Volume 8.5-Chapter 3

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Towano Chikai’s Pink Exercise

“L-Look Onii-chan, your breathing isover the place. At times like these, you have to calmly breathe inand out…!”

“I-I know that! You don’t have tocling to me like that!”

“I-It’s to teach Onii-chan theright way to stretch…! Also, this is definitely only for collectingdata. It’s not like I’m deliberately trying to cling to you oranything, so don’t get the wrong idea…!” Suzuka said, and Icould feel her pressing herself against my back even harder.

While Suzuka’s voice counted “One,two, one, two…!”, I was honestly unable to properly focus on ourmain goal of collecting data. Instead, all I could think about wasthat soft feeling on my back, and a gentle scent wafting over.

“H-Hey, is there really a need for usto stick together like this? When you give assistance like this,shouldn’t you just gently push me down with your hand…?”

“T-That might be the norm, but rightnow, we’re collecting data,” Suzuka gave an immediate response tomy doubts.

…Ugh, why does it always have to befor her data…? I can’t say no to that, can I? Since I’m herstand-in, I can’t deny any requests for help regarding light novelsfrom her, so I can only give in and continue doing stretches… But Istill can’t concentrate at all!

“Collecting data, you say?! If thisis Towano Chikai’s way of collecting data, then there’s no waythat I can miss out on it! I-I’m doing that as well!”

“Youcan’t, Himuro-san! If you did that, your chest would—No,nevermind! This is the duty of a little sister!”

“Then, maybe I can have Sensei dothat for me, desu. Ufufu.”

“You can’t do it either!”

“If it’s the duty of a littlesister, then Sakura should be able to do it, right? So please switchwith her!”

“I’ve told you countless times thatyou aren’t Onii-chan’s little sister, Sakura-san!”

Mai, Double Peace-sensei, andMinazuki-san were all there, and the place was engulfed in chaos asper usual. While the girls were enthusiastically engaging in adiscussion as to who could do what with me, I could only let out atired “Why does it always end up like this…?” I resigned myselfto my fate.

“S-So tired…”

This happened on a certain day.

Just like always, I was going alongwith Suzuka’s wish to gather data, and was sitting down in theentrance of our home.

“Really, Onii-chan is just… Pleasepull yourself together a bit more. How can you be tired after just abit of data gathering? Is your stamina that low?”

Suzuka, who had returned with me,looked down at me with an exasperated expression on her face.

…You say that, but after all thatflirting you forced me to go through, it’s obvious that both myphysical and mental stamina would soon run low. Also, Mai and theothers joined us as well, so that didn’t exactly help. As soon asthey found out about us collecting data, Suzuka was adamant that theyshouldn’t join, and everything just escalated from there… Inshort, it was the same as always. Really, can you blame me for beingtired after all that?

“To be honest, I’m still lackingsome data that I need. But since you’re so helpless, we’ll stophere today.”

“S-Seriously…?”

But rather than being understanding,she scolded me even further… J-Just what kind of data are youlacking after all that…? Why do I feel like the amount of data youwant to collect has been growing as of recently…?

“Yes, I still haven’t flirtedenough yet… Ah, in the sense of gathering data, of course!”

While growing red and flustered, Suzukacontinued.

“T-That being the case, I would liketo advocate that we continue to collect data in the evening as well!”

“Please let me off the hook here…At this rate, I won’t be able to work on my own manuscript.”

Naturally, I tried to protest. Ofcourse I want to help Suzuka improve her novel, but even I have mylimits. Also, I feel like the ways that we’ll be gathering datawill slowly start to increase at this rate…

“H-Hmph…!”

When I gave my response, Suzuka pouted.That being said, she seemed to at least acknowledge that she wasasking for something unreasonable, and she didn’t press me anyfurther. If only she were this considerate during our actualdata-gathering…

“Onii-chan really lacks stamina. Thisdefinitely is an alarming problem.”

Although she let me off the hook fordata collecting, Suzuka still didn’t seem completely satisfied.

“I don’t really think that this isa problem… Well, I’m not part of any clubs, and since I’m theindoor type, I don’t have much confidence in my stamina, sure.”

“Speaking of clubs, the same is truefor me, but I don’t get tired nearly as quickly as you do,Onii-chan.”

Even though she’s not part of anysport clubs, she’s pretty universally good at them. And she’spretty tough. Maybe she gets all that endurance and stamina fromdoing housework and going shopping. Who knows?

“A-Anyway, no more data collectingfor today, please. I want to go back to my room now.”

I tried to use this chance to quicklyslip away from Suzuka’s grasp, but…

“Ah, I know!”

Suzuka looked like she had rememberedsomething, then raised her voice, stopping me in my tracks.

“W-What is it?”

“I came up with something good.Onii-chan, we don’t have any school tomorrow, so how about we go toa comprehensive gym?”

“A comprehensive gym?”

When Suzuka suddenly said that, I foundmyself repeating it out of confusion.

