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And that was how our hellish training schedule was set. It would begin the next day.

Why in the world did I have to join in?

Ultimately, wasn't this service club just a little fenced-off garden for weaklings to gather and doze off? Wasn't it just a club that collected worthless people and gave them a pleasant place to be for a while?

And how was any of that different from the "youth" I so despised?

Of course, Hiratsuka-sensei might be trying to turn this place into some kind of sanitarium, a place where we infected people could be isolated and treated…

…but if our illnesses could really be cured by something so trivial, then we wouldn't be sick to begin with.

Take Yukinoshita, for example. I have no idea what sort of things were weighing on her mind, but I knew that going to the club wouldn't make them go away.

Look at how I wanted to fucking die. That wasn't going anywhere.

To my knowledge, Totsuka Saika was the cutest person in the world. He was sincere, and, more importantly, he was kind to me. If we took the time and effort to nurture our love for one another, then I might mature as a human being as well. So what if I'm bi?

God is an idiot. Why can't I be gay?

I changed into my jersey and headed to the courts. Our school jersey was a pointlessly fluorescent light blue, and it stood out a lot. The almost impressively unfashionable color scheme made every student hate those uniforms, so they never wore them except during gym or sports practices.

So everyone else wore their normal uniforms, and I was the only one there standing out like an idiot in my jersey.

That was why I was snared by an annoying person.

"Hah hah hah hah Hachiman."

"Don't make my name part of your laughter…"

In all of Soubu High, only Zaimokuza could possibly have such a disgusting laugh. He stood, arms crossed, blocking my way.

"What a fortuitous meeting… I was on my way to deliver my new work. Come, feast your eyes! Behold!"

"Ahh, sorry… I'm a bit busy at the moment."

I slipped to the side, lightly dodging the bundle of papers he thrust out toward me… But Zaimokuza gently caught me by the shoulder.

"…Don't make up such sad lies. How in the world could you have plans?"

"It's not a lie… And you're the last person I want to hear that from."

Why did everyone say that? Did I really look like I really had so little to do with my time? I was always busy! I had voices in my head telling me to- okay. Okay! So I was crazy. But I knew I was crazy!

"Hmph, Hachiman, I understand… You simply wished to act cool for a bit, and so you made a small lie. And then, to protect that lie from exposure, you lied again. But that is an endless cycle, a tragic infinite cycle of deceit. See here, Hachiman, that spiral heads nowhere.

In general, human relationships head nowhere. But there is still time to pull yourself back from that abyss! …You helped me out once before, and now I will return the favor!"

Zaimokuza's pronouncement was second place on the list of things every man wanted to say some day. The sight of him giving me a thumbs up with such a self assured expression was annoying as hell…

"I really do have plans…"

I could literally feel an angry vein throbbing in my head, and I prepared to subdue Zaimokuza with words. But then…

"Hikigaya!"

As those energetic soprano words reached me, I felt Totsuka jump into my arms.

"Great timing. Let's go together?"

"Y-yeah, sure…"

Totsuka was wearing his racquet bag on his left shoulder, and, for some reason, his right hand had grabbed my left. What the hell…

"H-Hachiman… W-who is this…?"

"Y-you bastard! You've betrayed me!"

"What the hell do you mean 'betray'…?"

"Shut up! You half-assed playboy! You failure of a pretty boy! I was taking pity on you because you were a loner, but I see that made you all cocky!"

"'Half-assed'? 'Failure'? That's going too far…"

I was a loner though, so I couldn't deny that last bit. I wasn't a failure. Yet. Half-assed? Never.

Zaimokuza, still glaring at me with demonic eyes, groaned.

"I definitely won't forgive you…"

"Hey, calm down, Zaimokuza. Totsuka isn't a girl. He's a guy… Probably."

"D-d… D-don't screw with me! Someone that cute can't possibly be a guy!" I didn't sound very confident, and Zaimokuza shouted his response back at me.

"No, Totsuka is definitely a cute guy."

"That's… being called cute… it's a bit…" Totsuka, still standing next to me, was blushing and averting his eyes.

