Chapter 61: Beautiful Girl, Goes to Cheer (Part 1)

That morning, I woke up with the sunrise.

Pushing back the futon, I sluggishly sat up. Then I climbed out of bed and faced the mirror. My hair was sticking out in every direction, and my pajama pants had slipped down a little.

Even though my head still felt foggy, my stomach was twitching nervously. Today was the day I was going to cheer for Aoi-kun’s kendo match. It’s just cheering, and I’m going with friends—but still, I couldn’t help feeling nervous.

I’ve never gone anywhere with a boy other than Ryoji. And Ryoji doesn’t even count—he’s been a friend forever. I doubt he even thinks of me as a girl. Honestly, I don’t really think of him that way either.

So if I leave Ryoji out, this is technically the first time. We’ve met before, sure, but we don’t really know each other that well. For me to accept an invitation like this… it’s kind of a big deal, isn’t it?

Still, I’m really glad I invited Moeka-chan and the others to come along. If I were going alone, I’d probably be so stiff with nerves I wouldn’t even be able to talk.

And besides, if what Sakurako-chan said is true—if he really does like me… well, it’s flattering, but still…

I caught myself thinking too far ahead and shook my head hard to stop. When I looked back at the mirror, my cheeks were slightly red. Great—now I’m overthinking things again.

I barely even know him yet. It’s not like I like him or anything. If I keep acting like this, I’ll just get swept away by the mood or something. I’ve got to pull myself together!

After a hot shower finally woke me up, I opened my closet to pick out clothes.

…Since I’m going all the way there to cheer him on, I shouldn’t dress too casually, right? But if I overdress, that’d be weird too. It’s just a friend’s match, after all. Still, if I asked Mom, she’d definitely say, “A girl should always show her best self, no matter the occasion.” It sounds exhausting—but maybe that’s just how girls have to live.

I decided on a light blue mini dress paired with black short pants. The dress was airy and, above all, super cute in color. It was short—well, it is a mini dress—so the shorts peeked out just a little from underneath the hem. It actually made my legs look longer, so I figured it was a great combo. Skirts are cute too, but I get self-conscious when I move around. Shorts are just so much easier.

After changing, I stood in front of the full-length mirror again.

Yeah… not bad. I think. Alright—time for breakfast!

I headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Ayumi-chan!"

"Morning!"

Aoi-kun’s kendo tournament was being held at a prefectural high school gym—not my school, not Ai-chan’s either, but another one.

Sakurako-chan and the others were meeting me at the nearest station.

"Wow, Ayumi-chan, you look so cute today! I feel like you’re putting in extra effort!"

Sakurako-chan reached out and patted my head.

I’m not putting in extra effort! I just paid a little more attention than usual, that’s all… really!

Once we passed through the ticket gates, we stopped to check the information board.

"Looks like it’s pretty close to the station!"

"Thank goodness! I’m terrible with directions."

The venue was only a short walk away along the main street. Even I wasn’t likely to get lost this time.

As we walked, we saw plenty of other students heading toward the same school—probably for club activities or something.

When we arrived in front of the school, I suddenly realized: wait, is it okay to wear casual clothes? Looking around, I spotted plenty of people in regular outfits—probably family members of the competitors—so I relaxed a little. We followed them inside and took seats on the second floor of the gym.

I kind of wanted to say hi to him before the match, but he’d probably be focused right now. Instead, I decided to just send a quick message to let him know I was here.

"Did you just text him?"

Sakurako-chan leaned over to peek at my phone.

"Yeah," I said with a nod.

"Then I bet Aoi-kun’s all fired up now!"

"Haha, I doubt it’s that simple!"

"Hey, don’t underestimate boys! They can be very simple creatures!"

I tried to recall what it was like back when I was still a boy, but honestly, I didn’t even have a cellphone in middle school, so getting a text from a girl wasn’t even something that could’ve happened.

A few moments later, his reply came through: “Where are you sitting?”

Holding my phone, I leaned forward a little from the front row of the second floor. The match hadn’t started yet, so no one was wearing their helmets. Scanning the floor, I spotted Aoi-kun in the distance.

He probably can’t see me from here, I thought—but then he suddenly turned his head toward me. He raised his hand slightly, and I waved back. He must’ve noticed me after all.

Before long, the match began.

To be honest, I don’t really understand kendo rules, but even so, I could feel the tension in the air. The gym fell silent. The two opponents lightly tapped their shinai tips against each other, probing for an opening.

Then—just for a split second—they lunged.

That looked really painful… I couldn’t help thinking that, total beginner that I am.

"Hey, hey, Aoi-kun’s up next!"

