Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 9 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: AKIRA

"You're not necessary." 

My initial reaction to this statement was one of confusion. I'd been in my first year of middle school back then. 

"For the continuation of the Hino family, that is." 

"Yes, yes. I'm aware." 

Even at that point, I was already old enough to wrap my head around the structure of our family, its hierarchy, and my own role in all of it. 

"It's because I have so many older brothers who can fill that role, right?" 

Four to be specific. You almost needed both of your hands just to count them. 

"Correct", Father nodded, sitting opposite me. Very rarely did the man speak more than a few words at a time. That said, he was quite expressive, and in some ways, I couldn't help but feel like silence perhaps wasn't the best fit for him after all. Regardless, it didn't seem like he had anything else to say to me for now. 

I obviously had nothing to say to him either, and so, we ended up staring at one another with both of our mouths shut. 

What was the point of this conversation? What was he trying to tell me? I found the whole situation to be so utterly random, and that wasn't least because I'd been pulled here while on my way to take a bath. 

"Yes." 

The man nodded his head once more before getting up and walking away. Really? That was all? While I didn't say that out loud, obviously, it was what I thought to myself as I watched him leave the room. 

"I don't get that man. I truly don't." 

One look at his face made it clear that there was always an incredible amount of stuff going on in his mind. Similarly, you could also tell that he put no effort into expressing said thoughts to anyone around him. 

Not that it bothered me, mind you. Not one bit. If anything, I was glad that he'd left as quickly as he had. 

A few moments passed, after which I found myself lying down on my side against the floor of the giant, now-empty room. 

The tatamis had a very unique smell to them. I closed my eyes and spent some time enjoying it. 

It was only after my stomach had begun moving up and down matching my breathing and I could no longer ignore it that the following mumble left my mouth: 

"What am I supposed to say to that?" 

"And there you go. In other words, I'm not needed. I could disappear, and no one at my home would care", I explained to Nagafuji sitting on the opposite side of the kotatsu. She was quick to react, and judging by her tone, she didn't seem to approve. 

"But I like your home, Akira." 

"What part of it?" 

"How big it is." 

She followed up this explanation by spreading her arms wide open. Wide open as in above her head. Did she not know that our home only had a single floor? 

"I think you got that wrong." 

"Hmm?" 

Nagafuji didn't seem to understand what I meant. Did she ever? No, not really. 

It was more often than not the case that I ended up dropping by Nagafuji's place after school instead of returning straight home. Their family ran a meat store, and I had to say, there was something about the atmosphere there that I found extremely pleasant. I suppose tiny rooms, so tiny that a single kotatsu already took half of the available space, just fit who I was a person. Our home had no such rooms. Not a single one. Seriously, why did even the bathrooms have to be so huge? Ridiculous. 

Having seemingly started feeling cold, Nagafuji went ahead and lowered her arms before stuffing them deep inside the kotatsu. The expression she had on her face was one that would be best described as absent-minded, and while yes, that was pretty normal for her, today she appeared at least twenty percent more relaxed than normal. I could only assume the warmth played a big part in that. She also wasn't wearing glasses currently, bringing to my mind an imagine of her deep from our past. 

She'd only started wearing classes in middle school. I picked them up off the kotatsu and tried putting them on for fun. As you might have expected, I couldn't see anything through them. The entire world appeared completely blurry. Were Nagafuji's eyes really this bad? 

"I don't remember. Did you do something to mess up your eyes?" 

"Yep. I studied too much." 

"Liar." 

That said, Nagafuji's grades were pretty good. Better than mine. 

"I don't think glasses look good on you, Akira." 

"Oh, really?" 

That was more than enough reason for me to take them off. As I did so, a short giggle left Nagafuji's mouth. It appeared that she was very much satisfied by the return of the glassless me. I placed the things on the kotatsu, prompting her to give their frame a tap. She'd used a bit too much force though, and as a result, they ended up almost falling off. 

Seriously, why had she done that? What was she trying to accomplish? I couldn't help but laugh a little myself. 

I could feel the very insides of my chest filling with pleasant warmth similar to what my feet beneath the kotatsu were experiencing. 

It was currently the winter of our first year in middle school. By this point, we'd both more or less gotten used to being thirteen years old. I called her Nagafuji, and she called me Akira. That was how it'd been since school had started. Before that, I too had called her Tae. I found myself somewhere I'd never been before surrounded by completely new people, and even the ones I'd once known had not remained unchanged. 

I suppose that was what it meant to grow up. 

"The old man's still working, I see", I stated in response to the sounds coming from the store side. Like mentioned before, Nagafuji's family ran a meat store, and while our house could be quite busy at times too, that business was of completely different nature than what you found here. The building also had a very distinct smell to it, one that I'd personally begun finding quite relaxing after getting accustomed to it. "Are you sure you don't need to go help?" 

"I got stamped with the seal of 'not helpful'." 

"Oh, wow. I can't blame them there." 

Really, was there any job Nagafuji could help with? No, not in particular. Dealing with customers? Big no. 

"Hmm..." 

I found myself staring at Nagafuji who in turn had her eyes glued on the TV. She looked listless, almost like she was about to fall asleep any second now. That had always been the most common expression on her face for as long as I could remember. Combine this with the often times far too casual remarks she had a tendency to spit out, and it suddenly became very much clear why other people so often misunderstood her character in all sorts of different ways. 

Not that they were always wrong, mind you. 

It was there that Nagafuji's mom poked her head through the doorway. 

"Akira. Someone's here to pick you up." 

"Huh?" A sigh escaped my mouth as I lifted my head. I then turned towards Nagafuji before stating the following: "Oh, right. I was just about to get going." 

Sadly, this attempt at seeking support ended up backfiring. 

"What? You're leaving already? Really?" she stated quickly, sounding genuinely concerned. What a pain. "Only half serious." 

"I'd prefer it if you weren't serious at all." 

Nagafuji had a real problem with letting herself get carried away. To make matters worse, she never took any responsibility over her remarks. 

I happened to get a glance at the clock displayed on the TV screen while getting up, only to see that it was barely six. Another sigh escaped my mouth. 

Following my example, Nagafuji too pulled herself out from underneath the kotatsu. She'd really started overtaking me in terms of height around the second half of sixth grade, and these days, I was almost a full head shorter. Based on my height alone, you might have thought I was still in grade school, whereas by the same logic Nagafuji almost looked like a high schooler. 

"What's the matter?" she asked with her head tilted to the side. It seemed that she'd sensed something was off. I tried to gloss it over, I said that nothing was wrong, but I couldn't fool her; this time, it was Nagafuji who ended up staring at me. I could feel myself being pushed into a corner by the aura of intimidation the height disparity between us lent her. We continued staring at each other for a few moments, after which I noticed she'd yet to put her glasses back on. Did she not use glasses at home? I couldn't ever remember her taking them off during class. 

"What?" 

"Nothing. I'm just looking at you." 

Her eyes had a hold on me, and they weren't going to let go. 

I could feel my cheeks turning slightly red. Why? Well, mostly because that was probably all there was to it. In all likelihood, her words held no deeper meaning. 

Nagafuji saw me off all the way to the front of the building. There, off to the side, a car I'd seen plenty of times before stood parked. Waving goodbye to her dad, I began approaching the vehicle. As for Nagafuji, she followed after me idly. 

"..." 

"Waba dap." 

"Don't even think about getting in." 

Those words caused Nagafuji to freeze in place. It seemed that had been exactly what she'd had in mind. 

"Why not? Let's turn this into a sleepover." 

"Let's not." 

I gave her shoulder a push, but she didn't so much as budge. Back in the day, I'd been able to push her with ease, but now, I no longer could. 

"Take that!" 

On the other hand, Nagafuji had no trouble picking me up and lifting me in the air. 

"Hey, seriously. Let go!" 

"Hmm? Hino, have you lost some weight?" Nagafuji asked with her head tilted to the side. While it wouldn't have been all that strange if I had considering the kind of food I got served at home, the answer was still no. Probably. "Or have you maybe gotten smaller?" 

"I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't cut it off right now." 

You're the one who's gotten bigger, I cursed in the back of my mind. 

I couldn't help but feel like these sorts of exchanges were going to be the norm between us going forward. 

"See you tomorrow." 

"Yeah." 

