Volume 2 - CH 1.3

Now then, since the digression had come to a stop, Sandai continued to help Shino study on the train without a break.

Time flew by just like that, and they were approaching the station near Shino’s home.

When Sandai looked out the window of the train car, he could see street lights placed at regular intervals and what appeared to be a small shopping district.

Click clack, the shaking train gradually slowed down and finally came to a stop. The name of the station came on the announcer, and the door opened, pssssh.

Shino tidied up the opened workbook, put it into her bag, and got off the train. Sandai got off as well following after her.

It was a slightly rural, countryside town you could find everywhere. Even after exiting the station, there were no buildings that would stand out, but a row of stores with signboard lights lit up dimly.

“My house is that way.”

Where Shino pointed at was the shopping district that could be seen from the train just earlier.

“The shopping district?”

“Yeah. There’s a tofu seller there, and it’s that one.”

“Tofu seller?”

“That’s right. It’s a store that looks like it’s going under, though. It’s also only open for about two to three hours a day.”

“Two to three hours, that’s a very short opening hour, huh.”

“We’re doing the making and delivery, so we don’t have that much time to open the store either. But we’re in the countryside, so no one comes in even if we open the store.”

“…I see.”

“And like that, Dad and Mom alone have somehow managed… It’s just, even if they’re busy with deliveries, tofu is cheap to begin with, so it can’t make money, and life’s pretty rough, so that’s why I’m working a part-time job at another place to try to cover for my own share by myself.”

“…You did say it before. You said you were working because you didn’t have that much money.”

Sandai clearly remembered the day when he had heard about it from Shino.

Shino suddenly showing up at his apartment since the train had stopped because of the typhoon, ending up with her staying the night, playing a game together, and then a power outage happening…

It was one unforgettable day.

“At any rate, you do have it rough, huh.”

“I really do.”

“It’s good that you’re honest. Speaking of, does that mean you can eat tofu all you want then?”

“I can eat tofu all I want, but I don’t eat that much tofu…”

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I don’t dislike it, and I used to eat a fair amount of it until middle school first year, but… hmmm… it’s just… well… you know.”

“If you don’t dislike it, you can just eat it, right?”

“There was something that bothered me, and so I stopped eating it trying to do something about it.” Shino’s cheeks gradually dyed red, and she looked down bashfully. “…Will you promise you totally won’t laugh?”

Sandai couldn’t really understand why she had to ask him so, but the person in question didn’t want him to laugh. Then he would have to do just that.

“I promise,” Sandai replied immediately. “I won’t laugh.”

And then Shino gulped down her saliva, as if resolving herself.

“You see, I learned that eating tofu makes boobs bigger, so I stopped eating it.”

“Huh?”

“…My boobs started getting bigger and bigger around the upper grades of elementary school, and that pretty bothered me, so I was thinking about what to do to stop it getting any bigger, and before I knew it I was a middle schooler, and so, while I was researching it on my phone I happened to see something that said eating boobs will make boobs bigger… and so I stopped eating it.”

Having not expected such a talk, Sandai was troubled on how to reply. He even started to regret that he shouldn’t have asked.

“I-I see…”

“Mm-hmm. And you know, I really disliked my boobs being big. I couldn’t hide it like when in swimming class, and there were boys who would gawk at me… and I would lie every time that I had my period and skip swimming class.”

Kids—boys especially are honest for better or worse. Shino had a cute face, and big breasts in addition to that, so she must have had eyes constantly glued to her.

Sandai suddenly remembered what Shino had told him previously, about how she had stopped doing SNS because of the constant DM coming in.

Shino was bad with men other than Sandai, but there was a reasonable past and reason leading to that, and that was a deep wound for Shino.

And then probably, such experience was also connected to the jealousy and possessiveness Shino would show.

Instinctively judging that Sandai was a rare guy who was different from regular guys making her not want to let him go—there was a hint that Shino seemed to be thinking so unconsciously.

“Seems like you’ve been through a lot. I’d like to say it’s useless to keep worrying about that, but if being told that would stop you worrying, you wouldn’t have a hard time either.”

In his own way, Sandai tried to find words that Shino might be looking for—to avoid hurting her, and to ease her mind as much as possible.

That said, Sandai couldn’t immediately be subtle about it. He wasn’t that flawless of a guy.

“Having said that, body issues are complicated. If you want to make it smaller, we’re talking about surgery and stuff.”

“Eh?”

“What a difficult one.”

“…Could it be that you’re trying to say something considerate? Even if you don’t do that, just being willing to listen is enough for me, you know? It’s making me feel so much better just being able to say what I couldn’t say to anyone else.”

Sandai ended up looking surprised because of her reply, and smiled bitterly.

Sandai was originally a loner who was bad at socializing, and he also had the confidence in his skill of keeping what he was thinking from showing on his face, but… sometimes Shino would see through what Sandai was thinking surprisingly easily.

“This is my home.”

In the meantime, they arrived at Shino’s home.

It was a two-story wooden building that looked fairly old. It also had a tofu seller signboard put up.

“By the way… I think it’s late to bring this up, but…”

“What is it?”

“Could it be that I should greet your parents today?”

“Didn’t you walk me all the way home also because you got the readiness to even meet my parents?”

