Chapter 5: Why Does Playing Volleyball Hurt So Much?

“Look! This is what my mom bought for me!”

Yoriko Arisu exclaimed excitedly, shaking the Aquarium Limited Plush in front of Kenma Kotsume.

It was an adorable Sardine.

Kenma Kotsume looked puzzled.

“Why did you choose a Sardine?”

Yoriko Arisu swallowed. “Don’t you think Sardines taste really good?”

Kenma Kotsume: “………………”

Early in the morning, she barged into Kenma’s house to show off her loot from yesterday.

Satisfied, Yoriko Arisu yawned and climbed onto Kenma Kotsume’s bed to lie down.

Kenma Kotsume was a bit speechless. “Did you come all the way here just to sleep?”

“What’s wrong with that…? I played too much yesterday and now I’m super sleepy.”

Yoriko Arisu yawned again.

“No one’s home at my place today, so I’m staying over at yours. Good afternoon~”

Kenma Kotsume had no choice but to sigh and got up to draw the curtains.

With the curtains closed, the room was dim.

Yoriko Arisu happily curled herself into a ball and fell asleep to the background music of the Game, not even hearing Miwako Kotsume open the door.

“Kenma, you’re playing Game with the curtains closed again! Be careful, you’ll ruin your eyes.”

Noticing the sleeping Yoriko Arisu, Miwako Kotsume lowered her voice.

Kenma Kotsume puffed out his cheeks in protest.

“If it’s too bright, it’ll disturb Arisu’s sleep.”

That was just an excuse.

After spending some time playing Game in secret, he found that playing in a dim room felt more immersive.

It gave him a sense of solitary pride, as if he was the only one left in the world.

But he also genuinely didn’t want to disturb Yoriko Arisu’s sleep.

He asked, “Did you need something?”

Normally, his mom wouldn’t interrupt him while he was playing Game.

Miwako Kotsume suddenly remembered why she’d come upstairs. “Ah, didn’t the Kuroo Family move in next door a few days ago? They stopped by to say hi. Today, their family is all out, so their kid is staying with us for the day. You two should get along, okay?”

Kenma Kotsume: “………………”

He remembered—it was that boy with the super weird hairstyle.

Was his room a shelter or something?

First he took in a Sleep King, and now another one was coming.

Seeing Kenma Kotsume’s reluctant expression, Miwako Kotsume gave a meaningful smile.

“It’s a special situation today, so I won’t limit your Game time.”

Kenma Kotsume’s eyes lit up, his tone urgent. “Where is he?”

“In the Living Room. Go bring him upstairs yourself, and be sure to treat him well.”

“Got it!”

But as soon as he brought the guest upstairs, the door wouldn’t open.

Kenma Kotsume frowned, twisted the handle, and gave it a hard push!

A figure tumbled away with a series of rolls.

Tetsurou Kuroo, just stepping in, didn’t notice and stepped right on her.

He only realized something was off after feeling the odd sensation underfoot, and jumped in shock. “Wah!”

Kenma Kotsume covered his face.

“…Arisu, your sleeping posture is getting worse again.”

How did she manage to roll from the bed all the way to the door?!

Kenma, used to it from years of childhood friendship, just sighed, but it gave the first-time visitor, the little black cat, quite a scare.

Yoriko Arisu, having been stepped on, instantly woke up. She hissed, rubbing her thigh where she’d been trodden. “Ouch!”

Kenma Kotsume was blunt.

“Who told you to roll off the bed? You scared him.”

Yoriko Arisu looked dazed, yawned slowly, and when she heard she’d frightened the new neighbor, she nodded and praised herself, “Guess I’m pretty good at playing dead.”

Kenma Kotsume retorted, “No corpse would roll off a bed.”

Their nonchalant attitude helped Tetsurou Kuroo relax.

He quietly said, “Sorry I stepped on you.”

Yoriko Arisu waved it off.

“No problem.”

Only then did she have time to size up the newcomer.

Yoriko Arisu stared at Tetsurou Kuroo for a while, then exclaimed, “Ah, it’s you!”

It was that new neighbor with the super weird hairstyle—what was he doing here?

That was what she thought, and what she asked.

This time, Kenma Kotsume answered, “No one’s home at his place, so he came over to play.”

Yoriko Arisu: “Same as me.”

She instantly felt a sense of shared hardship.

Wasn’t this the time to do her duty as the Host… or something?

Friendship?

What did they say in that drama last time? …Forget it!

Yoriko Arisu gave up thinking, glanced at Tetsurou Kuroo, pondered for a moment—almost making him nervous—then finally asked, “Do you want to play Game?”

Tetsurou Kuroo replied cautiously, “…I’m fine with anything?”

Yoriko Arisu: “Then it’s decided.”

Squeezed to the side, Kenma Kotsume silently watched the two of them pick through his Game collection, wishing he could disappear from the room.

But at least he didn’t have to force himself to entertain the guest, so he didn’t really mind.

Except, both of them knew nothing about Games. Kenma Kotsume watched them mutter for a long time, then quietly walked over, picked out a Game Disc, and said, “This is a Double Player Game.”

“Let’s go with this one!”

Yoriko Arisu agreed cheerfully.

It was a two-player fighting Game, and Yoriko Arisu lost at lightning speed.

She stared at the screen for a moment in silence, then sighed, “This Game is kinda hard. Let’s switch to another?”

