Chapter Three: “The Princess Wants to Win the Prince” — Part Five

In the end, the ball games tournament wrapped up with Iori-senpai’s class taking first place.
Our class came sixth. With twelve classes across the whole year, that put us right in the middle.

“Himena. Are you going to the after-party?”

Yuuri asked me quietly from the corner of the classroom. In the centre of the room, the more boisterous boys were leading the charge on organising a whole-class celebration.

“I think I’ll skip it.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened slightly at that. Her surprise was understandable. Back in middle school I’d joined in with this kind of thing almost without exception.
Going along was always better for appearances than not. Maintaining my princess position meant it was convenient to show up to class events where possible.

That was how I used to think. But for some reason, I didn’t feel that way anymore.
Spending time at a gathering I wasn’t even enjoying felt like a waste.

“Besides, Iori-senpai won’t be there.”
“Hm.”

Senpai would be at practice today, as always. A class after-party wasn’t the sort of thing she’d turn up to.

That single-minded devotion to what she loves. I love that about her.

“Want to go somewhere together on the way home then? We’re getting out early, it’d be a shame to waste it.”

Today there were no regular classes, so we were finishing about two hours ahead of schedule. Too good an opportunity to go straight home.
The choice between a class party and going out with Yuuri was obvious.

“Sure. I’ll tell you all about the lovey-dovey Iori-senpai situation.”
“Oh, speaking of Iori-senpai.”
“What, where?!”

Yuuri pointed out the window. Iori-senpai was coming out of the school entrance, heading straight for the gymnasium.

“She’s dedicated, isn’t she.”
“I love her…”
“I know. Come on.”

Yuuri pulled me away and we left the noisy classroom behind.

☆★☆★☆★☆★

“This cake is so good! You should have ordered one, Yuuri.”
“You know I don’t like sweet things.”

She said it and took a sip of black coffee.

Yuuri isn’t into sweet things, or fried things, or anything high-calorie really. If I were the same, I could diet without even trying!

I swallowed the sigh before it could escape. I was in the middle of enjoying something sweet, so I should enjoy it purely while it lasted.
I’d moved around more than usual at the ball games tournament today, so a few extra calories had to be fine!

“I’d love to come here with Iori-senpai someday.”
“That’s a bit rude, you know.”
“It’s fine, it’s just you.”
“I know, I don’t mind.”

This café near school was popular among Sakuraba High girls. I’d been curious about it for a while but never quite found the occasion to visit.

“By the way, didn’t you come here with Kanami-senpai too, Yuuri?”
“Yeah. She brought me here a little while after I joined the club.”
“Did you just have coffee then too?”
“…I had pancakes.”

She said it looking away, her cheek just slightly pink.
This was a rare chance to tease Yuuri!!

“Oh really? Pancakes are unusual for you. The ones here have loads of whipped cream, don’t they? You don’t even like sweet things.”
“I felt like it for once.”
“Right, for once. Like when your beloved Kanami-senpai recommends something, for instance?”

She glared at me. The hand holding her coffee cup trembled just slightly.

“You’re completely devoted to Kanami-senpai, aren’t you, Yuuri. You’re a completely different person around her.”

I set down my fork, brought both hands up under my chin, put on my brightest smile, and did my best impression of Yuuri.

“I just love cooking so much! Thank you for everything, Kanami-senpai!”
“Excuse me. I don’t do that pouty pose.”
“Don’t you? But your voice goes a bit higher when you talk to her than when you talk to me, doesn’t it?”
“Keep it up and I’ll seriously tell Iori-senpai about your true self.”
“I’m sorry please forgive me.”
“Honestly…”

Yuuri let out an exaggerated, theatrical sigh. I’d have liked to tease her a bit longer, but the moment Iori-senpai’s name came out, there was nothing to be done.
I want Iori-senpai to only know the cute version of me.

“Kanami-senpai is just gentle, so I can’t treat her roughly like I do with you.”
“Isn’t it a bit awful to treat a girl as cute as me roughly?”
“I think you mean shameless.”

We glared at each other for exactly one second, then both burst out laughing at the same time. The rhythm of us, unchanged since forever, was comfortable in a way nothing else quite was.

“Oh, actually. Yuuri, as a special treat, I’ll show you the photos I took of Iori-senpai today.”
“Oh, I’m fine really.”

Ignoring her answer, I pulled up the photos from the ball games tournament on my phone. I was glad I’d upgraded my phone before starting high school. The image stabilisation meant even in the excitement I’d got clean shots of Senpai.

“My favourite is this one. Iori-senpai right after scoring. Look at this profile, it’s genuinely beautiful, right?”
“She really is striking. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that someone odd has her in their sights.”
“What’s that? You think Iori-senpai and I are a perfect match?”
“I didn’t say that.”

I showed a few more photos to my stubbornly uncooperative childhood friend. All of them were cool, composed Iori-senpai, of course.
Because the adorable side of Iori-senpai, I want to keep all to myself.

“Well, it is fair to say you’ve gotten pretty close. She spent the whole ball games tournament with you, after all.”
“Yes! Exactly!”

I half stood up before I could stop myself, and drew cold looks from the surrounding tables. I bowed apologetically to everyone and sat back down, taking a small quiet breath.
During the tournament you could do whatever you liked when you weren’t in your own event. Which meant everyone was free to spend that time with whoever they chose.
And out of everyone in the whole school, Iori-senpai had chosen to spend it with me!

“At this rate, we might actually be getting close to marriage… what do I do, Yuuri.”
“What?”
“Western-style ceremony or traditional Japanese, which do you think?!”
“Maybe see a doctor first.”
“Pointless. This love is terminal! Oh, actually, I bet Iori-senpai would look amazing in a white coat. Oh no, just imagining it is getting me worked up…!”

I conjured the image of Senpai in a doctor’s white coat.

“Himena-chan, take off your clothes. This is for treatment purposes, so… you don’t have to be embarrassed, okay?”\

No good! Too much! And yet somehow that’s exactly why it’s so good!!

“Himena, your face is doing something alarming.”

Yuuri knocked me on the head and dragged me back to reality. My imaginary self had only just begun a secret consultation with Iori-senpai.

“So what are we doing after this?”

Yuuri’s coffee cup was empty without my noticing, and I’d finished my cake too.
There were people queuing outside, so lingering wasn’t really an option.

“I still have so much more to say about Iori-senpai.”
“Right, right. Somewhere we can be as loud as we want, then. How about karaoke? It’s been a while.”
“That sounds perfect! It really has been ages!”

The last time we’d gone to karaoke was spring break. Thinking about it made me suddenly want to sing.

“Let’s go, Yuuri. I’ll treat you to a whole set of love songs absolutely overflowing with my feelings for Iori-senpai!”