"Beep beep," "beep beep"...
Hayama's phone kept buzzing incessantly, each vibration accompanied by a familiar "beep beep" sound. Annoyed, he reached for his phone, unlocked it, and was greeted by an avalanche of emojis from Haruno.
"Seriously, can't you give me a break?" he grumbled as his fingers danced across the screen.
"You're such a heartless jerk! You ignore my messages, and you never pick up when I call! You deceived me and callously abandoned me!" Haruno's messages always seemed to be shrouded in ambiguity.
"You profited from both ends and you accuse me of deceiving you?"
If only he could have a video call with her, he would catch a glimpse of her mischievous little tongue.
"Keep your mouth shut, or I'll subject you to the professor's electrotherapy session during Golden Week in Chiba!" He said.
"Wait, you're going to Chiba? That's funny because I'll be in Tokyo during Golden Week!"
"You're coming to Tokyo? Is it for those delicious coriander noodles?" He asked with a smile.
"Please, just don't be such a jerk, I'm begging you!"
"Well, in that case, let me treat you to some durian and noodles. I guarantee you'll love it."
"Little Yukino will be joining me too. Can you bear to let her endure this toilet-like meal?"
He was a little dumbfounded. He thought she was just joking, but it seemed like she was serious. "Why are you coming here?"
"Huh? Don't you know?" she replied. "The soccer team from Chiba Sobu High School has challenged your private school, Toyogasaki! And as the ace, you don't even have a clue about it. Are you being isolated by the team?"
"Did you get drunk at Sobu or something? Wait, how do you even know that I play soccer at Toyogasaki? Did you investigate me?" His suspicion grew.
"On Niconico, every game of Hayama is live-streamed!" she revealed, her tone filled with excitement. "You're a super rookie, Toyogasaki's champion, the fastest wind boy. You've earned so many titles!"
His expression turning complicated as he pondered, 'Who the hell is live-streaming my soccer games on Niconico?'
"As for Sobu, I'm not entirely sure either. It was someone who informed me! Besides, I'm no longer studying at Sobu; I'm a college student now!"
"Who told you? Your little group of followers?"
"That's rude! Hayama has picked up some bad habits! Tokyo, the city of material desires!"
"If you're really coming, then come. Durian and coriander noodles are waiting for you. Maybe we can even add some bitter melon fruit to the mix."
She pouted.
...
"Good morning, Kato,"
"Good morning, Hayama-kun!"
"Kato, you seem a bit different today. Are you feeling better?"
"Huh? Hayama, that's a bit rude," she replied, "But yes, you don't have to worry about me this afternoon."
"It's no trouble, really. It's just that when I took you home yesterday, your sister's expression was a bit scary."
"Do you have something bothering you, Hayama?" she tilted her head, noticing that his responses today carried a more strange tone.
"Well... not really. It's just something related to the soccer club."
"Mm," she acknowledged, turning her head back. "I'm sorry, Hayama. I've been causing you trouble for so many days and even made you miss your training."
"It's not about that, Kato. Just concentrate on yourself," he reassured her, his tone gentle.
After school in the afternoon, he decided to head straight to the soccer club.
"A challenge match? It looks like there's something like that going on."
"Well, as long as Hayama is here, there's no way we'll lose," another responded confidently.
"Exactly! We've got Hayama on our side."
"Seems like it! But I can't help but feel that the people from Sobu aren't the brightest for scheduling the match during Golden Week," someone chuckled.
"Right! I had plans to stay at home and be a couch potato for a whole week. Now I have to come to school and play soccer?"
...
Ten minutes later, Hayama walked away from the soccer club, feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything.
After chatting with them for what felt like an eternity, he managed to extract a single useful piece of information: the challenge match was scheduled for May 1st.
As he turned a corner, he suddenly spotted someone familiar.
"Hmm? Kato, why are you still here? Shouldn't you be heading home?"
Kato responded with a hint of gratitude in her voice, "Hayama-kun, you've walked me home so many times, and I haven't found a way to repay you yet. So I thought, why not... I'll walk you home this time."
A warm smile crossed his face. "But I still have training."
"Don't worry, I'll wait for you."
...
In the Art Club...
Two petite girls stood side by side, their contrasting hairstyles reflecting their personalities. One sported vibrant, shoulder-length red hair, exuding enthusiasm, while the other had adorable and elegant blonde twin-tails.
"Eriri, let's go out and do some sketching!"
"Huh? It's scorching hot today. Let's just stay inside the club and draw. If you really want to go, you can go by yourself," Eriri yawned and showed no signs of budging.
"Eriri is such a weakling! Scared of the summer heat, scared of the winter cold. No wonder you always flunk in physical education."
"Sh-Shut up!"
"I got a message from my insider in the soccer club. Hayama-kun started training again today! They say he's incredibly good-looking! Eriri, don't you want to catch a glimpse of him?"
"I-I already said I'm not interested! Forget about Hayama-kun. Even if Akira Toriyama himself showed up, I wouldn't go!" Eriri mumbled, her head lowered as she focused on her drawing, concealing her inner unease.
(Note: Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series Dr. Slump, before going on to create Dragon Ball.)
"Well, that's a shame then." she gave up on persuading Eriri and grabbed her sketchbook, leaving the clubroom on her own.
"Is it really Hayama?" Eriri's thoughts grew muddled, her gaze drifting and causing the lines in her artwork to distort. "But it can't be, right? If it were him, he would have surely come to find me." she shook her head, attempting to quell her chaotic thoughts. However, the more she fought to suppress them, the more chaotic her mind became.
"Could it be that he's forgotten about me? No, that can't be true! It's impossible!" she muttered, desperately clinging to the belief that this Hayama was merely a person with a coincidental name. "Yes, that must be it!"
With a determined lift of her head, she returned her focus to her artwork, determined to let her creativity drown out her swirling doubts.
...
Next 33 Chapters are up on my Profile