Chapter 5 - All or Nothing
A/N: I've been mulling over the events/pacing and needed to rework the later chapters, which is why this one took so long to post. Took several rewrites, random one shots, and many bouts of writer's block, but here we are.
The day of the finals had officially come and Hyoutei was in an absolute state of panic on account that their de facto leader was still missing. Normally, his excessively flashy entrances were known to the team in advance, but they have gotten nothing but radio silence from Atobe. His face was also too well-known for any of the other Hyoutei members to pose as him for the greeting. At this rate, they were going to have to forfeit the match if he didn't show himself within the next fifteen minutes.
"Where in God's name is Atobe?" Shishido cursed. "He said he'd be back in time and to not worry about where he was going, but he's still not here!"
Oshitari Yuushi just shook his head in disbelief. "It's not like him to be this late."
The sunny stadium suddenly darkened, causing everyone to look up at the sky. A freakishly large aircraft was flying above, casting an ominous shadow below it. Gakuto noticed something inching closer and closer towards them. "There he is!" he exclaimed. "Oi, Atobe! You've got a lot of explaining to do!"
Atobe landed in the middle of the court and allowed his parachute to cover him up. With the flick of his wrist, he had instantly changed into his usual tennis gear, except he wasn't wearing his typical Hyoutei jacket. The stands, which were filled with Hyoutei's massive cheering squad, erupted in screams until a snap of his fingers brought a blanket of deafening silence down.
Shishido ran up towards their captain and got ready to kick in his head. "Are you insane?! You almost cost us the match if you were a second later than you already were!"
Oshitari noticed his new jacket and rolled his eyes. "You seriously went to go bother Tezuka in Germany?"
"Of course I had to. He's the only other man who has defeated the Child of God in an official match," he smirked. "The King never arrives late without a good reason."
"You are unbelievable, Atobe!" Gakuto yelled at him. "And what the hell did you do to your head?"
"Nothing that should concern any of you," he responded with his heightened confidence. "I've been cleared to play and I do not intend to lose."
Out of all the Rikkai players watching his grand entrance, only Mouri was awe-struck and amazed. "Does he always arrive this late and with this much pizzazz?" he asked his juniors.
Sanada scoffed. "You haven't seen the worst of it."
"Really? Tsuki-san has to be lying when he says he's not interested in that rich boy," he mused in a sing-songy voice.
"Ugh, finally," Marui groaned. "I was getting bored of waiting for our default win."
Yukimura turned to address the rest of the team. "Hyoutei is going to come after us with everything they've got. Let's show them that what happened at Kanto was a fluke and that we're still the invincible Rikkai."
"Yes!" all of them shouted in unison.
Rikkai approached the net for the introductory greeting. They were all restless and itching to finally get the match started.
"Nice forehead injury, King," Yukimura mocked. "Did your boyfriend hurt you?"
"Jealous?" he jeered back. "Ready to lose?"
Yukimura couldn't help but laugh maniacally. "It's such a shame that you won't get to play, Your Majesty." He got up close to his ear. "Unfortunately for you, I don't lose," he whispered as the grin on his face grew more prominent.
"Ahn? Kanto wasn't a fluke, Child of God."
"We'll see about that," he said as he turned around and headed back towards the benches.
The Singles 3 and Doubles 2 game went to Rikkai in two morale-crushing 6-0 games. The Singles 2 game would have also gone to the former middle school champions if Marui did not overextend himself and got injured four games into the set and was forced to retire.
Jackal supported him as he hobbled back towards the team. "Sorry, Yukimura-kun. I knew I shouldn't have gone for that risky baseline shot..."
"It's alright, Marui," the captain smiled. "Jackal will help you to the infirmary. We'll be champions by the time you get back."
The redhead gave his team a wink and a weak smile as he headed inside to get help. Just as Marui and Jackal disappeared behind the door, the next match was about to be announced.
"Now announcing the Doubles 1 match! Hyoutei's Oshitari and Atobe pair versus Rikkai's Mouri and Yukimura pair!"
There was a very audible shockwave that resonated throughout the stadium. Atobe's head immediately turned to glare at the azure-haired bastard as the four players walked onto the court. Mouri has his usual cheery demeanour on, but was seriously peeved on the inside. Oshitari seemed amused at the situation, even though he was visibly shaking at the thought of playing against the revered Child of God. It was Atobe who was falling to contain his excitement.
