Chapter 78: Sneaking Around Like A Shady Person


TL: Akabane


***


The day after the opening ceremony of the Five College Baseball Tournament, our Imperial Capital University's first game was immediately scheduled. Our opponent was the powerful Houmei University. In the normal course of events, we would have been beaten to a pulp and lost. But this year was different. After all, I am here! I don't intend to be smug. There is more than that, there is a miraculous existence that has made this Imperial Capital University strong.


"Kanata. Please swing at the first pitch in the middle of the throat."


The top of the third inning. The game was going on with both teams scoring zero runs. Our university was getting hits, but the enemy defense was too good to score. Even that Hagiri hit a liner to the outfield to get a base hit, but the other team got an out immediately, so there was nothing good about it. Of course, the other side didn't score any runs thanks to Ayashiro's enhanced defensive skills. The game was now deadlocked. And it was under such circumstances that it was my turn to bat, the number eight in the order. Before I left the bench to go to bat, Yuzuriha, the manager, whispered to me.


"Struck out? Seriously?"


"Yes. Struck out. And on the second pitch, please stare blankly away."


It wasn't a good instruction. But manager Yuzuriha's glasses were shining suspiciously. She seemed to have some secret plan.


"So, what about the third pitch?"


Yuzuriha laughed with a grin. Is she infected with some kind of chuunibyo? I smell Ayashiro virus!


"Please swing Kanata's vat with your hips in a tight grip and swing it as low inside as you can, swinging it up and down as if you were flipping up a girl's skirt! Like this!"


Saying this, Yuzuriha pretended to swing on the spot. Her large breasts swayed. She was contaminated with the Ayashiro virus, after all. It's too late to cure her.


"Okay. I'll give it a try."


"Good luck!"


After we fist-bumped each other, I stood up to bat. I heard that the pitcher from Houmei University had finished second in the prefectural tournament in high school.


"Damn you, you're nothing more than a studious Kodaisei! Don't think you can beat us born baseball kids!"


The pitcher said something and pitched. The ball was a straight ball high on the outside corner. I swung the bat as hard as I could in the center of the plate as instructed. Naturally, I got a strike.


"Kukuku, you can't see it! You can see the the center, and you can't see the ball!"


And the next pitch thrown was a slider. I stared blankly at it. Two strikes. There's nothing left to do.


"Damn, now you get it, don't you! Even if you can do trigonometric functions! You can't hit a round ball, woooo!"


And finally, a straight ball low on the inside corner. I remember what I was instructed to do. I swung my vat as hard as I could, with the intention of rolling up the skirt of Ayashiro, the woman who always never gets her panties in a bunch. And then.


"Hey, what the hell is that?"


"More than a trigonometric function, the delta zone of a pantywaist... only a trigonometric..."


The ball I hit went over the pitcher's head and stretched out. It flies high, high, high over second base. The center fielder chased the ball, but to no avail. The ball went straight over the fence of the stands and was sucked under the scoreboard.


--- "It was! ------------------! It's thr first home run of the tournament!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


I leisurely made my way around the diamond and stepped on home base. The manager and the rest of the team mates greeted me with cheers.


"You're doing it!"


"That's awesome!"


"Nice Kanata!"


"Seriously, man!"


Everyone was seriously pleased. They paid me compliments in a variety of languages.


"Hmph. This is the power of mathematics... you ballplayers who are chasing after the ball and trying to rear up! Now you know! Hmph, ahahahahaha!"


Manager Yuzuriha is raising a high laugh like a mad scientist. I'm kind of scared. Let's leave her alone.


"Congratulations, Tokiwa. Here you go."


"Oh, thank you."


Ayashiro offered me a sports drink.


"I wonder if I'm one step ahead of someone from somewhere with this. What do you think? Hagiri?"


Hagiri, quietly reading a covered book behind the bench, says without even a glance.


"I guess so. Thanks for your hard work, Kanahisa Tokiwa."


Unlike my other teammates, Hagiri is not at all pleased. But his voice sounds a little grumpy. I have recently learned that sarcasm usually comes out of his mouth when he is in a bad mood.


"You can be happy with us, too, you know. After all, it was a home run that helped us win! Hahaha!"


The morale of my teammates is suddenly high. If things continue as they are, this game will be won for sure.


"I'm not a child to worry about a point or two in the immediate future."


"I think the one who can't be happy with his friends for a point or two in the immediate future is a kid no matter what, don't you?"


Saying this, Hagiri finally took his eyes off the book and glared at me a little. He's very capable, but he's terribly childish in this way.


"I'm not a kid. Unlike you, I've had tremendous dreams."


"Huh? Dreams? We're not talking about that right now."


