Chapter 98 - Progress
(1)
"Wake up, Toya-kun."
When I opened my eyes, Airi was lying next to me, wearing a gown.
Seeing that I had woken up, she gave a beaming smile.
Yeah, this is a dream.
I'll go back to sleep.
Poke
Ow.
"That hurt, didn't it? It's not a dream! Come on, wake up, wake up."
I looked at the clock. It was 8:00.
Checkout should be at 11:00.
Isn't it fine to sleep a bit more?
"Looks like breakfast is until 9:30."
Right, let's hurry.
As I took off my gown to change, Airi was doing something strange.
She had become stark naked and was standing by the window with her arms and legs spread wide.
"What are you doing?"
Airi looked back and beamed.
"I've always wanted to try this! It feels great! It feels like a refreshing morning! You rarely get to do this, Toya-kun, so you should do it too."
...It's true there are no high-rise apartments around, so no one can see us.
Should I do it?
And so, a naked man and woman stood by the window.
...It's kind of a strange feeling.
In a sense, it might be refreshing.
"Now, let's get dressed and have breakfast."
In a sense, this might be a difficult choice.
Tori-ten for breakfast? Dango-jiru? There's even chicken rice.
Should I go with Japanese food today? No, but the temptation of the croissants is as strong as ever.
The omelets look delicious too.
As I thought, both...
"I saved some for you too, Toya-kun~"
"...Thank you."
I wasn't even given a choice anymore.
Once breakfast was finished, we began preparing to leave the room.
After finishing preparations, I checked for any forgotten items and left the room.
When we reached the front desk, we waited for checkout preparations.
Airi handled the procedures.
Airi returned.
"Shall we go?"
Saying that, we left the hotel.
As we headed toward the bus stop in front of the station, there was a couple I'd seen somewhere.
"Oh~ it's Ai."
"Airi~ hello~"
There was still time until the bus.
We killed time at a nearby coffee shop.
They had intended to return on the first train, but apparently Kiritani-kun had overslept, which is why it became this time.
Kiritani-kun, who was drinking black coffee as if he were still sleepy.
"Couldn't you sleep?"
I tried asking Kiritani-kun.
"How the hell could I sleep! It was a net cafe!"
It's true that sleeping while slumped over a desk is tough.
But weren't there reclining seats?
I thought there were booths that went flat.
"Toya-kun, you're currently thinking in a completely different direction with all your might."
Airi interrupted my thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think it was that he physically couldn't sleep. I think it's a psychological problem."
"So it's that 'telepathy' thing, huh~. You two are amazing,"
Sashihara-san said, impressed.
"So, what's the psychological problem?"
"How can you sleep when a couple is clinging to each other in a pair booth?"
When I asked, Kiritani-kun spoke while sipping his coffee.
"Is it really like that?"
I would normally sleep.
"I don't think Toya-kun would understand even if I told him. Toya-kun is the kind of person who sleeps while hugging a dream even if I'm clinging to him in a single bed."
What does that have to do with this?
It's true I'm in a dream, though.
By the way, yesterday was a double bed, you know?
I properly slept while hugging a dream with Airi, you know?
"Seriously, Toya! That's seriously amazing..."
"Wait, Katagiri-kun, are you okay!? Don't tell me you're still inexperienced?"
Kiritani-kun and Sashihara-san were surprised.
Is it something to be that surprised about?
By the way, I think there are plenty of people who are still inexperienced, you know?
Though I'm not.
"That's probably not the case? Though I did struggle..."
Airi had a distant look in her eyes.
This isn't something to say in public, right?
Just then, my smartphone rang.
I wonder who it is?
Looking at the phone, it was from Ishihara-kun.
"Help me, Katagiri-kun."
Eh?
"What happened, Toya-kun?"
Seeing me surprised as I looked at the smartphone screen, Airi peeked at the screen.
She looked at the screen and then at my face.
"What happened?"
I replied to the message with those exact words.
"Eguchi-san... ah, she's back, so later!"