Having gotten on the back seat of the car, I waved Nagafuji goodbye one last time before slamming the door shut. Through the window, I could see her walk off backwards, her eyes still pointed my way. Did she really think crossing the road like that was a good idea? She was practically asking to get run over. Sure enough, her dad got really angry at her as she reached the store. "Look where you're going", I could hear the old man yell. 

I couldn't help but let out a deep sigh staring at the two. 

Through all this, the person sitting on the driver's seat with an apron on had yet to say a single word. 

"You didn't need to come. I was just about to get going. Really", I spoke quickly. 

"Perhaps, but it has gotten quite dark", the woman responded. Her name was Enome. For as long as I could remember, she'd worked at our house as a maid. 

The lights of the car caused her hair to glow with a slightly reddish tinge. 

"Young Mistress, you—" 

"Stop it!" 

I quickly shoved my fingers into my ears. I wasn't sure when it had happened, but at some point, having her call me that had started making me feel seriously uncomfortable. 

"Don't call me that." 

"What should I call you then?" Enome asked, all the while getting the car started. 

"Doesn't matter." 

"Very well. I'll call you Mistress Akira then." 

"...Are you doing that on purpose." 

Through the mirror, I could see the woman smile. There was something about her expression that made her seem much younger than she was in reality. 

"Did Mom ask you to come?" 

"Of course", she responded without any sort of delay. "Mistress asked me to tell you that she'd prefer it greatly if you could call her when you're planning on staying late." 

"Late? But it's not even six yet." 

"Six o'clock counts as night during wintertime." 

I suppose there was some truth to the woman's words; through the windows of the car, all I could see around us was endless darkness. The road leading from Nagafuji's place to ours had barely any street lights, and as such, driving down it did in a lot of ways feel like plunging into the ocean of night. A part of me really felt like were I to open the window and push my hand through, I'd be able to grasp said darkness for myself. 

"I'm not a kid anymore." 

"Oh, you very much are." 

Her quick retort once again forced me to reconsider my stance. The woman was much older than I was, so old that even doubling my age wouldn't be enough to put me anywhere close to her. Looking at it from that perspective, yes, I could certainly see why she thought of me as nothing but a little kid. I was at a clear disadvantage here, and the fact that in the past I'd often made her play with me did little to help. 

I decided to change the subject. 

"How did you know I was here? I didn't tell anyone where I was going." 

"Where else would you have gone?" 

"Nowhere, I guess..." 

I hated being so obvious. I didn't want people to always know what I was up to. In that case, next time, should I go somewhere else? That was a possibility, but then Nagafuji wouldn't be there. And if she wasn't, then what was the point? None. There wasn't any. It went to show just how much she meant to me for that to be the case. 

The first time we'd met had been the day kindergarten started. For whatever reason, we'd gotten along really well right off the bat, and before long, had found ourselves having become best friends. Since then, pretty much the only days we hadn't met on had been those during which our family was off travelling. It wasn't easy parting ways with a person after something like that. 

"In the end, I have no choice but to return home, huh?" 

If there was anything that made me still a kid, I suppose that was it. I didn't have a home of my own. No, I only had that of my parents'. 

"Hmm? You don't want to go home?" 

Red lights appeared from behind the corner, forcing the car to stop. Was she going to kick me out if I said no? 

If I then walked back to Nagafuji's place, they'd... they'd probably kick me out from there too eventually. 

The fact of the matter was, I wasn't going to find myself another place to stay quite so easily. 

"I was told I'm not needed there." 

This was enough to make Enome turn around to look at me. Was that really okay? The car might have been stopped, but she was still the one driving it. 

"Who said that?" 

"Father did." 

"Oh, really?" 

With that, she shiftily turned her head back around towards the road. 

"I know he didn't mean it like that, but still..." 

"Yes, yes." 

I could hear the woman laugh to herself. Really? That was all I got? 

You ought not poke at the heart of a girl in puberty so carelessly. 

"Well, it is true that Master could sometimes be more clear in the way he chooses to express himself." 

"You don't say." 

I didn't need him to go through every last detail. No, just explaining the basics of what he was saying would've been enough. Otherwise, talking to him was like taking a Japanese exam where you didn't even get to see what grade you got in the end. I was supposed to be free from that kind of stuff at home. 

Despite us being family, it was hardly the case that we could understand one another telepathically. 

Silence fell between us. This time, Enome ended up being the one to change the subject. 

"Dinner will be ready right away." 

"Oh, sorry. I decided I'd eat at Nagafuji's place." 

"Is that to say you're full?" 

She clearly knew what I'd meant, yet she asked anyway. 

"I don't like the way the food at home is seasoned." 

Specifically, it was the lack of seasoning that was the problem. If I had to describe the taste in a single word, I'd probably go with "bland". 

"My apologies. Mistress simply isn't a fan of heavy seasoning." 

"Yes, I'm aware." 

In the same way, my brothers were also used to it. That led me to wonder, what about Father? He never said anything while we were dining. No, he just ate and then left when he was done. Whether he thought it was great or terrible, he never told us. 

Anyway, putting that aside... 

"Hey, Enome. You've always gotta do as Mom tells you, right?" 

That was something I found myself thinking about from time to time. 

"Of course not." 

I'd been so sure of myself, only to find my words met with a stern denial. 

A few more silent moments passed by, I almost dozed off, but at last, the car pulled to a stop near our house. Getting out, I began making my way down the gravel-paved pathway. 

Our house was quite big compared to the norm. Yes, I understood how childish saying it like that sounded, but trust me, it was true. The place was like a secluded garden built on a plot that in itself was larger than the new hotel that had just opened near the station. 

How many copies of Nagafuji's house could the yard alone fit? Somehow, I got the feeling that were I to ask her that, she'd start calculating it for real. 

She'd get a measuring tape and... Wait, no, actually. Knowing her, she'd probably use a ruler, wouldn't she? Yeah, she would. I couldn't help but giggle a little thinking about it. 

My cheeks quivered, and so did the rest of my body too in response to the cold touch of the winter air. 

"Welcome back", Enome greeted me as I stepped inside. She'd sprinted past me seemingly just so she could say those words. 

"...I'm home." 

That was the only response the thirteen-year-old me could give her. 

What were the chances of things playing out this way assuming there wasn't someone out there who'd set it all up? 

That was something I found myself thinking about while eating lunch with Nagafuji at the school's cafeteria. For the seventh year in a row now, we'd once again wound up in the same class. Classes had been shuffled once every two years in grade school, and counting from there, that made what, four rotations in total which we'd survived through? Again, just what were the chances? Pretty low, I had to imagine. Whatever the case, it seemed that I had yet another year of attending class with Nagafuji to look forward to. 

"Hey, Hino", she called out to me, all the while waving her chopsticks in the air. "Don't daze off while eating, or else you might end up eating your sticks too." 

"You're the only one who that happens to." 

Excuse me? I could hear her retort. Then, approximately two seconds later, she resumed munching as if she'd completely forgotten the earlier exchange. 

In the classroom, I was always Hino, and she was always Nagafuji. There was something about the uniforms that forced us to act up. 

"Say, Nagafuji. Are you going to inherit the meat shop in the future?" 

"Hmm?" 

Having been just about to bite into her bread roll, Nagafuji paused for a second. 

"Hmm..." 

Her head drew back, and her eyes drifted slightly to the side. She seemed to be thinking about something. 

It only took me looking at her to figure out what that something was. 

A moment passed, after which Nagafuji's eyes returned to me. 

"I wonder." 

"...Oh, no. It's fine. I don't need a serious answer." 

I really hadn't meant anything with my question. It was simply something that had come to mind. 

"Okay." 

Just like that, Nagafuji opened her mouth wide and bit into the pastry she was holding. I too grabbed mine. 

Not wanting to choose between jam and margarine, I'd ended up spreading a whole bunch of both on my bread roll. The resulting flavour was quite rich to say the least. Some might even argue it was too much. 

Personally, however, I felt it to be just right. 

As we were clearing the table after being done eating, Nagafuji suddenly turned towards me and asked the following question: 

"If I do end up running the store, will you come by to buy stuff every day?" 

"Hmm... I might. For croquettes." 

"It's decided then. I'll tell Dad." 

Really? That was all it took? I couldn't help but laugh a little. 

