Chapter 48 New Possibilities He was always like a gentle source of light.
"I heard you won first place in the Tokyo League, is that right!"
As a physical education teacher who enjoys watching volleyball, the news of Sawada Tsunayoshi and his team's victory spread rapidly throughout the school. In a small town, it's rare for people to hear such news, so everyone was inexplicably interested.
This was the first time Tsuna had ever experienced being surrounded by classmates and becoming a prominent figure on campus; even Hibari, who was in charge of regulating the atmosphere in the junior high school, knew about it.
Tsuna and Hinata tried to be modest, but the PE teacher hadn't anticipated their reaction. He quickly pulled out a magazine and showed it to the others, prominently displaying the reporter's interview transcript and showering them with praise.
I don't know if this PE teacher also mentioned it in the office, but other teachers also like to bring them up frequently during Monday classes.
This enthusiasm lasted for almost a week before gradually subsiding.
On days without matches, Hinata was finally able to exploit the weaknesses she had previously identified on the field, and she went to the club extra frequently after school every day.
"Speaking of which, the competition is over, so why did you guys still go to the Owl Valley Club this weekend?"
Shoichi Irie helped Tsunayoshi Sawada pack his things.
In the background, she said, "Oh, I can pack it myself!" as she folded the hairbands she had picked out earlier and put them into her backpack.
Sawada Tsunayoshi, having failed to reclaim the right to use his backpack, sat cross-legged on the floor and explained.
"Because we did very well this time, the old coach said he wanted to give Coach Suzuki a raise. Later, he said it would be good for Xiaoxiang and me to train there on weekends, so why not let the coach go there to train with us and they would pay our salaries there? So the coach agreed."
Irie Masahiro nodded, indicating that he recognized the potential of Tsuna and Sho.
"But what about Coach Suzuki's own club? He could take leave before when there were matches, but now that the matches are over, there's no reason for that, right?"
Sawada Tsunayoshi replied, "The coach had thought of that too. It just so happened that the old coach was offering a higher salary, so the coach found a friend in Namimori, who was supposedly a friend he had made while playing volleyball, and paid that friend to help oversee the weekend training sessions."
"We've outsourced it," Irie Masashi began to worry about other things.
"What about qualifications? Isn't it illegal to teach children to play volleyball without a coaching license?"
"Ah, what a coincidence!" Hinata packed her things and ran to Tsunayoshi's room, where she immediately heard Irie Shoichi's question.
He explained, "The assistant the coach brought in just happens to be our elementary school PE teacher!"
"Wow, what a coincidence!"
Sawada Tsunayoshi covered his face. "I was wondering why the PE teacher was making such a big fuss about me and Sho winning the championship at school. I only realized it when the coach introduced us to him yesterday."
Shoichi Irie also packed up Sawada Tsunayoshi's things, placing the backpack where Tsunayoshi could easily reach it as soon as he left the house. He ruffled the rabbit's fur.
"That's understandable. If you have a good relationship with Coach Suzuki, and he likes you both so much, then he'll be as proud as if he were praising his own children when he praises you."
"Thank you, Xiao Zheng!"
During the entire packing process, Tsuna simply rolled up the towel and stuffed it in. Then, Irie Shoichi, who happened to walk in, saw it. Shoichi's vision went black. He took the backpack, took out the rolled-up towel, folded it, and put it in. In the end, he completely lost the right to pack his own backpack.
However, neither Hinata nor Irie Shoichi felt anything was wrong. After all, Tsunayoshi was indeed the youngest and most clueless one among them, and they were used to occasionally taking care of their friend.
"Then I'll head to the club first." Irie Shoichi slung his music bag over his shoulder and turned to say goodbye to the two.
He was just stopping by to see his friend on his way home from school. He wouldn't see him for two days. Irie Masakazu felt a little melancholy. Everyone was so busy, including himself.
Is there any way to stay together forever?
He thought of his older sister. Although Eri was going to study at a university in another city, he didn't feel sad because they were related by blood, so he wasn't afraid of parting with his sister.
Ah, if only they were family.
If we're family, we won't suddenly lose sight of each other one day.
Sawada Tsunayoshi watched the neatly packed backpack from behind with a respectful expression.
"This little boy is amazing!"
Upon hearing this, Irie Shoichi couldn't help but smile again. After all, they were together now.
"Xiao Gang, haven't you found that senior yet today?"
It's a new week again, and Sawada Tsunayoshi finally realizes that he has no reason to keep procrastinating. Holding Hibari's umbrella, he tries to find that upperclassman on campus and return the umbrella.
But these past few days have yielded nothing; it seems that the senior student was just a boy imagined by Sawada Tsunayoshi, vanishing into thin air in Namimori Town.
He and Hinata walked along the school corridor. The autumn leaves were golden, and the afternoon sun made this corner shine brightly, even reflecting a golden glow on Tsunayoshi's brown hair, and casting a dazzling light on his already gentle face.
As Yamamoto Takeshi walked towards him, a beam of light fell on Sawada Tsunayoshi's pupils, making them sparkle like jewels. He stopped in his tracks as he listened to their conversation.
"Oh, it's Tsuna."
He waved his hand, and sure enough, Yamamoto saw the scattered light in Sawada Tsunayoshi's eyes brighten even more as he smiled at him.
"Yamamoto-kun!"