"Thought you could outsmart me, Child of God?" he mocked. "Your pathetic attempt to deprive me of the opportunity to defeat you twice is laughable."
Yukimura's cold smile back said all that he wanted to say. "Only a fool would believe that they can defeat me twice, King."
Oshitari pulled his captain aside. "Do you want me to step to the side, so that it's a 1-on-1?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Oshitari," Atobe scoffed. "This is doubles and I intend to play it properly. I refuse to turn it into a pseudo-singles match."
Oshitari could only sigh in disbelief as he took his position on the court for the first serve.
"Don't mess up," Mouri grinned at his junior and gave him a cheeky 'peace' sign.
Yukimura decided to jab back. "I better see that definitive shot you've been working on today, Drink Fairy-senpai."
His freakishly tall senior saluted playfully. "You got it, captain!"
Much like Yukimura stated, the game was over by the time Marui returned from his brief trip to get medical assistance. Once again, the indomitable Rikkai stood on top with the swift and overwhelming defeat against Hyoutei. Not a single game was dropped—even in the match that they were forced to retire.
Looming over Atobe's exhausted body was the monster within Yukimura Seiichi. Though his lips remained closed, the strikingly dead sapphire eyes told the dethroned king everything he had refused to accept until that moment.
Atobe was at a loss for words. Despite doing everything he could to crush Yukimura to the point where he could never stand tall again, the Child of God refused to yield. He was a phoenix rising from the ashes of his previous defeat and sought vengeance for putting him there in the first place. Yukimura was out for his pride as he mercilessly led his cross-court opponents in a feverish dance towards their demise. Was he supposed to laugh or cry? He wasn't sure. The light scent of his unrequited crush coming off of his jacket further reminded him that all of this was rather meaningless at the end of the day.
When he returned to his estate that night, it was silent and devoid of any warmth. Neither of his parents nor the servants were around to greet him as he dragged himself through the front entrance and headed straight towards his room. As he entered his sparse bedroom, he threw his tennis bag to the ground and tore open a cardboard box containing some of his clothing. He didn't particularly care if what he picked out matched or looked good. After all, he was going to be busy moving his life once again.
He drew himself a bath for once and didn't bother to hose himself off first before getting in. He submerged his entire body, head included, under the lukewarm water and just used the gentle sloshing to lull himself into a mind-emptying state. The old bandage on his forehead slowly peeled off in the water and floated to the surface.
"It's back to England, huh..."
He was frustrated in more ways than he could count. He had spent the last three years and a bit in Japan and hadn't amounted to anything noteworthy during that time. He was frustrated romantically because Tezuka would never fall for him. He thought he would've moved on by now, but he can't bring himself to let go of his feelings. He wasn't sure if he was waiting for Tezuka to notice his advances and reject him or if he was praying that he was just living through a bad dream. This also frustrated him sexually because he would never find relief either. As much as he wanted to sleep with another man, the only person he knew that would be remotely interested was currently in another relationship. Had he known Shiraishi Kuranosuke was also into men, Atobe would've tried to win him over instead of letting his arch-nemesis start a relationship with him.
The more he thought about things, the more he realized that Yukimura Seiichi was the one person who ever stood in his way. The regionals, the nationals, U-17 and any odd tournaments and games they would play against each other, he was always outclassed in ability or wits. He hated the androgynous captain of Rikkai with every fiber of his being, and yet, he could vividly remember the night they shared together. Every touch, every kiss, every stroke, he could recall all of those sensations. It drove him wild and he just wanted more. Unfortunately, the Child of God was not the type to sleep with someone he did not have feelings for and he made it absolutely clear that their one night together was a mistake.
He resurfaced from his oxygen-deprived meditation and just sat quietly in the tub, wondering what he would do next. Tezuka's words still rang deep in his ears as he drew his knees up to his bare chest.
"I'll 'viciously carve my own path', huh?"
Tezuka was right about him. Atobe was not the type to just bend over and do what others wanted. Hell, it was the main reason why he overhauled all of Hyoutei in his first year; nepotism sucked. There was no reason he was going to let himself become everything he hated. Even though he had to move back to England, who said he had to give up everything he liked in order to assume his arbitrary birthright?
