Chapter 5 - The Rumored CampioneTokunaga Asuka is in first year of high school.She lives in the Nezu Sanchoume in the Bunkyou ward in Tokyo, a livelyshopping district which leaves a strong small-town atmosphere.The aura of the Showa era that was left here and there wakes a curiousfeeling of nostalgia.Asuka works part-time in a family restaurant a little separated from thatdistrict.A common place chain restaurant.But because it is next to the main street, it is still thriving. It was earlyOctober when she saw a certain old friend during work.On the first day of a long weekend, past eight o"clock in the morning.Asuka was on morning shift and serving the customers.Her long-time friend had not entered the store as a customer, but waskilling time out front, holding a large bag. It looked like he was waiting forsomeone.Kusanagi G.o.dou.Written in Kanji, every character needs a large amount of strokes, butthat"s the name of her friend.He was tall and had quite pretty features, but because of theunsophisticated feeling he gave off, you wouldn"t exactly call himgood-looking.Asuka knew him since kindergarten.Because he was waiting where he was, he must have arranged to gosomewhere by car.Despite his ordinary looks, G.o.dou had many unusual acquaintances. Fromtime to time he used the pretense of job to help such acquaintances withtheir work. Certainly that day must"ve been the same, Asuka thought andreturned to her work.However, moments later, she suddenly found G.o.dou surrounded by girls.Furthermore, each of these four girls were either cute or just beautiful.There were even 2 beauties from abroad mixed in, one blond and onesilver-haired!"That guy... Looks like he"s become quite a player lately. He wasn"t thatbad before! Unbelievable, to think he"d fall that quickly...," Asuka hissed,deciding to teach him a lesson.Meanwhile a mini van came to a stop in front of G.o.dou.Her childhood friend plus the four girls got in and drove away."...Wasn"t that G.o.dou-san just now?""Mariya-san and Erica-san, as well as Liliana-san were with him, right?Meeting early on the first holiday and leaving by car... I wonder where theyare going."Asuka overheard that quiet conversation.Looking for its source she saw her fellow part-time workers. Miyama-sanand Sawa-san were whispering to each other.Like Asuka they were in first year of high school. Until a moment before,their eyes had been directed outside the family restaurant, where G.o.douand the girls had been.Then Asuka understood.She had heard before that those two were going to the nearby JounanAcademy."Sawa-san, Miyama-san, do you happen to know Kusanagi G.o.dou?"Asuka asked them out of the blue.It was past one o"clock. The morning shift was over and they were in thechanging room now, switching out of their cute uniforms into street clothes.Being asked all of a sudden, Sawa-san and Miyama-san blinked withsurprise."Well, we do know him, but...," Sawa-san nodded cautiously.With the thin-framed gla.s.ses, she looked most intelligent."But how come you know him, Asuka-san? You"re not going to Jounan, areyou?" IVIiyama-san asked in return. She was of short stature and plainadorable.Actually, she was so child-faced you could mistake her for an elementaryschool child."I"m from the same area, a shopping district nearby. And I went to thesame elementary and middle school, too.""So... you"re childhood friends?""With that Kusanagi-kun?"Sawa-san already started going into it while Miyama-san was completelysurprised."Yes. I won"t call it the regret of my life, but it has been rather unfortunateto be stuck with that idiot for so long. By the way, Miyama-san, what didyou mean with "that Kusanagi-kun"?" Asuka asked with a cold smile on herface.It had been half a year at most since they had entered high-school.Had her old friend gained such a reputation in such a short time?"Could you please think about it for a moment? Since I"ve known him for solong, I"d like to know what preposterous things he"s been up to. Dependingon the situation, I"ll have to discipline him a bit...""I think it started around May," Sawa-san started calmly.They had changed locations to a lively j.a.panese tea house in