Chapter 422 - Kotonoha
(1)
"Is everyone here~"
Watanabe-kun calls out.
Everyone was gathered at the Beppu SA.
Today is the annual autumn leaf viewing day.
Entering November, the busy season has started.
Overtime continues almost every day.
Well, even so, it is only about three to four hours of overtime a day.
Even so, Airi makes dinner and waits for me every night.
I am grateful for that.
I want to make sure Airi enjoys herself.
Eita also seems to have gotten much better.
Every job is important, but everyone must have thought that, in the end, one has to make a choice.
"Well, we're going from here to the convenience store near the Kuju IC. If anything happens on the way, let me know by message."
When Watanabe-kun says so, everyone gets into their cars.
With Watanabe-kun in the lead, everyone departed.
We take up the very rear.
Does everyone's blood boil when they drive on the highway, after all?
They start racing to be first.
Me, the Akiyoshi couple, Haruto, and Watanabe-kun were left behind in the blink of an eye.
I wonder if there will be another commotion today?
What a pain.
Airi does not say a single word.
Did I offend her?
"W-Well, it's an annual thing, so..."
"Eh? What is?"
Airi looks at me wonderingly.
Huh? Did I misread her?
"Everyone is everyone. Toya-san is Toya-san, you know."
Airi says so and laughs.
"That's true."
When I say that, Airi is looking at her smartphone.
"Did something happen?"
When I ask, Airi hurriedly puts her smartphone away in her bag.
"I'm sorry, leaving Toya-san behind while I get so absorbed in my smartphone."
"It's the same scenery every year. Airi, if you're bored, you can look at your smartphone, you know?"
"It's already November, isn't it? It went by in the blink of an eye."
"It did."
"I wonder if next month will come quickly?"
Airi seems to be looking forward to December.
I can somehow guess the reason.
"Look forward to it."
"Yes!"
Having that conversation, we exited the Kuju Interchange and arrived at the convenience store along the national highway.
"You're late, Toya!"
Makoto says.
"Sorry, sorry."
"It's not for Toya to apologize! Do you guys not understand unless you're told every single year?! Idiots!"
Kanna seems to be angry.
Kobayashi-san, Sakuragi-san, and Shoko-san don't seem to think anything of it.
Basically, the women who joined this year don't say anything.
"It's been a while since I drove on the highway. Sorry."
When Hiyama-san says so, the men apologize.
"Shall we get our shopping done for now too, Toya?"
Watanabe-kun says, so we finish our shopping.
"No overtaking from here on out, absolutely! Keep safe driving in mind."
When Watanabe-kun says so, everyone departs.
No one overtook.
But everyone speeds.
Well, there are no speed traps in a place like this, but if there were, everyone would be driving at a speed that would get their licenses suspended immediately.
If it were just speeding on the straights, it would be fine.
But some cars deliberately go wide on the corners... into the oncoming lane.
Even though they shouldn't be going at a speed that requires taking such a line.
It is not just about speeding.
Even though the shoulder has collapsed and there is a temporary traffic light for one-way traffic, some cars ignore it.
Can they not wait for just one minute?
But that was only while we were down below.
Going up the mountain, a traffic jam had formed.
Passing through the traffic jam, we finally arrive at the Yume Great Suspension Bridge.
Everyone gathers.
"Well, from here we'll have two hours of free time. Gather back at this spot after two hours."
Two hours, huh. Well, that's fine.
I call out to stop Airi, who is about to say something to Watanabe-kun.
"Airi, shall we cross the bridge too?"
"Is that alright?"
"There will still be time to eat even after we cross the bridge."
"Yes."
Crossing the bridge with Airi, we reach the opposite bank and wait for everyone to arrive.
Everyone except Misato-san and Kuribayashi-kun, and Mizuki-san and Koizumi-kun, arrived.
After taking a commemorative photo, we head back across the bridge we came from.
Returning, we head to the shop and eat Yume Burgers.
Airi had soft-serve ice cream.
I eat soft-serve ice cream after eating my Yume Burger.
After finishing eating, we look around at the souvenirs.
