Under everyone's dazed gaze in the private room, Shirase calmly asked the waiter to add a seat, then eased Nakano Nino—still pink-cheeked—down beside him.
Everyone waited for him to explain. Instead, he leisurely picked up his chopsticks, set a cup in front of Nino, and then—
He raised his drink.
"If you pull one more pointless stunt, I swear I'll beat you up," someone finally snapped.
"Never noticed before, Shirase—you're really begging for a beating, huh?"
"Now that I think about it, Shirase trains with us every day, and no one ever noticed he had a girl he likes?"
"Right! Even Hayama's got Miura-san dropping by sometimes, but you've never given anything away. You hid this deep, didn't you?"
"Why did the topic jump to me?" Hayama said with a helpless smile. "Miura and I are just friends."
To avoid becoming the new target, he promptly tossed the ball back. "Come on, be straight—what's the deal with you and Nakano-san?"
The captain, cheeks shiny with grease and mouth full of grilled meat, put on a ridiculous air of solemnity. "Confess now! How exactly did you manage to win over Nakano-san?"
Even Kirisu Mafuyu set down her chopsticks, folding her arms, ready to enjoy the show.
She'd only heard about it from Kojima Kana; this was her first time seeing it live.
"If I say I was just bragging earlier, would you believe me?" Shirase tried to bluff.
"Nope," Hayama said first, laughing. "Even a three-year-old wouldn't buy that."
"Hayama's right, Shirase! As captain, I order you to explain clearly," the captain declared, still absurdly serious behind his oily face.
Shirase arched a brow. "Since when does the soccer captain have that kind of authority?"
"I only manage you."
"Targeted much? I object! Kirisu-sensei is right here—no way a teacher would allow such blatant abuse of power."
"Oh great, now I'm the tyrant?"
While Shirase sparred with the crowd, Nino took the initiative to smile and greet Kirisu-sensei politely.
Then she glanced at Isshiki Iroha, who'd been sulking beside her. "Isshiki-san, why the long face?"
"N-no, it's nothing. I was just spacing out," Isshiki said, forcing a smile.
Nino laughed inwardly, tone unchanged. "Was it because my sudden appearance surprised you and you zoned out?"
"…Yes. Exactly."
Exactly, my foot.
What a hopeless liar.
Nino's hostility eased a little. She realized that even as a rival, Isshiki was at most a minor threat.
By then, Shirase had wrapped up the war of words. No one was satisfied with his evasions, but they stopped pressing.
"Everyone, don't make a thing of this at school tomorrow," Hayama reminded them. "No need to cause trouble for Shirase or mess with his performance."
"No worries, we're not gossips," they said, laughing.
Turning back to the girl beside him, Shirase said pointedly, "See how awesome I am? Took 'em all on by myself."
Nino instinctively wanted to tease him, but she suddenly remembered how bleak the club had been when he first joined.
Their seniors had left a mess. Even with popular guys like Shirase and Hayama, the club was barely hanging on.
Because of that, she'd once watched practice in secret, seeing Shirase training alone. The mood was gloomy; guys were checked out even during drills.
Only Shirase threw himself into it.
She could still picture that infuriating guy—always bickering with her—blazing across the field.
And later, when he rallied them to win…
She understood. Back then, he practiced alone not because he looked down on them, but because he was lonely.
Thinking of that, Nino gave him a gentle smile. "You really are amazing."
This time, Shirase looked confused. "What's with that face?"
Nino just smirked, offering no explanation.
"Ah, I get it," he mused. "You've finally realized my charm. Now, just like these soccer idiots, you've fallen helplessly under my cleats."
Under your cleats? What kind of line is that?
Nino shot him an amused glare, her look even more enticing under the warm lights.
Even with the unexpected guest, the mood bounced back quickly. She knew Shirase, didn't cause trouble, and the chatter soon turned lively again.
By the time they finished eating it was around 7:30. Still early, so no one was in a rush to go home.
People started pairing off, tossing around after-dinner plans.
Hayama walked over. "You two heading out on a date, or…?"
Nino stood quietly beside Shirase, face red, saying nothing.
Then she heard a certain shameless someone announce, "I'd love to, but Nino hasn't agreed yet, so I'm terrified she'll turn me down."
Your face doesn't look terrified at all.
Nino shot him a look, then turned awkwardly to Hayama. "I'll head back with him."
"Got it," Hayama said with a knowing smile. "I'll get going then."
Before he left, he called out to Isshiki Iroha, who was standing dazed in the lobby.
"Did you need something, Hayama-san?" she asked, still a bit out of it.
Staring at the bright night outside, Hayama said gently, "Strictly speaking, you're the one who needs something."
Isshiki froze.
Without looking at her, he went on, "There's nothing wrong with liking Shirase-kun. Plenty of girls do. Even the Drama Club president—a third-year—fell for him the day he transferred. She asked me herself to convince him to join their club or at least do one show."
He finally turned, smiling warmly at the flustered manager. "So you don't need to hide it—not from the guys here, at least. Everyone's decent. No one's going to laugh at you."
Isshiki's defenses crumbled. All the frustration she'd been bottling up surged at once.
She lowered her head, voice tight. "Hayama-san… you understand this feeling?"
"Of course."
He said it outright.
Isshiki stared. The Hayama she knew would've deflected by now.
Seeing her surprise, he smiled. "Shocked? The old me wouldn't have admitted it. But Shirase told me a lot back then, and… I agreed."
He drew a breath, voice soft. "I know exactly how you feel."
Isshiki went still.
Does he mean… he's felt the same thing? But how?
Hayama knew what she was thinking but didn't elaborate. He'd said enough. Time to put the mask back on.
As for that proud, beautiful figure always on his mind, he'd keep her there—quietly.
"Like I said, liking Shirase-kun isn't a big deal. Tons of girls do. With his talent and how he plays, even I look up to him now…"
"Oh, and one more thing. If you haven't confessed or made it obvious, as long as you're willing to stay by his side, he won't push you away."
He fell silent, ending it there.
Isshiki stared, but she understood.
I still have a chance.
"Thank you," she whispered, taking a steadying breath.
"It's nothing," Hayama said with a faint smile. She'd worked hard for the club—no slacking, always there. They'd fought and won together.
...
Meanwhile, outside—Shirase and Nakano Nino found Kirisu Mafuyu waiting.
"With intensive training, serious studying, and romance, too, are you sure you have the energy?" Kirisu meant to show concern, but it came out stern.
Nino tensed, thinking trouble was brewing, but before she could speak, Shirase answered.
"My energy's always been enough. If you don't believe me, Kirisu-sensei, you're welcome to keep observing."
"I prefer inspecting to observing," she said, shaking her head.
Shirase's expression turned odd. "When you say 'inspecting'… how thorough are we talking?"
---
T/N: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3 posting earlier so bonus chaps will be a longer waitttt >:)
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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