Yukio had no idea what Hoshinomiya was up to at the infirmary, nor did he know that Kushida, Karuizawa, and the others had taken action so quickly—he'd only mentioned it last night, and by today, they'd already followed through.
Right now, he was still hanging around the final forested area where training took place—literally. Taking advantage of the short distances between tree trunks and various vines, he vaulted swiftly through the woods. If someone had seen him, they might've actually believed they'd spotted Tarzan himself.
After making a few laps back and forth and confirming the fastest possible times he could achieve at full effort, Yukio was about to stop and return to check on the rest of his class. That was when he noticed Kiryuin perched on a tree branch, though he had no idea when she'd arrived.
As usual, Kiryuin was both laid-back and razor-sharp. She wore her standard school uniform paired with black stockings, her white hair and red eyes standing out even in the faint, gloomy woods.
He had no clue how she found him or how long she'd been observing from that branch, but apparently she'd been watching him for a while.
"Your athletic ability is really an eye-opener, junior," Kiryuin remarked. "Definitely not something an average person could pull off. Even I'd have trouble imitating that."
Yukio realized she was referring to the technique he'd been using—swinging on vines as if they were ropes. It did, admittedly, require a high level of coordination. But he felt no special pride in it and was more curious why Kiryuin was out here.
"Don't you have training, Senpai?"
Generally, once afternoon came around, everyone changed into their exercise clothes to practice outside. Wearing a standard uniform—particularly a pleated skirt—wasn't convenient for running. The sight of Kiryuin in her uniform, perched on a tree branch, made it obvious she was skipping out on training.
"Training? I finished that yesterday." Kiryuin said breezily. "After the initial stretch, it was so simple it bored me. I had nothing better to do, so I came to see you instead."
Kiryuin, unlike Matsushita, made no attempt to hide her thoughts. She casually laid it all out there, surprising Yukio with how freely she did as she pleased.
Strictly speaking, the easiest portion of the route was indeed that first stretch leading from the school building to the forest—basically just a normal gravel path. But with Kiryuin's athleticism, who would've forced her to run only that? Perhaps her Class 2-B simply couldn't say no to her.
Yukio decided to chat about it later. He beckoned for her to come down from the tree.
"Anyway, Senpai, how about coming down first? My neck's getting tired from looking up all this time. I've seen enough of that purple already."
That explained why he hadn't immediately asked her to climb down—he'd been admiring the sight of the noble purple in the darkness under her pleated skirt.
"Hehe. You really are…!"
Kiryuin's tone suggested she didn't exactly mind, lacking the shy indignation of an ordinary girl. Still, she shifted her feet, as if reflexively trying to close up the view, unconsciously revealing that she wasn't entirely unaffected by his comment. But her balance faltered; the next moment, she slipped off the branch and went plunging straight down.
Seeing this, Yukio braced his right foot against the ground and burst forward. But he kept his cool, quickly judging the distance. He lowered his center of gravity and slid in a kind of running tackle—the perfect spot to catch Kiryuin. It would have looked incredibly smooth…
…Except, Kiryuin wasn't helpless either. The moment she lost her footing, she reacted with lightning speed—her right arm grabbed onto a vine extending from the branch, halting her fall and leaving her swinging in midair like someone on a rope swing.
Watching her dangle there, Yukio blinked and broke into a laugh. She really doesn't need my help. All that heroic sliding for nothing.
As that thought crossed his mind, he stood and casually patted away the dirt and crushed grass from his back. But unexpected things happen just when people let their guard down.
Kiryuin's reflex to grab the vine came from pure muscle memory, but with her mind now catching up, she noticed Yukio's entire effort to rescue her—he'd even gone so far as to slide on the forest floor.
What an interesting junior, she thought. Might as well give him his 'hero saves the beauty' moment.
And with that, she let go of the vine again—returning herself to a free fall. At this point, Yukio had already relaxed, brushing off grass and mud from behind him, half-risen and nowhere near prepared for a catch.
By some quirky stroke of timing—maybe fate, maybe comedic tragedy—the two of them ended up just an instant out of sync, again. That tiny gap meant Yukio could do nothing but gape at the fast-approaching figure in his field of vision. Moments later, crash—she landed right on him.
The impact left him dazed, even though he trained regularly. His head thudded against the ground and everything spun. Thankfully, his body was sturdy, and Kiryuin had already slowed her fall by grabbing the vine once. The resulting momentum wasn't too severe.
But why's it so dark…? Yukio's vision had gone black. Slightly dizzy, he couldn't figure out why everything had turned pitch-black all of a sudden.
Of course, this wasn't total blindness. He could make out vague shapes—and there was some incredibly soft, silky texture pressing against him, accompanied by a subtle, tantalizing aroma. Instinctively, he leaned in and sniffed.
"Junior!" Kiryuin's voice arrived in that instant—unusually breathy, quite unlike her usual strong, crisp tone. Almost…seductive.
The darkness over his eyes trembled, and then, light returned. Kiryuin pushed herself off his face. He noticed for the first time that her usual sharp eyes now held a rare hint of fluster, and her cheeks were faintly pink.
What just happened…?
He might not be a genius, but seeing Kiryuin's reactions, it didn't take long for him to piece it together. He had, in fact, caught her—with his face.
Yukio wordlessly got up, once again brushing dirt and bits of grass from his clothes. His gaze slid over to Kiryuin's pleated skirt—the very source of that darkness. A second's thought made him realize that not only had he face-planted into her skirt, he'd then spontaneously taken a sniff. That explained her startled, sultry outcry and the blush dusting her cheeks.
"Hey," Kiryuin said, cheeks still red but aura still commanding. "Aren't you going to say anything, junior?"
"Say anything?" Yukio mulled it over, eventually landing on a phrase he deemed appropriate. "Then…thanks for the treat?"