Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093087122434729/episodes/16818792435677735391
The moment the ball left my fingertips, I felt a tingling sensation like static electricity.
An eerie sense of regret, like when you’ve made an irreversible mistake or made the wrong choice at the last moment, clings to my sweat and runs down my spine.
“──!”
It was a light, pleasant sound.
It must have sailed over my head. I couldn’t even bring myself to follow the ball’s trajectory with my eyes.
After all, I already knew the outcome without even seeing it.
“Ohhh!! It’s a walk-off!!”
A walk-off home run.
The end came far too abruptly.
“…Huh, he’s really amazing, that guy.”
Despair? There was not a single trace of it in my heart.
I took off my glove and took a deep breath.
After that, I stepped off the mound and headed for the bench.
“…I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold it back.”
“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t gotten injured, you might have been able to focus solely on hitting.”
“How about you buy me a drink next time?”
“Alright, I’ll buy you anything next time.”
“Then that’s settled. Let’s line up for now.”
To be honest, I don’t remember much after that.
Before I knew it, the first day of the sports festival was over, and I was on my way home.
I went home with Shiramine as usual, but I couldn’t remember anything we talked about.
When I got home, I made dinner as usual.
I tried not to think about anything and just zoned out.
“Hey! It’s burning, it’s burning!”
“…Oh, you’re right.”
I burned the grilled fish and forgot to put tofu in the miso soup.
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strange since you got home.”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just a little tired.”
In fact, my body felt as heavy as mud, and my head was foggy from exhaustion.
“Let’s order something tonight. Ren. Anyway, it’s about time…”
my sistter laughed in exasperation and started to say something, but then the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.”
“No, I’ll get it.”
My sister left the living room as she spoke. And then…
“Good evening, Ren-senpai.”
“Shiramine-san…”
“You don’t seem to be feeling well yet.”
Shiramine smiled softly, trying to hide her concern.
It had been less than half an hour since she had come home. She must have taken a shower and come straight here. I don’t know what it is, but she smells like flowers. It must be her shampoo.
“Hisui chan, would you like pizza or sushi?”
“I’m just here to eat, so either is fine.”
“Hmm, if it’s sushi, then sake… If it’s pizza, then beer or highball would be good.”
As expected, my sister is only thinking about alcohol. Is she okay? This person.
“Ren, what do you want?”
“Anything is fine. I’m going to take a bath first.”
I took my change of clothes from my room and headed for the bathroom.
I washed my body and hair, then slowly soaked in the bathtub.
I stared at the bright ceiling and gave up thinking. But somehow…
“…Ah, I lost. Completely.”
It seems that I’m more damaged than I thought. I didn’t think I would feel this frustrated.
“Senpai. Are you okay?”
Shiramine’s voice came from the dressing room on the other side of the door.
“What? What? Are you coming in?”
“No, that’s not it. We haven’t even kissed, so there’s no way I can take a bath with you.”
Oh, I see. That’s the order of things, then?
“I just want to talk a little. With you, senpai.”
“…I see.”
“Baseball. I watched it. You looked cool.”
“But we lost. So easily…”
That’s the truth, and there’s nothing we can do about the result. So, no matter how cool you looked…
“Ren-senpai. But…”
“Hisui-chan, which pizza do you want?”
The door to the dressing room opened with a clatter. My sister must have come in.
…I don’t know, could she at least knock?
“Senpai, let’s talk after dinner.”
With that, Shiramine returned to the living room with my sister.
Dinner was a little later than usual.
It was past 8:00 when we finished eating, and my sister went to her room first to practice the violin.
“Now then. Senpai. Come over here.”
After throwing away the empty boxes lined up on the desk, Shiramine sat down on the sofa. She tapped the seat next to her, inviting me to sit down.
“Um, well…”
“What’s the matter? Are you embarrassed?”
“Well, yeah.”
Anyone would feel a little nervous being invited to sit next to such a beautiful girl.
“Never mind that. Come on, hurry up.”
“Oh, okay.”
I sat down for the time being. I didn’t want to think about it too much.
“Senpai. Come on, just a little more.”
“Huh? What? Isn’t sitting next to you enough?”
It seems she wants me to lean back and rest my head on her lap.
“Mmm, if you don’t want to, that’s fine.”
