Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 9 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: TAEKO

"I've had stuff like that happen to me too in the past." 

"Really?" 

"Of course." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes? Have I not?" I asked Hino, currently lying deep underneath the kotatsu. She proceeded to wave her hand at me. 

"No, you haven't." 

"That can't be." 

If I hadn't, then how had I lived my life so far? That was what I thought at first. However, as I attempted to peer into the past, I was surprised to find that no memories of any such events appeared in my mind. 

Was certainty not something that the beings of this world needed to live? 

"Yes, yes. I'm quite the philosopher." 

"And I'm super tired." 

"That's fine. You can listen while you're asleep." 

"Sure thing." 

With that, Hino closed her eyes shut. I waited for a few moments before beginning my talk. 

"I'm certain I've gone through my fair share of adolescence encounters. They are what now form my present. However, the most I can remember is what I had for dinner yesterday. What was it again? Err... There were potatoes. That I remember for a fact. Was it curry? No, I don't think it was. I don't remember the smell of curry. If not curry, then what?" 

"Zzz..." 

"Are you listening?" 

I gave Hino's shoulders a light shake. 

"Let me sleep." 

"Hmm?" 

"I said, stop that." 

"Hmm..." 

Hino knew most of what there was to know about me. If she was saying this, then maybe I really did have no bitter memories to speak of. 

A life, sweet and sugary. 

Maybe I didn't need anything else. 

"If there are none, then so be it." 

That was the end of that. 

Once More "Tae Naru Hi, No Taru Ko" 

It was as if I'd found something very soft, very warm, and very round. 

That was how I'd describe the pleasant mix of emotions I felt when I first saw Hino. 

"Hino Akira." 

We were still mostly equal in terms of height when we met at kindergarten. If anything, I kinda felt like she was bigger than me. As for her hairstyle, it was long and evenly split, the same as these days. 

"Akira? You're a boy?" 

"No." 

My honest question was met by an instantaneous rebuke. Her reply came so fast that I had to wonder if she was perhaps used to being asked that. Whatever the case, it was now my turn to introduce myself. 

"Nagafuji Taeko", I stated as friendly as I could. Again, Hino was quick to react. 

"Don't copy me." 

"I'm not." 

I was merely using her as reference. Seemingly finding my answer unsatisfactory, Hino proceeded to smack me, to which I responded by smacking her back. It didn't take long for the teacher to step in and pull us apart. Wheeeh. There was something about it, being picked up and carried away, that I found kinda fun for some reason. Moving without walking. That must've been it. 

Already, I'd begun developing a lazy personality. 

That was hardly the last time I got yelled at. While in the moment, I was often confused as to what I'd done wrong, it most of the time made sense in retrospect. The gist of it was that I appeared to pay just a tiny bit less attention to what people were saying compared to the other kids. This was something that would be pointed out to me time and time again even in grade school. 

And yet, whenever I brought the topic up with Hino, she'd always deny it. 

I was left to wonder what it all really meant. 

Well, whatever the case, let's put that aside for now. 

I returned to the large room after the teacher was done lecturing me, only to find that the other kids had headed outside to play. The only person left inside besides myself was Hino, she too having received a similar talking-to. I could've followed the others outside, yet for some reason, I felt like it was too late for that. Did Hino feel the same way? Hmm, no. Probably not. 

A thought crossed my mind as I stared at her from behind. 

"Hey, Akira", I called out her name, causing her body to twitch slightly. She quickly turned around with an annoyed expression on her face. 

"What?" 

"You have a bug on you." 

"What!?" 

Panicking, the girl launched towards to me back-first. 

Each step she took was met by me taking one in the opposite direction. 

"Take it off, take it off!" 

"Oh, but. I'm not supposed to touch bugs..." 

"Huh!?" 

My parents had told me to never ever poke an insect. For whatever reason, I decided to make this the one time I followed their teachings. Besides, that thing was clearly a wasp. It was going to sting us. Soon enough, there were two of us panicking. 

"Use something to brush it off. Hurry!" Hino yelled, her finger furiously pointing at different objects nearby. It seemed that she was telling me to use a tool to get rid of the thing. 

"Won't your clothes get dirty if I crush it?" 

"Err..." 

That was enough to cause Hino to stop in her tracks. 

"That's true. Mom and Enome will get really mad." 

"Right?" 

"Why do you say that like it's a good thing?" 

