Chapter 4 Worry

Chapter 4: Worries

Tsukishima Kei, fifteen years old, had a recent worry: he felt surrounded by simpletons.

Just a few days ago, his main worry was people constantly asking how to pronounce "Kei" in his name. However, with the arrival of Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Hoshino, this new worry shot up in annoyance level, completely replacing his old one and becoming the most troublesome issue on his mind lately.

The problem was mostly on Hoshino's side.

Tanaka was a senior, so no matter how rowdy he got, Tsukishima kept his mouth shut. Hinata and Kageyama were "wild men on our side of the net," but outside of practice they barely crossed paths, so they didn't cause him any trouble.

But Hoshino? Totally different.

She moved more unpredictably than a shooting star, and her logic was harder to figure out than quantum physics. She always popped up in weird places out of nowhere, and then did incomprehensible stuff like it was the most normal thing in the world.

According to Tsukishima's incomplete observations, these behaviors could be categorized as follows.

Category One: Randomly shouting his name.

"Tsukishima!"

During a break at volleyball practice one day, Tsukishima was just about to take a drink when Hoshino called out.

"What?" Tsukishima asked.

"Oh... nothing!" Hoshino waved at him. "Keep at it! Thanks!"

Tsukishima: ?

Another day.

"Tsukishima!"

Tsukishima was walking down the hallway when he heard her.

"Need something?" he asked.

"Ah... nah, nothing!" Hoshino said. "I'm gonna head back to class now~"

Tsukishima: ??

Yet another day.

"Tsukishima!"

Tsukishima was listening to music at his desk, and slowly took off his headphones.

"What now?" He looked up at Hoshino, who had come over from her classroom during the break.

Hoshino blinked her big eyes and stared at him for a few seconds.

"Hmm... you're definitely different..."

She muttered to herself, then suddenly it clicked.

"Oh, I know what to change! Thanks, Tsukishima!"

And she bolted off.

Tsukishima, left with a totally random thank-you: ???

Category Two: Asking him hypothetical questions.

"Tsukishima!"

One day, after a practice match, Hoshino asked him, "If that ball hadn't gone out, would you have gone for it, Tsukishima?"

Tsukishima recalled the situation.

"Probably not. That area was more in Daichi's zone," he replied.

"Oh, okay..." Hoshino made a mental note.

But this kind of normal conversation didn't last long. Just a few days later, Hoshino's questions evolved into versions like this—

"Tsukishima, if the snack aisle only had a pack of super hot rice crackers and a bag of sugar-free bread, which one would you choose?"

Tsukishima: ?

"Why would I have to choose? Can't I just hit another store?" he said.

And then this version—

"Tsukishima, if you realized you filled in a wrong answer just seconds before submitting an exam, would you risk running out of time to change it or just submit as is?"

Tsukishima: ?

"Actually, I always budget enough time to double-check my answers. That situation never comes up," he replied.

Even this version—

"Tsukishima, if you accidentally hit a teammate's head with your serve during a match, would you choose to show concern verbally or apologize with a gesture?"

Tsukishima: ...

"I don't know what prompted that, but your premise is stupid," he said. "After all, I'm not Hinata. I'm not clumsy enough to hit someone's head with a serve."

"Then what if you were the one getting hit?"

"Then I'd give that server a thorough 'pep talk' in very clear terms, making sure he never forgets that moment, so he never dares to hit anyone with a serve again."

Of course, there was also a third category...

"Tsukishima—"

At the convenience store near school, Tsukishima was sorting through Hoshino's recent strange behavior in his mind when he heard her familiar voice.

***

Hoshino Haruna, fifteen, had a recent worry of her own: her male protagonist kept getting mistaken for a villain.

"You're joking!" Her deskmate, Asami Arai from the front row, was the first to object after reading her first draft. "He's totally a little angel! Even when that tall four-eyed guy keeps trashing his skills in every way you can imagine, he doesn't get discouraged at all, and he even goes up and shakes his hand after the match!"

"Cough, well," Hoshino reminded her quietly, "that's not the male lead. That's the supporting male character."

Asami: ?

"And that glasses-wearing tall dude is the lead," Hoshino added.

Asami: ???

"No kidding?!" Asami was shocked. "Haruna, are the seniors in the Manga Club bullying you or something? Otherwise, why would they make you write a main character with such a weird personality? Would anyone actually like him?"

"That's not true at all!" Hoshino quickly clarified. "Although my senpai did give me some suggestions, in the end, I was the one who finalized the main character's design... Actually, to make my manga plot more grounded, I even looked for real-life people as references..."

"I see... So you must have used a lot of artistic license, right?" Mami remarked. "I get it—exaggerating certain traits of the character to make a stronger impression on readers."

No, you don't understand, Hoshino wanted to say. If she hadn't deliberately left out some of his remarks, the main character would get even more flak.

"So what are you going to do now?" Mami asked.

"Hmm... I'm not really sure." Hoshino still looked troubled. "To make the manga feel more realistic, I've been carefully observing him every day lately. I've been taking notes on his reactions when I stop him in different situations and the choices he makes under various circumstances... Ah, I get it!"

Her eyes lit up as she finally realized:

She had still been drawing the manga with her previous mindset, subconsciously believing that the more realistic, the better. The problem was that the person she used as reference was Tsukishima Kei! With someone like him, the more realistic she made him, the more infuriating he became, right?

