Chapter 21: Beautiful Girl, at the Freshman Welcome Ceremony (Part 2)

We four arrived behind the old gym.

Since this place was unfamiliar to new students, almost no one ever came here.

"Ohh, see? None of the other first-years came here after all♪"

"Moeka-chan, that was a good idea. Even we’ve never been here, right?"

"Fufufu♪ I secretly checked out every possible confession spot to Ayumi-chan, because I wanted to see it happen!"

I wish I hadn’t asked. That’s pure voyeur behavior! At this rate, she’s going to start secretly filming people.

"Moeka, Ayumi-chan looks completely freaked out."

"Eh!? A-Ayumi-chan, th-that was just a joke, okay!?"

Your eyes are darting everywhere though. I gave Moeka-chan a flat stare.

"Don’t tell me—you were watching yesterday’s confession?"
(Refers to “Beautiful Girl, Spending the Afternoon.”)

That confession spot was right here!
The message said “behind the old gym,” but I couldn’t figure out where that was and ended up wandering for thirty minutes before finding it.
The guy who confessed probably waited over an hour.

"N-Nooo, I didn’t see a thing♪"

"Hey, Moeka-chan… do you think I turned him down too harshly?"

"Not at all♪ The way Ayumi-chan firmly cut him off, even after he said ‘we could start as friends,’ was so cool!"

"So you did see it! You totally watched the whole thing!"

Her initiative honestly scares me. Not only did she research the place, she actually showed up to the scene. Her instincts are terrifying.
She’s adorable when quiet, but once she moves, she’s like a runaway train.

"B-but! I just really wanted to see Ayumi-chan’s face turn all red when she got confessed to…"

I continued staring into Moeka-chan’s eyes.

"Ugh, don’t look at me with those pretty eyes! It’s unfair! Fine, I admit it! I was watching! I’m sorry! But Sakurako-chan and Ryouji-kun were watching too! I just brought them along!"

"Ah, hey! You promised to keep that part secret!"

"You’re hopeless, you know that?"

A sudden confession—and the truth revealed.
Turns out everyone here had been there that day!
The hopeless one is you, Ryouji!

“I’ll be her guardian whenever Ayumi gets confessed to!”—I never thought that dumb line of yours would actually come true.
Ugh, this is so embarrassing.

"Wh-why would you even watch that?"

I covered my face with both hands, my voice barely audible from the shame.
Ahh… so this is what it means to die of embarrassment.

"She’s seriously adorable…"

"Yeah. Makes you glad to be alive, huh?"

At this point, I didn’t even care about hide-and-seek anymore.
These last three days had been nothing but disasters.

"Ayumi, I’ll buy you a six-pack of Nakamuraya’s mizuyoukan later, okay? Let’s call it even."

Mizuyoukan…!

Wait, wait, that’s a bribe!
Y-you can’t just buy me off like that! Even if I did get a little excited for a second!
Bribery doesn’t solve everything! I’m not someone who gives in to treats!

"Make it ten, and Aikawa and Minase will buy you crepes too."

"Fine—but this is your last chance."

Alright, I’ll forgive them… for ten.
It’s still embarrassing, but what’s done is done. I should be magnanimous.

"O-okay, let’s just shake it off and look for a hiding spot!"

"I’m already exhausted though…"

"S-sorry, Ayumi-chan…"

Sakurako-chan apologized. Honestly, if you were going to feel bad, maybe don’t peek in the first place.

Ryouji lay flat on the roof of the storage shed beside the old gym.
According to Moeka-chan, “you can’t see anyone up there from below,” which meant she’d probably planned to use it someday.

I thought about climbing up there too, but Sakurako-chan stopped me.

"Ayumi-chan, you can’t. If you try to climb up there… people will see."

Her words made me realize something—oh, right. I was wearing a skirt.

So where should I hide instead…?

"Huh? Where’s Moeka-chan?"

"She sent a message saying she found a great spot and is already hiding. She wants to compete to see who gets found first."

So fast… I have no idea where she could’ve gone.

