V1C1 Part 3

Chapter 1- The Rumored Senpai

Volume 1

---

[ For instance…]

　That’s how I started the conversation. The person I was talking to was Ichiya Toya, who was sitting behind me reading a paperback book as usual.

[What would you do if you noticed that you forgot to bring your book after you left the house in the morning?]

[…… No big deal. I don’t really care if I don’t have it.]

　The answer was surprisingly normal. I was a little disappointed.

[Why are you so disappointed? Did you think I’d die if I didn’t look at the printed word?]

[No, I didn’t think so, but I thought something similar would happen.]

[……You’re an idiot.]

Information available about Katase senpai:

• Tsukasa Katase
• Seventeen years old / Class 12, Year 3, Art Department
• She is rumored to be the most beautiful girl in Seiryo.
• She has a cheerful and sociable personality, which is why some exaggerated people call her “the idol of the school” (nice taste).
• She doesn’t seem to be dating any particular boy. In the past, such rumors have circulated several times, but there is no evidence that they are true.
• There is no end to the number of boys who try to woo her, but she seems to turn them down at every turn (the word on the street is that this is called a “heart-breaking event”).
• In addition, a handsome man with some misunderstanding from another school regularly comes to the school full of confidence and says, “I’m going to bring you down,” but he’s always beaten back (in this case, it’s called a “shoot down event” from Katase Senpai’s perspective).
• After the other day’s victim, she was finally bestowed with the title of “Shoot down King (“ace”)” because she topped all the schools in the vicinity (Who bestowed such title to her?)

　The fact that we had gathered this much just by asking a few of the first years before lunchtime showed how much attention senpai was getting.

[ Why don’t you ask the third years?　You’ll get a more detailed saga.]

–As usual, he responded without even looking up from his book. He spoke in a simple Kansai dialect. But that doesn’t mean he’s too lazy to talk, and if you call out to him, he’ll respond. And now he’s even more extreme than usual. He’ s reading a book, talking to me, and even eating his lunch.

[No, not to that extent. Give me some …… fried chicken.]

[Don’t be a baby.]

　–I found a delicious looking fried chicken in Ichiya’s lunch box, so I extended my chopsticks, but he prevented me from doing so as well. How could he do that while looking at a book?

[What, Nachi, are you interested in Senpai?]

[Don’t you think that’s natural for a man?]

[I see. I see. You’re speaking in general..]

–I tried to play it off, but it didn’t seem to work on Ichiya. However, I was very grateful that he didn’t pursue the matter any further.

　To be honest, I’m curious about Katase Senpai. I used to be satisfied with just watching her from afar, but after talking to her in person the other day, I find myself admiring her more than ever. Well, in the end, it’s not much more than admiration.

[Oh, there you are. I found Chiaki.]

　Suddenly, my thoughts and my meal were interrupted when my name was called. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl coming towards me from between the desks.

Akira Miyazato

The girl with the halfway length short cut hair gives off a vivacious impression. In fact, from my point of view, she’s a stupendously active, positive, and aggressive fellow.

[What’s up, Sato-chan? …… oww!]

A chop flew to my forehead.

[I don’t remember ever having a nickname like that. Try
again…….]

[Got it. …… What’s up, Miyazato? What do you want from me?]

[Yes, that’s right!]

[……]

I’m kind of a dork myself, but I think she’ d give a good run for money too.

[I got a three-on-three challenge from the class next door.]

[Oh, that’s great. When?　Now?　I’ll be back later.]

[What are you talking about?　Chiaki’s coming too.]

　What the hell is this person talking about?

[I don’t like it. They’ re going to call a guy from the PE department again, aren’t they?

–I remember that when I went to help out in a similar situation before, I got into a lot of trouble because my opponent was from the PE department. There was no way I was going to be able to beat these guys, who were into strength training and exercising whenever they had time, so of course I lost that game spectacularly.

[Don’t worry. It’s a regular course today.]

[Why didn’t you just say that you don’t have enough people?]

[No way. I can’ t do that.]

　I guess so. There is no way Miyazato, who hates to lose, would choose to flee before the enemy.

[If so, it’s going to be a clean suicide.]
[Why?　I don’t understand].

　Too bad. She didn’t seem to have the spirit of an imperial soldier.

[Besides, It was that Neko who challenged me.]

