My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 24

"Hachiman, this is bad. Not only do you have no female friends, but even if you wanted to ask a girl you don't know for help, no one would be willing to help you, a lonely and inconspicuous person. What should we do?"

Timber base, you're so noisy! But what he said is true, and I can't refute it.

The atmosphere at the scene didn't allow me to apologize, so I couldn't use the "Sorry~ forget what I just said☆" trick. I didn't know what to do, so I glanced at the wooden bench next to me. He also awkwardly looked away and whistled something he didn't know, pretending to be clueless.

I couldn't help but sigh, and Yuihama and Totsuka sighed as well.

“…………”

"Hachiman, I'm sorry, I wish I were a girl..."

Indeed, why isn't Totsuka a girl? He's so cute.

"...Don't worry about it."

I didn't say what was on my mind; I just gently patted Totsuka's head.

"And... you don't need to blame yourself. Now that I have a place to stay, of course I should protect it well."

When Yui heard what I said, her shoulders suddenly trembled, and she bit her lip tightly in guilt.

Yuihama has her own stance in the class. Unlike me, she handles interpersonal relationships very well. Besides, she probably also wants to maintain a good relationship with Miura and others.

I am indeed all alone, but that doesn't make me jealous of my close classmates or wish them misfortune... I'm not lying to you! Really!

We are not close club members or friends; we are just gathered together for certain reasons, or rather, we are forced to be together.

But I want to prove that loneliness does not mean being pitiful, nor does it make one inferior.

I know very well that this is just my own conceited thinking. I'm incredibly conceited, and I can even teleport and breathe fire (this is a veiled reference to the character Dalsim from the game "Final Fight 2").

But I don't want my present self to negate my past self. I would never say that being alone or all alone is a sin.

Therefore, I will fight to prove my righteousness.

I walked alone to the center of the court.

"……………………………………………………………………………………field!"

At that moment, a very, very faint breath was heard, almost drowned out by the noise of the audience.

"what?"

"I said I want to play too!"

Yuihama let out a soft "Mmm~~" and blushed deeply.

"Yuigahama? Don't be silly, you don't need to go on stage."

"I'm not stupid!"

"Why did you even go on stage? Are you an idiot? Or do you have a crush on me?"

"W-what? You, you idiot, what nonsense are you spouting? Idiot~~~~~~"

Yuihama was furious and called me an idiot several times. She was so angry that her whole face turned red, and she snatched my racket and started swinging it at me.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm sorry."

I dodged while quickly apologizing. The sound of the racket whistling past my ear was terrifying.

As Yuihama noticed that I was apologizing, she looked at me with a questioning gaze, "Why did you go on stage?" and then looked away awkwardly, saying:

"No, well... I've joined the Service Club too... so of course I have to help... Besides, this is where I can stay."

"Wait a minute, calm down and consider the situation. You don't only have a place to stay here; your bunch of buddies are all glaring at you."

"Eh? Is this true?"

Yuihama's expression immediately contorted, and she turned to look at Hayama. I could almost hear a "squeaking" sound coming from her neck. Judging from her stiff movements, it was time to apply some lubricant.

The female students from the Hayama Group, led by Miura, looked at us with their arms crossed. Yuihama had shouted so loudly that they had heard it clearly.

Miura's eyes, painted completely black with mascara and eyeshadow, were unnaturally large and radiated intense hostility, while his long, curly hair, like an electric drill, swayed unhappily. Are you Madame Butterfly (a character from the manga *Tennis Sweetheart*)?

"Yui, helping them is like going against us, is that a good idea?"

Like a queen, Miura crossed her arms and tapped her toes on the ground repeatedly—a signature move of a queen when angry. Yuihama, unable to withstand her imposing presence, lowered her gaze silently, her fingers gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, trembling slightly with nervousness.

The onlookers whispered and discussed amongst themselves, making the scene resemble a public trial.

However, Yuihama still raised her head and looked straight ahead.

"I...I didn't mean that. But club activities are important to me too! So I'm going to participate in the competition!"

"Oh, I see... Don't humiliate yourself."

Miura answered calmly, but his face wore a smile that resembled the raging flames of hell.

"Go change your clothes. I need to borrow a jersey from the women's tennis team, do you want to come along?"

Miura gestured with her chin toward the tennis club office on the sidelines. Perhaps she meant well, but the gesture looked more like, "I'll kill you behind the club office later." Yuihama, her face stiff, followed her away, while the surrounding spectators cast pitying glances at her.

Sigh, how should I put it... Please accept my condolences.

"Um, compared to Penguin."

Hayama spoke to me, whose hands were clasped together. He's quite the social butterfly, to actually talk to someone like me; it's a shame he called me by the wrong name.

"what?"

"I don't know much about the rules of tennis, and doubles is even more complicated, so let's just play casually, okay?"

"...Okay, we're all novices anyway. Let's just score by playing volleyball, like we do."

"Ah, that's much easier to understand, good idea."

Ye Shan laughed heartily, and I returned the smile with a sly grin.

Not long after, the two girls changed their clothes and returned to the field.

Yuihama, blushing, frantically adjusted her skirt as she walked towards them. She wore a polo shirt-like top and a tennis skirt.

"I feel so embarrassed wearing tennis clothes... Is this skirt too short?"