The day came to an end soon enough. As usual, Nagafuji had already made her way to my desk while I was still busy tossing my stuff into my bag. 

"Time to go", she stated in an uncharacteristically cheerful tone of voice. It was common for her to do that, to mix up her tone. There was no real meaning to it as far as I could tell. 

"Oh, sorry. I cannot come today." 

"Yes, yes. You can't not." 

She reached for my arm and tried to drag me along. 

"Hey! I meant the opposite." 

Japanese was as hard as her head was thick. I quickly shook my arm free. 

"...I have something I've gotta do." 

Mom had made sure to remind of that after I'd come home yesterday. Me being busy really wasn't anything that special, and as a result, my words were met by no amount of shock. Nor sorrow for that matter. No, Nagafuji's expression remained completely unchanged, almost like the surface of a still lake. 

"Family business, right?" 

"Yeah. It's a pain." 

A deep sigh escaped my mouth. Not because I hated the idea of having to do something, mind you. No, the issue was the opposite; there was nothing for me to do. 

It was all so boring. 

"I guess I'll drop by my club for a change then." 

"...What club are you part of again?" 

"That's a secret." 

"Hmph. Well, okay then." 

I turned around and began walking away. Or at least, that was what I tried to do; like pinching my back flesh through my shirt, Nagafuji pulled me to a stop. 

"You've gotta be more careful." 

At times, she could be a real pain too. 

"Well then, Nagafuji. Mind teaching me how it's done?" 

I wasn't quite sure how to respond, and so, in the end, I decided to go with something pretty random. 

"Hmm. Next time." 

"I'm seriously going to punch you." 

Anyway, enough of that. I needed to head straight home that day, and that was exactly what I wound up doing after the short exchange. 

The sun had already begun setting by the time I reached the bamboo grove, painting the trees in a faint glow of orange. There was something about the sight that made it feel like I was walking down a forest far thicker than the grove actually was. 

The cold air and the smell of bamboo alike caused my body to shiver. 

A number of cars I couldn't recognize had been parked outside of our house. Next to them, I could see standing a slightly dirty motor scooter. Who rode that one? Whoever it was, I couldn't help but feel like they had little to do with me. 

Making my way past the vehicles, I continued heading towards the front door. 

Today, it was my brother who greeted me. 

"Oh, how surprising. You're not even late." 

While I did have four brothers in total, the only one of them who currently lived home was the youngest one. Goushirou was his name. He was quite a bit older than I was. Well, I say that, but you could still clearly see that we were siblings. Not like with my oldest brother where a stranger might honestly mistake me for his daughter. 

I knew little of what sort of a person he was; by the time I was born, he'd already left home. 

If I had to take a guess, I'd say that those feelings probably went both ways. 

Our family really was quite strange. 

Anyway, enough of that. Like he always did, my brother was once again wearing Japanese-style clothes. 

"Dress up and come to the side building." 

"Yes, yes." 

I crouched to take off my shoes, and by the time I lifted my head back up, the man had already ran off somewhere. Was he busy, perhaps? That seemed to be the case. He really did mesh well with the general atmosphere of our home. That was to say, he was very measured and well-ordered as a person. While the two of us weren't on bad terms per se, we also weren't anywhere near close enough to engage in friendly chatter. 

The only thing we shared was the house we lived in. Nothing more. 

I returned to my room, tossed my bag on the floor, and let out a deep sigh. 

"Seriously. What a pain." 

I went as far as to throw the shoes I'd been carrying against the wall. There, a few seconds of standing in place later, my body once again began to shiver. I knew what I was supposed to do. I'd been told as much. And yet, here I was, walking in circles around my room. My head refused to function properly. 

I could feel my shoulders growing heavy. 

The sensation was a like a mix of impatience and displeasure. I couldn't stand it. 

And yet, I had no choice. 

Having dressed up, I soon found myself silently sitting in the corner of the side building. 

My clothes, my posture, the way I sat, it all made me look like an oversized doll. 

My parents seemed to get along quite well with the guests. Myself, I had no idea who they even were. Some grown-ups oozing with both elegance and wealth. Well, that last part was a complete guess, but as their clothes did look pretty expensive, I probably wasn't too far off. That was something I'd learned to recognize after all my years spent living here. 

What actually mattered was that they were guests very much important to the Hino family. 

It was during occasions like these that even my usually silent father ended up becoming quite talkative. While he didn't go as far as to crack jokes or anything of the sort, obviously, what he did do was actually listen to the people speaking to him. He even made sure to reply in a way that wasn't just a single word. As for me, my role was to smile politely and sometimes giggle slightly when my name was brought up in the middle of the conversation. That was all there was to it. 

I did wonder, though: If the family had no need for me, then for what reason did I still have to show up? 

My head had begun to tremble, and it felt like soon enough, the thing might simply roll off like a bowling ball. 

There was one guest who appeared just slightly uncomfortable. Whereas I sat in the corner, they were seated near the centre of the room. Their kimono was vermilion, and while it looked to be of an ordinary size, the person's child-like posture made it seem just slightly too long to them. Even then, they were still probably more of an adult than I was, weren't they? Probably, yeah. With their eyes squinted, the person's tiny head continued nodding up and down as if they were about to doze off. 

On a closer inspection, I noticed that the person wasn't actually wearing a full kimono, but a yukata. 

Meanwhile, the conversation kept on going as if everything was normal. As to what they were talking about, I couldn't tell you. None of it was registering in my mind. I was paying less attention than I did during class, and that was saying something. If I had to choose between this and the buzzing noise of flies to listen to for the rest of my life, I'd happily go with the latter. 

... 

A deep sigh nearly escaped my mouth. Thankfully, I managed to stop myself in time. 

The rest of the meeting went by in much the same manner. Nothing worth reciting here took place. 

As for the person dressed in vermilion, they'd more or less fallen asleep by the end of it. 

The very first thing I did after returning to my room was untie the dress I'd been wearing. Only then did I begin looking for a change of clothes. However, that proved to be far more effort than the current me could deal with, and soon enough, I found myself having collapsed on the floor. 

The air near the floor was considerably cooler than the rest of the room. Breathing it in, I could feel the exhaustion I'd been overrun with earlier start melting away. I ended up spending the next few moments like that, unable to get back up even if I had wanted to. 

The weirdest thought crossed my mind as I lay there. 

I wanted to go home. 

Now, given that I was home already, where was it that these feelings were pointing to? 

A few more moments passed by. 

"How picturesque." 

It was Enome who said that. Apparently, she'd come to see how I was doing. 

"Picture?" 

"Exactly. The crumpled kimono looks like something straight from a traditional painting." 

"Oh, wow." 

I couldn't help but feel a little impressed. Meanwhile, Enome stepped further inside and pulled open one of the drawers near the corner of the room. Staring at her lazily with my eyes turned upwards, I began speaking within even bothering to get up. 

"Say, Enome." 

The woman shifted her attention to me, all the while continuing to prepare me a change of clothes. 

"You're the same age as Mom, right?" 

"Correct." 

From what I'd heard, the two of them had gone to the same school, and immediately after them graduating, Enome had moved in to work as a maid for our family. Mom had been overjoyed at the prospect of being able to continue seeing her best friend, I'd been told. 

Even these days, it wasn't all that uncommon to catch them engaging in friendly chatter throughout the house. While the relationship between them was most certainly that of an employee and an employer, during those moments, they looked more like two good friends than anything. 

"Why did you decide to come work here?" 

"I figured I could abuse my friendship with your mother for an easy job", she stated with a sly grin on her face. "Just joking, of course. It was actually her who suggested it. She said she wanted me to stay by her side." 

"Really? Mom said that?" 

"I felt so happy." 

A smile once again appeared on her face. This one was much gentler than the one before, the sort you'd make while reminiscing about the past. 

I couldn't help but feel like I'd seen that exact same smile before. Where exactly, that I wasn't able to figure out. 

"What about the guests?" 

"They left." 

"Hmph", I responded in a way suggesting I couldn't care less, which didn't really make a whole lot of sense considering that I'd been the one to ask about it. 

It'd been mere moments since I'd seen those people, yet already, their faces appeared completely blurry in my mind. 

This just proved what I'd been feeling earlier. 

"I don't think I'm a good fit for this place." 

