The pre-anniversary mobilization event wasn't going to be a speech or anything like that. Instead, it was being turned into half a school sports meet. The principal really did have some ideas.
And for convenience, the lottery system would mix students from different classes.
"The lottery results are in. Class Ten will be competing in cooperation with another class. We've been paired with Class Two."
Teacher Ci held up a card with a large "2" written on it, clearly visible to everyone present.
"It's Class Two. Meizi, let me tell you, Nakajima Rei—the girl Koichi likes—is in the Class Two next door."
You bastard. Even if I'd failed to confess three times, you didn't have to broadcast it everywhere, did you? What did you get out of this? I hadn't offended you before, had I? And why were you acting so familiar by calling me by my current name?
She gritted her teeth inwardly, but had no choice but to put on an ignorant, surprised expression. "Really? Koichi never told me. I'd like to know what kind of person the girl Koichi likes is."
The lottery box was brought before her. She pulled out a slip of paper and unfolded it. Written on it in blue watercolor pen was the number "18."
This represented her number. Whether it was for assigning events or cooperating with Class Two, this number would be used.
After everyone had been assigned their numbers, it was time to assign events. She casually drew a slip from the lottery box in front of Teacher Ci, then returned to her seat.
"Huh? Why is the three-legged race considered a sport?" She covered her face and complained.
As a shut-in, exercise was her greatest enemy. Other than going to school, she usually couldn't even be bothered to go shopping. If she weren't starving, she would be too lazy to leave her room.
And now she was being forced to participate in a sports event. It was simply a disaster.
What she wanted to know most now was who in Class Two had drawn number 18.
That person would be her partner for the three-legged race, so she hoped it wouldn't be someone who looked especially creepy.
It would have been one thing when she was still Koichi, but now she attended school as his cousin Meizi. Her mind might still be Koichi's, but Meizi's body absolutely could not be defiled. Even accidental groping was out of the question!
A slip of paper passed down by Teacher Ci instructed them to write their names according to the numbers they had drawn.
"Ando... Meizi... All right, that should do it."
After writing it down, she passed the slip onward.
Once everyone had finished writing, the form was collected. Teacher Ci left the classroom, then returned less than a minute later and passed down a second form.
"Check your number carefully, then remember who your partner is."
It was only when the form reached her that she realized most of the names on it were unfamiliar. Skipping over the names she didn't recognize, her gaze landed on number 18.
At that moment, she froze.
In her eyes and her mind, only one name remained: Nakajima Rei.
Would she be partnering with her? Doing a three-legged race with the girl she liked most...
Her heart was full of unease. When she passed the form to the student behind her, her hands were even trembling. She couldn't believe it was real, yet she was also afraid it wasn't.
What a contradictory feeling.
"What's wrong, Meizi? You seem pretty nervous."
"Am I? No, I'm not. You're probably overthinking it." She took a deep breath and steadied her emotions.
What was there to be afraid of? I'd confessed three times already. If I was still scared, did I even deserve to like her?
"If you've all remembered, then after the holiday ends the day after tomorrow, go find your partners and form your teams. All right, that's it for this afternoon. Club activities on campus will be temporarily suspended. Those with scheduled activities should stay behind, while those without arrangements may leave first."
After saying that, Teacher Ci organized the materials in her hands and left.
Once dismissal was announced, the other students poured out of the classroom. Everyone wanted to leave school as early as possible, whether to go home or go on a date.
Looking around, the only people still sitting here were those scheduled to take part in work or activities before the school anniversary.
After the rush at dismissal had finally passed, she picked up her packed schoolbag and left the classroom.
Just as she passed the door to Class Two, she happened to see Rei leaving the room.
Rei didn't have any club activities, so logically, she shouldn't have been someone staying behind. At this time, she should have been planning to go home as well.
"If she's going home after school, then it wouldn't be too wrong to follow behind her for a little while, right?" Ando Meizi thought.
She followed Rei's back all the way, but things did not go as she had imagined. Rei did not head toward the school gates. Instead, she turned into an empty corner and walked down a secluded path.
Meizi had never taken this path before. The school was fairly large, and as someone who was always in a hurry to get home and play games, how could she have had the time to explore the entire campus?
As she wondered whether she should improve that lifestyle a little in the future, she suddenly realized that Rei, whom she had been following, had disappeared.
An old-fashioned dojo suddenly appeared before her.
I lost Rei here... Did she go inside? But since when did the school have a dojo like this?
She was certain she had never seen it when she first entered the school. It seemed the gap in information had come from never visiting this place or speaking to anyone about it.
It didn't look like much from the outside, but once she stepped in, she discovered an entirely different scene. It was large—very large. After entering, there were only two corridors, one to the left and one to the right, and every room was concealed by folding screens.
She could only search the rooms one by one.
But after searching two rooms, she suddenly came to her senses. Following someone was already perverted behavior. Losing track of them was one thing, but barging into someone else's place now would only make her even more guilty.
When she considered that, she decided to return the way she came. But the route she had taken in had already been winding and confusing. When she tried to go back, she had somehow forgotten the way.
What should she do? What if someone found her?
Everything that could serve as a landmark looked identical. Even after wandering around inside for a long time, she did not encounter anyone. The entire dojo was as silent as death.
A few minutes later, she saw a place that looked like the one she had entered through. Thinking she had found the way, she felt delighted.
Strange. There hadn't been a door when I came in. Why were there sliding doors on both sides now? Whatever. Since the structure resembles the front entrance, this should be the back entrance.
In her impatience, she pulled the door open and walked in, but...
"Eek!"
"Huh?" The sudden sight startled Ando Meizi.
A kotatsu stood in the middle of the room, and a cute brown-haired loli was sitting beneath it, staring at her in surprise.
