The next morning, we left the Village of Bandai to head for the region of Chikasue. Gōjun's father apparently owned a cottage in the region and it was situated by the side of a lake.
Tsubasa-sama informed us that she had asked the man- whom I learned has for name, Kenren- for his permission before we left on the trip, and that he has given her the key.
We arrived at the cottage sometimes before noon.
I was amazed by the view that we had from the living room. The lake was really close to the cottage, hardly a hundred meters away. Upstairs, there were four bedrooms and each of us took one for ourselves.
Tsubasa-sama proposed that we make a picnic by the side of the lake to eat our lunch all together, and I was more than delighted by the idea. We didn't wait too long to grab a few things and rush for the lake to sit ourselves down on a cloth we had laid out on the grass.
The place was so serene. So quiet. The air so fresh. It was like being inside the portrait of a panorama!
'Well, let's see what we've got!' I declared, cheerfully, as I uncovered the basket of food. 'We have canned sardine. Onion. And tomatoes. I could make a salad with these!'
Picking the canned sardine up, I was about to open it when, unexpectedly, Gōjun stopped me, stating, 'Let me do it! You're going to hurt yourself!' And taking the can from my hand, he pulled the lid off for me.
What's up with him?
I stared at his face, blushing a little.
'Thank you,' I whispered, shyly, when he handed it back to me.
***
A smile came to Shunsui Shigeizumi's face as he observed his friend and the dark-haired girl.
Things were working out just like he had hoped for.
Unbeknownst to him, he was himself being observed by a certain blonde woman.
Tsubasa Shigeizumi followed the reddish-brown-haired young man's eyes onto Gōjun Shoran and Hime Kirigakure for a second, before she looked at her son again, a cocky smile coming to her lips.
Eh….?!
She had no difficulty to understand now what her son was up to. She told herself that hadn't dreamed after all the other day when she had seen him place Gōjun's hand over that of the dark-haired girl on the bed.
'Oh, you're so cute!' she exclaimed, cheerily, jumping at the reddish-brown-haired young man's neck to rub her cheek against his affectionately.
Shunsui gave her a puzzled look. 'Huh, what's wrong with you?'
The woman didn't answer and simply covered her mouth to chuckle to herself, with great gaiety.
***
In the meantime...
Hiyori Miyatsu frowned at the ground as she walked side by side with Yūsei Nishoji and Natsui Mizoroge.
A funfair, huh?
When she had arrived at the park earlier this morning, it was to find the blond-haired male helping the ginger-haired girl practice for a Kagura dance, and this had unnerved her like nothing else before. The two were interacting with each other so chummily, and the worse was that the young man didn't seem to be thinking too much about her presentation of Natsui- only the day before- as someone unfaithful in her relationships.
Hiyori almost feared that the blond male has caught her lie, but very quickly reassured herself by concluding that if he had, he would have already confronted her about it by now. And even if this was something to rejoice about, she was peeved to learn that there would be a funfair at the local shrine on Saturday and that her ginger-haired cousin would not only perform a Kagura dance, but has also invited the blond male in person to the funfair.
'Hiyori, are you coming to the pizzeria with us today as well?' Yūsei inquired.
They were in the park, heading in direction of the gate.
'No-No,' she answered, distractedly.
They had already taken lunch, and were just done eating a yogurt as desert.
'Oh, you stay here! I'm going to throw them away for you!' the blond male declared to the girls, and taking the empty plastic containers from them, he half-ran to the dustbin situated a small distance away to dispose them off, alongside his own.
Just as they were waiting for him to return, suddenly, the two girls' attention were captured by a small group of children, who were holding themselves close-by, throwing pebbles at a tree.
'What's going on?' Natsui asked them, as she approached them, and lifting her head up, she saw that their football was stuck on one of the branches of the tree.
One of the kids decided that he would climb into the tree to collect the ball, but the ginger-haired girl stopped him, telling him that he could fall and get himself injured.
