"Ughhh... one more..."
Summer vacation had finally begun. It had been peaceful so far, though the heat seemed intent on devouring our bodies.
I spent most of my days inside my room, wasting time reading books or watching anime. Occasionally, I'd do some exercise as well—like I was doing now.
I had put together a simple morning routine with a few workouts, although it was still difficult for me.
Imagine living your entire life in laziness, then suddenly deciding to start exercising. It was nothing short of torture for the muscles.
I collapsed onto the floor, drenched in sweat after finishing my push-ups, trying to catch my breath before preparing breakfast.
I had no intention of leaving my room anytime soon, especially since the student council president had temporarily relieved me of my duties. He said it would be better to conserve my energy because I'd need it soon.
What were those vague hints supposed to mean?
Well, I didn't mind the break, but if it meant double the workload afterward, then no thanks.
I heard my phone ringing from atop the bed. Slowly, I crawled across the floor until I reached it and stretched out my hand to grab it.
I glanced at the screen to see who was calling.
It was Yukinoshita.
We hadn't met since summer vacation started, limiting ourselves to short text messages instead.
Maybe she was going to scold me for staying cooped up in my room.
I pressed the button to answer, placed the phone against my ear, and rested my forehead against the floor once again, now stained with droplets of my sweat.
"Yo..."
"I see... Hikigaya-kun, it seems you're still alive."
Without even offering a greeting, Yukinoshita launched a merciless attack.
"Y-Yeah... I'm still breathing normally..."
"Really? I thought the decay in your eyes had spread to your brain and turned you into a parasite that refuses to leave its room."
I could clearly hear the faint laugh she tried to suppress through the speaker.
"No, I haven't become a parasite. Besides, who would want to go outside in this heat...?"
People always associate summer with youth, but they conveniently forget one important detail.
The heat that scorches your skin.
"So... you don't intend to go out?" Yukinoshita asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Hmm..."
It felt like she was hinting at something.
Did she want to go somewhere?
"Well... um... is there somewhere you'd like to go?" I asked, trying to sound as natural as possible, though my voice trembled as well.
"Ahem..."
She cleared her throat before speaking.
"Ahem... I was thinking about going... to the pool."
"Huh...?!"
I lifted my forehead from the floor in shock.
Had Yukinoshita developed some strange taste after enrolling in this school?
"You know... there aren't many places to go within the school... and besides, it's summer," Yukinoshita said nervously as she tried to justify her choice.
She was genuinely flustered.
Honestly, I didn't want to go to that kind of place. It didn't suit me at all, but...
"Do... do you really want to go?"
"Y-Yes," Yukinoshita answered, hesitation still evident in her voice.
"T-Then... let's go."
Hearing her so nervous made me nervous too.
I heard Yukinoshita let out a sigh of relief before speaking again.
"Alright... let's meet in the lobby shortly. And... thank you."
She hurriedly ended the call before I could respond.
What was that?
Why did it have to be today?
It's not like I was busy.
And there was no need to thank me.
Since we hadn't specified an exact meeting time, I quickly got up to prepare myself.
I didn't want to be late and keep her waiting.
Sticky sweat still covered my body, so I decided to take a quick shower before leaving.
The pool, huh...
I guess that's fine.
—
After showering, I put on a pair of pants and a short-sleeved blue shirt. I packed some spare clothes into a small bag and left my room.
Although it was still early considering it was summer vacation, the temperature remained high despite it not even being noon yet.
I wondered what grilled skin would actually feel like.
I headed toward the elevator to go down to the lobby, only to find that a girl was already inside.
She wore a simple short-sleeved dress and held a small bag in front of her.
"Perfect timing..." Yukinoshita said.
Even though we hadn't agreed on a specific time, we had somehow arrived simultaneously.
The elevator carried us down to the ground floor.
The lobby was crowded with other students.
What bothered me, however, was that their faces were familiar.
Kushida, Horikita, and even Hirata were there.
Clinging to Hirata's arm was Karuizawa.
Were they dating?
That was unexpected.
But even more surprising was another girl standing slightly apart from them.
Sakura.
