[Editor's note: This chapter has been edited to remove content that breaks our content rules.]
“Now you’re scared? You didn’t look like this when you were swinging that baseball bat,” Kageyama Sora said with a quiet laugh.
“I—I’m not scared…”
Ikeda Kana dug her nails into his shoulder, making him wince.
Sora narrowed his eyes. He had not expected her to keep resisting.
“Let go… I’ll call for help…”
Sora almost replied that no one would come no matter how loudly she shouted, but decided that line was too tacky.
“Or you could apologize, and I’ll consider letting you go.”
Kana’s eyes stung under his intimidating stare, but she stubbornly refused to speak.
The night wind blew through the broken window, carrying the scent of the weeds outside the factory.
Kana suddenly turned her head and bit the web of his hand.
Chapter 78: Ikeda Kana’s Troubled Heart
Provoked by Kageyama Sora, Ikeda Kana suddenly turned her head and bit the web of his hand.
Sora did not dodge. He let her vent her anger until she finally released him. Beads of blood welled up from the wound.
“Would you still dare slash at me with a utility knife?”
Eventually, Sora let her go.
Kana sank onto a rust-covered iron plate.
“Go on. Don’t let me catch you again,” he said with an unrestrained grin.
Thinking of Fukuji Mihoko, Sora decided not to get any further involved with Kana for the time being.
The night wind carried the smell of rust. As Kana braced herself against an iron frame and stood, her heart pounded so hard that her ears hurt.
She bent down to retrieve the baseball bat that had rolled across the floor. Her hair fell forward, hiding her flushed face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sora leaning against the wall, playing with his Zippo. The flame flared, illuminating the enigmatic curve of his smile.
“Don’t let me catch you laying a hand on the captain again!” she said, forcing herself to sound fierce. As she turned, she tripped and stumbled.
Sora’s low chuckle sounded behind her. Kana hurried out of the factory, stumbling along until she had turned three street corners. Only then did she stop, leaning against the glass wall of a convenience store and gasping for breath.
The streetlights stretched her shadow into a thin line. Factory dust still clung to the folds of her pleated skirt.
Flustered, she took the mint candy from her pocket, only to discover that she had crumpled its wrapper in her fist.
When she got home, she ignored her two younger sisters and went straight to her room.
Kana stared at her disheveled reflection in the mirror, then pulled the covers over her head. The encounter at the factory kept replaying in her mind.
The next day, she thought she had pulled herself together enough to return to mahjong practice.
She knew she needed to concentrate on the upcoming match, but she simply could not settle down.
She kept getting distracted during training and discarding the wrong tiles. Memories of Sora’s intimidating presence remained painfully vivid.
When Captain Fukuji Mihoko offered her a towel, Kana stared at her hand, lost in thought.
“Hm?” The captain’s voice brought her back to reality. “You’ve been distracted all day. Did something happen?”
“N-no! I just didn’t sleep well, Captain!” Kana hastily shook her head.
She gulped down some water, only to choke and break into a violent coughing fit.
Mihoko was worried, but she could not read Kana’s mind. She assumed Kana was anxious about having to face Amae Koromo again.
The gentle captain reassured her softly. “It’ll be all right. We’ve worked so hard this time. We can do it…”
“We can… definitely do it…” Kana echoed, her cheeks flushed.
She told herself she could surely put Sora out of her mind.
But late that night, she lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Moonlight slipped through a gap in the curtains, casting long, thin shadows on the ceiling. Even the shadows of the trees reminded her of Sora.
Frustrated, she ruffled her hair, then suddenly sprang out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.
Water dripped from her chin as she stared at her reddened eyes in the mirror. No matter what she tried, she could not shake the memory of that night.
Chapter 79: The Night Before the Match
Leaving the girls’ complicated thoughts aside for now, four teams had advanced to the prefectural qualifying finals: last year’s champion, Ryuumonbuchi High School; Kazekoshi Girls’ High School, which had held the title for years before losing to Ryuumonbuchi last year; and two dark horses, Kiyosumi High School and Tsuruga Academy.
Kageyama Sora was already very familiar with Kiyosumi. Of the four semifinalists, the only team he knew absolutely nothing about was Tsuruga Academy.
There was little concrete information available about Tsuruga, either. Like Kiyosumi, this was their first appearance in the qualifying finals.
On the night before the finals, Sora was still a little worried, so he went to see Nodoka Haramura and the others from Kiyosumi.
Ryuumonbuchi had an enormous budget, after all. Its young ladies could simply drive to the venue the following morning.
Kazekoshi Girls’ High School was not a suitable place for him to visit, considering how ugly his last confrontation with their coach had been.
When Nodoka called and asked him to come over, Sora had assumed she needed his help. He had never expected that their club president, Hisa Takei, was treating everyone to dinner and had specifically asked Nodoka to invite him.
