Chapter 21: Gachinko Vivage Battle Part 4

Switch won his match. They were down to one loss and two wins. If Sket Dance won the next round, then they would win the competition.

Himeko shook like a leaf in the wind when it was her turn.

They weren't going to win this one...

For all of the raunchy romance details that was roiling in her brain (which was Smocks's fault—one hundred percent), Himeko had no idea how to respond to the concept of dating. That, or she was nervous by the multitude of eyes that were watching and silently judging her as she and Unyuu took the stage.

Either way, the end result would be disastrous.

When it was Himeko's turn to "confess" to the randomly chosen judge, Tadokoro, she approached the man with stiff limbs. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, but she gazed at Tadokoro with sheer intensity. Tadokoro, in turn, appeared to be uncomfortable by the focus as his eyes flickered side to side and his feet shifted.

"I—!" Himeko began, and then immediately quieted.

"Y-you…?" Tadokoro blinked.

"I—uh—I—uh—"

Tadokoro blinked again.

Himeko's cheeks were tinted pink, her resolve manifestly crumbling. "Th-that is—uh…"

"C'mon, Himeko!" Bossun called out. "You can do it! Tell that guy that you love him!"

Himeko's face then went blazing red. "I—I—I—I—"

"Just spit it out!"

The words that Himeko were stuttering on now came out mute. It was as though she lost her voice.

"It's not hard, Himeko," Bossun continued to encourage her. "Just think about it like expressing your passion in a fight! Tadokoro-san is your opponent, so turn that passion into words!"

"Wouldn't she end up beating him up, then?" Smocks wondered aloud.

"What are you saying? Have some faith in her!"

"Well, this is Himeko that we're talking about."

"And you just advised her by taking Tadokoro-san on as though he was her opponent," Switch added.

"Normally, you'd want to beat up your opponents," Takemitsu said.

Bossun blanched. "Oh, um…"

Himeko, now motivated by Bossun's speech, overcame her apprehension and returned her concentration to the match. Unfortunately, this amplified her previous intensity. Her face scrunched up into a glower as her aura darkened, now a tangible figure of frightening and holy crap. She really did look like she was about to pounce on the judge with the intention of coloring him black and blue.

"GO OUT WITH ME!" she roared.

Tadokoro backpedaled. "EEEEK!"

She grabbed the front of his shirt. "IF YOU DON'T, I'LL KILL YOU!"

He screamed.

Needless to say, Team Sket Dance lost.

"I failed," Himeko wept.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Himeko!" Bossun said. "That Tadokoro-san obviously has a thing for the cutesy rich girls. A man deserving of your love should have an ardent heart tantamount to yours."

"You think so?" Himeko asked hopefully, rubbing her eye.

"Not think so. It's a fact," Switch typed.

"Aah! You guys!" Himeko hauled the two boys in for a tight hug. "Smocks! You get over here too!"

"No," Smocks said. "I rather not."

"Quit makin' lame excuses and just pander to my whims!"

"I'm mentally preparing myself for the last round," Smocks excused herself.

Himeko released the struggling boys. "That's right! The card game!"

"The one—" Bossun coughed and cleared his voice. "The one against that president dude?"

"President Agata Soujiro is a shrewd one," Switch commented.

"Yeah, I get that kind of vibe from him too. You better be careful, Smocks," Bossun said, frowning. "I know that you're pretty nonchalant about life in general, but we're currently at a tie. The outcome of the final round will determine who the winner is."

"You're taking your rivalry with the student council way too seriously," Smocks said.

His frown deepened. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Are not!"

"Are too."

"Smocks!"

"You didn't even want to do this competition in the first place. But once you heard that they were entering, you were all in for it."

Bossun exploded, "So what if I am!? This is personal, Smocks!"

"So why drag the rest of us into it?"

"Because I'm the chief! If this affects me, then it affects us all!"

"No, it's because Yabasawa-sempai is our client."

"Yeah—wait, what?"

"And we're here to get that facial feature for her gaming avatar."

Bossun faltered. "Smocks, what are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I—I—I'm here to help Yabasawa-san and defeat the student council, okay!?"

"If there was a basket of kittens hanging off of one cliff and a basket of puppies hanging off another cliff and you could only rescue one basket, which basket would you save?"

Himeko swatted the back of her head. "Stop antagonizing people, Smocks."

"Actually, most of her antagonizing is directed solely at Bossun," Switch said.

"That's right! You've been really mean to me, Smocks!" Bossun cried.

"Does that mean you're going to lose interest in picking on me about what anime I like to watch?" Takemitsu inquired.

"I'm going to go now," Smocks declared, moving away from the group.

"Smocks, don't you walk away from me, young lady! Smocks! Oi!"

"So, what would you save? The kittens or puppies?" Switch asked Bossun.

"I—ARGH."