Walking sideways like a crab, Hino made her way to a toy block lying on the floor, picked it up, and returned to me with it in hand. She then once again turned her back towards me. 

"Can you see it? Where is it right now?" 

"Hold on... There it is. Right in the middle. Ah, wait. It moved." 

"Where is it!?" Hino yelled. She was now jumping up and down and left and right. 

"Right. It went right. Oh, but, what's 'right' from your perspective?" 

"Screw this!" 

Completely fed up by this point, Hino proceeded to take action in the form of using the block to smack her back all over. While she didn't technically manage to hit the wasp, the series of quick movements was still more than enough to cause the insect to fly off. I spent a few moments staring at the thing circle around in the air when all of a sudden, the realisation hit me. 

We'd be wise to run away this time. 

"Hyaa", I screamed on top of my lungs as I left the room running with Hino following close behind me. The wasp had similar ideas. It flew past us, and without stopping, disappeared into the wide, open world spreading behind the door. 

Having made sure that the threat was gone, Hino said the following to me. 

"You were no help at all." 

"Yep." 

She wasn't wrong. Unable to rebuke her assessment, I instead chose to accept it head-on. 

"Hmm. Well, whatever", Hino mumbled as she turned to face me, already back in a good mood. "Wanna play?" 

"Yeah." 

"Err... Tae, right?" 

It took Hino little time to remember my name. For some reason, that made me really happy. 

"Akki." 

"Who's that?" 

"It's a nickname I came up with for you just now." 

"Stop." 

And so, smacks once again ensued. 

That was how it happened, how the two of us wound up becoming aware of the other's existence. 

"I wanna go over to Tae's place." 

The person waiting for Hino outside of the kindergarten was dressed in traditional Japanese clothes. Not only that, unlike my mom, she'd come driving a car. While Hino was busy talking with her, I decided to go ahead and poke at the vehicle. 

"Hey. Stop that." 

This was quickly met by Mom grabbing my wrist and dragging me to her. Wheeeh. 

"Might this Tae be a school friend of yours?" 

"Huh? You're friends with this girl?" 

For some reason I couldn't understand, Mom appeared quite shocked. 

"Just a second, please." 

Distancing herself from us, the traditional lady pulled out her phone and begun dialling a number. I used this opportunity to have a look at Hino's back. 

"Do you see any bugs?" 

"Nope." 

"Hooray." 

We ended up celebrating this small victory together. In the corner of my eye, I could see Mom smile silently as she watched us do so. 

"I called her mother, and she said yes. Can I ask you to look after her?" 

"Oh, err..." 

Done with the phone call, the traditional lady next addressed Mom. She didn't sound like she knew how to respond. 

"So, it's okay?" 

"Indeed. Now, if you could, please step inside." 

Hino did as told and entered the vehicle. With the door still open, she then made some space on the seat next to her. 

"Go ahead." 

This time, I was the one who the lady beckoned to. I turned my head towards Mom, and using my eyes alone, asked for confirmation. 

"I think it'd be better if you came too. I don't know the way to your house, you see", the lady added before Mom could open her mouth. 

"Oh, right. Of course. Err, well, excuse me then." 

"Come, come." 

With that, Mom ended up getting inside the car as well. She did so backwards, with her eyes remaining pointed at the other pairs of parents and children standing around the parking area. Was she perhaps concerned how those people might see her? Possibly. As for the lady, she'd already sat down on the driver's seat. 

"Please guide the way", the lady said to Mom after getting the engine running. We lived pretty close to the kindergarten, and as such, even I knew how to get back home. Also worth noting, our family did own a car too. We just very rarely used it. 

"You come to kindergarten by car, huh, Akira?" 

"Yep." 

"I wanna do that too." 

"Not happening, sorry." 

It took less than a second for my suggestion to be shot down. 

Hino's family sure was different from ours, wasn't it? 

Shaking my feet around, I spent the next few moments thinking about such things, only stopping when the car pulled in front of our house. 

"I will come pick her up later on. Until then, please take good care of her." 

"Right, right." 

Once again, the slightest bit of hesitation could be heard in Mom's voice. The lady bowed very politely into our direction, after which she got back inside the car and drove off. 

An extremely heavy sigh left Mom's mouth as the vehicle disappeared behind the corner. It was as if a load had come off her shoulders. 

"The place's kinda small, but do make yourself comfortable." 

"Okay." 

