âTowa-kun! Did you see me~? Iâve decided to go all out this time, too.â
Rin seems to have regained her energy after taking a rest during lunch break.
She was as active as ever in the afternoon competitions, and when she found me, she came running up to me with a smile and a wave of her hand after she had finished her work.
âI watched you. You sure did a great job.â
âFufufufu~! Thanks to Towa-kun, I was able to recharge my batteries. I am now in a position to face anything.â
âThatâs good to know. Just donât overdo it, okay? If you get carried away and get hurt or something, it wonât be so funny.â
âThereâs no problem with that. Iâll show Towa-kun a cool spike next time, too.â
Rin said and puffed out her chest with a proud expression on her face.
Due to the fact that she was thinly dressed for exercise, her assertive parts were reflected in my field of vision.
I managed to hold back my gaze from being guided and patted her head in a deceptive manner.
Rin narrowed her eyes happily and showed me a smile, âEheheâ.
It was the same during the match, but I canât help but look at her in a variety of waysâŠ
The person in question doesnât seem to mind, but it worries me.
Well, sheâs not going to change her behavior when I tell her, sheâs so proud of everything. Haa⊠damn. Donât even know how people feel.
I complain like that in my mind.
Then, I wondered if she sensed something. Rin looked at me.
âTowa-kun, is something wrong? You look like youâre trying to escape reality, or rather, you look worried about something.â
â⊠Did I look like that? Well, itâs not the first time Rin has been as perceptive as an esper.â
âIt is said that the eyes speak louder than the mouth. The way you look at me, the way you breathe, and the slightest hint of strength in your cheeks tells me what youâre thinking. By the way, your eyes right now are saying, âIâm troubled about a lot of thingsâ.â
She can guess everything with just such a subtle change⊠Itâs really amazing.
Well, but fortunately it seems you donât even know what Iâm trying not to look at.
⊠Or maybe youâre aware of it, but youâre thinking something like âitâs OK if youâre glued to meâ?
Hahaha⊠as expected, isnât that the case?
I look at Rinâs face with a sideways glance.
Immediately, she noticed the gaze and smiled happily at me.
âWell, it certainly doesnât feel good to keep getting stared at by people other than Towa-kun, butâŠâ
âIf thatâs the case, isnât it okay to hold back?â
âEven if I donât like it, itâs a plus for me if it makes Towa-kun look at me more closely.â
Rin smiled thinly and looked up at the sky.
Then she stretched her arms out, before looking at me again.
âWell, Towa-kun. Itâs finally time, isnât it?â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âDonât be silly. Itâs almost time for you to compete. Donât be late, okay? Iâm sure Kato-san will have a pre-game meeting.â
âAh⊠about that. Well, Iâll be there as soon as possibleâ
Normally, a type of person like me should stay quiet at a baseball game festival for the rest of my life. But at this school, itâs hard to do that.
The reason is that there is a rule that you have to participate in one competition, which is hellish for those who are not good at athletics.
I tried not to think about my turn as much as possible, but Rin has my schedule down perfectly.
She seems to know everything about the event Iâm going to be in, the time, and everything else without me having to tell herâŠ
I sighed and slumped my shoulders.
âI think the D class is aiming for the championship in the baseball game in which Towa-kun will play. My guess is that Towa will bat ninth in the order.â
âWell, I guess youâre right. Thereâs not much you can do, and the batting order should have been as unobtrusive as possible.â
âSo you hit a home run there.â
âNo, no, no. The world of sports is not so easy that a beginner can do it overnight. I donât know how to hit a ball like that with a thin bat. Like anything else, itâs difficult for amateurs.â
Well, if youâre Rin, Iâm sure youâll be able to adapt quickly to a sport thatâs new to you.
To be honest, thereâs not much I can do.
And Iâm not going to be on the defensive. ⊠I mean, if I were on the defensive, Iâd be full of errors and booed off by my classmates.
