A new day with countless possibilities begins at Miharu's house. Rei and Miharu, both in sports jerseys, practice volleyball in the backyard.
Miharu, sweating and exhausted, breathes heavily as she passes the ball to Rei.
"Can we take a break?"
She leans forward, resting her hands on her knees. Rei catches the ball with ease and replies casually,
"Really…? We just had one."
Miharu, breathing heavily and clearly exhausted, pants,
"Ha… ha… yeah, I need another."
They head inside. Rei drops onto the sofa while Miharu returns with snacks and a chilled cola, the glass filled with clinking ice.
Miharu Smiling, sets down. Placing the snacks and cola on the table.
"Here we go, let's eat."
Rei grabs a cracker and takes a bit. Casually saying.
"Shinohara-sensei was right about you—you really suck at volleyball."
Miharu awkwardly, slight blush, take a sip of cola.
"I did that bad?"
Rei pauses for a second before answering.
"No, you're a fast learner. I watched your match yesterday—you were nervous the whole time."
Miharu nods, munching on a cracker.
"That's why I asked to practice in private."
"Come to think of it, you're already doing better than you were in that match. You just need a little confidence."
Miharu glances at her wrist, twisting it slightly to ease the ache.
"My wrist really hurts…"
"Let me see."
Rei, without thinking too much, gently takes her hand in his and begins to massage it. Miharu blushes, shocked, her eyes lighting up.
"You'll get used to it."
His hands are so muscular…
Miharu glances at him—his calm face, her hand in his, sweat dripping from his hair, his jersey fluttering in the breeze.
Rei continues massaging, noticing how much smaller her hand is compared to his, and how soft it feels.
Her hands are so soft…
Suddenly, he realizes what he's thinking and quickly lets go, flustered, looking away. Miharu laughs quietly to herself at his reaction.
To change the topic, Rei looks around and gestures across the room. His gaze stops near the kitchen, at a spot that looks like a small bar.
"Is that a private bar area?"
Miharu turns to look and says with a smile,
"Yeah, my dad likes variety. If you want, I can make you a mocktail. No alcohol."
Rei feels calmer after changing the topic. Taking a breath, he replies casually,
"Nah… maybe another time. Besides, we should be practicing."
Miharu's eyebrows lower. She turns to the snacks, grabbing a handful of crackers at once.
"Already? Let me eat first."
She shoves them into her mouth, chewing quickly. Rei smiles and takes a sip of his cola.
"Okay."
After some snacks, rest, and a little chatting, they practiced until evening. Both were visibly tired—sweaty and out of breath.
"So… how did I do?" Miharu asked.
Rei smiled, breathing heavily.
"You did well today."
Miharu paused to catch her breath, her throat dry.
"I really… need water. I'll get some."
She leaves, then returns with two bottles. With a soft smile, she places one in front of Rei.
"Thanks. You just need to work on your legs, and you'll do great."
"How, exactly?"
Rei looks at her suspiciously.
"Wait… you don't work out?"
Miharu tilts her head and replies in a silly tone,
"I don't."
Rei shuts his eyes as realization hits him.
"That explains a lot…
You should do leg workouts. They'll help you avoid fatigue and jump higher. Just like I do."
He lifts one side of his shorts to show off his toned leg muscles.
Seeing his legs, Miharu lifts one side of her own jersey shorts to check hers—plain, with no definition at all. She pouts in silly disappointment.
"Mine are plain..."
Thighs—damn it... I shouldn't look.
Rei blushes and quickly looks away. Miharu notices and awkwardly covers herself, her face turning red.
It's fine… we feel the same way about each other.
Rei slowly turns back and says,
"I should be going. Bye."
Miharu smiles and waves. "Goodbye."
Rei waves back.
"Bye. Thanks."
Miharu watches him leave, recalling the small moments they shared that day. Each memory feels precious, quietly warming her heart.
A few days later, at the volleyball court. The girls are playing while the boys watch from the sidelines. Miharu leaps into the air and smashes the ball cleanly across the net.
I did it…!
Miharu beams with pride. From the side, Rei watches her, smiling. But as Miharu lands, her foot twists. She collapses to the ground with a cry of pain.
"Stop!" Shinohara-sensei shouts, immediately halting the match.
The girls rush toward Miharu in panic. Shinohara-sensei hurries over as well, kneeling beside her, concern etched across her face.
"Stop!!! .... Can you walk, Miharu?"
Miharu touched her foot and gasped in pain.
"I think it's… not okay…"
Rei, clearly worried, hurried over to see what had happened. Shinohara-sensei gently removed Miharu's shoe. Her foot was swollen and red.
Shinohara-sensei turned to Rei and called out, "Rei."
He straightened instantly. "Yes, ma'am?"
"Help me. We're taking her to the nurse."
Miharu blushed slightly as Rei lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, closer to him than ever before.
She felt strangely calm, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
Rei, on the other hand, couldn't stop worrying. Together, they carried her toward the nurse's office.
Afterward, Shinohara-sensei tells Rei to drop Miharu home since they live nearby, and she contacts her parents.
Late afternoon, on the street. Rei carries Miharu on his back. Miharu blushes deeply. Her leg is bandaged.
"You don't have to carry me… It's not like I can't walk."
Rei quickly respond.
"I can't risk it.
The nurse said walking will make it worse."
Miharu hides her face, embarrassed.
"But you didn't even let me walk a bit!
Everyone was watching…"
Rei got irritated and raised his voice slightly.
"You care about that, but not your health?"
Miharu, blushing and annoyed, shot back,
"What's that supposed to mean? I did the workouts you told me to."
Rei replied firmly,
"But you still fell, right?"
Miharu, frustrated, pulled back her shoulders and snapped,
"So now it's my fault? Just let me down already! I'm not a child. This is embarrassing!"
Rei answered in a slow, serious tone,
"Stop. Seriously. You think working out for one week will do anything?"
Miharu was clearly offended, clenching her fists.
What!?
Rei continued in the same rhythm.
"It will just puts stress on your body when you're not used to it. I've never seen you do physical activity before."
Miharu was hurt inside, her thoughts spiraling in anger.
Who does he think he is…?
Rei, still heated, continued sharply,
"You don't work out, you don't socialize… It's like your body is underdeveloped or something. Same goes for your voice too."
That last line struck deep.
Miharu went silent, holding her breath. Rei noticed, worry flickering in his eyes—but his tone remained firm.
"You push yourself too hard… You don't take care of yourself. You're a child. So shut up and stay up there."
Her anger slowly melted away. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
He… he's just worried about me.
She remembered her argument with Yamada-sensei—
"If a man can't win an argument, I won't marry him in the first place."
Miharu gently shifted her hands on his shoulders and replied softly,
"Okay… I'll be careful next time."
Rei, still annoyed, grudgingly replied slowly,
"Fine."
Miharu paused for a second, realizing she was on his back—Rei was carrying her like a princess. Suddenly, she hugged him from behind.
Rei froze, completely red. His anger melted away.
"What happened…?"
Miharu giggled, smiling and blushing.
"Nothing. You just worry too much."
Rei, red all over, tried to walk the same as before, screaming inside.
Her chest is… She's so close… If this keeps up, I don't know if I can make it to her house…
As Rei walked past his own house, carrying Miharu on his back, Yuzuki watched them from behind a nearby wall.
She saw how close they were—how Miharu clung to him with a soft smile—and slowly crouched down.
Tears spilled from Yuzuki's eyes as she silently broke down.