JSWGAS Chapter 42

42.

Morning. Kokonoe Taka was awakened by his alarm clock right on time. Eyes still closed, he smacked the Pikachu alarm clock gleefully jumping on his bedside table. The alarm clock was knocked to the ground by his smack, seemingly unaware of the murderous intent, and continued to play the wake-up call on the floor.

“Big dummy, get up! Big dummy, get up!”

No one could continue to sleep peacefully amidst such noise. Five minutes later, Kokonoe Taka finally threw off the covers, disgruntledly picked up the alarm clock, turned it off, and placed it back on the table. This thing was a gift sent by Oikawa Tōru from afar. It was said to be a lottery prize he and Iwaizumi won during a trip to the shopping mall: an alarm clock that could record a wake-up call.

Oikawa Tōru secretly set the time and ringtone before sending the gadget, falsely claiming it was just a normal clock. Kokonoe Taka didn’t suspect anything, so at five o’clock in the morning on the second day of receiving the gift, he was awakened by Oikawa Tōru’s affectionate call.

He almost bought a standing ticket overnight to return to Miyagi Prefecture and drag Oikawa Tōru out of bed to experience the fresh morning air. Although this plan ultimately failed, he successfully hired Iwaizumi to catch Oikawa Tōru on a weekend morning to repent, in exchange for helping Iwaizumi collect Godzilla pendants only sold in Tokyo.

However, in the end, this quirky alarm clock was kept by Kokonoe Taka due to its excellent quality, and it also preserved Oikawa Tōru’s friendship recording.

He crawled out of bed, yawning, and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Today was Saturday, so after returning to his room, he chose comfortable black sportswear. While pressing down the unruly strands of hair in front of the mirror, he inadvertently saw the thin paper on his desk through the mirror.

The club application form had to be submitted after this weekend.

Two strands of hair on his head were still stubbornly refusing to be smoothed down, so he had to give up after a fruitless struggle. Kokonoe Taka glanced again at the clean, blank club application form, thinking in self-defeat that there were still two days left, so he would deal with it then.

After getting ready and making the bed, Kokonoe Taka opened the door and tiptoed downstairs.

His grandfather Kokonoe Zhíyě’s job change transferred him from his original university to Kuansei University, where he was hired as a special guest professor. He was meticulous and diligent in his work, often not resting until late at night, and occasionally having classes on weekends. His grandmother Kokonoe Yū ran a fairly large flower shop and was usually busy with work, so she was also very tired.

Kokonoe Taka had always insisted on the habit of morning runs. After living with his grandparents, he would always make coffee before going out for a run in the morning—forgive him for not knowing how to do anything else besides making coffee. Back in the Miya household, Miya Osamu not only had to be wary of Miya Atsumu sneaking into the kitchen to make trouble, but sometimes also had to kick out Kokonoe Taka, who, despite looking serious, could turn food into bizarre flavors.

Ten minutes later, Kokonoe Zhíyě floated out of the bedroom, drawn by the aroma of coffee. Kokonoe Taka poured a cup of coffee and handed it to his grandfather, who was looking at him with longing eyes: “Be careful, it’s hot.”

Kokonoe Zhíyě took a small sip and sighed contentedly, “Taka, your coffee-making skills have improved again.”

Kokonoe Taka shrugged: “You’d drink it no matter how I make it, right? After all, Grandma complained that ‘you can’t live without coffee’.”

Kokonoe Zhíyě defended himself, “Yū is exaggerating… I’m not that addicted to coffee.”

Kokonoe Taka exposed him: “Do you want me to open the cabinet and see how many new coffee beans you’ve bought?”

Kokonoe Zhíyě: “…” He silently changed the subject, “Are you going out for a morning run again?”

Kokonoe Taka had already walked out of the kitchen. He hummed in affirmation and walked towards the entrance. Kokonoe Zhíyě followed him, watching him sit down at the door to put on his running shoes, then stand up and stretch his limbs, before asking: “What do you want for breakfast? I’ll tell Yū when she gets up.”

“Hmm, tomato soup and Grandma’s signature pancakes?” Kokonoe Taka turned his head and pushed his grandfather back into the room, “It’s cold outside, you should go back in. I’ll be back in an hour at the latest.”

Kokonoe Zhíyě glanced at the clock: it was 5:35 in the morning, so an hour later would be 6:35.

“Okay, be careful on the road.”

“I’m leaving.”

Standing in the courtyard of the Kokonoe house, he began to warm up before running. The weather was not bad, and the light mist slowly dissipated as he warmed up. By the time he set off, the sun was already hanging energetically on the eastern branches.

In Tokyo, there were quite a few people jogging along the streets in the early morning. Kokonoe Taka ran forward along the route he had memorized, avoiding the more crowded streets. After such a long time, the shopkeepers who opened early on the roadside were all familiar with this teenager who appeared every day.

Passing a second-hand shop, the owner who had just pulled up the roller shutter saw him running along the street and called out loudly, “You’re here so early again today!”

Kokonoe Taka slowed down slightly and responded politely, “Yes, good morning!”

The other shop owners nearby heard the sound and poked their heads out one after another, “How is Mrs. Yū doing lately?”

“Thanks to you, Grandma has been doing well lately.”

“Watch out for cars!”

“Okay, thank you.”

He slowed down his pace on this section of the road, and he sped up again after running out of this street.

Many people who don’t understand think that running is a boring and painful sport. Every day, they step on the same unchanging track, repeating the action of stepping out, the body undergoes postural changes while running, and the intense activity stimulates the abdomen, bringing the pain of cramps; or they are dry-mouthed and their throats are smoking, and they can’t wait to stop immediately.

For Kokonoe Taka, running made him calm.

