Chapter 33

**Sutō-san** (須藤さん *Sutou-san*) is the thirty-third chapter of the *100 Kanojo* manga.

## Summary

Winning an eating competition doesn’t come without consequences, and Rentarou’s girlfriends, except for Kurumi and Mei, have all put on weight because of it. They tell Rentarou after school that they’re going to be doing some “secret cuteness training” for a while, dragging Kurumi into it despite her not needing to do it, resulting in him having to walk home alone. As he walks towards the school gates, he spots a student advertising the girls baseball club, which they’ve been doing for the last couple of days. The two of them lock eyes and Rentarou zings with them—his 9th soulmate.

The girl asks him if he wants to join the girl’s baseball club, which he obviously declines for being a guy. She questions why she thought to offer him a spot, and Rentarou asks her if she’s a member of the club. The girl introduces herself as Sutou Iku, a first-year, class 3 student in the girl’s baseball club. Rentarou mentions that he’s seen her out here every day recently, and she explains that the reason is because they need to win next weekend’s baseball game, or the club will be disbanded. Iku says that they don’t have enough members to play the match, prompting Rentarou to ask how many people she’s missing. She firmly clarifies that she needs eight people and is therefore missing an entire team. Rentarou questions how the club was formed in the first place, and she explains that they had a full team up till half a month ago. Everyone in the club vowed to take home the national championship and therefore left to study abroad in America, leaving Iku to safeguard the club until they come back.

Rentarou asks why Iku is doing practice swings, and she says that it’s the most she can do due to being unable do a live demonstration of a baseball game. She completes her 10,127 swing which puzzles Rentarou, so she explains that she’s been there since 4am and uses all her free period to advertise the club, shocking him. He questions if her arms hurt, and she agrees that they do but she does it so she can both train and recruit at the same time. Iku loves the feeling of the creaks and aches in her arms and the sharp pains running through her body. She drops to her knees, sparking some concern from Rentarou, but she says that she has to keep working harder and push herself right up to her breaking point, with a look of bliss on her face. Rentarou rightly points out that she’s past stoicism and well into masochism instead.

Rentarou offers to help Iku advertise the club, which she agrees to. She first suggests that he does practice swings on her stomach, but he denies and says they should play catch or something similar. The two of them practice swinging and catching, all whilst advertising the club, late into the evening. Iku gives Rentarou a massage, which he thanks her for. She also thanks him back, saying that he allowed her to get something out of her time. Rentarou says that he could come again tomorrow, which Iku happily agrees to.

The next day, Iku is walking down the school corridor, commenting on the that she may have fallen in love, and spots Rentarou. She goes to call out to him but freezes once she spots him holding hands with Nano. After school, Rentarou approaches her, ready to help with the club, when she tells him that she wants to ask him something. She asks Rentarou if he’ll go out with her, but he declines her offer, saying that he already has eight girlfriends and doesn’t believe that he’s capable of bringing happiness to anymore. Iku feels immense pleasure from the feeling of having of heart broken, and thanks Rentarou for teaching her that this much pain could exist. Rentarou however begins to vomit blood, snapping Iku back to reality. He confesses that earlier in the day, he noticed Iku’s pleasure after she spotted him holding hands with Nano. He figured that since Iku confessed to him despite knowing he had a girlfriend, she must have wanted to experience the pain of being rejected first-hand, which she embarrassingly admits is the truth. He explains that he put on the act of turning her down to fulfil her wish, but even that was difficult for him. Iku is confused at Rentarou’s words, so he clarifies that his real answer to her confession is a yes. Iku tries to question Rentarou about his other girlfriends, but Rentarou reaffirms that all he can do is make them all happy even if it kills him, an act that makes Iku’s heart throb.

## Characters

* Hanazono Hakari
* Hanazono Hahari
* Inda Karane
* Yoshimoto Shizuka
* Yakuzen Kusuri
* Eiai Nano
* Haraga Kurumi
* Meido Mei
* Aijou Rentarou
* Sutou Iku

## Quote

**Beginning:** That's Right... It May Have Been Gradual, But There's No Denying It Anymore... The Consequences of The Eating Contest—

**End:** A bloody full swing! A homerun, right towards you!

**Next Chapter:** Even girls dream of Koshien Stadium.

## Trivia

* When Rentarou spits up blood after rejecting Iku's confession, his appearance looks similar to the character All Might from "My Hero Academia" whenever he does the same after exerting himself.