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Chapter 3: Surely, there will be a season that you’ll remember every time you take a whiff of that smell.

Near the station, there was a single karaoke room. The muffled noise from the neighboring room shook the interior. I looked up at the ceiling and rested the back of my head against the wall, which made the noise sound even louder.

Not even louder, heck, it was the only thing I could hear. Truly strange, because there were seven people in this room right now…

For a mere seven people, the room was too spacious, but even so, the only things that filled the room were the sounds of coughing, sighing, and straw-sipping of the drinks from the drink bar; singing or talking were both nonexistent. If there was one noticeable sound to mention, it was the inorganic taps of plastic. I looked in the direction of the sound, and Miura Yumiko was resting her chin in one hand, tapping on her smartphone in irritation.

Our seating arrangements formed a one-sided open square. Ebina-san occupied Miura’s left while Yuigahama occupied her right. A little farther to the right of Yuigahama sat me, Zaimokuza, Sagami’s brother, and Hatano.

I sat directly in the middle and served as the border that segregated the genders, making me feel a little like Moses. Such a position allowed me a vantage point for both sides. On one side, Miura was irritated, Ebina-san looked indifferent, and Yuigahama had an awkward smile. On the other, Zaimokuza and the two UG Club members were restlessly darting their eyes around the room.

This get-together was to celebrate the success of the dummy prom plan, or it was supposed to be, but the mood in the room saw no signs of improving with our consciousnesses passing on to the next world.

Despite their initial excitement in the UG Club room, the three stooges were dead silent. Um, guys? What happened? Did you some depression-inducing drugs? Or maybe you ate something from Gekiochi-kun?

Nonetheless, it wasn’t entirely their fault. This was their first contact with Miura’s group. For people like us to meet others of the same species, it’s a natural reaction to assume an air of arrogance. But before girls, the first level of our shyness would surface. For someone of my caliber, I’d skip straight to level two and three. I was a newcomer back then, and a newcomer now, a freshman for life. As a result, I, too, didn’t say a word in front of Miura and Ebina-san.

With not a soul desiring to sing, the tension in the room dipped further.

Yuigahama tugged my sleeve and whispered into my ear. “H-Hikki, it’s kind of awkward in here…”

My sense of smell was aroused by a citrus note fragrance, and her whispers playfully tickled the edges of my ear.

“No kidding…” This may have been the very first time I had ever agreed to something from the bottom of my heart. I sighed and also writhed.

She’s too close… Why can’t she understand how embarrassing this is!? In front of other people, no less! Look, Miura and Ebina-san glanced at us just now! But I can’t say I dislike that, so please do it again some other time!

I warned Yuigahama with my eyes and proceeded to back away for space. She made a perplexed look, but averted her eyes when she finally caught wind of my action. I breathed out in relief, only for her to start tugging at my sleeve again. She then moved closer and closed the distance I had just opened. Um, why?

“Hikki, do something…”

“Yeah, not happening…” I said and stiffened my smile. As I retained my composure, I leaned forward. Yuigahama lost her grip on my sleeve, and I silently assumed a Gendo pose.

In this situation, no matter how hard I tried to liven up the mood, what awaited me was a grand champion title of a one-man tournament. Then, I could just smash Zaimokuza with the SmartDAM tablet and retire.

“So, what did you even tell those two?”

“Huh? I just mentioned you, karaoke, and stuff…” She tilted her head and acted like it was nothing unusual.

“That’s all you said, and they still showed up? Miura’s niceness scales to infinity…”

“It’s not like you told those three anything, either…”

“Because they wouldn’t be here if I did.”

Speaking of those three, they were staring daggers at me. In any case, I couldn’t let this mood continue on forever. To prepare myself for when I needed to whack Zaimokuza, I reached for the SmartDAM tablet. In that moment, my arm was stopped from the opposite of Yuigahama.

I turned to look and Zaimokuza was pulling on my sleeve. His eyes were moist like that of an abandoned puppy. “H-Hachiman…”

“Shut up, Zaimokuza, just shut up. Stay quiet.”

“Even more than I am now!? You do realize I have yet to utter a single word, yes? Surely you understand how awkward it is right now?”

His voice traveled needlessly well in spite of how restrained it sounded. This led the other two, who were idling in their seats, to twist in our direction.

“Seriously. Is this some kind of wake? If you asked 100 people, 108 of them would say the same thing.”

“You’re including sales tax…?”

“I expect that figure to go up…”

Hatano and Sagami’s brother scrunched up their faces with bitterness and expressed their mutual agreement. Oh, look, now the figure increased to 110 people! The sales tax was now 10%!

Our restrained chatter lasted for only a moment. The oppressive air that stifled the room killed off any remaining snickering, which transformed into low-spirited sighs. All of us boys nervously directed our eyes to the other side.

What awaited us at the end of our gazes was Miura rocking her leg and using her fingertips to fiddle with the curls of her hair. She wasn’t even remotely trying to hide her boredom, which only caused the boys to sink into their seats.

At a glance, Miura’s attitude was intimidating, but depending on how you looked at it, you could call it a form of kindness. By wholly expressing her displeasure and exuding an aura to keep away, it made dealing with her simple. The less we had to get involved with her, the better off we were.

Yuigahama scooted over to her out of concern, sticking to her side, and began operating the SmartDAM. “Yumiko, wanna sing something?”

“Mm…”

Yuigahama playfully bumped shoulders with Miura. Unable to ignore her, she reluctantly dropped her gaze to the SmartDAM. They both brought their faces together and began whispering. In time, Miura began to lighten up, letting out occasional giggles and slapping Yuigahama’s thigh. To an outsider, they appeared to be nothing more than close girl friends, a precious sight.

Miura was in good hands now that Yuigahama was giving her attention. The other problem was the remaining one… I glanced at Ebina-san. Although she had a smile the entire time we arrived, it contained an invisible shallowness that was reflected in the depths of her eyes. That was the most frightening thing here… The people who acted maturely were the hardest to deal with because you had no idea what was going through their minds.

As I sat there, anxious of what could happen, she suddenly spoke up.

“The UG Club plays games, right?”

“Oh, yes.”

Hatano, who had been uncomfortable in his seat, replied in a fluster. Sagami’s brother didn’t say anything, but nodded his head with hyper speed. After their responses, Ebina-san continued.

“Ohh, what kind?”

“Um, like board games…”

“Ooh, board games, huh? I dabble in them a lot myself.”

“Oh, right.”

“They’ve been getting pretty popular, too.”

“Right.”

“Like the werewolf one.”

“Right…”

“And the escape-the-room ones?”

“Right…”

Hatano and Sagami’s brother took turns answering Ebina-san. Right, right, rightrightrightright. They continued to repeat the same response over and over until their voices trailed off. Were they trying to recite a popular song or something?

As a result of Ebina-san’s thoughtfulness, they were able to establish some form of communication and manage some semblance of a conversation. The oppressive atmosphere didn’t change in the least, however. I could feel the air stagnating, and I let out a long, shallow sigh.

I glanced to my side to see Zaimokuza’s mouth popping open like a goldfish. I knew the feeling; it’s like we were under the hallucination that the oxygen was getting thinner. We both made side glances to each other and nodded. Our eyes met for only an instant.

“This is painful.” “It is.” “Should we add something to the conversation?” “Won’t you just be adding to the pain?” “Totally.”

Our voices were so quiet, to the point you couldn’t tell if our vocal chords were vibrating, but they eventually went silent. Instead of exchanging acknowledging interjections, we let out shallow breaths.

Conversations that failed to take off were worse than silence, and Zaimokuza and I were Seagul-level professionals when it came to silence. We went into a half-meditative state to wait out the worthless conversations that you’d have at a mixer you didn’t want to be at, only for us to be immediately broken out of it.

“Board games really are a lot of fun. Do you guys play anything else?” Ebina-san said, smiling.

Sagami’s brother and Hatano exchanged a look, and their glasses flashed. That caused Zaimokuza to perceive something, and he muttered in a panic, “D-Don’t do it!” while making small shaking motions with his hands. But his actions were so minimal that they didn’t reach either of the UG Club members.

Sagami’s brother readjusted his glasses. “W-Well, we don’t only play major ones like Catan and Scotland Yard. We also play classical games like chess, shogi, and othello. For games that don’t have physical components, we engage in lateral thinking puzzles as well.”

