Side Story – There’s No Way That Friendship Can Grow Between Men

While my step sister and her friends were holding a girls’ night out at my house to talk about their own feelings, I was surrounded by handsome guys at the bowling alley.

“I’m pretty sure you know these guys, he’s Mobuyama Mobuta. And the other one is Sabushima Saburo.”

Genpaku introduced these two handsome guys.

……Eh, isn’t it terrible to treat the two of the five good looking guys in class as a mob and a sub-character?

As I was bewildered by Genpaku’s introduction, they reached out their hands without feeling offended and said [Nice to meet you ! !] with a smile as dazzling as Genpaku’s.

…..Wow, what a nice smile. No i mean, eh〜, both of you are being treated as a mob character, is that okay?

They seemed happy despite my confused handshake.

“Well, now that the introduction is over, let’s start bowling ! !”

Genpaku, who’s happily watching our conversation, closed the door and started the game.

Since they all were in the sports club, they kept landing strikes.

On the other hand, i, who’s not on the same wavelength as them, kept missing.

It was because I haven’t been bowling as much as I used to. Compared to them, I wasn’t good at it.

As a result, the first game ended with everyone except me scoring 50 or more points higher than me.

“Damn…I’m far behind them.” 

Genpaku grinned as he saw getting annoyed quietly.

I felt those stares and said [What is it?] and then he said [Nothing] with a face full of meaning behind it and looked at the other two.

As I doubted the look on his face, Genpaku suddenly raised his voice.

“Alright then, let’s compete with each other in the next game ! ! The team will be me and Saburo, Riku and Mobuta ! ! The team who loses will have to treat all of us with juice ! !”

Maybe he decided the team based on the results of our game, which was a combination of Mobuta at the top, me at the bottom, Genpaku at the second, and Saburo at the third.

“Riku, I’m looking forward to working with you ! !” said Mobuta, who has a rugged body and has the impression of being a bit stern.

“…..Me too.”

I replied with a small voice because of my shyness.

“Ou, that’s good ! ! Are you new to bowling, Riku?”

“No, it’s been around 10 years since I was doing it with my late father.”

Mobuta had a sorry expression after hearing my story.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s an old story.”

“I see, sorry. More importantly, when you throw the ball, where do you aim?”

“Eh? Where do I aim, aren’t you supposed to aim for the top of the pin and throw it?”

When I pointed to the first bowling pin, Mobuta said “As expected….] and he took me to the front of the lane. Then he pointed to the dot in front of him on the lane.

“When bowling, you have to aim at the middle of the marker in front of you and the second one from the right. That way you’re more likely to hit a strike.

“I see”

“Besides, you’re using too much force. You seem to have strength, but you can’t hit a strike with strength alone. Also, your form is inconsistent.”

He explained the form and steps that are easy for me to understand.

As a result, my stiff movement has improved. Genpaku and Saburo watched our conversation happily.

Then, the second game started. 

Thanks to Mobuta, I improved my form and skills, my movement also improved drastically and I’m hitting mass strikes.

Whenever someone hits a strike, the opponent also does that as well. 

The game is getting heated back and forth. This game ends with me throwing the ball.

In order to win, I have to get at least one strike, or Mobuta and I will lose.

I’m getting sweaty as I’m surrounded by the heat of the palace and the tension of the last pitch. When I wiped the sweat with my arm, my glasses fell to the ground.

“Riku, your glasses fell off…”

When Genpaku picked up my glasses and tried to hand them over to me, he was speechless when he saw my face.

“Hm, ahh. Thanks, Genpaku…..what’s up?”

Genpaku regained his composure when he looked at my face again.

“Hm, oh….Nothing. More importantly, it’ll be settled once your turn is over. Can you beat us, the amateur Riku kun?’

My heart is burning at those words from the guy who provoked me with a daring face.

I left my glasses with Genpaku and brushed my hair in an all-back style.

By doing so, although my vision was blurred, my glasses frame disappeared from my field of view, and my concentration increased.

This is the style that I usually use when I’m doing Karate.

Those three people were at a loss at words when they saw me like that.

“What’s wrong?”

“I told you it’s nothing. I mean, throw it quickly, Riku. I’ll give you a treat ! !”

“You say it ! !”

I cut off Genpaku’s words and grabbed the bowling ball with my right hand and stood in front of the lane.

Then, as I held the ball with both hands, I lifted it up to my face, and took a breather.

With that, my whole body became relaxed and I stared at the bowling pins that are on the other side of the lane.

Genpaku and the others gulped while staring at me.

And then, having made up my mind, I step forward slowly, one step at a time.

My body relaxed and moved smoothly.

I swing my arm that was holding the ball naturally in an ideal shape.

…..Yosh, perfect. I just have to swing down my arm next ! !

I thought that my body was moving in my ideal form, but then…..

“Achooo ! ! ! ! ! !”

The old man in the lane next to me makes a loud sneeze.

I was surprised by that sound, and the bowling ball fell out of my hand.

The ball rolled down the lane with a thud sound and was sucked into the ditch beside the lane without touching any of the pins.

I was dumbfounded by the ball that fell off the track, and the three of them started laughing at my clumsiness.

“Don’t laugh, damn it ! ! if there’s no hindrance….”

I endured the embarrassment with a bright red face while waiting for the ball to return.

My pitching was screwed by the sneezed, so I ended up missing on the second throw.

I was able to grasp the ideal form, so I regretted not being able to throw the ball properly, but it was too late.

The game is over and Genpaku’s team has won.

“It’s okay, don’t mind it ! ! you can’t help it because there was a hindrance ! !”

Mobuta encouraged me, but I held responsibility for this loss.

“My journey is still far away huh….”

While resenting my lack of concentration, I went to Mobuta.

“Sorry, we lost. It’s my fault so let me treat you…..”

“Well, if you say so. Alright, let’s buy some juice to lift up our spirits ! !”

Mobuta and Saburo put their arms around my shoulders and took me to the vending machine.

“Just as I had planned….”

Genpaku was looking at us from behind with a grin.

–

–

–

If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate 🙂 Thank you in advance !

https://ko-fi.com/dasuitl

https://saweria.co/dasuitl