He slapped himself on the cheeks and got out of the water. He dried himself off while staring at himself in the mirror. As self-absorbed as he was, he couldn't help but feel angry about himself for looking so pitiful. His recent self-inflicted injury tainted his otherwise perfectly stunning face. His chest muscles were less defined than what they used to be. His quads were not tight anymore. The blonde in his hair was losing its luster. All of these very minor changes felt monumental when his beyond-perfect vision could not avoid them.
"That bastard was right. You have fallen," he said to himself.
The real question now was what would he do about it? Frustrated, he decided to turn in for the night, knowing that he'd be somewhere different by the time he opened his eyes in the morning. Reclaiming his life for himself would have to wait until then, but his thoughts ran wild with infinite ideas as the night dragged on.
"Sei-chan... What do you want from this relationship?"
It was a simple question from Shiraishi, but it was a question Yukimura could not answer.
"I... I don't know..."
The two boys were on the bullet train down to Osaka following Rikkai's victory. Yukimura had decided to come along on a whim with no real rhyme or reason. Shiraishi wasn't complaining, per se, but he was very perplexed by the spontaneity of it all.
Shiraishi grabbed Yukimura's cold, dead-looking hand in his and squeezed lightly. "Come, now. The champion of the High School Boys' Nationals shouldn't be looking as glum as you are," he joked.
Yukimura gave him a stiff smile. "Kuranosuke, you flatter me too much."
He leaned in and gave him a light peck on the cheek, causing a delicate pink blush to grow on Yukimura's face. "You seem distracted by something."
"Well, considering you asked me a loaded question, I would have to say I am rather preoccupied with finding an answer to it," he responded, sarcastically.
Shiraishi laughed. "It's alright if you don't know. I just hope that I can make you happy."
"Kuranosuke..."
Happiness was something Yukimura hadn't felt in a long time. More specifically, genuine happiness was something he hadn't felt ever since he realized he loved Sanada. Was it possible to achieve happiness with Shiraishi? Sure, he was sweet and they had a lot in common as two plant-loving tennis freaks, but Shiraishi was just a little too anxious about everything, which put Yukimura on edge as well. He provided a sense of comfort and support, but Sanada could do the same as well. What made Shiraishi different from his best friend if they both did the same things for him?
"Relax a little. There's still a week left of summer break and you have no other commitments," Shiraishi reassured him.
"I suppose," Yukimura sighed. "Do you think you can help me, then?"
"You don't know how to relax, Sei-chan?" he asked, eyes widening in surprise.
"Can't say I remember taking a genuine vacation before," he recalled. "It's difficult to let go when your mind is always preoccupied with stuff as well."
Shiraishi had an amusing look on his face as he concentrated on a thought.
"Kuranosuke?"
"Ah, sorry. Got lost in my own thoughts there," he grinned sheepishly. "Maybe I can distract you with something fun. Like sightseeing or eating really good food."
Yukimura was very skeptical that it would work, but he felt rude if he didn't at least humour the request. "Alright, then. We can try."
After they disembarked from the train at Shin-Osaka, the two hopped into a taxi and headed straight for Shiraishi's house. They were both exhausted by the time they arrived, but there was no one around to bother either of them. The house was empty and silent, which Shiraishi found extremely odd.
"Huh, how strange," he commented as he unlocked the door and stepped into the abode. "I could've sworn Yukari would be home by now."
"Is everything alright?" Yukimura inquired.
"I hope so," he responded. "You can set your shoes down there and there's slippers if you care to wear them, but no one in this house does."
Yukimura watched Shiraishi disappear deeper into the house as he exchanged footwear and followed suit. He couldn't help but admire the simplistic decor and fresh flowers and potted plants everywhere he went. He found the Makinofuji player standing over the kitchen sink with a note in hand, frowning.
"Kuranosuke?" he called out.
Shiraishi crumpled up the paper in his hand and tossed it into the wastebasket. "Mom and Dad are having another late night at the pharmacy and my sisters have decided to run off to Nagoya for the week."
"Well, that's oddly convenient. Almost as if a story was being written," the sapphire-eyed boy mused.
"Is it, really?" Shiraishi asked again, uncertain of what Yukimura meant.
Yukimura lunged forward and brought his face closer to the now-nervous Shiraishi.
"S-Sei-chan!"
"Let's do something bad, Kuranosuke," he cooed in a sultry, hushed tone.
"H-huh?!"