“I don’t mind. Not at all.”
At this point, I just let things take their course. With that mindset, I leaned back.
“You’re surprisingly bold, Senpai.”
“I think that’s because of you, Shiramine-san.”
Her fingers gently tangled in my hair. They swayed like the calm waves of the sea.
“Continuing from earlier… You did your best, Senpai.”
“Yes, I did my best. I tried my hardest.”
I couldn’t win, and it was meaningless, but…
“Thinking that it was meaningless is a little sad.”
“…You figured it out.”
“I can tell just by looking into your eyes. I can tell anything about you, Senpai.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Oh, you don’t believe me? …But it’s the truth.”
Her breath touched my ear. It tickled a little.
Suddenly, the conversation stopped. There was no awkwardness, and it was such a comfortable moment that I wished time would just keep flowing like this forever.
That’s why the emotions I had been holding inside spilled out of my mouth like water from a broken glass.
“…I couldn’t win.”
“Yes. I saw it.”
“I was so frustrated, my head was spinning… To be honest, I don’t even remember how I got home.”
“You practiced really hard, didn’t you? After school and stuff.”
“But I still couldn’t win. I couldn’t do anything against Aota.”
Shiramine’s hand stopped. A little curious, I looked up at her out of the corner of my eye.
“Ren-senpai… is Hasegawa-senpai your goal?”
“Well…”
Shiramine’s eyes were serious.
“…I don’t know. But I didn’t want to lose. That’s all there was to it.”
“Is that really all there was to it?”
“I don’t know myself. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s obvious to everyone which one of us, me or Aota, is better.”
After saying that, I realized it wasn’t a good thing to say. Because Shiramine, who was looking at me from the side, had a clearly clouded expression on her face.
“Senpai. My legs are starting to go numb, so could you lift your head up a little?”
“Uh, yeah.”
I thought I might have upset her, so I sat back down on the sofa, and at the same time, Shiramine rested her head on my lap.
“Senpai, you’re already an amazing person. But I know you’ll deny it, so I’ll say this anyway.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not here because you’re amazing, you know?”
“Huh?”
“You’re smart, yet you sometimes act like an idiot, and you’ll gladly take the blame to make someone else look good. Honestly, there are times when I can’t understand what you’re doing.”
“Oh, uh…”
It doesn’t seem like I’m being praised…
“But I… I like you just the way you are. I like everything about you.”
My heart skipped a beat. It was like something out of a manga, my heart pounding loudly.
“…Well, I actually wanted to say it in a more romantic setting, but…”
Shiramine turned her face away as if she were turning over in bed. However, her ears were bright red, and I could tell at a glance that he was embarrassed.
“Senpai, your face is bright red. Are you excited?”
“Huh, really…?”
I quickly touched my face. It was so hot that I wondered if I had a high fever.
I took a deep breath to calm myself down.
“Is it okay if it’s me?”
“I wouldn’t say this if it weren’t you, senpai.”
“I’ll give up easily… and I’m not cool either.”
“If you give up when it matters, I’ll spank you, and I’ll decide whether you’re cool or not.”
Her white fingertips reached out and touched my cheek.
“Well… um, I…”
“?! Don’t get the wrong idea! This isn’t a confession or anything like that!”
Shiramine’s face turned bright red, and she stood up from the sofa as if to escape.
“Well, I’m going to head home now. Please give my regards to Ajisai-san.”
“Eh, uh, okay.”
Shiramine rushed out the front door like a rabbit.
I was left standing there with my mouth open for a moment.
After that.
“Haa, what was that?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The heavy cloud in my chest had disappeared without me even noticing.
“…I’ll do my best again tomorrow.”
I won’t have to fight Aota anymore. It’s a little complicated, but it’s okay.
When I locked the front door, I heard the ringtone from the living room.
“What? At this time of night… Well, it’s not that late, I guess.”
I went back to the living room and picked up the shaking smartphone.
“Hello?”
“Ah! Hayami! I’m glad you’re feeling better!”
“Yeah, I guess. So, what’s up? You didn’t call just for that, did you?”
“Um, yeah… well, about that…”
I had a bad feeling. I could hear him swallowing on the other end of the line.
“Hey, Hayami. Tomorrow…”
“Yeah?”
“Can you play soccer for me?”
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