ACT II - Friendship Collaboration v2 I

Until Friday, the collaboration between the two clubs continued. Trying volleyball with the girls was actually a more fun activity than I expected, so much that I asked Micchan if she'd like to play with me from time to time. Something about passing the ball up in the air and trying to control its aim was extremely fulfilling and challenging!

Hearing my proposal, she clapped her hands. "You ended up getting hooked on volleyball, huh! I'm so happy~ But volleyball is more fun with more people, so…" She put a finger on her lips, pausing to think for a few moments. Then, she snapped her finger, excitedly declaring her idea.

"What about this! The weather is getting more and more lovely, so how about having a picnic this Sunday? Call your classmate, umm… Reo-kun, was it? And I'll invite Ria-chan, too! We could bring meals and drinks too, and have a greeaat timee~!"

Obviously, I had no objections!

Everyone was free on Sunday, so our friends all accepted our invitation. Our excitement on maximum levels, we met up at a beautiful park. Everyone had decided on a lunch item to bring, and I was in charge of the eating utensils such as the plastic plates and drinking cups. But that wasn't all, as I had another surprise to bring…!

When we arrived at the park, Michiru and Ria were already there, sitting on the grass, chatting together. They were in such deep conversation that they didn't notice our presence. I cleared my throat and declared our arrival.

Their heads turning towards us, the two girls opened their mouths to give a greeting, but seeing the person behind me made their jaws drop!

"Surpriise," I waved my hands, introducing my special guest. "It's the one and only Akito Seiten-senpaaii~"

He smiled and let out a sigh. "Come on, no need to get so worked up, it's just me. Hello, Azuma and… Uh… Micchan, was it?"

My childhood friend shot up like a jet. "Hello! Hello Seiten-senpai! H-How nice to see you here!" It seemed that the surprise had really caught her off guard, and she couldn't hide her nervousness. I felt a bit bad about not warning her beforehand but hey, that was the spirit of a surprise!

Our cool and charismatic senpai joined the girls, sitting down to the velvety cushion of the grass. He raised his sunglasses to have them sit on top of his head, "Haha, what a warm welcome. Hope it was alright for me to join in, I thought it'd be nice to get to know my kouhais of the school a bit better. Azuma." He turned to Ria and patted her shoulder. "Are you doing better lately?" Our school council president was most confused, and so was Micchan!

"W-what are you talking about? I… I mean, thanks for your concern over my well-being, but…?"

Seiten-senpai searched for his phone in his bag; it took him a while, as he had bought various snacks for our picnic hangout. He explained during his search. "My bad, of course you wouldn’t understand if I dove straight into the topic. My big sis reported to me that she spotted you three in a donut shop, she recognized you as the president of our school. She was concerned about seeing you cry, so she bought you some cookies as a cheering gift, it seems." Finally finding his phone, he showed his wallpaper. It was a picture of him and his big sister. Interested, me and Micchan leaned forward to see as well.

Ria hastily bowed down her head. "Senpai, please tell your big sister my deep thanks for the cookies and her concern! You too, of course." She played with the tips of her two braids, seemingly embarrassed. Seiten-senpai waved his hands, dismissing her words of gratitude. "Ah, actually… She wanted to remain anonymous, but well… Haha, I'm just glad to see that you're doing alright. What about you… Micchan?"

He still seemed to hesitate in calling her with the nickname. Hearing her name, my cute friend immediately lifted her arms up. "Micchan, here! I'm doing amazing, thank you Seiten-senpai!!" For a change, her hair was down, instead of the two short twintails she usually sported. She looked rather adorable.

I hoped that our senpai thought so too, even if a bit…

Right after, Reo's carefree voice was heard from a bit afar. "Huuuh, everyone's already gathered? Darn, I'm always the last to arrive to places."

Woah, he had his hair tied up to a ponytail. It felt awesome to see everyone with different hairstyles than usual, I felt like I had unlocked some new skins in a video game…!

"Alright, let me introduce myself real quick. Reo Kajimaru's the name, Yuujin-kun’s classmate. I'm the sandwich-maker of today, yoroshiku~ I made plenty so eat as many as y'all like." He sat down next to me and rested his head on my shoulder. "As you can see, I'm wearing a mask but no worries! I was kinda sick for a while, but I've healed up, just wearing a mask as a caution. Will rest for the time being, but y’all can start without me~"

So, our little event began. When Micchan proposed the idea to me, she had dubbed it "The Friendship Collaboration v2", inspired by the first one. With the volleyball Micchan brought, we started to give passes to each other, while Reo took our photos, occasionally giving us directions about poses and angles. Despite meeting just today, all the others had warmed up to him rather quickly, making me feel all fuzzy inside.

And then, it suddenly hit me: What everyone here had in common was their connection to me. They were all my acquaintances, our bonds growing into friendships. I was the reason this group had come together…!

Thinking about such a thing, I felt my eyes tearing up. I sniffled, trying to keep the tears at bay. Reo, noticing me, stood up from where he was sitting and placed his arm on my shoulder. "What's this, Yuujin-kun? Got hay fever or somethin’?"

I laughed and quickly wiped my eyes. I'd take this chance to hide what was actually going on, thank you Reo-kun! "Yeah, I think I got affected a little."

He shot me a meaningful look, and then let my shoulder go. Stretching his arms up to the sky, he declared that he had enough of sitting and wanted in on the action.

With everyone approving gladly, we started a second round of volleyball. Well, it was only exchanging the ball with one another, but it was so fun that everyone was smiling ear to ear! It was as if with each passing of the ball, our bonds were getting closer and closer. By the time we all had to stop due to tiredness (and hunger!), we had called each other's names so much while passing along the ball that it was the most natural thing ever!

When it was finally time for the most-anticipated lunch, everyone dove straight into eating that things were quiet for a while; save from the sounds coming from all corners of the park and the occasional "Hmm! This is delicious!" remark from one of us. Reo's sandwiches and the other stuff Seiten-senpai and Ria brought were so delicious that I couldn't believe how talented my friends were at kitchen matters! I had no difficulties putting away my strict diet for the day…!

As the picnic items made their way into our tummies, the chatter started flowing again. Everyone was genuinely curious about each other, and wanted to know more! Such sincere interest was getting all of us feeling special and valid. Like we truly mattered to each other…

Undeniably, the person we were most curious about was Seiten-senpai, who was sort of like a celebrity figure. Plus, he was a third year, and all of us wanted to know what that felt like. Anticipating his answer, all of us listened in full interest.