Chapter 11: Little Hei, the Gold-Medal Mediator

“So what are you two arguing about?”

At night, in Tetsurou Kuroo’s room, he asked this question.

Usually, Yoriko Arisu would excitedly drag both of them to do homework together, but today, she deliberately left Kenma Kotsume out and spent time with him alone.

Yoriko Arisu quickly finished a page of math problems.

“Hmph.”

Tetsurou Kuroo guessed, “Did Kenma make you mad?”

Yoriko Arisu: “Hmph hmph.”

“Are you a little piggy, hmph hmph?”

Tetsurou Kuroo felt a bit helpless and a bit of a headache.

Knowing he probably wouldn’t get an answer, he simply changed the subject: “The sports festival is coming up. Yoriko, which events did you sign up for?”

This time, Yoriko Arisu finally spoke: “Borrowing Race, and the Relay Race.”

“Borrowing Race, huh? I’ve never done that one, but I heard it’s pretty hard. There are lots of tricky challenges.”

“That’s what makes it fun! You never get to play games like that normally.”

Yoriko Arisu finished her math homework, then opened her composition notebook with a look of deep suffering and let out a heavy sigh.

Tetsurou Kuroo’s big brother radar went off immediately, and he eagerly said, “Did you run into some trouble? You can ask me!”

Being a big brother for the first time, he was a bit excited.

Yoriko Arisu rested her chin on her hand.

“Today’s essay topic is ‘Friend.'”

“Mhm, mhm.”

“I was going to write about Kenma, but since we’ve broken up, I’m going to write about Kuroo!”

Tetsurou Kuroo stared at her in surprise and muttered, “It’s gotten that serious…?”

He suddenly felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

“Now for a question!”

Yoriko Arisu held her mechanical pencil like a microphone up to Tetsurou Kuroo’s mouth.

“Kuroo, what’s your favorite food?”

Tetsurou Kuroo blurted out, “Salt-grilled Pacific saury.”

Yoriko Arisu scribbled it down on the paper, then continued, “Any worries lately?”

“Probably my hair. Every morning I have to spend so long fixing it, but it never stays straight… Wait!”

Tetsurou Kuroo suddenly realized something was off.

“Is this how you’re supposed to write an essay?”

“It’s not?”

Yoriko Arisu looked at him in confusion.

Tetsurou Kuroo patiently asked, “Yoriko, what kind of essay do you imagine?”

Yoriko Arisu thought seriously.

“Introduce what Kuroo likes to eat, what he likes to do, his family situation, things like that.”

“That’s a self-introduction! Yoriko, you need to write from your own perspective. Like how we met, what you think of me, that sort of thing.”

Being a grade above, Tetsurou Kuroo had a deeper understanding, and he’d written these essays and heard the teacher’s analysis before, so he explained it thoroughly.

Yoriko Arisu suddenly understood.

“So that’s how it is!”

With Tetsurou Kuroo’s guidance, Yoriko Arisu wrote quickly, and soon finished her essay.

Looking at Yoriko Arisu’s homework set aside, Tetsurou Kuroo felt itchy with curiosity.

“Can I read your essay?”

Yoriko Arisu generously replied, “Go ahead!”

[My friend is Kuroo. Kuroo is a new friend I made during summer break. At first, he was really shy, like a cat in a strange place. But after getting to know him, I found out he actually talks a lot, and he’s really good at volleyball, and really good at giving compliments. Every time he compliments me, I feel dizzy.]

After reading, Tetsurou Kuroo said, “How do I talk a lot?!”

“You just do,” Yoriko Arisu gave an irrefutable example, “Way more than Kenma.”

“…I can’t argue with that.”

When you’re with Kenma Kotsume, anyone would seem talkative.

Usually, Yoriko Arisu and Tetsurou Kuroo would chatter away together, while Kenma Kotsume listened quietly on the side, only chiming in when they threw a topic his way.

Tetsurou Kuroo couldn’t figure it out.

