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Editor: Leo
Why do you even know something like that…
Having changed into the gym clothes, Mitsuki, as well as Yukina headed towards the sports grounds of the school, with the pairs that made it through the preliminaries, as well as around 100 spectators waiting.
“Uu…So…many people…”
“Now that you say it. This sure brings up the tension a bit.”
“N-Not just a bit…” Mitsuki’s expression grew pale, as she still pondered if she shouldn’t just run away from that place.
“This is our number huh. We are fifth, while Yuki-nee and Torii are fourth.”
Mitsuki from Yuuya, and Yukina from Torii, they accepted their athlete’s number, pinning it to their chests. Including Yuuya and Torii’s pair, there’s five in total.
The first pair consisted of a rather famous good-looking 3rd year boy and beautiful 3rd year girl couple. The two of them already stood at the starting line, passionately gazing into each other’s eyes, already in their own world.
The second pair consisted of two geniuses that were at the top of the school year with their grades, while the last pair was a rumoured S&M couple, with a queen and servant.
“I don’t feel any chance of winning here…”
Yukina forced out a wry smile at Mitsuki’s muttering.
“Yuuya, we definitely won’t lose, okay? We’ll be the last ones standing!”
“Just what I was hoping for!”
Yuuya and Torii didn’t pay any heed to these pairs, just getting fired up on their own.
“………”
Realizing that Mitsuk was just ogling her surroundings, Yuuya called out to her.
“What’s wrong, Mitsuki?”
“Nothing at all…” Mitsuki gave a distanced answer.
Yuuya’s expression tightened up.
Guess acting like nothing happened immediately won’t work, huh…
The awkward atmosphere nagged at Yuuya’s confidence. The incident at the haunted house clearly had high consequences. However, that meant he had to recover from that now, as simple as that.
“Mitsuki! Amazing that you made it to the final round!” Ayaka called out to Mitsuki, wearing a maid uniform.
“Ayaka?! You came over to cheer us on? What about the takoyaki?”
“All okay! I made some at high speed, and left the rest to everyone!”
“Ehhh? Ayaka-chan, you didn’t come to cheer me on?” Torii tried to pull a joke.
“Why would I do that for Torii-senpai? That’s a bit tough for a joke, ha ha ha.” Ayaka returned with a straight face.
“…Woah, that really hurt…Is this a mental attack to give Mitsuki-chan an advantage?! So the fight has already started…!”
“Ahaha, Torii-senpai makes no sense as always~”
“…Ugh…I won’t…fall victim…to this…” Torii was pressing one hand on his chest, receiving continuous attacks of Ayaka’s harsh words.
As Yuuya was laughing at Torii’s expense, the student council president picked up the microphone, moving over towards the Love Quest pairs.
“Everyone, congratulations on making it through the preliminations of the Love Quest! I would like to briefly introduce the heroes that made it this far!”
An applause from the audience followed. Mitsuki, who was bad at dealing with a crowd of people like this, grew even more anxious. Even after Yuuya tried to give her some courage with a short I’m with you, it’s okay, her expression stayed as cloudy as before.
The student council president quickly went through the various pairs, as he finally arrived at Yuuya’s.
“—Entry number 5! The Kanzaki Siblings pair! Through their persistence, they managed to get a late entry!”
Yuuya slightly bowed down as he scratched his cheek, as Mitsuki hid behind him.
“It’s okay, Mitsuki. Let’s calm down.”
“I know that even if you don’t tell me…” Mitsuki spit poison at Yuuya, but her voice was about to get lost in the wind, holding no force in the slightest.
Finally, after all pairs shortly were introduced, the explanation moved to the final round of the Love Quest.
“The final round of the Love Quest will consist of a wedding cosplay & obstacle race & love quiz! With the obstacles that the track-and-field club assisted us with, will the pairs be able to prove their love to each other?!”
“Obstacle…race…” Mitsuki cast her expression downward, Yuuya not missing that.
“Rather than the obstacle race, let’s put all our energy on the quiz because that could take the most time!”
“Don’t decide like that obstacle race is the easiest part!” Mitsuki threw poison at Yuuya again, but her expression softly relaxed.
“Now then, the final battle will start in ten, nine, eight…”
“Seven! Six! Five! Four” The audience joined in with the president’s countdown. “Three! Two! One! Start!” With the sound of a pistol, all the pairs started running.
First, the boys and girls split up, entering their respective tents to change into the wedding dresses. The boys received a tuxedo, the girls a beautiful wedding mini-dress. Torii, as he was, tried to peek into the girls tent, but was scolded heavily as a result.
“Now then, the first checkpoint! The wedding dresses are sponsored by the home economics club!”
With the student council president’s announcement, the club president and several other club members of the home economics club waved, wearing anime cosplays themselves. This action earned them a great applause from the audience. Since this was good PR for their club, they readily offered to help out for the Love Quest.
“Ohh, the first one that finished changing is…entry number four, Kiritani-san! So fast, way too fast!”
As Yukina showed herself, appearing from the tent, the boys all let out a roar of appreciation. And who could blame them, as her dress came separated, with both the top and bottom equally cut short. Her breasts, barely fitting in the top, and her thighs visible from the bottom, both were greatly appreciated by every male visitor present.
