Chapter 340 - Collecting the Stars in the Night Sky
(1)
After getting out of the bath, I return to Toya-kun's room.
And Toya-kun is getting ready to go out.
I wonder what's up?
Toya-kun sees me and says.
"Airi, get ready to go out too."
"Where are we going?"
"It's a secret."
Because I said I'd go anywhere with Toya-kun, I have to follow through.
I won't go out alone. Don't leave me alone.
Even though it's just selfishness, Toya-kun protects me.
He even takes me to overseas matches.
He keeps his promise not to make Kuruma-san do anything reckless.
Sometimes he tries to push it, but he holds back for me.
I can't say "no" to Toya-kun like that.
"Okay~"
Saying that, I change clothes.
Thinking the night might still be chilly, I grab a cardigan and leave the house with Toya-kun.
The car heads toward the mountains.
Huh? This direction...?
The nightmare from that time comes back to me.
The nightmare of when I was taken by Toya-kun's cousin, Katsuya-san.
My legs tremble.
Calm down, it's Toya-kun. Not Katsuya-san.
But no is no.
Fear is fear.
Why suddenly?
Did Toya-kun turn out like Makoto-kun too?
I have no confidence in meeting that demand.
"Toya-kun, let's go back?"
I appeal to Toya-kun.
"It'll be fine."
Toya-kun doesn't let go of my right hand with his left.
Can men not understand this fear?
The car stops in the mountain parking lot. That scenery I still remember vividly.
Snow was falling back then, though.
Toya-kun gets out of the car with a flashlight in hand.
I don't want to get out.
Toya-kun opens the passenger door.
"Come on."
"No!"
I shake my head and refuse.
Toya-kun, please understand.
Toya-kun stays still.
He seems troubled.
Toya-kun grabs my hand.
"Airi, absolutely don't let go of me. Just close your eyes and follow along. That way you won't be scared, right?"
It's the first time Toya-kun has ever pushed me this hard.
Everything Toya-kun does has meaning. It's always been that way.
I gasp. I steady my breathing.
Then I grab Toya-kun's waist and stick close to him as we walk, not letting go.
"Maybe because it rained yesterday. It's muddy. Airi, watch your step."
"Okay..."
How long did we walk?
Where did we go, and how?
I didn't look at all, so I don't know.
Eventually, Toya-kun stops.
"Try opening your eyes?"
Just as told, I timidly open my eyes.
Spreading before me is a dreamlike world where stars and city lights blend together.
"Beautiful..."
Toya-kun doesn't say anything.
I'm just captivated by that night view.
So there was a place this beautiful in our hometown too.
"It's beautiful, right?"
"Yeah."
This is what Toya-kun wanted to show me, isn't it?
"Thank you..."
"It's no big deal. I'm also responsible for not bringing you here until now."
Huh?
You're not at fault, Toya-kun?
It's just that I didn't come because I hated it.
"I didn't bring you because you were scared. That was a mistake."
"Why?"
"Being prejudiced against something without trying it isn't good."
"Huh?"
"You know, I used to not like gratin."
Food talk again?
So Toya-kun has foods he doesn't like too.
"A long time ago, I hated potatoes. I couldn't eat the potatoes in the gratin and left them, and my dad scolded me. I wasn't allowed to leave the table until I finished. Gratin tastes bad when it gets cold, right? That made it even harder to eat, and it was a negative spiral."
So that happened.
The image of Toya-kun eating gratin while crying. I can't imagine that now.
"After that, I just couldn't eat gratin. I guess it was always a trauma."
"But you ate it when I made it the other day, didn't you?"
"Because I don't hate potatoes anymore. Besides, I couldn't leave food my wife made, right? I can't leave a meal filled with so much love."
So that's how you felt.
"Thinking that, I was able to overcome my prejudice."
"But if you hated it, you could have just said so."
"I didn't want to trouble you, Airi."
"Is that so? Thank you."
"...Isn't this exactly that situation now?"
Huh?
"Even though there's a place this beautiful, you couldn't see it because of that incident. I thought it was such a waste."
"...Yeah, I guess so."
