[Editor's note: This chapter has been edited to remove content that breaks our content rules.]
“Enough. I don’t have time to fool around with you,” Kageyama Sora said.
Chopin’s nocturne drifted through the room.
“Your reaction was so strong before, and now your attitude has changed completely. It’s hard for me to believe you’re serious unless you give me a reason.”
Ryuumonbuchi Touka replied, “What if I said Koromo’s words changed my mind?”
“What?” Sora turned abruptly.
Touka was much more straightforward. “I wanted to find out for myself.”
“...Just because of that?!” Her reasoning left Sora caught between exasperation and laughter.
Touka continued, perfectly unapologetic. “Of course. Besides, you’re handsome, and we know each other well. What’s wrong with coming to you?”
“And if I remember correctly,” she added, “didn’t you say you came to apologize? If that’s the case, prove your sincerity through your actions. Maybe then I’ll forgive you.”
Chapter 42
“You’re turning an apology into blackmail.”
Sora tried to disguise his unease with a cold laugh.
Moonlight filtered through a gap in the sheer curtains.
“I’m serious,” Touka said.
Chapter 43: An Invitation to the Hot-Spring Training Camp
The story now turns to another thread.
The gears of time turned quietly, and their lives continued along separate tracks.
Sora’s life had fallen into a subtle state of confusion. His tangled emotions grew like intertwining vines in his heart, bringing both happiness and unease.
Meanwhile, Haramura Nodoka, his nominal “girlfriend,” was occupied with an entirely different kind of busyness.
The moment Sora had some free time, he suddenly realized that he had not contacted Nodoka in days.
He sat in his room, absentmindedly rubbing the case of his phone, his gaze unfocused.
He felt both nervous and eager, wondering whether his sudden neglect had upset her.
At last, he took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and pressed the call button.
When the call connected, Nodoka’s voice came through the receiver, carrying a hint of weariness after a busy day.
When Sora asked how she had been, her voice brightened, and she began telling him what had happened.
After their confidence had been shaken by Fujita Yasuko last time, she and Miyanaga Saki had returned to the mahjong club.
Their club president, Takei Hisa, had decided to take everyone on a training camp before the tournament so they could improve.
After hearing Nodoka’s account, Sora quickly said, “Send me the address. I’ll come see you.”
His voice was gentle, but left little room for refusal.
On the other end of the line, ripples spread through Nodoka’s previously calm heart. A quiet joy blossomed within her like flowers in spring.
Her cheeks reddened as she asked shyly, “Wouldn’t that be a lot of trouble for you?”
“Not at all.” Sora’s voice was soft. “At such an important time, I should be there for you. Besides... although I’m not an especially strong mahjong player, I ought to be able to help you practice, right?”
Just as Nodoka was hesitating over how to respond, Kataoka Yuuki, who was sitting beside her, suddenly leaned over and shouted, “Come over! You absolutely have to come, Kageyama! Nodoka looks super cute in a yukata!”
Yuuki wore a mischievous smile, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Nodoka.
Only then did Nodoka belatedly realize that her teammates had long since abandoned their mahjong game and gathered behind her to eavesdrop on the conversation.
Her face flushed bright red. Flustered, she covered her face and cried out in embarrassment and annoyance, “Yuuki!”
Hisa, the club president, quickly noticed Nodoka’s discomfort. She patted her shoulder and said with a smile, “Let him come. We can’t pass up such a good practice partner.”
The encouragement and trust in Hisa’s eyes helped Nodoka relax a little.
And so, feeling both shy and excited, Nodoka gave Sora the address of their training camp.
Sora wasted no time. As soon as he had learned that Nodoka was away at camp, he had already asked his assistant to prepare everything. Standing by the window and looking out at the street, he pictured Nodoka at the training camp.
Half an hour later, a car slowly pulled up outside the hot-spring hotel where Kiyosumi High School was holding its camp.
Sora stepped out, followed by an assistant carrying bags of various sizes.
He looked up at the hotel. Sunlight shone on the building, bathing it in a warm glow.
At the thought that he would soon see Nodoka, a smile rose unbidden to his lips. Filled with anticipation, he headed toward the hotel.
When Sora slid open the paper door to the hotel’s Japanese-style room, the fragrance of tea and the crisp clatter of mahjong tiles greeted him.
Although this was a mahjong club training camp, the Kiyosumi club members were not actually playing a game.
Yuuki, normally the most eager to join a match, was sitting out and appeared to be writing something with a miserable expression.
Nodoka was practicing drawing tiles and making calls, with her favorite penguin plushie in her arms.
As Sora entered with his assistant, everyone stopped what they were doing.
Yuuki shot toward them like a little cannonball, her eyes fixed on the specially wrapped gift box of chicken wraps in the assistant’s hands.
“Kageyama! Is that for me?”
Sora nodded. “Good nose. You figured out right away that it was yours.”
Once she received confirmation, Yuuki rose onto her toes, bringing her nose almost against the picture of a chicken wrap on the box.
“It’s from that Western restaurant where it’s almost impossible to get a reservation! Nodoka and I waited in line for three hours last time and still didn’t get to eat there!”
She excitedly untied the ribbon. The golden wraps inside their waxed-paper packaging were still steaming, and the rich aroma of cheese quickly filled the room.
She was beside herself with excitement, her eyes shining.
“This is amazing! If you weren’t Nodoka’s boyfriend, I’d definitely ask you out!”
Yuuki was so cute that even a remark as bold as that seemed endearing rather than awkward.
After her little burst of antics, much of the room’s initial awkwardness had faded.
Nodoka emerged from the group with a flushed face, her long pink hair loose and her pale-blue yukata neatly arranged.
“Th-thank you,” she said, accepting a gift box decorated with wisteria blossoms. When she opened it, she discovered a set of exquisite pearl hairpins.
“This is far too expensive!” Her voice was as small as a startled kitten’s, though her fingertips unconsciously brushed over the smooth pearls.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sora quickly replied. “You’re my girlfriend. It’s perfectly normal for me to buy you a present... Besides, I brought gifts for everyone.”