Chapter 74 Part 1
Inter-class Ball Game Competition (2) ~Boy’s Season~
Wednesday after school, Yuu’s group of six headed to the courtyard where the girls from class 1-5 that would be participating in the dodgeball competition were supposed to be gathering.
Unlike football or volleyball, you could play dodgeball in any reasonably open space.
In the central area of the courtyard, which was located between the first school building and the administration building, there was a stretch of grass, planters with colorful flowers, and benches, and it was usually used as a place for students to relax.
This week, however, it had been opened for dodgeball practice.
As they approached the area roped off into a line of two perfect squares, they could see a large group of girls in short-sleeved gym clothes and dark red bloomers.
Excluding the ones who would participate in the football and volleyball competitions, there were 15 girls.
It was quite the spectacle to see a group of that many girls in their gym uniforms.
From the look of it, there were some girls who were short, and some who were a little chubby.
Even though they were also tiny and chubby, Yuma and Mashiro of the ping-pong club had been assigned to the volleyball team as they had good motoric abilities, so this team might really be a gathering of girls who were not good at sports.
「Ah, the boys are here!」
「Ah, Hirose-kun! He’s so cool….」
「Higashino-kun is also here. How cute….」
Compared to the athletic girls they had met before, they were meek, but the way they turned to Yuu and the others and went kyaa-kyaa was so girls-like.
It seemed that they had not started yet, and as the group gathered and stared at Yuu and the others, one girl stepped forward.
She was a little shorter than Yuu and had a slender body. She had a slender face that matched her silver-rimmed glasses. Her long black hair was braided in a half up-do, giving her quite the young-lady like air. Yuu remembered her.
She was Aramaki Yoshie, a class committee member of Class 1-5.
She must be acting as the leader of the dodgeball team.
「T, thank you very much for… err, err, sparing your time today to, um… c, come here for ush… Auu.」
It seemed that she was so nervous that she ended up fumbling her words.
「Yoshie, hang in there.」
「Y, yes.」
Standing in front of Yuu, who had taken a step forward, Yoshie greeted them properly this time, even as she went a little red in the face.
「We, boys from group 1-5, are here to cheer you on. Nice to meet you.」
「Ah, ye…s?」
When Yuu held out his right hand, Yoshie ended up freezing for a moment.
As Yuu waited for her with a smile, she held out her right hand and touched it in a timid manner.
Looking at her up close, her eyes behind her glasses were slightly slanted and her face was well-defined, so she could be said to be a beauty.
However, maybe she had no immunity to boys? It was obvious that she had been very nervous since a while ago.
When her slender hand touched his, Yuu firmly held it, enjoying the soft feel.
「Sheesh, that Yocchan, looks like she has no intention of letting go of Hirose-kun’s hand.」
「No, I think she was so surprised that she froze….」
「Huh?!」
Maybe she heard her classmate whispering behind her, Yoshie hurriedly let go of his hand and fidgeted with a beet red face.
Looking at her cute and innocent appearance, a smile appeared on Yuu’s face.
However, there was something he was curious about.
「By the way, what kind of practice do you do for dodgeball?」
Yuu himself had only played dodgeball in elementary school, and had no memories of ever playing it in middle school.
The rules were not complicated; the members of the two teams were divided into infielder and an outfielder and threw the ball to each other, and if they were hit, they had to step outside the court.
And the one who remained in the infield until the end, or the one who had more players in the infield at the end of the time, won… It was probably something along those lines.
「Err, for the time being, we thought about splitting the members and giving it a try.」
「I see.」
When Yuu talked to her, Yoshie was unable to immediately say any words, so another girl stepped forward to her side and answered.
It was quite the sloppy one.
「It seems that all the other classes also form their dodgeball teams with girls who are not good at sports, after all.」
「It’s all about having fun, or something like that?」
「If we’re lucky, we’ll win… perhaps?」
「Ahaha, I see. So you’re going to play for fun?」
「Yes. But now that the boys are here, I’ll do my best.」
Unlike the football and volleyball practices, which they watched yesterday and the day before yesterday, where they immediately started practicing, before they knew it, the girls had surrounded the boys and started having innocent conversations with them.
