Chapter 7 – Front-Row Friendship

And so, Thursday had come along. The day of the volleyball game. Like Yoshikawa-san said before, she didn't want to go. So, she went home right after school while I stayed behind until the game started in an hour.

It wasn't that bad of a wait. I ended up going to the library for the first time since transferring and found this really interesting book. Well…it was more like a manga than a book. It's about these two girls who start out as friends but slowly realize that they each have feelings for each other.

It was the first yuri manga that I've ever read. A-And there…th-there were parts that got me…r-rather riled up.

W-Wowie…th-those girls…n-never would've thought that they would actually have sex near the end. T-Took me by surprise…

…

I wonder, though…is it possible…for friends to turn out that way? In this case, it was two girls, so…

…

Y-Yoshikawa-san and I…

…

…

…

"W-W-Wait a second! I-I don't even swing that way!"

…

"A-At least…I-I think I don't."

"Uh…Toshinio-san?"

"Y-Yes?!" I panicked once I heard my name being called. Then I noticed who it was that was standing behind me. "O-Oh. Y-You're…"

"I'm Sugiura. I'm on the volleyball team with your cousin."

"O-Oh. I-I remember. N-Nice to see you."

"Same here. So, are you okay? you were just yelling a second ago."

"O-Oh, that…I-I'm fine. I-I was just…th-thinking out loud. S-Sorry for…w-worrying you."

"Oh, no. It's fine. Just…try to keep your voice down next time. You might worry a teacher if it happens again."

"N-Noted." I said with a nod of agreement.

"So, are you heading for the game? I was just heading there myself. Wanna go together?"

"H-Huh? Y-You don't…mind?"

"Of course not. I mean, we are going to the same place. Why not go together?"

"W-Well, yeah. But…"

"Plus, I'm pretty sure your cousin would be pretty upset if you missed the "biggest game of her life" as she called it."

"Y-Yeah. Th-That's true." I gained a sweatdrop.

"So, come on. I'll even stick by you so that you won't get anxious with all the people gathering up."

"W-Well…okay. Th-Thank you…Sugiura-san."

And so, Sugiura-san and I headed for the volleyball court for the game. When we got there, it was…r-rather bigger than I expected.

Both sides of the bleachers were packed with cheering fans. Presumably from Kohatsu and whoever they're playing against. I kinda forgot the name.

And at the center of the court were the two teams preparing to play against each other. I even saw Rukia on there. It was her, Tsu, and…th-those three girls from the showers.

D-Dear, God. I hope they don't notice me…

"W-Wow. I-It really is…p-packed in here." I said.

"As to be expected. This is the biggest game of the season."

"R-Really? H-How so?"

"Kohatsu and the other school Kumakura have had a huge rivalry with each other for years. We take matches against them seriously. And that's especially the case with volleyball."

"I-I see. S-Sounds like an exciting time."

"Yeah, sure is. It truly is the game of the centur-"

*PING*

"Gah! D-Damnit…"

"H-Hey. A-Are you okay? Wh-What's wrong?" I began panicking once I saw Sugiura-san slump down in what looked like pain.

"Hey, Kyouko." Rukia called out as she and Tsu walked up to us.

"R-Rukia. Ts-Tsu."

"Geez, Ayano. You still came here even with that injury?" Tsu asked the downed purple-haired girl.

"I-Injury?"

"Ayano sprained her leg two days ago during practice. So, she has to sit out while she recovers."

"Sp-Sprained her…l-leg?" It was then that I noticed the large bandage wrap on Sugiura's left leg. And was truly surprised.

"Wh-What? Y-You think I was going to miss a game like this?" Sugiura-san said as she was still in pain. "I may not be able to play in it. But at least I can still watch it. Ow…"

"Didn't Doc said that you need to stay off it for a few days?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah, I know. Once this game's over, I'll stay off it. For real this time. So, just let me watch. Please?"

…

…

…

"*sigh* Fine." Rukia said after a moment's silence. "Hey, do you mind sitting with her, Kyouko? Just to make sure she doesn't do too much moving during the game."