I decided to open my heart to Enome and tell her how I honestly felt. 

"This place, as in, the house?" 

"Yeah." 

I lifted my arms above me and extended them towards the ceiling. There, I proceeded to watch as the sleeves of my kimono slowly dripped down. 

"How to put it... I just can't ever relax. My shoulders always feel like they're in the wrong position. Something like that." 

I was sure that those feelings weren't going to disappear no matter how long I stayed here for. 

Wrapping my hands around the kimono to stop it from falling off completely, I slowly got up. 

"I have a request." 

"What is it?" 

The tone of the woman's voice as she replied sounded even kinder than usual. If I had to guess, I'd say she was probably doing that for my sake. 

"I want to run away for a day." 

A simple thing, yes, but something I very much wanted to do. 

It was only after the words had left my mouth that I found myself wondering, why her? 

I suppose that was just the sort of relationship between us. My family members were family, my friends were friends, but she was neither. Whereas the other two necessitated certain type of behaviour and action—and often times the lack thereof— to keep steady, she didn't. She just was. 

That was exactly why I found myself able to turn to her for help. 

"Did I hear that right? You wish to run away?" 

"Yeah..." 

There was something very embarrassing about having this childish proposal be exposed to an adult. 

A few moments passed, after which Enome lightly tapped her hands against her knees. 

"Very well then. Let us go." 

"Huh?" 

"First, we need to obtain permission from the people of the house." 

"What?!" 

That last one was less of a question and more of an expression of pure confusion. Paying no mind to me, Enome swiftly exited the room. 

Whereas I'd imagined myself quietly sneaking away in the middle of the night, it seemed that the woman had other plans. 

"Do you normally get permission first before running away?" 

No, you didn't. You definitely didn't. I guess that just went to prove that there was nothing normal about our home. 

Anyway... 

"I don't think I understand, but sure." 

That was what my brother said. Honestly, I'd been expected something a lot different. 

"There's nothing special planned, so if you want to leave, I don't see why you can't", he continued in a typically over-serious manner. 

"Right..." 

"Just make sure you're home next Thursday. Every other day is fine." 

Was he really saying that I could run away whenever I wanted to as long as it didn't clash with the family's schedule? And that wasn't supposed to be a joke? I couldn't help but laugh a little. As for my brother, he proceeded to tilt his head to the side, seemingly confused as to what I found so funny. 

"Like I said, I'm not sure I understand what you mean." 

"You don't need to." 

"Hmph." 

No signs of hesitation could be seen in the way he nodded his head. Truly, he was our parents' child. 

"I took care of speaking with your mother." 

Done talking to my brother, I once again met with Enome. She'd told me she needed to do some preparations, and had spent this whole time running around the house doing just that. If I'm being honest, I was really glad Enome had volunteered to explain the situation to Mom; knowing the woman, she was going to act beyond worried no matter what I told her. The thought alone of having to sit through that was enough to make me uncomfortable. 

"All that's left now is..." 

"Exactly." 

The way Enome smiled made it clear that she wasn't going to bail me out this time. 

I suppose this was yet another example of the special relationship between the two. 

Preparing myself for what had to be done, I turned around and began walking. 

"I'm running away from home." 

Father had been in the process of clipping his nails on the veranda as I spoke those words to him. After weighing all of my options, I'd decided that the best way to approach him would to be get straight to the point without any fluff. 

"What!?" 

Even if you couldn't tell so by his lack of expression, the man was clearly shocked. 

How unusual. 

"I see." 

It only took him a second to return to his normal self, however. With that, he also fell silent. 

I wanted him to speak. I wanted him to say something about what I'd just told him. And yet, instead of expressing any of those feelings, I simply turned around and walked away. 

After all of that, evening eventually rolled around. 

I found myself taking the first actual steps towards running away. That was to say, I'd packed my stuff and tossed it on the back seat of the car. Now, did that still count as me running away from home? It certainly didn't feel that way. Regardless, as I stood there staring at the sun about to sink beneath the boundary we called the horizon, a familiar sound reached my ears—the sound of someone calling my name. 

"Yo, Hino!" 

"Huh?" 

That person turned out to be none other than Nagafuji, currently jogging towards me with a backpack tossed over her shoulder. Rather than looking like she'd simply come over to hang out, the impression I got from her was that she had something else in mind entirely. Namely, she seemed eager to join me as a fellow runaway. But, how? How did she know I was going somewhere? She couldn't have heard about it from me. 

"I didn't invite you." 

"No, you didn't." 

She sounded almost angry in the way she said that. But why? 

"Oh, but I was invited", she quickly corrected me, her expression having returned to the same one she always had on her face. That certainly did seem like the only explanation; she couldn't possibly have known about this beforehand had no one invited her, in which case she wouldn't be standing before me right now. Sure, Nagafuji did have a way of always just showing up, but doing so right as I was about to head out? No way. That would've been way too big of a coincidence. The only way any of this made sense was to assume that someone had called her here. 

As to who that someone was, let's just say that I had a pretty good hunch. I shifted my gaze to my side, only to find Enome smiling at me while wearing the same apron she always did. 

"Like I said, I was making preparations." 

"Huh?" 

"I figured her presence was the most important thing to include." 

Instinctively, I could feel myself taking a step backwards. It was as if her words had formed a mallet which had then slammed right against my heart. A desire to lash back, to rebuke what the woman had said filled my mind. I was just about to open my mouth, but right in that moment, I found myself wondering, was that actually the smart thing to do? Was it a step towards light, or one towards darkness? Unsure, I decided to play it safe and ended up saying nothing at all. 

As you could see, there was a lot going on in my mind at the best of times. 

Looking mighty satisfied with herself while at the same time totally ignorant to any of this, Nagafuji gave my head a light smack. 

It kinda pissed me off. 

But, who cared. 

"This doesn't at all feel like I'm running away from home anymore." 

"Does that matter? Personally, I think going on a trip would be much more fun", Enome responded showing little hesitation. I was about to say something again, but coming to the same exact conclusion as the last time, I ultimately ended up getting inside the car in total silence. 

And so, the thirteen-year-old me decided to borrow her family's strength and use it to spread her wings. 

The only question was, where was I heading? 

In no ways had I been expecting this idea to result in a trip with Nagafuji when I'd first come up with it. What had been the last time we'd gone somewhere together? The school trip in grade school? Honestly, that might have been it. 

We'd gone to Kyoto that time. Of course, Kyoto was a bit too far away to reach with a car. 

"Where are we heading?" Enome asked me while starting up the car. That was a good question. 

What spread before me was still the same old town I was more than used to seeing. 

"Right..." 

I'd never expected to be running away from home the same day I brought the topic up with Enome, and as such, I had nothing even resembling a plan prepared. To that point, very little about this had gone the way I'd thought. I instinctively turned to Nagafuji for support. She'd just finished taking of her glasses. 

"Have any place in mind you'd like to go to?" 

"Hmm. Your home, I guess." 

"Dumbass." 

She really did like it at our place, didn't she? I suppose we'd both been born into wrong homes. That said, I also had no desire to see what sort of person she might have grown into living there. That was simply not the Nagafuji I knew. 

There was something about the idea of me not knowing things about her that made me feel slightly flustered. 

Then again, everything being the same all the time did lead to stagnation, so there was always that to consider. 

Again, a pretty complicated topic, huh? 

"Between the sea and the mountains, which do you want to go visit more? Pick one." 

Feeling unable to decide by myself, I ended up turning to Nagafuji for help. As for her, she showed no such hesitation. 

"Sea..." 

"Okay." 

"...food." 

Let's just ignore that last part. 

"She says she wants to go see the sea." 

"Roger that", Enome responded over her shoulder. 

I was aware of how little sense it made for Nagafuji to be the one deciding where I was going. 

Somehow, it just so happened that we were always heading into the same direction. 

"I know I should've asked sooner, but is it really okay for you to be here? Like, don't you have work to do back home?" 

"There are other maids besides me. Moreover, the Mistress said she'd be taking over my portion." 

"Wow." 

Wait... Huh? 

"Mom knows how to do housework?" 

"She does not." 

While Enome didn't turn her head this time, I could still hear her giggle to herself. 

There was something about her laugh that stroke me as very genuine. 

"Keh keh keh." 

"This isn't a competition." 

