Chapter 47 - Distorted Emotions
(1)
The next day, we headed to the safari park early in the morning.
Airi was frolicking, full of excitement.
Ako remained as elusive as ever.
I... was just trying to keep pace with Airi.
Though I was also curious about Ako's true intentions.
As expected, we clashed during the commemorative photo with the lion cub.
"I want to take a commemorative photo with Toya-kun."
"I'm the one who's doing it!!"
If I were to say, "Airi, you can just do it next time, right?" I could already envision her exploding in a rage.
The conclusion: we just had to take two photos.
...I'm exhausted.
Airi played with the cats at the cat salon.
I watched her blankly.
Ako slid into the seat next to me.
"Having a girlfriend like that must be tough for you too, Toya-kun."
Ako spoke in her usual business-like tone.
"...I love her, including those kinds of things."
"I see. I'm envious of Airi-san."
"Someone like that will appear for you too, Ako."
"Won't Toya-kun do?"
Just how serious is she?
Ako looked up at me with an upturned gaze.
Any ordinary man would probably have his heart skip a beat from this alone.
"I have Airi."
I spoke while looking at Airi.
"I thought there might be an opening to slip in."
"Maybe it looks that way from the outside."
"I haven't given up yet."
Ako spoke matter-of-factly.
"You're not serious, are you, Ako?"
"On what basis can you say that?"
"I can't help but feel like you're just teasing Airi."
"You're completely oblivious to your own affairs, aren't you?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Ako stared intently at me.
"...You still don't get it?"
"I don't get it at all."
"...You're a severe case."
"What are you two doing?"
Airi approached us.
"...It seems the girlfriend is more sensitive."
"What were you talking about?"
When Airi asked, Ako said something outrageous.
"Toya-kun hasn't noticed my feelings at all."
Even if she says it so matter-of-factly, it doesn't feel real at all.
Or so I thought, but...
"Eh?"
Airi's expression became grim.
Airi, are you taking this seriously?
"...What would you do if I said that?"
Ako said this with a smile.
Her eyes weren't smiling.
"I-I wouldn't do anything. Because I trust Toya-kun."
Airi is shaken.
"I see, then that's fine... otherwise there'd be no sport in it."
Saying that, Ako left the spot and began playing with the cats.
I don't understand the meaning of this at all.
What does Ako want?
"Hey, it's about time to go!"
Father was calling.
"Ako, let's go."
Just as I called Ako and tried to leave, Airi pulled on my sleeve.
Her expression was clouded.
Could she be anxious?
Before I could even think it, I acted.
I put my arm around Airi's shoulder and patted her.
Airi snuggled close.
"It's okay."
"Yeah."
In a place like this, it's not a big deal to flirt a little, right?
(2)
A certain tourist spot.
After struggling to find a place to park, it was past 2 PM by the time we ate lunch.
If we've come to the local area, we should have toriten... no, dango-jiru is also hard to pass up.
I suggested this to Ako.
Ako chose the dango-jiru.
As for me...
"Toya-kun, you're eating too much!!"
It was the usual pattern.
Yes, I ate both.
"A woman who nags too much will be disliked, you know."
Airi couldn't say anything back to Ako's single remark.
"But maybe a slightly strict girl is better for Toya~"
Mother followed up.
"True, he does have a tendency to space out."
Father joined in as well.
Airi looked relieved.
She doesn't need to worry that much.
"Dogs."
"Cats!"
While Ako and Airi's opinions clashed head-on, I was quietly eating soft-serve ice cream.
Once I finish this, I'm eating a croquette.
"Which one do you prefer, Toya-kun?"
"Hmm... for souvenirs, there's a good Japanese confectionery shop..."
"...Were you listening?"
Ah, damn.
Airi's gaze is painful.
She's definitely angry.
...Wait? She's not angry?
She's looking at me as if appealing for something.
"...Cats, right?"
I can't say no when she looks at me with eyes like that.
In reality, I'm more interested in the Japanese confectionery shop or the shop from a certain anime.
...And music boxes.
"Then, Ako-chan, shall we go look at the dogs with us?"
"Both are fine. We have time, right?"
"I suppose so, shall we take our time? Since we're here."
Once Mother said that, it was decided.
I managed to eat the croquette.
After that, I also ate gelato.
"...Toya-kun is happy as long as he's eating, isn't he?"
"I guess so."
Feeling good after eating various things, I answered Ako's question lightly.
"Do you have a favorite food?"
Ako questioned me.
"Meat!"
"Quite vague."
"Chicken, pork, beef!! Bring on anything!"
"Toya-kun, look at this. It's cute!"
Airi desperately interrupted the conversation.
"...You can't eat cats."
"...Well, yeah."
"Ah, this is cute. I'll buy it as a souvenir for Kanna."
Saying that, she took it to the register.
"Why did you come to like a person like that?"
"I don't know. Before I knew it, I liked him."