NezuSanchoume - Asuka"s and G.o.dou"s home neighborhood."Until then, Kusanagi-kun had not stood out very much. Well, his face isokay and he is tall, so one girl or another might have been interested inhim, but all in all he did not stand out. But ever since Erica-san came,everything has changed."Sawa-san spoke distinctly and in an educated tone.Apparently her intellectual gla.s.ses weren"t just for show."Ever since that extraordinarily smart and athletic blond beauty who"s fluentin j.a.panese on top of it showed up, conning all the way from Italy to chaseafter Kusanagi-kun, he has completely changed. Or perhaps his hiddenabnormality has just come to light.""And after Erica-san, Mariya-san from our cla.s.s was next..."Bit by bit, Miyama-san also started talking.Unlike Sawa-san, she spoke hesitantly. Kusanagi G.o.dou"s behaviour wasjust that far out there."Mariya-san is always so graceful, like a young lady, but before anyoneknew it, she was already clinging to Kusanagi-kun like a maiden in love.They seemed like they would elope at any moment. But that Kusanagi-kundidn"t settle with just two girls, no...!""Another girl, Liliana-san, came here from Eastern Europe because of himas well."According to them, this one was a fairy-like beauty with silver hair.Asuka nodded.A blond girl and a Yamato Nadeshiko^^^, as well as a silver-haired girl. Itsounded like the girls she had seen outside the restaurant earlier."And there seems to be yet another girl from some other high school whosneaks onto our campus to see him. We often spot a girl around him in auniform different from ours.""So you see, Kusanagi-kun is a king in the middle of a harem of at least 4beauties, maybe even more, so to speak. They call him the biggestmonster since the founding of the school. But strangely enough, the girlsdon"t seem to hate him for it.""Maybe because he looks harmless at first glance and kind in someway...?""He doesn"t have a strong presence during everyday life which mightcause the girls to overlook it. Although he still seems to make a part of theboys extremely jealous of him."The situation became clear for Asuka and she nodded again.The smile on her face was a bit powerless."I see... so he went for quality over quant.i.ty since entering liigli scliool.""Qua... quality over quant.i.ty?"Asuka"s absent-minded murmuring was interrupted by Miyama-san."Fourteen.""Eh?""The number of girls in middle school who had fallen for that quiet,unsociable guy. Well, there may be more who I don"t know of... And whenyou include the boys, it adds up to even more. Ohh, don"t get the wrongidea. The last one is in the sense of camaraderie, not romantic love.Although in the baseball club with G.o.dou there was that boy, Rui, who wasquite border line...""EHH?"Asuka"s muttering flabbergasted Miyama-san. Sawa-san, too, was all ears."T-That"s interesting. Just how did he manage to do that...?""There was nothing about it. He"s just always had a way with a part of thegirls and a part of the boys. But going into details now would take too longand it"s bothersome, so let"s do that some other time."Asuka was making a sour face."d.a.m.n G.o.dou. He doesn"t seem like he"s popular in cla.s.s or school, butthat appearance is deceiving. Even worse, he"s completely oblivious to thegirls who fall in love with him and tells them stuff like "You"re such a dearfriend". Unbelievable!"Getting unintentionally worked up, Asuka"s fist strikes the table."That sure is amazing... by the way, Asuka-san, are you also in love...?""...w-with Kusanagi-kun... or...""Huh?! Are you stupid!? Who"d fall for such a blockhead! You see, as hischildhood friend I can"t forgive him for causing all that trouble in our districtor at school, okay? No misunderstandings, please.""So that"s how it is. Good going, Kusanagi G.o.dou...""Right, it"s so obvious... and kinda cliched?"During Asuka"s unintentional outburst, Sawa-san"s and IVIiyanna-san"sexpressions liad turned knowingly.Both of them were focusing on Asuka.On her two pigtails that, while a bit childish, Asuka herself is quite proud of.Her piercing eyes. Her slightly sharp features.Sawa-san and Miyama-san were taking in all that and then nodded at eachother."Hey, Asuka-san. Do you ever regret acting all rash and stand-offish infront of somebody you like?""A-as if I would! Don"t make such weird accusations!""But the basic question is still why Kusanagi-kun is so popular.""He"s not super hot and he"s neither a flirt nor does he impress by workingreally hard."Once Asuka had calmed down, Sawa-san and Miyama-san continued.