Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 207 Illusions
Tokyo Budokan.

After the long and tedious opening ceremony, Shiratori Seiya sat in the rest area of ​​the C University Kendo Women's Team. He originally wanted to sit a little further back, since the seat he was in was surrounded by girls and would be too conspicuous. People who didn't know him might think he was an assistant coach of the Kendo team.

But he couldn't resist Saori clinging to his arm and insisting that he sit there. Especially with her big, bright eyes looking at him pitifully, with an expression that said, "If you refuse, Saori will cry for you," it was really hard for him to say no.

However, Shiratori Seiya didn't seem to care. After all, what happened at the yakiniku restaurant last night meant that when he went to the dojo with Saori this morning, everyone, from the C University kendo team to his own school, was staring at him.

The girl wore a gossipy and curious expression, while the boy's face showed more jealousy.

Needless to say, the events of last night have probably been posted countless times on the forums of both schools.

As for why she knew that her school's post had also been published, it's because as soon as she entered the venue this morning, Mio Takahashi called her and asked what had happened between her and Saori last night.

They subtly inquired whether she slept alone.

Shiratori Seiya could naturally understand that he couldn't pretend he didn't understand, otherwise Mio would definitely become suspicious. He had already noticed that since Mio began her systematic actor training, she had become much more perceptive in this regard.

Therefore, a direct answer was necessary, so the responses were limited to, "Their kendo club booked rooms in advance," "The rules are strict," and "Saori has a match tomorrow, how could something like this happen?"

After hearing what he said, Mio's mood improved significantly, but she still reminded him that filming was about to begin, implying that he should take good care of himself.

He readily agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Shiratori Seiya found that telling such lies had become second nature to him, and his guilt was gradually diminishing...

Without realizing it, I seem to have gone further and further down the path of being a scumbag.

Shiratori Seiya sighed briefly before turning his attention back to Saori's kendo match that day.

Although he hadn't studied the rules of the national tournament for several years, he understood them after listening to Saori's explanation.

As in previous years, this year's finals used a fierce single-elimination format for both the team and individual competitions.

The so-called single-elimination tournament system means that if you lose, you go home, and if you win, you advance. There is no revival round.

Individual competitions are easy to understand; you just need to keep winning.

Team competitions typically consist of 5-7 people, with the winner determined by accumulating points through one-on-one battles. If the total score is tied, the winner is determined by a representative battle (a tiebreaker match between designated players from both sides).

"Come on, if we tie the score, that'll be a victory, right?"

Having just learned the rules, Shiratori Seiya heard such comments and couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing, as if these people blindly trusted Saori.

However, anyone with a modicum of emotional intelligence wouldn't say something like that, right?
While it's a good thing, it will undoubtedly put pressure on the yarn...

Sure enough, upon hearing these words, Yokoyama Miyu immediately glared at the girl and said irritably:

"Naokawa, what kind of talk is that? If you don't give it your all and slack off even a little, you're bound to lose. This is a team competition. If you're only thinking about relying on one person, you might as well not participate at all."

Seeing that she was angry, the girl named Naokawa quickly bowed and apologized:
"Sorry……"

But then his lips moved, and he explained:
"However, club president, I didn't mean to hold back. Our first-round opponent is Kanoya Sports University, they've won the championship for three years now, right? A draw is already pretty impressive..."

"Don't say things like 'a draw is impressive,' say 'we're guaranteed to win!'"

"Yes, boss, we'll win!"

Naokawa answered with great enthusiasm, his back ramrod straight, almost as if he were saluting Yokoyama Miyu.

Shiratori Seiya found the scene before him somewhat amusing. He then turned to look at Saori and noticed that she seemed completely oblivious to what was happening. Her clear eyes were fixed on the ground below, gleaming with light.

Seeing this, Shiratori Seiya was taken aback. He followed her gaze downwards but found nothing, so he said softly:
"Saori?"

Hearing him call her name, Saori Hasegawa didn't turn around. Her gaze remained fixed intently on the competition field below, and she parted her red lips slightly to say:
"Qing Zai."

