Bonus chapter: "Nagafuji: The Rogue Visitor"
Wanting to shock Hino since it'd been a while since I last did so, I'd decided to visit her house without booking an appointment first. Wait... Shock her? Startle her? Hmm, those pretty much meant the same thing, right? Yeah, let's go with that. What truly mattered was being able to make her jump a little.
I could feel the mood in the air change completely as I entered the bamboo thicket leading to her house. The majority of the sunlight was absorbed by their leaves, causing the wind which blew through them to be not scorching hot, but instead nice and cool. The way it softly touched my skin was pleasant to say the least.
It almost felt like I was swimming in the air as I walked along the stone-paved pathway.
Sadly, that was only temporary, and I soon reached the end of the bamboo thicket. What now spread before me was the giant yard—so large and green I wouldn't be surprised to find turtles or maybe even cranes roaming around—as well as the mansion itself. Or really, a palace. Even from a distance, I could smell that its walls were built of high-quality wood. Whereas I saw the building as being absolutely massive, Hino apparently didn't. I could only assume that her being so tiny was the reason why.
My eyes came across an intercom installed by the front door, and wasting no time, I went ahead and pushed it.
"Yes?"
The voice which greeted me belonged to Hino's older brother. Koutarou, was it? Something like that.
"Hello!"
"Oh... You're Akira's friend from school. Your name is... What was it again?"
It appeared that he remembered me as well.
"I am the Meat Girl."
That wasn't actually my name. Regardless, I felt like it was too late to try and correct it now.
"Just a second."
I could hear his voice grow slightly distant as he turned his head towards the hallway.
"Akira! A friend of yours is at the door."
"Say what now?"
This voice belonged to Hino. The impression I got from it was that she wasn't exactly in a good mood.
"A friend. F—R—I—E—N—D."
"That's me!" I decided to shout out, as if jumping in the mix. Why? No idea.
"And who might this friend be?"
"Me, of course."
"What did you come here for?"
"To hang out."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than Hino rushed out through the door. Unfortunately, she wasn't wearing Japanese clothes today.
What a bummer. She looked great in a yukata.
"Dammit with you... Don't tell me that you forgot."
Her eyes filled with a mix of both shock and amazement, Hino continued staring at me, all the while scratching her cheek. Of course I hadn't forgotten. I never forgot anything.
"Nope. I made sure no one was following me."
"Really now? Well, good job."
"Hahaha!"
It really did make me happy being praised by Hino. If I had to guess, I'd say that no one else out there could make me feel the same way.
"Umm... That wasn't a compliment, you know."
"Wait, what?"
As we were talking, I could see Hino's mother running through the hallway behind her. The woman wore a kimono at all times, even during family visits at school, making her very easy to recognize. I also got the impression that Hino found that slightly embarrassing.
"Sure seems busy around here."
Two large carrying cases had been placed near the shoe rack. Wait, scratch that; the maid just brought in a third one. I shifted my attention from them to Hino, prompting the girl to state the following:
"That'd be because we're leaving on a trip for Hawaii today."
"You are? Really?"
Hawaii, huh? Considering how tanned she was already, there was a real possibility that she might come back fully roasted.
"Yes. I told you about this a week ago."
"Don't remember, sorry."
"Hmm, yeah, I figured you wouldn't."
Come on now. Even she forgot stuff from time to time. Mostly things that were inconvenient to her.
"How many days are you staying there?"
"Six. We also talked about that."
"Don't remember, sor—."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Anyway, there you have it. I can't hang out with you."
"Hmm."
It was way too hot here to think about anything. With that in mind, I decided to step in for a second. There, in the entrance, I sat down.
"Every single year, you and your family travel overseas, huh?"
"I guess so."
That was a custom they'd followed ever since I got to know her in grade school. Ah, those were the days.
She'd done it last year as well, and even then I'd wondered, how did she spend her time away? What sort of stuff did she do?
As I sat there, Hino turned around to look at me. I met her with a smile before making the following suggestion:
"How about I take care of the house while you're gone?"
"Leave."
And just like that, I was chased away. Hmph. I get it, she was busy and all, but seriously, there was no reason to act rude.
At the same time, I did feel a bit embarrassed having bothered her when she really didn't have time for it. Accepting my defeat, I decided to do as told and walk away.
I found myself instinctively imitating a cicada as I travelled down the stone path. I wonder, were there cicadas living in these bamboo trees as well? I turned my gaze upwards, and just then...
"Hey, Nagafuji."
...Hino called out to me, now running in my direction. The way the shadows cast by the trees went with her tanned skin really reinforced the idea of it currently being summer.
"Here", she said before tossing a plastic bottle filled with green tea towards me. I caught it, and instantly, the cool temperature of the liquid inside was transmitted into my fingertips. "I'll call you once I get back. So, yeah, come over right away. Wait, no. Scratch that. I'll come over."
That last bit was said while she already had her back turned towards me. So, whose house was it in the end?
Well, as long as Hino was there, I didn't really care.
"Sure thing. Leave it to Nagafuji."
"Why do you sound so proud saying that?"
You could hear her laughing between her long breaths.
"I'll look forward to my souvenir."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure to buy you candy or something."
With that, Hino once again began running towards her house, for good this time. I saw her off the whole distance, and there in the doorway, she turned around and waved me goodbye one last time. I too waved back at her. The only difference was that my hand formed a much greater arc. This apparently wasn't to Hino's liking as immediately after she saw me do so, her lips puckered up. She then waved at me again, going at it in a much more grandiose manner this time. I responded by going even bigger, but sadly, she completely ignored me. Hmph.
Anyway, I then ran off. There was a problem, however. A big problem.
Today's Adachi
I sat there in the centre of my room, still wearing my swimsuit. I tried opening my mouth, but all that did was cause lines of cold sweat to drip down my back.
Holding my head in my hands, there were two things that I felt in my mind: shame and regret.
What was she going to do with a picture of me wearing a swimsuit? What was she going to do with it!?
Not just that, look at the face I'd made. It was horrible. Simply horrible!
Well, in that case, what sort of face should I have made? That was the question. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to answer it.
Slowly, I continued rubbing my forehead against the floor.
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