ominous feeling, but an unpleasant one.

"Get back out."

"I don't want to."

"Alright."

After exchanging some silly banter with Kanna, I greeted Midori and Wataru, then headed up to the second floor. Miyuki, who was pulling her Cell Phone away from her ear and slipping it into her back pocket, widened her eyes at me.

"What? Why are you back?"

"To sleep over with you."

"Earlier you said you were staying, but then you left?"

"I changed my mind."

"Why?"

"Because I want to be with you."

One corner of Miyuki's lips began to twitch.

She clearly couldn't hide her joy at my direct show of affection, could she? I was happy that she liked it.

"Want to go inside first? I'm going to take a shower."

"Sure."

"Or should we shower together?"

Together? In Miyuki's house?

Just the two of us? While Midori and Wataru were still awake?

This was a huge surprise. Miyuki had really become a lot more open-minded.

"Should we?"

"Yeah. As you know, Matsuda-kun, the bathroom isn't very big. So..."

"I won't do anything weird."

"I-I wasn't thinking that...! I was just going to tell you to bear with it if it's a bit cramped... Just what on earth were you thinking to say that...?"

"I get it."

"You don't get anything... Seriously... Phew..."

Sighing like a mother of two, Miyuki shot a quick glance down the stairs and beckoned to me.

It was her way of telling me to hurry up, get ready, and head to the bathroom. Nodding, I went into Miyuki's room and grabbed a few of my clothes from her closet.