Hold on tight.
Okay.
When we started practicing tandem riding,
it was this "hold on tight" part that was hard.
That's dangerous! Don't tickle me!
I'm not tickling you. I just held on a little.
Nishikata, you have ticklish ribs.
Your hands are tickling them.
Change the way you're holding on.
Like this?
You're too close, too close!
But it's dangerous otherwise.
Are you suddenly feeling self-conscious?
Hurk!
N-No!
It's just that it's hot when you're too close!
Anyway, don't grab me so tight.
But you said to hold on tight a minute ago.
Show me how I should hold on to you, then.
Huh?
Hurry. We're going to run out of time to practice.
L-Like this!
We've overcome various hurdles, and finally...
Whoa!
We've mastered tandem riding.
Yeah, we're done.
Well, we can tandem ride now, so there's no need to practice anymore.
Y-Yeah...
Are you...
a little bummed out?
No...
Or relieved?
It'd be rude if I said I don't care,
but if I say I'm bummed out, she's gonna tease me even more.
B-Both...
That's not fair.
Wh-What about you?
Me?
I'm not that bummed out.
I-I see.
Let's finish up our homework at the library tomorrow.
Huh?
Let's check each other's answers.
Uh, yeah...
Summer vacation is coming to an end.
Yeah...
Term Two is starting, though.
Yeah.
I wonder if the typhoon is actually coming.
Typhoon
"Typhoon."
It's so windy...
Whoa, so high!
The great typhoon!
I feel so excited for some reason!
Blow harder, wind!
I feel like I'm creating this wind!
So awesome!
Now, wind, I—
Morning, Nishikata.
Uh... M-Morning, Takagi-san!
Crazy wind, huh?
I should've tied my hair back.
Uh, yeah...
I-I was checking the direction of the wind.
I never asked.
Damn it! Why does she always see me at the worst time?!
So, what were you doing?
As I said, I was checking the direction of the wind.
I thought you were saying,
"Blow harder, wind!"
Or something like that.
Wh-Why would I?
Looking at it objectively, it's quite embarrassing.
But why were you checking the direction of the wind?
W-Well, I thought it'd be safer to know which way it's blowing
since the wind's so strong.
But you had both hands raised so high.
"I feel like I'm the one creating this wind!
So awesome!"
...is what it looked like you were doing.
S-So embarrassing...
Anyway, notice something different about me?
Y-You're not riding your bike, right?
Right.
So, why do you think I'm not riding my bike today?
Because there's a typh—
If you guess right, I won't tell anyone about you being giddy in the wind earlier.
I said I was checking the direction of the wind!
You have until that plastic bag gets here.
Th-There's a time limit?!
I-I have to get this right.
If she's asking me this, there must be a twist.
It won't be anything simple like, "It's dangerous to ride a bike in a typhoon."
Think, think!
Some other problem that a strong wind could cause...
Bike... wind...
Could it be... her skirt?
S—
That's too embarrassing to say out loud!
Beep, you're out of time.
The answer is that it's dangerous to ride a bike in a typhoon.
S-Seriously...?
You read into it too much.
Let's get going.
Crazy wind, huh?
Yeah.
Doesn't it kind of make you excited?
Yeah—I don't think so.
Doesn't it make you want to shout?
Raise both your hands and say,
"Blow harder, wind!
I am creating this wind right now!
I am the great Wind King, ruler of the world!
I will blow the school away to the far end of the earth!"
I never went that far!
So you weren't just checking the wind direction.
Oh, well.
Let's run to school, Nishikata!
The wind's so strong!
Huh?
Wait, Takagi-san! You always cheat!
For some reason, Takagi-san was really energetic this morning.
Marathon
"Marathon."
All right, let's do this!
You're so full of energy. Don't you hate marathons?
I'm looking forward to it!
Let's race, Sanae-chan!
Okay,
but if I win, you don't get to eat lunch.
Okay! Bring it on!
Are you sure? Sanae is a really fast runner.
I don't think I'll lose!
Huh?
Why run a marathon?
It's not as if we'll be running this long in our daily lives,
so why do we have to do this?
Seriously...
You look enthusiastic, Nishikata.
Nishikata.
You're really up to this?
Of course. It was my idea to begin with.
All right, see ya later.
You two are close.
Huh?!
You going out with her?
Wh-What are you saying?! Don't get the wrong idea!
I'm just competing with her because the winner gets to order the loser around!
Competing in the marathon? But...
None of your business!
Well, they don't seem to be going out, I guess.
If they were going out...
Nakai-kun!
How are you feeling?
Really good! It's because you've trained with me every day!
Let's both do our best.
Yeah!
Yeah.
They'd be acting something like that.
All right, gather 'round!
Why do we have to run?
Accept it already, Kimura.
Empty my mind. Yes, run with an empty mind.
