(Words: 2292)
....
19:30
Practice ended even later than the previous day.
Afterwards, they were subjected to another lengthy and pointless lecture.
The players standing on the baseball field, listening to the coach, grew increasingly restless and frustrated.
Observing their expressions, Tougou estimated that the time was right and finally announced their dismissal.
But before the team could disperse, just like the day before, he said, "Katase, stay behind and help Manager Nanao tidy up."
Hearing this, Akane Nanao, who was standing not far from Tougou with a notebook in her hands, felt her eyes widen in shock.
Katase Shōuya was the person she cared about most on the baseball team, her potential future boyfriend.
She knew that during the break earlier, Tougou had called Katase into his office for a conversation.
Since she hadn't found a chance to ask what was said, Akane Nanao was already on edge.
And now, being asked to be alone with him in the storage room...
The thought alone made her uneasy.
Her fingers pressed hard against the notebook, leaving visible creases on its cover.
For a moment, she was torn, her mind flooded with anxiety until she couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up,
"I'm sorry, Coach, but I'm not feeling well. I'd like to request some time off."
If she had any hesitation before, then seeing the gorilla's face twist into a displeased, almost demonic expression under the dimming evening light made Nanao even more certain of her decision.
"Is it serious? With Katase helping, you'll be done quickly.
Just hang in there a little longer," Tougou replied, trying to brush off her request, unwilling to let go of this golden opportunity.
He was about to dismiss the other players when Akane Nanao, seeing that her fellow students were still nearby, quickly interjected,
"Coach, I really don't feel well. I can't last that long," she said, placing a hand over her stomach.
Tougou hadn't expected her to be so wary of him, and her refusal only made him more determined not to let her slip away.
If she avoided him today, it would be even harder to catch her alone in the future.
Seeing her genuinely uncomfortable, his expression softened slightly as he feigned concern. "I see. In that case, why don't I have Katase escort you to the infirmary?"
Knowing that Katase might have been drugged, the girl couldn't risk letting him get close to her.
So, she shook her head without hesitation,
"No need to trouble Katase-san. I can go by myself."
Not waiting for a response, Nanao clutched her stomach and turned to head toward the locker room.
But halfway there, she suddenly realized something—Tougou might instruct Katase to wait for her outside the locker room, leaving them alone together again.
If that happened and they argued, he could overhear something incriminating.
'No, I can't go to the locker room!'
Even though her phone, keys, and other essentials were in her bag inside the locker room, Nanao knew she had some loose change in her baseball uniform.
That should be enough to get her through the night at an internet café.
She recalled stashing a bit of money in her pockets when sorting through her wallet.
So, clutching her stomach and hunching over slightly, Nanao Akane quickly left the baseball club area, moving at a decent pace.
Seeing that she wasn't heading to the locker room, Tougou bit down angrily on his back teeth.
Just as Nanao had suspected, he had planned to have Katase stand guard outside the girls' locker room after she went in.
The extra dose of tea he had given Katase would ensure that the guy would make some sort of move on Nanao.
As long as there was physical contact between them, Tougou would have leverage over her.
But he had underestimated just how wary she was of him.
Unwilling to let her slip away so easily, and suspecting she wouldn't go to the infirmary, Tougou turned to Katase and said,
"Katase, follow her and keep an eye on Manager Nanao. Make sure nothing happens to her."
"Yes, sir!" Katase responded though he was puzzled as to why Nanao was avoiding him.
He couldn't understand—why would she be so wary of him?
They had checked yesterday that the tea the coach gave him was harmless.
Unable to make sense of it, Katase dashed out after her, not even bothering to change out of his uniform.
...
..
"Ahh, ahh~"
"You really do love spicy food, don't you?"
As they exited the restaurant, Hamasaki Reina was still fanning her mouth with her hand, trying to cool down the lingering heat from the small taste she had taken from Sasaki's mapo tofu.
"I told you to take just a little bit. But you, being so bold, had to scoop up a full spoonful," Sasaki said, laughing as he handed her a drink from his backpack.
With her face flushed and eyes watery from the spiciness, Reina took the drink and gulped down half the bottle.
As the heat in her mouth subsided, she turned to him with a look of mock indignation.
"How was I supposed to know it was insanely spicy? And how are you completely unaffected?"
"That's not normal."
Enjoying the evening breeze as the sun dipped below the horizon, Sasaki tilted his head back slightly, letting the cool wind ruffle his hair as he chuckled.
"That wasn't insanely spicy—it was just medium. If you can't handle that, it just means you're not good with spicy food."
"Yeah, right. You're just a spice addict…"
Joking and laughing, they made their way to Reina's apartment building.
After waving goodbye, Sasaki began walking back toward his own home.
But as he passed by a food stall on the way, he spotted Nanao Akane, dressed in her baseball uniform, standing in line to buy something to eat.
Among the sea of casual clothes and school uniforms, her outfit was rather conspicuous.
Sneaking up behind her, he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Nanao-san."
"Ah!?"
Startled by the sudden touch and the sound of her name, Nanao nearly jumped out of her skin.
But when she turned and saw Sasaki, she let out a sigh of relief before glaring at him, biting her lip in irritation.
"Sasaki!"
"Yes? How can I help you, Nanao-san?" Sasaki asked, grinning mischievously as if he had no idea he had just scared her.
He then turned to the stall owner and said, "I'll have what she's having."
"Sure, coming right up," the vendor replied.
"You…" Although she was amused by his funny look, Akane Nanao was still dissatisfied with him for scaring her just now.
'I left my boyfriend and fled the tiger's den, and I'm almost penniless, but he is still bullying me like this, really...'
