Chapter 342 - Fleeting Things
(1)
"Toya-kun, it's morning~ Time to wake up and do your morning routine~"
Airi is energetic in the morning.
She seems in a good mood, so I guess I'll get up.
I sit up and stretch my back.
"Okay, go wash your face and get changed!"
As told, I wash my face, change clothes, leave the house, and complete my morning routine.
After finishing my morning routine, I take a shower, eat breakfast, and make coffee.
I take the mug of coffee to my room, place it on the table, and crawl under the blanket.
It feels good.
I'll be able to fall asleep quickly.
"Toya-kun, sorry to keep you waiting~ Huh?"
Airi is looking for me.
Airi doesn't notice the blanket bulging unnaturally, as if hiding under a cardboard box.
She rushes out of the room.
She probably asked Mom.
She comes back into the room with Mom.
It seems she could fool Airi's eyes, but not Mom's.
Mom immediately pulls off the blanket.
"Toya! That's enough! Don't cause trouble for Airi-chan in the morning!"
"Maya-san, amazing! How did you know?"
"You'll soon be able to tell what a child might think of too, Airi-chan."
"I see~"
While Airi was drying her hair and putting on makeup, I was getting a lecture from Mom.
"You cause trouble for Airi-chan every single morning. One of these days she'll run away from home."
"Ugh... That won't happen, Maya-san."
"Airi-chan probably thinks she's here for bride training, but it seems I need to train you, Toya."
Mom says that.
Dad left for work long ago.
By the time Mom finished saying what she wanted and left the room, Airi had finished her makeup.
I drink my coffee and head straight to school.
When I arrive at school, I stop by the gymnasium for morning practice.
Airi is watching from the second floor.
"Sho. You're moving your upper body unnecessarily after getting the rebound again. You'll get called for a foul."
"Got it. Katagiri-senpai, one more time."
Intentionally missing a shot is difficult, isn't it.
And sending the rebound towards the opponent.
Huh? That's just intuition, intuition.
While I'm helping Sho with his post play practice like that, Kyota and the others show up.
"Katagiri-senpai, you don't need to practice missing shots on purpose! Please do your own routine!"
I got scolded by Sakura-san.
I do a different routine from Sho and the others.
When the time comes, everyone changes and goes their separate ways.
We go to the library in our free time to study for exams.
We're operating on Airi's schedule management.
Since Airi got her informal job offer earlier than expected, it seems she has a lot of leeway.
That's a good thing.
At lunch, we gather at the cafeteria and eat bento.
Kitamura-san and Kuribayashi-kun also came.
Kitamura-san is eating zaru soba sold at the convenience store.
Kuribayashi-kun is also eating bread.
"Misato, don't you cook? You could make him a bento."
Airi says.
"I'm currently learning from Emi-senpai."
Kitamura-san says.
"I'm teaching her how to use a peeler right now."
It seems Kitamura-san is not good at tasks using knives.
So she's starting by learning dishes that don't require cutting.
Also, it seems Kitamura-san herself has too many likes and dislikes, so she doesn't know what to teach.
By the way, Kuribayashi-kun doesn't seem to have many likes and dislikes.
According to Kuribayashi-kun, it's faster for him to remember the dishes Kitamura-san dislikes and make them himself.
"That's no good~ You shouldn't disregard a woman's goodwill."
Airi warns him.
Well, it'll probably work out somehow.
Speaking of which, Kamenashi-kun and the other four are gathered, talking about something.
I wonder what they're talking about?
Curious, I try calling out to them.
"N-nothing at all, we're fine."
"If you say so."
I had a hunch that something was up, but it seemed better not to stick my nose in unnecessarily.
Watanabe-kun seemed to think the same, so he changes the subject.
"Asakura-san, do you make a bento for Kisaragi-kun?"
"I don't. Sho-chan's university is far, so he leaves early..."
"Chi-chan, don't you make one for Takatsuki?"
Kanna asked.
"Should I make one, Sho?"
"I'd be happy if you did, but you don't have to force yourself."
"Do you think I'm clumsy? I may not look it, but I used to make bento for my older brother."
"Ah, I see. But I didn't mean it that way. I just thought it might be hard because you have to leave early."
"Don't worry about it."
"Then maybe I'll have you make one."
After that, we attend afternoon classes, and when they end, we take a break at the Blue Bird until club activities.
