Chapter 72
In the courtyard during lunch, Yuki is having food with her fans and Minoru.
One of the fans gives her a spicy sushi.
Boy1: Wanna taste the most spicy sushi?
Yuki: You bet!
Yuki eats it and swallows it.
Boy1: Wow! You didn’t even spit it out or sweat.
Yuki: I ate plenty of spicy food before. They are far from intolerable for me.
Boy2: Wow!
Minoru: You ate hot spicy chips before.
Yuki: Absolutely. Surprisingly, I was able to eat those.
They clap for her.
Later after school, Yuki and Ryo are arm wrestling.
Yuki: I bet I will win this.
Ryo: No way, Yuki.
Yuki: I can feel your strength.
Ryo: Yours too.
Yuki: But not as strong.
Yuki beats Ryo.
Ryo: Ahh?
Yuki: Sweet. Don’t worry. I can see that we’re becoming more competitive.
Ryo: 2/3 on this challenge.
Yuki: Exactly. I don’t always win, but mostly on competitions. You’re almost becoming as strong as I am.
Ryo: Ever compete with Minoru?
Yuki: He’s not a physical type for games, but on video games, we’re nearly on par.
Ryo: I see.
The next day at school during gym class, Yuki plays softball with Rin.
Yuki: Ready?
Rin: Yes.
She pitches the ball to Rin, and she hits it.
Yuki hits it again and Rin misses the shot.
Yuki: Score!
Rin: Not again.
At the end of the game, Yuki win against Rin.
After school, Yuki, Minoru, and Rin walk out from the school.
Rin: This is the third week that I hardly get any shots.
Yuki: Yeah. At least you don’t miss the first few shots of each round.
Rin: I know, but you’re too of a high level for me.
Yuki: Then why you decide to compete against me?
Rin: I’m trying to do better in gym class, and want to be decent at softball.
Yuki: Losing is learning. You gotta find your instincts.
Minoru: Maybe find a more simple activity. You’re good at cheerleading.
Rin: Well, I can’t argue with that, but I want to do better on a few more.
Yuki: For your grade.
Rin: Yes. You’ve been doing challenges lately.
Yuki: Oh yeah. I pretty much do interesting challenges.
Minoru: Remember you challenged Ryo on the sour candy?
Yuki: Super sour, yes. Turns out we tied. We liked those, so we didn’t break on that.
Rin: Exactly.
Rin thinks on her head of how Yuki is made more interesting.
Rin: Yuki, I know some day, I will beat you on a challenge.
Yuki: It’s pretty hard for you to beat me, considering your level.
Rin: No.
Yuki: Umm, how many challenge have you tried? Several times.
Rin: I bet that I will beat you on a challenge one day.
Yuki: And what is exactly your bet?
Rin: I bet that I can stay a character, being a tomboy for the entire day.
Yuki laughs.
Yuki: Hahaha! Rin, are you serious? You’re willing to put that off?
Rin: I can guarantee that I can stay in character.
Minoru: It’s a hard challenge concerning we know about you.
Yuki: Yeah, you don’t even like the stuffs that I do. You’re very girly so it’s pretty hard to see you as a tomboy.
Rin: I can be one for a day to see how Yuki’s life is like.
Yuki: Really?
Minoru: Why do you want to do that?
Rin: To show her that I can nearly be as good as her.
Yuki: It takes skills for physical activities.
Rin: It doesn’t have to be that all that sudden.
Yuki: Okay. I’ll have to judge you on that though.
Rin: That’s fine, and I will plan to see what happens if I win.
Yuki: All right.
Minoru: Saturday is a good day.
Rin: Exactly.
At Friday night, Rin is in her room, having her clothes for the bet. She is texting Yuki in the group chat.
Rin: I am ready.
Yuki: Cool. So, did you plan what happens if you win or lose the challenge?
Rin: Yes, but I won’t reveal it until the end of the day.
Yuki: Why?
Rin: It will be more fun that no one would know so my challenge won’t be affected.
Yuki: I see what you mean. Stop by my place at 10.
Rin: You got it.
Rin puts her phone down and sees herself in the mirror.
Rin: All right. I can do this. Being a tomboy is like seeing how Yuki’s life is like, so I may learn more things. I just have to wear a ponytail and a cap.
In the morning, Rin quickly changes her hair style and changes clothes to simple stripes with black and white and jeans. She takes off her straps and went outside.
