Chapter 182: Small Talk (Long Chapter)
(Originally, I wanted to write the rooftop part from the original work to provide a face-slap, written as a side story. But after thinking about it, there was nothing good to write. A few meaningless minor characters, a fool chasing brainless peace; writing it would only make people disgusted.
The current Hachiman is different from the original work. He has the intelligence and agility of the original, but also possesses a majestic authority like he does now... no one dares to laugh at Hachiman anymore, and no one calls him Hikki (Penguin). He proved his ability with hard work; he is second to none...)
...
Back to the main topic.
The School Anniversary ended perfectly. After that was the Sports Festival. The energetic Meguri-senpai once again approached the Service Club to give a task: hoping this year's Sports Festival could be made interesting.
The Service Club accepted.
Then, for the main event of the Sports Festival, they debated all day in a small meeting room, but still, no results were debated. The projects proposed were all unsatisfying.
Akishin felt his horizons broadening; he didn't expect even a small Sports Festival could have so many variations—Sports Festivals in Japan are different from sports festivals in China where the projects are fixed and unchanging (running, high jump, long jump, relay...). In Japan, the Sports Festival projects are still made by the Student Council itself and must be interesting and spectacular. In addition to the fixed running and long jump, there is a series of new and unique projects like pole toppling, bread-eating relay, hundred-person war, wheelchair racing, and others.
There was nothing they didn't dare to think of, only things they hadn't thought of.
Finally, because they really couldn't think of anything, Hachiman, under Shizuka's direction, brought out the ultimate weapon, commonly known as Outsourcing. Since they couldn't think of it, let the professionals think of it.
Hachiman invited "The Sleeping Dragon and the Young Phoenix" (Wolong Fengchu)—no, he meant Zaimokuza and Ebina.
After quite a long discussion, the ribbon-snatching competition for female students was finally established, designed with the idea of the war between the Satomi clan and the Hojo clan in ancient times (even though at that time the surrounding area was apparently still sea); as well as the famous pole-toppling competition among male students.
These two things became the most important programs in the Sports Festival.
During the match, Yukino became the female team's MVP with absolute superiority. Hachiman relied on the fighting skills learned from Akishin, suppressing the entire field. Hayama Hayato was taken down in one move. He achieved the male team's victory very easily, becoming the center of attention for the whole school.
The Red Team achieved great success.
The Sports Festival ended successfully, again adding a cheerful page to the records of youth.
After the Sports Festival, what followed was the School Trip for the second years.
As mentioned at the beginning, there are many activities in autumn.
Akishin, upon reflection, was indeed quite tired, because everything required Shizuka's responsibility, and he naturally became involved. The School Anniversary from September to early October, the Sports Festival in mid-October, and the School Trip in November...
Then the Service Club received another request.
In fact, two at once.
And neither was introduced by Shizuka.
This was a bit surprising!
"You're saying Tobe Kakeru wants to confess to Ebina Hina! That blonde-haired kid?"
"Blonde hair! Well, that guy, Sensei doesn't remember him?"
"...He always behaves very obediently in my classes."
"..."
"Then what about the other task?"
"It's related to this one. Ebina said that lately, the atmosphere among their circle of friends hasn't been as harmonious as before; she wants to make everything peaceful again like it used to be..."
"One wants to confess, and the one about to be confessed to wants the relationships to return to harmony?
Take a guess—the news that Tobe wants to confess is already known to everyone. And precisely because they know this, the atmosphere has become disharmonious. Actually, the way to restore the atmosphere to how it was before is very simple: Ebina just needs to accept his confession.
Ebina made a deep impression on me; she is a very formidable student. She should know this, yet she came looking for you instead; this makes one think more deeply..."
"Amazing, Sensei, you were able to think of the key point in an instant. Truly worthy of being my teacher."
"...Are you praising yourself or praising me!"
In a side corner of the school building, under a large tree. Since being able to freely go to the Kendo room to use its facilities, Akishin and Hachiman hadn't been here in a long time.
This afternoon, Shizuka went to eat with someone else, so Akishin and Hachiman came to this place. This teacher and student pair, who hadn't done this in a while, chatted while eating bento.
—Since the mistake on that night until now, one month had passed. During that time, Akishin still hadn't performed his Kendo Master Training; Shizuka's influence was too great.
The sea breeze blowing in autumn was a bit different, colder than in summer and lacking the scent of trees, but the dry leaves that occasionally fell added beautiful color to the silence of the coming winter.
"So what was the result? Which task did Yukinoshita accept?" These two tasks couldn't be accepted by both at once because they were contradictory.
Akishin finished the last bite of his food, placed the empty box aside, then took a bottle of juice and drank it.
"She accepted the first one. For the second one, Ebina didn't actually state her task accurately; that was just my own understanding," Hachiman answered vaguely, finishing the last bite of his food, placing the bento box aside, and then picking up a MAX coffee can.