With those words of encouragement to push her forth, Hino ran inside. 

"You didn't hear her? Our place's small. You don't have to run to see it all." 

"Not what I meant." 

My comment earned me a light smack on the head. But what for? Those were her own words. 

Standing there, I could hear Mom mumble the following to herself. 

"A Hino girl, huh? I've only ever seen the bamboo grove, and even that was from the outside." 

I didn't really get what she was talking about. 

"I'm Hino Akira." 

I walked inside myself, only to catch the tail end of Hino introducing herself to my dad currently standing behind the counter. The man greeted her back with a smile like he would any customer. 

"I'm Naga-Naga Fuji-Fuji." 

"Stop that. This isn't a competition." 

Talking to me, however, he sounded almost fed up. Why was that? Why did he react to the two of us in such different ways? 

"So, you're Taeko's friend, huh?" 

"I am." 

Hino raised her hand high up into the air, and I did so too. As for Dad, he proceeded to smile at us before suddenly tilting his head to the side. 

"Wait... Did you say Hino?" 

Just like with Mom earlier, something about Hino's name appeared to have caught the man off-guard. He looked so confused staring at her. I was pretty confused too, myself. 

The silence that fell between us was quickly broken by Mom's voice. 

"The store is open. Go play in the back, and stay there." 

"Yeah, yeah." 

Well, whatever. It wasn't like there was any need for me to waste my time thinking about it. Brushing the usual warning aside, I headed inside with Hino by my side. 

There, Hino took off her hat, placed her backpack on the floor, and then turned towards me with a grin on her face. 

"Your house smells really good, Tae." 

"That's the smell of deep-fried stuff." 

Specifically, the smell came from the croquettes and meat cutlets that had been lined up in the display case near the counter. Having lived my whole life here, I was more or less used to it by now, but even then, there were still times when I'd randomly find my nose tingling and my mouth watering. 

"Our family runs a meat store." 

"I love meat." 

Yay, we both yelled at the same time with our hands raised high above our heads. We did so without any thought, without any deeper meaning. 

"What about you, Akira? What does your family do?" 

"Hmm. I don't really know." 

Shifting her gaze aside, the girl began thinking hard about it. 

"What could it be... A tea store, maybe? A garden store?" 

"A garden store?" 

"Yeah. We have a really big garden." 

"Ooh." 

I couldn't help but grow a little excited just hearing about it. 

"That sounds like fun. I wanna visit your place sometime." 

"Sure. Next time, let's go there." 

"Yay!" 

This simple, verbal agreement alone gave me enough reason to celebrate. I could feel my mind brimming with all sorts of fun things you could do with a big garden. 

That said, a part of me did also feel like by the time I actually went there, I would no longer be able to remember any of those ideas. 

Even this early into my life, it wasn't at all uncommon for me to spontaneously lose interest in a topic and to jump to something totally unrelated. 

This time, that something wound up being the tiny face in front of me. 

"Hmm? What is it? Do I have a bug on my face?" 

Hino went ahead and gave her nose a pre-emptive smack. Telling her that there was no bug, I slowly closed the distance between us. 

"I was just thinking about how cute you are, Akira." 

"Huh?" 

That was the essence of what I'd felt watching her. As I expressed those feelings to Hino, she too proceeded to stare at me. 

I blinked my eyes, and so did she hers. 

"You're cute too, Tae." 

"Thanks." 

Done praising one another, we then sprang up and began running around the room in circles. There wasn't much space to speak of, but even so, I did my best to share it with Hino. Come to think of it, it might have been her specifically who I learned the meaning of friendship from. 

The joy I'd felt that day, the joy I could still remember all these years later, it'd been given to me by Hino. 

Tired from all the playing, the two of us had decided to lay down for a moment. Unsurprisingly, this had resulted in us falling asleep. 

I woke up to the sight of Hino sleeping tight in front of me, her tiny body wrapped in a blanket likely placed on her by Mom. My body was still asleep and refused to function properly, and thanks to that, I ended up spending the next few moments idly staring at her. It was there that I noticed that something was off. Hino had two blankets. One was hers, and the other one was mine. I quickly checked, and indeed, I no longer had a blanket on myself. She must have pulled it off me while I was asleep. 

"So, a Hino girl, huh? What is someone like her doing here?" 

Right in that moment, I could hear Dad's voice coming from the store side. He was talking with Mom. 

