But when we reached the square, I lost sight of him.
The rain that had been falling suddenly stopped. It was so sunny the whole thing seemed like a lie, and he had disappeared.
It was like he had melted away into the sky with the rain clouds. Just kidding.
Ahhhh. What the heck. I got my brand-spankin’ new panties all wet for nothing.
How stupid. Seriously, what am I even doing? Fled from by the guy I liked, going to hang out at that loser’s house, none of it seemed like me.
I suddenly really wanted to see everybody. Not the people from this world, but my high-school friends. I wanted to be in that same old classroom talking stupid shit so bad I was ready to die.
This other world sucks. It rains and there’s not even anywhere for a girl to take shelter? Are they in their right minds? There’s no McD’s, no convenience stores, no PokeStops—what the hell are the politicians even doing? Where is my place here?
“Ready? Go!”
Once the rain let up, some kids ran out into the square to play Kickin’ the Can. It was goofy how seriously they took it.
What a racket. But it seemed like fun.
Children shine in any world. I want to shine, too. I want to get strong enough that I can say I’m me no matter where I am.
It’s not like me to mope just because I got rained on.
“Hey!” I wrung the skirt of my dress out and jumped into the boys’ game. “Let me play too!”
“Huh? What’s with this lady?”
“Don’t bug us!”
“Eh, it’s fine, isn’t it? C’mon, run!”
The beat-up can flew straight into the freshly rinsed sky.
＊
“Haru, why didn’t you come tod—”
“Uh-huh, I’m busy, so outta my way! Move!”
I hurried around the pub carrying mugs of beett.
Yep, I was busy that night. I didn’t have any time to lose.
“Haru, someone’s calling fo—”
“Hey there, great to see you again!”
I clapped my hands to welcome the regular and took him upstairs.
I grabbed his cock like a fast-fingered sushi chef grabs the tuna.
“H-Hey, you’re sure in a hurry tonight.”
“I’m just a tad short on time, sorry!”
“Err, it’s fine, but...ooh.”
I sucked so hard my cheeks inverted, making a ton of noise, and right when he was about to cum, I pushed him down on the bed and put him in.
“Whoa, whoa, I haven’t even done any—”
“Oh, did you wanna grab my boobs? Or is doggy-style better for you? Anything you want, as long as you ask in the next three seconds!”
“I mean, it’s fine, but you’re really rushing through thi—kgh, oh shit, I’m gonna cum, oh man!”
All right, one down.
I saw off my less-than-satisfied customer, hopped in the shower, and went back downstairs. While I was at it, I did five sprints up and down. Gotta get stronger.
Madam seemed puzzled by my behavior. Oh, right. There was something I had to ask her. Please let me off at ten tonight!
Sumo showed up, and I flat-out refused him—“I don’t have time to talk today.” His big balloon of a body seemed to deflate. After handling a few more customers, I went straight back to my room and put in ear plugs.
What was I doing, you ask? Sleeping, duh.
Paying no mind to the gasps from neighboring rooms that seemed to proclaim the night was still young, I slept with a single-minded determination, rose with the sun, and headed to the square from the day before.
The gang was already there.
“You’re late, Haru!”
“We come half an hour early. If you can make it, come by then.”
“Okay!”
The other day I discovered Kickin’ the Can.
In this world, Kickin’ the Can is a sport. It has complicated rules, positions, and etiquette. At first the team was mad that I barged in and kicked their can, but then they scouted me for my power kick.
“Listen up, from now on we’re going to play with Haru as our first kicker. But we’ll switch positions according to the situation, so watch for my sign. Keep the lines of communication open. Got it?” said our playmaker, Pokyamaz, looking everyone in the eyes.
He’s a cool boy with an intelligent face, but inside he’s got a burning passion for sports.
When we’re on offense, he hides in the spot farthest away from the circle, giving instructions; when we’re on defense, he’s the “It” of this world, taking on the difficult searcher position and hunting the other players.
“Haru, use all your might. Just don’t break any windows or you could get sent off the field. Think about what direction you’re kicking.”
That was Gnace, the old first kicker. He’s the mischievous type, and he’s got spiky hair, but he’s a manly, reliable kid. He gave me advice even though I took his spot.
Now he’s a border, the vanguard position—they hide the closest to the circle and do things like go for the can or cause a distraction.
“Let’s take it nice and easy. Haru, just start by learning to kick.”
