Chapter 233 â Massage
After that, our practice continued.
We started with light jogging before gradually increasing the speed while trying to maintain our rhythm.
âHey, your rhythm is off again! I know itâs hard, but if you canât maintain it, our feet will get tangled and weâll both fall down.â
âI-Iâll do my bestâŠâ
âThatâs the spirit! Weâre almost done for today by the way.â
At first, Umi was still lenient on me, but as time went on, she became harsher to the point that she stopped showing mercy, despite me being too tired to keep up.
I had to repeat the cycle of resting and running more times than I could count. Unlike Amami-san, both Umi and I werenât good enough to adjust our coordination instantly, so we had to practice really hard to improve it.
It was only the first day of practice, but it felt like I had run more in the last hour or two than I had ever before.
Even though I took frequent breaks, I still felt exhausted.
I had been working out from time to time, but it seemed like my body still couldnât handle this much exercise yet. Should I start doing daily morning jogging?
Meanwhile, Umi looked the same as usual even though she went through the same amount of exercise as I did.
âHaah⊠Haah⊠S-Sorry, Umi⊠I canâtâŠâ
âIs that so? Well, it canât be helped then. Itâs almost time anyway, we can stop here. Tomorrow is the team practice, so weâll do this again the day after.â
âD-DemonâŠâ
âWhat? Did you say something just now?â
âN-No, I didnât say anything.â
âWell, whatever. Go rest in the shade until you can catch your breath. Iâll lend you my shoulders.â
After practice, Umi immediately switched her mood from âdemonic coachâ to âgirlfriendâ. We went to the back of the club building, the place where Nozomu confessed to Amami-san before
âIâll get us some water, donât wander around by yourself, okay?â
âI wonât⊠I canât move even if I wanted toâŠâ
âJeez, why are you so weak?~â
Umi left while grinning mockingly at me. I leaned back against the bench exhaling in utter exhaustion.
It had been a long time since I exercised this much, but unlike last time, it felt refreshing.
I could probably survive if we were to do this practice every other day. Though I still had to deal with my sore muscles.
Practice for the day was coming to an end soon. The previously bustling atmosphere on the school ground had started to quiet down.
The atmosphere felt somewhat relaxing and I didnât mind it. The temperature had gotten a little cooler too.
âThank you for waiting, Maki~ Here.â
âAh, thank you, Umi.â
I received my water bottle from Umi and poured the contents of the bottle down my throat.
The unique scent of the barley tea tickled my nose and the cold liquid that entered my body managed to revive me.
âPhew, Iâm alive againâŠâ
âYouâre overreacting. Well, I get itâŠâ
After she took a sip of the tea she had just poured into a cup in her hand, Umi leaned closer to me.
âUh, Umi? Iâm all sweaty right now, you know?â
âSo?â
âI smell. I donât want you to be grossed outâŠâ
âDonât care~â
My P.E. uniform was damp from my sweat, but Umi didnât mind that and clung close to me, sniffing my neck.
ââŠYeah, you smell. Well, that just means you did your best today.â
âOnly because youâre with me⊠I didnât make it to the very end though.â
âDonât worry about it, itâs only the first day. Youâll get used to it soon.â
âGuess so, huh? Oh well, Iâll try a little harder then.â
âYeah, fighting~ Also⊠About your rewardâŠâ
âA-Ah, rightâŠâ
She most likely had something in mind for the reward already. Since it was Umi, it should be something good.
âOh wait, your legs are hurting, arenât they? Should I give them a massage?â
âSure, but can you actually do it?â
âWell, I looked it up, but Iâve never really done it before, so I donât know if itâll be effectiveâŠâ
âWell, better than nothing. Iâll be in your care.â
âHehe, youâre in good hands.â
Even if it wasnât effective, since Umi was the one doing it, Iâd still be healed either way. I had no reason to refuse her.
I took off my shoes and socks as per her instruction and laid my legs on the bench. Then, Umi massaged them gently with her hands.
âWoah, your legs are tighter than usual, Maki. Good luck dealing with the pain tomorrow.â
âI hope tomorrow wonât comeâŠâ
âI know how you feel. I was exactly the same as you a while back⊠How does this feel, Maki?â
âOuch⊠It hurts, but at the same time, it feels goodâŠâ
âGlad youâre honest. Alright, here goes~â
Her hands firmly massaged my legs. From the soles of my feet up to my thighs.
Even though she was inexperienced, her massage felt comfortable enough for me. I wasnât sure if I felt better because of the massage or because of her touching me, though.
âAll done. You just need to put a compress on them later and pray that tomorrowâs pain is bearable.â
âIn the end, I still have to leave everything to fateâŠâ
âThatâs just how it is sometimes. Well, at least you got a massage for free.â
âI guess.â
âMhm~â
After thanking her and putting my shoes back on, I moved my legs around. It felt lighter than before. I should do what Umi told me to do and hope for the best tomorrow.
âThank you Umi⊠For practice and the massage⊠I feel bad. Iâve been reliant on you all dayâŠâ
âYes, be thankful. Youâre lucky you have a cute and caring girlfriend like me.â
âI canât even refute thatâŠâ
She was strict when she needed to be, but at the same time, she would take care of other people like this when everything was over. She knew how to apply the carrot and the stick well.
It felt like I was rolling in the palm of her hand.
âBy the way, are you okay? I can give you a massage too if you want. Donât expect anything, though.â
âIâm fine. Iâm jogging every morning, so Iâm used to this. Thanks for asking though⊠Wait, you can do something else for me instead.â
âSomething else? Well, sure if you say so.â
âAlright, thenâŠâ
She leaned toward me and whispered something to me.
âCan you do the usual here?~â
âThe usual? âŠOh noâŠâ
âMhm~ Tell me the thing that you always say to me every night. I want you to whisper it to me while holding me tightly~â
I called her every night before I went to sleep, so I knew what exactly she wanted me to say. I only said those words to her whenever I felt like it, so I guess that was enough reason for her to demand it as a reward.
âŠBut still, doing it here?
âPretty please?~ My massage felt good didnât it? Your legs feel better, donât they? Itâd be unfair if youâre the only one who felt good, wouldnât it?â
âUgh⊠I canât say anything to refute that.â
We still had ten minutes left before the assembly, so as long as we did it quickly, we should be fine⊠The problem was that Umi was in her âspoiled childâ mood currently. It wouldnât be over in ten minutes if I were to do it.
But still, if this made her happyâŠ
âI-If you want it that badly, sureâŠâ
âYay! Now I know another weakness of yours. I should do you a favor before demanding something from you, that way youâd do anything I ask. Iâll keep that in mind.â
âShut it. Come here quickly.â
âYesâŠâ
She buried her face in my chest with a happy face.
Seriously, why was she so cute?
âMaki, can you hear my heartbeat?â
âYes. Can you hear mine too? Itâs always like this whenever Iâm with you.â
âIs that so?~ Iâm happy to hear that~â
While everyone else was practicing hard, we were making out in a place like this.
I felt a little guilty, but that wouldnât stop me.
âUmiâŠ
âY-YesâŠâ
After I blowed on her ear slightly, I moved my lips closer to it andâ
âHey hey, you two seem to be having fun, hm?~â
ââ!ââ
When I was about to whisper the words, someone interrupted us. Thanks to that, we both jumped in surprise. We still managed to hold onto each other though, so we didnât fall down.
ââN-Nakamura-sanâŠââ
âHello, my favorite idiotic coupâ I mean, Asanagi-chan, Maehara-kun.â
We turned our eyes toward the owner of the voice, a girl in glasses wearing a white armband on her left arm. There was âsports festival committee memberâ written on the armband.