"She looks to be good friends with Taeko." 

"Through kindergarten?" 

"Yes." 

"Huh. I always figured kids of her sort went to their own private academies or whatever." 

"Maybe they do somewhere, but certainly not around these parts." 

It seemed that they were talking about Hino. And me. My name also came up. That said, I wasn't really sure what any of it was supposed to mean. 

"She's a girl, and ours is too. Hmm... That's kinda unfortunate." 

"What is?" 

"Well, if Taeko was a boy and therefore able to marry into the family, then that'd be really beneficial for us as well. Just think about it. We'd never have to worry about money again." 

"Are you being serious right now...?" 

"Hahaha. Joking, joking. Still, I have to ask, is this really okay? Our house is so small. I know it's bad to say, but at the end of the day, we are just your run-of-the-mill meat sellers." 

"That's not something children think about." 

"Hmm. I suppose not..." 

"I'm just glad Taeko was able to make a friend this quickly. You know how she can be sometimes." 

"Oh, yeah. That's definitely true." 

I was starting to feel tired again. At the same time, I also found my body shivering. I tried yanking the blanket back, but as Hino refused to let go, the only option that left me with was to crawl under it. Slowly, like piling myself on top of her, I did just that. It kinda tickled having the fabric touch my face directly. 

While the blanket and her clothes were both wrapped around her body, the two smelled nothing alike. 

The latter felt like sandpaper was being rubbed against my nose. 

Surely, this must have been the scent of Hino's home. 

I ended up falling asleep for a second time after that. This time, it was Mom who came to wake us up. 

"The woman is here to take you home, Akira." 

"Right..." 

Rubbing her eyes, Hino slowly got up. There, a small gasp left her mouth as she noticed that we'd been sharing a blanket. I took that as my cue to get up myself. 

"You're going home now?" 

"Yep." 

With that, she placed her hat on her head and wrapped the straps of her backpack around her shoulders. 

"Mom's going to worry if I don't show up." 

"That'd be bad." 

"And my father, and my brothers too." 

She had brothers? I asked her about that, to which Hino nodded her head. 

"They're all huge." 

"Wow." 

She went on to add something about how she wasn't going to lose to them. What did she mean by that? I wasn't quite sure. 

Hino stepped outside, and on the other side of the door, waiting for her, I could see the same person dressed in a plain kimono I'd met earlier that day. 

"Thank you for looking after her", the woman thanked Mom, followed by a deep bow. 

"No, no. It was no big deal", she stated back, clearly unsure as to what she was meant to say. 

Meanwhile, I'd once again walked over to the car and began poking it. 

"Hey now." 

It was the woman who ended up stopping me this time. With ease, she picked me up and carried me away from the vehicle to where Mom was standing. The impression I got from her voice was that she wasn't particularly angry. 

"My apologies." 

"It's fine." 

I tried doing the same thing again, but this time, Mom saw through me and grabbed my wrist before I could even take the first step. 

"For how absent-minded she is, she sure can act restless at times." 

"See you tomorrow, Akira." 

I did my best to wave my hand in the air despite Mom holding me still, to which Hino responded by waving at me back through the car's window. The woman then got the vehicle started, and soon enough, the two were gone. Only the ragged flock of buildings remained. All I could think about standing there was how much more mature Hino had looked compared to me. 

"I'm glad you were able to make a friend like her", Mom stated, still holding me. She sounded genuinely happy. 

"Yep." 

"Hmm? What's that grin supposed to mean?" 

My response earned me a pinch on the cheeks. 

It was only when we made it back inside that Mom let go. There, we met with Dad. 

"That car that came to pick her up, it looked really expensive", he laughed while scratching his head. Hino's car was expensive? Hmm, I guess that made sense. It was a lot shinier compared to other cars. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to touch it so much. 

"Akira said she likes our place." 

"Did she now? That's surprising." 

"Next time, I wanna go over to her place." 

"Hmm... Is that okay?" 

This question wasn't aimed at me, but at Mom. She merely shook her shoulders. 

"Why wouldn't it be?" 

"Well, you know. Those people are very strict about etiquette and stuff. Plus, if she knocks down an expensive vase or something, that's really going to hurt Daddy's wallet." 

"Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it. That's a good point..." 

Mom and Dad both turned to look at me in unison. What was the thing you were supposed to say in these sorts of situations? A second later, I'd already figured it out. 

"Trust me!" 