They gathered at a roadside ramen stall.
The kindly middle-aged owner handed over freshly cooked bowls of ramen. “Here you are—your chashu ramen.”
Yuuki Kataoka eagerly accepted hers. Her appetite was quite out of proportion to her small frame, and her face filled with delight.
“Thank you very much!”
Hisa smiled. “Don’t hold back, everyone. Dig in!”
“Thanks for the food!”
Yuuki certainly did not need to be told twice. She immediately began eating.
Some people really did make food look appetizing. Just watching her made Sora feel hungry.
Her enthusiastic response delighted Hisa, too.
“You can have another bowl if you like. It’s my treat today. We need to get ready for tomorrow’s match.”
Then she glanced at Sora, who had yet to pick up his chopsticks, and teased him.
“A wealthy young gentleman like you probably doesn’t eat food like this, does he, Kageyama?”
Sora chuckled and shook his head. “You’re exaggerating. When I’m busy and stay up all night at the office, I often live on instant noodles and coffee. I’m not one of those rich boys who only eat at Michelin-starred restaurants.”
He started eating, then gave the owner a thumbs-up.
“Delicious.”
Everyone else had begun eating, but Nodoka seemed unsure how to start.
Sora suddenly remembered that she, too, came from a well-to-do family. Perhaps eating something this messy was discouraged at home.
While he was pondering that, Yuuki asked bluntly, “Is this your first time eating ramen, Nodoka?”
Nodoka instantly blushed. “I do know what ramen is.”
She brushed her hair back to keep it out of the broth, then cautiously took a bite.
Her cheeks grew even redder, and her eyes curved into a delighted smile.
“…It’s so good.”
When she looked up, her gaze met Sora’s. Realizing he had been watching her, she blushed harder and silently lowered her head to keep eating.
Saki Miyanaga looked surprised at how intently Nodoka was eating.
“Is it… really that good?”
It certainly was delicious, but Nodoka’s single-minded attention to her bowl still struck Saki as a little odd.
Just then, Yuuki finished her first bowl and looked up.
“Another bowl, please!”
Seeing everyone enjoy the food put Hisa in an even better mood. She laughed when she noticed Mako Someya beside her eating just as earnestly.
“I’m so glad it suits your tastes.”
Mako blushed slightly. Having her longtime teammate bring up her picky eating was naturally a little embarrassing.
Hisa did not tease her further. Instead, she turned to Sora.
“Is it good, Kageyama?”
“Yes, very good.” He smiled. “It really tastes great.”
By the time everyone finished, it was already quite late.
Sora could not help marveling at Yuuki’s appetite.
“You actually ate three bowls.”
Yuuki grinned proudly. “My stomach is a bottomless pit!”
Unfortunately, they had spent so long eating that the last bus had already left.
Hisa sighed and turned to Saki, the newest member of the mahjong club.
“I’m sorry. We’re quite a long way from the tournament venue, so we’ll have to meet very early tomorrow.”
Easygoing as ever, Saki did not mind.
“It’s all right. Really.”
Mako, however, had been perfectly happy after her delicious ramen, only to suddenly look utterly drained.
“Getting up early… Just thinking about having to get up early tomorrow makes me lose the strength to stand.”
Hisa looked helplessly at her exhausted teammate.
“There’s nothing we can do about it. If we win the prefectural qualifiers this year and make a strong showing at nationals, we might be able to get a budget for an overnight stay.”
Kiyosumi’s members were easy to encourage.
Though Hisa was still only dangling a future possibility before them, Yuuki immediately perked up.
“Then next time, let’s stay at a fancy hotel!”
Seeing how lively everyone was, Sora decided it was time to act as their financial backer.
“There’s no need to wait until next time. We can do that now.”
Once he had everyone’s attention, he went over and patted Yuuki on the head.
“I’ll arrange a car to pick us up. How about staying at a hotel near tomorrow’s venue tonight?”
Hisa immediately looked conflicted.
“Wouldn’t that be a bit inappropriate…?”
Sora understood her hesitation.
“It’s fine. I’ve invested in the national tournament, too. I consider you one of the strongest contenders this time, so there’s nothing wrong with investing a little in you.”
His expression was earnest and sincere. Anyone could tell he meant what he said, rather than merely trying to spare someone’s pride.
That only made Hisa a little more puzzled.
“You have that much faith in us?”
Remembering how brilliantly each of them could play, Sora answered with a question of his own.
“Aren’t you worth having faith in?”
Of course, none of them thought they were unworthy of his confidence. They were all aiming for the championship.
Even so, they still looked reluctant to trouble him.
“Don’t turn me down,” Sora added. “Consider it a chance for me to spend more time with my girlfriend.”
“Sora!…”
Nodoka’s face turned bright red.
Amid everyone’s laughter, he drew his girlfriend into his arms.