Chapter 154 - Surprise!
(1)
Pi-pi-pi-pi...
I stop the alarm.
It doesn't snow, but frost falls;
the cold has truly set in.
Today, I have a class starting from the first period on Monday.
And yet, unusually, Airi is sleeping leisurely.
"Airi, today is Monday."
Airi tells me while rubbing her eyes with a sleepy look.
"Today is a substitute holiday, you know?"
Eh?
I hurriedly look at the calendar. It was just as Airi said.
Alright, let's sleep in.
Poke
"You've got some nerve, waking someone else up and then going back to sleep yourself. But that kind of nerve isn't necessary~"
Having no choice, I get up and change clothes.
"You've put something in the schedule for today, right?"
"Yeah, I've even reserved the hotel we're staying at."
"Yay, a sleepover!"
"Though I heard Watanabe's group is having a party tomorrow."
"Mm, I'll get ready for that."
Airi leaves the room. Most likely to prepare breakfast.
When I go to the dining area, a wonderful scent wafts through the air.
"Toya-kun, you can go wash your face first."
I go to wash my face as Airi tells me.
I look in the mirror. No bedhead.
After getting ready and quickly tidying my hair, I return to the dining area.
Airi is lining up plates on the table. I helped her with that.
By the time Mother woke up, breakfast preparations were complete. Mother goes to wake Father.
And so, it becomes time for breakfast.
"I'm always sorry, dear."
Mother apologizes.
"It's fine, I do it because I like to."
Airi says so with a smile.
"You're going out today, right?"
Mother confirms with Airi.
"Yes! Toya-kun said he's arranged a place for us to stay."
"I see, have a relaxing time."
"Thank you very much."
Once breakfast is over, Airi begins clearing the dishes. Naturally, Mother tells her that she will do it, so Airi should go get ready for the outing.
Airi, who initially insisted on doing it herself, eventually backs down due to Mother's desperate persuasion.
When I say, "Mother says she'll do it, so why not just let her?" Airi says, "It just feels kind of guilty to only do the cooking and not the cleaning."
"It's better to just accept the division of roles. Mother is probably troubled too."
"I wonder if that's true~?"
"It's okay, Airi is still a student. You have to leave a little bit of Mother's work for her to do."
I'm probably right.
Because Airi works, Mother has nothing left to do, and she's troubled by having nothing to do.
If something were to happen to Airi while making her help with housework on top of studying, she wouldn't be able to face the Tosaka family. She surely thinks that.
When I explain this to Airi, she reluctantly agrees.
Airi has started saying she will manage my study schedule.
That's because I collapsed during the first semester.
Therefore, she inserts moderate breaks between my studies.
In that case, I have to manage Airi's work.
My role is to take her outside moderately on holidays to let Airi rest.
While I change first and relax in the living room, Airi comes along later.
"I'm ready~"
"Well, we're off," I tell Father and the others in a word, and I receive a "Take care" in return.
As we get into the car, Airi says one thing... "Where are we going?"
"There was a course I've wanted to try once. There's a soba shop on the way, so I thought we'd go there."
"Oka~y."
Saying that, I move the car.
(2)
"Kana, wake up. It's almost noon."
"Nnn..."
When I wake up, Kazu-san was cooking.
Though by cooking, I mean instant ramen and fried rice.
Sitting at the table, I say "Itadakimasu" and slurp the ramen.
"You're off from your part-time job today, right?"
Since Kazu-san asks, I nod, and he smiles, saying, "Good, I've decided to take a break from club activities too."
After finishing lunch, I clean up. Kazu-san helped me.
After that, we go on a strolling date through town.
We buy pair bracelets and exchange them.
We check into the hotel and relax.
Kazu-san is apparently the type of man who is originally not very talkative.
But there is no atmosphere of awkwardness or anything like that.
He's the type of person who makes you feel secure just by being by your side.
When we turn on the TV, a Christmas Eve special is playing.
As the two of us quietly watch TV, these days the sun sets early.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery visible from the window turns dark.
"Shall we have dinner soon?"
When Kazu-san says that, we enter the restaurant we had reserved.
I had reserved a course meal too.
Before the food arrives, I give Kazu-san a present.
Kazu-san says, "I just got a bracelet, so it's fine," but I hand it over, saying, "I already had it prepared."
The contents are a hand-knitted muffler.
"I will use it with care."
I'm glad Kazu-san was happy.
"If I'd known, I should have prepared something too," Kazu-san says.
"Don't worry about it, I just tried making it on a whim," I tell Kazu-san.
Kazu-san seems to become loquacious when alcohol enters him.
"I'm glad I could meet a wonderful person like you," or "This is the first time I've felt this happy," he strings together words that make me embarrassed just listening to them.
