Chapter 43 - A Blank Week
(1)
After Golden Week.
Preparations for the sports festival were already underway.
The student council seemed busy with various things.
Airi was getting home later than usual.
"Sorry—"
Airi said as she entered the room.
Until then, it was just Kanna and me doing homework and review.
Then, once Airi returned, the routine was for Kanna to ask her about the parts she didn't understand.
In other words, Airi had no time to do her own work.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine~. Homework finishes in no time, and there's nothing I even need to review~"
Airi said as she entered the house upon her return.
The weekend.
Since it was a holiday, I spent the day with Airi and Kanna.
"The sports festival preparations seem busy,"
Kanna said, and Airi laughed.
"True. I wonder if it's a bit embarrassing to be out in front cheering~"
Even Airi, who is fine with flirting in front of people, has things she finds embarrassing, I thought.
"I'll make sure to take a video of you"
"...Is it okay to say that? I'll take a perfect video of you during the cavalry battle"
"Ugh..."
Right, there was that.
We decided who would be on top with rock-paper-scissors, and I lost.
"Just kidding. I'll cheer for you properly! Knock down at least one person and show me your cool side~"
The cavalry battle is held jointly between the second and third years.
The order starts from the smallest frames of the second years, then the third years.
In other words, a large second-year might clash with a small third-year.
And I am relatively early in the order for the third years.
I've devised a countermeasure, but I haven't tested whether it will work yet.
I think I'll try it during the next practice.
The individual battle is one thing, but the problem is the group battle.
We are divided into red and white teams, but the problem wasn't the division—it was me.
Because of the incident with Airi, I was hated by most of the boys.
There was a risk of being attacked by my own allies during the group battle.
That was more troublesome.
Well, that worry ended up being unfounded...
Sunday late at night. It was 2:00 AM.
"Toya, wake up. We're going back to your parents' home now"
I was woken up by Mother.
"What happened?"
When I turned on the light, Mother's complexion was poor.
It was easy to imagine that something had happened.
And it came as a complete surprise.
"Your grandfather passed away..."
(2)
Monday. I press the doorbell.
But no one answers.
I press it again.
It was the same.
Did everyone go out?
Just then, my smartphone rings.
It's from Toya-kun.
"Sorry, I'm at my parents' home right now. I'll be absent from school for a while"
Eh...?
"What happened?"
A reply came back immediately.
"My grandfather passed away. I think I'll be absent for about two or three days"
"That's terrible, are you okay?"
"I'm okay, but Mother is..."
Maya-san's father passed away, then.
"I understand"
There was no reply.
I wonder if he's okay? Toya-kun.
While I was worrying, Kanna came over.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
I explain the situation to Kanna.
"I see, that's tough"
Kanna said that and said nothing more.
"There's no point in just standing here, so shall we go to school?"
Saying that, we head to school.
Not being able to see each other for two or three days.
That happened often before.
Usually, the reason was that I went on a trip or something.
But Toya-kun disappearing.
That was the first time.
My head is panicking.
I wonder if he's okay?
Was that phrase directed toward Toya-kun, or was it directed toward me?
"Hey, Airi, are you okay?"
"Yeah... I'm okay"
"Get a grip, he'll be back in two or three days, right?"
"Yeah. That's true"
"It's not like you can't see him forever. You can still message him, right? You can even call him, right? It's not a problem"
"Yeah... I just wonder if Toya-kun is okay"
As I said that, I stood still and cried.
Kanna put a hand on my shoulder and spoke gently.
"That's exactly why you have to be strong, Airi. When someone dies, it can be pretty rough. You have to encourage him"
"I don't know what to say to him"
"You don't have to say anything, just listening to him is enough"
"Yeah"
My mood had been the worst since morning.
(3)
Having arrived in the early morning, we say our final farewells to Grandfather.
I wasn't in a mood to sleep, so I took turns watching the incense.
Various people visited.
Mother was crying the whole time.
Strangely, I was fine.
Perhaps because it hadn't happened often, or perhaps because I didn't have much of a feeling of sadness...
When morning came, sleepiness suddenly attacked me.
"Toya, get some sleep"
Told by Father, I decided to sleep for a bit.
Ah, before that, I have to tell Airi.
A reply came immediately.
"What happened?"
I tell her that my grandfather passed away.
"That's terrible, are you okay?"
"I'm okay, but Mother is..."
"I understand"
After that, I collapsed into sleep.
When I woke up, preparations for the wake were complete.
My uncle's family had arrived.