If Shinomiya were here, she would've likely called him "terrible" or something similar.
But Nanao wasn't used to arguing or having friends who enjoyed pranks.
With her limited vocabulary for expressing her frustration, she could only glare at Sasaki in exasperation.
Seeing that her earlier sadness and anxiety had faded, Sasaki met her gaze and asked, "Nanao-san, did something happen? Why are you out here in your club uniform? And where's your bag?"
"..."
Unsure of how to explain what she had been through, Nanao Akane bit her lip, trying to find the right words.
"Here's your oden,"
"Thank you," Sasaki replied as he took the two servings of oden, paid for them, and then turned to Nanao, saying, "Let's find somewhere to sit and talk while we eat."
"Okay," she agreed quietly.
They made their way to a nearby park, not far from the food stalls as Sasaki sat down on a bench and placed the oden beside him.
He then reached into his backpack and pulled out a small bottle of mosquito repellent that Otome had slipped into his bag.
Spritz, spritz—
"Here, spray some on yourself," he offered, applying some repellent to the area around them and on himself before handing the bottle to Nanao, who sat at the other end of the bench.
"You carry mosquito repellent with you?" Nanao asked, surprised as she sprayed some on herself and looked at Sasaki with a hint of curiosity.
Sasaki secretly sighed at Otome's thoughtfulness and said indifferently.
"It's better to be prepared than to be unprepared. And look, it came in handy."
"Yeah, I guess so,"
"Alright, let's eat."
"Um."
As the manager of the baseball club, a physically demanding position, Nanao was already starving by the time club activities ended.
It was no wonder she had headed straight to the food stalls as soon as she left school.
While eating the warm, flavorful oden, she remembered how Sasaki had paid for her meal and said, "I'll pay you back after we finish eating."
"Don't worry about it," Sasaki waved her off. "It's just oden. You can buy me a drink tomorrow if you really want to."
"Alright," she agreed, realizing that she didn't have much money left anyway.
Saving what she could was probably the best idea—especially since she was planning to spend the night at an internet café.
If she only had oden tonight, there was a good chance she'd be hungry again later.
So, she didn't argue with him.
As for the promise she had made to Shou-kun yesterday—not to interact with Sasaki—well, it wasn't like she had sought Sasaki out.
He had approached her first, so it wasn't really her fault.
Comforting herself with this thought, Nanao noticed that Sasaki hadn't touched his own oden,
"Aren't you going to eat?" And couldn't help but ask.
"I already had dinner before I ran into you. I'm not hungry. You go ahead."
"..."
He paid for her food and even bought an extra serving—had he noticed that she didn't have any money?
'It made sense,' she supposed.
'That's right, I didn't bring a schoolbag, and it didn't look like I had a wallet with me.'
'Is he afraid of embarrassing hers by not pointing it out directly?'
As she took in the scent of the mosquito repellent and the warmth of the oden resting on her legs, along with the drink Sasaki had placed beside her, Nanao couldn't help but think about her relationship with Katase.
Katase Shouya was her first boyfriend.
Though they hadn't officially started dating yet, their agreement to become an official couple after the tournament made them practically the same as any other couple.
But despite their relationship, she had never experienced this kind of thoughtfulness from him.
The club had rules against dating, and they could have used that as an excuse for keeping their relationship discreet.
But even in private, Katase had never handed her a bottle of water when she was thirsty or offered her a tissue when she was drenched in sweat.
These small, seemingly insignificant acts of kindness could have been done in secret.
Even if someone noticed, it would just look like he was being polite, and no one would think twice about it.
But she had never received such gestures from him.
It left her feeling a bit empty, though she tried to convince herself it didn't matter.
After all, as long as Shou-kun still liked her, that was enough, wasn't it?
But the trust that should naturally grow out of affection... she hadn't felt any of that from him.
Was it unreasonable of her to expect that her boyfriend would share her dislike for someone she despised?
Shouldn't he be on her side?
Was she being too unreasonable and ignorant?
But if that were the case, then why could Sasaki…
Though she didn't want to admit it, Akane Nanao had to acknowledge that a guy like Sasaki was naturally attractive to girls.
It wasn't without reason that he had multiple romantic partners.
Seeing her lower her head in thought, Sasaki assumed she was reluctant to feel indebted to him, so he said a gentle smile,
"It's just oden.
A couple of bottles of water would more than cover it. You don't need to hesitate so much."
"I do like you, and yes, there's a part of me that hopes these little gestures will make you like me too, but I'm not going to cling to this tiny favour as some kind of leverage."
"So, relax and enjoy your meal."
His words snapped her out of her daze, and she couldn't help but smile at the way he so casually admitted his feelings for her, without a hint of embarrassment.
"I don't know whether to commend you for your honesty or call you shameless for saying you like a girl so casually," she teased, glancing at him with amused eyes.
"Casual?" Sasaki echoed, leaning forward on the bench, his elbows resting on his knees.
He turned his head to meet her gaze, his eyes locking onto her bright blue ones.
"Maybe it sounds a bit flippant, but I'm serious when I say I like you, Nanao-san.
Sure, it might have started with being attracted to your looks, but I also like your personality."
"The fact that you joined a tough, demanding club just to support your boyfriend and stayed by his side—there's something really admirable about that."
"And you're very… loyal to him."
As he spoke, Sasaki glanced at the distance between them on the bench and sighed softly.
"I don't know Katase Shouya that well, but just based on appearances, I'd say I'm more appealing than he is."
"And while he's got you worried, I'm here, trying to find ways to help you. With everything I've done, you still haven't been swayed by me…"
"Honestly, I'm a little disappointed," he admitted with a slight grin, "but it just makes me like you even more."