— — — — — —
After accepting the friend request, Ebina only sent a simple "Hello" sticker.
And then...
Silence.
It was as if neither of them had gained a new friend at all.
...
The trip from the station to Kiyomizu-dera wasn't far. Walking took only about ten minutes. Since Oikawa and the others were on a tour bus, they arrived in less than five.
After the bus pulled into the parking lot, everyone got off and headed toward the temple.
This was peak maple season. The leaves were blazing red, and Kiyomizu-dera was packed with tourists.
Following Sannenzaka uphill, they found themselves surrounded by endless crimson foliage. It felt like walking through an ocean of red, and even Oikawa couldn't help feeling awed by the sight.
"So pretty!" Yui's eyes sparkled with delight as she took in the scenery.
"It really is." Kawasaki agreed, pulling out her phone to take pictures. She was probably planning to show them to Taishi and Keika later.
The first major landmark at Kiyomizu-dera was the Niōmon. As the temple's main entrance, it was guarded by massive four-meter-tall Niō statues, the largest in Kyoto.
Everyone had to take a group photo in front of it. It was one of the school activities, probably so the pictures could be posted on the school's website later.
Under Shizuka's direction, Oikawa ended up in the back row alongside Ōka and Yamato, the two athletic idiots.
It couldn't be helped. The three of them were the tallest boys in class.
After several shots, the group photo session finally ended, and the class began its official temple tour.
They climbed the stone steps and headed farther up the mountain. Before long, the towering five-story pagoda came into view.
The entrance to the main worship area was already crowded with students from other classes and plenty of tourists. It would take a while before they could enter.
Just like good students got first pick of seats, good classes got priority during temple visits.
For example, Class J, the top academic class at Sobu High, was already far ahead of everyone else.
From a distance, Oikawa could still spot Yukino surrounded by several girls.
Looks like she's getting along with them pretty well.
Yukino might be cold and sharp-tongued, but she was undeniably kind-hearted. Otherwise, she never would have spent so much time in the Service Club helping people.
"Hey, hey, Oikawa-kun! I found a super interesting place! Want to come with me?" Yui slipped away from the group and approached Oikawa.
"Not interested."
Oikawa refused immediately.
It wasn't that he wasn't curious. But he'd already noticed Hachiman Hayama and the others leaving the group.
This was definitely part of Yui's plan to create an opportunity for Ebina and Tobe to spend time together.
And he... was apparently supposed to play the supporting character.
That was exactly the kind of troublesome situation Oikawa hated.
"Please? Pretty please? Oikawa-kun, I'm begging you! I don't dare go in by myself! It's really dark in there! I promise you won't have to do anything. Just stay beside me, okay? Pleeease~"
Yui grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and looked up at him with a pleading expression.
"Well, if you put it like that, then my answer is… no."
Determined not to get dragged into this mess, Oikawa called out instead, "Kawasaki, come here for a second!"
Kawasaki looked confused, but she walked over.
"Kawasaki, please go with her. She's heading into some dark place. You don't want to see Yui get into an accident, right?"
Kawasaki hesitated briefly before nodding.
Yui shot Oikawa a glare.
...
About ten minutes later, while Oikawa was busy playing Pokémon on his phone, Yui and Kawasaki returned.
Yui immediately glared at him again, "You're definitely going to regret not coming! It was a little dark, but it felt so perfect for making wishes! Any wish you make there is guaranteed to come true!"
Oikawa wasn't particularly interested.
According to common folklore, small, dark shrines like that often enshrine rather questionable deities.
Still, he didn't deliberately ruin Yui's mood.
Instead, he smiled and asked, "So what did you wish for?"
"Obviously I wished for amazing midterm exam scores! At the very least, I want to score higher than you!" Yui puffed out her cheeks indignantly. She looked ridiculously cute.
"Then your wish definitely isn't coming true. Making a wish is one thing, but nobody told you to make it impossible."
"You...! Hmph!"
Yui stormed off in a huff.
That left only Oikawa and Kawasaki standing there.
"So, Kawasaki, what did you wish for?"
Kawasaki met his gaze and smiled brightly. "It's a secret."
Oikawa didn't press further.
...
..
Not long after Yui and Kawasaki returned, it became Class 2-F's turn to enter through the group entrance everyone had been lining up for.
After paying the admission fee, they entered the main hall.
