Chapter Sixty-Five: Outdoor Cooking

The next morning, snow was drifting down softly from the sky. The gray, bleak heavens outside the window pressed down with a suffocating weight. After a night’s rest, Yue Longze felt much recovered in spirit. His stubbled face gave him a rugged, almost uncle-like air, and he seemed to have aged years overnight. Life returned to its usual calm as he went about his routine at the kendo dojo. All the while, Yue Longze was already contemplating handing in his resignation in the near future. Once he caught the man in TPC who was scheming to seize the giant’s power, he would immediately contact Daigu and Masaki Keigo to help him leave. Yue Longze was almost certain—ninety-nine percent sure—that he could escape this timeline.

——

“Coach Yue, do you like picnics?” Koichi Masano, one of the male students at the Hokuto Ittoryu Kendo Dojo, asked Yue Longze.

“Picnics?” Yue Longze glanced at the overcast sky outside, then smiled at Masano. “Not particularly. I’d rather just eat at home, to be honest.”

“Oh, I see.” Masano scratched his head, looking a bit disappointed. “I was hoping you’d join us for a picnic.”

“With you asking like that, how could I refuse?” Yue Longze chuckled, giving Masano’s shoulder a friendly punch. They were all close in age, and Yue Longze felt an easy camaraderie with the students.

“But you’ll have to handle all the gear yourselves. I’ll only provide the food—and, most importantly, I’ll be in charge of eating!”

“Haha, deal!” Masano threw an arm around Yue Longze’s shoulder, thumping his own chest and laughing heartily. “We’ll make sure you eat to your heart’s content, Coach!”

——

That afternoon, everyone went together to ask Director Chiba Masaaki for leave. Faced with a group request, Chiba Masaaki readily agreed and approved their absence. Once permission was secured, Yue Longze, Yoshida, and Masako Haneda went to buy groceries, while Masano, the senior student Shuichi Minamino, and Sonoko Aoki gathered all the necessary equipment. When shopping was done, they regrouped at the dojo and set off together.

...

A blanket of white snow covered the open ground. There were very few people in the area, making it an ideal spot for a picnic. Shuichi Minamino, who had a driver’s license, brought a white van, loading it with all the equipment and food. Everyone helped unload the barbecue racks and benches, set aside the ingredients and seasonings, and the cheerful outing began.

No one was especially hungry yet, so at Yue Longze’s suggestion, they started a snowball fight.

...

“Coach Yue!” Someone called his name, and Yue Longze turned instinctively.

“Catch!” A round, white snowball flew through the air and struck him squarely on the nose with a smack.

“Yoshida! You sneak!” Yue Longze feigned outrage, quickly scooping up a handful of snow to retaliate.

“Ha! Come and get me, Coach!” Yoshida’s bulky frame twisted and bounded away through the snow.

“I’ll get you for that!”

...

Laughter and shouts filled the wintry field, joy spilling into every corner of the snowy landscape. After an exuberant snowball fight, everyone was a little tired and wandered back to Minamino’s van to prepare a delicious barbecue.

...

Winter nights always fell swiftly; dusk was already deepening. Yue Longze happily skewered meat, devouring a sausage or two in no time. Suddenly, he noticed a boy in the distance, wearing a baseball glove and practicing his pitching against a tree bent low beneath the weight of snow.

“So diligent...” he murmured, grabbing a juicy, greasy roasted chicken leg and tearing into it with gusto. Chewing, he walked over to the boy.

The boy was about thirteen or fourteen, throwing balls at the tree again and again, but never quite hitting the spot he aimed for. Yet he persevered, relentless, as if he wouldn’t stop until he succeeded. Sweat beaded on his flushed face despite the cold.

“Hey! Want to come over for a bite?” Yue Longze called out, swallowing the last mouthful of chicken.

“No time!” The boy didn’t even look his way, absorbed in his practice.

“So stubborn...” Yue Longze smiled, recognizing that unyielding determination—something he himself possessed.

He bent down and wiped his greasy hands on the pristine snow, then walked up to the boy.

“Trying to hit that spot?” Yue Longze pointed to the center at the top of the tree.

“That’s right.” The boy paused and glanced up at him.

“Let me try.” Without waiting for permission, Yue Longze picked up a baseball lying in the snow and stood where the boy had been. He smiled at the boy, focused, and exhaled.

Whoosh—the ball arced through the air in a perfect straight line.

Thud—the ball struck dead center, sending a shower of snow cascading from the tree.

“Looks like I hit it!” Yue Longze laughed heartily, then jogged to retrieve the ball.

“Are you a good baseball player?” The boy’s bright eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Not at all,” Yue Longze replied, scratching his head. “I just focused all my attention on the ball, that’s all.”

“You’re kidding...” The boy looked skeptical.

“I’ll show you again, all right?” Yue Longze pitched the ball once more—another perfect hit.

“Do I look like someone who plays baseball?” he asked, running back with the ball.

“Alright, I believe you.” The boy gazed into Yue Longze’s eyes for a moment, then grinned. “But you’re still amazing, big brother!”

...

They struck up a lively conversation. Night had fallen completely, the streetlights casting weak halos to ward off the cold. Yue Longze and the boy headed back toward the van.

...

“So you want to surpass your father...” Yue Longze mused.

“My father was not only a great baseball player, he was also an outstanding astronaut.” The boy’s eyes shone with pride as he spoke of his father.

Proud of his father.

“So, what’s your dream? Or your goal?” Yue Longze asked, looking at the boy, who stood barely as high as his shoulder.

“To become an astronaut as great as my father! No, to surpass him—to be an even better astronaut!” Determination lit the boy’s face; he had sworn to outdo his father.

“Too bad my father’s gone...” The boy’s head drooped, his father lost in the vastness of space during a mission—hailed as the man who vanished into the light.

Yue Longze ruffled his hair gently. “All the more reason to work hard, right?”

“By the way, after all this talk, I still don’t know your name!” He wanted to change the subject, unwilling to let the boy sink into sorrow.

“My name is Yue Longze. And you?” He held out his right hand, grinning.

The boy laughed and shook his hand. “From now on, we’re friends!”

He cleared his throat with exaggerated ceremony.

“Listen up! My name is—” He withdrew his hand, clasped both hands behind his back, and declared with pride,

“Asuka Shin!”