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DIVE!! (Light Novel) - Book 3 Chapter 2 - Are You Ok?
Book 3 Chapter 2 - Are You Ok?
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
The aforementioned meeting was supposed to be held at the Mizuki Sports Club at 6:00 P.M. Youichi parted from his father, who went straight to the club in Shinjuku, returned home temporarily, and got a little sweaty from jogging and muscle training in his free time until six o’clock. He might as well had gone to the club earlier to do dryland training, but he still felt depressed about seeing Tomoki and the others after they were told about the representative decision. It might have been because of this melancholy that Youichi, who always jumped onto his bike at the last possible moment, was about five minutes late on this day.
It was 6:05. When the unusually meek-looking Youichi opened the door to the AV room, the three coaches and his three clubmates were already there, facing each other in the small room that was as silent as the bottom of a deep hole.
The six faces on the folding chairs all turned towards the doorway at once, and Youichi looked away without enduring it.
He was here to hear the reason for why he won, and Tomoki and the others were here to hear the reason for why they lost. He keenly felt the difference in Tomoki’s eyes, which seemed redder than usual, and Reiji’s stiffened lips.
Then, a huge applause came right at that moment.
“Congrats on the Olympics decision. Hug a koala for me, will you?”
When he looked, he saw Shibuki, who had just come back from Tsugaru yesterday, reclining on a folding chair and clapping his hands. He didn’t know how he was feeling about this rapid development, but he didn’t have that agonized expression he had when they met in Tsugaru.
Youichi felt strangely relieved, and smiled at Shibuki. He sat down on an empty chair on the right side of the room.
Keisuke, seemingly taking that moment as a signal, began speaking.
“I expect you all already heard this, but yesterday, the diving representatives for the next Olympics were chosen. It is still confidential, but as the facts were conveyed to you, I believe that it is my duty to give a satisfying explanation. That is why I gathered you all here.”
It seemed that Keisuke, with a stiffer expression than usual, might be in a sense intentionally trying to go forward with this meeting, which was cruel against the losers, in a business-like manner.
“First of all, relating to the JASF’s Olympic Representative Selection Committee choosing representatives earlier than usual…”
Tomoki and Reiji twitched their faces up.
“That is what all of you were wondering about the most. Usually, the qualifying trials are held in the spring of the year of the Olympics, so why is it this time, the representatives were chosen so early at a meeting? It certainly is a story that could not be understood, but there are circumstances on the JASF’s side as well.”
“Circumstances?” Youichi raised an eyebrow.
“You all must know that the JASF president Maebara, who took his office in May, has an uncommonly strong desire to acquire medals. There are pros and cons for his way of doing that, but it is true that medals do not roll in while waiting. Especially since matches of scored competitions like diving start before the actual performance.”
The matches of scored competitions. What Keisuke said was the common sense, as well as the fate of diving competitions. For diving, similar to synchronized swimming, the results were decided to some extent before the start of the competition. The ability to sell the diver’s name beforehand many times to appeal to the judges was the true key to winning the competition. Even if a newcomer suddenly appeared at the Olympics, the judges would never give them high scores. No matter how much the newcomer displayed their outstanding performance.
In other words, in order to get good results at the Olympics, it was necessary to be active in well-known international meets before that.
“That is why the JASF chose the representatives earlier than usual this time. Two large international meets will be held next year before the Olympics. The first is the FINA World Cup held in New Zealand in January, and the second is the FINA World Series held in Florida in May. Following Coach Sun’s advice, JASF has decided to send their Olympic representatives to those two competitions. That is why it was necessary to select the Olympic representatives within the year.”
Saying all of that in one breath, Keisuke wiped the sweat on his forehead with his sweatshirt sleeve. Although it was only early autumn, the humidity was still high, and the airtight AV room was clammy. Nobody had the simple solution to just open a window.
“We only wanted to go to the Olympics, but the JASF is obsessed about the results after going there. That’s all it is, isn’t it.”
It was Reiji who broke the stifling silence.
“But, if they want medals that bad, why did the JASF only have two representatives? With three people, there should be a higher chance of winning medals.”
“The chances of winning medals would not necessarily increase if the number of athletes are increased. In fact, in order for Japan to win a medal, it would be best to reduce the representatives to just Teramoto.”
“Just Teramoto-san?”
“Teramoto is a diver who is already well-known to the world. If it’s kept like that, then medals will never be just a dream. But, as I said earlier, diving is a competition where the impression made on the judges is an important key to grasp. If an unskilled countryman participates and fails, it will give a bad impression that the Japanese are all like that, which can be painful for even Teramoto.”
