"Grrr!"
Today, the older Wanima is in a very bad mood. With his peculiar aesthetic sense, the older Wanima has eyebrows shaped like a crocodile* (while his younger Wanima has crocodile-shaped shaved on the sides), but its tail is almost pointing straight up. In other words, his eyebrows are raised to the limit in anger. The reason is because Chigiri is disrespecting his seniors. In Lacosute Tech, it is customary for the first years to assemble before practice and bow to their seniors.
*In Wanima's surname, (鰐間) the kanji 鰐/wani actually means "crocodile" (or alligator).
"Please take care of us today!"
Other first years bend over to greet their seniors, but Chigiri simply says, "Yo.*" He didn't even bow his head.
*What Chigiri said here is ちわっす, which is a contraction of こんにちはっす/konnichiwassu. It was rather informal and very casual so it's considered rude to say it to your senpais (seniors).
Also lastly, today they started practicing on their own without lining up...with that, the older Wanima snapped.
"'If you all keep acting up, you'll bring discredit upon yourselves! Chigiri! Respect your seniors! You're only good for being fast!', that's what my big bro says."
The interpreter, the younger Wanima, is also furious, but Chigiri is not at all bothered by it.
"Yeah, right. It's not that I don't respect you. It's just that I'm the one who's scoring goals, and I'm the one who's boosting up this team's results, right?"
He is right. Ever since Chigiri joined the club, Lacosute Tech has won a series of consecutive victories, and Chigiri has scored most of the points. If they play a match, the opponents have no choice but to watch as Chigiri cuts through his way in the field at 50 meters in 5.77 seconds.
"The only famous forward in high school soccer in this prefecture is Kagoshima's Titan God Warrior, Shiguma, right. I'm getting better results than him."
"Kuh...'Don't get too cocky!', my big bro said!"
The Wanima brothers are heating up, but it's also true that without Chigiri, they can't beat Ryuunosu Academy where Shikuma is. In other words, whether or not Lacosute Tech can make it to the Nationals depends on Chigiri. No matter how much the Wanima brothers bark at him, Chigiri is the better player in soccer.
...Senior or not, it doesn't matter. I'm just playing my own soccer.
It's not that he's not trying to be nice. He just thinks politeness and greetings are unnecessary. It's simply that he just wants to practice as much as possible if he has time for such things.
___
"You're here."
On the way home from club activities, I passed by an abandoned house again. Today, the black cat yawns loudly on a block wall.
"I brought you a karinto manju."
"..."
When he tried to talk to it, it looked at him as if it's saying "Who are you?". But when he took out the karinto manju from his pocket...
"Meow!"
It's as if he's giving it money. As if to urge him, it stretched its front paw towards the deep brown manju.
"Hey, hear me up black cat."
The black cat was only looking at the karinto manju, but Chigiri didn't care and kept talking.
"In this world, there are those who are talented and those who are not."
He knows that the cat doesn't understand him when he talks to it, but he feels that it's better than talking to the Wanima Brothers.
He has the talent. To use one's talents to the fullest is what life is all about, and for him, that means running and winning.
"I was born to prove this gift. That's why, …Ouch!"
As he tried to stroke it while talking, it sank its teeth and bit his finger.
"That hurts! What the hell, I'm not gonna give it to you!"
When Chigiri got mad, it quickly ran away over the block wall. It was watching Chigiri from a distance. It doesn't allow him to touch it, it only wants to be fed.
"Geez…Fine, come on, I'll give you a karinto manju if you come here."
"Meow."
When he showed him the karinto manju, it came back waltzing.
"How selfish..."
He tore off a small piece of the manju and tried to give it. But it didn't seem to want to get it from his hand, with a whoosh, it swiped its claws.
"Oops."
He quickly pulled his hand away.
"Here."
When I offered him the manju again, it swiped its claws again. He pulled his hand back quickly and the cat's punch ended in vain attempt.
"Hahaha .... Don't think the same move will work again and again, you idiot."
He repeatedly teased it and finally, the black cat growls and gets angry.
"Don't be so angry. Here, eat up."
He put a karinto manju on the block wall, and the black cat began to eat it. The way it licked the red bean paste was cute.
"...You're really. I'm gonna be the best striker in the world. You can brag that you got a manju from someone like that. Well then, see ya!"
After that, it became a routine for him to stop by the convenience store after club activities to buy Karinto manju and meet the black cat. If the black cat was there, he would give it a karinto manju. If not, he'll eat it himself.
...Considering all that, the black cat doesn't seem to be tamed at all.