Chapter 17: Beautiful Girl, Invited to Join a Club (Part 2)

We five changed our shoes at the entrance and stepped outside. All around, members of different clubs were dressed in their uniforms, handing out flyers and calling to passersby.

Yamanaka-sensei had made it sound like this was purely a recruitment event, but in reality, it was a mix of recruitment, tours, and even trial activities.

If you found a club you were interested in, you could use the opportunity to visit their clubroom and get a proper explanation—sometimes even try out the equipment. For example, the archery club apparently let visitors handle a bow for a bit.

Of course, you could also skip the recruitment altogether and go straight to a clubroom if you already knew what you wanted. People who had something in mind since middle school or who were continuing their old club often did that.

And apparently, you could even officially join a club during this event.

"Whoa, this is amazing! Ayumi-chan, is there any club you wanna join?"

Moeka-chan looked around, eyes sparkling. I found myself doing the same.

Seniors in all kinds of uniforms and even cosplay were busy trying to attract the attention of the new students leaving the building.

Mikawa High had a wide open space right in front of its main entrance. In the middle of the tiled courtyard stood a big broadleaf tree, with benches arranged around it.

Now, that entire courtyard was packed wall-to-wall with people.

There were also recruitment areas set up in the courtyard and by the gym, but this spot in front of the entrance was clearly the busiest.

Since the clubrooms for most of the athletic teams could only be accessed from outdoors, a lot of students were switching into outdoor shoes before heading there—meaning this area naturally became the main hub of activity.

That, in turn, attracted the cultural clubs too, so everyone ended up recruiting here.

"Umm, I haven’t really decided yet. I do wanna do something, though."

"Same here! If we find a good one, let’s join together, okay?"

Moeka-chan said that and suddenly took my hand.

"Moeka! Why are you casually holding Ayumi-chan’s hand!? I’m jealous!"

"Wait, wait, Sakurako-chan! There are so many people here—what if Ayumi-chan gets lost!?"

"Then I’ll hold her other hand!"

This time, Sakurako-chan grabbed my other hand.

Now I really looked like some alien being escorted by humans. Lost? Come on, we’re high schoolers! We’re the same age, even!

"Haah… this is bad. Why am I getting excited just from holding hands? Those tiny, soft hands! That silky skin! That squishy little palm! I might actually lose it!"

"Ahh, Sakurako-chan, I think you’ve crossed the point of no return. But hey, once you cross a wall, you’ll come out stronger!"

What wall are we talking about here!? I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t, because Sakurako-chan had started intertwining her fingers with mine.

Her movements were so smooth—linking, loosening, linking again—it actually felt kind of nice.

N-no, stop that! That’s such a steady handhold!

"Hey, Takagawa."

"What’s up, Yoshikawa?"

"Don’t you think we’re kinda winning at life right now?"

Two boys behind us were talking in low voices.

"Nah, we’re still losers."

"Why!? Sakura-san’s probably the cutest girl in this entire school! Just one breath from her would make me fall head over heels! She’s a bit loli, sure, but that only makes her cuter! And look—Minase-san and Aizawa-san too! Those three are top-tier beauties! We’re walking with the school’s holy trinity of cuteness here! The other guys might literally curse us to death!"

"You’re not wrong. But think about it—just watching these cute girls from the sidelines, isn’t that the very definition of being a loser? As men, shouldn’t we act instead of just watching?"

"Ugh! Damn you and your enlightenment… here I was, thinking being near them was enough… I feel like garbage now!"

The two of them were having their own fun back there. Honestly, I kind of envied that.

Talking with Moeka-chan and Sakurako-chan was great, really—but I did kinda want some dumb guy-friend banter too.

"So, has anyone actually decided on a club yet?"

I looked around at the girls beside me and the boys behind us.

"I haven’t. If I had to pick, I’d say… with Ayumi-chan♪"

That was Moeka-chan. If she joined the same club as me, that’d be a lifesaver. Starting from zero with new people was way too hard.

"I haven’t either. I played volleyball in middle school, but I don’t really want to keep doing it in high school. I’d be happy just to be in the same club as Ayumi-chan."

That was Sakurako-chan. So she was in volleyball before, huh? With her height, that totally made sense.

"I don’t have anything in mind either," said Yoshikawa.

"Same here!" added Takagawa enthusiastically.

Well then. Not a single one of us had a club in mind.

So… how were we supposed to decide where to go first?

Some of the seniors seemed to have noticed that we’d been standing still in front of the entrance for a while.

If you looked closely, you could see them slowly inching closer.