Diagonally behind Yuu, a girl called out to Masaya, which was unusual, so he strained his ear.
「Yamada-kun, thank you for coming.」
「It, it’s nothing… It’s something that has been decided, after all.」
「Ufufu. I’m not good at sports, but I’ll do my best on the day of the event.」
「Nah, it’s okay even you don’t push yourself so hard.」
「Huh?」
「I, I mean, it’ll be bad if you overdo it and hurt your hands, right?」
「A… Ahaha. Thank you for worrying about me.」
「Th, that’s not what I…」
What is it, a youth romantic comedy? So Yuu thought as he looked back at Masaya.
The girl with whom Masaya had been talking alone was a petite, quiet-looking girl with her long black hair tied back in a single bun.
With a smile on his face, Yuu poked Masaya’s shoulder and asked.
「You two seem close?」
「N, no, we’re not! She’s also a member of the concert band club, so…」
「It’s okay, I get it. For her sake, too, let’s do our best to cheer them on.」
「Y, you, listen to what people say!」
Masaya, looking flustered, turned away while readjusting his glasses.
It was not everyday that he could obtain material that he could use to tease Masaya about his love life, so Yuu was happy.
◇ ◇ ◇
They ended up wasting about 10 minutes to chat, but as Yoshie gave the command, they finally split into two groups and began practicing.
However, the girls were still going kyaa-kyaa in a lively manner
The girls were probably taking it seriously, but unlike the football and volleyball teams, their movements looked slow, perhaps because most of them were not good at sports.
The boys watched the girls with warm eyes as some of them ended up failing to catch the ball or getting hit by it, probably because they were too conscious of their gazes.
「It’s so heartwarming and nice to watch, don’t you think?」
As if to say that, all the boys were sitting on the grass and relaxing.
Today’s weather was cloudy and breezy, so it was a little cooler than usual.
Suddenly, Yuu muttered.
「I kind of want to move my body too now. I wonder if they’ll mind if I join them?」
「Huh? That’s….」
「A, are you serious?」
The nearby Rei and Masaya were at a loss for words.
However, Yuu was serious.
「Isn’t it fine? If us boys join them, maybe the girls will be able to put more spirits into it, you know?」
Yuu stood up and stretched his ankles as he stretched his body.
Then he looked around at all the boys and asked.
「What do you say? Want to give it a try with me?」
「「「Umm….」」」
No one could answer the sudden suggestion.
The boys also got to move their bodies in P.E. class, but it was pretty laid-back.
They were not made to run long distances or play football or basketball seriously.
In the world where Yuu was from, a male PE teacher was supposed to be tough and strict, but the few male teachers at this school, such as their homeroom teacher and PE teacher, were all gentle people.
As such, if it was the football or volleyball practice in which they practiced seriously with the intention of winning, it might have been tough, but if it was the dodgeball practice being carried out right in front of them, he thought he would be able to follow along fairly easily.
One of the boys, who had been exchanging glances with the ones sitting next to them with a hesitant look on their faces, finally stood up.
He was named Houshou Haruto, and since he was after Yuu in the name order, the two had always been in the same group since April, and they talked to each other quite often.
「Alright, I’ll do it!」
「Oh, great. It’s a rare chance, so let’s have fun.」
「Yeah.」
Sporting a slender body a little taller than Yuu, Haruto looked like a cool-type handsome guy who would look good playing football or tennis.
Speaking of which, maybe he loved to move his body around, he was one of the few boys who were in high spirits during P.E. class.
Naturally, he was also popular with girls, but up until now he was not really the type who would talk to them actively.
Through observing the girls’ practice for the inter-class ball game competition that started this week, maybe it had started to change a little.
Taking along Haruto, by the time Yuu made his way to Yoshie, who was outside the court, about 20 minutes had passed since they started practicing.
There were some girls who looked tired, but as soon as Yuu and Haruto asked if they could join them, 「Whoaa!」 they let out cheers and became energetic. Truly a lively group.
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