“Yes, by visiting that, we can helpOnii-chan with your lack of physical activity, and help you build upsome stamina and endurance.”

“H-Hold on a second. I just told youthat I’m an indoor type, so exercising is…”

“You also need stamina for yourwriting, don’t you? I think that this might be a good idea ifyou’re aiming to become a professional author.”

…Ugh, she’s not wrong about that.And I can’t say no, since she’s doing this out of goodwill forme. But…

“I-I don’t really like doingexercise anyway, and I’ll just do something about my lack ofstamina myself…”

“You say that, but you don’t haveany specific plan or regime to achieve that, right? I think that thismight be a good change of pace, and you might even enjoy it.”

“But, going to a gym just for that…”

I still tried to talk my way out of it,which left Suzuka in silence for a short moment, but then…

“A-Also, we can use this to collectdata, so it’s two birds with one stone.”

“E-Eh, collect data on what?”

“I-In my novel, the siblings will bevisiting that place and exercising together, so I need some data forthat scene!”

“A-Are you for real?!”

“Y-Yes! This is the perfect chancefor that!”

“I-I see. But, I feel like the timingis a bit too perfect…”

“I-I-It’s probably just yourimagination?! I-It’s not like I just thought of this on the spot?!”Suzuka spoke in a panic as she averted her eyes.

It really is fishy… but now thatshe’s calling it necessary in order to collect data, I can’trefuse anymore, huh?

“I get it. If it’s like that, thenI can’t help it… Ugh, I really am bad with anythingexercise-related, though.”

“I-It’s fine! I’ll be joining youwith your training! N-Not in a weird way, but just to collect data,of course!”

After seeing Suzuka this happy aboutit, I could only comment with a “Take it easy on me.” I gave upon resisting.

“…I-I did it. I just happened tocome up with that on the spot, but this went better than expected…!Not to mention that we could end up being lovey-dovey on a sportsdate…! Ehehe…!”

“By the way, this comprehensive gymor whatever—”

“Hya?! W-W-What is it?!”

“…Well, I was just wondering if wehad something like that near us. I’m not all too familiar with thatsort of thing.”

“T-There is, yes. I’ve checked alot of places just in case Onii-chan and I might go on a date therein the future…!”

“Eh?”

“D-Don’t get the wrong idea! I wasjust thinking that I would use this as a way to collect data, nothingmore! Like an aquarium, a cafe, a ceremonial hall for our wedding,and many other places! Only for reference, nothing more!”

I-Is that so? Well, I expected nothingless from the real Towano Chikai, being so thorough with her datacollecting… But still, there’s even a ceremonial wedding hallnearby? S-She’s not planning on dragging me there to gather data onmarriage, right…?!

“A-Anyway, since that’s decided,we’ll be going there tomorrow to help you build up some stamina andendurance!”

“Alright. This time around, it’salso for my sake after all.”

“T-Thank you very much. Now then, Ihave to prepare the proper attire for our date—Not that! For ourtraining tomorrow! So if you would excuse me!”

With those words, Suzuka turned to dashup the stairs, but…

“Ah, I forgot something important.”

She stopped her feet mid-way and turnedaround towards me.

“You have to keep this a secret fromHimuro-san and the others, okay? At all costs.”

“Hm? Why is that?”

“It’s an important da—Event tocollect data, so I would rather do it with just the two of us. Idon’t want any chaos to ensue or anything.”

I see. That makes sense. One of themain reasons why I’m so tired all the time is because they alwaystend to obstruct us in some way.

“Alright. I’ll keep my mouth shut,even if they ask.”

“Please do. Now then, I have toprepare for tomorrow! I must ask that you do the same!”

Leaving those parting words, Suzukadisappeared up the stairs.

“She sure is motivated… Well, she’spretty serious about anything that involves gathering data, afterall.”

Muttering to myself, I headed to my ownroom, and that was the end of that.

Back to the present.

The following day, just as we hadplanned, we came to the gym, but…

“Hmmm, so this is what it looks like.It’s pretty big, alright.”

“How nice, desu! Just thinking that Iwill be dripping with sweat here together with Sensei makes my bodyboil up!”

“Yay! It’s Sakura’s first timedoing sports with Sensei, so she’s really looking forward to it!”

For some reason unknown to me, itwasn’t just Suzuka and I. Mai, Double Peace-sensei, and evenMinazuki-san had also joined us!

“…O-Onii-chan…! Even after I toldyou yesterday…!”

Naturally, I earned myself a glare fromSuzuka… Listen, I know what you want to tell me, but even Icouldn’t anticipate something like this, okay?!

Last night, Mai called me, just as Isuspected. She had asked me about my plans tomorrow (aka today) and Ihad just told her that I was planning on staying at home, workinglike always… but when we were about to leave today, the three ofthem were already standing in front of our door!

“You were planning on collecting dataon something like always, right? As your rival, I cannot overlookthat!”