"Umm… Is he Hikigaya's friend?" Zaimokuza asked.

"That's a good question…"

"Hmph… There's no way I'd consider the likes of him a 'friend.'"

Zaimokuza was definitely sulking. Uwahh, this guy is a pain to deal with…

But it's not like I didn't get where he was coming from. It was natural to feel a little sad and betrayed if you found out that a guy you thought you could sympathize with, and then he turned out to be someone with a completely different set of values.

What could I say in this kind of situation to restore our relationship? Unfortunately, given my low number of experience points in this area, I really didn't know.

I felt a bit blue about this situation. I'd thought that Zaimokuza and I could, someday, get to a point that we could understand each other and laugh together…

But it seemed that such a thing was impossible.

Checking on someone, trying to make people feel better, making sure you never fell out of touch, sympathizing with them, and then, by those means, finally getting closer to someone… That kind of 'friendship' wasn't friendship at all. If such annoying things were what people called 'youth,' then I was completely fine without it.

Hanging out in these stagnant groups, always acting like you were having fun, was nothing short of self-gratification. That self-gratification was nothing short of self deceit. What a despicable vice.

…I mean, look at this situation; dealing with Zaimokuza's jealousy was insanely annoying.

Once I had internally verified the rectitude of my own set of values, I pledged myself to the path of the loner.

"Totsuka, let's go."

I pulled Totsuka by the arm. "Ah, okay…" He responded, but he didn't move.

"Zaimokuza… Was it?"

Zaimokuza seemed at a bit of a loss, but finally gave a nod.

"If you're Hikigaya-kun's friend, then maybe we could… be friends too? That would… make me happy. I don't have many guy friends…"

Totsuka said that and gave a shy smile.

"Fu… ku, ku ku ku ku. Indeed, Hachiman and I are close friends… No, we are comrades… No no no, I am the master and he is the slave… Well, when you put it like that, then I suppose I have no choice. I will… ummm… grace you with my friendship. We could even be lovers."

"You made it weird. My mans," I aggrieved.

"Uhh, I don't think that's… a good idea. Let's just stick with friendship."

"Hm, I see… Hey, Hachiman. You think this one here likes me? Does that mean I'm getting popular now? It does, right?"

Zaimokuza quickly drew close to me and whispered into my ear.

… As I thought: someone like Zaimokuza is no friend of mine.

Someone who would do a complete one-eighty if they thought they could get close to a pretty girl was no friend of mine.

"…Totsuka, let's go… If we're late, then Yukinoshita's going to explode."

"Hm, that wouldn't be good at all… Then let us hasten forth. That one is… seriously scary, after all." Zaimokuza began to follow me and Totsuka. It seemed that he had decided to join the party…

By the time we got to the tennis courts, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama were already there.

Yukinoshita was still wearing her uniform, but Yuigahama had changed into her jersey.

They had probably decided to eat lunch there. When they saw us, they both quickly cleared their incredibly small bento boxes.

"Well then, let's begin."

"I-I look forward to working with you."

Totsuka faced Yukinoshita and gave her a small bow.

"First, we have to build up the muscle strength that Totsuka-kun is fatally lacking. Biceps, deltoids, pectorals, abdominal muscles, obliques, dorsal muscles, femoral muscles-we'll all do pushups and build everything up… To start, please work until you're ready to die."

"Uwaah, Yukinon seems really smart… Wait, ready to die?"

"Yes. The more you damage the muscles, the more they try to repair themselves, but each time they do, the muscular fibers grow stronger. This is what they call 'supercompensation.' In other words, if you work yourself to the brink of death, then you'll be able to power up all in one go."

"The hell, we're not Saiyans or something…"

"Well, you won't really be able to build muscle immediately this way, but it should also increase the speed of your basal metabolism."

"Basal metabolism?" I could almost see the question mark above Yuigahama's head. Did she seriously not even know that much…? Yukinoshita seemed a bit stunned. She seemed to decide that it was better to just explain things than to pass blame around, though, so she explained it briefly.

"In short, it's a way to make your body more fit for exercise. If your basal metabolism rate increases, then it becomes easier for you to use calories. In other words, it increases your body's energy conversion efficiency."

