— — — — — —
9–7.
Relying almost entirely on his backhand serves, Oikawa quickly closed the gap.
Iroha's expression grew increasingly frantic, yet she had no way to fight back.
"Stop! Time out!" Her eyes darted around as panic set in. It was obvious she was already plotting something.
"Senpai, you can't serve like that." She said it with a perfectly straight face. "There are rules in table tennis. That serve is illegal. You're not allowed to do that."
It was a shame she hadn't become an actress.
She lied so naturally that anyone unfamiliar with table tennis would have believed every word.
"Really?" Oikawa blinked. "That's actually a foul?"
He decided to play along.
"Exactly." She nodded solemnly. "You did break the rules. But since you just started learning, I won't erase your points. Just don't serve like that anymore, okay?"
She wore the expression of someone generously forgiving another person's mistake.
"Then you can serve." Oikawa obediently handed the ball back. "In badminton, if someone commits a fault, the serve goes back to the opponent."
He looked adorably clueless.
A smug smile immediately appeared on Iroha's face. The next moment, she tossed the ball high into the air.
Her eyes followed it upward as she raised her paddle over her shoulder.
Then she swung with everything she had, "TAKE THIS!"
"You really want to win that badly, huh?"
The ball shot past Oikawa like a bullet, whistling as it flew.
He could have returned it. He simply chose not to.
10–7.
"Don't forget our bet, Senpai!" Iroha pumped her fist triumphantly before flashing him a winner's grin. "Hehe. No backing out now!"
She never noticed the amused smile tugging at the corner of Oikawa's lips.
She was far too busy celebrating her impending victory. In fact, she had already started thinking about what wish she would make him fulfill.
"I'm serving again, Senpai!" She bounced the ball on the table a few times and got into position.
Then, all of a sudden... she started looking around in every direction as though she'd spotted something strange.
She even raised a hand.
"Ah! Wait a second, Senpai. Wait... behold my ultimate move!"
One second she was asking for a timeout. The next, she exploded into motion, pouring all her strength into a lightning-fast serve.
It was so sudden most people wouldn't have reacted in time.
Unfortunately for her, Oikawa had expected exactly this.
He knew just how devious Iroha Isshiki could be.
He adjusted his stance, flicked his wrist, and smashed the ball straight back.
The ball skimmed past a strand of Iroha's hair before crashing into the net behind her.
If this were an anime, it would probably have spun wildly against the mesh until sparks flew while the background characters stared in shock.
"Oh?" Oikawa feigned surprise. "I actually returned that one. Guess I'm really lucky."
He continued pretending to be hopeless at table tennis.
This time, however, suspicion finally appeared in Iroha's eyes.
"Senpai..." She narrowed her gaze. "Have you really never played table tennis before?"
Seeing her trick had completely failed, she bit her lower lip in frustration. "Don't tell me... You've been messing with me this whole time?"
"Of course not," Oikawa answered without hesitation. "It was just luck."
He stubbornly insisted that the shot had been nothing but luck.
As for him secretly being good at table tennis? Please. What a ridiculous idea.
It was like the question readers asked most often under his Twitter posts: IsYour Lie in Aprilreally a healing story?
Of course it was. How could it possibly be depressing?
At least, Oikawa certainly thought so.
It "healed" him. Seeing everyone else suffer somehow brought joy to his life, so Your Lie in April was definitely a healing story, right?
As he spoke, he unconsciously settled into a ready stance. It was the kind of posture only experienced players naturally took.
"Senpai!" Iroha puffed out her cheeks. "And you still say you can't play!"
She looked so wronged it seemed as though tears might spill out at any moment.
"Come on... I'm just a girl. Go easy on me." She switched to playing the victim.
Unfortunately for her, Oikawa was completely immune to that tactic.
"Sorry, Kouhai. A true swordsman has no women in his heart."
The teasing vanished from his face. This time he sent an incredibly sharp shot toward the very edge of the table.
10–9.
"Kouhai, heads up!"
Without giving her time to recover, he fired off another serve and immediately claimed the next point.
10–10.
Rather than discouraging her, however, it only ignited Iroha's fighting spirit.
The pitiful act disappeared completely. She lowered her center of gravity, eyes fixed on him with complete focus as she waited for the next serve.
At that moment, Oikawa realized something. Iroha was actually an incredibly stubborn person.
Just like when she'd become student council president. She complained constantly through messages about the endless mountain of work and all the headaches it caused her.