“Uuu…I thought that the short one would be easier to move in…but it might be a bit too short…”
Feeling the passionate gazes of the male students, Yukina rushed towards the next obstacle. Every step she took, her breasts shook up and down like during an earthquake, with equal responses from the audience.
Following Yukina, the other girls of their respective pairs came out of the tent, moving onwards to the next obstacle. However, no matter how much time passed, Mitsuki did not reveal herself. All Yuuya could do was wait for her outside the tent.
“Mitsuki, what’s wrong? What’s taking so long?”
“Uu…don’t stress me…I’m trying…”
As Yuuya called out to her inside the tent, Mitsuki slowly stepped out of the tent, fidgeting heavily, as she seemed wary about something on her back.
“…My hair…got stuck in the hook…and I can’t reach it…”
“Ahh, I got it. Turn around.”
“Yeah…”
Following Yuuya’s instruction, Mitsuki turned her back towards him, pulling her long back hair towards her front. By doing so, her rather bold design at the back, as well as the string of her bra was revealed to the audience, inducing another wave of admiration.
“No…oo…”
Seeing that Mitsuki grew bright red, with tears building up in her eyes, Yuuya used his body as a shield, blocking their vision. This resulted in a heavy booing from the audience, but Yuuya didn’t pay that any mind, and worked on the hair stuck in the zipper.
“Uwah…there’s a lot of hair in there…”
“We can just cut it…”
“No can do. It’d be such a waste to cut that beautiful hair of yours. I’ll do something about it, so wait a second.”
Yuuya focused all his attention on the metallic part of the hook. However, he couldn’t help but grow wary of the bra he could see.
Is this Neko’s hypnotism again…this is still in effect…?
As Yuuya’s fingers tenderly ran down her back, Mitsuki couldn’t hold back a deep moan, as her body twitches.
“Ahhhnn?!”
Because of this, Yuuya’s focus suffered even more.
Ahhh come on, what kind of torture is this…
He could feel an odd heat burning up from the depths of his body.
“Mitsuki…could you maybe stop with that voice…I can’t focus.”
“?! I-I don’t want to…let them out like that! Ahhnn…Uu…It’s because you keep touching me like that, you know?!”
“I can’t help it if my fingers hit you!”
While Yuuya and Mitsuki were arguing with each other, the student council president grabbed the microphone again.
“Ohhh, look at the Kanzaki pair! They start a lover’s quarrel immediately! Such a passionate development!”
““This is not a lover’s quarrel!!””
Their voices perfectly overlapped, earning them another round of admiration from the audience. Finally, Yuuya managed to take away the strand of hair, they both headed for the obstacle zone. The other pairs had already passed the first obstacle, starting the second one, so the two of them were gravely behind. But even so, Yuuya didn’t complain once at Mitsuki, even though she was the reason for it.
The first obstacle consisted of the pairs facing each other, carrying a ball between their chests. There had been various other balls there as a free choice, especially more easy-to-carry balls like basketballs and volleyballs, but the other paris had already chosen the more favorable ones, so the last ones left were tennis balls, baseballs, or even table tennis balls…all of them way too small.
“W-What should we do with a small one like that?!”
“We have to carry it between our chests, right?”
“—! You don’t need to tell me, I know that! I wasn’t referring to that!”
Mitsuki tried to hide her embarrassment, as she picked up the nearest ball and threw it at Yuuya. However, that didn’t hit him as it flew past his cheek, making Yuuya be thankful that his partner right now wasn’t Yukina. If it was the athletic Yukina, she would have blasted that ball right into his face.
“Calm down. We can’t help it, right? All the balls left are way too small…”
“Uuu…that’s true, but…”
“It’s not that big of a distance, so let’s pull through this quickly!”
Yuuya picked up a tennis ball, put it on his chest, and approached Mitsuki.
“Uuu…I can’t believe this…”
Mitsuki turned red down until her neck, carefully closing in on Yuuya as well. The moment Yuuya softly embraced her, she let out a soft moan.
“…?!”
With this seductive moan, and the soft sensation of Mitsuki’s moderate chest, Yuuya panicked. He was about to separate from her out of shock, but then the ball would fall down on the ground. They already were last in the race, so wasting any more time like this wasn’t something they could allow to happen. Yuuya acted immediately, and embraced Mitsuki’s waist.
“Ohhh! A bride’s embrace coming from the fifth pair!”
With the announcement, the place grew loud, and even Yuuya’s face started to burn up. On the other side, Mitsuki was too busy being aware of Yuuya’s hands, unable to pay any attention to her surroundings, just casting her head downwards. Her eyes grew damp, with rough breathing, and Yuuya couldn’t separate her eyes from this sight.
“W-What are you staring at…?!”
Realizing that she was being stared at, Mitsuki returned a harsh glare, which made Yuuya return to reality.
“N-No! Nothing at all! Um…Anyway, let’s start moving our legs! One, two! One…two…”
“One…two…one…two…”
Though rather slow, Mitsuki tried to match Yuuya’s movement. The two of them pushed their bodies against the other, trying to keep up the ball between them as they moved towards the next obstacle. Looking at the other pairs, they were quite a bit behind. However, Yuuya just kept going at his own pace.
