Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 66

He sighed contentedly.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A moment later, the boy, wearing a fitted bathrobe, knocked on the door of the six-person shared room.

This was something that had been discussed before he went on patrol. It was Toyokawa Shoko who first suggested that they hold a celebration and vigil party on their first night here, and the suggestion was unanimously approved.

Through the not-so-soundproof, elegant wooden door, he could faintly hear the sounds of playful fighting coming from inside.

Shouts like "Xiangzi, don't run away!" and "Mu, come help me!" were accompanied by heavy impact sounds and laughter.

What are they doing in there?

Just as Yuan Xudou was puzzled, he seemed to notice his knocking, and the inside of the door suddenly became silent.

He waited patiently. After a dozen seconds, Toyokawa Shoko's voice, as if suppressing some emotion, came through faintly.

"Come in, Xu Dou."

The unsuspecting boy pushed open the door.

Standing at the doorway, he looked around the room.

"What are you doing..."

The next moment, a pillow thrown with all its might flew over and hit him on the head with perfect accuracy.

Before the question could even leave his lips, it was drowned out by the deafening "bang" of the collision. The force of the impact forced Yuan Xudou to swallow his breath back into his stomach.

Amidst Nagasaki Motoyo's shock, Takamatsu Akari's stunned silence, Shiina Tatsuki's eagerness, and Wakaba Mutsu's flustered expression.

The pillow, which had lost its momentum, softened again and slowly, very slowly, slid off the boy's face.

His handsome face, with its lowered eyelids obscuring his expression, was revealed.

He tightened the belt of his bathrobe and looked up at the culprit who had launched the attack.

Behind Wakaba Mutsu, Toyokawa Shoko, with a smug smile on her face after successfully pulling off a prank, gave him a peace sign.

Then, without hesitation, he lifted his best friend up to shield him and ran away.

"Mu, save me!"

"—Don't run away."

The pillow that had slipped off him was caught in his hand before it even hit the ground. Yuan Xudou took a step forward and, under the pleading gaze of the light green-clad girl, drew his body taut like a longbow.

"Xu...Xu Dou, no..."

However, before the barely audible plea for mercy could be finished, the boy's arm suddenly lashed out, sending the white flying object hurtling towards them with a whooshing sound.

In the howling wind, Wakaba Mutsu closed her eyes in despair.

—Xiangzi, why…

—Hmm? Seems fine.

The blast grazed my side and made a dull thud behind me.

As the force that had been dragging her away disappeared, Ruoye Mu opened her eyes in surprise, her light golden eyes blinking in confusion.

The pillow the boy threw drew a perfect arc in the air, just around Wakaba Mutsu's head, and hit Toyokawa Shoko, who was hiding behind her, with the precision of a boomerang.

Like a kite with a broken string, the girl swayed a few times in place before collapsing with a "thud" into the pile of pillows beside her.

"Xu Dou, you're amazing..."

Ruoye Muku looked at the boy who had freed her from his clutches with gratitude—she had taken quite a few hits for Toyokawa Shoko during the girls' battle.

Under the awe-inspiring gazes of everyone, Yuan Xudou, his expression now calm, closed the door and walked unhurriedly to the girl who was lying face down on the ground.

With a victor's air, he narrowed his eyes and looked down at his opponent, then shook his head.

"Uh……"

Shoko Toyokawa, barely managing to prop herself up and putting on a humiliating expression, let out a short, labored breath.

Although her defeated demeanor and exaggerated falling motion were improvised, she was indeed feeling a bit dizzy.

The boy controlled his strength well; it was enough to knock someone unconscious, but not so badly that they would be too uncomfortable...

So she cast a resentful glance at the other girls present.

"We all agreed to ambush Xu Dou, yet not a single one of you helped me—"

Shoko Toyokawa didn't hesitate to betray this fact, trying to drag everyone else down with her.

Upon hearing this, Wakaba Mutsu, who was standing next to the boy, quickly shook her head and raised her fair and delicate hand to indicate that she was innocent.

She neither agreed nor disagreed, which Xiangzi took as tacit consent.

That's right, only Toyokawa Shoko stirred up the conflict—

Yuan Xudou, who was prepared, turned his head and dodged another red and white striped pillow.

He raised an eyebrow and looked in the direction from which the attack was coming.

"Who said no one helped you? It's just that you acted on your own initiative, which is why things turned out this way."

Without any fear, and even rubbing her hands together in anticipation, Shiina Ritsuki raised her beautiful face adorned with a beauty mark and spoke in a provocative tone.

"Anyway, it's my freedom to attack whomever I want, right?"

"you're right."

The boy nodded in agreement, then took a step toward her.

"good chance!"

Feng Yue/Yi r Jiu |, lying on the ground pretending to be unable to fight. ⊙Liu Qi) Pa Wa [Xia Chuan Xiangzi immediately reached out and grabbed Yuan Xudou's arm.

"Su Shi, Mu, Deng, get to work!"

By limiting the opponent's room for counterattack and also restricting their space to dodge, she had created enough opportunities for the others.

—Me, I'll fight Xu Dou?

Since she genuinely felt that she was not on either side, and even somewhat biased towards Minamoto no Toru, Wakaba Mutsu was repeatedly called out by Toyokawa Shoko, and she was so anxious that she had no idea how to prove her innocence under the scrutinizing gaze of the boy.

Fortunately, she didn't have anything that could be considered a threat, so Yuan Xudou temporarily turned his attention elsewhere.

"Su Shi, even you..."

"I'm sorry, Heo Doo-kun."

