CH 52

Lexley Cricket Tournament (9)

He couldn’t stand the pain and tried to harm himself. In the end, I recalled the entire ending of <How To Recognise A Murderer> as I witnessed Leto, who was about to kill himself. He was the last to die. No one survived, and Leto, who was eventually branded as a murderer, was deeply embedded in people’s memories.

“N, No!”

The moment I screamed, my eyes opened. At first, I thought the red sunset was blood and so I couldn’t breathe properly. I struggled, waving my hand like a person who sank into the depths of the sea.

“Bree!”

When I came to my senses, I saw familiar faces such as Reze and Senior Jimbo. Among them, the face that caught my attention was none other than Leto Arsene. I reached my hand out and held Leto’s cheeks. Embarrassed, Leto tried to pull back but then paused. I stared into Leto’s black eyes as he whispered it’s okay.

In contrast to what I saw in my dream, those eyes were looking directly at me. It was full of life, full of emotion. It was truly Leto. Feeling relieved, I immediately hugged Leto’s waist, regardless of whoever was watching.

“Leah! Leah!”

I shouted his name countless times. Leto was unable to do anything at my strange behaviour and in the end, patted my back. His touch was warm. Before I knew it, the students gathered around and comforted me. The familiar clamour, which I normally never paid attention to, now felt like a reassuring and relaxing lullaby.

How long did I hug and cry on Leto’s neck? Senior Jimbo, who lifted me up, placed me on a bench and told me to relax.

He comforted me by saying that this happens occasionally. Senior Jimbo looked into my eyes as he explained about it before he rose up when someone called for him. Now, it was just Leto and me here. Leto looked at my eyes which must have turned red, but said nothing.

Just now, Leto had witnessed with his own eyes that I had wandered between life and death while calling out his name. He must have had a lot to say, but he held my hand tightly and stayed silent. I couldn’t remember when I held his hand. Was it right after I woke up from the dream, or was it when he came to the bench?

It didn’t matter. At this moment, I didn’t want to let go of Leto’s hand for even a second. When I gripped Leto’s hand even stronger, Leto also tightened his grip on mine. I wondered if things had calmed down a little. I was worried about Leto.

I was still in pain and wandered between life and death after taking only one pill, but what about Leto, who had a rough past? There were many people who suffered, but perhaps I was the only one who cried out. When I glanced at Leto, he carefully raised his hand and wiped away the tears from my eyes.

“Finished crying?”

He asked with a gentle smile. Oh, now I’m about to cry again. Whenever Leto smiled, I recalled the look in Leto’s eyes that I had seen in the dream.

“Leah, we’re friends, right?”

“……What?”

“We, we’re friends, aren’t we? Best friends.”

“Yes. Friends.”

He paused, then stroked my cheek and answered. His firm answer calmed my heart down, and I burst into laughter without realising. Leto looked at my smile and lightly pinched my cheek.

“Were you okay?”

“It was nothing.”

Leto shrugged his shoulders, as though it was no big deal.

“No!”

I jumped and squished Leto’s cheeks. It was a reverse state. Leto blinked with eyes wide open at my action before sighing. It must have been hard and painful, so why did you shrug it off just like that? There was nothing more painful than hiding and burying everything in your heart, only for it to explode all at once.

“No, tell me if you’re having a hard time!”

At my bold words, Leto stared at me blankly before bursting into laughter. Was he trying to skip the subject like that? I squeezed his cheeks even tighter, but Leto’s laugh did not stop.

“Wh, Why are you laughing?”

“Worry about yourself.”

Speechless by Leto’s words, I let go of his cheek.

“Arsene! Pierre!”

Just in time, we heard the captain calling for us. Leto and I stood up and looked at the students gathered on the field. Since the students were waiting for us, I could no longer talk to Leto and had to move on.

When I arrived, Senior Jimbo and the captain came over and asked if I was okay. I was seen crying by all these people. When I smiled embarrassedly and said I was fine, Senior Jimbo ruffled my hair and went back to his spot.

“Now, I am going to call the final main players!”

Strangely enough, I wasn’t nervous at all. Perhaps it was because I already knew I would be eliminated, so I had put my hopes down. Apart from me, all the students were praying with their hands together as the captain announced the names.

“Reze Fedwinder!”

It was expected. I knew he would be selected. He stood up, glanced at me and suddenly winked. Was he trying to brag at me? Even so, I applauded him politely and Reze’s expression brightened even more as he stood proudly in front.

“Rosa Cannes!”

This time, the kid who did not get a good score during the physical fitness test but showed excellent skills during the remainder of the test was selected. The main players were players that were expected to some extent. The other students also let go of their regrets and congratulated the students who became the main players.