"So what I can do is teach you that this place is this beautiful. I brought you here thinking that."
I look around. There are a lot of couples.
Are they all looking with the same feelings?
Are they looking with happy feelings like me?
"Thank you."
I thank Toya-kun.
"You okay now?"
I nod silently.
"Well then, should we head back soon?"
"Yeah."
This time, with my eyes open, I hold Toya-kun's hand and go back to the car.
Once back in the car, Toya-kun checks the time.
I wonder what's up?
"Airi, it's still early. Want to take a little drive?"
"Where to?"
"I was thinking of running through the mountains."
"Ugh... You're going to push the car again?"
"No. The weather's nice today and the night sky is beautiful, right? I thought a drive under that kind of starry sky wouldn't be bad."
So Toya-kun thinks of such lovely things too.
"Okay, fine. But I have to go to the hair salon by noon tomorrow..."
"Yeah, I know. It won't get that late."
"Then, okay."
Toya-kun starts driving.
Slowly, collecting the stars filling the night sky, we enjoyed a relaxed drive.
(2)
"Good morning, Toya-kun. It's morning~"
"Mm... Good morning, Airi."
Airi's in a good mood. I know why.
But I'm sleepy... Just a little more!
whap
"No~! You have to do your daily routine properly!"
It wouldn't be worth it to ruin Airi's good mood.
I'll bear it and get up.
Get the routine done quickly and go back to sleep.
I put strength into my whole body, get up, and change clothes.
After changing, I do my routine, take a shower, and eat breakfast.
Now's my chance!
I make coffee, take it back to the room, put it on the table, and crawl into bed.
I wanted to sleep, even if just a little, even a tiny bit.
But Airi wouldn't allow it.
She brings the cordless hair dryer close to my face and blows it on high.
"Airi, that's hot!"
I sit up and tell Airi to stop.
"It's your fault for leaving your wife alone and going to sleep."
"We're going out from noon, right? So let me sleep just a little."
"Hmm, so you say that. You won't spend time with your wife."
When she puts it that way, I have a bad feeling.
"Fine then, if Toya-kun won't pay attention to me, I'll go do the housework."
See?
"I get it! I get it, Airi!"
I hug Airi from behind and stop her from leaving the room.
Airi turns around and grins.
"If you'd just do that from the start... You really are a troublesome husband."
After that, we drink coffee and watch TV together. While Airi takes the mugs to the kitchen, I check the internet.
I'm checking the online news when Airi comes back.
The clock still says 9. What to do?
Airi is watching TV.
I'm looking at the desktop.
If Airi's absorbed in TV, maybe it's okay.
I start a game.
It's a game called a TPS where players dropped on an isolated island kill each other to survive.
It's pretty fun.
Of course, there's no way Airi would let me get absorbed in a game like that, and suddenly she hugs me from behind.
"Airi, now's not a good time!!"
"You said you'd pay attention to me!"
And before I know it, my player dies.
I obediently log out.
"If you wanted me to pay attention, you should have said so from the start."
"I did, but you turned to your PC, didn't you?"
"What was I supposed to do?"
"Hmm, right there. Since I was watching TV, you could have hugged me and said, 'Lap pillow~' ... Ah! I just thought of something good."
When Airi gets like this, her ideas are usually no good.
Today was no exception.
Airi gets a pair of ear-cleaning sticks.
"I'll clean your ears again~♪"
It wouldn't be smart to resist and make her angry.
I obediently put my head on Airi's thighs.
"Ugh... Toya-kun takes good care of his ears. They're so clean it's not even satisfying."
I get my ears cleaned while being complained to unfairly.
When the ear cleaning is done, I sit up.
"Now should I do yours?"
"Yeah♪"
I give Airi a lap pillow and start cleaning her ears.
I concentrate all my nerves on her ear and immerse myself in the cleaning.
Then the ear cleaning ends.
"What should I do next?"
"Let's watch TV together?"
I don't really have much interest in Saturday morning TV, but if Airi says so, it can't be helped.
I sit next to Airi and watch TV.
Naturally, Airi clings to me.
Her soft sensation transmits to my arm.
