Heroine Life

Chapter 5: The Lazy Person's Futile Struggle

"The 25th interclass sports competitions are about to begin. Please move promptly to your designated venues."

The announcement was made by someone from the executive committee and the class matches began.
The students who had finished their preparations quickly dispersed to their venues.
The middle-distance race starts in the afternoon, so I'm free to practice or cheer on my classmates until then.
I had planned to relax in the classroom, but Misora and Yuzuha's matches are about to begin, so I need to head to the gym.
I don't really want to go because I'm not interested and there are so many people in the audience, but they've asked me to come and cheer them on, so I have no choice but to endure it and go.
They are both athletically gifted, so I'm sure they can win without my support.

When I enter the gym, I hear the high-pitched squeak of shoes and the cheers of the audience.
The noise and number of people are more than I imagined. I consider turning back, but those two will complain if I don't watch their matches, so I bravely proceed inwards.
The morning session is volleyball, which the two of them are participating in. I check the matchup list on the wall and head for the cheering section on the second floor.
I sit down in the area with the fewest people and peek down at the first floor to see that our class's match had already started. I could see Misora and Yuzuha on the court.
Both of them are smiling happily as they moved. They look quite relaxed compared to the opposing team, who are all out of breath.
I'm curious to see who's winning, so I look at the scoreboard and see that our class is ahead 17 to 3.
Due to time constraints, this is a one-set match, so our class would probably win if things kept going like this.

(Geh!)

Yuzuha noticed me on the second floor and happily waved at me. Seeing this, Misora also waved at me while smiling as well. Wow, stop it, that's embarrassing.
I'm tempted to run away, but I resist and wave back while my face stiffens. I'm here to cheer them on, after all.

Perhaps satisfied that I waved back, they turned their attention back to the match.
As I watch the players chasing the ball, I feel a tap on my shoulder from behind.

"...Uehara."
"Mind if next to you?"

She smiles awkwardly and then timidly sits down next to me.
I can't calm down with her so close to me, but I didn't want to suddenly run away, so I stay where I am.

"Shouldn't you be cheering for your friends?"

As I recall, the classmates Uehara often hangs out with should be competing outdoors.

"I did cheer them on. I also wanted to cheer for Endou and Oosuga, so I dropped by here."
"Ah. What event are you competing in, Uehara?"
"Basketball. It starts after volleyball ends, so I guess it will be in the afternoon."

As I recall, in every basketball match, there's always been rough struggles for the ball. Uehara is pretty small, so is she going to be okay?
I watched some of the matches last time, and I remember that the participants looked like they were getting torn to pieces from the collisions that were borderline fouls.
I don't think Uehara will return from such a cruel battlefield unscathed.
Now that I think about it, maybe basketball is the toughest event.

"Amabuki, you're participating in the middle-distance race in the afternoon, right? Too bad I can't watch because our events overlap."
"Hahaha..."

Thanks to the overlap, I'll be spared from being seen in a pathetic state.
I warned Misora and Yuzuha not to come and watch me, but I guess they will anyway.

"Wow, look at that! Oosuga is amazing!"
"...So she's good at volleyball too."

Uehara gave a small cheer and I turned to the court to see that Yuzuha had just attacked and scored a point.
She was smiling happily, high-fiving her teammates and rejoicing with them. A scene that looked like the definition of youth.
Yuzuha's play stands out so much that it's easy to miss, but Misora was subtly making fine plays as well.
She's hitting the ball left and right to tire her opponents out. She's also hitting the ball far enough so it's barely within bounds or dropping it just over the net.
Is Misora enjoying watching her opponents struggle? She seems extremely pleased while the other team gasps for air. I feel a little sorry for them.

The game continued without a hitch and our class won an overwhelming 25 to 6 victory.
More than half of the goals were scored by Yuzuha, the hitter.
Everyone in our class noisily surrounds her, as if to celebrate her brilliant achievement.

"They're so amazing. If this keeps this up, they'll win the championship."
"With that team, it's possible."

Led by the all-rounder Yuzuha and the supporter Misora, the other members of the team coordinated well together. It could be said they put our school's volleyball team to shame.
Even if they did not win the championship, they would certainly get a high ranking.

"I'll have to work hard in my match too."
"Don't push yourself too hard."

I'm afraid Uehara will try too hard and end up injuring herself. It's fine if she doesn't try to force herself in order to win, I just want her to come back in one piece.
... It's only basketball, so I'm not sure why I'm so worried about her. Besides, this is no time to be worrying about others.

"I hope you do well in the middle-distance race, too, Amabuki. I can't come to watch, but even so, I'm rooting for you."
"Well, I'll try my best to finish at least."

I don't run seriously, a certain someone will get mad at me. I'll just aim to finish.
My goals are humble, but this is me trying my best in my own way.

"Don't just aim to finish, go for broke."

At some point, Taira ended up behind me.

"Uwah! She's here!"
"You got a problem with that!?"

She glared at me as if she was trying to threaten me. Is she some kind of delinquent or something? Her intensity is scary.

"Yuko, did you come to cheer as well?"
"No. Since I'm on the athletics committee, I was acting as a referee earlier. Now I'm done, so I'm taking a break."
"I didn't realize that. Thanks for your hard work."
"Good luck in your match, Natsuki."
"You too, Yuko."

Oh, did these two get along well? They're in the same class, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, but it's a strange pair since they seem to have completely opposite personalities.
Who is Yuko anyway? Ah right, that's Taira's first name. Since I've been calling her Taira, hearing that feels a bit strange to me.

"Amabuki, wouldn't it be better for you to go for a run or something instead of staying here?"
"No, I'm supporting our class with all my heart in the volleyball matches. I don't want to move until I have to run in the afternoon."
"That's why you're weak."
"Yes, yes, I know."

"...... Yuko, Amabuki, the two of you sure get along well."

" " Like hell we do!! " "

No matter how you look at it, the two of us don't get along.
It should look like the opposite. She does actually hate me after all.

After that, the three of us stayed together for the rest of the matches and cheered.
We chit-chatted and bickered between matches, and before we knew it, all the matches were over.
Sure enough, our class won the championship.