Chapter 2: Handle with Care (These Feelings)

​— ● The Basketball Girl Discovers… ● ○ ●

​Yuka: Masato-san, I have a request…

Yuka: I have final exams coming up soon, and my studying hasn’t been going very well.

Yuka: I know you work as a tutor, so I was wondering if you could help me study?

Masato: If you’re okay with me, I’d be happy to help!

Masato: I should be free this Sunday.

Yuka: Thank you so much! You’re a lifesaver!

Yuka: Sunday it is! I’m looking forward to it.

Masato: Where should we meet? I can head over to your school’s area if you want.

Yuka: No! I couldn’t possibly ask you to come all that way! I’ll come to you!

Masato: But there aren’t many libraries or community centers around here (sweat)

Yuka: Um, I’m the type who can’t concentrate if there’s a lot of background noise…

Masato: I get that. I’m kind of the same way.

Masato: But then, where should we go?

Yuka: Message Deleted

Yuka :Message Deleted

Yuka: If it’s okay with you, Masato-san… could I study at your place?

Masato: Oh, I see. That makes sense…

Masato: Sure, let’s do that. If you come to the station, I’ll come pick you up.

Yuka: Thank you! I’ll be at the station around 2:00 PM!

Masato: …But Yuka, listen. No doing… well, you know, like last time, okay?

Yuka: What do you mean?

Masato: Just… studying! Let’s work hard on our studies!

Yuka: Of course. I look forward to your guidance.

​A Sunday afternoon.

​A little before the meeting time with Yuka, I was killing time at a cafe in front of the station.

​I took a sip of my cafe au lait.

​No matter how much time passed, I couldn’t get used to bitter flavors, so I’d dumped a massive amount of syrup into it today.

​While sipping my max-sweetness drink, I reflected on my recent interactions with Yuka.

​I don’t want to be your sister.

You shouldn’t let your guard down, Masato-san…

​What happened at the basketball court at sunset, and then at the summer festival.

​Ever since she’d seemingly broken through her shell, Yuka’s advances had become… intense.

​To be honest, Yuka had a charm that far surpassed her years. She was cute, and if you asked me if I disliked her, the answer was a flat-out no.

​But—and it was a big ‘but.’

​She was still a middle schooler. Even without thinking too hard about it, this was clearly in the danger zone.

​Lately, I had found myself becoming aware of her as a girl, but my reason continued to condemn me for it.

​When Yuka had proposed today’s plan, I’d assumed we’d go to a library, so I was shocked when she suggested my house.

​At the same time… I worried that things might end up like last time.

​No, wait. If she really wasn’t thinking anything like that and I overreacted, wouldn’t that be pathetic?

​But come on, that had to be a calculated move!

​I’d recently realized that Yuka was actually quite… precocious. It seemed she had a fair bit of interest in those kinds of things.

​…Well, considering this was a gender-inverted world, maybe she was just a healthy middle school girl…?

​Still, letting myself be swept away like this was bad. Very bad. As the older one, I had to show some composure.

​It’s fine, it’s fine. The last few times she just caught me off guard. As long as I stay alert, it’ll be a breeze.

​…But man, Yuka is surprisingly strong. I know she trains, but there’s no way that’s the strength of an average middle school girl…

​Ding. A notification popped up on my phone.

​A quick glance told me that Yuka was about to arrive at the station.

​“Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine today… hopefully.”

​Those words, which wouldn’t have convinced anyone, were swallowed up by the sound of the ice clinking and melting in my glass.

​“Masato-san!”

​As I was looking down at my phone in front of the ticket gates, I heard that energetic voice I’d come to know so well.

​When I looked up, a shock of glossy black hair filled my vision.

​A deep blue hairpin reflected the sunlight, shining brilliantly.

​“Hey, Yuka. Good work getting here.”

​“Yes! Though I’m not tired at all!”

​Yuka grinned at me, looking as incredibly cute as always.