She stared down at her shoes, never raising her head or joining the others' conversation.
"Yukinoshita-san, Hikigaya-kun! Perfect timing!" Kushida called out as she ran toward us.
She stopped a step away, wearing a short-sleeved dress as well.
"Did Ayanokouji-kun invite you two as well?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
An invitation from Ayanokouji?
I hadn't heard anything about that.
I glanced toward Yukinoshita, but she simply shook her head.
"No. Where are you all going?" Yukinoshita asked.
"Hmm... well, to the pool."
Ah.
Looking around, everyone was dressed in summer clothing.
It was obvious they were heading to the pool.
But since when did Ayanokouji participate in class outings?
That was suspicious.
Perhaps he had invited Sakura too.
A shy girl like her wouldn't join something like this without being asked.
"Are you two going to the pool as well?" Hirata approached us while Karuizawa remained attached to his arm.
"Y-Yeah."
"That's great! Let's all go together!"
Kushida clapped her hands enthusiastically.
Without waiting for our approval, she grabbed Yukinoshita's hand and started walking toward the exit.
"Ah... Kushida-san, I can walk on my own..."
Yukinoshita attempted to resist, but it was futile.
The situation was beginning to resemble a school trip.
And there was nothing I hated more.
Maybe I should just go back to my room.
I glanced toward Yukinoshita, who had already reached the exit and was now talking with Horikita while Kushida desperately tried to insert herself into their conversation.
Hmm...
Perhaps I had no choice after all.
"Hikigaya-kun... let's go," Hirata said with an awkward smile.
I sighed heavily as I forced my legs to move.
I hoped this would end quickly.
It was bound to be exhausting.
The group walked ahead while I lagged behind, deliberately slowing my pace.
"So you got invited too... how pitiful."
Lost in my thoughts as I trudged forward beneath the oppressive heat, Horikita suddenly approached me.
She wore a large sun hat.
"No. Nobody invited me. Even if they had, I would've refused."
"Really...? It's strange seeing you mingle with people like this," Horikita remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"The strange thing is seeing you here. Since when do you accept invitations like these?"
Ever since the first day, Horikita had rejected social interaction.
Although that had changed recently, it was still difficult to imagine her accepting something like this.
How had Ayanokouji convinced her?
"That's none of your business. I have my own reasons," Horikita replied irritably.
Personal reasons?
Like what?
I watched her from the corner of my eye as she moved ahead.
The group had already stopped after meeting up with Ayanokouji, Sudou, Yamauchi, and even Ike.
That part was normal.
Of course they had been invited too.
What wasn't normal was how out of breath they looked.
As though they'd been running the entire way.
Maybe they were just excited...
"Let's enjoy ourselves, everyone!"
"Yeah!"
"Come on! Kushida-chan's right!"
Kushida tried to lift everyone's spirits, with Ike and Yamauchi enthusiastically supporting her efforts.
But to no avail.
Who could enjoy themselves in this heat?
The group continued toward the pool while Ayanokouji remained standing still, staring at me.
Was this some sort of staring contest?
"Yo..."
I greeted him half-heartedly.
"Hello..."
He responded indifferently before quickly moving ahead.
Eventually, we arrived at the pool.
Despite the early hour, it was packed with students.
I stood there alone, gazing at the massive crowd wandering around.
Then Yukinoshita approached me.
"Hikigaya-kun, I'm going to change."
"Ah... alright. Me too."
I had brought a change of clothes, though I had no intention of swimming.
I planned to spend the entire day lying on one of the deck chairs instead.
Perfect.
I looked around, but none of our group was anywhere to be seen.
Aside from Hirata, who had disappeared somewhere.
The others had probably gone to change as well.
I headed toward the boys' changing room next to the girls'.
Oddly enough, despite the crowds outside, only Ayanokouji and the others were inside.
"What happened, Ayanokouji?" Yamauchi scolded him in a hushed voice, though it still reached my ears.
"I didn't do anything. I pressed it, but it wouldn't work," Ayanokouji defended himself.
"What do you mean? This is going to delay us! We won't be able to contact him now!" Ike joined in.
