Chapter 134 - Journey to Sanuki
(1)
Pi-pi-pi-pi...
The alarm rings. I stop it languidly and check the time.
It's 4 o'clock. It'll be rough if I don't leave soon.
I look at Airi sleeping beside me. She's sleeping peacefully and comfortably.
It's the opposite of usual.
Her sleeping face looked so comfortable that I wanted to let her keep sleeping, but I couldn't do that.
"Airi, wake up."
"Uun..."
Airi lets out a sleepy voice. I gently stroke her head.
"Toya-kun... it's still dark, isn't it?"
"I told you we were leaving early in the morning."
"Ah, that's right."
Once Airi wakes up, I turn on the lights and get ready.
I go quietly to the entrance so my parents don't wake up, put on my shoes, and open the door.
Once outside, I lock up and load the luggage into the car. Then, I start the engine.
"Drive carefully, okay?"
"I'll be fine. I went to bed early yesterday."
"Mm."
I stock up on food and drinks at a Convenience Store and get on the highway. By the time I head toward Hiji JCT, the sun has begun to rise.
"So pretty~"
Once I enter the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway from Hiji JCT, it's a straight shot to Kitakyushu JCT.
There are PAs along the way, but I head forward without stopping.
It's still comfortable.
I reach Kitakyushu JCT.
"You enter the right lane here~"
My cute navigator tells me.
I want to get as far as possible while it's still the early morning hours and not crowded.
I enter the Kyushu Expressway and proceed for a while.
I want to at least get into Honshu.
In a little over two hours, I reach the Kanmon Bridge.
I take a break for a moment at the Dannoura PA.
While Airi is taking photos of the scenery, I rest a bit.
I drink an energy drink Airi had bought and eat a rice ball.
"Sorry to keep you waiting~"
When Airi returns, the car starts running again.
From here on, it becomes the Chugoku Expressway.
I head east relentlessly.
I seem to be fine so far.
I look at the clock; it was about to pass 7 o'clock.
Am I still okay?
I've come to Yamaguchi JCT.
"It's left here~"
I enter the Sanyo Expressway and aim for Okayama.
By the time I enter Hiroshima, the traffic volume has increased slightly.
I look at the clock; it was about to pass 10 o'clock.
"Airi! Are you okay without a break until after lunch?"
"I'm fine, but are you okay, Toya-kun? You've been driving this whole time."
"I want to get as far as I can before the traffic jams start."
"U-un."
Around noon, I enter Okayama Prefecture.
As expected, things have started to slow down bit by bit.
I've become tired, but the PAs are crowded, and I don't feel like entering.
"It's getting crowded, isn't it?"
"Yeah..."
"Uun."
Airi was setting a CD.
It was a CD of upbeat J-POP.
"Let's relax a bit!"
Perhaps thanks to the song Airi played, I feel like my mood has lightened a little.
"Now that we've come this far, all that's left is to wait leisurely, right?"
"Yeah."
From Kurashiki JCT, I head toward the Seto Ohashi Bridge.
I was finally tired, so I stopped at a PA along the way.
The U-turn rush is something else.
"Here, this is a sports drink, and... I brought some snacks, do you want some?"
Airi takes out some snacks.
I gratefully accept them.
"It's just a little more, do you think you can hang in there? Or should I switch?"
"I'm fine, just let me rest for a bit."
"Yeah, rest slowly."
Just as Airi told me, I fell into a light sleep.
(2)
I woke up because I was hungry.
This is bad, at this rate, I'm the one who's empty.
The car is also in pretty bad shape.
After passing through the Seto Chuo Expressway and entering the Takamatsu Expressway, I exit at the Takamatsu Chuo Interchange.
I look for a gas station and refuel.
Then, I check into the hotel.
"Good job~"
Airi gives me a massage at the hotel.
"We have to leave early tomorrow morning too, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then, eat some udon quickly and get some good rest."
Ah, that's right. I have to search for an udon shop...
"I've already decided on an udon shop."
Eh?
"I looked for one while Toya-kun was sleeping."
"Thank you."
"Ehehe~. Well, let's go."
Once Airi leaves the hotel, she climbs into a taxi waiting at the entrance.
"To the udon shop, please."
"Yes, understood."
With that, the taxi started moving.
"Toya-kun, weren't you told at the driving school? 'Take one break every two hours of driving.' You drove too much today. Driving on roads you're not used to is more tiring. So, no more driving for today."
Airi said that and smiled brightly.
We entered the udon shop.
Basically, it's a system where you order udon, take tempura and such, and settle the bill at the end.
It's no different from a certain chain store.
I add toppings as much as possible and settle the bill.
Airi didn't get angry today.
That makes sense. We hadn't eaten lunch.
After eating the udon, the two of us look at each other.
And we laughed.
It's certainly delicious and the noodles have a good chew. It was also a reasonable price.
But is it a taste worth coming all the way to Kagawa to eat?
That question floated into my head.
It seems Airi felt the same.
(3)
The next day, 4 AM.
Pi-pi-pi-pi... the alarm rings.
I stop the alarm and quietly leave the bed.
Then I change clothes and finish my makeup.
After lightly brushing my hair, preparations are complete.
Then I wake Toya-kun. Toya-kun, it's morning.
"Nn, Airi, you were awake... what time is it!?"
"It's not even 5 yet, take your time getting ready."
The reason I got ready first is because it takes me a long time to prepare.
Toya-kun is relatively fast, and I wanted to let him sleep until the last minute.
After finishing the check-out, we climb into the car.
"Airi, I think it'll probably be relatively empty on the way back, so I want to get off the highway in Hiroshima..."