There were only two spots left now.

“James Fallon!”

This time, a strong kid was selected as the main player. During the second round, he was a kid with weak defence but good offence.

Above all, he was one of the biggest kids here. In contrast to Reze’s personality, he moved forward timidly with a shy smile. Even when he was congratulated by everyone, he hid his smile shyly and thanked them. 

Now, only the last player was left. It was someone everyone knew.

“Leah Arsene!”

Leto had proudly secured the main player spot. Leto confidently walked forward and shook the captain’s hand.

As I cheered for Leto, a small smile appeared on Leto’s face.

Yes, I liked Leto who smiled like that.

＊  ＊  ＊

Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

The next day, Leto and I sat in the cafeteria. I was waiting for Kazen to inform him of Leto’s acceptance to the starting lineup. As I was eating my soup while waiting for him, I saw Kazen appearing at the entrance with many other kids.

When he noticed us at the table, he frowned slightly but immediately hid his expression with a smile. Then, Kazen apologised to the students beside him and approached us.

“Seeing as you’re confident, it looks like you passed.”

Kazen sat down and immediately glared at Leto.

“What about you?”

“Of course I…”

The words got stuck.

“I thought I’d pass, but I failed.”

When Kazen, who I thought would naturally pass, said that he failed, I dropped the spoon I was holding in surprise. Kazen looked at me and scolded me for dropping the spoon, but I still couldn’t believe it.

“If you failed, who passed?”

“Thank you for thinking of me that high, Bree. But unfortunately, I couldn’t pass the last round.”

He was talking about the mental test. It was rather surprising. I thought even if Kazen didn’t get a good score on his physical strength, he would score on the mental test. Unlike me, who was quite shocked, Leto sat calmly with his arms folded. It was the winning margin. Kazen, whose face quickly hardened at Leto’s appearance, let out a deep sigh and nodded his head.

“Yes, the promise was to reveal a secret, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Tell me. You know some of my secrets, don’t you?”

It was a strangely tense moment. The reputable Kazen also looked at Leto with a worried look on his face, expressing that he was nervous at this moment. 

“I can tell anything, right?”

“Say it.”

When Leto asked, Kazen replied rather provocatively.

“Ha, he’s peed in his pants before.”

“……How old was he?”

Kazen stiffened at Leto’s heavy words. When I asked after belatedly coming to my senses, Leto tried to recall it carefully before opening his mouth once he did remember.

“When he was eleven.”

“…Wow.”

“That too in front of me.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. He was in a hurry, so it was the quickest way.”

Leto’s monotone words were rather funny. Still, I was holding back my laughter since I was afraid that Kazen would be embarrassed but I couldn’t hold it in.

“Pft.”

When I let out a laugh, Kazen immediately glared at me with a red face. His face was so frightening for a moment. I tried to force myself to shut my mouth and hold back my laughter, but now I had hiccups from it.

“Ah, sor- hic!”

“How could you, Leah.”

Kazen instantly smiled and looked at Leto.

“You should be glad that I didn’t become a main player, don’t you think?”

“…….”

“And Bree.”

“Y, Yes? Hic.”

“Don’t look for me next week. I don’t think I’ll be able to face you in the future.”

He said with a smile, but there were definitely thorns in those words. When I nodded quickly, Kazen asked whether the matter was settled before leaving. I felt sorry for Kazen as he walked away without looking back, perhaps still angry.

“It’s fine. Don’t mind him.”

How can I not mind……I vowed to really not see Kazen’s face in the future. I was eating my soup again when I felt a strange gaze on me. I thought it was because Kazen was around, but even after he left, the gaze still remained. In fact, I was puzzled by the gaze directed at us since this morning, but then I listened to the murmurs from afar.

“Is that her? The one who became the main player this time.”

“The Arsene family. She’s good at sports and even looking at her face, she’s very pretty.”

Everyone was looking at Leto. Feeling the impact of being a main cricket player, Leto became a popular celebrity in an instant.

“Your training starts today, right?”

When I asked, Leto nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Wow, you really became the main player. That’s cool!”

“…What?”

Huh? Did I say something wrong?

“Say it again.”

“Y, Your training starts today, right?”

“The latter.”

“You really became the main player, that’s cool?”

“Do I look cool?”

“Of course, it’s so cool!”

When I spoke with more enthusiasm, Leto smiled contentedly. It was one of the brightest smiles Leto had ever made. Ah, since Leto is originally a guy, it seems that he prefers being called ‘cool’ rather than ‘pretty’. I’d have to mention that more often in the future. I secretly thought to myself.