[Neko?　Is that the girl you were talking about before, Miyazato’s rival?]

I’ve heard that Miyazato had a rival who competed with her in every practice match and official game, even though they went to different schools. I think I heard her say something like that some time ago.

Then, Miyazato suddenly lowered her tension and said with a wave of her hands.

[There’s no such thing as a rivalry, though. It’s just that the other side sees me as an enemy.]

[But you can’t help accepting the challenge, can you?]

[Of course not. You have to crush your enemies.]

[……]

I think that Miyazato is same as her in terms of level.

[In addition, this girl has brought another experienced basketball player with her. This is the place where Chiaki, who is known as the “Tabuse”(TN: something like a pro player) of our class, is …….Ukyaa!!!]

I gave her a forhead flick.

[I don’t remember having such a fearsome nickname.]

[No offence intended. ……,can you help me with that?]

[Yeah, fine..]

I don’t think I can say no to something like that.

[I’ve got a broken rib, so I won’t be too aggressive. Where’s the other guy at ……?]

[Not idea. Who should we choose?]

You’re being completely selfish.

They have two boys and a girl, so I’d like to have another boy.

[…Ichiya..]
[I refuse..]

He didn’t even let me finish, just gave me a quick answer.

[It’s no use. I’ll just get someone else.]

After closing the lunch box and putting it away, we headed for the second gym. I don’t know why, but Ichiya was following closely behind us.

　At Seiryo Gakuen High School, the gymnasium is open during lunchtime. This is not the case if clubs that use the gym for lunch practice are present. But if there are no such circumstances, the gym can be used freely.

　The second gymnasium, one of the two gymnasiums used by the basketball team, has eight targets. There are three on the long side of the rectangular gym and one on the short side, for a total of eight. Three-on-three is the mainstream recreational activity during the lunch break. This is mainly because people don’t like to play an all-court game because it takes up two courts, or because it’s hard to get ten members before that.

There are quite a few students gathered in the gym during lunch break. There are players on the court, people waiting for their turn to play, onlookers, and some students just chatting with their friends in the corner. It’s like a social gathering place for students.

The opposing team that was waiting for us consisted of two boys around 180 centimeters in height and one girl around 165 centimeters with cat-like eyes.

The leader of the team seemed to be the cat-eyed girl. She was a beautiful girl with a tough appearance, and she looked like a queen with the two guys. But in actuality, that position seemed to fit her perfectly.

[All three of those guys are taller than me.]

[Work hard and grow bigger..].

With that, Miyazato walked up to the other team.

[……]

My classmate is asking a lot of impossible things.

Here there is me, who calls myself 160 centimeters (actually 159.5). I’ve brought along two people one one of whom is Miyazato, who is 165 centimeters tall, and the other one is 175 centimeters tall and used to be a member of the sports club in junior high school. Even so, we were still behind in the average height. The saving grace was that both Miyazato and I were members of the basketball team (Miyazato was the captain of the team).

(Hmm, is that ……?)

　And that’s when I spotted Katase Senpai by the wall of the gym.

　She didn’t seem to be looking at the court, and judging from the way she was talking to some of her classmates, she seemed to be a chatterbox.

[ Men are filthy!! ]

I was suddenly kicked by Miyazato. I thought she was exchanging words with that girl over there a while ago, but she’s already back here.

[ What’s with you? I only looked at her for a moment..]

[ Yeah yeah. I understand, get into the court already. If you want to attract the attention of the beautiful big sister, try your best to play.]

Oh, I see. I thought everyone was really excited to play, but they were casually showing off. But sadly, Katase-senpai was so engrossed in talking with her friends that she wasn’t looking at the court at all. I guess she simply chose this place for a chat.

[So, let’s get started..]

Then I entered the court.

Thus the game began.

I was the first to attack. Since I was a guard in junior high school, I get the ball first.

Because of my position, when I was marked man-to-man, I was matched up with the only girl on the enemy team.

The girl Miyazato called Neko – I think her name was Neko Himesaki.

[ Do you play basketball?]

[ Well, as good as anyone.]

I’ll answer modestly here. Humility is a Japanese virtue.

[ But,I have heard from Sato-chan that you’re very good at it.]

[I’m not bragging, but I was a captain in junior high school.]

