"Ready to go again?"
Bounce. Bounce. Shujinkou's eyes followed the basketball constantly falling and flying back to Kiyoko's hand.
"Yes?"
Everything Shujinkou knew about basketball came from a series known as Slam Dunk. He never thought he'd be interested in a sports series; however, The Prince of Tennis already convinced him to give more of them a chance.
He learned a lot of technical terms and both offensive and defensive strategy. He naturally could never execute them as he'd only read about it, but he could at least recognize them.
However, all that knowledge meant nothing when faced with someone like Kiyoko.
She dribbles the ball without a care in the world. Either the gap in their skills was that large, or her calm and worry-free nature bled into the game.
What am I saying? It's probably both.
Proving his point instantly, Kiyoko ran past him and swiftly laced the ball in the basket.
"Man, Kiyoko, you're like the Rukawa to my Haruko."
"Are you implying me playing basketball made you fall for me?"
"Wha-? No, no!" Shujinkou vehemently shook his head. "I was just saying that that's a pretty accurate comparison to our skill level."
"Careful now, Shujinkou, you may one day accidentally imply that I'm undesirable," Kiyoko laughed.
"N-Not at all…"
"Still… Rukawa, huh?"
Kiyoko dribbled the ball as she walked past him.
She walked further and further away from the basket, the distance bringing her slam dunk from last semester up in Shujinkou's mind.
Once far enough, she quickly turned around and shot the ball forward. Shujinkou's eyes widened as he watched the ball perfectly fall through the net.
"You just did a quick turn 3-pointer…" he said, breathless. Maybe I am a little Haruko there too.
Shujinkou was initially supposed to have a meeting with the principal immediately after school, however something occurred that delayed it to a little later. His day-long anxiety had already reached a critical point once the last bell rang, and being told that he had to bear with it a little longer did not help.
It was then when Kiyoko suggested they play a quick game of basketball to get his mind off things and, fortunately for them, no clubs were using the gym at the moment.
"Wow…" Natsuki had been sitting on the sidelines, watching the one-sided match unfold. "She can play a guitar, play an ocarina, not be bothered by Mali at all and is such a professional player that she knows just how to shoot so no one can peek up her skirt. I still don't know how Shujinkou sprung someone like her on us out of nowhere."
"Ooh!" Sayori's eyes sparkled with excitement as she squeed. "Yoki's releasing a new Christmas album with two new holiday singles."
"Really!?"
Shujinkou curiously scratched his right cheek, noting the excitement his friends showed over the sudden news.
"I still find the power of an idol incredible… It's kinda like Uta."
"The power of a mystery idol," Kiyoko corrected.
"You think that's going to last forever? I mean, it seems like something's going to reveal her one day. Leakers have only gotten better and then there's that footage of Yoki from the back. Really surprised to hear her talking with an accent though. She doesn't sing with one."
"Maybe it's to protect against leakers," Kiyoko said with a shrug. "These days mysteries have so many layers to them that it actually takes you back to the top one."
"I guess."
"Though I guess v-tubing could help a little too."
"Now I'm thinking about Iono, and she doesn't even technically count as one," Shujinkou chuckled.
Suddenly, Shujinkou felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
"…It's gotta be time. I'll see you guys after, okay?"
"Wait, Shiko," Sayori approached him with a serious look on her face. "Remember to be really respectful."
"He's Shujinkou," Natsuki pointed out.
"Still. Plus, try not to bring up your last encounter. It'd be better if you try and act like it's your first time meeting him."
"I really didn't pay much attention, so it really is like a first meeting…" Shujinkou said with a pained chuckle.
"Well, just remember that principals are not someone you should be afraid of. They take pride in guiding the students they watch over and I'm sure he'll go easy on you, especially since he knew what you were going through."
That last part caught Shujinkou's attention. "Wait… how does he know that?"
"How…?" Sayori began laughing nervously. "I may have mentioned something to him earlier today…"
"…You really can't stop doing that, can't you?" Natsuki admonished.