“…We can just withdraw now. We won’t catch up with them…and this is way too embarrassing…”
“No. We came all this way here, so we’ll do it until the very end. I told you, didn’t I. Rather than the obstacle race, the quiz might get more difficult, so we have plenty of time to catch up. Let’s do our best for now.” Yuuya’s speed didn’t drop at all, even as Mitsuki wanted to give up.
Unable to hold it back, Mitsuki threw the question that was on her mind the entire time at him.
“…Tell me! Why are you working this hard for something stupid like this?!”
“Normally, you never rely on me for anything, right?”
“……” Mitsuki’s eyes opened wide. “Idiotic…You really are an idiot…The person responsible for all of this already disappeared off somewhere, there’s no meaning to this anymore…” Tears built up in Mitsuki’s eyes again.
“Who cares about that. All we have to do is pull through until the very end.”
“…Okay.” Being wholeheartedly smiled at by Yuuya, Mitsuki could only nod along.
However, gazing over at the final obstacle, she started regretting nodding along there.
“Now then, the lovey-dovey Kanzaki pair finally made it to the love net! Will they make it through there?!”
“………” Mitsuki turned pale at the announcers’ words.
The very last obstacle was a net put down on the ground, with the net being something the badminton or volleyball club would use. Not to mention that there were huge holes put down beneath that, various tools of other clubs, such as the kendo or judo club, tennis rackets or basketballs.
The pairs were supposed to pass through that.
“Currently, the leading pair is the Torii-kun & Kiritani-san pair! However! Right on their way to the goal, Kiritani-san’s this and that got caught in the net, giving the other pairs a chance to catch up!”
“This and that…”
Gazing over towards the end of the obstacle, the basketball net was beautifully stuck between Yukina’s breasts. She already had a well-endowed chest, emphasized through this rather slim dress, but her thighs and butt were equally visible now, which induced a heavy reaction from the male audience.
“K-Kiritani-senpai! I’m coming over to save you right now!”
For some reason, Torii was holding a tennis skort, as he approached the damsel in distress. Watching this Ayaka and the other girls all went “You’re the worst!”, as they were booing him.
“Yuki-nee seems to be in trouble…”
“So even the athletic goddess as Yukina-san…ended up like this…”
“Yuki-nee just has the disadvantage because of her body, so you should be able to get through there easily, right? Let’s turn this around!”
“What do you even mean by that?!”
“Ah, well…”
Yuuya planned on giving Mitsuki courage, but that had the opposite effect. As always, he could not judge his little sister in the slightest.
“For now, let’s get this thing rolling!”
Deciding he should avoid any more hounding from Mitsuki, Yuuya put his feet beneath the net, as Mitsuki quickly followed after him.
“—Uuu! To think that the judo uniforms were used! This is way too cruel?!” Yuuya groaned, pinching his nose. “Mitsuki, be careful of these traps!”
“Uuu…too late…!”
Kendo tools were closing in on Mitsuki, as she forced out a husky voice, her face as pale as could be. Yuuya turned towards her, pushing away the obstacles in her way, trying to cheer her on.
“I’ll go ahead and take care of the traps, so you closely follow me, okay?”
“O-Okay…”
“Then, let’s go!”
Confirming that Mitsuki nodded along, Yuuya moved forwards, carefully treading through the obstacles. Though he got caught in a few things, the previous four groups took care of most of them, so it was rather easy.
“Ohhh! Look at the Kanzaki pair! They’re blasting through this! Will the last entry pair make the miracle true and catch up right at the end?!”
As the other pairs were still struggling in front of them, Yuuya and Mitsuki slowly worked to catch up.
“Mitsuki, just a bit more! Let’s do this!”
“…Y-You don’t need to tell me…”
Albeit a bit behind him, Mitsuki tried her best to keep up with Yuuya. However, besides the Torii and Yukina pair, still working to free her from the net, the other groups already made it through the net. Finally, they caught up with Torii and Yukina.
“Alright, we caught up!”
“Ugh! Yuuya! That’s way too quick! Kiritani-senpai! Don’t force yourself and leave it to me!”
Yukina tried to twist and turn her body to escape from the net she was caught in, as Torii called out to her.
“Uuu…B-But, I really don’t want to leave this to Torii-kun…you lost yourself with the tennis skort trap…”
“That was…Well…I kind of lost myself! Going for the 1.000 yen note, when I could have had the 10.000 yen note…”
“I don’t particularly like that example, you know?” Yukina flashed a scary smile, as she formed a fist with her hand.
“Torii…I don’t think you should anger Yuki-nee like that. If you value your life, that is.”
“Yuu-kun, I can perfectly hear you?”
“?! Ah, well, you know…”
A wave of killing intent released from Yukina, sending shivers down Yuuya’s spine.
“Really…how many times do you have to make me angry like this before you’re satisfied…?”
“S-Sorry, Yuki-nee!”
“Again with that…You keep apologizing even though you don’t know what you did wrong…”
Yuuya’s apology only acted as oil for the fire.
“Now I’m angry! I definitely won’t let you go past now!”
As light lip up in Yukina’s sharp gaze, she jumped towards Yuuya, with the entire net still hanging on her. She embraced Yuuya’s head from behind, tightly clinging to him.
“Uwah?! Yuki-nee, what are you doing?!”
Being hit by this completely out of surprise, Yuuya didn’t have the time to avoid her, just ending up in a head-lock by her hands.