Eguchi-san? Come to think of it, was he staying at Ishihara-kun's house yesterday?
"What happened?"
Sashihara-san asked, so I told her.
"I wonder what Isshy messed up... I'll try asking Emi too."
Saying that, Sashihara-san sent a message to Eguchi-san.
There was no reply.
"I wonder what's going on?"
The four of us looked at each other.
(2)
Pi-pi-pi-pi...
The alarm sounds.
I stop it unconsciously.
Because it was late yesterday.
As I opened my eyes slightly, I doubted my own eyes.
There was Emi, wearing a shirt on top but only panties on the bottom.
I opened my eyes wide and my mouth flapped.
Noticing me, Emi let out a "Kya!" and looked embarrassed.
"Just as Ai-chan said, it was the right choice to prepare underwear."
Saying that, she smiled.
"For now, put something on your bottom!"
I said to Emi with my eyes closed.
However, Emi seemed dissatisfied with that reaction.
"Is that your only impression after seeing me like this?"
No, I can't look straight at her.
Emi's needlessly sexy appearance was enough to stir my lust.
I was too embarrassed to put such things into words.
Regardless of my feelings, Emi took a surprising action.
"It was late last night so I didn't take a shower. I'll borrow it."
Saying that, Emi left the room. In that outfit.
I heard my parents' surprised voices. But regardless, she just said "I'm borrowing the bath."
Mother came into the room.
"You didn't deflower her, did you!?"
A single sentence launched by Mother.
If I had that kind of courage, I wouldn't be flustered by a figure like that.
"You're still high school students, so you mustn't cross the line."
Saying that, Mother left the room.
What should I do?
A follow-up sentence came.
"Your father and I are going to the first shrine visit of the year... so please, make sure there are no mistakes, okay?"
Please tell that to Emi...
Without sensing my feelings, my family left.
Without hesitation, I consulted Katagiri-kun.
"Help me, Katagiri-kun."
"What happened?"
A reply came back.
Just as I was about to reply with a message to explain the situation, Emi returned.
"Eguchi-san... ah, she's back, so later!"
That's how I replied to the message.
"Eh? Where's your family?"
"T-they went to the first shrine visit."
"I see, so now it's just the two of us."
"Y-yeah."
I gave a forced smile.
I felt like a frog stared down by a snake, a small animal targeted by a fierce beast.
We stared at each other.
Her smile would not allow me to avert my gaze.
Eventually, she began to take off her clothes.
Wait, hold on!!
"W-what's with this suddenly!"
"I'm changing. It can't be helped if I stay like this forever, right?"
Saying that, Emi changed back into the clothes she wore when she came to my house.
Disappointing... Emi's expression told that story.
I can vaguely imagine what she was expecting, though I can't respond to it.
"I'm sorry."
I said that one phrase.
Then Emi laughed and said.
"Why does Isshy apologize so quickly? This was an action you decided on after thinking in your own way, right? Have more confidence."
I didn't act, I couldn't.
I remained silent, looking down.
"It looks like it'll take time to make you fall for me. But I'll wait. For you to take action."
There were thorns in her words, but it was probably her own kind of kindness.
That made me feel even more pathetic.
"...Even so, I'm happy. I'm being cherished. I'm not being seen as a loose woman."
I feel pathetic. If it were Katagiri-kun or Kiritani-kun, they'd probably jump on her with joy.
...I don't know about Katagiri-kun.
Her changing was finished.
She was staring at me.
"...You're not going to tell me to go home just like this, are you?"
You're not going home?
Do you still intend to torment me?
"Aren't you changing? Even though I came all this way to play, aren't you taking me anywhere? Or did you intend to spend the time relaxing at home? Either way, I think you should change, don't you?"
Even to see her off, is it necessary to change?
However, she didn't seem to intend to go home easily.
For now, I'll change.
Was she being considerate? Or was she embarrassed? She was reading a novel from my bookshelf.
While that happened, I finished changing and called out to Emi.
Emi put the book away and asked, "So, what are we doing?"
Rather than being at home, it might be easier on the mind to be outside.
