Chapter 35 Outdoor Practice

Chapter 35: Outdoor Practice

Outdoor Practice is a traditional course that has been held at Karasuno High School for years, designed to help students learn wilderness survival skills and develop practical skills through outdoor activities.

However, this is just the official explanation given by the school. For the students, this activity has another name—

"Oh—it's a cookout!!"

Upon hearing the news, Yamazaki Kenji excitedly started running around looking for teammates.

...

Meanwhile, Hoshino Haruna looked at Kazami Kaoru standing beside her.

"Is it just me, or do I feel like we've been having a lot of joint activities with the neighboring Class 4 lately?" she said.

Yes, this outdoor practice involved students from both Class 3 and Class 4 of the first year. It was said that because their schedules were relatively close, the teachers simply combined them into one event.

But Kazami Kaoru didn't seem to have any particular reaction to this.

"Do we?" Kazami Kaoru showed a slightly puzzled expression. "I think it's fine."

...

Well, Hoshino thought.

Whether it was in-class activities or cross-class activities, Kazami-san always stuck with Kageyama-san like clockwork, even more inseparable than the lead couple in a romance manga. So this sort of joint activity really didn't affect them at all.

"Sigh, I'm so jealous of you and Kageyama-san," Hoshino sighed.

Kazami: ?

What? She envies their stable tutor-student relationship?

"Um... thanks?"

Although she didn't quite understand, Kazami replied sincerely.

The event location was set in the nearby outskirts, with mountains and rivers and great scenery, perfect for outdoor activities like cookouts. On the appointed day, the group boarded a bus and set off and arrived at the foot of the mountain in no time.

Hoshino Haruna jumped off the bus, backpack on her back, and took a deep breath—

Ah, the air in the mountains is so fresh! It feels like it's been washed clean!

The sky is so clean too! The clouds look like they were drawn with a special pen!

The colors of the flowers, plants, and trees are particularly vibrant. She couldn't tell what kind of plants they were, but they were very easy on the eyes!

In a good mood, Hoshino took out her notebook to gather material while walking, but after walking a bit further, she realized something was wrong.

She stopped and looked around, but couldn't find what she was looking for.

...

Wait, no way...

Just then, she heard a familiar voice from behind—

"Don't bother looking. There's no cable car here."

...

Hoshino didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.

"...I know that!" she snapped.

Tsukishima Kei, does he have to rub it in that she didn't want to climb!

"Even without one, I can climb up myself!"

Hoshino was serious. She adjusted her backpack straps and followed the group up the mountain without another word. Fortunately, the mountain wasn't too steep. She barely kept up at the back of the group by stopping occasionally and finally reached the target location.

But...

"Why are you still here?"

When she chanced to look back, Hoshino was surprised to find that Tsukishima was still behind her.

That can't be right. Shouldn't he have reached the top long ago?

Caught off guard by her sudden turn, Tsukishima quickly looked away from her.

"Oh, nothing," he said in a flat tone. "I just dropped my phone earlier and went back to find it."

"...Oh."

Hoshino turned back, still doubtful, but didn't dwell on it too much.

When they got close to the summit, the teacher in charge had everyone take a break at a relatively open area.

"Ohh—it's starting, right? The cookout and stuff!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, when are we going to start preparing lunch?"

"How about now? I only ate half a slice of bread this morning, and I'm already starving!"

...

"Everyone, calm down—" the teacher in charge said in a gentle voice to calm the students. "As you can see, we're about to start preparing lunch. But before that, we have a challenge to complete—"

...

Hmm? A challenge? What challenge?

Hoshino, who was secretly eating the cookies she brought, listened carefully. She had a feeling this wasn't going to be easy.

Sure enough, after the teacher announced the rules, groans erupted from the crowd—

"We have to catch fish? Starting from scratch?!"

"How is this a thing? I thought we just had to pick some produce from the nearby garden!"

"Good thing we're in teams of two... Is there anyone who knows how to catch fish? Take me, take me!"

...

Hah, just as I thought!

Having predicted this cookout wouldn't be easy, Hoshino slowly put away her cookie wrapper and brushed off her hands.

Although Hoshino wasn't skilled at catching fish, she knew one person who definitely would—

"Hoshino—"

A moment later, the expected call came from behind.

"Do you wanna team up with me—cough, with Tsukishima next to me?"

...