Airi doesn't seem to mind and laughs watching TV.
Occasionally checking her phone.
Just before noon, I'm released from Airi.
Airi starts preparing lunch.
Wanting to sleep even a little, I lie down at this chance.
Even on the floor, I don't care.
But Airi comes back quickly.
"I won't care if the noodles get soggy, you know!"
That's not good.
I hurry to the dining room.
After eating lunch, my mom cleans up.
We get ready to go out and head to the hair salon.
Airi is wearing a blue dress.
Her hair is also set in a different, elegant style than usual, and she has a corsage pinned on.
She puts on the earrings and necklace I bought her sometime, and Airi's preparations are complete.
I also get my hair styled, and we're ready.
We go home once, and my mom drives us to the venue.
Then we meet everyone.
"Today's after-party also doubles as a celebration for us getting jobs, and also a celebration for Asakura-san and the others."
So we're doing it with Watanabe's group?
What surprised me then was Kitamura-san's outfit.
Her hairstyle is the same as usual—no, she has a corsage on.
She complained about the necklace, but she's wearing a refreshing light blue dress, holding a bag in her hand, wearing pumps, and she's also wearing makeup.
She's not wearing any accessories at all, but it's an outfit unimaginable from the usual Kitamura-san.
"It's a wedding, isn't it? I'll at least prepare minimum appropriate clothing."
The most surprised seemed to be Kuribayashi-kun.
I was listening to Kuribayashi-kun's story.
(3)
I went to pick up Misato at her house at the appointed time.
I rang the intercom, and she came back saying, "I'll be out in a minute, so wait."
Then I was taken aback when Kitamura-san came out.
She was wearing a light blue dress, pumps, and makeup.
I couldn't hide my surprise because it was different from her usual attire.
"What's wrong?"
She asked.
"No, it's just that you look different from usual..."
"Well, there's a wedding from this evening, isn't there?"
Who would have thought we'd go on a date dressed for a wedding?
I was wearing a suit too, though.
Since we didn't want to waste time, we went to see a movie we'd promised to see earlier.
She watched silently without saying anything.
For lunch, since she said she liked pizza, we went to an Italian restaurant.
She ordered Japanese-style pasta and pizza.
We shared the pizza.
"Don't you think I'm a troublesome woman?"
She threw that mischievous question at me.
"Not at all."
I replied normally.
"I'm glad, if that's the case."
"What made you think that?"
I asked Misato.
"Well, I have a lot of likes and dislikes, and a lot of things I hate."
Her standard seems to be about food.
"I like hearing about your preferences."
I explained that it's natural to want to know what the person you like likes.
"Is that so!? Well then, my favorite foods are nigiri sushi, tempura, unagi bowls, gyoza, sukiyaki, gyudon..."
"What about desserts?"
"Daifuku, mitarashi dango, yokan, karukan, shigure-ikochi..."
On the other hand, she apparently hates overly sweet Western sweets like mont blanc.
She probably can't do whipped cream or custard cream.
Come to think of it, she hasn't ordered any float-type drinks either.
I asked why.
"I'm not good with carbonated drinks or coffee..."
I see, I'll keep that in mind.
That'll probably be part of her "instruction manual."
"I really am troublesome, aren't I?"
She looks down.
"You like what you like, you hate what you hate. It's actually helpful for me if you're clear about it."
I meant that as my best support.
"If that's the case, then it's fine."
After that, our conversation about her likes and dislikes got lively, and we left the restaurant and came to the venue.
(4)
"I see..."
Watanabe-kun listened carefully to Kuribayashi-kun's story.
"What do you all think? Do you think she's still troublesome?"
Kitamura-san asked.
"Isn't it fine? A woman who clearly tells you her preferences. I think it's good. Much better than someone who says 'anything's fine' and then complains later."
Watanabe-kun said.
"Yeah, compared to being left out, it might even be nicer for the cook."
Mika-san said.
"Speaking of cooking, I have a request."
"What is it?"
"Would someone be willing to teach me how to cook sometime?"
"Huh?"
I asked, and she says she's not good at cooking.
