* * * After that, Asuka and I took our time eating the rice balls, savoring them. Day two of summer vacation. Five PM, after practice. I, Haru Aomi, had been staring at the screen of my phone outside the clubroom for a while now. His name was on the display. I reached with my fingers tentatively, again and again, to touch that part… What was I afraid of? Up until a little while ago, I’d been able to message him on LINE or call him without giving it a second thought. It wasn’t like the relationship between me and Chitose had changed at all. All we’d done was train together. I’d gone to see his game. He’d come to see mine. And just because of that, I’d gotten myself all excited… I stopped there and pressed my fingers to my temples. No, no, what are you saying? It’s changed a lot, hasn’t it? Didn’t I kiss him, after confessing my feelings for him, face-to-face? Me! Haru! Perky, sports-crazy, no-fuss Haru! Like, what was I thinking that day? I know I don’t know much about romance, but I seem to have skipped a lot of steps, here!!! Ahhhhh!!! So that’s how I’ve been lately. The only salvation was that I’d just expressed my feelings; I hadn’t said anything like, “Please go out with me,” or “Please give me an answer,” or anything like that. At the closing ceremony two days ago, we were finally able to interact with each other like normal again, but it had taken serious guts to be able to do it. …Right. Guts. But not courage. I looked at the screen again. It’s all right. I’ve thought about ways to cut this whole thing off. Even so, I’m frozen, unable to tap on his name. “Wow, that is so annoying!” The faint whiff of a girlish scent from behind, and my outstretched hand touched CHITOSE. “Whaaa?” I whirled around to find Yuzuki grinning at me. “I can speak for you, if you’d like?” she said. “Y-you jerk…!” And while this was going on, my phone flashed CALL. I was the one who’d called him, so I couldn’t just hang up. I steeled myself and cleared my throat. “Ah, um, Chitose…” “Ah”? “Um”? What’s that supposed to mean? What happened to my plan of starting with a casual, “’Sup?” “Hey, ’sup.” And that was all Chitose said. I looked to Yuzuki for help. She waved her hand in front of her face and mouthed, “Go on, speak.” I sighed, then took a huge breath in. “—Can I come to your place today?!” “…Huh? What for?” Huh? What for? Is that your response, really? It was just a whim, for Pete’s sake. But wait a minute. What did I say just now? Not even a preamble? Isn’t the usual strategy to start with some pleasant small talk and go from there? No wonder he wanted to know what for. …Okay, let’s calm down and start over. I need a reason. A reason. A reason why I want to go to Chitose’s place. “Um, well…because it’s Marine Day?” “What does that have to do with it?” I mean, I’d like to know the answer to that, too. Yuzuki looked completely done with me. She had a hand to her forehead and was staring at the ground. “So, I mean, well, I want to come over and eat your cooking!” “Well, sure, I don’t mind if you come—” —Beep. Chitose was still speaking, but I wouldn’t know what to say if we kept talking, so I hung up. Either way, message transmitted, I guess? “Phew, safe.” “You sure you didn’t just bat an immaculate inning? Three batters, three strikes, three outs?” Yuzuki let out a heavy sigh. “Was it really that bad?” “Bad? I can think of a lot of words to describe that, but bad barely scratches the surface.” “I guess,” I said, scratching my head. She was right. Whatever the hell that conversation was, it was a mess. “So then it looks like I’m off to Chitose’s place. You’re coming, too, right, Yuzuki?” “Nah, I…” My teammate smiled softly. “I won’t. You wanted to go alone, didn’t you?” “Well, that’s true.” To be more specific, my mind was so full with wanting to go to his house, I never thought of inviting someone else in the first place. “I’m not desperate enough to hang around as a third wheel.” Well, Yuzuki, if you insist. “Okay, I’ll go alone!” I was just about to run off at top speed, when… “—Hey, wait a minute.” She yanked hard on my sports bag. The shoulder strap dug in, and I turned reluctantly. Yuzuki put a hand on her hip and gave me a “This girl serious?” kind of look. “Surely you wouldn’t, but just to confirm… You’re not going in that, are you?” “Huh? Well, yeah. It’s too far to head home and change first.” Ah, another huge sigh. “You dummy. You realize you’re going to the place of the guy you’re into, the place where he lives alone?” “Oh, right… Should I bring some rice crackers or something as a courtesy?” “Okay, I want to give you shit for that, but I don’t have the bandwidth.” As she spoke, Yuzuki whacked me on the ass with a loud SLAP. It hurt like heck, but I had the