It's probably his own way of thinking of me.
I accept it willingly.
When the meal ends, he mutters that there's still time, and takes me back to the station building.
Kazu-san gave me a wallet as a present.
"It's in return for the muffler," Kazu-san whispers.
After that, on the way to the hotel, Kazu-san stopped by a drugstore.
"Wait here," Kazu-san says, and enters the store alone.
Once Kazu-san finishes shopping, we return to the hotel.
Entering the open-air bath, I take a breath.
The night sky was very beautiful.
I wash my body thoroughly in preparation for tonight. However, it ends in disappointment. He was asleep, partly due to the alcohol.
Should I just let him sleep like this? After worrying, I wake him up.
He wakes up with a start, sits up, and hugs me.
I accepted him.
When I laugh at the gap between his appearance and his actions, his face turns red.
"I'm sorry, I'm not used to this kind of thing... I always relied on my partners," Kazu-san excuses himself.
"It's fine, don't worry about it."
You really weren't used to it, were you? I whisper to Kazu-san.
"It was my first time..." he says.
"Was that so? I thought the timing was right... I'm sorry."
Please don't apologize. I feel very happy right now.
The two of us fall asleep embracing a dream.
It would be even better if we were seeing the same dream.
(3)
Driririri...
I stop the alarm clock.
I slip out of the cramped bed and change clothes.
The room, which wasn't that spacious to begin with, had even less space due to the luggage of the new resident.
That new resident is sleeping, having forced herself into my narrow bed.
I let out a sigh. How did it come to this?
I turn on the computer and glance through today's news.
It was mainly romance reports and sports-related news.
After that, I looked through SNS for a bit.
Then, the figure of the new resident hugs me from behind.
"Wouldn't a single 'good morning' be nice?"
Wearing cute pajamas with a gap so large it's unimaginable from her usual attire, my girlfriend, Shimizu Akira, stood there.
The story goes back.
A visitor who suddenly arrives in the middle of the night.
She is carrying a large bag.
Since it would be troublesome to have the doorbell pressed repeatedly again, I honestly open the door.
Then, without a word, she enters the room and spreads out her luggage.
Clothing, a hairdryer, cosmetics, and so on, she lines them up wherever she finds space in the room.
"Um, what on earth is the meaning of this?"
"Can't you tell by looking? I've come to stay... no, perhaps it's better to say I've come to live together."
"Live together..."
This is a 1LDK, it's not that spacious.
"It's a bit narrow... well, I suppose this is how it is."
Shimizu-san, worrying alone and convincing herself alone.
"Um, I can't quite understand how it came to this."
"We've started dating, right? Isn't living together normal?"
I wanted her to explain her scale of "normal" in detail once.
"It's okay, I've practiced so that I can at least do the cooking."
"How did your parents agree to this?"
Living together with me, someone whose origins they don't even know.
Normally, they would seem likely to oppose it.
"They told me that since I'm basically an adult, I should act on my own responsibility. There's no problem at all... however."
However?
"They told me to bring you home once. It's early since we haven't even been dating for a month, isn't it?"
Saying that, Shimizu-san laughs.
Tosaka-san, please tell me. Is this the action a maiden takes?
Ah, she was staying over at Katagiri-kun's house too, wasn't she. Moreover, with the approval of both families' parents.
"I'm thirsty... there was a Convenience Store nearby."
I silently offered coffee.
"Oh? You're attentive. Thank you."
And so, a strange cohabitation life began.
"Do you remember what day today is?"
"...Is it Christmas Eve?"
"That's part of it, but I think I told you before."
I remembered something I didn't even want to remember.
Today is the day I face Shimizu-san's parents.
There was no need to specifically make it on Eve.
Naturally, I have my part-time job. But she said it was fine after the job ended, so I reluctantly agreed.
Around the time the job ended, Shimizu-san visited the store.
She came to pick me up. Saying so, she waits outside the store.
Should I escape from the back? But she also has the key to the apartment room. It's useless to escape.
I quietly head to her house with her.
Her house was about 30 minutes by car from the University.
At a glance, it wasn't the mansion I had imagined.
The limousine stopped in front of the house gate, dropped us off, and left.
Come to think of it, the garage of this house is a bit narrow to park a limousine.
Shimizu-san takes the house key from her bag and unlocks it. When the door opens, there is the smell of a brand new house.
A state with no sense of daily life, just like a model house.
"Um, where are your parents?"
"They should be here soon."
Are both parents working?
It's better not to ask too intrusive questions.
Shimizu-san guides me to her room. Brand new furnishings are displayed.
Naturally, a double bed is placed there.
The futon and sheets are crisp, as if reminding one of a hotel's.
"I'll go get some drinks, so wait a moment."
Saying that, Shimizu-san left the room.