Nagafuji's laugh on the other hand than came across more strange than anything. Approximately a second later, she'd already turned around to stare through the window as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened. I had a look outside myself, only to once again be met by familiar scenery. How far would I have to travel to make the "Hino" inside me fade away? 

"Actually, what way is the ocean?" 

I decided to ask Enome this to make sure she knew where she was driving. I suppose there were only two real options given where in the country we lived, those being north and south. 

"I didn't look it up. But, I do know of an inn. That's where I'm heading. I just hope they haven't closed shop yet..." 

"An inn?" 

"Yes, one near the ocean. I stayed there once years ago." 

"...And what if they have closed down?" 

"I'll think about that when the time comes." 

Once again, I could hear Enome laugh while simultaneously not moving a muscle. 

I guess that was fine. Given that I was supposed to be running away here, it would've been pretty strange for everything to be perfectly planned out. 

Leaving the matter at that, I snuggled up in my seat and got comfortable. 

I could feel my arms being grasped by feelings of drowsiness as the darkness of the night swallowed me whole. 

To cut to the chase, the inn turned out to still be there. An inn, at least. 

"No, no. This is all wrong." 

Apparently, the thing had been so old that they'd had to rebuild it at some point. Enome looked pretty shocked to say the least. 

The two of us found ourselves sitting down on a bench inside the lobby as we waited for Enome to finish booking us a room. The whole time, Nagafuji had the widest grin on her face. 

"Are you really having that much fun?" 

"Very good, thanks." 

How did that response connect to the question I'd asked her? As was often the case with Nagafuji, it really didn't. 

Anyway, we then carried our bags inside before deciding to go on a walk to see the ocean before it got too dark to do that. 

Never before in my life had I visited the ocean during wintertime. Whenever I thought about it, the two words that always came to mind were "blue" and "summer", neither of which existed anywhere to be seen on the sandy beach we walked down. All that did was the following blunt remark delivered by Nagafuji: 

"My feet are getting cold." 

You could see her entire body shiver as she said that. All she had on was a skirt, and if I had to guess, that probably played no small part in why she felt so cold. And yet, she still had it in her to run around the beach like a kid, giving me the impression that there was something about the sound or the texture of the sand—or both—that she found great joy in. It went without saying, but I didn't join her. Neither did Enome. No, we were far too busy staring at the ocean of the night. 

With no provocation of any kind, I went ahead and laid my mind open to her. 

"I wanted to give some thought to both my home and my family. Of course, I couldn't do that while I was still there." 

My whole motive for coming here had been to get somewhere I could breathe in fresh air, relax my head and shoulders, and perhaps then I'd be able to look at things in new light. While a good plan in theory, sadly, it seemed that it wouldn't be coming to fruition. 

"I feel like I'm not going to get a lot of time to think with Nagafuji here." 

Despite being a master at spacing out, the one thing she couldn't do was calm down. Moreover, that influence of hers was quick to spread to those around her—myself included. The contents of our minds couldn't have been any more different, although at the same time, perhaps it was a good thing that she was here. That was something I found myself thinking about while staring into the deep darkness spreading before me. Were I by myself right now, no doubt would my thoughts have ended up forming a hole which the water would then have rushed to fill, pulling me beneath the waves. 

"What would you say about calling it here and getting a bath ready?" 

"Right. Let's do that." 

Meanwhile, Nagafuji continued running down the beach like a dog that had been let off the leash. I couldn't help but spend a few moments chasing after her with my eyes. 

"So." 

"So so so." 

"So why did you get in too?" 

The room we'd gotten had come with its own bathtub. I had to say, much like the building itself, I found the workmanship on display here quite impressive. 

Of course, the tub was still much smaller than the one at our place. Of course. 

While that didn't bother me, what did was the extra reflection that could be seen in the water. 

By that, I was obviously referring to Nagafuji. She was here too. 

"Does that matter? The bath's plenty big for both of us." 

Really? That was her reasoning? I wanted to say something back, but before I could decide on the words, the heat got to my head and forced me to stop. 

Nagafuji had wasted no time jumping inside the tub. For her, randomly spraying some water at her head and body seemed to count as washing herself. Still, she sure did like taking baths, didn't she? Most of the nights she spent over at our place followed the exact same pattern of her bathing for too long, getting dizzy, and then collapsing in the corner of my room. 

Behind me, I could hear the sound of water being splashed. It was almost as if she was paddling or something. 

It seemed that this childhood habit of hers was still going strong. 

"Hey, Akira." 

"Yeah?" 

"You don't like your home?" 

You haven't noticed till now? 

That was what I wanted to say, but didn't. 

"No", I replied instead. It was Nagafuji I was dealing with here. It only made sense. "I really don't." 

"Hmm..." 

The way she nodded her head seemed very absent-minded, almost thoughtless. Then again, given that nothing about this had anything to do with her, I suppose that was only fair. 

"I see." 

"It's fine if you don't say anything." 

Using her head too much seemed like a quick way for Nagafuji to get dizzy again. Right as that thought crossed my mind, I could hear her getting up. I quickly turned around, only to see her marching towards me. I was about to open my mouth to say something, but before I could, she'd already sat down behind me. The smell of her skin accompanied by a strong sense of warmth and intimidation assaulted me as she leaned forward. 

"I'll wash your head for you." 

"Why?" 

As if doing so to answer my questions, Nagafuji's fingers stabbed against my skin. 

"Ouch!" 

It didn't actually hurt that much. No, the purpose of the scream was to hide my lack of ability to wrap my head around what was happening. That, and I guess there was a bit of pain mixed in there too. 

"Oh, sorry. Your head was closer to your hair than I thought." 

"That doesn't even make sense... Anyway, again, what are you doing?" 

"Hmm, hmm." 

Choosing not to answer, Nagafuji proceeded to stir up my head. Both inside, and outside. 

"You suck at this." 

"It's hard to know how to do it when it's not your own head." 

Huh. Honestly, that explanation kinda made sense. It wasn't like I'd myself ever washed someone else's head. If I tried doing it, maybe I would suck at it too? Perhaps. It was right there as I happened to look at myself through the mirror that I noticed something. 

"Wait... Why are you just churning through my hair? At least use shampoo." 

"Oh, right. I forgot." 

Just like that, Nagafuji grabbed a bottle of shampoo from nearby and spurted some of its contents on my head. 

I couldn't help but squint my eyes as the substance flowed down my hairline. 

"Hey." 

"Does it sting?" 

"In my eyes, yes." 

"Please raise your right hand if it starts hurting." 

"I'll be fine." 

Seriously, when was she going to get over the habit of having to say out loud every stupid idea that came to her mind? 

We spent the next few moments like that, with Nagafuji continuing to fiddle with my hair. She learned how much force she was supposed to use soon enough, and by the end of it, it no longer hurt at all. Occasionally, the shampoo she was rubbing into my head would form an especially large bubble which she'd then pop with a satisfied grin on her face. 

"Anyway... Why are you doing this?" 

"Hmm, no reason. I just wanted to." 

"I guess that's pretty like you." 

Ultimately, I ended up shrugging my shoulders and letting Nagafuji do as she pleased. She looked pretty happy. And if something made her happy—if something satisfied her—then that something for the most part couldn't be anything bad. That was my opinion regarding the matter. 

"You're kind of a weird person, huh, Nagafuji?" 

I had to imagine that there weren't many people out there capable of understanding me as well as she did. 

"Say, Akira. When was it that you started calling me Nagafuji?" 

She was in the process of pouring water over me as she said that. 

I waited for the sound of splashing to stop before replying. 

"Better question is, why haven't you started calling me Hino? You've gotta make sure to do that whenever it's not just the two of us." 

"Right." 

Were we growing more and more distant, or had we at last begun learning where we stood in life? 

Little by little, I could feel those uncertain thoughts start taking form. 

Once they finally became concrete, perhaps then I'd be to figure out their true nature. 

To discover what the feeling I felt towards Nagafuji was called. 

"You know, I also think about some pretty complicated stuff from time to time." 

"Oh, really?" 

"Wanna hear what I thought of just now?" 

"Huh? Just now?" 

"Hahaha", I laughed, all the while brushing my wet bangs up and to the side. 

Wiping my face clean of water felt like the days worth of dust that had been clouding my vision was finally coming off. 

