Ponytail and Protein Bars 11
“Ah, wait!”
Ignoring her protest, he took off her brand-new running shoes and socks.
“A blister?”
The skin on her heel was exposed and peeled back. He grimaced at the sight even though he wasn’t the one injured.
“You should have just told me honestly instead of pretending to be a sulky child.”
“…I’m sorry.”
When he glared at her reproachfully, Chika looked downhearted.
“Wait here. I’ll go buy some band-aids.”
He had prepared a water bottle, snacks, and a towel, but he hadn’t thought to bring band-aids. Not anticipating an injury was Sōma’s oversight.
While reflecting on the situation, he searched on his smartphone and found that there was a convenience store about ten minutes walk away.
“Just stay put here. I’ll be right back.”
He hurried towards the convenience store that his smartphone had directed him to.
“W-Wait, please.”
Chika tightly grasped the hem of Sōma’s tracksuit. She looked up at him with an expression that conveyed both loneliness and fear.
“I really don’t know this area. Being left alone in a place like this feels… lonely, or maybe scary…”
“Is that why you were asking for a piggyback ride?”
It’s not surprising that she would feel anxious about being left alone in an unfamiliar place while unable to walk properly. After all, this girl is timid by nature. That’s precisely why she made such an absurd request to Sōma to ‘watch over her’.
Understanding the situation, Sōma swung his running backpack to the front and showed his empty back to Chika as he crouched down in front of her.
“Here.”
“Is it really okay? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“I’m not so bad that I’d let you cry just to protect my pride, Chika.”
It was the first time in his life that he was giving a girl a piggyback ride. It was nerve-wracking and embarrassing. He wondered what he would do if someone he knew saw him and teased him about it.
But such thoughts couldn’t justify making Chika sad.
“T-then, excuse me.”
Chika hesitantly stretched out her arms and entrusted her body to him. He stood up, feeling her presence against his entire back.
“Alright, let’s go. Tell me right away if anything happens.”
He felt her nodding quietly and started walking towards the convenience store.
“It’s strange. I’m not as nervous as I thought I’d be.”
“Did you say something?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
He had thought for sure that he would be nervous and embarrassed. He had been incredibly embarrassed when they had been in a similar position during a reading session.
The pressure of her chest against his back, the unintentional touch of her thighs, her breath tickling his ear, and the scent of shampoo from her fluffy brown hair.
All the ingredients to make a high school boy’s heart race were there in abundance.
Yet, there was no feeling of shame or excitement.
Well, strictly speaking, such feelings were indeed budding deep inside him. However, a strong resolve was acting as a lid, suppressing them from surfacing.
He had a strong determination to protect Chika.
He was the only one who could protect her with her injured leg and inability to walk.
It was a task that only he could do, a role given solely to him.
A noble sense of duty, like that of a knight given the task of protecting a princess, propelled Sōma forward. There was no room for any unnecessary feelings or thoughts to intrude.
After a while, Chika on his back apologized with a sense of guilt.
“Um, I’m sorry. I was told that new shoes are prone to causing injuries, and it turned out to be true.”
“I’m the one who should apologize. I pushed you too hard.”
A twenty-kilometer run was an excessive goal for someone who doesn’t exercise regularly. It’s no wonder that someone unaccustomed to running would end up with blisters.
“I was in a hurry because I wanted you to resume the tasting session, Chika. My bad.”
He apologized while continuing to walk.
“Did you really want me to do the tasting that much?”
“Of course. Chika, didn’t you say it youself? That you’re the only one who gets to be my exclusive taste tester.”
“…That’s right.”
Despite being injured, Chika chuckled happily.
“Hey Sōma-san, even though today’s results were not good, I didn’t hate moving my body as much as I thought. They say the season of sports is in autumn, so let’s do something together again, okay?”
“I’m up for anything if you want to. Is there something you want to do?”
When Sōma asked, Chika tightened the grip of the arm she had around his neck and pondered,
“Well, I’m interested in ball games, but there aren’t many that two people can play. Maybe tennis, table tennis, or badminton?”
“I played table tennis and badminton at the community center when I was in elementary school, but I’ve never played tennis. Have you, Chika?”
“I played a little badminton for fun when I was in elementary school too.”
“So we’re both amateurs. None of those will be fun or much of an exercise if we can’t keep a rally going.”
“That’s true when you put it that way. Hmm, what would be a good choice then?”
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Chika was deep in thought while being carried.
“Baseball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, dodgeball…”
“Out of those, basketball might be the only one we can play together.”
They could rent a basketball court at the municipal sports center and play a one-on-one game.
“Basketball, huh? I don’t really want to do that.”
Despite having suggested it herself, she seemed reluctant for some reason.
“Do you dislike basketball?”
“Not dislike. It’s just that it hurts.”
“Hurts? I don’t remember basketball being a painful sport.”
While martial arts, rugby, and American football might be rough, basketball is a sport where rough physical contact between players is considered a foul.
“With basketball, you have to jump around a lot, right? That, well, it hurts when my breasts bounce. To prevent that, I need to firmly secure them, but that in itself is tight and painful.”
“…Don’t talk about things like that in this situation.”
He admonished her with a blush on his cheeks.
The lid of his determination seemed like it might start rattling.
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