Chapter 165 - Plum Blossoms Bloom
(1)
A flower opens at the end of a single ray of light.
The snow melts, and the footsteps of spring can be heard.
The sound of spring waters playing, sparkling in the sunlight.
"Good morning, Toya-kun."
Airi's greeting, which I hear all year round, always seems to herald the arrival of spring regardless of the season; as I sit up, I tell Airi, "Good morning."
"Breakfast is ready."
We've already entered spring break, but every day feels like this.
Waking up in the morning, eating, and spending time relaxedly while the two of us sit side-by-side in the room drinking morning coffee.
Poke
Huh? Did I do something wrong? I'm sure I did it as usual.
"Today is our outing day~"
Airi tells me to get ready for the outing. Ah, that's right. Today we were going to see the plum blossoms.
Airi seems to have already changed and prepared the luggage. She probably let me sleep until the last possible moment.
Changing quickly, I tell Airi that I'm ready.
"Well, shall we go?"
If you go out that excited, you'll trip.
Even if you time leap, I won't be able to save you.
Thinking such things, I followed after Airi.
After telling my parents that I'm going out, I head to the entrance.
Putting on my shoes, I go outside and climb into my car.
The destination is a plum garden; the early spring plum festival, where many white and red plums are planted, has stalls selling local performing arts and stalls selling local cuisine.
It seems we left late. It's already congested from the point where we left the national highway.
Listening to the FM radio, I enjoy the traffic jam moving sluggishly.
Airi also talks to me about various things so that I don't get bored.
I also give occasional replies while listening to Airi's stories.
The traffic jam continued for about 45 minutes. I was finally able to park in the parking lot.
Immediately to the stalls...
Poke
"Are you hungry? It's a bit early for lunch, isn't it?"
No, I just wanted to eat torimeshi...
"Let's look around at the flowers first, okay? Food after that!"
Since Airi said so, I obeyed obediently.
I don't want to fight after coming all the way to a pleasure spot.
In the plum garden, where plum trees called "Garyume" are planted because they resemble the figure of a reclining dragon, about 450 trees including white plums, winter red plums, and Bungo plums are all in full bloom.
Airi was taking photos while looking at them.
I wonder how many photos are in Airi's smartphone?
I deliberately refrain from taking photos in order to enjoy the emotion I felt at that moment.
I keep it in my memory.
There are things I forget, but if I want to see them, I can just come again, and there's no point in taking photos of things that don't leave that much of an impression.
They are also performing Garyume drums and kagura.
I was captivated by each and every movement.
Though it seemed Airi was bored.
Seeing Airi looking bored, I stopped watching halfway through.
Since Airi looked apologetic, saying "I'm sorry," when I patted her shoulder and told her "It's okay," Airi's face overflowed with a smile.
After looking around once, when I turned my steps toward the stalls thinking is it about time for food~?, she grabbed my arm and pulled me, saying "Since we're here, let's look around a bit more."
After looking around for about two hours, she seemed finally satisfied and moved to a bench.
Eh? The stalls? The torimeshi? The dango-jiru?
"You're hungry, right? Here♪"
Saying that, Airi opens a lunch box. Inside were torimeshi rice balls.
"Did you make these, Airi?"
When I asked, Airi nodded. "It's my first time, so I don't know if they're tasty," she said, pouring tea into a cup.
"Let's eat~"
When I immediately tried the torimeshi rice balls that Airi said she made for the first time, they were incredibly delicious. A simple taste spread through my mouth.
The takikomi-gohan, where chicken and burdock were seasoned with sake, soy sauce, and sugar and then simmered and mixed with rice, had a solid flavor.
"It's delicious."
In times like this, there are cases where it's better to express it with simple words rather than saying something clumsily difficult, and just as those words suggested, Airi was delighted.
"There's plenty, so please eat a lot."
Airi said that, took a bite herself, and was satisfied with the taste.
"But why torimeshi?"
