Volume 4 - Me, Her, and our Changing World
Chapter 11
The game today was 3-on-3. Chinatsu watched as Hajime and Aizawa played against the university students. The same ones who had jokingly given Hajime a hard time when they first arrived but had still welcomed everyone with friendly smiles.
While Chinatsu had always been impressed just watching them, Saki's reaction confirmed their skill. Seriously, why did those two not join the basketball club? She had muttered. It was clear that, even from her perspective as a basketball club member, Hajime and Aizawa were quite skilled.
Chinatsu couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.
I see... Having your friends praise your boyfriend is, how should I put it? It just feels… really nice.
“I mean, Satou and Aizawa aside, those college guys are really good. I didn’t even know a place like this existed.”
"I know, right? I was surprised the first time I came here, too. And it sounds obvious when you think about it, but it made me realize that social circles like this really do exist outside of school, huh?"
"That's true. As high school students, we don't really know much about the world outside of school. I guess it's because our school prides itself on balancing academics and athletics, so they prioritize studying and club activities. Plus, part-time jobs are technically forbidden too."
While we were talking like that, the match ended.
Rena excused herself for a moment, saying she’d be right back, and walked off with her phone in hand. As soon as the match ended, Aizawa also left the court, probably heading back to Kana’s side, while Hajime was still talking with the two college students about their plays. He didn’t look like he’d be coming back soon.
After waiting a bit, Chinatsu suddenly felt like going to the restroom. She told Saki and Yuuko, then she started to head for the passageway in the back, but stopped in her tracks when she heard voices.
"...I must say, I'm surprised. To see you associate with a guy your own age as an equal."
"That guy’s a bit special, you know."
Chinatsu knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but she recognized both voices, and the fact that they knew each other was so unexpected that she couldn't help but listen in. The ones speaking were Rena and Aizawa.
“...Special, you say?”
“Yeah. I used to believe, just like what your grandfather and my old man always said, that people are born with a fixed path in life. But watching him... I’ve started to think maybe that’s not really true.”
“I see. Not only is he Chinatsu’s boyfriend, but for even you to say that is rather fascinating. ...By the way, the woman you were with… she’s your current girlfriend, yes?”
“...Yeah. What of it? You don’t approve of her, as my fiancée, even if it’s only in name?”
…..?!
Chinatsu almost gasped aloud. She pressed her lips shut, trying desperately not to make a sound, as the conversation went on.
“...No, it’s fine. It was my grandfather’s decision anyway. And I know men have their... circumstances, so I don’t intend to hold you down in any way.”
“That’s good to hear. But you don’t have to live just by your parents’ or grandparents’ rules. You should live the way you want to. I don’t plan to hold you down either.”
“The way I want, you say... My mother tells me that too. However, I only know how to live by following the path set for me, and I have no complaints about it. ...Still, I suppose today I might have grown a little curious about this thing called love.”
“...That so?”
Chinatsu quietly backed away from the spot. She felt that, for a number of reasons, she shouldn't listen any further. She now regretted having eavesdropped out of what had started as simple curiosity.
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“Did something happen, Chinatsu?”
I asked softly while wiping sweat from my face with a towel. Something seemed off about her ever since she got back from the restroom, it was like something was bothering her.
“Yeah... Hajime, can I stay over tonight? I just... need to sort my thoughts. It’s kind of too much to keep bottled up inside. I guess I need you to be my... accomplice, maybe?”
She nodded as she said that.
An accomplice? I asked what she meant.
“I mean, sure, I’m happy you’re staying, but… ‘accomplice’? What’s that about?”
“It’s just... people and relationships are really complicated, huh?”
“You’re suddenly philosophical... but, yeah, I get that.”
She said she’d explain later, and since it didn’t seem too serious, I felt a bit relieved. In any case, I hadn't planned on coming here today in the first place, and knowing the other three had curfews, I decided to leave early. I said goodbye to Shinji and the others before heading home.
For the record, I had already told Shinji that I wasn't going to hide my relationship with Chinatsu anymore. He responded with a nonchalant ‘Took you long enough,’ but I'm pretty sure that was his version of giving us his blessing.
“Chinatsu, you just said you’ll stay at Satou’s place as if it were the most natural thing. Seriously, today made me realize something… not knowing the truth about you two is a genuinely scary thing."
That was Toudou-san’s parting shot as we left, but Chinatsu took it in stride. Perhaps because she'd already steeled her resolve, she didn't blush at all.
When we got home, as soon as we stepped inside, Chinatsu threw her arms around me like she had been holding back the whole time. I caught her, gently holding her close. I felt like I’d gotten better at returning those sudden hugs of hers.
“Thanks for everything today... Say… I have a lot I want to talk about, but before that... can you just... pamper me for a bit?”
