Chapter 1
Hm hm hmm… ♪
Huff… wheeze…
Haah, haah…
Come on come on, you’re too slow! If you keep lagging behind, the whole track club’s gonna plow over you!
I–I’m not too slow, am I? You’re just way too fast.
Come to think of it, if your club can plow right through us… just what kinda training do you guys do?
Hmmm? We just dash around like normal. But you guys aren’t even paying attention! If you just keep standing around like that, we’re totally gonna mow you down.
We’re not even members of the track club though, so why’re you so hung up on that…?
Ah, whatever. Nii~chan said we should run five laps around the grounds, but I’m still only on my fourth. Just one more…!
Yep, just one more! I’m cheering you on~ ♪
Hey, hold on. You’ve gotta work hard too. …Hang on, you of all people should have already finished your laps. So why are you still running?
Fufun ♪ I haven’t had my fill yet! So while you and Hajime-chan do your last lap, I’m gonna run ten of ‘em!
I’d say that’s impossible, but I have a feeling you can actually do it.
……
Hajime, are you doing okay? You haven’t been saying anything. If it’s too much for you, we can slow down, you know?
…Wha? Uh—No, I’m fine! I’m definitely fine!
You hesitated there. You’re not fine at all. Nii~chan told us to go at our own pace and not push ourselves too hard. So take it down a notch and don’t rush.
Tomoya-kun… Ehehe. Thank you. Well, if you insist, I’ll slow down a bit.
Hey, hey. Where is Nii~chan, anyway?
Oh, you’re right. Where did he go…?
He said he was going to buy some drinks. You were with me when he said it, Hajime, but maybe you were too exhausted to hear?
Nggh… Sorry. That’s probably what happened.
Oh—I see someone heading over here. Isn’t that Nii~chan?
Where, where? Nm… Oh! Tomo-chan was right, it is Nii~chan!
Heyyyyy, Nii~chan…!
H–hey, Mitsuru! …Geez, he just launched himself at Nii~chan.
Fufu. But Nii~chan looks pretty happy, doesn’t he?
I’d like to go greet him as soon as we can, so let’s do our best to finish this last lap.
Sure thing! All right, I’m gonna kill it…!
Ten minutes later
Good job, everyone ♪ I got you these, so drink up!
Thanks, Nii~chan! Glug, glug… ♪ Wheeew, this sports drink is nice and cold, I feel it spreading all throughout my body… ♪
Ahaha, you’re like an old man, Tomo-chan! My dad says stuff like that when he’s drinking beer after he gets out of the bath!
Don’t call me an old man… But I guess I was kinda thinking I was being a little old man-ish?
Glug glug, glug glug, glug glug glug—gwah?!
Hajime! You okay? Did it go down the wrong pipe?
Ahem—cough… I–I’m fine. I was so thirsty that I tried drinking it all in one gulp, but I ended up choking.
Don’t worry about me. I’m more concerned that I spit my drink on everyone! If I got anything on your tracksuits, please let me know so I can take them home and wash them!
Chill out! It’s more important that Hajime-chan’s okay! If it still hurts, you’re allowed to say so, yanno?
But Mitsuru, you really are fit~ Just when I thought you were going over to Nii~chan, you seriously came back to run another ten laps in the time it took us to run one.
It really made me realize that I need to get stronger.
Me too. I’ll try my best to do my five laps even faster next time!
Yeah, I’m glad you’re all willing to put the work in. But the sun’s gonna be pretty high in the sky soon enough. It’d be bad if we got heat stroke.
We’ve gotta be careful to stay hydrated and not push ourselves too hard. If you start hurting at all, take a break. I was able to rent a room for the afternoon, so we’ll be able to practice there.
Sweet! You’re awesome, Nii~chan!
I appreciate it, but… renting practice rooms costs in-school currency, so is that really okay?
Yep. I’ve been doing a lot of small jobs here and there, so I had the funds for it~ No need to worry about it.
Nn? …Ah! It’s watermelon nii~chan!
Heyyy, watermelon nii~chan!
……
Watermelon nii~chan! Don’t ignore me!
Oh—Tenma-sama. Please do not charge over here. You very nearly collided with me.
However, you had mentioned a “watermelon nii~chan.” Could you be referring to me?
Hum. Well, technically, that was not for you, but rather for everyone in Trickstar.
Um, Fushimi-senpai. Thank you for sharing with us back then.
I’d like to thank you, too~ Thanks, Yuzuru-chin.
You are all so polite; I’m humbled. Were all of you members of Ra*bits working out on the running grounds?
Yeah. We’ve been running around for a while now, so we’re taking a break~
…Oh, right. You guys’ve done a lot for us, so we should thank you with more than just words.
You want a sports drink? I just bought it, so it’s still cold~ ♪
Fufu. I am satisfied with just your feelings.
If you say so… So why’d you come to school, Yuzuru-chin? Is fine having practice?
No, there is some work to do for the student council.
Hmm… Huh? But Yuzuru-chin, you’re not in the student council, right?
Correct. I am not affiliated with the student council, but there is still much to be done.
Mainly concerning Bocchama.
Gotcha. Sounds pretty rough taking care of him.
But y’know, kids are cuter when they’re a handful.
It is exactly as you say. He is selfish and rather annoying. However, my love for him far surpasses that.