Chapter 2

Translated by KaiesV Edited by KaiesV

Days have passed since then, and I moved into the house of her remarried partner.

My first impression of her remarried partner was that he seemed kind, but it was very unpleasant.

「Yūji-kun, wanna go out together? 」

「I humbly refuse.」

The man was very creepy and I decided to keep my distance from him.

My mother told me to call this guy「dad.」

I can’t do that.

Why should I have to say such a thing to a stranger?

So I decided to call him『uncle.』

Rather, I try not to talk too much.

Next, let’s talk about the girl named Yui Sakata, who is the stepdaughter of that uncle.

We seem to be the same age.

But I was told that the other was born later than me, so she would be my『younger stepsister』

To be honest, being called『stepsibling』is just a hindrance.

I have to attend the middle school where this Yui Sakata is located.

I did not want to go to a school I did not know.

But there was no point in saying anything.

Also, my mom and uncle are busy, so I cook dinner.

Why do I have to cook dinner?

Well, if I complain, my mother gets angry with me, so I can’t say anything.

◇◇◇

「I’m Sakata Yūji. I hope we get along well…」

Today is a new day at the middle school.

I was made to introduce myself in front of the blackboard.

The students look at me as if I am a rarity.

I’m not used to it.

It’s a bad feeling to be the center of attention from people you don’t know at all.

Oh man, I’m starting to feel sick with nerves and such.

On recess——

At recess, various students came up to where I was sitting.

「Sakata-kun, you’re still getting used to school, aren’t you?」

「What games do you play?」

「What clubs were you in at your last school?」

Students kept asking me questions——

No one has taken advantage of the situation rather than helping it.

They keep asking me questions.

All I could do was answer their questions and hope that class would start soon.

About two weeks have passed since my new middle school life.

In these two weeks, I have finally gotten used to the environment.

For the first three days or so, I was talked to by classmates and students I met in the hallways.

But after about a week, they all lost interest in me.

Because of this, I am currently alone.

Yes, I still have no friends.

As for club activities, I joined the tennis club as before.

Unlike the previous school, the practice at this school is too easy.

Most people are weak.

I didn’t expect my seniors to be so weak too.

Well, some people are stronger than me, but I think it’s just a matter of time.

That’s all I have to say about the school.

◇◇◇

Ahh, I’m tired…

Club activities were over and I was about to head up to the school gate.

I don’t want to go home, there are strange people there when I get home.

In the meantime, I think I’ll make a friend who can stay at its house.

Nhn? What was that?

I looked over to the front of the gymnasium and saw a figure in a black T-shirt fighting with one of the men.

What’s he doing, that guy?

Curious, I headed up to the front of the gym to see what was going on.

「Hey!! You snag me my regular position!」

「Haah… I don’t know such a thing.」

That uniform?

If I look closely, I’ll see the clothes worn by the basketball team.

From the looks of it, the seniors are bullying the juniors?

「Shit! How did you become a regular in just a few months or so!! Finally the third years retired and I was supposed to be a regular!!」

「That’s because I had the talent and Minamikawa-senpai had nothing!!」

「Wh–What the hell!?」

Hmm, I understood most of it.

Apparently, that senior who was about to hit me was going to be a regular since the third year students had retired.

But he’s angry because a talented first-year lost his regular spot.

「D–Don’t get carried away too early, Hasebe!」

The senior would say so and try to hit him————

I was interrupted because I made a rustling noise.

Oh, no…

「Who are you! Is there anyone out there!?」

Since I’m here, I’ll join them.

I step out of the shadows and make my appearance.

「Who are you?」

「Can you guess who am I?」

「Like I give a crap. Get the hell out of here.」

「I refuse.」

「What did you say?!」

Hearing my comment, the senior members of the basketball team turned their anger on me.

「From the looks of it, you are a senior, right?」

「Ahnnn!? Senpai? Then you must be monk for a year?」

「Yeah, until last year, I was carrying that famous heavy school bag.」

「What’s a first year doing here?」

「It was really funny to see you angry, so I kept observing you.」

「Wh–What did you say!? You bastard!?」

The senpai said so and even come up to me.

