Episode 71: Practice Match

On the day of Natsumi-senpai’s practice match, I met up with Sara-senpai in front of the station.

The venue was our school, so the usual convenience store would have been fine…

but since we were meeting on a precious Sunday… it was a small reason like that.

I was the one who brought it up, but Senpai nodded without asking anything.

And on the day of, of course, I arrived early.

There might be all sorts of reasons, like being a guy or not wanting to keep her waiting, but the most important thing was to break any flags of Sara-senpai being hit on.

If a girl that cute was standing alone, the local playboys wouldn’t stay quiet.

「Good morning, Takanashi-san. Did I keep you waiting?」

「Good morning, Sara-senpai. It’s okay, I just arrived a moment ago.」

Even a cliché greeting like that made me happy.

「I’m sorry for making you wait every time, so next time I’ll also arrive early…」

「Sara-senpai, it’s my role to arrive first and wait. So, you’re forbidden from trying to arrive earlier than me.」

「Y, yes. If that is what you say, Takanashi-san, then I shall arrive exactly on time?」

And so, having met up safely this time as well, we headed toward the school.

「The other day was the first time I saw tennis in person, but it was more fun than I thought. Well, part of the reason was because it was Natsumi-senpai’s match.」

「I agree. I’m not exactly interested in tennis myself, but it really is different just because a friend is playing.」

By the way, Senpai’s outfit today was different from our last date(?). She was dressed relatively casually…

but with that refreshing and pure atmosphere in full force, she’s definitely out to kill me!

However, it seemed she didn’t wear the hat I gave her today.

Noticing me looking at her head, Senpai said,

「I am sorry. That hat is my treasure. I have decided not to use it except for proper outings, so that it will last as long as possible…」

Being told something like that made the gift feel worth it.

We arrived at school and headed for the tennis courts.

There were surprisingly many students… many were at school for club activities, but those in plain clothes might be there to cheer for the tennis.

Come to think of it, hasn’t Senpai come to cheer for Natsumi-senpai many times…

When we reached the tennis courts, there were more people than I expected.

A banner dedicated to Natsumi-senpai particularly caught the eye.

That was probably the fan club.

…The two waving over there are the ones from my class.

I just gave a small wave to acknowledge them.

「Let’s settle around here.」

Senpai chose a relatively empty spot.

It seemed there was still time before the match.

However, it looked like we were already drawing attention.

The destructive power of Sara-senpai in plain clothes is immense…

Even the people who were likely there to cheer for the opposing side were looking this way.

「…Who’s that guy with Satsukawa-san?」

「…Whoa, she’s with a guy.」

「…Crap, she’s totally my type. Go talk to her.」

「…There’s a guy right next to her, though.」

If I’m acting as bug repellent, then that’s great.

「I have prepared bento for lunch, so please let me know when you are hungry.」

Senpai, who didn’t seem to care at all, spoke to me as usual.

We hadn’t talked about lunch, but it seemed Senpai had prepared bento.

I’m happy to be able to eat Senpai’s cooking even on a day off.

The match where Natsumi-senpai won overwhelmingly ended, and she came over in her jersey, probably because she had some time.

「Good work, Natsumi.」

「Natsumi-senpai, that was amazing.」

When we spoke, Natsumi-senpai had a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

「I thought Sara would come, but I didn’t hear anything about Takanashi-kun coming too?」

「I was invited in secret.」

As we were talking, we heard loud, noisy cheering.

「He’s as popular as ever.」

The banner said「Yokogawa Hayato」.

Looking at the tennis court… it’s that guy.

He must be pretty popular.

Could it be that there are even girls from other schools here…?

「I’m going to head over to the cheer squad.」

Saying that, Natsumi-senpai headed toward the fan club.

「Now then, shall we eat lunch while we can? Natsumi has another match later.」

「Ah, I see. Where should we eat?」

Senpai brought up lunch as if nothing had happened.

Honestly… I was relieved that Sara-senpai showed absolutely no interest in that guy.

「It’s not very calm here. Shall we go to the flowerbed? Since there shouldn’t be anyone else there, I think the two of us can eat slowly.」

Being told 「the two of us,”」I was about to overreact again.

Calm down, Senpai didn’t mean it in such a deep way…

I don’t really understand the rules, but since it’s a team competition, it’s fine as long as there are many wins.

Apparently, our school won.

That guy won too, but he had a frustrated expression.

Judging by that look, at least I could tell he’s taking tennis seriously.

「Congratulations, Natsumi.」

「Thanks. How was it, Takanashi-kun? I hope you enjoyed it a bit?」

「Yes, I’d never seen tennis before, but it was pretty interesting. Natsumi-senpai, you were cool.」

When I gave my honest thoughts, Natsumi-senpai, with a slightly embarrassed face, slapped me on the back.

「Don’t say it like that, it’s embarrassing!」

Was it because she was praised for the tennis she loves? She was a bit different from the usual Natsumi-senpai, which felt fresh.

「Well then, Natsumi must be busy, so we shall take our leave. Takanashi-san, shall we?」

「Yes. Natsumi-senpai, we’ll continue our talk tomorrow.」

「No, I’m done with my talk! Anyway, thanks for coming today.」

Natsumi-senpai waved to see us off.

……Of course, I noticed.

That guy was looking this way the whole time.

At first, I was irritated at being watched, but it didn’t feel like he was glaring or directing hostility like the playboys in my class.

And when our eyes met at the end, he showed a slight smile.

He raised his hand in a greeting-like gesture… what a confusing guy.