"That's fine. So, which one will it be, Onomichi ramen or Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki?"
"Ugh, I forgot about okonomiyaki..."
Don't say both, okay?
"...I'll go with ramen here... but still..."
"It's fine. Ramen."
"Is it really okay!?"
"Since we're here, I want to eat local gourmet food too."
"Thank you, Airi!"
Breakfast first before getting on the highway.
We stop at a fast food restaurant, order, and eat inside.
Drive-thru?
I can't let him do something as dangerous as eating while driving.
If it were a road he's used to, maybe. In a place where he has no sense of the land, it's too dangerous.
We head back the way we came until we reach Hiroshima city.
Once we exit in Hiroshima city, we look for a ramen shop.
It's okay, I researched it properly.
I enter the phone number into the navigator and start the search.
It's characterized by a rich soy sauce chicken soup that you rarely get to eat locally, and plenty of back fat that isn't that heavy despite the amount.
The noodles are straight medium noodles. The soup doesn't cling as much as I thought.
It was a delicious, light soy sauce-based ramen.
From there, Toya-kun agonizes.
Should he take National Route 2 or quietly get on the highway?
The answer is already decided in Toya-kun's mind, isn't it?
He just wants a word from me, right?
"Wherever Toya-kun wants to go is fine. I'll leave it to the driver."
Toya-kun's face brightens.
On the way back, we proceed west while passing through national roads and toll roads.
By the time we enter Yamaguchi, the sun had set.
The factory lights are on and beautiful.
This is what Toya-kun wanted to see, isn't it.
And on the way back, we go through the tunnel to Kyushu... but before that, we decide to eat fugu in Shimonoseki.
I guess when you eat these things at the place of origin, you can eat them at surprisingly reasonable prices.
Still, it became quite a large amount, so I quietly put my money into Toya-kun's wallet.
Ah, I didn't drink the fin sake.
I've already decided. The place where I'll drink for the first time with Toya-kun.
It's still a story for far in the future, though.
When we finished eating, it was past 22 o'clock.
We pass through the Kanmon Tunnel and enter Kyushu.
We get on the Fukuoka Expressway and exit to the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway.
It was breathtaking at that time. The roads are layered double and triple.
We pass between buildings.
I've passed through before, but I felt it was amazing once again.
Once we get onto the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway, we stop at a Convenience Store at the first SA to replenish juice and such.
After that, we refuel at a gas station.
After that, we head straight for home.
Good job, Toya-kun.
(4)
Passing through Hiji JCT and looking at the scenery of Beppu, I always think it's beautiful.
Then, after passing through the Hazama Interchange and exiting at the next interchange, we are close to home.
It's the time when the airplanes start.
Relaxing music begins to flow.
"Airi, are you staying over today?"
"I have the great role of waking Toya-kun up, after all."
She says that and giggles.
"Rest slowly today. School starts again tomorrow."
"Yeah."
"Those five days were fun, weren't they?"
I'm tired in various senses.
"Did you know? University has nearly two months of summer vacation."
Maybe I'll do a part-time job limited to summer vacation...
"Don't say something as sad as doing a part-time job."
She beat me to the punch.
"Airi, is there anywhere you want to go?"
"An amusement park with Kanna and the others. Ah, please avoid the Obon holidays."
"I hope I can relax at home during Obon."
"It'll be fine if Papa and the others don't say anything."
"There might be a summons from Watanabe-han."
"That can't be helped."
"Airi..."
"Yes."
"For now, shall we get out of the car?"
"Yeah."
Then we unload the luggage and go home.
My parents seem to be sleeping.
"The bath seems impossible, so what should we do? Shall we go to a public bath somewhere?"
"Uun, I'll just go home for a bit and take a shower."
"Be careful."
"What will Toya-kun do?"
"I'll take it tomorrow morning."
"In that case, I'll do the same~"
Adding that tomorrow we start from the second period, right?
But it seems that problem was a needless worry.
Knock knock
"Toya, are you back? Say something. You're both tired, right? Go ahead and take a bath."
Mother said that.
"What do you want to do? Should we just go in?"
"...Airi, you can go first."
"Then, I'll take you up on that."
In the meantime, I organize the luggage.
Going as far as Shikoku was tiring.
When I go to Kansai, maybe I'll honestly use the ferry.
Or maybe I'll honestly go by Shinkansen?
Well, it's a summer story, so it's fine.
Clatter clatter...
Airi has returned.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Toya-kun, I'll do the laundry tomorrow morning, so put your laundry in."
"Yeah, got it."
Then I soak in the bathtub.
It feels good.
When I leave the bath, Airi is facing her laptop.
Yeah, there's a number in the income column that I don't remember putting in.
It's today.
"Airi, what's this about?"
"Uuu... the fugu was cheaper than I thought, but it still cost quite a bit, so I added a little from my side."
"I told you not to worry about money."
"It's our allowance, you know?"
"...Thanks."
I stroke Airi's head.
"Mm."
Airi hugs me.
"I'm tired today, shall we go to sleep early?"
"Yeah."
We get into bed. We turn off the lights.
"Good night."
"Good night."
...
...
...
"Ah!"
"What is it, Airi?"
"We didn't go to Shodoshima."
Now that she mentions it, we only went to eat udon.
Airi and I laughed together.
"Now we have a reason to go to Kagawa again."
"Yeah."
"Since we've been once, it'll be fine, right?"
"Yeah, I mostly get it."
"Then, good night."
"Yeah, good night."
And so, our first long holiday of university life ended.
It was a life where everything was fresh and stimulating.
I'm sure we'll make many more memories from here on.
Together with Airi...