I was with Airi, and then Akira-san, Emi-san, Kuribayashi-kun, Nakajima-kun come one after another.
Today, Kana-san was also here.
I wonder if she had some special business?
She's talking with Emi-san about something.
"So it seems it's true..."
"I see. I hope it doesn't lead to something dangerous again."
Dangerous?
Airi seemed curious too.
"What was true?"
Airi asked.
"I can't tell Katagiri-kun and the others."
Emi-san says.
"You'll end up dragging Toya-kun into everything about Watanabe's team anyway? In that case, wouldn't it be better to nip it in the bud early?"
Airi says.
"That's true too... Actually,"
It seems Stinger is in decline.
That's only natural. Without the centripetal force of the Emperor, unlike Urbanity, there's no way a circle like that could hold together.
It's a wonder they survived this long.
There's nothing to worry about, right?
I say that, but Emi shakes her head.
"And it seems they're moving to scout Kamenashi-kun."
Ah, that's what it is.
So that's what happened earlier.
"So we were talking about what we'd do if Kamenashi-kun betrays us."
Kana-san says.
"That won't happen. Those four have genuinely reformed."
I explain that there's no way they'd go back now.
"I'll believe you since you say so, Katagiri-kun... but are you really sure?"
"Kamenashi-kun has been regretting things ever since Morizono-san was shot. There's no way he'd even think about going back to such a dangerous circle now."
"He won't be forcibly kidnapped or anything, will he?"
"If they had that kind of power, they wouldn't need Kamenashi-kun. I think they're really on their last legs."
They must be in a situation where they can't afford to worry about appearances.
"Well, that's good then..."
Emi-san seems to have her thoughts on the matter.
I send a message to Makoto.
"I need information on Stinger."
"Then I don't even need to look into it. Can you gather tonight?"
"We're fine, but..."
"Then at the usual family restaurant. Is around 9 PM okay?"
"We're fine too."
"I have work."
"My shift is over, so I'm good."
Everyone replies.
"Katagiri-kun, maybe you shouldn't get too involved? You have the Olympics coming up."
Sakai-kun says.
"It won't become such a big deal. Makoto seemed relaxed about it too."
There's no way it'll turn into a conflict now.
I was certain of it.
(2)
"Don't just stand there like a dumbass, newbie."
I ignore him.
"What a unsociable guy."
The short man says that and walks off.
I'm polishing the car I was asked to do.
I started a part-time job at the SS.
Kaori also started a part-time job at a convenience store.
I don't have a problem finding employment, but I thought living on part-time jobs while being a student wouldn't be bad, so I refused my parents' allowance.
Since I'm making them pay an extra year of tuition, I want to manage on our own for that part.
I also went to greet Kaori's family.
I got hit once, but compared to our future, it was nothing.
As long as we're together, we can overcome any hardship.
Because I believed that.
After that, I studied and worked like crazy.
The first semester will end soon.
When it's over, I have to go support Katagiri-kun too.
We were talking about that.
A navy blue luxury car stops.
Again.
I ignore it and continue washing the car.
The driver of the luxury car speaks to me.
"The man once called the Emperor has certainly fallen to a miserable state."
Don't call me by that name.
"I don't care how I look. I'm busy here. If you have no business, get lost."
"I do have business. Please fill it up with premium gasoline."
As if this car needs premium gasoline.
"Won't you listen to me for a bit?"
"If you bring a different topic, I might consider it."
"You're a man too, aren't you? Don't you want to make a big score one more time?"
"Sorry, but I've had enough of being used."
"Both of you need money, don't you? You're getting married, right?"
I stopped my hands.
"I know all your information. If you lay a hand on Kaori, I'll spill everything to the cops!"
"Resorting to being a lapdog of state power—you've really fallen, Emperor."
"Don't call me by that name ever again."
"...I'll come again."
Saying that, he gets into the car after refueling and drives off.
"You said 'Emperor' earlier, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but it's none of my business?"
"Right, with that car of yours, you can't handle the mountain passes..."
What's he talking about?
"...Did something happen?"
"No, a group of street racers calling themselves 'Emperor' showed up... And we're wondering how to deal with them. The 'Blue Flash' won't work either."
"For that mountain, wasn't there a team coached by a rally specialist?"
"The basic performance of the cars is different. Amateurs don't get it."
But the Blue Flash never cared about specs.
"But there's no choice but to rely on Red Bull."