"We're the same. This baseball tournament is important to me. It would be a nuisance to have you barge in with your childish rivalry. I'm sorry. It's going to throw my schedule off..."


I'm insanely frustrated. Do you really want to stand out and be an influencer in this game that badly? Well, this guy will start appearing on TV after the summer is over, so maybe he afraid that it might ruin his schedule. In other words, I'm winning today. At this rate, I want to take away all of Hagiri's opportunities for success. That's what I thought.











***Small story***



After the game started, for some reason, Yuzuriha and Ayashiro on the bench were wearing cheerleader's costumes instead of baseball uniforms.


"By the way, Ayashiro? Why the cheerleader outfit?"


"Aren't it's cute?"


"It's cute. Very much so."


Menshera mine type makeup and cheerleader outfit. It looked surprisingly cute on her.


"Right! Tokiwa! Fi-oh fi-oh!"


Ayashiro waved her pom-poms as she said that and swung her legs up in the air. Normally, she is a woman who never shows her panties, but today her skirt fluttered and bounced up and down. I was so thrilled. But....


"......... I guess they're spats. ........."


"Fufufu...I'm a liberal arts major, so I don't know trigonometric functions!"


Ayashiro is a woman who never shows her pants. She is truly ironclad. Someday...someday.... I vowed quietly to myself.











The game against Houmei University ended in a 3-0 victory for us at the Imperial Capital University. Although there was no home run, Hagiri did a great job of pitching and kept the game scoreless. He wasn't to be underestimated.


"Celebrate the victory in game one! Let's launch it!!!!!"


"Yeah yeah yeah yeah!"


The launch, held at a pub in Tokyo, was very exciting. Ayashiro and the others went home early. The boys went to several more taverns. However, Hagiri was nowhere to be seen at the party. I didn't want to see his face, but I was also annoyed that he didn't participate in such an occasion. For him, this match is not something to enjoy, but just a task to be completed. I am angry. I am very, very angry. I am enjoying this match. But he is not. And yet, Hagiri gave Igarashi a prize in an event he didn't enjoy. I was terribly disgusted. So around midnight, I suddenly had an idea.


"I'll go up first!"


"""Good night!""""


I leave the tavern and immediately hail a cab. I tell the driver my address.


"What? Is it that far away? Are you sure you can make it? It costs a lot of money, doesn't it?"


"I don't care! Gogogo!"


The cab pulled up in front of a house. The house was already unlit. Everyone must be asleep. I went through the security sensor and climbed over the wall. I climbed up to the window of a room on the second floor, taking advantage of the window frame and the protrusion of the wall. I banged on the window and immediately heard a noise from inside the room. Immediately, a noise echoed from inside the room.


"Hmm. Chusho? What's wrong?"


A sweet, sleepy voice could be heard from inside the room. Only the light from the bed light leaks faintly out the window, and the curtains are opened and the window is opened. I then walk straight into the room and drape myself over the body of the woman in front of me.


"Kya? Eh? Who? Who is it? Tokiwa?


"Shh."


I close the window and curtains. Only the pale bed light illuminated Igarashi's beautiful face. A truly beautiful woman. I see, she is a prize for the best college baseball game. No matter. Still, it's not worth it. This woman is much, much more valuable.


"...Why...did you come here...?"


Igarashi's eyes seem to be a little moist.


"I wanted to see your face. Besides---"


"Besides?"


I put my hand on Igarashi's cheek.


"The other day. You're going to belong to the winner, right?"


"I know...but...it's always been that way...Chusho will win anyway. It's always been that way..."


Igarashi's hands go around my neck. I feel my heart jump at the softness of her hand on the back of my head.


"That's not 100% anymore. Because I'm here. And because I'm here, he's not absolute anymore... so..."


"...So? So what are you going to do, Tokiwa?"


"If Hagiri loses, I'll take you away."


"Eh? What does that mean?"


"I mean it as it is. I won't follow the rules that Hagiri set. I'm not going to give you to another man like giving you to Imayuri."


If Hagiri wins, the status quo remains. If Hagiri loses, I will take Igarashi away. I don't know where we will go. We'll run away together somewhere far away. My forehead and Igarashi's forehead meet. Our lips are close enough to touch. Even though we are not touching, I can feel that Igarashi's cheeks are now hot.


"Tokiwa...I...can't...surely...nowhere...nnn...oh..."


I didn't want her to say anything, so I covered her lips. We twirl each other until our tongues are numb.


"Just think carefully about who you're rooting for next time."


I tell Igarashi as our cheeks touch each other.


"...But...but...I'm...cursed..."


"Then, think... think about what you choose... please... think... please..."


