JSWGAS Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The day of heavy snowfall was the official start of the holidays.

Kokonoe Taka had packed his things a few days prior, and Tsurumi Sumiko had booked the train tickets early, destination: her distant hometown. This would be the last New Year they would spend together; afterward, mother and son would be separated by half an ocean.

With ample time to spare, Tsurumi Sumiko was on the phone with the station, confirming whether the train would be delayed due to the snowfall. Kokonoe Taka, having put on his down jacket and a new hand-knitted, mouse-grey scarf, picked up the boxes he had been sorting through these past few days and pushed open the door.

The icy, bone-chilling cold air outside instantly seized his lungs. Snowflakes landed on his face, and he licked the snow that had fallen on his lips. Yes, it was cold.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the silly thought—of course snow was cold, what else would it be?

Boys involved in sports generally have higher body temperatures. Even so, he didn’t feel particularly cold. He lowered his head and plunged into the pure white world.

Snow had submerged the stone path in the yard, bent the branches of the silk tree, and clung to the lower legs of his work pants.

Four days ago, he had worn the same outfit to celebrate his birthday. They had invited classmates he was close to, and his mother had invited neighbors who lived nearby—back then, Miyagi Prefecture hadn’t experienced such heavy snowfall. A group of people spent a festive night in the Kokonoe family’s spacious yard.

His familiar classmates either gave him books or catered to his tastes by giving him all sorts of sweet snacks. Mrs. Oikawa gave him a hand-knitted scarf, and Mrs. Iwaizumi gave him a cool baseball jacket. Iwaizumi Hajime gave him a game cartridge they had recently played together online, and Oikawa Tōru, after discovering that many of the sneakers in the Kokonoe family’s shoe cabinet had mysteriously disappeared, gave him a pair of running shoes.

His mother gave him two photo albums. One was filled with her own photos from her youth to the present, the corners of which had begun to yellow. The other was carefully organized with photos taken of him from birth to the present.

The first page of the album showed the winter eleven years ago, around the time of his birth, when it was snowing just as heavily.

If there was any regret on his birthday, it was that he still hadn’t been able to tell Oikawa Tōru that he would be leaving Miyagi after the New Year, after seeing off his mother and grandparents.

With less and less time left, Kokonoe Taka was even more unsure of how to tell Oikawa Tōru. He had already told everyone he knew about this, even the Oikawa couple knew about the regrettable news—but he just couldn’t tell Oikawa.

Iwaizumi’s constant urging gaze eventually turned into a condemning look of ‘You’re hopeless,’ with a hint of despair at having to face Oikawa Tōru alone afterward.

—If Tōru knew that he had told everyone except him, he would definitely throw a fit and vow to never see him again.

This conflicting feeling made him miss the best opportunity once again.

He kicked open the fence, and after just a few steps, he reached the brightly lit Oikawa house.

Kokonoe Taka looked at the soft, warm, and comforting light, wiggled his fingers, and hesitated at the door before finally ringing the doorbell.

This time, he must tell Tōru.

He made up his mind.

When Mrs. Oikawa opened the door, she was startled by Kokonoe Taka’s look of grim determination. She quickly pulled the boy, whose hair was covered in a layer of frost, inside and affectionately touched his cheeks, which were red from the cold. “What’s wrong?” she asked softly, and quickly brushed off the snow that had fallen on his shoulders. The snow had already begun to melt into damp droplets after entering the warm room, instantly darkening his jacket.

“Good morning, Mrs. Oikawa,” Kokonoe Taka said, standing in the entrance hall, shaking off the cold like a little animal with wet feathers, before following Mrs. Oikawa inside.

Oikawa Miwako didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and gave him a chiding look. She simply took the boxes he was holding—they were cardboard boxes, well-protected, with only a thin layer of snow on the outside, which quickly disappeared.

“I’m here to see Tōru.” He couldn’t help but show a somewhat embarrassed and troubled expression. “…I haven’t told him about my transfer yet.”

Oikawa Miwako raised her eyebrows in surprise, quickly understanding. “That boy will definitely throw another tantrum—gee, I wonder where he gets that temper from.” But she didn’t really mind. Oikawa Miwako had also been a little rascal, so she naturally knew how strong the negative emotions this kind of ‘bad news’ would bring to her son.

Thinking about it, she understood why Kokonoe Taka hadn’t told Oikawa Tōru this news for so long. It was simply because he was afraid that the boy would break off their friendship in a fit of anger and make some poisonous oath to never see each other again—she understood, she had gone through that in her childhood too.

