Vol 3 Chapter 5 (1/2)

CHAPTER 5

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Yokozawa tossed his bag beside the bed, heading straight for the window which led onto the veranda and throwing it open to allow a strong breeze to spill into the room.

“Man, how many years has it been since I came to the beach?”

From the veranda he stood on atop this seaside resort hotel, he could glimpse the far horizon, and the sun shone down brilliantly from the utterly cloudless sky. Lowering his gaze, he caught the coastline in his field of vision, dotted with what looked to be hundreds of beachgoers.

Who’d have thought that he’d be able to enjoy such a picturesque summer vacation as this at the age of 28? Since joining the workforce, all of his ‘summer vacations’ had amounted to little more than the hour-or-so train ride each way between his apartment and his parents’ place.

But the entire reason he was where he was right now…was because he’d come along with Kiris.h.i.+ma and Hiyori on their family vacation.

While this ‘summer vacation’ had been causing him so much angst of late, he’d eventually been able to rather easily secure three straight days off. Just as Kiris.h.i.+ma had a.s.sured him, after consulting with his boss and coworkers, the others’ cooperation had allowed him to easily take time off.

They’d been extremely lucky to find two rooms in as nice a hotel as this during such a busy season—all thanks to managing to snap up s.p.a.ces that had been canceled at the last minute. They’d reserved two rooms with twin beds—try as Kiris.h.i.+ma might to persuade him that Hiyori wouldn’t mind at all, Yokozawa couldn’t bring himself to room with a prep.u.b.escent girl.

Sorata was staying with Takano, his former owner. Given what had happened between the two of them, the atmosphere between Yokozawa and Takano had been rather stilted and awkward for a period, but with time, feelings had gradually settled down. At this rate, things were bound to eventually go back to the friends.h.i.+p they’d shared when they’d first met.

And Yokozawa was convinced that the reason he was able to see things in such a positive light now…was all thanks to Kiris.h.i.+ma. He’d initially felt nothing but irritation when Kiris.h.i.+ma had forcibly dragged him out of his dreary days spent wallowing in self-pity, but now he was well and truly grateful.

Granted, it wasn’t like there were no painful feelings left within himself, and the wounds would likely never fully heal. But—that was all in the past as far as Yokozawa was concerned now.

Had he been an uninvolved third party, Yokozawa might have been shocked to learn how his feelings had changed in not even six short months—and truthfully, he was more than a little surprised himself. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d thought, “No way…”, but this did nothing to change the fact that his feelings for Kiris.h.i.+ma were growing day by day.

“…And I still haven’t gotten to ask him yet…”

While he ought to have have had a good dozen chances to address it, he’d yet to bring up the issue of Kiris.h.i.+ma’s ‘marriage interview’.

“So have you seriously been approached about a marriage interview?”

All he had to do was say something like that, casually and simply, but every time he tried to, his voice caught in his throat. He didn’t have much confidence that he’d be able to keep a straight face if Kiris.h.i.+ma admitted that it was true—nor could he imagine how he would react should Kiris.h.i.+ma attempt to give another vague response.

If someone had come to him with a problem like this, Yokozawa would’ve undoubtedly advised them to, “Man up and face them properly,” but he remained unable to broach the subject, frustration with his hesitation growing. That contradiction gave birth to stress, which in turn dragged him into a loop of ever deepening despair.

However, Kiris.h.i.+ma’s att.i.tude these days also played a large role in Yokozawa’s inability to broach the subject. Lately he’d worn a strange, conflicted expression whenever he checked numbers for incoming calls to his cell phone, and Yokozawa had noticed the guy even purposefully hiding his mail.

Kiris.h.i.+ma maintained that nothing was wrong, but if that were truly the case, he wouldn’t be behaving like this. He had to have something he didn’t want Yokozawa to see.

He’d tried checking with Hiyori and even casually consulting Katou, but it seemed that Yokozawa was the only one who had noticed anything strange with Kiris.h.i.+ma’s behavior of late. And while he didn’t trust himself, he didn’t suspect the guy was cheating on him. Kiris.h.i.+ma wasn’t so low as that, and if he’d truly found someone else he had feelings for…Yokozawa was certain he would tell him, upfront.

But he wanted to be there for him, somehow, if the guy was in trouble—but the fact that Kiris.h.i.+ma was acting as if absolutely nothing was wrong…meant he’d judged Yokozawa unreliable in this instance.

The more thought he put into the matter, the more depressed he became, and in contrast to the vast blue sky spreading out before him, Yokozawa’s heart grew steadily darker.

“…Guess I should get changed.”

He shook off the dark turn his thoughts were taking and forced himself to s.h.i.+ft his attention elsewhere. He didn’t have time to just s.p.a.ce out like this—they were supposed to head straight down to the beach now.

