After Being Dumped With the Insult, “You’re So Clingy!” and Finding Her in Despair, I Kept Encouraging My Beautiful Classmate and as a Result, That Beautiful Girl Started Directing Her Heavy Emotions Toward Me Instead, but Since I Like Emotionally Heavy Girls, It’s No Problem - 24

Chapter 24: Driving Away the Pests Around Futaba

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Time moved on, and it was the third period. The third period was P.E. We changed into our gym uniforms and headed to the gymnasium. At this school, P.E. was basically held with two classes combined, so our Class 2-3 had joint lessons with Class 2-4. Today’s activity was basketball for the boys on the north court of the gym, and volleyball for the girls on the south court.

After warming up, we split into teams based on attendance numbers and started the matches.

“Hey! Pass, pass!”

One of the boys from the basketball club energetically called for a pass from his teammate. For athletic types, this was their moment to show off their skills and a chance to appeal to the girls. Especially today, with the girls playing at close range, their enthusiasm seemed even greater than usual.

I sat at the edge of the gym and watched the scene. Basketball was five players per team. Since there were thirty boys across the two classes, that made six teams in total. Only two teams could play at a time, so the remaining twenty boys were free.

During that time, the twenty idle students were relatively free to do as they pleased—watching other teams like me, or going to observe the girls’ volleyball game. The P.E. teacher at our school was pretty laid-back, and unless you did something really strange, you wouldn’t get scolded.

“Phew. It’s hot…”

“Good game.”

Musashi returned after finishing his match and sat down beside me, fanning himself with his gym shirt.

“You’re up next, Ichika?”

“Yeah.”

“Go get ’em!”

It seemed he had completely moved on regarding the matter with Futaba and was treating me the same as always. I was grateful for that. Seeing me off, he watched as I headed toward the court. On the opposing team from Class 2-4… was Senkawa. Normally, I wasn’t the type to care much about winning or losing. As long as I had fun, that was enough for me. But for some reason, I didn’t want to lose to a team that had him on it. That was how I felt.

The student acting as referee held the ball, and the representatives from both teams prepared for the jump ball. I focused my mind, ready to move at any moment.

“Ichika-kun! Do your best!”

At that moment, an especially loud cheer reached my ears. When I turned toward the voice, I saw Futaba hopping up and down, waving at me.

“Jujoji-san? Why is she cheering for Kokonoe?”

“Apparently those two are dating.”

“Seriously!?”

I could hear surprised voices from the students watching, reacting to Futaba cheering for me. Our fake relationship had become generally known among the students of Class 3, but it seemed many students from other classes still didn’t know about it. I guessed Futaba was cheering like that partly to advertise our relationship to those around us.

…In that case, as her fake boyfriend, I had to respond accordingly. Her cheers filled me with energy. Boys were simple creatures. When a girl cheered for them, they got fired up. I couldn’t really laugh at the basketball club classmate who had been so eager earlier…. I mocked myself inwardly. Since she was cheering for me, I might as well put in the effort as her fake boyfriend.

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The game began. The opposing team had many tall players, so they took the lead at first. Even so, we managed to hang in there and caught up to tie the score with thirty seconds remaining.

Right now, Senkawa had the ball. I wanted to steal it from him, but surprisingly, he left no openings, and I couldn’t take it away. On top of that, my usual lack of exercise was catching up to me, and my stamina was nearing its limit. Senkawa made his move. I blocked his path to prevent him from shooting.

“Hah… hah…”

“You’re in the way. Move!”

“…No.”

“Damn it! Why won’t you let me shoot in peace?!”

Since I had been marking him closely and obstructing his advance, he seemed extremely irritated. Then an opportunity came. The moment Senkawa shouted in anger, the ball slipped widely from his hand. It seemed his irritation had caused him to lose focus. I seized that instant and stole the ball from him.

“Hey, you bastard! Don’t screw with me!”

I could hear Senkawa’s enraged voice from behind, but I didn’t have the luxury to care. With the ball in hand, I ran toward the opponent’s goal. There wasn’t much time left. At most, we’d have one more shot.

“Ichika-kun! Shoot, shoot!”

Futaba’s cheer reached my ears. If I didn’t respond to her cheer here… If I didn’t make the shot, that would be uncool.

