Kushida: "Let's Work Out Together Sometime" / Kushida: "Boys with Big Muscles Are Really Attractive to Other Boys"

He could tell that Kanji Ike and the others had gotten into a conflict with Kageya Shinjitsu earlier.

He had to stop this.

He quickly changed into his swim trunks and headed outside.

The indoor pool was enormous, stretching fifty meters. The water was clear and clean, and the place was pleasant enough—if not for the people ruining the atmosphere.

As soon as he stepped out, Kageya Shinjitsu heard the boys gathered together making strange noises. They sounded excited, yet disappointed. It seemed they'd already forgotten the pain of their last encounter.

Even Kanji Ike was worked up, stealing glances at Kushida Kikyo's shapely figure before looking elsewhere.

Following their gaze, he looked up at the spectator seats.

Some students were sitting there in their school uniforms, clearly not planning to take part in the swimming lesson. Kageya Shinjitsu wondered if he should skip it too.

But when he thought it over, he couldn't come up with a good excuse.

Girls had an obvious advantage when it came to getting out of class. Especially if they claimed a female relative had come to visit—male teachers couldn't say much about that.

He decided against skipping. He'd already changed, after all. He could ditch class next time.

If only he'd let himself get beaten up earlier, then used the opportunity to ask for leave. Maybe he could even have claimed some points for medical expenses.

He could have made Kanji Ike that guy's debt slave...

Up in the seats, the boys' attention was naturally fixed on the girl they'd been eagerly anticipating.

Hasebe Haruka sat there, playing with her light blue hair.

She had no intention of joining the swimming lesson. When she noticed the boys' strange noises, her eyes filled with disgust and disdain. She looked like a girl who'd just caught someone peeking at her underwear.

If any perverts were around, that would probably only excite them more. Some of the boys in the class might even be hoping Hasebe Haruka would step on them a few times.

All of this had already made Hasebe Haruka give up on the swimming lesson.

She was extremely sensitive to boys' stares, and their bizarre comments in class earlier hadn't helped.

She'd given up on swimming long ago.

She might never attend another swimming lesson again.

The boys who'd been waiting were left disappointed.

'Why isn't Hasebe Haruka taking part?'

'Why?'

'What a shame. I've been looking forward to this for ages.'

'Is she on her period?'

'Damn it, now the data won't be perfect.'

'How are we supposed to calculate it now?'

'Kushida's so well-endowed.'

'Damn, I really want to get together with Kushida-chan.'

'Are you guys seriously trying to date Kushida?'

'Obviously. And honestly, she's my destined soulmate.'

As he walked past the boys, Kageya Shinjitsu could hear their chaotic chatter.

Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike seemed to have forgotten what had happened in the changing room. Their eyes were all on Kushida Kikyo.

Of course, Yamauchi Haruki was more interested in everyone. He was also keen on Sakura, and had probably even considered how he might win over both girls at once and become the world's most hated winner.

Seeing the hostility on the boys' faces, Kageya Shinjitsu didn't care. He flashed them a provocative smile, then quickly walked away.

That only made them angrier.

"Damn it, that guy..."

"Are you guys going to help me or not?"

"We need to find a place. We can't let him get away with this."

Kanji Ike saw that smile and immediately got annoyed.

He turned to Yamauchi Haruki, Ken Sudō, and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

The others aside, those four were the ones who were 'closest' to each other.

The rest of the boys had heard him, too, but tactfully stayed out of it. They were still fretting over their data, PowerPoint slides, and tables. After all, so many girls had taken leave that it had caught them completely off guard.

Their information was incomplete...

Chapter Thirty-Two: Kushida: Let's Work Out Together Sometime

Faced with the question.

"Uh..."

"Are we really doing this?"

Yamauchi Haruki looked at Kanji Ike in surprise. He didn't agree right away.

Then, following Kanji Ike's irritated gaze, he looked at the other two.

"That guy's after Kushida-chan too. Are you going to let a guy as underhanded as him off the hook?"

Kanji Ike pressed him.

He knew Yamauchi Haruki very well.

"Of course not. I was just wondering if we'd be picking on him too much. I was the karate champion in middle school. You saw me back then, didn't you? I walked right up and butted in, and he didn't dare say a word. Kushida-chan even agreed to work out with me sometime."

Yamauchi Haruki spoke 'boldly', while casually making things up.