“…”
Reiji closed his mouth before this harsh truth. “That was just terrible.” Shibuki grumbled from the side.
“Who said that participating in the Olympics would be meaningful?”
“That wasn’t just limited to the Olympics, and it’s not something that just began recently.”
Youichi replied immediately.
“The JASF had been barring athletes from international competitions, with the exception of some strong contenders, for quite some time. Even if athletes arranged their own expenses, unless they are recommended by JASF, they cannot go to them. Because they’re worried about holding back Japanese athletes who have a chance of winning, they don’t recommend anyone who isn’t an outstanding athlete to large competitions. They’re sacrificing others to protect just some strong people. That’s the way they do things.”
The reason why Youchi sounded angry was because he himself was on the receiving end of that way of doing things. In the past, while nurturing an awareness for the wider world when he was at the American training camp, he wished countlessly that he could participate in an international competition. However, the JASF had persistently replied every time that he should “get stronger at domestic competitions for a little longer.” Even though the strength to compete on the world stage could only be gained by gaining experience on the world stage, Youichi hadn’t been given the opportunity to do that for a long time.
“Even for these upcoming Olympics, it’s clear that the JASF is trying to protect Teramoto-san. They know that him going alone to Sydney is a shortcut to medals. But…why didn’t they do that? Why did they add me to the delegation?”
“It seems that the JASF had wavered that much.”
Keisuke mumbled in response to Youichi, who rarely showed his emotions.
“They are certainly wanting to gather rare talents like Teramoto Kenichirou. However, there are some who say that it might become a burden for him instead. Teramoto is a first-rate diver, but he has a mental weakness that is peculiar to Japanese athletes. Whether or not he will be able to go on the enormous stage of the Olympics alone and win with that heavy pressure…I’m guessing that the JASF decided to play it safe in the end and select two representatives. If Teramoto is given a teammate, they can cheer each other on and create synergy, and in the unlikely event that he falls, that person will become a safety blanket.”
Safety blanket.
When those extremely blunt words came out of his father’s mouth, Youichi threw his head back and laughed. He had no choice but to laugh. The excitement from the moment when he found out that he was an Olympic representative, the euphoric feeling he felt while running at night, all withered away miserably.
“So I’m a safety blanket? So I’m like an attendant to help Teramoto-san relax?”
“No, that’s not…”
“You were chosen as a representative because you have been recognized as being second-best in all of Japan.”
Kayoko spoke on behalf of Keisuke, who was at a loss for words from being stupidly honest.
“In the current Japanese diving world, the women are in an absolute slump, while for the men there are no worthy contenders who are a match for Teramoto Kenichirou. Did you know that Kaneda, who was resigned to being in second-place for a million years, retired at Nationals this summer? And Kurauchi, who was chasing after Kaneda, is currently resting because of a shoulder injury. So now, your name has hastily come up. Everyone recognized your stable performance and career. Plus, through last month’s joint training camp, the name of Fujitani Youichi was also made known to Asia. If it’s him, then we can compete even at Sydney. And Coach Sun had put his seal of approval on all of the representative decisions as well.”
“But…”
“Everything else is outsider talk that has nothing to do with you. Just ignore those half-witted adults and stay detached, and you should be fine.”
Don’t worry about the reasons you were chosen, athletes should be free from adults’ ulterior motives—that might be right, as now all their efforts for the qualifying trials dissolved into bubbles. Because Kayoko should had been just as shocked as Tomoki and the others, he felt the weight and persuasive power of those words, which held no superficiality. But…
Something was caught in his chest. When Youichi was trying to figure out what that was, Takada’s face from that morning suddenly appeared in his mind.
“Commercial…” His fists that were clutching his knees quickly grew cold. “That talk about the commercial…there’s no way that’s related to the Olympic selection, right?”
Though Youichi’s complexion suddenly changed, Keisuke promptly dismissed him.
“That’s certainly not it. Don’t speak nonsense.”
“But it’s odd, isn’t it? Even though it was only yesterday that my offer was decided on, they had already decided on the outline of the commercial.”
“They probably came up with the story beforehand.”
“But, they told us that the drink sold will be linked to the Summer Olympics, didn’t they? If that’s just a coincidence, isn’t the timing too good?”
Keisuke kept silent, as the creases between his eyebrows deepened. He seemed embarrassed to acknowledge that there is some ground for Youichi’s suspicions.
It was Ooshima who cut in, unable to just watch.