When I asked Airi, she answered with a smile.
"From the moment Toya-kun said we were coming here, it just clicked! I thought I'd want to make it for you."
Because of Airi's kindness, the torimeshi felt even more delicious.
That there is no seasoning superior to affection is exactly this case, and when I finished every bit of the lunch she had made, Airi was surprised.
"I'm sure I made enough that you couldn't possibly finish it all..." Airi said in surprise, to which I replied, "There's no way I could do something as wasteful as leaving the lunch Airi made, right?"
When Airi clung to my arm out of joy, though it was a bit embarrassing, I rubbed her back.
Yeah, it's a bit embarrassing. I'm concerned about the gazes of those around us.
Having fully enjoyed the skinship, Airi tidied up the opened lunch box, put it in her bag, and asked, "Shall we go soon?"
I also stood up, held hands with Airi, and headed toward the car.
When I got in the car, I tried to make a suggestion to Airi, but...
"You want to make a detour, right? It's okay."
It seemed I had been read by Airi; after thanking Airi, I drove the car in the opposite direction from the way we came.
These were days when it felt more like spring with each passing day.
(2)
Pi-pi-pi-pi...
The alarm rings. I stop it. I look at the clock; it was still 8 o'clock.
Kanna is sleeping next to me. Part-time jobs, studying, housework... She must be tired from various things. I decided to let her keep sleeping.
Kanna is staying at my house today. She comes over to play like this on weekends. That said, it mostly ends with cleaning my room.
For now, to clear my foggy head, I brew coffee.
The television had been left on. The DVD I was watching yesterday has ended. I must have fallen asleep halfway through.
She probably won't wake up from just the sound of the TV, so I try turning the TV on.
A program was on where a commentator explained the news that happened this week.
These days, similar programs are on even during weekday afternoons. It's boring because it's all just similar programs.
I change the channel; a tokusatsu show was on. Well, it's better than the news.
While watching the tokusatsu and drinking coffee, there's a sound from the bed.
It seems Kanna woke up.
When I look back, Kanna is sitting in a split-legged position wearing my sleepwear with half-asleep eyes that I can't quite make out.
She still seems to be in a daze.
"Makoto...?"
It seems she hasn't grasped the situation. Occasionally she's half-asleep.
It's a state unthinkable for the usual Kanna.
Since she just woke up, her hair is messy, and she's not wearing makeup.
Being able to see Kanna in this state is the privilege of me, her boyfriend.
There is a proper reason why I lent Kanna my sleepwear yesterday. It was for the sake of seeing her in this current state.
No matter how tall Kanna is, my sleepwear is large in size.
Naturally, it becomes baggy. The shoulders slide down, her hands don't emerge from the sleeves, and the neckline is wide. Quite a slovenly appearance.
If a man sees a beauty like this, anyone would feel lust, right? Though I know one guy who doesn't...
Even when I tried to teach that guy this romance, he didn't seem to understand at all.
"Good morning, Kanna...!"
When I tried to give her a good morning kiss, I was slapped.
"Why is the response a slap? The standard is to cling to me cutely, isn't it!?"
"Ah, sorry. I hit you reflexively. I thought you were probably thinking of something worthless anyway."
"Couldn't you praise me for not clinging to Kanna, who was sleeping in such a figure from the morning?"
"If you'd done that, I would have hit you with my fist."
Well, it's fine. Just being able to see that outfit. I feel like I can get through the rest of today.
I wanted to take a photo, but she's extremely shy.
Back in high school, when I had her wear just underwear and a shirt and took a photo, she trembled with embarrassment.
It's a secret that I got even more excited by that, but since she looked like she was frightened, I remember hurriedly deleting the photo in front of her.
And then there's me, who finds such a Kanna moe. Because the gap from her usual self is too great. This is exactly what gap-moe is.
She said she would have hit me with her fist, but I think that's probably not true.
