Chapter 130: Ball Game begins
The cherry blossoms had fallen, and in no time at all, the first day of the ball games had arrived.
It was not exactly an annual festival, but more like an event to get to know the new class and the new students.
Unlike last year, this year I was on fire. Because Kaede was in my class, I had to show her how cool I was, and if we won the men’s and women’s competitions, my homeroom teacher, Fujimoto, would reward the class with grilled meat.
“We’re going to win this year!”
“You’re really excited, Yuya. In that case I can’t lose, too!”
The members of the team, including Shinji and I, were at the edge of the field, relaxing and chatting as we waited for our turn to play.
The men’s event, soccer, would be played on a half-court with a six-on-six mini-game format, 30 minutes per game. A team had to play several games at the same time in order for the finals to be completed in two days. Today, it was the quarterfinals, and tomorrow the semifinal and final would be played on a full court 11-on-11 in 60 minutes.
“Three matches today alone. Tomorrow’s semi-final will be half-court, but the final will be full court, 60 minutes. We have to think about our physical strength and plan our strategy accordingly.”
With 20 classes in all, the schedule was inevitably overcrowded. Our goal was to win the tournament, so we had to select our team members based on their physical strength to fight until the end.
“Our sights are set on tomorrow’s final. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be facing Sugitani’s class. I want to conserve my energy as much as possible.”
“That’s right. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t cut corners and get caught flat-footed, so let’s keep our guard up.”
“Yes,” he said, locking fists with his trusty sidekick.
In the end, the plan was to score as many goals as possible as early as in the game to demotivate the opponent. After that, Shinji and I decided to take turns to conserve our energy. Whether it was a good strategy or not was highly questionable at this point.
“Well, Mogi and the others will do their best, too. After all, our class has the cutest high school girls in Japan cheering for us.”
Surely, Kaede’s cheers would motivate all the boys in our class to the max. The jealousy of the opposing team would be even more intense.
“Oh, Yuya, by any chance. You don’t think that Hitotsuba-san’s cheers are only for you, do you? Mou, you’re too possessive, aren’t you?”
“Shut up, Shin-kun. You should think about how you would feel if Otsuki-san’s cheers were directed at someone other than you. You’d be a little pissed, wouldn’t you?”
“No, that’s not? That’s true… you may have a point!”
Well, you understand me, Shin-kun. It could be seen that you wanted to monopolize Otsuki-san. You doted on her so much that it wouldn’t hurt to put it in your eyes.
“… I don’t want to be told by Yuya-kun? When it comes to Hitotsuba-san, I’ll fight against the world! I’m going to say something like that.”
“Ha-ha-ha! You know exactly what I mean. I’d do anything for Kaede. That’s how much I…”
“Yoo-hoo-ya… you!”
I was about to say, “I love you Kaede,” when I heard a familiar voice behind me and tried to turn around, but she jumped on me a step faster than that. Feeling the softness on my back, I stepped on both feet to prevent myself from falling.
“Kaede. You startled me! It’s bad for my heart”
“I’m sorry. Yuya-kun was defenseless, so I just”
It was not something to apologize for. Although it felt nice to be hugged by Kaede, I was embarrassed because there were so many people watching.
“Kaede… no matter how much you love Yoshizumi, it’s dangerous to jump on him out of nowhere, okay?”
Sighing, Nikaido pulled Kaede off of me, sticking her to my back. What the h**l were you doing?
“Haa… that’s our line. It’s almost time for the game, and you’re standing there with your nose in the air… I’m worried now that the ace is like this.”
The basketball club ace shrugged.
Who had his nose stretched out? I was getting charged by Kaede-san, right? I was not fascinated by the fascinating fruit. That was definitely not the case.
“It’s not about me. What about Nikaido? You’ve been against the third-year class since the first game, right? You said some of them are even from the basketball team, is your team okay?”
“I’d like to say it’s not a problem, but honestly, it’s tough.”
Nikaido made a face as if something had left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was rare to see her make this kind of face, so I guessed that the other class was a strong opponent.
“Aah… There are several regular class members over there, including the captain. They’ll definitely try to hold me down, so Kaede will be my best bet.”
“I see. But, well… we’ll be fine. We’ll win, I know we will.”
“… eh, Yoshizumi. Did you hear what I said?”
Perhaps she was dissatisfied with my blunt answer, Nikaido’s gaze and tone sharpened. Why were you angry?
“In my opinion, Nikaido is the best basketball player in this school. And her partner is Kaede, right? Then there’s no way you can lose. You just have to be strong like you always are.”
“—Yuya. It’s time for us to go.”
The next thing I knew, all the members except for me were heading towards the center of the field. I followed Shinji’s back as he went ahead of me and started walking. But before I did that, I had to say something.
“— Win, Nikaido.”
“… fufu. Aah, I’m going to win. Good luck, Yoshizumi.”
“Ooh! Leave it to me. Kaede, cheer me up!”
“Yes! I’ll do my best to support you! Yuya-kun, please do your best!”
With their encouragement, I stood on the pitch. I had to show off my cool side.
