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 boysâ baseball team and the girlsâ basketball team were both ranked first in all their classes.
For the boysâ 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 girlâs 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 itâs 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 oâclock.
Our class started an afterschool celebration party.
âAll right everyone! Have you got your glasses ready? We canât drink alcohol till weâre twenty!â
Yuuichi stood up as the representative of the group and took the lead, while everyone else just sat down and listened to him.
âGood job today! Congratulations on our win! Cheers!â
In a beat, a mix between men and women, the sound âKANPAIIII!â 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. Itâs different from western pubs so I left it in.]
As long as you donât order alcohol, I think itâs 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 wouldnât be able to rent out such a big room but there was one particular student who wasnât that normal.
âYuuichi! Thank you for your hard work! It was a good speech so I took a video of it.â
âThank you, Kaori, but please delete the video, okay? Also, why are you at this party even though weâre in different classes?â
Yes, Kaori Tojoin was seated right next to Yuuichi.
âMy, how could you rent this place out without me.â
âThatâs very nice of you but wasnât there a party for your class as well? Didnât they place second?â
âItâs okay, a party without Yuuichi is a party not worth going to.â
âDo you have any friends in your own class? Are you sure youâre okay?â
âThank you for your concern, Yuuichi. Iâm fine, I can communicate well with the females in my class, but not so much with the men though.â
So for some reason, Tojoin-san was at our class party instead of hers.
Well, itâs 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 wouldnât 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 didnât move from our seats nor did Tojoin-san who was sitting next to Yuuichi.
Everyone was full except for Yuuichi who just kept eating.
âAs expected of Yuuichi. Youâre always eating at your own pace.â
âItâs too good to leave behind so casually.â
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.
âFufu, I like this kind of Yuuichi too.â
âHMM! Y-Yeahâ¦â
âMy, did you get embarrassed?â
âI-Iâm not embarrassed!â
They just entered into a world of their ownâ¦
The reason why there werenât 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.
âGood job, Shigemoto-kun. You were extremely cool in todayâs match.â
âAh, Thank you Fujise. Iâm sorry to say but you were a lot more impressive than I thought you were.â
âAhaha, it was nothing compared to Sei-chan though.â
âNo, well, Shimada-san is a bit out of the ordinaryâ¦â
Having said that, they both glanced at Sei-chan.
I looked over to see that she was surrounded by girls.
âShimada-san, you were really great! You were too cool!â
âO-Oh thanks.â
âYour form when you took a shot was amazing! I donât know what that was but you looked extremely cool.â
âWhen you jumped to block Tojoin-sanâs shot, you looked way more handsome than any of the other boys.â [TLN: Yuri?] [EDN: Yuri.]
âY-Yeahâ¦â
A group of colorful girls surrounded Sei-chan and were talking about the match happily.
Sei-chan was overwhelmed by the girlsâ enthusiasm, but smiled a little shyly.
Itâs a little sad I havenât been able to talk to Sei-chan since we came to the party thoughâ¦
Well it canât be helped. If you were that good, you were bound to be noticed by someone or the other.
âKaori was really good but she just couldnât beat Shimada-san.â
Whoa, as expected of Yuuichi. To step past landmines with such ease.
It felt like the temperature had dropped a little bit around Yuuichiâs area.
Itâs a line I wouldnât dare to touch but Yuuichi touched it so easily with no hesitation whatsoever.
ââ¦Yes, thatâs right. It was my complete defeat this time.â
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 doesnât 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.
âI didnât expect Shimada-san to go to that level, but if thereâs a next time, Iâll definitely win. Because Iâm Kaori Tojoin, remember?â
Tojoin-san smiled fearlessly as she said that.
That strength and coolness is what Kaori Tojoin is all about.
âYeah, good luck!â
âYes, thank you.â
At Yuuichiâs words, Tojoin-san showed a cute smile.
They just entered into their own world againâ¦
âShigemoto-kun, you have some rice on your mouth.â
âOh, really? Where?â
âOver here.â
Fujise picked up a grain of rice on Yuuichiâs cheek with her finger and ate it with a bite.
âFufu, cute.â
ââ¦â¦!â
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.
âHey Fujise, isnât it a bit immodest to eat a grain of rice off a manâs cheek?â
âEh really? If it was Tojoin-san she would have taken it off Yuuichiâs cheeks and eaten it too, you know?â
âI wonât. If it was me, it would definitely be better to eat it off with your mouth instead.â
âOh, Iâd like to do that too.â
âNo, no, no. Letâs not do that. Itâs too embarrassing.â
Yuuichi, who was red-faced and stunned, was also torn apart by their conversation.
âYuuichi put a grain of rice on your other cheek. Iâll take it off for you.â
âNo, I didnât mean to put it on my cheek on purpose. Besides, the way things are going, youâre going to put your mouth directly on my cheek and take it off, wonât you?â
âEh? Why shouldnât I?â
âNo. Itâs embarrassing in so many ways.â
âFufu, thatâs too bad Tojoin-san.â
Why do I have to watch the scuffle between the three of them�
There was a look on Yuuichiâs face that looked as if he needed my help in this situation. But I honestly couldnât care less.