“Well, Youichi, since the Olympics generate huge amounts of revenue for big business, there must be many different kinds of things going on behind the scenes. But, those kinds of things surprisingly don’t reach the ears of people like us who live on the surface. Even for your offer, that commercial might have connected to it, or it might not have been. To be honest, I think it’s okay either way. As Coach Asaki said earlier, the only thing that’s important is that only you have the ability of being second-best in Japan. Isn’t that enough?”
Was that really true?
Was that enough?
He wasn’t convinced. Nevertheless, Youichi dropped it because Tomoki, Shibuki and Reiji were watching. He, who was chosen, was criticizing the Olympic selections in front of them, who weren’t chosen. Depending on one’s viewpoint, it seemed like a terribly arrogant act.
But, was Tomoki okay?
Was Shibuki okay?
Was Reiji okay?
Youichi looked around to search their faces. They were all staring at the ground like they were putting up with something, but they never voiced what that was. By protesting the selections, he also nitpicking his own offer.
“It is true that the decisions this time were abrupt, and that there are aspects of it that are not satisfactory.”
Taking Youichi’s silence as understanding, Keisuke spoke again.
“But, that isn’t just limited to diving. Sports have always been influenced by having good luck at the right time. Many of your seniors had to choke back their tears until now because of that. It might be unfair to all of you who weren’t chosen, but one thing that might change your moods is the fact that we must aim for Athens in five years. Five years from now might seem like a distant future…”
“But,” Keisuke said, as though he was forced to let down their hopes. “As Youichi grabbed the ticket to Sydney, it is also true that he gave you all that future. Today, the president of Mizuki had promised the MDC will continue to operate from now on. The MDC survives. You will all still have to do your best. Now is the time to show your willpower.”
He murmured the last part, like a prayer.
Youichi being chosen to go to Sydney was linked to the survival of the MDC. Of course, everyone knew that, so everyone who wasn’t chosen had too many complicated feelings.
They couldn’t be pleased from the bottom of their hearts about his representative offer.
But they were also unable to truly feel bitter.
“I don’t know anything about what’s going to happen five years later.”
Reiji’s low voice echoed in the room that had fallen silent.
“I don’t even know what’s going to happen next year, or even tomorrow…”
It sounded like the voices of the hearts of all the members who weren’t chosen.
_______________________________________________________________
“Hey, wait a sec.”
The meeting ended without anything being cleared up, and they were released silently.
Youichi called out to Reiji’s back in front of him when he passed by the reception desk on the first floor.
“Are you, going to quit diving?”
He was worried about what Reiji had said last.
“Are you not going to come to practice tomorrow, like Ryou?”
Reiji stared at Youichi’s face through his bangs that hung down to his nose.
“It doesn’t seem so.”
“Huh?”
“It doesn’t seem like you, Youichi-kun, to care about something like that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. If you’re worried about me quitting because you were the one chosen as the Olympic representative, then you can stop worrying.”
“That’s…”
Not it, Youichi was about to say that, but fell silent. There was definitely something that he couldn’t say to the very end in his chest.
“I’m fine,” Reiji said with a laugh, like he was the one encouraging Youichi instead of the other way around. “It’s true that this was a shock, and I was frustrated, but I knew my limits were different from people like Tomo. That’s why I was just about ready to give up on the Olympics when I missed the chance to go to the training camp. Don’t worry about anything, Youichi-kun, and please do your best at Sydney. Me, I want you to race to the top in that usual cool way of yours.”
His junior, who was always running around the poolside like a puppy. The time where their age difference of three years felt like the gap between humans and monkeys had passed now, and before he knew it, Reiji had a terribly grown-up look in his eyes.
“And more than that,” Reiji said to Youichi, who was standing stock-still from feeling confounded. “You should be more worried about Tomo than me. Ever since he heard about the whole representative decision thing from Coach Asaki during the day, he’s been acting a bit weird.”
“Weird?”
“He’s acting kind of out of it, like his soul is gone. He didn’t even say anything in the briefing.”
Now that he said it, that was true. Tomoki’s presence was so weak that he couldn’t even remember that he was there.
“Got it. If I find Tomo, I’ll say something to him.”
Although he easily promised that, when Youichi returned to the AV room after parting from Reiji, Tomoki was already gone. He thought about paying a visit to his house on his way home, but he changed his mind when he thought that Tomoki wouldn’t want to see his face right now, and so Youichi rode his bike home by himself.
Every time he won, he became alone.
That was the usual thing.
He knew that was what victory was, but too many things happened today.
While gripping his handlebars tightly and slipping through the night at breakneck speed, Youichi had the delusion that he desperately trying to escape from a gigantic snowman.