Chapter 130: Ball Game begins
The cherry blossoms had fallen, and in no time at all, the first day of the ball games had arrived.
It was not exactly an annual festival, but more like an event to get to know the new class and the new students.
Unlike last year, this year I was on fire. Because Kaede was in my class, I had to show her how cool I was, and if we won the men’s and women’s competitions, my homeroom teacher, Fujimoto, would reward the class with grilled meat.
“We’re going to win this year!”
“You’re really excited, Yuya. In that case I can’t lose, too!”
The members of the team, including Shinji and I, were at the edge of the field, relaxing and chatting as we waited for our turn to play.
The men’s event, soccer, would be played on a half-court with a six-on-six mini-game format, 30 minutes per game. A team had to play several games at the same time in order for the finals to be completed in two days. Today, it was the quarterfinals, and tomorrow the semifinal and final would be played on a full court 11-on-11 in 60 minutes.
“Three matches today alone. Tomorrow’s semi-final will be half-court, but the final will be full court, 60 minutes. We have to think about our physical strength and plan our strategy accordingly.”
With 20 classes in all, the schedule was inevitably overcrowded. Our goal was to win the tournament, so we had to select our team members based on their physical strength to fight until the end.
“Our sights are set on tomorrow’s final. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be facing Sugitani’s class. I want to conserve my energy as much as possible.”
“That’s right. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t cut corners and get caught flat-footed, so let’s keep our guard up.”
“Yes,” he said, locking fists with his trusty sidekick.
In the end, the plan was to score as many goals as possible as early as in the game to demotivate the opponent. After that, Shinji and I decided to take turns to conserve our energy. Whether it was a good strategy or not was highly questionable at this point.
“Well, Mogi and the others will do their best, too. After all, our class has the cutest high school girls in Japan cheering for us.”
Surely, Kaede’s cheers would motivate all the boys in our class to the max. The jealousy of the opposing team would be even more intense.
“Oh, Yuya, by any chance. You don’t think that Hitotsuba-san’s cheers are only for you, do you? Mou, you’re too possessive, aren’t you?”
“Shut up, Shin-kun. You should think about how you would feel if Otsuki-san’s cheers were directed at someone other than you. You’d be a little pissed, wouldn’t you?”
“No, that’s not? That’s true… you may have a point!”
Well, you understand me, Shin-kun. It could be seen that you wanted to monopolize Otsuki-san. You doted on her so much that it wouldn’t hurt to put it in your eyes.
“… I don’t want to be told by Yuya-kun? When it comes to Hitotsuba-san, I’ll fight against the world! I’m going to say something like that.”
“Ha-ha-ha! You know exactly what I mean. I’d do anything for Kaede. That’s how much I…”
“Yoo-hoo-ya… you!”
I was about to say, “I love you Kaede,” when I heard a familiar voice behind me and tried to turn around, but she jumped on me a step faster than that. Feeling the softness on my back, I stepped on both feet to prevent myself from falling.
“Kaede. You startled me! It’s bad for my heart”
“I’m sorry. Yuya-kun was defenseless, so I just”
It was not something to apologize for. Although it felt nice to be hugged by Kaede, I was embarrassed because there were so many people watching.
“Kaede… no matter how much you love Yoshizumi, it’s dangerous to jump on him out of nowhere, okay?”
Sighing, Nikaido pulled Kaede off of me, sticking her to my back. What the h**l were you doing?
“Haa… that’s our line. It’s almost time for the game, and you’re standing there with your nose in the air… I’m worried now that the ace is like this.”
The basketball club ace shrugged.
Who had his nose stretched out? I was getting charged by Kaede-san, right? I was not fascinated by the fascinating fruit. That was definitely not the case.
“It’s not about me. What about Nikaido? You’ve been against the third-year class since the first game, right? You said some of them are even from the basketball team, is your team okay?”
“I’d like to say it’s not a problem, but honestly, it’s tough.”
Nikaido made a face as if something had left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was rare to see her make this kind of face, so I guessed that the other class was a strong opponent.
“Aah… There are several regular class members over there, including the captain. They’ll definitely try to hold me down, so Kaede will be my best bet.”
“I see. But, well… we’ll be fine. We’ll win, I know we will.”
“… eh, Yoshizumi. Did you hear what I said?”
Perhaps she was dissatisfied with my blunt answer, Nikaido’s gaze and tone sharpened. Why were you angry?
“In my opinion, Nikaido is the best basketball player in this school. And her partner is Kaede, right? Then there’s no way you can lose. You just have to be strong like you always are.”
“—Yuya. It’s time for us to go.”
The next thing I knew, all the members except for me were heading towards the center of the field. I followed Shinji’s back as he went ahead of me and started walking. But before I did that, I had to say something.
“— Win, Nikaido.”
“… fufu. Aah, I’m going to win. Good luck, Yoshizumi.”
“Ooh! Leave it to me. Kaede, cheer me up!”
“Yes! I’ll do my best to support you! Yuya-kun, please do your best!”
With their encouragement, I stood on the pitch. I had to show off my cool side.
