@sapphire: lol well, I have a different plan in mind but maybe i'll incorporate a little bit of that
@oddball: well, Junjun is always mysterious, isn't she?
@eruchan: I usually don't update so fast, I don't know what's gotten into me these days
Hai hai~ here's the next chapter!!
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Chapter 35 “I thought you felt bad for me that I kept on losing!” Sayumi whined, glaring at the smirking yankii leader.
“I did, but then you slapped me on the rooftop,” Junjun replied nonchalantly. “Then I realized you’re not as weak as I make you out to be.”
“I only did that because you… you…ugh!”
Sayumi let out a loud groan as she stomped her feet down on the ground. Junjun laughed to herself while watching the frustrated bunny turn red at the memory of what happened on the karaoke rooftop. Of course, the panda herself was remembering that night and feeling a bit embarrassed about it but she was better at concealing her emotions.
“Hey, if you really want me to change the challenge, I can do that,” the panda said, smiling sweetly. “After all, it’s no fun if you lose too quickly.”
“I won’t lose!” the bunny yelled, turning red with anger.
Ugh, I was wrong to ever think this yankii might have a nice side to her! “Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Junjun grinned.
You’re right, Usa-chan; today is the day you finally win… With that, the two black-haired girls turned and faced the long track field. The third challenge that the yankii leader had proposed was a very simple running race. Whoever ran a lap around the school track field first would win. The prizes at stake were the same as usual: a day of Sayumi’s services or freedom from Junjun’s association.
The bunny knew deep inside that she couldn’t win this race. Physical activity had always been her weakness; she couldn’t run to save her life. But the panda’s teasing had triggered a sense of persistence in her. She didn’t want Junjun to go easy on her, just because she was weaker. She wanted to defeat her on equal ground. She would probably lose this round again: so what? She can still work hard to win the next challenge. Besides, the last time she lost and had to sacrifice a whole night for Junjun and the gang, it wasn’t so bad. It was rather fun meeting new people and hanging with a group of… fellow girls… like that. She wasn’t sure whether she could call them “friends” yet. Would they allow that?
“Come on, let’s get this over with,” Junjun insisted, stretching out her arms. “I have a room that needs cleaning.”
“In your dreams!” Sayumi retorted, sticking out her tongue.
“Are you guys ready?” Aika called from the sidelines. “The gunshot is the signal, okay?”
“Where’d you get that thing?” Sayumi asked, horrified at the weapon in little Aika’s hand.
“It’s mine,” the younger girl said brightly. “I’ve had it since… oh, I don’t know… middle school?”
“Aika, we’re going to get arrested if you use that thing,” Junjun laughed. “Don’t you have something else to signal us?”
“Aw… But I really wanted to use a gun…” Aika pouted. “It’s what they do at professional races!”
“They don’t use a real shotgun, baka!” Sayumi scolded. “You could get hurt using that thing! Put it away!”
“… Shige-san, you’re worried about me?” Aika said slowly, smiling. “Aw, you really do care for us!”
“H-hardly!” the bunny said quickly. “Now put that gun away!”
“Here, Mittsi, you can use this,” Linlin said, taking out a starter’s gun from under her skirt and handing it to her girlfriend. “This is the actual gun they use in professional races. It fires blanks into the air.”
“Sugoi!” Aika exclaimed, taking the gun. “Arigatou, Linlin!”
“Now, I know you don’t own that thing,” Junjun said, raising an eyebrow. “Did you steal that?”
“I ‘borrowed’ it!” the younger panda grinned. “Don’t worry, senpai, it’s from the gym storage room, not a store. I’ll put it back after.”
“But the storage room can’t be opened without a key,” Sayumi said, cocking her head to the side. “How did you…?”
“I have my ways, Shige-san,” Linlin smiled, winking.
“Okay, let’s get started!” Junjun laughed, changing the subject. “Aika, if you would please.”
“Runners ready!” the young girl yelled.
She raised the starter’s gun in the air. Linlin quickly took out a pair of headphones from her bag and put it over her girlfriend’s ears. Then, she covered her own with her hands. Junjun and Sayumi got in the ready position, with the bunny looking a little bit more awkward.
“Get set!”
“Good luck, Usa-chan,” Junjun whispered. “I hope you win.”
“Huh?” Sayumi said, not sure if she just heard right.
“GO!”
The loud shotgun sounded in the air, sending the bunny and the panda down the track. They seemed to run side-by-side for the first couple of seconds but soon, Junjun had overtaken her opponent in no time. As they reached the curve, the distance between them grew even larger, despite the fact that Sayumi had the inner curve out of Junjun’s courtesy. The bunny was even slower than the panda had predicted.
The two racers reached the straight track again. At this point, Sayumi was severely falling behind the panda. Junjun looked back and rolled her eyes. How could a human being be even slower than a worm? And her nickname was “Usa-chan”… Well, if there was a rabbit breed that was slow, Sayumi was definitely that kind.
The losing competitor was already feeling tired. She wanted to move faster but her legs didn’t permit. She felt like she was in one of those dreams were she was being chased by monsters but for some reason, you just can’t move fast enough… It was more horrifying this time though, since it was reality. Beads of sweat trickled down from her forehead but she didn’t pay attention. All she cared about was finishing this race.