That’s the moodmaker, Relamap, who operates at his own pace. He’s a cute, smiley kid, as well as nimble and full of ideas—our tricksy second kicker who never lets you guess what direction he’ll come darting out from.
A second kicker is the only one to accompany the search when the team is on defense; they can give advice about which direction to go in.
“Okay, here I go!”
And I was entrusted with being the big gun, the first kicker.
The first kicker is a kicking specialist who, during the offense phase, kicks the can, and then hides so the other team doesn’t find them ’till the end, sometimes using the border and second kicker as distractions so they can focus on kicking.
This team, the Happy Friends Squad, had nearly given up on entering the tournament because the kid who used to be their border moved away. But with me on the roster, they were off and aiming for the championship again.
Apparently a girl being on a Kickin’ the Can team was unheard of, but not against the rules. Of course, I felt bad hiding the fact that I was a sex worker, but I wasn’t really sure how to explain it to these elementary-schoolers, and it would have been a serious pain to educate them about pussies and sex and so on, so that was that.
Anyhow, it was decided that I would play in the tournament! Seems fun!
“Nice kick!”
“Hide as fast as you can. Haru, the basic idea for you is to hide somewhere with the same radius as Relamap, but make sure you can see what Gnace is doing!”
“Haru, your butt’s sticking out. You’re not all the way hidden!”
“Pokyamaz is giving the sign. He always does it right after the enemy sets up the can, so if you miss it, look for a nearby teammate!”
“Haru, your butt! I can see your entire butt!”
“Change your hiding spot. The enemy is moving on Relamap! Relamap, fall back. Gnace, get around their back. Haru, go forward from where you are, around the right side. In a real game, try to cut the search line when you move!”
“Haru! Your butt!”
We practiced ’till we were dead-tired, drank from the fountain at the square, and had a meeting. Gnace’s family owns a storehouse nearby, so they’d been using it like a club room.
Gnace is the one who was so mad about my useless butt that he wanted to cut it off, but anyhow...
“Knock it off, Gnace. You can’t talk like that to a girl.”
Pokyamaz is so mature.
“Tch!” Gnace clicked his tongue and sulked.
“It’s because Haru joined that we get to play in the tournament, so let’s all get along.” Lelamap grinned.
I want to protect that smile.
“...I know how hard Haru’s working,” Gnace murmured, sheepishly scratching his buzzed head.
Why does it feel so good here? Are boys kinder than I remembered? Or are the guys who show up at the brothel just trash?
“We absolutely cannot lose this tournament.” Pokyamaz held up the can we’d been using for practice. “This is a can of shelled aube that Relamap’s family makes.”
“What? Really?”
“Pokyamaz, I told you not to worry about that. We’re fine.”
“Nah, I think we should tell Haru. She’s one of us.”
Most of the Kickin’ the Can team sponsors are makers of canned products.
That’s because the can of the team that wins the tournament is used as the official can in all Kickin’ the Can games for the year. And with all the Kickin’ the Can fans in this city, it also leads to a bump in sales.
The Happy Friends Squad always loses in the first round, so Relamap’s family’s can has never been the official can. Sales hadn’t been very good, either, and his parents were saying that if the slump lasted much longer, they would have to move back to the country.
Which is why Pokyamaz declared that we would win this year’s tournament.
“I don’t want us to be separated from any more friends. We have to win with Relamap’s can.”
“Yeah, ’cause our whole thing is being happy friends.”
“Bleh, I can’t believe this is all my family’s fault. How lame... But I do want to keep kickin’ the can with you guys forever. Including Haru, of course.”
“You guys...”
This is too great. The passion! This is what I’ve been missing in my life.
“Okay! There’s no way I’m losing, either! The Happy Friends Squad is eternal! Rraaagh!”
“Rraaagh!”
I’ve reclaimed my youth.
On the first day of the tournament...we were already in a pinch.
A match goes to the first team to reach three wins, and we’d gotten off to a good start with two, but then our opponent beat us twice in a row. They had all the momentum.
Gnace twisted his ankle. We didn’t have any subs, so if we reported an injury and he left the field, we would immediately be disqualified as a team.
It must have hurt a ton, but Gnace hid it and hung in there. I didn’t whine about anything, either. We couldn’t lose this game.
It was time for offense. At the end of the defense phase, we were up against a seven-point lead.