“H-Hold on, I can’t breathe…! I give up, I give up, okay!”
Yukina’s two soft bulges pressed on Yuuya’s back, but he didn’t have any time to enjoy that. He struggled his best to escape his grasp, but to no avail. No chance of getting free from Yukina’s pro wrestling level grab.
“Why does only Yuuya get such a treatment?! Come on, switch with me, please!”
Torii tried to break between them, wanting to take Yuuya’s place in this hell’s paradise, but he had no chance of winning against the serious Yukina.
“You’re always like this, no matter how much I’m trying to be more girly! It just feels like a waste of effort! Ahhh, now I’m really pissed!”
“Yuki-nee…s-sorry…”
“Again, stop apologizing if you don’t even know why! Yuu-kun you idiot! I clearly changed from before, so why is your image of me still the same?! Just how much of a scary girl am I inside your head?!”
“N-No, you’re not scary at all…Rather, you’re really reliable…”
“Again, those words I can’t take as praise anymore! How many times do I have to tell you before you understand?!”
Yuuya yet again tried to slip away from Yukina, but his legs were stuck in the net, not moving at all.
“Ohhhh! Look at the fourth and fifth pair! What is going on there?! Is this a mid-contest lover’s quarrel?! A love triangle?! No, is this a love square?! Is jealousy the reason for this?!”
The announcer and audience didn’t bother much with the reasoning behind it all, just getting fired up like always.
*
“W-What should I do…” Mitsuki was unsure how to handle the situation unfolding with Yuuya and Yukina in front of her.
Albeit being aware that they had to cross the goal together as a pair, she didn’t know what to do with all of this. At the same time, pair after pair made it through the obstacle race, arriving at the quiz.
“Mitsuki! Nevermind me, and go on ahead!”
“B-But…we have to cross the goal together…”
“You can’t hope to win against Yuki-nee!”
“Ohh? You’re saying that again, Yuu-kun?” Yukina wrapped her legs around Yuuya’s torso, holding it down with her entire body.
“Guhaaaa?! Y-Yuki-nee, I give up! I give uuuuup!”
“Oh my, the girl of the fourth pair, Yukina-san is holding down the boy of the fifth pair, Kanzaki-kun! Now, how will the fifth pair make it through this peril?! The bonds between the two are now being tested!”
W-What should I do…I never did any wrestling…And I can totally understand Yukina-san’s feelings…but, at this rate…
Mitsuki was at a complete loss, as a voice came from the heavens.
Ahh,I can’t keep watching like this!
With the sound of a puff, Hiyori appeared in front of Mitsuki.
“Hiyori?!” Mitsuki’s eyes opened wide at the sudden happening.
She must have been hiding herself, as she stayed next to Mitsuki the entire time. Tears built up in Mitsuki’s eyes, about to fall down to the ground. She assumed that Hiyori would be fine, but because of the horrible things she said, she thought that she might seriously get hated now.
Remembering Yukina’s words, that being friends wouldn’t break that easily, Mitsuki softly smiled, holding back her tears. Watching this, Hiyori showed an awkward smile, as she reached out with her hand.
—Mitsuki, let’s change! You can leave the rest to me, I’ll take care of Cow Tits! I won’t allow any flirty wrestling play like this!
“………”
Being relieved from the bottom of her heart, Mitsuki was about to reach out for Hiyori’s hand. However, mid-way there, she pulled it back, shaking her head from left to right.
“I-I can’t…after all…”
Why?! We decided that I would be taking part in the Love Quest with Onii-chan anyway, and I’ll do my best so we can win! You don’t have to hold back! I’ll take care of it all!
Hiyori constantly tried to enter Mitsuki’s body by force, but she resisted every time.
“…But…that would mean that I’m cheating…and that kind of feels wrong…” Mitsuki muttered, as she looked over at Yuuya, who was still fighting his hardest to escape from Yukina’s grasp.
However, Hiyori didn’t quite accept that yet.
There’s nothing unfair about it! Mitsuki and I are two hearts beating as one, right?!
“But…this guy is doing all the hard lifting in all of this…I haven’t worked at all…” Mitsuki gazed up at Hiyori, rarely resolute.
Being met with this disappointment of a development, Hiyori furrowed her eyebrows, as she put both hands on her waist, screaming down at Mitsuki.
You’re so thick-headed in the weirdest places! I was really worried about you, and now you make me feel like an idiot!
“Sorry, Hiyori…but, thank you.”
………
Mitsuki’s apologetic words induced a rather complicated expression on Hiyori’s face, as she seemed to muttering to herself, disappearing into thin air again. Even Mitsuki herself was unsure why she decided to turn down Hiyori’s offer.
At first, she didn’t have any interest in the Love Quest, mostly for the reason that she hated standing out. Being asked by Hiyori, she should just be watching in the back, as Hiyori did the rest. A spark lit as she watched Yuuya working his best for the both of them, by any chance? Whatever the reason, she couldn’t step down all of a sudden.
Is this…what it means to work your hardest?
Though she was puzzled at these feelings dwelling up inside of her, her thoughts immediately turned towards how to save Yuuya from this situation. As he stated, she didn’t have any chance in winning against her on a physical basis, and Mitsuki herself had known that long ago.