"S-Sure, Cousin. I'll do it."

"Great. You know, you're lucky that the three of us are friends, Ayano. Otherwise, I would've kicked you out with no questions asked."

"Thanks, Rukia." Sugiura-san said. "You know, it's rather shocking to see that you really can be sentimental."

"I know, right?" Tsu said. "You never expect that from her. It's always her being snooty about something."

"H-Hey! I-I am NOT snooty!"

"This is coming from the girl who calls herself "The Volleyball Queen"."

"That's because I am. I mean…as if anyone can compete with The Volleyball Queen Rukia-sama and win. THAT is truly impossible! Ohhohohoho!"

"Snooooooot." Tsu and Ayano teased.

"Q-Quit saying that, damnit!"

Are these three really friends?

"*whistle noise* 5 minutes, everyone. 5 minutes." The ref called out.

"*sigh* Whatever. The game's about to start. It should be fine with me, Tsu, and that perverted trio over there."

"Uh…Rukia…" Tsu pointed over to the court to show that the Kohatsu side was completely deserted.

"Wh-What the…Where did those three go?!"

"They went to go masturbate." One of the other teammates said with a huge sweatdrop of discomfort. "And I don't think they're going to be back in time, either."

"Ugh. Son of a bitch…Fine. Get two others and get on the court. If they do come back, they'll have to wait until the second set."

"Yes, Captain." The teammate then went off.

"Let's go. I don't want to think about those three minutes before the game."

"Be sure to cheer us on, you two." Tsu said as the two players went onto the court.

"W-We will." I said.

"Um…hey. Toshinio-san. Can you, uh…help me walk? My leg's already worse than before from walking all the way here."

"U-Um…s-sure…S-Sugiura-san. I-I'll help you."

"Thanks. I could ouch…really need it."

I walked with Sugiura-san to the nearest seats on the bleachers. Luckily for us, they were in the front row. So, it won't put much more unneeded pressure on her leg.

But…she was still hurting. A rather lot, actually.

"Ow…damn. I think I really did make it worse. Haruka's totally gonna kill me."

"Wh-Why did you come all this way…i-if it would make your leg feel worse?" I asked.

"Because. I've been looking forward to playing in this game since I started high school. With me being injured, I could at least watch this historic moment. I've heard how intense this one match can be from past students."

"W-Wow. I-Intense?"

"Yeah. And I was pretty excited to be a part of it. Especially if we win. But I guess my training too hard might have made my leg give up on me. The life of an athlete, I tell you. *sigh*" Sugiura-san then gained a really sad look on her face. Playing in this game must've been super important to her. And now…since she has that leg injury, she has to sit out of it.

I'm not that knowledgeable about sports. So, I have no idea what to say in that regard. But one thing I can say is…

"W-Well…a-at least you can watch the game. W-With a…fr-friend."

"Huh?"

"I-I said you could…a-at least watch the game."

"Yeah, I heard that. But what was that last part?"

"Uh…"

C-Come on, Kyouko. Now's not the time to be afraid. Sugiura-san needs to feel better and you're the only one that can do it. Just…say it already.

"I-I said…a-at least you can watch the game…w-with a…fr-friend."

"Friend? Y-You see me as…a friend, Toshinio-san?"

I was too embarrassed to really say much of anything. So, I just nodded my head yes without really really looking at her.

"W-Wow…th-thanks, Toshinio-san. I-I'm glad that…we can be friends." Sugiura-san started to blush a little. But…that wasn't what I was noticing. Along with her cheeks blushing, I saw these purple marks all over her body glowing a mildly-bright light. It was rather creepy, to be honest. And I started shaking in fear a bit.

"Ah! S-Sorry about that!" Sugiura-san panicked. The blushing and glowing had stopped almost immediately, too. "Pl-Please forget you saw that. Th-The glowing, I mean."

"Uh…s-sure." Was all I said.

Those marks can glow? I thought it was all some weird tattoo. Is that…some kind of illness?

