Chapter 260 - Hearts That Cannot Be Stolen
(1)
"Cheers!!"
Everyone clinked their glasses.
I clinked my glass with Toya-kun, who was beside me.
The games had been an overwhelming two-game winning streak.
You cannot let Toya-kun play freely.
But the South Korean team was unable to suppress Toya-kun.
If they committed players to Toya-kun, holes opened up elsewhere.
Sawa-senshu did not let those opportunities slip.
As if venting accumulated frustration, Toya-kun rampaged on the court.
South Korea's offense had been landing early in the game, but once they were hit by ten consecutive 3-pointers, they wanted to take a timeout.
Then they tried to suppress Sawa-senshu, the source of the passes, but while not to the extent of Toya-kun, there was no player who could suppress Sawa-senshu alone.
When pressure was drawn toward Sawa-senshu, Aii-senshu became free.
Toya-kun's defense also became more aggressive.
A zone defense is meant to protect the zone assigned to you, but Toya-kun's zone was truly an absolute inviolable territory.
He stole every single ball that entered it.
And then he immediately switched to a fast break and launched a 3-pointer.
Toya-kun's drives, which had been harshly criticized, were shining this time.
When the opponents closed the distance in a forced attempt to stop the 3-pointers, Toya-kun immediately dribbled straight into their chest.
A double team wasn't enough to stop Toya-kun.
If three people converged, he launched a sharp pass.
In the end, South Korea spent the entire time being toyed with by the very Toya-kun they had viewed as so dangerous.
The Lee Sang-baek Cup became Toya-kun's official debut.
In the post-game interviews, no one brought up my relationship with him.
Everyone asked about Toya-kun's play.
And that Toya-kun was currently digging into yakiniku, just as Sawa-senshu had promised.
"Toya would be perfect if it weren't for this."
Sawa-senshu sighed while looking at Toya-kun, who was stuffing his cheeks with meat.
That's impossible. Even I couldn't do it in eight years.
"When he's at home, I make the meals and manage his adjustments."
"If Tosaka-san says so, I'm relieved."
"Airi, you have it hard too, don't you?"
Yukari-san said.
"Aya doesn't eat much, so there's not much satisfaction in cooking for her."
"Unlike this guy, I adjust my daily physical condition."
Aii-senshu said, looking at Toya-kun.
"I'm envious that you both can make meals for your boyfriends. I can't make anything for Kazuto-kun."
Ah, Aida-senshu was studying abroad in America.
"Toya, is it the spring tournament after this?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Fukuoka University has an amazing center, so be careful."
"More amazing than Goro?"
"He has the height."
"Ah, then I'll be fine since I experienced that in the Taiwan game."
"True, the way they play might be the same as the Taiwan game."
"Is the local university strong?"
"I wonder? They said they're still in the 4th division."
"If you're there, they'll be promoted immediately, right?"
"I hope so."
Toya-kun didn't seem very interested.
Or rather, he was probably just interested in the yakiniku in front of him.
"The next time we meet will be the Universiade."
At the mention of the Universiade, Toya-kun's chopsticks stopped.
"Was it a tournament?"
"Yeah. I want to win at least one game."
"I intend to do it with the goal of winning the championship."
"Talking big, huh? America is going to advance."
"Even so, I have to win..."
Toya-kun's determination was firm.
"You said you want to see the top of the world? I heard it from Yukari."
Aii-senshu said.
"Rather than wanting to see it, it's more correct to say I'm going to see it."
Toya-kun answered.
"You're not just saying this on a whim, right?"
"I'm serious."
"In that case, why not just go to the NBA? Why are you going to a university?"
"Because my goal is to stand at the top in Japan."
"Why are you so fixated on that goal?"
Sawa-senshu asked.
"Because if I don't do at least that much, I can't convince those around me."
"The so-called proof of your own ability?"
"I guess."
"We'll have to work hard so we don't drag you down."
"I think the real battle starts after we face China in the Asian Championship."
Aida-senshu said.
"Why China?"
"There's a player with an incredible reach who is skilled at defense. I think unless you can defeat that player, you can't beat Michael."
"Michael?"
"A player whose athletic ability is not inferior to Toya's."
"Is that so?"
"I think the opponent from the American selection will be tough. They're all like monsters."
Aida-senshu said.
"I won't lose, no matter the opponent. That's what I've decided."
After saying that, Toya-kun began eating yakiniku again.
"Besides that Michael guy, is there anyone else to be careful of?"
"Hmm, Michael is the most outstanding, but everyone is a caution. It's better to think that there are tall Toyas everywhere."
"That certainly is a threat."
Aii-senshu said.
"Kazuto, you're thinking of a way to win in your own way, right?"
