When I Told the Most Beautiful Girl in the School That My Confession Had Failed, She Suddenly Started Coming at Me With Unbearably Heavy Feelings - Chapter 37: Afterglow and Deficiency

Chapter 37: Afterglow and Deficiency

“We lost…”

After finishing all the events, we returned to our second-year class 2-2 classroom, where the gleaming trophy for the girls’ basketball championship stood. Next to it was a slightly smaller trophy for the boys’ volleyball runner-up.

After taking back the second set, we charged into the third set full of high spirits. We suffered a defeat that seemed utterly unbelievable.

“I never thought we’d lose from that point…”

“It was a defeat straight out of a picture book…”

“In the end, we couldn’t bridge the gap in experience…”

“…Well, though, we got that, so it’s a passing grade, right?”

Nekomiya’s gaze drifted ahead with a faint smile, landing on the overall championship trophy.

Our second-year class 2-2 had achieved high-level results across the board and successfully claimed the overall championship. If our runner-up finish laid the foundation for that, it was a proud accomplishment.

“Still, Renji in the second set was amazing! It was like he turned into a different person!”

“I saw his serious face for the first time in ages.”

“Ahaha… Well, I just didn’t want to lose.”

“Simple reason, huh. Yeah, that’s just right. …By the way, you guys free after this? Let’s go out somewhere for a celebration!”

“Oh! Sounds good! We’ll do the class one next time, and everyone’s cool with it, right?”

Everyone nodded at Kira’s question. I had no reason to object.

“Yeah. …Oh, I’m just gonna toss this trash real quick.”

“Got it. I’ll wait here.”

With the empty plastic bottle in hand, I slipped out of the classroom and headed to the vending machine by the stairs.

As I went to throw the plastic bottle into the trash bin next to the vending machine—

(Whoa, it’s completely full…)

As expected, everyone had the same idea, and the bin was on the verge of overflowing.

As I reached down to pick up a fallen plastic bottle, another hand got there first and picked it up.

The girl with pink hair so bright it hurt my eyes looked at me and grinned happily.

“Yo, Ren-kun. Congrats on runner-up.”

“Thanks. How’d you do?”

“Overall third. The soccer we entered won. Pretty good, right~?”

While thinking that Nana was as over-the-top as ever with her peace sign, I finished picking up the plastic bottles.

She gestured for me to sit on the bench next to her, so I sat down beside Nana.

“You were incredible today~ I thought you’d win it all just like that.”

“…Is that a jab at me for not winning?”

“What’s with that twisted attitude~? I’m not trying to make fun of you or anything. …I just thought maybe something good changed.”

“…Everyone supported me. From that time on, I’d kept losing things and thought I had nothing left, but that was just my misunderstanding.”

As I said it with a self-deprecating laugh, Nana’s expression blanked out for a moment. Then she relaxed her mouth again, this time with a smile that savored happiness more deeply than before.

“I see… And you got a new girl too, huh.”

“Stop saying it like that…”

“Hmm? So you don’t like Kisaragi-san?”

“That’s…”

▼▽

After that, I returned to the classroom, and after enjoying bowling and darts with everyone, we ended up at karaoke, which we’d chosen as the finale. I had slipped out of the room.

…Those two idiots had so much energy it made me think they had inexhaustible stamina.

Ryuusaki was his usual self, and Amasaki, being from an athletic club, was barely hanging in there, but for Nekomiya and me, the adrenaline was wearing off, and fatigue was starting to show.

As the creeping exhaustion threatened to crush me, I sank into the sofa in the hallway.

(Hah… Are those idiots some kind of tireless monster?)

“You look beat, Hinate-kun.”

“…Amasaki.”

Amasaki, who had apparently slipped out too, sat down next to me. …Being alone with him brought up a lot of piled-up topics. Mostly about Kisaragi-related stuff.

“We’re on a break now, but Nekomiya-kun looked like he was about to pass out. Today was really tough…”

“Keeping up with those two is exhausting… And there’s no one to rein them in.”

“I’m not even sure such a person exists.”

…He’s probing.

My guess was right, and as Amasaki looked down with a serious expression, he began to speak gravely.

“…Hey, actually, I’ve met you once before.”

“…Huh?”

“You wouldn’t remember since we were just opponents. …Back then, in the semifinals, we played against your team. Best eight was our school’s record high, so getting that far was a miracle. Momentum is a strange thing—it makes you delusionally think you can break through the wall in front of you, even without any basis or proof. …So when we got crushed like that, it was a shock.”

“…Sorry, I seriously don’t remember.”

“Yeah, figured…”

Seeing Amasaki’s wry smile made my heart ache a bit.

That tournament stuck in my mind because of the finals, so I didn’t remember much else. But if Amasaki knew me too, it made sense that he believed in me back then.

“I watched the finals from the venue too. I didn’t expect you, flying so freely through the air, to lose.”

“…Me neither; that was unexpected.”

“When I came to this academy on a bit of a whim and saw you, I was honestly disappointed. You’d completely lost your fighting spirit and seemed like a totally different person from back then.”

It was true that since that day, I’d kept losing pieces of myself. And I’d come this far without even trying to pick them up.

From Amasaki’s perspective, it must have been pretty regrettable.

“…But seeing you today put me at ease. The you I admired hadn’t disappeared yet.”

“I was surprised too.”

“That confirmed it for me. You’re a guy worthy of dating Kisaragi-san. Not that it means much coming from an outsider like me.”

“Hahaha… We’re not even dating yet.”

“Then hurry up and get together. If some weirdo steals her, my ghost won’t rest in peace, you know?”

All I could do was laugh back at Amasaki’s intense smile. It didn’t seem like I’d be able to go against him for a while…

“…By the way, did Kisaragi-san say anything about me?”

“She said she’d cremate you and scatter your ashes in the garden.”

“What the hell is that?”

▼▽

<<Kisaragi side>>

The ball sports tournament ended, and second-year class 2-2 achieved a splendid championship.

The whole class praised me as the key player in the victory.

It made me happy, and I felt a sense of fulfillment in having contributed to everyone’s success, along with a feeling of bliss.

But my heart wouldn’t settle.

Ever since seeing Hinate-kun in that final match, my heart hadn’t calmed down.

The unfounded anxiety that Hinate-kun, who had started jumping so high, would drift farther and farther away from me drove me toward the classroom.

I wanted to hear Hinate-kun’s voice.

I wanted to hear his voice and feel reassured.

“I’m—”

With that single-minded thought, as I climbed the stairs, I heard Hinate-kun’s voice.

When I peeked around the wall, there was a girl with pink hair next to him. She was Nakiri Nao-san, I think. We’d talked a few times.

Why were these two, who seemed to have no connection, together? As I wondered that—

“I can’t date Kisaragi.”

“…Eh?”

A shock like being struck by lightning ran through my body.

For an instant, I couldn’t comprehend what it meant. But once he said her real name, I couldn’t help but understand, even if I didn’t want to.

My brain rejected the comprehension several times, and my shallowing breaths muddled my thoughts.

I ran back the way I’d come, fleeing like that. I wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible, to escape reality.