After a Heartbreak, My Bitter Childhood Friend is now Sweet Like Sugar - Chapter 4.2

Chapter 4 Part 2 Rumors after PhEd

The next day.

Physical education class is a joint class for boys and girls, and today we’re practicing with Kokoa’s class.

We were playing volleyball in the gym in four separate volleyball courts, half of which were occupied by the boys and the other half by the girls.

“I don’t understand why we have to hit the ball to the court. Wouldn’t it be easier if you hit the ball directly against the opponent?”

There are only a certain number of people allowed in the game at a time, so we took turns taking breaks. Right now, it was just Kazama’s and my break time.

While I was watching the game sat on the floor, Kazama, who was sitting next to me, replied.

“We’ll have to play a different game then, like dodgeball? And if that’s the case, tennis and ping-pong would also be games where you aim at your opponent.”

“Don’t you know a famous tennis manga? Where the rule is that the player who hits the opponent with the ball and knocks him down wins.”

“Don’t take it seriously because it’s not based on the real rules.”

“I’ve always learned the most important things from manga.”

“That would have been a cool line if you’d learned anything decent.”

“Well, if it had been a ball game where you had to hit others with the ball, it probably wouldn’t be suitable for high school curriculum. Come to think of it, dodgeball is only played in school when you’re little. It’s dangerous when we are stronger.”

“Hey, Sawatari. Look at the girls.”

“What is it this time? What’s wrong with the girls?”

“Apparently, some of them are playing volleyball based on your manga knowledge.”

Kazama told me to watch the game the girls were playing. Hmm? Did he mean to say that Kokoa was in the game? No, I was indeed curious about where she was playing, but he didn’t have to tell me about that just because we were…

As I was thinking about it, I noticed something strange. The ball was frequently being thrown at Kokoa.

At first, I thought it was because she was not good at sports, but it seemed that was not the only reason. The ball that was aiming at her was, quite literally, aiming at her!

There was no way she could avoid it, so she tried to catch it, but it hit her arm. Eventually, it would hit her face, and…

Bang!

The ball hit her face with a loud sound!

The ball that she blocked with the face flew in the air and returned to the opponent’s court. Even though they lost the point, some of the girls were laughing at her.

There’s no doubt. They were deliberately aiming at her, no matter how you looked at it.

“…!!”

I was about to get up, but Kazama stopped me.

“What are you going to do? We’re in the middle of a class.”

“That’s not normal by any means. I have to stop them.”

“Don’t worry. I’m here.”

“!!”

The gym teacher, who was watching the girls’ class, interrupted their game. She gave a stern warning to the students who were aiming at her. The teacher was worried about Kokoa, but she said it was not a problem and returned to the court.

“See? I know you’re worried, and you’re angry, but a teacher should know what’s going on. You don’t have to be so hot-blooded.”

For some reason, Kazama smiled teasingly at me.

“You’re saying I should leave her alone?”

But still, it’s harassment…

“Shirayuki is very popular, and she’s most likely getting some weird jeers from other girls.”

“What kind of?”

“I don’t know. If that’s what you want to know…”

“Oh, I see… Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Yeah, it was intentional. Hmm… ”

After the class was over, I asked Kasugai about the situation.

If I were to ask her directly, there’s a chance that she’d just blurt it out.

“Don’t worry. I don’t think she’s being bullied. I haven’t heard about it either, but I’m sure some girls hate her because she’s prone to resentment from the same sex. You know she’s beautiful, and she’s got good grades.”

“… Oh, jealousy.”

Such nonsense…

“Besides, I’m also popular, and I’m used to it. Oh… I see. I’m about to tell you something, so keep this to yourself. It’s a pretty widespread story, and I heard it from someone.”

“What?”

“Anyway, You know Saotome-kun from the soccer team, right?”

“Huh…? Sorry, I don’t know him.”

“He’s a good-looking boy with excellent grades and a kind and charming personality. He’s the ace of the soccer team, and he’s a famous handsome boy. People say that he’s been confessed to more than a hundred times.”

“I still don’t remember him.”

No, I think there was a guy like that.

“You’re really oblivious to the world, aren’t you, Yucchi?”

“Don’t be rude. I check the news every morning. It’s just that I’m not interested in stupid school gossip that has nothing to do with me. So what’s this Saotome guy all about?”

“That’s like you, Yucchi. Anyway, I heard that he recently confessed to Kokocchi.”

Hmmm… Saotome, the school’s famous and handsome boy, confessed his feelings to Kokoa.

I remember that about three days ago, she asked me to go home first because she had some business to attend to. Was it that time?

…

I don’t know why, but I felt a pain deep in my heart.

“She dumped him, though.”

Thank god! A sigh of relief… Huh? Why am I relieved?

“And how does that tie in with Kokoa being hit by a ball? Wait… Ah! I got it!”

“It’s not a good response from the girls who like Saotome. They think, ‘How can she act so high and mighty?’ And well, this is just a rumour, but… when Saotome doesn’t like someone, they say he incites the girls to attack them.”

“What do you mean? You mean he told the girls to attack Kokoa!!”

“Hmm, well, something like that? It’s like, if he shows that he’s hurt, some of the girls who follow him will get angry. Shusuke also heard this rumour, and he said it was from a funnel.”

Funnels are remote-controlled flying weapons that appear in mecha anime that follow the opponent and attack them… Oh, so those funnels…

“From outside, he’s kind, but in reality, he’s so insidious.”

Well, there are plenty of cases where a seemingly good-looking person actually has the worst personality…

In any case, he tried to harm Kokoa, and I couldn’t just leave it alone.

I don’t know what they’re gonna do, better keep an eye on it.