{{#ifeq: {{PAGENAME}} | Campione!:SS 2 | |}}"l-lsn"t it because he"s being raised by the ultimate playboy? With the bestpossible teacher right next to him, his natural talents or a kind of fate ofbeing popular forever must have awoken, something like that?"Just when Asuka was carelessly answering, that teacher caught her eye.The three were still in the j.a.panese tea house.Outside was still Nezu Sanchoume.And down the street came quite the handsome old man. He was wearingan elegant linen jacket and he obviously must have looked stunning whenhe was younger. Just by walking down the street, people in shops hereand there called out to him."Maybe... is that the one who taught G.o.dou-kun?"Noticing the direction of Asuka"s gaze, Miyama-san guessed and wasspot-on."That"s right, grandpa Ichirou, his grandfather.""Well, he does seem to be really popular, but what makes him such aplayboy?""Uhm, how do I explain this...?"It was when Asuka was pondering on Sawa-san"s question.Kusanagi Ichirou, the head of the Kusanagi family, walked right past thefront of the tea house. He noticed her staring at him from the inside andresponded with a wink. An unimaginable greeting for a j.a.panese man ofhis age. It was neither repulsive nor cold -- just the right balance.He was someone able to do this completely naturally."No less from you," Asuka thought when the tea house"s phone suddenlyrang. The lady at the counter (who also knew Asuka and G.o.dou sinceinfancy) picked it up.And while Asuka in thought, the lady already came over.She placed a plate of kurizenzai^^^ usually made for the Obon-festival onthe girls" table."Auntie, we didn"t order tliis.""Heine, it"s fine. Icliirou-san caiied just now and asl
Chapter 5 - The Rumored CampioneTokunaga Asuka is in first year of high school.She lives in the Nezu Sanchoume in the Bunkyou ward in Tokyo, a livelyshopping district which leaves a strong small-town atmosphere.The aura of the Showa era that was left here and there wakes a curiousfeeling of nostalgia.Asuka works part-time in a family restaurant a little separated from thatdistrict.A common place chain restaurant.But because it is next to the main street, it is still thriving. It was earlyOctober when she saw a certain old friend during work.On the first day of a long weekend, past eight o"clock in the morning.Asuka was on morning shift and serving the customers.Her long-time friend had not entered the store as a customer, but waskilling time out front, holding a large bag. It looked like he was waiting forsomeone.Kusanagi G.o.dou.Written in Kanji, every character needs a large amount of strokes, butthat"s the name of her friend.He was tall and had quite pretty features, but because of theunsophisticated feeling he gave off, you wouldn"t exactly call himgood-looking.Asuka knew him since kindergarten.Because he was waiting where he was, he must have arranged to gosomewhere by car.Despite his ordinary looks, G.o.dou had many unusual acquaintances. Fromtime to time he used the pretense of job to help such acquaintances withtheir work. Certainly that day must"ve been the same, Asuka thought andreturned to her work.However, moments later, she suddenly found G.o.dou surrounded by girls.Furthermore, each of these four girls were either cute or just beautiful.There were even 2 beauties from abroad mixed in, one blond and onesilver-haired!"That guy... Looks like he"s become quite a player lately. He wasn"t thatbad before! Unbelievable, to think he"d fall that quickly...," Asuka hissed,deciding to teach him a lesson.Meanwhile a mini van came to a stop in front of G.o.dou.Her childhood friend plus the four girls got in and drove away."