“We also visit the Game Market for new titles. As for other games, we play TRPG games like CoC, which is Call of Cthulu, by the way. Anyway, since our end goal is to design our own game, we dabble in all sorts of different games. If you’re interested, we have plenty of games in our club room, and you can come by any time to play.” Hatano pushed up his glasses and ended with a sneer. Despite their earlier stammers, they didn’t flub a single word in their rants.

…What was it that drove us to break into rants whenever it was concerning something we were experts in? It’s a bad habit of ours. When the other person showed even a semblance of interest in our hobbies, we’d use that as an opportunity to act superior and talk them down.

Although the two UG Club members were beaming with satisfaction and snorted, Zaimokuza and I were holding our heads in mutual shame. Of course, Ebina-san who seemed familiar with this side of the world only nodded back and didn’t react in the least.

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

Ebina-san’s response was as neutral as it could’ve been. On the other hand, the two beside her had their mouths open in shock.

“That was some fast talking…”

“Ugh…”

Their responses were brief, but their reactions were visibly showing their aversion. Heck, Miura was physically backing away. Please spare them from that, okay?

When Sagami’s brother and Hatano noticed their reactions, they broke into a muddied laughter—either trying to laugh off the embarrassment or bear the shame—and their shoulders sank. In the end, the room was once again filled with gloom. Well, they’re done for, I thought.

Then, knocks came from the door. I looked, wondering if the food we had ordered had finally arrived, and before any of us could answer, the door flung open.

“Yaaay!”

“Yaaay!”

One disgusting and noisy voice came from Tobe Kakeru while the other incredibly beautiful and glittering voice came from Totsuka Saika. They said the same thing, but why was one so much cuter than the other? Totsuka-Totsuka was clearly too cute, don’t you think? Glitterific ☆!

While those thoughts filled my head, appearing from behind them was Hayama Hayato. He came in with a tray with a variety of beverages from the drink bar.

“Hachiman, sorry for the wait.”

“Ohh, Totsuka, you made it,” I said, shoving Zaimokuza to the side. By opening up space this way, I could make it very natural for Totsuka to sit next to me. I couldn’t help but be in awe at my genius plan!

I certainly did extend an invitation to Totsuka, but the other two… I gave them a dubious look as they took their seats on Miura’s side.

Totsuka made a strained laugh. “Oh, I met them on the way, and when I mentioned karaoke, Tobe suggested to tag along.”

“Oh, makes sense…”

I looked at Tobe, and he had secured a seat next to Ebina-san and excitedly played with the hair at his nape. “Oh snap? Yumiko and Ebina-san, you’re both here, too? Damn, wasn’t expecting that. Some crazy coincidence, eh?”

A terrible act, indeed. But I did want to reward him a Nice Stick bread for his efforts.

With Hayama and Tobe present, Miura was finally able to ease up, and their side began to relax. The UG Club members looked uncomfortable, on the other hand. Either way, it was far better than the frozen space we were occupying earlier. With conversations springing up around the room, it was starting to look like an actual party.

Yuigahama tapped on my shoulder. “Are you going to raise a toast?”

“Raise a whaaat…?”

“Wow, you really don’t want do it, huh…?

My mouth twisted, and Totsuka let out a strained laugh.

“People who are suited for that kind of thing should do it,” I said, looking at the person in question. Hayama seemed to have heard our exchange and shrugged his shoulders after returning my look. Then, he went back to talking to Miura. Hayama-senpai really wasn’t kind, after all…

Anyway, the reason this party was being held in the first place was because of my dummy prom proposal. If it’s to reward their efforts for their cooperation, then it was only right that I did the toast.

“Fine, I’ll say something.”

Yuigahama nodded her head happily, and Totsuka did a small clap. With their generous support, I cleared my throat and stood with a glass in hand.

“Pardon the interruption, but I would like to take this moment to say something…”

Yuigahama and Totsuka energetically applauded, causing everyone else to follow along despite their confusion.

Having no experience with this kind of role, I awkwardly started, “Uhh, this was a wonderful party, and I’d like to thank you all for—”

“Save that for when the party’s over.” Hayama interrupted in disbelief.

I made a gesture with my hand, telling him to shut up and not to cut me off.

“Everything was resolved without issue because of everyone’s cooperation the other day,” I said, briskly. “Thank you, and cheers.”

After I raised a toast, everyone cheered in unison and clinked their glasses with their neighbors. It looked like this party was finally starting to feel like one. I breathed out in relief and sank into the sofa, leaving everyone to their devices in their fun little worlds.

3-2

It would’ve been a perfect time to wrap up the party with a closing joke, but the party was in full swing.

The disharmony that initially existed between the UG Club and Miura’s group vanished because of Hayama’s skillful intervention. As a result, conversations began to bounce back and forth between the two groups. Tobe kick-started the singing rotation, followed by an embarrassed Totsuka and then everyone else. Of course, this meant the eventual turns of Zaimokuza and the two UG Club members…

However, Hayama, again, was able to ease them in. He’d find an anime tie-up song with a famous Chiba band, and then proceed to sing the intro line. He’d then ask, “Do you know this?” and nonchalantly hand over the microphone to them. Zaimokuza and the two UG Club members reluctantly accepted, but this gave birth to an environment where everyone could sing.

Occasionally, he would redirect the conversation to the three, so they could enjoy themselves, and so they could share some common interest with songs they might both know; it was a high-level technique.

Hayama was as shrewd as ever. He was, without a doubt, a genius when it came to superficial socialization. I looked at him with a face contorted by respect and disgust. Another individual was similarly looking at him.

“Hayama-senpai is a crazy good person…”

“He’s the very first person who I can truly call my senpai…”

Hatano and Sagami’s brother tearfully gazed at him in admiration. Their expressions immediately transformed into disdain when they made comparative glances at Zaimokuza and me.

There wasn’t any need for me to be upset at this point. After all, I was very aware of the difference in our specs. But, you know? I wasn’t quite fond of their apparent disgust. It’s not very nice. As their senpai, this was where I needed to reprimand them with a snide remark of my own. I was their senpai, after all, and that’s what we’re supposed to do!

Since Sagami’s brother happened to be closer, I tapped on his shoulder. “Hmm, quite fond of Hayama, aren’t you? You’ve got the same preferences as your sister, two peas in a pod.”

“Tch!” He frowned with a loud click of his tongue.

Yep, that’s more like it. He looked exactly liked his sister. Ufufu, that’s the face I wanted to see… I chuckled from a dark feeling of gratification.

Zaimokuza shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “Hachiman, that’s exactly why.”

And now, he was getting on my case… Come on, you were getting the same poor treatment too, you know?

However, I did feel a little guilty for giving them a nasty attitude, since I did trick them into coming. If they had an insult or two, it was just my desserts. I went into thought and wondered what kind of compensation I could give them. Suddenly, Totsuka tapped my thighs with a soft touch. Desperately forcing down my horrific squeal, I looked at him.

“I’m going to grab refills,” he said, tiling his head and shaking the empty glass cups. It looked like he wanted to get through to go to the drink bar, but that was when a light bulb went off in to my head.

“Oh, I can do it. I’ll grab drinks for everyone while I’m at it.”

“You sure?” Totsuka sounded a little concerned. I gave him a wink, saying to entrust the job to me. Otherwise, he would’ve tagged along.

“Yeah, might as well.”

I immediately got up to keep him from saying any more, took all the empty glasses on the table and left the room. I placed them on a tray and dragged my feet to the drink bar. When I arrived, I came across Miura twirling her loose blonde ringlet hair with her fingers and standing in front of the espresso. It looked like she was contemplating what to drink.

When she noticed me, she gave me a quick glance but didn’t say a word. It’s not like I had anything to say to her either, so we’re even!

I approached the neighboring dispenser and began dispensing cold drinks. Miura stood about half a step behind me but then slowly extended her hand to the cappuccino button. The espresso machine whined with the brewing sounds of coffee and steam. I glanced over, and the black surface of the espresso was being covered with white foam.

“You know…” she said, quietly. I wasn’t sure who she was speaking to, but it was a little too loud to be her talking to herself.

On the assumption the person was me, I turned my head, and Miura’s gaze was focused on the cup in the espresso machine. The bubbles popped one by one as it expanded across the surface.

“What’s your deal?”

“What do you mean?” I answered only after making sure the question was for me. However, her vague wording left me unsure of what she wanted. In the meantime, I continued to fill the glass cups with cola one by one.

Although the interior of the store was bustling with all sorts of noise like the cable broadcast, singing leaking from other rooms, the whirring of the dispensers, and the bumping clinks of glass, it was eerily quiet. And in that pool of noise came a shallow sigh.

“With Yui, I mean.”

