And so the one-on-one began, but the result was obvious.
Haruya was no match for her at all.
He just got completely destroyed.
It wasn’t even a crushing defeat; it was a total annihilation.
[Haru-san, at this rate you’re just a punching bag. Come on, try harder!]
[I’m already being pummeled!? You demon, Nayu-san!]
The one-on-one with such banter was fun, but also a bit frustrating.
After they both had exerted themselves to the fullest, they decided to take a short break on the bench.
While caressing the surface of the basketball, Yuna opened her mouth.
“… You know, my class… We decided to do a play for the Eika Festival. What about your class?”
she asked, tilting her head slightly.
Glancing at her wrist, Haruya noticed she was wearing the wristband he gave her the other day.
“Ah~ My class…”
“… Hm?”
Before finishing his sentence, he realized.
This is a trap.
Yuna was asking about this assuming that he was from the same school.
Haruya took a deep breath before answering.
“Nothing’s been decided yet. Or rather, isn’t your school’s cultural festival quite early for this time of year?”
he said, internally breaking out in a cold sweat but managing to say this calmly.
“I see…”
“Hey, ‘I see’? Isn’t that awfully curt?”
“If you ask your heart, you’ll know. Or rather, you already know, don’t you?”
she said, turning her face away.
“I don’t really understand what you’re saying…”
“Well, whatever,”
Yuna muttered lightly and then turned back to him.
“… The Eika Festival. Let’s both do our best, okay?”
“… I told you, it’s not like that, Nayu-san,”
“What’s not it? If you have something to say, I’ll listen if you can score even one point against me in a one-on-one,”
“don’t go back on those words,”
“I may not be a man, but I don’t lie,” Y
and so, another one-on-one began.
But the result was disastrous… yeah, don’t ask about it.
(Also, please don’t look for me…)
Haruya thought to himself as they entered another break. This time, Haruya spoke up.
“It’s hot… I’ve already had some, but if you don’t mind, would you like a drink?”
he offered, holding out a plastic bottle of tea.
It would have been best to buy one from a vending machine, but unfortunately, he hadn’t brought his wallet, so he had to give up on that idea.
“… I’ll take it then,”
Yuna said, accepting the bottle with a somewhat demure attitude.
She then froze for a moment, her ears turning a bit red.
She removed the cap but remained frozen, seemingly lost in thought.
“Sorry. I can’t after all,”
“Huh, what?”
Haruya asked reflexively.
“Don’t make me say it… Idiot,”
Yuna said, narrowing her eyes before hugging the basketball to her chest and running away.
Watching her back, Haruya felt a little shocked.
(… Was my bottle that dirty?)
**
Stupid Haru-san.
I’m stupid for being conscious of an indirect kiss.
What am I thinking… really.
I’ve been playing basketball for so long that I’m all heated up… that must be why I’m thinking weird things.
Ignoring her loudly beating heart, Yuna continued to run at full speed.
**
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
As the preparation period for the Eika Festival began, the school became quite bustling.
Staying late to discuss had become the norm, and each class, including Haruya’s, was in a festive mood deciding on their exhibits and various roles.
As preparations for the Eika Festival progressed, Rin and Haruya stood at the podium, leading the proceedings.
Well, to be precise, Rin was leading while Haruya was acting as the secretary.
“First, about the script. Yuna, have you more or less decided on what kind of story it will be?” Rin asked.
“Yeah. I’m thinking of basing it on Cinderella,”
Yuna replied. Rather than a completely original story, adding originality to an existing work is indeed a cultural festival tradition.
Applause of approval came from various seats around the classroom.
After the applause died down, Yuna quietly stood up from her seat.
“So, I think we should first decide on the actors for the main characters…”
she said, initiating the casting discussion.
Casting. It’s the core part of putting on a play.
The classmates were whispering among themselves, but it seemed they all had the same idea about who should play Cinderella.
Before long, all eyes were on one female student.
Noticing the attention, she pointed at herself and let out a confused voice.
“… Eh, me?”
It was Himekawa Sara, blinking several times with a puzzled expression.
