𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬

file 026 | enter jodie saintemillion

episodes 226—227 — the battle game trap

Suzume felt her eyes twitch as she stared down at the photos that Sonoko and Ran were fawning over. That has to be one of the most embarrassing pictures I have ever taken...

In the picture, Suzume was squeezed between her girlfriend and their friend, both of them pulling her cheeks to try and make her smile, which only made it look like she was just baring her teeth for no damn reason.

"This is great! I can see why this one's your favorite, Sonoko!" Ran giggled.

Sonoko grinned. "Right? And it's far from our school, so nobody knows about it," she said, referring to the arcade they were currently at.

"Ah! There's a wedding version, too!" Ran said.

Sonoko blinked. "I don't believe it. It wasn't here yesterday," she said.

"Let's have a look." Ran moved closer to the poster and grinned. "I think this one's so cute! Why don't the three of us get our pictures taken here?"

"Wait...Just wait a minute!" Sonoko said, pulling Ran off to the side and leaving Suzume to blink as she was left alone.

"What...just happened?" she murmured, confused.

"Maybe it would be better to take separate pictures sometimes, you know, for a change of pace," Sonoko said, a small blush on her cheeks.

Ran blinked. "Sonoko." She gained a smug smile. "Confess, Sonoko. You're going to write a letter to Kyogoku-san and stick your picture in it, aren't you?"

Sonoko's blush deepened as she thought of the martial artist she held affection for.

"Just a few days ago, Araide-sensei was reading a fan letter from one of the girls and he asked if sticking your photo onto the letters was the current trend," Ran continued.

"Listen, Ran," Sonoko said with a dull look. "I think you're about the only one who isn't doing it."

"Really?"

Sonoko sighed. "Well, Araide-sensei has it rough, doesn't he? He thought he could relax when he was relieved as coach for the basketball team, but now he's in charge of the drama club." She giggled. "But I guess that can't be helped since you and Suzume are now an item."

Ran blushed and Suzume chuckled as she walked over to join them. "I never realized I was that popular," she remarked, crossing her arms.

"Are you kidding?" Sonoko said, tilting her head with a smile. "You were Teitan High School's Bachelorette! Lots of the guys and even some of the girls wanted to confess to you, but you never gave a glance at the love letters you got."

Suzume let out an awkward laugh as she remembered Ran happily tossing the love letters into the fireplace at the Kudo house. "Yeah..."

"That's not completely true," Ran cut in with an awkward smile. "Jodie-sensei, the new English teacher, is pretty popular, too!"

"Only among the guys though!" Sonoko grumbled. "She's always wearing such sexy clothes and secreting pheromones; I think she thinks Japanese men are idiots!"

Well, some Japanese men are idiots, and you're hardly one to talk about revealing clothes, Suzume thought before shaking her head.

"But she explains everything simply and she is easy to understand!" Ran pointed out.

"She is just too serious. She has no fun!" Sonoko argued. "She is always so quiet and proper. She always refused us when we asked her for tea after class. She acts like she is a very well-bred daughter of some blue-blood family. It's rare to have an American at school. I expected her to be more outgoing and..."