Chapter 19: Daily Life 3

The days that followed were incredibly simple. Ryosuke’s routine consisted of nothing more than school, home, and training.

Training every day with his teammates, Tendo relied on his strong social skills and gradually earned the big cat’s trust during this period. As a result, it became a common sight during practice to see Tendo frequently hanging around Ryosuke, to the point it felt completely normal.

At night, inside the gym, Ryosuke had recently started secretly practicing his serves. The team already had jump serves and jump float serves, and now that he was acting as a middle blocker, serving was an area he absolutely needed to strengthen.

But Ryosuke hadn’t told anyone.

The cat had his own little thoughts—if he said he wanted to learn a certain type of serve, the team would have to assign someone to teach him. Everyone already had their own training to do, so Ryosuke could only practice on his own.

It was already very late. No one else was training anymore, and the lights in the gym had been turned off.

Ryosuke cautiously poked his head around the doorway and crept inside.

The pitch-black gym looked like a monster’s gaping mouth, ready to swallow one trembling Ryosuke whole. His mind uncontrollably replayed the ghost story Yamagata-senpai had told him before.

According to senpai, dim places were where zashiki-warashi appeared—dressed in red, coming out at night to scare people.

Zashiki-warashi were extremely mischievous. Sometimes they’d stomp around in the middle of the night, making loud footsteps so people couldn’t sleep. Other times, they’d make strange noises to frighten you when you were home alone.

Ryosuke stiffened his face and silently repeated to himself: Not scared, not scared. It’s all fake. Yamagata-senpai was just messing with me.

He shut his eyes and charged straight into the gym.

In the dark gym, a handkerchief-sized patch of moonlight spilled onto the floor through a window.

Pale and ghostly, like a reaper come to claim a soul.

Ryosuke didn’t stop. He walked into a small corner of the gym and forced himself to calm down.

After a moment of stillness, and finding nothing unusual, Ryosuke finally let out a breath of relief.

He crouched down and rummaged through his bag, the fabric rustling as he searched for his sneakers and volleyball.

Where are my shoes…? he muttered to himself while digging around. Did I leave them all in the locker?

“Huff… huff…”

Suddenly, Ryosuke heard heavy breathing behind him. His hand froze mid-search.

The hairs on his arms stood straight up. Lowering his gaze, he saw a long shadow stretching across the floor.

Thin and eerie, the shadow slowly moved toward him.

Accompanied by rough breathing and footsteps, Ryosuke squeezed his eyes shut. His stiff neck creaked as he slowly turned his head.

The first thing he saw was a pair of bare feet. His gaze crept upward—

A faceless… kappa?!

Red hair covered its face, dripping with water, and its arms and legs were unnaturally long.

One second.
Two seconds.

Ryosuke completely froze on the spot.

His lips trembled, tears welling up in his eyes.

Seeing Ryosuke like this, Tendo froze for a moment, then reached out to try and comfort the frightened cat.

Ryosuke sucked in a sharp breath, his pupils shrinking.
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!!!”

The long, piercing scream made Tendo’s hand jerk in shock. Reflected in Ryosuke’s dark green eyes was a terrifying red-haired kappa. Startled out of his wits, Tendo screamed back at full force.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!!!”

Ryosuke turned and bolted without looking back, running at more than twice his usual speed during physical tests.

Tears flew off his face in the wind as he ran, sobbing uncontrollably.

Waaah! So what Yamagata-senpai said was true! Not just zashiki-warashi—there’s even a red-haired kappa! Waaah!!

Inside the gym, Tendo—still terrified by the image of himself reflected in Ryosuke’s eyes—was still screaming. Then he remembered Ryosuke was there.

He turned, ready to grab Ryosuke and run—but when he looked up, the big cat was gone.

A ghost?!
A ghost made Ryosuke disappear?!

Tendo panicked completely, frantically searching the pitch-black gym.

Earlier that day, Tendo had been punished by Coach Washijō with a ten-kilometer run for slacking off. After finishing it, he’d gone to the gym to take a shower.

On his way back, he happened to pass by the gym and spotted a sneaking Ryosuke, so he’d gone over to say hi.

Instead, Ryosuke’s scream completely stunned him.

After calming down, Tendo thought it through. It should be fine—judging by Ryosuke’s reaction, he’d probably run straight home.

Tendo sighed. Ah… big cat. You didn’t even take me with you when you ran.

He wandered toward the restroom to get his shoes.

As he passed the mirror, he caught sight of a red shadow following him out of the corner of his eye.

Cold sweat broke out along Tendo’s spine. He spun around—and saw the kappa-Tendo in the mirror, making himself jump.

Pressing a hand to his still-thumping heart, Tendo let out a sigh.
So that’s what Ryosuke saw… just my reflection.

Man, that was scary. Ryosuke must’ve been terrified because of me.

Once the shock faded, Tendo remembered Ryosuke’s reaction and laughed to himself. He went back to retrieve the bag Ryosuke had left behind in the gym.

Then he strolled back to the dorm.

After showering, Yamagata saw Tendo carrying a bag and glanced at him curiously.
“What were you up to tonight?”

Tendo smiled mysteriously.
“You’ll find out tomorrow. Hehehe.”

Meanwhile, Ryosuke—scared senseless—sprinted all the way home. Even after arriving, he was completely out of it.

His eyes were red, dried tears stinging his face like countless tiny needles. He ran straight to his bedroom.

Feeling his legs go weak, he couldn’t help letting out a choked sob. He looked utterly pitiful.

That night, Ryosuke dreamed of a red-clothed, red-haired kappa, its blood-smeared mouth gaping wide as it shouted that Ryosuke had run all night.

In the dream, Ryosuke cried uncontrollably, sobbing and shuddering as he pressed his lips tight and fled from the monster.

When he woke up the next morning, Ryosuke felt exhausted—as if he hadn’t slept at all.

More accurately, his heart felt tired.

Looking in the mirror, he could still see how red his eyes were.

Ryosuke: ………