Chapter 53

A little while ago.

“Pass! Pass!”

The soles of gym shoes squeaked loudly against the floor of the gymnasium.

Seiya was absorbed in club practice.

For the third-year students, it was almost time for their final tournament, and everyone was practicing with intense focus.

“Here!”

“Got it!”

In the midst of a fierce practice match, the ball flew out of bounds and rolled away across the court.

“…Huh, why are you already here?”

When Seiya chased after it, the one who picked up the rolling ball was Ruri.

“…You should’ve figured it out just by seeing I’m already here. Come on, hurry up and get back, or the senpais will yell at you.”

“O-oh…”

From the way Ruri tossed the ball back a bit curtly, it was obvious without needing to ask—things hadn’t gone well.

“Well, I’ll listen to what happened later, nice and slow.”

“…If only you had your act together.”

“Why am I suddenly the one getting dissed here?”

“I’ll explain that part slowly later, too.”

“Ugh, I’m starting to feel like I don’t wanna know after all…”

Even as he said that, Seiya focused on the club activity in front of him for now.

After practice ended and the two of them were walking home together, Seiya was finally able to get some idea of what had happened that day.

“Hmm, but that’s not really my fault, is it? It’s just that Satoru’s way too good at making escape excuses.”

“Escape excuses? Can you not say it in such a mean way? I mean, if you had your act together, even if they were escape excuses, we could’ve shut them down, right?”

“Can’t argue with facts…”

“You’re calling them escape excuses… so that means you’ve started thinking I’m being avoided?”

“No, no, that’s not it. That guy just tries to gently dodge everyone, no matter who it is. I only said that because of that. Sorry if it rubbed you the wrong way.”

“No, I’m sorry. So… what do you think I should do in this kind of situation?”

“Simple. Just make a plan for next time and push through with brute force. If I back you up and say, ‘It’s fine on our end, so help us out,’ then he won’t be able to use the same excuse anymore.”

“Whoa, that’s surprisingly clever coming from you.”

“Then you just go on the offensive like you always do. Even Satoru will have to react somehow if you come at him like that. While he’s reacting, you can gather info—figure out how he really feels.”

“Y-you’re acting way too serious—it’s kinda unlike you…”

Ruri was genuinely surprised to see how seriously Seiya was thinking this through.

“Well, I just think it’s about time you settled down with a decent guy. And Satoru’s honestly a good dude… not that I really like saying stuff like that.”

“Th-thanks…”

She had only asked for a little backup, but she was caught off guard—and grateful—that he was helping her this seriously.

“But hey, I’ve always wondered—why do you act all prim and proper around Satoru?”

“I-it’s not like I mean to or anything…”

“No, seriously. From the way you talk, it’s just weird. Even if it’s not pretending to be pure, you’re definitely putting on an act.”

“Ugh… well, I mean, maybe a little.”

“It’s not just a little. I know you’re the rowdy, feisty type, so wouldn’t it be better to show more of that side instead?”

“If I did that, Takashima-kun would totally get turned off.”

“Turned off? Didn’t you already blow it once trying to seduce him?”

“T-that’s…”

“Then it’s the same either way, right? In fact, if you hit him with a full-power attack somewhere he can’t outright refuse, maybe you’ll get a different result.”

“You’ve got a point…”

Ruri was also well aware that Satoru kept gently dodging her advances.

If she kept trying the same things, the same results would probably keep happening.

In that case, maybe it was worth taking Seiya’s advice and going bold.

“Once you’re mentally ready, go all in. You two are always hanging out, so you can strike whenever you want.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

As she considered what a “bold move” might actually mean, Ruri murmured the words while modestly hiding her mouth with her hand.