'Wait for me here! I'm going to bring it down for you!' she told them, with a kind smile, ruffling one of the girls' head, and on these words, she started to climb onto the tree, being very careful of where she was putting her feet.
The tree was not very tall, but the problem was that the branch on which the ball was stuck was quite thin. She knew that if she- or one of the kids had- placed one foot on it, it would break and she'd fall down. Perching herself onto a solid branch instead, she tried to reach out for it. But it was too far away for her to have a proper grip on the ball. Her fingers were barely grazing it.
Hiyori Miyatsu, who was standing at the foot of the tree, was watching the ginger-haired girl, with a malicious smile coming to her lips. She could not have hoped for a better opportunity!
'Maybe, we should shake the tree!' she declared, in a small giggle, and everything went very rapidly after that.
Natsui only managed to glimpse down at the dark-haired girl in alarm, but even before she could open her mouth, Hiyori had already put her words into action and shaken the tree, causing her to lose her balance.
The ginger-haired girl went down like a nine-pipe, and instantly, her hands shot down to hold one of her ankles, her face red with pain.
Yūsei, who had seen Natsui climb up the tree from the distance and was hurrying to join the two girls, ran even faster to catch up with them.
'Hiyori, what took over you?!' he snarled at the latter, as he got down on the floor by Natsui's side.
The dark-haired girl gasped in shock, taking an involuntary step backward.
The look that the young man was giving her…
Did he caught me smiling?
'Natsui, I'm really sorry!' she said to the ginger-haired girl, rapidly, faking worry and guilt. 'Are you alright?'
'Stay away from her!' Yūsei shouted at her, as she tried to approach the girl, who was in pain.
Hiyori stopped dead and covered her mouth with her hand as she let out another gasp.
There was no doubt now that the blond male had caught the expression on her face when she had shaken the tree, and the lingering smile on her lips following the ginger-haired girl's fall.
Her heart accelerated with panic.
She was uncovered!
It was clear that the blond male was absolutely convinced that she did it intentionally; that she wanted Natsui to fall and injure herself.
What explanation could she give to him? What could she say to rectify the shot?
Nothing came to her mind, and disheveled, she backed away by a few steps and turned around to run away.
Yūsei, immediately, looked down at Natsui, who was still holding her ankle with her hands, and was now sobbing, her expression just as disheveled.
'Oh my god! I really hope that it's only a sprain! I can't afford to have a broken ankle!'
'Natsui, please, calm down! I'm going to take you to a doctor! I'm sure that it's only a sprain. You'll see! By Saturday, you should be alright!'
'No! You don't understand! I can't afford to take hours off work! I just can't!'
Yūsei's eyes widened at her. He wanted to question her about the reason behind it, but it was not the right time for that.
'Mister! Mister!' one of the kids exclaimed, drawing closer; his friends and he having witnessed the whole scene. 'My father is a doctor. His clinic is only close-by. Let's take your girlfriend there. He'll treat her.'
Girlfriend?!
Yūsei's cheeks took a shade of red, and despite the pain in her ankle, Natsui couldn't help but blush too.
'Come! I'm going to show you the way!' the little boy told them, and avoiding the ginger-haired girl's eyes in embarrassment, the blond-haired male helped her to her feet and sent one of his arms around her waist to help her walk.
The clinic was on the other side of the street, just opposite of the gate of the park. The father of the little boy was a kind man and he admitted them in on the spot.
'You'll be glad to know that there's no fracture,' he announced, as he was examining the ginger-haired girl's X-Ray. 'It's only a sprain! You should be able to walk normally within one week.'
'Alright! Thank you, doctor!' Natsui told him, filled with relief. 'How much do I owe you?'
'Nothing at all,' he answered, as he turned to face the teenaged girl, where she was sitting on the examination table, to give her a smile. 'My son has explained to me what happened. If you had not climbed on the tree at that moment, he would have done it and he might have ended up injured instead.'
