Volume 3 - Me, Her, and a Pair of Wings
Chapter 3
After finishing breakfast, it didn't take long for me to notice that Chinatsu seemed like she wanted to say something.
While Chinatsu prepared the coffee, I did the dishes. Even though our relationship had changed, the way we spent time together pretty much stayed the same.
"Um, I know it’s a bit late, but I’d like to meet your family... and, you know, introduce myself as your girlfriend, Hajime."
Chinatsu said this a little while after breakfast. Her words made me realize something—I hadn't once taken her into that room. I also felt like I wanted to introduce her to my family.
“Yeah, you’re right. I should introduce you too… I think… if you were really able to meet them in real life, they would’ve been either really happy or very skeptical.”
“...Would they really be happy if they met me? Or rather, what do you mean by skeptical?” Chinatsu asked, looking a bit anxious and then puzzled.
Seeing her, I recalled my family before they were still alive. How do I put this…
It wasn’t that I had been avoiding remembering them, especially since I lit incense for them every day, but somehow, it felt like the memories I recalled now had a clearer hue.
Nah, I should stop lying and making excuses. I had indeed been avoiding those memories.
My family in my memories were always smiling. I was smiling too.
—And, the reason why my memories, which had been devoid of color, changed was because I was able to cry yesterday. It was all thanks to Chinatsu.
Because of that, talking about my family came naturally.
“If I introduced someone as beautiful as you, as my girlfriend… I don’t know, but… my mom would probably silently suspect me of kidnapping, Miho would glare at me thinking I used some kind of blackmail, and only my dad would have believed me with a very high level of enthusiasm. It might sound kind of annoying, but yeah… that’s the kind of family we are.”
“...I saw Miho’s photo. She was such a cute girl.”
I nodded, realizing she must have seen the photos in Miho’s room.
"Well, do you want to look at the photos later? The altar room is over here. Originally, my parents' bedroom was on the first floor, and the second floor had my room, Miho's room, and a guest room for when my uncle or other guests came over. But now, the first-floor room is the altar room.”
I explained while I led her from the living room down the hall to the back room. It was the only Japanese-style room in our Western-style house, insisted on by my mother. When I opened the door, a faint smell of incense lingered. There were three photos on the altar, which was something I bought back then while not knowing it was expensive. The displayed photos were the ones where they had formal wear, smiling. It was taken during the time Miho had entered middle school.
There was no specific ritual, but since we had the chance, we decided to light the two candles placed side by side.
My father had always lived spontaneously, while my mother was strict about such traditions. My mother had a solid personality and imposing presence, whereas my father, with his handsome looks, was quite popular among the neighboring ladies. Miho inherited his good looks, while people often remarked that I resembled my mother, as I didn't share my father's features.
I simply pointed to the photos and introduced them to Chinatsu, explaining as I lit the incense from the candles.
“Dad, Mom, and Miho... This is embarrassing, but this is Chinatsu, my... girlfriend.”
I introduced her, hoping somehow my words could reach my family even though I knew it was impossible.
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The smell of melting candles and incense filled the room. Hajime sat in front of the altar, introducing Chinatsu as he clasped his hands together.
After a few moments, Hajime moved aside, and Chinatsu took his place. She knelt politely on the cushion, lighting the incense just as Hajime had done.
She looked at the photos. Hajime said he resembled his mother, but there were also parts of him that looked like his father. His eyes and nose were his mother’s, but his ears and mouth were his father’s. Miho’s smile was incredibly cute. She wondered if they would have become friends if they had met each other.
Now that I think about it, her photo in the center of the room isn’t taken with a friend or her lover, but with her brother. Miho-chan, are you perhaps a brocon? If so, we might have to fight over him.
Thinking such thoughts, Chinatsu imagined how fun it would have been to be around Hajime’s family.
“Father, Mother, and Miho-chan, I’m sorry for the late introduction despite visiting so often. I’m Hajime-kun’s girlfriend, Minamino Chinatsu.”
Even though she had paid her respects in front of an altar before, it was the first time she genuinely wanted to speak to the ones beyond. But as soon as she did, the words flowed effortlessly.
She spoke freely, letting her heart guide her.
Even though she knew her words weren’t truly reaching anyone, and it was just Hajime and her in the room, she found herself saying what she would have wanted them to hear if they were really there.
“Hajime-kun and I were classmates, but even though we hadn’t spoken until this fall, he was still so kind to me, and I’m sure he was raised by very wonderful parents. I’m an only child, so I don’t know what having siblings is like, but I’m sure that he must have been a great older brother.”
Just then, Chinatsu heard the sound of Hajime moving behind her. And she could tell, even without looking, that he was embarrassed.
And since she had the chance, she decided to say everything as if she was speaking to his family, making sure Hajime heard it all. She wanted him to blush completely, even though she found her own eagerness to be a bit surprising. But, she truly did want to say these things.
She spoke candidly and continued for a while. She shared everything—what had happened since they met, how she felt, how overjoyed she was that he saw behind her mask, how painful it was to understand each other’s helplessness, and how her heart raced when he helped her. She even expressed how she wished she could have talked to his family directly, just once.
Chinatsu kept talking, and when she went on to talk about what happened the other night, Hajime, unable to handle it anymore, opened the door and stepped out. She continued until she finished everything she wanted to say.
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Bonus Chapter (3/6)
