Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 2 Page 7

  “Nooooo, I won’t strip! I definitely won’t strip!”

  “It’ll be all right. Just relax.”

  “Yurika-san, there’s nowhere left to run, so why don’t you just give up?”

  The center of the hubbub was a girl in her uniform on the verge of tears being chased by six girls in colorful outfits.

  “It’s our first time practicing after getting permission to wear these outfits, so you can’t be the only one in your school uniform, Yurika-san.”

  “No thank you! I won’t wear that outfit! I might as well be naked! Besides, I don’t remember joining the cosclub!”

  Those seven girls were Nijino Yurika and the six members of the cosplay society. It was tradition for club members to wear their specific uniform for the obstacle marathon. For the cosplay society, that would naturally be a cosplay outfit, but as that technically wasn’t a uniform, they had had to ask for special permission. And today was a special occasion. It was the first day they were able to train in their cosplays.

  “Be reasonable, Yurika-san. But if you really don’t like it, you can use your own costume.”

  “But that’s just my uniform. It’s not really cosplay...”

  “Really? What cosplay cafe’s uniform is it? The tailoring was really well done.”

  “Yeah, it’s not polyester or nylon, either. I’m so jealous!”

  “I keep telling you! You’re wrong about that!”

  The cosclub was trying to get Yurika into her outfit. It was a custom-made cosplay the girls had put together just for her. However, Yurika was running away because she refused to wear it. Unfortunately for her, her lack of stamina meant she couldn’t get away from them.

  “P-Please let me go! I’m not like that!”

  Too tired to run anymore, Yurika was cornered by the schoolyard fence. The six girls circled Yurika as she looked around for an escape path. It was no use.

  “Wh-Why does this always happen to me?! I’m not a cosplayer! I’m trying my best and yet no one listens to a word I say!”

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about a thing, Yurika-chan. Just open your mind and leave the rest to us.”

  “N-Noooooooo!”

  “Get her!”

  Sadly, it was true nobody listened to Yurika. Not even in this situation. When the cosclub president gave the order, the five other members grabbed Yurika at the same time.

  “L-Let go!”

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “We finally caught you. There’s no way we’ll let go!”

  The outfits she was forced to wear were often quite extreme, and even though she’d given it her all, she couldn’t outrun having to wear them again today either.

  “Bring her to the locker room and get her changed right away!”

  “Understood, President!”

  “I’m telling you I don’t want tooooo!”

  “Yurika-chan has long legs, so I think this Chinese dress with a high slit would be good.”

  “No, it’s too hard to give up the magical girl vibe. Especially when we think about what she wants.”

  “W-Wait just a minuteee!”

  Four of the club members carried Yurika away. The club president and vice president trailed behind them.

  “Hmm... Magical girl... Chinese dress...” the president mumbled to herself pensively.

  “Is something the matter, president?” the vice president asked her, a little worried.

  “Well I was just wondering what we could make Yurika-san wear to make Satomi-kun happy.”

  The president blushed and squirmed. Perhaps it was her flashy princess costume, but she seemed to be a bit over the top today.

  “It’s love!”

  When the president mentioned Satomi-kun, the vice president’s eyes began to sparkle. As she was wearing a flashy prince costume, she too seemed to be a little dramatic.

  “It’s because of the love he’s shown!”

  “You’re right. From now on we shouldn’t just cosplay based on what we want. We should also take the opinions of the general populace into consideration. We might find more people who understand us like Satomi-kun.”

  “Then should we go with the basics?”

  “Yes... All right, it’s decided! Put Yurika-san in a maid outfit!”

  “Okaaay.”

  “Noooooooo!”

  Yurika began struggling frantically, but she didn’t have the strength to shake off four girls. Try as she might, all she could manage was wriggling and flailing. She was no match for them. The cosclub was in high spirits after capturing Yurika.

  “Hmm? Are you training too?”

  That was when Koutarou and Harumi passed by. They were in their gym clothes and were planning on practicing for the marathon.

