Chapter 344 - Because We Can Acknowledge Each Other
(1)
"Good morning, Toya-kun. It's morning. Wake up."
I sit up groggily.
"Yay~ you woke up~. Then go wash your face and change clothes♪"
I do as Airi says, wash my face, and change clothes.
Airi is also done changing.
"Okay, let's get your daily routine over with quickly."
I follow Airi's instructions, finish my daily routine, and take a shower.
Then, while eating breakfast, I say, "Thanks as always."
With this, Airi will be in a good mood for today.
"You can do it if you try, so do it properly."
With my mother's words at my back, I make coffee and go to my room.
Back in my room, I boot up the desktop.
I browse the internet and stuff.
No particularly new incidents.
Something about a trembling person who wanted to meet starting a relationship.
The partner is a manager or something?
Not really interested, so whatever.
Women's songs are mostly selfish love songs, aren't they?
"Let's stay friends,"
"I want to see you."
Even breakup songs make it sound like the other person is at fault.
Elt's songs are like that too.
Aren't there any songs from an overhead perspective?
I guess it always ends up being from a male or female perspective.
Well, in my case, even from a male perspective, I was put in the position of the guy being at fault... because of Makoto and Kiritani-kun.
It's not just me.
The Watanabe group fell into a crisis of collapse.
Actually, Airi was in a bad mood too.
How many sacrifices did I make to get her into her current mood?
I only went shopping on Sunday, though.
Choosing a swimsuit for Airi. The beach opens this weekend.
We went to buy the swimsuit she'll wear that day.
Also stopped by a general store. Splurged on a meal too.
I put all my effort into appeasing Airi.
Thanks to that, Airi is the way she is now.
I could tell from messages that everyone else is struggling too.
Apparently Kosei didn't talk to her for an entire day.
Kosei is the biggest victim, isn't he?
I shut down the desktop and look at my phone when Airi comes back.
Airi starts drying her hair.
Then she sits next to me and starts drinking a café au lait.
I'd better give it one more push just in case.
I put my arm around Airi's waist.
Airi's reaction was quick.
"Nope~ that's for nighttime fun."
Airi seems to be in a good mood.
When Airi finishes her café au lait, I take the mug to the kitchen.
"Take your time with your makeup while I'm gone."
"Okay~"
I wash the mug, put it in the cupboard, and return to the room, but her makeup isn't done yet.
"Airi."
"Huh?"
"Airi, aren't you interested in makeup videos or anything?"
"...I'm not good at makeup."
Ah, was that a topic I shouldn't have touched?
"Sorry, I like your made-up face. I thought you'd get a lot of views on a video."
"Thanks, but that comment gets a 'boo~'"
"Why?"
"I don't want to show myself putting on makeup to anyone except my boyfriend, my husband, or someone special."
I see.
"I'm done with makeup~"
"Then, shall we go?"
"Yeah."
After that, I go to school and head to the gymnasium.
Airi watches my practice from the second floor.
"Tasuku! Your shooting form is off again!"
"Ah, yeah..."
I approach Tasuku.
"Still in a bad mood?"
"Yeah, how about you?"
"I somehow managed. I spent all day yesterday appeasing her."
"I should have done that. I thought time would solve it."
That's the worst pattern, Tasuku.
"You two! Stop chattering!"
It came down on me too.
Sorry, if I say anything to Sakura-san right now, complaints will come from above.
Hang in there, Tasuku.
Thinking that, I started practicing at the opposite goal.
Takatsuki-kun and the others arrived.
Chii-chan doesn't seem to be in a very good mood either.
In fact, all the women in the Watanabe group except Airi, Kitamura-san, and Asakura-san are in a bad mood.
It seems everyone failed to appease their partners.
Apparently Watanabe-kun couldn't even get breakfast made for him.
What the men came up with was the beach opening this weekend.
It's a three-day weekend, so it's perfect, right? Watanabe-kun proposed.
We want to improve their moods a bit by then, but everyone seems to be struggling.
When the time comes, everyone changes and leaves the gym.
Airi was waiting for me.
"Thanks for your hard work, Toya-kun~"
Airi welcomes me.