"As I thought, I think Toya is the key. It'll probably become a shootout, so Toya, who has high 3-pointer accuracy, will definitely be targeted."
When Aida-senshu said that, everyone looked at Toya-kun.
I didn't know what Toya-kun was thinking, but he was just eating meat.
"Ah...!"
"What is it, Toya?"
Sawa-senshu said.
I raised my fist.
"No, I was thinking maybe we should have seafood hot pot today..."
Thwack
"That's enough!"
"Then, at least let me have stone-grilled bibimbap."
"And that's it."
"Understood."
"He's a guy with no sense of tension."
Aii-senshu said that.
(2)
"Daa! I got beat again!"
Our members were unable to withstand the opponent's fierce attack.
At this rate, we'll just keep losing ground.
If Toya and Tosaka-san were here, we could easily overturn the situation.
Right now, they're in South Korea.
It can't be helped.
No fortress to acquire, huh. It is what it is.
Then Ai came back from her part-time job.
"Ai, welcome back~. Good work! Wait a moment, I have expense claims and such."
"Yeah..."
Something was different from usual.
"Ai, what's wrong?"
"No, just... keep playing your game."
As I thought, something was off.
After receiving the expenses, I logged out immediately.
"Did I mess something up again?"
"It's not that..."
"I might be an unreliable husband, but I can at least listen to my wife's complaints."
"It's not complaints, just a little..."
Something definitely happened.
"What happened?"
"I had a bit of a scary experience."
"Eh?"
Could something be scary even for Ai?
"I was being followed from my part-time job. A white sports car."
Come to think of it, I've been hearing engine sounds for a while.
I peeked outside through a gap in the curtains. Someone was standing by the white sports car Ai mentioned, pointing a camera this way.
"Don't look!"
Ai pulled me back.
"What's going on?"
"I think it's the tailing that Tada-kun mentioned."
"What do they gain by doing that?"
"I think they intend to post things about us on the internet. Like a couple living together and flirting while still being students, or something."
"Then there's no reason to be shaken, right?"
What's wrong with a married couple living together?
"It just depends on how the article is written, right? There are articles everywhere about unmarried men and women living together."
"We're not celebrities, and besides, we're already adults. There's no need to be timid."
Ai showed me the web on her laptop.
There was a photo where Ai's face had been composited onto a nude model's body.
Ai clung to me.
"Eita... this is the first time. I'm scared..."
"I-I'll protect you. I'll protect Ai!"
Saying that, I hugged Ai and went outside.
"Wait, Eita!"
I cannot forgive whoever puts Ai through this!
I found the person by the white sports car and shouted at them.
"What the hell are you doing!"
A man wearing a full-face helmet, different from the man with the camera, approached.
He was holding something... a metal bat.
The man swung the bat overhead.
I recoiled and dodged the swinging bat.
And then, I charged into the opponent's waist and pushed him down.
As I took a mount position, I took the bat from the man's hand and tried to peel off the helmet.
At that moment, there was a flash of light.
Was a photo taken?
The opponent I had knocked down used that opening to take me down, pick up the bat, and swing it down toward me.
I'm going to get hit!
Just as I thought that, Tada-kun, who had appeared by my side before I knew it, grabbed the arm the man was using to hold the bat.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Tada-kun was pissed.
The camera flash went off again.
But the man with the camera also had his arm grabbed by another man, Watanabe-kun.
"Don't think the same trick will work twice."
Watanabe-kun snatched the camera and handed it to Mika-san.
Mika-san checked the contents of the photos and deleted them all.
Tada-kun's grip was strong, and when he squeezed the arm holding the bat, the man dropped it.
I kicked that bat away with all my might.
It seemed the driver had remained in the white car, and he tried to escape by reversing, but Kanna-san's car blocked the path.
Watanabe-kun dragged the man who had the camera toward the driver's seat.
"Get out..."
A quiet but intimidating voice.
The driver did not come out.
"I said get out!!"
Watanabe-kun's shout echoed.
The driver came out.
He was a flashy-looking man with blond hair.
"You guys are from the Egoists, right?"
Watanabe-kun glared at the blond man.
"Watanabe-kun, this is a bad place for this."
Ai came down and told Watanabe-kun to look around.
The apartment residents were watching from their balconies, wondering what was happening.
"...I guess we can't use Blue Bird. There was a family restaurant in the neighborhood."
"Yeah, there is."
"Let's move there. We'll talk after that... don't try to run!"
Watanabe-kun got into the men's car, and Mika-san drove Watanabe-kun's car.
It was the beginning of a long night.
(3)
When we moved to the family restaurant, Hiyama-senpai and Sakura-san, who were waiting for us, waved.
The men sat surrounding the three men, and the women sat opposite them.
