The Story of Waking up With My Beautiful Childhood Friend and Realizing We Had Spent the Night Together - Chapter 17: The Musclehead Feels Off Somehow

Chapter 17: The Musclehead Feels Off Somehow

“…Hup!”

Clank, clank.

The crisp sound of metal colliding echoed through the room.

—Here I was, in the training room after school, as had become my routine.

I quietly lifted the barbell.

And watching me like a supervisor was one particular underclassman.

“Oh, you’re lifting a lot more now!”

Her voice, smug and irritatingly condescending.

I set the barbell down with a clank.

My arms were tingling, but I felt a definite sense of accomplishment.

The weight was still light, and I could only manage five reps at most.

But compared to when I first started, I had made significant progress.

“Well, yeah.”

Exhaling deeply, I wiped my sweat with a towel.

I’d never had much to do with strength training.

But trying it out, I found it surprisingly fulfilling and enjoyable.

“Your body has changed a little too—it looks cooler now.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

That said, my starting point was what it was.

No matter how much I trained, I wasn’t going to turn into a completely different person overnight.

But that was fine. Renji had told me—this kind of thing is all about consistency.

Even if it’s just little by little, I’ll keep at it steadily.

…And yet.

“—By the way, Senpai? I’ve been thinking.”

“…What?”

—What’s up with this underclassman?

Asahi Inoue stood there, arms crossed, looking oddly serious.

This basketball girl, who showed up at the gym almost every time I was here, puffed out her modest breasts with pride.

“These past two weeks, I’ve been incredibly dedicated to helping you, haven’t I?”

“…Huh? Have you?”

I felt like she’d been half getting in my way.

Always yapping on and on while I struggled through my training.

…Though, to be fair, a lot of what she said was actually useful.

“I taught you how to use the equipment, thoroughly and carefully.”

“Yeah.”

Well, that was true.

I couldn’t always drag Renji along, so that had been helpful.

She did call herself a sporty, athletic beauty (?), after all.

“I also put together an efficient training plan for you.”

“Yeah.”

That was true too.

Despite how she looked, she was apparently a sports elite, having done track and basketball since childhood.

She even studied sports science, so her training plans were efficient and waste-free.

“You owe me a huge debt, Senpai. Don’t you think so?”

“Well… yeah.”

So, yeah.

If she said I owed her, she wasn’t exactly wrong.

“In other words, Senpai, you need to pay me back in some way… don’t you think?”

“What’s up with you?”

That aside, annoying things were still annoying.

I hadn’t had someone talk to me in such a patronizing way since Renji.

…But, I could kind of guess where this was going.

“…Fine, do you want me to treat you to something at the cafeteria?”

“This isn’t some petty matter like that!!”

Bang!

Hey, don’t hit the equipment.

Ignoring me, she glared at me from an uncomfortably close distance.

…Now that I looked at her again, she really did have well-balanced features.

Annoying as it was, she wasn’t wrong to call herself a beauty.

…But that wasn’t the issue here.

“…What do you want me to do?”

“I’m glad you asked.”

She placed one hand on her breasts and extended the other toward the sky, like some priest receiving divine revelation.

Watching that, I really wanted to just go home.

“This is an incredibly important mission—one only you can accomplish, Senpai.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I got it, so hurry up and spit it out already.

I took a sip of water, half in resignation, and she nodded grandly.

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Yes! I want you to…”

—And for some reason, she suddenly hesitated.

“…Huh?”

“S-So, um… I mean…”

Fidget, fidget.

Her cheeks turned red as she averted her gaze.

Her expression was a mix of nervousness and uncertainty.

…This face looked oddly familiar.

Then suddenly, a memory flashed through my mind.

(…Ah, I remember. She looks like those guys confessing to Mizuki.)

That familiar scene, practically a school tradition now.

Countless boys had confessed and been shot down.

And now, Asahi looked exactly like them.

…Wait.

Could she be…?

“…H-Hey, hold on, Asa—”

“…P-Please…!! Introduce me to Yukimura Senpai!!!”

…Huh?

Asahi bowed her head with a sharp motion.

I froze.

A few seconds of silence.

“…What?”

“I-I said!! Please introduce me to Yukimura Senpai…!!”

…Even hearing it again, I had no idea what she was talking about.

What was this underclassman even saying?

“Introduce…? You do realize Yukimura’s a girl, right?”

“I know that!! That’s not what I mean!!”

She groaned, clutching her head.

Yeah, well, I felt like doing the same.

“I-I mean, I grew up in the countryside and moved to the city, right?”

“…Huh? Oh, yeah, I think you mentioned that.”

Now that she said it, I vaguely recalled something like that.