“But when we first met, he talked quite a bit.”

Yoriko Arisu, who’d known him longer, explained, “He was looking after you. You looked really nervous back then, Kuroo.”

“Kenma might seem cold, but he’s actually very gentle.”

“Gentle, huh…”

Tetsurou Kuroo fell into thought.

Even though the two were arguing, they still spoke up for each other.

Yoriko was gentle too.

“So why are you two fighting?”

He asked the question again.

Yoriko Arisu’s face immediately drooped.

She pouted, “Kenma is too obsessed with playing games.”

Tetsurou Kuroo was puzzled.

“Hasn’t he always been like that?”

“It’s different now,” Yoriko Arisu glanced around warily, as if afraid a third person would jump out.

She lowered her voice, “Kenma’s been skipping sleep to play games. I’m worried he’ll die.”

Tetsurou Kuroo leaned in to listen to the black-haired girl’s words.

He was first shocked, then cautiously said, “I don’t think it’s that easy to die, right?”

Yoriko Arisu said worriedly, “But I saw on TV that if you overwork, you can cough up blood and end up in the Hospital.”

Tetsurou Kuroo: “Yoriko, aren’t your parents working at the Hospital? Why don’t you ask them?”

Today, the Ariyoshi Couple were both at home, so the two little ones held hands and ran off to ask the adults, only to be stuffed with a pile of snacks.

Shota Arisu patted both of their heads, one in each hand, and smiled.

“Lack of sleep won’t kill you right away.”

“So you won’t die.” Yoriko Arisu let out a long sigh of relief.

“But lack of sleep does have other dangers,” Yurihana Arisu came out with a plate of fruit.

“First, it’s hard to concentrate, your reactions get slower, and it’s easy to get into danger. Imagine, if you suddenly got sleepy while crossing the street, that would be dangerous, right?”

The two little ones nodded in sync.

Shota Arisu added, “Second, your memory will get worse, and your thinking will be affected… basically, your brain gets dumber, and your body gets sick more easily. So at your age, you really need to sleep well.”

After listening, Yoriko Arisu, who had just relaxed, became worried again.

“But Mom and Dad are so busy at work. What if you don’t get enough sleep?”

“Ah, Yoriko is worried about Mom and Dad? I’m so touched.”

Yurihana Arisu hugged her daughter and rubbed her cheek.

“Don’t worry, there’s a Nap Room at the Hospital. We can sleep there when we’re tired, so you don’t need to worry.”

Of course, sometimes they’re too busy to even sleep, but there’s no need to tell the kids that.

Yurihana Arisu asked, “Why did you suddenly think to ask about this?”

Yoriko Arisu stammered, unable to answer, and instinctively looked at Tetsurou Kuroo.

Oh no, Kenma said this was supposed to be a secret!

Although Tetsurou Kuroo didn’t understand Yoriko Arisu’s look, he got that she was asking for help.

Quick-witted, he raised his hand to get the adults’ attention and said, “It’s from a TV show! We were talking about it while doing homework and got curious, so we wanted to ask.”

Yoriko Arisu quickly followed up, “Yeah, that’s right! Mom, do you remember? The one we watched last time, where someone overworked and coughed up blood and went to the Hospital!”

Yurihana Arisu remembered.

“Ah, I see. Some TV dramas exaggerate things for the story. You don’t have to take it all seriously.”

Yoriko Arisu looked devastated.

“Ehh…”

Tetsurou Kuroo was also shocked.

“But what about Masked Rider! Masked Rider has to be real, right!”

“Of course not…”

Yurihana Arisu started to reply, but Shota Arisu quickly covered her mouth and dragged her away.

“Of course Masked Rider is real. Mom and Dad have things to do, so we won’t chat for now. Yoriko, you and Kuroo have fun, okay?”

Yoriko Arisu: “Got it——”

She spread her hands to Tetsurou Kuroo.

“Grown-ups are always so busy.”