[……]

You’re very confident over there.

[Now, will you be able to handle me?　Let’s see what you can do.]

[Okay. I’ll do my best.]

　That was enough chatter for now, let’s get moving.

Miyazato, who was the captain of the team in junior high school, and I were on par with each other in terms of ability, and her defense was flawless. If you make a careless pass, she can cut you off, and if you’re not careful, she’ll stand at the perfect distance to pressure you for a steal. It’s a pretty nasty defense.

Her strong, cat-like eyes were watching my every moves carefully.

(Let’s see what they do first.)

Policy decided. I’ll avoid one-on-one.

I saw that Miyazato had taken advantage of an opening to get past her mark, so I made a quick pass to her.

I immediately ran out to the course that would be in Himesaki-san’s blind spot.

[Miyazato!]

I asked her to return the ball to me and dribbled towards the goal.

In the middle of the game, I got past Himesaki-san, who had caught up to me with a quick reaction, with a cross, and cut in to shoot. At this point, however, a defender came in to block as if he had read my move. He was the one who had been marking Miyayuki(TN: the third player). He was 180cm tall and blocked my way.

(Is this the other experienced one? !)

Since I had already jumped, there’s only one way to dodge. He throws the ball back, ducks under the defender’s arm, and shoots again. –It was a double clutch. I was a little out of position, but fortunately I managed to keep it in the ring.

And yet–

[Oy. What are you, a power forward?　You’re a guard and you cuts in when there’s an opening?]

[……]

I got complaint at.

Miyazato-san, what do you have against me for scoring a goal after showing the advanced technique of double clutching?

My personality seems to be more suited to shooting guards, and to tell the truth, I was crushed by the center in junior high school when I tried to cut in recklessly. My advisor told me the same thing as Miyazato, which hurt my feelings. Even point guards have times when they want to penetrate or drive in,you know.

[That’s quite a move you’ve made, young man.]

When I turned around at the sound of her voice, Himesaki-san was staring at me. Her words were full of composure, but she seemed quite frustrated.

[I told you that I can do as well as anyone else.]

[Well, that’s okay. We’ve only just begun.]

I’m scared….

And then the offensive and defensive switches. This time it was defense.

The ball starts in the hands of Himesaki-san, the guard.

{Here I come.]

[Please..]

　However, I can’t play with her in a way that involves heavy contact. After all, she was a girl, and before that, I had injured my ribs. So, I only put pressure on her.

[Naive..]

However, as expected of the all-time confident Himesaki-san, he was easily overtaken.

Miyazato immediately followed her.

But Himesaki-san brilliantly dodged it and took a gorgeous shot with a layup. She turns around under the goal and shows a strong smile. You can almost hear her say, “fu fu fu”.

[I see. That was quite skillful.]

I was frankly impressed.

The offense and defense switched again.

This time, I tried to take her by surprise with a quick attack.

[Miyazato.]

Immediate pass.

Miyazato takes a jump shot immediately.

But unfortunately, the ball was deflected by the ring.

[Go, Sato-chan. Rebound.]

[Don’t say the impossible..]

As a matter of course, they didn’t even compete for the rebound ball under the goal.

　This team is fundamentally outmatched in terms of average height, so if they don’t take their first chance, they’re done.

[Hey, you!]

[Eh?]

A fierce voice suddenly struck me.

[Play this game fair and square.]

[No, I’m trying to play fair.]

[You’re always passing the ball.]

[What’s the problem with that?]

[A big one. We can’t say which of us is better than the other that way. Don’t pass the ball, play one-on-one with me.]

[……]

Isn’t this girl saying something incredibly selfish?

[Okay, okay. Hold on a second. Time out.]

I stopped Himesaki-san with my hand and stepped away.

[…… Miyazato.]

Then, I called Miyazato, beckoning her to come over.

[What?]

[Miyazato, you said that you couldn’t settle with that girl in junior high school, right?　Is that because you didn’t play one-on-one or something easy to understand, you didn’t get a clear and visible settlement?]

[Oh, you realised ? ]

　Miyazato smiles wryly.

[Basketball is a team sport after all, right?　Even if you win or lose, there is no ranking for individual skills. Besides, I didn’t match up with Neko because our positions were different. So I didn’t have a chance to compete.]

