The temperature kept rising toward noon, and it seemed today had officially become the first midsummer day of the year.
And just my luck—our fourth period was P.E.
“So hot…”
The words slipped from my mouth before I could stop them, and I quickly looked around in embarrassment.
“What’s up?”
The one who noticed my strange behavior was Kuki.
“Ah, no, I just thought… complaining like that’s kinda lame.”
“It really is hot though, can’t help it,” Kuki said understandingly.
“Alright, let’s give it our all.”
The reason he was unusually fired up was simple—our next few classes were all going to be soccer. The teacher wanted to see how capable everyone was at the start, so we were splitting into two teams to play a match.
Right now was our strategy time. Not that there was any real strategy. After deciding on positions and confirming roles, we were all just waiting lazily for the match to start.
“Gotta show off in front of the girls.”
They’re in class too, so they’re not watching us, I thought as I looked around. The girls were over on the handball court, tossing passes back and forth in a relaxed mood. A few of them were glancing our way, but nothing serious. Not that I cared about showing off anyway.
My eyes met Yukari’s for a moment, and she gave me a small wave.
“See? Now you’ve got a reason to show off.”
“Nope,” I shot back flatly.
Ever since I quit soccer last year, I hadn’t once taken P.E. soccer seriously. I just didn’t want to get involved with it anymore.
Thankfully, I was on the same team as Kuki, who was expected to be the next captain of the soccer club. As long as I passed him the ball, he’d take care of scoring and winning for us.
“Gather up!”
Our P.E. teacher, Sakurai, called out loudly.
Strategy time was over.
Sakurai, who was also acting as referee, explained the rules—no offsides, no dangerous plays like sliding tackles—and then the game began.
Being high schoolers, we weren’t like little kids all chasing after the ball in chaos. Still, the game didn’t move much. I stood at the side back position, watching the small battles in midfield with growing irritation.
I looked away from the game and glanced toward the girls’ court. They were now practicing lateral passes while jogging. No one seemed to be paying attention to us anymore.
And yet—my eyes met Minase’s.
While walking back to her starting spot with her partner, she looked my way. I honestly wished she wouldn’t. I didn’t even know why I thought that, but maybe it was because I felt pathetic. Pretending I didn’t care about soccer, refusing to even take class seriously, and then getting frustrated at a slow match—yeah, pathetic.
Meanwhile, Minase always compared herself to a flower that chose where to bloom. Even after quitting the drama club, she hadn’t stopped practicing her voice work. She kept saying she’d act again someday.
We were so different—her and me. Where was I supposed to bloom?
“Aoi!”
Kuki’s voice suddenly cut through the air.
I looked up to see him at the front line, gesturing for me to pass. …Except, I didn’t have the ball.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue and dashed toward the ball. Noro currently had it—he was playing defensive midfield on the opposite side.
“Pass it here.”
“Noro, send it to Aoi!”
Our voices overlapped.
We were asking for the same thing, but poor Noro looked completely lost. Why Aoi, now? He glanced back and forth between me and Kuki, visibly unsure.
“Sorry, I’ll take that.”
Deciding he’d never pass, I stole the ball from him myself.
My “place to bloom” probably wasn’t some halfhearted P.E. game like this—but I wasn’t about to let myself wither, either.
I dribbled up the opposite side into enemy territory. Two defenders came to block me, but they were amateurs. I slipped past them easily and sent the ball toward the goal.
“Ugh, that’s awful,” I muttered right after kicking. The control was a mess. Back in the club, this would’ve been enough to question my motivation. Guess that long break caught up to me.
“Well, Kuki can handle it.”
I stopped running and watched as the play unfolded.
As expected, Kuki intercepted where the ball landed, trapped it cleanly, slipped past a defender, and calmly sent the ball past the keeper. It wasn’t even a hard shot—more like a gentle pass—but it rolled neatly into the net.
“Yeah!!”
Kuki shouted in triumph, and the team erupted in cheers. It was the first goal of the match, and everyone was fired up.
I looked at him coolly. Getting that excited over P.E., seriously? But maybe that was what made him admirable—he gave his all, even here. Scoring a goal made him genuinely happy.
Then Kuki turned toward me and yelled with a grin,
“What was that pass, man!? If you’re not trying, just quit already!”
“Shut up!” I yelled back.
The whole class burst out laughing.
Kuki then turned to Sakurai-sensei.
“Sensei, let me switch to the other team!”
That came out of nowhere.
“Aoi used to be in the soccer club, so the teams are kinda unbalanced like this.”
“Hmm, good point. Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”
Of course, the handsome, popular guy gets trusted that easily.
Sakurai agreed without hesitation, and Kuki swapped himself with one player from the other team.
Even though it was mid-game, the trade was approved, and we started again.
Without any discussion, I slid into center back, and Kuki dropped to defensive midfield. Each of us took charge of organizing our teams.
Soccer’s a team sport. Even if Kuki and I were skilled, that alone couldn’t win the game. To really play properly, this setup made the most sense—and fit the spirit of a class activity too.
The match started to look more like real soccer, turning into a close game.
Then, near the end, with the score tied at 3–3, Kuki made his move. He wasn’t about to settle for “good game, that was fun.” He wanted the win.
He charged forward with the ball at his feet.
“Stop him!”
Even without me shouting, my teammates went to block him—but Kuki danced past every one of them. His plan was clear: end the game with a goal and the final whistle.
“Guess I’ve got no choice.”
It was a bit far, but I sprinted toward him.
Running full speed, I closed the distance. He noticed me coming and met my gaze. In that instant, he knew exactly what I was about to do.
Our eyes spoke everything.
(You idiot…!)
(Sorry…)
The next moment, I slid hard into a tackle—the very kind we were told not to do.
I went for the ball when it was farthest from Kuki’s feet, knocking it loose.
“Whoa!”
Kuki leapt to avoid my slide, but stumbled on landing and rolled across the ground.
The whistle blew.
“Aoi! What did I say about dangerous plays!?” Sakurai roared.
“Sorry! I just—reacted!”
“Go get the ball!”
“Yes, sir!”
I jumped up immediately and ran after the ball I’d kicked away.
“Sensei, I’m fine! I’m used to it!” I heard Kuki call behind me. Typical soccer guy—he knew this kind of thing happened all the time. Still, he even covered for me. Classic Kuki.
The ball had rolled over near the girls’ handball court, where Minase picked it up and waited with a smile.
“You looked really cool out there, Sakura.”
“Did I?”
Not exactly the kind of line you throw at a guy who just got yelled at and told to fetch the ball. Still, being called cool didn’t feel bad at all.
I took the ball from her and jogged back toward the field.
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