...Wasn"t that G.o.dou-san just now?""Mariya-san and Erica-san, as well as Liliana-san were with him, right?Meeting early on the first holiday and leaving by car... I wonder where theyare going."Asuka overheard that quiet conversation.Looking for its source she saw her fellow part-time workers. Miyama-sanand Sawa-san were whispering to each other.Like Asuka they were in first year of high school. Until a moment before,their eyes had been directed outside the family restaurant, where G.o.douand the girls had been.Then Asuka understood.She had heard before that those two were going to the nearby JounanAcademy."Sawa-san, Miyama-san, do you happen to know Kusanagi G.o.dou?"Asuka asked them out of the blue.It was past one o"clock. The morning shift was over and they were in thechanging room now, switching out of their cute uniforms into street clothes.Being asked all of a sudden, Sawa-san and Miyama-san blinked withsurprise."Well, we do know him, but...," Sawa-san nodded cautiously.With the thin-framed gla.s.ses, she looked most intelligent."But how come you know him, Asuka-san? You"re not going to Jounan, areyou?" IVIiyama-san asked in return. She was of short stature and plainadorable.Actually, she was so child-faced you could mistake her for an elementaryschool child."I"m from the same area, a shopping district nearby. And I went to thesame elementary and middle school, too.""So... you"re childhood friends?""With that Kusanagi-kun?"Sawa-san already started going into it while Miyama-san was completelysurprised."Yes. I won"t call it the regret of my life, but it has been rather unfortunateto be stuck with that idiot for so long. By the way, Miyama-san, what didyou mean with "that Kusanagi-kun"?" Asuka asked with a cold smile on herface.It had been half a year at most since they had entered high-school.Had her old friend gained such a reputation in such a short time?"Could you please think about it for a moment? Since I"ve known him for solong, I"d like to know what preposterous things he"s been up to. Dependingon the situation, I"ll have to discipline him a bit...""I think it started around May," Sawa-san started calmly.They had changed locations to a lively j.a.panese tea house in NezuSanchoume - Asuka"s and G.o.dou"s home neighborhood."Until then, Kusanagi-kun had not stood out very much. Well, his face isokay and he is tall, so one girl or another might have been interested inhim, but all in all he did not stand out. But ever since Erica-san came,everything has changed."Sawa-san spoke distinctly and in an educated tone.Apparently her intellectual gla.s.ses weren"t just for show."Ever since that extraordinarily smart and athletic blond beauty who"s fluentin j.a.panese on top of it showed up, conning all the way from Italy to chaseafter Kusanagi-kun, he has completely changed. Or perhaps his hiddenabnormality has just come to light.""And after Erica-san, Mariya-san from our cla.s.s was next..."Bit by bit, Miyama-san also started talking.Unlike Sawa-san, she spoke hesitantly. Kusanagi G.o.dou"s behaviour wasjust that far out there."Mariya-san is always so graceful, like a young lady, but before anyoneknew it, she was already clinging to Kusanagi-kun like a maiden in love.They seemed like they would elope at any moment. But that Kusanagi-kundidn"t settle with just two girls, no...!""Another girl, Liliana-san, came here from Eastern Europe because of himas well."According to them, this one was a fairy-like beauty with silver hair.Asuka nodded.A blond girl and a Yamato Nadeshiko^^^, as well as a silver-haired girl. Itsounded like the girls she had seen outside the restaurant earlier."And there seems to be yet another girl from some other high school whosneaks onto our campus to see him. We often spot a girl around him in auniform different from ours.""So you see, Kusanagi-kun is a king in the middle of a harem of at least 4beauties, maybe even more, so to speak. They call him the biggestmonster since the founding of the school. But strangely enough, the girlsdon"t seem to hate him for it.""Maybe because he looks harmless at first glance and kind in someway...?""He doesn"t have a strong presence during everyday life which mightcause the girls to overlook it. Although he still seems to make a part of theboys extremely jealous of him."The