It's been a few days since my date with Suga and our declaration of friendship. As usual, the guys in class wouldn't stop their attempts at getting our attention. Of course, Mikoto's been the more protective one and bashed at any guy that tried to get close to either one of us.
Right now, we have Homeroom in which it was supposedly our free time but Hanai walked up and stood in front of the classroom podium.
"Alright everyone!" Hanai started speaking, raising his voice. "For today's Homeroom, I, Haruki Hanai, Your class representative, has given us permission to use the field for a softball tournament!"
I looked at the Hanai and raised an eyebrow. "Softball tournament? Really?"
"Oh yes! Softball tournament indeed!" He shouted with pride. "This is a perfect opportunity to test our teamwork and take advantage of the weather to exercise our youth!"
While observing my classmates faces, there were mixed expressions. Imadori mentioned that he has no interest in participating, Karasuma was staring out the window as usual and Tenma sulked in her seat.
"Man. Why does it have to be softball...I'm really bad at sports..." Tenma whined as she slammed her face on her desk.
Eri flipped her hair and eyed each of us. "Softball doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. I've never played sports before."
My eyes widened at Eri's comment. "Eh? You don't play sports?" I questioned.
"Nope." She answered, shaking her head.
"Well, you're sure going to enjoy it. I think softball is fun!" Mikoto said as she held up two fingers, making a 'peace' sign.
"I don't mind playing." Akira said calmly.
Tenma was the only one out of he five of us to complain about Hanai's softball suggestion. "This really sucks! I'm going to embarrass myself!"
Before talking to my friend, I looked at Harima. He wasn't sleeping but his head a lowered and I think he's mumbling among himself. I looked at the guy in confusion but then turned my attention towards Tenma and showed her a reassuring smile. "Cheer up Tenma. I don't believe that you're bad at sports. Who knows, maybe you might be good at softball."
Mikoto, Eri and Akira nodded their heads, agreeing with what I said just so Tenma could cheer up. Unfortunately, Tenma raised her head and looked at me with watery eyes and a pout. "I wish what you're saying is true Sai. But I know that I'll be horrible at it. I just know it!"
I reached over and patted her shoulder to comfort her. I opened my mouth to speak but was soon caught off guard with Harima. He suddenly stood up from his seat and threw his arms in the air. "YEAH! LET'S DO IT!" was what he shouted on the top of his lungs.
Everyone in class was startled with Harima's shouting and I just remained in my seat, eyes wide. "H-Harima?"
"That's the spirit Harima!" Hanai shouted in approval. "You all should be like Harima and enjoy our youths!"
I looked at the two guys and laughed. They're the only two that are really into the sport. With that, Hanai ordered us to the locker room to change to our gym uniforms. We all did as we're told while chit chatting at the same time.
"I didn't see Harima as a guy that'd be interested in this sort of thing." I said while throwing on my white gym shirt.
"I'm just as surprised as you are. I have never seen Hige react like that before. I just hope I'm not on the same team as him. He'd kill my mojo." Eri said as she fixed her hair.
"I do wonder whose on which team for the game." Mikoto said.
"Erm...I wanna know which team Karasuma will be in..." Tenma chimed in quietly.
"Let's head to the field and find out." Akira said as she closed her locker and started walking out of the room.
Since we were all changed and ready, the girls and I followed after Akira and met up with the rest of our classmates in the field. Everyone crowded around Hanai as we counted off to decide our teams. Luckily, all my girlfriends were in the same team as I along with Nara, Yoshidayama, Sagano, Mai and Imadori, who decided to join last minute. We were in Team Red while the other, Team White had Suga, Aso, Nishimoto, Hanai, Harima, Fuyuki, Mihara, Yuuki and Ichijou.
We played Janken [Rock Paper Scissors] to determine which team goes first. My team, Team Red, won so we got to play offense first.
"Yoosh! I'll bat first!" Mikoto shouted as she grabbed the metal bat and walked towards the white plate.
Everyone in Team White took their positions in the field while Mikoto practiced her swinging. Hanai walked up to the pitcher's spot. He pointed his glove towards Mikoto with a serious look on his face. "I won't go easy on you Suou!"
Mikoto returned the action with her metal bat pointing towards Hanai. "Same goes for you Hanai!" She said with a confident smirk.
"Yay! Go Mikoto!" Tenma cheered as the rest of our team stood behind the batting cage, awaiting our turn to bat.