"It's fine, it's fine. We'll fix it, even if it takes a little while," Sudou tried calming them down.
What were they talking about?
I glanced in their direction.
They had gathered around a locker after changing, staring at something hidden from view.
I tried peeking, but their bodies blocked my sight.
Eventually, they noticed me.
"Alright, alright, someone might hear us. Let's go."
Yamauchi urged the others to leave.
Then they were gone, leaving me alone.
Seriously, what were they doing?
Whatever.
I picked a locker near the corner and changed.
I put on my swim trunks and a gray short-sleeved shirt, shut the locker, and headed back outside.
This time, however, there was commotion waiting for me.
I froze at the doorway.
Two people stood facing each other.
Two people I never expected to see here.
Sakayanagi from Class A.
And Ryūen from Class C.
What were they doing here?
Dressed in summer attire, they blocked each other's path, each surrounded by their respective followers.
Behind Sakayanagi stood Kamuro, a boy with long blond hair, and another boy with messy dark-blue hair and lifeless eyes.
He looked terrifying.
Were they really Class A students?
Meanwhile, Ryūen was accompanied by Albert, Ishizaki, and several girls.
The atmosphere resembled a battlefield.
"Oho...? Look who decided to show up," Ryūen remarked as he lowered his sunglasses slightly upon seeing me.
"Hikigaya-kun is here as well... what a coincidence," Sakayanagi said with a sinister smile.
I suddenly felt the urge to retreat back into the changing room.
"I wonder who's missing now..." Ryūen muttered as he stepped forward.
"The police."
"...Huh?"
"I said the police. Don't the two of you look like leaders of a high school gang?"
Seriously.
Why did each of them insist on dragging an entourage around?
"Fufufufu... listen to who's talking—the fraudulent student council secretary," Ryūen said, stopping right in front of me.
"Fraudulent...? Hmm. It seems I've missed quite a few interesting things, haven't I, Ryūen-kun? Hikigaya-kun?" Sakayanagi said while adjusting her small hat with one hand and gripping her cane with the other.
"Just stay where you are, Sakayanagi. I'll crush him first, and then Class A will be expelled the same way," Ryūen declared without taking his eyes off her.
"That's unfair. I want to play too," Sakayanagi replied.
Personally, I wasn't fond of games.
Especially not with these people.
"Unfortunately, I'm not very good at playing."
"...What?"
Ryūen stared at me blankly, clearly failing to understand what I meant.
Did he have comprehension problems?
I wondered how his grades were.
"I said I'm bad at water games. They scare me."
I pointed behind him toward the water slides and diving platforms.
I was terrible at those.
I was sure of it.
"Fufufufufu..."
Ryūen's furious glare was interrupted by Sakayanagi's muffled laughter, which she unsuccessfully attempted to hide behind her small hand.
"What's all this commotion?"
Suddenly, everyone's attention shifted upward.
Standing above us was the student council president, Horikita.
He looked down at us while resting a pair of swimming goggles on his shoulder.
He wore nothing but swim trunks.
He placed one hand on the edge of the wall—
and jumped straight down.
I instinctively covered my eyes with both hands.
I had no desire to witness his bones shattering before me.
That's terrible... Is he even sane enough to do something like that?
I heard the sound of his sandal slamming hard against the ground, but I didn't hear him crying out in pain. Because of that, I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter.
Maybe he died.
I really didn't want to dream about his corpse.
"Hikigaya, what are you doing...?"
I heard the chairman's voice speaking to me as if nothing had happened.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and peeked at him through the gaps between my fingers, only to find him standing there as though absolutely nothing had occurred.
Lowering my hands from my face, I noticed that everyone present was staring at me, question marks practically floating above their heads.
But seriously, was this man some kind of superhero?
Maybe that was why his younger sister worshipped him so much.
He was her hero.
"What are you doing, Hikigaya...? Your job is to resolve this gathering, not participate in it..." the chairman scolded me in front of everyone.
"Uh... but..."
Without even giving me a chance to explain, he continued.
"Even if you're on vacation, you're still a member of the student council. You should be doing your job."
