Part 3

Izayoi parked the car next to the sports field, in front of the gate, before internally cursing at nobody being there to meet him.

"Where are they?!" He twisted his head all over the place, trying to spot Akiza or any of her team mates. Then he checked his watch, curious to know just how late he was. It wasn’t until the sound of footsteps, paired with chattering girls, finally touched his ears that he stopped fidgeting.

"Finally!" Izayoi glanced into the side view mirror, at a group of four young women casually strolling towards him. They had no sense of urgency by the looks of them, so Izayoi slammed down his hand and honked the car horn.

None of the girls took notice or if they did, pretended like they didn’t. Izayoi waited patiently for the pack of soccer players to arrive and even gestured with his watch outside the car window that he was in a hurry.

Nobody picked up the pace.

"Could you ladies take any longer?” He sarcastically asked when the group finally arrived and started packing in their bags.

"Hi Izayoi,” Riza replied first. A short-trimmed blonde beauty with a petite stature that made her look more like a middle-schooler. Izayoi thought she stood out like a sore thumb, being the shortest of the group and with the flattest chest. Bust: 74 / Waist: 53 / Hips: 78. A-Cup without a doubt.

"I’m kinda in a rush,” Izayoi bit back. “Can we pick up the slack please?"

Akiza remained silent, instead making herself comfortable in the front seat, her face turned away from her brother as per the norm.

The violet eyed Akeno got in the back seat. Beautiful in her own right with a slim, average figure, long green hair that was almost always (unless of course it was soccer practice) usually tied in a long ponytail, with two strands sticking out from the top and sloping backward. A ribbon kept the entire ensemble in place. Bust: 80 / Waist: 59 / Hips 85. B-cup.

Momone on the other hand was a little more tanned with light green eyes and waist-length purple hair that Izayoi usually observed to be held up in a single ponytail by some kind of ribbon on the right. The rest of Momone’s hair always hung in front of her face in several bangs on the right side. Bust: 82 / Waist: 56 / Hips: 83. D-cups.

The last to climb into the vehicle was Kotoro and Sayuri.

Kotoro’s scarlet eyes matched her orange-blonde hair. It was a style which mimicked braiding everything into a ring and then hanging from the back of her head which contained a bun where the braid met. The rest of her face was framed with bangs over the left side. Bust: 83 / Waist: 57 / Hips: 82. Another D-cup.

Sayuri was by far the most attractive of the clique. There was just something magical about how light bounced off her turquoise colored eyes. Her beautifully tall, slim figure and milky long legs advocated elegance while her thigh-length black hair styled into twin-tails gave her a juvenile charm. Bust: 67 / Waist: 52 / Hips: 71. Easily the most attractive A-cup Izayoi had ever seen.

"What’s the matter?” Akeno asked in a playfully rhetorical manner. “Have somewhere important to be?"

Izayoi chose to remain silent and wait for all the doors to close before starting the car.

"Took you long enough,” he groaned, finally pulling into the street.

"Piss off,” Akiza hissed back, folding her arms.

"Aki, don’t be mean,” Riza chirped in. “Your brother is giving us a lift after all."

"He’s not my brother!" Akiza snapped again.

"Don’t mind her. It’s the heat,” Akeno said defending Akiza’s attitude.

"It’s not the heat!"

"Whatever it is, try walking a little faster next time,” Izayoi put out the suggestion. He checked his mirrors before making a turn. He didn’t care what kind of mood Akiza was in or why.

"Come on, don’t be like that,” Kotoro added. “You should be honored."

"I should?"

"It’s not every day you get to play chauffeur to a bunch of pretty ladies.” Her tone was sunny and cheerful.

Fair point.

"Given how times Akiza has failed her driving test, I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Izayoi joked.

Well, half joked.

He took a moment to appreciate the temporary lapse in Akiza’s demeanor to flash him that hateful scowl of hers.

"Shaddup!!"

"Hey Aki, maybe next time distract the instructor by not wearing a skirt,” Riza commented.

"She wasn’t wearing a skirt,” Izayoi added.

"Then maybe next time you should wear a skirt,” Kotoro replied in turn.

"Will everyone just shut up please?" Akiza didn’t appreciate this team-up.

"I wouldn’t mind seeing you in a short skirt,” offered Akeno without making eye contact.

"Akeno!"

***

"Guess I should get this over with." Izayoi let out a final sigh before mustering together his courage. Before he could take his first step, his ears perked up to the sound of someone talking. Two someones.

"There’s someone outside?" Izayoi approached the voices and recognized the pair immediately even before seeing them.

"Hey guys.”

"Yo, what’s up?" The taller, brunette responded back, chirped.

Kengo.

Kengo was the kinda guy Matsuda wished he could be: Cool. Handsome. Popular with the ladies.

 Izayoi wasn’t quite sure what he was doing outside class though.

"Nothing much,” he said back, trying to sound casual. “What are you doing out here?"

"What’s it to you, huh?!" The blonde, agro guy snapped back.

Kai.

While he’d known Kengo for years, Izayoi wasn’t all that familiar with Kai. Part of the reason for that might have been the fact he hardly ever saw him in class.

"Calm down,” said Kengo unconcernedly. “Izayoi is one of the good ones."

"Oh? Well then, yeah." Kai’s sudden tonal shift caught Izayoi off-guard.

"Shouldn’t you two be in class?"

"We’re taking a break,” Kengo announced proudly. He fit the mold of the typical dumb jock type, but cool enough. At least in Izayoi’s book.

"And how long have you been taking a break for?"

"Don’t know. How long is class?" The two of them broke into laughter and Izayoi pretended to laugh with them. Skipping class wasn’t that funny.

"Guess I’ll see you inside,” he said back, leaving them behind.

"Don’t bet on it,” Kengo exclaimed merrily.

No wonder they’re outside. Heck, if this keeps up, they might be here next year too. Thankfully I just need to pass this stupid course and then I am home free.

***

The classroom door opened suddenly, followed by a confidently declared ‘sorry I’m late’ to all within earshot. Izayoi closed the door behind him and looked up to see it: Everyone staring at him.

The realization that he probably should’ve selected a less dramatic way to make an entrance followed.

Not that the rest of the class was much to write home about. Class was just another way of saying ‘the four other people in the room’.

"Hello Izayoi,” Ms. Takagawa, his teacher greeted. In many ways, she reminded Izayoi a little of Yukie. “Nice of you to grace us with your presence...finally." They both had this manner of sounding incredibly one mood, while actually being on other side of the spectrum.

"Sorry Ms. Takagawa, I…,” Izayoi trailed off as soon as he realized he didn’t have a back half planned for the sentence.

"Yes…?"

"I…I had to take my sister and her friends home from practice,” he confessed, finally managing to scavenge enough words together.

"Oh?” Minori Takagawa didn’t look convinced. “And when did practice start?"

"Nine o’ clock I want to say."

"And when did it end?"

"Like, an hour ago."

"So why weren’t you in class between nine and one hour ago?"

"I…I was sleeping,” Izayoi confessed in guilt.

Ms. Takagawa gave him the stink eye but didn’t bother saying anything other than ‘just sit down’.

Izayoi hurriedly made his way over to an empty seat near the front of the class. The two girls he passed, Shizuka and Asami, went out of their way to snort at him. At one point, he could have sworn he heard them murmur ‘dumbass’ as he passed them.