"You got this Mikoto!" Eri cheered on as well. Akira and I stood there, nodding our heads, waiting for Hanai to play the first pitch.
With the ball in his hand, Hanai raised his arm and leaned back. "Here it comes!" Hanai shouted. He then threw the ball with a bit of force, pitching a fastball towards Mikoto.
Another smirk grew on Mikoto's face as she tighten her grip on the bat and swung it really hard. There, we could hear a nice 'WHACK' sound. The ball connected with the bat and was sent flying across the field. It fled so far back that the center fielder was unable to catch it. Mikoto basically hit a Home Run!
"Awesome! Score One for Team Red!" Mikoto shouted as she dropped the bat and ran around for the score.
"Nice one Mikoto!" Tenma cheered "She's so good at this!"
Eri smirked and crossed her arms. She then looked at Tenma and winked towards her, "Well, that's because Mikoto is good at practically anything."
"Indeed she is." Akira said.
"She's so athletic. I praise her for that." I said, smiling as Mikoto made her way back towards us. We each 'high-five' her and as my smile grew wider.
"Did you guys see Hanai's face? His reaction was priceless!" Mikoto said, pointing her thumb behind and laughed.
We looked behind her and noticed that Hanai's jaw dropped. He then fixed his posture and prepped for the next batter. Mai stepped up to bat but she strike out and then it was Sagano's turn. After two strikes, she managed to hit the ball on the third pitch and was safe on the first base. After Sagano was Nara's turn. He attempted to swing through each pitch but was struck out as well. So far, we have two outs and 1 point for the team.
"Alright. Whose next to bat?" I asked, looking around.
Akira walked up towards me and held the bat to my face. "You."
"Huh? Me?" I looked at her in confusion.
"It was supposed to be Tenma, but she chickened out." Akira responded as the both of us looked towards the tiny girl.
Tenma was standing farther back, lightly waving towards me with a nervous smile. "You got this Sai!"
"O-Okay." I grabbed the bat from Akira and stepped up towards the home plate. As I approached closer to my spot, I just noticed that the catcher from Team White was Harima.
"Hey, New Girl." Harima greeted me, still in squatting position.
"Hello Harima." I greeted back as I practiced my swinging. "It seems that you're on fire to play Softball today."
I heard Harima sigh as I turned my head slightly to look at him. "Well, got nothing else to do. I just thought some Softball might bring some fun for all of us. Plus, it's a good time to show off our skills." He said, staring at me through those shades of his, even though he has the catcher helmet on.
I don't know why, but I could feel my heart pumping rapidly and my cheeks getting all tingly. Am I blushing from Harima's stare? How could I be blushing if I can't even see what his eyes look like! Thinking about this reminds me of that time when we were partnered in Art class. I could feel my face flushed even more.
"Ishikawa!" I heard Hanai shout my name.
I snapped out of my thoughts and turned my attention towards the Class rep. "Y-Yes!"
"Pay attention! I'm pitching!" He shouted again as he didn't hesitate to pitch a fastball towards me.
It took me a micro second for my brain to react from Hanai's action. "Oh crap!" were the only words that came out of my mouth as I gripped on my bat tightly and swung. I managed to hit the ball on the first turn and smacked it with extra force, causing the ball to fly across the field, just like Mikoto.
"Woah! It's a Home run!" I heard Yoshidayama shout behind the cage.
I stood in my spot and stared in awe as the ball I just hit. Did I do that?
"Alright Sai!" Mikoto shouted "Way to go!"
"Nice one." I heard Harima compliment towards me. I turned my head slightly and looked down, "Thanks Harima." I said with a smile. With that, I immediately dropped the bat and started running towards the bases.
I looked at Hanai and his jaw dropped once again. I couldn't help but to chuckle from his reaction. Following Sagano, I came across the third base which was where Suga stood. He held his hand out and I smacked it in return. "Good one Sai." He smiled towards me. "Thanks." I smiled back as I ran back towards Home.
While catching my breath, I walked back towards the girls as it was my turn getting the 'hi-fives'.
"Who knew you were good at this game." Eri said.
"I'm not good. It was just luck that I hit that ball. Let's just say, Hanai's fastballs are a bit intimidating." I responded with a slight chuckle.
"Nah. Hanai's pitches are nothing to me." Mikoto said with confidence.
"Tenma, you're next." Akira said as she tried handing the bat over towards Tenma.
