Naturally, a sheep had been drawn at the end. After reading that advice from Kuchina, Asumi had been inspired to do a successful back hip circle no matter what.
“Okaaay!” Asumi stood up and exhaled forcefully. “This is me we’re talking about. With a little practice, I’ll be able to do it…!”
First, she swung her right leg up.
“…And at the same tiiime…!”
She had to pull her body to the bar with both arms, but she’d missed the correct timing the moment she said, “And at the same time…”
“Nnngh…”
Asumi’s abdomen didn’t make contact with the horizontal bar that time, either. She stretched her arms out and squatted again.
“…Argh, shit! I can’t do it…”
“Language, Asumin…,” Moena chided her, and Asumi scrunched up her face.
“But I could do it when I was little…”
“Huh? You could?”
“…Maybe once? I’m sure. At least…I feel like I did…but maybe it’s just my imagination. Maybe I unconsciously faked the memory and made myself out to be better than I was…”
“Hmmm… Our bodies would have been, you know, lighter when we were in elementary and junior high school. Even I was lighter back then, Asumin, but you were probably even lighter than me, huh?”
“I was like a stick. Mom used to say I looked like a laundry pole.”
“U-um…”
Sousei felt nervous, but he boldly interrupted. After all, Asumi seemed like she was motivated. It wasn’t that Kuchina’s advice was off the mark, but it was probably a little vague.
“At the start, you should put your legs more, kind of…”
“My legs? Like what?”
“Uhhh.” Sousei put his right leg back and his left leg forward. “Then do this.” He swung his right leg up from behind.
Asumi copied Sousei and positioned her left leg in front of her right.
“…Huh? Did I have my legs together before?”
“Pretty much, yeah. If you keep your right leg back, it’s easier to get the momentum to swing it up—or rather, kick it up.”
“I see! What else? What else?”
“Mmm, how should I put this…? Miss Hitsujimoto wrote that you should ‘swing them up high,’ didn’t she?”
“She did.”
“Well, so instead of kicking your right leg forward, it’s like you’re kicking the horizontal bar above you… I mean, you shouldn’t actually kick the bar, but imagine hitting your thigh against it. And try to pull your body up to it and kick out at the same time—”
“Hey, Takarai, wouldn’t it be easier to understand if you just showed us?” Moena suggested.
That was reasonable. The problem was whether Sousei could demonstrate a simple gymnastics move like the back hip circle in a way that would be easy to understand.
“I’ll give it a go, then…”
The park they were in had a set of three horizontal bars at slightly different heights that were all connected together. Asumi was using the middle bar, which was also at the middle height, so Sousei decided to use the highest one.
He tried doing a back hip circle and was able to pull it off easily.
“That’s amazing, Sousei!”
“Damn! You did that so easily!”
Being praised by Asumi and Moena wasn’t unpleasant, but it was embarrassing. It was just a back hip circle, after all.
“…Ah, nah, it’s nothing… Still, did it help?”
“Hmm…” Asumi tilted her head. “So maybe I don’t need to use as much strength? About as much as you used…?”
“It makes me think I’ll never be able to do one ever,” Moena said nonchalantly. Sure enough, Sousei’s easy-peasy demonstration wasn’t a good example to learn from.
“So, well…it’s more about direction and timing than strength. You’re right about not needing to use much strength…”
“Direction and timing…?” Asumi didn’t seem to be getting it. But then, she had an idea. “I just remembered, when I did back a hip circle at elementary school, wasn’t I supported by the teacher?”
“You were!” Moena exclaimed. She made a gesture that looked like she was carrying a straw bale on her shoulder.
That’s how you support someone doing a back hip circle…?
Sousei inwardly questioned it, and Asumi’s eyes widened.
“Hey, Moena, weren’t you lifted up way too high?!”
“I couldn’t get up by myself at all! I was so stiff, I ended up joking that I must be a tuna!”
“Tuna?! A frozen one?!”
“Does it matter if it was frozen or fresh?! Anyway, I couldn’t do it even with support, but you’ll be all right, won’t you, Asumin? Help her out, Takarai.”
“…Oh, okay,” he replied, then quickly pointed at himself. “Huh? Me…?”
“You think I’d be able to support her?” Moena asked, gesturing to herself. “That’d be dangerous for Asumin, wouldn’t it? We don’t want to get her hurt. So that just leaves you.”
“…Yeah, I guess…” For some reason, Sousei had been focused on what to do if his sister contacted him. She could call him at any time. While that worry was always there and he hadn’t forgotten about it, Sousei wondered why he had to think about his sister or work right at that moment.
“I’m quite big and brawny, you know,” Asumi said. “You good, Sousei?” She was about to start another back hip circle.
“…Um, yeah…” As Sousei tried to get into position to support Asumi, he also worried about his sister and work, and he pondered what Asumi considered “big and brawny.”
Asumin is tall, but I don’t think I’d call her big and brawny…
Despite how he looked, Sousei was much more built than the average high school boy. Lifting up one or two Asumi Shiramoris was no big deal. He could easily support her without issue.
“Ummm… Whenever you’re ready.”
“A’ight!” Asumi had probably been trying to say “All right.” She lifted her right leg and tried to pull her body to the horizontal bar with both her arms. So far, she was doing better than before and was almost able to touch her abdomen to the bar. Sousei reflexively placed his right hand on her hip, thinking he’d managed to keep physical contact to a minimum.
“Ngh, hya…” Shiramori was about to hook her body around the horizontal bar.
“Left leg…!” Sousei called out, and Asumi released a sharp breath, her left leg flailing.
“Takarai!” Moena called out, as if urging him to do something about it. It was overwhelming, but Sousei pressed his left hand against Asumi’s left thigh.
—It’s through her tracksuit pants, so it’s fine…!
It was by no means sexual harassment. That involved pestering someone in an inappropriate way while at work or school—which they weren’t, and he definitely wasn’t harassing Asumi. Just helping with her back hip circles.
“Nghaaah…” Asumi hung from the horizontal bar, with the bar pressed against her hips. In that moment, Sousei quickly removed his hands from her.
“Oh, lift your head up!”
“Whoa!” Asumi rotated her body and lifted her head higher. “—Huh?! I did iiit!”
“On the first go!” Moena clapped. “Amazing, Takarai! You did a great job supporting her!”
“…Ah, nah, not really…,” Sousei said, his palms raised for some reason. It seemed they’d stayed like that even after he’d finished supporting Asumi. Maybe he was trying to prove he had nothing to hide.
All I did was support her when I was asked. We’re…friends, and I have no ulterior motives. It’s probably weirder that I’m so conscious of something like that, but I mean…
“Okay!” Asumi got down from the horizontal bar. “I’ll keep at it until I can do it without any support! Sousei, could you help me a few more times?!”
—It makes sense that neither of us has any ulterior motives.
Until recently, Sousei had never engaged with others in this way before. He wasn’t accustomed to it at all. That’s why he was conflicted by these strange thoughts.
I’ll help her perfect her back hip circle. That’s what this is all for…!
Sousei lowered his hands, assumed a stance like a wrestler, and nodded emphatically.
“Sure! Ready when you are!”
“Here I gooooo.”
“You can do it, Asumin!”
“Nghaaah…!”
Yesterday, Sousei and Moena helped me practice back hip circles at the park!
Thanks to Miss Hitsujimoto’s advice…
I did it! I learned how to do a back hip circle!
I’m so happy! Thank you!
Next time, I want us to go to the park together so I can show you. I’ll practice every day so I don’t forget how to do it!
It sounds like every day is gonna be tough… This was Asumin!