"Katagiri-senpai, one piece of advice."
Sakura-san says.
"What is it?"
"Please don't give unnecessary advice to other men. We've decided we won't forgive them until they show signs of reflection themselves."
"Everyone is already reflecting."
First of all, that was an incident caused by Makoto and Kiritani-kun's rampage, right?
"But the fact that you held a secret men's meeting doesn't change."
"True..."
"Don't think everyone is as nice as Tosaka-senpai!"
After that, I studied in the library until class, attended class, and it was lunch break.
When lunch break came, everyone gathered in the cafeteria.
The women's moods are clearly bad.
"E-everyone, have you prepared your swimsuits?"
"I-I had Sho-chan buy me one."
"I'm not wearing a swimsuit. I don't like showing my body line."
"Then just wear a hoodie over it or something."
"I don't plan to go in the water anyway, so my usual clothes are fine."
"Ugh... Chitose-san?"
"He bought me one too. But he bought it looking embarrassed."
Well, that figures.
"He doesn't get it. Sneakily buying it is way more suspicious."
But grinning while buying it isn't great either, Airi.
"Did Tosaka-san also get one bought?"
Chii-chan asked Airi.
"Yeah, he bought me one. It's this year's new model, he says~. It incorporates Toya-kun's tastes, though."
"Do things like that include male desires?"
"I guess a little bit~?"
"If so, that's strange."
"Huh?"
"Earlier, my brother said, 'Chii is too young for a bikini. A school swimsuit is enough.' Am I not attractive?"
The atmosphere that had been trying to harmonize suddenly turned cold.
As expected, Makoto causes incidents...
"That pervert demanded something like that from Chii-chan?"
"Yeah, is that weird?"
"Chii-chan doesn't need to worry about it."
Kanna and Chii-chan are talking.
Did Watanabe-kun and the others think this was bad too? They're trying to leave.
"Watanabe-kun, wait. It seems we need to educate all the men here..."
Makoto... I'll never forgive you.
"T-Toya-kun isn't like that. He chose a normal swimsuit for me."
"S-Sho-chan also chose one, I think? A normal bikini one."
"Watanabe-kun, tonight you're having a full-scale meeting. You still don't get it."
"Toya-kun's case is fine, but the other men are a problem."
Airi and Asakura-san say, but Emi-san and Saki-san seem to sense something.
"Can't we just call the Private University members? We can ask the local university members now."
Watanabe-kun has a point. The incidents are mostly caused by Makoto and Kiritani-kun. Probably Kisaragi-kun is involved too.
"My husband also chose a normal one. Not forgiven yet, though."
"Yuma didn't even choose. He doesn't seem interested."
"That's not it, I just had a resistance to going into that kind of section."
When Kana-san and Saki-san say that, Takemoto-kun protests.
"...As expected, full-scale meeting. Watanabe-kun."
Emi-san says coldly.
Watanabe-kun, with a sigh, accepts the full-scale meeting.
"Is a family restaurant okay for the venue?"
"Huh?"
"You're fine being open about it, Toya-kun. I'll protect you."
Airi whispers.
"Thanks."
When I reply, she laughs, "Ehehe~".
But the disasters just keep coming...
(2)
That evening, the Watanabe group was given a full-scale meeting.
The members of the Watanabe group gather at a family restaurant.
As soon as they order, the women's angry shouts fly back and forth.
The men are all cursing Eita and Makoto.
The men desperately try to calm things down.
"What did you fill Chii-chan's head with, you pervert!"
"Anyway, I'm curious about the content of that so-called guys' get-together! What were you talking about!?"
Kanna and Ai-san rail on them.
"The women's meeting is the same, right? We just talked about things we can't tell each other, didn't we?"
"Then, if we talk about the women's meeting, you'll tell us about the guys' get-together, right?"
When Watanabe-kun says that, Ai-san fires back.
"W-well, yeah."
There's no way we can talk about that content... The main causes are Makoto and Eita, though.
"The women's meeting was~. At first there was a lot of criticism of Toya-kun, but Satomi-san and Miyuki-san defended him, and then it became a talk about Chitose-san, Iori, and Misato. We were taught the wonders of marriage."