I sat there for a moment, waiting. However, no answer came. 

"Aren't you going to tell me?" 

My eyes met with Nagafuji's through the mirror. She blinked once or twice before turning around and returning to the tub. 

"Hey." 

"Sorry, I forgot. Let me think about it some more." 

"Just give it a rest." 

"I'm pretty sure it had something to do with either squids or octopi." 

"You're going to turn into an octopus at this rate." 

Feeling just slightly dumbfounded, I walked over to her and got into the bath myself. 

A gentle bit of the water's warmth could be felt drifting about between us. 

The next morning, I was woken up by Nagafuji accompanied by a tomato. Both of those two things were hanging over me, creating a distinct set of shadows on my face. 

"I'm here for your wake-up call." 

"I didn't order one." 

Well, whatever. Who really cared? Thinking that to myself, I attempted to get up, only to be stopped by Nagafuji. 

"Hey." 

"What?" 

"You're in the way." 

Specifically, her face was so close to mine that were I to move an inch more, our noses would no doubt end up bumping together. Not only that, she was staring right at me. One of us was going to have to move to the side if we wanted to get out of this situation. Seeing how she clearly had no such intentions, I decided to do it for myself, only for her to perfectly mimic my motions, leaving us in the exact same position we'd been just moments earlier. 

"Weee." 

There was something about the small sound effect this movement of hers was accompanied by that really pissed me off. 

"Can't you just let me get up normally? Why do you have to make this a game too? Why did you even come wake me up in the first place?" 

"I was so bored waiting for you to get up on your own." 

"That's absolutely not an excuse even if you think it is." 

I waved my hand in her direction, causing Nagafuji to take a very exaggerated step backwards. There at last, I managed to lift myself up. The light that could be seen on the other side of the window let me know that it wasn't too early in the morning. 

"Also, Hino." 

"Yeah?" 

"You looked like you thought this was a tomato, but I'm afraid to inform you, it's actually an apple." 

Looking extremely proud of herself having been able to one up me, Nagafuji held the apple out and said "hello" in what I could only assume was meant to be the fruit's voice. 

"Shut up." 

"I'm Nagafuji. How do you do?" 

"I thought you were the apple." 

Now that I'd gotten dressed up, the question became how was I going to spend the rest of my time here before returning home. Thankfully, I ended up no having to think about that for long. 

"What would you say about going fishing?" 

That was what Enome suggested having returned to the room after being away for a moment. Fishing, huh? I found myself taking a quick look at the ocean. 

"I don't think I've ever done that before." 

"I've eaten stuff that's been fished if that counts." 

What a pointless remark. Let's just ignore it. As for Enome, she was smiling gently like she often did, and using that smile as my sole reason, I decided to go along with her plan. It wasn't like I had anything better to do. 

It was in that moment that I found myself wondering, what even was it that we'd come here to do? 

With breakfast out of the way, the two of us followed Enome to where the waves of the ocean smashed against the breakwater. In the middle of us walking there, Nagafuji all of a sudden noticed that she was missing her glasses, but after taking a quick look at me, she simply nodded her head and decided not to go back for them. 

The sky was still clouded like the day before, but every now and then, a few bits and pieces of the blue sky behind them could be seen peeking through. 

As was to be expected, the wind did grow quite freezing as we approached the waterfront. It was to a point where I honestly wouldn't have been the least bit surprised to see beads of hail soar through the air. And yet, even so, what we found there were a handful of people standing with fishing rods in hand. Silently, stoically, those souls stared at the sea. I followed their example, and soon enough, my eyes had been captured once more. 

In the distance, a small fishing boat could be seen floating about, the waves softly swaying it from side to side. 

It was not a ship I'd ever seen before. Of course not. And yet, there was still something about the sight that caused me to feel oddly nostalgic. 

We walked over to a spot with no people around before Enome handed us the pair of fishing rods she'd prepared. I had no clue how to hold such a thing, much less how to use it, prompting the woman to politely guide me along. 

"Do you like fishing?" 

"Not particularly. I'm just reciting what I was told back in the day", Enome stated back, all the while holding down her hair with her other hand to stop it from blowing in the wind. 

Back in the day? I couldn't help but wonder about that. Maybe she'd gone fishing when she'd stayed here all those years ago? That did seem like a plausible explanation. 

Distancing myself just a tiny bit from Nagafuji, I went ahead and cast my line into the ocean. We had a bucket full of water with us too, although somehow, I got the feeling that the thing likely wouldn't to be put to use today. Still, if against all odds I did end up catching even just a single fish, then I was definitely going to bring my catch home and eat it. 

The concept of catching something just to release it didn't sit right might me. Twice the effort for no reward. 

"I'm hoping to catch a conger eel", Nagafuji stated, all the while mindlessly waving her rod from side to side. She'd yet to catch anything. 

"Are there even any congers here?" 

I shifted my attention towards the vast ocean, so much deeper than any river. There were no sign of fish to be seen. No bubbles, no anything. 

"If not, then let's make that any old eel." 

"Somehow, I'm getting a pretty good idea of what you want to eat." 

I could also tell that the chances were her wish was not going to come true. 

Approximately ten minutes passed by. 

Having seemingly gotten bored of nothing happening, Nagafuji left her fishing rod with Enome and wandered off somewhere. This too was something I'd figured would probably happen. As for Enome, she did not begin fishing, but instead walked over to where I was standing. 

"That girl is surprisingly short-tempered." 

"You think so?" 

While I did feel like "short-tempered" wasn't quite the right word to use, nothing else really came to mind. Meanwhile, I could see Nagafuji picking up something in the corner of my eye. What was that? A broken fan? 

Hmm, no. Staring at it more closely, the thing clearly wasn't a fan. It looked more like... a boomerang? Had someone brought it here to toss it around but then forgot to take it back with them? That seemed like a logical explanation. While I was busy wondering about its origin, Nagafuji picked the lost toy up and held it right up to her face. She wasn't wearing her glasses, and I guess that explained why she couldn't see all that well otherwise. I found myself wondering, were her eyes really that bad? Moving on from that, why had she even picked up the boomerang in the first place? What was she planning on using it for? I wouldn't have to wait long for an answer, as after hastily giving the object a few quick brushes as if to wipe it clean from sand, she ran farther away till there were no people around her before tossing it into the air. 

The lack of snap she'd put into her throw ensured that the boomerang ended up crashing unceremoniously against the ground after just a few moments of flight without ever returning to her. 

While there was nothing wrong with what she was doing per se, it did seem obvious that she had no idea how it was meant to be done. 

The last glimpse I got of Nagafuji before I turned my head away was of her running to pick up the fallen toy like a dog chasing after a frisbee. 

Now then, enough about her. 

"Are you feeling cold?" Enome asked me, sounding genuinely concerned. Her torso and arms were shivering, giving me the impression that she certainly was. 

"I am. But, you don't need to worry. I'm used to it by now." 

That is good then, she stated jokingly. There was something very mysterious, almost picturesque about the way she stood there, staring at the sea all the while wearing an apron. Her haori flapping in the wind really gave the sense that we were witnessing the beginning of an adventure of some sort. 

Following the woman's gaze with my eyes, I could see that she was looking at the boat in the distance. 

"When you say you stayed here, were you by yourself?" 

Enome wasn't married. Or at least, she wasn't currently; whether she had been at some point in the past, that wasn't something I had any way of knowing. 

"I came with the Mistress. It was a week before she got married. That is to say, ages ago." 

Like grasping at memories drifting upon the sea, Enome shifted her gaze towards the horizon. 

She'd come with Mom? For some reason, I wasn't exactly shocked to hear that. 

"Were you the one who suggested it?" 

"No, your mother did." 

"That's... not surprising. She does love to travel, that woman." 

There were few extended holidays our family didn't spend overseas. And when I say "our family", I mean all of my brothers and their families included. I wouldn't blame anyone for mistaking us for some group of tourists on a package tour. 

To be completely honest, I found the amount of people a little exhausting. You could never get a moment's peace for yourself. Still, that was just how I felt. As for Mom, she seemed to enjoy the sort of atmosphere that came with that quite a bit. 

"Did you go fishing back then too?" 

"Indeed. Your mother said she wanted to give it a try." 

"And? Did you catch anything?" 