​Her slender, pale arms stretched out from the short sleeves of her sky-blue top.

​Then, I noticed the tote bag she was carrying.

​I assumed her study materials were inside.

​“Is that bag heavy? Want me to carry it?”

​“No, no! This is nothing!”

​When I reached out my hand, Yuka pulled the tote bag back with her left hand… and instead grabbed my hand with her right.

​“Let’s go!”

​“…Right.”

​Truly, she was bold… or something.

​In more ways than one, I didn’t think I could win against this girl.

​The study session was proceeding without a hitch.

​She’d seemed nervous when we first entered my room, but once we started studying, that tension melted away.

​Now, she was seriously facing the desk, staring down her reference books.

​“Kanji is mostly just about memorization. It might not be the most academic method, but I think cramming it into your short-term memory is the most efficient way.”

​“Mmmmmm… I see…”

​Apparently, Yuka’s grades were about average for her year.

​Considering how good she was at sports, being average in school seemed plenty good enough to me, but Yuka herself seemed to want to aim higher.

​Yuka frowned, lost in thought.

​Checking the clock, a fair amount of time had passed since we started, and the glass on my desk was empty, so I made a suggestion.

​“Want to take a little break? I’ll go get some more barley tea, so just wait a bit.”

​“Yes! Thank you very much!”

​The moment she heard my voice, Yuka looked up… and our eyes met. Her clear, emerald-green eyes were mesmerizing.

​Being sucked into those eyes reminded me of the time her face had been at its closest, and I instinctively looked away.

​Bad, bad. I shouldn’t be the one remembering stuff like that.

​With Yuka stretching her arms behind me, I hurried into the kitchen.

​Seriously, this girl was dangerous. Lately, it felt like her femininity was being polished to a mirror shine.

​When we first met, she was just a basketball-loving girl in both good and bad ways; she had energy, and I thought she’d be a great sister. But lately… the ‘cute’ elements were becoming overwhelming.

​Her smiles had shifted from being purely energetic to having a softer, more charming quality.

​Her clothes had changed too—still sporty, but now with frills or accents that played up her cuteness.

​And then, of course… her distance.

​Ever since she’d pinned me down that one time, she seemed to have gotten used to that level of proximity, and the physical contact had increased.

​From holding my hand on the way here to her general lack of hesitation, she was becoming more and more fearless.

​This was bad. Letting myself be played like a fiddle by a middle schooler was a blow to my pride.

​As I poured the barley tea from the fridge, I steeled my resolve not to be toyed with today.

​“Here, have some tea.”

​“Thank you!”

​When I returned to the room, Yuka was still sitting at the study desk.

​Knowing her, I’d expected her to be rifling through my things, but she hadn’t.

​I placed the glass on the low table a short distance away from the desk.

​Yuka hopped over and sat down.

​…Leaving a massive gap between her and me.

​Huh? What’s with this distance? I’d thought she’d been getting closer lately, but this was awkwardly far away.

​Yuka sipped her tea while stealing glances at me.

​Her gaze felt… cautious.

​“So… how is it? Am I being helpful?”

​“Eh… Oh, yes! Very! You’re a huge help!”

​“Good, glad to hear it…”

​The sound of the glass being put down echoed through the small room.

​…Our conversation was incredibly stiff.

​We’d been like this when we first met, but it was rare for us to be this awkward now.

​…Yuka and I had built up at least some level of rapport.

​I figured it would be okay to step in a little.

​“Are you okay? You’re acting a bit stiff. Are you nervous?”

​“Eh… No, that’s not it…”

​Even as she denied it, she didn’t try to close the distance.

​Since her default lately was to stick to me like glue, this felt bizarre.

​…Did I do something to upset her?

​If so, I had to apologize.

​“Sorry, I can’t think of anything specific, but did I do something to make you mad? If you tell me, I’ll make sure not to do it again—”

​“No! It’s nothing like that! It really isn’t. You didn’t do anything wrong, Masato-san…”

​Yuka hurriedly cut me off, but then her shoulders slumped.