"It's not like I tried to make things worse," Sayori argued with a pout. "I just wanted to make things less awkward for Shiko. Plus, I was really vague on the details."
"Still, you should have ran it through Shujinkou first. That's pretty personal stuff you could have spilled."
"It's fine," Shujinkou interjected. "Besides, it may sound like I'm trying to make an excuse if I just coincidentally have an explanation for being rude back then."
He scratched his right cheek and left without saying another word.
…
"Fuyu?" Shujinkou arrived in front of the Principal's Office as instructed only to be met with a bewildering sight. He found Fuyu wearing what appeared to be cobbled together armor covered in splashes of paint. "What happened?"
"The reason for the meeting being delayed," she grumbled. "Turns out that the art club can get pretty 'passionate' about opposing opinions on what era style their winter poster should be based on."
"Oh… Sorry you had to go through that."
"Well, so was the club after I got through with them."
"I kinda feel bad for them now…"
"Forget about them, you need to focus on your meeting with our principal."
Shujinkou nodded his head. However, if there was a messy incident just before he arrived, would he catch Principal Taiki fuming from the incident?
The thought brought back his feelings of dread from before.
"Well, I guess this is it."
"Don't look so worried, Shujinkou. It's just a simple meeting to give your request. The worst you can do is not try, right?"
"Right. Well, here goes."
Shujinkou knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Shujinkou slowly opened the door. It was as if he was opening a pathway that led to a whole other dimension.
He was entering uncharted territory, an entire stretch of a strange land he just shut himself in.
"Well, well… Long time no see, Shujinkou."
Standing behind the desk was a young man flashing a Shujinkou a nostalgic smile. His shoulder-length auburn hair flowed with the incoming breeze, leaving Shujinkou with one comment.
What timing.
He scratched his right cheek. Principal Taiki wasn't anything like he imagined the man to be. He expected an older figure, not someone who seemed to be the same age as his parents. Moreover, he had an inviting air to him, an attribute that caused Shujinkou to drop all his mental guards.
I really didn't pay attention last time.
"What's wrong? There something on my face?"
Shujinkou quietly watched as Taiki removed his glasses and quickly swabbed his face with his right hand.
"Um… You wanted to see me sir?"
"Hm? Last I recalled, you asked Fuyu to set up this meeting," Taiki pointed this out before putting his glasses back on."
"Oh right."
"So… What does our local hero have to ask of me?"
"You don't have to call me that."
"But I do. You see I'm the one who gave Akuma a second chance. I wanted to believe in the man redeeming himself and look what happened – several of my students put in mortal danger right under my nose and having to have another clean up the mess I let happen. And because of that, you lost precious time from your life because of my incompetence."
Taiki solemnly lowered his head as he approached Shujinkou.
"So, for that…"
Shujinkou was stunned by what happened next – his principal was on the ground, bowing to him.
"You have my sincerest thanks and deepest apologies."
Shujinkou genuinely did not know how to respond. Of all the ways he expected this meeting to go, this scenario had never been considered a possibility.
"…I believe you're supposed to say, 'Please, Sensei, don't deface yourself like this.'"
"S-sorry, it's just that… This is really not how I expected things to go."
"Fair enough," Taiki wasted no time getting back on his feet. "Still, my apology stands. I truly regret the things you and your friends had to go through. I never expected such a domino effect."
"Yeah, neither did I… But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about, sir."
"Right, you wanted to talk to me about allowing you to take part in the exams that are only days away."
Taiki returned to his desk and plopped down in his chair. His now stern eyes were glued to Shujinkou.
"Tell me, why should I grant a student with an infamous history of up and down grades special permission to take exams he has little time to prepare for instead of following his teachers' recommendation? You certainly don't believe you'll do well after missing a month of school?"
"I know the odds are heavily against me, but as you said earlier, I lost a month of my life and even before then, I wasted years dwelling on stuff I refused to properly confront. I know have things to look forward to now and I don't want to miss anything else. And if that means that I have to tackle an impossible task to do so, then I'll gladly take the risk."
"That so?" Taiki rhythmically tapped his finger along the edge of his desk and pondered Shujinkou's response. "…Alright. I'll allow it."