"I'd love to, honey, but..." 

Mom's voice as she spoke with her cheek resting against the display case sounded so flat, so even. 

"We do not have any vases on display, no." 

"You don't? Well, that's a relief." 

Hahaha. Hooray, Mom laughed, followed by her lifting me high up into the air. While I didn't really get why she was celebrating, seeing her happy did make me happy too, and as such, I decided to join in. 

"Good job, gramps." 

"Who?" 

"Master wanted it that way. It'd be dangerous if they broke, he said." 

"Dangerous indeed. For our family finances, that is." 

Mom did a quick dance, and before I knew it, I too had been taken for a spin. 

However, in the next moment, she stopped. Her expression froze and her eyes opened wide. 

"What about wall scrolls?" 

"We do a have a couple of those, yes", the lady replied, grinning. 

"And are they expensive?" 

"A few of them are." 

She continued grinning. I couldn't help but do the same. Soon enough, it was only Mom who wasn't smiling. 

She brought her face real close to mine, so close I felt like our noses were about to touch. 

"Do not touch those scrolls. Do you understand?" she stated in an exceptionally serious tone of voice. 

"What scrolls?" 

Good grief, I could hear her mutter to herself as she turned to look away. There, as if she'd given up on trying, she shifted her attention back towards the lady. 

"Could you make sure she doesn't do anything stupid?" 

"Of course." 

And so, I was transferred from Mom to the lady. She proceeded to carry me to the back of the car. Wheeeh. 

This discussion took place in front of the kindergarten. It was currently the day after Hino had dropped by our house. 

Speaking of Hino, she'd already been waiting for me on the back seat. 

"Your house sure sounds like it's tough living there, Akira." 

"Huh? You think so?" 

She proceeded to stare at me with her eyes wide open. However, barely a second later, her expression changed as she seemed to recall something. 

"Actually, you're right. My parents are pretty strict sometimes. About like, table manners and whatever." 

"Oh, same here. I get yelled about that all the time too." 

It happened multiple times a week that I was told to focus on my food and not the TV. The way I saw it, food you could eat later on too whereas a TV show had to be watched right then and there, and as such, you should always prioritize the latter. However, when I asked Mom for her opinion, she simply smacked me on the head, and that was the end of it. 

"So, it's the same for you, Tae? Huh..." 

"Yep." 

I nodded my head, to which Hino responded with a smile. She seemed almost relieved for some reason. 

Meanwhile, the traditional lady stepped inside the car after finishing her talk with Mom. Apparently, she'd also be responsible for giving me a drive home later that evening. I peered outside through the window, and there, I saw Mom looking just slightly sad. Would she have liked to see Hino's house too? Perhaps. 

"Alright. Let's get going then." 

"Okay." 

With that, she got the engine started. The vrooming of the car reminded me of a question I'd had in mind for a while now. 

"Are you Akira's mom?" I asked the lady through the seat between us. 

That was the impression I'd been under since yesterday. 

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm not." 

"Really?" 

Questioningly, I turned my eyes towards Hino, only for her to repeat what the lady had said. 

"She's not. Enome's our maid." 

"Your maid?" 

"It means she works for us and helps around the house." 

"Wow." 

That sounded pretty handy. Still, I had to wonder. Was Mom a maid too since she was always helping Dad around? Wait, but if that was the case, then was it possible that this lady was Hino's mother after all? The whole thing was honestly very confusing to me. 

"Whoa! Tae's eyes are spinning." 

"It's just so complicated." 

"Is it really?" the lady asked me. Even now, her voice still sounded very soft. 

"Please come over and help us with running the store." 

"If I ever get an opportunity, I'd love to." 

I'd not meant anything by my request. It was just something that had randomly come to mind. And yet, even with that being the case, the lady hadn't said no. I couldn't help but feel like she was a truly good a person just because of that. I often judged things based purely on surface-level factors, and that was the case here as well. 

I justified it by telling myself that a simple approach was easier on the other party as well, but was it really? 

While that was something I could wonder about these days, back then, such thoughts hadn't even crossed my mind. 

Hino lived relatively far away from the kindergarten. Our houses on the other hand—as I'd later come to learn—were actually located pretty close by, making it easy for us to visit one another by foot once we got old enough to do that. As you can probably imagine, this revelation came as quite the shock to the young me whose entire world until that point had been composed solely of our family's tiny house and nothing else. 