Based on that, I honestly donât want Rin to see much of itâŠ, as it will only expose a pathetic figure in all probabilityâŠ
âAnyway, itâs no fun to come and watch.â
âBut you were practicing something, werenât you? Even if you donât do well, I want to see you trying your best. Who doesnât like to see hard work?â
âI know. But you donât want to get tangled up in the crowd by cheering for me, do you? There are a lot of people who get carried away at festivals.â
âI know, but I wonât compromise on this. Iâm going to come and see it, no matter what.â
I turn my gaze away from her and she moves to enter my line of sight.
I glanced at her and she was staring at me with her cheeks puffed out and looking up at me.
Itâs ⊠really dazzling âŠ, so straight up, isnât it?
The look in her eyes showed a strong determination that she wasnât going to change her mind, and I couldnât help but chuckle.
âEven so. Rin has other events to compete in, donât you? Besides, youâre involved in other things, too, and itâs going to be hectic.â
âYeah. I know that, but ⊠But I still want to see what I want to see! BesidesâŠâ
Rin took out the cheering items she had made at my home and showed them to me.
AhhâŠ, I remember that one.
I was so embarrassed; itâs been relegated to the corner of my memory.
To be honest, I donât want you to use it, butâŠ
I was watching Rin making it with excitement, so itâs hard to say ânoâ.
ââŠPlease donât just ⊠big flags. I donât want to be the center of attentionâŠâ
âTowa-kun says so, but ⊠I think itâs too late for that, donât you? Towa-kun is very prominent right now.â
Itâs true that the basketball thing was prominent, and youâre right.
âTokiwagi and Wakamiya are dating?â There were also people talking about something like thatâŠ
And because of that, they were staring at me a lotâŠ
Hah. That makes me all the more anxious for the competition after this.
I slump my shoulders and sigh.
âFufu. Thank you for understanding.â
âWhy do you look so happy? Iâm in a situation where I could be stabbed from all directions.â
âI donât look happy. I never think, âThanks to Shouwa-kun in that moment, I have a great reason to cheer with dignity!â How could I think that?â
â⊠Could you make a little more of an effort to hide your intentions? Youâre revealing your true feelings.â
âOh my, Iâm so careless.â
She sticks her tongue out a bit cutely and looks innocent.
Unnecessarily cute⊠itâs a foul.
âTowa-kun, I am asking you to do me a favor! Iâve prepared so spiritedly for this day, so let me cheer you on with all my might~!!â
Rin looked at me with her eyes that reminded me of a dog in certain commercials.
âI have to witness Towa-kunâs great success with my own eyes.â
âItâs not as cool as Rin imagines. Iâm not going to have much of a role even if I support them. SoâŠâ
âI understand. If Towa-kun says that much, I give up.â
I sounded dumb because of her attitude, which she easily pulled off.
I sounded weird because it was so ⊠rare.
I tilted my head at the sudden flip.
Rin was just smiling and in a good mood.
âIâve been selfish, but ⊠I really donât want to get in Towa-kunâs way, so Iâm going to quietly step aside here.â
âItâs not the end of the world if Iâm not cheering hard and getting in the way.â
âWell, Iâm feeling a little uncomfortable about Rin withdrawingâŠâ
I raised my eyebrows at Rin, who was strangely attentive.
Normally, she would have said, âIâll do what I want to do! I donât care whoâs around! I donât care about the people around us!â
When I gave her a skeptical look, Rin smiled at me.
âI can tell you that too. Iâm not rushing anything, and if I had to say it, I just thought that I should try to be a modest woman who can stand up to men.â
âIâm not sure. Let me at least send Towa-kun off first.â
Rin smiles at me and gives me a push on my back.
She nodded, as though to say that itâs okay to go.
But looking at her smiling face, I couldnât say anything more.
I only feel uncomfortable that she withdrew so easily, but I canât help but feel âŠ
Well, I guess that means she understands, right?
âWell, Iâm offâŠ?â
âPlease do your best! Iâm looking forward to Towa-kunâs victory piece!â
âOkay. Well, Rin, do your best too. Do it in moderation.â
âFufu. Please leave it to me.â
She makes a peace sign with her hands.
Iâm worried about her attitudeâŠ
Well, itâs no use thinking about it.
I smiled back at her cheerful, encouraging expression.