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 - 37

Chapter 37: My One and Only Partner

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The damp, heavy heat of June pooled beneath the high ceiling of the gymnasium. A massive floor that could be divided into three courts. On the left, the boys’ basketball team. Kaito and the others were rampaging around. In the center, the girls’ basketball team. Shinonome-san and Ichinose-san were in full motion. And on the court to the right, the badminton preliminaries I had entered were about to begin.

Cheers echoed from all around the school, the sharp squeal of sneakers biting into the floor, and shouts that were almost closer to roars than encouragement. The day of the ball games tournament had finally arrived. I, Kazuma Sato , stood quietly at the edge of the gym, alone. I was checking the feel of my racket strings.

“Hey, Sato, you look stiff as hell. With that, you’re gonna be food for my spike—no, smash.”

The one who spoke was Takagi from Class 3, my opponent. Takagi was a regular on the volleyball team. He was a flashy, outgoing guy who prided himself on the volleyball club’s trademark explosive jumping power and wide defensive range thanks to his long reach.

“…No, it’s nothing …Nice to meet you, Takagi.”

“Hah, still low energy as always. Sorry, but when it comes to sports, I’m a genius. I’m an amateur at badminton, sure, but I’ve got these shoulders trained in volleyball. I’ll finish this quickly and go cheer for Rin-rin and Saki-chan on the court next door.”

Grinning, Takagi sent his gaze toward Shinonome-san and the others warming up on the center court. I didn’t respond. I simply took my position with a poker face, forcing my emotions down.

…Top four. That’s the minimum line for the “selfish wish” Haru and I bet on.

I recalled her voice from last night’s voice chat. I remembered how her voice sounded a bit shaky, yet filled with heat.

『It’s something different, idiot.』

Just thinking about what she meant by that lit a quiet but inextinguishable flame deep in my chest.

“Court Three, boys’ badminton preliminaries. Sato-kun from Class 2 versus Takagi-kun from Class 3. Begin.”

The referee’s whistle blew. Takagi let out a “Take this!” and fired off a brute-force long serve, like a volleyball serve.

…Slow.

In that instant, my awareness disconnected from “reality.” What filled my vision was the opening of Takagi’s shoulders, the angle of his wrist, the rotation of the shuttle. My brain, which had been trained for three years to make millisecond judgments on the front lines of the online game Eternal Legend, began analyzing Takagi’s movements as nothing more than preparatory motion. I stepped in along the shortest path and caught the shuttle with just a snap of my wrist.

—Shh!!

The shuttle shot out on a sharp, low trajectory, skimming past Takagi’s feet and stabbing into the far back line of the court by a hair’s breadth.

“…What?”

Takagi froze, staring blankly. The classmates watching around us also fell silent for a moment, unable to process what had just happened.

“I-In! One–zero!”

That was the beginning of a one-sided show. Face flushed red, Takagi shouted, “That was a fluke!” and hammered down a heavy smash like a volleyball spike. But I didn’t even move a step, receiving it with the ease of someone out for a stroll.

The shuttle was drawn precisely into the course my opponent hated most every single time. This was the tactics I’d honed in online games, reading my opponent’s psychology and striking where they didn’t expect it. And the “savings” of technique drilled into me back in middle school.

When those meshed together, my eyes had already changed into the serious gaze of “Knight (Kazu),” the look I wore when protecting my partner during late-night voice chats.

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Rin’s POV

“—Nice shot, Rin-rin!”

I caught Saki’s pass under the basket and finished with a layup. Our class’s girls’ basketball team was plowing through the preliminaries at an overwhelming pace. Normally, this was the time I should have been focusing entirely on my own match. But every time the timeout whistle blew, my eyes unconsciously searched in one particular direction.

…Kazu. …Are you fighting properly?

At the far right edge of the gym, on the badminton court. Kazuma, in his gym clothes, was facing Takagi-kun from the volleyball club. Takagi-kun was tall and athletic, so I’d honestly been worried that Kazuma might struggle with him as his opponent…

“…!”

The instant I saw Kazuma running across the court, something hot tightened in my throat. That wasn’t the dull “Sato-kun” who got teased by Kaito-kun in the classroom. His footwork was stripped of all waste. His gaze—cold, yet burning—was like a hawk locking onto its prey.

That was, definitely…  The “best partner (Kazu)” I had fallen in love with again and again over the past three years, through the screen.