...

Damn it, it's all Tsukishima Kei's fault!

"How about switching the main character?" Mami suggested.

"No." Hoshino shook her head without a second thought.

She had firmly promised Tsukishima that she wouldn't give up easily—how could she change the main character at a time like this?

Ha, just a sharp-tongued glasses-wearing guy. She refused to believe he could stump her, a future great manga artist!

"Wait, Haruna, where are you going?" Mami asked as Hoshino suddenly stood up from her seat.

"To find the main character!" Hoshino said firmly. "Just you wait—I definitely, definitely will make this character work!"

"Tsukishima-san—"

***

After school, Hoshino went to the convenience store Tsukishima usually went to and called out to him like always.

Hearing her voice, Tsukishima unhurriedly put a jar of jam into his shopping basket and turned to face her: "What are you doing here?"

"Because I wanted to see you, so I came!" Hoshino answered immediately.

Tsukishima: ...

Here we go again. Feeling the burning stares from those around him, Tsukishima thought uneasily.

Strange Habit #3 of Hoshino's—casually saying things that could easily be misunderstood.

Finally concluding his 'Hoshino Observation Notes', Tsukishima set down his basket in an empty space and said seriously, "Actually, I have something to talk to you about too, so let's clear it up here."

"Huh? Okay." Hoshino nodded.

"Although I'm not entirely sure what exactly you've been doing lately, I'm guessing it's related to the volleyball club's promotional manga, right?" Tsukishima asked.

"Oh, you figured it out?" Hoshino gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I originally planned to do this without disturbing everyone's daily life and practice, but it seems I didn't quite manage that... Have I been a nuisance to you, Tsukishima-san?"

Seeming not to have expected such a sincere attitude from her, Tsukishima averted his gaze slightly a bit guiltily: "Not really..."

"Let me treat you to something, Tsukishima-san!" Hoshino offered eagerly. "Rice balls? Cake? Oden? Anything they have here is fine!"

Tsukishima insisted: "Actually, I..."

"How about cake? I noticed you'd been standing in front of that shelf for a while!" Hoshino said as she walked over to the cake display. "What flavor do you like, Tsukishima-san?"

...

"Cheese?"

...

"Matcha?"

...

"Strawberry?"

...

"Okay, strawberry it is!" Hoshino decided cheerfully.

Tsukishima: ???

How on earth did she get 'strawberry' from a six-dot ellipsis?!

"Because when I mentioned strawberry, your expression changed... um, how should I put it?" Hoshino tried to describe it. "Was it more of a 'swoosh' or a 'clink' kind of thing..."

Tsukishima: ...

Are these onomatopoeias some kind of universal language for single-celled organisms?!

"Anyway, it was different from before!" Hoshino summarized.

"First off, thank you for the kind offer," Tsukishima said. "But what I wanted to say is, if you're having any trouble with the manga, just tell me directly. There's no need to beat around the bush."

"...Like what?"

"Like if you want to flesh out the main character's traits, you could just ask me about my preferences, instead of buying me something specifically."

Hoshino: Oh, you caught me.

"Or if you want to know how the main character would react in a certain situation, you can also just ask me. No need to go through the trouble of recreating the scenario."

Hoshino: Huh, I can do that?

"Then I'll ask, okay?" Hoshino jumped right in. "Well, actually, I've been a bit troubled... about what the main character does after losing a match..."

Hoshino didn't get to finish, because she noticed a grin creeping onto Tsukishima's face. It was that trademark smirk he wore right after a scheme succeeded, just before unleashing his sarcastic remarks.

Wait, something's wrong—

"Wow, I didn't expect you to actually ask!" Tsukishima even let out a laugh. "I thought with your ability, you wouldn't need to know this to keep drawing. Seems the great manga artist isn't that great after all..."

Hoshino: ?!?!?!?

Oh, so that's it! This guy was being way too agreeable today... He was just baiting her!

But Tsukishima continued: "I did say I'd cooperate with your Manga Club's activities, but that was only during school hours, right? School's over now. Today's business hours are over. 'Clang-clang'—come back tomorrow if you need something."

As he said this, he made a gesture imitating the rolling down of a store shutter.

Hoshino: ?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!

Damn... this jerk!

“……I got it!” Hoshino said loudly, slinging her uniform bag over her shoulder and heading for the convenience store entrance.

Hmph, don't worry—she would draw this jerk's performance into the manga without skipping a single detail, and then...

Just before she hurried out the door, Hoshino turned around and shouted at the person inside—

“Prepare to face a barrage of readers' scorn, you sarcastic, crotchety, stingy glasses-wearing guy!!!”

***

The next day.

“By the way, Haruna,” Mami, sitting in front of Hoshino, turned around and asked her, “What happened to that manga later? Have you figured out how to handle the male lead’s character design?”

Hoshino took a deep breath.

“I’ve decided,” she said, “So a villain it is—I’m going to draw a male lead so evil that both gods and humans will be outraged by him!”

Mami: ???

Wait... Is this right???

-TBC-

*

Author’s note:

The “gara gara” reference is from the Haikyuu!! stage play “Evolution of Summer”, which in my opinion is the best of the entire Haikyuu!! stage play series. Highly recommend it ww