บท 226: Pendant
The more he thought about it, the more Katase Shouya felt that Sasaki had ulterior motives.
So, he turned his head to remind Nanao Akane, who was hanging her head low with her hair covering the side of her face, "Akane, I think Sasaki is more worth guarding against than Coach Tougou. Can you cut off contact with him? He..."
"Ah~" suppressing her frustration, the girl raised her head, her eyes fixed on Katase Shouya, "I can stop contacting Sasaki, but Coach Tougou isn't a good person either.
And from now on, you can't tell anyone about our relationship in the club!"
Faced with Akane's suggestion, Katase Shouya didn't agree immediately but frowned and asked:
"Why is Akane so wary of Coach Tougou? He hasn't done anything."
'If we wait for him to do something, it will be too late!'
She really wanted to shout this out.
But Nanao Akane wasn't someone easily controlled by emotions.
Despite her inner frustration, she remained calm and asked back:
"Then why are you wary of Sasaki? He helped me."
"Precisely because he helped you, he's suspicious!"
Compared to the girl's calmness, the boy was more agitated and spoke with a harsher tone:
"He said the coach had issues, without any evidence, just claiming I might have been drugged. I know how I felt that day better than anyone else!"
After realizing his voice was too loud, Katase Shouya quickly lowered his tone and reached out to hold Nana Waki Akane's hand:
"Akane, Sasaki is really suspicious, trust me."
"Then why don't you trust me? Coach Tougou really..."
Realizing that continuing this argument was pointless and would only deepen their conflict, Nanao Akane stopped herself and instead asked:
"Shou-kun, let's not talk about whether Sasaki is suspicious. He's not in the same club or class as me, so cutting off contact is easy."
"The important issue is whether Coach Tougou has problems. Can you guarantee that Coach Tougou definitely has no issues?"
Although he had never seen the coach get close to any female, the rumours still existed.
So, whether the coach had problems or not, Katase Shouya couldn't guarantee 100%.
However, what concerned him more was Sasaki, who was his age and better looking.
So, faced with Akane's question, Katase Shouya remained silent.
After a brief wait and naturally no response, Nanao Akane continued:
"See, Shou-kun can't be sure that Coach Tougou has no issues at all."
"So, if Coach Tougou does have problems, even if there's just a chance, it could ruin both of us."
Holding the boy's hand in return, the girl pondered for a moment and said:
"I think I understand why Shou-kun is so hostile towards Sasaki-kun, so I have an idea."
"If Shou-kun thinks Coach Tougou has no issues, let's do an experiment. Regardless of the outcome, I'll stop being friends with Sasaki, okay?"
Influenced by Akane's calm words, Katase Shouya's emotions gradually stabilized.
"What does Akane want to do?"
"To test what kind of person Coach Tougou really is."
Explaining in a serious tone, Nanao Akane laid out her plan:
"I think Coach Tougou has ill intentions towards me, so let's create an opportunity for him."
"On Monday, he told you to be cautious in private, but I was absent because I took leave."
"If he really has issues, he will eventually talk to Shou-kun again, but that could take time. Who knows what other bad ideas he might come up with during this period."
"So, Shou-kun should proactively approach him tomorrow, saying you want to talk to me privately because I was absent on Monday."
"If he offers you water, drink it..."
She couldn't be certain about Coach Toyugou's intentions, while her lover was so convinced.
Katase Shouya didn't mind accompanying his lover to test Coach Tougou, to ease her worries.
At that moment, hearing his lover say he should drink the potentially problematic tea, the boy opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to ask why.
But his lover hadn't finished speaking, so he didn't interrupt.
However, Nanao Akane stopped and asked:
"Shou-kun, do you have any doubts?"
"Yes."
Nodding, Katase Shouya asked with confusion:
"Since you think the tea prepared by the coach has issues, what if I lose control after drinking it..."
Understanding his concern, Nanao Akane smiled and explained:
"Shou-kun, we're testing Tougou's; of course, we won't go into the storage room together as he wishes."
"After training ends tomorrow afternoon, Shou kun will arrange to meet me in the storage room at the agreed time. I'll be outside recording, and if Higashi sneaks over, it proves his ill intentions."
"If Shou-kun still doesn't believe, we can go to the hospital while the drug is still in effect for a check-up."
"With the test results, we might be able to turn the tables on him after the competition."
Having explained her plan, Nanao Akane blinked, waiting for the boy's suggestion.
Seeing his lover had thought everything through, Katase Shouya had no suggestions.
So he just nodded and agreed with her plan:
"Let's do it."
With the conflict resolved and the plan discussed, Nanao Akane asked about another matter:
"Shou-kun, what do you plan to do about Tanabe?"
"Although there's nothing more to say to him, I still want to know why he did it. We could have gone to Koshien together, but he..."
Nanao Akane didn't pay attention to the rest of his words.
According to Sasaki, Tanabe should have already been hospitalized by now.
With Tougou and Sasaki around, Shou-kun's questions wouldn't be answered before the competition.
Listening quietly to Katase Shouya's complaints about Tanabe, Nanao Akane reminded him after he finished:
"Shou kun, for the sake of your dreams and your hard work, our relationship must remain a secret, understood?"
Knowing his lover was very wary of Coach Tougou, the boy nodded helplessly:
"Yes."
The baseball club's training ended later than any other activity in the school.
On top of that, they had talked for a long time.
By now, it was getting late.
Even though the misunderstanding was cleared, and they both wanted to spend more time together, the smell of sweat on their clothes urged them to go home and freshen up first.
After sitting in the park and chatting for a bit, they said their goodbyes.
Swinging his backpack, Katase Shoya waved to Nanao Akane, "Akane, be careful on your way home, see you tomorrow."
"Yes, you too, Shou-kun."
Waving back, Nanao Akane noticed the white pendant on his backpack and smiled:
"Shou Kun is still wearing it, huh?"
Noticing her gaze, Katase Shouya scratched his head a bit shyly:
"Because it's a gift from you, Akane."
Swinging her backpack, the girl revealed a similar black pendant hanging from her zipper:
"I'm wearing mine too~"
After expressing their feelings, they waved and parted ways with a smile.
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