Chapter 34: A Special Being, Where the Heart Lies

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Translator: Soafp

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Marin and I passed through the long corridor and arrived at the basketball club’s locker room.

As we walked from the gymnasium to the locker room, I could faintly hear the sound of basketball shoes scraping against the floor, and the voices of the club members continuing their practice in the distance.

When we stood in front of the door, a faint mix of sweat and sports drink filled the air.

Marin lightly knocked, and a cheerful voice from Kagura echoed from the other side of the door.

“Hi!”

After hearing the response, Marin opened the door. Inside, I saw Kagura and Aoi sitting on a bench, wiping the sweat from their faces. Kagura, with a towel around her neck, was catching her breath but wore a somewhat refreshed expression.

Aoi, on the other hand, was sitting silently, looking down, likely still shocked from losing to Kagura in their one-on-one match.

“The match was amazing.”

I said, sharing my honest thoughts.

Kagura smiled a little shyly.

“Right? It had been a while, but I'm still not easy to beat!”

Hearing that, Marin smiled and nodded.

“I was also happy to see you playing basketball again, Kagura.”

When I saw Kagura chuckle, I couldn't help but smile as well and then spoke up.

“Marin was just as happy as if it were her own victory.”

It was a casual comment, but when Marin heard it, she blinked in surprise.

“Huh…?”

She said, her cheeks turning slightly red as she awkwardly looked away. Seeing this, I thought to myself, “Oops.”

But at that moment, Kagura's eyes suddenly sparkled.

“Hey, Hajime?”

Kagura suddenly grabbed my shoulder. Her face was grinning, but there was a hint of interrogation in her expression.

“Y-Yeah?”

I was confused as Kagura leaned in closer.

“What did you just say?”

“Huh…?”

“No, no, I'm talking about how you called Marin by her first name without honorifics. Didn't you?”

It was only then that I realized. Somehow, I had called her “Marin” instead of “Marin-san.”

“Uh, well… I mean…”

While I was flustered, Marin’s face grew even redder, and she gently covered her mouth as she looked down.

Seeing this, Kagura puffed out her cheeks, leaning forward from the bench.

“Not fair! Why do you call Marin by her first name, but not me? You should call me by my first name too!”

Kagura clenched her fists and started whining like a child.

“Huh, no…?”

“Yes, you should! Call me by my first name too!”

Kagura kept moving closer to me, pouting her lips and staring at me intently.

At that moment, Aoi, who had been watching their interaction, could no longer contain her irritation and exploded.

“Enough already!”

Her sharp voice echoed in the room. The atmosphere froze instantly.

Kagura looked at Aoi, surprised.

“What's with the attitude? Is it because of that day…?”

Kagura smirked provocatively. Aoi's eyebrows twitched.

“Shut up!”

Aoi stood up suddenly, slamming her hand against the bench. Realizing that things were getting out of hand, I rushed to intervene.

“Hold on, calm down—”

However, before I could finish, Aoi cut me off with a glare.

“Why are you defending her?!”

I was taken aback. “It's not that I'm defending her, it's just—” I began to explain, but Aoi interrupted me again, shouting angrily.

“Of course you're defending her! You must like cute girls more than rough girls like me! That's why you went after Konatsu—!”

As soon as those words were spoken, the room's atmosphere became ice-cold.

“…What?”

My voice trembled, disbelieving what I had just heard. Both Kagura and Marin widened their eyes and gasped.

“I… I went after Konatsu-chan?”

I couldn't believe the words that had come out of my mouth. I had never thought about such a thing, not even once.

Aoi's face turned pale. Her expression showed that she regretted it, but it was too late. Her words couldn't be taken back.

A sense of confusion and an indescribable feeling of despair spread through my chest.

“Konatsu-chan… she's Aoi's junior, right? Wh-why is this even being discussed?!”

My voice quivered but rang out strongly. Yet, Aoi remained silent.

She averted her gaze, tightly pressing her lips together.

The silence only deepened my anxiety.

Then, suddenly, the door to the locker room slammed open with a loud noise, cutting through the tense atmosphere.

“Aoi-chan, are you okay?”

Takamatsu-senpai's calm and low voice echoed.

“…Takamatsu-senpai…”

Aoi lowered her gaze, as if trying to hold back tears.

“Let's talk outside. Calm down a bit.”

Takamatsu-senpai prompted, and Aoi hesitated before giving a small nod.

“Wait a minute!”

I called out instinctively, but Takamatsu-senpai turned to glare at me with sharp eyes.

“Shut up!”

Takamatsu-senpai shouted back, still glaring at me, as he pulled Aoi into a tight embrace and tried to leave the room.

Seeing this, Kagura shrugged exaggeratedly and spoke up.

“Heh, guess it's good. You've got a guy protecting you.”

Her provocative tone pierced through Aoi's back.

Aoi opened her mouth as if to retort, but in the end, she didn't say anything and lowered her gaze, remaining silent as she left with Takamatsu-senpai.

However, Kagura threw a sharp comment toward Aoi's back.

“Really hopeless… There's no way Hajime would do something like that!”

The words hit Aoi's shoulder, making her flinch.

As if to add more pressure, Marin stepped forward and said strongly.

“That’s right! I don’t believe for a second that Hajime would do something like that! I trust Hajime more than anyone else, more than some random person!”

Aoi stood frozen, unable to hide her confusion, while even Takamatsu-senpai looked uncomfortable.

“…Let's go.”

Takamatsu-senpai said irritably as he grabbed Aoi's hand and forcefully dragged her out of the room.

Left behind in the room were Kagura, Marin, and me.

A long silence stretched on. The subtle tension remained, but when I lifted my gaze, I found Kagura and Marin looking at me warmly.

Although Miyabi and Aoi hadn't believed me, these two had stuck by me until the very end.

And that was more than enough to make me happy.

“Kagura, Marin… thank you for believing in me…”

When I murmured that, Marin blinked in surprise before slowly narrowing her eyes and blushing shyly while smiling.

“…Of course. Because Hajime would never do something like that.”

Marin said that and shyly looked down, her gesture so cute that I couldn't help but take a breath.

Meanwhile, Kagura, who had been so adamant about wanting me to call her by her first name, was now blushing and opening and closing her mouth, completely flustered.

“…W-Why so suddenly… It's unfair…”

It was the first time I had seen Kagura, usually so confident, acting this embarrassed.

Her reaction was so adorable that my heart started racing.

“K-Kagura?”

I called out instinctively, and Kagura desperately tried to hide her face, her body wriggling awkwardly.

“W-Why… I wasn't ready for that…!”

Seeing her like this, Marin smiled gently and patted Kagura's shoulder.

“Come on, come on, Kagura-chan, you were just begging Hajime to call you by your first name, and now you're all shy?”

“Shut up! Who asked you, Marin!”

Kagura half-heartedly reached out toward Marin, but Marin easily dodged and giggled.

Watching the two of them, the heavy feelings from earlier lightened and faded away.

Before I knew it, I felt a warm sensation in my chest.

—I'm really glad these two are here with me.

“Thank you, Kagura, Marin.”

When I said that again, both of them immediately turned away shyly.

In that moment, I felt something warm stirring deep inside me.

Kagura and Marin had trusted me without hesitation.

I had never thought about how important they were to me, but now I was beginning to understand.

I was starting to feel something uncertain, something more than just friendship… something special… deep within my heart.

“…Really, thank you.”

My voice had become slightly softer than before.

Kagura pressed her lips together, trying to hide her now-red face.

Marin, still holding my sleeve, smiled gently.

Their gestures were so cute that I couldn't help but smile naturally.