On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Confession on the Field

Even though they managed to prevent Konoha from leaving, Kusaka was still greatly troubled. For good reason. When he tried to approach her during their break, she immediately ran away.

"The reason Morimura is acting like that right now... is because I told her she was irritating."

"What?! You're so mean!"

"Very indelicate."

"Those words are bound to bring 100% damage to Morimura."

With every comment the others made, Kusaka got more and more depressed. "I thought so..." He then turned to Tenma. "I can't keep on like this in good conscience... I have to apologize to her."

"Yeah, that would be for the best."

"So, what do you plan to do?" Manabe asked.

"Well... She is avoiding me..."

"Why not just casually apologize during practice?" Sakura suggested.

"Casually?"

"Like, for instance... 'Hey, the ball is coming your way! Oh, also, I'm sorry for calling you irritating!'... or something."

"Does that count as apologizing?" Minaho asked. It was a little hard to agree that it was.

"You shouldn't apologize offhandedly." Tetsukado interjected.

"Do you think so? But grabbing the moment is important."

"Yeah, I think it's fine." Matatagi said.

"... I guess I'll try it."

But, as expected, it didn't work. The second he walked up to her, she immediately ran away. And so, the group decided to help him apologize properly by creating a scenario where they could be alone.

~~~~~

The moment the brunette took a seat beside him on the train ride to the stadium, Tsurugi could already tell none of it worked out.

"This is eating me alive..." The older boy said with his head in his hands.

"For now, you should focus on the match." Shindou stated from across him. "You can think about Morimura all you want afterwards."

"B-But I... I... I guess you're right..." He sighed in defeat. "I just can't believe I ended up insulting her where it hurt the most..." He then looked up at them. "Have any of you ever done that? Or a mistake as big as that?"

"Uh... Well, when you ask so suddenly..."

"Captain, I'm pretty sure it's impossible for you." He earned a sheepish laugh.

Amber eyes closed as the navy haired boy crossed his arms. "Be frontal about it."

"Eh?"

"If words won't get through to her, then use your actions to show your sorry. Make your intentions clear."

"H-How do I do that...?"

"For one thing, you can support her in this match. And for another..." He paused, picking out his words carefully. "... Let her know that there's an even stronger feeling than irritation that you have for her."

"A-A-An even stronger feeling...?! L-like what?"

Why is he stuttering so badly? "Respect? Admiration? It could be anything as long as that's how you really feel."

"Tsurugi..." He nodded at Tenma to continue. "No offense, but since when were you an expert on emotions?"

"I'm not. It's just something nii-san told me once."