Cheerleading Club

There was only one day left before they went abroad. After training again that morning and making Hinata finish his Protein Powder, Hayato tactfully left first again.

Whether in technique or stamina, it was impossible to make huge progress in just a few days. Hayato was not in a hurry. After all, there was still a week left, and he had great confidence in Hinata. Hinata, evolved after the summer training camp, would definitely surprise everyone.

On the way to school, Kiyoko worriedly asked Hayato whether he had prepared everything. She seemed quite concerned about him. Hayato patted his chest and promised that he was ready, so Kiyoko did not ask any further.

Of course, regarding yesterday's confession misunderstanding, he had reported it to Kiyoko at the first opportunity that evening. As a man, how could he hide something like that? After hearing the whole story, Kiyoko had actually laughed. Mainly because someone as smart as Hayato could have such a huge misunderstanding. A clever person acting foolish—that was Hayato.

Hayato felt wronged about that too. Who wrote something so vague? The key was that it had been in the form of a love letter, only for it to turn out to be an invitation to join the basketball club.

Kiyoko had known long ago that someone wanted to confess to Hayato, but she had never mentioned it to him. When it came to romance, the girls here differed from those in Yanhuang. Someone liking your sweetheart only meant he was attractive, something to be proud of. What people here valued most was also appearances.

Many heads of household would be driven out by their wives if they went straight home after work. It was as though getting home on time after work meant you had not made it in life. Neighbors would talk about such things in casual conversation too. It was a strange way of thinking.

After morning training, Hayato yawned as he listened to the teacher lecture about history from the podium. He had been short on sleep these past two days because he had to get up early to train Hinata. Fortunately, his drowsiness was not too severe, and he could still endure it. Tanaka beside him was not doing so well. With the exams over, he had relaxed lately. His head bobbed up and down sleepily, as if he would fall asleep the next second.

At last, noon arrived. Hayato took out his bento and ate lunch with Tanaka. The bentos Kiyoko prepared were always lavish, and the main dish was different every day. It was obvious she put a lot of thought into them.

"Damn it, it's braised meat and potatoes today."

Tanaka bit his chopsticks as he looked enviously at Hayato's bento box. That was braised meat and potatoes made by Kiyoko-senpai. Though Hayato did not know why everyone was so obsessed with the dish, he still shared some with Tanaka. As always, Tanaka looked like a believer receiving a divine blessing.

Hayato planned to catch up on sleep during lunch break, while Tanaka had already fallen into a deep slumber. Hayato had just rested his head on the desk and had not even fallen asleep when he was called up. The teacher asked him to carry a whole stack of notebooks to the office. He had no choice; he could not refuse a teacher's request. Carrying the stack, Hayato ran into someone he knew in the hallway.

Hatoya Kohane, who was with her friend, spotted Hayato at once. The pink-haired girl came over and greeted him with easy familiarity.

"Yaho, good afternoon, Kuroba-kun. That looks pretty heavy. Need a hand?"

"Good afternoon, Hatoya. It's not that heavy."

Hayato glanced in the direction the two girls had come from and guessed they had just been to the restroom. Girls always moved in groups. When Hatoya offered to help, Hayato smiled and declined her kindness. Her tiny frame did not look like it could have much strength.

Hatoya Kohane's friend, a girl with a blonde ponytail, wore a hint of guilt on her face when she heard Hayato's name. She probably knew about yesterday and felt sorry on behalf of her friend.

After exchanging a few simple greetings, Hayato said goodbye to them. He wanted to finish this task quickly and get back for a nap.

Once Hayato had gone far away, the blonde ponytailed girl looked at her innocent-looking friend and could not resist flicking her forehead.

"Ugh, that hurt, Uki-chan. What did Kouha do wrong?"

Hatoya Kohane covered her forehead with both hands and complained pitifully, her eyes brimming with tears.

"That letter from yesterday, idiot. Why did you use that method? Kuroba-kun might have misunderstood."

"Huh? Misunderstood what?"

"A love letter, obviously. Look at what you wrote. How does it look like an invitation to join a club? Kuroba-kun must have mistaken it for a love letter. And you actually went and talked to him just now. I was dying of embarrassment just watching."

As Hatoya Kohane's friend, Sarutobi Yuki had learned about it yesterday after it was already over. The moment she heard that Kohane had slipped the letter into his shoe locker, she knew something had gone wrong. Once she learned what the letter said, she had been speechless. How had this airheaded idiot made an invitation to join a club sound like a love letter, then deliberately put it in a shoe locker?

"Ugh... then, then should I explain it to Kuroba-kun again?"

"Forget it. I remember our school's Volleyball Club is entering the Spring High qualifiers. When that happens, let's have our cheerleading club go cheer for them as an apology."

That was right. Hatoya Kohane, the girl with the body of a little child, was not only the basketball team's manager but also the president of Karasuno High's cheerleading club. Since they could not gather five members, they could not officially become a club. On top of that, Karasuno did not have any particularly outstanding sports teams, so the cheerleading group had remained an unofficial club.

After lecturing her friend, Sarutobi Yuki rubbed her reddened forehead. The two of them then returned to their classroom.

After completing the teacher's task, Hayato successfully caught up on his sleep. Reenergized, he studied seriously that afternoon. Once school ended, he went to find his homeroom teacher and explained that he needed to take leave tomorrow.

It was already after the final exams, and Hayato's grades had placed him in the top three of his year, so his request for leave was approved easily. After bowing to thank the teacher, Hayato left the office and told Kiyoko the good news.

"Kiyoko-senpai, I've finished requesting my leave."

Before long, Kiyoko's message came through as well.

"I just finished requesting mine too."

A kitten making a V sign.

Since school had ended, no one cared about students using their phones on campus. Hayato happily slipped his phone into his pocket and hummed a tune as he headed toward the Volleyball Club's changing room.

"Kiyoko-senpai, you seem especially happy today. You've been smiling the whole time."

In the girls' changing room, Karasuno's other manager, Hitoka-chan, looked curiously at Kiyoko, who could not suppress the smile on her face.

"Huh, have I?"

Kiyoko subconsciously touched her face, somewhat surprised. She was looking forward to it, sure, but not to this extent, right?

"Yes, you have. Look."

Hitoka-chan took out the small mirror she carried with her and held it up to Kiyoko's face. Kiyoko saw that the corners of her lips were turned up in the reflection, and she really did look very happy.

"Mm. Hitoka-chan, you need to keep what I'm about to tell you a secret."

After thinking it over, Kiyoko decided to tell Hitoka about it. Hitoka immediately nodded, saying she absolutely would not tell anyone.

"So, Kiyoko-senpai, you're going to Hawaii with Kuroba-senpai? That's so nice~"

After hearing the full story, Hitoka clasped her hands together in front of her chest, looking deeply envious.

"But if Kuroba-senpai invited you, then you two..."

Hitoka-chan raised her eyebrows and did not finish the sentence, but her meaning was obvious. Two childhood friends traveling abroad together for three days and two nights—it would be strange if they did not get together.

"For now, we should focus on the matches. We can talk about that later."

Kiyoko skillfully changed the subject, and Hitoka was inspired by her words. Her passion flared up, and after spending this time with the Volleyball Club, she had great hopes for everyone reaching the National Championship.