My question was met by Enome slowly shaking her head from side to side. 

"We did not. It was quite cold, and since it would've been a disaster for the bride to get sick a week before her wedding, we ended up only staying for a few moments." 

"Hmm." 

"We did, however, eat some fried fish back at the inn and pretended like that was what we'd caught." 

"...Really?" 

That sounded exactly like something Nagafuji might suggest. Maybe the world was actually full of dummies like her and I'd just yet to come across any of them? 

"Watching you stand there, I can't help but be reminded of the Mistress that day." 

"Right..." 

No doubt were the two of us further apart in terms of age than most other parents and their children. The majority of the outwards resemblance between had been rendered unnoticeable by the passage of time. That was to say, whatever it was that Enome saw in me, I couldn't see myself. It was only because she'd been there to witness both of us that she was able to make such a comparison. 

"......" 

Still, "Mistress", huh? That was what she always called her. Given their relationship now, I had to imagine that back in the day, the two had been on first-name basis. 

Never did Enome show the slightest bit of hesitation referring to her as such. 

"Are you happy you get to be with her?" 

I ended up giving my fishing rod a random sideways shake. The fish still weren't biting. 

Slowly, Enome shifted her gaze towards me before nodding her head in the softest way possible. 

"Of course. Why do you ask?" 

I had no idea what to say to that. The quick work the woman had made of my question left me utterly speechless. 

What she'd thrown at me, I struggled to catch. 

Eventually, the cold winter wind did cause me to mumble out something. 

"It's like... I'm not sure how to say this, but Mom's married with Father now." 

The thoughts filling my head appeared completely fragmented, barely connected. Mom and Enome had to have been very special to one another to still be together after all those years. More special than anyone else in the world. Despite this, it was Father who Mom ended up marrying. She built a family with him. And yet, even after that, the two still remained side by side. It was... I wasn't sure what I was supposed to think. Take Nagafuji for an example. If she were to ever prioritize someone over me like that, then... Then I suppose that'd be similar. Maybe. The harder I tried wrapping my head around the matter, the less sense it made to me. 

Those feelings, those questions, they simply wouldn't fit inside a neat little box. 

"Right", Enome nodded. Whereas I myself was having a difficult time grasping what it was that I was attempting to say, she appeared to have seen straight through me. 

A lone blood vessel could be seen running down the dried-up back of the woman's hand as she held it against her cheek. 

"We talked about it for long, and in the end, came to the conclusion that this was the most realistic way for us to stay together." 

Right as those words left her mouth, I could feel the tip of my fishing rod twitch. That turned out to be an illusion; there were no actual fish there. 

"The Mistress cannot abandon her family name, nor can she escape the responsibilities that come with it. I have been aware of those two facts since the day we met. I suppose you could call it a prerequisite of sorts." 

The expression on the woman's face was tinged with nostalgia. She was clearly reminiscing about the past, about how it had all begun. 

I suppose that when all you had were pleasant memories, you could always find joy in peering back to them. 

Whenever she talked about Mom—with Mom—that was what she looked like. Happy. 

"That was her decision as a bearer of the name Hino. However, as an individual, it is true that your mother wished to spend her life with me. I felt the same way, which is why yes, you could say that I am quite satisfied." 

"...Right." 

Why was it that in the short span of time between her statement and my answer, the image of Nagafuji's face ended up appearing in my mind? 

Sure, I would probably have no trouble finding her were I to have a look around, but that was still no reason for her to be in my head too. 

She sure got around, didn't she? I couldn't help but laugh a little. 

Little by little, that laugh grew tinged with the darkness of the winter. 

"So, that's what it was like with Mom." 

"Hmm?" 

"Unlike her, the family apparently doesn't need me to survive." 

I had plenty of older brothers who could play that part. 

"Correct." 

"So then, what does that leave me with? What is my role?" 

I had been the last of my siblings to be born. 

What reason did I have exactly to remain stuck at home? 

"That is something that depends not on yourself, but on those around you", Enome stated shiftily. The way she spoke sounded much more casual this time, leaving me with the impression that she hadn't given her words much thought. "From my perspective, you are the child of a person very dear to me. I want us to be on good terms, on friendly terms. Do you perhaps feel differently?" 

"No, it's not that..." 

Again, what was I supposed to say here? The words just wouldn't come to me. My wavering voice was quickly swallowed by the wind. 

Enome on the other hand showed no such hesitation. She spoke so very gently, yet her words still had no difficulty reaching me over the sound of the ocean. 

"There is no need for you to trouble yourself by thinking too hard about who you are. Others will decide that for you, whether you want them to or not. Now, if you're still not satisfied with the conclusion, then that will be the time to act." 

"Hmm..." 

Just like that, the full force of my teenage worries had been dealt with, swept away. 

I couldn't help but admire the woman: Adults sure were something else. 

Well, some of them were at least; comparing her to Father, the two couldn't have been more different. With good came the bad, I suppose. 

"You're a really good talker, Enome." 

"Anyone is compared to the Master." 

"Agreed." 

"Have the fish been biting?" 

It was Nagafuji who asked that, having returned to us after seemingly getting bored of running around in circles. Her timing was so close to the natural end point of our conversation that I found myself wondering if she'd perhaps done it on purpose. Could she have really? Hmm, no. Probably not. Nagafuji was not that sort of a person. 

Speaking of, she was still carrying the boomerang I'd seen her pick up earlier. 

"Let's see what you've caught", she stated while peering into the bucket. It went without saying, but there was nothing but water inside. 

This was apparently hard for Nagafuji to believe as immediately after, she proceeded to shake the thing from side to side. 

Done with that, she then gave my shoulder a light tap. 

"I guess you can't expect too much of a first-timer." 

This was more the kind of a person she was. 

"If you don't want the bucket to be empty, then why don't you shove your foot in it or something?." 

"Oh? Why didn't I think of that?" 

Whereas my suggestion had been clearly a joke, Nagafuji seemed to be taking it completely seriously. Wait, or was she joking too? She had to be, right? That was the conclusion I came to, only for her to in the next moment hunch down next to the bucket. Then, as if to try it out, she submerged the index finger of her right hand into the water. This was followed by her quickly pulling her arm away. 

"I don't think I will. It's really cold." 

"Aren't you acting smart today." 

"Fish are kinda amazing to be able to live in water this cold." 

"My, how amiable." 

Nagafuji—known for her inability to detect sarcasm—didn't react to my comment. What she did instead was get back on her feet, followed shortly after by her gripping my hair. That wasn't the only part of my body she had her way with; she tapped my back and pushed down on my shoulders, too. What was she doing? The answer was obvious: Killing time. 

"Go away." 

"But you look so bored just standing there." 

"...Why do I get the feeling you're never going to learn to understand the joys of fishing?" 

Not that I was still quite there myself. 

While we ended up not catching anything, I did on multiple occasions feel like something was biting. 

Soon enough, time came for us to leave. I found myself taking one last look behind me before we went. 

There, staring at the ocean, a thought crossed my mind: Even when staying still, even when not moving from where you were, the passage of time could still cause you to experience new things. 

That was how I saw Nagafuji and myself. How I'd always seen us. 

"Shall we drop by the meat store first?" 

"Ah, no. It's fine, it's fine. I can wait", Nagafuji stated back in a manner far more generous than how she usually acted. Had she matured just a tiny bit? I couldn't help but feel a little impressed. 

We were currently discussing what route to take home. 

"Stop pretending to be polite. There's no need for you to put on airs." 

"Hmm? But I'm not pretending, though?" 

The expression that formed on her face was one of confusion. It was as if she had no idea what I was talking about. 

What was I supposed to say back to that? The conversation didn't feel like it was going anywhere. Then again, when wasn't it like that with Nagafuji? 

It was only when the car pulled to a stop in front of our place that I came to understand the meaning behind her words. 

"Alright. Now, I think I'm going to spend the night over at your house." 

"No, you're not. Go home." 

Needless to say, my words had no impact on Nagafuji. She proceeded to exit the vehicle before lining herself up next to me. 

"Wait, what? You're being serious?" 

"Of course. I already stayed at the inn for one night, so might as well do it again." 

Why did she sound so proud of herself saying that? I couldn't tell you. I turned around to look at Enome, only to find the woman giggling to herself. 