He unzipped his suitcase and pulled out a towel and swim trunks. It’d been too much trouble to worry about digging around in his old closet back at his parents’ place, so he’d gone out and bought a new pair of trunks and beach sandals. Try as he might to play it cool, he’d been a bit embarra.s.sed by how much he seemed to be looking forward to it, but it mattered little so long as Kiris.h.i.+ma didn’t find out.

Just as he was loading everything he needed into a plastic bag, the chime to his room sounded. “You ready yet, Oniichan??”

“I’ll be right there—wait just a second,” he responded with a bitter smile at Hiyori, who sounded like she couldn’t wait to get out. He slipped on a beach coat and grabbed the bag which held his lounge seat, exiting the room—where he found Hiyori wearing the adorable bathing suit she’d had her grandmother buy her before summer break and holding a beach ball.

“Sorry for the wait. Have you made sure you haven’t forgotten anything?”

“Yup, everything’s ready! Father helped me check!”

“And what’s that father of yours up to now?”

“He said he’d be right behind me, but…” Just as they turned their gazes to the room next to his, the door opened, and Kiris.h.i.+ma stepped out clad in swim trunks, a Hawaiian s.h.i.+rt, and a pair of sungla.s.ses—an outfit that wasn’t normal by any stretch of the imagination. Granted, the inner tube hanging off his shoulder lent him some air of domesticity, but it couldn’t dispel the overall sense of unease that hung about him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Took a little time to blow up the swim ring.”

“Sure you aren’t forgetting anything, Father? I’m gonna run on ahead and push the b.u.t.ton for the elevator!”

“Be careful not to trip!” Yokozawa called out worriedly as Hiyori dashed off for the elevator, obviously eager to get into the water. It was easy to catch one’s sandal and trip on the rug carpeting the hallway.

As he watched her retreat with worry in his voice, Kiris.h.i.+ma raked him up and down with a rude glance, disapproval thick in his voice. “You sure you look lame enough, there?”

“You sure you look gaudy enough, there?”

“Huh? You think? This is the outfit people usually wear at resorts, isn’t it? What—you want me to lend you some of my clothes? I’ve got another Hawaiian s.h.i.+rt in a different color.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to graciously decline. Why the h.e.l.l would I want to wear your clothes…?” Yokozawa seldom gave two s.h.i.+ts about what other people thought of his clothes, but a chill rippled through him at the mere thought of what they’d look like wearing matching outfits. More so, if he showed up wearing a Hawaiian s.h.i.+rt and sungla.s.ses to the beach…he was sure to be thought a mobster.

“You don’t think we should make it clear we’re a lovey-dovey couple head over heels for each other? We’re heading out to the beach in the middle of summer, you know. You might just find yourself gettinghit on.”

“Yeah right. And just who are you saying we should make that clearto?” He knew quite well that getting riled up would only serve to amuse Kiris.h.i.+ma even further, so the trick was to come off as dispa.s.sionate as possible in any response he gave.

“Why, everyone on earth, of course.” He shot a cold glare at the ostensibly serious Kiris.h.i.+ma and started forward. “What, you don’t believe me? You should know fully well I’m dead serious here.”

“Yes yes, of course. I get it.” He let Kiris.h.i.+ma’s teasing wash over him as he casually sauntered forward, catching Hiyori calling them from up ahead.

“Father, Oniichan! The elevator’s here now!”

“All right, all right! We’re coming, hold your horses!” At her urging, they picked up the pace. Perhaps more than being excited to go to the beach, she was simply thrilled they’d all managed to make it here together as a trio. The whole ride there, she’d gone on and on about how, “It would’ve been even more fun if Sora-chan could’ve come too!”

“Oniichan, have you put on sunscreen yet? Want to use mine?” She held out her tube of lotion to Yokozawa as they boarded the elevator.

“I haven’t put any one, but I’m not all that worried about getting burned.” He was already quite dark from all his time spent out and about on rounds, after all, and couldn’t imagine it would do any good to apply sunscreen now. The bits of himself hidden under his s.h.i.+rt were still fairly pale, but so long as he kept his clothes on, there shouldn’t be any problem.

“You oughta put some on. Want me to do your back?”

“I’m fine.” If he asked Kiris.h.i.+ma for such a thing, there was no tellinghow many miles he’d take from that inch given.

“I wouldn’t underestimate the beach sun, if I were you. What’re you gonna do if you’re bawling later about how much your sunburn hurts?”

“Who the h.e.l.l’s gonna be bawling? I’ll be fine so long as I keep my s.h.i.+rt on. What, are you telling me you actually put some on?”

“Sure did. I’m the type to burn to a crisp when I’m out in the sun, I hate it. Plus it’d be crazy awkwared to saunter in to meet authors who’ve been holed up in their rooms while clearly looking like I just had a ton of fun on vacation.”

“You editors sure do have it rough—but I don’t have to worry about that kind of thing, and I tan perfectly well.” After all, it could prove an effective conversation starter, and many of his coworkers were already dark from days spent out golfing. There was no reason for him to feel that put out.