We buy some sweets that look like they could be sold anywhere locally.
Having bought souvenirs, we go to the smoking area, which is the gathering place.
Several people were already there.
While chatting with everyone, people start to gather.
The last one to arrive was Kisaragi-kun.
He runs over to the gathering place with a Yume Burger in his mouth.
"Sho-chan, that's bad manners!"
Do women change when they get married?
She had become so strong-willed that she didn't seem like the Iori-san of before.
"That's because Iori made me hurry!"
"It's Sho-chan's fault for ordering without thinking about the time, isn't it!"
Watching that exchange, Watanabe-kun spoke.
"After this, we'll go to the restaurant as usual and then head home."
When Watanabe-kun says so, everyone departs.
Some of the cars were the same as always.
Although they did not overtake, some cars tailgated excessively.
It was enough to make me break out in a cold sweat just watching.
Just as I was keeping my distance, not wanting to get caught up with such cars, one finally appeared.
The car that overtook me and went ahead... it was Kisaragi-kun.
Then, Kobayashi-san and Umemoto-kun also overtook, refusing to be outdone.
After that, the usual members start speeding off.
Even if they pass me, Haruto is still ahead... or so I thought, but Haruto also overtook.
We arrive at the restaurant.
My table was an eight-person table with the Watanabe couple, the Kiritani couple, and the Tada couple.
The Kiritani couple and the Tada couple were having a huge fight.
Fights were breaking out at other tables as well.
"Toya, what should we do?"
Watanabe-kun says.
I answered flatly.
"I'm not doing anything, you know?"
"But at this rate..."
"Can't even Toya-san's power do something about this?"
Airi asked.
"Even if it's fixed, it'll only be for now, and they'll just repeat it again, right?"
"That's true."
Airi also seems to be troubled.
That said, is it necessary to mediate the fight?
I spoke to Makoto.
"Hey, Makoto? Weren't you supposed to cherish Kanna?"
"I do. That's why I properly check my surroundings—"
"That's not the point, idiot!"
"Kiritani-kun, weren't you supposed to cherish Ai-san too?"
"I confirmed it was safe. In fact, there was nothing in front of Toya, right? No oncoming cars were coming either."
"You don't understand at all either!"
The matter of the four remains on parallel lines.
Kiritani-kun and Makoto, who claim they are speeding after confirming safety, and Kanna and Ai-san, who tell them to stop reckless driving.
"Let me ask you instead, Toya, why are you driving so slowly? I can't help but find it strange."
Kiritani-kun was asking.
"Isn't that obvious? Because it's dangerous."
"It's a straight road with nothing on it, you know?"
"Would you be convinced if I said it's because I'm scared of what might happen at any moment?"
"With your technique, you could avoid it, right?"
"Well, if I were concentrating, yes."
I can do something like an emergency evasion.
"Then, why...?"
"Because I'm not concentrating on driving."
When I say that, everyone looks at me.
"Isn't it even more dangerous if you're not concentrating?"
"That's right, you know? It's dangerous. That's why I drop my speed."
"Isn't that a problem for you too, Toya? You're putting Airi in danger. What are you doing instead of concentrating?"
"Talking with Airi, listening to music, drinking juice."
I say with a laugh that sometimes I look sideways because Airi occasionally wants to put gum in my mouth.
"For something like that?"
Makoto says.
"Just something like that."
"Also, things like tuning the radio frequency."
But even though they say "something like that," such a momentary lapse of attention can lead to an accident.
That said, I tell them that if you don't drive with that much leeway, you can't drive for a long time even if you concentrate too hard.
"Let me ask you a question. What did you come here for today? Wasn't it to enjoy a date?"
"I see, I understand what Toya wants to say."
Watanabe-kun seems to have understood.
"In other words, does your girlfriend feel happy when you're driving desperately, leaving her behind? That's what Toya wants to say, right?"
When Watanabe-kun says so, I nod.
The two of them fell silent.
"Toya-san is always caring for me. What am I doing? Am I bored? What am I looking at? He always directs his attention to me."
Airi says.