"Father, sorry for sleeping during such an important time"
"It's fine, rest a bit more"
I noticed that Father's fist was clenched tightly.
Did something happen?
Finally, my other uncle arrived.
I got along well with him, so we talked about various things.
The wake was held tonight.
Ah, my legs are numb.
Whether it was because I was poking legs with my cousin Katsuya, or because I was nervous, the sound of the wooden fish was so anticlimactic that laughter welled up inside me.
Is my tension getting weird?
"You lot, wait outside"
Scolded by Father, I wait in the funeral hall's waiting room.
The strange tension continued after that, and I played with Katsuya and the others.
That's why I didn't notice.
The message from Airi.
Afterward, while devouring the meal, the conversation blossomed.
The topic became the story of me and Airi.
"I see, you have such a wonderful girlfriend"
"Toya-kun is a lucky one"
"Toya-kun is popular, just like his grandfather"
No, popular...
Unable to take it, I go out to the lobby alone.
The hall at night is deserted.
It seems today's funeral is only for us.
There, I check Airi's message.
"I'm lonely (´・ω:;.:..."
Damn it!
"Sorry, relatives were gathered so I didn't notice"
Then, the smartphone's ringtone sounds.
It's from Airi.
Answering the phone immediately, I apologize for the time being.
"Sorry, I was sleeping in the morning, and in the afternoon..."
"Are you okay? Are you tired? Sorry for this at such a difficult time. But I was lonely, so I just..."
"I have time now, so it's okay"
"You'll be back tomorrow or the day after, right?"
I was at a loss for words.
What should I do?
Ah, but I have to tell her properly.
"Sorry, it's been decided that I'll stay until the seventh-day memorial. I think I'll be here until next week"
"That long!? What about the sports festival?"
"I'll probably miss it..."
"I see... it can't be helped, right? Maya-san is having a hard time"
I'm starting to worry about you too, Airi.
"It's okay, I'll contact you every day. Even if calls are impossible, I'll send messages"
"Yeah... sorry. Am I being a nuisance to Toya-kun?"
See, she's half-crying.
"No, it's fine. It's okay... I told you we're always together, right?"
"Yeah"
After talking for a while longer, I heard a girl's voice from the other side that I hadn't heard in a long time.
"On the phone with your girlfriend?"
Turning around, my cousin Ako was standing there in her school uniform.
(4)
"On the phone with your girlfriend?"
Ako said as she suddenly appeared.
"Ako?"
"Who's Ako~?"
"Just a cousin. Sorry, I'll contact you again later"
"Eh? What happened??"
"Nothing, see you later"
Saying that, I hang up the phone.
When parents or siblings enter the room while you're talking to a girlfriend, you get strangely flustered, right?
Wait, wait.
"You should have just kept talking without hanging up"
Ako spoke in a detached tone.
"What's with you, all of a sudden?"
I asked Ako.
"Well, the talk about Big Brother became boring, so I just left the room"
When Mother's relatives gather, it usually becomes a conversation about Katsuya.
Everyone has expectations for Katsuya.
I don't know how he himself takes it.
However, the younger sister who isn't even used as a point of comparison must find it boring.
"I see"
Saying that, Ako sat in a lobby chair and prompted me to sit next to her.
I obediently sat next to her.
"I didn't know. That Toya-kun had a girlfriend"
"We haven't met since I entered middle school. You have one too, right? At least a boyfriend"
Ako shook her head.
Ako is smart, and beautiful. And quiet.
Boys wouldn't leave her alone.
"It's no good. Everyone only looks at appearance or grades... they're timid and unreliable"
"Is that so"
"Yes. And then, the ones who try to talk to me are the flashy types. They don't suit me"
"I see, that's tough"
"Yeah"
"..."
When talking with Ako, there are strangely many moments of silence.
She is so curt that I wonder if Ako hates me.
"Well, I'm going back"
She grabs my arm as I try to stand up.
"The talk about Big Brother is probably still going on anyway. Let's stay here a bit longer"
How should I spend this suffocating time?
"Tell me about your girlfriend"
Why is she interested in that?
Rather, I was surprised that there was something Ako was interested in.
"Let's see..."
I talked.
The catalyst for dating her and the stories since then.
Things like what we're doing now.
I don't know how Ako was listening to it.
But when I finished the story, she said one thing.
"You really are a happy couple"
Even Ako seemed to think so after hearing it.
"I guess"
"It was unexpected, that there was a girl who fell for Toya-kun that much"
"True"
"Oh! You two were in a place like this! Hurry back"
Father is calling.
"Shall we go?"
Saying that, Ako stood up smoothly.
