The Happiness That The Shinigami Gave Me - V1 Chapter 18

Volume 1 Chapter 18

“Haaah!”

A ferocious scream echoed, followed by a loud step. I failed to follow the movement of the shinai as it moved too quickly for me to see.

The power she unleashed was beyond my imagination. I was clenching my fists tightly in the audience seat, while shutting my mouth shut. It was my attempt to not be crushed by the atmosphere.

It was late autumn, in November. The north wind had started to blow, making the area around Tokyo Budoukan felt a taste of its coldness.

Currently, I was watching a kendo match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Middle School Autumn Tournament, the so-called Rookie of the Year tournament.

I was watching Natsuhara-san.

This was because I wanted to see her match. I wanted to know more about the thing that she put the most time and effort into.

I convinced myself that it wouldn’t be unnatural for me to go and cheer for her. I mean, I was the official stalker of Natsuhara-san, so I had a proper reason to go.

And so, I went and was overwhelmed by her vigor.

Normally, she’d look at everything with cold eyes, but currently, she let her opponent taste her fighting spirit in full force.

It felt like I could hear her heartbeat through her bogū.

Moved by her momentum, I started screaming, both mentally and physically,

“Do your best, Natsuhara-san!”

*   *   *

“Did you see my match the other day?”

The next day, during our committee’s morning cleanup, Natsuhara-san asked me that question.

Although our height wasn’t that far off, she was on the taller side for a girl, while I was on the shorter side for a boy, so it felt intimidating to face her.

The corner of her lips were raised. Witnessing this, I panicked. I knew that I shouldn’t have gone without her permission.

“Sorry, I just wanted to see your match, Natsuhara-san.”

When I honestly confessed, she dropped her intimidating aura.

“I noticed you before the match started. Stop sneaking around like that, you surprised me. My grip was off because of you.”

So she said, but I didn’t even notice a drop in her performance. I mean, she was the runner up of the whole tournament. Though, if she really did feel uncomfortable about that, an apology would be in order.

“Sorry. But, I was sitting in the corner, how did you even notice me?”

“My eyes are good.”

She tapped her temple.

“Anyway, if you’re going to cheer me on, tell me in advance. It irks me if you sneak around like that.”

“Eh? I can cheer you on?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Of course you can. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“I got promoted from stalker to friend, then?”

She looked at me dumbfoundedly as she shrugged her shoulders.

“What are you on about? You were the one who asked me to be friends with you. Did you forget?”

Right, I said that. I didn’t forget about that at all.

It was just…I thought that she didn’t take those words seriously.

She turned her back on me and started sweeping.

The broom, made of bamboo, swayed following a set rhythm as it collected the scattered fallen leaves.

One batch after another, the endless pile of colored leaves were being gathered.

They fluttered around, carried by the wind.

Red, scarlet, crimson, yellow, brown, orange. Leaves of various colors gathered around our feet.

“You know what, Yamaoka-kun? Well, you might not understand this because you didn’t join any clubs, but being cheered on makes me feel happy. I mean, the other person went out of their way to do that, you know…”

So she said without turning around to face me. It seemed like more sincere words came out of her mouth when we didn’t see each other face to face. Then, she continued,

“Also, it was the first time I’ve ever had someone cheering me on.”

TL: Iyo

ED: samheart564

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