Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 11: Tanaka-san Runs Kinda Hot

Chapter 11: Tanaka-san Runs Kinda Hot

Sudden thought—been a while since I had one of these—

When exactly does a guy become more attractive to a girl?

……………

Wait, what the hell am I even saying?

I’m a guy. How would I know?

Yeah, I’ve got nothing.

I mean, sure—if you’re the protagonist of some manga or light novel and you swoop in to save the heroine in some dramatic, over-the-top way, then yeah, you’re golden.

Major affection points.

But me?

I’m just some background character. Stuff like that never happens to guys like me.

Our school life?

Quiet. Peacefully dull, even.

Which kind of sucks, honestly.

I’d finally worked up the nerve to try and get closer to Tanaka-san, too.

Would it really kill the universe to toss me a bit of drama? Just a smidge of excitement?

…But maybe that’s the trade-off.

While we go about our calm, ordinary lives, all the real chaos and story developments seem to orbit around Kaisei and his group.

“Kaisei Natsuse! I challenge you to a duel—right here, right now!!”

“Huh—!? Who even are you—wait, the Vice President!?”

See? Case in point.

There goes another “event” in full swing—

A sudden duel over Akizuki-senpai, starring none other than the student council’s vice president.

(Not that Akizuki-senpai had any say in this, mind you.)

Looks like the plot’s moving along just fine without me sticking my nose in it.

“Oh, looks like President Tokachi and Natsuse are about to go at it!”

“Has the day finally come? The day our glorious Akizuki-senpai Fan Club Honorary President, Tokachi-senpai, rains divine judgment down on that cursed Natsuse?”

“Woooo!! Let’s go, Vice President Tokachi!!”

“Boys are seriously so dumb, huh?”

“Right? Even if Natsuse wins, it’s not like Akizuki-senpai’s just gonna fall for him or something.”

‘Ahahaha. Yes…”

“Sure is rowdy today.”

“Ahaha, totally.”

While the guys were all fired up about the whole duel thing, the girls just looked on with a mix of boredom and mild annoyance.

Meanwhile, Tanaka-san and I stood a little farther back, quietly watching the madness unfold in our class.

“But still… the Shikihime really are something, huh? Having someone love you that passionately…”

Tanaka-san, who had been smiling a little awkwardly a second ago, now turned her gaze toward Vice President Tokachi, her eyes narrowing slightly.

There was a hint of envy there.

Like she thought that kind of intense devotion had nothing to do with her.

But she’s totally off the mark.

In my eyes, Tanaka-san has just as much charm—maybe even more—than any of those heroines.

And yes, that’s 100% my own, totally biased opinion.

I might not go all-out, Vice Prez-style, but make no mistake—this crush is real.

“…If you look, I bet there’s someone out there who feels the same way about you, Tanaka-san.”

Of course, if I actually said all that out loud like some lovestruck idiot, she’d probably back away and never talk to me again.

So instead, I kept my mouth shut and just tried to gently reassure Tanaka-san.

…But it looked like she took it as a joke.

She gave me this polite, slightly awkward smile and said, “Right… that’d be nice.”

Girls are impossible.

I mean, I genuinely tried my best to lift her spirits, and yet… not even a flicker on the Favorability Meter.

Meanwhile, over at the main attraction—

“The challenge is a free-throw contest! First to sink three shots wins! If you lose, Natsuse, you’re officially banned from going anywhere near Akizuki-senpai ever again!”

“Wait, what?! We’re doing this right now!?”

“Of course, you fool! The basketball team’s got a tournament next week, so they’ve been using the gym for morning practice. If we head over now, we’ll catch them right as they wrap up. Let’s move!”

“H-Hey! Quit dragging me—waaahhhh!”

Still lost in thought, wondering what else I could’ve said to Tanaka-san, I looked up just in time to see Kaisei being physically dragged off by Vice President Tokachi.

And with that, the floodgates opened—

“Yo, let’s go check it out!”

“Sounds like fun. You in?”

All the boys who had some petty grudge against Natsuse lit up with anticipation, while the girls gave in to their natural curiosity.

In seconds, the classroom cleared out like air rushing from a balloon.

Before I knew it, only Tanaka-san and I were left.

“…Wanna go too?”

“Y-Yeah, I guess so.”

Neither of us had expected literally everyone to leave, so after sharing an awkward glance, we quietly followed the rest.

