I Accidentally Triggered The Hyperkinetic Tomboy Route! (Part 4)

And in what feels like no time at all, I’m in front of the gymnasium—

…though a bit discombobulated.

I stumble out of the cart.

“Thank you for your patronage!”

“But I didn’t—”

Gone.

As I stand there at a loss for words, Yuka pops up beside me.

“Wow, Ubakawa, a chauffeur? You never told me you were royalty!”

“I’m no—wait a minute, did I make it on time for Table Tennis?”

“Nope! Missed singles!”

Crap.

Hope the president doesn’t chew me out for that.

“But you’re still here just in time for doubles! It’s starting any moment!

“Oh phew, thanks—wait, why are you out here then?

“My Ubakawa sense was tingling.”

“Oh. Cool? Or…ew? I’m not really sure how I feel about that one.”

“Well, how would you feel about partnering up for doubles?”

“Uh, sure, but is that allowed? Guys and girls are supposed to be evaluated separately, I thought."

“Yeah, but, uh…a certain exception to the rules showed up.”

…

“It better not be—”

***

“Heya, Ubakawa!” Arima waves.

I take my place across from her and Haruki at the table.

I sigh.

I turn to Yuka.

“Well, soldier, the odds aren’t looking great—but at least Haruki’s on the other team. Maybe if we focus all our fire on him, we can—”

But it’s at this moment I remember…

That table tennis is the one sport—

Haruki is actually good at.

A cocky smirk.

Eyes filled with determination.

Haruki’s serious.

He pulls out two more paddles—one in each hand…

…pretty sure that’s against the rules, but okay.

Fine. So that plan’s a bust. But table tennis isn’t exactly Arima’s usual sport, so maybe—

I feel an immense pressure coming from Arima.

Like I’m staring down a demon.

I chuckle.

I’m in danger.

I turn to Yuka.

“You…wouldn’t happen to be any good at table tennis, would you?”

She beams at me with a bright, reassuring smile.

“I got eliminated in the first round during singles.”

….

Crap.

I glance over at Haruki, who’s preparing to serve.

“Three Pong Style: Onigiri!”

…

I sigh.

I know what I must do.

I lean in close to Yuka and whisper.

“That’s a real shame…because there’s nothing I love more than a girl who’s great at ping pong.”

She freezes.

Her face starts to turn red.

And as Haruki tosses up the ball—

“It’s not like I want to ping pong with you or anything!”

She winds up and slams at the ball with all her might.

“Diable Tsundere!”

…with her leg.

Not her paddle.

Okay…that one’s definitely gotta be against the rules.

Arima leaps up into the air and brings her paddle down.

“Ari-Ari Pistol!”

Unable to keep up, I can only watch as these three table tennis gods battle it out.

Winds kick up around them, the other players struggle to continue their matches.

Then Arima turns her attention toward me, winding up a shot.

Uh oh.

“Uh…”

“Ubopp Hamm—”

The ball slams into my face.

I go flying backward.

…but I did manage to return it.

“Nice going, Tomoya!” Yuka shouts.

“You rest! I’ll take it from here!”

I stagger over to a nearby bench and collapse into it, watching the rest unfold.

Ssssssssss!

Hearing a strange sizzle from behind—and catching the scent of something delicious—I turn around.

There’s Sora, flipping Takoyaki.

“Uh—”

“Here you go!

Nothing like a belly full of good food to keep you energized!”

He hands me a tray, and I pass him some cash from my bag.

“Thanks.”

“Best of luck!”

As he carts off, I turn back to the match, popping one in my mouth.

…

Man, this is really good.

…

And…wow…Yuka’s really keeping up with them!

I watch in amazement as the ball flies back and forth at lightning speeds.

After a long, hard-fought battle, Yuka still loses…

…but not by much.

I can’t help but to wonder…

If this were singles, could she have actually stood a chance against Arima?

The untapped power of a tsundere truly is a frightening thing.

…

Tossing away my tray, I make my way over to them.

