Athletic Festival Arc
28 Selfishness and a Request

"Yuuri."

Meru seemed off, so Yuuri gazed after her retreating back for a while.

As he did, his grandfather who should have been in the guest seats came up beside him unnoticed.

"Grandpa. Is something wrong?"
"What "something wrong," if I don"t see my grandson off to the battlefield, what would be the point of me coming here?"

Yuuri"s grandfather said indignantly. At his grandfather acting like that, Yuuri apologized and stared at Meru"s figure which had become even smaller than before.

"Fo fo. Yuuri, it seems that you aren"t wholly enjoying yourself either, hm?"
"What do you mean?"

When Yuuri tilted his head in puzzlement, his grandfather grumbled, saying, "Without your edge, you"re really boring." Not understanding what it was his grandfather was trying to say, Yuuri made an awkward face.

"…In any case, Yuuri. Isn"t the way that daughter-in-law is walking weird?"
"Do you think so?"

Yuuri narrowed his eyes and checked Meru"s figure. She was pretty far away, and the way she was walking before didn"t seem uncomfortable, either.

"Well, she"s hiding it well, but… It"s a rather bad injury, that."

Yuuri frowned at his grandfather"s words. His grandfather might be like this, but he was a master of whom everyone in the martial arts world knew the name. If that was his true judgment, Yuuri didn"t have any doubt.

"Kusuharsan…"

Looking at Yuuri who broke into a run without looking back, his grandfather grinned broadly.

"…Eh? Is today Wait for Girls to Come Out of the Bathroom Day?"

Meru blinked with surprise coming out of the bathroom after having stopped briefly by the medical tent and grabbing some tape for first-aid. In the morning when she had come out of the bathroom, Fuuga had been there, and now this time there was Yuuri.

"Kusuharsan."
"Ahh, there were some wood chips in my shoe that were p.r.i.c.king me."

When Meru smiled, Yuuri sighed.

"Your shoes… take them off, please."
"Eh? Why?"
"You"re injured, aren"t you?"

Meru"s shoulders jolted. She was worried that her face was saying "bulls-eye," but right now she figured it was better to focus on finding an excuse.

"Kinda, since the wood chips were stabbing me."
"Kusuharsan!"
"KyaaaaAAAAAA!"

At the same time Yuuri grabbed Meru"s arm, they heard a piercing scream from the sports ground.
Meru and Yuuri immediately turned their faces toward the field.

 
On the sports ground, the cheer battle had already started and the duo turned their heads just in time to see the red team"s last performance, that of the cheer head and the vice head; in other words, Fuuga and Laila"s dance performance had begun.

Fuuga and Laila danced in a mirrored style, like two sides of the same coin. Their long uniform jackets fluttered and their serious eyes glistened.
Their breathing was in sync, and watching them was so mesmerizing that one forgot even to blink.
Sweat flew from their tempestuous dance, causing their surroundings to sparkle.
At the last moment, they both grinned and jumped with a deep "Ha!", landing beautifully on the ground.

There was a moment of silence. Then, vigorous applause fell upon them.

Of course, hearing the reaction from the audience, the result was obvious.
The red team took the most points for the cheer battle and finally, the second years" score tied with the third years".

The outcome was staked on the final representative relay.

"Aidou-kun."

Meru opened her mouth while looking at the far off sports ground bursting with cheers.

"I want to win. If I run, there is of course a chance that I"ll lose, right? I get that, too. I get it, but why…"

Meru and Yuuri"s gazes intertwined. Yuuri stared at her and waited for her next words. Meru relaxed her lips and gave a small smile.

"I want to run. I want to see everyone"s happy faces…like that when I run. Aidou-kun. Please, just this time, ignore it."

Meru"s eyes were earnest. Yuuri could perceive her never-bending will in them.
He gave a sigh and put his forehead against hers with a thud.
Meru was just surprised by his unYuuri-like behavior.

"…Aidou-kun?"
"I really want to stop you, because I don"t want to see you suffer. But if you show me that kind of face, there"s no way I can stop you, is there…"

Yuuri closed his eyes as though he had decided something.

"If it"s impossible for you, please say so immediately. I"ll run however many laps in your place. So…"

Yuuri separated his face from Meru"s and instead held out his hand.

"Let"s win. Definitely."

Meru"s eyes opened wide.
Yuuri probably didn"t completely agree with her decision. Even so, he respected her will.

"Yeah!"

Meru grabbed Yuuri"s hand.

They definitely wouldn"t lose.
Meru firmly put strength into her right foot.

think this might be my favorite ship of the group tbh. But all the interactions are always so "d"awwwwwwww" it hurts. Anyway, chapter ½ for today! (This one was really short apparently.)