With her hands shaking, Tenma grabbed the bat and slowly walked towards the batter's spot. She was actually walking incredibly slow where I walked up towards her and started pushing Tenma.
"S-Sai! I'm nervous!" Tenma shrieked.
"You'll be fine Tenma." I reassured her as I kept pushing her in the field. "All you have to do is swing the bat when you see Hanai throw the ball."
Tenma still had a pout on her face when she reached the home plate. I patted her shoulder and walked back behind the cage. Mikoto was hand signaling towards Hanai. He looked towards her as Mikoto signaled him to throw a slow ball. He then nodded his head in understanding and we turned our attention to Tenma.
She was standing there in position, ready to hit the ball. "Okay, I got this!"
"Here comes the ball Tsukamoto!" Hanai shouted as he lightly threw the ball.
The ball he threw was at a slower speed, sufficient enough for Tenma to hit. As the ball got closer to Tenma, she swung her bat and her whole body spun in circles. Unfortunately, the ball passed by and was caught in Harima's glove.
Strike One.
Tenma stopped spinning and looked confused. "Did I hit it!?"
Eri held her hand over her face, hiding the embarrassment for her friend. "You missed..." She said, a nervous sweat rolled down her face.
"It's okay Tenma, that's just the first strike, you got two more chances!" I shouted towards Tenma.
"Okay! Let's do this again!" Tenma shouted with confidence.
Hanai once again threw the ball at the same speed as Tenma swung her bat and spun in circles. The ball passed through her and landed on Harima's glove again.
Strike Two.
"Don't worry about it Tenma! This time, keep your eyes on the ball! That's when you'll know to swing!" Mikoto yelled over, sending advice towards our friend.
Without any response, Tenma gripped on her bat tightly and looked at Hanai with fire in her eyes. "Okay!"
"Here's we go again." Hanai said as he threw the ball towards Tenma.
The advice Mikoto gave Tenma seemed to slip off her mind as Tenma swung the bat before the ball even reached towards her. She spun around in circles for a third time as the ball flew past her and landed on Harima's glove.
Strike Three.
Strikeout.
"Hopeless." Eri said, smacking her palm to her face once again.
Mikoto let out a sigh but then changed to a smile. "At least we got three points so far. It's actually not bad."
I nodded my head in agreement. "You're right Mikoto."
"I'm not good at batting." Tenma whined as she looked at each of us with a pout on her face.
Akira stood next to Tenma and patted her back reassuringly. "There, there."
"Well, I guess it's our turn for defense. I'm going to pitch." Eri said as she grabbed a glove and slipped it on. "I think I'll get the hang of this. Received a few pointers from people here."
"Don't miss those throws." I jokingly said towards Eri.
She smirked towards me and let out a small laugh. "I won't."
With that, Eri stood at the pitcher's spot. Mikoto was covering first base, Tenma and I covered second base while Akira covered third base. Everyone else were covering the far left, right and center field to catch.
Mihara was the first from Team White to pitch. Eri took her stance and leaned far back with her arm. She then swung her arm and threw the ball underhand with a good amount of speed. The ball flew right past Mihara and landed on Nara's glove, whom was the catcher. Everyone on the field was amazed to see Eri's pitching skill as she continued to throw the next two pitches and struck out Mihara.
"Wow Eri. I guess those pointers you received were very effective." I said, giving her a thumbs up.
She used the back of her hand to wipe off some sweat on her forehead. "Well, if I'm going to be playing, then we must win. I don't like to lose."
I nervously grinned towards her as she prepped up her next pitch. She sure is competitive.
"I'm next. Give me your best shot Sawachika." Hanai said as he stepped up and pointed his bat towards Eri.
"We'll see about that!" Eri said as she threw a curve-ball towards Hanai.
He hit the ball with ease as it made its way towards the left side of the field. The ball was near Akira's area and she gracefully caught the ball. "Out." She said nonchalantly.
"Nice catch Akira!" Tenma shouted in excitement.
Akira casually threw the ball back towards Eri as she looked at Tenma and nodded her head. "No problem." was all she said.
"Not bad Akira." Hanai said as he tossed the bat to Aso and walked off.
For the next couple minutes, each batter had their chance at hitting the ball. Most of the hits were coming towards Tenma and I but mainly Tenma's side. Each time she tried to catch the ball, she either miscalculates her catches or lets the ball hit her head.
