Title: A Gymnasium Where The Voices Fly Around

When I arrived at the gym, the girls from the badminton team and the tennis team were arguing with each other.

They drew a line and separated both teams as if there was a crack in the ground. The guys seemed to be doing their best to calm them down.

It was hard to tell which side was the badminton team and which side was the tennis team, so I judged the side with Shirona to be the tennis club.

Shirona smiled like a flower in full bloom as soon as she saw me. I couldn’t understand the situation so I asked her as she came over to me.

“What are you guys fighting about?”

“Well, you see, on rainy days they promised to let the tennis club use a part of the gymnasium too, but the badminton club started telling us that that we were gonna stop doing that. But that’s what the seniors who were here last year decided, so I don’t know if it’s any of our business anymore or what…”

What is this girl saying? I don’t know either…

Makoto was on the badminton club side. He seemed to be struggling to diffuse the girls’ anger, but he was completely ignored. The power and power balance within the club was roughly estimated.

The main focus of the argument is on the sophomores. The current high school seniors retired after the summer games, so there were only high school sophomores and freshmen now, so I could see a few familiar faces here and there.

“Ah, that’s Hiiragi Yuri, if I recall. A friend of Shirona’s.”

“Un. Yuri is frustrated too…”

“Ok. Let’s see if we can get a word in.”

I plunged into the crowd and observed the argument. [T/N: Raws say ‘human mass’]

“So that was the decision of the graduating seniors, right? So why can’t we change it?”

“But all this time you’ve been lending us the gym on rainy days, and now it’s all gone? Isn’t that weird?”

“We have a lot of members in our club. It’s just that we share the gym with the basketball team, and if any more space is taken up, we won’t be able to practice, either. It’s been a long time coming, but on a rainy day, why don’t you at least do some muscle training?”

“Yeah, yeah. We have a game coming up. Can’t you deal with it?”

“We have our own games too. You’re going back on your word!”

I was overwhelmed by the girls’ relentless arguing. At first glance, they seemed to be interacting civilly, but sparks were flying between them. It’s like an act. Let’s call the SDF.

Bottom line, they need me, don’t they?

It’s like I’m here for Shirona but she was out of the argument and right next to me. I can say that what Makoto asked me to do is over. The only thing left to do is to put an end to this argument, but it doesn’t have to be me, does it? I was a complete outsider. I thought that it would be like adding fuel to the fire.

“What can we do to fix this?”

“I don’t know. I think the tennis team is the more pathetic of the two, but I get what they mean. Personally, I don’t think the tennis team is in the wrong. But it’s better to sit down and talk about things. If you stick your hand out, it’s going to get you trouble.”

The girls’ arguments became more and more heated while they were talking. They were screaming like cats threatening each other, mouths agape and gasping.

I decided to try to talk with Yuri. I crossed my arms and approached behind her as she went head-to-head with the badminton club. The girl’s were wary of me. I didn’t care though, this one had a history of fighting in the bread section of the concession stand.

“Yuri, you look busy.”

“Etto.. Shirona’s boyfriend?”

“No, that’s wrong. You’re going to Venus. I’m on your side.” [T/N: Not sure what he means ちげーよ。金星に飛ばすぞコラ。味方してやる]

“You’re appealing to Shirona at this time? That’s amazing.”

It seems that I needed to use a language other than Japanese to talk with Yuri. The best thing to do is to is to quote words from Swahili, probably. [T/N: A Bantu language widely used as a lingua franca in East Africa and having official status in several countries.]

I decided that it was impossible to communicate with Yuri and turned my attention to the girls from the badminton club. They glared at me with hatred of avenging their parents. It’s suffocating me.

“Hey, just let the tennis club borrow it today. It’s unreasonable to go back on a promise without notice if you’ve made it in the past.”

“It’s not your problem.”

“Hey, hey, if you didn’t listen to anyone but the parties involved, judges wouldn’t exist in the world. You need an objective point of view. Keep your head down.”

“Why don’t you just quibble on your own? We don’t need you. We’re talking to the badminton club. What club are you in?”

“The Going Home club.”

“Pfft.”

You’ve got some nerve laughing at the Going Home club.

You’ve just made enemies with all of the Going Home clubs in the country. We are an unaffiliated, ‘unorganized club’, what we call a ‘border-less club’. I applaud you for speaking out against this noble body of concepts. Imagine. Imagine all the Going Home clubs in the country running as fast as they can toward you like a flood.

It would be the end of the world.

“What are you smiling at…?”

I’m sorry that you’re offended by me going home, but I’m offended by you antagonizing the Going Home club. We have nothing to lose. You might as well give up. The difference between us is huge.

You’re not going to be able to find out what’s going on. Sui has done it again. Aren’t you angry when someone insults your club? What? The Going Home club isn’t a club? I’m sending you to Siberia.

“You’re wasting your precious after-school time, you guys. Back off today and just let the tennis team have some of the gym for themselves.”

“Shut up. It’s none of your business.”

All right. Now let’s talk in Morse code. I’ll remember you, badminton club.

Just as I thought it was too late, a woman with long hair appeared between the tennis team and the badminton club.

Looking back at us, facing the badminton section, the woman, with her arms crossed and her legs wide across her shoulders, standing upright, was Arina Hiwa.