feeling I should keep my mouth shut and wait for what she had to say next. “You’ve just finished club practice! You’re all sweaty and gross! Are you sure this is how you want to play this?” “Oh, whatever. Chitose wouldn’t fuss over things like that.” “Excuse me?” Yuzuki’s eyes flashed strangely. “Listen here. What if Chitose gets in the mood when you’re alone together? He throws you down, licking all the crevices, smelling all kinds of smells…” “—I get what you’re saying a thousand percent, just please, stop talking!!!” I yelled, covering Yuzuki’s mouth with my hand. Was she insane? Why was she being so loud in a public place? And you’re the cool beauty all the boys dream about? Seriously? But… Thanks. Thank you for calming me down a bit. She tapped the back of my hand, and I loosened my grip. “Good, now you understand. Come to my place and take a shower first.” “No, no…” “Listen, you, this kind of thing is just a courtesy. You just do it. Don’t overthink it.” “No, not that… I think I want you to come with me, after all!” When I said that, my trusty teammate looked taken aback for a second. Then she laughed with understanding. “If you’re bringing a courtesy gift, make it a cake or something, okay, Umi?” “But if I show up with a cake, won’t I look desperate?” “…Maybe we should swing by the convenience store and grab some snacks, at least.” “Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that, Nana.” It’s not like I don’t know about the birds and the bees. I mean, of course I know. When I get overexcited during a game, I come out with a whole repertoire of dirty jokes. Am I scared? Well, sure, a little. But it’s not like I’m opposed to the idea. Not opposed at all. Of course, I’m not arrogant enough to be like, Oh yeah, he’ll definitely try something with me. It’s weird, though. If I keep fluttering around, I won’t get anywhere. I know that, and I hate it. I want to keep running with him forever. That’s how I felt, about my partner. After finishing up the necessary shopping with Yuzuki, I stood in front of Chitose’s apartment. The four-story apartment with the brown facade looked a little dated, but it’s a riverside location with a great view. I’d heard from Yuzuki about how Chitose had decided to live alone. At the time, I’d been like, “Hey, that’s not your information to spread!” and picked a fight with her. But Chitose himself seemed willing to talk about it in a casual way, so I guessed there was no real issue there. Well, I kind of understand. He’s that kind of guy anyway. Even so, having made it this far, even ringing the doorbell made me seize up with nerves. If this was a friend’s place, I’d just waltz right in like, “’Sup?” but knowing it was Chitose inside, by himself, in the place where he slept and woke and ate and took baths, and… Anyway, it was his space. Completely. “Do you want me to press it for you?” Yuzuki offered, like it was no big deal. Grr. I knew she was provoking me on purpose, but it still annoyed me. When she was dealing with that stalker, I was the one who suggested she go to Chitose for help. This girl usually doesn’t show her weak side to anyone except me. Chitose was pretty much the only other person we knew that I figured she’d be able to open up to. But I haven’t heard anything about them getting close enough to the point where her going to his place and eating food he cooked is NBD. “It’s fine, I’ll do it myself.” I pressed the round button. After a moment, ding-dong. Then the door opened with a clack. I looked up at Chitose, who was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and raised my hand casually. “’Sup!” Okay, this time I was able to say it normally. “’Sup. Oh, hey, Nanase.” Beside me, Yuzuki raised her hand as well, in a “’Sup” kind of way. “Thanks for letting us come over!” My thoughts were going all over the place; I felt like I was going to freeze up again, so I pushed Chitose aside and stepped into the entrance. There was no entry corridor or anything; the door opened up right onto the living area. Something smelled absolutely amazing. Had he actually cooked something and then waited for my arrival? I looked around the room, and suddenly my eyes were drawn to the kitchen on my right. Yuzuki, who was just entering from behind, bumped into my back. “Ouch. Watch it, Haru.” Well, excuse me. After all, I’ve just had a bit of a shock… “Uh, uh, good evening, Haru, Yuzuki.” Ucchi was standing there awkwardly, wearing an apron. ““Whaaat?”” Yuzuki and I ended up harmonizing. “Dammit. I tried to tell you, but you cut me off, Haru.” Chitose’s exasperated voice floated across the room. All sorts of thoughts flew through my head, and I slumped my shoulders. —Two hours ago, Haru and Yuzuki had arrived at my