Turning back to his desk, then, the man picked up his pen to write her a prescription for the pain, after which, he accompanied the two young persons to the door.
They had walked for a few minutes down the pavement, before the ginger-haired girl took a look at the face of Yūsei, who was helping her to walk.
The blond male's eyes were set on the ground, his expression grave.
'Yūsei…' she murmured. 'About Hiyori...'
She left her words hanging, not really knowing what to say.
'No, don't say anything!' he told her, without looking at her.
This time, it was not a mere impression. He had noticed how the dark-haired girl's expression had fell when he had mentioned the funfair this morning. He had caught her expression in the park when she had shaken the tree. He had sensed her ill will towards Natsui. He was quite certain that the cousins' relationship with each other was not as good as Hiyori wanted him to believe.
Taking a glance at the ginger-haired girl then, he said, 'Natsui, about what you told me earlier in the park- that you can't afford to take time off work- I want you to know that, if you have any problems, you can share it with me. I feel close to you.'
The girl's eyes widened at him, her breath catching.
He feels close to me?
She held his gaze for a few seconds, before she looked down at the pavement, her feelings agitated as she thought of her brother. After a minute of hesitation, she decided to tell him about it.
'Do you remember the young man who came to the pizzeria yesterday? The one with ginger hair like me?'
Yūsei nodded in answer.
'Well, he's my older brother!'
His breath caught. He was overwhelmed with shock.
'He's your brother?!'
When I think about it… What did Hiyori tell me, and what the truth actually is! He thought to himself, and realized that he was right not to trust the dark-haired girl.
'Yes. His name is Hisashi. And he- he is someone extremely abusive!' she informed him. 'If I'm working so hard, it is because I hope to save enough money so that my mother and I can shift away to another apartment. But I know that it will cost a lot. Many landlords want rent for six months in advance. Not to forget the cost of transportation.'
'I see...' he whispered, afflicted by the expression of desolation that he could read on the girl's face.
'And do you know what is the saddest thing in the story? He had an example not to follow, but he still decided to follow in the steps of our defunct father. I can never forgive him for what he's doing to my mom and I.'
The young man looked back ahead of himself, his mind drifting off to his own older brother.
He would never have thought that the source of their anguish to both was connected to their respective older brothers, even though his case was quite different.
'Say, do you remember that I told you that I have an older brother?' he said, in a murmur.
'Yes...' Natsui replied, studying his expression.
The young man was staring at the floor again, with the same desolate look on his face as the one she had worn earlier.
'In fact, he's my step-brother. His name is Sōken,' he confided. 'I have never known my biological parents. I was still an infant when I was abandoned and placed in an orphanage. I was only five when I was adopted by Sōken's parents.'
The ginger-haired girl's eyes widened at him again.
He has been adopted?
'The Nishoji family forms part of the highest aristocracy, having links with ancient imperial households. My brother, Sōken, is ten years older than me. And even if he would always be cold to me and would never spare me a glance, I used to look up to him a lot. Our family was very strict, especially towards me, because I am not of the same blood; I had only been adopted into the family. It was our grand-father who was in charge of my education, and I have suffered from a lot of abuse on his part.'
He lifted his free hand to allow the sleeve of his jumper to fall down to his elbow to show her the scars that he still bore on his arms.
Natsui couldn't help but gasp.
'But I had always thought that I could count on Sōken, that when the time would come, he'd save me from our family. You know, I would often wonder why the Nishoji have adopted me, and I guess that it was because of Sōken's rebellious behavior. They knew that they might fail to bring him back into line. And, in effect, when he finished high school, he disowned the Nishoji and left the country to go and study law abroad. He left me behind, all alone, at the mercy of our family. He abandoned me to my plight, while he knew that things would get far worse for me after that.'
'You mean that...'