“I received a phone call from Mai,desu!! Really Sensei, if you’re going to collect data on something,at least tell me beforehand. I am your illustrator, after all, so itshould be obvious that I should tag along if you want to gather dataon something!”

“Since Sakura is Sensei’s futurelittle sister, it’s only natural that she wants to help him withhis novel in any way possible!”

—And there you have it.

Unable to cover it up anymore, we couldonly let destiny unfold as they naturally tagged along with ourplans… Damn it, I underestimated Mai’s stalking abilities…!Suzuka’s face from back then, when she said “…Onii-chan, whatis this about?”, still sends shivers down my spine. That sort ofthing would be enough to make me wake up from a dream.

“Onii-chan is always just toocareless! Even if you don’t tell them directly, they still find outone way or another! Maybe you should’ve just honestly told themthat you were going to spend an intimate day with your littlesister!”

“That would definitely give them thewrong idea about things, though!”

“A-Anyway, now that we’re here, wecan’t help it anymore! All I can do is be as flirty with Onii-chanas I can, and attract all his attention!”

Ohh, Suzuka seems to be motivated…It’s great that I got through that without a long lecture, but I’ma bit scared to find out what’s going to happen from now on.

“Now then, let’s hurry inside!”

Suzuka finally beckoned us inside.Apparently, you can use this facility even if you’re not aregistered member, and they even rent out training gear and clothes,which is pretty handy if you ask me. After we paid the entry fee, weheaded to our respective changing rooms and put on gym clothes.

“H-How is it? I rented this. Itdoesn’t look too bad, does it?”

“It’s a bit tight on my chestthough, desu.”

“How does it look, Sensei?!”

When we all joined together again, Mai,Double Peace-sensei, and Minazuki-san all immediately approached me.I see Mai in her gym clothes all the time at school, but this iskinda different, and it feels pretty unique… Also, I know thatthese clothes are made so that you can move easily, which meansthey’re pretty thin, but I can’t help it that my heart is beatingfaster…

“…Onii-chan?”

“N-No, I wasn’t ogling them oranything?!”

When I noticed that Suzuka was staringat me, I quickly asserted my innocence.

“W-Well, that was one thing, but Iwas wondering what you thought about my appearance…”

“I-I don’t know… I think that itlooks good you…?”

“I think that your reaction is a bittoo weak.”

What kind of complaint is that?

“By the way, what kind of data wereyou going to collect today? I don’t think that sports-relatedthings happen all too often in light novels,” Mai said.

“Is that so?” Minazuki-san asked.

“Light novels are something producedby otaku for otaku in most cases, and the world of sports is theexact opposite of the otaku world. So I’m a bit surprised that youchose this place!”

Although I don’t understand why she’ssounding so high and mighty about it, I can see where she’s comingfrom.

“Did you just indirectly admit thatyou’re bad at sports and exercising?”

“Wha—?! T-That’s not true at all!That was just an objective opinion and my reasoning behind it!”

Well, it’s not like I’m one totalk, either.

“No, that’s not quite right,Himuro-san,” Suzuka replied, “If you’re a light novel author,you should experience as much as you can to broaden your horizons.That’s what you said. Right, Onii-chan?”

“Eh? …Ah, yeah!”

I agreed with the opinion that the realTowano Chikai gave. Her glare still hurts, though.

“T-That’s true, I guess… Youshould always keep everything in your sights, even the rarest tropesand story elements… That’s Towano Chikai for you!”

Mai seemed to honestly believe me.Although I still don’t get why she looks so frustrated…

“That makes sense, desu! There’s agreat difference between having experienced something directly ornot!”

“Sakura agrees! Sensei really is amazing! You thinkabout so much!”

They were all looking at me with gazesof admiration. Though it kind of hurt that I wasn’t actually theone who had thought of it, especially since I actually agreed withMai. I was sure that this would be useful for my own novel as well,though, so I felt more motivated than ever to collect data.

“Then, what should we do first?”

I gazed over at Suzuka. She was the onewho was actually going to decide what to do.

“I think that we should begin bydoing some light stretches…So I’ll be assisting you with that, Onii-chan!”

“Eh?”

“Phew! I think that should be enoughstretching.”

After Suzuka gave me a helping hand,literally, she let out a satisfied sigh.

“…Uuugh, my body hurts already…”

“That means that your body is verystiff. I-It seems like we’ll have to practice even more from nowon!”

Ignoring the fact that Suzuka is sohappy, I can’t say anything back about that. My body is reallystiff.

“Hmph! Sakura also wanted to helpSensei out! So what are we doing next?”

“Let’s see… I think that weshould do some muscle training. What do you think, Onii-chan?”

“A-Ah, yeah, let’s do that.”

Muscle training, huh? I can’t say I’mreally motivated for it, but it is among the most basic of basics.Hence, we headed towards a corner of the training room where therewas a rack of dumbbells.