"Shall we go out? I'm hungry too, let's go eat something."
"I see. Well, that's fine. But since we're at it..."
Saying that, she hugged me and we exchanged a kiss.
"I'll let you off with this for today. I'm praying that someday we can move beyond this."
I felt like I had been preyed upon.
She has no intention of letting me escape anymore.
Her eyes said so.
I've fallen for a difficult person.
I self-deprecate.
At first, it was a tiny heart.
Katagiri-kun and the others changed my stubborn feelings.
Emi is smiling.
Moving forward wherever, just getting by for the moment.
But, look...
I feel like I can go toward a bright future little by little.
There are feelings of wanting to go back, but there are also feelings of wanting to believe in her.
My back is screaming that I'm not mistaken.
If so, let's move forward wherever.
I might be mistaken, but even so, let's keep moving forward.
Because I still think I love Emi.
"What's wrong? Aren't you coming?"
Emi tilted her head and looked at me.
First, the first step.
Dreams are always there.
Believing that she will wait for me to come without running away.
Let's kick toward tomorrow.
"Shall we go?"
I took her hand and started walking.
At that moment, I didn't notice that she was smiling.
Ah, I have to reply to Katagiri-kun's message.
That I'm okay now.
(3)
When I returned to Airi's house, I took a breath.
Airi was busily preparing lunch.
"You must be tired, so something simple is fine."
Saying that, I relaxed in Airi's room.
...Should I help?
"Eh? Toya-kun, can you cook?"
"...I've never done it."
Maybe just cooking rice in elementary school home economics?
"...Just wipe the table then."
Airi said that with a beam.
As I wiped the table as told, a good smell wafted.
She's probably making zoni.
What was served was zoni.
A transparent soup, like a sumashiru, containing round mochi, sliced daikon and carrots, katsuo-na (bonito greens), and yuzu peel.
There were three pieces of mochi.
Additionally, she must have prepared it in advance. A small amount of osechi was attached.
"I made it with store-bought things, but..."
Airi gave a sheepish smile.
"Itadakimasu~"
Delicious.
The broth, seasoned with shiro-dashi and usukuchi soy sauce, was exactly like my home's.
"It's delicious. Airi, you can make anything, can't you?"
"Thank you, I'm glad Toya-kun said that~"
Airi also ate her portion happily.
She seemed satisfied with the taste.
"That's not enough, right? I'll grill some mochi for you later. Do you want soy sauce? Or kinako?"
"Hmm, maybe sugar-soy sauce."
"Oka~y."
I helped with the cleanup and returned to the room to study.
Actually, there was something on my mind.
The words Kiritani-kun said.
"How can you sleep when a couple is clinging to each other in a pair booth?"
At the time, I thought you can normally sleep, right? but hearing Airi's words, I wondered if Airi was actually bothered by it.
It was the same last night.
I slept normally, but should I have taken some kind of action...
I'm apparently dense about those things.
But, how is it for Airi?
Was she expecting something?
"There is nothing happier than peaceful days."
Suddenly, Airi started talking.
"I told you, right? I can vaguely tell what Toya-kun is thinking."
"...Was it okay for Airi that nothing happened?"
"To be honest, I might have been expecting something. But it doesn't have to be yesterday. I'll match Toya-kun's pace. More than that, I'd rather stay as we are than deal with various troubles."
Because we are two people who shared the same pain and brought the same kindness, we can change it into the strength to live together tomorrow and beyond.
Airi said that and smiled.
"We've definitely made progress compared to last year."
I hope so.
"I don't wish for many things. To carve the same time and believe in the same future. I want to live accepting yesterday's tears and today's smiles as they are. If possible, together with Toya-kun."
"Is that Airi's wish?"
"I guess~? Well, I want Toya-kun to put in a little more effort. I want you to pour as much affection into me as you do into food, okay?"
I feel like I'm always being told that.
Even so, I intend to pour in as much affection as I can... but compared to food, it hurts.