It seemed the chairman had already decided that I was entirely at fault.
"...Fine."
I sighed heavily before stepping forward to stand between the two groups.
Everyone watched me, waiting to see what I would do.
"Ahem... shoo... shoo... come on, disperse... shoo, shoo."
I waved both hands around, trying to drive them away and break up the crowd.
However, no one reacted.
They simply continued staring at me.
"What is he doing?"
"He looks like he's chasing away chickens. Hahaha."
Whispers began spreading from both sides, much to the chairman's growing irritation.
"Hikigaya, stop that... Everyone, if there's no valid reason for this gathering, disperse immediately. You're blocking the way."
After stopping me from carrying out my duties, the chairman addressed everyone directly and ordered them to leave.
Without any objections, both groups complied, casting challenging glances at one another before heading off in opposite directions.
I remained standing alone in the middle alongside the chairman, who adjusted his glasses and approached me.
"Hikigaya, stop behaving like that... Now leave as well."
After saying that, the chairman walked away too, leaving me by myself.
Amazing.
His mere presence had been enough to make the leaders of each class back down.
But even more amazing was the fact that he was wearing a swimsuit.
Perhaps even he had come here to enjoy himself.
And if that was the case, then everyone else probably had as well.
The pool really was a popular place among the students.
Maybe Yukinoshita wasn't that strange for suggesting it.
I approached the poolside where the group was gathered, only to notice a new face among them.
Ichinose from Class B.
She was laughing and chatting with the students from Class D—especially Kushida—as though she were one of them.
Yukinoshita stood slightly apart, silently observing everyone.
Naturally, I walked over and stood beside her.
"Hikigaya-kun..."
She wasn't wearing a swimsuit either.
Perhaps she had no intention of swimming.
Good.
I looked around for a suitable place to sit.
Eventually, I found a lounge chair by the pool where I could stretch out comfortably.
The only problem was that it was directly under the blazing sun.
I walked over and dragged it toward the shade.
"Everyone, let's play volleyball!" Kushida called out enthusiastically, rallying the group.
"Oh! Kushida-san is right. Let's play!" Ichinose agreed excitedly.
"Yeah! Pool volleyball is part of the high school experience!" Yamauchi shouted.
I immediately turned toward them.
Why had they suddenly become so obsessed with their youth?
How annoying.
Well, they could play all they wanted.
I was going to relax here.
After adjusting the chair into the perfect position for lying down, Kushida approached me, radiating her usual cheerful energy.
"Hikigaya-kun, would you like to play with us?"
"No."
I rejected the invitation without a moment's hesitation.
No one was going to stop me from enjoying this chair.
"Hmm... Yukinoshita-san, what about you?" Kushida asked.
"I'm sorry, but I'll decline," Yukinoshita replied.
Perfect.
"Come on, everyone. Are you afraid of losing? Even if we lose, it's just a friendly match," Ichinose encouraged us.
"Losing...?"
Yukinoshita visibly twitched at that word.
Then, without warning, she grabbed my shirt.
"Hikigaya-kun, we're participating."
"Eh...? But—"
I tried to protest, but Yukinoshita gave me no opportunity as she dragged me toward the others.
All I could do was stare longingly at the carefully selected chair I had moved into the perfect spot.
Slowly, I raised my hand and bid it farewell.
"Alright, let's split into two teams of four," Hirata announced, taking on the role of referee.
Four players per team.
That seemed reasonable.
The teams were formed quickly.
On the opposite side of the net stood Kushida, Ichinose, Sudou, and Horikita.
Meanwhile, our team consisted of Yukinoshita, Sakura, Ayanokouji, and me.
"Hmm... this doesn't seem very fair."
I attempted to object to the team distribution, but no one paid any attention.
"Crush them, Sudou!" Yamauchi and Ike cheered.
Maybe I should try again.
"Uh... are you sure this arrangement is acceptable?"
Once again, my words were ignored.
I was starting to feel transparent.
"Here. You serve first."
Horikita handed the ball to Yukinoshita, her expression carrying a hint of arrogance.
