The sports festival ended with Yamabuki’s Class 3 taking the championship based on the total points from various events.
By the way, Kiritsuki won every event she participated in, earning her an individual award.
I was idly lingering in the tent even during the closing ceremony.
My father interrupted his work to pick me up, and we went straight to the nearest orthopedic clinic, where I was diagnosed with a tear in my gastrocnemius muscle.
I’d already been dealing with knee pain from Kagura dance practice leading up to the sports festival.
The direct cause was dodging a collision with a student who fell, but the doctor said a major factor was that I’d been unconsciously compensating for my knee, a habit from before, during the festival’s practice sessions.
For now, I was advised with an exasperated look by the doctor to rest for two weeks. I was told I could use the supporter I already had and was prescribed some compresses.
And so, the next day.
I headed to the community center to report these circumstances and explain that I wouldn’t be able to practice for a while.
A girl looked down at me expressionlessly as I sat, a faint hint of exasperation leaking from the depths of her eyes.
Her red hair was loosely waved, and her oversized shirt paired with a long skirt was simple yet stylish.
“Didn’t I tell you to avoid getting hurt?”
Hino Hana murmured in a flat, toneless voice.
“Sorry about that.”
It’s honestly unfair that she’s genuinely exasperated with me.
Hino Hana set her belongings near the entrance, adjusted the air conditioner with the remote on the wall, then leaned against it and sat down.
“Can you walk?”
“Yeah, I can manage on my own. It’s a muscle tear, but not a severe one.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Well, it does, but, you know…”
“If it hurts, you didn’t have to come.”
Hino Hana said this matter-of-factly, her expression still unreadable as she looked at me.
“If I didn’t show up, you’d just head home on your own.”
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk about.”
“?”
“I completely forgot since it’s never been an issue before, but…”
I pulled my smartphone out of my pocket.
“Hino Hana, give me your contact info.”
“…Now?”
“Yeah, but, you know, in case something like this happens again.”
Hino Hana shrugged with a genuinely exasperated look, leaving me with nothing but a wry smile.
We’ve known each other for about ten years now. We both had our own smartphones back in middle school, so this is honestly way overdue.
I figured she’d agree without hesitation, but for some reason, Hino Hana didn’t move.
She just stared at me silently.
I could tell she was exasperated, but was there something else on her mind?
Suddenly, a notification popped up on the smartphone in my hand.
When I checked, Hino Hana had shared some kind of link with me.
“Why’s Hino Hana’s contact already in here…?”
“Who knows?”
“No, I mean, ‘who knows’—?”
Come to think of it, she casually used my phone before, didn’t she? Must’ve been then.
For now, I opened the shared link…
“…This is Kaori’s Instagram, isn’t it? First time seeing it. How do you even know about this?”
“Hint: mutual follow.”
“That’s not a hint, that’s the answer.”
That aside, I’ve never been drawn to social media sites.
I can’t for the life of me understand what’s fun about peeking into other people’s lives.
Hino Hana seems to share my opinion, as her posts are mostly just promotions for tours or concerts.
But that aloof personality of hers is apparently seen as “not being obsessed with the internet” or “stoic, a true pro,” earning her high praise.
Is this what they call a fanbase?
As for Kaori, she’s the quintessential high school girl.
It’s not just her, but what’s the point of posting about the high school sports festival on a place like this?
Fortunately, or maybe not, I wasn’t in the group photo I was absently staring at.
“…Is this why you two are so close behind my back?”
“She’s been asking about what we do during practice for a while now.”
That’s probably not about Hino Hana—she’s asking about me.
“No, but… Kaori?”
Hino Hana shot me another exasperated look, as if to say, “Who else?” and I couldn’t help but shrug.
“Why are you so reluctant to talk to Kaori about Kagura dance? You’re the one who said keeping it a secret was a burden and wanted to talk about it. Even now, there must be things that feel easier because Kaori knows.”
“Well, yeah… I guess so.”
Among the people around me right now, no one knows more about me in relation to Kagura dance than Hino Hana.
Originally, Kaori didn’t even know I was tasked with Kagura dance.
I never actively participated in the summer festival to begin with, and she enjoyed it with her own circle of friends.
Until I confessed it myself, she probably never imagined her childhood friend was a dancer.
That’s how tightly controlled the information around me was. It got even stricter after I took over.
“…Well, I guess it’s okay to tell Hino Hana.”