“—!”
Suddenly, as she gazed at Yukina again, Mitsuki came up with an ingenious idea.
Even if I’m not strong enough, maybe I can…!
“Yukina-san, I’m sorry!”
As Mitsuki apologized to her, she lifted up the net, and covered up Yuuya’s body with it, as he was lying upwards.
“M-Mitsuki?! What are you—”
“T-This is the only thing I could come up with!” Mitsuki let out an angered grunt with a red face, sticking to Yuuya.
On his back, he could feel the well-developed sensation of Yukina’s breasts, whilst on his face, it was the still soft, but less oppressing chest of Mitsuki. Feeling his hot breath, Mitsuki’s movement stopped for a second.
“Uuu…D-Don’t move…”
Moving her hands around Yuya’s back, he started tickling Yukina’s armpits.
“?! No—Stop—Ahaha! Ahahahahaha?! M-Mi…Mitsuki-chan, stop, okay?! That’s….Ahahahaha!”
Yukina started laughing frantically, as she writhed her body in all sort of positions. However, she didn’t dare let go of Yuuya.
“Yukina-san, I really don’t want to do this but…Let go of him.”
“A-Aha…Mitsuki…chan…but, this time…I really can’t forgive…him…Ahh…Mmm?!”
“Ugh…Yuki-nee…don’t move like that…”
“B-But, she’s tickling me! Ahaha…Ahh…Hahaha?! I-I can’t breathe…?!”
Yukina’s body was swaying left and right as she started weeping, which led to Yuuya feeling them all over his back, as something started waking up around his waist. Feeling something hard suddenly at her crotch, Mitsuki let out a rough scream.
“?! Ahnn?! I-I told you not to move, didn’t I?!”
“E-Even if you say that…you can’t blame me for this…”
Mitsuki immediately scolded Yuuya, but with the lively sensation on his back, and even his face, nobody could blame him for having a reaction like this.
“Ah…no…?!”
Yuuya’s lips were pressed onto the tip of Mitsuki’s chest, as a shiver ran down her spine, her whole body shaking from pleasure.
“…Woah, what’s going on…?”
Torii completely about the contest and all, just watching the entire situation in front of him unfold in awe.
“Both Kiritani-san and Kanzaki-san seem to be fighting for the poor boy in the middle! This is a woman’s war! Things are getting heated up, ladies and gentlemen!”
We’re not fighting for him or anything!
Mitsuki wanted to scream out, as she heard the announcement coming from the student council president.
Really…why did things end up like this…If I knew that Yukina-san was going to resist this much, I could have just switched with Hiyori after all…
For a second, feelings of weakness started building up inside Mitsuki, but feeling that things would only escalate even further if she left things to Hiyori here, she decided to ban that idea. If it was Hiyori, she might just land a strip show for Yuuya, calling it a special service. Just the thought of it made Mitsuki quiver in fear.
For now, she had to think of a way to, as quickly as possible, free Yuuya from Yukina’s grasp. However, all she could come up with led to only more tickling.
“Ahhhh! I-I can’t…?! No more…! M-Mitsuki-chan! Forgive meeee!”
Finally, when Yukina let out a scream, her entire body became flaccid. Having seen his chance in this, Yuuya slipped out from her grasp. Yukina didn’t try chasing after him at all, just laying on the ground, her body twitching. Torii, having returned to reality, wanted to look after Yukina, but was flatly rejected, dropping his shoulders in sadness.
“Kanzaki-kun managed to slip past the assault of jealousy! The love of the Kanzaki siblings prevails! Everyone, give them a big round of applause!”
As he requested, the audience let out a roar of admiration and applause. Mitsuki herself was a bit perplexed at that, but Yuuya just flashed a bold grin.
“Mitsuki, thanks for that! You seriously saved me.”
“N-No big deal…”
Feelings of pride started dwelling up inside Mitsuki, but she just shook that away as she averted her face. Watching this, Yuuya couldn’t help but smile.
“Alright, time for the final push!”
Abruptly, Yuuya grabbed Mitsuki’s hand. His warm, manly hand took Mitsuki by surprise, as she tried to pull it away out of shock, but Yuuya didn’t let her, as he aimed for the goal of the obstacle race.
“………”
As Mitsuki could do was forcefully hold up a sour pout of hers.
Having cleared this love net, Yuuya and Mitsuki were greeted by the rumoured love quiz, the final challenge of the Love Quest. It’s a quiz revolving around the pair’s respective partners, and if both don’t answer correctly, you won’t get a point. The first pair to gain three points is the winner.
The other pairs had already started this quiz, but the first pair had only one point so far, with the others zero. From the looks of it, every pair had quite a bit of problems with this quiz.
“Alright! Just a bit more! Let’s turn this around!”
Yuuya was brimming with energy, as Mitsuki grew rather pale again.
A quiz revolving around the knowledge of one’s partner…but, I don’t really know much about that guy to begin with…
Mitsuki was unable to grasp the reason for Yuuya’s almost radiating confidence. As Mitsuki and Yuuya took a seat on top of the quiz stage, the Torii & Yukina pair also barely made it.
“Now then, all the pairs have made it to the quiz stage, meaning that we made it to the climax of the Love Quest! Now, which pair will take the win today?!”
