Waking Up Engaged to a Cool Yandere Beauty: My Wild Journey with a Love-Obsessed Senior - Episode 16: The End of the Sports Tournament and the Purge

Episode 16: The End of the Sports Tournament and the Purge

“Ughh!! My stomach! My stomach!!”

“Medic! Medic!!”

The bench was in complete chaos, as though a hornet’s nest had been disturbed. People were screaming in pain, others were carrying those injured away, and some were explaining the situation to the umpire, asking for a stoppage. It was a variety of hells.

“You bastard! You did this!”

“It seems it’s finally starting to take effect, huh?”

The mob grinned smugly, his glasses glinting in the light.

“Where’s the honor in this method?”

“My honor died on the East campus!”

“You bastard!”

I grabbed him by the collar.

“Uka. That’s enough. Stop it.”

When I turned around, I saw the club president’s face, far too calm for the situation.

“It’s fine, we can still do this.”

“Are you serious? Softball is a nine-player game. What can we do with only six?”

“Mob, that’s not it. If you’re the informant, that makes it five. Why are you including yourself in that number?”

A slight twitch was visible in Mob’s eyelids behind his glasses.

“That’s…”

“You haven’t decided which side you’re on, have you?”

“What!? Of course I have!!”

Ah, this was starting to get emotional. Should I go buy some popcorn?

“Come back, Keiyama. This is your last chance.”

“I… I want to protect something important!”

This bastard talks like it’s his family, but it’s a model kit. Well, I guess that’s how important it is to him…

“Then be ready. Once this game is over, I’ll judge you. If you’re an enemy, there will be no mercy. Right?”

“Ugh!”

Those words were like a blunt weapon. The weight of them sank deep into Keiyama’s chest.

“Hey! Tennis club! Get in position! Or we’ll count this as a forfeit!”

At this point, there was no choice but to go all in. I put on my protective gear.

“Uka! Can you do it?”

“Of course!”

I would just endure.

“Shion! Are you okay?”

“Do you think you have the wrong idea?”

“Eh!? What!?”

Both the club president and I echoed in unison.

“As long as Shion and I are on this team—”

“—We won’t lose to anyone, not even the only two-way player in the majors!”

“…Senpai.”

She didn’t say the name directly, but I knew exactly who she was referring to. That person’s pet was so cute.

“…I see. You’re right. Alright! Everyone, let’s go!”

“Hey, first up in the final inning. Not bad. It’s just me, so I can’t turn this around by myself. The only unfortunate thing is your defense is missing three players.”

Such an imposing presence. More than anyone I had seen before, this person exuded confidence and resolve.

“Left field is so wide.”

He pointed with his bat toward the left.

“Doesn’t matter how wide it is, we won’t let you hit there. Especially you.”

“Heh, hahaha! This is fun. Well, I’m not the main threat, but try getting me out.”

That last part stuck with me. But still…

(Senpai, please throw it here.)

I had no feeling of defeat in me.

Senpai’s pitching was flawless, and I had steeled myself with determination.

(Let’s start.)

The ball soared, heading straight to the place I had positioned myself.

Alright, this pitch will work…

But—

“What!?”

The bat swung and struck the ball with such precision.

“Perfect!!”

“Third base!!”

Ah, I forgot. Keiyama was the one at third base. He’s the enemy…

“Ugh! Nooo!?”

The hit flew like an arrow, striking Keiyama’s glove and spilling out near third base.

“Heh! Honestly, I wanted to hit a home run, but I’ll settle for a single! Uka!”

Damn, I was outplayed. That person must know the identity of the informant, so of course, he’d aim for Keiyama.

In the end, the throw didn’t make it, and we now had a runner on first base with no outs.

The handcraft club’s bench cheered as the hit was made.

Meanwhile, Utakata yawned, looking incredibly bored.

Having analyzed it, she deduced that the ball Senpai threw to Shion would randomly go to about three parts of Uka’s body. If you knew that, your chances of hitting the ball were about one in three.

If you had reaction speed like Nikaido, the odds would be even better.

“Wow! That’s awesome! What advice did you give to Nikaido-senpai?”

These idiots were just in awe of what happened, without even trying to think of why it happened.

“…It’s simple, you see. A detective like me could figure it out easily.”

“Whoa! Amazing! Awesome! Senpai!”

However, Utakata never hated these foolish people.

Why?

“You’re so clever! Too clever! Clever and cute! Senpai!”

“Heh-heh! Keep praising me more!”

What she was hiding was that Utakata Kanata, the person she was, found nothing more enjoyable than being praised.

“What are you going to do now, Senpai?”

“I’m not going to do anything. The opponents will crumble from here. That’s all.”

Ah, this feels so good. Utakata was on top of the world, giving a smug look as she stood up.

“You guys just need to get on base! In the end, I’ll win this for us!”

She wasn’t good at sports, but if she could hit, everyone would praise her. This thought made her confidence swell like a slime absorbing water.