Emptying himself from the inside out, using silence to feel the vibration of his internal organs.

He turned into the city park, crossed it, and ran three or four more kilometers to the Tama River. This was where he often ran in the morning during this period of time, because it was on the riverbank. Therefore, the air also contained a slight humidity, which was inexplicably refreshing.

This refreshing feeling did not allow Kokonoe Taka to be immersed in the gentle comfort for a moment. Instead, it was like turpentine, lubricating his joints. He looked straight ahead, and from time to time, people riding bicycles and walking dogs passed him, or were quickly overtaken by him.

None of these could leave a shadow in his eyes. He felt the sensation of his feet touching the ground: today’s running shoes felt very comfortable. He thought, and then subconsciously recalled that these were the running shoes that Oikawa Tōru had given him. That guy would do some good things sometimes.

He thought.

Quiet, he could only hear the slight footsteps of his running shoes contacting the ground. Speaking of which, he had been running in Tokyo for so long, but he didn’t seem to know where his limit was. Kokonoe Taka usually only ran for an hour, grasping the time and speed just right, stopping when he reached the point.

He glanced down slightly and saw the time on his watch: 6:05. If he turned back now, he could catch Grandma’s signature pancakes coming out of the oven.

His footsteps slowed down, but just as he was about to stop, his gradually weakening footsteps were drowned out by another light footstep.

Thump, thump, thump.

Perhaps there was a strange attraction between similar people in this world, so Kokonoe Taka did not stop there. The footsteps falling into his ears were steady and powerful, yet not lacking in lightness, with a stable pace and a rhythm that had its own unique charm.

Then, the runner passed him by.

There was no romantic scene of eye contact. When Kokonoe Taka saw that figure pass him by and continue running towards their front, the other person was already five or six meters away from him. This distance was rapidly increasing as time passed, so he could only see a back.

Kokonoe Taka didn’t know about the instinctive desire for the widespread behavior of ‘sports’ that he had shown in his infancy. He didn’t remember staring intently at Echizen Nanjirō winning the laurel on the TV screen, nor did he remember the silly smile he showed when his father gave him the choice, towards the webpage with the yellow little ball.

Even so, the urge, as if the instincts dormant in his blood suddenly boiled, made his gaze involuntarily follow the direction of that figure.

So fast.

He thought, do other people feel this way when they watch me run?

This didn’t even need comparison—well, he admitted that he hesitated for a moment, after all, Grandma’s pancakes were really delicious—but when he came back to his senses, he had already started to take steps again. Can I surpass him?

The soles of his feet were burning, and the cells all over his body were urging him to keep up with him.

……

…………

On the bank of the Tama River, the people of Chikuseisō were doing stretching exercises on the grass that was still covered with morning dew.

They were working hard for the long-distance relay race ‘Hakone Ekiden’, so they would run together every morning. After the morning run, in order to relieve muscle fatigue, they would usually rest here for a while before returning to their residence ‘Chikuseisō’.

Sakaguchi Yōhei, who was trying to slack off—he was called ‘KING’ by everyone in Chikuseisō—his small movements were discovered by the sharp-eyed Kiyose Haiji. The latter walked up to him and reached out to press his calf, “KING, you can’t stretch properly, you know?”

Kiyose Haiji was a man who was secretly called ‘Devil’ by everyone, who could say the most cruel things in the gentlest tone, and was the breadwinner who controlled the lifeline of the lives of everyone in Chikuseisō. Of course, he was also the proposer of ‘Hakone Ekiden’.

KING shrank his neck and complained repeatedly, “But it really hurts when I use force… It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!” Before he could finish speaking, Kiyose Haiji had already ruthlessly pressed his back, helping him stretch his ligaments. Listening to KING’s wailing, he was even smiling: “Isn’t that right? It should be very comfortable. Could it be that I’m not using enough strength?”

KING desperately sent out beams of help: who would stop him!

Everyone shrank their necks, or turned their faces to the side, giving him a look of wishing him good luck. In the end, the gentle and humble prodigy Yu Xin couldn’t bear it and interrupted the torment of the evil ghost: “Haiji-san, is Aso going to continue running?”

Kiyose Haiji let go and stood up. Behind him, the twins Jōta and Jōji walked to KING, who was paralyzed on the ground as if he had faded, poked him, and whispered: “Is he dead?”

“Aso said that his condition has been good these days and he wants to add more training.” He first affirmed the words of the prodigy, and then exclaimed, “Aso is here.”

On the road above the bank of the Tama River, Kurahara Kakeru, wearing a blue sportswear, was running forward.

He was the fastest runner among them, and even ranked among the top runners in the university.

But to the surprise of the Chikuseisō people, Kurahara Kakeru was getting closer and closer to them, but he still didn’t have any slowing down action. Just as the international student Musa wanted to call him, he suddenly noticed that beside Kurahara Kakeru, there was a person running with him at a similar frequency and pace.

He said in surprise: “Someone is running with Aso…”

“Huh?”

The others squinted and looked over there. Sure enough, they saw a stranger chasing closely behind Kurahara Kakeru, looking like he was not showing any weakness at all!

“He’s as fast as Aso?!”

“Is he a local resident?” Yuki guessed, joking, “It’s not possible that he’s a student from our school, right? Then I’m willing to give my position to him and let him replace me in the Hakone Ekiden.”

“Even now, you’re still saying such things?”

“Just kidding, Nico-san.”

Kiyose Haiji was silent thoughtfully. Not far from him, the Prince lying on the ground propped up his upper body and tried to identify for a moment, “That person following Aso, Haiji-san and I have met before…”

“Ah?”

“You and Haiji?”

Faced with everyone’s questions, Kiyose Haiji finally opened his mouth: “Well—he’s a familiar acquaintance, I guess?”