117. Everyday Life: The More Drama, the Better the Spectacle

"Oh, stop playing dumb. She has your number, so you must have given it to her." Ryo Shishido flashed a sly expression, grinning with mischievous intent.

"Hey, hey, what are you thinking? If I had given it to her, why would I have no idea how she got it in the first place?" Matsubara Narumi looked speechless, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Anyway, what did she call you about?" Shishido asked seriously. Playful as he could be, he wasn't always a joker.

"Oh, she said her racket was broken and asked if I knew of any good repair shops. She said she had her eye on one and asked if I had time to go with her, since she doesn't really know much about racket repairs," Narumi recalled.

"Oh, racket repairs, huh? Well, I'm heading home then. See ya." Tugging at his ponytail, Shishido waved his hand and turned to leave with a casual air.

"Wait, hold on!" Narumi grabbed him by the arm.

"What now?" Shishido looked back.

"Come with me. It’s on your way, and besides... I don't really know much about racket repairs either," Narumi said, scratching his cheek with a guilty look.

"It is not on my way, and do you even believe what you're saying? Can't you find a less pathetic excuse?" Shishido first denied it, then stared at Narumi as if he were an idiot. Regardless of why Toka Oda was looking for him, Shishido didn't want to get involved. There was nothing lamer than being a third wheel on someone else's date.

Narumi knew his excuse was self-deceptive, but he had no choice. He truly wasn't interested in Toka Oda, and he knew exactly why she had called him. Her intentions were clear; the racket repair was just a pretext, and the core of the plan was undoubtedly a date. But for Narumi, going alone would be far too awkward. If he ended up saying something cold because he wasn't interested, wouldn't it just get even more uncomfortable?

"In any case, you're coming with me." Not giving Shishido a chance to escape, Narumi locked his arm around Shishido's neck and dragged him along by force.

Shopping Street.

"Oh? Are you already here?" Seeing the pink-haired girl in the distance, wearing a dark blue short-sleeved shirt, a gray skirt, and white headphones, Narumi’s gaze sharpened. He walked up to Toka Oda, still holding Shishido’s arm, and laughed dryly: "I’m so sorry, this guy was dragging his feet, and it made us late..."

Shishido, already unhappy about being dragged along, was even more annoyed that Narumi was pinning the blame on him. "Why are you blaming me? I didn't even want to come..."

Before he could finish, Narumi clamped a hand over his mouth, holding his head firmly.

"Haha, welcome, Shishido-kun." Toka Oda took off her headphones, let them hang around her neck, and gave Shishido a charming smile.

"Ah... Konnichiwa..." Shishido’s face flushed red as he greeted her formally.

"Shall we go then?" Seeing Shishido’s shy demeanor, Toka couldn't help but smile, then looked over at Narumi.

"Ah... sure." With that, Narumi grabbed the hand of Shishido, who was trying to turn and bolt, and followed the girl.

"Hmm... I knew there was something suspicious about that girl asking for Matsubara's number." Behind a telephone booth, a black, sea-urchin-styled head slowly peeked out. Sadaharu Inui’s glasses reflected the light once more. Ever since Toka Oda had come to him earlier that day to ask how to contact Matsubara, he had smelled the scent of gossip.

Combined with the fact that she and another girl named Yuna Iwamura were always watching them at the regional and prefectural tournaments, Inui had already spotted the clues. According to his calculations, since the regional preliminaries, this girl named Toka Oda had looked at Matsubara 63 times a day. Inui had every reason to believe she harbored strong feelings of affection for him.

A rare, mischievous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Inui coughed lightly, pulled out his black mobile phone with a serious and calm expression, dialed a few numbers, and held it to his ear.

*Beep...*

"Hi, this is Yanagi." The voice of Renji Yanagi came from the other end.

"Renji, I’ve discovered something major. It looks like there's a date happening here," Inui said calmly.

"Oh? Who is it?" Yanagi asked.

"Matsubara and Toka Oda, a non-regular player from our girls' tennis club." Adjusting his reflecting glasses as he watched the trio walk away, he spoke slowly.

"Oda? I remember now. That girl who often comes to watch the boys' tennis club matches, the one with pink hair who looks very cute?" As a master of data no less capable than Inui, Yanagi immediately identified who Toka Oda was.

"Yes," Inui replied flatly. Yanagi added, "Although I have no interest in such things as dates, this is a good opportunity to collect data."

Inui felt that Renji was thinking exactly what he was. They weren't interested in the date between Matsubara and Oda; the only thing they were interested in was taking the chance to collect data on the boy. Looking at Shishido walking next to Matsubara, Inui suddenly said, "Yes. Oh, by the way, Shishido is here too."

"Oh? Does Shishido have a girlfriend now?" Yanagi, who was in a private library, stood up and slid his book back onto the shelf, holding the phone against his shoulder as he asked.

"No, Oda is the only girl there," Inui replied.

"What is that, then? A three-person date? Doesn't that make it a love triangle?" Yanagi felt a bit speechless and immediately dismissed his own dangerous thought. "No, the probability is only 0.01%. How could people in a triangle relationship go out on a date together?"

Patting his head, he realized that watching soap operas with his sister yesterday must have affected his judgment. However, Yanagi remembered his sister’s advice and said, "But is it really okay for us to follow them secretly? That’s a private, intimate date."

"Shishido is there, isn't he? And aren't you curious about what it's like when someone as powerful as Matsubara starts dating? It might turn into first-hand data. Let's go, let's keep an eye on them," Inui said, following them.

"That's true..." Yanagi eventually compromised and asked, "Where are they?"

"They are currently on the 811 convenience store street in the 22nd district..."

"The library I'm at is very close to you. Wait a moment, I'll arrive on the battlefield in ten minutes." With that, Yanagi hung up the phone.

"Ten minutes... the world is truly small..." Looking at the towering dark gray building in the distance, Inui knew it was the closest library to his location.

Arriving in front of a supply store, Shishido looked at the sign and said with interest: "I've seen this shop before. Because the sign doesn't say anything about it being a sporting goods store, I never went in to check."

"Oh? Then it's perfect to go in together. This shop is privately owned, so the name is a bit different from the usual ones outside. They say the sporting goods inside are quite good, and the owner is a master at repairing rackets." Toka Oda’s rosy lips curled slightly as she slung her tennis bag and led the way.

From behind a concrete wall, a head appeared, blocked by a classic literature book held in front of the face. Renji Yanagi, with his messy hair, said to Inui, who was pulling out his phone antenna: "What are you doing, Sadaharu? They’ve already gone into a mysterious supply shop. They might be taking some precautions."

"Precautions? What kind of precautions?" Inui asked with a look of pure innocence. Yanagi started to explain but found himself at a loss for words.

Hearing the keypad sounds from Inui’s phone, Yanagi asked: "Hey... who are you calling now?"

Ignoring him, Inui waited quietly for the voice on the other end.

*Beep...*
*Beep...*
*Beep...*

Kasuga Cafe.

"Who is it?" Akutsu, sitting at the bar, managed to press the call button under the instruction of his mother, Yuki Akutsu, and said impatiently.

"Akutsu? It’s Inui. I have something important to report." On the other end, Inui’s voice came through calmly.

A moment later, Akutsu, who had been sitting with his eyes closed looking bored, suddenly opened them. Seeming a bit disbelieving, he asked, "What did you say?"