[I see]

　I guess Himesaki-san is the kind of person who likes to play and settle things in a straightforward manner. In fact, she’s not the best personality for basketball.

[I mean, how can you be considered an enemy in that situation?]

[There’s a lot going on.]

　Miyazato looked as if she had bitten down on a bitter bug. I think I’d better not ask this. I don’t think anyone will benefit from this.

　I got myself together and resumed the game.

　But–

　Even after that, she kept complaining to me about something or other.

[Let’s battle. fight me!]

[If you’re a man, dribble past me!]!

[You’re running away again, aren’t you? Coward!]

As I avoided all head-to-head competition, I began to feel like cursing.

This is a three-on-three, isn’t it?

　But then again, she”s been doing that since the first time, and she”s passed me a lot on offense, so I guess that”s good. I’m sure her personality is such that she needs to win on both offense and defense.

Besides..

[You’re an idiot. Think about your size and take on the challenge.]

[Have you never heard of a slow attack?]

For some reason, Miyazato complained to me as well.

New discovery. When Sato-chan gets excited, she seems to speak in a half-assed Kansai dialect. Was that an effect of Ichiya?

I don’t think I’ve ever played a game where I’ve been yelled at so much by my allies and enemies. …… Enough said. I’ll just assume that’s the way they live.

“Well, what do we do now?

　I kept the ball and looked at the situation.

　This was one of many offenses of the day.

Miyazato was well marked by the taller, more experienced basketball player and couldn’t shake him. On the other hand, the inexperienced group of amateurs were competing with each other to a certain extent, and it seemed unlikely that they would be able to pass.

　Then we had no choice.

　Fortunately, the course was open.

[Going for shoot…]

[What?]

[..not, instead drive in..]

He dodged Himesaki-san, who was caught in a neck-only fake and came by for a shot check, with a reverse stern.

[Aah!]

　As we passed each other, Himesaki-san’s voice faintly hit my eardrums, but it was too late.

I faithfully traced the course I had drawn in my mind earlier. There was no time for the defender to follow me.

And a moment later, I had made a layup shot.

[Yeahh…!!]

I land on the ground and clench my fists.

But–

A moment later, I felt an intense stare on my back.

(Uh, maybe I messed up, ……?)

　I turned around fearfully, and sure enough, there was Himesaki-san, glaring at me with an incomparably more fierce glare than before.

But, well, what can I say, she has a complicated look on her face. She is smiling wryly, holding back her frustration, but her cheeks are slightly twitching, and her eyes are filled with murderous intent.As if saying “I’m going to kill you with my eyes”.

[Fufufufufufufufufu …]

Oh, come on, you’re not even laughing.

[It’s not very interesting otherwise. Now, come again. That one caught me off guard, but I’ll stop it this time.]

She pointed at me and declared.

That’s right.

She seems to have a complicated personality, so I was trying not to cause any undue resentment. I’m definitely not going to do this anymore.

And so the game heads towards the end.

In terms of details, in junior high school, I was a shooting guard (because of my nature) and Miyazato was a power forward, which made us an aggressive team, and we played well despite our inferior average height.

(Of course, I’m no good under the goal.)

I didn’t participate in the rebound, I just watch in silence as the ball is bounced off the ring and taken by the enemy.

Then a strange scene popped into my view. It was a girl talking to a boy. As usual, he was reading a book, so it looked like the girl was talking to him. The semi-long red-haired girl seemed to be a senior student, judging from the familiar uniform she wore and her calm atmosphere. She was very tall for a girl, almost as tall as the tallest girl of the night. In addition, she had a good figure for a Japanese.

　Then a strange scene popped into my view. It was a girl talking to a boy. As usual, he was reading a book, so it looked like the girl was the one talking to him. The semi-long red-haired girl seemed to be a senior student, judging from the familiar uniform she wore and her calm atmosphere. She was very tall for a girl, almost as tall as the tallest Ichiya. In addition, she had a good figure befitting a Japanese.

(Reverse pickup?)

It was the first thing that came to mind.

At first glance, Ichiya is an intelligent and handsome boy, so it’s not surprising that this is the case. Well, it’s absolutely strange to see him reading a book in the gym, because he’s so out of place. It’s not that unusual to see him being approached by a female student, and no matter who it is, he always responds without hesitation. But this time, he looks slightly unhappy.