"Please, your skirts are usually this short."

"Huh? What did you say? Do you...do you observe people every day? Disgusting! You're really disgusting!"

Yuihama glared at me fiercely and swung her racket at me.

"Don't be nervous! I wasn't even looking! I didn't care at all! You can rest assured! And please don't hit me!"

"I'm not too happy about what you're saying..."

Yuihama still grumbled with some dissatisfaction before slowly putting down her racket.

Timber saw an opportunity, deliberately coughed a few times before speaking:

"Well then, Hachiman, what's your strategy?"

"I think the best strategy is to target the girls in the group."

That woman isn't very bright; she could be easily killed. She's definitely a weakness. It would be much more advantageous to target her than to fight Hayama head-on.

However, upon hearing this suggestion, Yuihama shouted:

"What? You didn't know? Yumiko was in the girls' tennis club in junior high! She was even elected as a county representative!"

After she mentioned it, I observed the Butterfly Lady named Yumiko again. Her racket swings were indeed quite skillful, and her movements were very agile. Seeing this, Zai Muza whispered:

"Heh, looks like that long-haired guy is pretty capable."

"That's called a wavy perm."

No, what it's called doesn't matter.

× × ×

The match was fiercely contested, turning into a back-and-forth battle where neither side would give an inch.

At first, the audience kept sending out masculine roars and girlish screams, but as the tense and exciting competition continued, they began to focus on the game, sighing or cheering when someone scored, as if they were watching a professional competition broadcast on TV.

The prolonged rallies kept the atmosphere tense throughout the match, as if each swing of the ball diminished the players' focus.

What broke the balance between the two sides was the serve hit by the long, curly hair.

Whoosh—I thought it was the sound of her swinging her racket, but it turned out to be a tennis ball shooting into the court like a bullet, flying backwards.

What just happened? Did her ball spin like her hair?

In short, Madame Butterfly was a highly skilled craftswoman.

"That's way too strong..."

I couldn't help but mutter to myself.

"That's why I said it."

Why are you so smug? Are you really my partner?

"Hey, you haven't touched the ball at all since the beginning..."

"Hmm~ because I rarely play tennis. Hahaha~"

Yui Hama brushed me off with a silly grin.

"...You've never played tennis before, what are you doing here?"

"Hmph! Well, I'm really sorry!"

Fool, I meant the opposite. She's too kind. She's clearly never even touched a tennis ball, yet she competed in front of everyone just to stand up for Totsuka. Most people wouldn't do something like that. If her tennis skills were truly exceptional, that would be incredibly cool, but unfortunately, life isn't always that kind of wonderful.

I honed my precise serve return skills by practicing against the wall during PE class, which allowed me to keep up in the early stages of the match. However, as the second half of the game began, the score gradually widened.

Because the enemy began to concentrate their attacks on Yuihama.

They probably didn't expect me to play so well, so they changed their targets. Or you could say they simply didn't take me seriously.

"Yuihama, you take charge of the front, I'll handle things from the back."

"Okay, please."

After finalizing the operational plan, we proceeded to our respective areas of responsibility.

Hayama's fast and powerful serve came crashing down right in the corner, about to bounce far away. I rushed forward desperately, stretching my racket to its limit to barely manage to reach the ball, and then swung it with all my might.

I returned the ball to the opponent's court, but Madame Butterfly was prepared and hit the ball to the other side. Without even looking at the ball, I scrambled to my feet and sprinted as fast as I could in the direction the ball might fly.

Fortunately, my legs still obeyed my commands, allowing me to reach the landing point first. I aimed at the bouncing tennis ball and swung it towards the edge of the court.

But Hayama seemed to have seen through my intentions. Not only did he receive my ball head-on, but he also deliberately changed his playing style, sending a sharp drop ball over the net between me and Yuihama.

Losing my balance, I couldn't catch up at all, so I had to use my eyes to signal Yui to run towards where the ball was landing and hit it back. Just hitting the ball was already difficult enough, but the ball just happened to land at the height right in front of Madame Butterfly.

Madame Butterfly hit the ball with all her might, a cruel smile on her face. The ball grazed Yuihama's cheek, disappeared into the distance, and bounced up in an empty space with a "bang".

"Are you okay?"

I didn't pick up the tennis ball; instead, I was concerned about Yuihama, who was kneeling on the ground in fright.

"...That scared me to death."

When Madame Butterfly heard Yuihama whisper in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry, a look of worry flashed across her face.

"Yumiko, you're really vicious."

"What?! No way! This is a very common thing in competitions! They're not that mean!"

"Because you're a sadist."

Hayama and Madame Butterfly exchanged a few words and then laughed, and the surrounding audience also smiled.

"...Autistic guy, we must win."

Yuihama picked up her racket and stood up. Suddenly, she cried out softly in pain.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Sorry, I think I twisted my ankle."

Yuihama gave an embarrassed smile, and tears welled up in her eyes at the same time.

"If we lose the match, Xiaocai will be very troubled... Ah~~ Oh no~~ This is not good... It's not something that can be resolved with just an apology... Ah~~ Damn it!"

Yuihama bit her lip in frustration.

"It's alright, things will work themselves out. At worst, we can have the timber carrier dress up in women's clothing and go on stage."