"what happened?"

Whether it was because he drank milk last night or because holding her while she slept was very effective, Shiratori Seiya could sense that Saori seemed very excited.

"do you remember?"

"You told Saori that your dream was for her to one day stand on the national stage and win first place; your dream was for her to one day become the strongest fencer..."

The girl's voice trembled slightly, and her right hand clenched unconsciously.

Hearing her words, Shiratori Seiya's expression froze, and memories of the past flooded back, revealing a look of nostalgia in his eyes.

Indeed, as Saori said, when he was with Saori, he did many things poorly and not well enough in terms of the details he did for her, which was not as good as how he treated Shione and Mio.

But it took a lot of effort.

When a person invests a great deal of energy in something, it is inevitable that they will have high expectations for it.

So when Saori asked him what his dream was, he said it was that she could become the strongest.

He would never have remembered these things if Saori hadn't brought them up again.

Looking back now, I realize I put too much pressure on Saori without even realizing it. I even had a few dreams back then about watching Saori compete from the audience.

I fantasized about reaching the national championship with Saori, cheering her on from the sidelines, and watching her win the title.

At the time, I thought that Saori and I would be very happy, and it would probably be the happiest moment ever...

But I'm ashamed to say that he broke his promise.

She always kept it in her heart and kept striving for his 'dream'...

Shiratori Seiya opened his mouth but couldn't speak, unconsciously infected by the atmosphere emanating from Saori.

For a moment his eyes went unfocused.

It felt as if I had never left Saori, as if I had stepped into a scene I had once dreamed of, as if I had truly been by Saori's side all along, working hard until now...

'Contestants from C University, L University... in the individual competition, please proceed to the designated venue...'

The announcements have already started playing over the loudspeaker.

"Kiyo, Saori has been waiting for this day for a long time."

As Hasegawa Saori spoke, she raised her hand and swung the bamboo sword.

'Shuh! '

The sound of the bamboo sword slicing through the air exploded.

She turned her head to look at Shiratori Seiya, a clear, lotus-like smile appearing on her face.

"Saori will not let you down."

"..."

"Saori, it's time to get ready."

Before Shiratori Seiya could speak, Yokoyama Miyu urged him on.

"Ah, just a moment."

Hasegawa Saori realized what was happening, and her fighting spirit vanished. She moved closer to Shiratori Seiya, cupped his face in front of everyone, and kissed him hard.

'Boo.'

With a clear sound, their lips parted.

Saori licked her pink lips, her bright black eyes looking at him with a smile:
"Qingzai's energy has been replenished."

"Saori's going now~"

"come on."

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Shiratori Seiya was caught off guard by Saori's sudden attack, but he still reached out and hugged her, then watched the girl walk off the field, looking back every few steps.

Once all the individual competition participants were arranged, Yokoyama Miyu finally had some free time and walked up to Shiratori Seiya.

Her shadow blocked his view, and Shiratori Seiya looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Can I sit down?"

"Please feel free to do so."

It was someone else's property to begin with, so Shiratori Seiya naturally had no objections.

Do you think Saori will win?

She uttered those words right off the bat. Shiratori Seiya glanced at her, feeling somewhat puzzled, but still replied without hesitation:

"meeting."

Seeing his straightforward answer, Yokoyama Miyu couldn't find fault with it, but still sighed and said:

"You'd better pray that Saori really wins this time."

Seemingly realizing that her words were somewhat disjointed, she explained:
"She told me more than once that she cared a lot about this competition, and that she worked harder than anyone else during the two weeks of training."

"So, if Saori loses, I hope you can comfort her properly... Of course, I'm just saying if, just to give you a heads-up."

After saying that, Yokoyama Miyu sighed, took a blue tag out of her pocket and handed it to Shiratori Seiya, staring at his face as she said:

"Although I don't know why Saori is so fixated on you, a scumbag who cheats on her with multiple women, there's nothing I can do about her insistence on having you."

"This is your club support pass. It's your job to go down and cheer for Saori, isn't it?"

……
-
(End of this chapter)