However, since I knew she would start trembling remembering the past, I learned that when doing such things to Kanna, suddenness is a no-go.
I offer coffee to Kanna, who is still in a daze.
"You're still sleepy, right? Drink this."
"Thank you."
Kanna holds the cup with both hands and takes a sip.
I find that way of holding it moe again, but since she's not doing it on purpose, it's an even higher score.
Did she grasp the situation she's in after drinking the coffee? Her face flushes red.
"You... was this your aim?"
"I've been unable to stand it since last night."
I thought she would become even more embarrassed, but I was dead wrong. From here on, it's the usual Kanna.
"I wondered if you had some scheme. You total pervert."
I don't mind how much you abuse me if it's you right now, Kanna.
Such dream-like time ends in an instant.
Kanna begins to change.
You ask if I don't find it moe when she changes?
A girl starting to change without embarrassment is surprisingly nothing special, you know?
When she finishes changing, she goes to the washroom; she's probably washing her face, brushing her teeth, and tidying her hair.
When she returned after a while, it was the usual Kanna.
"So, where are you taking me today?"
Kanna asked while applying makeup.
"No, I thought we'd just relax in the room today."
Also to heal Kanna's fatigue... However, Kanna seemed to think differently.
"There's nothing that tires me more than when I'm in a room with you..."
"Don't say that, just relax."
Kanna continues her makeup without saying anything. And when she finished her makeup, she brought her face close to mine.
"...While other girlfriends are preparing to go out, was Makoto such a cold man that he wouldn't take me anywhere?"
Kanna says it with a spoiled voice.
Let me say, I'm not being lured by the spoiled voice.
I just found Kanna, who says such a spoiled voice while being embarrassed, moe.
"Is anywhere okay?"
"Anywhere as long as we go outside?"
"...It might be a bit chilly, so prepare a jacket, okay?"
"A-ah. I did bring one."
I prepared the tools and went outside.
The place we went was a nearby fishing spot. On the way, we bought bait and tackle at a fishing gear store.
I went for lure fishing, and I bought bait for sabiki fishing for Kanna.
Of course, putting in the bait was my job.
"Why fishing?"
"I started doing it occasionally after moving here and got hooked. I thought I'd want to do it with Kanna someday. I heard many women get hooked on it too."
After filling Kanna's basket with bait, I teach Kanna how to hold the rod and how to cast.
Kanna lets the line drop into the sea as taught and sits in the chair we brought.
"Look at the tip of the rod, and when it twitches, pull the rod."
"It's been pulling strongly for a while now...?"
Eh? Already!!
I take the rod from Kanna and wind the reel. A horse mackerel was caught.
"Not bad, Kanna. To catch one right away."
"...No, I didn't do anything."
Even while saying that, Kanna looks happy.
I cast my lure, not to be outdone.
In the end, Kanna caught over 10 fish.
I was a bowzu (caught nothing)...
Lure fishing in the sea is apparently difficult to begin with, so it can't be helped.
Kanna was frolicking happily.
This face is my catch for the day.
When we returned home, Kanna filleted them for me.
Half became sashimi. Half were made into hiraki (butterfly fillets) and dried.
"Save them in the freezer."
Kanna takes only two fish back with her.
Once Kanna gets used to it, maybe we'll go somewhere more professional?
The feeling wasn't bad. When I dropped her off on the way back, we got excited talking about fishing.
"Thanks for today. It was fun."
"Let's go again."
"Yeah."
Saying that, I try to go home, and then I felt like I heard Kanna's scream.
"Mother!"
No mistake. I heard that.
In a panic, I stop the car and go to Kanna's house, and there was Kanna shaking her mother, who had collapsed at the entrance.
When Kanna looks at me, she clings to me. "Makoto! Mother is!!"
Is it just a dizzy spell? Amateur judgment is dangerous.
"Kanna, an ambulance!!"
Instructing Kanna to call an ambulance, I call out to Kanna's mother.