Airi speaks casually. It's certainly normal topics.
Precisely because they're normal topics, the men feel even more awkward.
"Now, it's the men's turn. Katagiri-kun, speak."
Because the women's side was Airi, do the men want me to speak?
"Toya, my condolences."
I can hear their inner voices.
I sigh and start talking.
Kiritani-kun and Makoto are holding their heads.
That's to be expected.
Because most of the conversation started with Makoto and Kiritani-kun.
The scene of everyone admonishing them.
You can imagine if I go that far, right?
The men insist on their own innocence.
I stopped them. I calmed them down. They say in turns.
Kosei was also holding his head.
Probably because Naru's gaze was cold.
He must be thinking, "Will she stop talking to me again?"
"Ridiculous."
Naru dismisses it with a single word.
"What 'male romance'? It's just lust! Are you guys still thinking about such stupid things!?"
Kanna shouts. No, it's just Makoto's romance. There's a nuance issue, so let me correct that.
"How pointless. What's the point of talking about this? We're tired from work."
Hiyama-senpai says.
"What Hiyama-kun says is most reasonable. It's just the men blowing off steam."
Kimoto-senpai's one remark was unnecessary.
"Blowing off steam? Does that mean you have complaints about us?"
Kana-san latches on.
"Fine, let's hear it. You're saying you have complaints you can't tell us?"
Ai-san says.
"Calm down, Ai-san. If you do that, we can't have a discussion."
"The ones causing me not to calm down are the men, aren't they!"
When Watanabe-kun says that, Ai-san gets angry.
"I thought you accepted that men are like that?"
Miyuki-san says.
"Wasn't it you all who made them harbor those complaints by yelling at them like that? Actually, Katagiri-kun and Kisaragi-kun don't have such complaints, right?"
Satomi-san says.
"But the men are also at fault? They sneak around secretly, which makes us women irritated. If you have something to say, say it face to face. Isn't that proof you don't trust your own wives?"
When Satomi-san says that, the men fall silent.
"Satomi-san is right. We were at fault too. We reflect on that. Right, everyone?"
When Watanabe-kun says that, everyone apologizes. To their respective partners.
However, Airi doesn't seem to mind at all.
"Toya-kun is fine. Because he shows absolutely no interest in anyone but me."
Airi says with a laugh.
"Well, let's make up around here. It would ruin the beach trip this weekend."
Watanabe-kun says.
"Watanabe-kun is right. Since it's special, let's all enjoy it together?"
Satomi-san says.
"Wait, the other men are fine. The problem is Eita and Makoto!"
Kanna says.
"That's right, we need to give those two a full-scale meeting..."
Emi-san glares at them and says.
"I have a good idea for that~"
Airi says.
"What is it, Airi-chan?"
"When we go to the beach this time, how about those two stay glued to Ai and Kanna all day? They do bad things because they sneak around in secret, right?"
"When you put it that way, you have a point."
"Indeed, Airi is right."
"And one more thing, you have to come with us to buy swimsuits, and if you pick weird ones, you'll get a lecture at the beach!"
When Airi proposes, Emi-san, Kanna, and Ai-san agree.
"Then, should I give Haruto a punishment game too?"
Shiratori-san says.
"W-what should I do?"
"I have two requests."
"Anything."
"One, stay at my house the night before. Even after your part-time job is fine."
"Understood. What's the other?"
"There's something I've wanted you to do for me. I'm going in a swimsuit too, so I want you to apply sunscreen."
"Easy peasy."
Thus, each of the men was also given their own punishment games.
I had nothing.
Because I properly appeased Airi.
(3)
"Then, since Mirai-san's official employment has been decided, cheers."
Today is a celebration for my official hiring.
At my table were Satomi-san, Manabe-kun, Yamato-san, Chief Tomosaka, and Kondo-san.
It was being held at a nearby okonomiyaki restaurant.
"But really, you're a new asset. You're a great help."
"That's right. You're a help."
Said Chief Tomosaka and Satomi-san.
"I'm still inexperienced, I'll be training you rigorously from now on."
Yamato-san says.