Empty my mind and avoid wasting unnecessary energy.
I've got you this time, Takagi-san.
I've jogged every evening for over two weeks just for this day!
Come rain, come wind!
So there's no way I'm gonna lose.
Oops, empty mind... Empty my mind.
Nishikata.
I thought you would have sprinted way ahead.
Nah.
Pacing yourself is the key.
She doesn't get it.
You look unfazed, but you sped up because you panicked
when you couldn't see me for a while, right?
Nope,
I was running slow until now because I wanted to give you a handicap.
A handicap?!
Wait, did she just read my mind?!
Well, I'm going on ahead.
L-Lunch...
I can't have lunch.
I ran too fast.
That's right. You'll see, Takagi-san.
If you keep running at that speed, you're gonna lose your pace.
I just have to keep this pace going.
Wait...
Could it be that Takagi-san is good at marathon running?!
If she is,
this is bad!
There's no time to spend emptying my mind!
She's already running back?! She's actually faster than the boys?!
My lost my pace, but I caught up.
If you can touch me, you can be the winner, Nishikata.
Huh?!
I can't touch her in front of all these people!
Oh, god! Damn you, Takagi-san!
You deliberately made me lose my pace!
Takagi-san,
if you can run fifty meters ahead of me, you can be the winner.
Really?
She took the bait!
Yeah.
I'll destroy your pace this time!
Take this, Takagi-san!
I win, then.
Girls turn back here.
Girls turn back here
Huh?
Boys need to run two more kilometers, right?
Good luck.
That's not fair, Takagi-san!
That's why I asked if you were sure!
Don't stop, Nishikata.
See? Your sides start to hurt, and you get hungry.
Nothing good comes out of running a marathon.
If you used your energy to run instead of complain,
you might be able to run a little faster.
Why would I do something so pointless?
Running or complaining, which is more pointless?
Lunch...
I'm hungry.
So hungry...
Ribs
"Ribs."
I was teased by Takagi-san a lot today. Again.
Damn it... Just you wait, Takagi-san.
What?
What's wrong?
You have such ticklish ribs, Nishikata.
She does this every time there's an opportunity.
She says my ribs are ticklish, but aren't everybody's?
Takagi-san...
You wanna have a match?
The one who laughs first will be the loser.
All right.
We'll start right now.
Okay.
I got you now! You've failed to assess the situation, Takagi-san!
You're at a disadvantage because both your hands are holding your bike!
You think you can protect your ribs like that?!
Oh, by the way,
my ribs aren't ticklish.
Made you look.
Wow, you endured it.
That was close!
But did she say she's not ticklish?!
She's bluffing.
She's wide open!
Could she be telling the truth?
No...
All I have to do is tickle her and see.
What's wrong?
Uh... I-It's nothing.
This is kinda... embarrassing.
Can I really poke her?
Wouldn't it be sexual harassment?
If you're not going to, I'll attack again.
Huh?
Oh, god...
I thought it was a perfect plan, but I didn't realize there was such a pitfall!
It's too risky.
I should keep my distance so we'll end in a draw.
Takagi-san! That face is unfair!
You laughed.
That's right. I forgot that
Takagi-san had a special move: making funny faces...
Well then,
what should I make you do?
Huh?! There's a penalty?
Of course. It's a match, after all.
Let's see...
You can't eat rice for the rest of your life.
That's brutal!
Just kidding.
You're forbidden from reading 100% Unrequited Love.
Huh?!
That's cruel, too, I guess.
Why don't you poke my ribs?
That's the penalty?
Yeah.
Okay, then...
I-I get it!
She wants to enjoy watching me get embarrassed and struggle to touch her.
There's no way that's happening!
C-Come to think of it,
I think this'll be first time I've ever touched Takagi-san.
No, don't think about it. I'm just poking her.
What's wrong?
See? My ribs aren't ticklish.
Yeah...
But my armpits are.
I can't touch there!
Regret
"Regret."
I forgot!
What?
It's terrible!
What is?
We didn't do our test of courage during summer vacation!
That's right.
Let's go after school! We have to!
Seriously?
This place is haunted!
We're really going in?
Let's go!
They're too excited for it to be a test of courage.
So dark!
A hole!
A talisman!
This looks bad!
A steel drum?!
What, what? Why, why?!
This isn't scary at all.
Really? Isn't it super scary?
Not at all.
Hey, look!
A flying disc! Amazing!
Why is it here?
It's kinda chilly! Is it a ghost?!
It's because we're in the shade, and the wind passes through here.
Woohoo!
This is so fun!
Don't chase me!
Satisfied?
Yeah!
Yeah.
That felt so much like summer vacation!
I-I see.
But...
summer vacation won't be coming back.
Yeah...
Don't get so bummed out all of a sudden. Such a pain...