It was on that day that I for the first time in my life experienced the real world. 

"No kidding. This thing is huge!" 

The very first thing my eyes came across as I hopped out of the car was the massive garden Hino had talked about the other day. Before I knew what I was doing, I'd already found myself running circles around it. The parking area, which in itself was already pretty big, transitioned seamlessly into the garden, and beyond both of them, there stood an enormous mansion. Never in my life had I experienced anything like this. It was as if I'd arrived in an entirely separate world. As if to enforce this belief, the very air itself appeared much more fresh and vibrant than it did in the town. I could hear the sound of an imaginary river running somewhere in the distance. Done with that, I next headed towards the mansion, the front of which had been paved with tiny, circular rocks. Even with shoes on, they felt really nice against the bottoms of my feet. 

How many copies of our house could you fit here? That was something I found myself trying to count as I ran. 

After a few moments spent doing that, I finally stopped and took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh air. 

There, the strangest thing happened: I'd just been about to continue running around when all of a sudden, the ground disappeared from beneath my feet. It took me little time to realise what was going on. The lady had wrapped her arms around me from behind and lifted me up. 

"I was asked to keep an eye on you." 

"Right. You were" 

Wheeeh. Just like that, she carried me to the front door. Hino was already there waiting for us. 

From her point of view, this was probably all pretty mundane, huh? 

The lady didn't let me go as I'd expected, but instead chose to carry me all the way inside. Did she figure doing it like that would be easier? That was the conclusion I came to. 

The entrance hall we arrived at was by itself larger than the entirety of the main room of our house. Not just that, the shoe rack was enormous, too. When would you ever need that much room for shoes? Whatever the answer was, those thoughts were quickly interrupted as another person wearing a similar yet different looking set of traditional clothes arrived to greet us. 

This new woman looked to be around the same age as the maid. Her hair—black like her dress—was tied in a bun behind her head, and somehow felt a little heavy. Every time she moved her arms, a sliver of red could be seen peeking out from inside her sleeves. 

"I'm home, Mother", Hino stated to the woman while bowing her head in a very polite manner. 

"Welcome back", she replied softly. So, this person was Hino's mom, huh? With the greetings out of the way, her eyes then shifted from Hino to me. 

"Apologies for the intrusion." 

My feet at last came in contact with the floor as the lady who'd been carrying me let me go. 

"I'm Naganagafujifuji Taetae!" 

"Oh my. That's quite the long name." 

Surprisingly, Hino's mother didn't sound the least bit annoyed by the way I'd introduced myself. She seemed to be taking me completely at face value. 

"I heard a lot about you from Akira last evening." 

"Were they all good things?" 

"Naturally", the woman giggled before giving the lady behind us a quick nod and adding: "I'll leave this to you". 

With that, she turned around and disappeared to where she'd come from. 

What did she mean by that? What was she leaving to her? It only took me a second to find the answer: It was me. She was talking about me. 

Even here inside the building, the influence of the surrounding nature was still wrong. I couldn't help but immerse myself into it as I took off my shoes. 

The fresh air, the smell of trees. Oh how pleasant it felt. 

I couldn't believe that I hadn't at some point stepped through a portal and arrived in a whole another world. Everything here just felt so different. It was there that I for the first time in my life found myself thinking, Hino sure was something else, wasn't she? 

I'd been just about to follow after Hino's mom to see where she'd gone when a hand was placed on my shoulder and my body was forcefully turned around. Well, sure. Let's go that way then. I began marching with my arms and legs stretched out, to which Hino responded by doing the same. 

Somewhere above my head, I could hear the lady giggling to herself. 

Our next stop turned out to be Hino's room. Like the entrance hall earlier, it too was quite spacious, so much so that you could have easily fit our entire living room inside it. I got the impression that hitting my shins against the kotatsu while running around would not be a problem here. 

My first thought was to start jumping in place. Why? I didn't really know myself. Regardless, I only got to do it for a few moments before a hand was once again placed against my shoulder, forcing me to sit down. 

"I can't believe you have your own room, Akira." 

"Huh? You don't have one, Tae?" 

"Nope." 

I went ahead and puffed out my chest as if that was something to be proud of. Not counting the small room on the second floor that I'd been told would be cleaned out and given to me in the future but wasn't yet in use, our house only had two—or three depending on how you defined it—rooms in total, and even those were tiny. 