"Don't be too harsh. I'd be troubled if she quit."
Chief Tomosaka says.
"I know that much. I take care of her at home."
"Oh? How?"
"I listen to her complaints and grievances."
"Despite that, she was complaining quite a bit at the women's meeting the other day."
Satomi-san says.
"That's something I can't let slide. What kind of complaints?"
"That's a secret between women. If I had to say, don't you think you need a little more consideration?"
"What do you mean..."
"You two are both working adults in the Watanabe group. That's right, don't you think it's time to think about children?"
When Satomi-san says that, I choke.
"Wouldn't that be a damage for the company?"
Chief Tomosaka says.
"If you get too caught up in work, you'll miss the timing."
"...I'll see what I can do."
"Please do that. She seemed lonely. No complaints, but nothing good either. That's how it was."
"I see."
Yamato-san grins.
"B-by the way, did Yamato-san really have nothing at the men's meeting?"
I changed the subject.
"I thought, 'So this is how tough it is to get married young.' You too, Manabe-kun."
"Why are you dragging me into this!"
Manabe-kun protests.
"I was surprised too. I never thought you'd be interested in that kind of shop."
"Boss! That's a misunderstanding! I explained that night, didn't I!"
"I don't mind, you know. There's no such thing as a completely desireless man."
"Can we drop this subject... Even the men are at their wit's end."
"That's because you do things that make you end up like that, isn't it?"
Satomi-san laughs as she says this.
I want to be that kind of wife.
One who doesn't waver over small things.
I want to be that kind of wife.
I thought that.
I asked her why she's so strong.
"Resolve."
Resolve?
"I've been resolved since I decided to marry this man. That no matter what happens, I'll follow him."
Is resolve what I lack?
"Maybe it's also the benefit of age and experience."
Satomi-san says with a laugh.
Even though she's not that much older.
As expected, Satomi-san is strong and cool.
(4)
That day we played at the beach. An annual event, one night two days.
Each man performed services called punishment games.
I had nothing.
So I'm lying in this hammock I made, playing a game and sleeping.
thump
"Wh-what's wrong, Airi?"
"Your wife is here to play in a swimsuit, you know. Pay me a little attention!"
Is this my punishment game?
"Okay, what do you want to play?"
"Well, everyone is playing beach volleyball. Wanna join, Toya-kun?"
"Alright."
When I go out to the beach, everyone is playing beach volleyball.
"Tasuku! 50 more!"
"C-can I get a break?"
"No, I'm going to thoroughly train your legs!"
Tasuku, my condolences.
We all played beach volleyball.
Haruto is riding a surfboard and playing.
Shiratori-san had sunscreen applied and is reading a book in the shade.
The adult group is relaxing with beer.
Umi-chan is playing by making a huge sand sculpture.
When the sun starts to set, we men start preparing the fire.
We also wash and cook the rice.
Teaching Kiritani-kun and Kisaragi-kun, who aren't used to it.
Yes, tonight's meal will be made by the men.
We decided that so the women could enjoy themselves alone during that time.
But the women seem to still be worried.
"Just rice and meat? Do you call that cooking!"
Mika-san says.
"Well, isn't it fine? They said they'd do it all by themselves."
Airi calms Mika-san.
"Toya-kun, don't open the lid halfway!"
Airi seems worried too.
We enjoy eating meat and drinking alcohol.
We enjoy fireworks on the night beach.
As always, they get on the women's nerves by having rocket fireworks and aerial fireworks battles.
I enjoy the fireworks alone with Airi.
"Pretty~"
"There are even flashier ones, you know?"
"No firecrackers, okay?"
"Just ordinary aerial fireworks."
"If you have a battle, I'll be mad, okay?"
"I wouldn't do that to Airi."
"Then, okay."
After enjoying the fireworks, we boil water in a pot and eat instant ramen.
Makoto and Kiritani-kun never learn.
When the men gather to watch Makoto and the others' videos, one by one they run away.
I was eating ramen, so I had no damage this time.
The adult group also escaped danger because they were drinking.
Watanabe-kun, Ishihara-kun, Sakai-kun also sensed the vibes and ran away.