I stopped my hand from her sudden statement, or rather, it made me stop.

“Right…”

The only thing I could muster was a meaningless response to fill the silence, a decision I regretted. I could’ve easily just played dumb. I could’ve just ignored her altogether. Neither of which I could’ve done, because something internally pulled at me. That caused me to react in surprise.

Miura quietly swallowed her breath and waited for me to continue. Nothing, however, left my mouth, not even a word of sincerity. I knew it was cowardly of me to stay quiet, but I felt it would’ve been just as cowardly to verbally convince her to understand.

Irritated by my silence, she forced her cup onto the tray, and sighed. “Look, Hikio, you’re not my friend, so I don’t really care about you or what happens to you… but it’s a different story for Yui.”

Though frank at first, her words trailed off into a kind whisper as she took shallow breaths. I couldn’t help but turn to her because it sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Contrary to my expectations, her eyes were burning with intensity.

“Don’t half-ass things with her, all right? People who do that piss me off.”

Her resolute glare caused me to swallow my breath. I might’ve been overwhelmed, not out of fear or intimidation, but by her kindness.

In retrospect, Miura had always kept watch on those close to her; it was a sincerity so strong that it could be mistaken for arrogance. It didn’t need to be said about Hayama and Ebina-san, but Yuigahama, too, was a target of her concern, perhaps even more so recently. They were spending more time together with the lack of Service Club activities, and Miura must’ve had thoughts on the matter.

Her gaze was by no means meant for me, but it contained a strength that was enough to lock me into place. If I tried to gloss over her concern with an indifferent answer, she would see right through me.

“I’ll do what I can…” I said, nodding. My words contained no lie, but they rung hollow. I couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say.

Miura glared at me. Then, she brushed aside the hair at her shoulder and grunted in disinterest, turning to end the conversation. “That’s all. See you.”

As I watched her back, I whispered to myself, or at least, I thought it was low enough to be a whisper. “She’s such a good person…”

Miura stopped and twisted the upper half of her body back to me. “Huh? What’s that about? Gross.”

Her face distorted in disgust, and she rushed off with the ringlets of her blonde hair wrapped around her fingertips. Between the openings of her swaying hair, the flushed color of her cheeks could be seen, and I repeated my earlier words in my mouth.

3-3

I returned to the room, and Hayama was singing. It looked like Hatano and Sagami’s brother had provided everyone with cyalume sticks to wave up and down. On top of that, they did calls, mixes, and chanted “yeah tiger,” or what have you. Coupled with the shining mirror ball, the room was ridiculously gaudy. Tobe seemed to have gone off the deep end as he sweatily waved a towel around for some reason. Needless to say, the excitement in the room was off the charts.

Miura, in particular, was waving her penlight left and right in a daze. Unlike earlier, her face was full of bliss. I’m glad our queen was having fun…

I slipped into the room while ignoring the fervor dominating the room. I set all the glass cups onto the table and sat uncomfortably on the sofa. I always found it difficult to play along in this kind of situation, so I was at a loss.

Tobe, Yuigahama, and Miura’s group were obviously used to this. Similarly, Zaimokuza and the two UG Club members’ frequent attendance of otaku events gave them some familiarity as well. So, they were able to have fun when the time called for it. For me, the best I could do was just tap or rock my knees along rhythmically. I wasn’t trying to ruin the fun or anything, but it just felt awkward. If anything, the thought of frolicking in a stupor was embarrassing, and that made me act weirdly standoffish. I was well aware of this problem, but it’s quite hard to fix!

Forever staring at the thighs of Totsuka, who was banging the tambourines, was the only thing I could do. I sipped my coffee with my cheek in one hand and watched him absentmindedly.

Yuigahama noticed and came over. “This is kind of nice, huh?”

“What is?’ I asked.

She observed the room. Her face relaxed into a smile, and she let out a breath. “It’s like everyone’s getting along, so it’s kind of fun.”

“Well, people will get along as long the opportunity presents itself. The cognitive structure of mild delinquents and arrogant otakus are mostly the same, after all” I said. I looked at the guys, in particular, Tobe, and the UG Club members. While we’re at it, Zaimokuza, too.

Yuigahama frowned. “We’re not delinquents… Are you sure you don’t mean exact opposites?”

“They have a lot of things in common. For example, they act arrogant when they’re in groups, they like shiny things, and they have a tendency to wear black clothes…”

“Are they crows or something…?”

“Crows are probably smarter.”

“That’s mean!” Yuigahama raised her voice with reproach.

Tobe was yelling, “Yay! Yay!” as he waved his towel around. On the other hand, Zaimokuza was chanting “yeah tiger” while polluting the room with the light of his UO sticks. Any one who saw these two would think crows were better…

To be honest, the theory that the cognitive structures of mild delinquents and arrogant otakus were mostly the same didn’t seem totally incorrect. After all, delinquents were very fond of anime and manga, too.

I’ve heard stories of delinquents getting hooked on manga brought to school by otakus. They’d borrow more volumes from them after finishing older ones in class. If we moved the age bracket a little higher, there were people who got into an anime because of the images on pachinko or slot gaming machines.

With anime and manga gradually becoming a cornerstone of our pop culture in present-day, the word “otaku” was seeing its inherent discriminatory and derogatory meanings diminish. Delinquents and otakus were becoming more similar than ever before.

In addition, there’s been an increase in collaborations between general companies and anime products. Even variety shows were beginning to feature the otaku culture in a positive light. There’s no denying that marketing was a primary factor in many of these things, but general acceptance was undoubtedly on the rise.

Putting the older generation aside, we were finally moving away from the period when younger people wouldn’t get criticized for merely declaring their fondness of anime and games. Even fashion would see the integration of fads and trends on social network sites and streaming platforms.

It was now the age when fad-sensitive high school girls would engage in popular FPS games on their smartphones, or we would see anime game terms trending on social network sites, or we could see e-Sports become a potential candidate for the Olympics. Otaku culture had a reputation for being highly criticized, but it was slowly losing its offensive image as time went on. That being said, anime, or moe anime, in particular, were still a little too far from being truly accepted by the general public.

Even so, anime culture was slowly integrating into the lives of the younger generation. Music, for instance, was a leading example. Hit chart rankings and live events demonstrated this tendency very clearly. There were also famous DJs and composers who composed for voice actors and anime song singers. This was just one subculture symbol in a sample size of precedents. Anime song club events were on the rise as well. Club events was the last thing you’d expect to be associated with the otaku world, but there were videos of otakus partying as long as the venue or DJ were playing some kind of anime song.

Music, in particular, saw no contradiction between socialites and otakus. Genres didn’t discriminate between the two, for there was no problem as long as the socialites and clubbers just livened up the mood. As long as you were with friends or your man, then anything could be fun; such was what we called a socialite, clubbing “yay”er.

I mean, just look at Tobe, he was having the time of his life…

While I was on a lengthy rant in my head, Yuigahama brought her shoulder closer. I tried to maintain some distance, but her grip on my sleeve didn’t allow me that luxury. I tried to twist my body away instead, but Yuigahama placed her hand to her mouth, looking to have a secret chat, and that meant I had to listen. I moved my ear closer.

As loud as the thunderous roars of the speakers and everybody’s strange screams were, her voice was still audible enough that it tickled the inside of my chest.

“Do you want to come to my place on Saturday…?”

I doubted my eyes and looked at her with a side glance. Yuigahama was bashfully fiddling with the bun on her head.

“No, I don’t…” I reflexively spat out before I could grasp the meaning of her words.

Yuigahama puffed her cheeks. “You said you were free.”

“Right, I guess I am?”

There’s no reason for me to go, I thought, hoping to finish, but Yuigahama cut me off.

“Remember how we talked about baking a cake for Komachi-chan’s birthday? So, I was wondering if you wanted to do it.”

“Oh, I see… well, if that’s the reason, I guess I’ll go… Thanks.”

Previously, I asked her for advice regarding Komachi’s birthday present, but it was postponed because of the events of the prom. Since she was considerate enough to remember, I couldn’t reject her with a reason like, “I’m not going, it’s too embarrassing.”

I groaned as I answered, and Yuigahama energetically nodded her head with a giggle. “Okay! My mom will be home, so she’ll teach us some things, too.”

“You’re just making it harder to go…”

I didn’t hate GahaMama by any means, in fact, I liked her a lot, personally. But it only made me more self-conscious if I thought of her as the mother of a girl classmate. I was a rather happy and shy seventeen-year-old, you see.