“I’ve been thinking that eventually I’ll meet your parents given the chance. But even if that’s the case, I think doing it late at night is wrong in a lot of ways.”

Sandai did think faintly that the event of him greeting Shino’s parents, saying hello to them would come someday.

However, he felt that that should be during the day. If he were to introduce himself as her boyfriend when it was late at night like now, it seemed like that would create a bad impression, thus he wanted to avoid it if possible.

“I’ll greet them at a proper time during the day.”

“Both my mom and dad know I’m home late because of my job, and I feel like it’d be fine if I say you were just walking me home as my boyfriend because it’s not safe at night, though… no, but, speaking of which, I haven’t told them about you.”

“Eh?”

“I’ve been thinking I should properly tell them, so I think this is a good chance. I’ve gotta prepare myself, too. If I keep silent about it, Miki might just end up telling them on her own, and I don’t want that. Wait a bit, I’ll go call—”

“—P-Please wait!”

Sandai hurriedly hugged Shino as she tried to unlock the store’s entrance and go inside.

“Wha wha… w-what?”

“Now’s not a good time. I want it during the day.”

“Even though you’ve come all the way here…?”

“…I want it during the day, not at night.”

Sandai wasn’t so fussy usually—of course Shino knew that as well.

For this reason, she immediately realized what was behind Sandai’s fussiness: he actually still needed more time to get mentally prepared.

“…I don’t have a choice, don’t I? I get it.”

Although Shino seemed regretful, she listened to Sandai nevertheless.

Though, “In return for listening to your request, listen to one request I have,” she offered up a condition. “Make sure you give me a goodbye kiss today too, okay?”

“Eh… but aren’t we in front of your…”

“Do it.”

Shino closed her eyes and lifted up her jaw, and Sandai was at a loss. He had nothing at all against kissing itself, but the location still was an issue.

There was a slight possibility that Shino’s parents would come out by chance and go: what on earth does this mean?

That said, Sandai also understood Shino’s feelings.

Shino was saying that she absolutely wanted the goodbye kiss which they had always been having, and would hate to have that put on hold for some little risk.

From Shino’s perspective, it would be unbearable not being able to do the important kiss.

So, although there was a lot of worry, Sandai ultimately kissed Shino on the lips.

“…”

“Nn…”

Although normally there was an unspoken agreement of kissing until each side was satisfied, this time Sandai quickly pulled away from Shino, in part due to the very strong nervousness and worry of his.

Shino was miffed, seemingly unsatisfied that the unspoken rule had been broken.

However—

“Isn’t it kinda short?”

“…Please don’t be mean.”

Sandai looked away with a troubled look. And perhaps understanding that she couldn’t pursue it further, Shino also stopped making any complaint.

“I guess just now was a little selfish of me. Sorry—take care on your way home.”

While scratching his cheek, Sandai saw off Shino giving a small wave and walking inside through the store’s entrance.

And that was when—

A laughter could be heard from the second floor of Shino’s home. Sandai looked up by reflex, and there was a girl looking at him and bursting out laughing.

It was Miki, Shino’s little sister.

She was a girl who had an awfully cheeky personality, and a girl with an interesting, quirky personality in all sorts of ways.

Since their relationship was like acquaintances, Sandai didn’t understand why Miki was laughing.

There… was no particular reason for it.

She found it somehow funny that Sandai was here at this place, and that was why she was laughing. Miki was that kind of a girl.

Suddenly he met eyes with Miki. Miki gave a small wave to him.

“I’m home.”

“Nn? Oh, it’s Shino.”

“Oh god, don’t go lying around like that, Dad, it’s improper. Hey Mom, say something, too.

“…Just give up.”

“Geez… I also can hear Miki laughing from above… I’ve told her not to go to sleep until late… Huh? She came down?”

“Onee-chan, welcome home.”

“I’m home… wait not that, quickly go to sleep.”

“Miki was thinking of going to sleep soon, you know?”

“Then good—by the way, why were you laughing? Were you watching TV?”

“Miki wasn’t watching TV. It’s nothing. Even so, Miki did think it’s gonna get pretty interesting.”

“What do you mean? Oh well, I’m gonna go take a bath and quickly go to sleep.”

He could hear the conversation of a happy family get-together leaking from inside. It seemed somewhat fun, making Sandai feel a little envious.

Sandai’s parents were away from home due to work. It had been this way since Sandai had been very small.

Although there had been times with them around, he generally wouldn’t see them for half of the year. His parents’ acquaintance would come occasionally to look after him, but scared of unfamiliar adults, he had been keeping a distance without getting any closer.

And when he had been five or six years old when his parents had taken him along to live overseas—he had been helpless, not able to communicate with the language, but at that time as well, his parents hadn’t been by his side, busy with work.

Looking back, he hadn’t been able to learn what an ordinary kid would learn in their home, and this very thing could be said to be the direct cause of why he had become a loner bad at socializing.

Right now Sandai accepted himself, but there also had been a time where he had felt the serious flaw as a human in him, and felt embarrassed of his lack of friends and communication skill.

“Well, I’m just gonna get tired recalling this and that of the bygone past. I’ll have to forget it as much as possible.”

Almost December, the night wind this time of the year was cold, and the whiteness of the breath escaping his mouth was striking.