“I’m impressed,” I told him. “You’re really thorough about this...”
The old man sighed. “If only they weren’t venomous. Snakes eat rats and other small critters, so we don’t mind having them around. It’s just... Too many venomous snakes is...”
“I can see that.”
Coexisting with them was difficult, and the reality was that humans had the final say. Of course, some things were beyond human control.
“I’ll be out and about in town today, but I’ll be sure to let you know if I end up coming back later than expected. You plan to drop them off at my place before it gets dark, right?” I asked.
“Yeah. Well, just let me know.”
“Okay, thank you. Pochi, Yuma, you guys listen to Yumoto-san, okay?” They both looked away from me at the same time. “Hey, and listen to me too!” They’re absolutely doing this on purpose!
“Ha ha ha! They really love you, eh, Shohei?”
“How do you see this behavior and arrive at that conclusion?!” They love mocking me, you mean. Once again, I left Yumoto-san’s house angrily. And again, Yuma snuggled up to me. Gaaahh, she’s just too cute!!!
“Thanks, Yuma. I’m okay.” I petted her gently, messaged Aikawa-san, and went on my way. Pochi and Tama ignored me until the end. Guys, you do realize I’m your owner, right? I feel like crying...
A few minutes after I arrived at our meeting spot, Aikawa-san’s truck came down the mountain. Rin-san was with him.
“Hello. Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we go, then?”
“Sure.”
I drove behind him toward the town. Now, you might be thinking, “Why did you go in separate vehicles?” That’s a good point. However, due to our circumstances, we wanted to avoid walking around town.
We parked our trucks next to each other in the usual parking lot.
“Well then, Yuma, I’ll see you later.”
Needless to say, I couldn’t just walk around with a massive chicken. The same went for Rin-san, of course.
Aikawa-san held a large bag. “What’s that?” I inquired.
“Work clothes. I thought I’d get them washed at the laundromat. Not a big fan of how they smell when I dry them indoors...”
“Oh, that’s a good idea!” The smell had been bothering me recently too. “Does washing stuff at the laundromat get rid of the smell?”
“Yeah, if you choose the option to wash with hot water.”
“Huh, I see.” The key is water temperature—not detergent. I didn’t think of that. “So, let’s say I let them soak in hot water before washing them at home... Would that also work?”
“I’ve heard sixty degrees is enough to kill the bacteria that cause the smell, so that could work too, yes.”
I’ll have to try that out. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just start using the laundromat too. I’d tried different kinds of detergents to remove the smell, but nothing had worked. That smell’s really hard to get rid of. I also don’t want to use bleach and stuff like that because I don’t know if it might be bad for the chickens. Hot water should be safe.
I did some shopping and stopped by the bookstore to kill time. When I went back to the car, Aikawa-san was already back from the laundromat, cooped up in his truck, leaning on Rin-san to hide his face.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said. Did he come back immediately after washing his clothes? Didn’t he have other stuff to take care of as well?
“...saw her...”
“Hm?”
“I saw her...” he mumbled.
“What?”
By “her,” does he mean his stalker? I did consider he might have just mistaken someone else for her, but I didn’t voice that concern out of consideration for him.
“I thought my eyes might be playing tricks on me... But there’s no mistaking her...”
“I can see how that’d be an unpleasant experience, even if it was someone else...” I replied. “Do you want to call it a day and go home? Or...”
“Sorry, but would you mind coming with me?” he asked. “I want to check again just to make sure...”
“Uh, yeah, that’s fine with me...” I replied falteringly. I wondered if it might not be better to leave this sort of thing to a lawyer or something. On the other hand, I could also see how it might be a good idea to make sure, plus it was better than letting him go by himself. Rin-san, however, seemed to disagree—she hugged Aikawa-san tightly.
“Don’t go.”
“Rin, but...”
“No. Katsumi, acting weird.”
She’s right—he’s definitely not his usual self. The Aikawa-san I know is a lot more prudent.
“I gotta make sure...”
“Call phone. Find out.”
I guess she’s telling him to call his lawyer. Aikawa-san hesitated for a few moments, then let out a deep breath, seemingly having calmed down a bit.
“Thanks, Rin. I’ll go buy some stuff with Sano-san real quick.”
“Come back soon.”
“Okay.”
“Sano, look after him.”
“Got it. We won’t be long.”
Some things are just hard to see from a male perspective. I petted Yuma’s head, which was popping out from the truck.
“We’ll be back soon,” I told her.
“Back soon!”
“Yup.”
I thought that was it: Aikawa-san would go home, make a call, and that’d be the end of it.
However...
We’d just stepped out of the supermarket near the parking lot after buying some things when Aikawa-san stopped in his tracks. Hm? What’s up?
“Kano-san...” he murmured.
I followed his gaze to find two figures—a man and a woman. The latter seemed to take notice of Aikawa-san. She lowered her face slightly.
“You’re Aikawa-san...aren’t you?” the woman asked. “What an incredible coincidence... I’m really glad I got a chance to talk to you. Nice to meet you—my name is Yuko Kano.”
Aikawa-san’s face went visibly pale. Now, what’s the best course of action in this kind of situation...? I was at a loss, and I gave him a light pat on the back. Although I had no intention of prying, I had to admit I was a bit curious about what was going on between them.
Aikawa-san was startled when I patted him. Then, looking as if he’d mustered up the courage to do so, he turned to the two.
“I’m sorry, have we met before?”
The woman who had introduced herself was not his acquaintance, apparently.
“Sanko Kano is my older sister. Well, she’s Sanko Ito now. I’m really sorry for what she did to you.”
“Your sister...” Aikawa-san muttered. They decided to sit down at a nearby café to continue their conversation. I was unsure if it was all right for me to join them, but Aikawa-san requested that I sit.
“Aikawa-san, who’s this...?” the woman asked, turning to me.