However, I feel something unnatural. I was searching for its identity.
Everything necessary is provided; it was a room coordinated specifically for a woman.
However, I feel a sense of incongruity with those things themselves. What is it... this incongruity.
Shimizu-san returned with drinks. She lines up two glasses on the table placed in the room and pours detox water.
"Is this handmade too?"
When I say that, Shimizu-san raises the corners of her mouth and nods.
"It's delicious."
"Thank you, it's the first time I've made something for someone and been praised."
She's probably just stating a fact.
I felt no lies or falsehoods in that smile.
There are times when even distorted affection is rewarded.
She proved that.
Distorted affection.
I didn't even know myself what I meant by saying that.
She might just have a twisted way of thinking, but the affection itself might be expressed straight.
She might be wrong in how she directs it.
The method might be distorted, but the true intention might be pure, as Tosaka-san says.
She just doesn't know how to do it.
Perhaps the surrounding environment made her that way.
Ding-dong
Someone seems to have come. The doorbell rings.
"They seem to be here..."
Shimizu-san, who seems to know the identity of the guest, calls me and goes to the entrance.
When the entrance lock is opened and the door opens, a pair who seem to be a married couple is standing there.
"Akira-chan, it's been a while, have you been well?"
"I'm well. It's been a while."
"Were you okay alone, Akira? Weren't you lonely?"
"I'm fine, Father. Welcome."
What is this? This unnatural conversation.
I know permission for cohabitation was given, but "welcome"...
The person called Father notices me and gives a nod.
"Are you Akira's boyfriend? Your name?"
"S-Sakai Yoshiyuki."
That person scans my whole body, searching for anything suspicious.
Once satisfied, he holds out his hand.
"I am Akira's father, nice to meet you."
I shake that hand and greet him, "Nice to meet you as well."
"Even so, it's quite clean. Haven't you moved yet?"
!?
What did you just say?
"I'm thinking of doing it within the year, but since it's a special occasion, I thought it would be a Christmas present."
"Pre... sent?"
"Hm? Hadn't Sakai-kun been told yet?"
"Yes, I thought we'd talk while eating once everyone gathered."
I feel like I've made some huge mistake.
The meal was entirely her handmade cooking.
Her cooking, which she said was her first time, was elaborate; she had made all the generally common Christmas dishes.
Sitting at the brand new table, we first start with a toast.
The meal was delicious... I think. My head was so confused that I couldn't tell the taste well because those words from earlier were bothering me.
"Shimizu-san, about what was said earlier, could you explain what on earth it means?"
"Ah, right. First, I explained that since we started dating, cohabitation is natural, right?"
I'm not convinced, but for now, I heard the story.
"So, I prepared some temporary luggage, but the room isn't wide enough to possibly fit everything. So I consulted Father. Then he said he'd look for a property we could move into immediately, so we should move there."
"Excuse me?"
"It's a small house, but it's better than an apartment, right? Your room will be the same as mine, so there's no problem, right?"
"Um, this is a very fundamental question, but is it a premise that I also move?"
"Yes? Was that not okay?"
Uwaa... there's no doubt she's a very pure person... but she's a thorough sheltered young lady.
To put it another way, she's just a dummy.
With a face like that, saying "Was that not okay?", how could I possibly refuse?
I mean, please tell me before signing a contract.
Also, the father's gaze is really bothering me.
"Are you dissatisfied with this house?"
It's not that kind of problem, Father; my question is why I wasn't told beforehand about something that fundamentally changes my life. From here, it'll be difficult to go to my part-time job.
"No, I just thought that from here, school is far and going to my part-time job is a bit inconvenient."
"Part-time job?"
"He has a part-time job, at a cafe near the University,"
Shimizu-san explains as an addition.
"In that case, I shall arrange transportation for you. Then there should be no problem."
Did you think I'd say, "That's true"?
Fundamentally, something is wrong, right?
Going to a part-time job with transportation provided—I think there are various points to nitpick there.
"Listening to the conversation since a while ago, does this Sakai-kun dislike living with my daughter that much?"
Your impression has changed quite a bit from when we greeted each other, Mother.
I'm being glared at with a momentum that makes me want to ask if there's anyone with the courage to say "I dislike it" here to raise their hand.
"Is... that so...?"
Uwaa, even Father is glaring at me with an aura that seems to be sparking lightning.
"Both of you calm down, he's just a bit bewildered."
When Shimizu-san says that, the aura of the two softens slightly.
"Well, it's like that at first. Anyone would be bewildered."
"It's fine, my daughter will teach you properly."
Um, you both say you agree with the cohabitation, but there isn't a single millimeter of space for my will to intervene, is there.
Contrary to my will, it was decided that the move would take place during the winter break.
Apparently, transportation for the part-time job will be provided.
