The morning routine went as usual.
A hearty breakfast.
Protein shake.
Shower.
Sportswear for the run.
I was already about to close the apartment door when the click of a lock sounded opposite.
The door slowly opened.
Amano-san stepped out of the apartment.
She was wearing a light gray tracksuit and white sneakers.
I involuntarily stopped.
What?..
As far as I remembered the events of the game…
She couldn’t stand sports.
And she practically never participated in any sports events.
Largely because her own body constantly caused her discomfort.
Her huge breasts bounced with every step, which was fatal for her small frame.
I was the first to break the silence.
“Good morning, Amano-san.”
She flinched slightly.
“G-Good morning… Kurisaki-kun.”
I looked at her outfit.
“Going for a run too?”
She nodded uncertainly.
“Yes…”
We walked silently to the elevator for a few seconds.
Then I still asked:
“Is this because of Sakurai-san?”
Yuki suddenly blushed.
“Eh?!”
“N-No…
I mean…”
She got completely tangled in her own words.
I smiled quietly.
“You don’t have to make excuses.
In my opinion, it’s completely normal.”
She looked at me in surprise.
“When someone likes a person…
You want to spend more time with them.”
Yuki lowered her gaze.
Her cheeks became even redder.
“Sakurai-san…
He’s a very good person…
That’s why…
Many girls are drawn to him.”
I smiled.
There it was.
That same look.
Full of sincere love.
And for some reason…
It began to irritate me that it was directed not at me.
I pushed that thought away.
That wasn’t important right now.
“Amano-san.”
She raised her head.
“If you want…
I can help you become more confident.”
She blinked in surprise.
“What?”
“You’re constantly stepping back.
As soon as the conversation becomes a little livelier…
You immediately fall silent.
While you’re gathering your thoughts to say something…
The others have already managed to change the topic.”
Yuki slowly lowered her head.
It seemed…
She herself understood this.
I continued in a calm voice:
“Mio-san speaks first.
Ayaka-san isn’t afraid to argue.
Sakamoto-san easily supports any conversation.
And you…
You always think before saying anything.”
She nodded quietly.
“Yes…”
I smiled.
“So, we’ll fix that.”
Yuki looked at me in surprise.
“Fix it?”
“Of course.
If you want to get closer to Sakurai-san…
First, you need to stop being afraid to speak.”
She was silent for a few seconds.
Then she suddenly clenched her small fists tightly.
For the first time, something like determination appeared in her eyes.
“Okay!”
She took a deep breath.
“I…
I’ll try!”
Then she shyly lowered her head.
“But…
What do I need to do?”
She looked at me with genuine confusion.
And I couldn’t help but smile.
Perhaps…
We’ll start with the simplest.
I looked at her for a few seconds.
“Today after school.
Amano-san and I will go to the mall together.”
“Eh?..”
“We’ll train your communication skills.”
She immediately waved her hands.
“B-But…
I…
Just the two of us?..
This…”
She started muttering something quietly to herself again.
I sighed heavily.
“Amano-san.”
She flinched.
My voice sounded truly serious for the first time.
“Either you take a step forward, and I spend my time helping you.
Or you continue standing still.
Then I don’t see the point in wasting either your or my time.”
Yuki froze.
Her cheeks slowly turned red.
She lowered her head.
I’m making Kurisaki-kun deal with me again…
And I can’t even make up my mind myself…
She felt ashamed.
He had already been helping her for the second day.
Pushing her into conversations.
Finding topics.
Supporting her.
And she…
Continued to hide behind her shyness.
Yuki clenched her small fists tightly.
Then she took a deep breath and raised her head.
Determination finally appeared in her eyes.
“Yes!”
She nodded shortly.
“Okay!
I’ll go!”
I smiled almost imperceptibly.
“Now you look more like yourself.”
She shyly looked away.
“Only…
What are we going to do?”
I smirked.
“Learn to talk to people.