"Yeah."
A name that sounds like a car with wings.
But Stinger, huh...
They might have gone to Misawa and Kosei too.
I need to check once.
Just then, my phone rang.
A message.
I check it.
Gather at the family restaurant at 9 PM tonight.
Kaori's shift will be over by then too.
Maybe I'll talk to her about it.
(3)
"Kosei, did you wait long?"
"No, I didn't wait that long."
"Oh, good."
"By the way, I want to ask you something..."
"What?"
"Why did we need to meet here?"
This is the school entrance.
A place where many people come and go during dismissal time.
I don't really understand what Naru is thinking.
"There's something I've always wanted to try once..."
"And what's that?"
"You know, on TV, they always meet up in front of Hachiko in Shibuya or in a crowd."
"Yeah, they do."
"I was wondering how that feels."
I really don't understand what Naru is thinking.
Are all women like that?
"So, how was it?"
"I had a hard time finding you."
"I bet."
"Hmm, which place is good?"
"What's wrong with in front of the classroom?"
"It seems some people might be offended by that."
Apparently someone got mad, saying "It's exam season, what are you thinking?!"
That's just jealousy, so I wish they'd just ignore it.
By the way, both Naru and I have top grades in our grade.
School classes are so easy they make me yawn.
However, I've had enough of dangerous games like before.
Since I don't need to be on guard around me like before, I don't have security personnel.
I only ask for a ride when it rains; on nice days like this, we walk home holding hands.
We might stop at a fast food place along the way to buy something to eat.
Or stop at a bookstore to buy books.
There's no special meaning to the act of holding hands, but I hold them because it makes Naru happy.
As we head home today too, a large car stops.
A luxury car.
People in black suits with sunglasses are standing there.
I can easily guess they need something from us.
As we try to leave through the school gate, we're surrounded by men.
Naru stays calm.
For better or worse, she's used to situations like this.
"What do you want?"
I ask first.
"You're the Warlock, correct?"
"Sorry, but you've got the wrong person. I've already discarded that name."
"I have something to discuss with you. Could you come with us?"
They seem determined to make me listen even if by force.
These guys are from that world.
At this close range, I can't be sure what they'll do.
Besides, I judged that causing a commotion wouldn't be wise.
"Fine. But Naru has nothing to do with this."
"Kosei! No!"
I calm down the panicking Naru and whisper to her.
"Tell Emi about this immediately. It's okay, I roughly know who they are."
"Who are they?"
"A third party."
"...I understand."
With that, I get into the back seat of the men's luxury car.
In the back seat sits a man around Katagiri-kun's age.
The car starts moving.
Naru stands frozen.
She seems to have acted immediately.
I can see her taking out her smartphone from her bag.
"So, what do you want?"
"I want to borrow your power, Warlock."
"What am I supposed to help with?"
"Something simple. I want to revive the Egoists."
"Impossible. I have no intention of lending my power to something so ridiculous."
"I thought you'd say that. Was that girl earlier the Pope?"
"What are you planning to do to Naru?"
"It depends on your answer, Kosei-kun."
"How much do you know about us?"
"What do you mean?"
Calm down, me. If I take the bait here, they'll see my weakness.
"From the sound of it, it seems you don't know much about us."
"What do you mean?"
"I won't give in to threats like that."
"It's possible to take you away like this, you know?"
"That's impossible."
"Impossible?"
The man's expression changed.
His composure had disappeared. I can even see impatience.
"First, you underestimated us as just a group of kids. That's reason one."
"That's strange, the traffic light hasn't changed at all."
"What are you doing? Use a detour."
Makoto-kun's skills seem undiminished. It looks like they've already intercepted.
"Second, you left me with my phone thinking I'm just a kid. Without even turning it off."
A large black four-wheel drive vehicle approaches.
It's Ishihara-kun leaning out of the window.
"Lastly, the Watanabe team pays back double what they receive."
As I say that, I lower my body to brace for impact.
From the four-wheel drive in front, Ishihara-kun throws a coin.
The glass cracks and visibility worsens.
The man stops the car in a panic.
Because he stopped with a hard brake, the man next to him hits his head hard on the driver's seat.
"Lately, it's mandatory to wear seatbelts in the back seat too. Be careful."
I say that and quickly get out of the car.
The man in the passenger seat tries to grab me, but at that moment he loses consciousness.