He even embellished his memory of supposedly beating Kageya Shinjitsu in a fight back then.

What had happened earlier had to be a misunderstanding.

He also glanced at Ken Sudō.

Even if something went wrong, there was no need to worry with Ken Sudō around.

And Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was even weaker than he was, bringing up the rear.

How could the four of them, the Advanced Nurturing High School F4, possibly fail to deal with Kageya Shinjitsu?

"Hmph. If Ayanokouji hadn't stopped me earlier, I'd have already made a move."

Ken Sudō looked at Yamauchi Haruki and scoffed.

"Uh, yeah. I was just worried about class."

"And it wouldn't have been appropriate in there," Ayanokouji Kiyotaka said, making an excuse.

"Forget what happened earlier. I just want to know if you're helping or not."

After getting the other two to agree, Kanji Ike pressed on, looking at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

He could feel the atmosphere, the tension.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka sensed it keenly.

If he refused, he'd probably be kicked out of their group chat later.

"I'll help, but I should warn you in advance: I'm really bad at fighting."

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, bad at fighting, was back in action.

He didn't want to raise their expectations. If anything really happened, he could just lie down...

"With Sudō around, what are you worried about? We just have to plan it out. Find somewhere deserted, or make sure he's in the wrong. Then he won't have anyone to turn to, and the school won't punish us."

Kanji Ike sounded as if he'd already worked it all out.

Hearing that Kanji Ike wasn't going to stupidly rush in and hit someone, Yamauchi Haruki and the others relaxed.

At least the worst-case scenario hadn't happened.

"I didn't know you had it in you."

"Hmph, what are you talking about? Let's plan it properly. Ideally, we can make that bastard offend Kushida-chan."

"That jerk's bothering Kushida-chan again."

Kanji Ike's trio became a four-man group with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

They had already been planning to go after Kageya Shinjitsu.

When they looked his way and noticed Kushida Kikyo, it only made them more jealous and angry.

Kushida Kikyo had drawn most of the attention in the pool. She'd already been one of the students everyone was watching, and the moment she came out, all eyes were on her. Her ample curves were even more pronounced than they'd imagined, and her thighs and bottom had just the right amount of softness—or perhaps they were simply plump.

Soft and a little chubby—that might be the right way to describe her.

'Keep staring and you'll get all worked up.'

'Those idiots are really bold.'

Kageya Shinjitsu watched the dazed boys and moved a little farther away.

Some of them were already making fools of themselves.

He found a spot to wait for the teacher.

But the girl seemed very interested in him, sitting there all alone.

When she noticed him by himself at the edge of the pool, she came straight over.

She sat beside him, making the boys jealous.

"Hey, you're still wearing your swimsuit."

"You don't often see boys wearing swimsuits."

Kushida Kikyo stared curiously at Kageya Shinjitsu's stomach.

"You seem pretty muscular. I couldn't tell at all when you were wearing your uniform. Can I touch?"

She gestured with her little hand. When Kageya Shinjitsu didn't show any obvious resistance, she reached out and touched him.

"Just as I thought—it's hard. That's amazing."

"You were definitely lying when you said that earlier. You obviously work out all the time. When do you have time to take me with you? I'm curious how you train."

Kushida Kikyo looked at him with admiration and anticipation, then invited him along.

"That's not true. This is pretty ordinary among boys. Look at those guys over there. They're the real experts."

Kageya Shinjitsu had meant to resist, but when he noticed Kanji Ike and the others watching, he simply showed off and let Kushida Kikyo touch him.

As he spoke, he pointed in their direction. He was actually pointing at Ken Sudō, and then at that rich young master, who'd shown up in a pair of briefs. He was so flamboyant and unconventional that many of the girls blushed.

"Is that bastard tattling on us?"

"Is he telling her we're going to beat him up? And he's letting Kushida-chan touch him, too," Yamauchi Haruki said.

He instinctively suspected Kageya Shinjitsu was badmouthing them.

"Damn it, he's spouting nonsense! That guy made me hit my head. I'm going to stop him from tricking Kushida-chan!" Kanji Ike exploded when he heard that.

"If you go over there with your temper flaring like that, Kushida might believe what he's saying."

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka remained calm.

Besides, Kageya Shinjitsu really had made a move earlier.

And he'd lost.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Kushida: Muscular Boys Are Really Popular with Other Boys

Kanji Ike had been worked up, but after hearing Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's words, he decided to hold back for now.