Hino really did come to the kindergarten from a wholly different world than I did. 

"Well, in that case, let's share it. This can be your room too, Tae", Hino suggested with her arms spread wide. 

"Is that really okay?" 

And just like that, I'd been given my very own corner of this brand new world. How lucky was I, truly. Accepting Hino's offer, I then shifted my gaze upwards and had a look at the ceiling spreading out high above me. Half of this was now mine. I could feel my body trembling. 

A world belonging to me and Hino alone. 

There was even a part of me that felt like this would become my new place to return to. 

I still had my home, yes, but this was different; while that was there I lived physically speaking, this would be where my soul belonged. 

"Yep." 

"Hooray!" 

The two of us simultaneously lifted our hands into the air and began celebrating. After a few moments spent doing that, I noticed that the lady was still watching us from the doorway. She had the most peculiar smile on her face. It was like she was both happy and slightly troubled all at the same time. I gave her a questioning look, only for her to respond in the following manner: 

"Looking at you, it's hard to believe that you only met yesterday. You seem so close." 

I turned my head back, and doing so, met eyes with Hino. I couldn't help but think how pretty she looked. Just like the air around the house, her eyes contained no impurities—no outside filth. 

"Right." 

"Yeah." 

No more than the span of a single day had passed since our meeting. 

And yet, even knowing that, it was impossible for me to deny that there was something between us. 

"Are you feeling nervous?" the lady asked me, seemingly just to see how I'd respond. Nervous? No, not really. I replied by shaking my head to that effect. 

The feelings budding inside me were far more, how to put it... Round. 

"I get all fluffy around Akira." 

"Fluffy?" 

"Yeah. Fluff, fluff." 

I grinned as I said that. While anything but a precise explanation, it did seem to be enough for the lady, and soon, all signs of worry had disappeared from her face. 

"That is a very good thing. You ought to treasure those feelings." 

She followed this statement with a smile slightly more complex in its nature than what had come before. It almost looked like she was reflecting upon something. 

As to what that something was, it'd take me multiple years to get to a point where I'd be able to even begin making a guess. 

"I will!" I proclaimed without much thought. As if imitating me, Hino too raised her hand. There, a question I'd been meaning to ask for a while now appeared in my mind. "What are 'wall scrolls'?" 

"And what might you do if I tell you that?" 

"Hohoho." 

"That will not do." 

My attempt at laughing my way out from the situation earned me a stern warning. 

"Wheeeh." 

"I will not carry you there, no." 

"Wheeeh..." 

I ended up backing down on my own. After a moment of thinking about it, I realised something and quickly shifted my eyes towards Hino. 

"How about you, Akira? Do you know what wall scrolls are?" 

"Nope." 

"Well, in that case, let's go find one." 

"Yeah, yeah. Let's do that." 

We both sprang up and began running down the hallway. The lady wasn't far behind. 

"This is going to be more work than I thought, isn't it?" I could hear her mumble to herself. As for Hino, she was still grinning. 

"I'm usually get bored at home, but with you here, Tae, it's so exciting." 

Watching her smile, I could feel like I'd found something soft, something warm, something round. 

Those pleasant feelings would from then on be what I always experienced whenever I looked at her. 

"It went something like that. I think. Or did it not?" 

"Given your past record, I'd bet money on your memory being the one faulty." 

"Hmm, yes. That's a good point too." 

Not wanting to argue about it, I instead chose to slip back under the kotatsu. 

"2033 8 11 21:47:22" 

I happened to notice that my finger was glimmering as I stepped into the shade. 

I looked down, and there, I was met by a blue butterfly wrapped around my index finger. 

All this time later, the strand of hair Yachii had plucked from her head and given to me still continued to glow with a soft, pale shimmer, just as pure as it had been that day. The outline it drew was filled in by the particles of light being emitted from it, together forming an illusion of a butterfly flapping its wings whenever I moved my finger. 

I ended up spending the next few moments staring at it. 

Done with that, I then pushed the door leading to our room and stepped in. 

What I found there were Sis and Yachii crammed inside the same futon. The heater also hadn't been turned on, resulting in it being pretty cold. 

"Ah, Shou." 

It took Yachii little time to open her eyes. They were tinged with the same tone of blue as the butterfly, and like it, couldn't see anything. Well, that was what she'd told me anyway. 

"You're going to turn out like Sis if you never do anything but sleep." 

"Like Shimamura?" 