"And~ you don't have to worry about what Kiritani-kun said. We're basically different from those two. If I were made to feel heart-pounding every day, my heart wouldn't hold out."
Airi said that and beamed.
...Every day might be impossible.
But someone said.
That the day will surely come when desire shifts from appetite to women.
When that time comes, will Airi accept it?
"Airi..."
"Yeees?"
"If I wanted Airi as much as my appetite, what would you do?"
She made a face as if saying Eh? and when she understood the meaning, Airi's face turned red.
"Don't ask things like that!"
"Sorry."
"...I'm always ready to accept it."
"Eh?"
"Now, study study! We played too much at the end of the year, so we have to make up for it a bit. There's a test after the break again!"
(4)
Pi-pi-pi... pi-pi-pi... pi-pi...
I stop the alarm.
I slip out of the futon so as not to wake Makoto.
I put on clothes.
Then I head to the kitchen and begin preparing lunch.
The mochi is still fine.
I peel the daikon and carrots and cut them appropriately.
I put water in the pot, add daikon, carrots, and chicken stock powder, and put it on the heat.
I grill the mochi in the toaster.
By the time the mochi is grilled, I put mitsuba and yuzu peel in the pot, plate it immediately, and put kamaboko on top.
I wake Makoto.
Makoto puts on clothes and sits at the table.
Then the two of us eat zoni.
"Is this the taste of Tokyo?"
"Yeah, this is the only way I remember how to make it..."
"Heh, it's delicious."
"Thank you."
When we finish eating, I clean up.
In the meantime, Makoto is organizing his belongings.
Makoto has to return to the dormitory by today.
Am I lonely?
Of course I'm lonely.
We can't be together forever.
That's exactly why I cherish the time we can meet.
That will probably be the case even after graduating high school.
The universities we'll enter are different.
"Let's live together."
When he said that, I was actually happy.
Living expenses? I can just work part-time.
It'll be hard, but if I'm with Makoto, I can live.
If it's the two of us, we can move forward, we can keep moving forward.
Because the heart that can believe in Makoto remains.
If so, isn't it fine as it is now?
If we have hearts that continue to believe in each other, I want to let him do the things that can only be done now.
Because I'll be waiting without going anywhere.
Please live the present to the fullest.
That is my wish.
Once the cleanup was finished, the two of us watched television.
We spent the whole time together until it was time for Makoto to leave.
Time that has passed cannot be brought back, but I miss the times when Makoto was near.
"Well, I'll be going soon."
Makoto announced the end of the dream time.
I see Makoto off.
If I stopped Makoto now, would Makoto stay?
He would surely stay.
That's why I don't say it.
"I'll come visit again at Valentine's."
"Yeah."
Leaving those words behind, Makoto started pedaling his bicycle.
I return home and watch television alone.
I started studying while watching television.
I'll do what I can do now.
So as not to leave regrets.
Believing that even if something is lost, something will be born.
After finishing my meal and taking a bath, while I was studying again, there was an incoming call from Makoto.
"It's strange, isn't it? Even though we were together until a moment ago, I want to hear your voice again."
Makoto said while laughing.
"It's not strange. I'm happy."
"I see, what are you doing?"
"I was studying."
"I see, sorry for interrupting."
"It's okay, I was just thinking I wanted to take a little break."
We talked for a while after that.
Around the time it passed 23:00.
"I'll go to sleep soon. Well, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, goodnight."
At the same time I hung up the phone, a call came from Mother.
"Ah, who were you talking to?"
"With Makoto. Mother, you're at work, right? What on earth is it?"
Mother told me the reason for the call.
Hearing that, I was shaken.
That guy, again...
"That's why I told you not to answer unknown calls."
"I understand."
"Don't forget to lock up."
"I know."
"Bye then..."
After hanging up the phone, I checked the locks.
The chain... I can't put it on because Mother is coming home.
I'll sleep early today.
Thinking that, I entered the futon.
"..."
I remember the words of that bastard.
My body trembles.
Those days when I desperately sought help.
Why now?
A story of the past that I don't even want to remember.