“?”
Ever since I was a kid, I never really wanted to do Kagura dance.
But I was taught it was something I absolutely had to do.
Three years after taking over as a dancer, I told Kaori myself that I was a Kagura dancer.
Since I was pushing myself both physically and mentally, I let slip a few complaints as well.
Then Kaori smiled and said, “I don’t think Ao-kun absolutely has to do it.”
I think that was probably her kindness.
But her words kept aching in my chest. I didn’t know why for the longest time, but…
I think I wanted her to affirm the version of me that was doing Kagura dance.
But when she said, “Ao-kun doesn’t have to do it,” it felt like she was saying the role didn’t need to be me.
That’s what it felt like.
After that, I never brought up Kagura dance in front of Kaori again.
When I honestly told Hino Hana all this, she snorted.
“…Himura, you’re surprisingly sensitive for how you act.”
Unfortunately, I had no comeback.
“Also, I agree with Kaori. If Himura hates it, just shove it onto someone else.”
Easier said than done—that’s exactly why I’m struggling.
Besides, this is the one thing I can take pride in right now. It’s not something I can do publicly, but still.
Putting on makeup, wearing the costume, and dancing for those few hours in front of a crowd—some people even hold wishes or prayers in their hearts, and everyone there is watching me.
…If only I could be like that in my everyday life.
It seems she, too, thinks it doesn’t have to be me.
“Well, if Himura quits, I’ll quit music too.”
“Huh… wait, what?”
I responded casually, but the shock of what she said made me do a double-take.
“Hold on, that’s a huge leap, isn’t it?”
“How so?”
“In every way.”
I couldn’t fathom how that logic even worked.
Why would me quitting as a dancer lead to Hino Hana quitting music altogether?
“Didn’t you say before that you had someone you admired?”
“…You said that much yourself, so why don’t you get it?”
“Huh?”
While I grew more confused, Hino Hana stood up. Then, for some reason, she sat back down so close our shoulders were touching.
“I first joined that summer festival when Himura took over Kagura dance and performed for the first time.”
Her earlier exasperated look was gone.
Perhaps recalling old memories, her usually expressionless face came alive, and Hino Hana smiled gently.
“I vividly remember Himura’s Kagura dance from that time. Even now, I think Himura dancing Kagura is the most beautiful, coolest, and captivating thing in the world.”
Her expression told me there was no lie in those words.
“I wanted to do it with you. But I couldn’t stand on the same stage. Still, I wanted to get even a little closer, so I searched for a way and found the path to becoming a Kagura musician.”
She once told me her parents strongly opposed her pursuing music.
But now, Hino Hana is one of the top artists in the country.
That’s undeniably the result of her relentless effort and polished talent.
“I was just the trigger, right? Then it shouldn’t matter if I quit…”
“No, it’s not the same. It has to be Himura’s Kagura dance.”
“You just said it doesn’t have to be me.”
“…Maybe at first, but…”
Hino Hana’s gentle expression didn’t waver.
In fact, she looked at me as if baring her soul.
“What I said earlier about agreeing with Kaori—it’s not what Himura thinks it means.”
I’m proud to be a Kagura dancer now, but I wasn’t always.
That’s why I wanted someone, even just a little, to affirm me. Plenty of people see the dancer, but no one saw the me inside.
“You don’t have to keep doing something you don’t want to forever. If you don’t absolutely want to quit right now, that’s fine.”
She’s always been watching me, whether I’m the dancer or not.
Hino Hana stood up and picked up her belongings from the corner of the room.
“And—”
She stood at the entrance, turning back.
“—All this time, saying I’d ‘keep you company for practice’ was really just an excuse to be alone with the person I like. So I want Himura to keep doing Kagura dance.”
With a dazzling smile I’d never seen before, Hino Hana said this and left the community center.
For a while, her words seemed to echo in the room, reverberating in my mind.
I’d always had a slight question.
Why, despite her busy schedule, did she come to our sports festival, bring Suzume along, search for me, and even bring me a gift?
Thinking back, it was the same last year.
“The person I like.”
The person her words referred to.
It didn’t take long to figure out who that was.
☆Afterword──────────────────
I’ve divided the story into chapters for now. Think of them as small breaks or turning points.
Also, thank you for 7,000 follows!
With the closing of the sports festival, I’ll wrap up Chapter 1.
Please keep supporting me moving forward!