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to this exciting volleyball exhibition match between Kohatsu Girls High and Kumakura Girls High. I, Student Council President Ariana Chéry, will be your commentator for the night. And joining me is Sakurako Ohmuro of the Volunteering Committee."

"Thanks for having me, Chéry-senpai!"

"S-So, who are those two?" I asked Sugiura-san.

"The black-haired girl is Ariana Chéry. She's a third-year and the current student council president. And then the blonde-haired girl with the small ponytail is Sakurako Ohmuro. She's part of the Volunteering Committee. And a bit of an airheaded loudmouth at times."

"A-Airheaded loudmouth?"

"You'll see."

"Fans are cheering from both sides as we're just seconds away from this yearly tradition of a match." The student council president said. "What are your thoughts, Ohmuro-san?"

"I'm just excited to see some exciting stuff going down!"

"Yes, that's something we all can agree with."

"Right?! And it's all thanks to our sponsor that it's actually happening!"

"Sp-Sponsor? Wh-What sponsor?"

"You didn't know? This game has a sponsor."

"What?"

"*clears throat* Thank you all for coming to this special event. Which, by the way, is sponsored by…" The girl known as Ohmuro suddenly took out a picture frame and slammed it onto the table she was sitting on.

"…Big Bill Hell's Cars! Home of Challenge Pissing!"

"Challenge what?!" Nearly everyone in the gym yelled in shock.

"Challenge Pissing?! Ooh~! That sounds fun!" The girl with the blonde hair made into a ponytail from the shower incident (I think her name is Ikumi) came out of nowhere seemingly excited about…wh-whatever THAT is.

"How does it work?" The girl with long thin white hair (I think her name is…Eri) asked.

"Well, ladies. If you can piss six feet in the air straight up and not get wet, you get no down payment!"

"D-Down payment on what?" I asked while Sugiura-san did a huge facepalm.

"Ooh~! That really does sound fun."

"Yeah, no kidding." Said the girl with short dark rose hair (I think her name was…Mayu? Probably). "Hey, Captain! Can't we just scrap this tedious game and do some Challenge Pissing?"

"We are NOT doing Challenge Pissing!" Rukia yelled in anger.

"Aw! But why not?!"

"I don't know if you three notice…BUT WE'RE ABOUT TO START THE FUCKING GAME HERE!"

"Well, yeah. We know that." Eri said. "But I rather do Challenge Pissing instead."

"If it's happening, then I want to be the judge!" Ohmuro-san yelled.

"Really? You'll watch us piss, Ohmuro-san?" Ikumi asked. "Oh~. Hearing that is making my pussy extremely wet!"

"Ours too!" Mayu and Eri cheered.

"Uh…hey, Captain. Is the Kohatsu team normally this perverted?" One of the Kumakura girls asked their captain.

"In my three years of playing volleyball against them…this is a first." The Captain said. With a look of discomfort just as huge as her teammates, the Kohatsu team, the audience, and especially myself.

"GAAAAAAAH! DAMN YOU THREE!" And Rukia was beyond pissed at this point.

"Y-You know…I-I'm not really interested in watching this game anymore." I said.

"Yeah…me neither." Sugiura-san said. "Hey I know this nice little café that's not too far from here. Wanna go with me?"

"C-Café?" I thought for a moment. "S-Sure. S-Sounds like fun, Sugiura-san."

"Hehhehhhehheh…yeah." Sugiura's body marks began to glow again as she gained a small smile on her face. It was the same smile that Yoshikawa had earlier. And it was just as cute, too.

…

A-Although…the glowing marks were still creepy.

Author's Note: The big game between Kohatsu and Kumakura…was pretty much ruined by sexual remarks and the idea of "Challenge Pissing". Whatever the hell that is.

But on the bright side, Kyouko and Ayano have bonded as friends during the very weird ordeal. So, there's that.

And now with two friends to rely on, Kyouko's in for an…interesting experience. So to speak.

Thanks for reading. Later.