Chapter 140 – Surprising Words

We napped for half an hour before heading to school.

Because of the class match, there were a lot of students wearing jerseys. Some of them were even wearing hachimaki, I guess those guys were that fired up for the event. 

"Umi, you wanna go somewhere after school with everyone? Karaoke would be fun! After that we can eat dinner together!"

"You heard the Princess, what do you think, Maki?"

"Sure, but… Can we not go to karaoke?"

"Eh, why?~ I want to hear your singing voice too, Maki-kun!"

"Huh? Rep can sing? Okay, we have to go to karaoke then. I'll make sure to record you."

"I'll take his pictures~"

Today was Friday, normally Umi and I would hang out by ourselves, but I guess it would be okay to hang out with everyone just for today.

Our time together would be reduced, but we could still hang out all night after Amami-san and Nitta-san left.

"…Fine, if that's what you three want. I'm not that good at singing though, so don't get your hopes up."

"It's fine! I thought you guys would refuse since it's Friday and all, but I'm glad that I asked! I'm looking forward to it!"

Sleeping in Umi's embrace had a positive effect on her, it seemed. Her complexion had returned to normal now. Anyway, the schedule was quite packed today. There were three matches for the event and if they made it through, they would play up to two matches to the finals.

"Morning, y'all."

"Morning, Nozomu. You got white powder on your cheeks."

"Well, they made the baseball club redraw the lines on the field for the matches. I can't trust the other guys to do it, so I did it myself."

Nozomu approached us while wiping the sweat off his face with a towel. It seemed like they left the baseball club in charge of the softball matches' preparation. Softball and baseball were quite similar, but it sucks for the baseball guys to be stuck with the grunt work.

"Nozomu, today after school—"

"—tice…"

"Huh?"

"Practice…"

"Ah… Okay then…"

I expected this answer, but it really sucked. Even though today was the class match, the baseball team still had to practice. I felt bad for him.

"Okay, I gotta go practice for the match. See you later, Maki. If we win our first match, we'll face each other in the second one, so look forward to it."

"Likewise. I'll hit all your pitches, just wait and see."

"Heh, got it… A-Also, Amami-san…"

"Eh? Me?"

"Yeah, uh… If you're tired, don't push yourself and just go to the infirmary, okay? You're looking a little bit pale."

"Ah, yes, I will. Thank you, Seki-kun."

"Mhm… T-Then, I'm going. You guys should watch out, don't catch heatstroke, okay?"

He casually showed his concern for Amami-san before he went to the parking lot, where his team was waiting for him.

"What heatstroke? He is the one whose face is all red in front of Yuuchin…"

"Go easy on him, please…"

Sadly, his concern was brushed off just like that. 

After becoming a sophomore, Nozomu had started acting aggressive. He would try to talk to Amami-san whenever he got the chance. I wonder if Amami-san would return his feelings?

After that, we split up from Nitta-san and went to our respective classrooms. But Amami-san, Umi and I decided to talk a little bit more in the hallway while waiting for homeroom to start.

"What time is your match, Maki? I'll have to notify the others so they can watch you play."

"Who knows, it depends on the other teams' matches, but it should be around eleven… Wait, everyone? Will Nakamura-san and the others come too? Please don't…"

We were talking about four people who were especially close to Umi. Aside from Nakamura-san, there were Shichino-san, Kaga-san and Hayasaka-san.

Well, it wasn't like I minded them coming to cheer me on. They're free to come if they want. I imagined the scene that would happen when it was my turn to bat.

'Good luck, Maki! Don't worry, just remember what you practiced, you can do it!' (Umi)

'Get 'em, Maki-kun!~' (Amami-san)

'Don't get cold feet now, Rep~' (Nitta-san)

'It's Asanagi-chan's boyfriend's turn, everyone! Let's cheer on him, okay?~' (Nakamura-san)

'''Do your best!~''' (The other three)

It would probably turn out like that. If only Umi came to cheer on me, I could still bear the jealous gazes that I would receive, but if all six of them came… 

In any case, I had to endure everything, from the embarrassing cheering to the jealous gazes. I hope that I can hit the ball properly.

I'll do my best.

But before that.

"Do your best, Umi. I can't stay by your side today, but I'll come cheer for you later."

"Mhm. I'll do my best, so watch me properly, okay?"

"Got it. I'll never take my eyes off you."

"Then, if you ever avert your gaze from me just for a second, I'll head flick you."

"Haha, got it."

Since she asked me, I'll do just that.

All for my cute and hard-working girlfriend.

"Jeez, that's cheating! Maki-kun, we're in the same class! Cheer for me too!"

"Ah, well, I guess, sure…"

"C'mon!~ Give me some encouragement at least!~"

Everyone was smiling and messing around like that.

We still had a lot of problems to take care of, but honestly, as long as we could get through today safely, that would be enough for me.

"—It seems like the three of you are having a good time in this fine weather, hm?"

Just as I was thinking about that, an unexpected person approached us.

The familiar uniform, her wheat-colored skin and light brown hair, Arae Nagisa had come.

"Arae-san?"

"What? Are you that surprised to see me talking to you?"

"I didn't say anything, though…"

This was unusual.

She had been trying to avoid Amami-san, why would she take the initiative to approach us now?

Moreover, she was all alone, none of her cronies were here, it was only natural to suspect her.

"I have a business with Amami, I'm not here to start trouble…"

"With me?"

"Yeah. I mean, aren't you the captain?"

"Huh?"

She ignored Amami-san's reaction and continued.

"—I'll make sure that you'll get all the passes today, so do your best."

"Um?"

The unbelievable words coming from her mouth made us more confused about this girl's true goal.