My shoulders sank, and my words were drowned out by the cheers in the room. Upon checking, Hayama had just finished his turn. I clapped along with everyone, and he gave an exaggerated bow like that of a prince to his curtain call. He was unexpectedly good at playing along.

The room relaxed for only a moment when the song’s outro faded. In the next moment, the next track began to play.

Tobe glanced around the room. “Who’s next? Who’s next?”

“Oh, me, me!” Yuigahama said, standing up. She went over to Miura and Ebina-san to take the microphone.

The girls sat side-by-side and swayed left and right as they sang a popular song in unison. The boys similarly waved their cyalume sticks in the same way. I honestly had no idea what song it was, but Miura looking embarrassed from the gazes of the guys as she sung was cute, so whatever!

With nothing to do, I looked around the room to see if I could get a cyalume stick or tambourine to use. Then, my eyes met with Hayama’s. The corners of his mouth curved upwards, and he took a cyalume stick from Sagami’s brother and sat next to me. He offered me the stick in silence, and I accepted it silently as well. Although I broke off a piece, I didn’t feel like waving it anymore.

…Awkward. I appreciated the stick, but why did he have to sit next to me? Could you, like, go away since you’re done here? Actually, why didn’t he just toss it over from the beginning?

I swung the sticks in a subdued matter while pressuring him with my silence. However, whether he noticed or not, Hayama took a drink from the tray and adjusted his seating, indicating he was going to stay.

“You’re not going to sing?” he said, after removing his mouth from his straw. His gaze was still focused on Miura and the others.

“I’m not getting paid, so no.”

“You’ve got some nerve to say that considering you’ve been working for free so far.”

“I’ve been on a negative streak since I’ve been providing from my own pocket.”

We carried on a meaningless conversation, never giving each other a glance; it was just to keep our minds off of the awkwardness. But Hayama suddenly showed interest. He leaned forward and faced me with a mean-spirited smile.

“So, the reason you went so far was your pride as a man?”

My hand with the cyalume stick suddenly stopped. Then, I covered my face with my hands as if I was caught red-handed. “Why are you remembering that boring crap? Talk about embarrassing, just stop. Forget you ever heard that, and don’t ever bring it up ever again, I swear I’ll kill you.”

Deep regrets along with my words leaked out of my mouth as I held my head. Hayama placed his hand to his mouth and made a heartily chuckle. Yeah, this guy’s got a great personality, seriously.

A few moments later, he retracted his smile, and he gave me a mature look. “You can still make up for your loss.”

“That might be hard since I don’t think I’ll be getting any more opportunities…” I shrugged to escape his eyes, and shot my gaze forward. I ended the conversation by picking up my glass and sipping my coffee for an inordinate amount of time.

At the front, Yuigahama had gotten up to sing. The song was reaching its climax, and everyone around, including Totsuka, Zaimokuza, and the UG members, were ramping up their voltage. Tobe was hitting his tambourine while yelling “yay, yay.”

“Hey, aren’t you…”

In the sea of noise, Hayama’s voice was too difficult to hear. I looked away, expressing no desire to answer him or read his lips. Instead of repeating himself, he merely sighed.

“Annoying…”

My words, directed to no one, disappeared into the torrential racket, a whisper heard by no one.

Only the cheerful music, the gorgeous singing, and the upbeat rhythm reached my ears, almost as if they all had come from a different room. Because of that, it made me remember the words of the person who was drunk, or pretended to be.

That’s why, I waited for the call that would mark the end of this party.

3-4

It was the Saturday following the rambunctious after-party, a day that I would normally idle in the comforts of my home. But today was not such a day.

As I promised the other day, I nervously made way to Yuigahama’s home. This was my second visit. The first time, I was with Yukinoshita, and we only had been in Yuigahama’s room. But this time, I was alone and in the living room. I did not feel at home in the least.

The living room decor was very different in a lot of ways from my home: there was folded laundry, decorative plants with names I didn’t know, tissue boxes with a flower-designed cover, dried flower bouquets hanging on the glass cupboards, planters on the balcony, and a faint woody note fragrance.

Living spaces, especially ones that were occupied by a family, required courage to enter as a complete stranger. Not to say Yuigahama’s room required any; quite the opposite, it required a lot. And I mean, a lot of it.

But for living rooms, there was another reason that kept you on your toes, and that was… the lack of any other family members. Wait a minute. I was told GahaMama was going to be here today…?

Ever since I entered the living room, I was frozen in place and was restlessly darting my eyes around the room. No matter how much I looked, it was silent and Yuigahama and I were the only ones present. I could really only hear Yuigahama in front of the kitchen island noisily going through a cupboard shelf.

Yuigahama was sporting a casual outfit, which may have doubled as her lounge wear, and was wearing a white A-line one-piece parker sweater and fluffy indoor slippers. Along with her loose dressing, it was certainly an appearance you’d expect on a holiday.

As for me, I was wearing a navy oxford shirt and chino pants. It was a selection of clothes picked out by Komachi some time ago to avoid shaming myself in public, or rather, to avoid embarrassing her whenever I was with her in public. With a simple jacket, I could come off as business casual.

I wasn’t trying to dress for the occasion, but on the off chance that I encountered GahaPapa, I wanted to be as presentable as possible to avoid any ill-will. In other words, my outfit was a reflection of my nervousness.

In contrast, Yuigahama was happily humming to herself. “I’ll pour you some tea, so have a seat.”

“R-Right…”

The dining table had four chairs, and I sat on the one closest to the door. Atop the table were several confections recipe books.

Today, the reason for my visit was to make some confections, and if possible, have the guidance of GahaMama. But she was nowhere to be seen. I was also prepared to meet GahaPapa since it was a Saturday, but he wasn’t present, either.

…You know what that meant? It was just the two of us, all alone in this house, right? No, wait, there’s one more family member, or rather, family pet here. As I looked around, Yuigahama carried a tray with tea and cookies over. She sat on the chair beside mine and handed me a cup of tea.

“Oh, thanks… where’s Sablé today?”

“Out on a walk with my mom. They should be back soon, though.”

“I see…”

Yuigahama rested her cheek in one hand and began flipping through one of the cook books and reached out for a cookie. This was what it meant to “be at home.” Well, it’s her home, so that’s expected. The way she was relaxing made it evident that she spent a lot of time lounging around in the very same chair.

My chair, on the other hand, felt hollow in comparison. Of the four seats, it didn’t feel like it was used very often, which meant that the chairs across from us were likely utilized by her parents. And speaking of her parents, I couldn’t quite get them off my mind, especially her father.

“Okay, so, I’ve got a question…”

“What’s up?” Yuigahama tilted her head with her eyes still on the recipe book in her hands while chewing her second cookie.

“May I ask the whereabouts of your father today?”

“Why are you talking like that? Gross.”

Yuigahama cackled with amusement, but I was not amused in the least. I didn’t mind meeting GahaMama—in fact, I couldn’t wait to meet her—but GahaPapa was a different story. I had no idea what I would do. I would kill me if I was in his position. It didn’t matter what my relationship with his daughter was because I was already out the moment I got close to her; it was the mind to kill at the slightest of doubts.

“Dad’s at work, I guess? No idea,” she said indifferently, paying no heed to my anxiety.

Thank goodness, I wasn’t even sure how I was going to greet him… I massaged my chest and sighed in relief.

Yuigahama nosily dragged her chair over to my side. I slid my bottom in the opposite direction to make up the distance, and this resulted in a small space between us. She pushed her recipe book into that space and wanted to look at it together.

“So, I’ve been thinking, but we can’t do anything too hard, right?”

“That so much. Pick something we can’t fail at.”

I placed my weight in the opposite direction of Yuigahama, resting my cheek in my hand, and flipped through the pages with my available hand. Photos of gorgeous confections jumped out at us every time we turned a page as we wondered what to make. There were muffins, macarons, tarte tatins, canelés, and florentine biscuits… They all looked gaudy and delicious. Komachi was guaranteed to be happy with any of these.

The only problem was whether I could make any of them. Duh, no way… How exactly were you suppose to separate the egg yolk from the egg whites? And what were you supposed to do with the egg whites? Smear it? Just smear it, right?

Looking at the same book, Yuigahama groaned and mumbled. “I can… make… cookies… maybe?”

What an unreliable statement… She tilted her head for a total of five times. She then did one last tilt and looked up at me.

“I see… I should be able to make those, then.” I gave her a fixed look, emphasizing the importance of my statement.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yuigahama slapped my shoulder.

“Ow…” I said, mumbling. It didn’t hurt really hurt, but I rubbed my shoulders, anyway.

