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DIVE!! (Light Novel) - Book 2 Chapter 6 - Good-Bye, Tokyo
Book 2 Chapter 6 - Good-Bye, Tokyo
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Was the “love” part too much…?
Shibuki, who got on the bullet train from Oomiya Station, only felt a little guilty about leaving home without a word to anyone as he watched the scenery flying past quickly.
About this time, Ooshima would be coaching the elementary schoolers at Sakuragi High, and would never dream of his housemate would be taking a journey to return home. When he thought about his bewilderment when he returned from work at night, Shibuki felt somewhat remorseful. However, for the current Shibuki, whose contract with Kayoko had turned back into a blank piece of paper, Tokyo was nothing but a steaming hell without any use.
A burning hot summer. A plain heat with no sun or shadows. The asphalt, the buildings, the rushing cars, the wriggling wave of people—everything repelled the hot air like pinball—.
For Shibuki, who experienced the urban summer for the first time, everything was unpleasant.
“Then why don’t you come back?”
Late last night, when Kyouko quickly said that during their first phone call in a long time, Shibuki immediately thought that it was indeed a good idea, not only because of the longing in his girlfriend’s voice from not being touched for a while, but it might also be because he wanted to escape from this unfamiliar summer.
If he had to say more, he also wanted to see the sea.
However, before that Shibuki had had something that he had to settle.
He left the unreserved seats, which were crowded with people going home for the season, and while he plunked down on the deck that was separated by a partition, he thought back to this morning, when he paid a visit to Tomoki.
_______________________________________________________________
He checked for Tomoki’s address on the MDC’s register. They had only met once in the neighbourhood park, which wasn’t far from Shibuki’s apartment. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy riding a bike and relying on only a street address with no familiarity with the land. Why did the neighbour of house number eight suddenly became number twenty-two?
For Shibuki, who grew up in a village where if someone asked, “Where’s Tashiro’s grandpa’s house?” everyone would instantly point to that direction, and even tell them the grandpa’s health condition, the complicated cityscape of Tokyo was mystery itself.
Even so, he just managed to find the Sakai home because of a familiar face peeking through the house door.
It was a shaggy dog. Tomoki had taken it with him before. Its name was…
“Chikuwa!”
When Shibuki got off his bike and tried to walk up to him, a boy who looked like Tomoki came out of the house.
“Stay.”
Even though the boy ordered him with food in his hand, Chikuwa didn’t look he was going to stay at all, and snorted his nose while demanding it by waggling his tail.
The boy gave up and placed the dish of food beneath Chikuwa’s feet. Then he suddenly looked up, and noticed Shibuki.
“Do you need something?”
He was probably suspicious of Shibuki standing in front of the door.
When Shibuki told him that he had come to see Tomoki, the boy said “Oh, Tomo” and softened his expression, then went back through the door. And several seconds later, he came back with suddenly decreased body fat. There was no reason for it, since the one who had appeared was Tomoki.
“Okitsu-kun?”
Tomoki, dressed in white track pants and a t-shirt, stared blankly at the unfamiliar combination of Chikuwa devouring his food, and Shibuki.
Shibuki said “Yo” in a light tone and lifted his hand.
“I want to talk to you for a bit.”
“Ah…okay. Um, well, let’s go upstairs.”
“No, we can just talk while taking a walk. It’ll be over soon.”
Shibuki pulled his bike along and walked out, and Tomoki chased after him. Although for a while neither of them spoke as they silently basked in the morning sun, Tomoki could guess what Shibuki had come to talk to him about, and Shibuki could guess that Tomoki guessed it. This was right after yesterday anyways.
“Is your back alright?”
It was Tomoki who opened his mouth first. It was when they were aimlessly walking around and approached the shrine, where Shibuki stopped his bike and set his foot on the stone steps.
“If I only get exhausted from only this much, then I wouldn’t be able to climb the ten-meter.” Shibuki said as he ascended the stone steps in long strides.
“Did it hurt every time you climbed onto the platform all this time?”
“It’s fine.”
“But…”
Shibuki looked back at Tomoki with irritated eyes.
“You’re going to Beijing.”
“What?”
“The way you care about others so hesitantly and let your chances escape is really annoying. Didn’t you say you want to surpass something with diving? You should surpass yourself before that.”
“…”
“You really want to go to Beijing, right? Then go. If you don’t go where you want to go, then where can you go?”
The two were surrounded by the chirping of birds as they climbed up the steps. The green leaves of the trees that encircled the grounds were rustling, so that even the trees could be an accompaniment to them.
“Youichi-kun also said that to me yesterday.”
Shibuki and Tomoki sat side by side on the top of the steps.
“He said that if I rejected this rare opportunity, then I’m a failure as a diver. He also said that I shouldn’t be competing from the beginning if I declined it here, and that I should just dive into the neighborhood pond with the frogs.”
“He’s pretty harsh.”
“Even if I declined, JASF would just choose someone else to replace me. That seemed to irritate Youichi-kun. I think it’s because Pinky Yamada is the next in line.”
“That pink guy?”
“He said that that pink speedo must not be sent abroad, since it’ll just be an embarrassment for Japan. Youichi-kun is awfully fussy over speedos. I think that any color apart from that is fine.”