“So you use these things for muscletraining, right? I really don’t like this…”

Mai wrapped her fingers around one ofthe dumbbells on display while making a disgusted expression. Well, Idon’t really see the reason to collect data on this either.Apparently, neither did Suzuka, and she started thinking to herself.”Let’s see…” she said. Moments later, she suddenly raised herhead, seeming to have thought of something.

“T-Then how about we switch things upand have Onii-chan carry me like a princess to increase his physicalstrength!”

“Huuuh?!”

Since Suzuka said something asridiculous like that, I was left in shock.

“If you can strengthen your musclesand physical strength by holding something, then there shouldn’t beany need to use dumbbells or anything, right?! T-That way I’m morethan enough! O-Of course, only so that Onii-chan can collect data…!”

N-No no no no! Carrying someone in aprincess carry and heaving them up and down to train my muscles wouldmake me nothing more than a pervert, you know?! Naturally, Suzuka isonly thinking about the data-gathering side of things, but I’m surethat everyone else will disagree with her, right?

“W-What an amazing idea! That’sTowano Chikai’s little sister for you!”

“Imouto-san is amazing, desu! I wouldnever have thought of that!”

“Uuuu… Suzuka-chan really is agenius! But Sakura won’t lose!”

Or so I thought, but their responsesonly left me in despair and confusion.

“That’s that, Onii-chan. Hurry upand carry me like a princess!”

“N-No, hold on! There’s no way Icould do something suspicious like that, especially not in front ofother people!”

The other people in this room arediligently training, you know? In the worst-case scenario, we mighteven get banned from this place, and there wouldn’t be any way we’dbe able to defend ourselves if it came to that!

“H-Hmph… That might be true, but…”

Suzuka seemed aware that she was askingfor the impossible, and she ground her teeth after hearing mycomplaint. She looked really frustrated.

“S-Shouldn’t that be fine? I wantedto try it too! For my own novel, of course!”

“Right, desu! Just thinking aboutSensei carrying me like a princess gets me all hot. Haaah… Haaah…”

“Sakura too! Ah, maybe with apicture, even!”

When Mai and the others startedapproaching me, Suzuka twitched and changed her tune. “N-No,Onii-chan is right. We are better off doing this at home with justthe two of us…”

Let’s just ignore that last part,yeah…

“T-Then, what else should we do—?”

“Sensei! Sensei! There are someinteresting devices over there, desu!”

Double Peace-sensei suddenly called outto me while pointing at something.

“Hm? That’s… you use that totemper your abs.”

While I responded with that,

“Oh right. Sakura has seen thatbefore! You use that to sleep!”

Minazuki-san said something completelydifferent.

“Ohh, I thought that this was someS&M device, desu… Well, should we try it out while we’rehere?”

“Eh? B-But, Onii-chan is going totrain his muscles with me…”

“We’ve come here to try out lots ofthings we’ve never done before, right? Shouldn’t it be fine to dothis, then, desu?”

Suzuka couldn’t find any reason thatwe shouldn’t do that, and she just grumbled to herself in silence.Most of the time, Double Peace-sensei is a flighty person, and it’sshocking that she’s the one to bring up something rational likethis…

That being said, in times like these,we have to prioritize collecting data about new experiences.

“I-It seems like we can’t help it,then. Let’s use it.”

In the end, Suzuka also gave up, and wemoved as a group towards that device to train your abs (I don’tknow the official name). Since we weren’t very familiar with it,and since she brought it up, Double Peace-sensei was the one to tryit out first.

“Fu fu fu, with my arms restrainedlike this, I might end up becoming Sensei’s animal after he trainsme, desu!”

“Don’t say something outrageouslike that with a smile! …A-Anyway, just start your weight trainingalready.”

With a smile, Double Peace-senseiresponded “I know, desu,” and started.

“…Phew… Mmm… Since I don’t dothis often, it really is tough on my abs, desu…!”

Putting her legs on the device, DoublePeace-sensei put her arms behind her back and started doing sit-ups.I see, so the device is there to help you keep the correct form.

“…Mmm… Haah…”

“………Ugh.”

Double Peace-sensei’s moans andgroans were more than embarrassing. And it wasn’t just that. Herwell-endowed chest was shaking back and forth like crazy as she wasdoing sit-ups.

“Phew phew… it really is difficultin this position, desu.”

Her breasts were emphasized even morethan usual…

“…Ei!”

She lifted her upper body, pressingagainst her knees, which deformed her breasts like crazy as shesquished them in there. Adding that to the fact that she was moaninglike crazy, and building up quite a sweat, it felt like I waswatching something really dirty…

“O-Onii-chan?! What are you staringat her for?!”

“Wha—?!”

However, in the next moment, I realizedthat Suzuka’s body was shaking in anger, and her intense glare wasdirected at me, which made me freeze in place.

“Just how perverted can you be…?!”

“Sensei is a boy, after all!”

Mai and Minazuki-san both replied inunison?! H-Hold on, I can’t help it, okay?! Any boy would reactlike I did! It’s not like I’m some perverted devil or anything!