"Auntie, can you hear me!! It's me. If you can hear me, please answer."
Then Kanna's mother faintly opens her eyes.
"I'm okay, just a bit dizzy..."
She seems to be conscious.
Shortly after, the ambulance arrives. After asking which hospital they are going to, Kanna accompanies her, and I follow later.
When I arrive at the hospital, Kanna is in the waiting room.
"How is Auntie's condition?"
"It seems it's nothing, just fatigue. As a precaution, they'll give her an IV today and see how she does..."
"I see... Kanna, what about your part-time job?"
"This isn't the time for that! I got the day off."
"I see... Should I stay too?"
"No, it's okay... Sorry for making you worry."
"Don't worry about it. Trust me a little more."
"I trust you... even so, I'm depending on you..."
Saying that, Kanna clings to me.
It's not the first time I've seen Kanna like this.
That's why I know. It's precisely at times like this that I have to be with her...
"I'll stay after all. I can't leave Kanna alone."
"But..."
"Um, excuse me. Are you Mika-san's daughter?"
Turning around, a middle-aged man with a protruding belly whom I've never seen appeared.
"I am, but who are you?"
Kanna asked suspiciously.
"My name is Mozu Taichi. I heard that Mika-san collapsed."
Kanna was bewildered by the appearance of an unknown person.
(3)
"My name is Mozu Taichi. I heard that Mika-san collapsed."
Why does he know Mother's name?
He has a plump build and a plump face.
Because of that physique, the area around his eyes also looks gentle.
"Excuse me, but what is your relationship with my mother?"
"Ah, I am the owner of the shop where Mika-san works..."
Owner? The shop she works at, day? Night? Which one?"
I received a business card from Mozu-san.
It says Owner of Snack Delta. So it's the night work...
"And Mika-san's condition...?"
"It seems to be overwork."
"Is that so, I am sorry for my lack of management."
Mozu-san said that and bowed his head.
"Please don't worry about it, more than that, thank you for coming all this way for my mother. And..."
"I understand. I will have Mika-san take a rest for a while."
"Thank you for your consideration."
"No, no, I look forward to your continued kindness. If it's alright, could I see Mika-san?"
"Yes, please..."
Saying that, I guide Mozu-san to the hospital room.
"Oh? Kanna. You hadn't gone home yet? ...Taichi-san!?"
"Mika! I was worried. I thought it was rare for Mika to be late, so when I called... it's because you push yourself."
Mother looked at us and said, "Could you step out for a moment?"
She was calling Mozu-san by his first name. Mozu-san was also calling Mother by her first name without honorifics. And the atmosphere drifting between the two...
While I was deep in thought, Makoto said, "Shall we go?"
Even after leaving the hospital room, I sat on a nearby bench and thought deeply.
"Kanna. Here's coffee."
"Thank you."
Saying that, I receive the coffee.
"I wonder if those two are dating?"
I threw my thoughts at Makoto.
"Atmosphere-wise, it felt like that."
Makoto answers frankly.
Mother is still young; she might be considering remarriage.
If he's a good person, I think that's fine.
It would be stranger if she hadn't fallen in love until now.
If she could meet a good person and forget that she was with such a piece of trash. But...
Was I a shackle?
Did she seal it away until now thinking of me?
If so, it's fine now. Because I can manage on my own now.
I want Mother to do as she likes. But...
For some reason, tears were overflowing. An emotion different from joy.
To such a me, Makoto gently hands me a handkerchief.
"Don't cry, Kanna. Because I'm with you..."
"That's true..."
At that moment, Mozu-san came out of the hospital room.
"Mika-san says she has something to tell you. Kanna-san, and Makoto-kun, was it?"
"Me too...?"
"She says to come, so come."
I said that to the hesitating Makoto.
I wanted him to be with me. I thought so.
The talk was as I expected.
That the two of them had been dating. That they intend to marry once I graduate from university and become independent.
