Though Jounan Academy's high school division was considered the type of school that guaranteed promising university prospects, it was surprisingly lax.
Thanks to the freedom of the school culture, school rules were not particularly strict, nor were students studying themselves to death. Club activities offered opportunities to interact with the university division, and consequently, for better or worse, these "seniors" would often take their juniors out to have fun. On the other hand, the encouragement of sports was nonexistent.
This sort of freedom which completely relied on students' self-management, was probably closer to a university in style.
Compared to sports, more diverse and varied cultural club activities were offered.
Last year when the cheerleading club attended the national convention, they were given a blessing of "the sports clubs returning to the national arena after an absence of ten years!" The rest of the state of affairs could be surmised from that.
It was this kind of school. As usual, Godou still belonged to the "go home" club.
Lazily passing his lunch breaks, he would blankly plod his way through the afternoon lessons then go home immediately after school.
"Onii-chan, you still haven't decided on club activities?"
Sipping tea in the living room, Shizuka asked when she returned home from school.
Not especially tall but very adorable in appearance, she was a very likable little sister enhanced by her trait of surprising defiance.
"Yeah, because there's no club I especially want to join."
"Sigh, I guess our school really doesn't have a sports club that Onii-chan can enjoy if you're serious... On the other hand, the cheerleading and ballroom dance clubs seem to be quite amazing."
Shizuka nodded as she spoke. Having passed the middle school entrance examinations to enter Jounan Academy, the little sister was currently a second year student in the middle school division. Hence, Godou was also her senior as a student in the Academy.
"Anyway, the baseball club is so weak it's not even funny."
"That's interesting, but it's fine anyway."
"Perhaps, if I had to make a recommendation, it would be the cultural clubs. Amongst them are some rather weird ones, it's actually quite interesting. In any case, no matter which club, you should still join one. It's not good for a person to be idle."
"Really?"
Even urged by Shizuka, Godou was not really convinced.
"It's not like I have to join a club no matter what. There's no need to hurry. In my class, there are many other people in the 'go home' club."
"Other people are other people. Onii-chan is Onii-chan."
Rudely pointing her index finger at her brother and senior, Shizuka declared crisply.
"This is advice for Onii-chan's own good. It was the same with Grandfather, after he resigned his job at the university, he became even worse than before. If you continue to idle about, it is very likely you'll become a genuine good-for-nothing!"
Grandfather -- Kusanagi Ichirou once taught folkloristics in university.
His specialty should be Japanese and worldwide arts and traditions. He was the legal guardian who attentively looked after the sibling pair of Godou and Shizuka in place of their busy parents. At the same time, he was also a man exceptionally wise in the pleasures of life.
Not exactly idle hands.
Only because he was rather skilled in various forms of pleasures, he was renowned as a "connoisseur" or "celebrity" to many people. To elaborate, "pleasures" referred to drinking, banquets, traveling, socializing, artistic accomplishments, and most importantly, the ability to build relations with a specified (rather than unspecified) large number of women.
Meanwhile, the little sister who was trying to remonstrate her older brother, was a member of the tea ceremony club.
Even within the boundaries of the high school division, Godou had spotted Shizuka once. She was probably in the middle of club activities after school. Girls from both the high and middle school divisions had gathered together to move cardboard boxes.
During the brief encounter, Godou had waved "Hi" to greet.
Shizuka also waved lightly in return.
...Come to think of it, there was also a high school girl whose beauty was absolutely stunning -- a pretty girl with heavily brown-tinted hair who left him with a deep impression. She had quietly greeted him with refined gentleness. Intimidated by such beauty, Godou even failed to catch a serious glimpse of her face...
In any case, in the two weeks since school started, Kusanagi Godou had been in the "go home" club all along.
"I hereby declare the founding of the [Imaginary Date Club]. Comrades, rise and gather forth!"
"Stop talking nonsense! Moe is born from DVDs and hard disks. Try as you may to fill the gap with imaginary delusions, humans have limitations!"
In Godou's First Year Fifth Class, male students named Nanami and Sorimachi were engaged in some kind of strange club activities, arguing for some inexplicable reason. Godou simply ignored the noisy racket.
Incredibly, after returning from Italy, things around him seemed to lack a sense of concrete reality.
By the time he noticed, his right shoulder could now swivel and move freely somehow.
The shoulder that was injured during the summer of his third year in middle school and his reason for quitting baseball, had unexpectedly recovered. Consequently, that path remained open for him to pursue once more.
Nevertheless, a recent event had already robbed Godou of this choice.
It was the night just before the last day of spring break.
"Since the new school term is starting, this kind of chance will be rare from now on."
Thus declared Miura, Godou's middle school rival and baseball teammate.
This happened on the sports ground of a certain middle school in the Tokyo special ward of Kita. During the day, Miura had phoned to say "To celebrate this bro's graduation, you have to come along."