“Well, and besides, Fujitani’s speedo color is also…”
“Lemon yellow. That’s why he hates it, since their personas are similar.”
They laughed in unison.
Tomoki continued to speak with a smile on his face. “But, this is different. You and Youichi-kun are overestimating me. It’s not that I feel sorry for you, it’s really not like that. It’s kind of more of a pride thing that I didn’t like going as your substitute…Coach Sun chose you in seventh place over me in fourth place for high diving. I thought that was so frustrating.”
“…”
“But, even though I said I don’t want to, in the end I thought that I would go to Beijing. I really wanted to go, and I also knew that I couldn’t refuse in the long run. I’m dishonest, aren’t I.” He said with a bitter smile, and couldn’t look at Shibuki. “I will go to Beijing. I’m sorry for worrying you. I will go without complaining, become even stronger, and come back. So that I can fight equally with you and Youichi-kun.”
Shibuki stared at the profile of Tomoki, who seemed to have suddenly grown up in just a few months.
“You’ve changed, after all.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You say you were frustrated, but at the competition you were really amazing. You were like a different person from when we first met. I was shocked at what happened.”
“What…”
Fluffy bees buzzed above their heads. For a moment, Tomoki looked like he had been stung by one, but it was the more unseen part of him that was in pain.
“I got my heart broken.”
“Heartbroken?”
“You met my younger brother a while ago.”
“Ah, I thought that was your brother.”
“He stole my girlfriend.”
“…”
“While I was absorbed in diving, she became his girlfriend without me knowing anything about it. I’ve never held hands with her, but she already kissed him.” Tomoki sighed and pressed his head between his knees.
“Did you like her? That girl.” Shibuki asked, even though he was confused in the sudden jump in topics.
“I don’t know. I didn’t like her that way when we were going out, but when my brother stole her, I suddenly did like her…I just remembered the bento that she made before. Like how those rolled eggs were kind of salty.”
“Hmph.”
“Am I weird?”
“No, that’s not weird.”
“But nowadays everyone I meet says that. Youichi-kun said it yesterday. Coach Asaki said it too.”
“Maybe a little weird.”
“I also talked to Youichi-kun about it. He said something really smart like, ‘Look, you’re in love with love.’ He also said that I’m heartbroken about being heartbroken.”
“Heartbroken about being heartbroken…”
“But, you know, even so I can only forget about Miu when I’m diving. I forget everything and they become blank. My girlfriend was able to be stolen away from me because of diving, but it was also diving that saved me. If I go to Beijing I can also get away from my brother for a while, so maybe that’s why I want to go to the training camp so much. Is that dishonest of me?”
Shibuki tilted his head as he considered it slightly.
“No, it’s so pure that I envy you.” He muttered, as he stood up and clapped the back of his jeans, feeling his pocket for something. Shibuki took out several ten-yen coins, looking towards the offertory box at the front of the decaying shrine.
“I’m going to go pray for a bit while I’m here.”
“Eh, Okitsu-kun, you believe in the gods?”
“No, it’s just a habit.”
The two walked towards the offertory box and dropped the ten-yen coins into it. It was a customary prayer, offered to the god who was in the depths of the shrine.
“What did you pray for?”
“For my brother and Miu to break up soon.”
“You’re kind of petty, aren’t you.”
“Yeah. How about you, Okitsu-kun?”
“Just for a break.”
“A long break, right?”
“It probably wouldn’t get through if I don’t take a break seriously.” He muttered as he went down the steps. Even though Tomoki, who was three years younger than him, was too unreliable to call a friend, there was something that was saved by his simple-mindedness when he talked to him. Even though it seemed like he was brought out specifically to listen to his heartbreak problems, Shibuki’s steps were lighter than when he had come here.
“Well then, practice starts now. Don’t want to be late.” Shibuki said his farewells and was about to get on his bike when Tomoki turned around and said, “Hey.”
“Okitsu-kun, aren’t you going to practice?”
“I’m going somewhere else first for a bit.”
“Hmm. Take care.”
So simple.
Shibuki left with a “Work hard at the training camp” and rode his bike away.
Once he returned home, he packed the bare minimum of luggage in his backpack, then jumped out again, and connected to the Komachi shinkansen bullet train service via the Odakyu and Saikyou lines.
The way to his hometown was still far. After the three-and-a-half hour shinkansen journey to Akita, it was then a one-hour journey to the local train station, then two more hours by transferring to the local line. Originally, Shibuki still had to take the bus, but when he arrived at the last station the last bus had already left.
It was seven-thirty at night. Despite the summer weather, the country nights were cooler than in the cities. He might have walked the approximately twenty kilometers to the sea where the lights of the boats burned, and where his village was along the coast, but the almost ten-hour journey dealt considerable damage to Shibuki’s back.
He placed his backpack on the station bench, then called Kyouko from the faded pink public phone.
“It’s me. I’m at the station right now.”
“Got it. I’m coming.”
Which of them was the more blessed: he who was returning to his lover and failed in diving, or Tomoki who was going to Beijing and failed in love?
Though this question floated through his brain for an instant, he immediately chased it from his head because it was ridiculous to compare what was incomparable.
Until Kyouko’s bike arrived, Shibuki stared dazedly up at the night sky, searching for the scent of the tide that he longed for, with the wind brushing the sand beneath his feet.