Since she understood, she decided to let things take their course.

Oikawa Miwako had him take off his scarf and coat and go to the sofa to drink a cup of tea to warm up. “Tōru is still sleeping,” she said, touching the boy’s hair, which was slightly damp. She then found a clean and warm towel for him to dry it.

“I’ll go wake him up—”

Kokonoe Taka quickly interrupted, “Please don’t trouble yourself.” A look of determined resolve appeared on his face again, making people want to laugh for some reason. “I, I’ll go up and wake him up.”

Because of nervousness, he even accidentally bit his tongue.

To save the boy’s face, Oikawa Miwako pretended not to hear the hiss of pain.

Kokonoe Taka put on a calm facade. “In the box are some volleyball-related videotapes and sports-related books that I’ve sorted out,” he said seriously. “I’m going back to Hyōgo Prefecture with my mother for the New Year, and then I’ll go directly to Tokyo… I might not have time to explain these things to him again.”

Oikawa Miwako gave a suggestion that was not at all motherly: “I know, but if that boy is still in bed, just flip his quilt over—”

…Although he was still nervous, Kokonoe Taka suddenly felt a strange sense of sympathy for his friend, who had been ruthlessly betrayed by Mrs. Oikawa.

Kokonoe Taka tiptoed up to the second floor of the Oikawa house and carefully pushed open Oikawa Tōru’s bedroom door. Most of the room was dark, with only a sliver of bright and dazzling white light seeping through the not-fully-closed curtains, illuminating a short section of the edge of the bed and the small mound bulging on the bed.

There was also a comic book lying face down on the floor next to the bed. Kokonoe Taka quietly walked in, picked up the book, and smoothed out the creased pages. He leaned over and poked the bulge: “Tōru? Tōru?”

After calling out twice, Oikawa Tōru smacked his lips and turned over, his breathing becoming long and steady again. Half of his face was covered by the heavy bedding, and his cheeks had a healthy, soft flush, making him look uncharacteristically innocent and naive.

For a moment, Kokonoe Taka wanted to stick his frozen hand into the other person’s bedding. But, considering the amount of trouble he would be in afterward… never mind, he didn’t want to really part ways with this guy.

But Oikawa Tōru was sleeping so soundly that if he didn’t give him a physical wake-up call, he probably wouldn’t wake up even if he left.

Kokonoe Taka had no choice but to reach out and quickly touch his cheek.

The cold fingers made contact with the warm skin, making him want to laugh. Oikawa Tōru shivered in his sleep, his eyelashes fluttering twice, showing that he was struggling to wake up from his bizarre dream.

“Dumb bird?” he mumbled. “Why are you in my room…”

Kokonoe Taka was first stunned, then immediately understood who this ‘dumb bird’ was referring to. He narrowed his eyes unhappily, almost yanking him out of the bed with his cold, ruthless hands—

Oikawa Tōru was still muttering in his sleep: “Oikawa-sama next time…”

Unable to resist his curiosity, was this person dreaming? What was he saying next time? He wasn’t talking bad about me, was he?

In any case, he would prepare to put his hand in if he heard any bad words.

Kokonoe Taka temporarily suppressed the murderous intent in his heart and leaned over again.

The closer he got, the clearer the light, floating breath became. Oikawa Tōru’s tone of voice always liked to rise at the end of a sentence, often making him seem not serious or proper at all—these two words would probably never be associated with him in his life.

But now, he was still speaking dizzily: “…win…definitely will…go to nationals…”

“…want to see…shining…Oikawa-sama….”

The fragmented words barely echoed in the air for less than three seconds before disappearing. Oikawa Tōru smacked his lips, turned over, and began to mumble something about “Watch this…” obviously jumping to another dream.

Most of the light slanting down from outside the window was blocked, and the remaining light was too dazzling, so Oikawa Tōru tried to avoid it in every possible way. Kokonoe Taka could only stare at his blurry face in the dark.

He couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“Tōru and Iwaizumi… are the kind of people who can shine even without the sun.”

He sighed, got up and walked to the window, glancing at the snowy scene outside that wasn’t blocked by the not-fully-closed curtains, then gently blocked that gap with the soft fabric.

The room suddenly became even darker.

He turned back, not walking to Oikawa Tōru’s side, but standing by the window. “I can’t see Tōru shining on the court for a while,” he said softly, but slightly curving his grey eyes, revealing an indistinguishable, blurry smile. “But I’ll always be watching you.”