"Waaah..." For some reason, the brown-haired loli suddenly sat down and began to sob.
Thinking her sudden entrance had frightened the girl, Meizi walked over to comfort her, only to hear something utterly baffling.
"I've been seen. I won't be able to get married now, waaah..."
Huh? What did she mean, she'd been seen? What did she mean, she couldn't get married? Little girl, what nonsense are you talking about?
Meizi stared at the loli in shock. Was it some kind of family tradition? But she hadn't seen anything she shouldn't have.
Then she noticed the loli looking up at her. Her large eyes were filled with utter despair. Huh? Had Meizi really done something wrong?
Ando Meizi was completely dumbfounded. The loli's words and actions made her feel as if she had done something wrong, but she had no idea what exactly she had done.
"Why did you come in here, big sister?"
"I don't know either. I saw this dojo and planned to come in for a look, but I got lost while wandering around and somehow entered this room. I thought this was the back entrance..."
Ando Meizi answered honestly. After hearing her out, the loli seemed to make some kind of decision. "Big sister, could you keep this a secret? Just pretend you never saw me?"
"Sure. I wasn't planning to spread around that there's a really cute loli in the dojo or anything. I just want to find my way out." Besides, she wasn't that bored.
"Would you like something to eat, big sister?" The brown-haired loli pushed the plate of snacks in front of her toward Ando Meizi.
Naturally, she did not refuse. She grabbed a square snack and put it in her mouth. It was soft and chewy, fragrant and sweet—exactly to her taste.
"It's delicious. Did you make this?"
"Yes, thank you..." The brown-haired loli blushed and turned her face away. How should she put it? The girl looked somewhat shy, with an indescribably strange feeling about her.
"What's your name?"
"Edogawa... Edogawa Marugō. What about you, big sister?"
"Ando Meizi."
"Big Sister Meizi... Ah, sorry, I just called you by your name..."
"It's fine. Then I'll call you Marugō too." The loli named Marugō nodded and gave her a sweet smile.
But why did the name Edogawa Marugō sound so familiar?
She searched through the few memories she had of this school.
Edogawa Marugō... Wasn't that the captain of the Kendo Club who had dominated every high school kendo club in the area during her first year alone and won the regional league championship?
Looking around, she realized her memory wasn't mixed up.
The trophy indeed read: [High School Kendo Tournament Champion—Edogawa Marugō].
"Big sister? Can you promise me something?"
"Hm? As long as it's within my abilities, I'll consider it my thanks for the snacks."
Marugang stood up from beneath the kotatsu. She was not wearing casual clothes, nor was she wearing the Kendo Club's practice uniform. Instead, she wore a shrine maiden outfit.
The shrine maiden outfit had no sleeves, and its skirt was extremely short—short enough that even a light breeze might reveal her underwear.
Her expression struggled for a moment, then suddenly became resolute, as though she had made some life-changing decision.
"Big sister, can you... marry me when I grow up?"
Pfft, what was this? Even games followed a gradual progression, okay? She took one look and immediately said she couldn't get married, then asked Meizi to marry her? This was coming on far too suddenly. Still, this loli really was cute.
"I..."
Suddenly, a strange sensation came from Marugang.
A hint of pink flashed through Ando Meizi's eyes. An invisible force seemed to drive her body, causing her actions to completely escape the control of her mind.
She had clearly only wanted to answer Marugang's question, yet her body moved on its own and pushed the little loli before her against the wall.
She stretched out both hands, bracing them on either side of Marugang. Then she raised one leg and slid it between the loli's legs. Just like that, an inexplicable kabedon was complete.
"E-E-E-E-Eh?!"
She was very curious why she had done something so perverted, but more shocking than that was the sensation against her thigh. It clearly was not something an ordinary loli should have.
Good grief. Edogawa Marugang wasn't a proper loli at all—he was a little crossdressing boy!
Although she had often crossdressed when she was still a boy, could she have made that kind of expression if someone found out? Ando Meizi simply couldn't imagine it.
She even began to sympathize with Marugang. Not only had he been discovered crossdressing, he had also been pinned against the wall by a boy—oh, no, a girl—he had just met for the first time.
No wonder this child had suddenly said that being seen meant he couldn't get married...
But why couldn't he get married instead of being unable to marry someone? Could it be that this child was in the same situation as her, a girl who had turned into a boy? Was that why she still retained the feelings of a girl inside?
"Big Sister Meizi..."
Gradually realizing that things were about to spiral out of control, Ando Meizi took several steps back and drew several deep breaths as she watched Marugang slide down from the wall and sit on the floor.
Then, as if fleeing, she turned around and quickly rushed out through the door she had entered from.
"I-I'm sorry!!!"
"Big sister, turn right and walk to the end, then turn left to get out..."
After stumbling her way out of the dojo at last, she did not see Rei emerge from behind the folding screen in Marugang's room.
"Big sister... Why did you cast a charm spell on me?"
Ignoring Marugang's question, Nakajima Rei merely gazed in the direction Ando Meizi had left. She held her cheek in her right hand, crooked her lips, and revealed a somewhat sickly smile.
"This girl is so cute. I really want to turn her into a doll that belongs only to me. That way, you'll have company too, Marugang."
As she ran toward the school gates, a familiar voice called from behind her. "Isn't that Meizi? Hey, Meizi!"
"Hm? Yuya, what is it?"
"Are you going back to Koichi's house later?"
"Yeah. I'll be staying at Koichi's place for the time being."
"Then that's great. We're on the way. Can we go home together?"
Brother, how could you lie so smoothly without even blinking? Our homes are in completely opposite directions, okay?
Though she thought that, she still decided to refuse tactfully. "Sorry, I don't have time today, so sorry, Yuya."
Before you continue