Chapter 21: As a Manager and as a Girl [side Tendou Airi]
Among this year's first-years, I rate Kousuke Saito the highest.
He joined the basketball club with no experience, but he had talent.
He's not tall, but his speed, passing sense, and intelligence are all extremely high. He's also calm under pressure, gutsy, and unafraid to put in the unglamorous work of defense and steady improvement—a hard worker.
Stability, plus a willingness to break the norm with clever plays—he's exactly the kind of player you want as your floor general!
...He's the complete opposite of Sahori-senpai. That's my impression.
Sahori-senpai is tall, scores with explosiveness, shooting sense, and unpredictability—a player with instinctive scoring power. On the other hand, he's mentally unstable, streaky, hates hard work, gets volatile when losing, and lets his guard down when winning. As the ace, he's confident and proud; if things go well, he can unleash incredible scoring as a genius type.
The two are polar opposites: offense ⇔ defense, fast breaks ⇔ ball control, individual ability ⇔ team play, Kinoko no Yama ⇔ Takenoko no Sato—nothing matches up.
He was also upset that Kousuke, still a first-year, played in the third-years' final game, and he was especially angry about being used as a decoy by Kousuke when he was too tired to move. Even though he's a third-year, he still felt competitive with first-year Kousuke.
It was hard to watch.
The junior I looked after and liked, and my senior boyfriend—they just couldn't get along.
I'd been bothered by that for a while.
When did it start? Did I begin comparing them after I started feeling dissatisfied with him? Maybe I'd been comparing them without saying it out loud.
And so, as I sipped my coffee (or whatever), I found myself complaining to Kousuke.
Sahori is all looks! I know that's what people say.
But you know, I get hit on a lot, but he was the first to pursue me so passionately! Usually, after I turn them down once or twice, guys start avoiding me—but he didn't care and kept trying.
He's tall, cool, knows all sorts of things I don't, doesn't mind when I say no or act difficult, he's got a cute selfish side, and as a confident, talented, older guy who takes charge, I never thought he was as bad a person as everyone says.
Even after I turned him down again and again, he kept stubbornly asking me out on dates and trips.
This is awkward for me to say, but I'm a little bit of an ojou-sama, you know? But he never cared about that and just kept pursuing me.
Before I knew it, I was swayed by his boldness—he'd even say he loved me in front of people...
Kousuke "...So, why was that?"
Kousuke asks, looking puzzled.
Kousuke is usually expressionless and quiet. But after spending time together in the basketball club, I realized he actually has a lot of subtle expressions, and he's quiet because he thinks before he speaks, so it doesn't bother me at all anymore.
I could feel it myself—a cold anger and hot jealousy swirling in my chest.
"...He cheated! Just while he was dating me, there were three times I know about!"
Kousuke "...Sahori-senpai's womanizing and unfaithfulness..."
Kousuke, sounding exasperated, trails off.
"I knew it! But since he always laughed and said I was his number one, I kept forgiving him...yet it kept happening! Things had been awkward since around May. We talked about it a few times, but he'd always try to dodge the issue. And last week it happened again. So I said we should break up! ...That's why I haven't shown my face since August started, right?"
Kousuke gives an "oh! That's true!" kind of look.
Remembering everything here, I ended up crying...because there really were a lot of good memories too.
"When I found out about the cheating last week, it hit me. Like, Kousuke, you're so devoted to your ex and still hurting, but my boyfriend could cheat on me over and over and not care how much he hurt me... That just made me feel empty. So last week I finally brought up breaking up... I wish I'd done it sooner."
Seeing me cry, Kousuke gasps.
But, without saying anything, Kousuke simply stays by my side.
He looks off into the distance a bit—making it feel natural, not like he's paying too much attention to me.
That somehow put me at ease.
Trying to act a little tough, I say,
"So now I'm single! So you don't have to worry, Kousuke. Even if we exchange addresses or start dating, it's not cheating—there's no problem!"
Kousuke nods, looking like he's got question marks over his head.
In a bit of an exaggerated tone, I sneak glances at Kousuke as I add,
"Even with a boyfriend like that, he did help me avoid confessions. Once people hear about this after summer break, I might get a flood of new love confessions—what a problem, huh?"
Kousuke "...That sounds tough."
He's got a look like, "What else am I supposed to say?"
After that, Kousuke just kept listening to my complaints, nodding along to my half-joking heartbreak stories. From the little expressions on his mostly blank face, I could tell he was really listening with his whole body, and that made me happy.
I kind of expected him to hit on me right away here—and maybe I would've been a little disappointed if he had?
But Kousuke was a perfect gentleman, never trying to take advantage of my heartbreak—not once. He only offered words of care and comfort from start to finish.
He was the kind of boy who made me absolutely certain I could trust him as a listener.
Then Kousuke and I walked to the station together.
What a dependable junior—I need to pull myself together too!
Still, what should I wear for tomorrow's shopping trip?
I'm not planning to get a new boyfriend right away, but I can't help being a little conscious of Kousuke.
I wonder how tomorrow's shopping trip will go?
☆ ☆ ☆
Sahori-kun would tease Airi-san when she tried to talk seriously, or obviously change the subject. In the end, he tried to cover things up with kisses or something sexual, and that finally pushed gentle Airi over the edge.