The next morning, after the headache had subsided a bit, I knelt down and apologized profusely.
“I’m really, really sorry about yesterday!”
For some reason, Pochi jumped on my back. Urgh, I’m gonna die...
“Please raise your head,” Aikawa-san said kindly. “I also had too much to drink... Sorry. Pochi-san, you should get off him too.”
Aikawa-san shooed Pochi from my back. I really can’t apologize enough. Pochi was still standing nearby though, as if looking for the next opportunity to jump on me. Why are you being so mean, Pochi?
“I hope we can continue to get along well, Sano-san. After all...you’re the only one I’ve told about Rin and Ten.”
I raised my head. Huh. That’s true. Hey, Pochi, stop it! Don’t jump on me!
“I’m sorry for being such a loser...” I mumbled.
“I don’t think you’re a loser at all, Sano-san. I mean, you’re not at fault here in any way.”
Oh no, I can feel the tears coming again.
“Thank you...”
“Feel free to fall in love with me.”
“No freaking way!” You’re giving me goose bumps!
“Just kidding. At least you seem to be your usual self again.”
“Thanks. Hey, Pochi, get off me!” Stop ruining the nice mood!
Aikawa-san and I started our day with some good laughs...which made my headache come back.
I drank the tea Aikawa-san had brought me and thanked him reticently. With my hangover, there wasn’t much else I could say, even if I wanted to. From the corner of my eye, I could see the chickens, and unusually for her, Yuma seemed angry at Pochi—she was pecking at him. Pochi ran around the cramped room trying to escape her onslaught. Next time, you better think twice before you jump on people’s heads!
The whole ordeal had taught me a good lesson about the importance of moderation and holding one’s liquor.
I was still at Aikawa-san’s, trying to recover from my hangover, when my phone rang—it was Matsuyama-san, from the chicken farm. He told me the vet would be coming in two days or so. I replied that I’d be there. Life in the mountains sure is busy.
I wondered if they had vaccines for reptiles. Though even if they do, I doubt they give them to two-meter-long dragons or half human, half snakes well over three meters long. Maybe they could strike a TV deal with a kaiju show or something.
But perhaps the same could be said of my adorable chickens...
No way, I’m not gonna let anyone make a freak show out of my chickens! I shook my head.
I told Aikawa-san about how I wasn’t sure what to bring Matsuyama-san as a gift, and he suggested assorted fruits. That wasn’t the best gift for a single man, but it would be a great choice for households with women or children.
The next day I went over to N-Town with Aikawa-san and bought a fruit assortment. There were already cherries for sale. Already that time of the year, huh?
“You really have an eye for detail, don’t you, Aikawa-san?”
“There’s a lot you need to take care of when you’re living in the mountains, but most of the time, you’re all by yourself, so that gives you a lot of free time to think. Sometimes you end up overthinking things, but I feel it also gives you plenty of opportunities to come up with good ideas.”
A lot of free time to think... I hope I can become like that too.
Yuma had come along to town. Aikawa-san and I had parked our trucks next to each other, and when we came back, we were greeted with the peculiar sight of Yuma and Rin-san seemingly talking to each other. Rin-san was in the passenger seat, while Yuma, for some reason, had moved over to the driver’s seat. They’d both opened the windows, so that was probably why it had seemed that way.
“They’re both girls, right? Hopefully they get along.” Aikawa-san laughed. Yup, friendship is beautiful.
I gave Aikawa-san some cherries as a token of gratitude for always helping me out.
“Why, you didn’t have to... But thanks. I’m sure Rin will be happy.”
Is the stereotype about girls having a sweet tooth true for snakes too? Incidentally, when I let the chickens try the cherries I bought for myself, they ate them all. I heard the seeds are harmful to chickens, so I told them not to eat those. In any case, I don’t know what their sense of taste is like, but I guess everyone likes sweet stuff...
The next day was when I planned to visit the chicken farm. Last time I visited, I told Matsuyama-san about how I’d like to get the chickens vaccinated, but first, I needed the vet to have a look at them—that was the main purpose for today’s visit.
However, when I told the chickens to get in the truck...
Pochi ran away.
I was getting the truck ready when he trotted off into the distance, in the direction of the forest.
“Oh, boy...”
Sure, I did tell them I’d be taking them to the vet, but I didn’t mention anything about vaccines. Did his instincts warn him about it?