Rin: All I gotta act is a typical tomboy.
She went to Yuki’s house and knocks the door hard.
Yuki opens the door.
Yuki: Oh great. You’re ready.
Rin: Yes, Yuki. What do you want to do today?
Yuki: Actually, you should think about what do you want to do, in this moment.
Rin: I wanna play Softball. Let’s go out!
Yuki: The nearest court is most likely in use, so wanna get in before we head there?
Rin: Yes!
A while later, Yuki, Rin, and Ryo are in Yuki’s room.
Yuki shows Rin a video game.
Yuki: I got this game.
Rin: I heard it’s pretty gory.
Yuki: Exactly. Are you able to handle this game?
Rin: Well, it’s a mature rating.
Ryo: I got it and I decide to give it a share.
Yuki: Yep! You demanded hard games, so this is it.
Rin: (mind) It does look pretty violent.
Yuki: I’ll put it on.
Rin: Umm, sure.
In the game, Rin is the only one playing.
The character in the game slices foes with knives.
Rin tries killing them.
Rin: Do they start with many of the foes?
Yuki: They do, but more will come later.
Rin: It’s a bit challenging.
Yuki: Yep.
Later, Minoru came and sees Yuki, Ryo, and Rin at the table.
Minoru: Hey guys.
Rin: Hey Minoru!
Minoru sees her as a different style.
Minoru: It seems that you are taking the challenge more serious.
Rin: That’s right. Today, we are going out and play softball.
Minoru: That’s cool.
Ryo: Is Retasu coming?
Minoru: She told me that she’ll come straight to the field.
Yuki: I saw that message just now.
Ryo: Amazing.
Minoru: So, what did you do so far?
Rin: I played their new game. It’s a mature rating.
Yuki: Slashing Collabs 5.
Minoru: Oh. How did you do on that?
Rin: Decent. Killing the mummy looking creatures and chopping the skeleton’s heads is all I did.
Yuki: Don’t forget you threw boulders at them.
Rin: That too.
Later, they went to the tennis court, getting some softballs and tennis rackets.
Retasu shows up and runs to them.
Retasu: Hey guys.
Rin: Retasu, ready to play?
Retasu: Yes.
Ryo: You and Minoru are playing against Rin.
Yuki: It’s best that to match her level, and you both are a perfect fit.
Retasu: And you’re playing against the two of us?
Rin: Yeah, because I want to take this the hard way for me.
Minoru: Wow. You’re really up for a challenge.
Rin: Yep. Let’s move on.
They are at the court.
Rin: Ready?
Minoru: Yes.
Rin pitches the ball, and Minoru hits it, and then Rin tries to hit it hard, and she hits it, and passes to Retasu, to Rin, to Minoru, and Rin tries to hit hard again, and she tries to hit it with full force, and she successfully hit it directly and Minoru misses it.
Minoru: Hmm.
Rin: Excellent!
Later at the last round, they play and Rin tries to hit the ball hard, but she hits it with light force.
Retasu hits it, and Rin is a little exhausted.
Yuki: Exhausted?
Rin: No. I’ll play this round.
Rin is sweating a little and decide to focus on the ball.
Minoru passes the ball to her, and Rin hits the ball with full force, and Retasu misses the shot.
Retasu: Wow! You really improved a bit.
Minoru: You got 4 goals and we got 6.
Rin: Well, even though I lost, I still have fun playing. I no longer got one or two goals from you both.
Ryo: That’s cool.
Yuki: I think your used to lack the force of hitting the ball and running too.
Rin: Now I realized how better I got today. I still want to play. This time, I’ll play with either Retasu or Minoru, depends who is more good at softball.
Minoru: Well, she plays more than I do.
Retasu: Yeah, I played them with my brothers before.
Yuki: That sounds fun.
Rin plays with Retasu, and Rin did tie with Retasu.
Retasu: Wanna play a round, so that there is no tie?
Rin: Sure.
Retasu passes the ball and Rin runs and hits the ball with medium force.
Retasu hits the ball hard and Rin watches the speed of the ball, and she hits it normally, and then Retasu passes it.
Rin gives another try and hits it hard and Retasu misses.
Rin: Cool! I won!
Retasu: It looks like you had some skills from class.
Rin: Yeah, but I decide to play it as hard as I can. Looks like we’re almost as good. You have more experience.
