Outdoor Music Stage—
"Oh, looks like we're a little late!"
"Can't be helped. Chisa ran away twice, and it took a lot of effort to bring her back."
When the Pab Club arrived at the stands, the contest was already halfway through. Miyazawa Yu took a swig of beer and responded helplessly, looking at the sailor-suited girls on stage. Honestly, Chisa seemed truly against wearing a skirt. She was fine with a swimsuit, but she complained that with a skirt, she could feel the wind blowing in places.
"It's fine, Chisa's turn is still a while away."
"Oh~ Good point, but..."
Miyazawa Yu pointed to the seniors behind him, who were already howling and starting to drink. He was very worried that they would get kicked out for being too loud.
"But there are so many people! Will it be like this when we compete?"
Kōhei Imamura held a hand over his eyes, his face pale with dread at the sight of the nearly packed stands. Just the thought of performing in front of so many people made cold sweat run down his forehead.
"Of course! Idol dances and the 'Handsome Men' are both very popular events. 'Hard root' is a new event, so there should be fewer people for that."
"Ah, that's one of the few pieces of good news. Hang in there, Kohei."
"Damn it! Why is this happening!"
Unwilling to be humiliated in front of an even larger crowd, Kōhei Imamura wanted to suggest he and Miyazawa Yu switch events. But considering the minimum entry standards for the "hard root" contest, with his small arms and legs, he probably wouldn't even pass the registration!
Seeing Kohei's hesitation, Shinji Tokita laughed and comforted him, "It's fine, just treat it as a game. Don't put too much pressure on yourself!"
"Hey! What are you doing over there! Look here!"
Just as Miyazawa Yu was about to comfort Kohei, Iori Kitahara's voice suddenly came from the front. But when he followed the sound, he couldn't find him. He only saw a JK schoolgirl in an area filled with empty beer bottles waving at them.
"Hurry up! I saved you seats! You have to finish your drinks before you can sit down!"
Noticing that he was looking, the pretty girl in front of him impatiently spread her legs, giving a firm thumbs-down sign.
Miyazawa Yu stood there, dazed for a long moment. Just as Iori Kitahara was about to ask what was wrong, Yu took a deep breath, his eyes lifeless, and turned to look at the seniors behind him.
"...Iori!!! Everyone, look! Iori is cross-dressing!"
"What?! Where?!"
"Oh, my! How cute! Yosh, hurry and give your seniors a taste of 'senpai'!"
One stone stirred up a thousand waves. The Pab Club seniors, who had been quietly drinking, instantly went berserk upon hearing him. Thirty-some black-eyed, red-eyed giants swarmed forward with an earth-shaking rumble, surrounding the cross-dressing Iori.
Some of them politely groped him, but many more perverts just lifted his skirt to check the style of his underwear!
"Ah!!! What are you doing! Let go of me! You bunch of jerks!"
Caught off guard by the betrayal, Iori Kitahara's eyes widened, and he let out a feminine wail. He then managed to get a moment to breathe by elbowing three or four seniors, but his JK uniform was now askew, looking like it had seen battle.
Seeing this, Kōhei Imamura struggled mentally for a while before putting his eager hands down in disappointment. Unfortunately, cross-dressing boys were not on his menu. He really couldn't get into it!
"Hey! Yu, don't you have anything to explain!"
Five minutes later, all Pab Club members had finished their drinks and taken their seats. Iori Kitahara was now straddling Miyazawa Yu, gripping his collar with a terrifying expression.
With his knees pressed dangerously close to a certain sensitive area, Miyazawa Yu didn't dare to move. He could only lower his head and concede.
"Sorry, I was just too excited, so I blurted it out. But even if I hadn't, Iori would have received the same treatment, wouldn't he... after all, he's cross-dressing."
"Ugh... I can't argue with that. I'll let you off the hook, you jerk!"
It was true that with the seniors' personalities, he would have received the same treatment even without Yu's warning. And since he was in a good mood wearing a uniform that Azusa-senpai had worn before, Iori Kitahara hesitated for a moment before letting go and sitting back down.
"Um... Iori~"
"What?"
"Can I just... smell it for a bit?"
Miyazawa Yu rubbed the side of his face awkwardly, holding up his index and middle fingers to show that he only wanted a little bit.
"Huh? What... whoa! Don't come any closer! That's so gross!"
Not having a chance to react, Iori Kitahara was dazed for a moment. Miyazawa Yu took the opportunity to grab his hand and pull it towards him. He then buried his face in Iori's sleeve and took a deep breath, which disgusted Iori to no end.
"You! What are you doing!"