Miura was a fastball pitcher nicknamed the strong-armed. Furthermore, he was an extremely pushy kind of fellow.
From his extensive experience as a catcher, Godou knew many pitchers who were conceited enough to call themselves "this bro" as well as others who were unexpectedly delicate. Unfortunately, Miura belonged 100% in the former camp.
However, this was precisely how the current situation arose.
Gathered in front of the middle school Miura was graduating from, they illegally trespassed by climbing over the school walls.
The perpetrators were Godou, Rui, Nakayama and Miura. Everyone lived in the north of Tokyo and had been mighty baseball champs who competed in matches of the Tokyo Selection and World Series. Though they had belonged to different teams, there were often times when they had to cooperate competitively. These were comrades linked by an incredible sense of solidarity.
"...So, why have you called us here today?"
Rui was the one questioning. Though not particularly tall, he was an infielder and first hitter with outstanding sharp senses.
He was clearly a boy but possessed a cute and well-proportioned face.
"What, starting this year, this bro will be courageously advancing towards victory in the National High School Baseball Championship. Before the new term starts, it'd be nice to hear you guys cheering and showing support."
"...Can I go now? There's something on television."
Nakayama grumbled to the willful one who invited them.
A man of few words with an appearance like a vagabond warrior. His physique was tall and slim, but he was quite a strong long range hitter.
"Yeah, I've been asked by people at the amateur baseball club to help out tomorrow. So I'd like to go to bed a bit earlier tonight."
"If you guys are going, I'm off too."
As soon as Rui stated indifferently, Godou concurred as well. That would be the plan.
"Tsk, stop saying such heartless things! Guys, aren't you all giving up on baseball!? That's why I wanted to in
vite you all out here while there's still time! Can't you guys act a bit kinder?"
Miura yelled. Come on, man, who wouldn't want others to treat them nicer?
Somehow these words did not sound annoying. Unexpectedly, he gave off an impression like a bullied victim.
Nakayama turned back from his exit while Rui smiled wryly and Godou shrugged. For various reasons, these three had intended to abandon baseball in high school.
Only Miura entered a school renowned for strength in baseball. Perhaps he would be immersed in training all year along, sweating like rain even on weekends. Indeed, today was probably the only chance for them to get together again.
Due to this, the night game of the four got started.
Miura unlocked his alma mater's sports equipment storeroom in a well-practiced manner. Without anyone noticing he had taken a key out from somewhere, he looked like a student in a sports club hiding behind in school no matter how you looked at it...
The four of them took out bats, gloves and other equipment.
Then they freely and joyfully played ball games as each of them variously took on roles of pitching, batting and catching.
Halfway through, Godou took up his bat and calmly stepped into the batting zone with Miura on the pitcher's mound. Looking from here, Rui was standing behind Godou -- the position of the catcher.
"A casual match to decide the victor... How's that?"
As Miura proposed, Godou silently prepared to bat.
Things continued as naturally as water flowing downhill. Miura pitched as Godou batted. Thus the repetitive cycle began. Judgment calls of strike and ball were made by the catcher in the umpire's absence.
Godou started with ten strikes or so without hitting any balls, but thereafter, his hits began to grow in number.
As expected, a gifted pitcher who set his sights on higher goals and someone who had not touched baseball for half a year were on completely different levels. Nevertheless, Godou did not give up on the match and began to rouse his fighting spirit as a batter.
Presently, the moment finally arrived.
Miura was pitching his prided straight ball towards the top outside corner. This kind of speed and momentum was normally beyond a middle school catcher's ability to handle. Were it not for Rui's outstanding senses despite playing in an unfamiliar position, Miura would not have gone all out to throw this kind of pitch.
"Isn't this even faster than when I played catcher!?"
Godou yelled out as a savage grin appeared on his face the very instant he swung the bat.
--Everything seemed to stop, allowing him to see clearly. During his days as a player in peak condition, Godou had been able to see through Miura's fastballs and hit them cleanly, but this was on a completely different level. The strong fastball pitch was clearly motionless in his view.
Then he swung, making contact squarely with the center of the bat.
With a clear and crisp bang, the ball was sent flying into the distance in a seemingly straight line.
"Struggling before your imminent demise, Godou! Just accept it and go out in three strikes!"
Miura pitched again but from this point onwards, the result was always the same.
Despite the outstanding speed and trajectories of his pitches, Godou saw through them all. He made hit after hit as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The only reason why he did not hit homeruns was because he realized on the third ball that "it would be bad if the ball flew outside the school."
"How amazing, Kusanagi-kun... You're in great shape, or perhaps not. Did you get possessed by a god or a devil?"
Rui widened his eyes nonchalantly, Nakayama applauded enthusiastically, while Miura clutched his head in shock, completely defeated...
"I guess when I focus myself on matters of winning and losing, this body's constitution naturally expresses itself..."
Muddling through a day of classes in a daze, Godou was on the road home from school.