Kokonoe Taka still didn’t wake him up. He walked back and gently touched his warm-colored hair. “Happy New Year.”

The latch quietly closed with a click, and the room returned to its original silence.

……

…………

When Mrs. Oikawa turned around, she was surprised to see that Kokonoe Taka had already come down from upstairs. “Where’s that boy?” she asked, poking her head towards the staircase.

“He’s still sleeping.” Kokonoe Taka smiled helplessly at her. “It’s okay, let him sleep.”

Mrs. Oikawa said worriedly, “Are you sure it’s okay? Should I wake him up… that child is really something, was he up late reading comics again last night?”

Kokonoe Taka quickly blocked her from going upstairs. “Um… it’s okay, I just came too early.”

He was too insistent, so Mrs. Oikawa had no choice but to give up. She then said, “Then is there anything you want to tell that brat?” She took Kokonoe Taka’s hand, not caring about the coldness and unevenness of his palm.

Kokonoe Taka lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, but he didn’t say a single one of the sentences he had prepared. In a situation where he couldn’t say goodbye in person, what was the best way to handle it? He didn’t know.

Finally, “…Just tell him that I’ll be waiting for him in the national competition stadium.”

Mrs. Oikawa was slightly surprised at first, but then thought it was natural, and finally agreed gently.

After saying goodbye to Mrs. Oikawa, Kokonoe Taka returned to his own home.

Tsurumi Sumiko had prepared hot tea and was smiling faintly. “Did you say goodbye properly?” she asked.

He replied, “Um… hard to say.”

Tsurumi Sumiko: “Hmm? Hard to say?” Kokonoe Taka also smiled, a rare hearty and cheerful smile: “It doesn’t matter—goodbyes are a ritual that takes place when one is about to leave, right?” He breathed out a puff of hot air.

“But I’ll always be watching them.” He winked mischievously at his mother. “So it can’t be considered leaving.”

Tsurumi Sumiko chuckled. “You little rascal.”

Kokonoe Taka walked over, took the hot tea, and drank it all in one gulp. He put down the cup and hugged his mother. “And we will always meet again.”

Tsurumi Sumiko gently returned his hug.

When the clock struck half past eight, Kokonoe Taka was already standing outside the courtyard gate, locking the door. “What about this house?” he turned and asked his mother.

Tsurumi Sumiko looked at the eaves and window frames, and the silk tree in the yard. “Let’s keep it?” she said softly. “There will always be a day when we need it again.”

She remembered the wind and snow-like cold hospital room, and the shadow of the wailing baby from eleven years ago seemed to fall before her eyes—now, he was standing next to her, neatly picking up his suitcase.

The world gradually became brighter.

After placing the breakfast on the table, Oikawa Miwako noticed a layer of misty water on the glass. She walked over and wiped them clean.

“It’s really beautiful,” she said, looking out the window with emotion.

“Honey—breakfast is ready—”

Oikawa Miwako raised her voice and walked away from the window, and Mr. Oikawa’s response quickly came from the room, “Coming.”

Outside the window, the heavy snow had not stopped, the wind was still blowing, and everything was white.

Two rows of footprints in the wind and snow were gradually covered by the fine snow.

……

…………

“Tōru is sleeping like a little pig.”

Iwaizumi Hajime, who had gotten up early, received a message from his friend while eating breakfast. Under his mother’s glare, he drank the milk in the glass in one gulp, loudly said “I’m full!” and quickly returned to his room, freeing his hands to reply.

“…So?”

“So what?”

Iwaizumi Hajime frowned tightly, his face twisted together.

“Did you tell that idiot or not?”

“Um…”

A meaningful, unclear answer.

Iwaizumi Hajime felt his fists itching.

“Sort of?”

“…”

The other side seemed to see his expression and immediately said.

“Don’t frown, Iwaizumi, you’ll get old faster”

“Shut up!”

Kokonoe Taka seemed determined to be mysterious, and wouldn’t say the main point no matter what.

“Forget it,” Iwaizumi Hajime typed dejectedly, “Whatever you want.”

He looked out the window. Today was a rare snowy day in Miyagi Prefecture.

The phone vibrated gently in a comforting silence.

Iwaizumi Hajime breathed out, changed his posture, and then looked at the screen.

“Happy New Year, Iwaizumi”

“…Happy New Year”

……

…………

“Oh, is the little lazy pig finally up?”

“……”

“Just now—”

“……”

I know!.