Volume 12 - CH ss - 1

A quiet story about a forum dweller with a bit of a future

The story is set around May, so it’s a little over half a year in the future.

The timeline jumps, but it’s known as a, “quiet story within a quiet story” which is not related to the main story, and since it’s the first day of the year…

Please forgive me!

New Year’s Day, January 1st.

The first day of the year, January 1st, is a day to eat Osechi, Zoni, and other New Year’s dishes and watch special programs.

Oftentimes, people check for sales or visit a temple to receive blessings for the year. 

Or they may decide to pay a visit to relatives. 

For this man, New Year’s Day was not a special day. The late-night shows were interesting, though.

But…

This year seemed to be different.

Dressed up as best as he could, the man was at Utsunomiya station, the rendezvous location.

This was the first time he had gone out on New Year’s Day since his family had taken him when he was in elementary school.

“Fumiya-kun, here you are! Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year, Fumiya!”

“Happy New Year to you too, Kanako and Hina! Happy New Year! Haha, how many years has it been since we last said happy new year to each other?”

It was a woman and a girl who showed up at the meeting place.

And even if I don’t go out, I’m supposed to tell my family. It couldn’t be helped. The man was a recluse.

“I’m sorry I’m late. The store I visited for the sale was more crowded than I expected.

The woman apologized to the man. She actually didn’t go to a sale. She had worked at a national chain store from morning until past noon, picked up her daughter, and then came to the meeting place. She was a woman who was committed to her work.

Neither the woman nor her daughter seemed to be dressed for the occasion. Neither was the man, of course.

Incidentally, the man and the woman had been on several dates, but they were not in a relationship.

The dates were still pure.

In fact, they haven’t even confessed their feelings to each other yet.

He was a total chicken.

“Let’s go then!”

“Mom, hands! Fumiya, you too!”

“Oh, right.”

The nine-year-old girl held out her gloved hands to them. With the girl in the center, the man on the right and the woman on the left.

The three of us held hands and headed for the woman’s car.

New Year’s Day.

It’s the first time for the man to visit a shrine in over ten years.

□ □ □ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □

“It’s really crowded, isn’t it? Hinako, be careful not to get separated!”

“Hi, Mom! Fumiya, come closer!”

“Oh, okay.”

We headed west from JR Utsunomiya Station. It took us longer to find an empty parking lot than it did to drive there.

In front of the torii gate that suddenly appeared in the city center, a woman calls out in the crowd.

The girl in between them tugged at their hands. It was as if she was trying to close the distance between them.

“Fumiya-kun, are you alright?”

The woman looks into the man’s face with concern. They’re faces were really close. 

The girl in between them looks up and watches the scene with a grin on her face. Nine year olds these days are terrifying.

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve used honorifics. If you’d rather not, let me know. But, Fumiya-kun, no one really minds this kind of thing when it comes to you, right?”

“…I guess.”

The man blushed when he saw the woman’s smile up close. 

I was only a junior high school graduate. 

As the reclusive man started going out, started working, and occasionally went shopping, had lunch, and went on dates with women, he slowly gained a little bit of dignity. Although he no longer cared so much about being seen, he had never been in a crowd of this size before.

He felt a lump in his throat and gulped. 

As if to encourage me, the little girl squeezes my hand tightly. She’s a good girl.

“Okay. Let’s go!”

Maybe he noticed the girl’s action, or maybe he was encouraged by the smile of his girlfriend.

The man stepped out into the crowd.

Endo Fumiya, 26 years old.

Clothing Group A. It was his first visit to the shrine in over ten years.

It was also the first date of his life. Although things might not go as smoothly as planned.

□ □ □ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □

“Hina-chan, be careful on the stairs.”

“Hey, Fumiya!”

“Hmm… Ah, Fumiya-kun. What did you pray to god for?”

The three of us walked down the long stone staircase after completing our New Year’s visit to the shrine, tangled in the crowd.

Although the distance between them is still a bit far, they look like a family. Although onii-chan might be a better fit than ‘dad.’

“Hina’s wish is a secret! Mom, I want to eat zenzai… there.”

The girl smiled, holding hands with the man and the woman. The girl smiles as she holds hands with the man and woman. She was barely able to read what was written on the sign.

The girl, who was only nine years old and in the fourth grade of elementary school, was far from being a teenager. 

“Yes? What’s wrong, Hinako?”

“Zenzai, that’s good! I’m a little cold.”

The three of them headed for a teahouse on the approach to the shrine, saying this.

And then.

“Oh, it’s Grandma, she’s so perfect! It’s perfect, Mom!

It’s a bar reading again.

The girl’s grandmother was waving at her in front of the zenzai shop.

“Wait… what?”

The man suddenly became suspicious. Of course. His girlfriend’s mother had suddenly appeared. How can a man not be surprised?

The man fidgets, but with the support of the woman, he manages to greet her.

The man, still in a perplexed state, sits down at a seat in a temporary tent and quietly eats his zenzai.

Then, just as he was leaving the store.

“Mom, Hinako is going home with Grandma! Mom, you can stay here for a while!”

“What? Really, Hinako?

“Come on, Hinako, let’s play with your grandmother at home. Let’s have a nice dinner today.”

“Are you sure about that, mom?”

“Yay! I want pizza! Mom, it’s okay if you’re late today! It’s winter vacation and school is not in session!”

Leaving the woman upset by the girl’s words, the child and the old woman, holding hands, strolled along, leaving behind a brisk greeting of, “See you later.”

As they walked away, they smiled and laughed with a similar look. I see, so this was a prearranged plan.

But why did the girl tell them about her plans for tomorrow? It seems that nine-year-olds these days are capable of caring a little too much.

“Well… Kanako-san, what should we do?”

“Oh my goodness, that Hinako. Well, since we’re here, why don’t the two of us go out for dinner!”

We met up a little after 2 p.m. and slowly made our way through the crowds to pay our respects. 

It was now evening.

The girl assisted him in a way he had never imagined.

The man immediately got a chance to fulfill what he had declared at the New Year’s visit. It’s too good to be true.