After borrowing the umbrella last time, Sawada Tsunayoshi became someone who could greet Yamamoto Takeshi when they bumped into each other at school. He scratched his head. Although he had said he would return the favor to Yamamoto-kun, Hyuga and the others dissuaded Tsunayoshi from making it himself. He didn't have much pocket money and couldn't afford to buy anything.
The last two classes had the same PE class. He was tricked by Yamamoto into joining the team of the class next door and played a baseball game. Afterwards, Xiaoxiang kept saying that although he didn't make it in volleyball, at least he was an opponent once.
However, Yamamoto is very powerful. When Tsuna recalled that match, he realized that he was completely carried to victory by Yamamoto.
Takeshi Yamamoto didn't seem to mind, and said with a smile,
"After all, I've always played baseball. If it were volleyball, I'd have to rely on Tsuna."
The way he was addressed was changed after that match. Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't quite understand what Yamamoto was thinking. After racking his brains without success, he could only sigh and say that Yamamoto-kun was such a good person.
This kind-hearted person first praised Hinata and Tsunayoshi's glorious achievements in the previous volleyball club league, as usual, and said that although he was in the baseball team, he had also heard about them.
"...Other members also mentioned it during the previous training."
Sawada Tsunayoshi took a slow breath. "Just how many people know about this?!"
Yamamoto Takeshi found his expression amusing and comforted him, "Nammori is only so big, we all know that, it's normal. But you said you want to find a Hibari-senpai, I think I know some clues about that."
"Huh?" Sawada Tsunayoshi looked up after not hearing any news for several days.
"The baseball team is off today, I'll take you there later."
Yamamoto Takeshi laughed and said something that didn't seem like something he would do. It was too troublesome. He could have just told the person in front of him what he knew, but the words that came out of his mouth turned into something else entirely.
"Really? Isn't that too much trouble!" Sawada Tsunayoshi subconsciously took a few steps forward, getting closer to Yamamoto Takeshi.
Yamamoto nodded. "It's no trouble at all."
Hinata, who had overheard the conversation, raised his hand.
"Then I'll go to the club first?"
Tsuna nodded. It was just returning the umbrella; he didn't need so many people to accompany him.
Finally, they said goodbye at the school gate and walked in different directions.
Takeshi Yamamoto shared the information he knew with Tsunayoshi Sawada.
“A few customers came to my dad’s shop earlier. Because of the bruises on their faces from being beaten up, it was hard not to notice them. I overheard a few words of their conversation and found out that they seemed to have been beaten up by a customer named ‘Skylark’.”
Thinking of the kidnapper he had seen earlier, Sawada Tsunayoshi thought that this was indeed something that guy would do.
"So, is Hibari-senpai on the same street as Yamamoto-kun?"
Yamamoto shook his head. "No, I also heard them say 'Chairman,' it seems to be a student from Namimori Junior High School."
"Eh! Hibari-senpai was a middle school student?" Sawada Tsunayoshi's eyes widened even more.
The school uniforms I saw before were their elementary school uniforms. Did they skip a grade?
No wonder he couldn't find Hibari at school lately; he wasn't in elementary school.
Takeshi Yamamoto said he wasn't too sure either, "So let's go to Namimori Junior High School first. They probably haven't let out of school yet, so we can just go over and take a look at the entrance."
The thought of seeing so many strangers made Sawada Tsunayoshi hesitate, but Yamamoto was much more determined. If he didn't come this time, he definitely wouldn't want to be standing alone at the school gate looking for someone.
"Yamamoto-kun is so nice, but at first I thought it was because Hibari-senpai is a delinquent and that's why he can't be found at school."
Sawada Tsunayoshi's voice trailed off as he spoke, and he finally sighed with emotion.
"So he's a good student who will skip grades and go straight to junior high."
Yamamoto Takeshi recalled the opinions of those delinquent students about Hibari, the class representative, and felt that Sawada Tsunayoshi's first impression was probably correct.
However, the other party then chose to become the committee chairman, which made the whole thing seem inexplicable. Sawada Tsunayoshi, who was standing next to him, voiced his true feelings.
"After all, Senior Yun Que was the chairman of the committee. He must be a good student who loves learning."
Anyway, he'd never seen a thug become a committee chairman, Yamamoto Takeshi chuckled.
"Tsuna, you know a lot of interesting guys."
"Hey, why are you suddenly saying that?"
Although I don't understand why he would go out of his way to cause trouble, running to Namimori Junior High and standing here with Sawada Tsunayoshi looking for someone like an idiot, if he could use the excuse of bringing an umbrella to make the sushi he made by hand before.
Now it's entirely out of his own volition.
Perhaps, just like I saw in the corridor, even under the eaves on a rainy day, Tsuna is always like a gentle source of light.
Bright and warm, Yamamoto Takeshi subconsciously felt that being friends with him would be a good idea.
Sawada Tsunayoshi offered him a new possibility.
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Author's Note: Mini80 realized that faith doesn't necessarily have to be an object like a baseball; it can also be a person [heart emoji]. Of course, he only realized this point; he didn't succumb to it like 69, haha.
The story is only a third of the way through, and I've already decided what to write for my next book! Damn it, I'll release the pre-orders after I've written 50 chapters. I think the premise of that book is really interesting—it's a crossover between Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and other anime! Hehe [cat emoji]
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