Akane carefully approached the restaurant and peeped inside. She seemed very nervous and hesitant. I guess she isn’t used to visiting such a fancy restaurant either, Saito thought. Discouraged, Akane walked toward the bench and sat down at the opposite end of it, far away from Saito. She flipped the back of her hair and sighed audibly.
“Jeez. I was so excited when I thought I’d be able to enjoy a cozy little dinner in private with Grandma. But now that you’re here, dinner has been ruined before my first bite. What an unpleasant coincidence!”
“The feeling is mutual. Don’t talk to me—I’m reading.”
When Saito looked down to resume reading, Akane put her hands on the bench and stretched over to bring her face close to Saito’s.
“What?! I wouldn’t dream of talking with you! Do you think that I need your attention?” She glared at him.
“Nope. Can you just shut up—we have no business with each other,” said Saito.
“How dare you! What terrible manners. I guess I’ll have to keep chatting until you apologize to me,” Akane snapped at him.
“Are you really going to bug me until I say sorry?” Saito replied.
“Yes! I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.” In another context, what Akane said could have been interpreted as cute. To Saito, she sounded like a stalker.
“So annoying…” Saito muttered.
“You’re the annoying one!” Akane snapped.
“No, it’s you. Please stay outside a ten-kilometer radius of me,” Saito retorted.
“No, you!”
The two faced off, turning the ground into a battlefield set against the beauteous background of mountainous serenity. It wasn’t that Saito hated Akane without reason. He was just fed up with her persistent pestering every single day. However, outside of his relative Shisei, Akane was actually the person he had the most conversations with—although they were less “conversations” and more “quarrels.”
The two were still going at it when a convertible pulled over in front of the restaurant. The car had the sheen of a meticulous polish job, and loud enka music blasted from its stereo, the subwoofers shaking the earth. The mystery driver wore stylish sunglasses and leaned back in the driver’s seat. There was a mystery woman sitting next to him in the passenger’s seat. This over-sixty couple oozed a party-animal vibe.
“Grandpa?”
“Grandma?”
Stunned, Saito and Akane stood up, mouths agape.
Despite his old age, Houjou Tenryu looked quite virile. He escorted Akane’s grandmother out from their convertible.
“Oh my, you two are already at it, ha ha. Young people are so impatient.” Akane’s grandmother smiled.
“You two could have waited for us inside. We wouldn’t have been offended if you sat down without us,” Tenryu added with a wry smile.
Saito and Akane looked at each other, puzzled.
“What do you mean…?”
“Huh…?”
Akane’s grandmother and Saito’s grandfather led the way inside the restaurant, not waiting for the young couple.
“C’mon, you two. How long are you going to be standing there?” Tenryu scolded.
“You two…? Wait, you mean me and Sakuramori-san?” Saito was still perplexed.
“W-wait, what do you mean, Grandma? You’re not making any sense!” Akane cried.
Despite all the bewilderment, Saito and Akane had no choice but to follow them into the restaurant. They didn’t know why their grandparents knew each other or why they had shown up in a convertible together. Akane’s grandmother looked back at them.
“Tonight, we four are going to have dinner together,” proclaimed Akane’s grandmother.
“Why in the world would we do that?!” Akane growled.
“There is something important we need to discuss,” Akane’s grandmother responded calmly.
“No way I can have dinner with this guy! He creeps me out so much I won’t be able to keep my food down!” When Akane raised her voice, Saito piped up too.
“Same here! I’d feel bad wasting such a fancy dinner.”
Akane’s grandmother gave a Cheshire cat smile. Although her demeanor was relaxed, the two felt absolutely certain that their “no” had fallen on deaf ears.
“Give it up,” she said.
“Nngh…”
Akane let out a voiceless cry as her grandmother seized her by the neck. Akane was dragged away, her arms and legs limp like a helpless kitten being carried by a mother cat. Wow, there is someone out there who can silence Sakuramori-san. She’s amazing! Saito was impressed, but that thought was interrupted when his own grandfather seized him by the neck.
“You’re going to choke me to death if you don’t let me go,” Saito pleaded.
“You’re not going to die—unless you keep struggling, that is,” Tenryu replied.
Tenryu didn’t have the grip of an old man—Saito’s neck was already bruised even though he had given up trying to escape. Restaurant staff knew better than to get involved. It was obvious they didn’t want to risk it—nobody messed with Houjou Tenryu.
The four of them were guided to a private room set away from the rest of the restaurant. It was quite the exquisite space. The Japanese-style room was large and featured a burnished ebony table. Through a window, beautiful, colorful koi could be seen swimming leisurely in the pond outside. The sound of the water-filled bamboo tube clacking against a stone filled the room. Saito and Akane were sat next to each other, facing Akane’s grandmother and Tenryu. Appetizers and drinks were quickly brought in and filled the table: fried wild plants with pickled herring roe, flecked with bright red pepper.
Tenryu raised his brimming sake cup.
“Here’s to an auspicious day.”
“…Cheers.” Akane held her glass of orange juice, wearing a grimace on her face.
Wait a minute… Auspicious? What does he mean by that…? Saito was suspicious. Being in a secluded room with the door shut tight didn’t help.
Waitstaff brought in luxurious and scrumptious dishes one after the other: slices of fresh sea bream and squid sashimi arranged alongside the head and tail part, looking almost alive; steamed Japanese spiny lobsters; live abalone barbecue… Saito was particularly drawn to the fragrant aroma coming from the earthen pot that housed the steamed lobsters. The firm and fresh seafood tasted like heaven, but the knowledge that his nemesis was sitting right next to him was spoiling his appetite.
“More OJ, please,” Akane asked and raised her glass.
“You’re not gonna touch the food?” Saito asked.
“I was hungry, but you made me lose my appetite,” answered Akane.
“Same here. You seem to have a knack for making my stomach smaller,” replied Saito.
“Such a shame given we have such a feast here. If only your presence could be vaporized via nuclear disintegration,” said Akane.
“Much better that you disappear at a quantum level,” Saito fired right back.
Their quarrel escalated as Akane’s grandmother smiled at them complacently.
“…Ha ha, you two certainly get along well,” Tenryu laughed.
“True. Just like us when we were your age,” added Akane’s grandmother.
“Pardon?!” Both Akane and Saito raised their voices, stunned. As far as Saito was concerned, he and Akane were at each other’s throats. Is the great genius Tenryu finally going senile? Saito began to doubt his grandfather’s sanity and decided to bring up the elephant in the room.
“Grandpa, what’s going on? Why did you invite the two of us here?”
Tenryu and Akane’s grandmother nodded, exchanging a meaningful glance. They turned to their grandchildren and spoke in unison.
“You are to be married.”
“…Um…what?” Shocked, both Saito and Akane simultaneously dropped their chopsticks.
“I thought I just heard you say ‘married’… Is that some kind of metaphor? Or a password? Did we just receive a code word or something?” Saito choked out.
“No hidden meaning. Get married to each other,” Tenryu repeated firmly.
“I-I don’t understand! Marry each other?! What do you mean?! Don’t you know we’re still in high school?!” Akane put her hands on the table and jolted upright.
“You are both eighteen. You’re legally allowed to marry each other,” Akane’s grandmother calmly replied.
Akane and Saito had indeed heard them right the first time. Tenryu let out a deep sigh, his elbows resting on the table. He had a faraway look in his eyes as he began speaking.
“Me and Chiyo-san here have known each other for a very long time…”
“Who is Chiyo-san?” Saito asked.
“I am… My name is Chiyo,” said Akane’s grandmother.