Kenma Kotsume: “That’s because you’re just mashing the controller at random!”

“Switch! Kenma, you play!”

Yoriko Arisu jumped up and pushed Kenma Kotsume into her seat.

Kenma Kotsume tensed up a little, glanced at the equally bewildered Tetsurou Kuroo, and said quietly, “Let’s start.”

Tetsurou Kuroo: “O-okay…”

This time, Kenma Kotsume barely won, KO-ing Tetsurou Kuroo.

He was about to say something when he felt a weight on his shoulder.

At some point, Yoriko Arisu had fallen asleep again, leaning right on his shoulder.

Kenma Kotsume: “……”

Is she a pig or something?

Before they knew it, an hour had passed. Yoriko Arisu woke up, rubbing her eyes. “You guys are still playing?”

She’d accidentally fallen asleep while watching beside Kenma, then got pushed off his shoulder by her annoyed childhood friend, sliding to the floor.

“Ah…”

Kenma Kotsume glanced at the time, finally realizing how much had passed. He looked to the side, hesitated, then asked, “Is there anything you want to play?”

He was asking Tetsurou Kuroo.

Tetsurou Kuroo’s eyes lit up instantly. He dashed off and, a few minutes later, came back hugging a ball, his eyes sparkling as he looked at them.

Kenma Kotsume: He meant what kind of Game you like!

Kenma Kotsume was at a loss for words and shot a pleading look at Yoriko Arisu.

Yoriko Arisu was just as confused, especially since she’d just woken up and her mind was still foggy, her eyes full of innocent bewilderment.

“What’s that?”

She curiously eyed the Three-colored Ball in Tetsurou Kuroo’s hands.

She’d seen soccer balls and basketballs before, but it was her first time seeing a Three-colored Ball.

Tetsurou Kuroo suddenly became chatty, explaining excitedly, “This is Volleyball!”

He rattled on for quite a while, then scratched his head a bit embarrassed.

“It’s hard to explain with just words. Let me take you guys out to play and you’ll get it!”

The other two little ones both thought the same thing: Kuroo sure talks a lot.

This was the most he’d said since they’d met.

Since things had reached this point, it looked like they had no choice but to play Volleyball.

That was their next shared thought.

“Wow… it’s so hot.”

Having stayed in the air-conditioned room, the wave of heat that hit as soon as the door opened stunned Yoriko Arisu for a moment.

She really wanted to ask if they really had to go out to play ball in this weather.

She turned her head—Tetsurou Kuroo was looking at her with bright, eager eyes.

Yoriko Arisu: …Forget it, a little exercise now and then is fine.

“I know a cool spot that’s perfect for playing ball.”

Yoriko Arisu led them to the Bridge-side Lawn under the bridge, right next to the River.

Kenma Kotsume: “…If we play here, what if the ball falls into the River?”

Yoriko Arisu: “Then we’ll just cool off? This is the only place with shade, so there’s nothing I can do.”

Yoriko Arisu bounced in place a couple of times to warm up. She was pretty athletic—she could outrun Kenma any day—so of course she became the first challenger.

Girls tended to grow faster, and Yoriko Arisu, who always ate and slept well, was taller than her peers.

Right now, eyeing Tetsurou Kuroo’s rooster-head hair, her gaze sharpened.

“How tall are you?”

Tetsurou Kuroo gave a number.

Yoriko Arisu responded, “I’m half a centimeter taller than you, so you have to call me ‘big sis.'”

In a new place and, biologically speaking, actually having an older sister, Tetsurou Kuroo had no grounds to refuse.

Yoriko Arisu: “Then call me once.”

Tetsurou Kuroo obediently said, “Big sis.”

“Mm.”

Yoriko Arisu was satisfied.

The only sensible one, Kenma Kotsume, commented, “Aren’t you supposed to go by birthday for that?”

But the other two ignored him and started playing ball.

After teaching Yoriko Arisu the right way to bump the ball, Tetsurou Kuroo encouraged her to give it a try.

Yoriko Arisu bravely gave it a go.

She just bumped it once and the ball went flying.

Yoriko Arisu rubbed her arm and gasped, “That hurts!”

Tetsurou Kuroo explained, “This is Hard Volleyball, so it stings a bit. If it were Soft Volleyball, it’d be better.”

But they didn’t have a Soft Volleyball at the moment.

Yoriko Arisu was hesitant. She coaxed, “I tried it already. Kenma, you go next!”

Hearing it hurt, Kenma Kotsume wanted to run, but after trying it, he found… it wasn’t so bad?

Catching Kenma Kotsume’s disdainful look, Yoriko Arisu protested, “That’s because you’re wearing long sleeves! Roll up your sleeves!”

Kenma Kotsume, now with sleeves rolled up: “That hurts!”

Yoriko Arisu: “See, right?!”

“I can’t believe you actually like such a painful Volleyball, Kuroo, you’re amazing.” Yoriko Arisu exclaimed.

“…Don’t you want to play?” Tetsurou Kuroo said anxiously, hugging the Volleyball, his expression falling.

Kenma Kotsume nudged Yoriko Arisu with his elbow, signaling with his eyes: This is your fault, you fix it.

Remembering that Tetsurou Kuroo had called her ‘big sis,’ Yoriko Arisu closed her eyes, looking like she was bracing herself.

“A-actually, it’s not that bad. Maybe if we practice a few more days, it won’t hurt anymore!”

Let’s do this!