The president’s announcement fired up the surroundings as well, the audience couldn’t hold back their excitement as their roars reached up towards the sky.
At the same time, Mitsuki was fighting the urge to run away from that place again, just glaring up into the air. The president of the quiz club, who offered to help out for the Love Quest, grabbed the microphone, and spoke up.
“Now then, the seventh question! What is your partner’s hobby?! As precisely as possible!”
Receiving boards, they were supposed to write the answer regarding their own, and at the bottom the answer for the partner. Naturally, the stage was set up so that you couldn’t peek at your partner’s answers.
Did that guy have a hobby…?
Gazing at Yuuya’s profile, Mitsuki started thinking.
Also, there’s no way he actually knows my hobby…Then it shouldn’t matter what I write…
After giving it a bit of thought, all Mitsuki could come up with as an answer was cooking. Remembering back to when Yuuya was always happily watching Mitsuki as she was gulping down his food, she could feel her own cheeks burn hot.
In a futile attempt, she just wrote down ‘cooking’, with her own hobby being ‘Collecting plush toys’.
“Now then! Both partners, your answers please!”
Together with the presenter’s words, the answers of the various pairs were shown up on stage. When they arrived at Mitsuki’s stage, a red lamp turned on, followed by a ding ding sound, telling both her and the surroundings that their answers were correct. As a result, the crowd grew loud again.
“Eh…?”
In shock, Mitsuki gazed over at Yuuya, who lifted up his thumb.
“W…W-Why do you know…about my hobby…?”
“I mean, your room is full of plush toys, right? And you even make some on your own at times.”
“W-Why do you know about my room?! Did you snuck in there when I was away?! P-Pervert?!”
Mitsuki’s voice burned up, but Yuuya just calmly delivered an explanation.
“Well, your room has been my room before, so I sometimes still mistake them, right? Also, when I was calling you for food, I sometimes caught you all focused as you were working on your own ones.”
“Ugh…”
Realizing that these things happened from time to time, Mitsuki couldn’t argue back. However, this from time to time only referred to a maximum of one or two times so far. Yet, Yuuya perfectly remembered all of that. Becoming aware of that fact, Mitsuki could feel her chest tighten up.
“But, to think that even you had the correct answer for my hobby, huh~”
“…That’s my phrase. I just couldn’t think of ever seeing you do something else…”
“Haha, is that so~!”
Yuuya just selfishly laughed in happiness, as Mitsuki’s expression tightened up. However, it wasn’t just them who had a correct answer. Being a true couple like the previous three pairs, they naturally knew something trivial like their partner’s hobby. The only pair who didn’t earn a point there was the Torii & Yukina one.
With this, the first couple-pair, the two top beauties of the school, secured their second point, giving them a grave advantage.
“That’s my darling! You always watch over me, don’t you~ I knew that you would definitely have the right answer~”
“Of course, my sweet honey~ Just as you’re watching me, I can’t take my eyes off you~”
As they clearly showed, they had already assumed they would be taking this win, busy flirting with each other, paying no mind to their surroundings.
“The win is in the first pair’s reach! Will the battle be decided with the next round?! Can we get the next question?!”
“Indeed! The eight question, listen carefully! What was the most important date for you so far! Where did it happen?!”
This time, Mitsuki was at a complete loss.
A date…We’re not even going out…What should I say now?
Mitsuki judged this round to be a loss, as she gazed over at Yuuya. To her shock, he was writing down his answer on the board without any hesitation.
So basically…the date where I went with that guy…all I have to do is write a place that comes to my mind…
She started thinking back to all the places they had visited before. They went to the pool, on a hot spring trip, and the aquarium, but she wasn’t sure what to pick out of those.
He most likely wrote the hot spring trip…
Mitsuki remembered back to when Yuuya accidentally entered the mixed bath, and the incident with Yukina. As Yukina slipped while trying to leave the bath, he supported her, and accident groped her breasts. No mistaking it that this happening must be one of the stronger memories for Yuuya. Hence, Mitsuki almost decided to write down ‘Hot Spring Trip’ on the board, but stopped right before.
“………”
After hesitating for a bit, she decided to go for the ‘Aquarium’ instead.
Lying to myself just to win feels a bit weird…
Though she felt awkward revealing her answer, she couldn’t help it this time. After all, the place with the most memories she gathered was the aquarium. She felt nostalgic returning to it, after having visited it almost on a daily basis when she was younger. However, that was just for Mitsuki, and unrelated to Yuuya. Hence, she already gave up on this round. The time until the end of this one felt longer than before, but eventually—
“Now, both partners, reveal your answers!”
Mitsuki opened her board, as she let out a sigh. Preparing herself for the Du duuu, sound, informing her that they were wrong, the same Ding ding sound rang out, as her eyes opened wide.
“No way?!”
Mitsuki couldn’t hold back a shocked voice. She doubted her own ears, and had to make sure with her own eyes. As a result, she was greeted with the same red light shining strong as before.
“………”
Still doubtful, Mitsuki gazed over at Yuuya’s board. There, it undoubtedly said ‘Aquarium’, and Mitsuki’s heart skipped a beat.
Why?! How?! He also wrote aquarium?! The same answer…huh?!
“W-W-Why? I thought you were going to write hot spring trip for sure…” Mitsuki couldn’t hold herself from asking Yuuya.
