Chapter 220: There's another way..
The last bell of the morning rang on time, signaling the end of the final class before lunch.
Hungry just like her students, Ms. Teacher picked up her teaching materials and left the classroom without hesitation.
After the teacher's departure, students, either arm in arm joking on their way to the school cafeteria or convenience store, or pulling out lunches from home to eat right at their desks, began to fill the room with chatter.
Those who brought lunch from home were in the minority; after all, without a mother's help, waking up early to cook was a difficult task for most students.
And even those with a mother's help often preferred not to add to the weight of their school bags.
The Haruno siblings usually ate in the cafeteria unless there were special circumstances.
Therefore, Haruno Ayato had initially planned to invite Sasaki to join him and his sister Kasumi for lunch in the school cafeteria.
However, probably feeling 'shy', the boy declined his invitation.
Seeing that Sasaki had no intention of joining him at the cafeteria, Ayato said bye and headed off to find Kasumi on his own.
Watching him leave the classroom, Sasaki, after Natsuha Shinomiya and the silly Chifuyu had gone out to eat, went to meet Akane Nanao at the designated location.
She had chosen an unused activity room on the fifth floor of the neighboring building as their meeting place.
Upon arriving at the agreed spot, Sasaki raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Thump, thump.
"Come in," was heard from inside.
The familiar, sweet yet cool voice of the girl reached his ears through the wooden door of the activity room.
Confirming he was at the right place, Sasaki slid open the wooden sliding door and entered the vacant activity room.
Like the usual classrooms, it was a square room, but without the three-foot podium and the numerous desks and chairs.
The furnishings in the activity room were simple, with blue curtains and almost no decorations.
However, the lack of items didn't mean it was dirty.
On the contrary, it was very clean, clearly maintained regularly by someone.
In the middle of the room, there were a few tables and chairs, seemingly brought in from somewhere.
Hm, there were no cameras or anything so it was a perfect room.
Nanao Akane, who had invited him here, was sitting on a chair.
In front of her on the desk, were snacks that looked like they were bought from a convenience store.
Because of her urgency, Sasaki had given up the chance to eat lunch in the school cafeteria.
These snacks were part of what they had agreed upon during class, serving as her lunch and compensation to him.
After a quick glance around, Sasaki extended his left hand backward, pulling the door closed along its track.
After the soft collision sound of the door frame, he broke the silence:
"You came quite early, didn't you attend the last class?"
"After listening to the recording you sent me, how could I focus on class?"
In Nanao's eyes, Sasaki was her ally, friend, and benefactor.
As he was 'one of her own,' she did not hide her feelings of loss and distress.
Pulling out a chair, Sasaki sat across from her and tore open a pack of potato chips, placing it in front of her.
"Eat something first, a full stomach can make one feel better."
"Yeah."
"This activity room is nice, you knew about this place?" Sasaki, also tearing open a pack of spicy chips, looked around again and casually asked her.
"The school is large, and there are many vacant classrooms like this. Many students find a classroom to use as a resting place during lunchtime, didn't you know?"
"Did I not mention it? I only came to school last week; I was on leave before that."
"Was there a family emergency?"
"Yeah, I was hospitalized after a car accident."
"..."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay. I'm sitting here perfectly fine, aren't I? That means nothing serious happened."
After some light conversation, Sasaki twisted open a bottle of water and placed it in front of her, bringing the conversation back to the main topic:
"So, what are you planning to do about that recording?"
"I'm thinking...,"
Hearing his words, the girl placed the bag of chips she was holding down on the table and looked up hesitantly,
"I want to play the recording for Shou-kun... misunderstandings need to be cleared up, or they could lead to more problems."
"But..."
"If I play the recording for Shou-kun, I'm not sure if he will confront Tanabe about it."
"If Tanabe finds out... it could cause trouble for you, Sasaki-kun."
"But if we don't clear things up, I'm afraid the misunderstanding might grow even bigger..."
The bright sunlight cast summer sea-blue hues as it filtered through the half-open blue curtains.