place. I’d gone to Genky with Yua. Genky is a chain drugstore headquartered in Fukui. They call it a drugstore, but they sell a wide variety across different branches, and they also handle perishables. It’s often cheaper than buying groceries at the supermarket. “Thanks for always helping out, Yua.” I smiled at Yua, who was pushing the cart next to me. Her outfit for the day was simple: a summery, light-blue pleated skirt and a white sleeveless top. The shoulder strap of her cross-body handbag—well, let’s just say it emphasized things. I wasn’t quite sure where to put my eyes. “It’s okay. I like doing it. And you’re carrying all the shopping, plus my stuff, too, so I’d say that makes us even.” We regularly come here together to shop for daily necessities and groceries. It’s been almost a year since we started doing it. There was something that set it in motion, yes, but the main reason was that it was convenient for both of us. Since her parents are busy working people, Yua takes care of many of the household chores, including cooking. And, as long as I live alone, I can’t avoid shopping. So, in a lot of situations, it’s more convenient for us to go together. For example, when a multipack of something is on special sale, a great bargain doesn’t guarantee you can use it all by yourself. And sometimes items are limited to only one per household. When she’s stocking up, I carry the groceries Yua can’t handle alone. Actually, this is a pretext she constructed for my benefit. At the time, not only was I living alone, but I’d just quit baseball and was pretty depressed. I didn’t really feel like cooking for myself, so I ate nothing but instant, frozen, and fast food. One day, Yua found out about it, and after that, whenever she had time, she would come over and cook for me and teach me simple recipes. On shopping days like today, she usually stops by my house and prepares a variety of side dishes that can be kept in the refrigerator for a long time. I felt pretty guilty having her do all this for me, and pretty pathetic too, but Yua seemed to enjoy it. And so, this was the way things were right now, with me relying on her kindness. “Saku, do you still have toothpaste?” “Oh, I think I’m almost out.” “Then I’ll put some in. I think there was a little sesame oil left, but is it okay if I buy more?” “Of course.” Yua always bought a lot. She tossed a variety of products into her basket, which was on the top shelf of the cart, and my basket, which was on the bottom. “The food prep will be the same as what we have at my house, as usual, but do you have any special requests for tonight?” “I’m cool with anything.” “That just makes it even harder…” Both my parents were the type to work through weekends and holidays, so I don’t really have many memories of doing everyday grocery shopping with someone else like this. Maybe that’s why. “Yua, let’s grab coffee or something on the way home.” “Hmm, I’d like to, but we have meat and stuff.” “Then let’s grab something to go or get some canned coffees from a vending machine.” “All right!” These little errands would be nothing but a chore if I was alone, but doing them together made them into something I looked forward to. “—So that’s the situation.” I finished laying out the particulars to Haru and Nanase. ““What is she, your wife?”” They shot back an oddly synchronized retort. Well, to be honest, I think I might have said the same thing if I was in their position. Yua scratched her cheek, looking worried. “Um, I’m sorry, you guys. I feel like I’m intruding.” “Listen,” Nanase said, sighing deeply. “Any way you slice it, it’s us two that are the ones who’re intruding, right?” Haru continued then. “I should have brought a cake, at least…” She was probably talking about the offerings they’d brought—a bag bursting with convenience-store snacks. I’d thought it was fine, but who knows how girls see these things? “Hey, Haru. What do you think of a girl who comes to get a free meal at the house of a guy who’s already having dinner cooked for him by a cute girl from his class?” “If I was a guy, I’d be thinking, ‘Wow, I’m glad I didn’t choose that one’…” “Do you want to help Ucchi? I mean, she’s obviously the pro here.” “What are you trying to do, rub salt and pepper into the wound?” “Okay, if we don’t fight, then no one has to lose. We were never here. Okay, Umi?” “Let’s go, Nana.” “Um…” Yua timidly interrupted their conversation. “I’m afraid it’s not Saku’s home cooking, but if you’d like, we could still all eat together?” To that… ““Oh, we’ll eat for sure!”” …the two girls, hungry from the club practice that had just finished, raised the white flag. Chop, chop, chop. Scrape, scrape, scrape. Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle. Yua continued with the cooking, while Nanase watched and tried to stay out of the way. Every now and then, she seemed to be asking questions. Still…, I thought. The other two were used to being at my place, but Haru looked particularly uneasy. Of course, it had to be because of what happened. I felt like I’d spent the overwhelming majority of my time interacting with Haru outside—riding two to a bicycle, playing catch and basketball together… When we were doing physical stuff, I didn’t have to think, just interact. But being indoors with her—especially when it was me and her sitting side by side on the sofa at my place—I just couldn’t initiate conversation. Haru seemed to be feeling the same way. We kept talking past each other, our attempts at conversation clunky. “Ch-Chitose, guess you’re a reader, huh.” “Most of these books were bought by my parents, but you could say that.” “Oh, right. I guess that’s why sometimes you come out with stuff that doesn’t make any sense to me!” “Are you trying to compliment me, here?” “Don’t you have a TV or a computer?” “I’m not really interested in TV, but recently I’ve been thinking I might want to get a PC.” “What for? Hacking?” “I’ll ignore that. I guess watching movies on my phone is getting kind of tiring. Also, I have a lot of free time on my hands, so I thought I might take up writing or something.” “You’re the type to journal pretty seriously, huh.” “Yeah, something like that.” After getting that far in conversation, I suddenly noticed someone standing over us. I looked up to see Nanase, hands on her hips and smiling. “You know what? It’s kind of a distraction to have you two jabbering away over here.” She didn’t elaborate on exactly what we were distracting her from, but I guessed what she meant. Nanase cocked a thumb and pointed it at the entrance. “There’s the meal prep to do, too, and it’s going to take around another half hour. So could you two go off somewhere, I don’t care where, and do some running or play some catch or something?” ““…All right.”” Rude. This is my place, you know. So we went outside with a glove, a wooden bat, and a ball. Asuka had said something about it being fun just to watch, but Haru was the type who needed to get active in order to chill. We arrived at the spot on the riverbank near the apartment where I always go to practice, and I handed over the glove and the ball. I took the bat and moved about thirty feet away from Haru. That’s about half the distance from the baseball’s mound pitcher to the home base catcher. Checking the time, I saw it was already past six PM, but the summer sky was still bright, and the temperature showed no signs of dropping. “Haru. If you’re gonna pitch, can you aim over here?” I gestured with the bat, indicating the strike zone. “I’ll hit you back grounders, and you can just scoop them up. And we’ll just keep doing that.” I really wanted us to play simple catch, but I only had the one glove. “Er, is it okay to hit balls around here? What if you break a first-floor window?” I responded, dragging my foot through the sparse grass, which was more soil than turf. “If I couldn’t control one of your curveballs, Haru, then I’d just retire.” Haru blinked at me, then grinned like she couldn’t help herself. “Er, hubby, wasn’t that game the other day your actual retirement game?” “Sure, for Fuji High’s team.” I readied the bat. Haru put on the glove. “You could just join the team again, you know.” The ball came zooming at me in midair. Her pitch was faster than I’d expected, and it took me by surprise. It connected against my bat with a clunk. Haru scooped up the ball with her glove on the second bounce. “It’s not like I haven’t considered it. To be honest, I agonized over it quite a bit. But it’ll always be the place I ran away from. I can’t just slink back there and look all my old teammates in the eye again.” Come to think of it, after that, the Fuji High School baseball team lost in the second round. I went to watch it, and everyone was really fighting to win until the very end. Honestly, it was a really good game. Next year, they’d probably be able to go the distance. “Everyone would be glad to take you back, though.” “I know that. But if I ever seriously consider baseball again, I want it to feel like something new.” “Something new…?” “I want to start again from the beginning, concentrating on what feels good. Like throwing and making a good hit.” “Wow, so you shoot your raw passion all over the baseball field and then get all introspective?” “Hey, stop making dirty jokes out of nowhere.” Haru belly-laughed. “Well, I guess I don’t really get it. But you’re not quitting for good, then?” “For now, I’ll continue batting practice during high school. After