She proceeded to turn her head to the side as if to have a look at her. As for Sis, she seemed to still be asleep. She really did sleep a lot during winter, didn't she? I could remember Mom laughing how that was a good thing because it meant she didn't have to spend time looking after her. 

"Well then, I shall get going now." 

With that, Yachii got up. What did she mean by "well then"? What had the two been talking about before they fell asleep? I wasn't really sure. Well, whatever. She was wearing the same lion pyjama she always did. It was a good thing she was as cute as she was, because otherwise, it would've been pretty scary having a lion live in our house. 

"Shou. Are you able to see my future?" the lion asked me. She sounded genuinely curious. 

"Hmm? Oh, I get it." 

It seemed that she'd taken my statement about her turning out like Sis at face value. 

As I'd come to learn, this was a pretty common occurrence with Yachii. 

"I heard someone say that no one can see the future. So no." 

"Not no one. I can see it." 

"Huh?" 

"It's true. If you don't believe me, then shall I predict something that will happen to you in the future?" 

"Really?" 

The image of a certain fortune-teller I sometimes spotted when walking around town came to my mind. There was absolutely no overlap between the two of them. 

"Can you really do that, Yachii?" 

"Yes, I can." 

She followed this proclamation up by puffing out her pale stomach in a manner brimming with confidence. 

"What year is it currently?" 

"You need to ask me that?" 

Was there anything about this world that she actually knew? 

I told her the year, and right away, Yachii began counting using her fingers. Like her eyes, her fingernails too shone with pretty, blue light. I found myself spending the next few moments enthralled by them. Doing so, I even forgot how cold I'd felt mere moments earlier. Anyhow, now done counting, Yachii made the following statement: 

"Tomorrow, you and I will eat doughnuts together." 

She sounded so confident, so proud of herself. 

It took me no longer than a second to grasp the true meaning behind her words. 

"Are you not saying that just because you want to eat them?" 

"Hohoho." 

No signs of guilt could be heard in her voice. Tomorrow... Tomorrow was a day off. 

"Shall we go eat some? If money's a problem for you, then I got plenty", Yachii stated while proudly showing off a 500-yen coin she'd pulled out from somewhere. 

"You're saying you'll treat me?" 

"Yes, yes. Exactly so." 

It didn't sound like she'd had to think hard about her response. As for me, however, I found myself growing incredibly suspicious as to how she'd obtained that sort of money. Right as I was busy thinking about it, Yachii went ahead and added the following: 

"Ah. In that case, how about I give you an additional fortune as a bonus?" 

"Huh?" 

"In approximately sixteen years from now, you are going to make a stunning discovery." 

I could feel the butterfly wrapped around my finger flapping its wings as she spoke. 

"And then, once that happens, earthlings will at last—" 

That was as far as I could follow her. As for the rest, I wasn't able to make any sense out of what she was saying. 

The words that were coming out from her mouth barely even sounded like words to me. 

"Yachii—" 

"I brought snacks. You girls want some?" 

"Yay!" 

It was Mom who said that. In the next moment, Yachii had already left the room running. She didn't as much as bother to look behind her. 

Wait, wait. 

"You can't just leave it at that. I'm super curious now..." 

Only Sis and I remained. Speaking of her, she was still asleep, and didn't seem to have heard anything. 

"Hmph." 

I went ahead and gave her defenceless cheek a quick poke, only for her to escape my assault by turning over. 

Not even when I ran over to the other side of the futon and poked her face for a second time would she wake up. 

Anyway, enough of that. This was hardly a time to be messing around with Sis. 

"Hmm, still... It's Yachii we're talking about." 

The chances were that this "stunning discovery" of hers wasn't actually going to be anything stunning at all. As to why, well, from her point of view, finding just a single piece of candy counted as a matter worthy of celebration. Going by that logic, it'd likely be a big cake or something similar, or perhaps a large cup of pudding. 

I exited the room myself, only to catch sight of Yachii holding up the polvoron Mom had given her. 

"Hahaha. This one sure doesn't hesitate", Mom laughed as she gave Yachii a poke on the forehead. 

"Yoink." 

Just like that, she went ahead and grabbed herself a second polvoron. 

"Actually, I think 'brazen' is more the word I was looking for." 

"It's delicious." 

Watching Yachii stuff her cheeks full of sweets, I couldn't help but feel like she wasn't going to be giving me any further answers.