“We won! Great job, Arima! You really are amazing!”

Arima fidgets bashfully.

“Uh, thanks, Kojima.

You know…I was thinking, maybe after school—”

“You too, Yuka! That was incredible!”

“Oh—uh, yeah, Yuka, that was awesome! I can’t remember the last time someone pushed me that hard!”

Their praise, however, falls on deaf ears.

She’s bent over on the ground.

Completely dejected.

“Why do you look so sad, Yuka? You put up such a good fight!” I say, helping her to her feet.

“But I lost…and you said—” she cuts herself off, blushing as she realizes what she was about to repeat.

“Hm…I don’t quite recall what I said earlier—but if I did say something, I don’t think I specified it was only people who win at ping pong.”

I glance over.

“Pretty sure it was just people who are great at ping pong.”

“And the fact you just went toe-to-toe with Arima and Haruki all on your own? That’s just about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do.”

I tell her this, knowing I’ve sealed my fate.

“I-I-I mean—!”

But after the amazing performance she put on…

“I-I-I don’t—!”

…I can take the hi—

A fist slams into my stomach.

I go flying.

“It’s not like I like you or anything!”

I slam into the wall—

But am saved, yet again, by the gymnasium padding.

I really ought to send a gift basket to whatever architect designed this place.

***

Finally having a sizable gap between evaluations, I’m able to enjoy a leisurely stroll as I make my way to the other side of the Sports Complex, taking in our impressive campus along the way.

The Sports Complex sits about thirty meters behind the school. It’s roughly the size of a soccer field and is a few stories tall (though doesn’t have multiple floors)..

At the center is a massive auditorium.

Flanking each side is a gymnasium—the west gym usually reserved for basketball and volleyball, the east gym for everything else.

And lining the back are the sports rooms—locker rooms, dojos, equipment storage, all that kind of stuff.

Past that—

The outdoor facilities.

Straight ahead sits the baseball field, taking up the most space.

To the left, the track and field.

Closer in, just outside the building, are six tennis courts and an Olympic-size swimming pool.

And off to the far right—

The archery range.

Then, tucked even father back…

That weird building.

Multi-story.

No doors.

No windows.

And, to be honest, even as a student council member…

I have no idea what it’s for.

But whatever. Not like I’m getting paid to ask questions…

…or at all, for that matter.

…

Why am I doing this again?

As I ponder, I notice a sudden rustling in the grass.

A wild Komori appears!

Maybe…a fairy type?

“H-h-hi, Ubakawa.”

“Oh, hey, Komori. What’s up?”

“I…w-well…”

She pulls out her phone.

[ “I’ve been watching you during the evaluations. It worries me to see you keep getting injured, but the way you carry yourself in these events—” ]

[ “I just wanted to say…it’s motivating. It makes me want to put myself out there more too.” ]

I smile and pat her on the head.

“Aw, thanks, Komori. I appreciate it. Has anyone ever told you you’re a real sweetheart?”

She gives a flustered reaction.

< “Tis nothing, Sir Ubakawa! I simply wished to express mine admiration for thy youthful vigor!” >

“Heh, thanks…though admittedly I’m starting to get a bit tired.”

RING-RING!

A wild Sora appears!

And considering it feels like they’ve been reading my mind all day?

Probably a psychic type.

“Sounds like you need an energy drink.”

As they hand it to me, I try to interject—

“Oh, I actually don’t—”

“Pfft. Child’s play.”

Quite unexpectedly—

A wild Ichino appears!

…

Dark type.

Definitely a dark type.

I watch our treasurer pull out a seedy-looking beverage.

“What you need is a real man’s drink.”

I glance at the label as they press it into my other hand.

Beast Energy.

“Let’s just say it’s a special import from a…foreign market.”

Looks more like it’s from the black market.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop cutting in on the school’s customers?!” Sora snaps, a rare flash of anger that startles Komori.

“Excuse me? I’m the treasurer, I am the school.”

“I oughta report you!”

