Shiraishi watched Yoshii Akihisa and the others with their idiot-like friendship and spoke with a hint of envy. "Yoshii and the others are as lively as ever…"
[Don't you go learning from them, Shiraishi.]
Izumi Yuu smiled and said, "I was feeling a bit nervous about this sports festival at first, but after watching Yoshii and the others, I suddenly don't feel that tense anymore."
Inuzuka Shu raised his arm. "All right, we can't lose to Yoshii and his group either. Since Izumi is competing, we absolutely can't lose."
"Mm."
Izumi Yuu smiled in agreement, then hesitated for a moment. "I'll do my best, but I hope I don't end up getting injured again this time."
"You'd better be extra careful."
[It's just a soccer match, so it should be fine, right? And Izumi's in the soccer club anyway.]
"About that…" Izumi gave an awkward glance toward Inuzuka Shu.
Inuzuka Shu hesitated for a moment, his expression changing five times in a single second before he finally gave a thumbs-up toward Saiki in explanation. "Well! It should be no problem."
[Yare yare daze, that reaction doesn't exactly look like there's "no problem" at all.]
Shikimori walked over to Saiki. "Saiki-kun, it's really a shame you can't participate in the matches. We were hoping to cheer you on."
[Well, there's no helping it. If my body isn't up for it, I should just rest properly.]
"But since you're like this, Saiki-kun, you'll have time to cheer us on, right!"
Kubo Nagisa tied her hair to the right side and pressed close to Saiki, seemingly trying to get him to notice something.
[I'll watch.]
Kubo Nagisa: "Saiki-kun, don't tell me you haven't noticed that we're a little different from usual."
Before Saiki could respond, Inuzuka Shu next to him pointed at Kubo and the others' hair. "It's the hair, right? You tied it on the right side. By the way, is that really convenient for moving around?"
Kubo Nagisa clasped her hands together and placed them to the side. "Correct! Geez, Saiki-kun, how come you didn't notice it first?"
Saiki: ...
Shikimori smoothed her own hair. "But it really is a little inconvenient for moving like this."
[Then why tie it that way?]
Nekozaki Kyo was helping Hachimitsu Yui tie her hair nearby and answered, "It's pretty nice like this, isn't it? Same hairstyle, unified and united, gets everyone pumped up and excited."
Saiki glanced at Hachimitsu Yui, whose hair was being tied by Nekozaki Kyo and who had a look of "joy" on her face. [Hachimitsu-san's hairstyle isn't uniform at all, so it actually suits her pretty well, just…]
Although Hachimitsu Yui kept smiling, it was obvious from her face that she was thoroughly unhappy. "Take it off."
Nekozaki Kyo seemed not to hear and even tugged at the tied knot on Hachimitsu's head. "Can't be helped, Hachimitsu's hair is still too short, so it can only be tied on top of her head. It looks perfect."
Inuzuka Shu looked completely indifferent. "Well then, I'm off to the bathroom. Do whatever you want."
Izumi Yuu: "But Shikimori-san, you all look pretty cute like that."
Shikimori replied politely with a smile. "Thank you, Izumi-kun."
She then covered her mouth with her hand and looked toward Saiki. [But I also want to hear what Saiki thinks.]
(What opinion? It's just like that, not much different from usual. What am I supposed to say?)
Kubo Nagisa leaned in close to Saiki and hugged his right arm. "So, what do you think of this hairstyle?"
[Uh… it's pretty suitable, I guess?]
Kubo Nagisa muttered softly, "That's all you've got?!"
[That's all.]
Shikimori immediately stepped in, pried Kubo away, and looked at Kubo with a gentle expression. "All right, Kubo-san, we came to check the time. Come on, come on, let's see our match schedules."
Kubo turned back, placed her hand on her own head, tapped it, and blinked her big eyes. "Sorry about that!"
A few of them looked at the blackboard's schedule. Baseball starts at 9:45. Basketball at 10:20. Soccer at 10:20. Volleyball at 10:35.
"How come volleyball and soccer are scheduled at almost the same time?"
Izumi Yuu: "That's too bad. We won't be able to go cheer for Shikimori-san and Kubo-san later, Shiraishi-san."
Shiraishi nodded. "Looks like it."
Shikimori and Kubo blinked their eyes at Saiki. [So what now? You can only cheer for one side.]
They figured Saiki would definitely go cheer for Shiraishi and Izumi.
[What's the big deal? Just go to both. It's not a problem. It's just cheering, after all.]
[And leaving Shiraishi and the others aside for now, as long as Shikimori-san and Kubo-san are there, no matter who they play against, they'll win.]
Shikimori shook her head. "That's not necessarily true. The opponent in the first volleyball match is one of the favorites to win the whole thing."
Kubo: "We don't have much confidence either."
[Oh? The opponent is that strong?]
Saiki suddenly felt a little interested. He had thought that as long as Shikimori and Kubo were there, they could basically win against any opponent, since their athletic ability really was outstanding.
...
The baseball match had already started by then, and Saiki was heading toward the venue.
[There's nothing else to do right now, so I might as well go watch Akihisa and the others' match first.]
By the time Saiki arrived, the game was in full swing, and the score was close.
"Go, go, Year 1 Class B…"
Saiki looked over at Hideyoshi, who was wearing a cheerleader outfit and shouting loudly, along with Shimada Minami and Himeji Mizuki.
(Looks like they're not actually that unwilling after all.)
Hideyoshi also noticed Saiki. "Saiki, want to come cheer with us?"
Saiki shook his head. [Something like this is better left to professionals like you.]
Shimada Minami: "As expected of Hideyoshi. Our cheering doesn't seem to do much, but the moment Hideyoshi cheers, all the guys get super excited like they've been shot with adrenaline."
Hideyoshi covered his face. "This old one isn't a professional either, but since we've already decided, I'll cheer with full manliness."
(No matter how you cheer in that outfit, there's no manliness to be found.)
Pitcher change: Number 5 Yoshii Akihisa replaces Tsuchiya Kouta.
[Oh, it's Akihisa's turn.]
Akihisa walked to the pitcher's mound wearing a baseball cap. "Finally, it's up to me."
(Akihisa? I don't have high hopes for him. I don't know what his baseball skills are like, but I doubt they're anything impressive.)
Akihisa looked at the batter opposite him. [This batter is really good. He's the one who hit a home run off us earlier.]
The catcher, Sakamoto Yuuji, also realized what Akihisa was thinking. He agreed that this batter was indeed very strong, and if they didn't deal with him first, it would be trouble.
Then Sakamoto Yuuji thought for a moment, crouched down, got into position, and flashed a few signs.
Saiki Kusuo had a bad feeling something was about to happen. (This guy isn't seriously…)
Yoshii Akihisa also noticed Sakamoto Yuuji's signs, stared at them for a while, and figured it out. [This sign means to throw the ball at the batter's head… the head!]