“Haaaah… Haaah! So Sensei islooking at me with dirty eyes! I’m glad that I could help, desu!Haah haaaah…!”

Double Peace-sensei finished hersit-ups, and her shoulders were heaving up and down as she breathedroughly.

“N-No, it’s not like I was…!”

“H-Hmmmmpf…! Next will be me!Onii-chan, make sure to watch me closely—N-No, I mean to collectdata!”

The next person to step forward wasSuzuka, and she traded positions with Double Peace-sensei.

“…Phew… Phew!”

Suzuka started her training,immediately building up a good rhythm. Straight from the get-go, shewas doing things far more smoothly than her predecessor DoublePeace-sensei.

“…Huff… Onii… chan…! How…is it…?”

“Eh? H-How is what?”

“M-My appearance… while doing…sit-ups…!”

“Pretty amazing if you ask me.There’s no wasted energy in your movement.”

“T-That’s not… what I meant…!Compared to… Double Peace-sensei…!”

Suzuka directed her gaze at her chest…Ahh, well, I know what she wants to say. I’m well aware that shehas a complex about her chest, which is why…

“…Those are some great sit-ups,yeah…”

“Eh…?!”

“Yeah, Suzuka-chan is amazing! Youreally are good at sports!”

“Wha—?!”

When Minazuki-san told her as well,Suzuka’s eyes opened wide. I mean, we were just praising her, sothere’s no need to be so shocked about that…?

“Uuuuu…! T-This won’t do! We needsomething else to collect data!”

She suddenly jumped off the device andlooked down at her feet with tears in her eyes.

“H-Hey, if we’re trying to gatherdata about things that we can only do here, how about this?”

While Suzuka was busy feeling down,this time it was Mai who tugged on my clothes. She was pointing at adevice that you use to train your chest (I think the correct name isa chest press?).

“This is an essential part of aninstitution like this, but I’ve never used the machine before.”

“Yeah… I’ve never used it,either.”

“Really?! Then I’ll be the firstone to experience it! Even before Towano Chikai! Hehe!”

Mai gave an arrogant response as shepuffed out her chest. As always, her smile in this situation wasnothing short of aggravating. Really, just do it then.

“Start with a light one, alright? Wewouldn’t want you to get hurt or anything.”

“I-I know that… But, umm…t-t-t-thank you for worr—Ahh, it’s nothing! Just watch me,okay?!”

“Why are you suddenly angry at me?!”

As her face suddenly turned as red as atomato, Mai stormed towards the chest press in anger and started topush it upwards.

“Here… we go! T-This is prettyheavy already…!”

The general idea behind this exercisewas to grab the handles with a weight attached to them andcontinuously open and close the gap between them in front of you. Itwas a rather normal-looking exercise.

“One… Two…!”

“………”

The problem is… you know. Every timeshe pushed her arms together, her well-endowed chest was dramaticallyemphasized… Yeah.

“Y-Yuu?! Why are you looking away?!”

Y-You want to tell me to keepwatching?! Your chest over there is way too dangerous! Not to mentionthat you’re building up quite a sweat, and combining that with yourrough breathing makes this way too stimulating of an experience.There’s no way a high school boy like me could watch and keep hisreason!

“Sensei, Sensei! Look over here,desu! Something crazy is happening with Mai’s chest! This is a goodreference for another dirty situation. Thanks for the food!”

“Hold on?!”

While I’m busy trying not to pay toomuch attention to it, Double Peace-sensei is just saying itoutright?!

“Eh? Chest? …Kyaa?!

When Mai finally realized hersituation, she quickly let go of the handles and hid her chest withher hands.

“W-Where are you looking?! Will youever stop ogling me, you pervert?!”

“N-No, it’s not like I…!”

“O-O-O-Onii-chan! You’re onlyallowed to look at me with perverted eyes like that!”

“Suzuka?! When did you recover?!”

“Sensei, should Sakura do it as well?Though she might not be able to compare to Enryuu-sensei’sbreasts.”

“Give it a rest already! You’reonly adding oil to the fire!”

“That’s Sensei for you, desu.Creating a fanservice event out of everything! I’m moved!”

“Wha—?!”

All of a sudden, I’d turned into thebad guy again… I know that this should be standard fare by thispoint, but aren’t you taking things a bit too far this timearound?!

“…E-Enough of the muscle training!We need to find a way to collect data that doesn’t emphasize thechest! Right, Onii-chan?!”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right…”

As things were about to escalate,Suzuka turned towards me in anger. I know that it’s up to you whatwe do to collect data, but why are you so obsessed with the chestpart?

“…Still, I was careless. To thinkthat both the stretching and muscle training would be a trap indisguise…”

“What are you talking about? Atrap…?”

“Onii-chan, keep quiet for a second.Next time for sure, I’ll make him have eyes for me only—Nevermindthat! I have to find a good way to collect data next!” Suzukacrossed her arms as she started nodding to herself.