  “Oh, it’s Satomi-kun!”

  “Yoo-hoo, Koutarou-kun!”

  The cosclub girls each smiled and greeted Koutarou as they passed. Normally, they would have surrounded him, but today they were focused on Yurika.

  “Heehee, we’re on our way to get Yurika changed. We’ll start practicing after that!”

  “I see. Thanks for your hard work.”

  “Praise us more, Satomi-kun!”

  “Ahahaha!”

  “H-Help me, Satomi-san! I’ll be stripped and forced to put on strange outfits!”

  In stark contrast to the pleasantries between Koutarou and the cosclub, Yurika pleaded for help after being driven to her wit’s end. Koutarou was a little taken aback by it all, but he was distracted by the approach of the smiling club president to think too much of it

  “Jeez, Yurika-san, you don’t have to be that embarrassed just because Satomi-kun is here.”

  “Is Yurika always like that?”

  “Yes, she’s quite the shy one.”

  The president smiled as if nothing was wrong. Koutarou was actually becoming more worried about the cosplay club than he was about Yurika.

  “I’m sorry. It seems I’ve caused you a good deal of trouble.”

  “It’s okay. It’s for none other than our dear Satomi-kun, after all. Just wait! You’ll be shocked after Yurika’s transformation.”

  The president gave Koutarou a wink and followed after the other club members.

  “N-No, wait! Save meeeeee, Satomi-saaaaan!”

  Of course, they were taking Yurika with them. She called out for help, but Koutarou showed no sign of giving in as the cosplay society dragged her away.

  “Jeez, she’s really giving them a hard time. She’s shy about the strangest things...”

  Koutarou let out a small sigh. Harumi, who had observed the entire encounter, tugged on Koutarou’s sleeve.

  “Satomi-kun, that girl was asking for help. Was it all right to just leave her like that?”

  “Yeah, she was just trying to hide her embarrassment.”

  “She was?”

  Harumi was surprised by Koutarou’s answer.

  “She loves cosplay, but she can’t bring herself to admit it. They’re just helping her with her hobby.”

  “I see...”

  Harumi nodded as she turned to look at Yurika.

  Hiding your embarrassment... That’s right. I was the same.

  Harumi knew what that was like. She was quite shaken up when Koutarou first joined the knitting society and she learned that he was serious about learning to knit.

  It can be embarrassing, but finding people that share your hobby is a wonderful thing...

  Harumi flashed a small smile as she continued to watch the cosplay club walk away.

  “It is quite a unique hobby...” she muttered as she watched them enter the club building.

  Harumi understood Yurika’s feelings, but not her hobby. Koutarou looked at Harumi and shrugged.

  “I don’t really get it either.”

  “I’m a little glad to hear that...”

  Harumi’s smile grew. She was genuinely relieved.

  “I don’t have any extreme hobbies like that.”

  “Heehee, I was actually a lit
tle worried. What would I do if Satomi-kun said he’d like me to wear outfits like that?”

  “What would you do if I said that?”

  “I would be troubled.”

  “Ahahaha, don’t worry. I won’t ask for something like that.”

  Koutarou laughed out loud and looked over the schoolyard. He could see plenty of other students practicing for the sports festival.

  We’ll have to work hard. Yurika and the others are training too...

  “Shall we go, Senpai? We have to practice as well.”

  “...B-But if it’s just the two of us, I wouldn’t mind wearing it...”

  Koutarou had only suggested practicing for the race, but for some reason, Harumi was blushing and mumbling to herself.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I-It’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

  When Koutarou looked at her, Harumi’s face turned even redder and she waved her hands emphatically. As if trying to escape, she turned and made for the schoolyard at a good clip.

  “L-Let’s get to practicing...”

  “Okay...”

  I wonder what happened...

  Koutarou felt like something was wrong as he chased after Harumi, who was surprisingly taking the lead for once.

