There are various commercial facilities in the Keyaki Mall, most of which I've visited before. However, there are still a few facilities that I have yet to experience.
One of them is the gym on the second floor.
"I try to come here only on weekends and holidays. I'm a bit of an athlete, so I'm hoping to improve a little bit."
We arrived at the front of the gym and Ichinose took out her student ID card.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you haven't been to the gym before, have you?"
"Yeah. I've never been in one."
"Then it's a good thing."
"I'm surprised that you've been going to the gym. How long has it been?"
"I did a free trial in the middle of September and became a full member at the beginning of October, I think."
"So you've been going to the gym for more than two months now. I had no idea. Did you start by yourself? I'm not great at being involved in these places…"
I guess I wouldn't mind it if I joined and started going, but the first time or two would be a hurdle.
"Me too. That's why I started with my friends... because if I'm not brave enough alone, I can be pretty bold with two people. You're going to work out with me today, right?"
I nodded my head and let Ichinose lead me into the facility.
Ichinose greeted a friendly female staff member who was standing at the reception desk and presented her student ID card. She explained to her what we were doing while I stood behind her.
"Do you have your student ID card?"
"Yeah"
Apparently, if you present your student ID card, you can easily get a free trial without having to fill out any forms.
"See you in a bit, Ayanokouji-kun. You'll have to let the staff explain it to you from here."
After that, a male trainer guided me to the locker room, and I was asked to change my clothes after a brief explanation of how to use the lockers, change rooms, and shower rooms.
It seemed that the gym was designed so that you can go in empty-handed without bringing your belongings.
I took off my clothes, stored them in a locker, put on the rental training wear, and headed to the training room at the back of the gym.
Ichinose hadn't finished changing yet, and no one was in sight. It had just opened, so I guess that was natural.
But it was a bit awkward for me to be the first one since I was only here for a free trial.
A male trainer seemed to be willing to teach me a few things, but I declined his offer. I thought it would be better to learn from Ichinose. Not knowing how to behave, I looked around at the equipment at random.
However, I was familiar with the training equipment itself, so I felt comfortable with it.
When I was in the White Room, we had all the latest equipment for physical training. Even if the make and year of the equipment are a little different, they all seemed safe to use. Surprisingly, while I was having these thoughts, members of the gym started to enter one after another.
I thought the gym would be quite empty, but it seemed to be quite popular.
"Oh, it looks like some of the boys have already started."
I was a little surprised at Ichinose's outfit as she came out in her training wear, but I didn't speak on it.
"There were a couple of people in the women's locker room, too."
"I've seen adults in the locker rooms, so I guess non-students can use them too."
I knew that not all the movie theaters and supermarkets were exclusively for students, and this gym seemed to be no exception.
"I often see Mashima-sensei here as well."
I see. Teachers were also no exception. For those of us who live on the school grounds, a place to work out was important.
I had long shied away from such facilities, but if there were familiar students like Ichinose, I might be willing to join them.
As I was beginning to think about this, Ichinose began to carefully explain the equipment.
She explained how to use it with a bit of hands-on practice. I didn't want to ask any questions that didn't need explanations, and I just sat quietly and listened to the explanation, pretending to know nothing.
Ichinose had acquired a fair amount of knowledge, but she seemed to have little practical use of the equipment, probably because she had only been going to the gym for a short period of time.
After about 10 minutes of being taught how to use the equipment, the number of people coming to the gym gradually increased, and about seven men and women, excluding myself, began to work out.
It's time for us to do something, too…
"Oh, Mako-chan, good morning!"
Just as we were about to start working out, Ichinose saw a familiar face and called out to her.
"Ah, Honami-chan!"
It was Amikura, who had just come out of the locker room after changing.
She seemed genuinely surprised to see Ichinose, as she had known that I and Ichinose were going out today.
"W-what are you doing at the gym?"
Her thoughts probably leaked out of her mouth as she was visibly unsettled.