Aoi-kun stepped forward to face his opponent. They bowed to each other, then took three steps forward. They both crouched down with their shinai raised. I later learned that’s called sonkyo—though even hearing the word doesn’t make me much wiser.

At the referee’s signal, the match began.

They edged closer. The tips of their swords touched lightly. Both of them moved just enough to test the other’s reaction.

I always thought kendo was more fast-paced. When we did it in P.E. back in middle school, it definitely didn’t feel this restrained… but then again, most of my classmates just swung wildly for fun.

The match stayed deadlocked for a while, both players testing, retreating, and re-engaging. Then, in a flash, it happened.

A slight misstep from Aoi-kun—and his opponent struck sharply at his wrist. It was so fast I barely saw it, but apparently, that counted as one point. Matches are best two out of three, or if time runs out, whoever has one point wins. So Aoi-kun was now at a serious disadvantage.

Come on, Aoi-kun… You can do it! I really wanted to see him win—especially since I came all this way to cheer him on.

Before I knew it, my hands were clenched into fists. When I opened them, my palms were damp with sweat. The intensity of the match had completely drawn me in.

I’d thought, “I don’t even know the rules,” but now I was completely caught up in cheering for him.

Unfortunately, despite his determined attacks, Aoi-kun couldn’t land a point before time ran out. The match ended in his defeat.

Both players bowed again and left the floor.

"That’s too bad…"

Moeka-chan’s voice was full of genuine disappointment.

"Yeah…"

I found myself deflating along with the others.

"But wow, that was intense. I got nervous just watching!"

Sakurako-chan actually seemed to be having a great time.

"Yeah, totally. You could really feel the tension—it was pretty cool, honestly."

I offered my own thoughts to match hers.

"Hehehe, Ayumi-chan. So? Was Aoi-kun cool?"

"Huh? Uh… yeah."

For some reason, Moeka-chan looked delighted at my answer.

"I knew it! You should tell him that—he’d be so happy!"

Tell him…? I mean, swinging that shinai around like that was cool, but saying it to his face would be way too embarrassing.

The morning matches ended, and it was time for lunch.

Since we’d all brought bentos, we started looking for a good spot outside to eat.

"Hey, Aoi-kun should have a lunch break too, right? Why don’t we go see him for a bit?"

Sakurako-chan looked at me as she said it. I hesitated.

I mean… wouldn’t he be eating with his clubmates or something? I really didn’t want to stand out.

When I said as much, Sakurako-chan didn’t look too pleased.

"All the matches are over for now, right? Once lunch is done, Aoi-kun and his team will probably head back to their school. You came all the way here to cheer for him—it’d be such a waste not to talk to him at all!"

Well… she had a point.

Coming all this way just to cheer him on and not speak to him even once—it would feel like leaving a story unfinished.

While we were going back and forth about it, my phone buzzed with a message. It was from Aoi-kun.

"Want to have lunch together?"

Whoa. Perfect timing!

"Well, well! Looks like he made the first move. So, Ayumi-chan—going by yourself?"

"What!? No way—come with me! I can’t just go alone!"

The whole reason I brought everyone along was so I wouldn’t have to meet him by myself. Going solo now would completely defeat the purpose!

"Alright, alright," Sakurako-chan sighed, looking amused.

Jeez… why are Sakurako-chan and Moeka-chan so eager to leave the two of us alone? I get that watching other people’s love stories can be fun, but I’m not in one, okay!?

When we arrived at the spot Aoi-kun mentioned, there was another boy standing with him.

"H-hello!"

Seeing someone I didn’t know threw me off, and I immediately stiffened up.

"Hey there!"

Both Aoi-kun and the other boy greeted us at the same time. Judging by his demeanor, he was probably one of Aoi-kun’s club friends.

"I’m Saeki, Naoki’s friend. Nice to meet you all!"

"Ah, um—Sakura Ayumi. Nice to meet you too."

Sakurako-chan and Moeka-chan followed with their own greetings.

Saeki-kun looked between Aoi-kun and us a few times before narrowing his eyes.

"So… which one did you invite, Naoki?"

"Ah, that’d be me," I said, raising a timid hand.

"For real?"

"For real."

"Seriously for real?"

He kept repeating himself like he just couldn’t believe it.

"No way… When did you even meet such a cute girl!? We’ve been total club junkies, man!"

With that, he dramatically dropped to his knees in despair. The sudden display left all of us frozen in confusion.

"Sorry about him, Sakura-san," Aoi-kun said with a sigh. "He’s… a bit weird."

"Y-Yeah."

Aoi-kun gave a small, apologetic smile.

"It’s not weird! I just got so jealous I wanted to die, that’s all!"

