From the Warlord's Empire (4 page)

As Kojou did so, Aiba Asagi grinned broadly as she looked up at him.

“Sorry, you just happened to arrive at the perfect time. It’s heavier than I expected and a real pain.”

“I haven’t said one word about carrying it for you.”

“Oh, you’re a big help. If you could just put it in front of the locker…”

Ignoring Kojou’s meager protests, Asagi issued one-sided commands. Kojou, giving up on any further resistance, reluctantly picked up the bag. Through the gap left by the partially open zipper, he saw a number of old rackets and white birdies—shuttlecocks for badminton.

“A badminton racket? What’s this for?”

“It’s for the sports festival practice. I called in a favor and my older sis lent it to me. The school doesn’t have enough equipment, see.”

“Huh,” murmured Kojou in apparent admiration. “You do sensible things sometimes.”

“You didn’t have to say ‘sometimes.’ After all, I’m also known as ‘Asagi, the Highly Considerate Beautiful High School Girl.”

“A highly considerate beautiful high school girl wouldn’t say that about
herself
.”

“Oh shut up. Well, actually Rin asked me to do this just yesterday.”

Asagi made her unapologetic admission while they headed up the stairs to class.

“So, what are you going to be in, Kojou?”

“Who knows… I asked Tsukishima to make it as fun an event as possible, though,” Kojou replied in an unenthusiastic tone. Once the class representative, Rin Tsukishima, heard everyone say what sports festival event they wanted to participate in, she’d assign people using her own independent judgment. She took a hard-line stance: If you had a problem with your assigned event, you were on your own when it came to negotiating a trade.

“Geez,” said Asagi, exhaling, seeming somehow dejected.

“Give it up already. Former hot-blooded, annoying jocks are only worth anything at sports festivals like this, so put some more energy into it, Kojou the Irritating.”

“Who’s Kojou the Irritating?! Careful what you say. Hey, you should apologize to all the former athletic club members in the country—”

Reaching the top of the stairs, shooting the breeze in their usual fashion, Kojou and Asagi went into the classroom.

A moment later, the atmosphere picked right up.

About 70 percent of the students were already in the classroom. Every last one of them turned and looked at Kojou.

“Wh-what?”

“Don’t ask me. I just got here, same as you.”

There was an eerie mixture of consent and trust floating in the classroom’s air. It was not a frigid feeling. Indeed, it was a strange feeling of anticipation.

Responding to the puzzling behavior, Kojou and Asagi stood in place, feeling rather awkward.

“Heya, Kojou. Showin’ up carryin’ your partner’s equipment like this, man, you’re really into this.”

One student near the teacher’s desk called out to them in a very good mood. The boy, his short, spiky hair combed back and giving off a frivolous air, was Motoki Yaze. He was both Kojou’s bad friend from middle school and Asagi’s childhood friend.

Kojou and Asaki glared with apparent displeasure at the friend who knew them so well.

“Partner?”

“…What are you talking about? Did getting dumped by your older girlfriend scramble your brain?”

“I’m not scrambled, dumped, or acting! There, there! You see?”

Speaking in an excited voice, Yaze pointed toward the blackboard standing behind him.

Rin Tsukishima was standing right there. She was a tall schoolgirl who gave off an adultlike air. She had written on the blackboard, with her characteristic attention to detail, the names of all of their classmates.

“I was just announcing who’d be participating in which sports festival events.”

“Right…”

Kojou and Asagi both tried to sound sensible as their faces met. They had no idea why this would draw attention to the two of them. Unable to settle down his nerves, Kojou looked over the curves of what was written on the blackboard in white chalk.

“Badminton mixed doubles? Me and Asagi, paired up?”

Kojou was in mild shock when he noticed their names in an unexpected place.

Of course, Kojou had no experience in badminton at all; he didn’t remember asking to be in that event, either. He knew from the start that it was going to be mixed doubles. On top of that, all of the player pairs beside Kojou and Asagi were publicly acknowledged couples.

“…Why do I have to team up with Kojou?”

Asagi asked with a guarded expression on her face. However, Rin made a composed smile.

“It’s a new rule for this year. Singles are scrapped, so there’s room for more mixed doubles pairs. Ah, and actual badminton club girls aren’t allowed.”

“So why does it have to be me and Kojou?!”