  Koutarou sat down with his legs spread out and leaned forward until he was almost touching the ground. Harumi, who was sitting next to him, looked on in amazement. She was stretching as well, but she couldn’t even bend half as far as Koutarou could.

  “Satomi-kun, you’re so flexible.”

  “That’s because I played baseball in middle school.”

  “Baseball?”

  Harumi tilted her head in confusion. Baseball and flexibility didn’t quite click in her mind. Koutarou sat back up and explained.

  “I was always the catcher. Did you know that you can’t play as a catcher if you’re not flexible?”

  Koutarou assumed a catcher’s stance and went through some of the motions. Reaching after a careless pitch, blocking the home base, a quick toss to second base... A catcher used their entire body and was constantly moving up and down. After seeing Koutarou demonstrate, Harumi nodded.

  “So baseball has some aspects that are similar to rhythmic gymnastics?”

  “That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say that.”

  “Personally, I’m not very active, so I’m rather stiff.”

  “Just give it a try.”

  “This is about all I can do. Hnnn...”

  Harumi made an adorable noise as she leaned her body forward and stretched out her arms as far as she could. However, true to her word, she couldn’t make it past a forty-five degree angle.

  “Is that as far as you can go?”

  “Yes.”

  “...All right. Do you mind if I help, Senpai? I can push you.”

  “What?!”

  Quick to action, Koutarou had already moved behind Harumi. He hadn’t noticed her hesitation at all.

  “It’s fine, um, you don’t have to...”

  “It’ll be fine. It won’t hurt that much.”

  Oblivious to her apparent distress, Koutarou put his hands on her back.

  “...”

  When he did, Harumi, who had been wriggling in panic, froze on the spot. Her face turned as red as a tomato.

  “I’m going to push now.”

  “O-O-O-Okay!”

  Harumi was completely bewildered. She was so used to being alone that she felt tense just being this close to someone. And on top of that, a man was now touching her. This kind of stimulation was too much for a late bloomer like Harumi. Her tension skyrocketed.

  Why am I this nervous? But...

  What confused Harumi the most was that, as tense as she was, she didn’t feel anything unpleasant when Koutarou touched her. Normally, physical contact with a boy frightened her. But there was no fear in her heart as Koutarou’s large hands pushed gently on her back. Instead, she felt a sense of security and warmth.

  “...I get it. You’re not dating, but you’re interested in him, right?”

  Ah...

  Harumi recalled what the young girl at the hospital had said to her.

  W-We’re not dating, but I’m... interested...

  Contemplating those words, Harumi became even more tense and her body stiffened.

  “Ahaha, you really are stiff, Senpai. It seems this is your limit.”

  However, Koutarou just laughed, cheerfully unaware of her complex feelings.

  As they moved on to running, Harumi’s poor stamina stood out more than her stiff body. She was giving it her all, but her weak constitution, lack of exercise, and low lung capacity meant she couldn’t even run half as fast as Koutarou. She fell behind him right from the start. Koutarou clocked two or more laps around the four hundred meter track for every lap Harumi ran. She was far behind on laps, and Koutarou closed in on Harumi as he was about to pass her again.

  “Koutarou, are you really gonna be okay with this girl?”

  It was only natural for Sanae to feel uneasy.

  “It’ll be fine. I’ll just work hard for the both of us.”

  “You know you’re gonna lose, right?”

  Sanae looked worried as she flew next to Koutarou. She’d been going around the track with him like that for a while. Since Sanae had bet on Koutarou, her rights to the room depended on how well the knitting society did in the race. She needed them to win.

  “We’ll win. Or rather, I want Senpai to win.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s difficult to explain, but if I had to try, I guess it’s as thanks.”

  At first Koutarou had just wanted Harumi to participate, but now he wanted her to be able to stand on the podium. He felt helping her get there was his duty after seeing her training so hard despite her condition.

  “Hmm... Well, either way, just win.”

  “Leave it to me.”

