Kicked Out of the Bottom Soccer Team, I Found My Strength Thanks to My Beautiful Junior Manager. What Began as a Simple Act of Kindness Turned into Her Coming Over Every Day.

Chapter 44: I Tried Roughly Patting the Beautiful Underclassman Manager’s Head.

“……”

The walk home was silent. It was a first for them.

Takumi felt the awkwardness thick in the air, but he could see the strained expression on Kana’s face as she desperately tried to process her emotions, so he refrained from speaking. Besides, he needed a moment to sort out his own feelings as well.

“…You didn’t need to be so kind to a guy like that.”

Kana finally spoke once they arrived at Takumi’s house. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, she let herself in, took hold of his hand, and pulled him down onto the sofa.

Takumi saw no reason to resist. They ended up sitting side-by-side, shoulder to shoulder.

“In the end, all he cared about was the fact that you and I are close, right?”

“Probably. But it’s a fact that there are plenty of people who think like him. I can’t empathize with it, but I can understand it. From an outsider’s perspective, someone like me and someone like you, Kana… we probably don’t look like a match—ow!”

Takumi winced as Kana pinched his side, looking at her in surprise.

“W-What was that for?”

“I should be asking you! Just like earlier—why do you keep putting yourself down like that?!”

“—!”

Takumi gasped. It wasn’t because of her sudden outburst, but because tears were beginning to well up in those ruby-like eyes.

“Takumi-senpai, you’re so much more amazing than those guys who get full of themselves just because they’re a little talented! Even when your hard work doesn’t bear fruit immediately, you don’t turn sour; you keep trying. You take the lead in prep and cleanup even though there are underclassmen around… People like you are the ones who deserve to be valued! And besides, I’m the one who wants to be with you, so talking about whether we’re a ‘match’ or not is just stupid!”

“…Yeah. Thank you.”

As she shouted through her tears, it felt as though she were pouring out feelings she had kept bottled up for a long time.

So that’s how she’s seen me all this time—.

Takumi felt a warmth spread through his chest.

“A-And, also…!”

“Hmm?”

Kana, who had been looking down, snapped her head up to meet Takumi’s gaze. Her cheeks were flushed a deep crimson.

“Takumi-senpai, you’re… you’re actually really cool! Just based on looks alone, there’s no way we aren’t a match!”

“—!”

Now it was Takumi’s turn to catch his breath. He felt his own cheeks growing hot.

(Being told that with a face like that… it’s actually embarrassing…)

To hide his reddening face, Takumi looked away toward a random corner of the room.

(I-I said it…!)

Kana, for her part, couldn’t bear to keep looking at him either. Keeping her face turned away, she grabbed Takumi’s arm and guided his hand to the top of her head.

“…I’ll give you permission.”

“U-Uh, okay.”

Though he was still flustered by her previous comment, Takumi did as he was told and began to stroke her hair.

“…Thanks, Kana. What you said earlier… it made me really happy.”

“…Your self-esteem is just way too low, Senpai.”

Despite her grumbling tone, Kana leaned over and rested her head on Takumi’s shoulder.

“K-Kana?”

Takumi’s heart skipped a beat.

“I am currently in a bad mood because of you, Senpai. You have no right of refusal.”

“…Point taken.”

“Good. I don’t dislike people who are quick on the uptake.”

Takumi was well aware that his previous comments hadn’t been pleasant for her. That was why he allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder—a move that clearly strayed past the boundaries of a simple senior-junior relationship—but her condescending tone irked him just a little.

More accurately, his pride as a senior was stung by how easily he was being pushed around.

(Maybe I can pay her back just a little.)

Takumi ruffled Kana’s hair roughly, enough to mess up her bangs.

“Wah—?!”

Kana looked startled, but she didn’t pull away.

“…You don’t hate it?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? I wanted to see a ‘rough’ side of Takumi-senpai too.”

Kana grinned triumphantly. Even with her bangs a bit disheveled, her beauty remained untouched.

“…Yeah, I’ll admit defeat for today.”

Takumi gracefully raised the white flag, letting his touch soften back into a gentle stroke.

“Hehe. That brings our total score to eleven wins and thirty losses for me.”

“Wait, you’re losing by a landslide?”

“No, Takumi-senpai. That’s where you’re supposed to quip, ‘Wait, that’s my birthday!’”

“How would I know that? I mean, I was born on November 30th, but still.”

“Know it… please!”

Kana hurriedly added the polite suffix to her sentence. It was so ridiculous that Takumi covered his mouth and let out a soft chuckle. Kana looked annoyed at first, but soon she was laughing along with him.