(That’s unusual.)

I’m sorry that my attention was turned to Ichiya, even for a moment.

After all, I was in the middle of a game.

[Chiaki, the ball….]

[Huh?　Fugya…….]

I was careless.

The basketball hit him in the face. You have to admit that I still had the perseverance to run for the free ball. However, I was in too much of a hurry at that time and made another mistake.

　Although this is a recreational game, it is a match. Once the players enter the court and the game begins, they are serious. Loose balls are chased by the opponents. And in this case, it was me and the other team’s lead player, Himesaki-san.

My vision narrowed as I tried to make up for my dumb mistake.

[Whoa!]

[Eh., kyaah!]

As a result, we collided and fell in a tangled heap.

[I゛……! ge …… gu…… ga …….]

No, This time, the pain was so intense that I thought my ribs were really broken. It reminded me of the doctor’s words that I should avoid anything that could be expected to cause severe contact.

Let’s not worry about that. Let’s check the current situation.

I’m lying on my back.

And Himesaki-san is lying on top of me with her head on my chest.

Yeah. It seems that somehow we were safe.

After all, it was an accident caused by my mistake. There was no way I was going to let Himesaki-san get hurt in this. That’s why I immediately put my body underneath her and hugged her shoulders to catch her.

[I’m sorry. Are you okay, Himesaki-san.?]

When I called out to her, she looked up as if she had been startled.

Her face was right in front of me.

[……]

‘Kokkuri’ . She nodded silently with her cat eyes wide open.

[Well, that’s good to know.]

The pain in my ribs is subsiding. It doesn’t look like it’s broken or anything. I guess I’ll have to reflect on that. I think I’ll stick to my word and refrain from exercising for a while longer.

By the way, I wish Himesaki-san would get off me by now.

She smells like an elegant perfume, and her long hair falls around my neck, tickling me in many ways.

However, she didn’t seem to get up and was staring at my face.

That face is pretty close.

「……」

「……」

　She’ve been doing a lot of crazy things since a while ago, but when I look at her like this again, I realized that she has a beautiful face….tte, It’s not the time to be thinking about it.

[are you–]

“Are you okay?”　I was about to ask again when Miyazato interrupted me.

[What are you doing? Are you okay?]

she lend a hand to make Himesaki-san stand up.

[Can you stand up, Nachi?]

[Oh, yes.]

As for me, Ichiya held out his hand to me.

When I took his hand, he pulled me up lightly. For a guy who looks like a gentle guy, he’s pretty strong. Maybe I’m just a little light, though.

[ Oh boy, this is a mess.]

I brushed the dust from my body.

[You …….]

[you..?]

　When I turned around to see what was going on, I saw Himesaki-san looking at me with a bright red face.

I felt a sense of uneasiness

[You’ve done a great job.]

Ugh. She’ s really angry.

[N..no, I apologize..].

[No need of apologies!　You’re so skilled on offense, yet you avoid playing with me and cut corners on defense!　I’ve been taken advantage of, haven’t I?]

[Is that what you think here in this situation?]

[What else is there between you and me?　Okay. From this moment on, you are my enemy!　I will pay you back for this!]

Himesaki-san pointed her finger at me and declared war on me. I could only move my mouth like a goldfish, but no words came out.

Then she turned on her heel and left, as if this was the end of the game.

[ …… ]

With a pop, a hand was placed on my shoulder. It was Miyazato.

[ Don’t mind ]

[ What about? ]

Is this what you call an enemy identification?　Maybe I’ve done something terrible..

And then–

I had a bad premonition for some reason. I felt as if someone was watching me, so I looked over there with trepidation.

(Hiiiiii*&%$^~)

Katase-senpai was watching me.

Since when?　From when I started having trouble with Himesaki-san?　Or did it start when I got hurt?　Maybe it was when I got hit in the face with the ball?　If that’s the case, what a bad timing.

Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break. Katase Senpai left the gym and went back to her classroom.

The game is over.

In a way, I’m through too.

Aha, this is the worst …….

[ You look like it’s the end of the world…]

Ichiya said in a dumbfounded tone as I stood next to him holding on to the train’s strap on the way home.

[Haa. ……]

I responded with a sigh.

