Chapter 2: A Former Popular Idol Was Treated As A Surplus At A Party, So I Take It Back With Me


TL: Akabane


***


The party seems to be at a rental space with karaoke near the university, and I decide to go back to my apartment once to take a shower.


I come back to my room, take a shower to rinse off my body, and when I'm done changing, I put on the black jacket I borrowed from Azaki and leave the room.


"Ugh. It's a little cold."


A cold wind still blows through Tokyo in early spring.


My body was warm from kicking a ball earlier, but after taking a shower, my body couldn't stand the cold, so I bought a pocket warmer at a convenience store along the way and stuck my hand in the pocket of my jacket.


"Hmm?　What's this?"


My hand grabbed a rubberized contraceptive and a piece of paper.


"......That erotic kid. Why the hell did you put this in there?!"


I said that, but I tucked the item into my wallet. (Well?　Because that's the way it might turn out.)


"So, what the hell is this paper that was in there with it......?"


As I opened the paper, which was folded in several layers, I saw what looked like letters.


[To my best friend, Makishima.]


A letter addressed to me?　


[Makishima, I have a mission for you. At this party, all the guys except you are to sit in front of the girls you are aiming at. So, you, who have no target, sit in front of the extra seat and take home the extra girl in front of you!　From Azaki]


I don't understand why you bother with the letter. ......So you're saying that they have a girl they're after and I'm supposed to go along with the extra girl.


That guy from Azaki is too convenient, isn't he? He wants me to be grateful for participating, but he wants me to take home the extra girl?


"Damn it!　You've got to be kidding me!"


As I angrily tries to tear the letter open, I happens to notice that there is a letter on the other side as well.


[If you complete the mission, there will be a reward. The reward is the new spikes you've been wanting for tens of thousands of yen, plus five sets of brand new stockings, plus two SS tickets to the Tokyo Frontier Section 3 game (go with that girl!). That's a total of 60,000 yen. I'm serious, please, Makishima!!!]


Azaki you......


Damn, I got the best friends!


"Spike!"


I wanted a new Spike, and this mission was too good for me.


I mean, I could get 60,000 yen worth of merchandise just for having one blind date (sort of like a part-time job), that's just too good!


I was so excited that I headed to the venue.


I arrived at one of the rental spaces located five minutes from the university.


I hear laughter coming from inside the room.


It sounds like the party is already in full swing.


"Excuse me."


"Makishima, you're late."


"Sorry, sorry."


I wink at Azaki as I walk in.


I winked at him as I walked in.


[Welcome, Makishima!]


[I'm here, buddy. Give me your spikes quickly.]


Inside the rental space were three boys and four girls from the soccer club.


They were happily conversing with each other across a long table, but when I walked in, the girls' eyes were drawn to me.


"Um, I'm Yutaro Makishima. I'm in the soccer club with these guys."


"Makishima-kun, hello!"


"Hey, sit down, Makishima-kun!"


A girl with strong straight hair and a girl with a short bob urged me to sit down at the end of the boys' group.


"Aihara, Makishima-kun is here. Good for you."


"Hey, Yuko, stop it."


A girl named Aihara sits diagonally in front of me on my right side with her side up.


She must be the girl Azaki is after.


She certainly has the cutest face by far compared to the other girls.


I'm sure she's the one with the prettiest face compared to the other girls, but that doesn't matter.


To me, the girl sitting in front of me looks like Spike.


They're the new, super-light and well-fitting spikes.


I tried on those spikes at the store the other day, but couldn't get my hands on them.


"Well, let's talk one-on-one until the food arrives, shall we?　We can play roulette on the app to decide who to talk to first."


At Azaki's suggestion, everyone responded, "Yay," and the roulette turned.


***


The one-on-one conversations took up the full room, with each person talking at a distance.


Once we were done talking, we were free to talk with any girl we felt we hadn't talked enough with.


I talked with a loose-fitting girl first, and then a strong-willed girl, so I introduced myself and talked about various things.


Both of them seemed like modern college girls. The loose-fitting Takano seemed to be uploading fashion videos on SNS and had more than 100,000 followers.


The strong-willed Igarashi is a member of the track and field club, and has won consecutive national championships in elementary, junior high, and high school.


Aihara came in after Igarashi.


"Let's see ...... Aihara, this is Yuzu Aihara. Makishima-kun, right?"


"Oh, oh."


Aihara blinked awkwardly and didn't make eye contact with me even once.


I haven't even spoken to her yet, did I do something wrong?


"I happened to watch the B team's game the other night."


"That's the one where I missed the trap and they decided to counter it, right?　I'm not cool, am I?"


"That's not true!　That was just because Makishima-kun, a FW player, was down in the middle of the field, which he was not used to, so he was pressed hard by the opponents' volante, and lost the ball."