"In that case, I'll teach you. Simple things are fine, right?"
Emi-san said.
"Yes, please."
Kitamura-san said.
"You want to cook for your boyfriend, don't you. I understand that feeling."
Emi-san readily agreed.
"You were talking about likes and dislikes earlier, but our Eita is quite something too."
Ai-san said. Don't put potatoes in miso soup. He hates saury because it has too many bones. He seems to find fault with every single dish.
"What about you, Katagiri-kun? I have an image of you eating anything."
It was Airi who answered Ai-san's question.
"Toya-kun has likes and dislikes too. But he said he'd eat anything I cook for me."
I'd prefer if she spared me from sekihan or chestnut dishes. I quietly communicate that to Airi.
"Ugh... Okay♪ So mixed rice dishes aren't okay?"
"No, I eat kamameshi, chicken rice, takana rice..."
"...You're a troublesome husband."
Airi said that and laughed.
While we were having that conversation, the venue opened.
We went inside.
We see Sakura-san in her wedding dress.
Everyone takes pictures.
I focus on the food.
It's okay, Kitamura-san's the same.
After the reception, we go to the after-party.
The after-party has the usual party venue reserved.
I eat there too, just eat as much as I can.
"Toya-kun, let's go greet Hiyama-senpai and the others?"
Airi said, so I greet them.
"Congratulations, Hiyama-senpai."
"Yeah, thanks."
"It's thanks to Katagiri-senpai's~ Watanabe group that you got together~"
"It's the result of your own efforts. We just gave a little push."
In the end, it was their own choice, I say.
Airi seemed to agree.
"When are you getting married, Tosaka-senpai?"
"February 15th, the year after next."
Oh yeah, I did say that.
"We've already decided on the wedding date too~"
Ah, I was held to that.
"Please be sure to invite us."
"Yeah."
After greeting them, I head back to eating.
"Everyone, please come to the third party too. There's still more to celebrate. Fourth-years especially, please join."
Watanabe-kun says.
I wonder what it is?
(5)
Hiyama-senpai and the others went home.
It's their first night as a married couple, so it can't be helped.
Their honeymoon is apparently after the first term ends.
The non-drinkers went home, and most of those left came.
Asakura-san and Kisaragi-kun are still here, though.
Does it have something to do with what we're celebrating?
"Thank you all for coming."
Watanabe-kun says.
"First, regarding Asakura-san and Kisaragi-kun, they've decided to get engaged."
With that, applause is sent to the two.
"Ah, thank you very much."
"Thank you."
"Next, most of the fourth-years have received unofficial job offers."
"Ooh~" everyone exclaims.
Nakajima-kun and Watanabe-kun apparently got unofficial offers from the city hall.
Makoto is for soccer.
Ai-san and Honoka-san are nurses at Nishimatsu Hospital.
Sakai-kun will become president of Sakai Corporation.
Ishihara-kun will apparently work at ETC.
Tasuku also apparently got an unofficial offer from a company with a basketball club.
I successfully got an unofficial offer from Segawa Tax Accountant Office.
It seems I can expect enough income to support Airi.
After that, I just need to find a new place to live.
We plan to live together after graduation.
We have enough savings for that.
Before that, I have to win the Olympics, but either way, living together won't change.
Everyone congratulated each other and got excited.
The problem is how to pass on the Watanabe group...
"As expected, I can't handle things at the university. So I'd like to decide on a coordinator for the university..."
Watanabe-kun seems to have already decided.
He nominated Saki-san and Nishimatsu-kun.
"These two have wide connections, so I think they're perfect personnel. Their personalities are fine too now. What do you all think?"
"I don't have the confidence to handle such a big role!"
"I can't do it either!"
The two hesitate.
"I think no one has confidence. But I think these two now are good enough to entrust the Watanabe group to. It'll be fine. The final decision is up to Watanabe-kun. It's at most just scouting new people at the university. I'd appreciate it if you could support the points we can't cover."
When I said that, everyone agreed.
"You're right, I think we can leave it to these two now. After we graduate, it's in your hands," said Kanna.
"Yeah, you two will be fine. I can entrust it to you," said Ai-san.
