"Now, Azusa-senpai, if you please!"
"Oh my~ What a mischievous underclassman. Are you that eager?"
A good sport, Azusa Hamaoka adjusted her mindset and shook her head helplessly. She raised her hand, tossing her shirt into the air, where it landed on the utterly confused face of Chisa Kotegawa.
"But, you've only won one round. Don't get too happy too soon, Yu~"
"Heh, I'll return that line to you, Azusa-senpai!"
His eyes burned. He hadn't expected her to go for something this big right away. Miyazawa Yu thought Azusa Hamaoka would start by taking off her socks or hair accessories to stall for time. But her top? What a bold choice!
But it didn't matter! With the system's blessing, his hand-eye coordination was superhuman!
This meant that as long as he stayed focused, Azusa-senpai absolutely could not win! He was determined to get those band-aids of hers!
"Here it comes! Are you ready!"
Sensing their determination, Ryūjirō Kotobuki stood between them, raising his right hand to act as a referee.
"One! Two! Three! OutSafe Rock, Paper..."
Hmm, what will Azusa-senpai throw this time? It seems like both paper and scissors are possibilities...
As Azusa Hamaoka's hand swung out from behind her back, time slowed down for Miyazawa Yu. Judging by the protruding knuckles, he could tell her gesture was between scissors and paper!
But to figure out exactly which one, he had to wait just a... second!!!
Thump~
A snowy white, purple-clad wave crashed into his eyes. As a gentleman, Miyazawa Yu instinctively cast a look of condemnation upon the great evil.
"Rock against paper! Yu loses!"
In the moment he was stunned and admiring, the game of rock-paper-scissors was over. Ryūjirō Kotobuki made a fair judgment on the spot.
"Yay!"
The great evil bounced up and down with Azusa Hamaoka's excited cheer. Miyazawa Yu's eyes widened in disbelief, his mind a blank. After a moment, he stared blankly at the already-decided battlefield.
Damn it! My eyes were completely drawn to them! I couldn't move them back to her hand at all!
"She took off her top first to distract me! How despicable!"
He clenched his fists. Although he knew Azusa Hamaoka might just be a natural airhead, Miyazawa Yu felt extremely resentful as he took off his own shirt.
But that trick would only work once. Now that he knew his enemy's method of attack, the King of the Crystal Palace would not be defeated by the same move twice!
"It's not over yet! Again!"
"Oh, oh, oh! So much energy!"
Turning his hand behind his back, Azusa Hamaoka's eyes flashed with a playful look as she saw Miyazawa Yu's gaze uncontrollably wander. It was as if she had discovered a shocking secret.
"Rock! Paper! Scissors!"
"Scissors, paper!"
"Paper..."
"..."
Thud. He fell to his knees, his eyes wide in shock. He was now only in his underwear!
No good! I can't look away! The sight is too tempting!
Different angles, different ways of bouncing. Every time he slowed down time, he could see every detail of the great evil.
But the evil was too unpredictable. Every swing of her hand and turn of her body brought a completely different feast for his eyes, captivating his every bit of attention!
"Hey, Yu, are you okay?"
"Ugh... I'm fine! The fight isn't over yet! There's no way I'll fall here!"
Wiping the remaining alcohol from the corner of his mouth, Miyazawa Yu struggled to stand up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Azusa Hamaoka, who was completely at ease and even drinking a beer.
"Hehe... You think you've won, Azusa-senpai? How naive."
"Is that so? But all you have left is your underwear, right?"
"That's true, but..."
A sneer spread across his face, Miyazawa Yu straightened his back. His eyes went right past Azusa Hamaoka's evil and firmly fixated on her hand.
"But! I've completely adapted now, so the next one will be a finishing blow!"
"Oh~ Is that so?"
Hearing him say that, Azusa Hamaoka raised an eyebrow and turned her back to him.
"Kotobuki, is it okay if I throw my hand with my back to Yu?"
"Understood!"
Giving her a thumbs-up, Ryūjirō Kotobuki was about to raise his hand and announce the start again. But the next second, his arm was grabbed.
"Wait, this, this isn't right! Playing with your back to me isn't rock-paper-scissors at all! This kind of wicked play must be strictly forbidden, senpai!"
His face was a mask of terror. Miyazawa Yu pressed his face right up to Ryūjirō Kotobuki's, trying to use his earnest eyes to confuse the other man and make him change his mind.
After all, the ability the system gave him was hand-eye coordination, not X-ray vision.
If Azusa Hamaoka turned her back, he would have no way to beat her!
"This..."
Ryūjirō Kotobuki pushed Yu away slightly with a troubled expression, then turned to Azusa Hamaoka to ask for her opinion.
Seeing this, Azusa Hamaoka showed a "just as I expected" expression. She waved her hand, indicating that Ryujiro should handle it himself, then walked up to Miyazawa Yu's ear and whispered teasingly, "What's wrong, Yu? Are you that eager to see your senpai?"
"Ehh— No, I... I'm just protecting the sanctity of rock-paper-scissors! That's all!"
Denying it outright, Miyazawa Yu felt the moist air from Azusa's breath by his ear and instantly retreated several meters.