"Now then, shall we hear your side of the story?"
"What are you talking about?"
The blond man played dumb.
All three of them had blond hair and styled hair.
The man who had been wearing the helmet had his styled hair crushed and messy.
"Mika... show the evidence."
When Watanabe-kun spoke, Mika-san took out her smartphone.
"You guys were probably too absorbed to notice, but the material has been properly uploaded."
Watanabe-kun threatened them with a low, menacing voice.
"Do you have proof that it was us?"
"Sorry, but this has a night-vision camera attached. Your faces are captured perfectly. Mika."
Mika-san connected the smartphone to a laptop and launched an app.
There, the scene of the man secretly filming our house, the scene of him swinging the bat at me as I approached, and even the scene where Tada-kun stepped in to help were all clearly recorded.
"You can't just play dumb and hope to get away with it! Hurry up and confess! Who the hell are you!?"
When Mika-san intimidated them, the man spoke.
"...You've already realized it even if I don't say it, right?"
"So you admit you're from the Egoists."
The three of them nodded in silence.
"What is your objective? At this stage, I won't permit any secrets."
Watanabe-kun spoke quietly. That made it even scarier.
"You know, right? To grab scandals on you guys."
"Not grab them, but create them, right? Makoto."
When Watanabe-kun spoke to Tada-kun, Tada-kun opened the laptop.
And he displayed one image.
It was the photo of Ai from earlier.
"Poor compositing. The seams are clearly visible. What are people who can only do such sloppy work thinking? Just so you know, I've already identified the address of the person who uploaded this."
Makoto-kun said.
"I wouldn't mind handing you over to the police with this evidence, you know?"
When Watanabe-kun mentioned the police, the men apologized all at once.
"We're sorry! We were just asked to do it!"
"Who asked you to do it?"
"We don't know the name; everyone called him 'Emperor'."
"Emperor, huh... Who is that guy?"
"We don't know; we didn't pursue each other's identities deeply."
"What is the Egoists' objective?"
"We don't know; it felt like some kind of circle for picking up girls. Emperor holds all the membership fees."
Ai took photos of the three of them.
"Tell me your names."
The three of them gave their names.
"Don't do anything stupid anymore. If you do it again, next time we'll hand you over to the police without question."
"Understood."
"Then, get out. Don't ever show your faces again."
When Mika-san spoke, the three of them left the store.
"Was it okay not to hand them over to the police?"
"They talked easily. And they don't know the identity of the Egoists' head. Even if we handed them over to the police, we wouldn't reach the Egoists."
When Ai spoke, Watanabe-kun answered.
"I know the head's name and identity. The reason I didn't mention that is..."
"The one who shows their trump card first loses. I'll keep it until the end. I thought it was important to see how much the opponent has grasped about us."
"What do we do now?"
"Makoto, please update that site."
"You're going to expose today's events, right?"
"Yeah."
Tada-kun received the smartphones from Ai and Mika-san and copied the images.
"Is it time for a counterattack?"
"Not yet. Our biggest bottleneck remains."
"...Nishimatsu and Saki?"
"There's no way to conceal the actions of those two. There are things we can do... but I want to keep that as a last resort."
While the Watanabe couple were talking, Tada-kun finished updating the site.
"By the way, Eita."
"What?"
Ai called me.
"Don't rush out without listening to me until the end! What would you do if something happened while you went in unarmed!"
"I couldn't forgive anyone who hurts Ai."
"There's no point if you get hurt because of that."
"Eita, try to understand Ai's feelings. Bravery and recklessness are completely different."
"I get it. Sorry."
I apologized.
"Well, shall we disband for now? We'll think about future measures at a later date. Absolutely do not do anything reckless alone. Avoid rash actions. Be thorough about this."
When Watanabe-kun spoke, everyone nodded.
We know the identity of the Egoists, but we don't know their objective. Just a circle for picking up girls?
What a suspicious group.
But right now, more than that...
"Ai, are you okay?"
I asked Ai in the car.
Ai was silently fiddling with her smartphone.
"Are you still angry?"
Ai's finger stopped abruptly.
"Angry? Is that how it looks to you?"
"Is it not?"
"...Pull the car over."
I turned on the hazard lights and pulled the car to the side.
"What's wrong?"
Ai hugged me.
"I'm worried! You're different from Katagiri-kun or Ishihara-kun. You're an ordinary man. Even today, if Makoto-kun hadn't made it in time, you would have been sent to the hospital!"
"Aren't you angry after all?"
"It's not that. I'm scared and anxious thinking that you'll do the same thing again and get injured this time."
"...I won't do it anymore. Watanabe-kun warned me too."
"It's a promise. You're my precious husband. Don't make me worry."
You're an equally precious wife.
