“Really? If that’s so, it’s okay-yan. Yume has a feeling it won’t be easy though.”
“Yeah. You’re probably right.”
“Can Yume really do it? Yume will try her hardest, but Haru, can Yume ask a favor?”
“A favor? From me? Like what?”
“Yume has discovered that that being hugged tight like this is super calming-yan. Hug Yume tighter and tell her she can try her hardest.”
“Is that… really okay?” he asked, uncertain. It would be a hug for encouragement, nothing more. It wasn’t as if he would mean anything else by it; purely an encouragement hug, that’s what it was. It should be fine. “If you say so…”
He drew her in closer, hugging her tight and with all his strength, until a sigh escaped her lips. He wanted to tell her to quit it, since he was hugging her for the sole purpose of encouragement, and yet at the same time, he felt a sort of excitement starting to come over him, threatening to overwhelm him, to make him explode.
Don’t give in! Don’t lose! He thought to himself. What did it mean to lose anyway? What did it mean to win? He had no idea. He just had a feeling that if he lost here, it would be bad. Really bad.
He closed his eyes. “Do the best you can, Yume.”
Yume didn’t say a word, but simply nodded.