Chapter 57: Volume 2 - CH 3.1

On the morning of the opening ceremony of the second semester, I went down to the living room and found Izumi eating breakfast in her short-sleeved school uniform. 

When I went to club activities, I wore my school uniform even during summer vacation, so when I woke up in the morning and got ready to go to school, I did not feel that the second semester had started. However, once I saw Izumi in her school uniform, I instantly felt that it was the beginning of the second semester.

My mother and Izumi greeted each other with a "good morning," and I took my seat and began to eat my breakfast. Vienna sausages, fried eggs, and lunch boxes were on the table for the three of us.

All three of us were not talking much, and breakfast time passed in a short time. Before long, Izumi got up from her seat, said, "I'm off," slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked out the door. After that, my mother also finished her coffee and left for work.

I finished breakfast, cleaned up the dishes for the three of us, then locked up and left the house. I rode my bike out to a large street that led through the morning residential area and saw many cars and students on their way to school. It was a normal, weekday morning, just as it had been before summer vacation.

On the first day of school, there were no classes. We had an hour of homeroom, and after lunch, we had club activities in the afternoon.

During the time before club activities, I was eating my lunch with Nagai at my desk. Many students had left the classroom for club activities or to go home, but there was a group of girls in the back talking loudly about something, and the noise from the hallway was echoing, so it was a bit noisy in the classroom. As we were having lunch while chatting, as usual, Nagai suddenly said in a mysterious manner, "I have something to tell you,".

"What?"

When I stopped moving my chopsticks to ask him what was going on,

"I've decided to go out with Tachibana."

Nagai suddenly said that.

I was so surprised that I unconsciously looked around. There was no one within earshot of our conversation. Besides, no one in the classroom was paying any attention to us. 

"For real? Since when?"

"About a week ago, we went out together. On the way home, Tachibana brought up that topic."

"And then, did you give her an answer?"

"Yeah. At that time, I told her to wait a bit, but the day before yesterday, I answered her on the phone."

"So, you've fallen in love with Tachibana."

When I said that, "well," Nagai nodded a little shyly. 

"I was honestly not very interested in her at first, but as we hung out and played together, I gradually came to like her. I've also started to find her cute since I realized that she likes me........."

"You two were holding hands the other day, right."

"---I knew you could see it," he said.

"......I'm sorry. I could see it."

"No need to apologize. I also knew that you and Mori were trying to get together."

I was at a loss for words.

After all, they were aware of it. But I also thought that anyone who didn't notice it would be too slow to notice, after being so blatantly obvious about it.

This is not the first time I have experienced a friend having a girlfriend. But somehow, sitting face to face with Nagai, I felt a rush of embarrassment. I could sense an air of embarrassment from Nagai's side as well.

"Let's go to the ground already. I've decided to tell only you and Mori, but please keep it a secret from the others."

"Yeah. Got it."

We packed up our stuff and left the classroom together.

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Even though September had arrived, it was still hot and humid outdoors in the early afternoon. We changed into pikes at the outside storage area and finished basic practice in pairs, but we were soon drenched in sweat.

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While the other members were practicing, the two managers were kicking a ball in the corner of the field. After having such a talk with Nagai, I suddenly found myself looking in her direction. Watching Tachibana kick the ball a few times, I noticed that she had improved considerably. She used to not be able to kick the ball with good form, but now she was able to properly send the ball inside and in front of the golfer.

When it was time for a break, I went to the water supply to cool my neck with water. Then Tachibana also came to wash the water tank. The two of us ran the water side by side, and the sound of the water filled the area. I put my head under the faucet and splashed water from my hot neck to the back of my head, then twisted the faucet to turn off the water and sat up. Tachibana, her hair tied in two with an elastic band, rolled up her short-sleeved gym clothes to her shoulders, filled the tank with water, and rinsed it out with a clattering and shaking motion. 

"Nagai has told me about what is going on."