After that night, Yoriko Arisu kept a much closer eye on Kenma Kotsume.

She would hold his hand when crossing the street, watch out for the teacher’s gaze during class, and even squat outside the bathroom door when he went, afraid he might faint inside.

But she still wouldn’t talk to him.

Kenma Kotsume didn’t know if this counted as making up or not.

When Yoriko Arisu met his gaze, she would just snort and turn away.

Kenma Kotsume: “…”

Guess not.

He wasn’t good at arguing—in fact, he never had friends to argue with before, so he had no idea how to make up.

So tonight, the Kuroo Mediation Room had a new guest.

“You two, honestly.”

Tetsurou Kuroo looked helpless.

“So, what’s up? Why’d you come to me?”

Kenma Kotsume hesitated for a while, then muttered, “If you have a fight… how do you make up?”

This was an easy question for him.

Tetsurou Kuroo answered cheerfully, “It’s simple. Just say sorry.”

Kenma Kotsume: “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Tetsurou Kuroo: “…”

“Kenma, do you really want to make up?”

Kenma Kotsume looked at him with innocent eyes.

Tetsurou Kuroo felt the burden on his shoulders get heavier.

He sighed and started counseling, “Yoriko is just worried about you.”

Kenma Kotsume muttered quietly, “It’s none of her business. She’s the one who likes to sleep. Why force her ideas on me?”

He’d said it already—between sleep and games, games were more important.

Kenma Kotsume hated nothing more than people lecturing him.

Tetsurou Kuroo stared at his childhood friend’s face, then suddenly brought up another topic.

“You know, Yoriko came to me yesterday too.”

He told the whole story from yesterday—how Yoriko secretly praised him, asked her parents about Kenma’s health, and got upset.

“…No wonder she’s been acting so weird lately.”

Kenma Kotsume muttered, his expression softening.

“I think Yoriko worries about you not just because she cares, but also because she’s lonely.”

Kenma Kotsume looked up at him.

“Lonely?”

Tetsurou Kuroo spread his hands.

“You two are really close. If you suddenly ignore her, of course she’d feel lonely.”

“And since you came to ask me, that means you’re lonely too, right?”

Tetsurou Kuroo grinned mischievously.

Kenma Kotsume looked at him in disgust.

“Kuroo, your smile is so ugly.”

Tetsurou Kuroo couldn’t hold his expression.

“So mean! I’m trying to help you!”

Before Kenma Kotsume could sort out his thoughts, Tetsurou Kuroo dramatically leaned back, hands on the floor.

“Ahh, how nice, I’m so jealous. I wish a cute girl liked me too.”

Hearing Tetsurou Kuroo’s exaggerated tone, Kenma Kotsume quietly looked away.

“Idiot…”

The next day, Kenma Kotsume tried to find a chance to make up, but even by the end of the day, he still hadn’t found one.

Today was also his turn on duty.

Kenma Kotsume watched the black ponytail disappear through the door and felt a headache coming on.

Yoriko Arisu was always the one who came to talk to him.

When she didn’t approach, he realized he had no idea how to start.

His duty partner today was a boy he wasn’t familiar with.

While the other boy was straightening the desks, the Pudding Kenma Kotsume had hidden in his desk pouch fell out.

Both of their gazes landed on the floor.

The duty partner looked surprised.

“Is that…”

Kenma Kotsume quickly picked up the Pudding and awkwardly hid it behind his back.

The duty partner’s eyes shone.

“Kenma, do you not like Pudding? I can help you out if you want!”

“No.”

Kenma Kotsume replied coolly, “I’m saving it to eat at home.”

That was a lie.

Dessert at lunch was always popular with the kids.

He’d meant to give it to Yoriko as a peace offering, but never found the chance.

Lately, she’s always been sticking with Namazawa Misaki.

He was too embarrassed to give the Pudding in front of the Class Representative.

On the way home, Kenma Kotsume ate the Pudding all by himself.

So this is what loneliness feels like, he thought.