"That’s her, right? The cute one!"
"Look, look! She’s adorable!"
"She looks like a doll!"
"I wanna make her my wallpaper!"
"So that’s the famous girl, huh…"

The crowd kept swelling.

"U-uh… there’s kind of a lot of people coming this way…"

"Ayumi-chan, you’re super popular!"

At first, they just whispered from a distance—but soon, one boy stepped forward.

"Hey, you’re a first-year, right!? How about joining the basketball club? There’s a girls’ team too!"

"Basketball, huh? What do you think?" asked Sakurako-chan, glancing at me.

"Umm… I’m not very athletic, so basketball might be a bit tough…"

"Th-then how about as a manager!? Actually, please be our manager!"

Manager? What exactly do they do again? Laundry? Cleaning up gear? That… didn’t sound very fun.

And it was the boys’ basketball club he was talking about, right? Being surrounded by all guys might feel kinda awkward… or maybe not? Still, it’d feel out of place somehow.

Besides, I barely knew any sports rules to begin with.

"Sorry. I don’t really know the rules, so being a manager would be difficult."

I turned him down firmly.

"We can teach you everything, step by step!"

…Nope, that didn’t work. He grabbed my shoulder, and I flinched.

Why is he being so pushy!? And stop staring straight at me like that!

"Hey, she said no. Your turn’s over, right? Now it’s time for us—soccer club!"

"Hold up! She’s a girl, so it’s obviously girls’ volleyball!"

"No, no—karuta club! She’s perfect for karuta!"

Whoa—so many recruiters all at once! There were way too many people now!

And they were all closing in.

Wait—more of them!?

It felt like walls of people closing in from every direction. Scary!

Before I knew it, I was surrounded—club seniors from every direction fighting to recruit me.

They clearly weren’t holding back anymore, all cramming together, pushing forward to get my attention.

Just moments ago, I’d been holding Moeka-chan’s and Sakurako-chan’s hands, but now we’d gotten separated in the crush of people.

Wh-where is everyone!? I-I’m getting squished!

All the seniors were taller than me, so I couldn’t see anything. The noise was deafening, everyone shouting at once.

W-wait—did someone just grab my butt!? Don’t touch me there!

Ah—someone’s pulling on my clothes! Our faces are way too close—!

Ouch! My foot! Someone stepped on it! How did it come to this…!?

If this keeps up, I-I’m gonna get crushed—!

Then suddenly, someone grabbed my arm—tight—and yanked me out of the crowd. Ow, ow, ow—!

"Sorry ‘bout that."

When I looked up, Ryoji was standing there.

Behind us, the crowd I’d just escaped from had apparently devolved into an all-out brawl.

"All right, let’s run for it!"

“—Alright, I’m gonna grab something to eat,” Ryoji said, turning his back to run off.

I was about to follow him when something felt off.

“Ah—my shoe…”

Somewhere in the chaos of being shoved around, it must’ve come off.

“Can’t be helped!”

Still facing away, Ryoji crouched down and motioned for me to come over.

He… wants me to get on?

It all happened so fast I froze, unsure what to do.

When I looked back, the upperclassmen who had been fighting were starting to calm down.
At this rate, I’d get swallowed up by another wave of recruiters!
No way—I’m not going through that again!

I quickly climbed onto Ryoji’s back.

Even carrying me, he stood up like it was nothing and started running toward the shoe lockers.

A few minutes later, he set me down by the stairs leading from the first floor to the second.

“Hey—Ayu, are you crying?”

“Eh?”

I hastily wiped my eyes. My hand came away wet. Even though I wiped them, the tears kept falling.

“You’re not used to crowds, are you? And you’re smaller now too. After being crushed like that, it’s only natural you were scared.”

Ryoji said that as he gently patted my head.

For some reason, it felt… really nice this time. Suddenly, I could feel my face getting hot.

A-and come to think of it, he carried me. In public. Getting a piggyback at my age—and crying on top of that—how embarrassing!

Ryoji let out a sigh and dropped his hand.

“With an atmosphere this sentimental, I can’t even talk about how your boobs felt while I was carrying you.”

You just had to ruin it! Why would you even say that!?

“I mean it though, Ayu’s small chest was amazing—warm, soft, and even through the blazer, I could tell! Man, I’d love to see them in person sometime!”

Seriously!? He said it out loud!? To my face!?

“Oh, and by the way, I also got a nice feel of your thighs today!”

“You idiot, Ryoji! Were you thinking dirty thoughts while helping me!?”

“Not at all. I just wanted to help you, purely.”

“Then why do you say all that first and then act cool!?”

“Haha, feeling better now? I’ll grab your indoor shoes. Wait here a sec—and I’ll call the others too.”