“Asagi, you told me before that you liked him, didn’t you?”

“E-excuse me?! Wh-wh-when did I say anything like that…?!”

“For badminton.”

Rin spoke with her normal, serene voice. Asagi made a small sound and chose her words more carefully. “…I only practice with my older sister once in a while, so I’m not actually good or anything.”

“If you understand the rules, that’s plenty.” Speaking in a very calm tone, Rin silenced Asagi. “Akatsuki said he didn’t have any preference for events, so no complaints there, yes? I’d actually thought about having him play basketball, but sorry, I had no idea.”

Watching Rin awkwardly cover her eyes, Kojou bounced a question back with a suspicious look on his face. “What do you mean?”

For some reason, Rin looked pitiably at Kojou as she shook her head. “There’s no need to force yourself. I heard from Yaze about Akatsuki back in middle school.”

“Eh?”

“That due to repeated perverted stalking incidents involving female basketball club members, you were ordered to stay clear of the basketball court, yes?”

“Huh?!” Rin’s rather outlandish declaration made Kojou’s mental circuits short out for a moment.

Certainly Kojou had some bad experiences related to basketball back in middle school, but he had no recollection of anything borderline criminal like that.

“The heck’s that?! What stalking are you talking about?”

“But don’t worry, it’s all right. Even if you are a twisted pervert addicted to the scent of girls’ basketball shoes and jerseys, our class will not forsake you, Akatsuki.”

“Now hold on…! Don’t believe garbage like that! That’s a fabrication any way you slice it!” Kojou shouted insistently, but without saying a word, his classmates only sent lukewarm gazes tinged with pity back at him. “So that’s how it is,” said Asagi, her eyes narrowed as she made a great sigh.

“I get it now. This is all
your
doing, isn’t it, Motoki?”

“Nice assist, right?”

As his childhood female friend glared at him, Yaze made what was, for whatever reason, his trademark thumbs-up. Apparently he was the mastermind behind pairing Kojou and Asagi together.

Kojou didn’t know what he was up to, but it was probably some rotten scheme of his.

“There you go sticking your nose where it’s not needed again…! And Rin’s in on it, huh?”

Asagi had a pouty expression on her face as she cross-examined the serene-faced class rep.

Rin made a rather mischievous smile as she spoke in the same cool tone as always. “You have permission to use the court. Have fun practicing today after classes.”

“Asagi? You’re still in the classroom?”

That day, after classes—

Asagi Aiba, having taken her eyes off Kojou Akatsuki for a short time only to hear her name called out of the blue from a blind spot, froze for a moment. Suppressing the yelp that threatened to escape her lips, she turned around, maintaining her composure.

Unaware of Asagi’s hard work, Kojou had his usual languid expression on his face.

Apparently, even though they’d been picked for a doubles pair, Kojou thought of it as just a sports festival team-up, with nothing special about it at all.

Though his indifferent expression threatened to turn her tension to spontaneous bloodlust, Asagi somehow limited herself to clearing her throat. She was self-aware enough to know she had no good cause for resentment.

Faced with Asagi’s attitude of obvious displeasure, Kojou hesitated for a moment and raised an eyebrow.

“If we’re gonna practice for this sports festival, we should get it out of the way as soon as we can.”

“Ah… R-right. I’ll change clothes, so go to the gym ahead of me, okay?” Asagi’s smile twitched as she spoke.

Kojou meekly nodded. “Well, see you later. I’ll borrow a racket.”

“Ah, right, right.”

Asagi saw off the departing Kojou with a wave before making a long sigh.

As she did so, she suddenly heard a voice.

“Hmmm.”

It was the cool, composed adult voice of Rin Tsukishima. Rin, wearing blue gym clothing over her tall figure, had an expression that seemed pleased somehow as she watched and compared Kojou’s leaving with Asagi’s remaining seated.

“What?”

“Akatsuki left quite easily, didn’t he? I would have thought he wouldn’t have liked the trouble of practicing for the sports festival.”

“When it comes down to it, he likes winning. He’s a little boy that way.”

Asagi made a large shrug of her shoulders as she spoke. Rin, for her part, tilted her neck slightly with a serious look on her face.

“I wonder. Perhaps it’s the fact he’s paired with you that has him pumped up?”