“Yeah, I thought about it, but that wasn’t really a date, right? We went with everyone after all.”
“—Eh?” Mitsuki stared at Yuuya with a puzzled expression.
“A date is when it’s just the two of us, so this question was just as easy, right!” Yuuya slapped Mitsuki on the shoulder with a bright smile, but that only agitated her even more.
…I see. So his memories from the aquarium weren’t all that special…
Mitsuki felt oddly frustrated and betrayed at that, as she averted her gaze with a sour expression.
“I can’t believe it, the fifth pair was the only one with a correct answer! The Kanzaki siblings have shown an incredible comeback! Sadly, the first pair didn’t have the right answer! This couldn’t be any more interesting!”
Mitsuki yet again was met with shock and bewilderment at the fact that only the two of them had the correct answer. Naturally, she didn’t expect Torii and Yukina to have the exact same answer here, but she expected the other three pairs to have the right answer for sure.
“The castle of Versailles? This certainly isn’t in my memories. Just who did you go there with?”
“S-Same with you! Disney Sea…who did you accompany?! I was going to invite you there for this year…I thought it would be our Sea debut…”
Suddenly, between the previously flirty couple, sparks started flying, and the sweet atmosphere from before was gone.
“Studying in the library doesn’t count as a date, does it?! It counts as our daily life, our duty, to go there! Do you even know what a date is?!”
“What are you saying?! A date location is a place that holds a special meaning for us, where we can spend a blissful time together! Also, a date can be categorized as—”
The second pair, the geniuses of their student years, started arguing about what you could even count as a date, bringing local arguments. Meanwhile, the S&M couple was too busy arguing about their favorite plays they went through.
“Couples sure have it rough, huh…”
“Right…They must have had so many answers that they happened to miss it.”
Watching the battlefields called dating unfolding in front of them, they muttered to each other.
“Now then! The fifth pair unbelievably managed to come back into the race, head-to-head with the first pair now! Who will stand on top now?! Will it be the first pair?! The fifth?! Or will the other pairs use their chances to catch up?!”
“Mitsuki! One more point! Let’s do this!”
“…Y-Yeah.”
Yuuya was brimming with energy like always, and Mitsuki nodded along. She still couldn’t believe that their victory was this close in reach.
That just now was pure luck…next question will probably something impossible…
As expectation and anxiety mixed inside Mitsuki’s chest, the quizmaster took a deep breath to announce the next question.
“The 9th question dives deep into the adult world! We will have you guess the underwear your partner is wearing today!”
“—!!!”
W-Wha…What?!
Mitsuki suddenly felt like she was living a bad nightmare.
W-What…what did he just say?! You’re kidding…right?!
Mitsuki hoped she just had misheard the words, but the audience was asking for panties behind her, so she quickly gave up on that.
Underwear…?!
This morning, Mitsuki remembered spotting Yuuya standing in the bath as he was brushing his teeth, wearing navy blue striped boxer shorts.
However, that wasn’t the problem!
What…should I do…?
Beneath her skirt and panties, she was wearing the TST. Yuuya already knew that she was wearing the TST. Even at the haunted house, his own hands went down there—Just by remembering that, Mitsuki’s face flushed bright red again.
He’ll tell everyone about the TST here?!
A cold sweat ran down Mitsuki’s forehead. Above the TST, she was wearing pink striped panties. However, those surely wouldn’t win against the TST in terms of pushy presence, and memorability. If he told everyone about the TST here, she wouldn’t be able to stay at this school.
“N-No…No…this question is just too cruel…We can’t…”
Yuuya didn’t miss Mitsuki’s sudden change in attitude, as her voice grew husky, tears building up in her eyes.
“It’s not. Just a bit more, let’s do it.”
“But…”
She was even too embarrassed to beg Yuuya not to reveal the fact about her TST, as she hid her own face with her hands.
This guy is just as dense as can be…he’s an air-head…he’ll just tell everyone about the TST…
Yuuya put his hand on Mitsuki’s shoulder, as she was greeted by quite possibly the biggest pinch in her life so far. As she raised her head towards Yuuya, she was greeted by an intense stare of his.
“Don’t worry. Mitsuki, believe in me.”
“……”
Believe—Mitsuki cursed Yuuya for taking these words into his mouth that easily. Though it might be simple for him, for Mitsuki, it was hell she went through.
“…Don’t make it sound so simple!”
So many times had she believed in someone, put faith in them, only to be betrayed. Even her own parents. As various old hateful memories surfaced in her head, Mitsuki lowered her head, depression kicking in. All she wanted to do was throw everything away, run away from that place. However, if she did that, all her efforts until now would have been for nothing.
Conflict brew up inside of her. However, she didn’t have time until forever, as the time limit slowly but surely approached. In the very last second, Mitsuki gave up on worrying, and just wrote down her answer on the board. Watching this, Yuuya’s expression softened.
“Now then! It is time to reveal the answers!”
Next to Yuuya, who confidently showed his answer, Mitsuki made it with a heavy shivering hand.
“……”
She was scared of everyone’s reaction, resting her body on the stage.