Talk about being bad a sports...poor Tenma.
"Oh Sai!" Tenma started whining as she put her head on my shoulder. "Why am I so clumsy at sports!?"
I patted her head and stroked her hair to reassure her. "Don't worry Tenma. You'll get better each minute that passes by. You don't become a pro in an instant."
"But Eri seemed to be good since her first pitch." Tenma said.
"Then how about practicing on not sucking." Eri said bluntly.
Tenma shot her head up and looked at the blond. "That's mean Eri!"
Eri shrugged her shoulders. "What? I'm always blunt. That's who I am." She said as she narrowed her eyes.
Mikoto placed her palm to her face and let out a heavy sigh. "Let's just continue the game Tenma. Like Sai said, you'll get better sometime soon."
"I hope so." Tenma said as she let out frown.
Inning after inning, both teams scored a couple of points and we ended up being tied, 19-19. Tenma was still being a klutz on every position but we tried our best for her to stay positive.
It was our final inning of the game. Team Red were on defense while offense for Team White and the bases were loaded. Eri was still the pitcher but I was the catcher for this inning.
Harima stepped towards the Home plate. "Hello Harima." I greeted him with a smile.
"Hey there." He greeted back. "I guess now it's my turn to bat with you as catcher."
I felt my cheeks getting hot from Harima's comment. "Y-Yeah. Good luck."
"Don't need it." Harima said as he gets ready to swing the bat.
"Hige..." Eri said his nickname in disgust.
"Rich Girl." Harima responded back with his nickname for her.
Eri was getting ready to pitch until Imadori popped up in front of her. "Yo." He greeted.
"What are you doing here?" Eri questioned Imadori as she crossed her arms and glared at the guy.
Imadori held his hands behind his head and spoke calmly. "I just thought maybe I can give this pitch a try. You can cover first base."
"What? Isn't Tenma covering first base?" Eri questioned.
"Nope. She dropped out." He responded. He was pointing towards the benches and there, we see Tenma sitting there.
I stood up and lifted the helmet visor. "Tenma. You gave up?"
She waved towards me and let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah. I just thought you guys would be better off without me. Plus, If Imadori plays, there won't be any screw ups."
"Okay, if you say so Tenma." I said as I put the visor back on and squat back into position.
Imadori and Eri were still talking among each other. "She's right you know. Gotta get rid of the weaklings if you wanna win."
Being behind Harima, I noticed that his body tensed when Imadori said that comment. Is Harima bothered by this? I wonder why...
"Alright. You better pitch the winning throw." Eri said as she handed the ball to Imadori and ran to cover first base.
I looked at Harima and his body was still tense. "You alright Harima?" I asked him quietly.
"Peachy New Girl." He responded in an annoyed tone.
I do wonder what it was that made Harima react like this...
"Okay! Here goes!" Imadori shouted as he threw the ball towards Harima.
I could hear a 'Tch' escape from Harima's mouth and he hit the ball with ease at such a strong force. After hearing a hard 'Whack', the ball flew straight ahead and made it's way towards Imadori's face. In the end, the ball did hit Imadori's face as it knocked him to the ground.
"I-Imadori!" Ichijou was the first to react as she ran towards his aide.
Everyone else ran towards him to check on Imadori. He was laying on the ground, ball still stuck on his face and pale from the impact.
"Are you okay Imadori?" I asked as I kneel down next to Ichijou to check on him.
Imadori was silent at first but then whispered softly. "D...cup..."
"That idiot's alive." Mikoto said with a heavy sigh.
Nishimoto and Nara picked up Imadori and dragged him towards the benches. "Come now Imadori, everything will be okay." Nishimoto said. Ichijou followed behind to check on him.
I looked at Harima and he didn't seem to care that he hit the ball towards Imadori. "Oops." He said sarcastically, noticing that I was staring at him.
"Harima. You did that on purpose." I said, looking at the 'delinquent'.
He shrugged his shoulders and as walked back towards the Home plate. "I don't regret it." He said calmly.
"If you say so." I said with a heavy sigh.
We both looked at everyone else as they figured out what to do next. "So, whose's pitching now?" Akira asked.
"Let's asked the manager." Someone said.
With that, Karasuma appeared on the field with a tag that says, 'Manager' on his shirt.
"What!? Manager!?" Hanai questioned.
"When the heck did we get a manager in the first place!?" Mikoto yelled in confusion.