"If you can concentrate on judging the surrounding situation, nothing is better than that. But you are forgetting the most important thing. What are you driving for? If you think about that, the answer should naturally come, shouldn't it?"
I say.
"It's the same when you're alone. Even on a circuit where professional racers drive, safety equipment is properly set up. Even so, accidents happen. There is a limit to what an amateur can do even if they concentrate."
It seems even the F1 driver who was called the Prince of the Speed of Sound, who died in an accident long ago, once thought, "I don't want to drive."
That is how scary it is to speed.
His fatal accident was also apparently because he couldn't control it because the road surface was slightly unstable.
Even after hearing such a reason, can you still think of driving at high speed on a public road with patchy pavement?
Everyone fell silent.
And they are thinking.
Without saying anything more, I ate my food.
Seeing that, Watanabe-kun also starts eating.
Everyone started eating and talking as if nothing had happened.
And then we set off on the way home.
Everyone was driving safely on the way back.
(2)
"What are you driving for?"
Hearing Toya say that, I finally realized.
Why didn't I notice such a simple thing?
I am told, I realize, I fix it, and then I forget and do it again.
It is something I have repeated many times.
"Even so, accidents happen."
There is no insurance anywhere that says I will be fine.
Because even Toya fears it and has sealed it away.
After eating lunch, we headed toward our hometown.
You don't know what might jump out.
You don't even know what will happen one second ahead to the car driving right in front of you.
The accelerator, which I usually stepped on normally, feels heavy.
The fear welling up inside me even though I am driving at the legal speed limit.
Is driving such a scary thing?
What was Kanna, riding next to me, thinking?
"Makoto, are you listening?"
Kanna spoke to me.
"Ah, sorry. I was concentrating a bit."
"I thought as much. Don't tense up too much. You're not a beginner. It makes even me feel scared."
"Sorry..."
"Toya is amazing, isn't he? He's always thinking about Airi."
"Yeah..."
In contrast, I am completely useless.
"...But, you know. I wonder. What did Airi do for Toya to have him think of her that much?"
"That's true."
"I'll make an effort too. It's a rare date. Relax more."
Kanna says with a laugh that she wore a miniskirt for my sake.
"It's frustrating..."
"What is?"
"If I had technique like Toya's, I could have looked at Kanna's miniskirt."
"...You really are a hopeless guy."
Kanna said so and laughed.
"Oh, right."
Kanna takes a candy out of her bag as if remembering something.
"You said it before, didn't you? 'I want you to feed me.' I'll do it for you now."
Saying so, Kanna brings the candy close to my mouth.
I pop it into my mouth.
"Lick that and calm down. Start with that."
"Yeah..."
I drive while sucking on the candy.
There are overflowing things I want to convey, but the words to Kanna across time bind love.
(3)
Hearing Katagiri-kun's words, Eita fell silent.
It seems Katagiri-kun's words resonated with Eita too.
Eita's driving on the way back was very safe.
No noisy Eurobeat was playing either.
A time of silence flows.
Eita was tense during what was just normal, ordinary driving.
If you are that tense, you will really have an accident.
I remembered last year's exchange.
I realized that I am here to ease this tension.
What should I do?
For now, I tried turning on the radio.
What is playing is a medium-tempo song expressing hearts connecting through words.
The words to you bind love.
Are my words connected to Eita?
"'Please turn back time,' huh... I wonder how far back we should go?"
Eita said.
I answered with a laugh.
"Is there any need for that?"
Eita turns around.
"No matter how many times you start over, you will surely repeat it again and again."
Thinking about it is just a waste of time.
"T-That's true, isn't it..."
Eita is feeling down.
Even though there is no need to feel down.
"You can just start over, can't you?"
I said so.
You can just start over from now. Even if you can't take things back, you can start over.
You just have to look forward and move on without looking back.
Isn't that how we've made it this far?
Even in a worthless world, so that we can be proud of our memories,
again and again, forever,
we will probably search for unchanging love.
Even so, we will probably search for love.
We will probably reach unchanging love.
Did it reach Eita?