A boy has to protect himself when he's out, especially from wicked women!
"Is that so?"
But even though he had backed off and shown weakness, Azusa Hamaoka had no intention of letting go of this guilty-looking underclassman. She quickly followed him and pinned him against the wall with one hand.
With her other hand, she lifted his chin, teasing him maliciously in a low voice, "I thought you were against it because you can't cheat by switching hands if I turn my back to you~"
"Who would do such a thing! Hahaha... Azusa-senpai, you're so funny!"
She found out!!!
His heart pounded. On the surface, Miyazawa Yu forced a laugh, but inside, he was so panicked that his eyes were losing focus.
But as the saying goes, to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself. Even though he knew Azusa Hamaoka was absolutely certain he was cheating, he held on to his last breath, gritting his teeth and preparing to play dumb to the very end!
"Mhm, that's what I said— because it's just a game of rock-paper-scissors, right, Yu? You weren't staring at my hand just now, were you?"
"That's right! Azusa-senpai is overthinking it. I wasn't staring at your hand at all just now! Phew—"
When Azusa Hamaoka's tone changed, Miyazawa Yu subconsciously thought he had gotten away with it and let out a long sigh of relief.
But before he could catch his breath, her next sentence grabbed his heart and squeezed it tight.
"If that's the case, then what were you staring at so intently, my chest?"
"Oh..."
"What a pervert!"
Looking at Miyazawa Yu in surprise, Ryūjirō Kotobuki and Tokita Shinji exclaimed in unison.
No wonder this guy Yu seemed distracted in the last few rounds! This makes perfect sense!
"Ah, well... that's not it, actually..."
Despised by his seniors, Miyazawa Yu frantically waved his hands. His face instantly turned crimson all the way to his neck as he instinctively tried to argue.
But then he suddenly realized that from the moment he admitted he was staring at something, he had fallen into a trap.
Now he only had two choices—Azusa-senpai's chest or her hand.
If he chose the former, he would be seen as a pervert and might be disliked by Nanaka-senpai. If he chose the latter, he would be admitting he cheated!
"Damn it, was this also part of her plan? I'm trapped!"
He looked up and was met with Azusa-senpai's playful urging. It was then that Miyazawa Yu realized just how cruel the fight for Nanaka-senpai was.
This time, he was truly one step behind!
"Ugh... I cheated, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
"Even though he guessed, he'd rather admit to cheating than be seen as a pervert?"
"He's just a kid; his skin is still too thin—"
Looking at Miyazawa Yu, who was now on his knees in apology, Ryūjirō Kotobuki shrugged helplessly.
In his opinion, if Yu had just had a thicker skin, with Azusa's personality, she absolutely wouldn't have minded being looked at twice.
"Hahaha... There, there~ Now, Yu-kun, if you please!"
With a huge smile, Azusa Hamaoka squatted down and gave Miyazawa Yu a good head rub. She then placed a two-liter plastic bottle of undiluted shochu in front of him with a "thud."
At this moment, it was just like that other moment.
Recalling how just a few minutes ago he had so triumphantly stripped Azusa-senpai's shirt off, two streams of clear tears flowed from the corners of Miyazawa Yu's eyes.
"Um... wasn't the punishment supposed to be one liter of the water of life?"
"That's right~"
"Then what is this..."
"The punishment for you cheating—double the alcohol!"
Patting his shoulder with a giggle, Azusa Hamaoka kindly suggested, "If it's too much, if you say that Azusa-senpai and Nanaka-senpai are the best match ten times, I might just let you off the hook..."
"Never! Glug, glug, glug—!"
His bottom line would not be trampled!
He picked up the undiluted shochu and chugged it. Two minutes later, Miyazawa Yu's face was beet red. He knelt on one knee and threw the empty plastic bottle to the side with a loud bang.
Then, without a word, he crawled to the corner where Iori was and lost consciousness in a cool pose—his face down and one hand pointing into the void.
"You wouldn't even admit defeat at the very end... You really do love Nanaka!"
As the ultimate victor, Azusa Hamaoka stood up and stretched her arms, filled with emotion.
If she had to describe it, her feelings were closer to the mutual respect between two heroes.
Although Miyazawa Yu had not only cheated but also tried to sneak away with it, in terms of his love for Nanaka, he was indeed on par with her!
"This year's newcomers are absolutely amazing!"
"Ha, they're just a bunch of idiots who can't stop drinking..."
"Is that so~ Well, I really like them! So, Chisa-chan, how about you participate in the beauty pageant for them?"
"No..."
Walking back to the sofa and draping her shirt over her shoulder, Azusa Hamaoka smiled nonchalantly at Chisa, "Even if they believe you will definitely win and that little Chisa is the cutest, you still don't want to go?"
"..."
Looking at the three bare butts being carried off by Tokita-senpai and Kotobuki-senpai, Chisa froze for a moment. Then, she awkwardly turned her head and quietly explained.
"It's not that I'm completely unwilling..."
"Hmm?"
"Gulp! Gulp!—"
Chisa finished the beer in her hand in one go and finally spoke her mind—"But! We're not happy with their idea of only making me look bad!"