NTR Kousuke

Chapter 51

Airi: "Kou-su-ke-ku-n? Wanna hang out?"

When I arrived at the clubroom after a long time, there was Airi-senpai smiling at me.

...Correction, is she only smiling with her face but actually angry?

For this gentle goddess, being in an irritated mode is quite rare.

The usually calm Airi-senpai is closing in on me with gleaming eyes!

Airi: "Being the class representative is tough, right? Thanks for your hard work. So, you can't help out at the basketball club's food stall, huh? Hmph! Your senpai is lonely...!"

Seeing her angry and sulking, I can't help but think she's cute.

She's older and dependable, yet has a laid-back, big-sister vibe.

Airi-senpai is that kind of popular person.

The basketball club's food stall is apparently a yakisoba stand.

It seems our homeroom teacher managed to get a stall with a griddle from somewhere.

To add to the club budget, for two days, someone has to be at the griddle wielding a spatula all day.

Of course, it's on a rotation system, but...

The other girl managers seem to be obsessed with costumes and the flashy stalls of their own classes.

Should I change the subject a bit?

"Airi-senpai, what is your class doing?"

Airi-senpai, while looking a bit grumpy,

Airi: "A yakisoba stand."

"Huh?"

I couldn't help but ask again.

"Huh? Isn't yakisoba the basketball club's thing?"

Airi: "Both the club and my class are doing yakisoba! Everyone is dead set on making me cook yakisoba! They keep flattering me, saying if I cook, customers will come!"

A raging 17-year-old, Tendou Airi.

Since class and club activities fall under different jurisdictions, overlapping menu items isn't a problem, apparently.

Airi: "Especially the basketball club! No one helps out! Once the cultural festival starts, everyone focuses on their own class! Even I haven't cooked yakisoba on a griddle in five years! I don't even know how!"

I'm actually impressed she's even cooked yakisoba on a griddle before.

Speaking of griddles, it reminds me,

of a story about Sahori-senpai going to eat okonomiyaki with a club member, eating the same thing but refusing to even pay half, calling Sahori a cheapskate,

(Airi, it's been five years with a griddle! Sahori splits the bill! Sorry, I can't help it!)

I can't help but chuckle at the sudden thought.

Airi: "What are you laughing at?!"

Even though she's older, an angry Airi-senpai is adorable.

Listening to Airi-senpai's frustration, I sent a message on LINE to everyone, telling them to gather tomorrow at the very least, even if just for a year, and reported the situation to the captain.

On top of that, when I proposed a shift system and volunteered to handle shopping and other tasks, Airi-senpai turned back into a goddess.

Smiling brightly,

Airi: "Shopping... then... Kousuke-kun! I choose you! Kousuke-kun! Make a cry!"

"...Help me."

Airi: "That's not a cry, that's a complaint, isn't it?"

Airi-senpai giggles happily,

Hey, I'm not a Pokémon, okay?

Episode 41: Cultural Festival Food Stall Reference

I figured I should mention it to Airi-senpai too.

"I'll go shopping with you, but I'm bringing someone else along."

Airi: "Eh? Just you is fine, though?"

I need to tell Airi-senpai.

"I'm planning to date Tomonaga-san. So..."

With just that explanation, Airi-senpai's face lit up with an 'Ah!' expression,

Airi: "Ah! Oh, I see? Yeah, right? You two were always together, huh? ...That's nice. Yeah, it's a good thing, a good thing. If it's Tomonaga-san, if it's Yukari-chan. Yeah, yeah, same age, right? That's better."

Airi-senpai quickly mumbled to herself, considering and convincing herself.

Airi: "Yeah, yeah! Congrats! It's fine! Something like shopping for the club's food stall! If you're worried, just bring along someone like Koji-kun or whoever?"

Once everything was settled, Airi-senpai smiled brightly and urged me to head home.

Feeling reassured by Airi-senpai's smile, I headed home.

The cultural festival is starting soon.

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Basketball clubroom.

Airi, alone, speaks out loud.

"This is for the best."

Nodding to herself, yeah, yeah,

"We can enjoy events and graduation together. Same age is the best."

Airi nods again, yeah, yeah,

"If it's Yukari-chan, she's perfect for Kousuke-kun. Kousuke-kun seems mature but is surprisingly sensitive and expressionless, though his feelings show on his face... Yukari-chan is the same sensitive type."

Yeah, yeah.

"If it were me, I'd graduate first... and I'm a year older, an old lady who even has an ex-boyfriend he knows about..."

Yeah.

"This is fine. This is better."

Airi keeps saying that to herself.

Airi spent the summer together with Yukari and went on an aquarium date (?) with her, so she likes her too, and she genuinely felt this was fine, this was better.

...Then why does her chest hurt?

Airi realizes that this hardworking, devoted junior,

this quiet, expressionless younger boy, means more to her than she thought.

She understood that.

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