The deity enshrined there was Daikokuten, the god of wealth.
Inside the hall were various exhibits, including iron sandals and ceremonial staffs. Plenty of people were taking pictures.
Beyond the main hall lay the famous Kiyomizu Stage. One of Kiyomizu-dera's most popular attractions.
Not only was it packed with students snapping photos, but most tourists spent the longest time here as well.
"So beautiful!"
At some point, Yui had drifted over to his side again. Leaning against the railing, they looked out over the view.
In the distance, mountain ranges disappeared beneath a sea of fiery-red maple leaves. Closer by stretched the cityscape of Kyoto.
Standing at the edge of the platform, Oikawa finally understood why people always fought to climb higher and higher. The view from above really was something special.
"Oikawa-kun, let's take a picture!" Yui suddenly pulled out a pink camera and waved it in front of him.
"Sure. A photo sounds good. A selfie together?"
Yui nodded, "Yep!"
Oikawa stepped beside her.
The two stood shoulder to shoulder as Yui raised the camera high overhead.
"Happy!"
"Money!"
Each of them said what they were thinking in the temple, all wearing wide smiles.
"One more!" After checking the photo, Yui flashed a V-sign and excitedly prepared for another shot.
This time she wrapped an arm around Oikawa's shoulder.
Click.
Another photo captured the moment.
"Oikawa-kun, I'll send these to you when we get back!"
Yui looked genuinely happy.
A bright smile lingered on her face as she lowered her head and admired the photos on the camera screen.
After leaving the Kiyomizu Stage behind, Oikawa continued touring the temple grounds with the class.
Before long, they arrived at Jishu Shrine.
Located within Kiyomizu-dera, Jishu Shrine was another extremely popular attraction. As a shrine dedicated to matchmaking and relationships, countless visitors came here to pray for love.
For the students of Class 2-F, this was probably the most exciting place in the entire temple complex.
After all, every teenager had someone they secretly thought about. And when they couldn't find the courage to act, they turned to the gods instead.
The moment they arrived at Jishu Shrine, the students became noticeably more animated.
The chatter never stopped. After a brief visit to the shrine itself, the next activities were buying charms and drawing fortunes.
Oikawa headed toward the busiest spot in the shrine. The Love Fortune Stones.
Quite a few girls had stars in their eyes. As though succeeding here would immediately lead them to their very own Prince Charming.
To that, Oikawa could only smile. If you wanted to find Prince Charming, shouldn't you first ask whether you were Cinderella or Snow White?
After all, Prince Charming wasn't blind.
Back to the point. The Love Fortune Stones consisted of two stones placed roughly ten meters apart.
Legend said that if you could walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, your romantic wishes would come true.
If you needed someone's help along the way, however, it meant your future relationship would encounter obstacles and require guidance from others.
Quite a few girls were already trying it.
Most succeeded with friends quietly steering them in the right direction.
The more Oikawa watched, the more he felt the whole thing existed to fool gullible people.
Whenever a girl stepped up to attempt the challenge, the boys in the crowd would become visibly tense.
Because it meant she already had someone she liked.
And each of them couldn't help wondering: Could it be me?
Of course. For most of them, it was pure fantasy.
Before long, Oikawa spotted Yui joining the ranks of the hopeful fools.
After looking around briefly, Yui closed her eyes and began walking from one stone toward the other.
Her steps were steady.
One step. Then another.
She never drifted off course.
One meter. Five meters. Ten meters.
Her hand touched the second stone.
The moment she felt it, she opened her eyes and jumped in delight.
"I did it!"
"I actually did it!"
Yui was overjoyed.
But as soon as she noticed everyone staring at her, her face turned bright red.
Lowering her head, she hurried back into the crowd.
Ebina immediately teased her. "Oh? Yui, don't tell me you've got someone you like. Come on, tell me who it is. Do I know him?"
"N-No... I don't have anyone I like! I just wanted to try it! Really, that's all!"
Yui secretly raised her head and glanced in a certain direction.
But only for a moment. Then she quickly lowered it again.
"Thank goodness."
With her head bowed, the corners of Yui's lips slowly curved upward.
A small smile bloomed across her face.
The girls' turns soon came to an end. In truth, only a handful of them had actually attempted the challenge. Most wanted to try but lacked the courage.
That made Yui's success all the more impressive.
Next came the boys. Tobe charged in first.