I felt like letting out a sigh. It’s not that I was trying to show off my good looks, but I didn’t want people to only see my bad looks. It made a terrible impression. There was no such thing as God or Buddha.

[So, are you conscious about it?]

[It might be so …….]

[You’re a snob.]

Huh?　Are you in a bad mood?

[ Didn’t you talk to a senior girl when I was at the game Ichiya? ]

　I recalled that while noticing he was in a bad mood. I remembered that he seemed unusually uncomfortable at that time.

[ What was that about? ]

[ Don’t know.]

With those words, I was dismissed.

With that one word, I was dismissed.

Wow, he became even more grumpy. Today’s Ichiya has a high rate of bad moods. I was going to make fun of him by saying, “was it a reverse pick-up?” but the atmosphere wasn’t like that anymore.

[See you.]

[ah, yeah.]

When the train arrived at the station, as usual, Ichiya got off first and we parted ways.

As I swayed on the train, I decided not to think about anything else. But that didn’t last long. By the time I got off the train and walked through the ticket gate, I had already started to think of random things.

(Snob, huh……)

That may be true. In the past, I admired Katase-senpai but gave up on her as a flower on a high mountain and just watched her from afar, but now that I’ve made some contact with her, I got excited and became conscious of her like an idiot. This is no different from the rest of those guys. It’s no wonder I was called a snob by Ichiya.

(But you know, after what happened, it’s only natural to be conscious of it. I wanted to show her that my cool side.)

But I can’t help but think that.

It’s natural.

Force majeure.

In other words…

[Senpai’s at fault for not caring about me]

　……。

　……。

　……。

What kind of conclusion is that?

That’s a great leap of logic on my part. It makes me feel stupid saying it.

[Hah. ……]

I let out another sigh.

It seems that my sighing rate is increasing at the same rate as Ichiya’s bad mood. This is no good. I should go home and change the atmosphere before I run out of air in my lungs from sighing.

That’s what I thought as I quickened my pace.–

[Nachi-kun, I caught you…♪]

[Whoa!]

　Suddenly, someone was on my back. I hurriedly slipped through the arms that were tangled around my neck and turned around to look behind me.

[Ka, Katase senpai ……!]

[Yoo-hoo!]

Katase Senpai was standing there. She waved a small hand in front of her chest with a smile.

[Are you surprised?]

[I’m shocked, naturally… Ah, I was so surprised.]

Seeing me like this, Senpai chuckled.

I wonder if it’s her hobby to surprise me. Come to think of it, I think I’ve seen something similar before. However, when she suddenly jumped on me, it was obvious that it was more powerful than before. In addition, I felt something squeezing my back.

[……]

Ah, I quit. I’ll try not to think about it too much.

[What’s wrong, Nachi-kun?

[……]

No, I don’t want to think about it anymore, so really, please stop looking into people’s faces.

When I averted my gaze, the senpai chuckled.

[I never get tired of looking at you, Nachi-kun.]

[Perhaps, are you toying with me?]

[Really?　Isn’t that just your imagination?]

That’s a lie for sure.

She has a straight face, but it’s an incredibly wicked look.

[Then again, ……]

　As she changed the subject, Katase Senpai smiled like a mischievous child who had come up with something interesting.

[I see,I see. Nachi-kun, you were thinking about something like that?]

[What are you talking about?]

…… I have a bad feeling.

This is the second bad feeling I’ve had today. The first time was right on target.

After a long pause, she said,

[“It’s your fault for not caring about me”].

(Heeeey~*&*^%8)

Jackpot. My bad prediction was right on the money, wasn’t it? No, no, I’m not happy at all.

[ Let’s see, that was …….]

[ That was so cute..]

When I saw her smiling so maturely, I was a bit excited.

　Katase Senpai has a variety of expressions. She sometimes makes fun of people and laughs like a child. When you think so, she makes you think that she is older than you with gestures like the one you just saw. She really has a variety of faces. And–

[ So, are you free this Sunday?　Do you want to go somewhere? ]

[ Yes? ]

I think it’s definitely a hobby of hers to surprise people.

The unexpected words that came out of my senior’s mouth made my eyes light up.

---

TN: Another long ass chapter.. No wonder chapter count is so low. With this Chapter 1 is completed. I will probably do next one on this weekend. or may be before that if I get bored.

---

Previous | TOC | Next