Godou muttered quietly as he recalled events during spring break. His battles in Italy were the same. Inexplicably, his instincts and reflexes would suddenly become keen, allowing him to evade enemy attacks with the slimmest of margins. The crucial factor seems to be fighting spirit, so how seriously did he need to take a fight before adrenaline levels overflowed...?
Could it be possible, his current state was also -- Godou thought to himself, greatly unsettled.
Even a 100mph fastball from the American Major Leagues should be visible if he decided to face it seriously. Disregarding the issue of capturing the ball at the most appropriate spot, seeing through that speed and hitting it with the bat was probably not a problem?
"Now that I think about it, my body became keen on its own..."
In the match against Miura, his limbs started becoming agile at some point without consciously noticing. As if for the sake of winning, his rusty body was being fine tuned on a detailed level, with the goal of reaching the best possible condition.
"Using this body would be the same as cheating. At any rate, it's too underhanded for any serious competitive sports... It's quite unfair."
In direct proportion to fighting spirit, his concentration and condition rose to illogical heights.
Inconspicuous though it may be, it was quite an advantage. Godou originally intended on trying out other sports apart from baseball in high school, but he was now forced to give up. It would be too unfair for the other competitors.
That said, what could he do now?
"The cultural clubs don't really interest me, so how about working some jobs..."
In the process of his contemplations, a blonde foreign woman brushed past his shoulder -- It can't be.
Godou looked back in trepidation to find a tall Caucasian woman in her latter twenties. Completely different from the beautiful girl he had met in Italy.
How could it be her? The instant his heart settled down, someone came to strike a conversation.
"What's going on, Godou? You're showing an expression like you dropped your ice-cream."
It was his childhood friend who lived on the same shopping street, Tokunaga Asuka.
She was wearing her school uniform of Tokyo Metropolitan High. The two of them had been in the same school from kindergarten up through middle school, but were finally separated at high school. Her long hair was tied into twintails, one on each side of her head. Maintained since childhood, it was Asuka's trademark.
"What the heck kind of expression is that?"
"An expression of subtle disappointment. As if you weren't likely to eat another ice-cream again."
Since they were familiar friends who knew each other inside out, they started conversing without even bothering with greetings.
Observations pointed out by Asuka who had known him for so long, were generally quite accurate. But Godou frowned slightly and said:
"Nah, it isn't that kind of expression. Don't say such strange things."
"Really? Fine, if you say it isn't, I'm not going to argue over that. By the way, Godou, there's something I want to confirm. You must answer truthfully."
"What's with this sudden change of subject?"
"You... You're not hiding a girlfriend from me and Shizuka, right?"
The childhood friend's gaze was like a detective's interrogation of an important witness.
"As if that kind of thing was possible! What would make you speculate something so strange!?"
"Suspicion number one. You ran off to who knows where for spring break without returning home for ten days. Even when asked what happened during this period, you never gave a straight answer."
"...I am not obliged to report. Anyway, I don't see the connection."
"Suspicion number two. You've been looking blankly out at space and lacking in spirit after coming home. Furthermore, you sometimes stare intently at brunette and blonde women."
Godou was greatly shocked. He was completely unaware he was doing something like that.
But now that he looked back in context
, she was quite right in certain ways. He could not deny that...
"Completely unfounded. Say, it's been so long since we last chatted, and all you talk about is stuff like this?"
"Shut up. In regards to you whose female relationships have grown in complexity somehow, I am simply worrying if you had some sort of strange encounter. Clearly you should be thanking me instead, not complaining about things."
Asuka shrugged as she spoke, completely self-absorbed.
"Whatever. I don't really think a girl can be found who can stomach a weird guy like you. Fine, investigations will resume once new evidence surfaces."
"I am nowhere as weird as you describe."
"Please restrict such foolish statements to the first of April. It is completely unconvincing, with zero credibility."
During times like these, Godou would pretend to be very calm and composed, when in actual fact he was quite taken aback.
Obviously he had not gained a girlfriend, but it was true that he made a friend in distant foreign lands under the influence of mysterious fate. As befitted the childhood friend dating back to kindergarten. Godou was truly impressed.
Part 2
Erica Blandelli was the most glamorous and beautiful young maiden Godou had ever met.
After the battle with Melqart, he woke up to find her attending to him by the pillow side.
"This time you slept for five and half hours. Your recovery time from near death has shortened slightly."
As soon as Godou woke up, Erica reported fluently.
"...Why did I almost die?"
"Because Melqart was not completely destroyed. He used his last strength to give you a blow, only then did he become powerless... Simply stated, it resulted in a double knockout."
Godou surveyed the room as he listened to her melodic voice's explanation.
It was the bedroom in the Zamparini mansion, and he was lying on the same bed as Erica. The rays of dusk streamed in through the window, illuminating the room orange.
"Well, whether [Heretic Gods] or Campiones, both sides possess almost immortal survivability. It is quite unheard of for a fight to be decided without one side dead."
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