As the laughter subsided, Kana’s expression and tone turned serious.

“Takumi-senpai.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for saving me again. And… I’m sorry. For causing trouble for you…”

“Not at all. I don’t think of it as trouble.”

“But there’s no guarantee more people like Niijima won’t show up in the future…”

“It’s fine. I’m not going to distance myself from you just because of something like that.”

“—!”

Kana’s eyes widened. It seemed Takumi had read her fears perfectly.

“It would be weird to leave when you didn’t do anything wrong, and honestly, it would just be frustrating. I’d hate for us to stop being close over something like that. Besides, if you aren’t doing well, it throws me off my game too.”

“…Thank you. But are you sure? Saying something like that?”

“About what?”

“I’m going to be even more high-maintenance from now on, you know.”

“I can handle it.”

Takumi gave her a thumbs-up.

“If you get too loud, I’ll just kick you out or throw you out the window.”

“In a princess carry?”

“In a princess carry.”

“Then I don’t mind at all.”

Kana beamed a radiant smile.

“Ah, but speaking of that, there is one thing I should warn you about.”

“Eh? What is it?”

Kana’s face immediately filled with anxiety.

“Kana, you were calling me ‘Takumi-senpai’ right in front of Haruhiro.”

“Eh? …Ah! I-I’m so sorry!”

Panic took over as she bowed her head repeatedly.

“Well, given the circumstances, it couldn’t be helped this time. Just try to be careful.”

“Yes, I’m sorry… If I say it again, you can pat my head as much as you want as punishment.”

“Why do you keep trying to turn me into some creep who’s obsessed with patting his junior’s head? Besides, that’s not a punishment. You actually like having your head patted, don’t you?”

“E-Ehehe~ You caught me?”

“I mean, you look so blissful whenever it happens. Don’t worry, I’ll think of a proper punishment on my end.”

“P-Please be gentle, okay?”

“…Hmm. Maybe I will.”

In fact, for someone like Kana, a psychological “punishment”—like showering her with non-stop praise—would probably cause more squirming and damage than a typical penalty.

“T-Takumi-senpai? Your smile is kind of scary?”

Kana’s cheek twitched. Takumi just widened his grin, insisting everything was fine.

“Stop doing that ‘Nee-heehee’ laugh!”

Kana hugged her own arms, pretending to be truly frightened, while Takumi laughed out loud.

***

A peaceful time passed after that, and Kana left Takumi’s house just as Ran was about to return home.

The moment she got to her room, she dived onto her bed and started rolling around, clutching her head.

(He totally knows I love having my head patted!)

—I mean, you look so blissful whenever it happens.

Takumi’s words echoed in her mind, bringing on a fresh wave of embarrassment. If he—someone who still viewed their relationship as nothing more than senior and junior—was that certain, she must have been making a truly shameless expression.

“Ugh… How am I supposed to look him in the face next time he pats my head…?”

Kana covered her face. The option to stop having her head patted didn’t even exist in her mind. How could she possibly let go of a happiness so great it made her face go slack?

“B-But well, Takumi-senpai didn’t seem turned off by it…”

If anything, he looked like he found it endearing. It was clearly the gaze of a senior looking at a junior, but it certainly wasn’t negative.

(And the fact that he promised not to leave even if idiots like Niijima get involved… that made me really happy…)

It was something she had secretly feared. People like that were universally delusional. No matter how much Kana warned them, through their filter, she was just a poor victim being forced to say those things.

The power of bias is terrifying. Even logic that is clearly broken to a third party becomes a perfectly reasonable argument in their heads.

And the most annoying part was that they all truly believed they were acting for Kana’s sake. That was why they could label Takumi as “evil” and commit such irrational acts without a second thought.

She had worried that even Takumi might grow fed up with being dragged into such messes and try to put some distance between them, but…

(Given his personality, maybe it means he treasures me that much. He even seemed a bit flustered when I put my head on his shoulder… I feel like we got a little closer today!)

She had no intention of forgiving Haruhiro, and the chance of them ever being on good terms was zero. Still, looking at it as a result, the fact that his meddling had allowed her relationship with Takumi to progress even a tiny bit made her feel slightly better.

“Well, all of this is thanks to Takumi-senpai’s heart being wider than the ocean!”

Kana sat up with a burst of energy. She whispered a word of thanks to the man who had turned what could have been a terrible day into a great one.

“Thank you for always making me happy, Takumi-senpai.”

I’ll do my best to make you happy too—.