Chapter 39: Volume 2 - CH 1.1

Three hours had passed since club activities began. The afternoon sun was setting in the western sky. As the evening sunlight weakened and a cool breeze finally began to blow, I felt much more refreshed physically, but the club members practicing in a game format were already moving quite sluggishly. Everyone seemed to be considerably exhausted by the heat.

The rainy season has ended and the temperature has been over 30 degrees Celsius every day. The ground was white and pasty as if it had been baked, and dry dust was flying up on the ground, and the distance seemed to be shaking due to the heat.

The sound of the whistle echoed for a long time. Yuriko was sitting on a bench with a whistle in her mouth. When I looked at the clock in the school building, I saw that it was precisely 6 pm.

With this, the practice menu for this day came to an end. Since we are supposed to do our own stretching after practice, many of the club members sat down on the spot and began to stretch their legs. I, too, stood still for a while with my hands on my hips, settling my rough breathing. A drop of sweat fell from the tip of my chin and made a small black stain on the sand of the ground. After a few moments of standing still, I noticed a heavy feeling of fatigue in my calves and thighs, as if they were about to cramp up.

"Hey, take those off soon."

Suddenly, I heard Yuriko's voice mixed in with the chirping of cicadas.

When I looked back, I saw her standing there with a bag of bibs in one hand. The sleeves of her white wear were rolled up to her shoulders, and a whistle hung from her neck. Her socks were pulled down around her ankles and the laces of the white spikes she was wearing were loosened. The back of his hair, which was tied back, was wet with sweat and stuck to her neck.

"......Ah. Sorry."

I took off my bib and handed it to her. As I handed it to her, I felt the sweat stain on the bib, which bothered me a little, but Yuriko grabbed it nonchalantly and shoved it into the bag. Just as I was about to turn on my heel, she opened her mouth and said, "Hey,"

"......What?"

When I replied, Yuriko coughed once and continued talking.

"Today, I have something to talk about with you. Don't go home without me. Wait for me at the bicycle parking lot."

Unintentionally, I couldn't help but notice Yuriko's face. It was expressionless. There was a short pause in the conversation, but she met my gaze without moving her expression.

"......Is now not a good time?"

"Yeah. It's nothing strange."

Yuriko nodded and then walked briskly away to the rest of the members of the club.

☆ ☆ ☆

The air around me swayed with the heat rising from the asphalt that had been receiving heat all day long. The sky was still red even after 6 p.m., and the noisy chirping of the cicadas was echoing around us.

From the end of the rainy season until today, Yuriko and I had barely spoken to each other. We haven't even gone home together. And yet, on our way home that day, Yuriko was acting just as casually as before. She talked about her summer vacation, grades, and other things in a lighthearted tone that made me think that the awkwardness that had been in the air for the past week was just my imagination.

As we came into the residential area where we lived, Yuriko suddenly said, "Wait a minute," and stopped her bicycle in front of a small butcher store. She took her wallet out of her bag, entered the store, and began talking with the lady behind the counter, who seemed to know her. During the whole time, Yuriko was smiling as brightly as she used to.

Before long, she returned with a plain white, top-folded paper bag.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"......Yeah. Did you buy something?"

"Ingredients for today's dinner. Mama called me earlier and asked me to buy something for her. That, and this."

Saying that, she took one croquette out of the bag with a rustling sound. The bottom half was covered with white paper.

"They're delicious here. I just found out about it recently, though."

Yuriko took a bite of it and said,

"Kenichi, would you like to try some?"

Yuriko offered me a croquette that she was already half-eating.

"No, I'm fine."

"Don't be shy. Take a bite," Yuriko said, pushing the croquette toward me forcefully.

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"What's wrong? It's delicious, you know."

Here, here, she said, shaking it in front of me like she was feeding a dog or a cat. 

I look at her expression. Yuriko had a mischievous smile on her face.

Too much consciousness is not good, I thought.

In the past, when I had a couple of fights with her and things got awkward, we always made up before I knew it, just like this.

So I took it and bit into it. It was freshly fried, crispy and so hot that I had to roll it around in my mouth. The meat juices overflowed with each bite.

"It is indeed delicious."

Yuriko looked satisfied as I swallowed the croquette and said, "Right?"

"For this, it's only fifty yen."

"Cheap."

"I know, right?"

While we were having this conversation, Yuriko munched on the rest of her croquette, put the paper bag away in her bag, and climbed back on the saddle.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

I nodded and we started down the road again. The words felt like they were caught in my throat, but with determination, I said, "So,"

"You said earlier, what are you going to talk about?"

Then Yuriko said, "Oh," in a distracted way, as if she had suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.

"I might be staying at your house next time. Is that okay?"

She was saying it smoothly. I felt a sense of relief that the atmosphere between us had returned to what it had been before, and Yuriko's tone was so natural that I almost said, "It's okay," unintentionally. However, I swallowed it down and asked back with a feeling of surprise that came a little late.

"Huh? What are you saying?"

Then Yuriko clicked her tongue.

"I'm going to play with Izumi. I'll sleep in her room at night, too, of course. Why are you flustered?"

Saying that, Yuriko looked at me as if she were dumbfounded.

"......Did you have such an appointment with Izumi?"

"Yeah, when I called her the other day, she said as long as Kenichi and Auntie were okay with it."

"......I see."

"So, what do you think? Is there anything you don't want me to come?"

"Nothing."

"Then I'll call Auntie next time. Please take care of me."

Soon we were approaching Yuriko's house. "See you later," she said as she got off her bicycle and entered her house. Her lightly wavy hair was swaying softly.

I used to think I knew everything about her like a sibling. Since my actual brother is six years older than me, I felt that Yuriko, who is the same age as me, was closer to me. But since that day, I now have no idea what on earth she is thinking.

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