Chapter 6 – Himeka-san is Angry

The day after I kicked Moriyama-kun.

Will Moriyama-kun make it to school safely?

Would he actually have to take time off because of a severe injury?

While I was fidgeting in the morning classroom, almost crushed by such anxiety, Moriyama-kun arrived at school.

At first, I was relieved, but since I didn’t know how his injuries were, I watched him carefully from a distance.

He doesn’t appear to be swollen or bruised.

Moriyama-kun himself doesn’t appear to be injured.

I wonder if Moriyama-kun is really as okay as he himself said yesterday.

But my kick landed perfectly.

It’s hard to imagine that a kick like that could do more than minor damage.

Let’s check it out directly.

Then, after apologizing properly, I would like to thank him for trying to help me.

I got up from my seat and walked towards Moriyama-kun’s seat.

I felt a tremendous sense of nervousness.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in a match.

I stood beside Moriyama-kun.

But Moriyama-kun was too absorbed in his phone to notice.

I stared at the left cheek where I kicked him yesterday.

It’s not swollen, but it’s still red.

I gathered my courage to speak up.

“Moriyama-kun, are you injured?”

But perhaps because I was nervous, I unconsciously reached out my hand to Moriyama-kun’s left cheek while talking to him.

Moriyama-kun was so startled by my sudden call that he fell over in his chair with a “WHAA!?” and he fell down in his chair!

Whoops!

I’ve done it again!!!

I was already in a state of shock, and by the time I realized it, Moriyama-kun had run out of the classroom and disappeared.

Moreover, Moriyama-kun bowed to me just before he ran out of the classroom.

I’m the one who needs to apologize, so why am I making Moriyama-kun apologize…

Having already lost the courage to chase after Moriyama-kun, I had to wait for him to come back to the classroom, but he came back just before homeroom started, so I missed my chance to apologize.

After homeroom, I looked at Moriyama-kun and saw that our classmate Haruyama-kun was talking to him.

It was an unusual combination.

What are they talking about?

I wonder if he’s talking about yesterday… Although I deserve it, I’m still curious…

I stood up and quickly went around the corridor and back into the classroom through the back entrance, getting close enough to hear their conversation without them noticing…

“Mobyama-kun~, something really happened to you that Himeka-san talked to you, didn’t it? Don’t keep it a secret, tell me~” (T/N: He’s putting a pun on his name by changing it to mob.)

“No, it’s really no big deal. To begin with, I’m just like a pebble, so for Urushibara-san, I’m just a small stumble.”

He took a kick to the face and blacked out, but he said it was no big deal…

Moreover, he’s more self-deprecating than he needs to be.

I could not hear any more of the conversation because first-period classes had started.

And from then on, I tried to talk to Moriyama-kun every time we had a break, but he would run out of the classroom and not come back until the chime rang each time, so I couldn’t talk to him at all.

Furthermore, I thought that if it was a lunch break, he would eat it in the classroom, but by the time I realized it, Moriyama-kun had disappeared from the classroom.

In the midst of my disappointment, while eating lunch with my friends, I was wondering how to apologize to Moriyama-kun, when Mika-chan and Saya-chan from the same group as me asked me about him.

“Hey, Himeka-chan, did something happen with Moriyama-kun?”

“I was wondering about that too! You talked to each other in the morning, and even after that, Himeka-chan, you were always thinking about Moriyama-kun, weren’t you?”

“Eh!? That’s not true…”

“No way~! Ah, but Himeka-chan and Moriyama-kun is kind of a great combination, isn’t it?”

“That’s right, Moriyama-kun, to be honest, he’s always alone and doesn’t seem to have any friends. Doesn’t he seem plain and kind of dull?”

“Yes, yes! Haruyama-kun called him ‘Mobyama’, you know? That’s so funny, don’t you think~”

When I heard the two of them making fun of Moriyama-kun, I became irresistibly angry.

“That’s not true! Moriyama-kun is a strong, kind, and caring person! No matter how much Mika-chan and Saya-chan make fun of Moriyama-kun, I won’t forgive you!”

“Ah! Sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

Ah! By the time I realized it, it was too late, and the whole classroom was watching me as I spoke strongly in defense of Moriyama-kun.