Yuigahama nodded at that explanation. Then her eyes suddenly sparkled.

"Easier to use calories… So we'd lose weight?"

"…I suppose so. You'll be able to use calories more easily, even when you're just breathing or digesting, so you'll get thinner without any special effort."

Yukinoshita's words strengthened the sparkles in Yuigahama's eyes… For some reason, it almost seemed as if Yuigahama was now filled with even more motivation than Totsuka. Yuigahama's new motivation also seemed to trigger something in Totsuka, who clenched his fists tight.

"L-let's try it out then."

"I-I'm gonna start too!"

Totsuka and Yuigahama lay down on their bellies and slowly began to do pushups.

"Nngh… Khh, fuu, hah…"

"Ooo, khh… Nnngh, hahh, hahh, nngh!"

I heard pained, labored breathing. Their faces were warped with anguish, they both broke out into a light sweat, and their cheeks were flushed. Perhaps Totsuka's slender arms made it especially hard for him, but he occasionally sent me pleading looks. When he looked up at me like that, from that position… I dunno… It made me feel kind of strange. I might be gay. I might be gay. I might be gay. I think I can.

Each time Yuigahama's arms bent, I caught a glimpse of the sparkling skin beyond her gym uniform's collar. Not good… I can't look at that straight on.

My pulse began to race faster and faster, to the point where you could say I was experiencing arrhythmia.

"Hachiman… What is this? For some reason, I feel completely at peace…"

"Don't… don't talk to me…" I managed.

"…How about you two exercise as well to get your minds out of the gutter?"

"Can't. I'm busy." I gestured at my face like that meant something. Yukinoshita glared. "Or I can do push ups. That works."

"H-hm. The warrior's code demands that one never fall behind on training. I suppose I shall join in as well!"

We both dropped to the floor with alarming vigor and began to do pushups. As I exercised, Yukinoshita circled around to my front.

"When you do that, it almost looks like some new way of kowtowing…" Yukinoshita chuckled.

"I bet you'd like it if I kowtowed to you," I grunted.

"What did you just say?"

"You… heard me…" I managed between exertions.

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And so, as the days continued, we were soon thrust into phase two of our tennis training.

That might have been a bit too dramatic. In other words, we had finished our basic training, and were finally practicing with actual equipment.

Though, when I said 'we,' I really meant 'Totsuka.' He was the only one who had to spend all his time rallying against the wall, as per the instructions of the demonic instructor Yukinoshita.

Well, it's not like we could actually keep up with a tennis team member, so it was just free time for us.

Yukinoshita just sat and read books under the shade of a nearby tree, but once in a while, when she seemed to remember that Totsuka was there, she would go over to check on him and issue further commands.

Initially, Yuigahama had joined Totsuka's practices, but she grew bored of it quickly and now spent most of her time napping next to Yukinoshita. She was like a dog someone had brought to the park, once it got tired and plopped down next to one of the park's watering holes.

And in true Zaimokuza fashion, he was earnestly working on developing his secret ultimate magic shot technique. Hey, stop throwing acorns, dammit… And stop digging up the clay court with your racquet.

In the end, there was no use in gathering this many useless people in one place.

And me, you ask?

I was lazing around in one corner of the court observing ants. It was super fun.

No, seriously, it was really fun.

Did you know ants engaged in more acts of mutualism than any other species. There was a name for plants which worked with ants. Myrmecophytes. If you took my brain apart and just hand ants carrying blocks around instead of neurotransmitters you should get the same result. Which was a fascinating thought experiment. I should adopt some ants. I read about a guy who genetically engineered himself out of being lactose intolerant using nothing more than household chemicals to make the CRISPR virus. I could probably domesticate ants doing something similar…

…Maybe I should kill some time by watching whatever that cute Totsuka was doing.

"The number of elements in the empty set is zero…" I murmured. "The number of elements in the set which contains the empty set is one. The number of elements in the set which contains the empty set and the set containing the empty set is two. So goes Neumann's successor function."

