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Chapter 64: Watanabe is an Angel
🕑 Added 2024-12-20 14:24:05 +0000 UTCShigeru Yahaba slumped back into his seat, sulking quietly.
What was there to even think about? This was fine as it was. Whether it was a wild dog or a puppy, dealing with it was too much of a hassle for him.
Anyone would think it was a hot potato.
Besides, Kyōtani Kentarō wasn't a child. Surely, he could handle something this trivial on his own. And even if he couldn't, it wasn't Shigeru's fault.
That's what Shigeru tried to convince himself.
Yet, a restless frustration welled up in his chest, gnawing at him like a tiny thorn lodged in his throat.
"Ugh, this is so annoying!"
Finally, Shigeru couldn't hold back anymore. He got up and ran off in the direction Kyōtani had left.
Kyōtani hadn't gone far. He was sitting by the roadside, hugging the cardboard box with the puppy inside. If it had been a child instead of a puppy, a passerby might have called the police.
That thought crossed Shigeru's mind as he plopped down beside Kyōtani.
"For now, let's ask if there's anyone nearby who looks kind enough to adopt it," Shigeru suggested.
Kyōtani stayed silent for a long moment before nodding reluctantly.
It was that time of evening when people had finished dinner and were out for a stroll, and quite a few dog owners were walking their pets. Surely, among them, there might be one or two who wouldn't mind taking in another dog, right?
Shigeru approached several people, but none were willing to adopt the puppy. As it turned out, owning one dog and owning two wasn't as interchangeable as he had initially assumed…
Just as the pair were beginning to feel disheartened, Shigeru's phone suddenly rang. The caller was someone entirely unexpected.
"Hello? Watanabe? What's up?"
Shigeru answered the call, puzzled.
Watanabe Jinji was practically invisible in the Aoba Johsai volleyball club—a reliable yet quiet player. Whenever anyone was asked for their opinion of him, the response was always the same: "He's a nice guy."
Shigeru had called him earlier to ask if he'd take the puppy, but Watanabe's reply had been a curt "No." The conversation had ended in silence, so Shigeru hadn't anticipated this follow-up call.
"Has the puppy found a home yet?" Watanabe asked, his tone calm and steady.
"No, not yet. Why?" Shigeru replied, intrigued.
"My cousin back home can adopt it," Watanabe said, as composed as ever. His words, however, were like a gentle breeze, dispelling the dark clouds that had hung over them.
"Wait a second—did you go and ask all your relatives about this?!" Shigeru suddenly realized.
"Yeah. You both seemed pretty desperate," Watanabe replied simply. Beneath his plain words was an unmistakable warmth.
"Watanabe! You're a saint!" Shigeru's voice trembled slightly. He thought to himself that if Watanabe were standing in front of him right now, he might actually break down in tears.
"Shigeru!"
The voice didn't come from the phone but from right behind him.
Shigeru turned around. Watanabe was standing there, smiling gently. His expression was like the soft sunlight of a spring day—warm but unobtrusive.
Shigeru froze.
"I figured you'd be around here, so I came over," Watanabe said naturally. "My cousin will be heading back home after the holidays. We can send the puppy with them tonight."
Shigeru's emotions swirled into a complicated mix—gratitude, relief, and an unexpected fondness he couldn't quite name.
Kyōtani Kentarō, having heard the whole story, didn't even bother putting on his usual fierce expression when facing Watanabe Jinji.
Watanabe gently took the cardboard box with the puppy from Kyōtani's hands. As Kyōtani let go, the puppy whimpered softly and licked his hand.
"If you want to see it in the future, you're welcome to visit my hometown," Watanabe offered.
Without wasting words, Watanabe prepared to leave, eager to hand the puppy over to his cousin. He quickly said his goodbyes and left, leaving Kyōtani and Shigeru behind.
Shigeru Yahaba was still lost in a faint melancholy. In scenes like this, he had always imagined the other lead would be a beautiful girl—someone like Karasuno's manager, for instance.
Though her personality might not quite fit the vibe, it would have been a nice touch…
Kyōtani Kentarō didn't move either. He stood there, dazed, as if today's events were something extraordinary for him.
"Hey, during practice, make sure you get along with everyone, alright?" Shigeru called out as he started packing up to head home. For some reason, despite there being no practice today, he felt inexplicably tired.
"…Yeah."
Kyōtani's response was so soft that Shigeru wasn't sure he even heard it.
As fate would have it, the two ended up walking home in the same direction. Of course, that explained why Shigeru had run into him earlier. Shigeru glanced over at Kyōtani, and after a while, a familiar irritation bubbled up inside him.
"Hey, you smell like dog!"
"You stink! Not me!"
The walk home alternated between stretches of silence and bickering over trivial nonsense. Though their arguments continued, there was something subtly different about their relationship now—a sense of friendship that hadn't been there before.
As they walked, Shigeru suddenly paused, feeling a strange sense of unease. He thought he heard a faint sound somewhere nearby. He glanced around and spotted a brand-new cardboard box a few steps ahead.
"What….is this?"
The box wobbled slightly. Both of them stopped in their tracks, staring at it. Suddenly, a tiny kitten's head popped out.
"Meow."
"It's… a cat," Kyōtani said, staring blankly.
"Don't look at it! Just pretend we didn't see anything!" Shigeru snapped, grabbing Kyōtani's arm to pull him away.
Before they could leave, the kitten grabbed onto Kyōtani's sweatpants with its claws and skillfully climbed up. In the blink of an eye, it perched on his broad shoulder, letting out a soft 'meow' before licking his cheek.
"Seriously?! How do you always end up getting attached to these things?"
"It's not my fault!"
"That attitude of yours, like animals just naturally flock to you, is so annoying!"
"Shut up!"
And just like that, Shigeru and Kyōtani's Monday wasn't quite over yet.
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"Hey, your set was too low," Kyōtani grumbled at Shigeru during practice.
"Then figure out how to hit it! I'm not Oikawa-senpai—I can't make every set perfect!" Shigeru shot back, but still raised the next ball slightly higher.
"Hey, don't you think the Mad Dog-chan's been a lot more obedient lately?" Oikawa Tōru whispered conspiratorially to Iwaizumi Hajime on the sidelines.
"Even Kyōtani-senpai isn't stealing my spikes anymore!" added Kindaichi Yūtarō, nodding eagerly.
He was probably the only one in the team who respectfully referred to Kyōtani as Kyōtani-senpai. Kawahara Taichi called him Mad Dog-senpai, while Kunimi Akira simply avoided interacting with him whenever possible.
"Something must've happened that Monday," Iwaizumi mused. "Wasn't that the day they called about trying to find someone to adopt a puppy?"
"Wait, that happened?!" Oikawa asked, completely out of the loop.
"You're hopeless, Oikawa…"
"Well, whatever it was, it looks like everything worked out perfectly. I wonder who was kind enough to help them?"
Sitting nearby, Watanabe Jinji's ears twitched slightly, but his face remained calm, adorned with that same spring-like smile.
Aoba Johsai was as peaceful as ever today.
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