"It's over, he saw me slacking off…" Niino closed her eyes as she turned around.
When she finished turning, she suddenly opened her eyes, ready to face judgment.
But she didn't see Hiko. Instead, she saw Ai and Arisa jogging over from a distance.
Strange… wasn't Arisa at the very back just now? How is she with Ai?
Niino breathed a sigh of relief at not seeing Hiko, but a trace of doubt flashed through her mind.
Did that guy do it?
She recalled Hiko's scolding words from earlier.
"You don't need to be on an IV anymore," Watanabe said to Niino before pulling two bottles of sports drink from her bag and walking over to join Ai and Arisa.
"Why are you two here?"
Before Watanabe got close, she heard Ai's question.
"We're waiting here for you all so we can move forward together," Watanabe said as she handed the two bottles to Ai and Arisa. "Although I don't know why it took you so long to get here, let's rest for a bit first."
"Thank you," Ai accepted the drink and looked at Arisa.
She noticed Arisa looked unwell and needed a break.
'Should I just say, "Arisa, you need to rest, so let's rest for a bit"? But if I suggest resting for her sake, her pride won't be able to handle it. Still, she was so against Hiko-kun yesterday… Why should I care about her pride?'
"I think, Arisa…" Ai hesitated, but just as she was about to blurt it out, she remembered what Hiko had told her after making her the leader:
"You are now the leader. You cannot act on impulse. You need to consider the team. If you only care about yourself and don't consider the feelings of others, then as a leader, you are a failure.I hope you can pay more attention to the personalities of the members, and then use appropriate ways of speaking to slowly tame them."
"As long as your words can motivate them, even if they are embarrassing or humble for you, you should use them. But all of this is based on the other party trusting you. Only then can you achieve whatever you want them to do."
The thought clicked in an instant. If she wanted to tame Arisa, she absolutely couldn't hurt her pride now.
So Ai said, "Arisa, I'm a bit tired. Is it okay if we rest for a bit?"
Arisa had already been feeling unwell and was just trying to push through. When Ai suggested resting, she was secretly delighted, but in textbook tsundere fashion, she said, "I can't do anything about you. If you want to rest, then I'll rest with you for a bit too."
Ai felt this was exactly like the "tsundere" Hiko had described, someone who clearly wants to do something but stubbornly refuses, suffering for the sake of appearances.
And then, when someone else suggests it, she still talks rudely.
But can such a way of speaking really 'tame' someone?
"What did Saito-san say to you just now?"
Niino walked over and asked Ai.
The three of them had been scolded and told to wait for the others, so she was curious why the two who had fallen behind appeared together.
"He bullied me just now!" Arisa immediately complained. "He's really too much, like a fly buzzing around me, buzzing, buzzing, it's so annoying! Not only was he noisy, he insulted me too. He's despicable!"
Ai remembered what Hiko had told her when he sent her back to find Arisa: "If anyone else in the group spoke ill of me, she could badmouth me too, it was fine."
But she didn't want to badmouth Hiko with Arisa, so she stayed silent.
"Ai? What did Saito-san say to you just now?" Niino pressed curiously.
"He didn't speak to me," Ai lied calmly.
"He's so fierce, and he didn't scold you?" Niino frowned in confusion.
"Maybe it's because when he rode past me, he saw me running back to find Arisa."
Seeing she couldn't bluff her way through, Ai recounted the excuse Hiko had prepared for her.
"Eh, were you the only one not scolded?" Watanabe concluded from her answer.
'Was I the only one not scolded?'
Ai was also surprised. So everyone else had been lectured by Hiko.
"Scolded? He did ask me why I went back… I said I was worried about Arisa falling behind, so I went back to check on her."
Ai answered after a moment of silence.
But in truth, Hiko had told her to go back and find Arisa, he just wanted her to say it was her own idea.
"I feel like the theme of today's training is for him to make us 'companions' to each other, rather than just physical training," Takamine said, sharing her guess.
"So this is the content of the first lesson?" Watanabe thought for a moment and felt Hiko's actions today did fit that idea.
'You must reach the finish line together.'
"I think Takamine's idea is fresh. Recalling what happened just now, he did seem to intend that," Niino agreed.
"That guy wouldn't be that kind!" Arisa immediately objected. Having just been provoked by Hiko, there was no way she'd accept Takamine's interpretation.
"Arisa, sometimes admitting-"
Ai instinctively began to persuade her, but then remembered Arisa's personality and changed her words: "Perhaps it's because you're too outstanding that he targeted you."
"Eh, hehe… is that how it is?" Arisa brightened at the praise, not noticing the trap in Ai's words.
"Since we already figured out his intention, it feels useless now," Niino said. "It's like we're being forced together, but the idea of 'companions' hasn't really taken root."
'If he sees this, and our relationship doesn't progress, he might impose even harsher training to force it!'
Takamine, hearing Niino's words, regretted revealing Hiko's purpose. Maybe if she hadn't, their bonds would've deepened naturally during training.
"Since we're all aware of his purpose, wouldn't it be enough to just act close?" Takamine suggested, trying to salvage things. "I also hope to get along well with everyone."
"If we just act close, it'll feel like we're 'performing.'"
Ai shook her head. "I want our relationships to improve, not because of his training, but because I've wanted to be close to everyone from the very beginning."
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Hiko x Ai - 59: Team IV
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Hiko x Ai - 101: Collaboration?
Hiko X Ai - 102: Sponsorship
Hiko x Ai - 103: Looking Away
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