Chapter 72: MischievousAuthor: Geraint
"Are you sure about this, Ichika-kun?"
Nejire stood behind Ichika, massaging his stiff shoulders.
"Yeah, this time it's my specialty."
Ichika took a long sip from his water bottle, sweat dripping from joining every sports match at his school. Next up was the Karate club. He was wearing the club's uniform — a dougi.
"But you look tired."
"Nah, I'll be fine."
All the male Karate club members glared at him as he walked in, clearly annoyed at how well he got along with Nejire — the most popular girl in school.
Ichika stood in the center of the ring.
His opponent was a huge, muscular guy with the physique of a gorilla.
"Newbie or not, I'll crush you!"
Ichika smiled calmly.
"Don't disappoint me, Senpai. You're the only competent one in this club. The rest are scrubs who just want to look cool trying martial arts. I'm disappointed."
The crowd murmured.
"What did he say?!"
"Beat him, bastard!"
"Die!"
The club members' anger boiled over.
The referee waved his hand.
"Start!"
His opponent charged and threw a straight punch.
"Hah!"
Ichika raised his guard and ducked, then slipped in a quick overhand counter—Bam!—right to the opponent's face.
The giant fell stiffly to the canvas.
"Huh?!"
The entire club was shocked by the instant knockout.
The referee raised Ichika's arm.
"Winner: Yagi Ichika!"
The others rushed to check on their knocked-out senpai.
"Senpai! Are you okay? Please respond!"
"Gori-senpai!"
Ichika returned to his corner, where Nejire handed him a towel.
"Thanks, Nejire-senpai."
"You're such a bully, Ichika-kun."
"Don't worry, I held back. He'll be fine when he wakes up."
"This is the last one, right?"
"Yeah, after this, I'm going back to Tokyo by school bus."
Nejire looked a bit sad but smiled.
"I guess this is farewell. It was short, but fun."
Ichika pulled out his phone.
"Nejire-senpai, can I have your contact info?"
"Oh, sure!"
They exchanged info, and Ichika sent her a message. Her phone rang.
Nejire opened it, eyes widening.
[Thanks, my First Lady. I'll contact you if we have business trips.]
[Hehe… Sure, Mr. President.] Nejire replied.
They smiled at each other, frustrating the others watching.
Ichika said goodbye and boarded the school bus back to Tokyo.
It was already dark when Ichika returned to Tokyo. He walked through the streets, looking at his phone.
Nejire: Have you arrived?Ichika: Yeah, walking home.Nejire: I want to see the Might Tower.Ichika: Maybe next time.Ichika: I'll teleport you to Tokyo.Nejire: Really? Yay!Ichika: Let's talk about it next time.Ichika: 😉Nejire: Sure, looking forward to it.Nejire: 😊
Ichika smiled, then put his phone away.
At home, he entered his workshop.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back, Father."
It was Roboco greeting him. Her hairstyle had changed to mid-length dark brown twin-tails tied with ribbons resting on her shoulders.
"Have you done maintenance on yourself?"
"Not yet, Father."
"Let me do it then."
Ichika walked inside; his robot AI daughter followed.
The next day, Ichika walked to school with Toru and Momo, both in school uniforms.
"How were your practice games yesterday? And the other day?" Toru asked as Ichika yawned.
"I won, but it was tiring."
"You've been on the basketball team since elementary. Why join every sport's practice game like you're still choosing?"
"Nothing special, just wanted to try them all. The principal begged me to carry a team."
"With your athleticism, you could lead any team to a championship. You should join one."
"Honestly, I don't want to join any club. I'd rather go straight home and build something in my workshop."
"Hehe… I see."
Toru giggled.
Momo, walking behind, came closer.
"Uhm... Hagakure—"
"It's Toru!"
Toru pushed her to use her first name.
"Ah, okay, Toru-san. Did you join any club?"
"Nope. I go home to play games with Roboco and Manami-chan. It's more fun."
"Ah, I see…"
Momo smiled awkwardly.
"What about you, Momo? Any clubs?"
"Nothing. I don't feel like joining any."
Toru raised her hand excitedly.
"Really? Then from now on, we're the Go Home Club!"
She looked at Ichika for confirmation.
"What do you think, Ichika-kun?"
"As long as I'm not the leader, it's fine," he answered lazily.
Toru glanced at Momo.
"Momo, want to join?"
"Okay…"
"Yay! Officially the Go Home Club!"
Ichika yawned again and rubbed his eye.
"I want to go home and sleep."
At school, students stared at them.
"Isn't that Ichika and the famous invisible beauty, Hagakure Toru?"
"Look! That guy's with another beauty!"
"Who's she? She's so tall!"
"Walking with two beauties? So jealous!"
They all seethed with envy, but Ichika ignored them.
Toru and Momo noticed the hostile stares.
"Is this okay? They seem to hate him," Momo whispered.
"It's fine. Ichika's used to it."
"Why do they hate him?"
"He can be arrogant to strangers who offend him, but once they get to know him, they become friends."
"Okay…"
Suddenly, someone ran toward Ichika—it was the basketball team captain.
"Huh?"
"You bastard! You put stones in my bag, didn't you? Damn you!"
Ichika remembered and immediately ran.
"Ah!"
"Come back!"
"Sorry! It was a prank, Captain!"
They chased each other around campus.
Toru giggled.
"Sometimes he's too mischievous."
"I see… so childish…"
Momo squinted in disappointment.
(To be continued.)A/N: I'll fix my mistakes later.