Hitonari Hiiragi – The Ramen Stall
It was a cold winter's night and the bitter cold wind pierced my cheek. I leant against the wooden pillars that stood at the top of the hill, looking down on the street lights that were vibrantly lit in the city below. The city glowed and the white blanket that lay over it became thicker. The sky was filled with stars and glowed like a sequences in the night. I rubbed my hands together to keep them warm. Rushing out of the house, I'd forgotten my gloves and they were going numb in the cold. I put my hands in my jacket pocket and began walking towards the city.
Many people were gathering around the street and I just managed to reach the ramen stall to grab a cup of warm sake and wait inside for a while. It had been almost two months since I left Kouzu and it hadn't been a restful two months. The urge to reach higher places kept me going throughout training, but recently I felt my stamina failing me and a pain in my chest building up as we played for several hours non-stop at the training ground. I haven't seen Tachibana since the game we played soon after I had transferred to the week-based training session which got promoted to become official. Life is not a game for me, the game is my life and he didn't seem to understand the weight I was lifting on my shoulder due to the pressure from both my brother and father, but somehow I can't help but feel incomplete as if something is missing in my life and I'd never felt it before back at Kouzu and it made me almost regretful. Maybe I do need him.
"Oi! Baka" I felt a sudden pain in my head and I turned around "I looked for you everywhere and you were sitting in the ramen stall out of all places!" He was holding a newspaper in his palms and I figured he hit me on the head with it and it made me somewhat annoyed that he did it.
"Shut up idiot," I said with a smile creeping along my face. He was wearing his white woolly hat again, the ones that cover your ears, and he looked at me with his inquisitive expression. He dragged a stool up close beside mine and sat down, opening up the newspaper that was rolled up in his hands.
"Oi! Obaa-chan! Get me ramen and add a few pork chops. Oh and chuck in some eggs while you're at it." He looked at me, that stubborn look on his face and started reading his newspaper. I looked down at my sake, now cold. He shoved the paper under my arm and pointed at a picture that was my brother. Slightly annoyed I pushed the newspaper away from me and walked out the shop, but hesitated for a moment.
"I've already read it."