"Woah!"
"Kyah~!"
We heard some noises from the other end of the facility. Was something happening by the third pool?
"They're gettin' fired up with somethin'?"
"Seems like something's happening in that other pool."
"That's the sports pool, right? Maybe there's a game being played by someone popular?"
"The sport that's bein' played the most should be volleyball. And based on the interval of their cheerin' times, it should be the case."
"You sure, Kencchin?"
"I'm 90% sure."
"Ken-kun's really smart when it comes to sports."
"Hah-? So yer sayin' I'm dumb when it comes to things that aren't sports?!" Ken was in dismay after hearing Airi's words.
How did you even reach that interpretation before taking it as a compliment first...?
"Isn't that obvious? You're dumber than the dumb ones in our class!" Haruka crossed her arms while raising an eyebrow. Her breast rested beautifully on her forearms. "Hmm... But these days, you are getting quite smarter-- I should at least admit that."
"Then yer just talkin' about academics! I can be smart about tons of other stuff too, ya know?!"
"Hey man, you're getting too fired up. Don't just let Haruka lead you around the nose with her teasing."
"Ah-! Damn it..."
I stared at my friends' typical banters before Ichinose spoke up beside me.
"I remember lots of 2nd-year students around that place."
"2nd-years, huh?"
"Are you curious, Ayanokouji-kun?" she asked with a probing smile.
"I'd be lying if I say I'm not."
"Let's check it out, then!" Ichinose stood up and faced our considerably large group. "Guys, let's go see what's so fun over there!"
Ichinose's charisma somehow just gets a certain agreeable response from anyone she gets along with. We would either be enthusiastic about her whims or just go with the flow. No one antagonizes her even if she didn't impose authority like Karuizawa or intimidation like Ryuuen. She was someone that you just want to follow.
"Kyah~!"
"Woohoo!"
"Amazing~!"
The uproar grew increasingly louder. It seems like the game was getting intense.
*Splash*
The ball was spiked towards the other side of the court, and the screams of the girls surrounding the pool followed right after. The game was intense, but it was not like a team battle of six-versus-six was happening. One male student heavily stood out.
"That's guy's awesome..." muttered Ken.
If he, of all people, says that, then it must be true.
The guy's blonde hair swayed with each of his movements. Some of the players looked tired while some looked fired up. Contrasting them was his composed expression which made him very eye-catching.
The next round started and he easily caught the serve. The setter didn't even need to move as the ball perfectly bounced on top of him. With an optimal set from an optimal receive, the blonde-haired male student jumped off at the perfect time and spiked a bullet into the enemy court. It wasn't like he was the only good player, though. A student from the opposing team was able to react to his attack but unfortunately failed to bring the ball up.
The cheering ensued as soon as the ball made contact with the water. I didn't recognize anyone from the crowd, so it's safe to assume that most of them are 2nd-year girls with some 3rd-years in the mix. He's really popular in his year.
"That guy's pretty good. Do you think you can beat him, Kiyotaka?" Akito asked, nugding my left side.
Ichinose looked over with a curious smile. Horikita and the other girls did as well. It didn't take long until Airi and Haruka along with the other Class C boys also looked at me.
"No way. I don't even know how to play volleyball."
"You're so humble, Kiyopon~." Haruka nudged my other side with a smirk.
The girls from Class C suddenly muttered to themselves. I couldn't exactly understand what they were mumbling about, but I heard the word "Kiyopon" in there.
"Hey, the poolside court is free now! Do you guys wanna play?!" yelled Shibata with Ken waving his arms beside him.
"Let everyone do some warm-ups first, Shibata. It'd be bad if someone gets injured," said Kanzaki.
"Honami-chan, let's go!"
"I'll be there in a bit, Chihiro-chan." Ichinose subtly waved her hands with an apologetic expression.
I stayed beside her and continued watching the ongoing game. Ichinose stood on my left while Horikita was on my right. I wonder if she was also curious about that guy.
"Do you two know him?" Ichinose broke the silence with that question.
"No, not really..." I glanced at Horikita who also shook her head.
"That's Nagumo-senpai from Class 2-A," she said.
"Nagumo..." I muttered.
Now that's a familiar name. I've had Kikyou tell me some things about him, but this was the first time I've seen his appearance. He does look like a high-spec individual.
Ichinose's gaze stayed ahead as she continued.
"He's the current vice president of the student council, and that's on top of his abilities." Hearing that, Horikita's shoulders tightened slightly. "It looks like he's quite popular with the girls which kinda makes sense, now that I look at it."
Well, we can certainly see that. The pool was gigantic so there were other games being played both in and on the side, but no one else's game was being watched aside from this one. Everyone was fixated on Nagumo.
"Even though he's popular with the ladies, I've never heard of him until now. You don't know him either, right, Ayanokouji-kun? Wouldn't it be safe to assume that his popularity is inferior to that of the student council president?"
Hey, hey, aren't you just picking a fight here?
"I guess so. Everyone knows the student council president, after all. He even made a very big impression on us freshmen during the after-school club recruitment back in April."
Instead of trying to immediately one-up Horikita who tried to oppose her, Ichinose just supported her words with a smile. However, it wasn't like she'd sell him short.
"But according to some rumors, Nagumo-senpai has comparable skills. I don't really know how credible those rumors are, but some events from the past brought them on. Did you know that Nagumo-senpai and Horikita-senpai both ran for the position of president last year? He was just a freshman during that time, but he was bold enough to run against a 2nd-year Class A student."
"You're quite well-informed, aren't you, Ichinose-san?"
"Ahaha, I wouldn't say that. I guess joining the student council comes with picking up on those kinds of information."