“Now hold on a minute.” Asagi twisted her tongue in what seemed to be a pout as she glared at Rin. “Geez, would you and that idiot Motoki stop toying around with me and Kojou? Sticking your nose in and pushing this sports festival business onto me like this…”

“Is it a bother?” Rin asked with a laugh in her voice. Asagi made a sullen-sounding sigh.

“A big bother. In the first place, what’s with this outfit?” As she spoke, she pointed to the nylon bag on top of her lap. Packed inside the bag was a sports towel and gym clothes for practicing for the sports festival.

“What, you ask…? It’s a uniform for badminton, of course. I put it aside for you, but maybe the size isn’t quite right? Could it be that you’ve grown so much in certain places that you can’t wear it?” Rin asked with a tone of concern.

“I can wear it,” Asagi bluntly confessed without thinking. “Th-that doesn’t mean I should be wearing something this dramatic at just some little school event.”

It was a short, pleated skirt and a sturdy, short sleeveless polo shirt; Asagi pointed out the numerous places where the uniform would leave her seriously exposed. Perhaps not for a public tournament match, but she couldn’t help but be embarrassed to wear it at practice for a mere sports festival.

Yet Rin made a mischievous laugh regardless. “But Asagi, your legs are so pretty.”

“—Um, what?”

Asagi froze, unable to respond to the unexpected words from her friend, who usually was not one for jokes. However, Rin’s tone of voice remained perfectly composed.

“…Well, Yaze said that transfer student in middle school couldn’t lay a finger on you where they’re concerned.”

“Why did that Himeragi girl come up when talking about
that
…?” Asagi kept her voice low as she inquired. She meant to keep her composure, but the sudden shock put an unpleasant tone into her voice.

Yukina Himeragi, transfer student to the middle school. A girl so ridiculously pretty that Asagi couldn’t even dream of being jealous, and on top of that, she’d strangely hit it off with Kojou even before her transfer. Some of the students had apparently pegged her as Kojou’s girlfriend. Though not a fact Asagi wished to acknowledge, without a doubt, that girl was the cause of Asagi having been thrown off-pace of late.

“Although I believe you are well aware of the reason, even more than I am, Asagi…”

Rin’s expression did not change as she glanced toward the corner of the middle school building.

“She’s very cute. She’s Akatsuki’s little sister’s classmate, isn’t she?”

“S-seems so, yeah.”

Watching how Asagi was unable to hide her discomfort, Rin made a gentle smile.

“Though I went through all the trouble of preparing the uniform, I won’t force you to wear it. If you want to use your sweaty gym outfit from morning classes while you spend time with Akatsuki, by all means…”

“I-it’s not sweaty. I used deodorant and everything…,” Asagi protested in a weak voice.

Rin said nothing in reply, waving her hand and walking off. “Well, I’m heading to the table tennis room. Good luck, Asagi.”

As she headed out with the students who formed the table tennis team, Asagi was the only one left behind.

Looking down at the uniform spread over her desk, Asagi exhaled with irritation.

“Geez…why do I have to worry about things like this! Stupid Kojou!”

I don’t really get all this,
was how Kojou honestly felt. About Asagi, of course.

He could understand why she was annoyed that Yaze and Rin had schemed to force her and Kojou together as a pair. But in fact he hadn’t sensed that Asagi was seriously angry at any point.

After having been in such a sour mood during the morning, by noon break she’d recovered and had been talking normally to Yaze and the others. In the first place, Kojou and Asagi’s classmates teasing them about how nicely they got along had been a daily ritual since middle school. He didn’t think it was anything Asagi would suddenly get worked up about now.

What he couldn’t figure out was her attitude toward him.

Even when he tried talking to her, she seemed really stiff, yet she kept glancing at Kojou every so often; the whole thing was awkward. And yet her mood didn’t seem to actually be bad.

He felt that he’d seen quite a bit of odd, uncharacteristic behavior from Asagi of late.

Kojou finally remembered something.

Asagi’s attitude had gotten weird right around the end of summer break—

Right about when Kojou had met Yukina.

“—Er, Akatsuki? All by yourself? Where’s Aiba?”

When Kojou arrived at the gym, his classmate Uchida saw him and called out to him. He was a pretty boy of small stature and delicate lines who was sometimes mistaken for a girl, even in his school uniform.