Every single word pierced my chest.
"Why?"
"Eh?"
Mother hesitates at my one word.
"Why is there a need to wait until my university graduation! If you love each other, you should just marry now, right!? If my existence is a hindrance, I'll become independent starting now!"
"I-it's not that I intend to do that."
"Then do it immediately! Mother has worked hard until now. There's no need to wait anymore."
I don't want to be a shackle.
"You have to hold on. When you think it's this person, you mustn't let go. If you can marry, it's better to do it immediately."
When I said that, Mother was crying.
"Thank you, Kanna..."
"Thank you, Kanna-san."
"Please stop using such a distant way of calling me Kanna-san. ...I look forward to your kindness. Father-in-law."
"I look forward to yours too."
"Well then, I'll leave the rest to Mozu-san. Mother, don't push yourself."
Saying that, I left the hospital room with Makoto.
"You did your best. Kanna."
When Makoto calls out to me like that, I clung to Makoto's chest and cried.
It wasn't loneliness, but joy at the fact that I'm getting a new family. I decided to believe that.
"I'll stay at Kanna's house tonight after all. I can't leave Kanna alone."
"Yeah..."
It was an event in the season of amber-colored spring melancholy.
(4)
"Uuu..."
"There's no need to worry about it. It can't be helped. You frolicked for the first time in a while."
Toya-kun gives me gentle words.
Even though he says that, it's still frustrating.
It's not something that simple, you know?
I've ruined one of the memories with Toya-kun.
It was just a momentary lapse in attention.
Toya-kun is good at driving. That's why I can feel at ease. As spring approaches, if I'm captivated by the pleasant swaying and the unchanging scenery, there are times when the afternoon warmth invites sleep for just a moment.
That lapse in attention led to the blunder of falling asleep while Toya-kun was driving.
It might have been for a short while, but something might have happened during that short while.
Whether it was something sad or something happy, it might have been something I could share with Toya-kun.
Precisely at a time like this, Toya-kun becomes mean.
"I heard Airi's breathing, so when I looked back, Airi was sleeping while drooling."
Poke
"You don't need to look at such things!"
"That's also an important memory, right?"
"Uuu..."
Toya-kun suddenly turns the road. Entering the mountains again. Do you want to see my sleeping face that much? You see it all the time. He's mean and didn't wake me up for the longest time. I'd be happier if he did some kind of prank.
Look, it's that sign I saw earlier. ...Eh? The sign I saw earlier?
I look at Toya-kun's face; Toya-kun raises the corners of his mouth while looking straight ahead.
"It's from around here, right? That you were sleeping. This time, stay awake properly."
"...Yeah!"
While chewing the drowsiness-prevention gum kept in Toya-kun's car, I looked at the scenery firmly.
If it's no good, I can just start over. If even that process of starting over can be made into a memory.
Even if it means taking a detour as if the navigation is searching for a new road, it's fine as long as we arrive.
The road passes through the city center and enters the mountain road again.
Normally one would take the bypass, but Toya-kun isn't in a hurry and goes out to the sea.
Running along the winding coastline.
Taking a breather at a convenience store at the end of the coastline.
There, I buy a light snack, and while Toya-kun is eating, I make do with just juice.
"Hey, Toya-kun."
"What is it?"
"Before, you asked me which I liked better, the mountains or the sea, right?"
"Yeah, have you decided?"
"No, I was wondering which one Toya-kun prefers."
Because I've been driving with Toya-kun for nearly a year, but I didn't know which one Toya-kun liked.
"...As long as Airi is with me, I don't mind either."
When I smile, Toya-kun sulks a little.
"Anyway, even if I say it, it wouldn't suit me."
That's not it, Toya-kun. I just laughed because the answer was the same as mine. I feel like I really understand Toya-kun's feelings.
The place we arrive at is the same, isn't it.
If so, let's walk together if possible.
The serene days were already that close.