Did it resonate in Eita's heart?
An eternal love song.
There are overflowing things I want to convey, but the words to you across time bind love.
(4)
After eating lunch, we returned to our hometown.
During that time, Sho-chan did not say a single word.
He was quietly listening to Katagiri-san's words.
Is that conclusion the current state?
No matter how many times I invite him or talk to him, his mind is elsewhere.
Contrary to expectations, my mood recedes.
But I want to be inspired wildly, sensually.
In my dreams, we are running with the engine at full throttle to the far side of the sky, talking of eternal love until morning.
Let's share even our sadness with unadorned tears, until we obtain a wonderful love like nowhere else.
You enter my dreams without permission, make me madly infatuated to the point of going crazy, and then disappear.
The him next to me right now is like a completely different person.
But I want to be provoked more, excitingly, passionately.
So let's spread red roses all over the room and make love on a silk bed until morning.
Don't wake me up. I won't let anyone get in the way.
Whisper in my ear like an endless tape. Love me forever.
"...It was beautiful, wasn't it?"
"Eh?"
When I say that, Sho-chan turns around for a moment.
"What's wrong? All of a sudden."
"Are you not interested in the autumn leaves, Sho-chan?"
"No. Well, I did think they were amazing, at least."
"Isn't that fine then?"
"What do you mean?"
"Today's memory is 'the autumn leaves were beautiful.' Isn't that fine?"
Forget about everything else!
"You mean there's no need to reflect on it?"
"Reflection is necessary. But Sho-chan is only worrying about that."
"After being told off that much, well..."
"But that's not what I want to share with Sho-chan."
For our album, just the scenery of the autumn leaves is enough.
"...Can I also add 'the soft-serve ice cream was delicious' while we're at it?"
"Sure."
"...Also, Iori was beautiful today."
"Thank you."
It seems my words reached Sho-chan.
There are overflowing things I want to convey more, but the words to you across time bind love.
(5)
"Well, thanks for your hard work today~"
Watanabe-kun says.
The group that returned to our hometown is having dinner at a family restaurant.
At my table were the Tada couple and the Kiritani couple.
Both couples seem to have made up.
They are noisily deciding on the menu.
I don't need to decide, you see.
Because I already decided a long time ago.
Once we order, we immediately head to the drink bar and soup bar.
"Makoto, you seem to be doing well."
"Thanks to you."
This season too, staying in J1 is within the safe zone.
Unless we lose in a really terrible way, we should be fine.
"There's only a little bit left of this year too."
Ai-san says.
"I can't wait for next year."
Kiritani-kun says.
ALICE will make their major debut next January.
Before that, they are apparently going to showcase it at the Christmas party.
It is a special stage just for us.
Everyone is looking forward to it.
"Toya, you're going to be super busy from now on, right?"
Makoto asked.
"I'm already running around in circles."
I am very busy with the September settlement of accounts.
From next month, we enter the year-end tax adjustment period.
It seems Kanna will also be busy next month with the Christmas sales battle.
It has been a blur since April.
Although it was tough until I got used to the work.
Now, time just passes by while I am spacing out.
I think it is not wrong to say that time flies once you go out into society.
Saki-san and the others will probably find it goes by in a flash once this year is over.
Graduation, and then joining a company.
After eating dinner, everyone disbands.
We also go home, take a bath, and spend some relaxing time.
I spend time watching TV while drinking alcohol with Airi.
When the TV show ends, I turn off the TV, dim the lights, and get into bed.
"There is only a little left of this year, isn't there?"
"That's true."
The day of our promise is also drawing near.
Before long, I could hear Airi's soft breathing as she slept.
Free time seems infinite, but it is finite.
Let's live so as not to have regrets.
What I have been told by adults.
When you understand its meaning, you become an adult.
I gently stroke Airi as she sleeps quietly.
She seems to be tired.
I wonder what kind of face I am making as I look at Airi right now?
There are overflowing things I want to convey, but the words to you across time bind love.
What I want to convey to Airi.
Just one word is fine. I have to convey it properly.
That time was steadily approaching.