Retasu: Yeah.
Ryo: So, what are we doing next?
Rin: To Yuki’s house!
As they walk, Rin sees a yard with a plastic pipe that is dirty.
Rin: Guys! Look at that pipe! Wanna see me get through it?
Yuki: Sure.
Minoru: All right.
Rin decides to lean down to the ground and goes inside the pipe, and she sees a lot more dirt there that she expected.
Rin: Umm, it’s all dirty, but I’m not giving up.
Rin tries to wipe away all the dirt with her hands to get through, and she comes out from the other end of the pipe.
Rin comes out with little dirt.
Rin: Tada! I did it!
Retasu: You know it’s dirty inside, right?
Rin: Yeah, but I went through it.
Ryo: Okay.
As they walk, they see a small spider behind Rin’s back, and Yuki grabs it and flings it out.
Minoru: Good. It’s creepy.
Yuki: I know.
At the house at the backyard, Rin tries on Rollerblades.
Rin: So how do I use it?
Yuki: Remember ice skating? I bet you would know about how to skate.
Rin: Sure.
Rin runs around the yard, hoping she doesn’t fail.
Rin: Cool! I’m doing it.
Minoru: It seems like you are starting to do it well.
Rin continues to run around, until she hit the tree branch and falls.
Rin: OW!
Retasu: Rin, are you all right?
Yuki picks her up.
Yuki: You’re all right?
Rin has few tears.
Rin: I’m hurt a little, but I can’t stop myself from crying.
A while later, Retasu checks up Rin and she doesn’t see any pains.
Retasu: You’re all right.
Rin: Cool.
They watch Minoru trying on Rollerblades.
Minoru: So how long did you have this?
Yuki: For a few years, but I had a few ones before that and donated them since the old ones don’t fit my feet anymore.
Minoru: Sounds interesting.
Later, they went to the dining room and have lunch together.
Yuki: The meal looks really good!
Minoru: Yeah!
Rin: So you enjoyed being a tomboy all your life?
Yuki: Well, yes. As a little kid since then, I find myself engaging on boy’s activities. I never find feminine activities fun for me, and so I do a couple of things that I enjoy. I always know that I am a girl, just in my own way.
Retasu: So as a kid, you act like a troublemaker?
Yuki: Oh yes. I pull some funny stuff and do some risk taking to do what I need to do for the class. As a kid, I wanted to be a ninja, and always practice a lot of moves, and I go out and get dirty and come home, smelling like spirit.
Rin: Uhh, okay.
Ryo: You still do.
Yuki: Because I love doing sport activities and geeking out. As a kid, I was the most hyper kid in the family, and running around.
Minoru: Cool.
After they finished lunch, they went outside and do some activities with Rin.
After hanging out for the rest of the day, Yuki and Minoru went to Rin’s house while following her.
They went to her room.
Rin: It was so fun today.
Yuki: You bet. You challenged yourself many times this evening.
Rin: Well, I was a hit and miss on those, but I did not give up.
Minoru: It was a fantastic experience, right?
Rin: I kinda see how those activities are really fun for you, Yuki.
Yuki: You bet. So many experiences for many years, I have.
Rin: And now I smell like spirit.
Minoru covers his nose.
Minoru: So are you gonna shower?
Rin: Yeah. Well, it’s almost night, and I wanna end my challenge right here and you guys tell me the results when I come out.
Yuki: Sure.
Minoru: Love to see what’s next.
Rin went to the bathroom and showers herself.
She comes out from the bathroom with her pyjamas.
Rin: So, what did you guys think about today?
Minoru: We thought you really know how to stay in character. You got good acting.
Yuki: And it shows that you are trying to be a tomboy for the day. Your results are interesting.
Rin: Cool. So looks like I won!
Yuki: Yes, you have.
Minoru: That’s cool.
Rin: It is! Remember what I said what happens if I win?
Yuki: Oh yeah, tell us.
Rin: All right. You have to do it since I won.
Minoru: But first, what happened if you lost?
Rin: If I did, I would’ve have let Yuki pass gas in front of me.
Yuki: I tried not to.
Rin: And sometimes, you do.
Yuki: So what do you want me to do?
Rin: Well, are you up to play a feminine version of yourself? It has to be the entire day, tomorrow!
Yuki: Are you kidding me? I’m not good at playing girly.
