Chapter 148: Those Who Lurk in the Shadows

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Translator: Soafp

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“…Spread the word! This is an emergency!”

“It's already done. The brass band is passing it along to our allies on campus — discreetly, of course.”

The clock winds back to the day before the yukata date.

Inside the baseball club's equipment room on the school grounds, several boys clad in their respective club uniforms gather with unusually serious expressions.

Saito from the baseball team and Murakami from the table tennis club grip their smartphones as sunlight from the setting sun slants through the windows. With a creak of rusty metal, the door opens — and leaning against it is Tanaka, a member of the go-home club.

“Is it true? This is huge!”

“Tanaka… what are you doing here during summer break?”

“Don't mind me. Right now, I just want to verify the reliability of your source.”

Saito and Murakami exchange glances and nod, then show him the screen of Saito's phone.

Displayed on it was a message exchange between Saito and Ginji:

Saito: “There's a fireworks festival by the riverside tomorrow, right?
Even though the tournament's coming up, I wanna unwind a bit.
Want to gather a few of the guys and hang out?”

Ginji: “Sorry. I already have plans that day.
Good luck with the tournament. I'll show up at training camp.”

Tanaka frowned at the simple exchange.

“This? There's nothing incriminating in here at all.”

“You fool, Tanaka. You're completely missing the point. Anyone who reads this carefully can tell: Takagi-chan is going to the festival. And maybe — just maybe — in a yukata.”

At that moment, the entire room rumbled.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway, and several boys were already gathered at the door — eavesdropping, apparently.

“Answer us, Saito! Why do you think that? Depending on what you say, we may have to make time during this insanely busy summer practice schedule!”

“Aren't you in the go-home club?”

Ignoring Murakami's jab, Tanaka stepped forward.

Even outside the sunlit window, shadows of more students flickered. The brass band club — wielders of blazing brass — had gathered with equal heat, some of them girls.

“Ginji may look like that, but he's actually the type who gets along with everyone. If he was going with guys, he'd have replied something like: ‘I've already got plans, but I can meet up later.' But instead, he straight-up declined. Which means… he's going with someone not one of the boys. And who else could it be but… Takagi-chan!”

Saito's face was backlit by the setting sun, his expression unreadable. But the conviction in his voice sent a wave of gasps through the growing crowd.

“That's not all… Fireworks festival… Summer festival… There's a high chance she'll be in a yukata!”

Unable to hold back, a female student shoved Tanaka aside and leaned forward.

“Could it be that Momoi-kun will be in a yukata too!?”

“Takagi-chan loves taking care of Ginji. If it's a date, there's a good chance she's going all out with preparations…”

“!! I'll start checking if we can infiltrate the event staff right away! My grandpa's a city councilman — I've got connections!”

The girls dashed away with terrifying speed.

“…Why is Ginji so popular again? I thought people hated him? Also, wasn't that girl just now dropping some crazy info like it was nothing?”

“Well, this school's got a lot of rich kids…”

“Sure, Ginji was hated by the first-year girls around the ‘Four Seasons Princess’, but now that it's known he chose to be the bad guy to protect Takagi-chan, his reputation's turned around. He's serious, and since he started dating her, he smiles more —some girls are into the contrast between his usual scary look and his sweet side.”

“Seriously? Damn you, Ginji…You're already dating Takagi-chan, and now this…”

Grumbles of resentment toward Ginji spread among the boys, until Saito slammed his hand down and silenced them.

“Enough. We agreed — we would support Takagi-chan being happy with Ginji! Right now, our top priority is to see her again — for the first time in ages. If any punk tries to hit on her…we eliminate them by any means necessary.”

“We're reviewing our formation and operation plan for the day! And don't forget your canned coffee! The power level of Takagi-chan in a yukata is beyond comprehension!”

At Saito and Murakami's command, the ever-growing legion of ‘members' roared in unison.

“”””OOOOOHHHHHH!!!”“””

Their name: The All Blacks — Those Who Know the Bitterness.

They are a collective of quiet observers who watch over the shy Sora from afar,

a brotherhood perhaps more tightly bound than any other on campus.

However — they didn't know. The Sora they knew was from before summer break. They were about to realize — painfully — just how much she had changed.