[13] Grade 11: Aichi Prefecture
Summers in Aichi Prefecture are even hotter and more humid than in Kyoto.
—The wealthy and powerful Principal Kotori of Tsurumeikan sent all the members of the men's volleyball team to Aichi Prefecture three days before the start of the IH tournament to acclimatize to the environment.
In the summer evening of July, the sun was already setting, leaving only the afterglow of the sunset on the horizon, but the temperature hadn't dropped much.
Although Aichi Prefecture is a coastal city, you can only feel the sea breeze in the coastal areas. The urban area, with its towering buildings, remains consistently hot and humid, as if you were in a steamer.
The high humidity and heating island effect made even the usually cool-natured Imadegawa a little restless.
After finishing his training session at the volleyball stadium, the golden-eyed boy didn't immediately return to his nearby hotel. Instead, he went to a convenience store next door and bought an ice cream cone.
As soon as I stepped out of the store, someone bumped into me.
He fed the ice cream cone, which he hadn't even tasted yet, to the steps of the convenience store.
"…Excuse me." The boy, who was walking while playing on his phone and bumped into someone, quickly bowed and apologized. "I'll buy you two more."
Imadegawa's gaze fell on the boy's upturned bangs, and he waved his hand: "One is enough."
"Thank you very much." The black-haired boy with his hair sticking up at the ends straightened up.
When he stood up straight, he was slightly taller than Jin Chuchuan.
The black-haired boy politely looked at Imadegawa's face, and after seeing Imadegawa's face clearly, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.
...It looks somewhat familiar.
I feel like I've seen this somewhere before...
"Ah...you're that 'Miracle Serve' from Kyoto?" The black-haired, fox-eyed boy quickly recalled where he had seen that face before.
Imadegawa: "..."
“Ah,” the fox-eyed boy quickly realized his slip of the tongue, “I saw your picture in the newspaper, but I didn’t see your name, so I don’t know how to address you.”
...That sounds a bit like asking someone's name when you're trying to strike up a conversation.
The idea suddenly flashed through the black-haired boy's mind.
"Your school's volleyball team is really good," the black-haired boy added, explaining. "And your stationary compound sidespin serve is also very impressive. The newspaper I was reading mainly focused on your tactics, so I didn't see your names."
"Thank you," the golden-eyed boy replied politely. "Immediately after my departure from the river."
They actually got my name!
"Kakuna Rintaro."
The fox-eyed boy's gaze flickered for a moment before he also gave his name.
"Hmm..." Jiao Ming hesitated for a moment, wondering how to address him.
The golden-eyed boy seemed to read his mind: "Just call me Jin Chuchuan."
"Okay, Jin Chuchuan. Which one did you just buy?"
After taking the ice cream cone from Imadegawa and the fruit-flavored popsicles she wanted, Kakunami went to the cashier to pay.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward...
Do you have anything to say?
"Why are you in Aichi Prefecture now that you're leaving Sichuan?"
Imadegawa's face clearly showed confusion: "The IH National Conference is being held in Aichi Prefecture this year."
Character Name - Volleyball Club Member - But in the Third Year of Middle School Version - Rintaro: ......
Oh no... Oh no...
I asked a stupid question...
"Oh, I see. Then I'll go support your match." Kakuna handed over the ice cream cone.
The words had barely left his mouth when he suddenly stopped moving, as if a pause button had been pressed.
Wait! No... what is he saying?
What a subtle meaning.
Telling someone you've just met that you want to go watch their game or something.
The fox-eyed boy felt inexplicably suffocated, as if someone was choking him.
"Ah, thank you." Imadegawa took the ice cream cone he offered. "Do you need my contact information?"
"......"
Jiao Ming quickly withdrew his hand.
"need."
The two exchanged email addresses.
After exiting the convenience store, Imadegawa pointed in a direction.
"I'm going this way."
Kakuna tore open a fruit-flavored popsicle and took a bite, mumbling, "My house is in that direction too, shall we walk together?"
Jin Chuchuan, holding the ice cream cone in his mouth, said, "Okay."
Two people who don't talk much walked side by side in silence, licking their popsicles/ice cream cones.
After turning two corners, we arrived at the hotel that Little Fatty had booked.
"I've arrived. Goodbye." Imadegawa raised his chin to indicate to him.
"......goodbye."
Jiaoming watched his back disappear at the hotel entrance.
Before turning to leave, he couldn't help but glance at the hotel's name one last time.
...What a rich school.
——————
Imadegawa was in a good mood when he returned to his hotel room.
"Welcome back—" The little chubby bird squatted on the sofa cushion in the suite's living room. Hearing Imadegawa close the door, it didn't turn its head and simply said the usual words.
Lately, it hasn't been around Imadegawa much, instead often staying alone in the room watching TV. The melodramatic Japanese dramas have completely captivated the little chubby bird, making it abandon everything and binge-watch them without sleep.
As was his habit, Imaichi Chuan went back to his room to take a shower, then ran barefoot in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts to the living room of the suite. He lazily sprawled on the sofa and ordered dinner for the evening on his phone.
Only then did the little chubby bird notice his relaxed expression.
"Hey? You seem to be in a good mood today?"
"Hmph~" Imadegawa didn't deny it, "I've encountered a future rival ahead of time~"
The chubby little bird jumped onto the remote control and pressed the pause button: "Who is it?"