all, I’ve found a baseball fan to practice with who’s got nothing but free time and a love of working out.” “All right. If that’s what you’ve decided, I won’t say anything. I’ll just stay quiet and watch as your story unfolds.” Watch, huh? So Haru was planning to stay by my side from now on, then. Swing. Clunk. Bounce. Grab. We ground out a measured rhythm. At first, she didn’t even know how to grip the ball. But now she’s good. She’d go on to become a great basketball player. If I’m not careful, I might not be able to keep up with her anymore. I have to start the next thing, so that I can earn the right to stand alongside someone like her. I wanted to keep running with her forever. That’s how I felt, about my partner. I’ll level with you. I, Yuzuki Nanase, was feeling pretty panicked. I knew from the beginning that Haru was a tough one to beat. And I could appreciate that there was some kind of deep connection between Chitose and his friend from the year above us, Nishino. And I don’t need to mention that Yuuko’s in a class of her own. At the same time, though, I thought… Of course, it’s not anyone’s fault, but a secret part of me wanted to yell out… No one told me about this!!! Before my eyes stood Yua, cooking dish after dish. I’ve been treated to meals a time or two at Chitose’s place, but I also like to think I know my way around the kitchen. I mean, it’s not really difficult to get a recipe right if you just follow the proportions and you aren’t a total klutz. I’d always thought the important thing was the taste, or whether I could build a repertoire the person I was cooking for would actually like. But Ucchi’s cooking was completely different. She didn’t even consult a recipe. Didn’t use a measuring jug or spoon. She adjusted the amount of seasoning bit by bit, tasting as she went. She was making various types of side dishes at the same time, and whenever she had a spare second, she washed the utensils she no longer needed. It was probably just to make the most of the available time, but she also rinsed out the bowl she’d filled with chopped vegetables before using it for something else, and she started with the ingredients that wouldn’t dirty the chopping board first. Everything she did, she did with such dexterity. I thought I’d try to help as much as I could, but I felt like I’d only be getting in the way. “Do you cook a lot, Ucchi?” I called over to her as she stood, back facing me, in her denim apron. “Well, basically every day. I’m in charge of lunch and dinner.” Aha, I thought. Everything she was doing seemed steeped in the familiarity of daily repetition. Oh man, she was so cool. …Not fair. I swallowed my bitterness and changed the subject. “Crunchy pickled plums? What are you going to use those for?” “Edamame were going cheap, so I boiled them up in some salt and mixed them with tiny fish to go with steamed rice. If you mix in some minced pickled plums, it gives it an interesting texture, and it tastes pretty delicious.” “Oh, really? Well, what’s this cooking on the grill?” “Takeda abura-age with a sheen of surface miso. Actually, I was planning to serve it the standard way, with grated radish dissolved in a mixture of soy sauce and Ajipon ponzu sauce, but today’s main dish is a pork shabu-shabu salad with the same seasonings and condiments, so I was worried it’d clash.” By the way, Takeda abura-age, or deep-fried tofu, which comes in chunks similar to regular abura-age, is the famous product of a restaurant called “Taniguchiya” and can be classed among Fukui’s own specialties. Their signature dish is called “abura-age gozen.” They serve abura-age as a side dish the way other restaurants serve hamburg steak or regular abura-age, so that shows you how confident they are in their product. My mother buys it regularly, but I’ve never eaten it this way before. “Can you explain the rest of the dishes, too?” “We also have some regular tamagoyaki. Saku likes to eat it with grated daikon radish and soy sauce, and for some reason, shichimi seasoning, too. Anyway, we have a surplus of daikon, so I thought it would work well.” “What about miso soup?” “It was hot today, so I thought it would be nice to have something light. I made a pork soup with tomatoes, raw ginger, Chinese cabbage, and leeks. I’m afraid this clashes a little with the pork main too, but if I only served simmered pork salad, he’d probably say there wasn’t enough.” “Tomatoes in miso soup?!” “You bet your britches. At first I weren’t sure, but one li’l taste and lemme tell ya, hon, you’ll wanna slap your momma.” (Translation: Yeah, at first I wasn’t sure, but I tried it and it was really, really good.) “If ya say so, Ucchi… Canya load me up?” (Translation: If you say so, Ucchi… Can you