He turned toward the entrance, pulling out his phone and tapping away as he walked. Probably texting someone.

Hey, hey—no using your phone while walking!

…Not that I’d actually say it out loud.

“Ayumi-chan! Are you okay!?”

After a few minutes, once Ryoji brought my shoes, Moeka-chan came running toward me with teary eyes.

“I’m so sorry—I let go of your hand!”

“No, no, it couldn’t be helped. With that crowd, it was impossible.”

Honestly, I was shocked myself. Even now I don’t really understand how it turned into that. Being surrounded by people taller than me, crushed like that—it felt more like a beating than a crowd. Did I somehow make enemies without realizing it?

“Wait—Ayumi-chan, were you crying?”

“E-eh!? N-n-n-no I wasn’t cryin’ deshu yo!?”

I bit my tongue mid-denial, making it even more obvious. Totally busted.

“Hehe♪ I see… so someone made my precious Ayumi-chan cry, huh? I see… I see…”

Moeka cracked her knuckles, her face smiling—but her eyes definitely weren’t.

“M-Moeka-chan…?”

“Moeka, chill.”

Before she could move, Sakurako-chan appeared from nowhere and chopped her on the head.

“Miuh!” Moeka let out a strange squeak and crouched down.

“Honestly, Moeka. You really need to watch that overprotective streak of yours.”

“B-but—!”

"Don't ‘but’ me. I mean it—it's literally dangerous."

“P-physically dangerous…?” I asked timidly.

"Ah, well, Moeka used to do judo back in the day. She’s actually pretty strong, you know? Even if she doesn’t look it."

R-really? That was kind of unexpected. She looked younger and softer than Sakurako-chan, but turns out she was a real powerhouse underneath.

"Hey, Sakura-san, you okay?"

From the entrance, Yoshikawa-kun came running over.

"Sorry, I’m fine."

Wait—Yoshikawa-kun looks way more beaten up than I do!

“Y-Yoshikawa-kun, are you sure you’re okay…?”

“Ah, yeah, yeah, I’m fine. When I saw the guys who were messing with Sakura-san, I kicked them away, and, well, that kinda turned into a fight.”

So that sudden commotion in the crowd I’d squeezed out of… was your fault, huh.

“C’mon, I heard Sakura-san say ‘ouch,’ so what else was I supposed to do? I had to take them out, right?”

“Ah… thank you.”

I really was happy he felt that way—but maybe not the best choice of words for that “take them out.” No, seriously, his tone carried exactly that kind of nuance.

It was only my third day since starting school, but I felt like I might’ve made some good friends already.

“I’ll rest for a bit longer, so you guys can go check out the clubs without me, okay?”

“Eeh, I wanna go around with Ayumi-chan though!”

Sakurako-chan and the others nodded in agreement. My chest tightened at that, and before I knew it, my eyes started tearing up again. Ah… maybe this new body just cries easier.

“This is bad! Really bad, Sakurako-chan! Seeing Ayumi-chan cry makes me feel this uncontrollable urge to protect her!”

“Y-yeah… I think I might be awakening to something here.”

“Hey, Takagawa, doesn’t that make us kinda the winners in life?”

“Yeah, probably.”

I really do have good friends. Maybe we don’t even need to visit clubs anymore.
…No, that won’t do. Even if I’m satisfied, everyone else probably wants to join something.

Still, clubs, huh? The really intense ones don’t seem all that fun. I doubt I’d make any friends there. What I used to admire back in middle school, when I was a lonely go-home club kid, turned out to be nothing like reality. Guess dreams are just that—dreams.

Well, it’s my fault anyway. I was the one who dreamed it up, broke it myself, and gave up on it all on my own.

I’m fine being in the go-home club again. As long as everyone else finds something they like.

"Then… maybe I’ll go check out some clubs too."

"Check out? So, Ayumi, you’re not joining one?"

"Eh—come on, you should join something! Oh, and don’t worry, I already blacklisted Moeka after that recruitment stunt, so we can cross her club off the list!"

What even is a “Moeka Blacklist”? I don’t think I wanna know what’s written on it…

"Anyway, anyway. I get it—Ayumi-chan’s super cute and all, but a club where everyone just spoils her like a mascot would be boring, right?"

"Yeah, yeah! The fun part of Sakura-san is teasing her and watching how she reacts!"

"You get it, Yoshikawa-kun."

Uh, yeah, that’s not really something I want people to get.

Still, we decided to reset our mood and head off to check out the clubs.
The entrance was a no-go—partly because I didn’t want to go back there, but mostly because Moeka-chan might go berserk again—so we headed toward the courtyard instead.