The breeze blowing through the window fluttered her auburn hair, carrying a faint sweet scent, which seemed to warm the cool air, adding a lazy comfort to the room.
Sitting casually in her chair, Sasaki nonchalantly picked up a chip and tossed it into his mouth.
After she finished speaking, he licked the spicy powder off his lips and smiled nonchalantly:
"If you want to tell him, just tell him. Don't worry about me. If Tanabe comes looking for trouble, I'll handle it."
Nanao Akane is currently the manager of the baseball club and had also participated in the swimming club.
As a girl involved in sports clubs, she didn't think it was a minus for boys to be competitive.
Whether or not they could actually fight wasn't the point; such boys at least wouldn't run from a problem and could provide a strong sense of security.
But that doesn't mean she encourages resolving issues through fighting.
Sasaki was her friend.
He would be fighting someone because of her.
This kind of action that causes significant trouble for others was unsettling for her, even if he himself didn't mind.
"Actually, we don't have to play the recording for Shou-kun. I can just say I overheard your conversation. Shou-kun will believe me just the same."
Indeed, if he didn't believe it, there's no way to explain how Nanao would know he told someone else about their relationship.
Nodding slightly, Sasaki ate another chip and asked softly,
"And after he believes it? Do you want him to let it go, or do you want him to confront Tanabe?"
"If he lets it go, Tanabe will continue to find other ways to make Katase Shouya lose his eligibility to compete."
"If he confronts Tanabe, and if Tanabe doesn't want to create a conflict, he'll probably make excuses for how you knew."
"Then, who do you think Shouya will believe?"
Pulling a tissue from the table to wipe the spice from his fingers,
Sasaki extended two fingers towards the girl:
"Two possibilities."
"The first possibility is that he believes Tanabe's words and starts to doubt you."
Seeing Nanao open her mouth to object, he quickly added,
"Don't think it's impossible."
"He secretly took pictures of you and me, and then told Katase Shouya, and you found a reason to slander him. In Shouya's opinion, this reason is completely feasible."
Any attempt to argue was cut off by Sasaki.
Nanao pursed her lips, remaining silent.
Facing her silence, the boy continued:
"There's also a second possibility."
"And that is Shouya still trusts you."
Hearing this possibility, the girl instinctively showed a soft, cherry-blossom-like tender smile.
And the boy also displayed a grin that could be described by Natsuha Shinomiya as 'mischevious':
"But the possible result of this is that Tanabe will get angry and embarrassed by Katase's questioning, and then goes around in the baseball club spreading rumors about you and Katase Shouya."
"The baseball club spends all day training; it's not only boring but also exhausting."
"At a time like this, suddenly having some drama to discuss, regardless of the truth, they'd definitely enjoy talking about it."
"And if it catches Coach Tougou's attention... that would be even more troublesome."
Hearing his reasonable words, the budding cherry blossom of a smile on Nanao's face seemed to wither away and her beautiful face now bore a bitter expression:
"So am I and Shou-kun supposed to just keep misunderstanding each other?"
Sitting up straight, Sasaki rested his left arm on the table and flicked her forehead with his right hand to cheer her up, smiling as he spoke:
"Don't look so down. The Nanao I know isn't like this."
Taking a deep breath, expelling all her frustration and helplessness.
Nanao put away her dejected demeanor and clenched her small, fair hand:
"There must be a way, there must be a way to clear up the misunderstanding between me and Shou-kun."
Seeing her spirit lift, Sasaki relaxed back into his lazy posture, leaning against the chair back, and said:
"There is actually a way, and it's quite simple."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Seeing her look of surprise, he didn't keep her in suspense and continued speaking:
"Tanabe's goal is to replace Shouya Katase and become the center of the baseball team, so why not just make sure he can't participate in the game at all?"
Hearing Sasaki's somewhat alarming statement, the surprise on Nanao Akane's face gradually faded, and she asked hesitantly:
"What you mean by not letting him participate in the game, is..."
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