"So you accepted the second task!" Akishin instantly saw Hachiman's thinking.
"...Truly worthy of being called Sensei. But it can't be said I've accepted it yet; let's see their tactics first, maybe my thinking is wrong."
"If your thinking isn't wrong, what's your plan for a resolution?" Akishin asked with narrowed eyes while smiling.
Hachiman instinctively shifted his sitting position under that gaze; he hesitated and said: "That... I haven't thought it through completely."
"Really haven't thought it through?"
Akishin didn't believe it. Someone like Hachiman wouldn't take on that task if he didn't have enough thoughts on it.
Hachiman laughed awkwardly: "Really haven't thought it through." There was only an initial plan.
"Alright, I'll take another look later. Your School Trip this time is to Kyoto, right? Last time in Tokyo you guys didn't play to your heart's content; this time in Kyoto, play to your heart's content." Akishin nodded.
...
Chiba and Tokyo are very close, arguably the closest prefecture to Tokyo. In other words, Chiba is the prefecture closest to the capital, essentially a semi-capital.
Taking the Sobu Rapid Line leads directly to Tokyo Station without needing to change trains. Besides that, there is still the Keiyo Line to choose from.
The last time they went to Tokyo for the Kendo Championship, they took the Keiyo Line.
However, the Sobu Rapid Line and Keiyo Line platforms at Tokyo Station received no small amount of special treatment. The Sobu Rapid Line platform was buried underground who knows how many layers deep, so deep it made people wonder if they were digging for oil; while the Keiyo Line platform was so remote it made people doubt if the place was really Tokyo Station.
In the morning, Akishin and Shizuka packed their belongings and headed straight to the station.
Everyone didn't gather in Chiba, but rather at Tokyo Station. Many people's platforms were different.
Stepping off the electric train and onto the Tokyo Station platform, students from Class F wearing Soubu High School uniforms could be seen amidst the crowd of people.
Hachiman stood with Yui, and behind them, Totsuka Saika was leaning back.
After passing through stairs that felt so long as if they had no end, they finally returned to the surface. However, it was still indoors here; no sunlight or blue sky could be seen, let alone stars and moon...
Inside a forest of artificial steel, everywhere was a dense crowd of people. Everyone was submerged in the middle of a surging human current, heading toward the Shinkansen departure point.
Many students from the school had already gathered at the Shinkansen area, making the already crowded Tokyo Station even more congested.
"Finally made it up, why is it so crowded! I definitely still prefer the station in Chiba." Shizuka leaned on Akishin's shoulder and complained softly.
"Our arrival time wasn't right; it's exactly in the morning right now, many people have to leave for work." Akishin took a can of coffee from his bag and gave it to Shizuka, then looked toward the front.
A group of students was arguing about the seating arrangement.
"I want to sit by the window."
The blonde-haired Miura Yumiko established where she wanted to sit. Yui, with her pink hair in a dango bun, received the instructions and began organizing the seats: "Then I'll sit by the aisle. Hina, where do you guys want to sit?"
The short-black-haired Ebina Hina considered for a moment, then threw a question to the long blue-gray ponytail-wearing Kawasaki Saki: "Kawasaki-saki, in your opinion, between the window and the aisle... which one is the 'Uke'?"
"I'll sit anywhere... What?"
Saki answered instinctively, but after hearing the question clearly, she froze in place.
How do you answer a question like that?
Meanwhile, Ebina looked like she was about to drool.
"Ebina, shut your mouth."
Miura Yumiko showed a helpless expression while pushing Ebina's jaw upward. Yui stood by with a bitter smile on her face.
Very thankfully, the loner classmate Kawasaki had found a friend.
Hayama saw that everyone had not yet decided on their seats; he stepped forward and spoke up: "Just pick any seat to sit in; anyway, we can switch at any time along the way..."
He chose a three-person seat in the nearest middle row and sat in the window position.
"True, follow Hayama's lead."
Tobe sat next to Hayama Hayato.
"Then, I'll sit by the window."
Miura Yumiko rotated the chair in the opposite direction and sat directly facing Hayama.
"Yui, Ebina, come here."
Miura Yumiko crossed her long legs, leaning against the back of the chair like a young lady (Ojou-sama), and patted the empty seat next to her.
"Yumiko sits there, Tobe sits there, hmm..."
Yui murmured softly, lost in thought. But before she reached a conclusion, she was first pushed from behind by Ebina: "Enough, enough, Yui sit there, I'll sit here."
"Ah! Hina." Yui cried out in surprise; she was forced into the seat next to Miura by Ebina.
Then, Ebina immediately grabbed Kawasaki's hand and said: "Kawasaki sit in front of me~"
"No, I want to go somewhere else..."
Kawasaki shook her head, not wanting to sit with those people. But Ebina was very firm; she pulled her hand, so she was forced to sit down resignedly—Kawasaki Saki was actually very fragile and very shy.