The panda reached the final curve soon. She would’ve already finished if it wasn’t for the pity she felt for the bunny. But she had purposely slowed down to a bit of a jog. She knew she would win if she really tried… But was she trying?
Junjun looked back at the pale-skinned girl, who was using all her energy to continue on forward. The yankii smiled, realizing this kind of Sayumi was more beautiful than the non-smiling, antisocial kind.
You’re really doing your best, huh? She thought.
It would be frustrating if your efforts go to waste… Meanwhile, Sayumi could feel her legs tiring even more. One lap in the track field felt like ten. Her long hair was sticking to the back of her neck, detaching to flow with the wind, and then sticking again. When she reached the final curve, she looked up to spot her opponent, half way from her location to the finish line. Suddenly, the person the bunny was watching fell to the ground and grabbed her feet. Fear washed over Sayumi. What happened? Did Junjun get hurt? How did she fall?
As she jumped into a sprint, things started happening much too quickly for Sayumi to think clearly. Before she knew it, her legs were recharged with a sudden burst of energy and carried her through the curve, right past the panda. She ran on without hearing anything and seeing anything until she finally reached the white paint mark. Exhausted, the bunny fell to the ground on her back, unable to move another muscle. Her entire body ached. Deep in her mind, she wanted to sit up and run over to Junjun to make sure she was safe, but her stamina didn’t allow her to.
“Usa-chan.”
Sayumi slowly opened her eyes to see someone holding her hand out. The bunny grabbed it and pulled herself up to her feet. She kept her hands on her knees, still breathing heavily, as a way to keep herself up. In front of her was Junjun, supported by Aika and Linlin from both sides. She was grinning.
“Looks like you have your first victory there, Usa-chan,” she said. “Congratulations.”
“Junjun, you…” Sayumi wheezed, “you… hurt… no?”
“Eh, it’s no biggie,” the panda said nonchalantly. “It just stings a little. I’ll be fine.”
Only then, the bunny’s eyes traveled down to the yankii leader’s leg. There was a visible bruise on her opponent’s knees, as blood was trickling down to her ankle.
“That’s a no biggie?” Sayumi shrieked, suddenly gaining her voice back from an unknown source. “You have to get it taken care of immediately! You’ll get a scar if you leave it!”
“Yeah, I’ll go to the nurse right now so relax,” Junjun laughed. “And you can stay relaxed, since I’m keeping my side of the promise.”
“What promise?”
“The promise that if you win, I’ll stay away from you forever,” the panda reminded. “Well, I’m a girl of my word. You won’t be seeing too much of me anymore. You’re school life should be a bit more peaceful. Aren’t you glad?”
She was right. Sayumi had finally won. She didn’t have to put up with Junjun and her gang’s teasing anymore. She could stay in the background and have a peaceful normal school life without any unnecessary interruptions. She was finally free.
“… Of course I’m glad,” the bunny said in a low voice. “I’m ecstatic.”
“Geez, be a bit more happy, will you?” Junjun chuckled. “I’m going to go get this treated now before it hurts more. Bye Usa-chan.”
“Have a nice day, Shige-san,” Linlin smiled, her eyes full of regret.
“Bye-bye!” Aika also said, giving a sad smile.
The three yankiis slowly limped away from the track field as they headed towards the school building. Sayumi stood in place for a while, her head filled with so many thoughts.
You won, Sayumi, it’s as simple as that! She thought to herself.
I should be happy… so why do I feel so empty? Meanwhile, the three girls reached the school and walked down the hallway. Junjun removed her arms from around her two lackeys’ shoulders.
“I’ll take it from here,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt that much.”
“Suit yourself,” Linlin said.
As Junjun limped along, her two kouhais walked slowly beside her.
“I saw, you know,” Aika suddenly said.
“See what?”
“You, stepping on your own foot,” the young girl replied, biting her lip. “Nobody is stupid enough to do that accidently at the speed you were going. I could count the number of steps you were taking because you were just that slow compared to your usual speed.”
“I gotta hand it to you, Mittsi,” Junjun laughed. “You were always sharp.”
“Why’d you do it?” Aika asked, still serious. “You knew what was at stake; why did you lose on purpose?”
“… It was time to let her go,” the older panda sighed. “I’ve been kind of cruel to her all along. I mean, I’ve hit on other girls before but they eventually wanted to be with me. So I let them. But with Sayumi… she still didn’t want me. So I let her go. I don’t want to force her into anything.”
“… You really cared about her,” Linlin said.
“Did I?” Junjun chuckled.
“It’s a shame,” the younger panda sighed. “I really genuinely liked Shige-san, unlike the other girls Jun-senpai hit on…”
“Me too,” Aika mumbled. “She could be kind of rude but she had her sweet moments. I really liked her.”
Yeah, Junjun thought, smiling sadly.
Me too…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh yeah, I did it. evil, huh?
Don't worry guys, I'm still a sucker for happy endings.
Next is TakaGaki...
and then a very special/pivotal chapter. And then an even more special chapter after that. I'll leave that for you guys to ponder over
Topic: Chigatte mo Iin da yo! ~Mainly TanaKame, TakaGaki~ [FINALE - Ch. 93 - (1/30)] (Read 408984 times)