give me an extra-large portion?) “Course I will, sweet pea.” (Translation: Sure thing.) I let my mind wander as we chatted back and forth in Fukui dialect. One soup, three sides. Was this seriously a menu dreamed up by a high school girl? It’s just kinda different from what I’d been expecting. I’m more like, “Hey, this sounds good!” and then I charge ahead and make it, without thinking about what to do with the leftovers. I guess I’m just a cooking noob, though. I get all worried about not being able to follow the recipe instructions perfectly, so I buy the exact seasonings that are really specific instead of multipurpose. But Ucchi thinks about things like seasonal vegetables, what kind of meat is going cheap, the ingredients that need using up, the mood on the specific day, and the preferences of the eater, and puts together a menu on the spot. Darn it, Chitose, you must be pretty used to eating good food by now. I was so glad I hadn’t done something dumb like offering to make a carbonara to show off my feminine wiles, or something. I mean, that stuff sounds hard to make for a noob. But Chitose definitely seems the type to prefer meat sauce pasta, or Neapolitan pasta, or even peperoncino over carbonara. And I bet in Ucchi’s case, she’d serve some improvised Japanese-style pasta. Thinking about it, I suddenly got all depressed, thinking those eggs Benedict must have been a huge miss. I mean, I was trying to kid myself, but the word depressed… Once it popped into my head, I started feeling genuinely crappy. Even his home cooking, which I raved over… I recalled this one time, when I spotted Chitose and Nishino together. —What seems special to me might be mediocre to someone else. I hadn’t put a name to my feelings yet, back then. But now… Ucchi’s gentle smile, the heartwarming sound of dinner being prepared, and the delicious aromas in the air—it all made my chest tighten. I mean, Chitose had been enjoying all those things long before I fell for him. He’d seen that smile, heard those sounds, eagerly awaited those meals. No doubt having Ucchi cook for him was something he truly enjoyed to this day. It was the right choice, after all, to chase him outdoors. As far as my pride was concerned, the last thing I wanted him to see was Yuzuki Nanase rolling up her sleeves and studying cooking from Ucchi. But maybe I’ve got it wrong. She’s not bad at distinguishing between things. The second thing that hurt my pride was having to play wingwoman for bumbling Haru. And the last thing is… The fact that I knew I’d end up feeling this way, the moment I saw her in the doorway, wearing that apron. Even though I knew that Ucchi visits Chitose’s place every now and then. I’d gotten full of myself, somewhere along the way. It’s been a little over two months since May, and a lot has happened. We weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, but we were a little more than friends. I’d come to this apartment, seen it as a step forward. Not just seeing it as the apartment of the guy I like, but as a place to set down precious memories. I’d thought I was the only one. But I had to face the truth. Whatever was special between Ucchi and Chitose, it had been brewing a lot longer than anything between me and him. It was here, in the very air of this apartment, in the memories only they shared together. …Ah man, I hate this sort of thing. If only I could hate Yuuko and Ucchi and Nishino. If only I could have been a big bitch and laughed over how none of them were right for him at all. But this kind of revelation is nothing new to me. —Chitose helped me out when I really needed it, but I had nothing in return to offer him. I didn’t have the guts to express my feelings to him right away. The kindness to take a step back and support him. The beauty to draw him to me with admiration. The strength to give him a good old kick in the butt when he needed it. Everything I thought I could maybe offer, he’d already gotten in spades from other girls. So at the very least… At the very least… I wanted him and me to understand each other more deeply than anyone else could. And that’s how I felt about him. We headed back when it seemed like the right time, to find Nanase and Yua setting the table. Naturally, at this point I wasn’t shocked to find a variety of colorful dishes spread out. The living room was filled with a delicious aroma that made my stomach growl. That was almost the only sound—my grumbling belly and the muted squealing of the little kids who live next door. “Oh, it looks really delicious! Did you make all this, Ucchi?” After a good sweat, Haru seemed to have regained her usual composure, and when she said this, Yua untied her apron strings and responded with a bashful