I watched Airi as she said this and finished paying at the register.
"I'll ask the opposite."
"What?"
"Why me? There are better people for you, Ako."
"Is that something other people decide?"
"That's true, but..."
"It's my freedom who I choose to like, isn't it?"
True enough.
"Toya-kun, I bought it."
Airi ran over.
"Now, shall we go see the dogs? You want to see them, right, Ako-san?"
However, Ako suddenly spoke up.
"Toya-kun, I want to go to the music box shop."
"Eh?"
Huh?
It seemed I wasn't the only one caught off guard.
"W-well, if Ako says so, it's fine."
Saying that, I told them we'd look for Mother and the others and move.
At a music box shop, it's a joy when you find a song you like.
You almost instinctively want to buy it.
This song would be good for Kanna, wouldn't it?
Looking at Ako, it seemed she had found one she liked too.
She was taking it to the register.
"I really don't understand Ako-san..."
Airi, who had been beside me before I noticed, muttered.
"True."
"I wonder what she's thinking?"
I thought that too.
I really don't understand Ako.
After that, we visited the Japanese confectionery shop and souvenir shops, buying gifts for Grandmother and Makoto.
Then, we began the journey home.
(3)
Whether Toya-kun was tired, or sleepy because his stomach was full, I don't know, but he was sleeping in the car.
"Hey?"
Ako-san spoke to me.
What is it this time?
I braced myself.
"What part of Toya-kun did you come to like?"
It was a very ordinary question.
"Haven't you asked Toya-kun that?"
"I have. He said it's that he is kind."
"Then isn't there no need to ask?"
"But isn't that just indecisiveness and being a people-pleaser?"
"...What part of him did you come to like, Ako-san?"
"I don't particularly like him, you know?"
Eh?
"But, you said you liked..."
"I just wanted to smash your relationship to pieces."
Eh?
"That's impossible, because Toya-kun..."
He'll always be with me.
"He's mediocre, isn't he? He has no redeeming qualities. Just like my older brother. And yet, because he's the eldest son, expectations are placed on him. He doesn't look at me."
"..."
"I thought Toya-kun was the same. But then you appeared. And with the talk of you, all the relatives got excited."
"That's the reason to destroy the relationship between me and Toya-kun."
"If you weren't here, Toya-kun would just be a relative with no expectations placed on him."
"That's wrong. Toya-kun has good points too, you know?"
"What value is there in a man who is merely kind?"
"Isn't being kind enough?"
"You're not a match for him."
"Don't decide that for me!"
I was raising my voice again.
"W-what happened?"
Toya-kun's father asked.
"I'm sorry. It's nothing."
Saying that, I bowed my head.
"And, I don't dislike seeing you shaken like that."
"!?"
"Nothing happened until today. But for the first Obon, it's just the two of us."
"...It'll be fine if it's Toya-kun. Because I trust him."
"I see... I hope that's the case."
And then she also fell asleep.
That night, perhaps she was tired too, because she fell asleep as soon as we returned home.
I was also tired, so I slept immediately.
And the next morning.
"Well, we're heading out now,"
Maya-san said.
"Take care."
I intended to say it as energetically as possible.
No matter how you look at it, there's no way something would happen during the first Obon.
There's no way it would.
That's what I thought.
"I enjoyed these three days. I hope we can meet again."
Saying that, Ako-san got into the car.
"Airi... it's okay. You don't need to worry about anything."
Toya-kun whispered in my ear, perhaps sensing something.
"Yeah."
Finally, Maya-san spoke.
"We'll be keeping a proper eye on Toya and the others, so there's no need to worry."
And so, the car carrying Toya-kun and the others drove toward the family home.
(4)
"...Is it really okay to let him go?"
Kanna and the others, who had come to check on me out of concern, spoke worriedly.
"...It's okay. It's not like I can stop him from going, right?"
I asserted.
"How can you say that? If you've seen Toya up until now, you know, right? That guy is easily swayed."
"I think so too. If someone just tries to evoke a bit of sympathy, he'll immediately..."
"That won't happen."
I denied the opinions of the two.
"Why can you trust Toya that much?"
Makoto-kun asked.
"Because Toya-kun has changed, you know?"
"Eh?"
Makoto-kun and Kanna said in unison.
"Toya-kun keeps the things he's once decided. That much is certain. He's indecisive, but he also has a stubborn side."
"...You really trust him. Toya."
"Yeah."
Toya-kun said it would be okay.
Until now, that alone would have made me anxious, but there was also the matter of that night.
"I've decided that I won't waver either. Toya-kun has become steady, despite how he looks."
"I'm envious of Toya,"
Makoto-kun said, and then said nothing more.
Kanna also said nothing.
"Ah, I have souvenirs for you two!"
"Oh, thanks as always."
"It's fine, it's fine!"
I changed the subject.
There was no point in dragging this conversation on forever.
All that's left is to wait.
And so, the three days that felt both short and long began.