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Chapter 73 Part 1

Inter-class Ball Game Competition (1) ~Shake Hip!~

The week had begun.

This Friday was the day of the inter-class ball game competition.

Since this year was the first year that boys were made to participate, not only had they held meetings over and over again with the executive committee that was set up late last month, they had also gone to consult with the school.

Yuu’s status was akin to that of an observer, but he went ahead and actively expressed his opinions from the standpoint of a male student.

During his past high school days, Yuu spent most of his time working part-time and did not participate in any extracurricular activities.

Therefore, excluding the few friends who had the same preferences as him, his circle of friends was small and he rarely had a chance to get close with girls, let alone getting himself a girlfriend.

However, right now, partly because he had joined the student council, the number of his female acquaintances kept on increasing.

Even though it was a co-ed school, the boys were small in number and they were not enthusiastic about extracurricular activities, so the current Yuu was in a state where he was always surrounded by girls, but he got used to it surprisingly easily.

To begin with, since enrolling to the academy, Yuu had always tried to be sociable with all the girls he met without exception.

Perhaps because that impression of his had been widespread, all of the female seniors he met through the student council treated him favorably.

Even if Yuu didn’t actively be mindful about it, by nature, he had the air of someone who was easy to talk to, allowing them to interact in a natural manner.

As such, it turned into a virtuous cycle that allowed Yuu to chat with them comfortably.

Also, given that he was a first-year student, there were many things that he did not understand, but ultimately, he was an adult who had experience in the working world on the inside.

He was accustomed to the sequence of planning, coordinating at meetings, and taking action.

As a result, as they saw him as a mentally mature and dependable boy, his evaluation was rising rapidly among the female seniors.

Sometimes the words e-mail and cell phone slipped out of his mouth as a means of communication, so there were also times when they looked at him with dubious eyes, though.

In such a manner, Yuu himself found it surprisingly enjoyable to be involved in activities for students.

Him being able to work together with Sayaka and the others with whom he was in intimate relationships also played a big role in it.

That was precisely why he was so determined to make this year’s inter-class ball game competition a success.

◇ ◇ ◇

After school from Monday to Thursday would be allotted as practice period for the participating players from each class, making use of the school’s facilities.

This, too, was different from last year, in which they competed without having any prior practices.

As a private high school, Sairyou Academy was blessed with better facilities than public schools.

They had a large first field by the main gate, a medium-sized second field on the opposite side of it sandwiching the administration building and gymnasium, and then a third field across the road from the rear garden.

Tennis courts, outdoor basketball-cum-volleyball courts.

There was also a two-story gymnasium and a martial arts hall.

Negotiations with the clubs that were unable to use the practice fields during this period were quite troublesome, and as an alternative measure, it had been decided that they would rent facilities outside the school.

Excluding the physical education department, six classes from each of the three grades would participate in the inter-class ball game competition.

Through the four days after school period, they would split it into first half and second half, 45 minutes each, but ultimately, each team would be allotted one practice day only (the extra slots were used as a reserve in case of rain).

As such, rather than practicing, the most they would be able to accomplish would be to confirm the coordination of their respective position.

After all, since members of the corresponding clubs were not allowed to participate, most of the players were amateurs.

In the boys’ class, they formed groups of six to cheer for the class they were in charge of.

Yuu was in charge of class 1-5, with whom he had had some connection since April.

This time it was a free choice, so not only Higashino Rei, who was always with Yuu, Yamada Masaya was also in the same group as them.

「Looking back at the boys-girls social event, I guess Hirose would be our best choice here.」

With that, the group members unanimously agreed to make Yuu the leader of the group.

Looking at the copy of the player list that had been handed to them from class 1-5 via their homeroom teacher, it seemed that they were assigned to practice football on the second field on the first half of Monday, i.e., right that instant.

「Then, shall we get going?」

「「Yeah.」」

「「「Yes….」」」

The responses were split fifty-fifty, some responded normally, some responded in a somewhat reserved manner.

They might have experienced boys-girls social events twice, but as expected, the reaction of common male students toward interacting with girls seemed to be fear.

It looks like the left-right duo will be participating in the football competition. In that case….

As they walked out of the second school building, Yuu looked at Rei.

Sensing his gaze, Rei was stunned and asked 「Is something the matter?」 as he tilted his head.

「It’s nothing.」

Yuu swallowed his words and glossed it over.

It was troubling that he ended up finding Rei, who was petite and had an androgynous-ish face, cuter than most girls when he acted like that.

In fact, in the first-year boys’ class, although not as popular as Yuu, Rei was also popular with girls and it had been known that he had a devoted fan base.

Their representative-like members were the left-right duo, Satou Risa and Ukawa Miyoko of the volleyball club, and they were at the second field, the place their group was headed for.

As they walked along the pathway in the school yard, in addition to the girls in sailor uniforms who were leaving school in groups, they could also see groups of girls in gym uniforms who were half running.

They were probably either going to attend club activities or to practice for the inter-class ball game competition.

Among them, they saw a group of boys from the same class who were going to cheer for the girls’ practice like Yuu and the others, and they exchanged a brief hello.

Looking forward to seeing Rei’s reaction when he met the left-right duo, Yuu headed for the second field with a smile on his face.

At the second field, the class seemed to be practicing using one half of the field each.

When Yuu and the others arrived, the girls from class 1-5 that would participate in the football competition, 13 in total including substitutes, had divided into three groups and were discussing among themselves.

「「「Whoaa!」」」

They must have noticed that Yuu and the others had arrived at the edge of the field.

The girls of class 1-5 looked at them and cheered in unison.

「Yay! To think Higashino-kun would come to our class! With this I’ll be one hundred times stronger!」

「Hi, Hirose-kun came to our class again… Aah, I’m so glad I’m in class 1-5….」

It was a very exaggerated joy.

The names that could be heard were about half Yuu and half Rei.

It seemed that part of the reason was because Rei’s fans were clustered in this team.

Leaving aside Rei, who boasted an appearance that would make him popular with girls in this world, Yuu, who habitually acted in a sociable manner regardless of who he was interacting with, was extremely popular not only among first-year girls but also among second- and third-year girls.

It was on the level that, under normal circumstances, it would not be surprising even if the other boys were jealous of him.

However, the first-year boys had not shed their innocence, or rather, had not gotten used to girls yet, so it didn’t reach the level where they would be jealous of him.