"Right, you two might be fine. I agree too," said Emi-san.
"If that's the case... I'll accept."
"I will too... I have no objection."
When the two said that, applause followed.
"Well then, since the new form of the Watanabe group has been decided, shall we have a toast?"
"Wait! I have something I want to say too!"
It was Nakajima-kun who said that.
"Honoka! Come here."
Ichinose-san looked bewildered but stepped forward.
"I've caused you so much trouble and worry... I know it's presumptuous to say this now. But..."
"Nakajima, drop the roundabout introduction! Just say what you need to say."
Mika-san said.
Probably everyone understands the situation.
They watch quietly.
"Honoka. I've decided on a job now. After we graduate, will you marry me?"
Saying that, Nakajima-kun holds out a ring.
Ichinose-san is crying.
"I'm happy... Thank you. Please take care of me."
Everyone's excitement reaches its peak.
"Everyone! Today is a great day. I won't let anyone leave until morning!!"
Mika-san said.
"Of course! Haruna! We're staying too!"
"That's right. By the way, Haruto, when are you going to propose to me?"
"Huh?"
"What!? Another engagement confirmed!?"
Mika-san said.
"Sorry! I need a little more time! I'm still a student."
"If we both work, we can make a living."
"I can't do that! I don't want to make Haruna suffer needlessly!"
"Haruna-san, there's no need to rush. It's fine to go on as you are. Haruto will definitely do it."
Watanabe-kun said.
"I see... Then, please grant my wish."
"Anything!"
"Make more time for us to be together. I'm lonely by myself."
So that's what's making her impatient.
"Haruto, your part-time job is important, but not making your girlfriend feel lonely is even more important, you know?"
Watanabe-kun said.
"If it's at night, I'll come see you."
"That's fine."
"Haruto, just like Toya, you're either too serious or just stubborn."
Kanna said.
"Well, everyone has their own way of thinking."
Nakajima-kun said.
"Kaori... we still have one year, but after graduation..."
"...First, get a job."
Kameari-kun and the others seem to be proposing in the excitement too.
"Tasuku, when are you going to propose?"
Sakura-san seems to be drinking too.
She's definitely saying things she wouldn't normally say.
"I'll wait until Sakurako graduates."
When Tasuku said that, everyone cheered.
"This is just too perfect today! Anyone else going to propose!?"
Mika-san said.
But aren't most of the remaining members already married?
"Who's getting married next!?"
"Probably us. We're planning for October."
They apparently considered my Olympics.
"And after that!?"
Mika-san said.
"Probably us, I think?"
Makoto spoke up.
Makoto, you were thinking about that!?
"I've been offered a contract fee. I'll book the venue by the end of April."
Kanna also seems to be hearing this for the first time.
Her eyes are wide.
"I want to see Kanna in a wedding dress too."
Makoto says, looking a bit shy.
"Th-then, after that, I'll go."
Ishihara-kun said.
"In June, I want to see Emi in a wedding dress! I'm going to be a working adult now. I can't make excuses anymore!"
Ishihara-kun seems pretty drunk too. Is he going to be okay?
"Then next, me!" the male members volunteer.
I guess the happy reports from the Watanabe group will continue from now on.
"Then, let's sing to get pumped up! Who's first!?"
"Then, I'll go!"
Ai-san said.
Everyone eats, drinks, sings, and makes noise.
That party continued until dawn.
Come morning, everyone disbands.
We catch a taxi and go home.
When we get home, we shower and go to sleep.
Airi is in the middle of showering.
...Should I wait for Airi?
While I'm thinking about that, Airi comes back.
She's drying her hair.
"You could have gone to sleep first."
"I didn't want you to feel lonely."
"Yay~"
Airi finishes drying her hair and gets into bed.
"Looks like next year is going to be big."
"Yeah, everyone's getting married."
"...You don't have to rush."
"Huh?"
"Because I'm happy like this."
"...I understand."
"Then, let's get some sleep, even if just a little?"
"Yeah."
The next celebration is my Olympics.
I have to make it a celebration.
My final trial was only two months away.