Suddenly, a face peeked in from over my shoulder. It was Yuigahama’s mother, who had just returned from walking their dog. She wore a springtime pale colored spring sweater and a long skirt. In her arms was Sablé.

“Oh, I’m against cookies! You should pick something that’ll leave a lasting impression.” She poked her head through the gap between Yuigahama and me and looked down at the recipe book.

Because of that, she was really close, warm, soft, and smelled good—it’s over for me. I’m sorry for the outburst, but it’s true. Also, Sablé panting into my ear was super annoying. He’s even licking me…

“Thank you for having me today… and for your guidance…” I managed to muster out a greeting, even with Sablé licking me.

GahaMama smiled. “Leave it to me! Mama will do her best!”

“Mom, we’ll call you later, so go away…” Yuigahama stood up with a sigh and began pushing her away.

“You’re the one that asked me to teach you, Yui!”

“Like I said, we’ll call you when we need you!”

The resisting GahaMama and the pushing Yuigahama. The result was the two of them pushing against each other with their backs. The playful banter between a mother and her daughter was quite the sight to behold…

“W-Well, if we need something, she can tell us, so…”

The sight unfolding before me was lovely, and it was something I could watch for ages. They would’ve been at it indefinitely, so I ended up intervening.

As if gaining an ally, GahaMama’s face glowed. “That’s right! It’d better to think things over with me, you know?”

Yuigahama frowned and let out a sigh. “Okay, fine. So, what do you think we should make, mom?”

Yuigahama reluctantly took her seat and pointed to the chair across from her. Her mom giggled and sat as instructed.

“Since you’re making sweets by hand, maybe something thoughtful might be good.”

“Something thoughtful…” Yuigahama looked up at the ceiling in a daze.

“Hikki-kun, what kind of sweets do think is good?” GahaMama lifted Sablé up from her lap and inclined her upper body, pulling Sablé along at her chest. I was on the verge of grinning from her innocent gesture, but I stopped it with my hand.

“Something thoughtful… which means something that is gaudy, that can be instagrammed, is expensive-looking, and can be used as bragging rights with mom friends…”

“Language!”

“You’re thinking from the perspective of a wife!?”

GahaMama’s smile tightened while Yuigahama gave me a look of pity. I was reproached for my statement, but I wasn’t truly refuted. Adult women were frightening.

I paused to think. Then, while looking at Sablé, I answered, “How about… macarons, then?”

I was only looking at Sablé and nothing more. I could see nothing behind Sablé. Only Sablé himself. Whatever else that came into my line of sight was entirely out of my hands.

“Bzzt!”

I looked up to see GahaMama forming a cross with her fingers. Wow, what’s with this person? She’s adorable…

She cleared her throat and assumed a serious expression. “Macarons are to be given, not to be made.”

“Yep, receiving them makes me happy.”

“But making them is a lot of work.”

Yuigahama giggled innocently while her mom sighed in exhaustion with her hand to her cheek.

Was it really that much of a pain to make? I thought, and looked at the recipe book. The word “macraonage” was written, and it did look considerably difficult. The price was high, too. So, buying or making them was out of the question. I cocked my head wondering what we should make.


GahaMama coughed. “So, I have a recommendation! And that would be a fruit tarts!”

“Huh? Isn’t that hard to make?”

Yuigahama made a dumbfounded face. As did I, and I nodded in agreement.

Wasn’t that just a little out of our league? I barely had any experience in baking sweets, and Yuigahama was clearly ill-equipped for the job. If you tasked us with making one, the best we could manage would be a failure of a fruit tarts, you know? I thought, giving GahaMama a dubious look.

She shot back a smile, did a sideway peace sign, winked, and stuck out her tongue. Then, she said, “It’s okay, it’s okay! You can buy tart crusts at the store, so that just leaves the filling, so it’ll be easy! Once you remember how to make the fruit tarts, you can apply any fruit to it.”

“That sounds like something I can do!” Yuigahama’s eyes shined. If we were allowed to use ready-made products, then that should drop the difficulty somewhat. Her explanation was convincing enough.

“Yeah, it does… does it?” A looming sense of dread crossed my mind, and I looked to my neighbor.

“I-I can do it! I really can! I think…” She declared with clenched fists and nodded fiercely.

The only problem was how her voice trailed off. That’s exactly why I was feeling worried. She always messed things up at the end by adding an unnecessary flavor or something to that effect. But that just meant I needed to keep an eye on her, that’s all.

“All right, let’s do it.”

“Okay!”

We exchanged nods, and GahaMama smiled. “Okay, let’s go shopping.”

When Yuigahama and I replied in agreement, Sablé barked as well. Hmm, sorry, Sablé, you’re going to be watching the house…

3-5

It was right before dinner time, and the grocery department of the AEON near Yuigahama’s house was bustling with activity.

The interior of the store was lively. Yuigahama and her mom walked in front and I followed them behind with a cart. The upper basket of the cart was loaded with rice, meat, sweets, and other things that weighed down on the handle. Not only were we buying ingredients for our confections, we were also doing the shopping for the Yuigahama household.

GahaMama turned back to me with a smile. “I’m so sorry, we’ve only been getting heavy things for you to carry.”

“No problem, I’m used to it.”

I had accompanied my mom and Komachi on their shopping trips before. When I was younger, I’d often tag along to try to sneak sweets into the cart without getting caught by my parents… which was exactly what Yuigahama-san did just now right in front of me!

In any case, this might be the very first time I had the luxury to look around the grocery department. I was typically a bag holder for my mom and Komachi when we went grocery shopping. I merely listened to every order they gave me. The times when I was by myself were mostly just because I was told to buy one thing or another. Then, when I got back, they’d give me a stern look and ask, “So, why did you buy this?” How was I supposed to know the difference between cotton tofu and silk tofu[15]? They’re both good…

With such an abysmally low shopping skill level, my only real use was holding their bags, and so, I committed myself to following GahaMama from three steps behind.

“It really is nice to have a boy around, it’s kind of refreshing!”

We’d have those kinds of conversations as we made our rounds in the store. Eventually, we arrived at the produce corner containing a variety of vegetables and fruits, the latter being our goal today. The fruits ranged from the standard like bananas, oranges, and apples to tropical ones rare enough to make you ask, “Hey, you guys are kiwi, papaya, and mango, right?”[16]

“What fruits should we buy?” GahaMama walked up to the shelves and crossed her arm. She placed one hand on her cheek and went into thought.

Yuigahama shot her hand up. “Peaches!”

“Peaches won’t be in season until summer, okay?” Her mom quickly but gently rejected her suggestion.

“Oh, okay… I thought they already were…”

“Well, they do feel like a spring fruit…”

The cart was actually already packed with sweets of the peach variety that were thrown in by Yuigahama.

The Peach Festival might be the reason why peaches were associated with spring. There were some food companies that made use of this image in their marketing to release white peach juices, shochu highballs, and limited edition sweets during March. This made the idea of “seasonals” a difficult concept to grasp.

Similarly, in this day and age when imports and greenhouse cultivation were the norm, it made seasonal foods even harder to wrap your head around. A comic strip author who I know would claim “it’s the food companies of Japan that are at fault.” Who was the one came up with the white peach flavor[17]!?

As I was stuck in my thoughts, GahaMama stepped up to the display shelves. “The best fruit for the current season is… strawberry!”

The shelves had a variety of fruits on display, and she pointed at the shelf that was closest to the front and also the most conspicuous. Packs of strawberries were closely lined together on the shelf decorated with gaudy banners and cute pop signs, almost as if this was the Big StarMiya Ichigo Festival[18].

“Ohh, I wasn’t expecting that. Strawberries feel more like a winter thing, if you ask me.” Yuigahama leaned forward to smell the strawberries and giggled. “They smell so good…”

“Let’s get strawberries, then.”

Just as I was about to take a pack, GahaMama held my arm in place. “Nope.”

She softly whispered near my ears causing me to bend backwards. Combined with the sweet smell wafting in the produce area, my entire body was assaulted by a ticklish sensation. I managed to keep myself from letting out a weird yelp and gave her a questioning look.

With a stern face and the raise of a finger, she said, “Strawberries are unsuitable for handmade sweets.”

“I-I see…”

How strange. There’s all sorts of sweets made with strawberries in the world, you know? How strange, indeed. Just how long was this person going to hold onto my hand? So strange. I didn’t hate it at all, though.

My head inclined to the side in confusion, and Yuigahama pulled on her mom’s hand.

“Why not? There’s a lot of strawberry sweets out there.”