And, if everything goes well…
By the end of the day, you’ll be able to start a conversation with Sakurai-san yourself, without waiting for someone to help.”
Yuki froze.
Then she answered quietly but much more confidently:
“I… will try.”
Mio, as usual, arrived first. Today she was wearing new bright running sneakers, and her face shone with a self-confident smile.
Hayato stood next to her.
They both looked at Yuki at the same time.
Mio blinked in surprise.
“Oh?
Amano-san is going running too?”
Yuki looked a little embarrassed.
“Y-Yes…”
Hayato smiled sincerely.
“That’s great!
The more of us, the merrier.”
I noticed how Yuki’s face relaxed a little at these words.
We started an easy run.
The first few hundred meters went normally.
But after a minute, Yuki’s breathing became heavy.
Her pace slowed.
She kept looking ahead, where Mio confidently kept a high pace, and Hayato tried not to lag behind.
Yuki instinctively tried to speed up.
I immediately caught up with her.
“Don’t rush.”
She was breathing heavily.
“But… Hayato…”
I shook my head.
“Don’t look at him.
Right now, your opponent isn’t Sakurai-san.
It’s yourself.”
She looked at me questioningly.
“If you try to catch up with them now…
You’ll just overload your body.
Such training will do more harm than good.”
Yuki slowed down a little.
I continued:
“Keep a comfortable pace for yourself.
It should be a little hard to talk while running, but possible.
That’s how endurance is developed.”
She nodded silently.
After a few minutes, her breathing really became more even.
“If you listen to me…
In a week you’ll be able to calmly keep up with Sakurai-san’s pace.”
Yuki rounded her eyes in surprise.
“A whole… week?”
I laughed.
“Amano-san.
You can’t become stronger in one workout.
And it’s impossible to build a good body in one day.
Small steps decide everything.
But every day.”
She smiled quietly.
“I see…”
After the run, we came to a small area.
I secured the phone on the tripod.
“Wait five minutes.
I need to record a couple of shorts.”
Mio waved her hand.
“Go ahead.
We’ll warm up in the meantime.”
While I was filming exercises for legs and shoulders, Mio was already commanding the others.
“Good.
Now rotate your torso.
Then lunges.”
Hayato diligently repeated after her.
Yuki also did the exercises.
Sometimes they talked.
“Is it hard?”
“A little…
But already better.”
Yuki smiled at Hayato.
He smiled back.
For a second, his gaze accidentally lingered on her figure. Especially on her chest.
He immediately looked away embarrassedly.
Yuki also noticed it.
Her cheeks turned slightly pink.
But instead of continuing to look at him…
She for some reason shifted her gaze in my direction.
I was just showing proper squat technique in front of the camera.
“Interesting…”
“Does he ever get tired at all?”
“Well, big guy!”
Mio confidently stepped up to the starting line.
She demonstratively showed off her new sneakers.
“Ready to lose?”
I smiled.
“We’ll see.”
Hayato raised his hand.
“On your marks…
Get set…
Go!”
Mio took off from the line.
This time her start was really better.
But…
After a few dozen meters, I already began to close the distance.
I came to the finish first.
“Again!”
Second run.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
The result remained the same.
Mio was breathing heavily.
She had really become faster.
But she still couldn’t win.
Hayato just shook his head.
“Kurisaki-kun…
Are you even human?”
Yuki also looked at me in surprise.
“Such speed…
It’s hard to even imagine…”
After the last run, Mio sat down on the bench.
She looked at the ground.
For the first time, real disappointment appeared in her eyes.
I walked up to her.
“Never look like that again.”
She raised her head.
“Like what?”
“Like you’ve already lost.
And like winning is impossible.”
Mio snorted in displeasure.
“You’re just a damn monster!
How can I even beat you?”
I smirked.
“Very simply.
I have a weak start.
Because of my build.
While such a big body accelerates…
It takes some time.”
Mio thought.
“And?..”
“So you need to win the first meters.
Work on your start.
Add jumping exercises.