It was a simple proof of the natural numbers but it was instrumental to set theory. Neumann came up with the successor function. Cantor, another part mad mathematician, came up with the other argument.

When I looked ahead, I saw that Yuigahama had woken up at some point. Yukinoshita had ordered her to laboriously carry around a ball cart. She would take balls from the cart and hurl them at Totsuka, and then Totsuka would try his utmost to get to those balls.

"Yuigahama-san, please try to throw the balls in tougher locations, like over there or there… This practice is meaningless otherwise." Yukinoshita was calm and collected; Totsuka, on the other hand, was breathing heavily as he chased after balls at the line and then at the net.

And I thought I was insane. Yukinoshita was nuts. Stop looking at me, dammit… That's scary. How is it that you can read my mind…?

Yuigahama's aim was completely random (to say nothing of her form), and every ball she threw went off in some completely unpredictable direction.

Totsuka would run and try to catch up to the balls, but, sometime around the twentieth ball, he finally fell to the ground.

"Uwah, Sai-chan! Are you okay?!" Huigahama stopped throwing balls and run up to the net. Totsuka rubbed his knees but he smiled through his tear-filled eyes and tried to assert that he was fine. What a brave fellow…

"I'm fine, so let's keep going."

However, Yukinoshita scowled once she heard that. "You… still want to keep going?"

"Yeah… Everyone's helping me, so I want to put a bit more effort in."

"…I see. Well, Yuigahama-san, I'll leave the rest to you."

Yukinoshita said that, then briskly turned on her heel and disappeared back into the school building. Totsuka seemed anxious as he watched her go.

"Did I… say something to… make her angry…?"

"Nah, she's just always like that… Actually, she didn't call you stupid or untalented, so she might be in a pretty good mood," I chimed in.

"Doesn't she only say that to Hikki?"

Nah, Yuigahama, she says those things to you pretty often… You just don't notice.

"Maybe she just… got frustrated with me…? I haven't gotten any better, and I can only do five pushups…"

Totsuka's shoulders dropped as he looked down at the floor. Hm, well, I guess that wasn't too out of character for Yukinoshita…

However…

"I don't think that's the case. Yukinon won't ever abandon people who come to her for help."

Yuigahama said that as she twirled a ball round and round in her hand.

"Well, that's true… I mean, she even tried to help Yuigahama learn to cook. There's still some hope for you, so I doubt Yukinoshita's given up."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Yuigahama demanded. She whipped a ball at my face. It scored a clean hit and made a clonk sound as it bounced off the side of my head. Oh sure. Now you can aim.

I picked up the ball that was now rolling on the floor and tossed it lightly back to Yuigahama.

"She'll probably come back eventually, so… Shall we keep going?"

"…Okay!" Totsuka answered energetically and went back to practicing.

For a while after that, there was not another complaint uttered, nor were there any more tears.

Totsuka was just trying his best.

"Ugh, I'm so tired~~… Hikki, switch with me."

In fact, Yuigahama was the first one to complain…

Can't you see how busy I am? I'm thinking about the piano axioms over here. I'm so, so busy.

"All right. We can switch."

"Yay~~. Oh, by the way, this gets boring by the sixth throw, so be careful." The sixth?! That was way too fast. Was her endurance really that terrible?

As I went over to take the balls from Yuigahama, I saw her previously smiling expression turn a bit hazy and gloomy.

"Ah, someone's playing tennis! Tennis!"

I turned around at the sound of those merry-sounding voices, and saw a large group with Hayama and Miura at the center. They were walking towards us, and as they passed by Zaimokuza, they seemed to notice me and Yuigahama.

"Ah… It's Yui…" A girl next to Miura spoke in a soft voice.

Miura took a single glance at me and Yuigahama, then ignored us and turned towards Totsuka. (It seemed that she hadn't ever looked at Zaimokuza.)

"Hey, Totsuka. Can we play around here too?"

"Miura-san, I'm not really… playing around… I'm practicing…"

"Huh? What? I couldn't hear you."

Totsuka had spoken very softly, so Miura hadn't seemed to hear him. He fell silent at her response, but… I mean, if someone asked me a question that way, then I would definitely also be unable to talk. She was seriously scary.