"Karasuma's the manager?" I asked myself quietly.
Karasuma raised his arm up as he blew the whistle. "We should let Tsukamoto be the pitcher." He suggested.
"What!?" Tenma yelled in shock. "I-I can't pitch!"
"Don't worry Tenma!" I yelled towards my friend. "You got this!"
Tenma looked around with a frown on her face. "I-I...I can't..." she said quietly.
Karasuma then walked up towards Tenma and placed his hands on her shoulder. "Miss Tsukamoto, you can do it. I believe in you."
From where I'm standing, I could tell Tenma was blushing. She then shook her head and nodded. "Okay. I'll do it."
"That's the spirit Tenma!" Mikoto cheered her on. "Win the game for us!"
"No screw up Tenma." Eri said as she eyed the girl.
Tenma's eyes lit up with determination. "I won't let you down Eri."
With that, everyone went back to their positions. Harima was no longer tense. He seemed a bit calmer now. Way too calm to be exact.
"Ready Harima?" Tenma called out to him.
"Born ready." Harima responded.
Bases are still loaded and it's only up to Tenma to strikeout Harima in order of us to leave the game with a tie.
"HERE WE GO!" Tenma shouted. She lift her leg up and raised her arm far back. Her pose was mimicking that of a professional as she threw a hardcore fastball. This surprised every one of us.
"Woah! Look at that fast ball!" Mikoto shouted.
"Yes! That's the winning pitch!" Eri cheered excitedly.
"Look at Tsukamoto!" Hanai shouted.
From where I was squatting, I eyed the ball as it made it way towards us. Just then Harima swung his bat to hit the ball, the ball disappeared.
"W-What?" Harima said, surprised by this.
"Where's the ball?" I questioned.
Just then, the ball reappeared and smacked Harima's face. "Ack!" Harima let out a yelp as he stumbled back a bit, standing close to me.
"H-Harima!" I called out his name.
The ball flew out from his face as Harima lost his balance and fell backwards.
"Wah!" I screamed as Harima's landed right on top of me. His face was really close to mine even though I still have the helmet on.
I could feel my face flushing like crazy. It's either from the close distances of our faces or the fact that I'm being crushed by a guy whose a lot heavier than I am.
"I-It's a foul! The ball hit the batter! It's a walk and that's the game!" Fuyuki said, ending the game while everyone ran towards the two of us.
"Sai! You alright?" Mikoto asked, concerned for me.
"Can't...breathe..." I spoke slowly, trying not to die.
"Take some deep breaths." Akira said, trying to help me out.
"Can we have some guys move him please!? Sai's being crushed!" Eri yelled for everyone to hear.
Hanai, Suga and Aso ran towards me and the now unconscious Harima. "We'll save you Ishikawa!" Hanai shouted. They managed to move Harima away as I caught my breath.
"You okay Sai?" Suga asked as he held out his hand. Still panting, I grabbed his hand and Suga helped me up. "I'm alright. Thanks for helping me up Suga." I responded with a friendly smile.
"Oh man! We thought Harima was going to crush you to death!" Yoshidayama said.
I laughed from Yoshidayama's comment. "Well, I'm alive."
"Thank goodness. This wouldn't have happened if Tenma didn't SCREW UP!" Eri yelled as she grabbed Tenma and started shaking her violently. "WE LOST THE GAME!"
"I'm sorry!" Tenma shouted. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
While Eri continued to yell at Tenma, I kneel down in front of Harima and poked him. "Should we wake him up?" I asked the others.
"I don't think it's wise. He might kill us." Nishimoto said.
"That might be true. What should we do?" Nara asked.
Imadori walked up with a swollen cheek. "Leave him to die! He hit my face!"
"It's your fault for being Harima's pitcher." Mikoto said, crossing her arms.
"Well, next time we play, I'll just have yours and Sai's D-cups to protect me!" Imadori said as he went back to being his normal self.
Mikoto proceed to hit Imadori's head as she pointed her fist towards him. "NO WAY IN HELL!"
"Are we done for the day?" Akira asked.
"Yes, we are. You can all go home." Hanai said.
"Well, you heard the guy, let's all change and go home." Mikoto said.
"Great! I captured some awesome pictures for our yearbook!" Fuyuki shouted as he flipped through his camera photos.
