High Speed! Volume 2

Chapter 11: Belief

Asahi shoveled in his 'fried rice bento' with tremendous force, and stood up with his cheeks stuffed like a squirrel's.

"Starting today, I'm doin' the noon training."

He sends grains of rice flying while putting away his bento. He'd like him to say it after eating. No, before that, he wants him to stop eating here. If he's in a hurry, he should've eaten at his own seat.

"See you later."

"Yeah."

Kisumi waves his hand with a smile and after he watches Asahi leave, he asked Haruka.

"Noon training?"

"The swim club's land training. Makoto does muscle training and stuff, too."

"What about Haru?"

He wouldn't have minded if he could swim, but he has no interest in training on land.

"I've got library committee member stuff."

"But you're not on duty today, are you?"

"I write the book report in the library room."

"Wow, book report? Looking forward to it. The one for 'The Old Man and the Sea' before was awesome. Starting from 'I can only say that it's wasted effort', and rounding it off with 'it's something an old man shouldn't do', it's just what you'd expect from Haru."

Nao published it in the 'News from the Library Room'.

"Even though you're not praising it at all, it sure put me in the mood to read it."

Thanks to it, 'The Old Man and the Sea' has been completely reserved for the next three months.

"What book is it for today?"

"Lemon." [Short story by Kajii Motojirou]

"Ohh. So, what'll you write in the book report?"

More importantly, he's been curious about Kisumi's bento for a while now. Tomato sauce on something that looks like chicken. In that sauce, finely chopped onions and something green. It's not the 'avocado' from before......

"This? It's chicken sauté. The green is pickles."

Kisumi put up a screen with his own body and he dealt out a portion for him on his bento's lid while making sure that the others wouldn't see.

"Now, quick!"

An odd sense of urgency hangs in the air.

"Okay."

Since he went through the trouble, he decided to try eating it. The chicken was kept on fire until it was slightly burned, so even though the exterior is crisp, the inside is juicy. Although it felt like the tomato sauce is somewhat sweet, it's enough to match the sourness of the pickles well. ––It's good.

"Delicious, right?"

"Yeah."

"––So, what'll you write in the book report?"

"'If you're going to fantasize, do it at home'."

Kisumi giggled.

All of a sudden, the voices of the girls eating their bentos by the window came rushing into Haruka's ears.

"He's running again."

He knows without looking out the window. It's Natsuya.

"I heard he's the swim club's captain."

"Even though it's so hot, it's a wonder how he runs, huh."

"Really, just looking at him makes me feel like I'm roasting."