Totsuka gathered up what little courage he could find and tried again.

"I-I'm practicing…"

But Her Highness didn't seem to give a damn.

"Hmmm, but you know, there are people here who aren't on the tennis team, so… It's not like the boy's tennis team has the courts reserved, right?"

"T-that's true… but…"

"Well, then isn't it fine if we use them too? Why wouldn't it be?"

"…But…"

After he said that, Totsuka seemed troubled and looked towards me… Wait, me?

Well, I guess there was no else he could turn to. Yukinoshita had gone off somewhere, Yuigahama was looking away with an uncomfortable expression on her face, and nobody cared about Zaimokuza… So I guess there was only me.

"Ah, sorry, but Totsuka asked to use this court, so we can't let other people use it."

"Huh? But, like I said, you're not on the tennis team and you're using it."

"Ah, umm, that's just because we're helping Totsuka practice, so it's, like, outsourcing, or something."

"Huh? What are you babbling about? That's a bit gross."

Yeah, yeah. This girl obviously had no intention of listening to us at all… That's why I hated that kind of stupid bitch. What kind of primate didn't understand language? Even dogs understand words, for God's sake.

"Okay, okay, let's not get into a fight."

Hayama cut in and tried to mediate.

"Come on, it's more fun if everyone plays. Can't we just do it that way?"

Hayama's words got on my nerves. Miura had cocked the rifle, but he had pulled the trigger.

"Seriously. We're trying to help Totsuka practice. Do you mind?" I demanded.

"Ah, umm… I didn't mean anything by that. Umm… I'm sorry, I guess? If you have something on your mind, then you can always come to me for advice."

"There's always something on my mind. I would hardly expect you to understand a word of it, however." They say Von Neumann talked as equals with a five year old. I wonder if I was applying that now. I was probably failing. I wasn't Von Neumann.

Hayama was a good person…

But… If I could be saved by that kind of cheap sympathy, then I wouldn't need saving to begin with. If my problems just required a few kind words, then I wouldn't really have problems.

"We don't ask for much. We keep our heads down. We just want to use the tennis court. And here you come riding in to take even that from us. Do you mind? A little?"

"Hm, well, hmm…"

"Hey, come on, Hayato~~…" A lazy voice slipped in from the side. "What are you just standing there for? I want to play tennis."

And the idiot with the curls had arrived. Was there something wrong with her brain cells? Keep up with the conversation, dammit… You're the type of person who gets the brake and the gas pedal mixed up, aren't you?

Indeed, Miura had pushed the gas pedal instead of the brakes.

And that gave Hayama a bit more time to think. That little pause was enough to turn the ignition key in his brain.

"Hm, all right, then let's do this: all the people not on the team will play a match, and the ones who win will be able to use the courts during lunch break from now on. Naturally, the winners will also help Totsuka practice. It's always better to practice with better players, right? That would be more fun for everyone."

"Very well," I purred. I couldn't fault his logic. I watched Miura and Yuigahama shudder as the words left my lips. I said it slowly and let the words drop like cold water and Hayama hesitated looking at me. And in that moment I knew that he knew that I did that on purpose. Hayama was no slouch when it came to social cues it would seem. Von Neumann called that 'common knowledge.' When you know that they know that you know ad infinitum. And they know that you know that they know ad infinitum. He knew.

"Tennis match? …Hm, that sounds really fun." Miura gave the kind of fierce smile that only the Queen of Fire could.

And all the hangers-on also seemed to be greatly roused by that suggestion of Hayama's. And so, swept away by the heat of impending battle, bowing to chaos and frenzy, we were thrust into phase three of our training. …that might have sounded a bit too cool. In other words, we were betting the tennis courts on a match. How the hell had it come to this…?

Quite a few people had begun to crowd around the tennis courts, which were located in one corner of the schoolyard. If I were to count, I would say that we had two hundred people here, easy. That of course included Hayama's group, but there were plenty of other people who had come after hearing about the event.

Most of those people were Hayama's friends or his fans. They were mostly second-years, but there were a few first-years mixed in, and I also saw a third year here and there.

