https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9531ga/86/
Episode 3: Green Stands Out on White
When I threw the ball, it bounced off the back board and spun along the rim. One rotation, two rotations, it spun around and around before eventually, finally, getting sucked down the net…..
“Yosh!”
“Woo! Nice job—!”
The gallery cheered as I pumped my fist into the air. Among them, Honoka’s voice clearly rose out above the rest. As the game went on, the opposing team seemed to have given up on getting the ball back and were about to take a throw-in when the whistle rang.
We were in the second half of gym class. Students had grouped up into teams of five and were playing a bit of basketball against each other.
I’ve played basketball for fun in the past, so I at least understood how you were supposed to play. Just before our game had run out of time, I drove forward to make a layup, spinning the ball off the backboard to score a point thus making me an instant hero to my team. I wanted to act cool, but I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed after the impassioned response I got…..
“Hey hey Yuriha~ You looked really cool out there. I think I might’ve fallen for you. How about sitting next to me from now on?”
“Yuriha-chan, you’re pretty hot. How about becoming my girlfriend?”
“Hah?”
“Hmm?”
“No, I am going to have to turn you both down.”
“Tch— So cold—”
“Be sure to call me right away if you’re ever feeling lonely. Or if you want me to get this crude monkey off your back.”
“Hah?”
“Hmm?”
The two girls currently fighting each other while trying to woo me were Akane and Aoi, two of my classmates. One has red hair slicked back into a short ponytail behind her while the other has a more V-kei look with her bangs dyed a dark blue and braids reaching down to the nape of her neck. Just about everyone in the school knows them since they keep trying to use their cool looks to hit on other students. What’s more is the fact that I’m pretty sure their reputations as womanizers has only made them more popular. I see them flirting with girls every single day.
In other words, I am an absolute amateur, and they are everything I aspire to be. Moreover, I’ve heard a couple rumors that they’re both hardcore tops. I could pull off a handstand, and I don’t think I’d be able to woo these two. I’d surely be defeated.
The both of them had made their light-hearted confessions, but after a little back and forth between them, they suddenly went quiet and shared a grin between each other.
“Hoh~, you’ve got a great metabolism Yuriha~”
“Make sure you quickly wipe away your sweat. Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold or anything.”
“Oh, thank you.”
I quickly wiped away my sweat with the towel I had around my neck. A droplet was about to fall off my chin, and I might stink right now. I won’t be doing anything too physical after this, so I think I’ll use some of my spray when I get back to the locker room.
Akane-san and Aoi-kun headed to the court for their next match. With them behind me, I headed to the other side of the court to find my beautiful girls. They were on the same team as me, so they were doing their own resting, water drinking, and personal grooming.
“Welcome back Yuu-cha……?”
Honoka was the first to greet me, but her voice trailed off partway through. The look on her voice was also gradually changing in a weird way.
“Uwahehe—, that’s quite the sight—”
“The green really stands out from the white….nice….”
“You worked up a real sweat….”
“Sports bra…..”
Honoka’s grin left me puzzled, and while I had no idea what Ranko was talking about, I knew something was absolutely up when Saki started taking pictures with her phone. Yuzuriha was the one who finally said something to make me realize what was going on. I looked down at my chest and realized I had sweat a lot more than I realized. And because of it, a green color stood out vividly against my wet, white shirt…..
“Stop looking you idiots….!”
I tried swatting away Honoka and Ranko as they advanced upon me, but Honoka deftly avoided the hit while Ranko wordlessly grabbed my arm. I was then pulled in close to her.
“Hmm….? We’re all girls here, so what is there to be embarrassed about? Sounds suspicious….”
She brought her face inches away from mine while asking a question I didn’t want to be asked.
“I-It’s embarrassing right!? Let go!”
I took another swipe with my free arm, but Ranko had anticipated it somehow and gracefully dodged to the side while simultaneously brushing her hair to the side. So cool. Anyway, now that I had regained my freedom, I used my arms to cover my chest and turned my back on them.
“Geez. I’m heading to the locker room.”
I tried just leaving then and there,
“Yuriha”
but Ranko sounded so serious that I stopped without thinking.
“W-What?”
“I’ll carry you.”
“Heh?”
I was too confused to give a coherent answer, so I could do nothing as Ranko scooped me up in her arms in a princess carry…..what!?
“Sensei, Fujisaki looks unwell, so I’m taking her to the nurse’s office.”
“S-Sure. Take care.”
The PE teacher looked confused as well, yet they still nodded their head and let her go. Embarrassed and confused, I lashed out at Ranko with a mixture of words and shouts that made no sense in Japanese.
“I get it, so just be quiet for a bit.”
♠
“You’re….bleeding right now. You really should wear a tampon when it’s a dangerous day.”
I am!? But my schedule says it isn’t supposed to start until next week…..
“B-But, I can still walk myself!”
“It may be hard to see, but it has soaked through your shorts. Other people might end up noticing. I don’t want to see you embarrass yourself in front of our classmates. Your embarrassed face should be for my eyes alone.”
“I-, you make a good point, but….aren’t I heavy….?”
“…..It’s okay; I’ve been working out. Worry more about yourself than me.”
Ranko smiled as if that would be enough to pacify me. As if I wouldn’t notice how the sound of her heavy footsteps echoing in the empty hallway suddenly became more steady and graceful at that exact moment. Doesn’t she understand that if she’s going to go so far to pretend otherwise, it’s only going to show off how much work it is to carry a person all the more? I don’t want to cause her any trouble….and besides….
“Did it have to be a princess carry…..?”