But despite all that, she had never once tried to run away.
"Hyaa!" She swung so hard she completely missed the ball.
The sight was almost comically clumsy.
She bit her lip. Her eyes were filled with frustration. Tears were already beginning to gather at the corners.
Oikawa paused for a moment.
Then, he deliberately slowed down his serves. Instead of ending the point immediately, he began rallying with her.
Soon the gym was filled with nothing but the sound of Iroha sprinting back and forth and the rhythmic tap, tap, tap of the ball crossing the table.
"Yes!" A brilliant smile spread across her face. "Senpai! It's 11-all!"
Iroha smashed the ball cleanly past him before he could react. A bright, exhilarated smile immediately spread across her face.
...
"Senpai, I won. 18–16. I won! I actually won!"
After nearly half an hour of back-and-forth rallies, Iroha finally claimed victory.
She threw both hands into the air and shouted at the top of her lungs.
Even that wasn't enough to express how happy she was.
She hurried over to Oikawa, grabbed his arm, and shook it over and over again.
"I won! I won!" She repeated the words like an excited three-year-old who'd just received the very first toy of her life. "Senpai, you promised. You have to grant me one wish."
"I know, I know." Oikawa let himself be jostled helplessly before asking, "So, what do you want?"
"Hmm..." She put a finger to her lips in thought. "I haven't decided yet."
"But you are not allowed to forget about it. When I finally decide what I want, you can't say no." As she spoke, she looked him straight in the eyes with unusual seriousness.
Only after seeing him nod did her familiar mischievous smile return.
She leaned closer until her lips were near his ear and whispered, "Actually... even if I'd lost, I wasn't planning to keep the bet. Not having a girlfriend isn't really a problem for me anyway. What are two girls supposed to do together? Hehe~"
Oikawa rolled his eyes.
He had already expected Iroha to back out if she lost. What surprised him was how unbearably smug she'd become after winning.
Maybe he shouldn't have gone easy on her after all.
After a moment's thought, he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Who told you two girls can't do anything? Haven't you ever heard of... yuri? Have you ever watched Valkyrie Drive Mermaid?"
Iroha froze.
Tiny eyes. Massive shock.
She blinked a few times before hurriedly pulling out her phone and searching on Google.
A second later, her face turned bright red. The blush spread all the way to her ears.
"S-Senpai... You're such a huge pervert!"
"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment." Seeing her at a complete loss made Oikawa laugh out loud before turning and sprinting out of the sports center.
Iroha immediately chased after him.
At that moment, Oikawa no longer regretted letting her win.
Even if he'd won the match, he wouldn't have been nearly this happy.
But Iroha? Winning had made her at least ten times happier than it ever would have made him. So why not let her have it?
Besides, if he hadn't eased up at the end, he never would have seen this adorable side of her.
Some things didn't have to be won. Sometimes losing let you witness something far more memorable.
...
After leaving the sports center, Oikawa treated his still-sulking kohai to dinner at a Western restaurant, finally putting the whole yuri conversation behind them.
To return the favor, Iroha bought him coffee and dessert. And the two spent the afternoon chatting away without a care.
As evening approached, they wandered into the arcade inside the shopping mall.
After spending 4,000 yen on the claw machine, Oikawa finally managed to win two tiny Doraemon plushies.
Honestly, if he'd just bought them outright, 4,000 yen could probably have gotten him ten of them.
But that wasn't the point. When you're on a date... the fun is in the process.
The sun slowly dipped below the horizon. Oikawa and Iroha left the mall and strolled along the road beside Chiba Station.
The evening wind was much stronger than it had been during the day. Oikawa zipped his jacket all the way to the top.
"Senpai." Iroha blinked. "Need a scarf? It's free."
She stuck out her tongue with a playful grin. That little gesture seemed to be one of Iroha's trademarks.
"No thanks. There are no free lunches." He rejected the offer without hesitation, crossing his forearms into a big X in front of his chest.
It looked oddly similar to the elimination gesture from a dating show.
"Aww... You really know how to waste a girl's kindness, Senpai." Iroha pouted.
Unmoved by her attempt at acting cute, Oikawa smoothly changed the subject. "You enjoyed today's date, right? So... about those pictures..."
"Actually..." She smiled impishly. "I never secretly took any photos. I was bluffing the whole time."
Oikawa shot her a deadpan look before quickening his pace toward the station.
"Senpai! Why are you walking so fast?"
"I'm in a hurry to get home."