“That’s why. You’re practically eating it most of the time, right? You need to pick something that’ll leave a much more lasting impression.”

I gave Yuigahama a glance indicating, “What’s that even mean?” and she shook her head going, “I dunno.” We then looked at GahaMama for the answer.

Instead of answering, she smiled and asked a different question. “Hikki-kun, what fruits do you like?”

I wasn’t able to answer immediately. I went into thought, but for some reason, Yuigahama answered for me.

“Peanuts, right!?”

“Why are you answering for me? We’re talking about fruits right now, fruits.”

“I mean, you like Chiba, so…”

“Hey, you’re not thinking every person in Chiba should just go eat peanuts or something[19], are you?”

Hey, did you know? Peanuts weren’t classified as a general fruit, or a fruit of a tree, or even a fruit of Kinomi Nana. They were actually classified as a legume crop. Just some crop trivia for you.

I was hoping to educate her with a smug look, but Yuigahama pouted and grumbled. “What do you like, then?”

“If I had to say… asian pears. Chiba’s pears are the best in Japan, no, the best in the world.”

“It still ended up being something related to Chiba!”

“Well, I won’t deny Chiba is partly the reason, but I like pears in general. Kosui pears are especially good. Not just the taste, but the texture. It’s super good. We get whole boxes of them during the summer at our place.”

“Wow, you’re a lot more serious about them than I thought! Scary!”

I wasn’t even being particularly passionate about it, but Yuigahama was still reeling back in disapproval… Strange, all I did was answer her question…

Her mom didn’t seem particularly fazed, on the other hand, and was in serious contemplation with her chin resting in her hand.

“Pears aren’t in season right now, either… Well, there are canned peaches, though.”

“Ooo, canned peaches, sounds yummy…” Yuigahama giggled happily.

You like peaches way too much, I thought, and gave her a side glance. Then, her mom nodded, appearing to have arrived at a conclusion for something.

“Okay, that actually might work. We won’t have to do a compote since they’re canned, too.”

“Might, huh…?” I tilted my head, wonder what that could actually mean.

Yuigahama similarly did the same while groaning. “Compote… I see, reassuring and easy…”

“Exactly!”

Exactly not, because that was just the meaning of comfort. GahaMama swept her lovely daughter’s mistake under the rug with a smile.

Now, it made sense. Yuigahama turned out to be a bounteous person because of her mom’s method of raising. I won’t say where in particular, but she was raised very well, yes. A person’s environment, not just their genes, was important. I pray that she’ll continue to grow healthily… I tenderly looked at Yuigahama.

Noticing my attention, Yuigahama turned to me. “Canned peaches, huh…? What about you, Hikki?”

“I’m fine with anything. Komachi’s not that picky, so peaches should be good.”

Pears were a common delicacy at the Hikigaya household during summer. If I took Komachi’s preferences into account, she should like peaches, too. I wasn’t against peaches, either. In fact, I liked tawawa peaches a lot!

The choice of canned food, however, did leave me with a concern.

“If we’re using canned peaches, the season doesn’t really matter anymore, right?” I said, looking at GahaMama.

She gave me a blank look but then quickly formed a gentle smile. “You’re right about that… but the season will come around again.”

Though very kind in tone, her voice contained a hint of loneliness. Her profile as she looked down looked just like hers in the evening, teeming with an indistinct feeling of sorrow. It was an expression that only adults would make.

“When years pass, you become an adult, and eat a peach, you’ll think on the things that happened long time ago, right? That’s what makes handmade sweets so wonderful.” GahaMama slowly closed one eye and whispered like she was sharing a secret. Her voice was imbued with a mysterious magical charm that left me convinced by her words.

“That sounds kinda nice!” Yuigahama said, eyes sparkling.

With the revering gaze of her daughter, GahaMama placed her hand to her mouth with a giggle and made a mischievous wink. “Right? It’ll work wonders with the boys.”

“Aw, you ruined it! Now it just comes off as calculating…”

As I listened to their conversation, I made a wry smile. She was right, it definitely would work wonders with the guys.

Every time you caught whiff of a vibrant and fresh smell, and every time you basked in a comforting sweetness, you would recall that season. That’s why, I was sure I would never forget about today.

GahaMama was wise, indeed; the mama of the Gahas. As both mother and daughter headed to the canned foods section, I watched them with respect, awe, or possible fear and followed.

They intimately linked arms, proceeding with light steps and engaging in idle chatter.

“Did you do something like that, mom?”

“I sure did! Your papa still remembers how back then—”

Before she could continue, Yuigahama interrupted with a sigh. “Uhh, yeah, nevermind. I don’t really wanna hear stories like that about dad, it’s kinda gross…”

Poor papa…

3-6

In a kitchen that wasn’t yours, a lot of things worked differently. Whether it was the placement of the sink, the faucet handle, the boiler switch, the organization of the dishes, the grip of the kitchen mats, or the smell of detergent, every single one contributed to a new feeling of freshness.

But what was most refreshing of all was the apron appearance.

I found myself unexpectedly in a flutter from the sight of GahaMama. She held a hairpin, decorated with a small flower, with her glossy lips as she tied her milk tea hair into a hair bun behind her neck. Then, she held her hair in place with the hairpin. She put her arms through the sleeves of the frilly pinafore apron and tied the string behind her back.

It was rare to ever see the apron used in the Hikigaya household.

The scenery of our kitchen was from another world altogether. Komachi would be in her disgustingly lame track suit while shaking a frying pan. My mom would be in her casual attire with dead eyes and be throwing ingredients into a pot or boiling somen noodles for who knows how long. My dad, who rarely step foot into the kitchen, would put on airs and happily make hot milk using the microwave in his pajamas. For someone of my caliber, I was more or less half-naked. Not once had I ever been asked, “Is your equipment okay?”

Having been raised in such a sloppy environment, I couldn’t help but yearn for the proper usage of aprons (aproning) in the kitchen. I wonder if this was what it was like to live an earnest life…

As I stood there in a daze, GahaMama smiled. She took my hand and placed a dark blue sarong apron in it.

“I’m sorry, the only apron we have left is papa’s.”

“Oh no, it’s okay…”

If anything, I didn’t need the apron. I was fine with being naked, yes, naked… I thought, hoping to finish my sentence, but I couldn’t quite refuse her insistence.

I reluctantly put the apron on and could sense that it was used often. Because of that, it felt just right. It was evident that even the father was a frequent user in the kitchen for the Yuigahama family.

Which begs the question: why was it that both parents could seemingly cook, but not the daughter? I looked at Yuigahama with skepticism.

Yuigahama was wearing a fluffy and loose girlish apron, something she had bought together with Yukinoshita at some point. Compared to when it was hung for display at the store, it looked clearly broken in, though carefully taken care of.

Yuigahama pinched the frilly hems and lifted them up and made an elated smile. “How is it? I look like I can cook, right?”

“…”

Unexpectedly, she really did.

The angled rays of the sun that poured through the skylights combined with the indirect lighting on the walls to produce a warming light that enveloped the kitchen. It was a picturesque scenery imbued with euphoria that you could see on a catalog. Because of that, a ridiculous fantasy flashed through my mind.

As if to shake the thought out of my head, I quickly added, “Yeah, yeah, you look good. I look pretty good too, right?” I said, patting the sarong apron at my waist.

Yuigahama raised her brow and frowned. “Hmm… sure, I guess.”

“Um, what’s with the pause?”

“Huh? Oh, I mean, you look like a store clerk in a way, but the apron looks…” Yuigahama distorted her face and quickly spat out. “Smelly.”

“Harsh much? And I don’t just mean me. This belongs to your dad, doesn’t it?”

“It does, so…”

“Don’t worry, it’s been cleaned!” GahaMama giggled. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

“Yeah!” Yuigahama said, pumping her fist.

“Y-Yeah…” I lifted my hand like that of a beckoning cat. How embarrassing…

All of our ingredients were laid out on top of the kitchen tabletop. The main ones included the tart crusts, canned peaches and the fresh cream. The miscellaneous ones included chocolate toppings, various fruits, and other sundry items for customization.

Once we got started, the recommended fruit tarts recipe turned out to be easier than I initially thought. GahaMama must’ve taken into account my inexperience and chose accordingly.

I covered the tart crust with a thin cut layer of frozen sponge cake, coated it with fresh cream and decorated the top with peaches. For the finishing touches, I applied a nappage, which was some kind of gelatin substance like PePee Lotion, and a glaze. Apparently, peaches would change colors in reaction to the air, so the use of nappage would help them retain their pretty colors.