A pure white dress.
Magical glass slippers.
Indeed, the most suitable person in this class, the one who would look best in the role, would be Sara.
With a slight smile, Yuna spoke again.
“— So, Sara, would you be willing to do it?”
“W-well, if everyone’s okay with it, I’ll do my best—”
Sara began, but before she could finish, the classroom erupted in cheers and applause.
It seems everyone wanted her to do it.
Even the homeroom teacher, listening from the side of the room, was clapping along.
“In that case, I’ll do my best…!”
“If Sara accepts, I feel like I can really flesh out the script. Thanks, Sara,”
Although they haven’t decided on the specifics of the script yet, Yuna’s enthusiasm makes everyone feel confident in trusting her with the script.
[Himekawa-san as Cinderella and Takamori-san writing the script! We get to see the two of them, who’ve been so lively lately, in action!]
[Man, I’m really glad to be in this class]
[Takamori-san and Himekawa-san have really become cute lately, haven’t they?]
Watching the exchange between Sara and Yuna, the classmates were sharing their thoughts.
Hearing these comments, Rin quietly spoke up.
“… Hey. Sara-chin and Yuna-rin. If there’s anything I can do, let me know, okay?”
“Yeah, thanks. But Rin, you’re on the executive committee, so don’t worry too much about this,”
“Leave it to me and Yuna-san!” Sara declared confidently.
As Sara puffed out her chest, Yuna interjected with a sigh.
“No, everyone in the class will work hard too… Don’t make it just about us, Sara.”
“Ah, … sorry,”
Sara apologized, realizing her mistake. Her apologetic bow seemed funny to the class, and the room was once again filled with laughter.
“Alright then, Sara… and everyone. I’ll put together a plot and make it a fun script, okay?”
— Clap, clap, clap.
At first glance, it seemed like everyone in the room was very excited.
The whole class was buzzing about the casting, and the classroom was filled with noise.
“Don’t leave me behind…”
Amidst all this, Haruya thought he heard a small voice.
When he turned around, that weak figure had already disappeared.
Perhaps he had misheard.
Rin took a deep breath and called out to the classmates who were getting excited, centered around Sara and Yuna.
“Alright, let’s decide on the costume team, publicity team, stage setup, and script checking… we’ll assign roles to everyone~”
With a chorus of “Okay,” the whole class came together.
What each person wanted to do.
They decided to take some free time to discuss and decide on the roles.
The classroom quickly filled with chatter and noise.
“Akasaki-kun, what should we do…”
“Huh…”
Haruya responded, caught off guard by the sudden question.
“Since you’re on the executive committee, you don’t have to push yourself too hard, right? I’m sure everyone will be considerate,”
“I see. I have a strong desire to accomplish something big in this Eika Festival, but do you feel the same, Akasaki-kun?”
“Nope, not at all,”
“Ahaha. You’re so straightforward! I guess you’re still a bit of a mystery,”
“A mystery… what is?”
“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself. Anyway, what about your role in the play, Akasaki-kun?”
“Role? You mean for the play?”
“Yeah, yeah,”
“I think I’ll quietly take on whatever supporting role is left,”
“What’s that? That’s super funny,”
Rin said, glancing at the students laughing and getting excited.
Haruya felt a chill as he noticed her looking at them with somewhat distant, cold eyes.
Even though she said “That’s funny” and her expression was smiling, it all suddenly seemed fake…
After all the discussions were done, each role was decided.
Maybe because Haruya had written so many students’ names on the blackboard, He felt like He might be able to remember most of the class names. (But perhaps that’s still impossible. I’m sorry.)
From now on, work will be carried out in groups for each task.
The executive committee members don’t have specific assignments as they oversee and coordinate everything.
The class as a whole will decide on things like drama practice… no, that will probably be divided into parts for skilled and unskilled performers. So, maybe the only thing we’ll decide as a whole class is the class T-shirt design.
As Haruya was thinking about this, Rin brought up that very topic.
“Alright, everyone! Let’s talk about the class T-shirts, shall we?”
The class buzzed with excitement at her words.
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