​“Um… I was just… reflecting on how I’ve been a bit too close lately.”

​“Ah… I see.”

​Her words made sense surprisingly easily.

​Lately, whenever we met, she’d been physically close and aggressive with her flirting.

​Since we hadn’t found a new place to play basketball yet, we’d been spending more time just… like that.

​“The thing is… I do love you, Masato-san. But… I’d hate it if you thought I only liked you for… for your body, or that I had ulterior motives…”

​“I-I see…”

​In this world, thinking that a girl wouldn’t worry about such things was probably a mistake.

​In fact, when she suggested studying at my house today, I had suspected she was aiming for that kind of development.

​However, I knew Yuka had genuine feelings for me, so her fears were groundless.

​But how should I put that into words…?

​After thinking for a moment.

​I moved closer to the dejected Yuka and patted her head.

​“I think… I understand why you look up to me. I know you aren’t looking for a relationship just because of my looks or for some ulterior motive.”

​As Yuka silently accepted my words, I continued.

​“So, you can just be your usual self. Um, how do I put this… I might not see you as a romantic interest yet, but I really like you as a person. So… having you keep your distance makes me feel a bit lonely, I guess?”

​“Really?”

​Yuka looked up at me with an expectant gaze.

​Embarrassed, I looked away again.

​I was incredibly weak to that upward-glance of hers.

​“But no going overboard, okay?! Keep it moderate and wholesome!”

​“Fufu… Understood! Moderately, then!”

​Good. Her expression had returned to its usual energetic self.

​I let out a sigh of relief.

​“I thought it was weird. Usually, while I was getting tea, you’d be snooping around my room.”

​“I-I-I would never! A-Are you sure?! If you say that, I’ll actually do it!”

​“You won’t find anything interesting, though…”

​“Then, excuse me!” Yuka shouted happily as she began to poke around the shelves in my room.

​She looked through the shelves on the study desk, and then… toward a small, unused cabinet.

​—The moment she opened that cabinet.

​Yuka, who had been moving around so cutely until a second ago, froze.

​What’s wrong? That cabinet had been there since I moved in, but since I’d never used it after checking it once, it should have been empty…

​“Yuka? What’s up? I don’t think anything’s in there…”

​“…So, Masato-san… you were like that too…”

​“Huh?”

​Yuka stood up slowly and turned around.

​For some reason, her face was flushed, and… she was breathing heavily.

​Holding something in her hand, she slowly approached me.

​“Seriously… if that was the case, you should have just told me. Masato-san…”

​“Wait, what? Yuka, what are you talking about?”

​Holding something in her right hand, Yuka reached the sofa and grabbed my shoulders with both hands. Wait, wait, wait? You’re still really strong, Yuka-san!

​“I would have welcomed it anytime! But Masato-san, you’re so modest, you probably couldn’t put it into words. I understand. But I love that side of you too.”

​“Wait, hold on, I really don’t know what—!”

​As I tried to stop her in a panic.

​I noticed what was clutched in Yuka’s right hand.

​A small, square packet.

​I’d never used one.

​But I knew what it was. It was a contraceptive. A condom.

​My mind went blank.

​I had obviously never bought one in this world, and I had no memory of being given one.

​Was this someone’s sick joke? But I didn’t have many friends, and I’d never invited anyone to my room—

​—Then I remembered. There was one person. A certain older woman in a suit had visited once.

​That woman! What on earth did she leave here?!

​“Wait, wait, Yuka! This is a misunderstanding! Let’s just talk… Whoa, you’re strong?!”

​I was forced down onto the sofa, unable to push back against Yuka as she climbed on top of me.

​“I’ll make sure you see me as a romantic interest right now… It’s my first time, so I might be a bit clumsy, but please forgive me…”

​Whether it took an hour to convince the joyfully undressing Yuka that it was all a mistake… or whether I failed to convince her at all… is a story for another time.