expression. “I’m sorry it’s such an unexciting spread.” “Are you nuts? If it was just the two of us, we would’ve grabbed some Hachiban’s or katsudon and split, right, Yuzuki?” “…Right.” “Ha-ha.” Nanase chuckled. Her smile was fake. That tugged at me a little, but I didn’t want to put her on the spot by asking directly. I turned on my Tivoli Audio and set it to play random music from my phone, which was connected via Bluetooth. From the speakers, the sounds of Kariyushi 58’s “Owari Hajimari” began to fill the air. When everyone was seated, Yua clapped her hands together and said, “Shall we?” ““““Let’s eat!”””” I slurped the pork-based tonjiru soup first. Yua had made this for me before. I’d thought tonjiru was kind of heavy, as far as soup goes, but the acidity of the tomatoes and the flavor of the raw ginger was exquisitely refreshing, making it perfect for a hot day like this. I took a mouthful of the steamed rice. It tasted faintly of dashi stock, which complemented the plump tiny fish and the saltiness of the edamame. Chopped shiso leaves were scattered on top, and when I ate one together with the crunchy plums, it created an entirely new flavor profile. I could have eaten a bucket of the stuff. “This is freaking good,” I said honestly. Yua, sitting across from me, beamed and looked relieved. “Really? I’m so glad it’s something you like. There’s plenty for seconds, too.” Beside her, Nanase wore an unreadable expression. “Darn, Ucchi. You could make money on this stuff. If you ran a restaurant in my neighborhood, I’d be one of your regulars.” Haru was raving. “This deep-fried tofu is unbelievable! I could sink a ton of booze with dishes this good.” “You sound like some hard-drinking old dude.” Snarking at Haru, I put two slices of tamagoyaki on a small plate, threw some grated daikon radish on top, and poured soy sauce over it. Watching me, Yua sighed. “Can you at least take one bite before slathering stuff on it?” “I’ve eaten it loads of times, so can you give me this one? Anyway, Yua, you don’t need to worry. Your tamagoyaki is always delicious, each and every time.” Holding the shichimi bottle with my right hand, I whacked it several times with my left. Yua chuckled. “Saku, every time I see you do that, it cracks me up.” “Nanase said the same thing,” I replied. Nanase seemed to snap out of a daze, shaking her head and speaking in an oddly animated voice. “Right? Isn’t that such a weird thing to do?” “Totally!” Nanase looked a little pale, but I couldn’t figure out why. After that, we talked about our plans for summer vacation and ate the food that Yua had made until we were completely full. After finishing dinner and resting for a bit, Haru said, “I’ll wash up.” It was usually my job, but Haru seemed oddly motivated, so I decided to let her knock herself out. She set about stacking the plates and was about to carry them to the sink, when Yua blushed and said, “Haru, if you do that, the bottom of the plates will get dirty. It’s easier to wash them if you carry them to the sink one by one.” Ah, I remembered her telling me the same thing, a while back. When it comes to greasy dishes, it’s definitely easier to do it Yua’s way. As I was thinking about that, I suddenly realized that I was all by myself in the living room. I took two plastic bottles of lemonade that had been chilling in the refrigerator and went out onto the balcony. “Want one?” I offered one to Nanase, who was staring blankly down at the river. “…Thanks.” With a loud crack, we unscrewed our lids at the same time. It was a full summer night outside. When did that happen? As soon as I stepped out of the air-conditioned room, my forehead gradually began to sweat. I could hear the bugs going cree, cree, cree outside, mingling with the sound of flowing water. Occasionally, a gust of wind blew, making Nanase’s black hair flutter in a wistful way. I looked at her side profile, somehow steeped in ennui, and spoke as casually as possible. “Not your usual move.” Nanase slowly turned to me with a blank look in her eyes. “Leaving the washing up.” She must have figured out what I was getting at. She glanced back inside the apartment and said, “Oh, darn.” “I’m not criticizing you or anything. At first I was just going to do it myself.” “I know. It’s just weird, getting overtaken by Haru now.” Yuzuki never usually announced that she was going to do dishes. She just gathered them up and got to work, and they’d be washed before I even knew it. During the meal today, she’d seemed preoccupied. In fact, she’d been acting weird this whole time today. “If there’s something on your mind, you can tell me,” I said. Nanase looked up at the night sky with a lonely, slightly crooked smile. “Yes… I must return to my home