BOOK☆WALKER Special
Intermission: Tanned Girl, Racing Into The Dawn
*The following short story contains spoilers. Please read it after the main one.
I’m standing on the streets. The sun isn’t fully up yet. I glanced at my watch.
5:55 AM. I’m about to fall asleep while standing. Then, a petite hand yanked my shirt.
“N-Nukumizu, don’t fall asleep.”
“Oh, yeah…”
The person reminding me while trying her best to hold her yawn is Chika Komari. There’s a “1-A Komari” printed on her PE shirt. It looks especially garish under the rays of the rising sun. This is Nukumizu, by the way. I’m standing in front of Komari’s house.
-How did this happen?
Komari and I were talking in the library while tidying up the books. I remembered her mentioning that Yakishio pulled her to a morning jog session.
Komari complained again and again. I half-heartedly dropped a, “I’ll help if there’s anything I can do.” Look at where I ended up now.
I’m forced to join her morning jog training during the summer holiday.
“You won’t have an easier time just because there’s another person, you know?”
“I-I’ll slip away in the middle. Y-You’ll jog with Y-Yakishio at that time.”
“Yakishio and me?”
Running with Yakishio, that’s going to reduce my life expectancy. Please spare me.
I’m the guy who won’t even hold something slightly heavier than books, not to mention proper exercise. My wrist always starts shivering from tiredness halfway through. That’s why I mostly read on electronic devices.
I glanced at my watch again. It’s 5:58 AM, just a bit more until 6.
“It’s almost time, right…?”
I raised my head and looked at the chirping sparrows. Then, a girl suddenly dashed in front of us at lightning speed. She stepped on the brakes just before hitting us.
“Yahoo! Good morning, you two!”
The energetic girl before us is Remon Yakishio.
She wiped the sweat off her tanned face as she gave us a sunflower-like, charming smile.
“G-Good morning.”
“Hi…”
Komari and I raised our hands and answered exhaustedly.
Yakishio’s wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Her outfit is simple. The shirt is soaked with sweat and is sticking to her skin. I can see her curves forged by the training in her club.
Even though I love fanservice in the morning, all I want to do right now is go to bed. It’s more like I want to remember this scene and then go to bed.
“I’m glad it’s sunny! Ah, right, Komari-chan, can I check out the goldfish?”
“Hmm? Well, i-if you’re just watching them…”
Yakishio ran to the porcelain jar beneath the roof upon hearing that. Then, Komari raised her head and shot gazes at me.
“N-Nukumizu, y-your eyes are pretty lewd.”
“I see. That’s how you look at me.”
I don’t think there’s any point in arguing about this, so I choose silence. At the same time, Yakishio raised her hand toward us with bright eyes as she watched the goldfish.
“Hey, Komari-chan, I want to feed them. Please?”
“T-The brats in my house like to feed it themselves. So, you can’t.”
“I see. Well, I can just watch. Can I borrow some water as well?”
Brat…?
I watched Yakishio gulp the tap water as I pretended to approach Komari casually.
“Komari, you have kids already?”
“K-Kids!? T-They are my little brother and sister!”
“Really? I was slightly looking forward to Komari being somebody’s wife.”
“Go die…! Die 10 times.”
This girl’s mouth is just as brutal as usual. Imagine your classmate is a mother. My heart starts pounding from hearing that alone. Please forgive me.
Then, Yakishio is already stretching next to us when we snap out of it.
“Thanks for the wait. Well, it’s almost time to leave, right?”
“I think that’s enough exercise for the day. The theme of the first day is just a simple meet-up. We can start with warm-ups tomorrow. Can we go along with a rhythm like that?”
“It’s fine. It’s fine. Nukkun is a beginner. We’ll start easy and go with a slow-paced jog today.”
Thank you so much. I’m relieved. Yakishio peeked at my watch.
“Let’s go for 5 kilometers in 20 minutes! Here, follow me!”
Hmm, …5 kilometers in 20 minutes means 15 km/h in the city. That’s comparable to the speed of a girl cyclist.
“Alright, alright, let’s slow down. I don’t exercise enough, nor do I have wheels on my body!”
“Hiya, it’s fine! I’ll give you a piggyback ride if you run out of stamina!”
…Piggyback!? I’m a healthy high school boy, no matter what. Hoping on a girl’s shoulder seems a bit immoral, right? Also, Yakishio will definitely smell at that time.
“Well, I’ll start jogging, but I’ll walk when I’m tired, okay?”
As long as I have a good start and show I’m giving effort, who cares if I walk the entire way afterward, right?
After that, Yakishio shook her wrist. She gave me a bright smile.
“Sure, we’ll go with your idea. Let’s cheer up and charge to the end!”
“…Didn’t you say we’ll start easy?”
Yakishio started running before us.
Komari and I glanced at each other. We chased after Yakishio.
*
After filling my stomach full of water from the drinking area in the park, I just collapsed next to the fountain.
…I have no energy left.
Even though I’ve been walking only, I can’t do this anymore.
Komari says that there are many rest areas along the route. I decided to take a break. As for Yakishio, she has been going lap after lap without a problem.
This children’s park is one of the rest areas.
“W-What a shame. I-I can still run…”
Komari is obviously lying. She’s about to pass out. She forcefully pushed me away and stuck her mouth on the tap.
Komari’s plan to sneak away when there’s a chance has been thwarted easily.
Every time Komari tries to escape, Yakishio can always chase after her. She carried her back and made her continue running.
A piggyback ride, a princess carry, and a neck ride. Komari gave up after 3 tries. She sincerely accepts her fate of being dragged by Yakishio whenever she slows down.
