The Beautiful Girl I Accidentally Helped Who Has Somehow Become Attached To Me. - Chapter 36: One More Time? How Many More?

One More Time? How Many More?

“Alright, that’s it! Put your pens down. Don’t move until all answer sheets are collected. Hey, no more writing, no stalling.”

The scratching of mechanical pencils on paper comes to an abrupt halt.

The final hurdle of the midterms—the English test—was over.

Thanks to studying with Mikami-san after school and on weekends, I felt reasonably confident about this one. I’d had enough time to double-check everything too, so as long as I didn’t mix anything up, I should be fine.

Once the answer sheets were collected and the supervising teacher left the room, the classroom erupted in chatter. Now that the exams were over, there was no longer a ban on talking. Unlike the short breaks between tests, this was a true release, and a sense of freedom washed over everyone.

Not that this mattered much to me, though.

Unlike most people, I didn’t have friends to check answers with or make plans to hang out after. But… my time afterward had already been reserved.

***

“Good work. How’d it go?”

“Well, just alright.”

“You’ve been saying the same thing since yesterday. By the way, I feel great about mine!”

“Funny, you said the same thing yesterday, too.”

As expected, we don’t have much more to say about the tests.

Mikami-san has been feeling confident from day one. I’m both excited and a bit nervous about getting our results back.

“So, what are your plans now?”

“Anywhere you’d like to go, Mikami-san?”

“How about a two-night trip to Kyoto?”

“…No.”

I mean, sure, tomorrow’s Saturday, so it’s theoretically possible, but a weekend getaway to celebrate surviving a single midterm seems a bit excessive. Those kinds of mini-trips are more for summer vacation. And for the record, I already said no to the two-night idea, so please drop it.

“Alright then… since we’ve been cooped up studying, I’d like to do something where we can really move around and have fun.”

Good. If she’d started pushing for the trip, I might have left her behind. I was almost worried she’d pull a “reverse door-in-the-face” and keep trying to escalate her request.

From the way she’s talking, I think I already know where she wants to go.

It makes sense: somewhere to be active, have fun, get some food, and, as students, we can even get a discount.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes, let’s have lots of fun!”

***

And so, we boarded the bus and arrived at a certain amusement center.

Mikami-san was a little—no, very—excited. She was determined to go through everything in one go, but… tackling everything in half a day might be a bit of a stretch. Also, I understand she’s eager to start, but I’d appreciate it if she’d stop grabbing my hand and pulling me along. It’s kind of embarrassing, you know. I can walk by myself.

“Kirishima-san, let’s start with this one!”

Without waiting for my answer, she dragged me over to the pitching corner.

Looks like a strike-out game where you throw a ball to hit targets numbered one through nine.

Starting off intense, huh?

Since it’s a bit physical, I decided to do some light stretches to avoid any injuries. Meanwhile, Mikami-san is already getting into it, swinging her arm in circles with a ball in hand.

“It’s farther than I expected, but I think I can reach it… here goes!”

Her first throw. With a cute little “Take this!” she sent the ball flying in a slight arc, straight towards the middle… hitting the number five target dead center.

“I did it! Did you see that?”

She bounced over to me, beaming with excitement.

Um… I’m squatting here doing stretches, so could you please not jump up and down in a skirt…?

“Now it’s your turn, Kirishima-san!”

“Wow, you landed it on your first throw—no pressure, right…?”

“Aim for a perfect score! Oh, and I want to see a slider! Please?”

“Uh… yeah, that’s not happening.”

She’s making some pretty bold requests here. It’s not like ordinary people can just curve a pitch on a whim.

“Curving’s tough, huh… Okay, then… throw a forkball!”

“Still not happening.”

A forkball requires serious grip strength, and it’s even harder than curving the ball. She’s saying it like it’s an easy switch!

“Then… what pitches can you throw, Kirishima-san?”

“Just a slowball, really.”

“…That’s disappointing.”

Look, I’m not even in the baseball club. I don’t have a range of pitches at my disposal! I’m not even sure I can throw straight, to be honest.

The way she looked so disappointed made me feel like I’d done something wrong. I’ll try to keep the streak going, though, so hopefully, that’ll make up for it.

“Alright, just hitting the target… should be enough.”

Thanks to Mikami-san’s throw, I had a good idea of how to aim for the target. If I wanted to look cool, I’d hit the target dead-on with a straight shot, but since that’s out of my league, I opt for a slow, carefully aimed arc. The ball went a bit lower than I expected, but it barely touched the number eight target below number five, so at least I managed a hit.

“Whew, just kept it going. Your turn, Mikami-san.”

“Leave it to me! Watch this!”

With full confidence, she kept throwing, determined to score a perfect game.

It was a bit of a task calming her down after she missed every target from that point on but insisted on trying for a perfect score.

After leaving the pitching corner, we ended up at the batting area next.

Mikami-san and I both took bats and stepped up to the plate to hit the incoming balls.

In the distance, there was a target that, if you hit it, would give you a prize—a home run target. Mikami-san was desperately swinging the bat, trying to hit it and play the cheerful music, but… I have to admit, seeing a girl in a school uniform holding a bat looks pretty good.

“How can I hit it cleanly and send it flying…? By the way, Kirishima-san, are you even swinging the bat?”

“Ah, sorry. I kind of forgot to swing.”

“Geez, come on, hit a home run already!”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

I was too busy watching Mikami-san to even stand properly in the batter’s box. I just kept missing the balls.

It was about time I started swinging, though, or else she’d probably get mad. So, I faced forward and took my stance.

I tried to time my swing with the incoming ball. I made contact, but it only resulted in a dull thud as the ball weakly rolled away.

Meanwhile, I could hear Mikami-san hitting the ball cleanly—she was really connecting with the center of the bat. I couldn’t help but admire her athleticism.

However, despite her good form, she still couldn’t manage to hit the home run target, and her turn ended.

“Ugh, I’m so frustrated. I feel like I could hit it if I try again. Can I please have one more try?”

With that, Mikami-san stepped back up to the plate, so I decided to step aside and watch from the sidelines.

It was nice to watch from the side, but I also enjoyed seeing it from behind.

By the second round, Mikami-san had gotten used to it and barely missed any swings.

But then—

“Ugh, still missed. Can I try again?”

“Last one, okay?”

“I’ll hit a home run this time. Watch me!”

It seemed like hitting the small target with a batted ball was quite difficult, and so the second round ended without her hitting it.

Mikami-san, still unwilling to give up, asked if she could try again. She looked a little hesitant, but as long as she was having fun, I didn’t mind. Honestly, it was fun for me too… it was quite a sight to see.

And so, Mikami-san persisted in trying to hit the home run target for the next ten minutes or so.

Though I said “last one,” it turned out not to be the last. She ended up trying about five more times, determined to hit that home run.

Calming her down from her relentless pursuit of a home run became a bit of a task (for the second time).