Everything went smoothly, something I hadn’t expected at the beginning.

“Seeing that we have all of these ingredients, let’s try some variations.”

GahaMama peeked in from behind to see my progress, and as she suggested, I proceeded to make several more. However, when things were too easy, it was human nature to go the extra mile. And so, a light bulb went off in Gahama-san’s head.

“Oh! I get the feeling this will be super tasty if you coat this with chocolate.” She clapped her hands, as if she had made a breakthrough.

Seeing her break the chocolate bars left me apprehensive, and I just had to interject.

“Why are you like this? Can’t you just make things normally?”

“Huh? I mean… wouldn’t it look cuter and taste better?”

As she was speaking, she jammed the broken chocolate into the mountain of fruits on her tart. The white peaches wobbled before collapsing into an ominous mess, far from what you could call cute. The combination she sought was an unfortunate harmony of dissonance, destined to never be a match made in heaven.

“You can start improvising after you have the basics down.”

“That’s what Yukinon always says…”

My expression stiffened when she suddenly brought up her name.

“Yeah, I imagine… It’s common sense,” I said, somehow managing to maintain my composure.

It didn’t seem to bother Yuigahama, however, as she continued to hum and break up the chocolate. “Last time when I stayed over at her place, we cooked together. If you mix delicious things together, it should come out just as delicious, right?”

“You need to get rid of that mindset this instant…”

“Huh? Really…?”

Cola and hamburg steaks were both good individually, but if you tried frying the steak with cola, it’s definitely going to turn out disgusting… There’s a process to these things, you know…

I was at a loss for words and my mouth was agape in shock. Yuigahama took the opportunity to throw pieces of chocolate into my mouth along with peaches from a fork.

Somehow, I was going “ahh” without thinking. N-No, your mom’s watching… I didn’t have the chance to even feel embarrassed as I chewed away and wiped the syrup at my mouth with my fingers.

“See, delicious, right?’

“Look here, missy…”

I glared at her with half-closed eyes. It’s not like I was unhappy or anything, but I really could use an advance notice for these things. That way, I could prepare my heart, or even prepare some excuses to refuse… Before I could think of continuing my words, my mouth was visited by a feeling of discomfort.

The refreshing taste of the peaches and the fragrance of the chocolate was… hmm… a mismatch…

“This is where you should be tasting your own stuff, okay?” It wasn’t totally inedible, so I was able to swallow it whole, but I gave Yuigahama some extremely reserved criticism.

Yuigahama, however, didn’t seem to catch my meaning and tilted her head. “Huh? I thought for sure it’d taste good.”

She took a moment to try the combination herself, and a few seconds later, a sour look showed on her face. She nodded and stayed silent. I told you, it was a total mismatch! I was relieved that her taste buds were still functional, but her thought process on the other hand…

GahaMama, who had been watching from the side, placed her hand to her mouth and giggled. “If you want to use chocolate, then it might be better to use it this way.”

She immediately began a demonstration. She took a palm-sized portion from the remaining tart crust, covered it with chocolate, and decorated it with fruit. In a flash, she had completed a mini-sized fruit tarts.

She took the tart and slowly carried it to my mouth. “Say ‘ahh’.”

“Th-Thank you very much, but I can eat it myself.”

Nothingness. I entered a state of nothingness. In spite of the sweat from my armpits, and the sweat forming on my scalp, I did my best to maintain my composure. I carefully took the tart without making contact with her fingers.

“Grr…”

GahaMama’s lips curved into a sulky and adorable pout. Hahaha, I, Hikigaya Hachiman, could suppress my emotions as long I was given prior notice, hahaha, still, she sure was cute, hahaha. The unknown cuteness assaulted me, but I somehow managed to repel it and focus on the taste of the tart.

“It’s good, it’s really good…”

Unlike the mess of a flavor that resembled a treasure island murder case[20], the mini tart was crunchy in texture and had a fruity peach flavor that was accented by the chocolate. It felt like I could hear the sounds of the wind…

When I blurted out my impression, GahaMama made a broad smile and rubbed her chest in relief. “Great! Okay, Yui, say ‘ahh’.”

“Ahh.”

Though busy, Yuigahama immediately ate the tart that her mom carried to her mouth. I gave them a fuzzy look, wondering if this was what they always did at home. When Yuigahama noticed, she was brought back to reality and began shaking her hands in a frantic, blushing from ear to ear. Since her mouth was occupied, she couldn’t utter a word, but her gestures were obviously telling of her denial.

It’s okay, it’s okay, that’s nice, there’s nothing wrong with that, I nodded back having been witness to the peaceful and heartwarming sight of being fed. Yuigahama still didn’t seem particularly enthused about my reaction as she chewed, but then her eyes glittered with surprise.

“Oh, it really is good.”

“For chocolate, you should use it as filling for the tart instead of applying it as a layer. That way, you can keep it crunchy and make it taste even better.”

“Ohhh, that makes sense.”

Yuigahama then quickly proceeded to spread chocolate over a tart crust. Seeing her in action left me impressed. Tell, show, let one do it, and offer praise; if not, people would not act…[21] I was able to observe with my very own eyes just how exactly a person was raised.

“Ohh… you really are an expert…” I muttered.

GahaMama puffed her chest with a chuckle. “Right? I’m really confident in my cooking, just so you know!”

No, I actually meant in regards to your daughter, but… okay, it didn’t matter either way! Her jubilated smile was super cute, after all!

“There isn’t a designated way to make a fruit tarts, so you can just add whatever you like. You might even come across some combinations that end up very tasty.”

“Is that how it works?”

“It sure is!” GahaMama said, smiling.

I could understand where she was coming from, but I still felt that should only be done by people who had a grasp on the fundamentals of cooking, people who could actually bring the flavors in their minds to life…

While I was talking with GahaMama, my mind was occupied with Yuigahama, who I could see from the corner of my eye, improvising on her tart. Just what in the world was she putting in there…?

“Mom, how’s this?’

“Mmhmm, that looks great. Just add a secret ingredient, and you’re all done.”

“Secret ingredient?”

“Right, it’s the best seasoning you can add,” GahaMama said, and then whispered into Yuigahama’s ear.

Yuigahama turned red afterwards. “God! If you’re going to say that stuff, go over there!”

“Aww!”

Yuigahama angrily pushed her towards me. Since her daughter refused to entertain her, she shifted her attention to me.

“Hey, Hikki-kun, what do you think it is?”

“Hmm, what could it be? Haha, hunger, maybe?”

I acted like I was busy with squeezing out the fresh cream and gave a stock answer, pretending to listen to the conversation, but GahaMama’s smile had stopped time. Crap, this was one of those quests in Dragon Quest that wouldn’t progress unless you gave the desired answer.

“How about… a meal someone paid for… that’s delicious,” I said, carefully.

GahaMama placed her hand to her cheek, and had an odd smile. Yuigahama, in contrast, was completely perturbed.

“Hikki, you’re getting kind of worse…”

“Well, it is delicious, though.”

“Don’t enable him, mom!”

Remonstrated by her daughter, GahaMama coughed. “I’d like to hear an answer in terms of home cooking.”

The best kind of seasoning to make your cooking delicious was obviously an empty stomach, free food, or some munchies when you’re smoking (opinions vary). Personally, garlic, lard, or Ajinomoto salt would make a majority of things delicious. But I suppose those didn’t apply to making sweets. The answer she sought was as clear as day.

“Sincerity… I suppose,” I said, feeling a little embarrassed.

GahaMama affirmed my answer with a smile. 

3-7

“Let’s wait for the tarts to get cold,” said GahaMama, closing the refrigerator.

Nappage, or Banagher, whatever it was, we had to refrigerate the fruit tarts so they could harden. Well, in general, fruits tasted better when refrigerated.

Once we finished with the preparations, I removed my apron and headed for the living room. The recipe wasn’t particularly difficult, but it did leave me feeling exhausted. That being said, I felt a sense of satisfaction despite being unfamiliar with the process.

In hopes of resting for the rest of the day, I made staggering steps to the sofa, and there, I felt my sleeve get pulled on. I turned to see Yuigahama with Sablé in her arms pulling at my shirt.

“Um, over here…” she whispered, squeezing Sablé to hide her voice. She then pulled me in the direction of where to go.

“R-Right… oh, we’ll be away for a bit.” I bowed to GahaMama and was pulled away from the living room.

“Okay, take your time. I’ll let you know when the tarts are done.” Her bell-like laughter called to us from behind, and I quickly followed Yuigahama. The destination was her room.

