Volume 6-6: Kotono learns her lesson with paizuri

Translator here, I am going to update this irregularly. My Christmas break just started I try to update this daily till the end breaks. I would like to thank the people who donated through soap it helped me a lot.

After the end of the school year, there is a week of study reinforcement. During this period I was allowed to stay in an empty room in the school dormitory. I shared a room with my fellow commuter, Izumi, and we spent our days studying from morning till night.

Izumi was the complete opposite of Agawa, a quiet guy with very few words, which made him an ideal room-mate. He was the ideal companion for me, because when I stayed in Agawa’s room the first year, I was too busy playing Uno and Hanafuda to study. TL Note: I assumed Izumi as male since I don’t think you could have a dormitory room mate having the opposite sex.

The only reason why Izumi, who is allowed to stay in the dormitory due to the distance from his home, goes home every day is to look after his younger sister and brother, who are still in primary school. He won’t talk about it in detail, but we are told that his mother is recovering in a hospital in a distant city.

　He’s a much harder worker than I am in that respect. During the make-up period, he has a relative who looks after his sisters.

　It was on the last Sunday night of July, when the make-up class was due to finish tomorrow, that Izumi took the unusual step of talking to me.

‘What are you going to do when you finish school, Onui?　Do you want to go to university?”

　I thought about it for a while. Of course, I had a vague idea that I would go to university, but I hadn’t really planned anything more specific than that. But the fact is that this time next year I will have to decide which school I want to attend.

　In our school, which is a very progressive school, we let the students narrow down the school of their choice in the spring and make a thorough schedule of studying for the entrance examination. Of course, students who wish to find a job are excluded from this group, but it is not at all realistic to expect them to find a job after graduation.

“No, I think I’ll probably go to university somewhere.”

“But you’re already settled, aren’t you? You’ve already got a job.”

It is true that working at the Harukawa residence for a long time may be an option. Some people, like Mel, even work in a mansion in order to become a maid. But it’s not as if I really wanted to do that.

“What are you going to do Izumi?　go to university?”

“My dad wants me to go. To be honest, I’d rather get a job and leave home with my siblings.”

He shrugged his shoulders with an air of detachment.

“Do you have a girlfriend, Onui?　A girl you like?”

　I nodded silently.

“It’s nice, isn’t it? I’ve been watching my parents for a long time, and I don’t think I could ever fall in love with someone. I don’t know, I just can’t believe in it on a fundamental level.”

　I stopped myself from saying that’s not the case. I think what Izumi wants is not sympathy, but someone who will just listen to him.

“Are you able to understand your feelings for her?”

“I am not quite sure”

　I don’t know, and she’s on a plane to Switzerland by now, so I haven’t heard from her for a long time. My mobile phone has been switched off since that day.

“Yeah, well, we’ve both got a lot on our plates, haven’t we?”

Izumi laughed and sat down at his desk to begin his self-study. As I watch his back, I remember the night nine days ago. It was Yonezu-san who visited me in my room at the Harukawa residence on the night after the closing ceremony.

＊　＊　＊　＊

Yonezu-san opened the door to my room, dressed roughly in a short-sleeved shirt and no tie. Dressed like this, he looked younger than he did when he drove the car.

|Is this a good time?”

　He had been in the house for five years, but this was the first time he had visited my room. He hands me a bag from the convenience store and sits down on the bed.

　I took off my headphones, turned off my music player and handed her the red bean ice cream from the bag. I got the green tea ice cream.

　At one hundred and eighty-three, he looks cramped in this small room. We sat opposite each other on the study desk chairs, and he squinted at me and asked.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m alright, But it’s quite rare for Yonezu-san to speak to me.”

　We were in the car on the way home from school a while ago.

　Private conversations at work are forbidden, or at least avoided at all costs.

“I’ve been asked by Anna to look after you. I also have a message for you.”

“Message?!”

I stopped tearing the bag of green tea ice cream. Since then I have received one email from Anna. If she called me, I probably wouldn’t be able to answer. She said she would call me if she needed me and that I should wait until then.

　Glancing over at my face as I stare at him, Yonezu-san takes a bite of his ice cream. Despite his hard-boiled nature, he has a sweet tooth. He doesn’t seem to like alcohol, so he doesn’t drink at all.

“Anna sent me this message. It’s not the fault of either of you. The point is that you are both at fault. So it’s good to get some distance and cool down.”

