Jun & Karou Chapter 8

JUN AND KAROU, PURE AND FRAGRANT

CHAPTER 8 OF THE MANGA

(Part 2, and the conclusion, of the Chaos at the Pool story arc)

It is the school day of the PE class that is held outdoors at the high school's swimming pool. Everyone, boys and girls alike, is individually evaluated on their swimming abilities, or lack thereof. It is Karou's(+F) turn in one of the several lanes of the pool. She glides through the water like she was born a natural amphibian. Her movements are in the water swift and strong. As usual, several of the boy's eyes are following her every move, as well as leering and ogling at her in her swimsuit, as it shows off the entrancing and tantalizing shape of her body. She is wearing either her own goggles, or the goggles that she teased Jun(+M) with. After her evaluation, Karou slowly climbs the pool ladder and exits the pool. She looks toward the school officials who are conducting the PE class. They look back at her with a look of astonishment on their faces. She slowly removes her swim cap, and shakes her head to free her compressed hair.

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Later that day, in the afternoon after the PE class, Karou, after changing back into her school uniform, makes her way to the Infirmary. She pulls back the curtain to one of the beds, only to see Jun sitting up in bed under the bed cover, wearing his school uniform, and staring back at her with mild curiosity. Karou becomes mildly sarcastic as she sits down at the foot of the bed---

" How nice. You almost drowned due to a muscle cramp. Also, what was this whole sick from anemia thing about ? Even if we're used to seeing the 'Jun who doesn't swim' every year, this year was the worst. " Jun is sheepishly and mournfully quiet. Karou continues, "Nobody else is here ......... ? Oh well, I'll just have this then."

Karou brought with her a small milk box. She retrieves the straw affixed to the side of the box, inserts it into the top of the box, and begins sucking on the straw. Both are silent for a very long time. Finally, Jun, still sitting upright, states that he hates the pool's smell!

" That chlorine smell.......reminds me of the time that I almost drowned........I hate that feeling! "

" That is exactly what you said last year ........ then ........." Karou becomes agitated and somewhat annoyed at Jun, and wants to give Jun 'a piece of her mind', but goes a bit to far. She leans over and grabs Jun by the knot in his necktie, and pulls on it. saying---

*" Why do you keep coming to the pool ??? "*

" AHHHHHH!!! I KNEW IT!!! IF YOU CAME FOR THAT.......YOU CAN JUST LEAVE NOW !!! ", angrily retorts Jun, as he pulls the bed cover blanket over his head, and hides beneath the blanket.

" Oh! You really are a lost cause. Come on ......... MAN UP ! ", barks Karou to the lumpy bed cover.

" I won't be able to 'man up', not today, and not tomorrow either(#).", comes a sorrowful voice from under the bed cover.

" Then do it the day after that ......... Hey! Wait! You hair is still wet ........ ", observes Karou, who now realizes that she probably said too much, with too much gusto. "

A period of long silence ensues. Finally, ".........ah.........leave me some space........." is now heard in Karou's weak voice emanating from under the bed covers. She has moved from the foot of the bed, and deftly slid herself under the bed covers, laying right next to Jun. Jun has poked his head out from under the bed cover, and is resting it on one side of the pillow, looking directly at Karou. Karou, for her part, is under the bed covers except for her head, which is resting on the other side of the pillow, looking intently at Jun. Both are wearing their school uniforms, both are under the bed covers, both are staring at one another in complete silence, without touching each other. This 'slap-stick pose' goes on for quite some time to come. Nobody gets excited, nobody seems to care about the oddity of it at all.

After ages, Karou breaks the silence---

" What do I smell like?(\*) "

" Strawberry milk. "

" I was drinking that just now........"

Very gradually, almost as if not to attract too much attention, Karou stealthily slips her head underneath the bed covers. Gradually, Jun then does the same thing, in the very same way. Both are now under the bed covers, not speaking, not making a sound, not touching at all, not doing anything. After another long period of silence, Karou, in a barely audible whisper, breaths out---

" ...................... what do I smell like .......................? "

Jun is as silent as a dead body, as he thinks to himself, " ..................you smell nice............", as nothing continues to happen ........... nothing........... nothing at all ..................absolutely nothing..............

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**(#) Not tomorrow either**

Jun can't "man up" tomorrow, because he will be in his perceived birth gender of female. That is why Karou says 'do it the day after', when he will be back to being male.

**(\*) What do I smell like?**

Karou is making a joke or pun in the Japanese language, a humorous gag that does not translate into the English language at all. The best that an English language reader can hope to understand about this spoof is this---The first name 'Karou" in the Japanese language is feminine, and means a pleasant, seductive, erotic aroma or aura surrounding that person. The pun might be if the whiff that Jun is inhaling is referring to the provocative meaning of her name, or to the erotic odor of strawberry milk on her breath, or to both!

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