"Uh, Aihara?"


"......!"


Aihara, who had been eagerly making excuses for me, came to her senses and blushed when I called out to her.


"I like soccer!"


"Oh, what's your favorite team?"


"East Flo!"


I'm from the countryside, but I'm a fan of Tokyo Frontier!


Oh, no, no, no, no.


When it comes to soccer, I get carried away.


I'm sure this is the girl that Azaki is after, so I have to play the post for him like a forward and assist him.


"Well, then, she'd be a good match for Azaki, wouldn't she?　He looks like he has a high deviation from soccer, and his coach says he'll be a starter for the A team next year."


"Yeah, right. .....Haha."


Aihara picks up his juice with a dry smile on her face.


Maybe this girl doesn't like Azaki?


But if I don't give the bastard Azaki an assist, I might not get my spike.


"Next is Azaki, right?　He's a flirtatious guy, but he's really a very nice guy!"


".....Yeah."


"I think he and Aihara would get along."


That's when it happened.


A skin-white hand reached out between me and Aihara.


"Aihara-san. I've already finished, so I came here......."


The last one of the group of girls.


The girl with the red catsuit and glasses who was sitting in front of me. She wore a black mask and her expression was completely unreadable.


"I'm sorry, Sasaki."


Aihara bailed out and went toward Azaki, leaving, "I'll come back when I can talk to you again."


Aihara nodded and turned to Azaki, "I did the best I could do, Azaki. Now all you have to do is hang in there."


".....Hey, what's your name?"


The girl who interrupted my conversation with Aihara earlier asked me my name.


"I'm Yutaro Makishima."


"Hmm."


A little different from the previous girls, she is rather mysterious, with wavy medium-short hair and thin eyebrows.


She is about 160 cm tall, with unhealthily pure white skin and an awfully slender body. Her legs are as thin as sticks, as if they would break if stepped on.


"I am Ayane Sasaki."


Ayane Sasaki, right?


She looks quite different from the other three.


The clothes she wears are in subdued colors, and the branded bags and earrings she wears give me the impression that she is rich.　I could tell she must be rich.


"Sasaki, you look a little different from the other girls around you, why did you go to a blind date?"


"I was just going to make up the crowd." she said.


"I was just there to make up the crowd too."


"......You're lying."


Sasaki looks away and mutters.


"What?　Don't lie."


"But when the other three girls were coming here, they were talking about you all the time."


About me......?


What the hell does that even mean?


As I was pouting, not understanding the situation, Sasaki muttered, "I see."


"Let me guess, you were used as bait."


"What, bait?"


"Bait to attract girls other than me."


"......Bait⁈"


Oh, my God!　I was forced to be a member of the party, and the reaction of the group of girls when I came into the room.


It all ...... makes sense when you think about it.


"Damn you, Azaki!　I knew it! He's not my partner, he's a scumbag for using his best friend as bait!"


"Are you mad at him?"


"Of course I am!　He used me as bait!"


"Hmmm ....... well, I've got a suggestion for you."


"What do you mean, "a suggestion"?"



"I want to get the hell out of here. And you agree with him because you were baited. Then our interests are aligned."



"Does that mean we both want to get out of here......?"


"Yes. And ...... I'll only show it to you."


"Show me ...... what?"


The moment she said it, Sasaki took off her glasses, mask, and drank her juice.


A small mole ...... on the lower left side of her lip.


And a slightly s-slanty, hung-up eye.......


This face ...... somewhere.


"Don't you see?"


......!


It brings back memories of three years ago when I was watching TV while peeling oranges in the kotatsu.


"Oh, oh, oh, you, no way, Kira!"


"Shhh!　Come on, let's go, Makishima!"


I remembered perfectly.


She is not Ayane Sasaki.


She was the official publicity manager for the high school soccer championships three years ago, when I was a freshman in high school, the idol......!


Sasaki puts her mask and glasses back on, takes my hand, and heads over to Igarashi.


"Igarashi-san!　I've hit it off with Makishima-kun, so I'm out."


"Wait a minute, Sasaki!　Where's Makishima-kun?


"Oh, Makishima!　You can leave if you want!"


The girls suddenly looked dissatisfied upon hearing this.


Azaki and two other guys sent me off with a wink (because I'm an idiot).


Azaki, what you did to trick me was about as big a sin as a red card and a three-match suspension, but this time the VAR (Ayane Sasaki) turned it into the most killer pass ever.


Because, you know, this person who came in by the numbers.......


Me and Sasaki run hand in hand and slip out to the outside.


"Whew!　You really slipped out, Makishima-kun."


"Oh......."


We walked straight and sat side by side on the grass on the riverbed in front of the university.



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