"I'm back!"
After tidying up her wetsuit, Chisa Kotegawa pushed open the door to Grand Blue, her heart carrying a trace of unease.
Not long ago, when she was taking off her wetsuit on the seaside rocks, she had seen her childhood friend for the first time in ten years.
Though she hadn't managed to say a word to him because of her father's interference… what kind of person had Iori become now?
"Uwohhh! Why is it me losing again?! You little punk, you're cheating, aren't you?!"
"Hahaha! Too bad, Iori! Only one pair of underwear left! Gonna take it off?"
"Don't be ridiculous! Of course not! Even if I'm naked, I'll still crush this bastard next round!"
Inside the shop, it looked like even more strange customers had gathered. Among them, one of the newcomers—the one throwing his underwear on the ground—seemed to be her childhood friend.
As for the other, a fresh-looking boy who sat calmly like a fisherman, he was still neatly dressed, though his drunkenness made his movements wild.
Holding up a beer mug, he shouted like he had just won some glorious battle, surrounded by a crowd of burly men.
"I! WIN! YOU! LOSER!"
"…"
The light in Chisa Kotegawa's eyes instantly dimmed into disdainful disappointment.
Walking to the counter, she coldly asked her older sister, who was happily watching the commotion:
"Big sis, what's going on here? Have we already decided to turn the shop into some kind of naked male revue?"
"Don't say such weird things, Chisa-chan! Iori-kun is just having bad luck, that's all."
Nana, frowning slightly, whispered in reproach.
Really, even though he's her childhood friend, not only is Chisa-chan refusing to cheer Iori-kun on, but how could she even say something so mean?
"Heh…"
With a cold laugh, Chisa Kotegawa felt that being childhood friends with such a hopeless idiot meant her first half of life had been completely wasted.
But at this point, she no longer cared.
If Kitahara Iori wanted to play strip rock-paper-scissors so much, let him. She was going back to her room to wash her eyes out.
"Damn it! Lost again! Why! Why haven't you lost a single match?!"
On the other side, retreating in disbelief, Kitahara Iori stared at his trembling hands, utterly unable to accept the cruel reality.
Ten times! Ten full matches of strip rock-paper-scissors!
And not once had he won, even though Miyazawa Yuu had been force-fed alcohol the whole time.
How could this be? Could it be even the goddess of fortune had abandoned him?!
"Heh—so pathetic, Iori. This is destiny! Because I… am the King of Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors!"
Lowering his head with a drunken grin, Miyazawa Yuu's mind was already clouded by alcohol.
But to dance atop the ashes of a defeated foe—this was carved into his very genes!
Even if one day he were buried in a coffin, his rotting throat would still mock the defeated Iori!
"Damn it… I… lost!"
Though unwilling to admit it, Iori had no clothes left to take off. Without a doubt, he had no way of turning the tables.
"Woooohhh! The first champion of the freshmen strip rock-paper-scissors has appeared! The winner is—Miyazawa Yuu!!!"
"Hell yeah! He's strong!"
"What a monster of a rookie! Next round's mine—I'll strip him down!"
"No way! It's my turn! You're already down to just underwear, I still have socks left!"
With Ryuujirou Shou announcing Iori's defeat, the atmosphere in the room soared even higher.
Nobody cared about Miyazawa Yuu's opinion anymore—everyone was fired up to strip this cocky newcomer bare and show him the power of the seniors!
"Stop right there! As agreed, we can only continue if Yuu-kun consents!"
Nana Kotegawa stepped in just in time, not forgetting the original reason she had proposed the match in the first place.
Which meant that, if he wanted to, Miyazawa Yuu could leave at any time now.
"Huh? Boring… Yuu, you want to continue? If not, I'll send you home by bus."
Though the seniors were rowdy, since it was a pre-agreed condition, they had no choice but to accept.
Still sober enough, Shinji Tokita got up, ready to take Miyazawa Yuu home before returning for the second half of drinking.
"Hah? Is that even a question? Tokita-senpai, could you back up just a little?"
"…I could, but what are you planning?"
Puzzled, thinking Yuu was about to puke, Ryuujirou handed him a trash can.
"Not enough! Further! Everyone, step back or you'll get splashed!"
Scanning the room with narrowed eyes, Yuu saw that the distance was still too close.
Before anyone could stop him, he dashed to the door and shouted:
"OK! Everyone, eyes on me! Look at me! I have an announcement!"
"…Sigh."
Chisa, about to retreat upstairs, stopped in her tracks. If this newcomer caused a drunken mess, she'd still have to clean it tomorrow anyway.
With a sigh, she reluctantly turned her eyes to him along with everyone else.
"Yosh!"
The distance was perfect, all eyes were on him—Miyazawa Yuu finally stopped stalling.
Straightening his back, he struck a grand pose, fists clenched, and declared boldly:
"Just now, someone suggested I should go home… but that is impossible! Nana-nee! Bear witness to my victory!"
With his fists clenching tight, a blast of force swept through the room, his plain tracksuit exploding into shredded cloth as if it were packed with dynamite.
"Come! This will be a gamble! I'll stake my last pair of underwear—against all of your belongings!"
Under Nana Kotegawa's stunned gaze, Miyazawa Yuu emerged, clad only in his underwear.
But now, his body shone with muscles so exaggerated they gleamed under the lights, his ripped physique radiating overwhelming presence.
"Uwahh! Perfect muscles! I haven't seen a body like that in so long!"
"Damn! He underestimated us! A freshman daring to challenge his seniors with only underwear!"
"Now that's more like it! Let's see just how much meat you've got!"
The seniors' authority had been challenged. With not a shred of pity for the shredded tracksuit, every upperclassman—including Ryuujirou—bulked up like giants.
Eyes glowing red, they rushed at Miyazawa Yuu, the clash promising only one outcome: someone would be stripped bare.
"…Was I hallucinating just now?"
Chisa's eyelid twitched. For a split second, she thought she had seen a god descend.
Could a body like that really exist in reality? Even more imposing than Ryuujirou's build, one arm alone looked as thick as her waist.
"Yeah, who would've thought Yuu-kun's body was that good. He looked so slim in clothes, I couldn't tell at all."
"It's not about looking slim! How the hell did that mountain of muscle even fit inside a tracksuit?!"
Still dumbfounded, Chisa pulled at one of the scraps of cloth that had landed on her face.
The texture and stretch were nothing unusual—just an ordinary tracksuit. Nothing about it explained how it had contained that beast of a body.
"Well~ what does it matter? Since Yuu-kun was willing to reveal his true self to us, isn't that a sign of trust?"
"I… guess so. But to me, it just feels like he's drunk and going crazy…"
Watching Miyazawa Yuu fully immerse himself in the PAB club's wild revelry, his massive chest proudly flexing in the spotlight, Chisa Kotegawa found herself speechless.
But, just as Nana had said, showing one's true self was part of building relationships.
And at least now, Miyazawa Yuu had sparked her curiosity.