Yukino's heart was in turmoil—but Takashi didn't notice. His full focus was on fighting the fish.
This fish that Yukino had hooked must've been massive. Even Takashi couldn't reel it in immediately.
Sure, he was strong—but strength alone wasn't enough. The fishing line might snap.
"Old man, help me out!"
The old fisherman snapped to attention. "On it!" he shouted, running to grab a landing net from his spot and dashing over.
Just as the three of them were about to land the fish—disaster struck.
Crack!
The rod snapped.
Yukino thought the fish was sure to escape. But in that moment, a figure leapt like a rocket into the air and, with a loud splash, dove into the water.
She stared, stunned.
She turned instinctively to look beside her.
Takashi was gone.
He wouldn't, would he?
It's just a fish. Did he really have to jump in after it?
That outfit he was wearing probably cost more than the fish!
Jumping in the water for a fish—Yukino really thought Takashi had some serious issues.
But really, she didn't understand fishermen.
If someone dies, people will cry for maybe three days.
But if the fish gets away—it'll haunt them for life. It becomes a demon in the angler's heart.
Every time they tell the story, that fish magically gains a few pounds.
Maybe it was only twenty pounds at the time.
But by the time the fisherman's on his deathbed, it becomes: "That fish? At least a hundred pounds!"
"Hold on, Takashi! I'm coming too!" the old fisherman started stripping off his gear.
He was getting on in years. He couldn't match a young man. If he jumped in fully dressed, Takashi would end up having to rescue both the fish and him.
Yukino turned pale hearing that and rushed to stop him.
She hadn't stopped Takashi in time.
She didn't think he'd actually jump in so impulsively.
But if something happened to the old man too—she'd carry that guilt for the rest of her life.
"Girl, don't block the way! That fish will get away!" The old man was frantic.
Even more frantic than when closing a billion-yen deal.
"It's just a fish. If you want one, I'll go buy you a bigger one from the market," she offered.
The old man's mustache bristled. "That's not the same!"
How could a fish you buy ever compare to one you caught yourself?
"Aren't they all just fish?" Yukino asked, confused.
"You—! Ugh, I can't explain this to you. Just move!"
"I'm not letting you go."
"You stubborn girl!"
As the two tugged at each other, a loud splash drew their attention.
They turned just in time to see Takashi emerge from the water, clutching the broken rod with all his might, dragging the massive fish onto shore.
Cough, cough!
Takashi collapsed on the ground, spread out like a starfish, but with a grin of pure satisfaction on his face.
"Tell me I'm not a legend!"
His face radiated pride—like a victorious general returning from battle.
"Fine, you're impressive," said the old fisherman, giving him the highest praise one man could give another.
Takashi raised his chin even higher.
"It's huge," the old man muttered as he knelt to examine the fish. "This big white silver carp has to be at least fifteen pounds."
"Fifteen? No, no, no—easily twenty or even thirty!" Takashi insisted.
In truth, twenty pounds would already be impressive.
But hey, since he went diving for it, adding ten more pounds didn't seem unreasonable.
"Fishermen's inflation is something else," the old man chuckled, giving Takashi a big thumbs-up.
"Just look at the weight, the length, the scales—thirty pounds is underestimating it!"
"Stop lying to yourself. It's fifteen."
"Bull—"
They began arguing over the weight, neither willing to back down.
Just as they were about to weigh it, Yukino calmly said, "Isn't this the fish I caught?"
Takashi: "..."
Old man: "..."
Yukino might not be able to sweet-talk a man into spending 180,000 yen on her, but she could shut them both up with one sentence.
What did the fish's weight matter? Neither of them even caught it.
"Well… it's not that big," the old man finally said sourly after a long pause.
"Yeah, the one I caught last time was way bigger," Takashi added, immediately trying to save face by claiming Shirogane Kei's previous catch as his own.
The two of them chattered, acting like Yukino just got lucky.
She rested her chin on her hand and didn't bother listening. She smiled with quiet affection, like a mom watching her mischievous kid.
This annoyed Takashi to no end.
"Aren't you going to say something?"
He'd rather Yukino argue back or fight him—anything but silently smile like this.
Yukino finally replied, "What, are you mad?"
"Me? Mad? Ha! Don't be ridiculous! Why would I be mad? You think I'm—"
As Takashi babbled, all Yukino heard was one word: jealous.
She realized she had finally found his weakness.
So she delivered the final blow—the one thing a fisherman never wanted to hear.
"Air force!"
"F—!!!"
Takashi was actually fuming now.
"You think I won't hit a girl?"
"Come on then! Let's have a samurai duel right now!"
"If I can't knock you out in one punch, I'll take your surname!"
Back in the day, Lin Daiyu could uproot willows and punch people to death. Today, Takashi would fold Yukino like a three-panel screen.
"See? You're mad again."
At that moment, who could say if it was the secretary from The Knockout or Yukino standing before him?
Takashi stood frozen in place for several seconds—he almost blurted out, "I just want to improve myself so badly!"
Fortunately, at that moment, Kotonoha appeared and pulled him away.
"Kitahara-kun!"
Hearing Yukino call out to him, Takashi turned his head.
Yukino tucked her hair behind her ear, which had been blown by the summer breeze from the window, and revealed a saintly smile.
"If you ever have questions about fishing in the future, feel free to ask me."
"I'll share everything I know."
She even added one last remark: "Going fishing every day and still keeping your keepnet dry must be exhausting, huh?"
"You f***ing..."
That was too insulting.
This time, Takashi instantly snapped, swearing like a true native.
Seeing Takashi break down in front of her, Yukino laughed joyfully.
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