…My body is wobbling as I stand up. Then, I watched Komari’s side profile as she stroked her hair to drink from the tap dazedly.
This girl’s neck is really slim. She looks so tiny. At the same time, I thought about the ratio of girls among the people I know. It’s pretty high.
Well, 0% of the people I know are boys, to begin with. That’s why I’ve never really given this much thought. Come to think of it, am I those harem dudes now?
“W-What…? Why are you glaring at me…?”
Komari wiped her lips with a handkerchief while gazing at me cautiously. She’s not even trying to hide her hostility.
“Nothing. I’m just thinking whether my popular phase has finally arrived.”
“Let’s talk when your popular phase is really here.”
Sheesh. Komari certainly has a way with her words.
I accepted her opinion and looked at the clock in the park. It’s 6:50 AM.
“Yakishio has her training session at 7, right? Where did she go?”
“T-There…”
Komari pointed at a flamboyant mansion in the distance. Some sparrows are flying around the house.
“Huh? Even Yakishio knows not to go to the rooftop, right?”
“…Yakishio is wherever the sparrows fly away.”
That’s how Komari finds her?
The scattered sparrows are flying around. But, by the way, Yakishio is always so energetic. She never gets tired at all. Is there a nuclear reactor inside her?
I watched the dancing sparrows as the sky brightened up.
…Humans are the only reason why this world is eventful. Trouble and joy happen inadvertently. I should just spend the remaining summer holiday in peace.
Komari wiped the sweat off her forehead and poked my back.
“A-Alright, let’s run for the final time. No problem, N-Nukumizu?”
“Sure. …Uh, I’m not actually that confident.”
“S-Same.”
The sparrows resting at the dark spots of nearby buildings suddenly flew away. A stray cat is running away as if it’s being chased by something.
Komari and I made up our minds. We decided to wait for that energetic tanned girl here.
Animate Special
Intermission: I Feel Like XX-San Is a Little Bit-
*The following short story contains spoilers. Please read it after the main one.
After the strategy meeting in my room, Asagumo-san left after bowing to us. I closed the door after bidding farewell to her. The investigation of whether Yakishio and Ayano are cheating, …brilliant. Now I’m involved in something pretty serious.
“Nukumizu-kun. Even though Asagumo-san is adorable, don’t you think she’s a bit strange?”
“Hmm? Well, I guess so.”
Yanami doesn’t care about the solemn atmosphere at all. She hummed a song as she returned to my room.
“What? Yanami-san, aren’t you supposed to go back?”
“Hmm. Mom said she would drive me back after getting off work. I can chill here for the afternoon.”
I see. Even so, isn’t this a bit awkward? Yes, we’re talking about Yanami here, but this is still a girl hanging out alone in a guy’s room. You normally won’t see such a scene until Volume 4 in a light novel’s perspective, right?
Hmm, …it’s just Yanami, anyway. Whatever.
I was about to go back to my room. Then, Kaju grabbed my wrist with her petite hand.
“…Onii-sama, the friend who just visited our house for the first time is Asagumo-senpai, right? What’s the relationship between onii-sama and this girl, who has a boyfriend?”
Even if you’re asking your brother about our relationship, I can only give you answers like, “It’s a relationship where we have no relationship.”
“How should I put it? I know that girl’s boyfriend. She’s just here to talk about him today.”
Yep, I’m not lying. Kaju looks relieved. She seems to have accepted the answer.
“I see! Sorry, Kaju is worrying too much. Right, right, tonight’s dinner is onii-sama’s favorite. It’s stuffed meat with green peppers!”
Oh, stuffed meat. …I thought about the delicious dinner. Then, a slightly fluffier figure approached Kaju from behind suddenly.
“It’s Imouto-chan!”
“Hiya!?”
Yanami suddenly hugged Kaju and started stroking her face cheerfully.
“Wow, your face looks really tiny upon a closer look! Your skin is so smooth! So cute! Are we having stuffed meat with green peppers tonight? Is there anything else?”
“Eh? Huh? There are also kelp salad and cold green bean soup-“
“Hiya, it’s because I’m the only child in my family. I’ve always wanted an Imouto-chan like this. I guess I can understand why Nukumizu-kun has inappropriate thoughts about Imouto-chan.”
“Huh!? Is that true, onii-sama!”
Kaju raised her head and looked at me with a bright smile. Wait, why is she so excited?
“No, I’m not. Please don’t say such things, Yanami-san.”
“But Imouto-chan is very cute. Right, right, can you call me onee-chan? Let’s try it once!”
“Uh, well, Yanami-senpai…”
“Call me o-nee-chan.”
“Ah, …fine. Yanami…nee-chan.”
“Hiya, so cute!”
Yanami’s face is sticking onto Kaju. My little sister’s eyes went dark. Of course, I understand how she feels.
“Calm down, Yanami-san. Didn’t you see her in the room? Why are you so enthusiastic right now?”
“You don’t get it. We were having a serious discussion, right? That’s why I was trying to stern.”
I see. Yanami was in serious mode until then. Hiya, I didn’t notice it at all…
“Sigh, I can finally catch a break. Right, Imouto-chan, I can help you to prepare dinner! Onee-chan is good at cooking, you know! How much meat and green peppers do we need? How many meals are we having? Can we finish them?”
“Why do you care about my family’s dinner so much…?”
She keeps patting Kaju’s head. Kaju shot me some meaningful gazes.
“Onii-sama, I think Yanami-senpai is a bit…”
“…See?”
“It’s hard to disagree.”
Kaju and I glanced at each other. We nodded at the same time.
“What, what? What are you two whispering about? Is it a secret?”
Kaju and I spoke at the same time.
“Yes, it’s a secret.”
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