　Yonezu looked at the red bean bar, which still had teeth marks, and said. I nibbled on my matcha in silence. The cold lump of sugar and milk melts on my tongue and disappears. I’m sure he knows about Kotono and me, the way he talks about us.

　We didn’t say a word until we had finished our ice cream.

　Tomorrow Yonezu-san will leave for Tokyo with Tatsuhiko. Mel-chan is going to ride in the car with us to a cosplay convention in Tokyo. She’s going to stay with her cosplay friends for a while.

　All the people close to her are going to be far away. Just as Kotono had suddenly disappeared before my eyes, Anna, Yonezu and Mel seemed to be spilling out of my reach.

“Don’t worry, your lady will be back here.”

　Yonezu said and put the stick he had finished eating into an empty ice cream bag and put it into a convenience store bag. He got up from the bed.

“I’ve stayed too long.”

I hurriedly stopped him as he opened the door.

‘W-wait a minute. What would…?”

　I let out a deep breath.

“What would you do if you had to apologize to someone who you couldn’t even get to contact your mobile phone?

“Hmm.”

Yonezu-san looked down at me with a slightly puzzled expression.

“In that case, you should write a letter, boy.”

“A letter…”

“It’s not very popular now, is it?　But it works surprisingly well.”

　A letter. I’d never written one before. Nowadays, even New Year’s cards are sent by email.

“Well, good luck.”

　The next day I went to the stationery shop in the nearest suburban supermarket and bought some stationery and envelopes. It’s a pretty floral pattern that I think girls would like. I’m sure Anna will read it, but I haven’t been able to write a single word on it until now.

“Oh, by the way, I hear you’re going to Agawa’s villa.”

“Oh, by the way, are you going to Agawa-kun’s villa?”

　I was interrupted in my reverie by Izumi’s voice.

“I’ve been thinking about it. Are you going away for the summer?”

“Every year I go to Okinawa with my siblings. My grandma lives there.”

“I see”

　He doesn’t talk much about himself, so I didn’t know anything about him.

“Okinawa is nice, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you like to go there?”

“Oh, yes. Here.”

Izumi picked up the notebook on his desk and flipped through it.

　On the back of the postcard was a picture of a summer scene with emerald green sea, blue sky and white sandy beach.

　There were chalked-up plane clouds in the sky and the shadow of a Cessna drilled tiny white dots into the azure sky.

　It was a good photo, capturing the grandeur of the sky, the beauty of the sea, and a moment of transition.

“I’ll give it to you, Onui. Isn’t it a nice picture?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

　I agreed wholeheartedly, and Izumi smiled a little.

“That was taken by my mother.”

＊　＊　＊　＊

　I went back to my parents’ house and tried to think of something to say in a letter to Kotono. But I couldn’t come up with anything that sounded right. In a desperate attempt, I went to the Internet and searched for a collection of sample letters and tried to write a letter of apology.

　I was worried that I had said something very rude Ojou-sama the other day, so I wrote this letter to you.

　I did not have any deep meaning in mind, it was just a random remark, but when I think of my daughter’s feelings, I am filled with regret.

　I am so ashamed of my thoughtlessness that I wish I had a hole in my head to climb into. Please accept my sincere apologies.

　I will learn from this mistake and make sure that I never make the same mistake again. I look forward to being with you again in the future.

What the hell is this?

　It’s no good, it’s no good, it’s no good at all. I’d rather not write this letter. I crumple up the letterhead and throw it in the waste paper bag.

　My father and mother didn’t say a word to me as I sat at my writing desk day after day in agony. If they had asked me, I wouldn’t have been able to answer.

　Sometimes Anko, the family cat, would come in and make a barred box on my letterhead and yawn loudly. I would look up at the ceiling and curse my lack of writing skills.

　Meanwhile, it was the last Friday of July and I received a phone call from Mukaishima at exactly eight o’clock in the afternoon.

“Good evening. Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

　I was a little relieved to hear Mukaishima’s voice. It’s a familiar voice, but it soaked into my heart like water in the sand.

“Hey, I’ve got a summer course starting tomorrow.”

　After saying that, Mukoujima turned down the sound of the television in his room. It seems that they are watching a music program.

“Actually, Minoya-san is with me. He usually goes to the Y in front of the station, but he wants to go to the same place as me. Sorry to tell you at the last minute.”

“No, I don’t mind at all”

They’re taking exams, so the classes are different. Minoya, he likes Sasuke-kun. Hey, Why don’t the three of us go karaoke and bowling once?” TL Note: Gae

“You know, Mukaishima……”

I shifted my hand holding the phone from right to left.

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