Kosei, perhaps sensing the crisis, quickly went into the tent with Naru.
Those caught were Makoto, Kiritani-kun, Nakajima-kun, Kisaragi-kun, Takatsuki-kun.
"Seems like you're enjoying it, Makoto... Let me see."
"N-no, it's a man's romance..."
"Your wife is saying she wants to understand her husband's hobbies a little. Show me."
"No, I don't need her to understand..."
"Stop yapping and show me!"
"Eita! You too! What were you watching!?"
"Just a normal anime."
"Then show me right now!"
"No, I thought it might be too stimulating for Ai..."
"That's not normal at all! You idiot!"
"Hey... don't fill Sho-chan's head with weird stuff."
"Brother... don't involve Sho."
"Iori, it's a misunderstanding! We just happened to gather... and there's no one!?"
"Chitose, if we talk, you'll understand. Calm down."
Kisaragi-kun and Sho seem to have been too late to escape.
"I believe in Sho. It's all your brother's doing, right?"
"Chii, your brother gets hurt when you say things like that."
"If you get hurt, don't do it in the first place, you moron!"
Then everyone goes into their respective tents and spends the night.
In the morning, everyone spends their morning walking, talking on the beach, each in their own way.
And breakfast is handled by the women.
As expected, the women's food is plentiful and delicious.
Couldn't be better!
After finishing breakfast, we start cleaning up. While the women do the dishes, we take down the tents.
Then we load the luggage into each car.
And everyone stops by a public bath in Beppu.
"Makoto-senpai, you had a rough time yesterday!"
"Don't mention that... Haruto."
"But hey, why didn't anyone tell me! It's so cowardly to run away alone!"
When Haruto says that, Makoto is down, and Kiritani-kun is turning his anger outward.
"Eita! I can hear you! Don't blame others!"
"...Ai is going to be in a bad mood for a week again, that woman."
Kiritani-kun, you shouldn't say things like that out loud even if you think them.
"Do you think it'll be over in a week!?"
See?
And everyone should have warned you.
"Leave it at that."
"Makoto... why don't you notice? You said you understand the positional relationships of players when you're on the pitch, didn't you?"
A question I've had for a while.
"When I get immersed, I lose track of my surroundings."
"You should fix that. It affects your play. Your field of vision is too narrow."
"Yeah..."
"But you guys, just when I think you've solved one incident, you create another."
Watanabe-kun says that, exasperated.
"Even if you say that, this is what's called a man's romance, Watanabe-kun."
"That's right, it's a man's romance! Women will never understand it!"
So your voice is too loud, Kiritani-kun.
"Eita! You're definitely not reflecting on this! I'll give you a thorough lecture later!"
I told you, didn't I?
Kiritani-kun is holding his head.
"Well, it's probably normal when you're young?"
"Right, right, a privilege of youth."
The adult group says.
After leaving the public bath, we eat lunch at a family restaurant and disband.
Everyone goes home.
"Why can't they understand women's feelings~"
Airi is troubled.
"Probably he'll never understand for his whole life. Values and principles."
"Ugh... Toya-kun, you don't understand me either?"
"It's impossible to understand everything about Airi."
"Ugh... that's a problem."
"Isn't it fine?"
"Huh?"
"We don't need to become one."
Because we can acknowledge each other. Not out of resignation, but we can acknowledge each other.
That's how we seek love again, right?
We don't have to become one. It's fine if we acknowledge each other. That alone gently scatters the darkness before us and rains down light upon us.
"Hmm, acknowledge each other, huh..."
"Airi acknowledges me, right?"
"Yeah, what about you, Toya-kun?"
"I acknowledge you."
"Then no problem."
Airi is smiling.
Airi is Airi, I am I—why is it that we lose sight of such an obvious thing?
Because we dream, it's fleeting; because we search, we can't find it; because we want it, we can't obtain it, and we're at a loss.
I don't even have time to think about where I went wrong, but not having an answer makes me anxious.
Even if we pretend to understand each other, we are different individuals.
But we want to become one, struggling in the darkness.
But we don't have to become one, it's fine if we acknowledge each other. That alone brings us light.