「Ho–Hold on, you! Minamikawa-senpai is prone to emotional outbursts, so don’t provoke him!」

A junior warned me who was about to be hit.

What’s with that gayish tone…

I think even you said some incendiary words…

Also, I heard that this senior’s name is called Minamikawa.

「You’re too noisy! Hasebe! I’ll shut your fucking mouth!!」

Hey, don’t be so angry, Minamikawa-senpai.

I mean, aren’t you going to say anything about that junior’s tone of voice?

There’s all kinds of chaos here…

As I was thinking this, Minamikawa-senpai turned his anger on me.

「You, don’t get carried away…! Now, if you leave here right now, I’ll let you go.」

「And yet, what if I stay here forever?」

「Just scram!!」

Minamikawa-senpai tries to hit me.

I back away from the approaching fist.

That’s close…

「Kuh, you dodged it.」

「I would like to ask you to stop being violent. Isn’t that why you couldn’t become a regular?」

「Shut the fuck up!!!」

Minamikawa-senpai closes the gap and punches me in the face in anger.

I shake off his oncoming fist with my arm.

Then the senior lost his posture and there was a gap for just a few seconds.

I took advantage of this opportunity to close the distance and pry Minamikawa-senpai off her feet.

「Th–That hurt…」

Hey, hey, don’t get mad at me for just cocking it up.

「Haah— Even I can beat Senpai.」

I say in a disgusted voice.

「W–What did you say!!?」

Hmm, I caught you, so keep it up.

「I’m saying that even I, who have never played basketball before, can beat Minamikawa-senpai.」

「Y–You bastard, are you fucking kidding me!?」

「I’m not kidding around. But yes, I think I can beat Minamikawa-senpai in two weeks, deal?」

Frankly, I don’t know if I can beat this guy in two weeks.

But I didn’t feel like losing at all.

Is it because this guy looks like a small brat?

「Hahahahaha!!」

Minamikawa-senpai scoffed at my comment.

He probably thinks it is absolutely impossible.

「That’s about the extent of your hollowness, 1st year. If you’re going to go that far, you’re going to have to play one-on-one with me in two weeks.」

Hmm, you’ve challenged me to a game, just as I planned.

「I understand. Ah, and if I lose, I’ll give you 10,000 yen.」

「What…」

「Since we’re here, let’s bet some money. If I lose, 10,000 yen. If my senpai loses, please give me 20,000 yen for the advantage of having basketball experience.」

「D–Don’t screw me around!? Why do I have to pay 20,000 yen for this!?」

From a middle school student’s point of view, 10,000 or 20,000 yen is quite a large sum of money.

It must be pretty tough to fight over it.

「Rest assured, the 20,000 yen will be paid if Senpai loses. I have never played basketball, so there is no way Senpai could lose. Don’t you think this is a great deal for Senpai?」

Senpai are only slightly distressed.

「I–Indeed, it is… B–But, I don’t see any merit for you to do this?」

「I have, because I want to see how strong I can get in two weeks.」

「You’re willing to bet 10,000 yen just for that?」

「I have no desire for money at all, so I have no problem with about 10,000 yen.」

「Then why do you ask for $20,000 if I lose…?」

「I thought it would make you feel more nervous.」

「Nhn? W–Well, fine. 」

「I’m the one who wins anyway. Don’t ever run away from me.」

「I definitely won’t.」

「Tch, annoying bastard.」

Minamikawa-senpai says, glaring at me.

「The game is on Wednesday, two weeks from now.」

「I understand.」

All activities are closed on Wednesdays.

「The place is this gymnasium. I’m going to get a bunch of students to come and watch you in all your hollowness.」

「That would be lovely. Let’s have everyone see who’s dumber.」

This guy totally thinks I’m beatable.

When it comes to really gathering a gallery, he is treated as a moron for just abandoning the game.

Even this guy should know that much.

But he still said he was going to gather various students.

He probably doesn’t feel like losing.

I’m looking forward to it.

「Bring the money on Wednesday. Of course I’ll bring 20,000 yen too.」

Surprisingly law-abiding, this guy…

「All right, let’s make it so that the winner is decided when they fail to come up with the money.」

「Fuh, interesting, don’t ever run away, 1st year.」

「Yes, of course I won’t.」

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