Perhaps she was confident of victory.
Yukinoshita took the ball and stepped back.
I glanced at my teammates.
It truly was a strange combination.
After bouncing the ball lightly a few times, Yukinoshita began her approach.
She tossed the ball upward, leapt gracefully into the air, and sent it flying directly toward the farthest corner of the opposing court.
"Point!" Hirata announced.
"Whoa, did you see that?"
"Seriously, she looks like a professional!"
Voices of admiration spread through the spectators following Yukinoshita's impressive serve.
As expected of the Ice Queen.
Let's see how things unfold from here.
The match continued beneath the scorching summer sun.
The opposing team was completely disorganized.
Although Kushida and Ichinose tried to create some sense of teamwork, Horikita and Sudou ignored them entirely, each attempting to prove themselves.
As for our side...
Well, Yukinoshita did practically everything.
Sakura struggled just to move around.
And Ayanokouji moved as though he were in slow motion.
I was certain he was capable of much more.
There was no way someone who could evade the chairman's rapid attacks was truly this mediocre.
Although the score remained close, the chaos on the opposing side allowed us to gain a one-point lead.
If we scored one more point, the match would be over.
"Hikigaya-kun... this will be the last one."
Yukinoshita approached me and handed me the ball, speaking with visible exhaustion.
She had clearly reached her limit.
I took the ball and nodded quietly before moving toward the back of the court.
Looking up, I found the sky completely clear.
No clouds.
Only the merciless summer sun.
After bouncing the ball a few times, I tossed it upward and struck it with my palm without jumping.
The ball flew directly toward the center of the opposing court.
Horikita and Sudou rushed toward it simultaneously.
But suddenly, the ball changed its trajectory, curving sharply toward the right corner.
Unfortunately, Ichinose managed to intercept it and sent it back into the air.
Kushida set the ball up perfectly for their attacker.
"It's mine!"
Sudou leapt toward it with a shout.
However, Horikita jumped at the exact same moment, causing the two to collide midair.
As a result, Sudou's spike lacked accuracy.
Even so, it shot directly toward Sakura.
Sakura stared at the incoming ball with her mouth slightly open, unable to react.
Ayanokouji quickly stepped in front of her and tried to keep the ball from falling.
However, his receive wasn't precise either.
The ball soared upward once again, drifting beyond our court's boundary line.
This is bad.
I sprinted backward as fast as I could, but the ball was already ahead of me.
Just before it landed out of bounds, I leapt forward and executed a bicycle kick reminiscent of a soccer match.
The ball returned directly in front of the net.
Yukinoshita dashed forward from the back.
Leaping high into the air, she pulled back her slender arm as though reaching for the heavens themselves.
Then she slammed the ball down with all her strength toward the farthest corner.
Kushida attempted to block it, but it was futile.
The ball struck the court.
"Point! The match is over! Yukinoshita-san's team wins!" Hirata finally declared after the grueling game.
I lay sprawled across the ground.
My enthusiasm had gotten the better of me.
Now my back was paying the price.
Slowly getting back to my feet, I stretched and glanced toward Yukinoshita.
She celebrated her victory quietly before retreating to sit alone and rest.
"This is all because you got in my way..." Horikita complained.
"What?" Sudou growled, his face twisting into a scowl.
"Come on, everyone. The important thing is that we had fun," Ichinose said, stepping between them before things escalated further.
Even Sakura wore a small, restrained smile, happy about the victory before quietly walking away as well.
"Hikigaya-kun, that was amazing. I had no idea you were good at volleyball," Hirata remarked after finishing his duties as referee.
"Hmm... it's nothing. I just practiced with a wall," I replied while wiping the sweat from my forehead.
"What...?"
He tilted his head, unable to understand what I meant.
That was only natural.
He was one of the popular kids.
"Hirataaa!"
Karuizawa's voice echoed from afar as she called out to him.
Hirata turned toward her before hurrying away.
Everything was finally over.
I deserved some rest.
"Hikigaya..."
Suddenly, Ayanokouji approached me as well.
"What is it?"
"The boys are planning to spy on the girls' changing room."