“…Ah, you’re watching too, Rin-rin? Kazucchi-kun is insane. What Saki’s relative said was totally true.”

Beside me, Saki nudged my shoulder with a grin while drinking from her bottle.

“…I’m not watching. I just thought it’d be bad if Sato-kun lost by default (lol).”

“Nihihi, you’re not honest at all. …Come on, listen to what the other girls are saying.”

At Saki’s prompting, I tuned my ears to the chatter of the girls gathering around the court. As Kazu’s match progressed, girls from other classes started buzzing.

“Hey, that Sato-kun from Class 2… was he always that cool?”

“He never stood out before, but those serious eyes are totally unfair!”

“His movements are so clean… I can’t believe someone like that was in our class.”

………

…………

In that moment, a thick, unidentified discomfort spread through my chest. My heart ached heavily, as if someone had grabbed it tight.

W-What is this… Everyone… It’s too late to notice now.

The sharp line of his brows when he was focused… The unguarded gesture when he wiped sweat with the hem of his shirt… That was my one and only front-row seat, the one I earned over three years of listening to his voice through a screen and leaning on his kindness. The fact that outsiders who knew nothing were now “discovering” him and casually judging him was utterly unbearable. It felt like someone had barged into my precious secret base with muddy shoes on.

No, it was something even stronger, more inexpressible. This was the feeling of a fierce possessiveness.

“…Saki. In the next match, let’s widen the score gap even more.”

“Huh? Rin-rin, you’re having sudden motivation spike!?”

“…I’m irritated. …Kazu’s standing out too much. …Idiot. …That’s something only I needed to know.”

“Hm? Did you say something, Rin-rin?”

“…I didn’t say anything!”

I lost my composure for a moment. I clenched the edge of my towel tightly. Just then, Kazu slammed down a fierce jumping smash, the shuttle tearing through Takagi-kun’s court with a sound like it was spitting fire. From the far right side of the gym, a wave of shrill cheers erupted. With his usual poker face, he gave a light bow to the defeated Takagi-kun. That only prompted more voices from the girls—“Sato-kun is so cool…”

…!! …Kazu, you idiot. You don’t have to fight that cool…

Somewhere I couldn’t see, my partner was becoming more and more “everyone’s Sato-kun.” And that fact crushed my chest with an unbearable pain.

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Kazuma’s POV

“—Match over. Winner, Sato-kun!”

Hearing the referee’s voice, I breathed heavily, shoulders rising and falling. Sweat poured from my entire body, yet I felt unbelievably light. The supposedly volleyball club’s ace was on his knees, trembling, muttering, “No way…”

“Hey, Sato! Are you serious!?”

“Kazuma, that movement just now… You’re better than a regular on the badminton team!”

The boys from my class rushed over, fired up. On top of that, girls from other classes—who had never even said my name before—called out, “Nice work, Sato-kun!” leaving me at a loss.

…I didn’t want to stand out. …But if I need to reach the top four, I guess it can’t be helped.

I wiped my face with a towel and took a sip of Pocari Sweat on the bench. Feeling a gaze on me, I turned toward the second central court, which was the girls’ basketball side. There, preparing for their next match, was Rin Shinonome. The moment our eyes met…

…………

It wasn’t her usual “Good job, partner!” smile. She had her lips pressed tight, cheeks slightly puffed, and her eyes were painfully heavy like she was saying, “This is your fault.”

…Huh? What? …Did I do something wrong?

Beside me, Kaito joked.

“…Rin-rin looks kinda grumpy, huh? Oh, wait! Did Kazuma stand out too much and make her jealous!? Man, Kazuma, you sinful guy!”

But my heart was racing for a very different reason. That look she aimed only at me… The raw emotion of Haru, with the idol mask of the school’s angel peeled back just a little… Calling that emotion “possessiveness” still felt presumptuous for someone like me who called himself a mob character. But at the very least, in her eyes right now…

Among all the students filling the gym, there was a powerful gravity that locked onto me alone as her “special partner,” declaring she wouldn’t give me to anyone else.

“…I really can’t lose.”

I tightened my grip on the racket and sharpened my focus for the quarterfinals later that afternoon. Behind me, Rin Shinonome ripped through the opposing court with a fierce drive. Her most spirited shout yet—“Hah!”—echoing through the entire gym.

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