Of course, there was no way I could say no to that. And so, feeling at a loose end from not having seen her for a single day, I decided it was time to unveil what I had been making while I cleaned the whole morning.
“Pudding? You made this?”
"While I was cleaning, a truck selling fresh eggs passed by, so I bought some and tried making this after looking up a recipe... To be honest, even though you were only gone for a day, I felt kind of lonely and since I had nothing to do, I made it."
“...Geez, I love you so much, Hajime.”
“Haha, I'm happy to hear that, but I feel like half of that love is for the pudding.”
“No, it’s not! It's the fact that you do things like this, and that you admit you feel lonely without me… all of it is why I love you!"
We spent a sweet, fleeting moment together as a couple, playfully bantering like that. I celebrated the fact that today had been far from an unfortunate day; rather, it had become a good one, where Chinatsu was finally able to be her true self with her friends.
◇◆
“Ah, right. About that thing I said I wanted to tell you.”
Late that night, after taking another shower and drying her hair, Chinatsu turned to me and said that. As I prepared drinks, I nodded in response.
"Yeah, I know you mentioned it earlier, but... what did you mean by 'accomplice'?"
"...Honestly, this probably isn't something I should be telling anyone, not even my boyfriend. But I can't keep it all bottled up inside by myself anymore... so please, just be the one I can unload it all on."
“You’re making me nervous now... but okay, shoot.”
"So, you see…"
And so, we sat down at the table, facing each other. Chinatsu took out a notebook. Then, she began to write our names in it. She connected my name and hers with a double-sided arrow and then enclosed them in a circle. In cute handwriting, she added the word "Lovers."
"This is the relationship just between us two, okay? And, next is..."
Then she added Satou-kun from the basketball club, then Sakurai-san, and Toudou-san.
She drew lines from her name to Sakurai-san and Toudou-san’s, labeling them with “Friends who could become close, maybe even best friends.”
The Chinatsu who once said she didn’t need best friends now had people she truly connected with, and as her boyfriend, that made me happy.
Also, I started to understand a little bit of what I wanted to do.
Continuing, she drew an arrow from Satou-kun to Sakurai-san, and then added a question mark. Childhood friend, ex-girlfriend. Currently unknown?
From Sakurai-san, another arrow was drawn back to Satou-kun, this time with two question marks. Childhood friend, ex-boyfriend. Currently unknown??
From Toudou-san to Satou-kun, she drew a thick arrow. First love, written in red.
As I understood this, I simultaneously began to feel that I didn't want to see any more. Just when I thought she was finished, she then wrote Hojoin-san's name and drew a line from herself to her, just like with the other two. And then, for some reason, she added the names Shinji and Kana-san. I was only now learning that Kana-san's name was written like that. [TN: Kana’s name had always been written in katakana which is カナ. When Chinatsu wrote her name in her notebook, she wrote it in kanji which is 佳奈]
"Rena is a young lady from a well-off family. She's elegant, graceful, and very pretty. And since she’s from that kind of background, I’d heard she already had a fiancé around her age.”
From Shinji, an arrow was drawn back towards Hojoin-san in the same way. And then, in red letters, she wrote the word, "Fiancés."
“...Eh?”
Ignoring the sound that escaped my mouth, Chinatsu finished writing.
An arrow pointing from Kana-san to Shinji. Lovers.
And then, as she started to draw one from Shinji to Kana-san, she suddenly asked me if this one was pointing correctly.
Honestly, given Shinji's principle of 'those who come are welcome, those who leave are not regretted,’ Kana-san is simply the one who's lasted the longest.
When I said that, she responded with What do you mean by that? while drawing an arrow and adding a faint "?".
An arrow from Shinji to Kana-san. Lovers?
"There, all done. ...So, Hajime, what are your thoughts?"
Having finished, Chinatsu asked me a single question, as if what she had just completed was a masterpiece.
"My thoughts…? I could have happily gone on without knowing any of that… And besides, Toudou-san doesn't know about Satou-kun and Sakurai-san’s relationship, and Kana-san probably doesn't know about Hojoin-san, right? Why are your friends' relationships so complicated?"
“Well, at least I feel better now! ...And yeah, that’s probably true. And the Aizawa and Kana-san thing is on your side of things, right? I didn't want to find out that fact after I'd already become friends with Kana-san! And here I thought I already had my hands full with just Saki and Yukko!"
Even as she said that, looking at Chinatsu's genuinely refreshed face, for the first time, I resented her. There are definitely some things in this world that you are better off not knowing. And so, a certain day during winter break that became a turning point for us, came to a close.
◇◆
It feels like it was all a long time ago, but that is how we met, grew our relationship, and were eventually found out by our friends by a chance event. And so, with them now watching over us, we found ourselves after school on the first day of regular classes, the day after the third semester began.