"It's okay, it's okay~"
Ebina's face was full of smiles; she determined everyone's seat in a half-forced manner.
The result was that Miura, Yui, and Ebina were on one side, facing Hayama, Tobe, and Saki.
Kawasaki sat next to Tobe unwillingly, wearing a sulky face, propping her elbow on the armrest, resting her cheek, and starting to sleep.
This was the textbook definition of a Tsundere.
After Ooka and Yamato observed the seating of Hayama's group, they sat on both sides of the aisle with their group members.
Hachiman and Totsuka Saika sat across from Akishin. Zaimokuza also wanted to join in the fun, but unfortunately, the seats were already taken; he could only sit in the next seat with someone he didn't know...
After everyone found a seat, with a light vibration, the Shinkansen departed, speeding toward Kyoto.
Kyoto is located in the western part of Japan, an important city in the Osaka Metropolitan Area, which is one of the three largest metropolitan areas in Japan. It is an inland city and the eighth most populous city in Japan.
Recorded in history, since the year 794 AD when Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyo until 1868 AD when the capital was moved to Tokyo, Kyoto was always the capital of Japan.
During the construction of Heian-kyo, it coincided with the peak of the Japanese missions to Tang China (Kentoushi), so the layout of Kyoto was largely built following the example of the Chinese capital.
The Tang Dynasty in China made Xijing Chang'an and Dongjing Luoyang its capitals, so the western part of Kyoto (Ukyo) was called "Chang'an," and the eastern part (Sakyo) was called "Luoyang."
This place has an abundance of historical relics and is one of the centers of traditional Japanese culture.
At the same time, Kyoto Prefecture is one of the autonomous entities with a significant population, the spiritual hometown for the Japanese people, the starting point of Japanese culture, and the site of Japanese cultural symbols.
To put it more clearly, in Japan after the two World Wars, a division appeared between the new and old nobility. The new nobility were the tycoons (Zaibatsu), who basically gathered in Tokyo; while the old nobility were the landlords and the wealthy (Goushin), the majority of whom were in Kyoto.
The two sides did not see eye to eye and had been feuding for years.
Ancient Kyoto was built based on the Japanese aesthetic style that flourished in the previous imperial culture, represented by historical buildings like Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, gardens, paintings, traditional activities, as well as Kyoto cuisine (Kyo-ryori), and was dubbed the "Thousand-Year Ancient Capital."
Added to that, because the layout of Kyoto in Japan historically took the Tang Dynasty's City of Chang'an in China as its model, on May 10, 1974, Kyoto in Japan and Xi'an City in Shaanxi Province, China, officially became sister cities...
Akishin put down his phone, picked up his coffee, and drank it. He noticed that Shizuka, leaning on his shoulder, had fallen asleep.
Across from him, Hachiman and Totsuka had also fallen asleep while leaning against each other. The dim light illuminated both of their sleeping faces; the scenery was beautiful. If one ignored Totsuka's gender, they truly looked like a pair of intimate lovers.
Akishin looked out the window, seeing the distant scenery; his facial expression changed slightly, and then he heard a cry from another place.
"Hayato, look quick, it's Mount Fuji!!"
"Oh! We've made it this far, huh."
"Hina, it's really Mount Fuji! This is the first time I've seen it, wow~"
"..."
At the edge of the view, a giant volcano appeared. There were no other mountain peaks around it that could match it. Its rounded peak could prove its attributes. The mountain peak was pure white; that was the accumulation of eternal snow.
This is a volcano; the last eruption occurred in 1707, at which time dust and smoke covered an area within a radius of over a hundred kilometers.
There are many legends about Mount Fuji, the most famous of which comes from "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" (Taketori Monogatari).
The legend tells that in ancient times, there was an old bamboo cutter who found a three-inch-sized baby girl inside a bamboo forest, then brought her home to be raised.
Three months later, the baby suddenly turned into an extraordinarily beautiful girl. Many young men proposed to the girl, but all were rejected, including the young king.
Only later was it discovered that the girl was actually a celestial maiden from heaven who had been cast down to the mortal world for committing a mistake. On the night of the full moon on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the third year, the girl's period of penance ended and she returned to the heavenly palace.
Before leaving, the girl left a package of the elixir of life for the king. The king, who was too sad, did not drink the elixir, but instead ordered people to burn the elixir on the mountain closest to heaven. Strangely, however, the package of elixir was never consumed by the flames. The long and endless smoke carried the king's longing for the girl, rising slowly toward the sky...
And that mountain was Mount Fuji.
Actually, because of the burning of the medicine (Fushi), Mount Fuji should be called Mount 'Fushi (Immortality)' or Mount 'Fuji (Peerless).' However, in Japanese, the pronunciation of 'Fushi' and 'Fuji' (Peerless) is the same as the pronunciation of 'Fuji,' so Mount Fuji got its name from there.
Regarding this legend, Akishin scoffed after reading it. Hehe, can lust be compared with immortality?
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