I was still kneeling as I looked back at the sleeping Harima. "What about Harima? Shouldn't we take him to the infirmary?" I was feeling worried for Harima. I placed my hand over his. My heart pounded a bit rapid from doing this.
I do hope he's okay though.
Hanai placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry Ishikawa. I'll take him there. You can just go home. It is my duty as Class Representative to ensure that Harima is alive and well."
"Oh. Okay then." I said as I move my hand away from Harima's. I initially blushed from the fact that I touched Harima's hand.
With that, Hanai held Harima over his shoulders and brought him to the infirmary. The girls and I made our way back towards the locker room and changed back to our uniforms. Eri was still scolding Tenma about the loss while Mikoto and Akira tried to reassure them.
I didn't really pay attention to their conversation as I was lost in my thoughts.
I'm starting to feel weird about Harima. I feel bad that he got knocked unconscious from Tenma's pitch. Yet, it made me feel very nervous when he landed on top of me. His face was really close to mine. Good thing I had that visor to cover my flushed face or else everyone else would've seen it.
"Earth to Sai." Eri called out to me.
"Hm?" I looked at her, shaking the thoughts from my head.
"You okay? You spaced out." Mikoto said.
I nod my head and smiled towards the girls. "I'm alright."
After we finished changing our clothes, we headed towards the shoe lockers to exchange shoes. As we were getting ready to leave school, we noticed that it was raining pretty heavy outside.
"Rain? Wasn't it sunny just a minute ago?" Eri said with a frown.
"Bummer." Mikoto said. "Did you bring an umbrella?" She asked Eri.
"No. I didn't." Eri said, still frowning.
Mikoto took out an umbrella from her bag. "Don't worry, you can share with me."
"Thanks." Eri said with a small smile. "What about you Akira?"
Akira didn't say anything and took out her umbrella. She then opened it and looked at the two.
I looked behind and noticed that Tenma wasn't with us. "Hey ladies, where did Tenma go?"
"Huh? She disappeared on us?" Mikoto asked, looking at the vacant spot next to me.
Eri took out her phone and flipped through a message she just received. "She texted me. She wants us to go home without her. She has something to take care of."
"I bet you she forgot to bring an umbrella." Mikoto said with a sigh.
"Nope. She got one." Akira said.
"Eh? How do you know?" I asked.
"I just know." Akira answered as she started to walk away.
Mikoto and Eri followed along but then stopped their tracks and turned towards me. "What about you Sai? Where's your umbrella?" Eri asked.
I looked at the girls and blinked nervously. "Uh..well. I left my umbrella in my desk back at the classroom. I'm gonna head up there to retrieve it."
"Wants us to wait up for you?" Mikoto asked.
"Ah! N-No. You ladies can head home without me as well. I need to stop by the faculty office anyways. Need to ask Mr. Tani something." I said nervously.
"Well, if you say so. I guess we'll see you tomorrow." Mikoto said.
"Later." Akira waved as she began walking.
"Bye Eri. Get home safe okay?" Eri said.
I waved back at the three. "I will. See you tomorrow ladies!"
With that, the three of them walked away as I turned around and walked down the halls. To be honest, I'm actually going to the infirmary. My umbrella is actually in my bag all along. I made up going back to the classroom and seeing Mr. Tani as an excuse to see Harima.
If I told the girls that I actually want to see Harima, they might tease me like how they teased about me and Suga. Sorry for lying to you ladies...but it's the only way. I want to make sure that Harima is okay.
I stood in front of the infirmary room. I could feel my heart beating fast from nervousness. My hand slowly reached the door knob until it suddenly opened on it's own. Actually, the door opened and someone came out from the room. It turned out to be Harima.
My face flushed instantly. "H-Hi Harima..."
He stopped short and stared back at me in surprise. "Oh. Hey New Girl. What's up?"
I held my fingers together and looked at him nervously. "H-How's your face? That fastball Tenma threw hit you pretty hard." Looking at his face, he had a big band-aid on his cheek.
"Oh this?" He pointed at his face, "It's nothing. I've taken harder hits than this. It's no biggie really." He moved his hand away and placed it in his pant pockets. "By the way, when I came to, that annoying class rep told me that I fell on top of you." He then moved his hand out of the pocket and held the back of his neck. "I'm...sorry about that. I didn't mean to crash on you."
I could feel my cheeks getting hot and my heart beating a bit fast. "O-Oh! No need to worry about me! I was more concerned for you..."