“Nice shot, Vice Prez Tokachi!”

“If Natsuse misses this next one, it’s all over!”

“C’mon, miss it this time—please!”

By the time we reached the gym, the match was already heating up.

Vice President Tokachi had just sunk his third shot, and now it was Kaisei’s turn.

Depending on how this went, they might head into sudden death.

Me? I already knew how this whole thing would play out, so I was just like, Yep, right on cue.

But Tanaka-san?

She wasn’t in on the script.

Clapping her hands with wide-eyed admiration, she said,

“Wow, both of them making shot after shot like that… that’s really impressive.”

Ugh. You know what? Maybe I should crash this match and take a few shots myself.

Not because I care about Akizuki-senpai or anything.

Nope. Not at all.

It’s just—seeing Tanaka-san get all starry-eyed over another guy kinda stings.

Like, seriously. What the heck.

I wanna be praised too.

“Dang ittt! That jerk Natsuse made it again!”

“That shot was super clean, huh?”

“Y-Yeah… it really was.”

Still, it’s not like a mob like me can just jump in and hog the spotlight.

That’d be so out of place.

And honestly? Super embarrassing.

So I sucked it up and stayed put, silently stewing while Tanaka-san kept cheering for Kaisei and Tokachi like it was the finals or something.

But then—

“Just what do you think you’re doing in here!?”

A sharp, clear voice rang out through the gym, slicing through the tension like a blade.

Right on time—Akizuki-senpai had arrived to shut the whole circus down.

Thank God, I thought, finally lifting my head, relieved that this jealousy-fueled torture might be coming to an end.

And that’s when I saw it.

A basketball—flying straight toward Tanaka-san.

“Eh?”

Hah?

(What the hell are you doing to Tanaka-san, you damn vice president?! Die in a ditch!)

“Tch. My bad.”

“Hyah!?”

As Vice Prez Tokachi flinched under Akizuki-senpai’s furious yell and completely botched the throw, I watched in horror as the ball veered wildly—straight toward a frozen Tanaka-san.

Without a second thought, I grabbed her hand and yanked her hard to the side.

Just barely, I pulled her clear of the ball’s path.

It slammed into the gym wall with a loud GAKOON! and bounced off with a wild thud.

My heart pounded as I watched it roll across the floor.

We were safe.

But the instant I realized that even a split-second delay would’ve resulted in that ball smashing Tanaka-san right in the face—my blood boiled.

“HEY!! You freaking moron! You almost hit Tanaka-san in the face, you know that!? What kind of garbage aim is that, you human airball!?”

Yeah, I lost it.

Even though I was just a mob, I hollered at the vice president at full volume—and yeah, I even threw in a middle finger for flair.

“S-Sorry!!”

He flinched hard, clearly not expecting to get chewed out by someone like me.

I wasn’t done.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, you damn burrito-brain! Who the hell borrows the court right at the end of morning practice?! The basketball team was trying to clean up and change, and thanks to you, they’re still stuck waiting! Match’s over, dude—clean up your mess by yourself!”

“Y-Yes, sir!!”

But even after all that yelling, I still wasn’t calm.

So I threw a few more choice insults his way—just to make sure he got the message.

That led to Vice Prez Tokachi, now looking like he was on the verge of tears, quietly starting to gather up the scattered basketballs.

““………………””

“Ah… crap.”

The moment I finished yelling everything I had in me—like, once the adrenaline dropped and I felt the anger start to fade—I noticed it.

The stares.

I looked around.

Yep.

Everyone in the gym was staring at me.

Hard.

“…I-I’m really, really sorry!!”

Finally realizing I’d just obliterated the vibe beyond repair, I bowed fast and deep, let go of Tanaka-san’s hand as quickly as possible…

And ran. Full sprint. No hesitation.

Once I made it back to the classroom, I collapsed into my seat and buried my face in my hands, trying to mentally eject myself from this plane of existence.

That’s when I noticed something.

The hand I’d used to hold Tanaka-san’s?

It was super sweaty.

Only that hand. 

Oh no. This is bad.

Not only did I scream like a lunatic and probably scare the daylights out of her, I also smeared nervous hand-sweat all over her arm.

And that was the final blow.

Mortified beyond recovery, I mentally shut down.

For the rest of the first period, I stayed face-down on my desk, totally dead inside.