MONSOON, ushijima wakatoshi

006

'I Can See The Future'

Aiya couldn't help but fidget with the ring on her finger, the familiar ridges bringing her a comfort like no other.

A few hours before noon, she arrived to see the positively buzzing stadium, watching as large banners were put up to promote this year's official V.League tournament. She stood right outside the Kamei Sendai Arena's parking lot, waiting to see her fiancé's face.

Fiancé. She wouldn't ever get used to calling Wakatoshi that.

It'd been quite a few years since the 'monster generation' graduated high school, all pursuing their own goals, some going onto pro volleyball while others chased after different careers. The rowdy purple bunch were all still in contact with each other, especially Aiya and Tendō, who had taken himself all the way to Paris for a delightful change to become a chocolatier. He made a name for himself out there with magnificent and equally delicious products that spoke for themselves. After finding out that they got engaged, the redhead simply demanded that they wait until he was back in Japan so he could be the best man at their wedding.

Much to her fiancé's amusement, the girl often looked at local Miyagi news on the internet to keep up with her ex-underclassmen, Goshiki's, progress. And what wonderful news it was to discover that he was now playing pro with the Azuma Pharmacy Green Rockets—in the same division as Ushijima!

As for the couple, though the years had been blissfully kind to them, life couldn't be meaningful without a few bumps along the way for Aiya and Wakatoshi.

After leaving high school, the demon ace continued to forge his path as a volleyball athlete, now playing for a V. League Division 1 team in Japan called the Schweiden Adlers. Naturally, it was easy for him to find many promising opportunities with his impressive skills; Aiya was not surprised to see how fast volleyball teams were moving to scout him. Meanwhile, she went on to attend college, earning a scholarship which ensured that she was well off in her studies. It had been admittedly quite difficult for the couple to arrange their relationship amid this stage of their lives.

In the beginning, Aiya was in a deep dilemma. She was accepted into a few universities, though only two would allow her to be close to Wakatoshi. The home of his new team was located in the city of Kodaira while the closest college she could choose was in Bunkyō. A nearly one-hour drive from each other. True, it wasn't the worst thing that could happen, but she didn't know if she could deal with the distance. Aiya couldn't remember a time when it hadn't been just her and Wakatoshi against the world. She'd gotten so used to waking up and seeing his face first thing as she stepped into the Shiratorizawa grounds that even the thought of losing that shook her to her entire core. It was to be expected, despite how sad it made her. From the beginning of their relationship Ushijima made it clear that he had a set goal in his life, but as she grew so did the Kaneko girl. The two found it hard to make sacrifices and yet, they knew that this was inevitable.