"Ha. That's funny." Harima spoke, "No one's ever bothered to worry about me."
I looked at him with eyes wide. "Really? Why?" I questioned.
"That's because I'm a delinquent." He answered as he started to walk away.
That's sad. Does Harima not have any friends here? Everyone calls him a delinquent and all but I've never really seen anyone hold up a decent conversation with him.
"Um...Harima?" I called out to him. He stopped moving and turned to look at me. "Yeah?"
I walked up to him and stood in front of him. "I-I don't really care if you're a delinquent." I started speaking, heart pounding from shyness as I tried making eye contact with him. "I want to be your friend Harima...You're a really interesting person. I want to get to know you more..."
Looking at Harima, I could tell he seemed surprise. "I see." He said, trying not to feel shy.
"So, wanna be friends Harima?" I asked him with a bright smile. I held my hand out, asking for a handshake. He held his hand out and shook it. "Sure, why not. I'll be your friend."
My smile grew wider as my cheeks grew hotter. "Cool."
Harima let go and placed his hands back in his pocket. He then looked out the window and realized that rainy weather. "Crap. It's raining."
Sounds like he doesn't have an umbrella. Maybe I can share with him...
"If you want, we could share my umbrella. I can walk you home so that you wouldn't get wet." I said, grabbing my umbrella from my bag.
"It's fine. I can walk home without one." He said.
I held my umbrella close to me, shaking my head. "I insist Harima. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold from the heavy rain."
Harima looked at me through his shades and finally responded. "Alright then. But let me walk you home instead. I can manage on my own afterwards."
"Oh. Are you sure?" I questioned.
"Like I said, I'll be fine. Might as well walk you home to make sure you're safe. It's getting late anyways." He said as he cleared his throat.
I couldn't help but to blush. How kind of him...This is something you don't see Harima do in front of the entire class.
"Okay, let's go then." I said as I opened the umbrella when we reached outside of school. Luckily, my umbrella was big enough to hold two people under.
"Do you live far?" Harima asked.
"Not really. My apartment is just a twenty minute walk from here." I answered.
"Alright. Let's get moving." He said.
With that, we walked in silence under the rain for the first ten minutes.
I don't know what to say! I'm already nervous being under the same umbrella with Harima. Plus, we're walking home alone, together!
"So..H-Harima..." I started speaking, trying to break the ice. I looked to my right when he didn't respond and noticed that he was spaced out. "Harima?" I called his name again but he was still spaced out. "Harima.." I said a third time and poked his shoulder.
"Huh? Yeah?" Harima said, snapping back to reality.
"I-I realized that you seem to be spaced out a lot. What do you think about?" I questioned him.
He seemed nervous when I asked my question. "Oh, it's nothing important."
"Oh, I see." I said. I then took a deep breath and asked my next question. "Well, can I know why you chose to become a delinquent?"
Harima lightly stroked his beard as if he was thinking. "I guess I have no particular reason. I just chose to become one."
"But...don't you know the things people say about you at school?" I asked, concerned whether or not Harima knows.
"You mean them wondering why I still bother showing up for school?" He questioned.
I looked at him with a nervous smile. "S-Something like that I guess..."
"There is a reason to why I stay in school. But that reason is a secret." He said.
"It's okay. I won't ask if you're not comfortable telling." I said, smiling at the fact that Harima's talking to me.
After a couple more minutes, we finally reached the outside of my apartment. "We're here." I said towards my friend.
"I guess we are." He said.
It was still raining pretty hard and I have no clue where Harima lives. Maybe I should let him borrow mine for now, he'll get soaked if he walked home without an umbrella.
"Hey, Harima?" I called out to him.
"Yeah?" He looked at me.
I shoved my umbrella towards him as he unconsciously grabbed it from me. "You can borrow my umbrella. It's still raining pretty heavy so use it until you get home. You can give it back to me whenever." I said, smiling towards him.
"Oh. Uh...thanks." He said quietly.
"Well, I'll see you in school tomorrow. Bye!" I said and waved at Harima.
With that, I quickly ran inside my apartment. I took a long shower, dried myself and laid down on my bed.
I don't know why, but I feel really happy that Harima is my friend. It's nice to finally get him to talk to me more. There's something about him that catches my interest. I'm not sure why but maybe I'll find out in the future. As of right now, I'll just let this be a secret from the girls for now. Wouldn't want them to know...yet.