Yukimura began kissing all around his boyfriend's face, traveling down, leaving tiny nibbles on his neck. Shiraishi had to will himself to not moan out in pleasure, but failed miserably.
"S-Sei-chan... I-I-I can't!"
He backed off and looked at him with a confused expression. "'You can't' what?"
Shiraishi was reduced to a bumbling mess—his red cheeks, laboured breathing and desire to curl up into a ball and die made him unable to answer Yukimura's question.
"Kuranosuke?"
"We can't just— that— is not relaxing— Sei-chan!" He was struggling to articulate his jumbled thoughts into coherent sentences.
He cracked a smile. "Kuranosuke, I was referring to eating cup ramen after midnight. What on earth were you thinking of?"
Shiraishi felt his soul evacuate his body and float away into the heavens, never to be seen again. His entire body sank slowly to the ground.
"Kuranosuke?"
"P-please d-don't tease m-me like t-that, S-Sei-chan..." he stuttered.
A devious grin started to grow on the prideful captain's face as he got down and straddled the other boy, cupping his face in his delicate, icy hands. "Tease you? You mean like this?"
"S-Sei-chan, really..."
He could see the visible discomfort in Shiraishi's eyes and eased off of him slowly. "Sorry, sorry. I'll stop."
The boy on the ground let out a sigh of relief as the redness in his cheeks started to fade away. His heart felt like it wanted to leap right out of his chest.
Yukimura held out his hand and helped him back up onto his feet. "I must say, you are rather cute when you blush like that, Kuranosuke," he teased.
"I think I just learned a lot about myself..." he mumbled to himself.
"What was that?"
"N-nothing! W-where did you want to go for food?" he stuttered, changing the topic in an instant.
"Well, you did say you would try to distract me with food... And I'm here in the nation's kitchen, which means I must try the staples again. Okonomiyaki, takoyaki, kushikatsu, kakigori... All of that," he firmly stated. "Oh! And midnight ramen as well."
Shiraishi felt his stomach starting to churn at the thought of eating that much food in one day.
The two set out for a long evening of eating their way around the city. Most of the conversation was just Shiraishi explaining things that Yukimura gleefully pointed at out of curiosity. There was something endearing about him acting like a certain redhead junior of his—only without the exhaustion of running around to catch him. The minutes flew by without either of them realizing it, but it didn't really matter; Osaka was a city that never slept.
It was almost the crack of dawn by the time they got back and the food coma began to set in.
"God, I had so much fun tonight," Yukimura hummed as they reached the front door. "I haven't felt this relaxed in years!"
Shiraishi had to resist the urge to hurl up everything he had eaten over the last several hours. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he smiled weakly as he pulled his keys out of his pocket to unlock the door. "I haven't seen you this cheery in a long time, Sei-chan. Do you feel better?"
Yukimura slung his arms over Shiraishi's shoulders and perched his head on the right side. "Yes," he purred. "But, I know what could make it even better."
The exhausted ashy blonde-haired boy suddenly felt a panic sweep through his entire body. He was terrified to ask what his boyfriend meant by that. "L-let's just get y-you inside," he stammered.
Using whatever strength he had left, Shiraishi hauled Yukimura's limping body into his house and carried him up to his room. He gently set the almost sleeping boy on his bed, but found himself being pulled down in the process. Yukimura started feverishly kissing him all around, enticing him to become intoxicated, but Shiraishi's increasing anxiety and discomfort with the situation seemed to put a stop to his advances.
"Kuranosuke, why are you rejecting me," he whined.
"W-wouldn't it be b-better if you w-were m-more awake t-to remember, S-Sei-chan?"
A pout of sorts began to form on his thin lips. "You're no fun," he mumbled as he closed his eyes. "Weren't you the one to ask me out...?"
Shiraishi hesitated to breathe as he stared at Yukimura slowly drifting off into a slumber. He tried calling his name several times to see if he had passed out and let out a sigh when the frail boy did not stir. He got up and threw a thin blanket over him before lying down beside him and wrapped his arms around his thin frame.
"Sei-chan, it's not that I don't want to..." he mumbled into the small of his back as he felt his exhaustion take over. "It's just... I don't know how to..."