Hoshino, thinking she must have misheard, quickly turned around: "Huh?!?!?!"

***

Yamazaki Kenji—the poster boy for foresight who had been scrambling to find a teammate the very day the class leader announced the outdoor practice schedule.

Unfortunately, after the previous home economics class, his hands-on skills had become so disastrous that he'd been blacklisted by both Class 3 and Class 4. As expected, he hadn't found a single teammate.

But Yamazaki wasn't worried at all, because he knew that when he hit rock bottom, his "mom from a different dad" (no, that's wrong), his "big sister" (also wrong), his friend (yes, that's right), Hoshino Haruna would always take him in!

Especially now, when he heard that the teacher's task was catching fish—something he was actually good at—he was even more confident! Sure, some classmates who'd previously rejected him were now regretting it and running back to team up with him, but he'd turned them all down with righteous indignation. What a joke! He, Yamazaki Kenji, was not the kind of person to abandon his principles. At times like this, he had to stand by his comrade—

"Hoshino—"

He jogged forward, calling out to Hoshino Haruna.

"Do you wanna team up with me—"

The word "team up" was almost out of his mouth when he suddenly felt a chilling gaze from beside him that made him inexplicably uneasy. His words took a sharp detour, turning into a completely different version—

"Cough, team up with Tsukishima next to me?"

...

Hoshino: ??????

She stared at Yamazaki in disbelief.

"I've been good to you, and this is how you repay me??" her eyes said.

"Good luck, this is all I can do for you!!" Yamazaki's response was totally nonsensical.

Then the guy vanished in a flash, as if his mission was complete.

Hoshino, who had no idea what his eyebrow-wiggling meant: ...

To be honest, she still hadn't fully processed it.

"Since when did you and Yamazaki get so close?" Hoshino asked, puzzled.

"...Not as close as you two, I'd say," Tsukishima replied.

Hoshino thought about it for a moment. That was true.

"Yeah, I guess," she nodded.

Then she looked up to find Tsukishima squinting at her with a rather subtle expression.

Hoshino: ?!

"Cough, well, actually, it's not that—close? I mean, we met back in middle school..." she struggled to find the right words.

Halfway through her explanation, she suddenly thought—

Wait, why was *she* feeling guilty? What was wrong with being close to Yamazaki?!

Tsukishima let out a noncommittal "Mm," though it was unclear if he'd actually listened.

Seeing that he didn't say anything more, Hoshino put her backpack on the table and started rummaging for the rubber gloves the class had handed out.

"By the way, why didn't you team up with Yamaguchi?" she asked casually.

This activity involved both classes, and Yamaguchi Tadashi was naturally part of the group. Though the rules allowed cross-class teams, teaming up within the same class was usually more convenient.

Unsurprised by her question, Tsukishima gestured into the distance. "Look over there."

Huh?

Following his gaze, Hoshino saw Yamaguchi Tadashi and his teammate studying how to put on the waterproof gear for fishing. When he noticed her looking, he even waved in her direction and silently mouthed something like "Go get 'em."

Hoshino: ??????

What the heck was everyone doing?!

"...So, you'd rather team up with Yamazaki?" Tsukishima caught her expression.

"Huh? No, it's not that… how should I put it…" Hoshino scratched her head in confusion. "It's just that Yamazaki is pretty good at catching fish! He grew up in the countryside, and he used to do it a lot when he was a kid… haha…"

...That sounded pretty convincing, right? At least Hoshino thought so.

But after she finished, she noticed Tsukishima's expression grow even stranger.

"...You even know that?" he muttered quietly.

Hoshino: ?!?!

Seriously, what was up with Tsukishima Kei today?! Was there a single normal person she'd met today?!

"Oh, come on, it's not like—how do I explain…" Hoshino felt she had never been this tongue-tied. "We've known each other for three years, and our houses are just one street apart, practically neighbors, so I happen to know a bit more…"

...

Great. It sounded like she was digging herself deeper.

Watching Tsukishima's frown deepen and his expression sour, Hoshino acted on impulse, grabbed the gloves she'd dug out from her bag, pressed them into his hands, then took his wrist and dragged him straight toward the fish pond—

"In short, forget about it. Now that we're a team, let's catch the most fish and show those who are good at it that we're not to be messed with!!!"

-TBC-

*

Author's note:

Thanks to family and friends for the assists (fist bump)