The Half-assed Prince

Onsen (Part 1)

My relationship with Kei had grown stronger, stronger than I had ever expected. The moment we pulled away from our first kiss, I felt a new connection between us and I felt so much closer to him. Unfortunately, the following day we felt so awkward around each other that we couldn't even meet each other's eyes. My friends noticed our bizarre behavior and asked me what was going on. I could immediately feel my face warming up as my stupid brain forced me to relive that unforgettable moment: I could still feel Kei's soft lips touching mine, sending butterflies to my stomach. My reaction was enough to answer my friend's questions so they pestered me for details.

Snow kept piling up, covering everything under a glistening white blanket. The volleyball team was having a hard time with practice because of it and the cold weather. Despite the cold wind in the morning, they were still jogging around the school. Their noses reminded me of Rudolph (yeah, the red nosed reindeer) when they got back in the gym. It struck me how strong their will was: the weather wasn't enough to break their determination to win The Spring Tournament.

Ukai-san gathered us for a meeting during the after-class practice. I was surprised that he asked me to bring Mei-chan with me. The moment we arrived in the gym, the whole gang was already there.

Everyone waited eagerly for Ukai-san to speak, their faces bright with curiosity. Perhaps we would be having another training camp or maybe a friendly match against another strong school. Still, the atmosphere made me feel that I was wrong. It was so light... so light that it was giving me creeps.

When Ukai-san saw that everybody was accounted for, he cleared his throat and started talking.

"Since you guys have been working hard these past months with your training camp and little matches, I feel so proud of you." The boys exchanged looks as they listened to the coach. Some tilted their heads while others furrowed their eyebrows. It really was weird for him to say those things. He must've noticed how puzzled the boys looked at his words so he cleared his throat once again to get their attention.

"Okay, that's not what I wanted to say. I knew that last week was a special event to a lot of you. And I kind of ruined it because of... um... you guys already know what happened between me and my wife. So to compensate for that... I'm bringing you to an Onsen."

I could see many eyes widening at the word Onsen. I couldn't blame them though, even I couldn't believe my own ears. We were going to a hot spring!!!

"Uso?? Yatta!! Onsen!!" Hinata squawked in excitement.

Then everyone started chanting:
"Onsen! Onsen! Onsen! Onsen! Onsen!"

"But coach, we don't have the budget for that." Daichi-san cut the uproar.

"That's what I'm trying to say. I'm going to treat you all." Ukai-san said.

Everyone's eyes grew even wider.

"But coach, we're like 20 people. Do you have that much money?" Sugawara-san asked.

"Ne, Sugawara, are you looking down on me?" Sugawara-san just smiled. "To tell you the truth, you guys are lucky I have an aunt who's running a hot spring inn, and when I told her that I'm planning to bring you all there, she said that she's giving me a 50% discount. How's that sound?"

"Woah! Coach! Your aunt is so cool!!" Nishinoya said.

"Baka! I'm the cool one, not my aunt." Ukai-san chided.

"But she gave you a 50% discount. Isn't that cool?" Tanaka said.

"Okay, Shimizu, take Nishinoya and Tanaka off the list. They're not coming with us."

"Eh????" Both of them groaned.

Everyone busted out laughing. Still, I couldn't believe that Ukai-san thought of that. He must've felt bad for suddenly calling out for a volleyball practice last Saturday. It was true that almost everybody was against that, even Kei and I, but it was the coach's order so we had no choice.