She urged me to sit on a cushion while she sat on her bed with Sablé on her lap.

“Um… so, what should we do in the meantime?” she asked awkwardly.

Her question brought back memories of the time she asked me during the fireworks festival. That caused me to blurt out a similarly, nonsensical answer.

“Well… what should we do? Go home for now?”

“No, we won’t! I’m already home, anyway! And this is my room!” Yuigahama barked, as did Sablé.

“Hey, it’s not like there’s anything better to do.”

“Ahh, right, I guess… wanna look at my school yearbook?” Yuigahama stretched over to the shelf next to her bed and pulled out a velvet-colored album.

“What are we going to do with that…? The only thing I can think of is who can give the best nicknames to the ugliest people.”

“We’re not gonna do that! You’re the worst! The worst!” she repeated with a quiet voice.

Having to hear that multiple times was starting to hurt.

“Look, that’s how guys are. According to what I’ve heard, they also use it as a catalog of the sorts to try to introduce the girls to each other. It’s like a matching app.”

“That’s terrible, too!”

I recited my insufficient knowledge, something I acquired from eavesdropping on Tobe in class, and Yuigahama clamped her teeth.

“Did you do stuff like that too, Hikki? Asking to be introduced to somebody, or whatever…”

“For me, I needed someone to introduce me to someone who would introduce someone to me.”

“Ah, right, I can see that…”

Thanks for the understanding.

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind seeing what you looked like in middle school, though.”

“Forget it, that’s too embarrassing. We’re done with this.” Yuigahama let go of Sablé and slid the album back into the shelf.

That’s a shame… I shrugged, and then Sablé tackled me. “Whoa, what’s up?”

I received his tackle and he came huffing and panting at me. As I brushed him, his fur started to stick all over my clothes. He was apparently in his seasonal shedding period, which made sense why he wasn’t allowed into the kitchen…

Yuigahama yelped when she saw me covered in fur. “Oh, shoot! Sorry! Sablé, come over here!”

“It’s fine, I’m used to it because of my cat. Give me a brush.”

“S-Sure…”

I took the brush from her, crossed my legs, rested Sablé on my knee, and began to brush his spine. Sablé calmed down and began to pant in comfort. As I focused on brushing, Yuigahama sat down beside me and watched in interest.

“Wow, you really are used to it.”

“It happens when you own a pet. I’ve come to the point that finding fur in my miso soup doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“That’s not something to feel good about…” Yuigahama dropped her shoulders. Then, she suddenly rose up with something in mind, walked to her closet and back. She sat beside me again and presented, “Ta-dah, here, use this.”

What she gave me was a sticky tape roller, one used for carpet cleaning. For households that owned a pet, or a family with an old man reaching his peak age, it was an essential tool. They all shed a lot, after all… and their pillows were stinky.

Rollers were particularly useful for cleaning, but they were extremely convenient for fur on clothes.

“Thanks, I’ll use it later.”

“I’ll do it for you.” Yuigahama removed the bar fastener and began to roll the roller against my shoulder and back.

“I’m good, I’m good, stop, it tickles.”

I struggled, trying to avoid her, but this caused her to wear a wicked grin and become more aggressive. The more I tried to get away, the more it stimulated her sadism. She was having a fun time with me in pursuit.

“Take that. And that.”

She started aiming for areas I wasn’t expecting. It was ticklish, embarrassing, soft, smelt good, and whatever; I couldn’t handle it. But if I struggled too much, that could’ve led to unforeseen skin contact, so struggling added stress to my nerves, in particular, my sympathetic nerves, so I was sweating obscenely.

“Um? Can you stop? I’m more of a banger than a roller. Agh! Ah, n-no, no…”

N-Noooo! I was just about to let out a horrific scream, as if the standard average dropped seven trillion points, until there was a sudden knock on the door.

Yuigahama immediately stopped and took some distance.

“Yui, can I come in?”

“Sure.”

She spat out a response to her mom’s gentle voice. Her voice was reserved compared to moments ago, and she acted like nothing had happened. On the other hand, I was hugging Sablé and looked like a dangerous, panting kemona man.

After I managed to calm my breathing, GahaMama pushed the door open slightly and looked down. “Hey, Hikki-kun, are you staying for dinner?”

“Um, I was planning to leave before it got too late…”

I didn’t want to impose on them any further. A good man knew when to make his exit.

“Really?” GahaMama looked disappointed. But within the next instant, her face glowed. “But too bad, I already made dinner!”

She stuck out her tongue and winked (sideways peace sign).

Unlike Yukinoshita’s mom, she brought peace to my heart… then again, she was just as much as a schemer as she was!

3-8

The night breeze was pleasant as it brushed against my flushed cheeks.

After having dinner at Yuigahama’s home, I took my leave. The city was blanketed with the shades of night on my way out. Our exercise in making sweets ended without issue, and I now had a box of fruit tarts. I carefully walked along the street to avoid shaking the box.

Yuigahama, who came along to see me off for the day, looked at me with concern. “Hikki, didn’t you eat a little too much? You okay?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t that much…”

The feeling of fullness would visit me as I talked. The dinner I had with Yuigahama and her mom was really delicious, but I was nervous from start to end because I wasn’t sure when GahaPapa would appear. Because of that, I was restless, responded only when spoken to, and could only stuff my mouth with rice like in the folk tales of Japan.

…I couldn’t help it, the more I ate, the happier it made GahaMama.

Every time my cheeks were stuffed with rice, she’d make an expression saying, “Now, that’s a boy’s appetite!” and I couldn’t stop myself from asking for refills. The result: I ate too much. Just walking had me scowling from the bloating.

Yuigahama apologetically clapped her hands. “Sorry, my mom got too excited. I guess seeing a guy eat a lot makes her really happy.”

“That’s just how moms are… whenever we visit our grandparents, my dad and I get stuffed with food. We pretty much become Stamina-Taros.”

“That much!?” Yuigahama made a sick look.

I nodded in emphasis. But I didn’t hate it. The food grandma made and Stamina-Taro meat were really good! I love you Stamina-Taro! I loved him so much I could crush a magnifying glass with my butt.

We made our way towards the station while engaging in idle chatter. Yuigahama walked alongside me and spoke in a small voice. “Thanks for today.”

“That’s my line.”

“Right, but I had fun… When we’re making things together, it’s really fun.”

“It’d probably be more efficient alone, though.” I mistakenly let out a spiteful comment, and Yuigahama fumed with the puff of her cheeks. I made a sarcastic chuckle. “But once we got started, it didn’t feel like work or anything. So, yeah, doing things together was pretty fun.”

“Yep, I think so, too.” Yuigahama smiled.

I nodded again, and carefully switched my holding arm while checking the content of the box. Then, I slowly continued. “I think Komachi might be happier that way. She likes chores a lot, too.”

Hands-on events were getting popular these days, and even live entertainment was starting to thrive. Maybe the best present for Komachi was giving her those kinds of experiences? There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s your parents’ money. MasterNEET.

Nonsense filled my head, and Yuigahama spoke up in admiration. “That’s right. Maybe making something together might be perfect!”

“Right, so about this…” I said, and offered her the box of fruit tarts. Yuigahama looked at it curiously and tilted her head. I continued. “The cookies were good, so, this is kind of like thanks for them, though it’s a little early.”

As I tried to give her the box, Yuigahama giggled. “We used the same ingredients for these, didn’t we?”

“Not true. There’s a secret ingredient in there…”

She wasn’t wrong, because everything we used was in the kitchen. But I did my best to add my own secret ingredient as I was taught by her mom.

Yuigahama stared at the box and then gave me a teasing look from below. “Uh huh… what did you put in it?”

“It’s not a secret if I tell you.”

“True.” Yuigahama laughed and accepted the box.

“All right, I’m fine here. See you.”

“Okay, see you at school.” Yuigahama waved her hand.

I nodded back and headed toward the station. After covering some distance, I turned back to see Yuigahama was still waving, but with her arms. I lifted my hand up and continued walking.

The cold subsided at the front of the station, and its main street was crowded with numerous people celebrating their holiday night. The winter that continued for so long was starting to feel like it was going to end.

The passing of the seasons was embodied by the illumination of the city, and the fleeting lights of the street lamps, neon signs, buildings, and apartment complexes all seemed to glister ever so brightly.

Perhaps, this was the daily life that awaited me hereafter.

A semblance of an answer to the question Miura posed flashed through my mind; if I could go day to day while granting her every wish, then…

Such an impossible thought crossed my mind.



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