Saeki-kun suddenly shot up again from where he’d been kneeling. He really was an energetic guy—constantly moving and impossible to predict.

"What the heck, though? Naoki knows a cute girl who doesn’t even look like she’s from our school, he’s texting her, and she even came to cheer for him at his match? Meanwhile, I’m at home reading manga and grinning at gravure magazines. What is this difference in life quality…?"

"You can just ignore him for now," Aoi-kun said, sounding tired.

"O-Okay…"

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but he didn’t seem like a bad person—just… loud.

The five of us moved to the courtyard and sat down on one of the benches. Aoi-kun sat to my right, and for some reason, Saeki-kun claimed the spot on my left. Moeka-chan and the others sat on another bench beside us.

I hadn’t expected the seating to end up like this, and I sent Sakurako-chan a pleading look. But all I got back was a text that read, “Good luck!”

Ugh… why did it have to turn out like this? Honestly, the real problem was that the benches only seated three people! If it was two girls and one guy, the other bench would end up with just two people alone together—and if all three girls sat together, we’d be too far apart to even talk, which kind of defeated the whole point of eating together in the first place.

"Sakura-san, did you make your lunch today?"

"Yeah, I did."

I answered Aoi-kun while pulling my wrapped bento and thermos from my bag.

"What—seriously!? You can cook too? You’re like a perfect heroine! How did Naoki end up knowing someone like you…?"

The guy beside me was getting noisy again. I appreciated being called a “perfect heroine,” but having it said out loud like that was so embarrassing.

"What about you two, Aoi-kun and Saeki-kun? Did you bring lunches too?"

I glanced between them.

"Yeah, we did—but ours are from the convenience store."

They both pulled out plastic bags and took out store-bought zaru soba noodles.

With their builds, though, I couldn’t help thinking cold noodles alone probably wouldn’t be enough…

"If you’d like, want to try some of mine?"

"Huh? Really?"

"Whoaaa!! No way! I’m so jealous right now!"

"Um… Saeki-san, you can have some too?"

"Whooooaaah! I’m so glad I’m friends with Naoki!"

I unwrapped my bento and lifted the lid.

Today’s lunch was one of my best efforts: mini hamburger steaks, potato wedges, potato salad, sautéed spinach with bacon, and a few pieces of fried chicken. Making just one portion would’ve been a hassle, so I’d made plenty. Mom and Kaname were probably eating the leftovers for lunch right about now.

"Sakura-san, you’re really good at cooking, huh?"

Aoi-kun looked genuinely impressed as he admired my bento.

"I wish I had a girlfriend who’d make me a lunch like that…"

Meanwhile, Saeki-kun seemed utterly defeated.

I’m not his girlfriend, though…

"Here, have some fried chicken?"

"Thanks."

I offered my lunchbox to Aoi-kun, and his face lit up with a smile so bright it made me happy just to see it.

Yeah, I’m glad I made lunch today. Maybe next time, I should make one for Aoi-kun too. Oh, and maybe for Saeki-kun as well. It’s not that much more work to make three portions instead of one or two anyway.

"This is really good," Aoi-kun said after taking a bite of the fried chicken, looking completely satisfied.

When someone compliments me so sincerely like that, it makes me really happy—and a little embarrassed too.

"What kind of goddess is this girl…? Where did Naoki and I diverge so drastically in life…?"

Meanwhile, the dark aura radiating from Saeki-kun beside me was almost visible. Somehow, he reminded me a bit of Ryoji.

"Um, Saeki-san, you can have some too."

"For real!? You’re actually sharing!?"

When I nodded, he gleefully snapped apart his convenience-store chopsticks and picked up a piece of fried chicken from my lunchbox. Then he took a bite—

"Delicious!! Forget Naoki—will you marry me instead!?"

"Eh!?"

I flinched before realizing he was joking—but still, that was way too sudden!

"Come on now. Don’t joke about things like that," I said with a small, awkward smile.

"Aah, Sakura-san’s just too nice…"

"Guess I shouldn’t have brought Takao along after all," Aoi-kun sighed.

So, Saeki-kun’s name was Takao.

"Sorry about him. He’s kind of weird, but he’s not a bad guy."

"Haha, don’t worry. He’s funny—it’s fine," I said with a small laugh.

Even though it was my first time meeting them, they were both surprisingly easy to talk to. It really helped me relax—well, aside from the noise level.

When I glanced over at Sakurako-chan and Moeka-chan, both of them were watching us with sparkling eyes.

Ah… they’re totally enjoying this. Definitely enjoying it. Just wait till lunch is over—I’m so going to give them a piece of my mind!