Catching the way Utaha had to stand on her tiptoes to reach his face, Miyahito naturally lowered his head, leaning his upper body forward slightly.
The movement inevitably brought their faces much closer.
Feeling his warm breath brush against her cheek, Utaha's hand froze slightly.
Suppressing the ripples in her heart, she pretended nothing was wrong and carefully continued wiping away his sweat.
But no matter how hard she tried to act casual, her wine-red eyes reflected only his bright, energetic face.
And Miyahito was no different.
Unknowingly, in the world reflected by their contrasting wine-red and dark eyes, only each other remained.
Utaha's eyes held only Miyahito.
Miyahito's eyes held only Utaha.
Watching the smile in his eyes, Utaha's lips curved upward involuntarily as she asked softly, "Are you tired?"
"Not really. I'm okay."
Grinning like a fool, Miyahito instinctively added,
"Maybe it's because you were watching from the stands, Utaha. I feel like I could play a few more matches."
"Really?" A mischievous glint flashed in Utaha's eyes. She neatly folded the towel and tucked it into her bag, then handed him the water bottle filled with sports drink. "So I'm that effective, huh? Should I come supervise Class B's next matches too?"
"After all, you're the only one who can make Mr. Miyahito go all out, right?"
"That'd be amazing. I'd love to see you at every single one of my games."
As he spoke, Miyahito smiled and took the bottle from her hands. Just as he was about to open it, he paused.
"Utaha... is this your water bottle?"
Looking at the bottle in his hand—a perfect gradient-red match to his own gradient-blue one—he asked in slight surprise.
"Mhm." Nodding, unaware of the reason for his surprise, Utaha mistook his reaction for shyness about sharing.
A slightly teasing, almost mischievous smile touched her lips as she deliberately let her voice drop into a lazy, playful register.
"What's wrong? Does Mr. Miyahito feel awkward using my bottle?"
"A little." He smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I'll be careful not to drink directly from the mouthpiece."
I literally want you to drink from it, idiot.
Seeing his bashful expression, a mix of shyness and mild frustration bubbled up inside Utaha. She stood on her tiptoes, placed her hands lightly on his shoulders, and whispered softly near his ear:
"It's perfectly fine if you drink from the mouthpiece, Miyahito-kun."
"!"
Too much! Too much! I can't handle this!
This is way too intense!
Watching it in anime never felt like this... but now that I'm actually with Utaha, is she really this proactive?!
Our relationship level is barely at "more than friends, less than lovers"...
Feeling the softness and warmth pressing lightly against his chest, Miyahito stiffened and took a small, involuntary step back.
Noticing his slight retreat, Utaha, wearing an amused smile, decided not to push him further. She stepped back gracefully and stood properly.
Folding her hands behind her back, she watched with a bright smile as Miyahito gradually regained his composure.
There's no choice. If I don't take the initiative and make it obvious, nothing will happen.
Even if it's embarrassing, who told him to hide his true feelings so carefully?
I really don't know whether to call it cautious or overly paranoid.
But I'm definitely not letting him off the hook that easily.
So, from this moment on, I, Kasumigaoka Utaha, am officially going on the offensive.
No running away, Miyahito-kun.
Meanwhile, Miyahito had vaguely noticed that Utaha had become much more proactive compared to their earlier interactions.
However, still somewhat misled by his past-life memories, he failed to realize this was Utaha's "final ultimatum before confession."
He simply thought, "Right, Utaha in the anime was also like this around people she's close to," and actually felt smug that Step 1 of his plan—becoming genuine friends with Utaha—was a success.
"Ahem, well, I'll just drink it then." Suppressing his racing heart, Miyahito asked casually. Seeing Utaha nod with a bright smile, feeling slightly trapped, he could only bite the bullet, press his lips lightly to the mouthpiece, and take a small sip of the sports drink.
But barely a few sips in, Utaha suddenly chimed in:
"Does it taste good?"
"Cough, cough, cough, cough....."
Miyahito instantly choked.
"Mou, drink slowly." Wearing a playful smile, Utaha stepped up to the boy coughing his lungs out and gently patted his back to soothe him.
At the same time, she added with a hint of mischief:
"I just asked if it tasted good. Why did you choke?"
Catching the slight teasing in her tone, Miyahito finally caught his breath and sighed in mild exasperation.
"Utaha..."
"Hehe, wha·t i·s i·t?"
Whoa! She's already dropping the act and showing her teasing side!
Feeling both amused and helpless, Miyahito shook his head.
Seeing the boy's completely helpless expression, Utaha's smile deepened.
Just as the two were enjoying their moment, not far behind them, three figures were hiding stealthily, watching them and whispering.
"And they say they're 'just friends.' Miyahito is seriously dense."
Resting her forehead in her hand, Kyoko shook her head in frustration.
"Don't you think so, Tooru?"
"I think it's pretty normal."
"Eh?"
Seeing Kyoko and Yuki give him skeptical looks, Tooru shrugged and casually dropped a bombshell about Miyahito.
"I just remembered. This is actually Miyahito's first time having a crush on a girl."
"Huh? No way."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Don't look at me like that." Seeing their disbelief, Tooru sighed empathetically. "I didn't believe it at first either, but now I do."
After a moment of silent exchange among the three...
"Should we... give him a little push?" Tooru suggested hesitantly. "Watching them dance around each other is giving me heartburn."
"Do you think it'll work?" Yuki shot him a flat look.
"We can't talk him into it anyway." Kyoko chimed in.
Just then.
"Tooru? Yuki and Kyoko?"
"What are you three hiding over here for?"
"!"
300 Power Stone = 1 Bonus Chapter
Every 5 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter.