JSWGAS Chapter 119

119.

Summer has arrived.

Kokonoe Taka, having forgotten to draw the curtains the previous night, was awakened by the harsh sunlight streaming through the window, belatedly realizing the fact. He stared blankly at the empty ceiling for a long while, his mind still replaying the dream he had just had—

Ushijima Wakatoshi, dressed in work clothes and carrying a hoe, diligently tilled the soil beneath a signboard that read ‘Shiratorizawa’. He was even invited to give a speech because of his successful cultivation of excellent seedlings, stating—’Excellent seedlings should have a soil to match them; barren land cannot bear abundant fruit.’ The speech was a great success, and Shiratorizawa’s externally hired kappa, Tendō Satori, went on stage to present him with an award…

The latter half of the dream was even more outrageous. The Demon King Oikawa, dissatisfied with the outstanding cultivation expert Ushijima’s claim that Aoba Johsai (the Demon King’s territory) was barren land, ordered the hero Iwaizumi and a group of guard squad underlings to sneak into Shiratorizawa on a dark and stormy night to steal his seedlings. But before they could succeed, the Demon King Oikawa was beaten countless times by the hero Iwaizumi. The underling Saijō, seeing their internal strife, simply defected to Shiratorizawa, only to be exposed by Aone as a spy sent to Shiratorizawa…

The entire dream ended with the Demon King Oikawa breaking into Ushijima’s land, only to be met with the latter’s blunt invitation to join forces, which enraged him—as for what role Kokonoe Taka himself played in all of this?

…He was the seedling that was being dug up and moved around.

“…This is too absurd.”

He repeated to the air, his eyes dead.

It is said that you dream what you think about during the day. Perhaps this bizarre dream was inseparable from the fact that after the match a few days ago, a group of Shiratorizawa players followed Aoba Johsai in a grand procession to the infirmary for a consolation visit. According to a later account from Futsukuchi, Oikawa had unilaterally argued with Ushijima five times on the way there, four of which were choked back by the seemingly innocent Ushijima. The other time, Iwaizumi couldn’t stand it anymore and told him to shut up, but unfortunately, he was also caught in Ushijima’s indiscriminate attack wave.

The Aoba Johsai side clearly harbored some resentment towards Shiratorizawa. Especially towards the culprit directly responsible for Kokonoe Taka’s injury: even though they rationally knew that Ushijima hadn’t done it on purpose, they found it difficult to let go of their grudges emotionally. Compared to them, the person involved seemed quite calm.

“I watched the match.” He even had to thank the doctor for generously lending him a tablet. “That final straight spike was impressive.”

“Yeah, thanks.” At this point, he should return the courtesy. “But your blocking still needs a little work.”

Shiratorizawa: …Ushijima, you’re making it easy for people to think you’re deliberately picking a fight!

Aoba Johsai: Take a deep breath; even if we’re going to put a sack over his head, we’ll wait until we get outside.

Kokonoe Taka was silent for a moment: “Next time, I’ll block you dead, and we’ll be the ones to win.”

Ushijima corrected him, “You can’t block me yet; Shiratorizawa will still win.”

“…Aoba Johsai will win.”

“Shiratorizawa will.”

“…”

“You can come to Shiratorizawa; fertile soil will bear outstanding fruit.” Ushijima thought he had proposed a great solution. “And Oikawa, you too.”

“…I’m getting angry. Can I punch him in the face?”

“…Even though I really want to, calm down, Oikawa.”

Tendō came out to smooth things over: “Well, since everyone gets along so well, why don’t we exchange Line contacts?”

The others: …Where exactly do you see them getting along?!

—Of course, in the end, they did exchange contact information—except for Oikawa Tōru, who vowed not to let Ushijima pollute the purity of his address book.

Time returned to the present.

Kokonoe Taka reached for his phone on the bedside table. Local news was pushing reports of Shiratorizawa securing a national ticket, and several red dots were flashing in the notification bar: Tendō was vigorously recommending a niche manga to him, Ushijima had sent a rather serious list of ‘five things to avoid after an injury,’ Iwaizumi was reminding him to go to the hospital for a dressing change today, and Oikawa was inviting him to come over to the neighboring house for meals these days.

His fingers froze as he tried to type, his mind disobediently superimposing the images of those people onto the strange figures in his dream. After some struggle, Kokonoe Taka replied to all the messages, and when he closed the chat window with Ushijima, he couldn’t help but ask, “Ushijima-kun, have you ever considered farming?”

What Ushijima Wakatoshi’s reaction was after seeing this message will be left unsaid for now.

In the past, Kokonoe Taka would wander around the Kokonoe family’s mansion like a ghost. He rarely lingered anywhere other than his own room, only maintaining the basic cleanliness of the house. But today, as soon as he woke up, he smelled a fragrance wafting in from under the door. After a brief wash and tidying up, he went downstairs, where a familiar figure was busy in the semi-open kitchen.

“…Grandma.” He walked over and glanced at the plate, which contained spicy sausage pie, skim milk, assorted pickles, and a small bowl of custard. “You’re up early.”

“Isn’t it because I have a patient to take care of?” Kokonoe Yū turned her head and glared at him good-naturedly. “Hurry up and set the table.”

—The IH preliminary finals were broadcast live, and the injury of a regular member of one of the schools was no small matter, so it was naturally impossible to hide it from his grandparents, who were far away in Tokyo. Kokonoe Yū had been watching the live broadcast on TV on the day of the finals, arranging flowers leisurely in front of the coffee table. But the moment she saw Kokonoe Taka get injured, she tore apart her carefully arranged work. Immediately, this dignified, gentle, and tasteful old lady booked a ticket for the earliest possible departure in a completely different, decisive manner, leaving her husband, who was still lecturing at the university, and arriving in Miyagi that evening.

She arrived just in time, directly blocking her injured grandson at the door of the Kokonoe house. The first thing she did when she saw him was to take off her hat and pat Kokonoe Taka’s head with it. “Did you think you could hide it from me and your grandfather?” she questioned. “Crouch down a little!”

Kokonoe Taka submissively bent over, not daring to breathe too loudly, so that his shorter grandmother could easily tap his head. Kokonoe Yū didn’t use much force, but as she hit him, she couldn’t help but choke up in front of her grandson and his friends. “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.” He changed his tune in the face of his grandmother’s sad gaze. “…It hurts a little bit.”

Kokonoe Taka paused. He hadn’t really intended to tell his family about his injury.

“…I’m sorry, Grandma, I made you worry.”

…

“Does it really not hurt?”

At the dining table, Kokonoe Yū couldn’t help but ask again.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore; it’s just a minor injury. It’ll probably be fine after two more dressing changes.” Kokonoe Taka said, chewing on the pie and quickly changing the subject. “Speaking of which, what about Grandpa if you’re here, Grandma?”

“He won’t starve, anyway.” Kokonoe Yū snorted lightly. “The old man has hands and feet and can feed himself. He wanted to come too, but the university has a project that needs him to keep an eye on… Ugh. Putting him aside for now, what’s going on with you? I haven’t even asked you how the kitchen looks like it hasn’t been used in a long time? Have you really been eating properly since you came here?”

Kokonoe Taka froze. Although he knew how to cook, he had only visited the kitchen a few times, and usually just to heat up instant food. Plus, he was later busy with training, so he either ate out or bummed meals at Oikawa’s house for two days and Iwaizumi’s house for two days, resulting in Kokonoe Yū finding nothing but a fridge full of desserts and frozen food when she opened the refrigerator.

“Uh…” he made an ambiguous grumbling sound. “Of course, I’ve been eating properly… Look, I’ve even grown taller.”

“I think you’ve gotten thinner.” Kokonoe Yū frowned, looking him up and down. “Your face is smaller…”

Kokonoe Taka wisely remained silent, but if Oikawa next door heard Grandma Yū’s lament, he would certainly argue that this guy always ate the most heartily when he came to his house! And that face had just completely matured and lost its baby fat!

After breakfast, Kokonoe Yū took the plates back to the kitchen. The water in the sink was trickling straight, and Kokonoe Taka stood beside her, watching her carefully wash each plate, chatting idly.

“Tōru said Aunt Miwako invited us to eat over there tonight.”

“Oikawa’s mother? You’ve already bummed so many meals at their house.”

“…Aunt Miwako’s cooking is just too delicious.”

“Anything is better than instant food, right?” Kokonoe Yū glanced at her grandson, who knew he was in the wrong. “But I really should thank the Oikawa family for taking care of you…”

The last plate was put into the cupboard.

“After all, I’m a little worried if there isn’t an adult watching you.” She said with a rare cold tone. “This time you thought about hiding it from me, but if I wasn’t so lucky to see you get injured on TV, I might have really been fooled.”

“…I didn’t want you and Grandpa to worry.” Kokonoe Taka said softly. But before he could continue, Kokonoe Yū interrupted him, “But worrying about you is my right.”

The woman with graying temples straightened up and looked at the boy who was hanging his head, “Are you afraid that Zhíyě and I will force you to return to Tokyo because you haven’t taken good care of yourself?” She paused deliberately. “Or are you afraid that we will treat you like… your father did?”

He denied subconsciously. “…No, I…”

“We won’t do that, Taka.” Kokonoe Yū said peacefully. “You can do anything you want to do, as long as you’re willing. Zhíyě and I, on the other hand, have to worry about whether us two old bones are hindering your progress. I can tell that you really like what you’re doing now, and you’re happier than before. Is playing volleyball fun?”

“…It’s fun. Also, I don’t want to lose anymore.”

“That’s good.” Kokonoe Yū reached out her hand, and Kokonoe Taka also lowered his head, placing his head into her palm like a bird. “So, I only have one request for you—”

“—Don’t get hurt again.”

She stroked his hair. “When I saw you leave the court on TV, I was so scared I almost fainted: How is this child? How serious is the injury? Will he be very sad if he can’t play? My head was full of these questions…” She even almost got on the wrong train because of it, and took the wrong road in a fluster when she arrived in Miyagi, but there was no need to tell him about that.

“It’s so good that you’re okay…”

The sound of cicadas couldn’t drown out this slightly sobbing sigh.

Kokonoe Taka hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry, Grandma, I’ll remember it.”

Kokonoe Yū sniffled and let go of him. “Okay, it’s good that you know. Do you need me to come with you to change your dressing later?”

“I can go by myself.”

…

Summer had truly arrived. The bus, like a can of sardines, sluggishly traveled down the road, and hot wind sneaked in through the not-quite-closed windows, tousling the bangs on his forehead. Kokonoe Taka, with one hand holding onto a strap, skillfully typed on his keyboard with the other.

Oikawa Tōru was complaining that Mrs. Oikawa had dragged him to be a bag-carrying tool, and Iwaizumi was running to the shopping street to buy the latest Godzilla merchandise. As these two were chatting, they seemed to have bumped into each other halfway. After some pointless sentences like, ‘I saw you!’ ‘Huh?’ ‘Koiwa is looking around, so dumb,’ ‘The one with the bag hanging around his neck is the dumb one,’ and a photo of Iwaizumi staring tenderly at a Godzilla figure in the window (which was obviously taken sneakily), and Iwaizumi’s declaration of ‘Prepare to die,’ Oikawa suddenly sent a long string of unintelligible gibberish, and then there was no more news.

The Aoba Johsai chat group next door, on the other hand, was lively. Messages popped up rapidly in the blink of an eye, only to be quickly pushed up. These people were so bored after the holidays that they were seriously arguing about which of the female leads in old horror movies was better-looking.

Futsukuchi: “Of course, it’s Kayako!”

Miyano: “No, no, no, I’m voting for Sadako, especially when she crawls out of the well, she’s super beautiful!”

Matsukawa: “Have you guys seen Confessions from a few years ago? Takako Matsu is even better-looking.”

Hanamaki: “It looks like we’re all discussing old movies from more than a decade ago, Matsukawa, don’t be biased just because you both have ‘Matsu’ in your names!”

Iwaizumi: “I remember that movie having a scene related to Mothra.”

Matsukawa: “? Is that so? I’ll go back and watch it again.”

Oikawa hadn’t appeared yet, so it looked like Iwaizumi had won.

Sure enough, Kokonoe Taka had just switched out of the group when he saw a new message from Iwaizumi: a photo of Oikawa Tōru looking listless, his hands full of shopping bags, and a woman’s handbag hanging around his neck. But this photo was quickly retracted.

Iwaizumi: “Koiwa is the weird one! Don’t just start talking about Godzilla-related stuff because you just pulled a Mothra gashapon, hey!”

Hanamaki: “…I’ll bet Matsukawa’s ice cream tomorrow that this is definitely not Iwaizumi himself.”

Watari: “Of course, it couldn’t be! It’s Oikawa! Are you guys together?”

Iwaizumi: “#$%…”

Iwaizumi: “He’s already been thrown into the trash can.”

Matsukawa: “But when we need him to be a setter, we’ll have to dig him out again; how annoying.”

Miyano: “…How heartless.”

Miyano: “Isn’t Kokonoe with you guys?”

Iwaizumi: “He went to change his dressing.”

Oikawa finally appeared.

Oikawa: “I guess you guys are looking for this.”

Oikawa: “Hand wrapped up like a radish.jpg” “Gauze tied with a ribbon and everyone seriously writing various blessings on it.jpg” “Can’t open the bottle cap and can only let Iwaizumi do it for him, himself sitting obediently.jpg”

Aone: “…Is that a sneak photo?”

Saijō: “It’s a sneak photo, isn’t it.”

Oikawa: “It just happened! It just happened! Don’t say it like I’m a pervert.”

Saijō: “Oikawa, you shouldn’t forget that Kokonoe is also in this group.”

The chat messages visibly slowed down, and the group chat fell into an eerie silence.

A few minutes later.

Kokonoe: “I saw it.”

Kokonoe: “Oikawa peacefully passed away mummy sleeping position.jpg” “Oikawa entangled in the net like a caterpillar.jpg” “Oikawa restrained by Iwaizumi’s combo iron fist.jpg”

Kokonoe: “You’re welcome.”

Oikawa: “Wait!!”

Having done all of this, he switched out of the group chat, feeling refreshed, not caring at all about the chat interface that had exploded.

Ushijima had sent a question mark a little while ago, followed by a rather serious “I don’t have that plan for the time being.” Kokonoe Taka sent him a cat-loving emoji, and quickly got a reply.

Ushijima: “However, Shiratorizawa does have related gardening classes.”

Ushijima: “Are you very interested in this?”

Kokonoe: “…Not really.”

Ushijima silently deleted the sentence ‘If you’re interested, you can come visit’ that followed. Ushijima: “Okay.”

Compared to Ushijima, another Shiratorizawa player was very enthusiastic. The topics that appeared in the chat window were varied, from favorite niche manga to hair dye colors, with the potential to chat until the end of time. But as Kokonoe Taka walked into the hospital doors, Tendō Satori, who had been slacking off all along, was finally punished by his teacher.

Tendō: “Ah, I was discovered by Kaji, uwa, his expression is so scary”

…It ended abruptly.

Kokonoe Taka put away his phone.

The injury on his hand had been wrapped up tightly two days ago, but now only the wound area was bandaged. When he was brought in for examination at the time, the doctor had thought it was a very serious injury, only to deeply remember him after discovering that it was just a lacerated skin wound, and he told everyone he met that ‘this is the negative example of the guy who wrapped his wound like a baseball bat.’ The wound was healing well, and would be completely healed in another week or so. Kokonoe Taka thanked the doctor and walked out, but he ran into an unexpected person when he went downstairs.

“Yo!”

“…Nishikiori-san?”

“Don’t be so distant.” The man, still dressed casually, stroked his chin, clearly having been waiting for a long time. “We’ve cried to each other after all, so Uncle will respond well if you want to act spoiled, okay?”

“…I’m calling the police.”

“How uncute.”

The two walked down the stairs, and their backs looked strangely similar.

“You were waiting for me?”

“Yeah.” Nishikiori Kōshi admitted, “Although it’s very sudden, I think I have to tell you this.”

Kokonoe Taka quickly glanced at the middle-aged man, whose expression had returned to normal.

He said, “Then let’s go somewhere else.”

Hospitals have always been the best place to see all kinds of life, and going down the stairs, passing the dying old men and the crying rooms, seemed like passing through half of the human world. Kokonoe Taka followed Nishikiori Kōshi and stopped on a small path in the hospital’s outdoor garden, following his gaze to the children running on the grass in hospital gowns.

“So, what is it?”

At this moment, Nishikiori Kōshi hesitated. He took a lollipop out of his pocket and put it in his mouth, but it was like holding a cigarette butt and exhaling an invisible puff of smoke.

“…Kokonoe Hikohito, your father.” He finally said, “Was confirmed to have died a few months ago.”

Removing all embellishments, leaving only an accurate fact, was suitable for being honest in such a place.

“What was the cause of death?”

Nishikiori Kōshi didn’t dare to look at Kokonoe Taka’s expression too much, his eyes constantly darting around, but his words continued steadily and smoothly.

“Although the cause of death was murder, the details are a bit complicated… He initially brought his mistress abroad and, after several twists and turns, managed to secure a high-level position in the U.S. Tennis Association, hooking up with several capitalists over there. A few months ago, he was invited to a banquet, and at the end of the banquet, he was found dead in the master bedroom of the host’s mansion. After investigating, the police initially identified a suspect. But not long after, the host’s son was also found dead in the garden…”

He paused deliberately for two seconds at this moment.

“For the subsequent murder, everyone had an alibi—This alibi was based on your… Kokonoe Hikohito’s death. If we put aside Kokonoe Hikohito’s death, everyone is a suspect.”

“Hmm, how wonderful, it feels like listening to a novel.”

“Then I may not be a qualified novelist; I don’t like creating suspense.” Nishikiori Kōshi shrugged. “Kokonoe Hikohito, and that young master, were both killed by his mistress.”

