“The marathon is tomorrow, isn’t it?”
On their way home, Arisa said that to Yuzuru as they walked together.
Yes—tomorrow was the day they’d be made to run long distances—ten kilometres for the boys, seven for the girls.
And for Yuzuru… it was also the day of his “match” against Soichiro and Hijiri.
“Not really your favourite thing, I take it?”
“Well… it’s not that I hate it.”
When he asked, Arisa gave a wry smile.
There are people who are good at long-distance running—but not many who actually like it.
If Yuzuru didn’t have to run, he wouldn’t.
It seemed Arisa felt the same way.
“Running on your own is one thing, but being made to run as a school event… it just feels different.”
“Yeah. …At the very least, you’d want some kind of reward for putting in the effort.”
The marathon day ended at midday, so that alone could count as a reward.
Though… after running ten kilometres, whether one would feel like going out and doing something was another matter.
More likely, you’d just want to go home and rest.
“…A reward, you say.”
“What is it?”
Arisa seemed to be thinking about something.
Her cheeks… looked slightly flushed.
“Well… um, after the marathon tomorrow…”
“Yeah?”
“Would it be alright if I stopped by your house?”
“Of course, I don’t mind at all. I don’t have work that day either.”
Yuzuru was more than happy to agree.
Though… considering how exhausted they’d be, anything too strenuous would be out of the question.
“Like playing games or something?”
“That wouldn’t really count as a reward, would it?”
“Well… fair point.”
It was what they usually did on their days off.
It wasn’t unpleasant—far from it—but whether it would motivate someone to run seven or ten kilometres was debatable.
“Then what do you want to do?”
“Well… um…”
After a brief pause, Arisa spoke in a small voice.
“Maybe… a massage?”
“…A massage?”
Yuzuru couldn’t help but repeat it—and Arisa immediately flushed bright red and hurried to explain.
“N-no, I don’t mean anything strange! It’s just—before, during the sports festival… we did that, didn’t we? And it felt really nice, so…”
“Ah… yeah, we did.”
Yuzuru recalled it.
Back then, Arisa had been… quite alluring.
—Realising he was drifting into dangerous territory, he forcibly pushed that memory out of his mind.
“O-of course, I won’t just make you do it! I mean, I don’t know if I’m any good, but I can at least massage your shoulders a bit too. …What do you think?”
“…Yeah, that sounds good.”
A proper massage could easily cost several thousand yen an hour.
Which meant there was enough demand to justify that price—in other words, it felt that good.
And having someone else massage you felt completely different from doing it yourself.
Besides—
“Yeah, let’s do it. A massage sounds nice.”
It meant he could touch Arisa—legitimately.
And with that thought, his answer came easily.
Yuzuru was, after all, a perfectly healthy high school boy.
Naturally, he wanted to touch the girl he liked.
…Though of course, there were limits—he’d need to keep himself in check.
“I see… I’m glad.”
Arisa looked somewhat relieved.
Yuzuru couldn’t read minds, so he didn’t know what she was thinking—
(…Could it be that Arisa also…?)
Did she perhaps want to touch him—or be touched—just a little?
It didn’t seem like something Arisa would think about.
And yet, even if they hadn’t explicitly confessed their feelings, they were surely mutual.
So it wouldn’t be strange if Arisa felt something similar to the desire Yuzuru had.
(I need to be careful.)
He couldn’t make any mistakes.
At the very least, he had to keep himself in line.
Yuzuru clenched his fist, steeling his resolve.
“Oh, right… would it be alright if I used your bath? I’ll bring a change of clothes and a towel.”
Just as Yuzuru was bracing himself for entirely different reasons, Arisa asked that.
Thinking about it, after running, they’d both be drenched in sweat.
And then to massage each other like that…
(…That works for me.)
Yuzuru, thinking something that would probably earn him a light smack if Arisa heard it, admitted to himself that her scent and sweat wouldn’t bother him at all.
That said, Arisa would probably feel differently.
“Yeah, that’s fine. …It’s better to take a bath before a massage anyway—it helps with circulation.”
Yuzuru said that as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Arisa nodded, equally composed.
“That’s true. …Oh, I know—what about bath additives? I have some at home, so I could bring them.”
“I don’t have any, so I’d appreciate that.”
Whether they actually worked or not was unclear—
But he didn’t mind them, so if she brought some, all the better.
“A-and also, this is just a suggestion, but…”
“What is it?”
When he asked about her slightly shaky voice, Arisa shook her head.
“…N-never mind. It’s nothing.”
And fell silent.
What had she been about to suggest?
Yuzuru wondered inwardly—but he found himself looking forward to the marathon day.