'Yes. After his departure, our parents- more particularly, our grand-father- put in even more... effort… in my education to compensate his "lost" as they called it. For many years, my life was a real torture and then, one day, I cracked and made a fugue. It was some two years ago. I couldn't take it anymore. That's when I was found by Naoyasu.'
He looked at her now to explain to her, 'Naoyasu Hanabusa is a family friend. I had never met him before that day at the police station. But I knew that Sōken and he had known each other very closely abroad at university. He, too, is a lawyer. And he took me in. I don't know what he told the Nishoji, but they allowed me to stay at his place and have left me alone for the last two years now.'
'I see...' Natsui breathed.
'And today, Sōken is back. I never thought that he'd return to the country someday. I don't think he intends to go back- he has bought a house in Kokubunji. He comes to visit Naoyasu every day. He feels guilty for having abandoned me, and wants me to forgive him and give him a place in my life…'
The ginger-haired girl held her breath.
'And, what are you going to do?'
The blond-haired young man frowned, his eyes filled with agitation.
'I don't know if I can forgive him. I tell myself that he has abandoned me and, therefore, today, he has no place in my life anymore. He has been able to live far away from me all these years, without thinking about me even once; there is no reason why it should change- he should be able to continue to live like he used to.'
Natsui lowered her eyes to look down at the pavement once again, pondering over that last part.
None of the two spoke for a long minute after that, until the young man decided that he didn't want to think about it anymore, and looking at the limping girl, he asked her, worriedly, 'Natsui, about the Kagura dance… Do you think you'll still be able to do it?'
Even if the ginger-haired girl was deeply reassured by the fact that the sprain would not affect her work drastically, she feared that it would not be possible for her to dance properly in these conditions. She couldn't practice with her limp, and the funfair was only two days away.
'I don't think so...'
'Are you going to inform Kirigakure about it?'
'No, not now,' she decided.
The girl had sounded quite terrified at the idea of dancing all alone, if not at the idea of dancing itself, and Natsui feared that she might decide to cancel the Kagura dance if she was told that she'd find herself dancing all alone. Natsui believed that it was wiser to wait until the last minute to inform her about it.
'I'll tell her on the day of the funfair,' she asserted, in a small giggle. 'I know how she is. She will panic and cancel the performance.'
Yūsei gave her a small smile, in response to this, before telling her, with a sorry look, 'I'm sorry that you can't perform.'
'Oh, it's okay...'
No, it's not okay… he thought to himself, his mind drifting back to Hiyori Miyatsu.
***
Meanwhile...
Sōken Nishoji and Naoyasu Hanabusa were sitting under the veranda, at the back of the latter's house, smoking a cigarette together. It has become their usual spot, other than the dining room.
'And so, how is it going?' the blond male inquired, keeping his eyes in the front.
'Exactly like I told you yesterday. And the day before,' Naoyasu answered, taking a large puff on his cigarette, his eyes set in the front too. 'He has found himself a part-time job at a pizzeria, and another one at the service station. He remains out of the house most of the time. He doesn't eat at home anymore, and comes back only to sleep. And he always remains very polite.'
Sōken lowered his eyes to look at his lap, sadly, apologizing, 'I'm sorry. I didn't want to make the situation uneasy between the two of you!'
The red-haired male looked at his friend on the spot, to tell him, fervently, 'Stop it! You know very well that you don't have to apologize to me about it!'
At this, Sōken turned his head to the side to gaze at the man, with a small smile coming to his lips in gratefulness for all that the latter was doing to help the two of them. Naoyasu didn't see the smile though. He had just stubbed the end of his cigarette, and was picking his box of tobacco up to take out another cigarette.
At that moment, Sōken brought the one that he was smoking to the red-haired male's mouth, giving him another smile.
The latter stared at him for a few seconds, his cheeks taking a shade of red, his heart fluttering in chest, before he reached up to hold the cigarette securely to his mouth, and turn his face the other way to hide the flush of color on his face.
Sōken giggled.
Thank you for reading!