They traded answers as they walked.
After hurrying to catch up, Iroha slipped her arm through his with a bright smile, clinging to him without asking as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Senpai, I'm your witness, remember? You can trust me. From now on, I'll keep my mouth shut. If it's something I shouldn't say, I won't say a single word."
Seeing that he remained unmoved, she sweetened the deal. "And if you ever need someone to cover for you, your lovely kohai will help for free."
Oikawa's footsteps slowed.
'That's... actually not a bad offer.'
Oikawa paused mid-step, a hint of interest flickering across his face. "...No extra conditions?"
Iroha nodded with an innocent smile, "There is one."
"Goodbye." Without the slightest hesitation, Oikawa turned to leave.
"S-Senpai, at least hear me out!" Iroha hurried after him, grabbing at his sleeve before he could get away.
Oikawa looked at her warily.
She hesitated for a second before speaking again. "You promised you'd be the person I confessed to. We should at least finish that properly. I... I still haven't confessed today."
Oikawa thought it over for a moment before nodding, "I can agree to that."
"You're the best, Senpai!" Beaming, Iroha pressed herself even closer against his arm.
To anyone watching, they looked exactly like a young couple deeply in love.
But in reality... It was nothing more than one girl's hopeless crush, scrambling for every excuse she could find to stay close to the person she liked.
It was both wonderfully happy and painfully hopeless.
Laughing and chatting, the two eventually arrived at the station.
They weren't headed in the same direction. Oikawa only needed to catch the train, while Iroha had to transfer to the Yokosuka Line.
As they sat on a bench waiting for their trains, Iroha gently swung her legs.
"Senpai... What did you think of today's date?"
Her voice sounded different than usual. A little hoarse.
Without thinking much of it, Oikawa assumed she was asking for feedback on the date itself.
He considered the question seriously before answering. "Overall, I'd say it went pretty well. But there are still a few details you could improve. You can get a little pouty with me now and then, but Hayama's a genuinely upright guy. I don't think he'd appreciate that. And when you're doing an escape room with him, don't let it look like you've already played it before. You know what I mean?"
Iroha looked at him.
She met his eyes. For a moment, she simply stared.
Then a sweet smile bloomed across her face.
"Senpai... You're surprisingly serious about this. The look on your face is exactly the same as when you were debating those students from Kaihin High at the civic hall."
'You look so handsome.' She kept those words to herself.
Oikawa let out a helpless sigh. "Of course I'm serious. You're such a handful. I'd much rather your confession succeeds. Then maybe you'll stop bothering me all the time."
Iroha puffed out her cheeks.
"What do you mean? Girls are supposed to be troublesome." She spoke with a hint of stubbornness. "Isn't Saki-senpai troublesome too?"
Oikawa didn't answer.
Girls really were troublesome creatures. But Saki Kawasaki was the exception.
Silence settled between them. It was a rare kind of quiet.
After a long while, Iroha finally spoke again, "Senpai... Do I make you hate me sometimes?"
"I wouldn't say hate." Oikawa paused, "...You're just a little troublesome."
"I've decided!" She suddenly stood up and walked to stand directly in front of him.
Looking straight into his eyes, she declared, "Senpai. The wish I want you to grant... is that you're never allowed to hate me."
"Huh?" Oikawa couldn't help laughing. "What kind of wish is that? You make it sound like I hate you already."
But when he saw how earnest she looked, his smile softened.
He nodded seriously, "...All right. I promise. I'll never hate you."
"Of course..." He added with a grin, "That's assuming you don't deliberately do things to make me hate you."
Iroha pouted again. "What the heck? You even bargain when you're granting someone's wish. You're so stingy, Senpai."
Oikawa was about to say something else.
Just then, the distant rumble of an approaching train echoed through the station.
"Looks like your train's here." Oikawa pointed toward the platform.
"Senpai... Thank you for today."
Iroha took a couple of steps toward the platform.
Then, as though she'd suddenly remembered something, she turned around and hurried back.
She smiled at him, "Senpai... I think I forgot to confess."
Oikawa instinctively waited for her to speak.
Instead... he suddenly saw the girl step closer.
Closer.
Until her face filled his vision.
A cool, soft touch landed gently against his lips. A kiss.
For a brief moment, time itself seemed to stop.
Then Iroha spun around.
Without looking back, she sprinted onto the waiting train.
As the doors closed and the train slowly pulled away, her figure gradually disappeared from view.
.
.
.
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