Moving back to London and restarting the school year again was not something that was easy to do. Atobe would have to readjust to speaking English again. He no longer had the influence he had grown accustomed to in Japan. Everyone at his school was from the top 0.0001 percent of the highest tax bracket and more out of touch with reality than he was. It was going to be a long three years and he already wanted to give up.
Quietly making his non-flamboyant entrance into homeroom, he sat down in a seat that was neither too close to the front nor adjacent to the large windows that showed off the gloomy cloudy skies. He made no effort to hide his displeasure from his face and no one approached him to strike a conversation before the teacher arrived. All he did was sit there and silently prayed for time to pass quicker. In his trance, Atobe did not notice the snarky blonde boy approaching him, ready to hit the distracted king on the head with his notebook.
"Keigo, you fucking bloke! Since when did you go to this school?!"
Atobe slowly turned his attention towards his next murder victim, only to completely shift gears upon seeing who it was. "Leon!"
He was not sure if seeing Leon Wakefield was a blessing or a curse. The young man standing before him was a longtime family friend and heir to some sort of dukedom, but he was also Atobe's first love. Like the leaves on a tree in the autumn, their relationship was colourful and extremely short-lived. Just last year, at the World Cup, they saw each other in what seemed like an eternity to Leon, but an instant to Atobe.
"Had enough raw fish and xenophobia that you decided to come back here?" Leon joked.
"As if I can't get either of those two things here either," Atobe jabbed back.
As prideful as he was, Atobe Keigo was not above getting back with his ex. He had dated Leon on-and-off at the beginning of middle school, but Atobe's feelings for a certain rival school captain and the long distance just made things impossible. Now that there was no distance, it was probably better than ever to try again. Atobe's twisted logic came to the conclusion that if he just distracted himself, he'd change how his heart felt about Tezuka—and Leon was the master at distractions with his dashing looks and impeccable kissing skills. Of course, he wasn't expecting his old childhood friend to be more bold and mature than he last remembered. It was barely lunchtime before hormones took over and they decided to sneak away from classes.
"Fuck, Keigo," Leon sighed as he tried to catch his breath. "Are you lying about never sleeping with another person before?"
"Ahn? Not with another man," he lied. There was no way he would ever admit to sleeping with Yukimura Seiichi.
Leon rolled over on top of his friend's bare chest and started to sloppily kiss him all over. "You're lying."
"And if I'm not?"
He shrugged. "Better for me, then."
Atobe laughed. "You coy bastard."
"Oh, how I missed that insufferable laugh of yours," he grinned as he rested his head on his broad shoulder. "So, is this it, or do you plan on leaving again when the World Cup starts again?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I'm talking about U-17, Keigo. The selection committee is about to announce the qualification tournament and you are technically allowed to participate, seeing as you're a dual national." Leon perched his head close to Atobe's ear. "We can even share a room this time around, if you want," he whispered seductively.
"U-17? Is it already that time?" There was a wistful sense of nostalgia in his voice as he recalled what had occurred last year.
"Keigo, are you even listening to me?" he asked, mildly annoyed.
"I am," he responded. "But, to answer your question, no, I don't intend on going back."
Leon's face lit up in the same way he remembered Yukimura's light up whenever he was around Sanada. "So, can the UK U-17 team count on you this year?"
"Of course," he smirked. "Everyone else should be fearful that I, Keigo Atobe, will be gracing the tournament with my presence and claiming the title with my eyes closed."
"We'll see about that, you bloke," Leon scoffed. "Care to go again, Keigo?"
"Do you not tire, Leon?"
"Hah! Don't tell me the great Keigo Atobe has no stamina. "
Atobe flipped himself around, pinning Leon down underneath him. "I was talking about you, since you could never keep up with me in the past, but if you insist..."
Leon said nothing as he wrapped his arms around Atobe's neck, bringing his pearlescent face closer to his and crushing their lips together in an attempt to get his boyfriend to shut up.
The rest of Yukimura's time with Shiraishi was uneventful and he was kind of glad that classes were resuming again. The sleepiness from the summer break was making everyone lethargic on the first day back, however. Lessons felt like someone pulling out each individual hair follicle slowly and painfully. Lunch could not come any sooner, but Yukimura had no time to eat—there was some important club business to deal with. He found himself being summoned to the club room by their mysterious advisor, whom he had never seen in his life. When he arrived, there was no one there, except vaguely familiar envelopes addressed only to himself, Sanada, Yanagi, Niou, Marui and Mouri. Just as he picked up the envelope, the other five had also waltzed into the room.
