Chapter 4: Ball Game

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Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.

Our school’s next big event after the entrance ceremony was a ball game tournament. Boys would compete in soccer and basketball, and the girls would compete in volleyball and softball. I was selected to play soccer, and Yuki was selected to play volleyball.

The school said the purpose of this event was to help the new students fit in, while making older students get used to their new classes. It also served to nurture kinship through cooperation.

And right now, my class’s volleyball match was taking place. The gymnasium was overflowing with spectators, and of course, a lot of them watched Yuki. Her cuteness was akin to an angel’s, and she was extremely athletic to boot.

One of her teammates receives the opposing team’s serve, and the ball is tossed upwards with finesse. Yuki kicked the ground and leaped for the floating ball. Her shiny silver hair, tied in a ponytail, swished through the air; her bountiful bosom bouncing along with her jump. She naturally caught the attention of the boys.

The enemy team grouped in front and jumped, a three-person block looming over the net. However, Yuki’s spike, done with perfect form, drilled through their block and smashed the ground, giving her team the score.

Cheers erupted through the gym as I quietly watched from a bench’s corner. I saw her team high-fiving as sweat dripped from their gym clothes.

The students admired her brilliant performance, and that reminded me of the past. When she was encased in bandages, she’d often only watch every PE class from the sidelines. I had never seen Yuki running around or moving her body that much back then, so I didn’t know she was this athletic.

Her athletic prowess now contrasted with her in the past, when all she could do was watch and applaud others’ achievements. Now, she’s actively playing and moving her body around, doing what she always wanted to do. This was surely a victory for her.

Hearing the countless voices praising her made me feel a sense of superiority.

Yuki and I have been friends ever since elementary school, and I was the only person in the world who had such a close relationship with the current school’s idol. I also lived under the same roof as her, such a charming girl, while going to and from school together, and eating her homemade food every single day.

Every time she was praised, it made me feel praised too. Yuki’s achievements during these games filled me with copious pride.

Our class managed to win against the sophomore team by a huge margin. We reached the finals, where we’d have to face a senior team, which was led by the ace of the girls’ official volleyball team.

I was filled with hope that Yuki would continue to lead the team and perhaps even win the championship. As a reward for her efforts and the victory, I decided I’d buy a sports drink from a vending machine and give it to her, hoping she’d give it her all in the finals.

After watching her team handshake the opposing one, I walked out of the gymnasium, heading out to the main entrance, where the vending machines were lined up. I walked past students in their gym uniforms.

Reaching the front of a vending machine, I put in some coins. After selecting a sports drink, I clicked on the respective button and a bottle fell down. Just as I was about to take it from the machine, I overheard a conversation from a group of girls who were buying juice from the machine next to mine.

“Hey, hey, did you know~? Abusaki-kun’s team will be playing in the finals soon.”

“Yup, I watched the game earlier too. It was so awesome!”

“Wanna go see~? I heard everyone else is already there.”

“Let’s go, let’s go! I’ve got to keep my eyes peeled for Abusaki-kun!”

The high-pitched voices from the girls talked about a guy named Abusaki. He was a dude I knew, a sophomore, and the ace of the soccer team. His grades were excellent, and his handsomeness was akin to a movie actor. It was no surprise he was popular among the girls, and some even regarded him as the school’s prince.

His class and mine went against each other in the first round.

The girls cheered with fervorous hurrays as the prince, Abusaki, scored goal after goal. He even scored with a hat trick just to live up to his hype. On the other hand, I kept getting tossed around by his team.

Although I was a strong fighter in elementary school, my athletic prowess was rather average. Such an average guy like me could never overturn the huge amount of practice and technical skill Abusaki possessed. The gap in our teams’ points widened swiftly.

If that was all, I would’ve been only disappointed with my loss. However, Abusaki had played rough on me countless times during the match.

Again and again, I was knocked onto the ground by strong tackles, and much to my dismay, the soccer club members that were refereeing never called a foul. Not once. I recalled that the referee never tried to call anything on Abusaki.

The reason I was relentlessly targeted was clear as day. The dude didn’t like the way Yuki and I got along so well with each other. All the violent tackles were a reflection of his jealousy towards me.

It was no secret that Yuki and I had a great relationship.

In spite of that, the students around us assumed we were just childhood friends, and disregarded any other possibility. I mean, no matter how much you try to spin it, she and I were not socially balanced. In their eyes, we could never become something more.

Moreover, Abusaki, the most handsome dude in school, apparently liked Yuki very much. He didn’t think me being near her was acceptable, so he took his personal grudge out on me, in-game.