“…”

“Kokonoe Hikohito initially divided some of his property, and could only use a small portion of the liquid funds after going abroad. His mistress… Takano Koto discovered his straitened financial circumstances and secretly hooked up with that young master’s father… who was also Kokonoe Hikohito’s sponsor in the Tennis Association. She once proposed a peaceful breakup with Kokonoe Hikohito, but he disagreed and instead tried to control her.”

“So he died.”

“…Yes, so he died.”

“This news hasn’t been spread domestically yet, but many people on the tennis side have heard about it.” Nishikiori Kōshi said, biting his lollipop and finally turning his gaze to the young man beside him—Not to his surprise, Kokonoe Taka’s expression was calm, but his eyes were fluctuating slightly. He paused and continued, “So, there may be all sorts of people looking for you afterwards, don’t pay them any attention.”

“Does my mother know?” Kokonoe Taka asked calmly after a moment of silence, “And my grandparents. Was this what you were trying to say haltingly after that match?”

“It seems that someone contacted your maternal grandparents, but Mrs. Tsurumi is on the rise in her career, busy with the preparation of some concert, so she probably doesn’t know yet. The Kokonoe couple are still unaware… Are you worried that it will affect them?” Nishikiori Kōshi said seriously, “In my opinion, young man, you are the one who is most worrying. Murder, scandal, star athlete, it’s all fodder for gossip. What’s more, you’re still young, and your achievements in recent years are very impressive.”

He counted on his fingers. “The tennis world’s suddenly disappeared genius, the middle school basketball world’s champion, and maybe we’ll have to add a volleyball star in the future? By the way, I also think you can beat Shiratorizawa High School next time.”

“What kind of corny nicknames are those?” Kokonoe Taka retorted.

“I’m trying hard to keep up with you young people; I even played dress-up games with my daughter last night.” Nishikiori Kōshi took a lollipop out of his pocket and threw it to him, as if showing off. “My daughter’s favorite flavor, please eat.”

“The grape flavor of this brand is better.” The lemon flavor on the wrapper was one of his least favorites. But he still peeled off the candy wrapper with disdain, and swayed a little while biting the stick.

“I’ll tell her that.” Nishikiori Kōshi smiled and looked at him seriously again. “The media are always dogs that come running when they smell meat, so just take this as advice from someone who’s been there. If there’s anything you can’t solve, come find me…”

“Why? We’re not that familiar.”

“It’s called investing in advance; I have a lot of faith in you.” The middle-aged man said earnestly, “And you still owe me something you haven’t done yet.”

“…So what is it?”

“It’s a little early to say now; you’ll know when the time comes.”

The cunning adult sold a mystery and quickly slipped away. Kokonoe Taka crushed the candy and carefully tasted it.

“…It’s both sour and sweet.” He complained, “As expected, the grape flavor isn’t as good.”

His phone rang at this moment; it was Iwaizumi Hajime’s number.

Kokonoe Taka answered it without any hesitation, and a noisy voice instantly came from the earpiece.

“Taka!!!”

It was clearly Iwaizumi Hajime’s phone, but it was Oikawa Tōru’s voice, which was a little strange. But before he could think deeply about it, Oikawa said especially confidently, “Which do you want to watch, Godzilla or Silent Hill?”

The strange question left Kokonoe Taka’s head blank for a moment. The former option was a tokusatsu film, and the latter was a horror film, which were clearly not in the same category.

“I choose Léon: The Professional,” he said. “So what are you guys doing?”

“Uh, my sister and I came out to shop and ran into Koiwa,” Oikawa said, “Then Matsukawa was shopping at a video store while Koiwa was chasing me, and we ran into Hanamaki and Watari when we passed the game center, and there just happened to be an idol autograph session at this mall, so we ran into upperclassmen…”

“So we finally decided to watch a movie together. Everyone unanimously ruled out romance and comedy movies and decided to watch something exciting.” Oikawa’s voice was light, and he mocked without changing his expression amidst the babbling background noises. “But Koiwa couldn’t take his eyes off the Godzilla poster… Ouch!”

As he spoke, the phone was transferred to another person’s hand.

“You’re annoying, Trashykawa…” Iwaizumi Hajime’s voice was a little quieter; he must have taken the microphone away to scold Oikawa. “Taka? Did you get your dressing changed? We’re all in front of the movie theater, just waiting for you.”

“I bought you grape soda,” he said without hesitation. “Do you want popcorn?”

The lemon flavor in his mouth began to turn sweet, dissipating the restless heat of early summer.

“Yes.” Kokonoe Taka heard himself laugh. “I’ll be there soon.”

—Summer has finally arrived!