After Nikaido hit the ball, Senpai’s pitching began to waver.

The second batter walked, the third grounded to second, but we couldn’t turn the double play. Now we had one out, runners on second and third.

“Time-out! Please!”

With two balls given to the fourth batter, I stood up and ran to Senpai.

“Senpai, are you okay?”

From the first round to here, Senpai had pitched nine innings. Of course, fatigue was starting to show.

“…Rei-kun.”

Senpai, her eyes full of tears, looked at me with a sorrowful gaze.

“I… I’m sorry, I let the ball get hit. I never thought I’d lose to love for you…”

Her voice, weak and on the verge of breaking, made my chest feel like it was about to explode. So…

“You haven’t lost, Senpai.”

“But—”

“No buts. I don’t care about the rest. I’m telling you, we haven’t lost.”

It was a childish argument, but I was sure this was the right way.

“I believe in you, Senpai. Because you said you love me, that you like me. No matter the result, I’ll—”

I took a deep breath, all my feelings flooding out.

“—I’ll never hate you.”

“…Rei-kun.”

Senpai’s eyes started to regain their light.

“And… after this tournament ends, you said you have something you want to say to me, right?”

I remembered she had mentioned something about it if we won.

It could be anything she wanted, whether it was something she wanted changed or something she didn’t like. I wanted to hear her honest words.

“…Yes. I have a favor to ask of you.”

Senpai’s face turned bright red, her gaze dropping, her words becoming softer.

“Alright, Senpai. After this match ends, I’ll listen to anything you say. But no lewd stuff, okay?”

“—Really?”

“Yeah. Really. Win or lose, I’ll do my best to fulfill your request.”

There was no lie in these words.

“Really, really?”

“Of course, so…”

There was just one thing here.

“Yeah, understood. Let’s win, Rei-kun.”

Our hearts connected as one. I felt like a thin string twisted together, strengthening and solidifying.

“Let’s do it, Senpai.”

“Yeah. Leave it to me, Rei-kun.”

I sat down again, ready to take on everything, to show everyone that Senpai’s love was the strongest.

(This is it! Here it comes!)

I entered my pitching stance.

“Strike!”

(Next, here!)

“Strike! Two!”

(For the final pitch, please!)

“Strike! Batter out!”

“Nice pitch, Senpai!”

Just one more. If we get this, we win!

But then—

“Excuse me, we’d like to substitute in a pinch hitter.”

In the final at-bat, a small girl stepped up to the plate.

“…I guess you’re the real threat, Utakata-san.”

Honestly, I didn’t think this girl would be able to hit Senpai’s ball. But Nikaido had said it.

—”The real threat isn’t me.”

And now, in the final inning, with two outs, it had to be her.

“You know, hitting’s not my strength, right? Uka Rei. I’ll just redirect the ball, slightly shift its momentum with the bat. That’s enough to send it to the outfield.”

“Heh, let’s see if that works.”

There was an undeniable reality in her words. They had a convincing edge to them. But still…

(Senpai, if we can stop her, we win the tournament!)

Ah, what an intense match this was. It wasn’t that I had come to understand the joy of competition, but…

“Strike!”

“Ugh, it’s fast. Hitting it on the first pitch is tough. I’ll give you one more strike.”

“Ha. Then, I’ll take you up on that.”

The second pitch.

“Strike! Two!”

Utakata didn’t even pretend to swing at the ball. She had indeed intended to let it go.

The third pitch. The moment of truth.

The ball, released from Senpai’s graceful fingers, flew toward the place I had requested.

“Yes!”

This is it!

I moved to meet the ball with my bat, when suddenly—

“—Here, I guess?”

The swing was sluggish. It wasn’t fast, and her stance wasn’t perfect.

However…

“Gah!”

The ball grazed the upper part of her bat, just barely.

It flew straight up, altering its path, heading directly for my mask.

“Rei!!”

For a moment, everything went white. Whether it was from fear or surprise, I couldn’t tell.

Then—

“…Strike! Batter out! Game set!”

“Whoooa!!!”

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Why? Wasn’t that a foul ball?

“You caught it! Uka!”

The club president raised her arms and ran over to me. Both the infield and outfield players were cheering.

“Huh?”

“It was a foul tip! A foul tip! The ball grazed the bat, and you caught it with your mitt, so it counts as a strike!”

I had never heard of that rule before. If it were chocolate chips, I’d understand.

“We won! We won!”

“Oh, I see.”

Indeed, the ball hadn’t hit my body. It was in the mitt. Could it really be that I caught it, by sheer miracle?

“Yesssssss!”

“Let’s go! The first-place trophy!!”

“We did it, we did it!!”

In the end, our team emerged victorious, with everyone shouting in joy. Even the opponents, though slightly disappointed, clapped for our efforts.

I looked over at Senpai, who was blushing and watching me from the bench.

“Rei-kun…”

“Senpai, I told you, didn’t I? We wouldn’t lose.”