With all that said, I hope Yuki didn’t see that game. If she was disillusioned, if she saw how pathetic I was every time Abusaki pushed me down… These things worried me.

I let out a small sigh as I finally picked up the bottle. Drink in hand, I walked up to Yuki, who stood right behind me with a towel draped over her gym clothes.

“Haru-kun, heya~!” She smiled warmly at me, waving slightly.

“Yuki? Oh, are you okay for the next match?”

“My next game is after the basketball finals, so yeah, I’m fine. The match won’t start for a while.”

“I see, though, how did you know I was here?”

“I saw you leave the gym, so I thought that by following this general direction I might be able to find you.”

“Got it. You came looking for me,” I offered her the drink I bought. “Here you go. Here’s a gift from me, since you were so good during your match.”

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“You bought it for me? I’m so happy… Thanks!” She took it with a dazzling grin.

I didn’t expect her to be so happy about a simple sports drink, so that made me a bit embarrassed.

We decided to take a break on the small steps of the entrance, at least until her match. We both sat down, and I told Yuki about how I felt during her game.

“I was really impressed with the way you looked when you spiked that ball. Everyone cheered for you, and you looked so radiant. That moved me…”

“I was just so excited to show you my good side, Haru-kun. Thank you for the compliments! I’ll also take the sports drink as a good luck charm for the next match, and I’ll give it my all!”

“Good luck! All I can do is cheer for you now, since, you know… My team lost in our first game.”

“I watched your game. You lost, but you gave it your all, didn’t you?”

“You… Saw it?”

She watched my game, which meant she saw me getting repeatedly tackled to the ground by Abusaki. I looked down, my fears and anxieties actually realizing.

“I-I see… I’ve shown you how pathetic I am…”

“Pathetic? What are you talking about?”

“… Huh?”

Her words made me involuntarily look up. She gazed at me with such gentle eyes, talking about my match.

“Everything you showed in that match was cool. I remember you darting after the ball with all you had, and even if you were knocked down, you immediately kicked the ground and shot up, keeping your pursuit.”

“Yuki…”

“Seeing you work so hard made me want to work hard too. Haru-kun, to me, the one who shined the brightest; the one who looked the coolest was you. You weren’t the slightest bit pathetic.”

Her words didn’t try to flatter me. She really meant them, and I could tell from her unflinching gaze that she really thought I was cool, from the bottom of her heart.

“You showed me how cool you were, so I want to show you how cool I am. I hope you’ll be rooting for me in the next game, Haru-kun.”

“Ah… I’ll do my best to support you, Yuki.”

“That’s right, and I’ll give you a peace sign during the game. A special message only to you, showing that I’m really doing my best.”

“A message meant only for me, huh… I’m looking forward to it, and I’ll be watching from the audience.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best, Haru-kun,” She replied with a smile as she felt her phone vibrate.

The girls in her team have apparently contacted her to go meet them soon. Yuki sends them a message saying she’s going as she gets up and leaves for the gym.

I decided to go there too and watch her game.

The hype for the volleyball finals was at its peak. A huge crowd of students gathered as the game between our class and the senior class, which had the ace of the girl’s volleyball team, was about to begin.

Yuki played a crucial role in the game. She skillfully deflected the enemy’s ace spikes, not letting them amass any points. The ball floats up in the air as her teammates work hard to score. Her fine play causes the crowd to cheer.

She then smiles at the audience and holds up a cute peace sign. All the boys get excited about it.

“Shirahato-san, you just made a peace sign for me, right?”

“No, no, no! She made it for me!”

“No, of course not! She made it for me!”

The other boys had no clue about who the target of her sign was—But I knew.

She made that sign for me, and for me only. It means she’s giving it her all.

Watching her doing her best made my heart thump against my chest with gusto. I watched from the corner of the bleachers, but I clenched my fists and stood up, raising my voice and shouting from the bottom of my heart.

“You can do it, Yuki!”

Maybe my voice reached her, as her sign reached me.

Yuki then leaps for the floating ball and spikes it with all she had, the ball drilling through the defense of the opposing team, smashing onto their court.

She and her team beat the seniors, led by the ace of the girl’s volleyball team, bringing the first ball game tournament to a close. Applause soon echoed through the gymnasium as everyone praised Yuki and her team for winning such a hard-fought battle.

I was so happy, I felt like I was the one who won.

Her performance was ingrained in my mind, and I’ll never forget the big grin she had on her face as she gave me that peace sign.

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