As the ball settled in the net, the whistle signalling the end of the match soon followed, with the final result being 3-2, but even though they lost, Leo and Tatsuya looked to be quite happy about the match .
For the first time I had seen Tatsuya to be actually having an actual fun, I as well had quite the fun running down the pitch and scoring some goals .
I was surprised to hear the cheering voices for our win, looking around me, I saw that their was no sight of an empty seat or place to sit on, all of them were at full capacity and a few people were even squeezed together, we had actually quite the big crowd watching our game .
This had me become quite baffled, but then I suddenly saw my other teammates surround me and as if this wasn't a goal in a mini match but a decisive goal in an official tournament, they suddenly held me and pushed me up and down in the air in celebration .
I liked this feeling very much, even though my sane mind was telling me that there really was no reason for them to do such a thing, but I still quite enjoyed it as long it lasted .
We finally had stopped celebrating, but the cheers from particularly the girls hadn't stopped, a few reactions in particular caught my eyes, Juvia had prideful expression on her face, Miyuki had a glaring eyes but she was still clapping her hands in a complete contrast to what she might actually be thinking .
Mizuki was happy, but I think she was happy because no one got hurt most likely, then I caught a glimpse of Mibu Sayaka and she actually noticed my gaze on her and she rolled her eyes at me .
I really wonder if this girl harbored personal resentment towards me me similar to Erika, but I hadn't even recalled interacting with her much, so the only logical explanation is that she hate me for my identity as a Yotsuba Family member .
But weren't her like this doing the same thing that she is trying to stood up for, belittling others based on their family titles is the same as getting belittled over the lack of your talent with magic, if not actually worse .
I couldn't help but turn my Spatial Eyes and saw that as expected, she was also bewitched in the same manner as those janitors, but the strange magic seemed to be induced into her nervous system was less impactful than with the janitors .
It resembled more of a seed like energy waiting for detention at a certain point of time, I could remove it without an issue, but doing this might alarm the person who was responsible for using this kind of magic .
It might endanger her life, since people like the ones behind the scenes always want to remain unknown, so if there were any loose ends, the best thing for them to do is to eradicate these loose ends, Mibu Sayaka might end up becoming one of those loose ends .
I also still have hopes that whatever they are trying to achieve will get the chance to come out to the open eyes as this was going to invoke quite a few changes around here, so all I need to currently do, is keep watching from a far and keep a close eye on all the targets, herself included .
Man, this was quite the good game, I never thought that you would worn us out like that all alone, I won't lose next time though .
This was indeed a good game, congratulations .
" Well, it's indeed a good game from both sides, I didn't expect that you are able to worn me out as well, bring it on, I will be sure to take you on .
After sharing a few greetings and pleasing words together, we went back to the locker room, washed up then dressed up and soon we were once again split up, at least Leo did, the girls too, me and Tatsuya had a patrolling work to do .
The blocks assigned to us were different though, so to communicate with him, I needed to do it telephonically, after we started patrolling through the school grounds, I was the one who contacted him, saying :
" Miyuki wasn't happy with Mibu Sayaka approaching you earlier .
I just heard him reply with a hmm, indicating that he was indeed listening, so I continued to say :
" So are you going to meet her later ? .
Hmm .
" Well, all I can do is wish you luck, but I will have you know that she might be related to the guys from Blanche and even worse, she had no idea that she is being manipulated and won't have no ability to control herself or her actions at one point of time in the future .
Do you mean..... ? .
" I noticed the traces of a spell in her consciousness, that spell is most likely an Oscillation type of magic and she had come in contact with it or with someone who is under its effect at some point, so be wary of your surroundings .
I will, but how certain are you in..... .
The connection failed because of me crashing into someone running in the corridor, someone with a red hair and teary eyes, who would it be if not Erika .
Ah, I'm so....., huh, what are you doing here ? .
" Well, I would like to answer that, but how about you get off me first .
Due to how powerful she was going, she was now sitting directly above me and it was giving me some bit of chills actually for some reason, she seemed to realize that as well thankfully and she hurriedly stood up and pulled me up while apologizing and not apologizing in the same time, she was saying :
Sorry, why did you appear in front of me like that you almost gave me a heart attack .
Somehow this has become my fault, but even though I grimaced at the this thought, seeing her eyes and the teary eyes I couldn't bring myself to antagonize her anymore, so I ended up directly asking what was going on with her .
She looked at me then tried to act as if there was nothing going on with her, trying to act normally as possible, but it seemed quite forced, especially with her wiping her eyes from time to time while denying that there was anything wrong with her .
I couldn't help but wonder if she was crying, I instinctively blurted this out and the second I did was like the camel back that was broken by a straw, she stopped trying to swipe off her tears and instead glared at me with her reddened teary eyes and said :
And whose fault do you think it is that I'm like this ? .
" I don't know, hopefully you won't say it was mine, I had told you earlier that previously I didn't see a thing .
Liar, if you hadn't seen a thing, then how did you... ? .
" How did I what ? .
She seemed to be having a quite powerful internal struggle with saying what's on her mind, but what exactly it was, this is what I'm currently trying to figure out .