He quickly pulled his arm back. Iori Kitahara, still in a state of shock, retreated furiously until he was pressed against Kohei, with nowhere left to run. Only then did he loudly condemn Miyazawa Yu in terror.
"Ehh~ I just wanted to see if it still smelled like Azusa-senpai."
Miyazawa Yu laughed awkwardly and quickly explained, "But it seems all that's left is the smell of laundry detergent..."
"That's true!"
He had been too busy trying it on. Upon hearing this, Iori Kitahara suddenly felt a shock of electricity as he realized his oversight. He looked down at the fabric that couldn't fill out his chest. He gritted his teeth and lowered his head, but all he could smell was the gentle scent of fabric softener. It smelled good, but he felt like something was missing...
"Hmm? What are Yu and the others doing? By the way, Azusa, thank you for lending us the uniform. It was a big help!"
"It's nothing! It's nothing~"
Azusa Hamaoka smiled, looking at the two underclassmen who were frantically sniffing the uniform. She then waved her hand and laughed to herself, "Anyway, I bought it and never wore it because my chest was too small. So I'm glad it's finally being put to good use!"
"Oh! That makes sense. I was wondering how you had such a skinny uniform..."
"Ahhhhh! But still, I have to go on stage in a dress! It's so embarrassing!"
"Don't give up just because you couldn't smell it! You put on the uniform so early, which means you like it, at least this one."
Miyazawa Yu looked at Iori, who was disappointed because he couldn't smell it and felt like he had lost out. Yu slightly pulled down the side of his shorts and sighed with empathy, "Although I'm also having trouble..."
"Hmm? Aren't trunks basic equipment for bodybuilding?"
"That's true, Kotobuki-senpai... I get it. I'll try my best to overcome it."
"Good luck!"
Ryūjirō Kotobuki was pleased with Yu's fighting spirit. He grabbed a beer and sat next to Iori, asking, "What about you, Iori? Are you unhappy with your role as the funny one?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't say unhappy, but I just don't feel like my appearance is that important."
He held his legs together to prevent the wind from making his private parts feel uncomfortable. Iori Kitahara was unsure what part of this he hated. If it was just about being embarrassed, he knew he had no reputation left to ruin, since he had already slept naked outside the school gates.
But everyone else felt like they had a special skill. Kohei was the handsome main character, Chisa was the main competitor in the Contest, and Yu had the "hard root" contest.
He felt like he was just a side character and a clown. He felt so lonely!
"Eh? What nonsense are you talking about, Iori!"
Ryūjirō Kotobuki's expression turned serious. He immediately pointed at the stage and encouraged him, "Look! Other clubs also have their own funny characters! That way, you can see how important you are!"
"Oh? Is that so? Do they also have a guy cross-dressing like Iori..."
Miyazawa Yu had been focused on the uniform. When he heard that other clubs also had funny characters, he immediately followed Ryūjirō Kotobuki's finger.
But the next second, both his and Iori's faces went stiff like corpses because what was on stage wasn't even human!
A super-short tennis skirt paired with a bizarre, festive-looking red and purple stocking.
Under a pretty golden twin ponytail was a face covered in creepy, thick makeup that completely hid their real face. They also had two giant chicken wings on their back!
"A Cakey!? My ideal of a golden-haired, twin-ponytail tsundere is shattered!"
"Don't be scared, Yu, it's okay! It's just a nightmare!"
"Kotobuki-senpai! Why would you think that seeing something like this would cheer me up!"
Iori Kitahara hugged the terrified Miyazawa Yu. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Ryūjirō Kotobuki, speechless. Did he really look like the type of person who would like a Cakey?
"You two are so rude! Look at the Tinker Bell people over there. They seem to like it."
"Aina!"
"The twin ponytail is so cute!"
As Ryūjirō Kotobuki said, among all the laughter, there was indeed the sound of cheers from Tinker Bell's dark-skinned president—Kudou.
How dare he insult twin ponytails! Miyazawa Yu wrote down another entry for the dark-skinned guy in his notebook. He decided he needed to find a good day to bury him to vent his anger!
"Now, let's welcome our next contestant!"
Thankfully, the Cakey showed off for a bit and then left the stage with her tennis racket. Miyazawa Yu sat up, annoyed, and grabbed the Contestlist.
Judging by the order, Chisa was right after the girl named Aina!
"Everyone! Chisa is next! Let's cheer her on!"
"Oh!"
"Got it!"
"We'll make sure little Chisa feels our passion!"
There was an overwhelming response. Luckily, the seniors still had some sense when it came to important matters and didn't pass out drunk before Chisa's turn.
Hearing that Chisa was styled by Nanaka-san into a completely new look, Iori Kitahara leaned forward and muttered with great interest, "Hmm~ I can't wait to see."