The TV on the wall-mounted screen paused on the female lead's tear-streaked face.
"Inari-zaki? Or Itayama?"
The IH group draw was released some time ago, and the two schools that Little Fatty mentioned are in the later groups of Group 14, along with Heming Hall. If nothing unexpected happens, they will be matched against at least one of these schools.
"Hmm~ Not quite." Imadegawa shook his phone.
“Oh, it’s the character’s name—” Little Chubby tilted his head to look at his phone screen. “I forgot he’s still in Aichi Prefecture.”
It clicked on the side quest interface: "Is this the first story character you've encountered?"
The popularity of the side quests has indeed increased significantly.
—The popularity of each student at Heming Hall is included in the overall popularity calculation of the school. In particular, the popularity of Imadegawa is calculated at ten times that of the volleyball team members and a hundred times that of ordinary students.
Having contact with characters in the storyline will significantly increase one's popularity, but this is limited to situations where the two parties have met at least once.
"Mmm~" Imadegawa put his phone away, happily scrolling through the task interface. "How lucky~ I actually bumped into someone just by going out!"
——————
After returning home, Kaname regretted it somewhat.
He was acting completely out of character today.
It's like I've been overwhelmed by the heat.
Many things that I should have just kept to myself ended up being said out loud.
He even mentioned going to watch people compete, and the preceding sentences made it seem like he was some kind of fan.
They might even mistake them for some kind of die-hard fan, someone who just arrived in Nagoya and couldn't wait to bump into someone...
But it really was a chance encounter!
He was just an ordinary junior high school student who played volleyball regularly and occasionally paid attention to volleyball news, which is why he recognized this dark horse senior who had been mentioned once or twice in the reports.
If only I hadn't said those strange things before.
This situation is quite strange.
It doesn't seem like the normal way friends interact.
It was a disastrous start.
How about we skip the first few games and just say we couldn't get tickets? We can go after the knockout stage?
...But what if we don't make it to the later stages of Crane Cry Pavilion?
Besides, the tickets from the previous few days probably didn't sell out so easily...
The character, who has always been independent and unconventional, fell into a long period of hesitation.
The phone screen lights up at the appropriate time.
It's from a senior volleyball player from Kyoto, with whom I just exchanged email addresses today.
"Imaidegawa Yuzuru: Character name, do you need me to reserve a ticket for you (jGdj)?"
"Imaedekawa Yuzuru: This isn't a spot for the support group. Our department's teacher reserved a few tickets for friends and family for each member."
The character replied with lightning speed.
For those who love using their phones, online communication is always smoother than offline communication.
"Rintaro Kakunana: I need it!!"
"Imaidekawa Yuzuru: Okay, where to send it?"
"Rintaro Kakunana: I'll come pick it up. When are you free?"
As a result, the two people, who had only been separated for a short time, inexplicably bumped into each other again.
Jin Chuchuan opened the door with his bare hands and said, "Please come in."
Jiao Ming was a little reserved when he first stepped into the presidential suite.
...The school probably doesn't reimburse for these kinds of rooms, right? So you upgraded to a different room yourself?
So it turns out I've met a rich young master...
The TV in the suite's living room was still playing a melodramatic soap opera.
Character name:......
Kakumei secretly glanced at Imadekawa.
So even the young master likes watching melodramatic soap operas?
He had only seen this TV series on his mother's and his elementary school-aged sister's watchlist.
None of the female junior high school students in his class watch this kind of TV series.
Jin Chuchuan opened the cabinet and took out a stack of tickets.
"Hmm—" The golden-eyed boy nodded, "Are you bringing friends or family with you?"
Jiao Ming shook his head: "No, my family isn't interested."
"Okay." Imadegawa pulled out a few cards from the deck. "These are from the first round to the final."
"Give them all to me?" Kakumei hesitated.
Imaichi waved a thick stack of tickets in his other hand at him. "There are still a lot. The members in the department haven't given out many tickets, and I haven't given any either."
So he was the first one?
Jiaoming thought subtly.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Imadegawa handed him the ticket. "The dinner at this hotel is quite good."
Such a bland tone.
That would be absolutely amazing.
It was as if they weren't strangers who had just met a day ago, but rather friends who had known each other for many years.
The character's name is striking.
"......OK."
The two of them inexplicably ended up having dinner in the living room of the presidential suite again.
When Kagami got home, he was still a little dazed.
He walked past his mother and sister, who were crying their eyes out in front of the television, in a daze, and went upstairs to his room.
Kaname curled up against the headboard and stared blankly for a while.
It was already very dark, but he didn't turn on the light.
Jiaoming tapped on the touchscreen phone, the light from the screen falling on his usually expressionless face.
He hung his head, his icy green pupils reflecting the names of the email contacts he had just added that day.
What a wonderful day.
————————
Finally, we got Suna up here!
This chapter is a special feature on the character names~ I originally only planned to write a little bit, but inspiration just kept flowing and I couldn't stop. Our Suna is such an adorable little fox with a lot of inner monologues!!!
Next chapter: Conquering the whole country!
I absolutely dare not use writing software with a timer... My efficiency is too low, I really don't dare to look at the word count per hour, each chapter is written intermittently (closes eyes).
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