Chapter 137 – Umipai

We followed Amami-san to the water fountain near the gym. When we got there, she was washing her face.

"Use this towel, Yuu. I used it, but it's better than nothing, right?"

"…Umiii…"

Umi was about to wrap the towel around her neck, but Amami-san didn't even let her do that and jumped straight into her embrace.

"Ah, jeez… At least wipe your face first… Fine, I'll do it, come here, let me take a look."

"Mm…"

Umi gently wiped her face, but to no avail since her tears kept falling.

"Sorry… I'm really sorry, Umi… I thought I could control myself, but when she slammed the ball in front of my face… I didn't mean to say those words to her…"

"It's fine. If I were you, I probably would have slapped her already… Come here…"

"Mm…"

When her tears had subsided a little, Umi embraced Amami-san again while caressing her blonde hair.

Back when I was distraught over my family's problem, she also did the same thing to me.

"…Ehehe… You smell so good, Umi… When was the last time you embraced me like this?"

"Around the time when we first met? Back then you were a big crybaby after all. I remember I had to hug you all the time in class."

"I see… Then, can you hug me more in the future?"

"I'll think about it~"

"Eh~ Why are you so stingy~"

"I'm not, but you should save something like this for special occasions."

"Even though you do this all the time with Maki-kun?"

"…Don't bring him into this!…"

Umi turned her gaze toward me, in which I frantically shook my head in response.

We did cuddle all the time when we were alone, but that's a matter that should stay between us. No matter how close we were to Amami-san, I didn't think we should tell her about it.

"So, you didn't do this with him? Well, too bad, Maki-kun~"

"…If you're fine already, get away from me, Yuu…"

"Sorry~ Let me stay like this a little bit longer!~"

After saying that, she rubbed her face against Umi's chest. She probably noticed that there was no one else here, that was why she acted so spoiled. Well, I understood her feelings, doing that felt good.

I knew because I spent all night on her chest when I stayed over at her place.

"Sorry, Maki-kun, you tried to stop me, but I ignored you…"

"It's fine, it isn't a big deal. Besides, compared to Umi, what you did was pretty cute."

"Sorry? What did you say just now, Ma-ki-kun?~"

"N-Nothing! Nice weather we're having, huh?… Okay sorry, I got carried away."

"…Dummy."

She flicked my forehead lightly. It hurt, but Amami-san laughed after seeing it, so I guess the pain was worth it.

After venting out her frustration, she returned to her usual cheerful self. There were no more traces of her previous anger.

Giving in to your anger was bad, but suppressing it was even worse, so you had to find the right balance. Well, I said that, but I haven't found a healthy balance either.

I still had a long way to go.

"By the way, Yuu, why don't we practice together with Sanae and Manaka today?"

"Huh? Is that okay?"

Today was supposed to be Umi's turn to be coached by Nitori-san and Houjou-san. Amami-san was probably trying to be considerate because she had done hers yesterday.

Nevertheless, Umi still invited her.

"It's okay. You'll feel better after moving your body as much as you can. Also, both Sanae and Manaka will be happy to help you, right, Maki?"

"Yeah."

The last time I saw the four of them together, they looked really happy.

Amami-san and Umi might be opponents in the class match, but they were best friends. It was normal for them to take care of each other.

Besides, there were benefits from practicing together. They would figure out each other's strengths and weaknesses. Also, they could improve faster because they were on similar levels with each other.

"I see… Then… I'd be happy to…" *Sniff*

"Jeez, you're such a crybaby…"

"Sorry Umi… Hehe, I'm lucky to have you with me right now…"

Amami-san started to tear up again, but this time, they were tears of happiness.

As expected, she looked cuter when she was smiling.

"Both of you, P.E. is ending, so we should get back soon. We still have to thank the teacher and the rest of class 11 too."

We left everything to Nakamura-san and the others, so we had to thank them at the very least. I hoped that they wouldn't surround me again when we thanked them…

"Mhm… Arae-san as well…"

"Haven't you learned your lesson already? Why are you still obsessed with her, Yuu?"

"I just think that I should settle everything with her properly rather than leaving things up in the air. I'm still a little scared of her though…"

"…Fine, I guess this is the kind of person you are, huh?"

"Thank you, Umi. I love you~"

"Yeah, love me more, praise me more."

"Mm! Umi is the best! The greatest!"

There was nothing else for me to do, I only needed to watch over these two.

Seeing them like that, I understood everyone's feelings whenever they saw them together. They were so precious.

I hoped that those two would remain close for as long as possible.

"In any case, get away from me first, Yuu."

"Hmph~ I want to enjoy the Umipai for a little longer!"

"Don't say that word! Seriously, Nakamura-san is a bad influence on you…"

Amami-san probably figured something out from her brief conversation with Nakamura-san. Or maybe that word had already spread around and I didn't know about it.

Anyway, thanks to Umipa– Umi, Amami-san started acting cheerfully again. We only needed to go back to the gym and finish whatever it was we were supposed to do.

"—Arae? That girl said she's sick, so I sent her home early. She looked pretty pale–"

I didn't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but we weren't able to talk to Arae-san for the rest of the day.