Once everyone finds out, even Ayaka and Yukina-san will surely be disgusted…Then everybody would find out about the girl with the weird hobby…I can’t go to school anymore…
She could only envision the worst case scenario. However, contrary to all her beliefs, the words of the announcer were the exact opposite of what she expected.
“I can’t believe it, a consecutive three points coming out! Unprecedented! This year’s Love Quest ends with the fifth pair, the Kanzaki siblings, as the winners! A round of applause, everyone!”
The president’s voice was shaky with shock and amazement. The voices of the audience were roaring, it almost started to hurt her ears.
“…Eh?”
Mitsuki slowly and carefully opened her eyes, as she immediately saw Yuuya putting his two fists into the air.
“We did it, Mitsuki!”
The lamp of their stage was red.
“………”
Almost as if in trance, Mitsuki gazed over at the words written on Yuuya’s answer board. There, Normal pink-striped panties was written. Mitsuki grew flustered as she pulled down her skirt at full force, glaring at Yuuya.
“W-When did you…see…?!”
“No, I didn’t! I just happened to see them fly down onto the courtyard yesterday, so I just guessed. To think I was right~”
Yuuya didn’t bring up the TST at all, just showing an awkward laugh, which left Mitsuki in confusion. The anxiety and tension all blew away in mere seconds. Letting out a deep sigh, Mitsuki again rested her body on the stage. In response, Yuuya went to softly pat her on the head. She neither had the energy nor the motivation to cast away his hand.
The Love Quest came to an end, and the award ceremony was held. With tensed feelings, Yuuya and Mitsuki stood on stage, gazing at their surroundings.
“Mitsuki! You did it! Congratulations!”
In the midst of the audience stood Ayaka, and Mitsuki froze up as she called to her. However, instead of answering her, she instead cast her eyes around her surroundings once again, as if she was looking for someone.
“Mitsuki? Something happened?”
“…Even though we won…the one who wanted this win the most isn’t even here…”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s nothing…” Mitsuki just sighed, as she retracted her words.
Finally, the wind music club chimed in to play a song for the award ceremony, silencing the audience. Following that was the entrance of the student council president, who walked over towards Yuuya and Mitsuki, microphone in hand.
“Dear fifth pair, Kanzaki-kun, Kanzaki-san! Congratulations on winning this year’s Love Quest!”
Another round of applause rang out as the both of them nervously bowed down.
“The two of you will receive a year-long pass on free dessert in the school cafeteria as your win!”
The president moved on to put cardboard crowns on their heads, as well as handing them a big board, with the words ‘Year-long Free Dessert Pass’ written on it. As Mitsuki was fidgeting out of embarrassment, Yuuya held up the board for the audience to see, which earned him another round of applause.
“How are you feeling right now? Could we have a few words?”
The president stretched out the microphone towards Mitsuki, but she just hid behind Yuuya. Seeing his, Yuuya took her spot, accepted the microphone, and looked at the crowd with an elegant smile.
“Umm…For now, we’re really happy that we managed to win this. Maybe with this, I got a bit more relia—Ouch?!”
“………”
Since Yuuya was about to blurt out unnecessary details, Mitsuki pinched his arm, as he showed a proper pained reaction. The student council president took that reaction as flirting, and showed a thankful Thank you very much for that! reaction, as the audience equally roared. Mitsuki’s reaction was as gloomy as before, shaking her head to show that she didn’t enjoy the banter.
After the ceremony was over, Yuuya and Mitsuki stepped down from the stage, as the other pairs that remained in the final round came to gratulate them.
“It’s frustrating, but it’s our loss. Congratulations.”
“We learned a lot from you siblings, so much that we’re jealous. We still have a lot of ways to go as a couple. Thank you for that.”
“…Not really…nothing to be jealous about…And I didn’t accept the fact we’re siblings…”
Mitsuki tried explaining herself, but the former first pair didn’t lend her any ear.
“Our calculations and estimations should have been 100% mathematically correct, but we still lost. You two sure are amazing.”
“I definitely won’t lose next year, so prepare yourselves!”
“…Why are you just deciding that we’ll join next year as well…”
Mitsuki wanted to retort on that, but the second pair was already mentally preparing for next year’s Love Quest, not listening.
“If you like the whip that much, I’ll give you more of it!”
“Ahhhhh! Thank you very much! Thank you very much!”
Mitsuki willingly ignored the S&M couple, as Torii and Yukina took their place.
“Shiiiit! To think that you would actually win! You sure are amazing!”
“Mitsuki-chan, Yuu-kun, congratulations!”
“Thank you, Torii, Yuki-nee! We just did whatever we could, and things happened to work out.”
“Yukina-san…Um…I’m sorry about the obstacle race..” Mitsuki apologetically lowered her head towards Yukina.
However, Yukina herself just showed a forgiving smile, shaking her head left and right.
“No, it was a battle fair and square, so I don’t have any grudges, right?”
Hearing those words, Mitsuki was relieved.
“I was a bit surprised though. To see you this serious, Mitsuki-chan.”
“Rather than serious, I was just desperate…”
“Not to mention that you two landed a perfect victory during the quiz. I guess I’m at a complete disadvantage.”
“Eh?”
“I’ll have to work even harder now, huh.” Yukina narrowed her eyes, with a clear expression.
Mitsuki didn’t know what she was talking about, just blinkin with her eyes in confusion.
CClaw Translations 