I said to her back, and Tachibana stopped her hands and turned her head vigorously to look at me. A member of the brass band practicing outside was playing their instrument, and several men and women from the track team wearing shorts were walking nearby, laughing. Tachibana looked a mixture of surprise and embarrassment at being caught off guard.

When I said, "Good for you," she turned her gaze back to the front and said, "T-Thank you," in an elevated whisper, still acting a little strange. Then she smiled wryly and said, "fufufufufufu," and dripped detergent on the sponge. The joy was so deep inside her that she couldn't help but loosen her cheeks.

Before the whole practice resumed, I went back to the field and started practicing free kicks by myself. I placed the ball in an appropriate spot around the penalty area and kicked ball into the unmanned goal, assuming the position of the wall and the keeper. With each kick, a cloud of dust rose from the dry ground and was swept away by a slight breeze.

A little later, some of the club members, including Yuriko, also came to the goal, one of them taking over as keeper, and we took our turn kicking the ball.

Yuriko said, "I'll kick next," and launched a curved shot with her right foot from right in front of the goal. The ball was slow and smooth, but it had a good course, and it slipped past the keeper's hand and went into the goal. "Oh," the boys around her exclaimed, impressed. "Mm-hmm," Yuriko jokingly said, puffing out her chest with pride. She, too, should have known about Nagai and Tachibana, but her behavior was as usual. 

That day, Tachibana and Nagai seemed to be going home together.

Nagai said, as he and I were on the field, "We're meeting at the entrance gate." After club activities, Nagai and Tachibana met up at the entrance after changing clothes and waiting for the club members to leave. Yuriko and I were there with them, and the four of us walked together until we left the school gate. The atmosphere between the two of us was not strangely tense and did not seem to have changed much from before.

When Yuriko and I were riding our bicycles home after leaving Nagai and Tachibana, we talked about them.

"I think they might be a good match. I think they will last a long time. Well, if they break up, it would ruin the atmosphere of the club, so I need them to last at least another six months."

When we entered the residential area where we lived from the busy national highway, Yuriko said that.

"As long as Tachibana doesn't get tired of it. Nagai will be fine. He's been thinking about the club activities beforehand."

"I see. I don't think Akari will be tired of it either......maybe."

She said that and groaned a little worriedly.

"There are some types of girls who are fine while they have unrequited love, but after they start dating, they gradually grow tired of it."

The traffic light in front of me turned red. I stopped my bike and looked up at the sky. The blue was fading and the sky was becoming dim, and there were scaly clouds floating in the sky, glowing red in the setting sun. When I looked to the side, I saw Yuriko looking at me with a blank expression. She let out a small breath and rolled up the sleeves of her long-sleeved blouse, which was slightly above her wrists, to just above her elbows. Then,

"By the way, when does Izumi-san be back her home?"

She asked in a casual tone of voice. The topic of conversation suddenly turned to Izumi, and I had to pause for a moment before replying.

"......Umm. January. Probably right after the new year."

"I see.......About four more months, huh?"

Saying that, she fell silent for a moment, then,

"It's kind of long and kind of short," she said to herself as she turned her gaze back to the front.

I looked at the traffic light in front of me, too. The gray-painted chassis connected to the telephone pole looked slightly yellowish in the color of the evening sun.

A car with its headlights on crossed the street in front of us. The signal light changed from red to green. Without saying a word, Yuriko and I started pedaling our bicycles again. When we reached Yuriko's house, she said briefly, "Bye," got off her bicycle, and gave a small wave.

When I arrived home and entered the living room, I found Izumi folding laundry. She had probably been home for a while already and had changed into a beige blouse and skinny jeans that were half-length.

"Oh, welcome home."

"I'm home."

I put my luggage down and helped her fold it up.

I picked up a nearby T-shirt and folded it. The soft smell of freshly dried laundry wafted through the air. Izumi was sitting on her knees, folding towels in her lap as if she had been used to doing so. In the dim evening light, her hair shone honey-colored in the light shining through the window.

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