"Hmm. Where should I hide then?"

"Ah, what about over there? The cleaning supply closet? Looks big enough for the two of us."

I followed Sakurako-chan’s pointing finger and saw it—a fairly large cleaning closet.
It probably held equipment for the old gym. If we took everything out, two people might just fit inside.

Sakurako-chan and I opened the door and hurriedly started emptying it.
We set the contents a little ways away so no one would notice it was empty.
We could always put everything back later.

Once it was empty, the only thing to tolerate was the metallic smell. It wasn’t as dirty as I expected either.
The closet seemed relatively new—that was a relief.

"Okay, I’ll go in first."

Sakurako-chan slipped inside.
Wow—there’s still a bit of space left.

She turned toward me and gave an “okay” sign, so I climbed in too.
As soon as I did, the door closed behind us.

A faint sliver of light came through, but we could barely see a thing.
And of course—it was cramped.

Sakurako-chan was slender, and I was small and thin myself, but it was still a tight fit.

Then suddenly, her arms wrapped around my back—holding me close.

"Wah—!"

It happened so suddenly that I let out an involuntary sound.

Th-this is…! I can feel Sakurako-chan’s chest directly against me. What incredible luck.

"Ayumi-chan, you smell really nice. And you’re so nice to hold too. Your fluffy hair and soft body. And the feel of your thighs when I hug you is the best♪"

"U-um, Sakurako-chan?"

Sakurako-chan held me with her left arm while stroking my head. Then her leg slid smoothly between mine...

I think I heard her whisper, "This is driving me crazy," a few times—but it didn’t sound like a joke!

"Sakurako-chan! N-no, you ca—"

I tried to say "You can’t!" but my head was pressed tightly against her chest, and the words never made it out.

"Shhh. If you make a sound, they’ll find us, you know?"

This is weird. I should be enjoying the feeling of a girl's chest, but somehow I’ve become her plaything and can't even focus on that. My face is pressed into Sakurako-chan's chest by her left hand. A sweet scent wafts around me, and I can feel her form even through her clothes. Yet, I couldn't concentrate on enjoying the sensation. Because her right hand was slowly sliding from my thigh up towards my groin.

"Mmmpfh—!"

My words were muffled and trapped.

"Ayumi-chan, your skin is so smooth… To have such fine pores and be the same age as me… I'm jealous."

She whispered in my ear, all the while stroking and playing with my thigh. Hey, I’d really like you to stop soon! Her touch was so gentle it felt vaguely pleasant, and I had a feeling that was bad news in many ways. My face must have been bright red. I never thought I'd be in such an embarrassing situation!

"Ahh, it's too bad it's dark and I can't see your face. I'll bet you're making a really great expression right now, aren't you?"

Even if it weren't dark, you're smushing my face into your chest, so I couldn't see anyway! Let me go!

Finally, Sakurako-chan's hand left my thigh. Saved. I was about to lose my mind.

Just as I felt a wave of relief, her right hand slipped inside my blazer. Her fingers gently stroked my back. Thankfully, they didn't go under my blouse, but compared to before, she was touching a place closer to my bare skin, and I could feel the sensation of her hand clearly.

"F-fgaa! Fgohmph!"

I tried to raise my voice in protest, but each time I was squeezed tightly, it prevented any coherent words from forming.

"Ayumi-chan, you're so warm."

This space isn't just warm, it's hot! Sakurako-chan's hand moved from my back toward my armpit. Eeek, h-hold on! Wait! The skin there is thin and sensitive!

"You twitch when I stroke it, it's so cute♪"

Sakurako-chan let out a sigh. Just do whatever you want with me. Someone find us already. I was already in full surrender mode. This must be some kind of punishment for thinking I was lucky to be hugged by a girl. She gently stroked and caressed my armpits, my waist, and other places. Her touch was so incredibly gentle, it was downright troublesome. The soft sensation was tingly, and it felt kind of good...