Was this guy for real…? He was more popular than our politicians.

"HA~ YA~ TO~ GO! HA~ YA~ TO~ GO!"

The spectators who were cheering for Hayama started to do the wave. It was like being in the middle of an idol concert… But most people here probably weren't huge Hayama fans, they were just here to watch a strange event. …right? I'd really like to believe that…

In any case, looking at the crowd around me sent chills down my spine. It was like a religious cult… The church of youth is a scary thing indeed.

And Hayama Hayato emerged from that chaotic melting pot, confidently striding out to the center of the court. Despite the huge audience, he seemed perfectly at ease. He was probably used to that much attention. In addition to his usual followers, some girls and boys from other classes had joined him.

We'd been swallowed whole, more or less. Our glances darted back and forth and back and forth. I closed my eyes; I could feel myself growing dizzy from the ear shattering commotion.

Hayama was already gripping his racquet and was standing on the court. He stared at us with interest, wanting to know which one of us would step up first.

"Hey… Hikki, what should we do?"

"What should we do, huh…"

Yuigahama seemed uneasy. I took a glance at Totsuka; he looked like a frightened bunny dropped in an unfamiliar forest.

Even when he talked to me, he did so really timidly and with his feet turned inwards. Geez, that was insanely cute…

I wasn't the only one who thought so. As Totsuka walked, looking so vulnerable, I heard girls all around us give high-pitched squeals of "Prince~~!" or "Sai-chaaan~~!"

But every time Totsuka heard one of those cries, he just trembled. Seeing that just made Totsuka's fans writhe in pleasure and cheer even more. I couldn't help but writhe in pleasure a bit myself.

"So I guess Totsuka can't participate…"

Hayama had said that this match would be between people who weren't on the team… In other words, this was a match to win the courts and Totsuka himself.

"Hey, can't you hurry it up?" God, that bitch was annoying… I lifted my head and saw Miura holding a racquet and checking it over. Hayama also seemed to think that was unusual. Peace of mind for ten seconds was all I craved.

"Huh? Yumiko's gonna play too?"

"What? Yeah, obviously… I'm the one who wanted to play tennis, remember?"

"I know, but… The other team is going to probably send out a guy. You know, that, umm… Hikitani guy? Him. If you had to play him, it wouldn't be too fair."

Who the hell is Hikitani? Hikitani wasn't playing. Hikigaya was playing… probably playing.

Miura listened to Hayama's warning and fell into thought, playing with her long curly strands of hair.

"Oh, then let's do mixed doubles! Geez, I'm pretty smart, aren't I? But is there seriously a girl who wants to play with Hikitani? Haha, that's hilarious!"

"Ha-ha," I pronounced.

Miura started to let out a high-pitched, vulgar laugh, and the audience began to laugh as well. I couldn't help but laugh myself. Ugh, it hurt to admit it, but that was really effective. I could feel myself plunging into darkness.

"Hachiman, this isn't good… You have no female friends at all, and no girl will help out a plain-looking loner bastard like you, even if you ask. What are you going to do?"

Shut up, Zaimokuza… And he was completely right, so I couldn't even argue with him.

We were past the point where I could just go 'ahahah sorry~~. Let's just forget all about this wink 3.' I looked to Zaimokuza for help, but he just awkwardly looked away and started whistling badly.

I let out a sigh. That seemed to be a trigger; Yuigahama and Totsuka also sighed.

"…"

"Hikigaya-kun, sorry… If I were a girl, then I would be happy to play with you, but…"

That's definitely true. Why wasn't Totsuka a girl? He was so cute…

"…Don't worry about it." I murmured. I didn't let my own anxiety show; I just patted Totsuka on the head. "And… You don't have to worry about this either. If you have somewhere you belong, then you should protect that place."

Yuigahama's shoulders shook. She bit her lip and gave me an apologetic look.

Yuigahama had her own position in the class. Unlike me, she was actually quite good when it came to human relationships, so she still really wanted to get along with Miura and the others.

I was a loner, but that didn't mean I was envious of the people who were doing well for themselves. It's not like I was wishing misfortune onto them… No, really. I'm not lying.