And the first steps after the signal.”
She was about to object.
But suddenly fell silent.
“Look.”
We stepped up to the starting line again.
“Go!”
This time Mio exploded from the line.
The first few meters…
She was really ahead.
“I did it!”
She laughed joyfully.
Only then did I calmly overtake her and win again.
But that no longer mattered.
Mio was literally jumping with happiness.
“Kurisaki!
You’re an excellent trainer!
A few more tips, and I’ll definitely beat you!”
I smirked.
“No.
Think about the rest yourself.”
“Hey!”
She stomped her foot in indignation.
“Come on, tell me!”
I had already turned toward home.
“Where are you going?!”
“Hey!
Kurisaki!”
I only raised my hand without turning around.
Behind me, I could hear her displeased grumbling mixed with Hayato’s laughter and Yuki’s quiet chuckles for a long time.
We returned home almost at the same time.
I went straight to the shower.
After the morning run and several sprints, my body was literally burning. The hot water pleasantly relaxed my muscles, gradually washing away the fatigue.
After finishing, I quickly changed into my school uniform, habitually checked my phone, took my bag, and left the apartment.
Downstairs, the familiar group was already waiting for me.
Yuki looked noticeably more energetic than yesterday.
Mio still couldn’t calm down after our last training.
“No, Kurisaki!
I’m still going to overtake you!
Don’t even think about relaxing!”
I just smirked.
“I’ll be waiting.”
All the way to school, they discussed today’s run.
Hayato asked about start exercises.
Mio was already making plans for how she would train separately.
Yuki occasionally inserted short questions, listening attentively to the answers.
Only Ayaka demonstratively rolled her eyes.
“Hmph.
Not everyone here is a morning person.
You can get up at five every day.
I have no intention of voluntarily torturing myself.”
Mio immediately laughed.
“Lazybones!”
“Not true!
Normal people just like to sleep!”
The group laughed together again.
At the lockers, Rin was already waiting for us.
Seeing me, she froze for a moment.
Then hurriedly looked away.
“G-Good morning…
Everyone.”
“Good morning,” we replied almost simultaneously.
Ayaka narrowed her eyes slyly.
It seemed she immediately noticed Rin’s embarrassment.
“Well…
Advertising star.”
Rin looked at her incomprehensibly.
“What?”
“Yesterday the whole school was already discussing your photos.”
Rin’s cheeks instantly turned pink.
“N-Nothing special…”
Ayaka laughed quietly.
“Nothing special?
Especially that shot where Kurisaki holds you with one hand.
Or where you’re lying on his back.
Very… professional photoshoot.”
Mio also couldn’t hold back a smile.
“Admit it.
You were embarrassed?”
“N-No!”
The answer came too quickly.
Everyone looked at each other.
Rin turned completely red.
I decided to intervene.
“It was just a regular work shoot.
There’s no need to tease her like that.”
Rin looked at me gratefully.
Ayaka just snorted.
“I know.
It’s just interesting to watch her blush.”
“Ayaka!”
The group laughed again.
The lessons went calmly.
During breaks, everything gradually became familiar.
I unobtrusively helped Yuki join conversations.
Sometimes I steered the topic to where it was easier for her to participate.
Sometimes I simply asked a question directed specifically at her.
Gradually, she stopped taking so long to choose her words.
Not much.
But the progress was noticeable.
Even Mio said in surprise:
“Amano-san.
You’re much more talkative today.”
Yuki smiled shyly.
“Really?..”
During the long break, the whole group gathered by the window again.
Hayato suddenly slapped his palm on the table.
“Decided.”
Everyone looked at him.
“During the long break, I’m going to sign up for the boxing club.”
Mio immediately smiled widely.
“Finally!
It’s about time.”
Ayaka nodded.
“If you’ve decided to become stronger, boxing is a good choice.”
Rin also supported:
“Especially since the club is now considered one of the strongest in school.”
I silently looked at Hayato.
“So…
The meeting with Satomi.”