Mouri excitedly picked up his and tore it open. Out flew the enclosed letter, as well as a pin of some kind. He bent down and picked it up off the floor, dusting it off before examining it.
"Chill out, senpai dude," Niou chuckled. "What's the rush, anyways?"
"YES!" Mouri shouted in celebration. "I'm Number 2 this year!"
His juniors could only look at him in confusion.
"What are you all standing around for? Open your letters!" Mouri scolded.
While Niou opted to increase entropy in the universe by ripping the entire envelope in half, the other four opened their letters with some logic and class. It was Yanagi who started to read the actual words on the enclosed paper.
"'Dear Yanagi Renji-sama, This is a formal invitation to join the Japanese U-17 Tennis Team 1st String. Enclosed is your representative badge. If you wish to decline this offer, please return it at your earliest convenience,' is what the letter says."
"U-17 again? Jackal and Yagyuu are gonna be fucking depressed again, puri," Niou smirked. "Hey, look at that. Number 10."
"This blows," Marui sighed. "Doc says the injury is going to take months to recover from and I can't play at all."
"Not like you did anything last time," Niou snickered.
"Oi! Shut your mouth, Niou. At least I'm Number 9."
Sanada let the pin fall out of the envelope and land in the palm of his dry and cracked hand. "Number 5?"
Yanagi also glanced at his own and frowned slightly. "Number 8."
Yukimura felt nervous to even look at his pin. He could feel the metallic bump in the envelope as it slid out and into his palm.
Niou whistled. "Number 3, huh? As expected from our captain."
"Who the hell is Number 1, then..." Yukimura wondered. "It better not be that bastard," he thought to himself.
Mouri wrapped his arms around his juniors, smiling from ear-to-ear. "Congrats on making it into the Genius 10, my lovely kouhais!"
"Do these numbers even mean anything?" Sanada muttered to himself. There was a glint of jealousy in his eyes as he gazed over at Mouri.
Marui shrugged and placed the letter back down on the table. "I'll see you guys later. Kimi-chan's got this awesome five-tier bento with my name written all over it!"
Niou mimicked the sound effect of a whip being snapped as soon as the red-haired genius left the club room. "Are you guys going or what?"
"Of course I am!" Mouri responded, proudly. "As the leader of the First Stringers and Genius 10, I can't possibly let Byoudouin-san down!"
Hearing that name again sent shudders down their spines.
"I will go," Sanada affirmed. "We shall strike fear into our opponents' hearts and let them know that they cannot underestimate Japan."
Yanagi nodded, signaling his agreement to go as well. "Seiichi, what about you?"
Yukimura stared intently at the pin before closing his hand around it. "Shouldn't you know the answer to that already, Renji?"
After school, Yukimura couldn't wait to call Shiraishi to gush about spending the next few months with him back at the camp and abroad.
"Yukimura-kun? What's up?" came the stiff voice from the other side.
"Hey, you," he answered in a mildly flirtatious tone. "Is now a bad time to talk?"
"Ah, just give me a sec," he said.
Yukimura could hear faint, indistinct shouting coming from the other side, followed by Shiraishi sighing heavily.
"Practice just ended. Sorry."
"Ah, that's why you called me 'Yukimura-kun', then," he mused.
"What's wrong? It's unusual for you to call me this early," Shiraishi questioned.
"The invites for U-17 came again. I wanted to ask you what number you got."
"They did? That's nice." There was a hint of sadness and disappointment in his tone.
"You don't sound very interested, Kuranosuke," Yukimura commented.
"I'm not."
"Why?"
A hesitant pause. "I wasn't invited back."
"That's ridiculous."
"It's the truth."
"But you were a Junior Youth last year! There must be some mistake, Kuranosuke."
"And I couldn't do anything at that tournament! I froze up in fear both times that I didn't even play to my strengths..." he lamented."Why would they even want me back? I cost Japan two very easy games..."
"Kuranosuke—"
"No, Sei-chan. It's better if I wasn't invited back.," he said, cutting Yukimura off. "If that's all you wanted to talk about, I'll be going."
Yukimura's inability to get any of his jumbled thoughts out made Shiraishi believe that there was nothing further to discuss. Shiraishi hung up on him and Yukimura made no effort to try and talk with him again.