“Here here! If it’s aboutcollecting data, Sakura has an idea too!”

In that moment, Minazuki-san raised herhand happily.

“Over there is a basketball court!How about that?”

“Basketball? …I’m really bad atball games, though…”

“Even if there’s people who are badat it, with the five of us, we can’t do a proper match anyway,desu.”

Both Mai and Double Peace-sensei werehesitant, but Minazuki-san didn’t care about that and just draggedthem along with a “Let’s just try it out!” When we arrivedthere…

“Sensei, could you stand in front ofthe hoop? You’ll fight against Sakura!”

“Eh? Fight?”

“A one-on-one with offense anddefense! That way, everyone can go at their own pace, even if they’renot good at it!”

…I see. I’m not exactly good atball games either, and this is definitely better than just one bigteam against another big team.

“…Suzuka? How about we try this?”

“…Well, with this, we might avoidany more of that chest emphasizing like we had before.”

For now, Suzuka gave her consent.

“Now here we go, Sensei!”

We started with Minazuki-san playingoffense and me playing defense. She started by taking a low postureas she dribbled, and called out to me.

“Ehehe… You know, Sakura has playedbasketball before!”

“Ehhh?! That’s a bit unfair if youask me?!”

“Everything is fair in thecompetitive world! And Sakura always aims for the win! If she wins,she’ll get a reward from Sensei!”

“I never heard anything about that?!”

After saying that, Minazuki-san set hereyes on the hoop and dashed towards me.

“Ugh…!”

I tried to use my whole body as aguard, but she quickly turned her back to me, giving me no chance tosteal the ball… U-Umm, why do I feel like she’s pushing her bodyagainst mine? Especially the area around her butt…! Ahh, I can’tdwell on weird thoughts! I need to focus on the game!

“What’s wrong, Sensei? Your moveshave gotten dull!”

Shit…! If only I could steal the ballfrom her…! But every time I try to reach for it with my hands, Iaccidentally touch Minazuki-san’s body instead, leaving meflustered… Ugh, this is bad…!

“An opening!”

However, Minazuki-san managed to slippast me, and she headed for the hoop. After crouching down ever soslightly, she shot upwards… Is she trying to dunk it?!

“N-No way…!”

I barely managed to get in front of thehoop, but Minazuki-san’s jump was already too high for me to catchup—Huh?

“Nyaaaaaaaaaa?!”

“Woah, hold on?!”

Just when I thought that Minazuki-sanwasn’t jumping all too high, she started falling down towards me. Itried to quickly fix my posture to catch her, but I didn’t manageto achieve that in time, and we both collapsed on the floor.

“Ouchies… A-Are you okay, Sensei?!”

“I-I’m okay… So hurry and getup…!”

Luckily, neither of us ended up withany major wounds, but I was lying upwards on the ground, andMinazuki-san had fallen with her backside right around my waist.Because she was wearing those short gym shorts she had rented, Icould almost see that white fabric—Ahh, why am I camly describingit like this?!

“A-Apologies! It seems like the dunkdidn’t work out! Sakura really wanted to get it on the first try,though!”

“F-First try? Didn’t you say youplayed basketball before?”

“Yes, only a bit though!”Minazuki-san stated with a bright smile.

…I-I feel like I’d end up the loserif I retorted here…

“S-Sakura-san?! What gave you theidea to just push down Onii-chan like that?!”

“Sakura failed at it, though! Ah, doyou want to try it as well, Sakura-chan?”

“Uuu… I really want to… but mychest isn’t…! Uuuuu…!” Suzuka grit her teeth.

I don’t think that you’d end uplike Minazuki-san, seeing that you’re a sports prodigy.

“O-Onii-chan, maybe collecting datathis way really isn’t a good idea…! There must be something thatsuits you better! Right, Onii-chan?!”

“Y-Yeah?!” Ipanicked a bit as I agreed.

Apparently, Suzuka wasn’t done. Thatbeing said, nothing we had tried so far was to her liking, so whatelse could we even try?

“Then what do you want to do next?What do you think would be a good way to collect data?”

“T-That’s…”

Since I was officially acting as TowanoChikai, Mai obviously directed that question at me, but since Suzukawas the one collecting the data, I didn’t know how to respond.

“…W-What can I do here to makeOnii-chan pay attention to me…?”

I directed a sideways glance over atSuzuka, but she was busy mumbling something to herself… W-Whatshould I do…?

“…Ah! I-I know! There’s a poolhere!”

But then, Suzuka’s face shot up tolook at a sign in front of her. When I looked, I saw the notice thatthey indeed had a warm water pool, and that it was usable at themoment.

“A swimsuit event is standard fare inlight novels, but I’m not all that good at swimming…” commentedMai, slightly nervous.

“Bewitching Sensei with my eroticswimsuit is fine and all, but that pool is made for athletes, so wecan’t exactly play in there, desu.”