I thought that going to a part-time job with transportation provided is just plain stupid, but if I were to say such a thing, I felt like I'd be sunk, so I kept quiet.
When the talk ended and the meal finished, the parents went home.
As the two of us washed and tidied the dishes, we talked while eating cake.
"You were surprised by the suddenness, weren't you? I tried to do a surprise..."
Rather than surprised, I never dreamed that even my living environment would be changed.
Rather than a surprise, it was literally a sneak attack.
"Is this okay? Is cohabitation possible before even a month has passed since we started dating?"
"Do you dislike living with me?"
So could you please stop asking questions where there's only one choice?
Who did you learn that expression from?
If it were your guard, they'd answer instantly.
I thought you'd been quiet lately, but you were planning this under the surface.
"I heard there are people who live together immediately after dating. It's no problem for me."
I think the means are probably terrifyingly different, though.
Giving a house as a Christmas present to a university student—at least I've never heard of such a thing.
...Doesn't that make my Christmas present look incredibly cheap?
"It's late, but this... is a present for Shimizu-san."
I handed over a box containing a card case.
See? It's a very tiny thing.
"I'm happy... I'll keep it safely."
"I'd rather you use it, though."
"That means keeping it close to my skin... you've thought about me too."
At that moment, I noticed Shimizu-san's face was dyed red.
It wasn't because of the drink she's having now.
I think she's truly happy.
Heh, she has a cute side like that too.
My heart skipped a beat at the gap from her usual self.
It might be as Tosaka-san says.
She might actually just be a maiden in love.
At that time, I hadn't yet noticed the change budding within myself.
(4)
"So beautiful~"
Entering an open-air bath under the cold sky and looking at the winter starry sky, the core of the body warms up and the heart warms too.
"I'm glad we came~"
"Yeah~"
Toya-kun seems to have finally grown a bit.
He's stopped getting flustered even when entering the bath together.
That's a happy thing, but I also feel a bit lonely.
I want to make his heart race, even if just a little.
Because I'm always the one whose heart is made to race.
I'll try a little mischief.
I hug Toya-kun's arm and press my chest against him.
Toya-kun, who apparently got flustered after all, hurriedly tries to pull away, but I don't let him escape.
Having resigned himself, he just looks up at the starry sky.
I don't know the slightest thing about constellations, but the illumination of the heavens looks very beautiful and shining.
After looking at the natural planetarium for a while, Toya-kun suddenly stands up. Are you bored already?
"Sorry, I can't take any more. I feel like I'm getting lightheaded."
Saying that, Toya-kun left the hot spring.
I thought I'd get lightheaded too if I stayed in too long, so I leave the hot spring.
Putting on a yukata, Toya-kun goes out to the veranda and looks up at the sky while cooling his flushed body.
"You'll catch a chill."
I hug Toya-kun from behind.
His body is still hot. Is my body cold? It warms me up very much. It's true that if you embrace each other, you warm up even on a cold night.
"True, let's go back inside soon."
Saying that, Toya-kun leaves me and enters the room.
Aren't you coming into the room with me today? He's so mean...
Our trips always start early in the morning.
Therefore, we fall asleep early.
While only the sound of the TV plays, Toya-kun enters the bed.
As I stand there looking lonely, he lifts his duvet a bit and says, "Come here."
You're properly peering into my heart. I'm glad.
I fall asleep while warming my body with Toya-kun.
"Aren't you cold?"
I'm not cold... because you're by my side. Just that warms my body.
"I wonder if I made a mistake in the choice. I wondered if a hot spring trip for Christmas was okay."
Did you forget? As long as it's with Toya-kun, I'll go anywhere. Because I think we can make memories anywhere.
"Where shall we go for New Year's? Should we spend it leisurely at home?"
"Hmm... that's fine too."
"Airi, be careful not to overwork."
"Mm."
"After the year begins, the first shrine visit... where shall we go?"
"Wouldn't Harukoe Shrine be fine?"
"I wonder if everyone will gather again?"
"Probably, I think we'll know by tomorrow, right?"
Because tomorrow is the promise to make a fuss with everyone.
"Ah, that's right, Airi, this..."
"?"
When I open the box, a ring with a beautiful pink gemstone is inside. He remembered the size. I have a present for Toya-kun too.
When I give it to Toya-kun, he was happy, saying "Thank you." You're welcome.
After that, we continued talking while staying close to each other. Looking at each other's faces and kissing. We were loving each other in an ordinary way. That alone was enough.
Eventually, Toya-kun's voice suddenly disappears.
"Toya-kun?"
Toya-kun is sleeping, making soft breathing sounds. I gently turn off the light.
I sleep, using Toya-kun almost like a body pillow.
I hope this warmth continues forever.