205 – Shizuku is Furious

RAW

Haruto and the others, as usual, ran several 100-meter sprints before moving on to baton pass practice.

They lined up in order: Saki, Tomoya, Ayaka, then Haruto. At the front, Saki raised her hand to signal.

“Here we go.”

She jogged forward and, as she approached Tomoya, said “Here,” to cue the timing.

Matching that, Tomoya started running and received the baton from her.

At that moment, he stared at the baton now in his left hand in surprise.

“Huh!? Wait, did I just pull off the underhand pass?”

“Yeah, but don’t stop now—pass it to Ayaka.”

“Oh, right!”

Reminded by Saki, Tomoya hurriedly faced forward and ran again.

Then, though a bit clumsy, he managed to pass the baton to Ayaka. From there, the baton exchange between Ayaka and Haruto went as smoothly as ever.

After receiving the baton and slowing down, Haruto returned to the group with a smile.

“Think that was a success?”

“Yeah. Well, the pass between Tomoya and Ayaka was a bit shaky, but overall it wasn’t bad.”

As Saki said that, Tomoya pumped his fist and declared:

“Alright! The birth of Underhand Pass Taro!”

“Don’t get cocky over one success.”

“I’m already Pass Taro now. Failure is no longer in my vocabulary.”

“Then let’s do it again.”

Despite Saki’s warning, Tomoya saluted confidently. They practiced the baton pass three more times—and all went well.

“Woooo! Pass Taro at full power!”

He raised his fist with a triumphant shout, while Saki gave a wry smile.

“I told you, don’t get carried away.”

“But three successes in a row is pretty good, right?”

“It is, but we’re not at full sprint yet.”

“Then let’s try it at full speed like the real thing.”

Tomoya was fired up, but Haruto stopped him.

“Let’s call it for today.”

He glanced at the clock on the field.

“Saki’s train time is coming up.”

Tomoya checked the time too and nodded.

“Oh, yeah.”

“And it’s better to end practice on a good note.”

“Got it.”

Hearing that, Ayaka added:

“Isn’t your train cutting it close? I’ll return the baton to the teacher, so maybe you should go now.”

“Oh wow, yeah, I’m running late.”

After checking again, Saki quickly said goodbye and dashed off.

Shortly after, as if swapping places with her, Shizuku came over, having finished her own practice.

“Saki-senpai just ran off in tears. Tomoya-senpai, aren’t you going after her?”

Looking at Saki’s shrinking figure, she said something completely made up.

Tomoya responded just as casually.

“A woman’s tears… are beyond me right now.”

“But surely she’s waiting for you.”

“I can’t chase her. The sunset’s too blinding.”

He turned dramatically toward the sun, shielding his eyes.

“Alright, enough of that nonsense. Let’s clean up.”

Haruto cut in with an exasperated look, but Shizuku puffed her cheeks slightly.

“Haruto-senpai, the director hasn’t called cut yet. Please don’t interrupt.”

“What are you even filming?”

“A trendy youth drama that’s totally rad and cutting-edge.”

“That’s a museum of outdated slang. Let’s wrap up—we’re short on time.”

“Hey, don’t suddenly bring up butts. Even I’m put off.”

As she slid away from him, Haruto sighed. Keeping up with her jokes took effort.

Just then, a male student approached them. Judging by his gym clothes, he was a third-year.

“Got a minute?”

He spoke to Ayaka.

“Yes… what is it?”

Slightly wary, Ayaka responded politely.

The upperclassman smiled lightly.

“I’ve actually been interested in you for a while.”

“Um…”

Ayaka moved closer to Haruto.

The guy glanced at Haruto, then continued casually.

“But you got a boyfriend, huh. Shame—or congrats, I guess.”

“Th-thank you…”

“But you know, relationships get tough after you start dating.”

He kept talking, ignoring her discomfort.

Ayaka edged even closer to Haruto. The guy looked at Haruto again, briefly showing annoyance before masking it.

“I’ve got a lot of experience, so if you ever need advice, I’m here. Let’s exchange contacts.”

As he took out his phone, Haruto stepped forward, shielding Ayaka behind him.

“Sorry, senpai. Please stop. You’re bothering her.”

At that moment, the smile vanished from the guy’s face.

“What? You don’t allow your girlfriend to exchange contacts with other guys?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then it’s fine, right?”

“She’s clearly uncomfortable.”

The guy sneered.

“Forcing your views on her isn’t a good look.”

“….”

“Controlling guys are lame.”

Just as he said that, Shizuku stepped forward.

“Excuse me? Are you serious?”

“Hm?”

The guy looked puzzled for a moment, then smiled again upon noticing her appearance.

“What’s your name? Didn’t know there was such a cute first-year.”

“I’m surprised creatures like you exist on Earth. My name is Dojima Shizuku.”

Ignoring her sarcasm, he smiled warmly.

“Nice name, Shizuku.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Oh? A confession?”

“Yes. Will you accept my burning passion?”

He chuckled.

“Wow, a confession out of nowhere?”

“It’ll be over in an instant.”

She lowered her stance and exhaled.

“Alright, here I go. Brace your core.”

“Huh? Core—”

“Shizuku Explo—”

“Idiot! Stop!!”

Haruto panicked and restrained her just in time.

“What are you doing!?” she protested.

“What are YOU doing!?”

He locked her in place as she struggled violently.

“Let me go!”

“No!”

“Let me gooo!”

Watching them, the upperclassman sighed.

“Dude, stop interfering. Let her confess.”

“…Please just be quiet for a second.”

Haruto snapped, irritated.

“What? You getting cocky just because you’re her boyfriend? You’re kinda gross.”

Shizuku let out a low growl, like a beast.

At that moment—

“Shizuku-chan, calm down.”

Ayaka stepped forward.

Her voice was quiet, but filled with anger.

Shizuku immediately stopped.

“Ayaka-senpai?”

“Thank you for getting angry for us.”

Then, with an expressionless face mirroring Shizuku’s, Ayaka glared at the upperclassman.

“Haruto isn’t controlling me. And he’s neither lame nor gross.”

Her tone was flat and firm.

“So we don’t need your advice.”

“But—”

“No, thank you.”

She cut him off cleanly.

Even he paused, then smirked again.

“Well, new couples are always blinded. Let me know when reality hits.”

Then he looked at Shizuku.

“And you—let’s talk sometime when he’s not around.”

Shizuku growled in response.

“Later.”

With that, he left.

Watching his back, Shizuku muttered:

“He’s still within range of my Super Shizuku Galaxy Spear Dropkick.”

“Stop. Violence isn’t the answer.”

“It’s correction.”

“Still no.”

As Haruto kept her in check, Tomoya, who had been watching cautiously, spoke.

“That was one intense senpai. Kinda impressive, in a way.”

“If you admire that, you need correction too.”

“I was joking!”

Still fuming, Shizuku said:

“The earlier confessions—I’ll tolerate them. Barely. But that one? Unforgivable. Pure ulterior motives.”

Then she looked at Haruto.

“What if more like him show up?”

“I’d like to believe there aren’t many like that…”

“That’s naive. Do you realize how popular Ayaka-senpai is?”

“…Yeah.”

Haruto glanced in the direction the guy had disappeared and muttered quietly.