Episode 80: Sports Festival Part 5

「Whoa, it seems only Takanashi-kun has come to a stop. I wonder if he drew a difficult task~?」

Normally this would have been a bonus, but for me, it was brutal…

Yuji is obviously not here.

Sara-senpai and Natsumi-senpai are not the same gender.

「Kazunari! Is it difficult!?」

Yokogawa?

What about… him?

Just like during the 200m sprint, Yokogawa had come to the nearby cheering area.

Looking at his expression, I could tell he was truly worried about me.

And…

Even though I don’t go to cheer for him, he sends me signals and comes to cheer for me.

Even now, he is calling out to me out of concern.

It is true that I have feelings about the Natsumi-senpai matter.

But at the very least, he told me that honestly without hiding it.

Since then, he has tried to involve himself with me like this without mentioning it once.

We both struggle with friendships, so I understand his feelings…

More than anything, I don’t feel bad about it myself.

He is the first one who ever asked to be my friend at this school…

I approach Yokogawa.

「Kazunari? If it’s something I can prepare…」

「Come with me!」

I grab Yokogawa’s arm and start running.

According to the rules, when taking a person with you, you must be in a state of contact, such as holding hands.

「Roger that!」

He started running with me without asking a single question.

On the way, I was bothered by the fact that several girls were directing intense gazes toward us for some reason, but we were able to reach the goal without incident.

We didn’t take first place, obviously, but third place is still a top spot.

The official at the goal checking the tasks reads mine out over the microphone.

「A close friend of the same gender.」

It is honestly embarrassing to have that read aloud.

Yokogawa has a surprised look on his face.

Well, it’s natural since it was so sudden.

Feeling the awkwardness, I decided to speak first.

「Well, looking forward to working with you again… Hayato.」

Hearing my words, Hayato grinned.

「Looking forward to it, Kazunari!」

And because Hayato vigorously put his arm around my shoulder, the official saw that and gave us the OK.

And just like that, I made my first male friend at this school.

「「「 Kyah!! 」」」

What is with the noisy girls raining on our parade… it doesn’t sound like a scream of disgust, though.

The person putting his arm around Takanashi-san’s shoulder is certainly…

With the exception of cases like the student council, I basically do not remember men.

Since there were many men who would call out to me without knowing me well, I had a reason for not wanting to remember them one by one.

But I remember him.

Because I have recently seen him calling out to Takanashi-san often.

To be honest, I think Takanashi-san’s friends should be someone a bit more serious…

No, this is something Takanashi-san decides, and it is not something for me to speak up about.

More importantly, the fact that Takanashi-san has made a friend is what is important.

Since Takanashi-san was not blessed with classmates, I had never seen him together with a male friend at school until now.

Therefore, this matter is something very delightful.

Congratulations… Takanashi-san.

It became lunch break, and I had come to the flowerbed.

I did consider inviting Hayato, but there was the possibility that Sara-senpai would dislike it, and because he also did not think it was right to get close to Natsumi-senpai by utilizing me, it ended up that he would not participate in these kinds of settings in the future either.

So I came here alone, but…

There is a woman in front of me.

I think she is probably in her twenties, but to be honest, she is quite a beauty.

At first she was looking at the flowerbed, but she turned this way, perhaps sensing my presence or noticing my footsteps.

When our eyes met, she showed a smile and gave a small nod, so I was prompted to nod back.

I think she’s probably here to cheer for a relative, but for someone to come here…

I didn’t know what to say to start a conversation, so I fumbled around.

「Fufu… what’s wrong?」

Perhaps my behavior was amusing to her, as she spoke to me first.

「N-no, I was just surprised since this is a place where people rarely come!」

I felt a sense of composure, or rather, a way of speaking that also made me feel a bit of a teasing nature, which made me nervous, and I ended up answering in a hurry.

「That’s right… it’s been that way for a long time.」

With that phrasing, it means she has known about this place for a while.

By any chance, is she a graduate?

「I’m glad I came today. It’s the first time I’ve seen that girl looking so happy, and I still can’t believe she would just leave the commentary booth on her own. Breaking a rule like that is something that would have been absolutely unthinkable for the girl she used to be.」

That girl? Commentary booth?

Even with just those two clues, the number of people who come to mind is limited, and the only serious person who wouldn’t think of breaking a rule is Sara-senpai…

In other words, this person is… but Sara-senpai shouldn’t have an older sister.

「I’m sorry, are you Sara-senpai’s older sister… by any chance? I hadn’t heard that she had a sister.」

「Oh my, look at that girl. I’m sorry, my younger sister must not have explained it properly. Takanashi-san, allow me to thank you again for always taking care of Sara.」

Sara-senpai’s sister gave a polite greeting.

「Ah, sorry! I’m Takanashi Kazunari. It’s actually Sara-senpai who has been really taking care of me…」

「No, it’s we who should thank you for taking such good care of Sara. That girl has become truly bright since she met you, Takanashi-san, and she’s even become able to say that going to school every day is fun.」

Approaching me with a smile on her face, she drew very close to me.

Just like that, she lifted my hands as if wrapping them in both of hers.

「Takanashi-san, thank you so much. I have nothing but words of gratitude for you. Please continue to look after Sara in the future as well.」

Saying that, while still wrapping my hands, she smiled as she pulled them toward her chest.

It was embarrassing, or rather I felt so self conscious that I froze up in spite of myself, but Onee-san peered even closer into my face and showed that teasing expression again.

Wait, am I being teased here?

But even if I thought so, it wasn’t like I could do anything about it…

「Takanashi-san, sorry to keep you wait… i… ng…」

Sara-senpai saw my figure…

Or rather, seeing this situation, she showed「that smile」for the first time in a while.

「What are you doing… please let go of those hands for now, Okaa-san?」

Okaa-san?

…Okaa-san!?