“This way I can see your face. It is difficult to talk with you when you’re on my back. Besides, I know you’re happy about it.”
“Rea-…..Not at all!”
“Hoh?”
“What is it?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“……..”
Trying to hide the heat I could feel growing in my cheeks, I turned away in silence. That just seemed to make Ranko happy because I could hear her laugh about it.
It’s so frustrating that I can’t do anything back to her. Being proactive like this is just unfair…..and why does she look so cool while she’s doing it too!?
“…..No sexual harassment.”
I tried making something of a light-hearted joke.
“Don’t be ridiculous. If I were to try something during a situation like this, I would just end up making you hate me.”
“I don’t like sexual harassment, but that doesn’t mean I’d ever hate you for it.”
“Hahah, good to hear. Does that mean I can push you down on the bed when we reach the nurse’s office?”
“N-No….?”
Even though I’m the one who started this little joke, why am I the one who ends up getting embarrassed? Does Ranko become a complete sexual harasser when in her “serious” mode, or is she just a natural at it?
“Good. You’re finally looking like you’ve returned to normal. That little joke brought back the smile you always wear. I think that look suits you best.”
“O-Oh….thanks.”
Dang it. Without even noticing, all the impatience and anxiety I felt from this situation had slipped my mind. This is probably some of the most fun I’ve had talking to Ranko—even if I am being sexually harassed. However, the fact remains that I’m being tightly held in the arms of a handsome girl, and my heart wouldn’t settle down.
She and I both fell silent. I could hear my own heartbeat ringing in my ears, yet it felt comfortable. I shut my eyes and allowed myself to just soak in the warmth, and before I knew it, we arrived in front of the nurse’s office.
As Ranko slowly lowered me down, I found myself unable to say anything and just stared at her.
I wish I could have savored the moment for at least a little longer…..
Perhaps because I was so enraptured in my thoughts, Ranko awkwardly looked away.
“Well, I’ll go grab you a change of clothes, so you should talk to the nurse in the meantime.”
I nodded my head. My heart still lingered in the warmth of the moment, so I was having a hard time coming up with anything to say.
“Oh, unless you were hoping to have my help stripping?”
“Fufu, I’ll have to pass.”
Yet I couldn’t stop myself from laughing a bit at her joke, as if I weren’t completely against the idea. Thanks to that I was at least able to say something to her before she walked away.
Rather than a cool and prideful girlfriend….maybe a girl like this wouldn’t be so bad.
♠
“Excuse me”
With the bell signalling the end of class, I bid farewell to the nurse’s office.
When Ranko brought me my change of clothes, she stopped and stared intently at my still sweaty body, but she got embarrassed and left quickly after realizing the nurse was still in the room. So cute.
I had made sure to wipe my body down thoroughly, but even still, the hallway felt chilly after how much of a sweat I had worked up. I was working my way to the classroom when I heard someone running up behind me.
“Yuri-chan! Oh jeez! You had me worried!!!”
“Ah, sorry about that”
I turned around just in time to see Saki jumping at me with her wild, unkempt silver hair fluttering behind her. I threw out my arms and just barely managed to catch her.
“Ran-chan wouldn’t tell me anything other than, ‘She looks like she’s getting worse,’……and that’s while I was already worrying about what was wrong in the beginning~!!!”
“Fufufu, thanks for worrying about me.”
“Grr! You~!!!”
Being softly hit over and over again made me smile. This isn’t the kind of consideration you’re supposed to show a sick person.
I couldn’t help but notice that she really only ever gets serious when Ranko’s involved. Has she decided to stop even attempting to hide her hostility? That’s a scary thought.
“More importantly Yuri-chan, be sure you wear a camisole or an undershirt from now on.”
As we started toward the classroom once again, Saki brought up the incident that had started all of this. If she’s concerned about my sweating, it means she almost certainly hadn’t noticed my bleeding. That’s a load off my shoulders.
“Eh? But it’s hot.”
“But if you start sweating, people will be able to see through your clothes again. So you should wear something….during gym and regular class both….”
“Hmm. Doing it for gym would be tough. Sure it’s embarrassing, but I really can’t handle the heat. Besides, it should be fine right? We go to an all-girls school”
“Even so! It’s Yuriha-chan’s underwear…..I don’t want anyone to see them….!”
“But everyone is going to see them when we’re changing in the locker room anyway, so there’s not really a need to wor—–“
“This and that are two completely different things!”
Saki raised her voice and cut me off. She and I just stood there in the hallway for a minute, not saying anything. Her voice was so surprisingly harsh that I couldn’t move.
Let’s calm down. Calm down and think. If she’s this worked up, it must have something to do with Ranko….and she can’t help but to act overly possessive to cope. I guess Ranko princess carrying me away really bothered her.
I could keep arguing with her, but she does also have a point. I’m not an exhibitionist who likes showing off her underwear, even to other girls. On the other hand, wearing a camisole sounds like it’d be really hot, and I already get so sweaty just walking to and from school, and I don’t even want to think what it’d going to be like during PE, and is sounds so uncomfortable too…..
Well, whether I’m trying to hide my figure with a cardigan or not, wearing a blouse with nothing underneath it is a good way to quickly wear out the fabric…..maybe I’m just acting stubborn.
“Ok. I’ll think about it. Depending on the situation.”
“You mean it? Good”
I didn’t give her a direct reply, instead telling her that we should get back to our classroom. There is a part of me that was starting to think I should wear something, but the other part of me is thinking how cute Saki would be tomorrow if I didn’t.
Experimental Translations 