She was from Akita or somewhere, came here on a sports scholarship, and was living in a dorm.

“So, um… I kind of have this admiration for cool city girls, or something…”

“…Huh. I see?”

“Y-Yukimura Senpai is super beautiful and cool… like, the ideal city lady…!”

“…O-Okay.”

“S-So!! I really look up to her!! That’s why I want you to introduce me!!”

…Ah, I see?

So basically, this country-raised sports girl had seen a real-deal city beauty and gotten a kind of culture shock.

Well, I could kind of understand that.

But why is she asking me to do this?

“Senpai, you’re in the same class as her, right…?! You were just talking with her the other day!”

“Uh, talking is a bit of a stretch.”

I had only received the class journal from her.

“P-Please!! If you do this for me…! I’ll train you into a ripped, demon-like muscle beast!!!”

“Stop shaking me!! Also, I don’t want to be a demon muscle beast!!”

“Then, will you introduce me?!”

Is she using “then” correctly here?

She looked up at me with desperate eyes.

Honestly, I didn’t really want to introduce her to Mizuki…

(Well, whatever. If Mizuki doesn’t like it, she’ll just say no.)

Thinking that, I sighed.

“Even if she agrees to meet you… there’s no guarantee you’ll get along, you know?”

“I-I know that! She’s the school idol. Someone like me, a country girl, probably wouldn’t even be noticed…! But! You never know unless you try!!”

…She’s got the same energy as the guys in my class.

It’s strange. She’s technically a cute underclassman girl.

I sighed again.

“…Fine. I’ll at least ask her.”

“Yes!!”

And so, I reluctantly nodded.

“So, you just want me to meet Inoue-san and talk to her again?”

—Splash.

Mizuki spoke, the sound of water lightly echoing.

“…Yeah, I mean. Only if you’re okay with it.”

—Splash.

I nodded while pouring warm water over my shoulder.

“…Alright. That’s fine.”

“…I see. Thanks.”

Hearing Mizuki agree, I let out a small sigh of relief.

For some reason, she started splashing water at me, so I brushed it off with my hand.

…But still.

“…? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… it’s just, I’m getting used to this, and it’s kind of scary.”

I muttered, and Mizuki tilted her head in confusion.

“Getting used to what?”

“I mean… this situation?”

“The bath?”

“Yeah.”

—Our home bath.

It was somewhat spacious, but still too small for two people.

—Yet here we were, Mizuki and I, sitting face-to-face in the tub.

Whenever I fell silent, she would pour warm water over my shoulders.

So, in return, I poured water over her exposed, pale shoulders.

“…Didn’t we take baths together a lot when we were kids?”

“We did not.”

Stop making up fake memories.

I fell for you at first sight, you know.

If something like that had happened back then, I would have dropped dead from a heart attack.

“I see. You could have, though.”

“Stop saying things like that.”

It seriously makes me regret the past.

I want to go back and punch my younger self.

“But now, we do this every day, don’t we?”

“…Yeah, I guess we do.”

Unbelievably, every single day.

I looked at the divine figure before me.

Her large breasts. Her slender waist. Her long, pale limbs.

Her body was endlessly captivating.

A high schooler shouldn’t have this kind of mature allure—she was practically a temptress.

Just seeing her like this was enough to make my heart and body react.

“…Ah… Did it get bigger?”

“You don’t have to say that out loud.”

I averted my gaze, and she chuckled softly.

When we’re doing it, I don’t think much of it, but in moments like this, I get embarrassed.

…Hey. Don’t grab it.

Don’t move your hand up and down.

It feels good, damn it.

Mizuki watched me struggle against the pleasure with amusement.

“…Iori? Look at me.”

“…No.”

“…Cute.”

She forcefully turned my face toward her.

Then, she pressed her lips against mine.

Her tongue immediately slipped in, and she poured her saliva into my mouth.

Looking at her up close, I saw the face of my childhood friend, someone I had known forever.

Yet right now, she looked like a completely different person—her expression was soaked in desire.

“…Hey, what do you want me to do?”

“What… do you mean…?”

“Is there something you want?”

She kept moving her hand slowly.

Staring directly into my eyes, she spoke in a seductive whisper.

Her flushed, drunken expression existed only to melt men.

(…She’s definitely a devil.)

That thought suddenly crossed my mind.

If this were another era, she’d be known as a femme fatale, one who brings nations to ruin.

And for a man bewitched by such a woman… there could only be one fate.

“…If you tell me, I’ll do everything you want.”

“…Ah.”

With her invitation, her teasing tongue, and her deep, captivating gaze—

—I was completely consumed by her once again tonight.