Chapter 21: Ball Game

“If only…Asahi’s special move, ‘Face Block,’ had been activated at that time…”

“Don’t be absurd. If I got hit in the face with that shot, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t end with just a nosebleed.”

The sky was cloudless and blue, and the weather was warm enough making it hard to believe it was autumn.

It was a perfect day for sports, and on the day of the ball game, Asahi and Chiaki’s turn came to an early end.

Ball games were held in the morning for soccer and volleyball, and in the afternoon for softball and basketball with tournament rules, and the class that lost once would be excused.

The rules were very cruel, but with all three grades participating in the event, there was no time to play round-robin.

Therefore, if you wanted to enjoy as many games as possible, it was important to know who you were up against.

“It’s really unlucky to start the first round against a class led by Yamada.”

“Well, the result was unozero, so I guess we did pretty well for a bunch of amateurs.”

“Yeah, wait…How do you know that word? Do you finally want to play soccer for real?”

“No, I just learned it because you say it often while playing games.”

In Italian, it was called “uno zero” when a match ended with a score of one to zero.

The ball game ended easily and tastelessly.

Not only was it incomplete, but I didn’t even get a chance to get heated up, so I didn’t even feel frustrated.

If I had any thoughts on the matter, it would be about what to do with all the free time I had left due to the first round loss.

I could have gone to watch the women’s volleyball game, which they seemed to be winning, but I couldn’t muster up the energy to do so.

The same goes for Chiaki, who was secretly aiming for the MVP title, and ended up laying down on the artificial grass field and relaxing in the sun under the blue sky.

“Oh yeah, did something happen with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how to put it, but I feel like you were in a daze. Even in the match, it felt like you’re looking somewhere else.”

As if he had too much time on his hands, Chiaki, who had started plucking the artificial grass, casually pointed out something so sharp that Asahi’s cheeks almost twitched.

Chiaki was right, I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything today.

The reason for this was because of his interaction with Fuyuka this morning, but there was no way he could be foolishly honest and tell him everything, so Asahi kept a straight face and shook his head.

“You’re imagining things. I’m the same as always.”

“Well, it’s true that you are usually like this but…”

I feel like I’ve been casually insulted, but I’m willing to accept it in order to somehow escape.

Chiaki had a way of noticing these little things, so it was kind of tricky.

Even now, I couldn’t relax as he stared at my every move, wondering what I was searching for.

Chiaki was not supposed to know anything about the fact that Fuyuka lived next door to me, but he was on the verge of figuring something out if I didn’t feign ignorance.

“There you are! Chi-kun and Asahi, finally found you guys!”

Just as I was wishing that his interest would shift to something else, I heard the sound of an energetic voice and light footsteps coming from the gym.

When I turned my gaze to the unexpected presence of my savior, there I saw a familiar, innocent girl.

“Oh? It’s Hina. What about the cheering for your class?”

“It’s over now. Unfortunately, my class was eliminated from the semifinals. So I thought I’d have an early lunch.”

“Great, we’ve just been bored. Right, Asahi?”

“Yeah, I had so much free time I was dying.”

“That much? Well, if you lost the first round, I guess you just have to live with it.”

Thankfully, Hinami’s arrival had completely diverted Chiaki’s attention to her.

The topic of conversation turned to the first round, which they lost by a narrow margin, and the conversation blossomed around Hinami, who had come to watch the match.

Most of them were compliments to Chiaki, who lost to Yamada, but I won’t voice my complaints.

‘I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be thanking Hinami.’

His natural enemy, who usually caused him mental fatigue because he was always being pushed around, seemed like an angel with wings at this moment, and Asahi bowed his head lightly in gratitude.

“…Did Hina really make this?”

“Of course! I woke up at five o’clock and worked really hard to make it!”

In a classroom that was still empty, there was one girl who was boasting. And there were two boys who were stunned by the lavish bento spread out in front of them.

I did hear that Hinami was going to make a bento for Chiaki, but I never dreamed that she would make something of this level.

Dashi-maki omelette, fried tofu, mini burger steaks, kiriboshi daikon. Chiaki’s favorite dishes were lined up, all homemade by Hinami.

Frozen food was quick and easy, but homemade food took a lot of time and effort.

In addition, the nori (seaweed) placed on top of the white rice was decorated with the word “LOVE”.

All in all, it was truly a work of love.

After watching the final match because it was almost over, Chiaki’s expression, which had been in a bad mood because of Yamada’s popularity for winning the championship, changed and became radiant.

“Here, eat quickly or it will get cold. Open up.”

“This is so good! It’s good enough to be served in a restaurant.”

“You’re such a good complimenter, Chi-kun!”

As usual, I felt like what the h**l am I being shown, but the two of them looked happier than ever, so I left them alone.

At times like this, I want to fade away in silence, but Chiaki and Hinami won’t let me.

“Please try it too, Chef Asahi.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Chef Asahi will be thrilled.”

“Please don’t let that nickname stick…”

 

Fed up with the burdensome nickname because he hasda real chef in his family, Asahi reached for a mini-hamburger without being prompted.

“…Delicious.”

“Hooray! I got a Chef’s approval!”

“That’s amazing, Hina. Asahi rarely says it’s good. That one time I made fried rice, it was…”

“That was just a mistake on your part. If it was good, I’d just say it was good.”

Asahi thinks that saying “delicious” to something delicious was natural, or at least a minimum level of gratitude to the creator.

Of course, when confronted with a hopeless failure like Chiaki’s, he would honestly say that it tasted bad, but he would try not to be unnecessarily harsh in his evaluation and say a few honest words.

Even now, when you saw Hinami’s exaggerated fist pump, you could visibly see how much joy a mere three or four words would bring to the creator.

Asahi could fully understand that feeling, so he muttered “It was delicious” again after he finished eating.

‘I wonder if she’s eating lunch right now…’

I looked around and saw that most of my classmates were already gathered in the classroom.

The other classes must be in a similar situation, so it was not surprising that the lid of the other bento prepared by Asahi was open.

“Eh, Asahi’s bento looks kind of fancy today.”

“it’s true, I think you’re a little enthusiastic. Maybe you’re trying to compete with me?”

“Not really. I just woke up a little early and got excited.”

“Oh, I see. So that’s why you were in a daze today. Not enough sleep for sure.”

“…Oh, maybe so. I’m a little sleepy now that you mention it.”

Asahi looked at his own lunch box again, giving an appropriate response to Chiaki, who had taken the liberty of guessing and misunderstanding him.

I was told that it was lavish, but it didn’t look quite as good as the bento that Hinami had made.

As for the taste, as expected frozen goods wouldn’t stand a chance.

‘Should I have put more effort?’

I don’t have the power of love that Hinami had, so it couldn’t be helped, but by now a little bit of regret came.

Hoping that the girl in front of the same bento would think it was delicious, Asahi brought the egg roll he had made with confidence to his mouth.