Amami's PoV
The first major event after moving up to the second year, the class match, concluded without many problems.
…No, I don't think that was the right way to put it. I had a hard time in the beginning, but everything came out fine in the end. That was just my personal opinion though, I knew not everyone shared the same opinion.
I made a new friend– No, she was more like someone I could talk to comfortably. That girl, Nagisa-chan, was quite twisted, but I knew that deep down she was a vulnerable girl. I also knew that she was a hardworking girl. After all, her grades were quite good.
I've been calling her my friend, but she kept denying it. Well, we were getting along fine, so I just needed to keep trying.
Everything would be fine, I'll turn her into my real friend soon!
I hoped that the others understood my decision.
"Alright, Amami-chan, we'll be going in this direction, see you later!"
"Ah, yes! Thanks for coming today, even though I invited you out of the blue! I had a lot of fun! See you later!"
"Next time let us invite you out, okay?"
"Mm! Looking forward to it!"
I said my goodbyes to the girls from class 11, Nakamura-san, Shichino-san, Kaga-san and Hayasaka-san. Since they were from the preparatory class, I originally thought that they would be more uptight, but to my surprise, we were pretty much on the same wavelength and I had a lot of fun hanging out with them.
Nakamura-san played the tambourine like an expert. Shichino-san was a bassist from the light music club, but she sang really well. Kaga-san kept singing anime soundtracks throughout the karaoke session. Hayasaka-san looked serious and uptight, and she was in the kendo club, so I was intimidated by her presence at first, but surprisingly, she was the most lax among the four. She even went out her way to dance with me.
With those four around, Umi must've had a lot of fun every day.
I haven't had this much fun in a while. Everything was a new experience for me ever since I enrolled at this school.
Those girls kept teasing Umi about her relationship with Maki-kun. I totally understood, her reactions were so cute! I was the one who discovered her cuteness first, though.
"Let's go, Yuu."
"Mm! Huh, where did Ninacchi go?"
"Toilet."
"Ah, got it."
I joined Umi and Maki, who went ahead since they were the first ones who said their goodbyes to the class 11 girls.
Honestly, I wanted Nagisa-chan to come with us too, but she kept her word that she was only there for the toast. Of course, she only left after making a promise to hang out with me on another day.
*Yawn* "I'm so sleepy… I'll go to sleep as soon as I get home…"
"Same…"
"Ahaha… Sorry, you two, because of me you two are–"
"Cut it out, you're the one who worked the hardest, we have no right to complain. Besides, we had fun and that's all that matters."
"Mhm. I'm tired, but I had a lot of fun."
Their eyes were half-closed. I was really thankful to them. They followed along with my whims without complaining for the entire day. From the class match to the party, they helped me out with everything without a single complaint.
Those two were so passionate about each other that I sometimes felt second-hand embarrassment from watching them. Yet they would sacrifice their time together for me.
I could only stay strong because those two were always with me… Of course, I wouldn't forget about my other friends, Ninacchi, Sanae-chan and Manaka-chan.
I wanted to return the favor to everyone, but I knew that they would reject it. So, I decided to repay them by staying strong and keep smiling no matter what happened to me.
"Uhh…"
"Hm? What's wrong, Umi?"
"Uh… I was fine until a while ago, but…"
I whispered that question to Umi, who was sitting restlessly on a bench. She told me that she was having a sudden urge to go to the toilet. Now that I think about it, through the three hours of that karaoke session, she never went to the toilet even once.
"There's still time until the next train arrives, you should go quickly. We can always hop on the next train if we miss it. I'll watch over Maki-kun and your stuff for you."
"Uu… T-Then, I'm counting on you…"
Maki-kun was currently fast asleep beside her. He really was exhausted, huh? Though it was understandable, he had to deal with a larger crowd than usual this time.
We tried to wake him up, but he didn't budge, so in the end Umi let him lean on my shoulders and left. It would make my job of keeping an eye on their stuff harder, but Ninacchi would be back soon, so I didn't think much of it.
"…"
As I heard the echoing announcement, I let out a deep sigh.
So many things happened today. I had trouble sleeping and everyone had to cheer me up on our way to school, then when we got to school, we got into a fight with Nagisa-chan.
After that, the match happened and Nagisa-chan told me her side of the story afterwards. We managed to reconcile because of that, but I could never have gotten this far by myself.
"Thank you for everything, Maki-kun…"
I quietly thanked the sleeping boy beside me.
Thanks to his cheering, everything went well during the match and afterwards.
It was around that time when I realized how stupid I had been acting.
This shy boy, who couldn't bring himself to speak up, had to shout like that because of my stupidity.
Though I wasn't conceited enough to think that his cheering was ultimately for me. I knew he did that with Umi in mind. He just didn't want her efforts to come to naught because of me.
"I know that, but I'm still thankful…"
I quietly reached for his head.
His hair was a little messy. It reminded me of when Umi told me about cutting his hair the other day. Also, his hair smelled like Umi's, they probably used the same brand of shampoo.
"…Zzz."
"Hehe… Umi was right, he looks so childish when he's asleep."
I wanted to take a closer look at his face, so I brushed his bangs aside.
The moment I did that…
Badump!
"Eh?"
My heart suddenly started beating a little faster.
"W-What is this?"
Was something wrong with me? I let go of his head and placed a hand in my chest.
My heartbeat returned to normal. Was I just imagining things?
"There you are! Sorry, Yuuchin, I had to go to the toilet… So, what are you guys up to?"
"Uhh… Maki-kun said he was sleepy, so he's taking a nap, after that Umi went to the toilet, so I'm keeping an eye on our stuff and Maki-kun."
"Eh, he's asleep? Nice, let's take some pictures of his sleeping face! We'll send him the pictures later~"
"Jeez, don't do that! Don't disturb him until the train arrives at least!"
I took a look at his face to check whether the little commotion we made woke him up or not. He was still sleeping, I guess he was that exhausted. I would give him a piggyback ride or something so he could stay asleep longer, but I wouldn't be strong enough to do that. There was no choice but to wake him up later when the train arrived.
"Ninacchi, can you watch over him for me? I need to go to the toilet too."
"Hm? Alright. Rep~ Wake up~ if you sleep here you'll die, you know?"
"…Nnn? T-This isn't a snowy mountain though… Zzz…"
"Jeez, Ninacchi, stop that! I'm leaving now, okay? Watch over him properly! And our luggage too!"
I left Maki-kun with Ninacchi before following Umi to the toilet.
"Ah, Yuuchin!"
"Eh? What is it?"
"The toilet is over there!"
"Ah… Hehe, thank you!"
…Jeez, what the hell was wrong with me? I needed to calm myself down quickly.
This was the first time I've ever felt this way.
What was this feeling?