“To who?” Ichino flashes a dastardly smile. “I handle those reports.”

Komori musters what little courage she can to try to break up the fight.

< “Brothers, please! Cease this in-fighting at once! Can’t we just—” >

“Not now!” They both snap.

I watch as she shrinks back.

“A little birdy told me you’ve been going after one of my favorite customers—I’m just trying to look out for them, and make sure they’re not being sold inferior products. Or are you really that afraid of a little competition?”

“You always think you can just do whatever you want—that the rules don’t apply to you!”

Komori’s eyes start to mist over, clearly overwhelmed by the arguing.

Not cool.

Unable to take it anymore, I snap.

“Guys! Is this really how you act in front of customers?”

They both turn to look at me—

Then at Komori, on the verge of tears.

“I’m sorry, Komori…Ubakawa.” Sora says, lowering their head.

“Yes, apologies. Our behavior was indeed rather uncouth.” Ichino adds.

“If I just buy from both of you, will you stop arguing?”

They look at each other.

Then at me.

“Thank you for your patronage.”

They both flash me with smiles.

…they hit a little differently than usual.

A tad scary.

I glance down at the two energy drinks they’ve forced on me—

Then glance back up.

Gone.

Again.

…

I don’t even drink this crap…

I look over at Komori.

“...want these?”

***

As we wait for the other team to arrive, I chat on the court with Tanaka and three of the club’s top aces—all of them brimming with confidence after getting the gacha pull of the century on teammates.

A lineup so stacked we could probably compete at the national level…

…the fools.

They’re woefully unaware—

Of the Ubakawa curse.

As the gym doors swing open, surprise, surprise—

Arima comes strolling—

…not strolling.

She actually looks pretty tired.

As she jogs up to us, a bit out of breath, I ask:

“Hey, Arima, are you alright? You don’t look so good.”

“Thanks, you’re a real gentleman, Ubakawa”

The others shoot me disapproving looks.

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I just had a pretty big set of back-to-back evaluations, that’s all.”

“Arima…” I give her a scolding look.

“...exactly how many sports clubs are you joining?”

…

“...Uh…all of them?” she says, a guilty look on her face.

Unable to process the sheer insanity of what I just heard, I ask again.

“Arima…exactly how many sports clubs are you join—”

“Don’t act like you didn’t just hear her, man,” Tanaka cuts in.

“Arima, what was I just telling you earlier about not pushing yourself too hard?”

She stares at me blankly for a moment.

“Ah, um…bleh.”

She tries to play it off with a cute, forgetful pose.

Not happening, missy.

“Arima, I can’t even begin to explain how irresponsible what you’re doing is—or the kind of insane schedule it’d take. Setting aside the fact it might not even be allowed, you’re going to run yourself into the ground. How do you honestly expect to—”

“Come on, man, lay off! It’s Arima! She’s got this!” Tanaka chimes in, the others nodding along in agreement.

She hesitates for a moment, glancing at them.

But it fades, and she looks back at me, forcing an uncomfortable smile.

“You worry too much, Ubakawa, it’s fine! I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.”

I’m not impressed with any of these guys right now.

I sigh.

“Okay, fine. Let’s put a pin in that for now—I’ve got a more pressing question..”

“Yeah?”

“...Where’s your team?”

“Oh, the club wanted to make things more fair.”

“That’s an awfully funny definition of ‘fair’.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, Ubakawa.”

She gets into position for the toss-up, motioning the referee.

“As I said—”

The referee throws the ball into the air.

“I’ve got this.”

Suddenly four afterimages appear on the court—Arima moving so fast it’s like there’s a whole team of her.

She leaps into the air and effortlessly wins the tip-off, knocking the ball back to—

…

I don’t even know what to call it.

Another one of her?

She dribbles toward our hoop, weaving in and out of us.

Every time we think we’ve got her—

She’s gone.

Then suddenly behind us.

“She’s running circles around us!” a teammate shouts.

Heading straight for Tanaka, she readies herself to dunk on him.