"Yeah"
I also stood up and returned to the waiting room.
Ako should have been following behind me.
"Unforgivable..."
Was that just my imagination?
(5)
The sports festival.
It goes without saying now, but it's a school event where we divide into red and white and compete in various events.
I'm not very interested.
I feel like everyone else is doing it reluctantly too.
Actually, I feel like everyone except for a few boys feels like it doesn't matter.
I feel like most people just sit in their seats and talk with friends after finishing their own event.
As for me...
For some reason, I'm the class representative every year. This year, I hold the role of student council vice president.
Student council officers and class representatives take on the role of the cheering squad and must cheer.
It's unreasonable.
Well, I used the excuse of being in the cheering squad to borrow a school uniform from Toya-kun, but this year I borrowed one from Makoto-kun.
Toya-kun is not here.
Because his grandfather passed away, he is said to be at his parents' home until the seventh-day memorial.
"Katagiri isn't here... he ran away!"
Irritating.
"Is Katagiri absent today! I was planning to launch a surprise attack from behind"
So irritating!
"I was planning to blow him away spectacularly in the cavalry battle!"
So irritating, irritating, irritating!!
Why can they only do such spiteful things?
It's not like Toya-kun took a break because he wanted to! ...Probably.
And taking advantage of the fact that Toya-kun is gone, I receive a confession from a male underclassman.
I'm politely declining, but this is also a pain.
Put yourself in the shoes of the person being called behind the school building every single time!
Kanna is lucky. She has Makoto-kun.
...By the way, Class 1 and Class 2 were in different groups.
Either way, I'm all alone.
Strictly speaking, I wasn't all alone.
Rather, I wanted to be left alone?
Men are swarming around me.
"Hey, Tosaka-san"
"Um, Tosaka-san"
"Tosaka-san, the gakuran suits you!"
Shut up...
Ah, how boring.
The sports festival ended while I was in a melancholy mood.
The result was... our white team lost.
I'm certainly tired today.
I'll leave the studying for tomorrow.
Ah, I have to send a message to Toya-kun.
Cha-ra-raaan♪
It's the ringtone for Toya-kun.
I answer immediately.
But the voice is strange.
Some kind of emotionless... woman's voice.
"Hello"
"You're not Toya-kun, are you!? Who is this?"
"I'm Ako. I wonder if you'll understand if I say I'm Toya-kun's cousin?"
"Why do you have Toya-kun's smartphone? Toya-kun is!?"
I mean, at least set a lock, Toya-kun!
"Toya-kun is sleeping next to me right now. I'm just borrowing the phone for a bit"
A voice cold to the core.
A shiver runs down my spine.
"...What do you want with me?"
I could guess the reason why she knows my name and number.
"I thought I'd give my greetings... Hey, do you know?"
"Know what?"
"Cousins can marry"
"...What do you plan to do to Toya-kun!?"
"Who knows, why not ask Toya-kun after he returns?"
Beep... beep... beep.
I hurriedly call back.
Please! Answer, Toya-kun!
"Yes, Airi?"
Toya-kun answered this time.
"Hello, Toya-kun!? Just now, a person named Ako-san..."
(6)
"Hello, Toya-kun!?"
It's Airi, something seems wrong.
Did something happen at school?
"What's wrong, Airi?"
"Just now, I got a call from a person named Ako-san..."
Ako?
Why?
"'Cousins can marry,' she said..."
She's crying again.
...Wait, what?
"What's that about?"
"Toya-kun, did Ako-san do something to you?"
"Nothing? We're not particularly close"
"Nothing happened, right? She didn't do anything, right?"
"It's okay"
"Then that's good... Hey, when are you coming back?"
I want to go back right now...
"...I'll be back the day after tomorrow. Shall we meet at night?"
"Yeah"
After that, I talked for a bit to calm her down and then hung up the phone.
Then, the person standing behind me without me noticing was... Ako.
"Ako! What did you do with my phone?"
"Airi-san... was it? I just gave my greetings to your girlfriend"
"What do you mean by 'cousins can marry'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like"
"...What are you thinking?"
This is half-horror. Was Ako this kind of character?
"I won't forgive you"
Eh?
"I won't forgive you for being the only one who gets to be happy, Toya-kun"
A tremor of fear runs through me.
I've never seen Ako like this.
Saying that, she returned to her room.
I hurriedly set up fingerprint authentication on my smartphone.
I mean, why hadn't I set it up until now!?
I curse my own carelessness.
Airi, sorry!!
It will still take time to understand the meaning of Ako's words.