Rin: Well, I won, so you have to.
Yuki: Fine, but can it be somewhere else, not in Sapporo? I don’t want anyone else to see me wear frilly dresses.
Rin: Just stop by here in the morning.
Yuki: It better be outside the town, and no photo taking.
The next day, they are at Rin’s house, and they see Yuki dressed with two pink bows in both sides on her hair, a hair extension on her sides, pink frilly dress, white leggings, and high heels. Rin laughs when she sees Yuki dressed this way.
Yuki: It’s not funny. This is totally embarrassing. I don’t even like high heels.
Rin: Well, you have to wear those as part of the bet.
Yuki: I have no idea how you got hair extensions, the ones for my sides.
Minoru: Can you walk well in high heels?
Yuki: Yes, but I can’t run.
Rin: Well, you can’t run in this bet.
Yuki: That’s lame.
Rin: And you better not ruin my dress. I had fun playing my bet yesterday, so you should too.
Yuki: We’ll see.
A while later, Yuki, Minoru, Rin, and Retasu are in Rin’s backyard.
Yuki plays a role of a girly character with a soft voice.
Yuki: Howie. Rin. it’s so good to meet you. Retasu, thanks for coming along. Minoru, you’re such a sweet boyfriend.
Rin: Hehe. Well, today is a sunny day.
Yuki: Yes, Rin.
Yuki picks up the basket from the ground.
Yuki: I’ll go grab something special.
Yuki walks to the garden and looks at the iris flower.
Yuki: These are your favorit righ… (SNEEZE!)
Yuki walks backwards a little and steps on a rock on her right heel. As she is wearing high heels already, her right foot is unbalanced and trips to the ground and drops the basket to the ground. She goes back to her normal voice.
Yuki: I almost twisted my right foot. These heels are bothering me.
Rin: I hope the dress isn’t dirty.
Yuki stands up and Retasu sees that it’s fine.
Retasu: It’s still looking good.
Minoru: I thought you know that flowers are your allergic reaction.
Yuki: I’m trying to play a role, but it’s not working out. I can’t do this.
Yuki takes off the hair extension from her sides and pins out the ribbons too.
Rin: Hey! You’re in a bet.
Yuki: This is just too silly and I can’t even go on without my feet getting squeezed.
Retasu: Different size.
Rin: That’s all I have for the biggest high heels from my closet.
Yuki: Well, I’m sorry, but I can’t continue. I rarely give up, but I can’t think of what the girly character would usually do.
Rin: Fine. Let’s go back to my room.
A while, they talk about the bet. Yuki is already dressed back normally.
Minoru: It seems like Rin’s challenge went a lot great yesterday.
Rin: That’s right.
Yuki: I’m trying to tell you Rin that I don’t always win.
Rin: I know, but you quit. I mean, you did get a hard start, so I understand.
Retasu: Rin, you had fun playing a character yesterday.
Rin: Yeah.
Minoru: Yuki, what also made you quit?
Yuki: Umm, I lack fashion sense, so I wouldn’t know how to play right as a typical girly character.
Rin: I understand. Well, I did have few hard moments yesterday, but it was somehow easy to stay in character.
Minoru: We are really great actors on role playing, it’s just that we can have few weaknesses on what the character shoud be based on the actor’s knowledge. I don’t even know how to be deadpan because I lack sarcasm.
Yuki: You’re right. It is based on a person. So congratulations, Rin. You beat me of who plays the character the best.
Rin: Yeah. I knew you would have a hard time, but we learn about each other, regardless of how long we are friends.
Retasu: Yeah.
Later, Yuki and Minoru went to Yuki’s house at her room, watching a rerun of My Hero Academia with Ryo.
Ryo: So how was it?
Yuki: It only lasted quarter of an hour, and things didn’t work out for me, so I left.
Ryo: Hmm.
Yuki: It was so silly anyway, and I didn’t know how to play girly. All I was thinking about is doing something epic like these guys on the show.
Minoru: Interesting.

Next Chapter: Yuki’s Offer
A classmate, Leo. He has two things happening on him. He has a crush on Kyanna and talks to Yuki about it. She and Minoru tells him about her and how to approach her. Second, he is afraid if Team Phase is watching him. He is concerned about that because of the incident where they got Rin few weeka ago. How will Yuki solve these problems, with or without anyone? Tune in next time!