But then—

A serious look overtakes his face.

“Looks like there’s only one way we can win this.

We have to enter—

The zone!”

Tanaka’s eyes sharpen—almost glowing—faint trails of fiery red light following them as he charges toward Arima.

As she leaps to slam the ball in the basket, Tanaka meets her midair—

And knocks it out of her hand—

Straight toward me.

Knowing I have zero chance of out-dribbling Arima, I wind up—

And the moment the ball drops in front of me—

I drive my palm into it with everything I’ve got, sending it flying across the court.

A teammate catches it.

But right as they go for the layup—

Arima intercepts.

“Alright, Tanaka. Not bad…

…But two can play at this game.”

Her eyes sharpen—mirroring his—

But instead of fire, a calm blue light trails her gaze.

Now fully taking advantage of her afterimages, she starts rapidly passing the ball back and forth between them.

Sparks fly as it ricochets across the court like lightning.

I finally find a chance to intercept her—but she suddenly throws both hands out to her sides—

The ball’s gone?

She snaps her elbow back—

Revealing it was midair behind her—

And knocking it to one of her afterimages.

Again, she charges the basket.

Again, Tanaka meets her in the air.

But even as he gets his hand on it—

She powers through, the force of the ball knocking his hand aside.

The ball slams through the hoop with a satisfying swish as she hangs from the rim.

The gymnasium erupts in cheers.

I glance over to see a massive crowd has gathered in the bleachers—far larger than the other evaluations.

As if this were an actual tournament match.

We’re all panting heavily.

But not discouraged.

We actually put up a pretty good fight.

We shoot each other looks, reaffirming our resolve.

Arima drops down from the rim and turns to us.

“So…ready for round two?”

***

Sweat flies.

The court squeaks.

The basketball thumps.

The gymnasium roars with cheers.

And by the end of the match—

We’ve been completely shut out.

Zero points.

We had tons of close calls, but ultimately, we never broke through.

The referee’s whistle blows as she slams in her final dunk, signaling the end of the game.

The crowd erupts into its loudest applause yet.

The rest of the team is bent over, exhausted, breathing heavily.

Equally out of breath, I drag myself over to Arima.

“I can’t even—begin to process—how out of this world—you are, Arima.”

She laughs, dropping down from the rim.

“Flattery, my dear Ubakawa, will get you everywh—Argh!”

She winces as she lands.

I catch her as she stumbles.

“I’ll be fine, my ass.

Please don’t make me explain why playing through an injury is a terrible idea.”

She pops back up, pushing me away.

“I told you I’m fine! I just landed funny, don’t be such a buzzkill, Ubakawa.”

Haruki and his harem run up to Arima, congratulating her.

She turns to him proudly.

“So, Kojima, was that the greatest basketball match you’ve ever seen or what? Can’t help but to see me in a new light now, right?”

“Oh…I don’t really get basketball.”

She stares at him blankly.

“You don’t…get it?”

“Most sports, really. I’ve just never had any interest in them.”

I facepalm.

What a complete waste of my time.

I knew he wasn’t exactly an athlete, but I didn’t realize he was completely apathetic!

Haruki turns.

“Everything alright, Ubakawa?”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “I’m fine.”

I turn to Arima.

Who doesn’t look so fine.

Crestfallen, in fact.

“So…you really have no interest in athletics?”

“Nope!”

She hangs her head.

“Well…”

…

“Guess I’ll just have to do amazing enough to change your mind!”

She lifts her head again, forcing a smile.

Then heads over to a bench—

A subtle limp in her step.

“We’re all rooting for you, Arima! Keep it up out there!” Haruki says, the rest of his harem—and many others—joining in.

Even my teammates.

Even Yuka and Komori, after coming over to chat with me for a bit.

…

Screw this.

No wonder she thinks she has to carry the entire school on her back.

I’m gonna blow a fuse if I have to listen to this any longer.

I storm off to my next evaluation—judo—

Eager to take my anger out on a few poor souls.