“Heeeey, Pochi! Come on, we’re leaving! Come baaack!”
I could just barely see his head peeking from behind the trees.
“Tama, Yuma, isn’t there something you can do?”
“Can do?”
“Can’t do.”
Eh?
Wait a minute, am I hearing things, or did one of them just say, “Can’t do?” I stared at Tama and Yuma intently.
However, we had business to attend to, and I couldn’t spend all day on this staredown. Today was just a regular examination, so I decided to give up on Pochi this time.
“Pochi, next time, you’re going too—don’t forget that! Take good care of the house while we’re away.”
I thought I saw Pochi’s comb moving up and down. He’s probably nodding and saying, “Okay,” but I don’t know... I have a feeling next time won’t go smoothly either. He can easily outrun me if he wants to. I’ll try asking if we can go with another option besides injections.
I headed over to Matsuyama-san’s house along with Tama, Yuma, and the fruit assortment I’d gotten as a present for him.
“Hello there.”
“Oh, hi, Sano-kun.”
It was his wife who greeted me—I handed her the fruit assortment and watched her face light up.
“Oh dear! Oh my, thank you! You really didn’t have to.”
Well, well, that’s a very different reaction compared to last time when I brought rice crackers. Looks like fruits are a good ace in the hole when it comes to presents for women. Nice job, Aikawa-san!
“Hi, Sano-kun.”
Matsuyama-san showed up from the direction of the chicken farm, along with another man I wasn’t acquainted with.
“Hello. Thank you for contacting me,” I said.
“Oh, it’s no problem. I had some personal interest too, you see.”
The other man’s eyes widened when he saw my chickens. “Whoa... They really are quite large...”
“Sano-kun, let me introduce you,” said Matsuyama-san. “This is Kimoto-san. He’s a veterinarian. Kimoto-san, this is Sano-san, the owner of those huge chickens.”
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Kimoto, and I work in S-Town as a veterinarian.”
“I’m Sano. Nice to meet you.”
S-Town was located to the south of the village, beyond the mountain range, and it was larger than N-Town to the west, if I wasn’t mistaken. Kimoto-san was an affable old man with his fair share of gray hair. First impression: regular old man.
“I was told there were three of them...”
“Yes, sorry. One of them, uh, maybe he sensed danger or something and didn’t want to come...”
“You let them roam free, right? Well, at this size, there’s not much you can do. Matsuyama-san, do you mind if we go over to your house to measure and examine them?”
“No problem.”
We borrowed the earthen-floor room of Matsuyama-san’s house.
“They’re even larger than Brahmas, huh? Height is 100.3 centimeters. Weight is...7.82 kilograms. Pretty heavy. Is it the tails? Those tails are kind of reptilian... Dinosaurs? Some sort of atavism? Can they open their mouths? Whoa... What are these teeth? Don’t bite me, all right? Ha ha. Never seen anything like this before. Incredible... I bet I could write a paper on them. Okay, that’s it for the examination. They’re very well-behaved chickens, aren’t they?”
Dr. Kimoto turned to me after deftly finishing Tama’s and Yuma’s examinations. Wait a minute, did they grow bigger again?
“They do resemble chickens, but they’re closer to feathered dinosaurs. I can give them vaccines for chickens if you want, provided you’re fine with taking responsibility if anything unexpected happens...”
“I see... Um, I heard you can vaccinate them via drinking water.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t necessarily make the vaccines any safer—they’re still live vaccines. That’s not to say inactivated vaccines are necessarily safer either. I guess the best course of action here would be to give them the four-in-one and see how it pans out. The vaccines do help prevent diseases, but again, that’s if we’re talking about regular chickens...”
“I understand...”
I gazed at Tama and Yuma. Yuma cocked her head cutely.
“I’ll have to talk it over with them.”
I needed to tell Pochi about it too. My chickens seem to understand human language, so it’s probably a good idea to explain all of this to them before making a decision. It would definitely be for the best if vaccines helped keep them healthy. Leave the natural immunity stuff to humans.
I was treated to chicken meat, like last time—and it was scrumptious. Can’t beat freshly slaughtered chicken. I ignored the glares of disapproval I could feel coming from Tama and Yuma. Sorry, but I can’t go against my taste buds.
I decided to visit Dr. Kimoto’s clinic in S-Town at a later date.
Up in the mountains, the rainy season loomed near.