"Oh right, you are part of the student council now." I finally found a chance to enter the conversation. I felt like a war was brewing and I didn't want to be in the middle of it.
Horikita was surprised by that sudden revelation.
"You knew about it, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Ichinose.
"Yeah, by coincidence." I glanced at Horikita before continuing. "Are there any prerequisites for joining the student council? Not just anyone could join, right?"
I could feel Horikita's glare on my back. It was pretty shameless to lie about being ignorant after I was offered the position of vice president, but I needed to be on guard. I can't have Ichinose know about my relationship with the student council president just yet.
"Hmm... To be honest, I'm not too sure myself. Apart from the necessary application requirements, the president hadn't really made anything clear." Ichinose scratched her cheek while smiling bitterly. "I was actually rejected more than once. I persisted, and I was luckily accepted just recently."
"I'm surprised that it worked." Horikita knew her brother more than anyone. She knew that Ichinose's perseverance wouldn't move him. Even an excellent student like Katsuragi was coldly refused.
"Apparently, the final decision came from Nagumo-senpai who used his authority as the vice president. Two 1st-year students are usually accepted into the student council, but according to Nagumo-senpai, President Horikita seemed disappointed in this year's freshmen."
Horikita's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly after hearing that.
"Ah, now that I think about it, you and the president have the same last names, Horikita-san. Are you related?"
"Well..." Horikita hesitated for a moment before answering. "I'm his little sister."
"Ohh, I knew it! It kinda makes sense, though. I'm not that close to the president, but I guess the two of you are quite similar."
It's not like her assumption was a stretch. There were only about 350 people in the whole world who bear the same last name.
"I see..."
Seeing Horikita's discomfort, I decided to veer the conversation back on topic.
"Nagumo-senpai was originally from Class B, right? But now he's in Class A. It's pretty weird coming from me, but that's amazing."
"Ahaha! Yeah, you guys are much more amazing. You went from Class D to Class A in a span of a semester and set a record that probably won't get surpassed by anyone," giggled Ichinose. "But speaking of records, every student council president in the history of this school came from Class A. Nagumo-senpai came from Class B, but before anyone realized it, he was next in line to become president."
"You really look up to him," I said.
"We get along quite well. I feel like I can relate to him a lot. It seems like President Horikita is stepping down this October, though... So I want to hurry up and prove myself. And then I'm going to become president after Nagumo-senpai." Ichinose paused for a moment before facing us with a grin. "Just kidding!"
She hummed while skipping toward the rest of the group who were raring to go and play.
"Let's go."
After Kanzaki and others managed to get permission, they finally relayed the rules to us. We'll be playing a first-to-two (set) game with each one capping at 15 points unless a deuce happens.
"I'll sit this one out, Honami-chan. I'm already tired from playing around earlier," said Shiranami.
"No problem, Chihiro-chan! Ah, please buy some drinks for us then, once you're done resting."
"Okay, sure!"
Since they had an extra person, it became a perfect six-versus-six match.
"Don't look so scared, Airi. It's just a friendly game. And with Kiyopon and Ken on our team, we probably won't even need to move."
"B-But... I'm not athletic and I don't really know how to play volleyball... And after seeing the spikes from earlier, I can't help but get terrified. My arms might get t-torn off, you know?"
"Well... I'm sure it's not that bad..."
On our side of the court were me, Horikita, Ken, Akito, Haruka, and Airi. On the other side were Ichinose, Amikura, Kobashi, Kanzaki, Shibata, and Beppu. It was basically a full-on class battle.
"Do you want to make bets, Horikita-san?" smirked Ichinose.
"Sure," Horikita responded with confidence.
"Alright. The losers will pay for the winners' lunch. How's that for the stakes."
"Is that fine for all of you?" Horikita asked as she faced us.
All of us nodded without much hesitation.
"Then it's set. Let's have a good game, Horikita-san."
Ichinose offered to shake hands and Horikita accepted.
"If we're going to do this, then let's win," she said.
"You're fired up about this, Horikita-san," mused Haruka.
"Well, we have lots of private points, so it's not like losing is a problem in that aspect. But given how our teams were formed, it's still a match between two classes. We can't just back down from that challenge, can we? Especially since we're just about to debut as the new Class A."
"Hehe, I like your style, Horikita. Alright, leave it to me. As long as I'm here, those meatheads won't stand a chance." Ken punched his fists together.
"Wouldn't the term 'meathead' describe you, though?" Akito tilted his head in confusion.
"Hah? The hell are you sayin', Akito? Doesn't 'meathead' refer to someone who's got too much meat in their head? Like their brain is too big because they study too much. Right?"
Airi smiled bitterly while Akito and Haruka shook their heads in distress. That was quite the misunderstanding.
"Do you have any experience with volleyball, Sudou-kun?" Horikita magnificently ignored the current topic and asked.
"Nope. 'Played a little in class, though."
"And yet you sound really confident."
"Basketball's like all other sports. An upperclassman I respect said that."
While that saying doesn't necessarily hold true in a technical sense, I can get where Ken was coming from. He wasn't a competitive swimmer, yet he showed stellar results in class. It was the same with other sports. As long as he gets the basics, he'll use his overwhelming athletic abilities to defeat his opponents. In other words, he busts through with sheer brute force.
"Alright. Let's see what you got."
Horikita knew that I didn't want any unnecessary attention, so she didn't even bother asking me about my volleyball skills (which were nonexistent). I can't help but thank her in my mind.
Author's Notes:
Now that Suzune is in Class A, she can honestly answer questions regarding her relationship with Manabu as his little sister.