  Sanae didn’t know what Koutarou was thinking, but she could tell how sincere he was. She decided not to question him any further.

  “Huh?”

  That was when Koutarou suddenly stopped running.

  “What’s wrong?”

  In response, Sanae came to a halt as well. Several students ran past them after they stopped.

  “Nothing. I just felt like someone was watching us again.”

  Standing still on the track, Koutarou looked around, but he couldn’t see the cause.

  “Is that why?”

  “Hmm?”

  Koutarou looked in the direction Sanae was pointing and spotted Theia, Ruth, and Kiriha. They seemed to be in the middle of a break as they were wiping off sweat with their towels and drinking out of their water bottles. When the three of them noticed that Koutarou was looking at them, Ruth lightly bowed, Kiriha smiled, and Theia sulkily turned her face away.

  “I see, so it was just them...”

  Satisfied, Koutarou relaxed his shoulders.

  “I’ll go scout them out for a bit.”

  “Yeah, do that.”

  Seemingly bored with going around the track, or perhaps enticed by what fun the other girls might be having, Sanae left Koutarou behind and flew towards the other three. Harumi then came running up behind him, as if to replace Sanae.

  “Hahh, hahh, hahh... S-Satomi-kun, were you talking to somebody?” she asked Koutarou in a ragged voice between pauses.

  It seemed like she had overheard part of his conversation with Sanae.

  “Uh, n-no... I was talking to myself. I was thinking of strategies for the sports festival.”

  “Hahh, hahh... S-Sorry. I’m not very athletic... I’m just holding you back, aren’t I?”

  Harumi’s face clouded over at Koutarou’s words. She was hard to understand because she was breathing so heavily, but it was clear she was trying to apologize.

  “Not at all, Senpai. You just worry about getting in there and trying to have some fun along the way. They say it’s not the destination, but the journey there, right?”

  “Hahh,
hahh... That’s right!”

  Koutarou’s encouragement put a smile on Harumi’s face.

  “You’re finally getting into to it, so it’d be a waste to not enjoy it. Besides, I said you could retire anytime, remember?”

  “Even so... I... I don’t want to get in your way...”

  Still panting, Harumi gave him a self-conscious smile. Seeing that stoked Koutarou’s desire to get her on the podium. Fortunately, the obstacle marathon for clubs was a team event, so only one member really needed to cross the finish line. Harumi could go at her own pace while Koutarou was fighting for a podium finish.

  I’ll definitely help her win!

  Before he knew it, that had become more important to him than his match with the invaders.

  “What’s with that woman?”

  As Koutarou began running with Harumi again, Theia frustratedly bit her lip. Seeing Koutarou slow down to match his speed with Harumi and Harumi smiling at Koutarou really bothered her.

  “She is the president of Koutarou’s club. That’s Sakuraba Harumi from class 2-A.”

  Kiriha, who was standing next to Theia, explained who Harumi was. She had already investigated everyone around Koutarou for herself.

  That girl will probably get in the way of getting Koutarou to hand over the room... What to do...?

  Kiriha had been particularly interested in Harumi too. Based on Koutarou’s behavior, some of the reason her use of sex appeal wasn’t working on Koutarou was undoubtedly Harumi’s influence. Indirectly, she was also the reason why Kiriha had changed her methods and was fighting fairly now.

  “In other words, that Harumi girl is Koutarou’s princess,” Sanae chimed in with a teasing expression as she flew up to Theia and the others.

  Her words were more aggressive than normal, probably spurred on by a sense of competitiveness over the sports festival. She was really just trying to put some pressure on them.

  “What?! Are you saying Koutarou has sworn his loyalty to that woman?!”

  “Yes, well... something like that.”

  “How could this be?!”

  Sanae’s claim enraged Theia. Satisfied that things were going according to plan, Sanae smiled on the inside. Theia raged on, seemingly unaware of what Sanae was scheming.

  “In what way is that woman better than me?! The fool! He’s sworn loyalty to the wrong person!”