Behind him stands Ishihara-kun.
"Kosei, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. As expected, your skills are impressive."
"Thanks. Let's go back."
Saying that, I head home in Ishihara-kun's car.
When I get home, Naru is waiting.
"Kosei!!"
I thought it would be a touching reunion scene, but...
Smack
I got slapped.
"Why do you do such reckless things! What would I do if something happened to you?"
Naru is crying.
"Were you safe?"
"Worry about yourself instead of me! Please! That's your flaw, Kosei!"
"Kosei, no matter the reason, making a girl cry is a sin."
Emi-san says.
"I'll hear the details tonight when everyone gathers. For now, take care of Naru."
Emi-san and the others say that and leave, saying "We'll come pick you up tonight."
"Naru... I'm sorry... But I didn't want to involve you, my lovely one."
"I'm already a fallen princess."
"Yeah, I need to rephrase that... I wanted to protect you, my beloved."
"You are always my brave knight. Please understand my feelings, worrying about such an important knight. I don't want to lose you."
"I understand."
I pat Naru's head.
"...I heard they called themselves Stinger."
That's Naru's usual voice.
"Just as I thought."
"It seems they've been frequently trying to recruit Kamenashi-kun too."
Will we end up dragged into a pointless conflict?
I thought it would never happen again.
Considering Katagiri-kun, I can't let this get too big.
I wonder if the commander has some plan in mind.
(4)
"Alright, let's start by hearing from Kamenashi-kun."
Watanabe-kun says.
According to Kamenashi-kun, for the past week they've been coming to his part-time job at the SS constantly.
They want him to become the head of Stinger. They ask him if he wants to seize glory a third time.
Of course, Kamenashi-kun refused. But if they take Morizono-san hostage, he'll be stuck. So it seems he consulted Emi-san.
Next, Kana-san.
The existence of a hunting circle rumored among Kana-san's housewife friends.
It's become so notorious.
No one tries to join, and some even try to leave, so it's on a steady decline.
Makoto's virus was indeed working.
With the head, the Sudo group, falling from power, and losing their leader, they can only wait for death.
The only ones who can save them are Kosei and Kamenashi-kun, the brains of the Egoists, returning.
And today, they finally propositioned Kosei.
"You don't actually plan to get involved in such a pointless fight now, do you?"
Hiyama-senpai says.
"I agree. Everyone is at an important time. This isn't something to do when you've already gotten informal job offers."
Kimoto-senpai also says.
"Toya, I feel the same way. Your Olympics are at stake too. If you cause a scandal now, your path will definitely be cut off."
Watanabe-kun doesn't seem enthusiastic either.
"I know. That's where Makoto comes in."
I answer.
"Makoto, start explaining."
Makoto begins.
The Sun Knights had their entire structure exposed when the full scope of IRIS was revealed, and the bigwigs of various companies were brought down through that site Makoto found.
It seems Hiyama-senpai's father is on the offensive against the members of the Sun Knights, who were a tumor even at the local bank (which was also full of pus), pushing them into a corner.
Both the Takahashi group and the Sudo group are destroyed. Local businesses have suffered heavy damage.
And Dragon, Taiga Sudo, fell from power, and his son, the Hierophant, is also being pursued.
The newly formed Stinger has lost its head, and in the confusion, some are already pulling out.
What hurts the most is that the system created by Kamenashi-kun and Kosei has completely collapsed.
No longer anything more than a mere hunting circle, their reputation worsens, and far from expanding, they are only declining.
"So that's the situation. There's no need for us to intervene now."
"But aren't Kosei-kun and Kamenashi-kun in danger?"
Airi asks.
"So that's where Airi comes in?"
"Huh?"
Makoto hands a USB memory stick to Airi.
"What's this?"
"The current organization chart of Stinger and a list of all its members. They must be pretty confused. They fled leaving this on their server."
Makoto grins as he says that.
"So I just need to give this to Papa?"
"Yeah, then your dad will take care of the rest."
"Got it~"
Airi puts the USB memory in her bag.
"Is that the complete destruction?"
Mika-san asks, and I nod.
"We finally got the Hierophant who was out of reach. Checkmate."
"Then tonight, a pre-celebration!"
Mika says that, and everyone gets excited.
"Toya-kun, I can't calm down..."
I understand what Airi means.
"I know. Let's go talk to your dad now."
"Okay."
