“Huh…? Where am I?”
When I opened my eyes, the ceiling above me had a travertine pattern. White curtains surrounded the area, and a pleasant breeze drifted in through the window beside me.
What… what was I doing just now?
I touched my head where I felt a strange discomfort, and found a rough bandage wrapped around it. Someone had draped my soccer team jacket over my shoulders.
“…Th—the soccer match!”
“Kya!”
Just as I sat up, Sasaki—still in her usual disguise—opened the curtain and came inside.
“Sasaki…? Why are you—”
“Makishima! Thank goodness!”
The moment she noticed I was awake, Sasaki threw herself at me, hugging my stomach like a warm belt.
“I was so worried about you!”
Her glasses fell to the floor from the force of her sudden hug.
With teary eyes and an upward gaze, she hugged me even tighter.
Her face was too pretty—I couldn’t look directly at it.
“Uh… I don’t really get it, but sorry.”
I apologized for now, but I still didn’t fully grasp the situation.
As I recalled, I had been sent onto the pitch for the second half, did a one-two exchange with Azaki toward the goal, then went for a diving header—!
“Don’t tell me… I crashed into the goalpost?”
Sasaki nodded.
Now that she mentioned it, I did remember seeing red blood on the turf before losing consciousness.
“So the blood came from hitting the post? I don’t remember much pain… Was it really that bad of an impact?”
“No… actually…”
According to Sasaki, the bleeding happened when I collided with the opposing goalkeeper, but right before that, I’d also hit my head on the post and gotten a concussion.
I didn’t remember much, but apparently, while being carried off on the stretcher, I kept saying “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
After they treated the bleeding, I was brought here to Kotou University Hospital, where they did a CT scan. Fortunately, nothing abnormal showed up.
Still, there’s a chance some symptoms could appear later, so I need to rest for a while.
“Aren’t you thirsty?”
“Yeah… kinda.”
“Then I’ll go buy you something to drink. Oh, and Aihara-san is here too, so I’ll let her know you woke up.”
“Ah… thanks.”
Right, Aihara had come to watch the match too.
I felt overwhelmed with guilt for making everyone worry.
After Sasaki left through the curtain, a few moments later Aihara peeked her face inside as if swapping places with her.
“Uh—good morning? …I guess?”
Aihara entered with her usual gentle, slightly joking tone.
Before sitting in the chair beside my bed, she closed the window a bit since the wind had picked up.
“How do you feel? Does your head hurt?”
“I’m okay, seriously. And sorry, Aihara… I made you worry too.”
“Don’t apologize! It’s totally fine.”
Aihara looked worried at first, but her expression slowly softened.
“Your goal was amazing. You shoved it in with pure grit—like something Gon would’ve done. It reminded me of that.”
“That’s too much praise. What happened with the match?”
“We won. After that, Azaki-kun scored a hat-trick. A 4–0 blowout.”
A freaking hat-trick…
Guess he managed to properly show off for Aihara.
“If Azaki scored three… then I guess I got hurt for nothing.”
“Th-that’s not true! Because you scored, the opponents had to attack more, and that let Azaki-kun’s offense really work!”
“Aihara, calm down. This is a hospital.”
Aihara covered her mouth with both hands, looked around, then laughed bashfully.
Yeah, this girl totally forgets herself when she gets excited.
“You really love soccer, don’t you, Aihara?”
“Of course I do! And you love it too, right?”
When she asked me that, I hesitated.
The last time she said something similar, it stuck with me.
“…Maybe I don’t. In middle and high school… I played soccer just to get results. Even today, I lost sight of everything because I was obsessed with results. That’s why I made such a reckless play.”
“That’s not true.”
Aihara took my hand and looked straight into my eyes.
“You made that goal because you genuinely love soccer and chased the ball without thinking. Someone who only cares about results wouldn’t have pushed themselves like that.”
She didn’t look away even for a second.
“Makishima-kun… you really do love soccer.”
Hearing that, my cheeks grew hot—and then big tears started spilling from my eyes.
The tears running down my cheeks were unbearably warm.
It was simple, really.
I didn’t make the youth team. At the high school I went to, people mocked me. Even then, I never quit soccer.
I’m still just on the university’s second team.
People mock me far more than they praise me. And even if I graduate, I’ll never go pro.
Even so… I never let go of soccer.
“I really… do love soccer.”
Aihara didn’t say anything. She just rubbed my back gently.
With today’s frustration piling on, I cried silently—just cried as hard as I could.
✳︎✳︎
“Hmm… what does Makishima drink?”
I had come to buy something from the vending machine, but found myself stuck choosing.
Carbonated drinks were out. His head hurt, so something warm would be better. But it was hot today…
“Ughhh…”
“Hey, miss. Can you hurry it up?”
“S-sorry!”
A deep voice barked from behind me, and in my panic, I accidentally pressed the button for “oshiruko.”
“You’ve got weird taste, miss. Not many people buy red bean soup from a vending machine these days.”
“…I… I like it, so…”
I picked up the can of oshiruko, but when I looked at the man behind me, a strange familiarity hit me.
Huh? This guy… where have I seen him?
Still puzzled, I took the drinks and returned to Makishima’s room—
But hearing voices behind the curtain, I stopped.
“That’s not true.”
Aihara-san’s voice? But… it sounded angry? Or upset?
The tone of their conversation was oddly heavy.
It sounded like they were talking about today’s goal, with Aihara-san lecturing Makishima.
“Makishima-kun… you love soccer.”
The moment she said that, I heard sniffles from inside.
I peeked through a small gap in the curtain—
Makishima was crying into Aihara-san’s arms as she gently comforted him.
No way I could walk in on that.
With a tangled mix of emotions, I left the room for the moment.
I had never… seen Makishima expose himself like that.
He would never show that kind of face in front of me.
Yet he was baring everything to Aihara-san.
“This feeling… is new.”
Ever since quitting being an idol, I hadn’t felt jealousy or envy toward anyone.
I didn’t have ambition or drive for anything anymore.
But ever since I got the chance to meet Makishima Yuutaro— Actually meeting him, talking to him— I’ve wanted to stay by his side.
That’s why, if I had to name what I’m feeling now— It’s definitely jealousy.
I’m jealous of Aihara-san.
It wasn’t me sitting beside the hurt Makishima.
That truth stabbed so deeply it felt like I might cry.
“…I don’t want to lose.”
I don’t want to give up that spot beside Makishima.
Never.
✳︎✳︎
Post a Comment