situation became clear for Asuka and she nodded again.The smile on her face was a bit powerless."I see... so he went for quality over quant.i.ty since entering liigli scliool.""Qua... quality over quant.i.ty?"Asuka"s absent-minded murmuring was interrupted by Miyama-san."Fourteen.""Eh?""The number of girls in middle school who had fallen for that quiet,unsociable guy. Well, there may be more who I don"t know of... And whenyou include the boys, it adds up to even more. Ohh, don"t get the wrongidea. The last one is in the sense of camaraderie, not romantic love.Although in the baseball club with G.o.dou there was that boy, Rui, who wasquite border line...""EHH?"Asuka"s muttering flabbergasted Miyama-san. Sawa-san, too, was all ears."T-That"s interesting. Just how did he manage to do that...?""There was nothing about it. He"s just always had a way with a part of thegirls and a part of the boys. But going into details now would take too longand it"s bothersome, so let"s do that some other time."Asuka was making a sour face."d.a.m.n G.o.dou. He doesn"t seem like he"s popular in cla.s.s or school, butthat appearance is deceiving. Even worse, he"s completely oblivious to thegirls who fall in love with him and tells them stuff like "You"re such a dearfriend". Unbelievable!"Getting unintentionally worked up, Asuka"s fist strikes the table."That sure is amazing... by the way, Asuka-san, are you also in love...?""...w-with Kusanagi-kun... or...""Huh?! Are you stupid!? Who"d fall for such a blockhead! You see, as hischildhood friend I can"t forgive him for causing all that trouble in our districtor at school, okay? No misunderstandings, please.""So that"s how it is. Good going, Kusanagi G.o.dou...""Right, it"s so obvious... and kinda cliched?"During Asuka"s unintentional outburst, Sawa-san"s and IVIiyanna-san"sexpressions liad turned knowingly.Both of them were focusing on Asuka.On her two pigtails that, while a bit childish, Asuka herself is quite proud of.Her piercing eyes. Her slightly sharp features.Sawa-san and Miyama-san were taking in all that and then nodded at eachother."Hey, Asuka-san. Do you ever regret acting all rash and stand-offish infront of somebody you like?""A-as if I would! Don"t make such weird accusations!""But the basic question is still why Kusanagi-kun is so popular.""He"s not super hot and he"s neither a flirt nor does he impress by workingreally hard."Once Asuka had calmed down, Sawa-san and Miyama-san continued.{{#ifeq: {{PAGENAME}} | Campione!:SS 2 | |}}"l-lsn"t it because he"s being raised by the ultimate playboy? With the bestpossible teacher right next to him, his natural talents or a kind of fate ofbeing popular forever must have awoken, something like that?"Just when Asuka was carelessly answering, that teacher caught her eye.The three were still in the j.a.panese tea house.Outside was still Nezu Sanchoume.And down the street came quite the handsome old man. He was wearingan elegant linen jacket and he obviously must have looked stunning whenhe was younger. Just by walking down the street, people in shops hereand there called out to him."Maybe... is that the one who taught G.o.dou-kun?"Noticing the direction of Asuka"s gaze, Miyama-san guessed and wasspot-on."That"s right, grandpa Ichirou, his grandfather.""Well, he does seem to be really popular, but what makes him such aplayboy?""Uhm, how do I explain this...?"It was when Asuka was pondering on Sawa-san"s question.Kusanagi Ichirou, the head of the Kusanagi family, walked right past thefront of the tea house. He noticed her staring at him from the inside andresponded with a wink. An unimaginable greeting for a j.a.panese man ofhis age. It was neither repulsive nor cold -- just the right balance.He was someone able to do this completely naturally."No less from you," Asuka thought when the tea house"s phone suddenlyrang. The lady at the counter (who also knew Asuka and G.o.dou sinceinfancy) picked it up.And while Asuka in thought, the lady already came over.She placed a plate of kurizenzai^^^ usually made for the Obon-festival onthe girls" table."Auntie, we didn"t order tliis.""Heine, it"s fine. Icliirou-san caiied just now and asl