♚ CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT ♚
"BARBEQUE!!"
On this hot afternoon, seeing several grill tables with meat, vegetables, and large quantities of onigiri seemed like heaven to those who had finished their round of games. Everyone quickly grabbed their styrofoam plates and wooden chopsticks and proceeded to the grill.
Yanagi was standing next to Konoha, holding a plate of grilled meat. His eyes appeared bored, but he ate it voraciously because he was hungry as well.
His gaze was drawn inadvertently to his manager, Yachi, who was standing in the middle, looking terrified. Her head jerked back and forth. She must be intimidated by tall players.
"Look," Komi nudged Konoha's waist while pointing at the poor manager with his chin.
Konoha grins while blushing, preparing to approach him.
"Grrr!!!"
Tanaka and Noya appeared around Yachi like wild dogs, forcing Komi and Konoha to step back.
"Don't ever think about it," Yanagi commented. "Ryuunosuke, Yuu."
"Yes, Yanagi-san?!"
"If you want more, tell me," he said.
"Yes, sir!!"
Konoha sighed. "That second years of yours are so scary."
"They only do that when you approach our manager," he said. Then he placed some grilled meat on Konoha's plate. "Eat some more. You're so thin."
"My weight is perfectly fine!"
ｄｒｒｔｔ．．．
The phone in Yanagi's pocket vibrated and he let out a resigned sigh.
"Naoto, answer it."
○ ♚ ○
"Karasuno's third years seem really level-headed," Shinzen's manager commented while looking at Daichi, who was handling Tanaka and Nishinoya.
"Do they? I guess it's because there are a lot of problem children 'below' them..." Kiyoko trailed off.
"Ah, but your ace is very handsome and charismatic," Kaori said with a deadpan expression as she looked at Bokuto. "Unlike our simple-minded ace..."
"Be-Being in the 'Top 5' of the country is amazing!!!" Hinata exclaimed in awe. His cheeks are flushed, and his eyes sparkling.
Bokuto laughed. "Isn't it?! hahaha!!"
"But your upperclassmen is in the 'Top 3' in the country, you know," Kuroo spoke.
"3...?!"
Bokuto scrunched up his face. "Hey, you're gonna upstage me if you say stuff like that!" he exclaimed.
Beside them, Lev asked while still chewing. "You said 3, so that means there are still two more, right?!"
Kuroo sighed. "Tohoku's 'Ushiwaka'. Kanto's 'Sakusa'. And your upperclassmen, Yanagi Naoto. Those are this year's 3 great high school aces."
"Yanagi-san?!!" Hinata widened his eyes in shock hearing the name of his upperclassman.
Bokuto clicked his tongue.
"Does that mean Bokuto-san is inferior to Yanagi-san?" Bokuto grumbles.
Kuroo smirked. "He's never won from him since middle school."
"Shut up!!"
"Yanagi-san is so cool!!" Hinata looked around for his upperclassmen and came to a halt when he noticed he was under a tree with a laptop open "Even though we're having a party, Yanagi-san has to go to work, huh?"
"Perks of being an heir, I guess."
On the other hand, Yanagi was busy with his laptop. With his other hand is playing with his phone, giving some answers to his subordinates.
ｓｐｌｕｒｔ
He looked down at the strange things that were coming out of his nose. It has a watery, red appearance. His blood.
"Em," He looked up at Kenma, who was staring at him in shock. He dashed down the small hill and returned with some tissues.
"Here."
Yanagi took it and gently wiped the blood.
"Are you... okay?" Kenma asked quietly with slight hesitation.
"I'm fine," He responded, and the blonde teen decided not to ask any more questions. He took the console from his pocket, which he had taken from Kuroo, and sat down three feet away from the dark gray-haired man.
Their atmosphere was quiet but not awkward. Both are preoccupied with their respective activities. With only the sound of the game emanating from the console.
Kenma couldn't figure out why he wanted to sit next to him. He was clearly different from Kuroo who had an expression that he couldn't resist to say no or Hinata who was noisy and interesting. The guy next to him is... cold but he's very considerate especially when he played with him in the random match that day.
He can quickly recognize the strengths and weaknesses of his team. That's why he frequently tells Kenma that he'll help cover his flaws at the time. Or when he helps covered up Lev. And don't forget about how he can easily catch something and then told him the suitable strategy.
He's interesting but dangerous.
G̸͓̫̃ͅͅͅǍ̵̡̭̞͕̫̞̼̪̟͂̒̋͊̀̀̀͊M̸̗̋̾̽E̵̛͉̜̬͖͗̑̀͌̈́͑̆̋ ̴͇́̀̈̔̍O̸̢̡̧̧̳̜̱̮̳̗͌̈́͒̄̀̈̂͂̑͝V̸͓̀̓Ę̷͙̫̤̩̪͈̻̠̓͛̓̔̕̕͜Ŗ̴͉̥̪̗̼̱̣̭̣͗͑̏͒̉̒
"Ugh," Kenma groaned. He's dead again.
"You won't finish that level if you only focus on the diamond," Yanagi's unexpected remark caught Kenma off guard. "You're too focused on that and don't pay attention to your surroundings. Pay close attention to the sound effects. They have a 6-second pause and that's your time for the defense from the little robots. And as their eyes dim, finish them."
Kenma immediately repeated his level and followed his words. "Break his wings first and use all your strength and fire in his mouth."
"Why? Shouldn't the diamond be crushed?"
"What's the mission?"
"To defeat the dragon and get special rewards," he spoke.
"There is no directive to destroy the diamond. But to completely destroy the dragon, simply shoot it into its mouth. Even though their outer skin is tough, their stomach is their weakest point."
Kenma was silent for a few seconds before repeating the game again.
ＬＥＶＥＬ ＣＬＥＡＲＥＤ
Kenma blinked several times. Although the diamond in the dragon's head was not destroyed, the level was cleared and the diamond became a special item. Then looked up at Yanagi who was still busy with his work. "You play?"
"No."
○ ♚ ○
"Well then, until next time."
"Yup. Next time!"
They were all gathered in Shinzen's courtyard. Dropping off Karasuno, who is going to go back to Miyagi early due to their school's distance from the others.
"Akinori, phone," Konoha raised his eyebrows in confusion but still handed him the phone. Yanagi immediately opened the contact application and entered his phone number.
"Huh? For what?" he scrunched up his face with a hand on his hip. "We haven't texted for three years. Why are you now giving me your number?"
"Akinori..."
He grinned before letting out a quiet laugh. "Alright. See you next time then."
The corners of Yanagi's lips lifted slightly and he flicked Konoha's forehead lightly. "Yeah, see you."
And the summer vacation joint training camp has finished in its entirety.
At the very least, Konoha knows that there is no longer a goodbye.