I turned off the hazards and the car started moving.
The site with Ai's photos was hijacked by Makoto, and all files were deleted.
Also, he reported it to the server administrator and requested the deletion of the site.
However, the Egoists' attacks intensified further.
(4)
I was putting letters through the shredder.
The addressee for all of them was Saki.
The Egoists must have looked up our address.
Or they were followed.
Seeing as the majority don't have the address written on them, the latter is more likely.
For now, I have to dispose of them before Saki finds them.
Sometimes there are things with razors inside.
Since there might be important documents, I check them one by one while doing it.
"I'm home~"
Saki came home at a bad time.
"W-welcome back."
I instinctively hid the letters.
"What are you doing sitting in front of the shredder?"
"Nothing in particular?"
"...What did you hide?"
"It's nothing big... ah!"
Damn it.
"...Hand them over."
I obediently handed over the large amount of letters.
"Aren't these all addressed to me? Are there love letters in here? Did you think I would cheat!? Am I not trusted?"
That's not it, considering we're married.
"...'You slut! Give me back my boyfriend!!'... what is this."
Saki checked the contents of the letters one by one.
Slut, this malicious woman. An easy woman who opens her legs for anyone. A femme fatale. Give back the man!
Slander and abuse to the point where there was no end to counting them.
There's no need to worry about it. The current Saki is different.
But it seemed Saki had a few things she could relate to.
"Well, there's no point in worrying about this!"
Saki put them through the shredder with her own hands.
"I see, Yuma was worrying about me."
Saki said while shredding.
"But, it might be my own fault... I did do things like what's written here. What stupid things did I do..."
Saki's hand stopped.
She collapsed in tears on the spot.
I sat beside the crouching Saki and put my arm around her shoulder.
Saki buried her face in my chest.
"I'm sorry, I'm causing trouble for Yuma too."
"I don't think of it as trouble."
"But please believe this one thing, I'm not some 'easy woman who opens her legs for anyone'!"
"I know that. The current Saki is the truth, right?"
Saki was crying.
I felt anger.
I cannot forgive the people who put her through this.
I notified the members of Unity.
"So they've come to Saki-san's place too..."
Nishimatsu-kun left a message.
"They've come to my place too; it's a pain. The part that I can't deny."
"But not everything is true, right?"
"I don't remember the number of women I've dumped one by one, so I can't tell them apart."
"..."
"It's my own fault, though."
"Both of you, please act calmly. Absolutely do not do anything stupid."
A notice came from Watanabe-kun.
"Saki is fine because I'm here. Don't worry."
I sent that message.
"You're the only one Saki can rely on. I'm counting on you."
A message came from Watanabe-kun.
"I'll make dinner today. Just relax."
"...Sorry."
"That's what a husband is for at a time like this, right? Don't worry about it."
"Yeah."
How long will these despicable tactics continue?
(6)
As soon as we arrived at the local airport, the press rushed in.
Unlike at Haneda, there were no staff.
We bought sunglasses, put them on, and laughed together, trying to use it as a disguise, but it was meaningless.
The media surged forward.
And slander was hurled.
The slander wasn't directed at me, but at Airi.
Airi grabbed my arm and looked down.
Airi's hand grabbing my arm was shaking.
"Yes, yes, move aside, move aside."
Two men in black suits pushed through the crowd.
One was a short man, the other was a lanky man.
Beyond the crowd they pushed through was a woman in a black dress.
Taking off her sunglasses, the woman said.
"Both of you, this way! Hurry."
It was Akira-san.
Airi and I ran through.
And we were put into a black luxury car.
"It's fine. Kazami! Please start the car."
When Akira-san said that, the car slowly started moving.
"Were you okay? Katagiri-kun."
Sakai-kun called out.
"You saved me."
"I figured it would be like this, so I asked Emi for reinforcements."
"I predicted it too... while you guys were in South Korea, it's been terrible over here."
Then I heard about what happened while we were staying in South Korea.
Such things happened...
"So, as for what we do from here."
Let's think calmly.
The biggest concern right now is who will protect Airi while I'm at the spring tournament starting next week.
Take Airi along? Impossible.
"Don't worry about Airi-chan. I'll take responsibility and provide a guard."
Emi-san told us. For now, is that a relief?
"More than that, Katagiri-kun, you be careful too. It seems the Egoists are doing this indiscriminately."
"It seems so."
"It's irritating to just keep being attacked like this... I'll definitely retaliate."
"Wouldn't it be better to just move to crush them quickly?"
Akira-san said.
"There's no meaning unless we crush them while making them taste an equal amount of humiliation."
Emi-san said.
Airi was still shaking.
When I stroked Airi's head, Airi brought her face closer to my chest.
I won't let it end like this.