I Confessed My Sexual Preferences to My Online Game Best Friend, and the Person Who Showed Up at the Offline Meetup Was the Cute Girl from My Class - 36

Chapter 36: The Night Before the Decisive Battle

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June, the night before the tournament. Outside the window, the damp night breeze rustled the trees, and every so often the air carried a moist scent, like a sign that rain was coming.

Figuring it was almost the rainy season, I—Kazuma Sato—turned off the lights in my room and, wrapped only in the pale blue glow of my monitor, put on my worn-out headset. Click. I switched on the mic.

“—Yo, Haru. Are you there already?”

『…You’re late, Kazu. Three more minutes and I was going to sentence you to ‘abandonment punishment.’』

The voice that came through the receiver was clear and dignified, yet slightly sleepy. The sound of her natural voice was soothing to the ears. It wasn’t the perfect smile-and-tone of “Shinonome-san” she showed at school, nor the husky boyish voice I used to hear through a voice changer. It was Haru’s voice, the voice of one girl I had protected here for three years.

“Sorry. I was checking the strings on my badminton racket for tomorrow and lost track of time.”

『Hm. …You’re fired up, huh. So are you going to recreate that ‘Burning Shuttle’ legend Saki was talking about tomorrow?』

“…Cut it out. That was just Ichinose-san exaggerating. …I just have to make sure I stop you from calling it a ‘default loss (lol).’ No matter what.”

When I shot back sarcastically, I heard her soft giggle through the speakers. The rustle of fabric, and the faint vibration of her shifting position on her bed, reached my ears through the mic.

『Ahaha. …Well, you’ll be fine, Kazu. Saki and I both saw how you moved during practice. …If you can smash that cool, all the girls in class might fall for you all over again, you know?』

“Yeah right. Everyone just thinks I’m one of Shinonome-san’s errand boys.”

『You’re not an errand boy. …You’re my ‘partner,’ aren’t you?』

Her tone suddenly softened. On the screen, her avatar was just sitting beside a campfire, but her words carried a heat that felt like fingers tracing directly along my heart.

“…Yeah. What about you? How’s basketball? …Your hands were shaking from the pressure, right?”

『…You caught me? …I’m just lying down right now, but earlier, when I was holding the controller, my hands were a little sweaty. …At school, everyone’s like, ‘If it’s Rin-rin, she’ll definitely be fine!’ They expect so much from me and I can’t complain.』

That was the weight of the “idol” she carried. Rin Shinonome, the school’s angel. She always had to be strong, beautiful, perfect. But here, inside this closed voice chat, she didn’t hide her trembling hands. She entrusted that weakness to me alone.

“If you mess up, I won’t laugh. …How many times do you think I’ve seen your clumsy plays over the last three years? …Haru is Haru. On the court or in the game.”

『…Nihihi. …Thanks, Kazu. When you say that, it hits the hardest. …I just received the best buff.』

The brightness returned to her voice. Her avatar happily spun in circles around the campfire. Was she actually moving it on purpose just to show how happy she was, even while lying down?

『Okay! Hey, Kazu. …Wanna make a bet for tomorrow?』

“A bet? …It’s probably something stacked against me again.”

『Not at all. …If we both get ‘good results’ tomorrow,  we each get one ‘selfish wish’ granted by the other! …How about it?』

“…What exactly counts as a good result?”

『For you, top four or higher in badminton! For me, first place in basketball! …The bar’s high, but we’re partners, right?』

Her voice brimmed with bouncing excitement. It was a selfish wish. Just hearing that phrase made bitter memories flash through my mind.

“…You’re not planning to make me broadcast one of my ‘cringe dark-history poems’ over the school speakers again, are you?”

『Ahaha! That would be funny, but… this time it’s something different, idiot.』

Her voice dropped into a whisper. It felt like her body heat was brushing against my ear.

“…Something different?”

『…Yeah. …I’m not telling you. …You’ll find out if you win. …Oh, but don’t get weird expectations, okay? It’s just a wish between best friends.』

“…I know. I’ve already decided mine too. …If you lose, I’m setting that ‘Fallen Angel of the Abyss’ poem as your ringtone on my phone.”

『Absolutely not!! I’ll win even if it kills me!!』

Her shout made me burst out laughing. We were acting just like always. This was our usual back-and-forth as partners, but… After the laughter faded, the silence between us was heavier and sweeter than anything we’d shared three years ago.

“…Hey, Haru.”

『Mm?』

“…I’ll be watching you tomorrow. From the edge of the court, but still. …You have to be somewhere my eyes can reach.”

…

…………

From the other side of the speakers, I heard her swallow. A few seconds of silence stretched between us, but it felt long enough to witness the birth and end of the universe.

『…Yeah. …I’ll be watching you too. While you’re fighting… I’ll keep casting ‘magic’ that only reaches you.』

Her voice trembled. But it wasn’t fear.

Tomorrow, on the public battlefield called school, we would be “Sato-kun” and “Shinonome-san,” never openly crossing paths. And yet, beneath those exchanged glances… A promise only the two of us shared, one hot enough to warm even this six-tatami room, had already been made.

『…Let’s get some sleep then. …If you trip from lack of sleep, your selfish wish rights are revoked, okay?』

“…Yeah. …Good night, Haru. …Do your best tomorrow.”

『Mm. …Good night, Kazu. …And when I show you my cool side tomorrow… don’t blink, okay?』

With a soft electronic click, the connection cut. The room fell silent. After removing the headset, there was nothing left to hear. And yet her last words—“It’s something different”—kept looping through my mind like a spell.

I gently traced the dragon sticker stuck to the back of my phone. Ichinose-san was there. Kaito was there. The rest of the class was there. And deeper beneath all that noise, armed with the bond we’d built over three years as partners, she and I were stepping onto tomorrow’s battlefield.

…A selfish wish, huh. There’s only one thing that I really want…

Without turning on the lights, I lay down on my bed as moonlight streamed in.

Tomorrow… When my shuttle sliced across the court. ..When her shot shook the net… Our excuse of being “just best friends” would take another step toward its completed form.

I still didn’t know what kind of clumsy, bittersweet ending that would bring, but…

“…I seriously can’t lose.”

I pressed my palm against my ear, where her warmth still seemed to linger, and slowly closed my eyes. The June breeze gently stirred the curtains, counting down to tomorrow.

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