I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 62

Chapter 62: Eyes Fixed on Him

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《Hiroko Anno’s POV》

Right before leaving the house, I whispered a small “Do your best” to the mirror by the entrance. I wore a white ribbed knit top, a navy flared skirt, and a light gray long cardigan. My hair was half-up, and I changed the hairpin to a thin ribbon.

I gently pushed up my contacts and blinked twice. My vision was clear, and my heart felt just a little floaty. In my pochette I had a room-temperature sports drink, thin taping, a mini towel, a rabbit handkerchief, and eye drops. On the fan, I had written “Sora-kun” in small handwriting, and on the corner was a sticker of a rabbit saying “Fight.”

I was going to meet him as the new me. Just a little, I felt my chest bounce with excitement. The moment I reached the gym, there were lots of people, and the smell of floor wax and the dry sound of mitts reached deep into my chest. The shine of the floor bounced back the coldness of the morning. When I searched for Sora-kun, the Three Great Beauties of our class were surrounding him. For a moment, I felt a tight, painful squeeze in my chest.

It’s not just me.

That jealousy-like feeling tightened around my heart. Even so, today I wanted him to see this new version of myself, the one I made with my older sister’s help. So I took a step forward.

“Sora-kun!”

I called out to him.

“…Hiroko- san?”

“Yes. Nice to meet you. This is today’s me”

I wanted to hear Sora-kun’s thoughts. But Yua-san praised me, and the three girls, and Okabe-kun, and Takatou-kun all complimented me. But Sora-kun didn’t say anything.

“Spectators, please move to the spectator seats.”

Without hearing Sora-kun’s reaction, I was pulled along by Yua Miura-san as she waved, heading to the second floor. Next to me was Mizuki Kiritani-san, and beyond her was Asuka Hino-san. When I approached the three of them, it felt like the temperature in the air rose by a degree, brightening the entire space. I stepped into that circle.

“Hiro-chan! Today, Mukei-kun is the favorite to win! He’s our pick!”

“Anno-chan, that outfit is super cute. Can you see okay?”

“Anno-san, it suits you.”

Their words rushed toward me like an avalanche, and I couldn’t help but laugh. My heartbeat was busy, but I wasn’t scared. I held my fan to my chest and gave it a small spin.

“Yes. I can see everything. I can see today’s Sora-kun clearly.”

As I said that, my voice came out so honest that even I was surprised. Yua-san widened her eyes, then immediately gave me a thumbs-up.

“Today’s Hiro-chan is too powerful.”

Hino-san looked at my bangs for just a moment with the same serious expression she had before a match, and said simply.

“It suits you.” 

The brevity of her words made me even happier. I dropped my gaze to the tatami. Sora-kun was there. His white dōgi looked sharp, and his brown belt shone faintly at the center. Even among the line of black belts, the brown belt stood out like a mark, yet somehow he didn’t look out of place. He touched the knot of his belt with his fingertips, counted his breaths, and loosened the tension in his shoulders.

My heart raced just looking at Sora-kun’s serious expression.

“Mukei-kuuun! Do your best!”

Yua-san waved. He lifted his gaze. He found me. Inside my chest, the rabbit on my fan seemed to hop. I raised it slightly and gave it a gentle push of a wave. A faint smile lit the corner of his mouth. Just that made my body’s center of gravity settle back into the right place. The whistle to begin. The world switched in an instant.

The sounds of blocking, sweeping, stepping—each one almost made me want to look away, but I didn’t want to turn away from Sora-kun facing everything so seriously. Each sound flew toward me like it had form. His opponent was a black belt, someone who looked strong. But Sora-kun didn’t meet the strikes head-on—he flowed with them, redirected them, and slipped “the moment” into the space that opened.

A point. Cheers erupted, and I almost stood up before sitting back down. Beside me, all three girls said “Here it comes!” at the same time. I laughed, my throat burning warmly. Sora-kun alone looked different from everyone else. It was like he was performing a dance.

Second round. The opponent’s eyes were scary. But Sora-kun exhaled softly. Even from afar, I could tell his breathing had settled. A feint, a sweep, timing. A point. A stir of excitement. I pressed the sweat from my palms onto my handkerchief. My vision didn’t blur. Through the thin film of my contacts, his outline looked even sharper.

“Mukei-kun is so calm, isn’t he?”

“The opponent’s tensing up.”

“Right? Hiro-chan, Mukei-kun is so cool!”

Kiritani-san, Hino-san, and Miura-san were watching Sora-kun the same way I was.

“…Yes…”

I could only answer in a small voice. Sora-kun kept winning, advancing all the way to the finals.

“The finals… It’s finally here.”

“Yeah. That guy is really strong.”

Indeed, the opponent in the finals was big, with eyes that held no unnecessary heat. He looked larger and stronger than Sora-kun. They bowed in the center and took their stances. Inside that small movement, all of their training time was sinking. His breathing settled, his shoulders lowered. Even I felt a strange illusion as if the sensation of the tatami reached the soles of my own feet.

The first strike was so fast the audience sucked in their breath. A high strike, then immediately low, then a counter. The weight behind them was different. I pressed the corner of the fan tightly in my palm. My eyes only followed Sora-kun. I prayed silently without creating any sound. Sora-kun didn’t rush in. He didn’t let himself be drawn out. He didn’t lose sight of his target. A feint, a mid-level strike and he dodged.

Then, he turned. At the edge of my vision, the hem of his dōgi fluttered. A back-spinning kick bloomed quietly in the opponent’s blind spot. A point. The applause burst like an explosion. My world flashed pure white for a moment. Before I knew it, I was holding my fan to my chest. The ribbon hairpin trembled softly. My vision threatened to blur, but the tears didn’t fall. Not because of the contacts. It was because before tears came, there was a smile.

“He won first place!!”

Okabe-kun’s loud voice. It startled me, but I understood that Sora-kun had won. Yua-san shook my shoulders.

“Look, look, Hiro-chan!”

Kiritani-san clapped quietly. Beside her, Asuka-san narrowed her eyes and nodded. What were the two of them thinking as they watched Sora-kun? I kept nodding. And with every nod, the anxiety piling up in my chest grew heavier.

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