On the menu for tonight, per Hinako’s request, was omurice. Minato placed the perfectly oval omelet atop the chicken pilaf and then used a knife to slice it open. Eggy goodness oozed all over the plate.
“Amazing!” Hinako clapped excitedly as she crouched nearby, watching him work. “What’s the trick to getting it to stay on top?”
“You need the outside firm but the inside soft,” Minato explained as he set about frying up the second omelet. He looked like a hotel chef, clapping his wrist to flip the pan. “You want it to be just pliable enough to stay put. See? Like this.” As he spoke, he rolled it around in the pan. “Wanna try?”
“Okay!”
Surely even Hinako could at least place the omelet correctly, right? Using her chopsticks, she gently, gently set it onto the rice—There!
Moments later, it rolled off again.
“Aagh!”
“Don’t panic. You can still—oof…”
As Hinako attempted to use the side of the frying pan to lift it up again, it fell apart. Once again, she had turned an omelet into scrambled eggs.
Then it started to snow again. It was so cold, their breath left their lips in a white fog…and yet neither of them really seemed to mind.
“You sure this is what you want? Omurice for Christmas?”
“Yep! Ever since I was little, omurice was always my favorite treat.”
And tonight’s omurice was special, because Minato had written “Merry Xmas” on it in ketchup.
“Besides…I wanted to be alone with you,” Hinako said. That way we can do this.
“Isn’t it kind of hard to eat with one hand?” Minato laughed.
Indeed, Hinako’s right hand was currently laced with Minato’s left. This was another of her requests.
“Nope! I’ve been practicing. That way I can always hold hands with you, even when we’re eating. I don’t want to let go of you for a single second!”
“Then would you wanna move in together? Because I’m planning to move out of my parents’ house,” Minato replied casually.
“Careful! I might actually take you up on that!” So if you were just joking, then you’d better admit it quick!
“Sounds good to me. How soon are we talking?”
“What?!” For a moment, Hinako was speechless. I should’ve known Minato wouldn’t joke about this stuff!
“Well…not right away,” she continued awkwardly.
Minato rubbed his thumb against hers, encouraging her to speak her mind.
Yeah…I may as well be completely open with you. Hinako stared intently into the falling snow. “Once I learn to…ride my own wave… Right now I’m constantly dependent on you, but eventually I have to get in control of my own life, you know? I want to find my passion, like you have.”
That way the two of them could stand on even ground. It was Minato’s influence that had inspired her to start thinking about more than just the ocean.
“You’re naturally good at a lot of things, so I’m sure you’ll find it fast,” Minato replied. “Me, though? I was always kinda useless.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Hinako scowled. If Minato was “useless,” then what did that make her?
“When I was a kid, I almost drowned out in the ocean. But someone saved me. I remember it all like it was yesterday,” he explained slowly, gazing straight ahead. “I wanted so badly to be good at everything, but no matter what I tried, I always screwed up. Then one day, purely by chance, I spotted some baby sea turtles hatching on the beach.”
“Sea turtles?”
“Haven’t you seen the signboard about the sea turtle spawning grounds? Or have you not read it?”
Each year, from June to mid-August, an endangered species known as the loggerhead sea turtle came to lay their eggs at the beaches of Ichinomiya—including Kujukuri. Then, approximately two months later, the baby turtles hatched from their eggs and spent up to a full week clawing their way to the surface. But not all succeeded, and some died as a result.
Minato saw these baby turtles for the first time when he was still in elementary school. At the time, he was accompanying his grandfather, who was volunteering for a sea turtle conservation organization.
“Whoa, what the?!” he had exclaimed as dozens of tiny turtles came crawling up from underground. No one had instructed them to do this, and yet they flailed their little limbs, struggling desperately to get to the ocean. Their mother was nowhere to be seen. No matter how many times the waves pushed them back ashore, they kept trying again and again…because their little lives depended on it.
“When I saw those baby turtles fighting tooth and nail to get out there, I thought to myself: I need to be like that. So I started going with Grandpa on his beach patrols, and bit by bit, it led me to where I am now. I wanted to work in a field where I could help people.”
“Ugh, you’re so incredible…” Hinako leaned back so far that she nearly fell off her chair, and Minato swiftly propped her back up again. “I don’t think I could ever be of help to other people. I have enough trouble dealing with my own problems! And even then, I can’t solve them by myself! But then there’s you…the guy who can do anything.”
Hinako’s words were laced with self-deprecation, frustration, and a tiny hint of envy. “Someone as perfect as you couldn’t possibly know how it feels to be me. I can’t even put an omelet on a bed of rice! I must look like such an idiot to you.”
She knew she shouldn’t take her frustrations out on him…and especially not on Christmas Eve…but she couldn’t stop herself. Luckily, Minato didn’t seem to mind.
“You say I’m perfect, but I can’t ride the waves like you can.” He smiled like it was no big deal. “Just think of your life like it’s the ocean. Swim for a while, take breaks when you need to, and once you’re rested up, get back out there. I’ll be the harbor you come home to, so just call for me whenever you need to get away from it all.”
As he spoke, he threw up a shaka.
How long is he going to keep coddling me like this? Hinako thought. His kindness stung a bit.
“How long do I have until you get sick of me?” she asked, smiling sadly.
“I’ll be with you as long as it takes,” he told her, gently cupping her face in his warm hands. “Whether that’s ten years, twenty years…or until you’re a little old lady.”
And then he gave her the world’s softest, sweetest kiss.