I squeezed out the last bit of strength remaining in my body. I slipped past the opposing team’s interference, closed in on the hoop, and took the shot. The ball left my hand and slowly sank into the basket. At the same time, the whistle signaling the end of the game blew.

…It was our victory.

“Yesss!”

“Nice one, Kokonoe!”

“We won!”

“That last play was awesome!”

“Good job!”

My teammates gathered around me, praising the shot. It was just a P.E. class game between amateurs, but even so, winning felt good.

“Kyaa! Ichika-kun, you were so cool!”

When I looked toward Futaba, she was jumping up and down in celebration. I was glad I’d been able to meet her expectations. As her fake boyfriend, I’d upheld my honor. I waved back at her. After exchanging end-of-game greetings with the opposing team and wiping the sweat from my forehead, I returned to where Musashi was waiting.

“Nice work! You were amazing out there.”

“Yeah, I’m exhausted. I haven’t moved around like that in a while.”

“Oh yeah, I think Futaba-chan’s match is next. Go cheer her on, Boyfriend-san! Well, I’m going too.”

“Y-Yeah.”

It seemed Futaba would be playing volleyball on the south court next. As her boyfriend, it would be unnatural not to go cheer for her. I headed to the girls’ court with Musashi. Whether it was because many boys were free or because Futaba was popular, most of the boys not currently playing had gathered as spectators on the south side.

“Futaba, do your best!”

I returned the cheer she had given me earlier. Since the match was about to start, she responded with a small wave. The whistle blew, and the match began. The opposing team served, our side received it, and another classmate set it up with a toss. The ball descended right near Futaba.

“Here I go!”

Full of energy, Futaba leapt high with her small frame and spiked the ball toward the opponent’s court. The sharp spike slammed cleanly into the other side. It was the first point for our team.

“I did it! Ichika-kun, I did it! Huh…?”

“Futaba!?”

But she was too distracted looking at me and failed her landing, collapsing on the spot.

“Ow, ow, ow…”

Futaba clutched her ankle in pain. The P.E. teacher hurried over and examined it.

“…It looks like a sprain. Could someone take Jujoji-san to the infirmary?”

The teacher called out to those around us. Naturally, as her boyfriend, I volunteered. But I wasn’t the only one. Another boy from Class 2-4 stepped forward. If I remembered correctly, he was the ace of the soccer club and supposedly very popular. I’d forgotten his name. I guessed he didn’t yet know about our relationship and was trying to raise his favorability with Futaba, who had fallen out with Senkawa.

“I’ll take Jujoji-san to the infirmary. Jujoji-san, are you okay?”

Saying that, the popular guy approached Futaba. But as her fake boyfriend, I couldn’t stay silent. Dealing with guys like this was exactly why I was here.

“No, I’ll take her. I’m Futaba’s boyfriend. You can step back.”

“Huh? You’re Jujoji-san’s boyfriend? Cut the delusions. Get lost, you background character.”

As expected, he didn’t believe me and tried to push me aside. Then Futaba spoke up.

“Ichika-kun, could you please help me?”

“Wait a second, Jujoji-san. Wouldn’t I be better than a guy like him?”

“If someone’s going to carry me, I’d prefer it to be my boyfriend. Ichika-kun is my boyfriend.”

“…Seriously!?”

Without hesitation, Futaba chose me. The popular guy, who hadn’t believed my words, was told the truth by Futaba herself. He stared at our faces in disbelief, his mouth hanging open. Ignoring him, I turned my back to Futaba, who was holding her ankle in pain. I was going to carry her on my back.

“Alright, hop on.”

But then she said something unexpected.

“Ichika-kun, could you carry me in your arms?”

“Huh…?”

Carry her in my arms?

My brain froze for a moment.

…By “carry,” did she mean a princess carry?

“Please, Ichika-kun♪”

Smiling brightly, she held out both her arms toward me. It seemed my guess was correct. If I refused her request here, people might start doubting our relationship. I had to avoid that. Bracing myself, I lifted Futaba in a princess carry. She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, almost deliberately. Naturally, the classmates who saw this let out teasing voices.

“Kyaa! A princess carry!”

“You two are so lovey-dovey!”

“You can’t do a princess carry in front of this many people unless you really like each other, right?”

“I wish I could have a youth like that… I still haven’t met the right guy, though.”

“I… lost? To a guy like him?”

My face was undoubtedly bright red right now. Not letting the others notice, I hurriedly carried Futaba to the infirmary.

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