How much time had passed? I was completely exhausted. Sakurako-chan had been toying with my body non-stop, and I felt like I could barely breathe. I wanted to get out of here at the earliest possible moment.

Just as I was thinking that,

"Aww, found you! Too baaad!"

Moeka-chan's voice came from outside. Upon hearing it, Sakurako-chan's grip loosened just a little. Th-this is my chance! I put all my strength into my arms and threw my back against the cleaning closet door behind me. With a dull thud, the door opened. Unable to fully kill my momentum, I landed flat on my rear. I, I did it! I successfully escaped! The original purpose of this hide-and-seek had long since faded into distant memory.

"Ah! Ayumi-chan!"

Sakurako-chan made a slightly disappointed face, but then she seemed to notice something and gasped.

"Ayumi-chan! Stand up! I can see—it's showing!"

“Showing? …Wait, showing!?” I finally realized what she meant and glanced down to check.
If I landed on my butt in a skirt… that means—!
I scrambled to my feet in a panic.

"Hehe, what a nice little show at the end."

Sakurako-chan looked absolutely pleased with herself.

"Sakurako-chan! Wait—you two were in there together!?"

"Oh, Moeka! Yeah, we were~ Things got kind of… naughty, you know? I really enjoyed it♪"

She spoke dreamily, like she was recalling a fond memory.
You’re the only one who got “naughty” in there, miss!

"Th-that’s not fair! Why did you two get to have all the fun!? Next time, I’m going in with Ayumi-chan!"

No, no, no—this isn’t some amusement park attraction where you take turns in the supply closet!

At this point, I finally understood why these two got along so well. Birds of a feather really do flock together…
But just to be clear, I’m not one of those birds!

After that, Sakurako-chan and I were, of course, found by the upperclassman who had already spotted Moeka-chan.
As a result, all three of us ended up helping that senpai win the round.

When I checked my phone, I saw that only thirty minutes had passed since the start of the game.
If I’d stayed in there another thirty, I probably would’ve lost my mind.

"Hey, hey! Ayumi-chan! Let’s go back in there!"

"I—I'm not going in again!"

"Aw, that face! What were you two doing in there? So unfair!"

Moeka-chan just wouldn’t let it go.
Please, spare me already. I feel like dropping to my knees and begging for mercy—like the student council president or something.

"If you won’t go in with me, then I’ll just hug you right here♪"

Saying that, Moeka-chan suddenly jumped at me.

Uwah—! That chest feeling! …Wait, there’s not much?
Her chest seemed about the same size as mine.
Why did I feel… relieved by that!?

Come on, if you’re a guy, it’s not about size—it’s about pecs! …No, that doesn’t sound right either.

"Hey! You just compared my chest to Sakurako-chan’s, didn’t you!? I can see it on your face! So mean!"

"S-sorry!"

Wait—why am I the one apologizing here?

In the end, the three of us who got caught headed toward the new gymnasium together.
I was walking between Sakurako-chan and Moeka-chan—and for some reason, they were both clinging to my arms.

This looked less like walking to the gym and more like aliens escorting their human captive…

As for the results of the hide-and-seek:
None of the upperclassmen managed to find ten people.
Well, that wasn’t surprising. One first-year class has about forty students, and there are only five classes—A through E. A lot didn’t even participate, so the maximum must’ve been around a hundred and fifty. Finding ten out of that was a tall order.

By the way, the two who didn’t get found on the first-year side were Ryoji and Yoshikawa-kun… both from my group.

Apparently, Yoshikawa-kun joined right at the last minute before the welcome party. He had woken up on the landing of the rooftop stairs, then sprinted like crazy to make it in time.
The part about “waking up on the stairs” worried me a bit, but I decided not to ask. Some things are better left unknown.

They settled it with rock-paper-scissors—and on the sixty-fifth tie, Ryoji finally beat Yoshikawa-kun, earning the right to choose his partner for the folk dance.

Well… I guess it all worked out in the end.

I had originally planned to visit the clubroom after the event, but after all that mental and physical exhaustion, I apologized to everyone and decided to just head home for the day.