The apology was completely insincere, and the initial shock was nowhere to be seen. Nagasaki Motoyo smiled and picked up the pillow.

Something hit his back before she could throw it.

Because there was no threat whatsoever, his instincts didn't even elicit a reaction—Yuan Xudou turned back with a complicated expression and looked at Gao Songdeng, who remained harmless even in this situation.

"Surrounded on all sides," he thought with a light heart.

Chapter Ninety-Five: You and Me Within Reach

At a signal, the cups were smashed, igniting the crowd's anger.

The scattered soldiers and disorganized mob were no match for them.

Shiina Tatsuki, who was in the highest spirits and trying to wash away her defeat in the card game that morning in this physically demanding segment, was the first to be knocked down after struggling for a few rounds. She was even the one who survived the longest. Nagasaki Motoyo, who was a bassist and not as athletic as the drummer, also quickly raised her hands in surrender. She was hit by a pillow thrown by Genji Koto with a moderate force and fell down.

The remaining two girls were also easily dealt with by him. When everyone had consciously lay down on the floor, leaving only the boy who had only been hit once by Toyokawa Shoko's unexpected sneak attack standing, the victory of this accidental conflict easily fell into his hands.

Gen Xudou straightened his slightly wrinkled bathrobe and shook his head with pity.

—Why bother having a pillow fight with someone like him whose reaction speed and strength far exceed those of ordinary people? It's like not giving yourself any gaming experience at all.

In a chaotic free-for-all, he might hold back and fish on the sidelines. But if he targets someone specifically, he won't have even the slightest chance of winning.

Where did you get so many pillows?

He asked calmly, his breathing barely quickening.

With this sentence as a signal, the girls who had been pretending to be dead while lying in the pile of soft cushions "came back to life," each dragging a pillow and obediently gathering together, sitting in a circle in the center of the room.

A sullen Shiina Tatsuki answered his question.

"It was taken from another room."

"Remember to return it later."

He neither pursued their responsibility for conspiring to ambush him while he was away, nor did he intend to use his victorious status to make any demands; he magnanimously let the matter drop.

Upon hearing this, they looked up at each other in surprise.

Then, my heart skipped a beat.

—I was so engrossed in playing around that I didn't notice…

The Yuan Xudou of today is not the same as the boy they remember who always wore standard, plain, and unremarkable casual clothes or school uniforms and had a bland expression.

His straight, black hair, still slightly damp, was a little messy. The collar of his loose-fitting, solid-colored bathrobe was casually open, revealing his seemingly solid and reliable chest. Because Toyokawa Shoko had tugged at it, the bathrobe had become somewhat loose, and glimpses of his prominent collarbone could be seen through the collar and along his long neck.

His eyebrows and eyes were casual yet approachable, a faint smile played at the corners of his lips, and his dark eyes were clear and cool—

Is this something I can see?

Apart from Nagasaki Motoyo, the other four girls had never seen such a lively and down-to-earth side of the boy before, and they were momentarily stunned.

At this moment, he is not a guiding light for everyone, nor the rising sun that heals the heart of a young girl, nor a pillar that supports the stability of the band—he is not that distant and indifferent figure who, though trustworthy and inspiring, seems so far away.

He was just a quiet, reliable, gentle, and peaceful boy who could genuinely smile and put aside his usual seriousness to play and joke with them.

—Within reach.

"...Why is everyone so quiet?"

With a slight frown of doubt, Yuan Xudou glanced at the girls who were suddenly staring intently at him, their faces flushed, and leaned back slightly without making a sound.

Even though his gaze wasn't intense or dangerous, and the blush on his face was probably just a natural reaction to exercise, there was nothing strange about it—but he had a creepy feeling about him, so he spoke up as soon as possible, breaking the sudden silence.

The familiar tone of voice awakened the group from their reverie, and the sluggish air began to move again.

"Ah... Yue = Yi 3 4 Ling 7 2 Er is fine, thinking about what to play next."

Having already taken off her indoor shoes, Toyokawa Shoko, exposing her small, round feet to the air, subconsciously brought her kneeling legs together, adopting a dignified and elegant posture like a Yamato Nadeshiko.

Just moments ago she was having a blast, but now she's as docile as a house cat raised from a kitten, exuding a tranquil and gentle aura.

"It's all Xiangzi's fault for suggesting this. I just took a shower, and now I'm sweating again..."

The frustration of losing the game suddenly vanished. Shiina Riki unconsciously brushed the strands of hair stuck to her ear with her fingers, her purplish-red eyes silently shifting away as she softly complained.

"In that case, wouldn't it be better to take another bath before bed?"

With her palms down on her knees, Nagasaki Motoyo looked at the other four girls with an expression of having seen something interesting, and the only one who remained calm made a suggestion.

"If you do it too many times, you'll get dizzy."

Looking at the boy with a dazed and unfocused gaze, Takamatsu Akari instinctively answered in a soft voice.

"...Xu Dou, will you go to wash too?"

As always, Ruoye Mu made a startling remark.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to the girl who realized she had said the wrong thing again, and whose fair cheeks flushed with embarrassment at an alarming speed.

"I...I didn't mean that—"

She stammered her explanation, her hands nervously gripping the hem of her dress, unsure of what to do.

Normally at this time, Toyokawa Shoko would look helpless at her best friend's bluntness while trying to smooth things over; Shiina Tatsuki would raise her voice to question her, which indirectly eased her embarrassment; Nagasaki Motoyo would make a joking remark to lighten the atmosphere.

But now, they are all silent.

The silence lasted for a moment before dissent finally emerged.

"I'll wash again after you're done washing."

"Is that what you mean, Mu?"