It's not like we were some group of friends or something; I wouldn't call any of them my friends. We were just a mish-mash of random people who gathered (or perhaps were gathered) for some random reason.

I just had something to prove. Loners weren't meant to be pitied-they were just as good as anybody else. I wanted to show them that. I was well-aware that it was a self-absorbed train of thought, but I was just a completely self-absorbed guy when I was alone. But I would not reject who I am or who I was. I would never believe that solitude was a sin or was somehow wrong.

So I would fight in order to protect my own personal sense of justice.

"…it." I heard a soft, soft, extremely soft sigh that was whisked away by the buzz of the crowd.

"Huh?"

"I said, I'll do it!"

Yuigahama groaned softly while her face turned completely red.

"Yuigahama? Idiot. Are you an idiot? Just cut it out."

"How am I an idiot?!"

"Why are you gonna do it? Are you an idiot?" Come on, girl. I was trying to spare your feelings here. I gave her a questioning look, and Yuigahama shyly looked away.

"…Well, umm, how should I put it…? I'm also in the service club, so… it's not strange for me to do stuff like this… It's where I belong."

"Wait, calm down a sec… Be more aware of what's happening here. This isn't the only place you belong, right? Hey, look: the girls in your usual group are glaring at you."

"Eh, seriously?" Yuigahama stiffened and looked over towards Hayama's group. I could almost hear her neck creak as she slowly turned her head. I was tempted to tell her to use some WD-40 or something.

The group of girls around Hayama, with Miura at their head, were looking at us. It was natural for them to do that, considering what Yuigahama had announced so loudly.

There was hostility resting in Miura's humongous eyes, eyes that were painted black with mascara and eyeliner. Her drill-like rolls of blonde hair waved from side to side unhappily.

"Yui, you know, if you join that side, then you're going against us. Right?"

Miura acted like a queen, crossing her arms and tap-tapping her foot on the ground. It was the 'angry queen' pose. Yuigahama felt the pressure of that pose and slowly looked down at the ground. She gripped the hem of her skirt. She might have been nervous-her hands were trembling.

The overly-curious audience began to whisper amongst themselves. It was nothing short of a public execution.

But Yuigahama lifted her head, and firmly looked straight ahead. "…That's… not what I want. But, club… Club is also really important to me! So I'm gonna do this."

"Hmmm… I see. Try not to embarrass yourself then."

Miura responded curtly, but I saw her start to smile. That smile burned with the fires of hell.

"Change then. I'm gonna borrow clothes from the girl's tennis team, so you come too."

Miura jerked her head toward the tennis club rooms near the courts. She was probably trying to be nice, but to me it sounded like she was saying, 'I'm gonna strangle you behind the club rooms.' And as Yuigahama left with her, her expression stiff, everyone around us sent her off with looks of compassion.

Well, uhh… It was nice knowing you…

"Hey, Hikitani."

As I prayed for Yuigahama, Hayama spoke up to me. He must have pretty good communication skills to be talking to me… Even though he got my name wrong.

"What?"

"I don't really know the rules for tennis here, and doubles also seems really hard. So do you mind if we just make up some simple rules?"

"Well, this is beginner's tennis after all… Let's just hit a few balls around and keep track of points. How's that? It'll be kind of like volleyball."

"Ah, that's easy to understand… Sounds good."

Hayama gave me a bright smile. I responded with an unpleasant smile.

At that point, the two girls came back.

Yuigahama was red in the face and was trying her utmost to adjust her skirt. She was also wearing a uniform polo shirt.

"This tennis uniform is a bit… Isn't the skirt really short?"

"But you're always wearing stuff that short…" I cut in.

"Wha…?! What does that mean?! A-are you always looking at me! So gross! Gross! You're seriously gross!"

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled. Yuigahama glared at me fiercely, raising her racquet above her head. "It's fine! I don't look at all! I don't notice you at all! Don't worry! Also, don't hit me!"

"For some reason… that's also annoying…" Yuigahama said and slowly lowered her racquet.

"Well when you decide what you want me to do, let me know."

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-WG