"Hmm... Well, whatever. I guess it's fine." 

It was Sunday anyhow. Plus, were Nagafuji to go home now, that'd only leave me bored and without anything to do. 

With that, all three of us wound up walking inside together. The person who greeted us there was the one I'd expected to see the least: my father. 

"We have returned", Enome reported, to which Father responded in the form of stroking his chin. 

"I need to talk with you. Come here for a second." 

Like usual, the man skipped past all formalities and went straight to the point. His footsteps as he walked away were silent, too. 

"Oh..." 

Had this exact same scenario not played out once before? It certainly felt like it had to me. 

"I guess I should go then", I mumbled to Enome. Was Father angry at me or something? For running away? Hmm, no. Probably not. Thinking about it some more, that really didn't make much sense. 

Moreover, what part of this even counted as me running away anymore? 

"Could you take my stuff to my room?" 

"Of course." 

I handed my bags over to the woman. With my shoulders—and only my shoulders—feeling just slightly lighter, I took off my shoes as well. 

A sensation similar to how my hair felt after a bath stroked my cheek as I turned to face the direction Father had walked into. 

Thud, thud. 

"Hmm." 

Step, step. 

"You stay right there." 

In more ways than one, no conversation was going to happen were she to come with me. 

I placed my hand against Nagafuji's stomach and gave her a push. This was followed by Enome wrapping her hands around her from behind and dragging her away. 

"No! I'm innocent!" 

Despite her senseless act, Nagafuji didn't really put up much of a fight. 

The two of them were now gone. As for the bags I'd given Enome, well, those were still sitting there in the middle of the hallway. My attempt at pushing the job onto someone else had only resulted in twice as much work for me. 

"Seriously, what's up with her?" 

The way she always acted was like the mascot character of a park or something, just without any of the humour. 

Struggling to put a name onto the emotions I was experiencing, I turned around for good this time and followed Father to the room in the back. 

Just like the other day, the man was sitting there waiting for me, his back as straight as a plank. Moving his eyes alone, he prompted me to sit down. All of my brothers really did resemble him. Their stern expressions, they were one and the same. As for me, I personally didn't think I looked at all like Mom. 

Was that because she was a pure-bred Hino girl? Probably. 

The words Father spoke to me as I took a seat in front of him were not at all the ones I'd been expecting to hear. 

"Did you have fun?" 

I couldn't help but feel a little shocked. Normally, the man never wasted his time engaging in such casual conversation. 

"I did, yeah." 

It'd been less me running away and more Nagafuji and I just hanging around, but even so. 

In the end, perhaps that was what I'd wanted the most. 

It was how I'd lived my life so far, so maybe. 

"I see." 

That was all Father said back to me. For better and worse, he didn't seem to have any intentions of continuing the conversation from there. 

I decided to not say anything either. What was the point when I was just going to be met by an equally short response? 

"So... Was that all?" 

Even though I'd never told her to do so, Nagafuji was still probably waiting for me. 

"Right", the man nodded his head. This was followed by his eyes narrowing just slightly. "You mother got very angry with me." 

"...Huh?" 

"How did she put it again... Apparently, I'm lacking in words." 

The sight of Father saying those words struck out as quite unusual to me. For one, his eyes were closed. The way he spoke also sounded very soft, almost defected. 

It was during moments like these that you could really see the resemblance between him and my brothers. 

"That's why I'm doing this now. Talking with you." 

"Right..." 

"Out of all my children, you are the one who resembles me the most." 

Was this what Mom had meant by him lacking in words? No, probably not. That said, I did find his actual statement a bit odd as well. Were we really that similar? If anything, I would've thought the opposite. It was difficult for me to stop myself from tilting my head to the side. 

"Really? As in?" 

"As in, we are both unable to fully adapt to this house." 

Little emotion could be heard in the man's voice. Whereas my shirt came close to slipping off my shoulders, he appeared completely unperturbed. 

"I can't remember if I've talked with you about this or not, but I wasn't originally part of this family." 

"Right. What was it again? You were made a member when you married Mom?" 

"Something like that. Close enough. The exact details don't matter." 

It seemed that if nothing else, we at least had the fact that we hated explaining things in common. 

"I have lived my entire life for the sake of the Hino family. I might dislike the plain food, the forced smiles, but knowing that I chose this path for myself, I have no complaints." 

Again, the man sounded very dispassionate in the way he spoke. Only when talking about the food did his voice rise ever-so slightly. 

I found myself nearly bursting into laughter. 

Of course, I didn't actually do that. This was a serious conversation we were having here. 

"I wish for you too to live in a way true to yourself." 

"......" 

What a generic, plain piece of advice I'd been offered. 

Then again, knowing Father, he'd probably spent a really long time thinking about it. 

It was for that reason I decided I ought to take his words to heart. 

"Got it." 

Once again, the man responded by nodding his head. 

"That is all." 

He then got up. 

"Let your mother know I talked with you." 

With those words, he turned around and walked away. 

Tell her yourself, I mumbled silently. 

"Seriously, what was all that about?" 

I felt exhausted. Even then, a part of me wondered, did what we'd had really count as a conversation? 

Father certainly seemed to believe so. 

"Mom or him. Which one do I resemble?" 

What a thing to even ask. The answer was obviously "both". 

Of course I resembled both of them. I was their child, after all. 

I was a Hino girl. 

For a moment, I considered lying down right there on the floor and going for a nap, but deciding that I probably shouldn't, I instead forced myself back on my feet. 

I had someone waiting for me. With that in mind, I too left the room behind. 

I was in the middle of running down the hallway when I remembered I'd been specifically told not to do that because it made too much noise. I remembered that, and yet, I didn't stop. 

"Ah, welcome back." 

The sight which welcomed me as I returned to my room was that of Nagafuji sorting out her luggage. It appeared that she was currently in the process of picking out her clothes for the day. 

She'd been planning on spending the night here from the start, hadn't she? 

"Did your Dad yell at you, Hino?" 

"No, not really. I don't think I've ever even seen him angry." 

The same went for him being happy, too. I suppose strong emotions one way or another just weren't his thing. 

Appearing relieved by me showing up, Nagafuji went ahead and took off her glasses. It was there that I noticed she was munching on something. 

"What do you have in your mouth?" 

"Candy. I was told to suck on this and be a good girl, so I did just that." 

"Are you a child or what?" 

Well, yes. That was exactly what she was. Us thirteen-year-olds were still very much children, powerless, unstable. 

Our minds were full of questions we had no choice but to find answers to. 

Then again, I suppose that was something that never changed no matter how old you got. It was simply how people were. 

"Say, Nagafuji." 

Having taken a seat, I shifted my attention towards Nagafuji. A part of her cheek still appeared bulgy. 

"Hmm?" 

"You and me..." 

Are we going to stay together for as long as we live? 

That was what I was about to say. However, finding it exceptionally embarrassing, I ended up stopping myself before the words could leave my mouth. 

"Me and you?" Nagafuji repeated, all the while drawing closer to me. Though we'd used to be around the same height once, that was starting to no longer be the case at all. 

Was I bound to spend the rest of my life looking up to her? 

There she was, right in front of me. She was always there. 

Hmm... Something like that, at least. The words I'd decided on didn't quite carry the meaning I'd wanted them to. 

"So then, what do you wanna do now?" 

"Right, right." 

Multiple pieces of candy could be heard rattling inside her mouth. Just how many had she eaten at once? 

"I think I'm going to play with you." 

"Huh?" 

"Let me play with you!" 

With that, Nagafuji leapt towards me. As for me, I ended up jumping out of the way. It was as if we'd done this before. Nagafuji wasn't planning to give up just yet, however, and mere moments later, she'd already gotten herself ready for another attack, only for me to once again evade her assault. Was someone going to get angry at us if we kept going? Would they yell, ask us what on earth were we doing? Probably. The thought of that happening made me laugh. 

If this truly was the way forward I'd chosen for myself, then at that point, all I could do was laugh. 

Maybe I should just stick to it in that case? It was how I'd lived my life so far. What I'd chosen to ignore all other possible paths forward in favour of. 

My eyes ended up meeting with Nagafuji's. There, staring at her, I found myself pinching her bulgy cheeks and twisting them around. 

"I hope you're ready." 

My worries, they'd vanished into the air.