"Really?" Shujinkou marveled.
"Sure. I like your determination. Besides, if you didn't ace your exams, you'd have to take remedial anyway, so I see no harm in allowing you to take them with the rest of the students."
"Thank you, Sensei!"
"Think nothing of it. I'm rooting for you to make a comeback like you did all last year."
"Yeah!"
His task now complete, Shujinkou made his way to the entrance of the school to meet up with his friends.
"How'd it go?" Monika asked.
"He gave me permission," Shujinkou grinned.
"As expected of Senpai, you always get results," Mali congratulated. "Still, how do you expect to catch up to a month's worth of classes in just a few days?"
"I was kind of just thinking of shutting myself in my room and studying until the day of."
"True, but what will you do if you get stuck on something, Senpai? The chances are pretty high since this stuff is pretty new to you, right? Think of all the time wasted trying to flounder to understanding."
He never thought about that. This was different from reviewing something he had hammered into him over and over, now Shujinkou was tasked with learning new concepts in just a few days.
Suddenly, his impossible task seemed even more impossible.
"If you want, Shujinkou, I could tutor you again," Monika offered.
"Really? You're willing to do that, Monika?"
"Of course. I can't find it in me to ignore you in your time of need."
"Hold on," Natsuki objected. "What's this about you being available for tutoring? How come that offer wasn't available for anyone else?"
"Well… A lot of things happened, and we weren't really talking to each other until recently," Monika defended.
"You guys weren't talking?" Shujinkou's surprised response instantly gripped the Literature Club's hearts. "Why weren't you guys talking until now?"
"They simply needed time to themselves to mentally recover from a close encounter," Fuyu answered swiftly. "It was only a temporary reprieve as you can see."
"Oh. I can certainly understand that."
"Just one of the benefits of your coma, Senpai. I know that would have made you worry incessantly," Mali giggled.
"Can we please get back on topic?" Natsuki requested.
"About that… Monika, I don't think you're in such a hot position to tutor yourself," Fuyu said. "You're catching up yourself."
"True, but I always found tutoring Shujinkou reinforced the knowledge for me too," Monika calmly argued.
"But you still need to focus on your own courses. The ones you don't share with Shujinkou."
"President-san is right School Idol-san. Frankly Senpai needs help from someone that isn't pretty much in the same boat as him. Someone like his Kōhai," Mali proposed.
"Why you?" Natsuki questioned.
"Because I'm the only one here that doesn't let their biological urges cloud their thoughts, especially compared to Knife-wieldy-san over there."
"M-Me? W-Why would you give me such a designation?" Yuri stammered.
"Guys, we keep falling off topic," Sayori stated sternly. "The fact is, at least half of us here needs help studying for the final hurdle."
"Do you have an idea, Sayori?" Monika asked.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it ever since Shiko woke up. Instead of just tutoring separately maybe we can do it together. We can have a Study Sleepover!"
"Study sleepover?" Shujinkou repeated, perplexed by the idea.
"Mm-hmm. We'll spend the weekend together somewhere and help each other study the topics we need the most help with. That way we'll all be equally prepared."
"That sounds like a marvelous idea," Yuri complimented. "Just one question, where would we hold such a group activity?"
"Eh? I kinda just assumed we would do it at Shiko's house. We've been going there a lot lately anyway."
"It's because of that that I say we shouldn't. I think Hiro needs a few days off from having to look after all of us," Natsuki reasoned.
"Then we can use my place," Kiyoko suggested.
"Oh yeah, your place would be great to have a study sleepover," Sayori approved.
"You sure about this Kiyoko? You don't have to lend your house out us again if you don't want to," Shujinkou assured.
Kiyoko shrugged. "It's cool. It actually sounds pretty fun."
"Then it's decided. This weekend we'll host the first Study Sleepover at Kiyo's place!" Sayori triumphantly announced.
"A Study Sleepover, eh?" Unbeknownst to the group, Principal Taiki had presided over the conversation from his window.
