Chapter 14: Last day of Golden Week, second half

Translator: Soafp

TL: Guess it is not dropped huh

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After talking about the movie over lunch, we came to a arcade.

“Shota,you said you don’t usually play games, so let’s play all the games here today!”

“Well, thank you very much?”

“All right, let’s play!”

　Then we played eupho-catcher and racing games.

“…… Mou, I bet you could make a living as a euphoric catcher.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I think you could do it. I was so surprised at how quickly you were taking things.”

“Maybe it’s because I saw a TV show once about how to catch euphorics.”

　In my and Yuki’s hands were bags containing boxes of snacks and small stuffed animals, and only the bag I held in my right hand had a slightly larger stuffed animal sticking its head out. The reason why the quantity is so large is because Yuki said, “let’s try this one and this one”, and then he decided to try various euphoria-catchers.

“I don’t think that’s enough to imitate it. The racing game I only won in the beginning.”

“Hahaha.”

　While having such a conversation, I feel an unnatural force on my right hand. I looked and saw a small girl fiddling with the head of a stuffed animal I was holding. This was the last thing Yuki said to me, “Let’s try this too,” and I took it. 3 times and it came off good.

　I folded my knees so that I could look at the little girl who was touching the stuffed animal I was holding. Then the girl pulls her hand away with a jolt and tries to run away.

“Hey, do you want this?”

　The girl nodded her head.

“Then I’ll give it to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I think she’ll be happier that way.”

　Laughing, I handed her the bag containing the stuffed animal, and she held the bag with both hands, trying her best to hold it up.

“Thanks!”

　The girl then said so with a big smile on her face and went on her little run.

“Ah ……, I wonder if the girl will be okay? Won’t her mom or someone get mad at her?”

“Wonder if the girl will be okay? Well, if something happened, she’d come back.”

　Well, I see. I’ll stay around here for a bit, and if she doesn’t come, that’s fine.

A little while later, You-Know-Who brought her mother, who apologized and thanked me. …… At times like this, I’m glad I did what my grandfather told me to do. I know some people say it’s a curse or something, but it’s things like this that make me live up to this saying.

Well, that’s fine, but now Yuki and I have walked a little to the local gymnasium. The gymnasium is so small that only one group can enter by reservation only. I heard that he reserved it because he wanted to play badminton with me. I had just gotten into trouble a while ago, and he asked me if I was okay, but I said yes, since nothing hurt anymore.

　I change into something I can move in, put up the net, and get ready to go. My hair was also in the way of my eyes, so I used pins to hold it up.

“Shota, how long has it been since you’ve been here?”

“Well, it’s been about nine months since my retirement game over the summer vacation.”

“Ah, I see”

“I mean do you really want to play badminton in your holiday?”

“Hmm? It’s totally fine. I like badminton.”

“…… I see.”

I’ve…. been in middle school for 3 years, but I don’t really like it … I mean, there is nothing I can say I like with confidence like this. Well, it may feel that way because of the mess.

“Hoi, here you go”

“Aah, thank you.”

　A racket is handed to me. When I hold it, I feel a sense of nostalgia. Well, this racket is not mine. I should have brought my own back from home, if only to play a little. ……

　Between the nets, we hit the ball around at appropriate times. After a while of talking about the racket and the blanks, and just as the body warms up and the senses return, Yuki cuts off the flow of conversation.

“Let’s play a game.”

“Okay.”

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　The result was …… I won. 21 to 18. Yuki was a pretty strong opponent. It was physically demanding, and I think I would have lost if we had played two games in a row.

“Haa, haa,……, this is pretty tough,…….”

“Shota, you’re a monster.”

“No, I won’t win next time. …… It’s too hard for me already.”

“Damn, Shota made quite a few mistakes early on, but I couldn’t win ……”

　Early on I was making a lot of mistakes and Yuki was leading. Then I managed to catch up and in the end I won by scoring three straight points.

“Shota, do you want to play badminton again?”

“…… no, not right now.”

“I see… ……. If you want to play, you are always welcome.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

　The gymnasium is available for 90 minutes, including clean-up time. If we finish with time to spare, it is time to start cleaning up already.

“Well, we should clean up”

“Right”

　After cleaning up, we went outside. The breeze feels better than usual, probably because I’m done exercising.

“What are we going to do after this?”

“I’ve got school tomorrow, so why don’t we just call it a day?”

“Alright.”

　We walked back to the shopping mall and parted ways. I cycled slowly and arrived home about 30 minutes later.

　I unlock the door and enter the room.

“……”

　I take off my shoes, put down my luggage, and lie down on the floor.

　…….I’m tired. I hadn’t held a racket in a long time.

　Gripping my right hand, memories of junior high school practice come back to me along with the sensation of the racket I had just used.

　It was fun. …… It was tough, but it was a lot of fun. I liked that place, even though my junior high school life was full of depressing spaces.

　When I came to realize, my clenched hands were shaking and a drop of tear came out my eye.

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