I don't know everything about Igarashi. Hagiri is always haunting this girl's past like a shadow. It's depressing. I have to make her put that past away. So I want her to think about it. Igarashi made a bad choice in the future. It was...surely...nothing but my thoughtlessness and her abandonment of her own thinking at the same time. We still haven't talked to each other. There is a gap between us that we can't talk about. So please don't give up thinking. I squeezed Igarashi's hand.


"Tokiwa...but I'm...a no-good girl..."


"But I'll wait for you...to...choose..."


I don't act in a drunken stupor. Gradually, the sleepiness began to overtake me.


"Ufufu...Tokiwa...you are the opposite of the other day..."


I felt softness on my face. Igarashi pulled my face to her chest and hugged me tightly.


"...Is it okay if I stay over?"


"Yeah. It's fine. Good night, Tokiwa."


"Good night, Igarashi..."


And I fell asleep with her softness enveloping me.













As soon as I woke up in the morning, I left Igarashi, who was still sleeping, outside through the window. As I did so, I suddenly caught a glimpse of the window of Hagiri's house and saw the savvy girl sleeping naked and alone in the bed. In her hand I saw a gorgeously bound book. She must have fallen asleep while reading a difficult book. And Hagiri seemed to be gone. Isn't she too defenseless? Igarashi is just a girl who is just in time for morning, so I guess she just doesn't get caught. Well, I wouldn't mind at all if their relationship was exposed. I immediately left Igarashi's house, picked up a cab, and went home. I had class from first period today. I thought I would do my best. When I met Igarashi in the first period, she looked at me and turned her eyes away with a pout, her cheeks dyeing. It was a cute reaction.


"You could have woken me up."


"I didn't want to see your dad again."


"Fufu. I guess you're right. I'm sure there's no excuse in that situation. Nothing happened, though. Fufufu."


Igarashi smiled cheerfully. There is no ambiguity in her smile, it's gentle and wonderful. I smiled along with her. We naturally took the class together. We worked in a group and had a lot of fun. And before I knew it, it was lunchtime.


"Sorry. I have a lunch meeting with the cheerleaders today. Really."


"I'm not doubting you. See you later."


"Yeah, see you later."


We were separated for lunch. Then I met up with the usual group of people and thought we were going to get chatty for lunch.


"Hey, Kanata. I'm sorry to inform you that Ayashiro and Yuzuriha have gone to Hongo because they have a class they want to take."


I met up with Milan in front of the cafeteria. It seems those two are not at Komaba right now due to classes. This is a rare occurrence at a university with several campuses.


"Really?"


"Yeah. So, you know, why don't you come to the Tagichi dormitory? There's rice if you don't mind leftovers from yesterday. We had a party at the dorm yesterday. You know, to commemorate the victory of the Five College Baseball Tournament! How do you like it?"


"Great! I'm in!"


Walking around campus with Milan, I can't help but catch her eye. Now on her way to becoming a popular TV personality, it's safe to say that Milan is the most popular person on the Komaba campus.


"Milan-sama! Please lose your virginity with me!"


"No! With me! Trade your virginity for my virginity!"


"I'm experienced! Please, feel free to lose your virginity to me!"


Popular...? But the fan heat is stiff. Lots of girls flock to Milan. Everyone's eyes are serious and a little scary.


"Milan. Can you handing me tickets to lose your virginity?"


"Stop it! What a mistake I've made! I just want to lose my virginity!"


"I'm sorry. You can't throw away your virginity because it's cursed. Kukuku."


Since that mysterious broadcast accident, her popularity has increased, but there are a lot of annoyances like this. I mean, I can't go to the Tagichi dormitory if they keep crowding her like this. So I hold Milan in my arms. It's the so-called "princess hug."


"Kya? Kanata?"


"Gyahahaha! This princess's virginity is mine! Goodbye! Hahahahaha!"


With Milan in my arms, I dash through the crowd of girls. Milan is very cute as she turns bright red and turns over.


"Oh, baka ...... ugh..."


Then I arrived at the courtyard of the Tagichi dormitory and put Milan down on the ground.


"Phew. I spread them out, man."


"Oh ...Thank you. It was kind of fun, even though it was really embarrassing. Fufufu."


Milan seemed to be in a good mood. Her natural and cheerful smile looks very charming. This girl really has a strange charm. She is going back and forth between innocence and sexiness.


"Well. It's not really a good idea, but the food is in the girls' dormitory, so please follow me."


"...Huh? The girls' dormitory...?


I gulped. Girls' dormitory...that's a fascinating word. I was puzzled, but Milan entered the women's dormitory. I followed her inside, determined to go with her.



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