He found the idea interesting and fun. And as he thought this, he found his attention drawn to Shujinkou.
"He's like you in one regard."
He took note of the genuine joy Shujinkou expressed around his friends. It was almost hard to believe he was looking at the same student who could barely keep himself grounded in reality.
"But way different in a lot of other aspects. Not much like the father, huh, Jomei?"
Extra
Physical Intimacy
"Hey, Lilium-san… Have you ever imagined fornicating with Senpai?" Mali questioned.
"W-W-W-W-Why would you ask something like that so suddenly!?" Yuri fretted.
"Just asking."
"But why?"
"Well, from what I've seen and gathered from past interactions I've heard from Senpai, you seem to desire some physical intimacy with Senpai. Much more so than the others."
"That's not true…"
Mali playfully tilted her head and smiled.
"Well… It's not like… That is to say…"
Mali's smile slowly grew larger as Yuri continued to fumble over her words.
"If I had to be honest, I guess I would like us to be at a point where we could exchange friendly hugs more frequently but…" Yuri admitted.
"'Friendly hug'? Forget coitus. Right now, you're trying to sell to me that a hug is all you desire," Mali giggled. "Are you insisting you don't even imagine kissing Senpai?"
"That's…"
"Not even once? You never imagined just staring into Senpai's eyes and quietly reassured by the fact that's he's staring into yours the same way. You slowly close the gap between the two of and are mere centimeters from his face. You gently caress his face with one of your hands and softly press your lips against his.
You start off with a slow, tender kiss, gently placing your other hand on Senpai's side. Senpai responds in kind, holding on to your sides and, after taking a moment to realize this is actually happening, affectionately returns your advance. You gently pull Senpai closer, pressing your lips against his harder as you draw him into an even deeper kiss.
Before you know it, you've reached the point where your lust is beginning to lose control. You thrust your tongue into Senpai's mouth, twirling it around and entwining it with Senpai's. You can feel your body heating up as the initial tender kiss evolved into a hot and passionate one.
You two soon tumble forward as you continue to make out. With you now straddling him from above, Senpai is now able to feel every part of you. Your generous, well-developed breasts are strongly pressed against Senpai's chest, filling him with even more lust than he ever imagined ever feeling.
Your bodies continue to rub against each other as you two continue to exchange bodily fluids from your passionate exchange.
Eventually, your lips part.
You slowly rise up from Senpai, a thin trail of saliva still connecting you two together. You look down at him with a flushed face, feeling some relief that he's wearing the same expression on his own. Still straddling him from above, you can feel your heart about to burst out of your chest.
It was a magical moment, but you desire more; you want to be even more intimate with Senpai. Both of your cheeks are caressed by the hot, rough breaths of your partner and before anything is said, you go back in for another quick, gentle kiss.
You once again look into Senpai's eyes and tell him with no hesitation that you love him. With none of his usual hesitation, Senpai responds that he feels the same way.
You two stare at each other, basking in the comfort of your mutual loving embrace and you ask Senpai, 'Do you want to-?'"
"S-Stop!" Yuri snapped as she buried her red face in her hands.
"Aw, but I was about to get to the good part."
"That was nowhere near good! That was just… That was just-!"
"A very nice scenario, right? Very descriptive so you can vividly imagine how a moment like that can be."
"But I never said I desired something like that…"
"Really? Then why did it take you so long to voice your disapproval? It seemed to me you enjoyed the scenario I created, Flower-san. As if you wanted it to be true."
"That's not-"
"Really, Lily-san, I don't see how Senpai's most physically developed potential that has such desires struggle to use the advantages she has to snag his heart. Given Senpai's personality, it'd be so easy to win him over if you used them in tandem with your genuine feelings. It'd be a win-win for all parties."
"Ah…"
Was Mali actually encouraging her or was it something else?
"…Is this your way of trying to stir up drama, Mali?" Yuri accused.
"Oh, Oppai-san, I'm just stating facts. Besides, you never know if someone else with the same advantages comes along and snags Senpai away from everyone just because you were all indecisive," Mali teased. "Now wouldn't that be a shame?"