"Remember how you started going to the gym on your days off? I thought I'd introduce Ayanokoji-kun to it a little"
Ichinose replied with a casual expression.
"Oh, I see."
Amakura couldn't have imagined the two of us being at the gym together and Ichinose couldn't have understood her feelings at all, so she simply brushed it off with a nonchalant face.
"Well, I won't get in your way."
"...It's not like you're getting in the way or anything..."
Amikura gave me a sharp look in the eye that seemed to say, 'Don't say something unnecessary.'
By 'something unnecessary', I assumed she meant what she said to me the other day at the karaoke bar. Of course, I wouldn't do that. I didn't know how well she would understand, but I communicated to her with my eyes.
"Ayanokouji-kun and the gym are very different from each other."
"Is that so?"
"I can't think of myself doing this kind of thing. I don't like places where people gather."
I would like to say that this is just prejudice, but it was correct. I felt hesitant about working out in front of regular students. Moreover, I had an image that this kind of gym was not for working out in silence but with friends, so it was difficult for me to come here. I had to admit that I kept myself away from it for that reason.
"....I mean, come here, Honami-chan."
Amikura noticed something and pulled Ichinose's arm away from me. She then whispered something. Both of their eyes were on me for some reason.
"...?"
Ichinose jumped up in surprise and ducked down behind Amikura for some reason.
"I didn't notice that, Honami-chan..."
Amikura, who answered in this way, also seemed to be somewhat embarrassed.
"What is it...?"
"Oh, no, I mean... Well, you know, it's a little embarrassing to dress like this in front of others. Right?"
I received a look that felt like it was saying, 'Read the mood. Understand?'
"I see."
It seemed that she was embarrassed to be seen by boys in her gym clothes.
However, the gym was a place where one had to restrict their clothes in order to have ease of movement and absorption of sweat. It's often best to avoid introducing the notion of embarrassment, whether by mentioning it explicitly or by avoiding it altogether Ichinose had not noticed this fact, but Amikura had made her aware of it.
Amikura's expression suggested that she had made a mistake by being so blunt about it.
As a member of the opposite sex, it may be understandable to be concerned at her age, but this is a gym. It was best to just let it go and not worry about it.
"In times like this, it's best to work up a sweat, isn't it? Tell me how to do it, I'd like to try it."
I said this to get her to think about something else, because she loses her mind when she starts worrying about what the opposite sex thinks of her. Ichinose seemed to have made up her mind after hearing what I just said.
"I think you're right. Let's see, what should we do, Mako-chan?"
"Why are you asking me?"
Apparently still in a state of panic, she asked Amikura for help.
The two girls talked to each other as they were whispering in each other's ears, and they nodded their heads almost simultaneously to show that they were communicating.
"We're still new to this, so can we start on the treadmill, which is what we're used to?"
"Of course."
The two girls got on the treadmill, which seemed to be a staple in fitness clubs, and started running in the mode that suited them best. The machines were naturally from different manufacturers, but I had used these repeatedly when I was a child, so I was not at a loss on what to do.
It was a standard cardio machine that was indispensable for indoor training.
Ichinose and Amikura had similar settings, so I'll leave this one at about the same level as well.
"This is your first time in a gym, right? Take it easy, Ayanokouji-kun."
Amikura said so as if she was concerned about me, and I lightly answered with my hand that I was fine.
After that, we started training silently on the treadmill for a while.
At first, Ichinose seemed to be nervous and embarrassed, but the feeling gradually faded away, and after about 30 minutes, she seemed to have gotten used to the treadmill to some extent.
After the set 30 minutes had passed and the treadmill stopped, Ichinose looked up.
"Phew! I'm so tired!"
She seemed to be more exhausted than Amikura, perhaps because she said she wasn't good at exercising. She exhaled deeply and moved her shoulders up and down.
<Illustration>
"I'm going to go rehydrate."
Ichinose said and left the area after waving goodbye to us.
As I recalled, there was a station to fill water bottles next to the locker room.
Since Amikura and I were the only ones left, we decided to talk for a while.