“We’ll get scolded and thrown out.Also, Sakura isn’t exactly bad at swimming, but she’s not on thelevel of a pro either.”

Hearing that response, Suzuka’s eyessuddenly lit up with joy.

“I-Is that so? It seems like therewon’t be anyone else who can teach Onii-chan how to swim, then!”She blurted out.

“Teach me?”

“Exactly. Collecting data isimportant, yes, but our main goal is to improve your stamina. Sincethe others aren’t all that experienced in swimming, either, I’llhave to act as your teacher. Don’t you think that’s a good idea,Onii-chan?!”

Suzuka’s gaze was clearly asking foraffirmation from me, but before I could say anything, she continued.”Then it’s decided. We’ll collect data at the pool next!” AllI could do was nod along.

“…Although everyone’s chests willstand out because of the swimsuit, there shouldn’t be any bikinisto rent, so we should be good still…! Also, being able to directlyteach Onii-chan one-on-one is far better!”

“I see. We did want to train mystamina a bit, after all. I had completely forgotten about that.”

“Hya?! O-Of course! I justremembered, myself, but I thought that we could do it with this!”

…Hey. I feel like I heard somethingin there that I can’t ignore.

“Now then, next we’ll collect dataon swimming, Onii-chan!”

But I wasn’t given the time to bringit up. Suzuka went on ahead towards the warm water pool. Afterrenting the swimsuits and changing into them, we arrived at thepoolside. Although all of them looked cute enough with theirswimsuits to make my heart race, it wasn’t as much of an impact asit would have been if they were wearing bikinis. The swimsuits weremore orthodox, and I could actually focus on the training.

“Mmm… It’s a bit tight on thechest area…”

“Bursting with energy, desu!”

That doesn’t mean that it all wentflawlessly…!

“O-Onii-chan! Don’t ogle them likethat! Let’s start our practice!”

“Y-Yeah.”

In the meantime, Suzuka dragged me intothe pool.

“…You say this is practice, but Ican swim to a certain degree, you know?”

“T-That’s right. Then it might be agood idea to practice your backstrokes and butterfly. That willincrease your stamina as well, I’m sure.”

“Eh, I don’t feel like that willnecessarily help my stamina or anything…”

“Don’t forget that we’recollecting right now on two siblings practicing swimming together!A-Anyway, the two of us will start now, so you can do as you please,everyone!”

With those words, Suzuka pulled me to alane a bit further away from the others.

“Umm… What exactly should I do?”

“I’ll be teaching you how to swimfrom the basics. Give both your body and heart to me.”

“Body and heart…”

“L-Listen. This is our situation. Theolder brother has said that he is bad at swimming, and the littlesister, who is proficient at it, decides to teach him. Through that,their bonds deepen, and they end up flirting lots… Something likethat!”

“This doesn’t really feel likesomething the characters inside the story would be doing, though?”

“I-I’ll come up with a reasonableexplanation for it. Anyway, that’s how things are, so please focuson me, Onii-chan. T-To collect data of course!”

I’m still not really satisfied withthis, but now that Suzuka is so adamant about it, I have to followthrough as her stand-in.

“Then let’s practice how you moveyour legs first. For the butterfly, you’ll use the dolphin kick.”

While I was holding Suzuka’s hands, Iassumed the position she wanted me to and began practicing how tomove my legs. Since it wasn’t the usual butterfly movement, it wasmore difficult than I had expected.

“…T-This is pretty complicated…Don’t let go of my hand, alright? I don’t want to sink.”

“Ehe, ehehe… Onii-chan is relyingon me…! Onii-chan is focused on me right now…! We can finallycollect data, just the two of us…!”

“H-Hold your hands still, willyou…?!”

While we exchanged words like that, Ifelt like I was slowly making progress thanks to Suzuka’sproficient teaching.

“You’re getting better, Onii-chan.Although you might be building up stamina with this, we can’tforget to get lovey-dovey to collect data…!”

“So you say, but what exactly do youhave in mind?”

“I’m assuming that it has to besome sudden occurrence… For example, I happen to get anemia, and amabout to drown, and you immediately come to my rescue after havingjust barely learned how to swim!”

“That’s pretty difficult, if youask me!”

“And then! And then! You barelymanage to pull me out of the water, but I’m still unconscious, soyou give me m-m-m-mouth-to-mouth resuscitation…! When I finallywake up, I softly cling to Onii-chan’s half-naked body and then…Ehehehehehe…!”

“You’re not planning on doing thatin reality, right?! Not even to collect data, right?!”

Suzuka apparently felt embarrassed byher own idea, because she let out a loose laugh as she startedtwisting and turning her body… If you’re going to bug out likethat, then don’t come up with such a crazy idea in the first place…

“Hey, Yuu! Come here and teach us aswell!”

“Uwah?! W-What do you want?!”

In that moment, Mai and the others, whowere supposed to be training in a different lane, suddenly appearednext to me.

“I’d like to experience thesituation where Sensei collects data as well, desu!”