on the moon, very soon.” “Look at you, throwing in a tricky joke with a straight face. I’m taken aback.” “So go get your hands on the new Maison Margiela bags, the ones that haven’t been announced yet, for me.” “Huh? What happened to you leaving a letter and an elixir of life when we part?” “Well, if that’s too hard to pull off, a gentle kiss is fine.” “Making unreasonable demands of a man… I would expect nothing less of Yuzuki Kaguya-hime.” Man, maybe I was worrying over nothing. As I scratched my head, Nanase slowly approached. “Hey,” she said, peering at my face. “What if I asked you to be my boyfriend…? Or something like that?” “…If that’s a serious request, I’ll give it some serious thought, then give a serious answer.” “Huh? You’ll give it some serious thought, will you?” “Well… Of course I will.” As I said this, I felt something creak, deep within my heart. I gulped my Kupi Cider lemonade so I didn’t have to acknowledge the pain. “For today, I think this is enough.” Nanase laughed politely, like she just couldn’t stop herself. “Sorry for making such a long face.” “I just choked on the carbonation.” As if my fingertip had just gotten a paper cut, the place where her words had penetrated gradually began to bleed red. This was probably something like a gentle rehearsal. Because the person in front of me was Yuzuki Nanase. We’re alike, after all. We’ve taken one step into each other’s hearts, and maybe, little by little, we’ll carry our sorrows, pains, weaknesses, and strengths together, just like a pair holding one handle each of a plastic grocery bag. Of course, I hoped that there would be happiness and fun, too. I wanted us to understand each other more deeply than anyone else could. And that’s how I felt about her. A few days later, in the evening, I went to Ten Thousand Volts by myself. It’s a consumer electronics mass retailer, known by its perky commercial jingle, “Ten Thousand Volts. ” Founded in Fukui, but apparently chain stores are being developed in other prefectures. It’s not like my conversation with Haru the other day led me here or anything, but I had some time on my hands, so I thought I’d take a look at the computers. I went around the various sections, but nothing made much sense to me. Laptop computers range in price from around 30,000 yen to over 200,000 yen. To be honest, I don’t know what the difference was other than the way they looked. I’d have to ask Kenta to teach me. He seems like a guy who’d know a lot about that sort of thing. Just as I was about to give up and started thinking about eating ramen… “Huh? Sakuuu!” …a familiar voice called out to me. I turned around, and there was Yuuko, waving her hand. After she’d come bounding happily over, I commented, “I’m surprised to see you in a place like this.” Her outfit today was a brown off-shoulder blouse and denim wide-leg pants. Her hair was tied up in a loose braid. “Yeah, I’m here shopping with my mom.” Yuuko turned, and I saw a beautiful woman walking toward us with a smile on her face. She wore an off-white long skirt with a front slit, a simple white blouse, and a light-blue cardigan. She wore her hair in a lightly swaying medium-length bob, slightly longer than Nanase’s. It was the first time I’d seen her in person, even though I’d walked Yuuko home many times, but I would have known she was Yuuko’s mother without needing a confirmation. Somehow, they looked just like sisters. She looked so young, I could almost believe she was in her twenties. Normally, I’d think of my friend’s mother as just, well, my friend’s mother, but she had an air of something otherworldly about her, and if I passed by someone who looked like her on the street, I’d end up accidentally following her with my eyes. Still, I thought. Saying hello to a classmate, especially a girl’s mother, is awkward. It’s not like I was being introduced as her boyfriend or anything, but somehow it made me feel antsy. Yuuko’s mom, side by side with her daughter, smiled once again and gracefully bowed her head. The scent of an elegant perfume wafted through the air. I felt myself straighten up, then bowed my head as politely as possible. “Hello. I’m Yuuko’s classmate, Chito—” “Hey, hey, is this the Chitose?” When I tried to introduce myself, I was interrupted. “I’m delighted! Yuuko’s talked about you constantly, and I’ve been dying to meet you!” “Er, uh…” “Oh, me? I’m Kotone, Yuuko’s mother. You spell it with the characters for koto—that’s the instrument—and sound. By the way, please call me Kotone, not ‘Yuuko’s mom’ or anything like that.” “Ah, okay, er, Ms. Kotone.” She was more exuberant than I’d expected based on her appearance, and as she closed in on me, I found myself taking a step back.
Chapter 69
35 min read