How were you able to know what happened, if you hadn't seen a thing, the piece of memory you gave me didn't show how come you know about the misunderstanding, so the only logical explanation is that either someone had told you about it or worse, you somehow managed to find out on your own .
She squinted her eyes at me and hit the bullseye, so was this what was made her become messy like this, seeing that I was still unresponsive she said :
So I'm indeed right, from the look on your face, I can tell that I'm onto something, so which is it, I want the full truth, you owe me this much at least .
" Well, I guess there is no point in hiding anything from you, since you ask for the truth, I will give you the full truth .
I poked her forehead with my finger and she instantly experienced my full memories of that incident and what I did try to find out about what happened between me and here and the intentions beyond my actions .
Confrontation in these kind of situation can be the best solution to try, especially if the other party was truly wanting to just find out about the truth, seeing her so messed up like this, made me willing to share this much at least with here .
As for her reaction, I had already came in terms with it the second I had handed that piece of memory to her yesterday, whether she will storm at me out of anger or call me names, I will just deal with them as fair and square, I was trying to find truth for the sake of keeping her as a friend and know how should I deal with her, whatever that comes next is what I deserve .
She was granted her wish and got told the full truth, after she opened her eyes again, well, it was difficult to grasp what exactly was she thinking, it seem that her thoughts were at a bit of conflict and not only that, she also seemed loss at what she should be saying or even thinking about .
She just kept staring at me with tears threatening to be shed at any second, this weird and awkward situation lasted for not a minute or two, it continued to play for a full 5 minutes before she finally managed to say something that hit me like thunder, she said :
So, how are you planning to compensate me ? .
I stood there hearing her say this calmly and her whole demeanor suddenly changed to one that was a mix of irritation and playfulness that didn't match the current tensed situation, not to mention that the words she said were even more strange .
I won't deny that I had held you responsible earlier for something that you hadn't done and pulled a silly prank that I shouldn't have done, I'm sorry for that, but you had shared your memories and feelings with me from that day, but you still saw it, did you not ? .
Seeing that I was too stunned to respond to her, she continued to say this, at first I was glad that she seemed to at least accept some responsibility for what she did, but as I continued to listen to her talking, my mind felt like suddenly getting bugged and blurry .
I didn't understand what she was implying by saying ' saw it ' at first, but soon enough I recalled a memory that I should have already removed from my mind, but surprisingly found it quite easily and without me knowing, my cheeks burned up and were tainted red from embarrassment .
I know it, you are already recalling it, stop doing that, pervert .
Her words were quite harsh specially since she was already the one who brought this up, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the weird sensations that kept bubbling inside me and I couldn't help but want to get over with this current awkward situation .
Erika had already fixed her appearance and the eyes that was threatening to fall down before were and her vulnerable appearance were all replaced by the fierce demeanor she always put on, seeing her like this, I directly cut through the chase and asked directly, while shifting a bit uncomfortably and said :
" What kind of compensation do you have in mind, I'm willing to do my best to meet your needs to the best I can, but I don't want you to state any unrealistic demands, there is a line and a limit to what you can ask, as for what that limit is, I will need to you what you have in mind before telling you that, so speak your mind .
She heard me say this and without the slightest bit of hesitation, she directly said as of all that I just said didn't dissuade her in the slightest, she said with a quite serious tone :
How about you becoming my husband ? .
" .... " .
" Huh, what are you exactly saying ? .
Just as you heard, this is the only compensation that I will accept from you and why are you looking at me like that, do you think that I'm unworthy of you or something, don't forget that you were the one who brought this upon yourself when you had invaded my privacy earlier .
This is a fair price for your indecent acts towards me, don't you think, otherwise how can I get marry now when you had already seen me in my most vulnerable state .
" Wait, wait, wait, why are making the situation more complicated than before, I had no choice back then since you were the one who forced my hand and not to mention that I had already apologized for doing such a thing before, you can't just propose something grand like this and call it compensation .
" Let's not talk about whether you are worthy or whether am I worthy of you, what you are suggesting is pure madness, it's not even about compensation anymore, it's about you dooming yourself to be with me for the rest of your life over a mistake that should have never happened, are you aware of all this .
I'm, you are right that it was indeed a mistake that shouldn't have happened, but it already did and now you need to man up and take responsibility for your actions and it's not like I'm asking you to marry me right here and on the spot, I'm asking you to put it in your mind and you should have more than enough time to think about it .
But the deadline will be until our graduation, as for now, I will make your wish come true, how about we become friends first ? .
She said all this in one breath and extended her hand towards me and waited for me to take it, but I was aware that the second I shook hands with her, this would be like accepting all the terms that she had stated earlier, the marriage proposal included .
I stood there seeing that her expression was clear of any sadness, a complete contrast to how she looked a few seconds before, I couldn't help but speak out about some of my doubts saying :
" You had already planned for all this to happen and all that happened before was an act, right ? .
Her smile widened a bit more and she twirled around me for a bit before she made a cute contemplating face and said playfully :
I wonder.... .
Seeing her acting like this, I couldn't help but release a deep sigh and I shook her hand while thinking that since things had come to this, all I can do with to see where exactly this was going and how would the situation between us change from here on out .