Episode 26 – [Ayado Saara] I was made to see through my own true feelings

Having injured my ankle, I went to the infirmary with Nagase-san lending me her shoulders.
On the way, she told me that she could carry me on her back, but as expected, I was too embarrassed for a piggyback ride, so I decided against it.
Even though it hurt, it was not that bad. However, I was not sure if I would be able to play basketball with this pain.

The infirmary doctor was away, so I lay down on the bed to make myself comfortable.
Nagase-san wrapped the coolant in a thin towel and handed it to me, as she was used to doing.
I felt the heat from my body drain away from my ankles, and it felt good.

“It’s nice. Thanks.”
“N-no, it was my fault to begin with. ……”

Nagase san has been looking gloomy for a long time.
It’s a problem. …… If you care so much about it, I feel sorry for you too.

“I’m sorry. ……”
“It was an accident. You didn’t mean to do it.”
“Um…..not, um….No, I don’t know how to say it. ……”

It seems that Nagase san has some kind of conflict within her.
In these situations, I’ll wait until she talks to me.

“I didn’t bump into …… on purpose. But.”
“But?”
“I was in a rush, and a little bit of that …… rivalry, I mean.”

Nagase san looked down and began to speak apologetically.

“Last year, in a different class than I’m in now, I was the tallest girl in my class, and in gym class I was the best not only in volleyball, but basketball and soccer as well.”
“Yes.”
“But ever since Ayado-san came in, everyone was looking at Ayado-san. Today, too, I knew in my head that I was already completely outclassed in terms of play.”

Ah, I see. …… I just came in this year, right?
Naturally, everyone has their own identity at the school that they have built up over the last year.

“That’s why I was in such rush. I thought I had to take an active part, even if it meant playing rough, and I bumped into Ayado san. Then, I completely blanked out and …… sorry.”

I see. Although it wasn’t intentional, it doesn’t mean that she wasn’t aware of it at all.
If she had kept quiet, I would not have known, but she is telling me how she really feels.

“You are so serious, Nagase-san. You said what you were trying to say, even though it would have been impossible for me to know if you had kept quiet. Don’t worry, don’t worry!　I’ve been injured in sports more than once or twice, and I don’t mind. Iida-kun said it’s just a matter of who’s involved.”
“Y-Yes, that’s right. …… Thank you very much.”

Nagase-san finally looked relieved, and I was a little relieved too.

“And by the way, thank God for Iida-kun. Ayado-san is very popular, and I was wondering what I should do now.”
“I was really saved by that. I knew it, Iida-kun, he always helps me out.”
“….Eh? Ayado-san was saved?”

I see. From Nagase’s point of view, it’s only natural that Nagase san herself would think she was saved.
But at that time, Sora kun surely cared about me.

This is the second of my two traumas.

“I don’t think I look good, but I’ve been called a princess, and, you know, I’m aware that my face is good looking, even if I’m cocky about it. …… When that happens, you know, boys take sides. And it’s unnecessarily excessive, to the point of being disgusting.”
“U-Unnecessarily excessive and disgusting?”
“Yes.”

I’ll never forget, in the third year of junior high school, when Sora kun was traumatized.
I was traumatized at the same time Sora kun was traumatized, and I was traumatized by another trauma.

“I was a friend of a girl’s and we both made mistakes. We both knew we made a mistake, but the boys in the class started shitting on the other girl.”
“T-That’s …….”
“The boys probably thought they were showing themselves off with that, but …… I was really, really sick and tired of being put on the spotlight in a way that was nothing but a disgrace from a third party’s perspective.”
“I hated that, too. ……”
“But what I hated most of all was”

I remember the look on that girl’s face at the time.
My cold ankle ached a little as I remembered.

“The girl who used to be my friend stopped talking to me. The last thing she said to me was, [When I’m with Saara, I’m the only one who loses out]”
“Wow, that’s harsh …….”
“I even wanted to have my own face done. Of course, it was impulsive and not serious.”

Nagase-san gasped.
That’s how painful that incident was for me.

I also hated the fact that the boys who said that came to me.
I told them to apologize to her, but they didn’t understand me at all, and in the end I told them that I hated them all.
Even after all that, none of the boys felt like they had done anything wrong.
Instead……, the boys who knew about it just didn’t mention it from the beginning

Today, it looked like my relationship with Nagase san was going to be the same as it was then.

“But Iida-kun knew and was aware. that I hated that kind of thing the most. That’s why he stopped it.”
“……”
“I knew I can count on him, Iida-kun. I’m always getting help from him.”

When I finished speaking, Nagase san looked up at the ceiling and let out a sigh.

“I have learned something from what you just said, Iida-kun is a more amazing person than I thought.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right!”
“And that Ayado-san’s true love is Iida-kun.”
“Hoeeeh!?”

Eh, eh! What, all of a sudden!
That’s how the conversation went just now!?

In response to my reaction, Nagase san tilted her head, making a face like she was taking it for granted.

“No, Ayado-san would reject any man immediately, don’t you think? I know that’s what you just said, that you don’t trust any guy who comes near you.”
“Y-Yes”
“I thought she wasn’t interested in boys in general, but she seemed to know a lot about Iida kun’s story. It’s like she knows what she’s talking about.”

Aahh Come to think of it, I’ve never talked about other boys at all!
Well, if I started talking like this out of the blue, she’d know I was interested in him!

“Also, I never heard that Iida-kun attacked you, but he ‘always’ helps you out, so you must already be pretty good friends.”
“Hauuu!”

I completely misspoke!
I’m the type of person who would never hold a press conference.

“No, I won’t tell anyone about it, that’s for sure.”
“Well, thank you …….”
“Ah, …… but, I see, Princess Saara, ……. I think I’m going to have to call this one a no-show.”
“What?”
“I was really hoping for Iida-kun.”

Eh, Eeeeeehhhhhh?!
No, it may be rude to be surprised, but eh, Iida kun is Nagase-san’s true love ……!

“I had a very short one-sided love affair with him since the day he cut his hair, though. His face is really good looking, Iida-kun. I was so surprised.”
“Well that~ I told him he should go get his hair cut because I was interested in him too.”
“Oh, so it was Ayado who said that in the first place, then I am not even supposed to be in love with him. Fufu, then I’ll look for my next partner.”

Nagase-san laughed as she said this.
She looks sporty, but she is very polite when she speaks.
Her language also feels cleaner than most of her classmates.
I can tell just by talking to her for a minute that Nagase-san is definitely a nice person.

“Hey, I’d like to take this opportunity to make friends with you. Iida-kun too”
“Is that okay? Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude on you two.”
“I don’t think of Nagase-san as an intrusion. In fact, Nagase san doesn’t seem to intrude at all. and…”
“And?”
“I should declare that we’re friends so I’ll have an excuse when we get back to the classroom.”

I held up my finger and winked at her, and Nagase san started laughing, clutching her stomach.
As if to blow away the somber atmosphere immediately after entering the infirmary, the bright sound of a chime echoed through the room.

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