Before starting, he pumped himself up with a loud shout, "I'll make it to the other stone in one try! I won't need anyone's help!"
Ōka and Yamato immediately slipped into the role of hype men, cheering and applauding like they were working the crowd at a nightclub.
Sometimes... Having a few athletic idiots for friends really wasn't so bad.
Tobe clenched his fist and swung it dramatically through the air.
The sight reminded Oikawa of Tsukishima from Haikyuu!! when he'd finally blocked Ushijima's devastating spike and celebrated with a triumphant fist pump.
Shaking his head, Oikawa laughed, 'bro, why are you making this so intense?'
Then Tobe closed his eyes and began shuffling stiffly toward the second stone.
Unfortunately... He veered off course after only a few steps.
"A little to the right! To the right!"
"Too far right! Back left a bit! That's good! Now go straight!"
"Don't drift off again!"
Under everyone's directions, Tobe staggered forward in a crooked zigzag, inching his way toward the destination stone.
Oikawa couldn't bear to watch any longer.
Leaving the Love Fortune Stones behind, he moved on to the next attraction: Fortune slips.
The fortunes were included with the admission ticket. Anyone who reached this area could draw one for free.
Oikawa gave it a try.
His result was Moderate Blessing.
The fortune read: 'After weathering countless trials, fulfillment will come naturally.'
"Oikawa, what did you get?"
Kawasaki and Yui walked over together. Judging by their appearance, they'd just finished taking pictures.
"Moderate Blessing. What about you?"
Oikawa looked at Kawasaki.
"I got Great Blessing."
She showed him her fortune, 'Though your vision is obscured, your wishes shall be fulfilled.'
"Huh?"
Yui immediately looked depressed.
"Why are you two getting Great Blessing and Moderate Blessing while I'm the only one who got Low Blessing?"
She held out her fortune for them to see.
The message read: 'A tree without roots. Waiting in silent sorrow.'
"Low Blessing isn't bad."
Oikawa smiled and comforted her. "At least it's still a blessing. Think about the people who drew bad luck fortunes. Doesn't that make you feel a little better?"
"Oikawa-kun, I suspect you're taking shots at someone." Ebina appeared out of nowhere with a mournful expression and held up her fortune.
Great Curse. The message read: 'Exhaust every effort, only to watch all things slip away.'
"Ebina, I think that's actually lucky."
At some point, Hachiman's group had wandered over as well. The speaker, naturally, was Mr. Simp himself, Tobe Kakeru.
"Think about it. If you draw a bad fortune now, doesn't that mean your luck can only get better from here?"
Honestly. The fact that Tobe had come up with something that tactful genuinely surprised Oikawa.
But... Since when had he, Oikawa Toru, become the center of this gathering?
"Oikawa-kun, help me tie mine up higher. They say the higher you hang it, the more effective it is." Yui handed him her fortune.
Only then did Oikawa realize that the large tree he was standing next to was where people hung their fortunes.
So that's why everyone had gathered around him.
Looks like I got ahead of myself...
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Oikawa scratched his head, took Yui's fortune, and tied it to one of the highest branches he could reach.
"Oikawa, me too." Kawasaki held out hers.
"Oikawa-kun, mine too, please!" Ebina handed over her Great Curse fortune.
Oikawa looked at it, then at her. "Are you sure you want to hang up a Great Curse?"
"Of course." Ebina smiled. "I heard the higher you hang a bad fortune, the more likely the gods are to notice it. Then it has a better chance of turning from bad luck into good luck."
"Ebina, let me do it." Tobe immediately volunteered. "I jump high. I can definitely hang it higher."
Ebina looked at Tobe. Then she looked at Oikawa.
And without mercy, she said, "How are you supposed to hang it higher by jumping? Compared to Oikawa, you're way too short, Tobe."
Oikawa sighed internally.
Please don't make enemies for me.
"Let Tobe do it." He promptly handed the opportunity over. "He's on a sports team. If he jumps, he'll probably get it much higher than I can."
Tobe looked at Oikawa with eyes full of gratitude.
He seemed one step away from grabbing Oikawa and swearing brotherhood on the spot.
...
After that little episode, the tour of Kiyomizu-dera continued.
Oikawa strolled leisurely down a flight of stone steps.
Before long, he arrived at the path leading toward Otowa Waterfall.
.
.
.