"You've been coming here for a while, you look good."
"Ayanokouji-kun, you're not tired at all even though we did the same routine."
"I'm a boy, so I have more base physical strength than girls."
"I see. But I was surprised. I had imagined there could be a chance that we could meet at the Keyaki Mall, but I didn't think we would run into each other in the gym this early in the morning."
Apparently, running into each other at this place was not something that even Amikura had expected to happen.
"So, how did it go? Did you get anything out of… Honami-chan?"
"Nothing yet. We headed to the gym right after we met, joined you, and here we are."
"I see. But Honami-chan seems to be having a lot of fun, so that's good."
Wiping the sweat off her face with a towel, Amikura's eyes narrowed in delight.
"You know that kind of thing when you're best friends with them, huh?"
"I do. I usually smile a lot, but today I feel like I'm bursting with happiness."
Now that Ichinose had left the conversation and we were alone, I tried to casually elicit information from Mako-chan in order to fulfill my promise with Watanabe.
"It's almost Christmas, isn't it?"
"Indeed. You're spending Christmas with Karuizawa-san, right?"
Before I could get any more details, I was asked a question in return.
"Hmm? Well, that's the plan."
"Well... let me ask you frankly... What are you going to do about Honami-chan?"
"What do you mean?"
"Because you know how she feels, don't you? So, you know, right?"
Amikura tried to convey her feelings in a muddled manner, as if she hesitated to express them straightly.
"What kind of person do you think she should be with?"
"What? You're asking me that?"
"You have at least an idea that she has a special interest in you, don't you?"
She looked troubled and lightly wiped her forehead with the towel around her neck, as if she was starting to sweat.
"I… would love nothing more than for Honami-chan to smile, as her friend.
But Ayanokouji-kun has Karuizawa-san now. And it's a little different considering you shouldn't break up with her. I think the best thing would be for Honami-chan to fall in love with someone else and be happy with that person."
She comes to her own conclusions while thinking and speaking about her own ideals.
As Amikura said, the current situation in which Ichinose is showing affection to me is rather troublesome. So, if the affection is directed to an unrelated third party, then this situation could've been resolved with no problem.
"I agree. I don't know a lot of boys either, but Watanabe is easy to get along with and would be a good fit for Ichinose."
I threw Watanabe's name into the conversation as if I was trying to get in on Amikura's conversation.
Depending on her response, I may be able to find out what Amikura's impression of Watanabe is. Amikura appreciates Watanabe enough to accompany him when he's shopping on his days off.
This might be enough to explore the possibility.
"Watanabe-kun, right? He's the one in our class."
"Yes. We had a lot of chances to talk to each other during the school trip."
"Hmmm ... I guess so..."
She appeared to be thinking for a moment.
The vague gap between positive and negative is difficult to discern.
"As for me... I think Honami-chan can aim a little higher."
"I see. Watanabe is not good enough."
"I'm not saying anything bad about Watanabe-kun, okay? I think a normal girl would be good enough."
"I see. By the way, how about you?"
Since I wasn't sure, I decided to ask with a bit of force. If I took too long, Ichinose would come back.
"Me?"
"You seem to know a lot about love."
"Not at all. I already have a crush on someone."
"Ah. Someone you like, huh?"
"Well, of course, there's someone I like. I'm in high school."
Who was it? It would be best if I could find out.
"I've had a crush on him for almost 5 years now. When will I go on to my next love? "
She mumbled to herself. Five years. That means the love had been going on since before she entered this school.
It seemed that there was no need to go any further, but I wonder if this would be good news for Watanabe. At least he doesn't have any rivals at the same school…
I was about to ask Amikura what type of guy he was, but Ichinose came back after she had finished rehydrating herself. Amikura hurriedly moved away from me, not wanting to let Ichinose know that I had been talking about her love life without her permission.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"No, not at all. Are you okay now?"
If I persist more about Ichinose's situation, it will only make her suspicious of me.
I will ask her later if she can go into a little more depth.