“It’s unfair that Suzuka-chan ishogging all the attention! Sakura also wants Sensei to teach her!”

And this is how it always goes… Nowthe situation is going to spiral out of control—

“…Ah?! W-What are you doing,Onii-chan?! We’re still in the middle of practicing, you know! Now,come swim over here with the technique that I just taught you!”

Suzuka returned to her senses andcalled out to me from the middle of the pool. In order to escape fromMai and the others, and also so as to not stir up any more ofSuzuka’s anger, I separated from the wall and swam towards her…S-Since I hadn’t learned how to move my arms yet, my legs wouldhave to do…!

“………!!!”

But, in the very next moment, anintense pain ran through my leg. It felt like something was stingingmy leg, and I was unable to move it anymore. I twisted my body inpain.

“Onii-chan?!”

“Ugh…! Not good…!”

I panicked as I tried to push my faceabove the surface of the water, but to no avail.

…S-Shit…! My leg is cramping up…!It’s because I just started swimming at full force like that…!

“O-Onii-chan, hold onto me…!”

Trying my best to keep my head abovethe water, I could hear Suzuka’s distant voice between thesplashing of the water and my frantic attempts to gasp for air. All Icould do was wildly reach my hands towards the voice.

“Kya…?! O-Onii-chan, calm down…!”

But wasn’t quite enough. I continuedto sink even deeper. As I slowly started to feel my consciousnessfading away, Suzuka managed to support my body, and I could finallystand on my good leg.

“…Cough… Haah… haaah… Ithought I was going to die…!”

I took some deep breaths, still in apanicked state.

“O-Onii-chan…!”

“Ahh, thank you, Suzuka, you reallysaved m—”

And when I finally managed to calm downa bit, I finally realized just what kind of position the two of uswere in. We were still in the middle lane of the pool, and I had myarms wrapped around Suzuka’s back while I frantically clung to her.

“Ah—S-Sorry…!”

Although I couldn’t exactly help itin this situation, we were still talking about my little sister, so Ihurriedly tried to separate from her. However…

“…P-Please wait a moment…!”

Right before I could, Suzuka startedclinging to me, telling me not to let go of her.

“S-Suzuka?! Why…!”

“M-My swimsuit is…!”

Swimsuit…? —I wondered, butwhen I looked at Suzuka, I finally understood.

H-Her shoulder strings fell down…?!N-Not to mention both sides…! Is it because I panicked so much justthen…?!

“I-It’s not completely off, but thearea around my chest is…! If you let go of me now, you’ll be ableto see…!”

Since I was using my body as a guard,she seemed to be safe for the moment. But that didn’t mean that thesituation was safe.

“P-P-P-Please hold onto me like thisuntil I fix my swimsuit…!”

That would mean that I’d be forced tofeel that faint, but still-present softness on my chest—

“…H-How did things end up likethis…?! Uuuuuuuuuu…!”

Every time Suzuka moved her body, Icould feel that feeling even more directly and aggressively thanbefore. The moment I realized what exactly I was copping a feel of,my head overheated—

“…Alright, this should be finenow—Eh, Onii-chan?!”

And I couldn’t do anything other thansink deeper into the pool.

“I-I’m really sorry about today…I realized that I’ve been lacking exercise. Quite painfully so.”

After that incident, we stoppedcollecting data, and once we returned home, Onii-chan spoke to mewith an apologetic expression.

“I guess I have to train some more onmy own, and not just during gym class at school… It’s just as yousaid. Maybe I’ll go to the gym a bit more frequently.”

More sports dates withOnii-chan?! —I thought. I was ecstatic about it at first, but…

“…No, there’s no need for that.Let’s just forget about our plans to help you gain more stamina,Onii-chan.”

I turned down Onii-chan’s suggestion.

“Anyway, I’ll be going back to myroom… I have to, well, write down the data while it’s fresh…”I said, almost sounding like I was trying to run away.

Behind my back, I could hearOnii-chan’s detached “S-She must still be angry about whathappened before.” I didn’t have the time nor the composure tocalmly soothe his fears. All I could do was jump head-first into mybed the second I closed the door to my room behind me.

“Uuuuuu…! I’m soembarrasseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed…!”

Kicking my legs up and down, I pushedmy bright-red face into my pillow… Uuuu…! Doing something likethat in front of Onii-chan…!

“I-I can’t…! I can’t go thereagain… Not with him…! I would be reminded of what happenedtoday…!” I rolled around on my bed.

Although I really wanted to go onanother date like that, my heart wouldn’t be able to take it…!Everyone would know about it anyway, so we’d be obstructed likealways, and that thing that happened before…!

“T-T-T-T-T-The stimulus is way toogreat…! Hugging him naked like that… It’s way too early forthat…! Uuuu…! Uuuuuuuuu…Ehehehe…Uuuuuehehehaaahhhhhhhhh!”

I’m still not sure if I was crying or laughing back then, but my confused state continued for quite a while after that.