Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ - Volume 5 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3: The Ball Game Competition

It was finally the day of the ball game competition. A considerable number of people were gathered around the gym and school grounds.

Man, look at all the students! The whole school is here, so there’s probably a little under eight hundred people. Whoops, no time for being impressed right now. I’ve got committee work to do.

“Let’s see, first up on court one we have class 3-2 against 2-1! Please get ready!” I yelled as loudly as I could.

We needed the matches to follow the schedule closely. Miori and I were in charge of volleyball on court one.

“It’s fantastic that the ball game competition is a breath of fresh air from boring school days, but it’s still a pain in the butt to be on the committee,” Miori grumbled.

“Don’t start complaining now. It’s not even that hard,” I chided.

We had a referee from the volleyball team, so all we were responsible for was flipping the scoreboard during the games, not to mention we were working in shifts. Mei’s group would take over after their break.

Miori sighed. “I wonder what Shizuki-chan’s crowd is doing.”

“They’re probably cheering for their classes like everyone else,” I said. I doubt they’ve got the nerves to publicly flirt in broad daylight. “Come to think of it, is Funayama-san going to confess to Mei?” I asked, trying to make small talk.

Miori suddenly stopped breathing and froze for a moment. “Did you hear that from her?”

“No, that’s what you two were talking about yesterday, right? I happened to catch part of your conversation.”

“O-Oh, I see. Just a part of it, right?”

“Yeah. Something wrong?”

“Nope. Nothing wrong with that. Not at all,” she said rigidly. “Stuuupid. Idiot. Moron.”

“Is the name-calling necessary if nothing’s wrong?!”

Miori rested her hand against her chest and heaved a long sigh of relief. “Right. We were talking about that. She wants to confess to Shinohara-kun today. Apparently, after getting to know him more through committee work, she’s fallen for him even harder.”

“That’s great. Mei hasn’t worked up the courage yet, so it looks like she’s going to beat him to the punch.”

“Don’t you know girls prefer being confessed to by guys?”

“Well, guys want to be on the confessing side too. Plus, when you know the feeling’s mutual, it’s just a question of courage, so it feels kinda bad if the girl says it first.”

“But you got confessed to by two cute girls—did you feel pressured to reply?”

“I confessed on the big stage because I wanted to change how pathetic I was.” I normally wouldn’t have done that. If she’d rejected me, it would’ve been a huge stain on my dark history for sure. But that’s exactly why it was a meaningful act.

After a beat, Miori said, “Natsuki, you’re so cool. I want to be more like you too.”

The second-year acting as the referee blew the whistle, signaling the start of the match between class 3-2 and 2-1.

“You want to be like me? Stop joking,” I said.

“You don’t hesitate once you make up your mind. I respect that about you,” she said.

“I can’t believe you’re complimenting me. Is it going to rain today?” I teased.

Miori didn’t retort back—it seemed she’d meant it wholeheartedly.

She’s been acting weird lately. I thought the same when we were practicing in the park, but she’s missing her usual pep.

“Hey, they scored just now,” she said.

“Oh right. My bad.” I can’t zone out here. Come on, focus on score keeping. “They’re pretty pumped up.”

Every time the third-years scored a point, their supporters in the audience exploded into cheers.

“They spend every day studying for college entrance exams, so they’re probably using today to let all their stress out,” Miori surmised as she added another point to the board.

Is that why the third-years’ enthusiasm is on a different level from the other grades? “Well, this is their last event now that the school festival is over.”

“Yeah,” she said in agreement. “They look like they’re having a blast.”

“Miori—”

Anticipating what I was about to say, she stopped me there. “I’m fit as a fiddle. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“But didn’t you say it’s my fault?”

“I was pulling your leg. It’s all on me, so stop agonizing over it.”

She was so firm that I couldn’t say anything back.

“Do your best in your matches today. I’ll be on the sidelines for Reita-kun, so I’ll spare you a few words of support too,” Miori said, preventing me from pushing the topic any further.

***

After my shift, I reconvened with my class. They were outside where the girls’ soccer matches were taking place. Our first match was against class 2-1. On the field, Uta was putting her small physique to hard work as she moved up with the ball.

“Uta-chan! Yuino-chan! You got this!” Hikari and the others cheered for them loudly from the benches.

Uta adeptly dribbled past multiple defenders.

“Man, Uta’s good,” I remarked.

“Yeah. She plays soccer with us often,” Reita explained.

Uta passed the ball to Nanase. Nanase managed to protect it from the defender and sent it forward. She’s not as good as Uta, but Nanase’s pretty slick. Then again, her weakness is stamina.

Tatsuya wordlessly watched the field with his arms crossed. There was a faraway look in his eyes, and he appeared bored.

“Tatsuya, you’re not gonna cheer for them?” I asked.

“Hmm? Oh right. Cheering.” He joined everyone else in their yelling. However, I could tell he was only going through the motions and putting in the bare minimum effort. After all—setting aside whether it was good or bad behavior—Tatsuya would normally be our lead heckler.

“Nice!”

“Uta-chan, you’re awesome!”

Loud cheers rose up from all around me. Uta had squeezed a shot past the other team during a chaotic scuffle in front of the goal. After that, our girls managed to protect that one point until the clock ran out. It was class 1-2’s victory.

“Nice job!” I said as they returned to the bench.

“I’m... I’m too weary to go on.” Pale-faced, Nanase plopped down on the bench.

“A-Are you okay?” Hikari asked.

“I leave the rest to you, Hikari.” Nanase flopped over, her head landing on Hikari’s lap.

“Huh?! Hey, Yuino-chan?!”

Is this a comedy sketch? I held back my laughter and saw Uta, our star player, coming over. “Uta, nice goal!” I raised my hand.

She blinked at me for a split second and then grinned widely. She returned my high five. “Thanks, Natsu!” Her smile was like a sunflower in full bloom.

“Good work making it past the first round,” Reita said.

She nodded energetically. “Yeah! We’re up against third-years next, so we’d better step up our game! Huh? Don’t the boys play a basketball match before that? Didn’t you say the first game’s at eleven?” She tilted her head to the side and looked at me, the committee member.

Our basketball team’s first match does indeed start at eleven. “Yeah. We should start getting ready for that.”

“We’ll come cheer you guys on after we clean up over here!” Uta exclaimed.

“Sounds good. You’d better look forward to it, ’cause we’re going to win!” I was overjoyed. It had been a while since Uta and I had shared a normal conversation like this without any discomfort. I hadn’t done anything to change that—she had probably found closure.