"So, Watanabe-kun, we'll head home first."
"I see. Later, then."
"Yeah, see you later."
And on the way back, we stop by Airi's house.
Airi confirmed that her dad is home by phone.
Airi's mom leads us to the living room, where Airi's dad is waiting.
Airi hands over the USB memory.
"...You've taken care of things till the end. I intend to arrest them all at once, secretly, so you won't be harmed."
"Yes."
"...Airi. Go back to the Katagiri house first."
"Huh, but what about Toya-kun?"
"...There's something I want to discuss with Toya-kun."
"Toya-kun doesn't hide things from me, so it's the same whether I'm here or not."
Besides, what kind of talk would exclude Airi at this point?
"Airi-chan. Men have things to talk about too~ Let's leave them alone for now~"
"Ugh... Toya-kun, don't be too late, okay?"
"...There's nothing to worry about."
"It'll be fine."
"Okay~"
Airi says that and goes back to my house alone.
Airi's mom prepares two glasses and a bottle of beer.
"Well then, take your time~"
Saying that, Airi's mom also goes into the bedroom.
"...Well, have a drink."
"Yes."
After Airi's dad pours me a beer, I also pour beer into his glass.
"Cheers."
We clink our glasses and Airi's dad downs it in one go.
When I try to pour another, he says, "From here on, let's be informal."
"...It was my dream."
Huh?
"Ever since Airi said 'I'm going to be Toya-kun's bride,' it was my dream. To share a drink with you, Toya-kun."
So that's what it is.
My dad said something similar before. That his dream was to drink with his son.
"I wanted a son, you know. I got a treasure called Airi, but the gods didn't give me a son."
"Airi has said that too."
"So I dreamed of sharing a drink with my son-in-law. I never expected it to be the son of Katagiri-san. I guess that's what they call fate."
Even as he says that, he keeps pouring me more, saying "Drink up."
After that, I listened to Airi's dad's stories. Proud stories about his daughter. Things he'd heard from Airi about my interactions with her. He told me everything.
"Papa~ It's almost midnight~ If you don't stop soon, you have work and Toya-kun has school, right~?"
"Hmm... Is it that late? Sorry for keeping you so long."
"No, thank you. I'll come to pay my respects during Obon."
"Yeah, take care of my daughter."
"Then, say hi to Airi-chan for us~"
Seen off by Airi's mom, I go home.
Then, Airi is standing in the entrance with arms crossed.
"Ugh... I told you not to be late, but it's past midnight?"
"Ah, sorry, sorry."
"Whoa, you smell like alcohol. Did Papa make you drink?"
"It seems it was Airi's dad's dream."
"Huh?"
"I'm going to take a bath for now."
"Okay, be careful not to slip."
In the changing room, a towel and my change of clothes were prepared.
After taking a bath, I change clothes and bring two cans of chuhai back to my room.
Seeing that, Airi is surprised, "You're still drinking!?"
"You haven't drunk a drop, right? This is a penalty game for me having fun alone and making you wait."
"...Yeah!"
I watch TV with Airi while drinking chuhai.
Since there were no interesting shows late at night, I switch to the anime channel on cable and watch some random anime.
"What did you talk about with Papa~?"
When Airi asks, I laugh and answer.
"Stories about Airi's past."
"Huh?"
"He told me in detail what you thought of me since you were in 6th grade."
"Ugh... Forget it immediately!"
Airi lightly taps my head.
So even Airi gets embarrassed sometimes.
"I might forget even about you, you know?"
I said something a bit mean.
"Ugh... You're mean, Toya-kun~"
"Didn't you already know, Airi?"
"What?"
"He said it was his dream from long ago. To drink with me."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, he said it was his dream from the time you started saying you'd be my bride when you were little."
"Ah, maybe he did say that... Wait, you talked about that too?"
"Yeah."
"Tell me everything you heard right now!"
Airi seems quite upset.
I get into the futon.
"Ah, you can't run away~"
"Come here too, Airi. I'll tell you all about it in bed."
"...Okay."
When Airi gets into bed, I turn off the lights.
Then I hug Airi and tell her one by one the stories I heard from her dad.
It seemed to sound like a lullaby to her, and soon she was breathing softly in sleep.
I stroke Airi's head.
Airi clings to me.
Perhaps because of the alcohol, I also fall asleep feeling Airi's warmth.
The hottest summer of my life is coming.