“…Have it your way, but don’t come crying to me later.”

“Mind your own business; Hiyo! Let’s make sure to grab a spot on the beach first. Is there anything in particular you want to do?”

“Hmm—I wanna ride a banana boat! And then…”

He let Kiris.h.i.+ma’s warning flow in one ear and out the other, turning his focus instead to has.h.i.+ng out the day’s plan with Hiyori.

“All right, thank you for waiting! We have one mixed berry, oneujikintoki, and one pineapple mango for you. Be careful not to drop them, now!”

“Thanks!”

The young man working at the seaside shop pa.s.sed over their cups of shaved ice, and Hiyori merrily took them in both hands. They’d finally managed to purchase all three that they’d waited so long in line for.

“Hiyo—think you can manage to hold on to two of them at once?”

“Yup, I’ll be fine! Thank goodness it wasn’t sold out!”

“Indeed.”

Hiyori had been the one to choose all three flavors. When Yokozawa had reminded her that anything was fine with him, so long as it was cool, she’d chosen for him. Given that the treats were flavored with not just syrup but fruit topping as well, one false step that caused a loss of balance and the whole thing would come tumbling down. It seemed that the syrups for the seasonal flavors were sold out, but as the mixed berry flavor that Hiyori had been wanting to try was still available, all ended well.

“If we don’t hurry, they look like they’ll melt.”

“Ooh, we’d better get going then! Papa might just fall asleep waiting for us!” Hiyori had, of late, started to call Kiris.h.i.+ma, “Father,” but she still occasionally let her guard down around Yokozawa and slipped back into calling him, “Papa.” She likely still wasn’t quite used to the new name yet. Considering how it was actually quite adorable, this habit of hers, his mind drifted to Kiris.h.i.+ma who’d been sleeping beneath the parasol they’d rented.

“He’s been sleeping since we arrived, hasn’t he?”

Kiris.h.i.+ma had been placed in charge of watching over their things, opting for a nap over much swimming in the ocean. Yokozawa had been admittedly amazed he was able to fall asleep in such a hot location, but perhaps that just went to show how exhausted the guy had been.

“Well, Father seems like he was pretty busy this week…”

“You’ve got a point. He took time off for Obon, after all, so he was probably pus.h.i.+ng himself.” Before they’d set out on this vacation, Kiris.h.i.+ma had been working at full-throttle. He’d even asked his parents to look after Hiyori for days in a row, stating that he wouldn’t be home until late.

And of course, Yokozawa had been busy visiting his parents on the weekends and hurrying to finish up the work he needed to turn in after their vacation ended, so this was actually the first time the three of them had had a chance to relax and spend some time together since they’d visited that theme park before.

“I wonder…if it’s my fault? Since I was the one who said I really wanted to go on a trip together…”

“Well—he wasn’t working hard just for you, you know. It was because he wanted to go on a vacation himself—with you. It was the same for me, too. The whole reason I was able to work as hard as a I did to make this happen was because I wanted to come here with you.”

“Really??”

“Yup. I mean, look at how much he’s sleeping—he ought to be back to full strength soon, don’t you think? Let’s hurry up and get this shaved ice to him.”

“Right! Let’s go, Oniichan!”

“Watch out—hurrying’s fine and all, but don’t let your feet slip in the sand and trip you up.” But Hiyori only ran on, the shaved ice held firmly in both hands.

Because they’d arrived at the beach relatively late into the day, most of the really good locations had already been taken. As such, they’d had to settle down pretty far away from the beachfront shop they’d just visited, and ignoring Kiris.h.i.+ma—who’d decided to take an afternoon nap—Yokozawa had set off to play together with Hiyori. They’d been completely mistaken for father and daughter, but that was a h.e.l.l of a lot better than being mistaken for some creepy pedophile chasing after little girls, and he and Hiyori had exchanged glances every time she’d called him “Father” before collapsing into giggles.

They were planning on having a barbecue the next day, having realized that they could make reservations in advance and have all of the utensils and ingredients prepared for them ahead of time—quite convenient.

“Umm…excuse me, but…are you here alone?” Yokozawa found himself called out to as he stood there fondly watching Hiyori scamper off. As he turned to glance over his shoulder, he found a pair of brunettes, both with dark tans, standing near him. Their eyes were weighed down with dark eyeliner and false lashes, and they stared up as they batted their heavy lids at him.

“Oh—no, I’m not.”

“Then—are you here with some friends or…?”

“Ah, something…like that…”

They weren’t exactly his friends, but he didn’t feel the need to go out of his way to correct the misconception. Convinced the girls were simply trying to hawk some wares or something, he tried to shake them off, but he froze at the words that followed next: “Well, we’re here alone, actually, so…would you like to come grab a beer with us? We kinda brought too much with us~”

At the invitation, he finally twigged to the fact that they were hitting on him. Mentally shaking his head in disbelief, he politely declined the offer. “I’m sorry but—I’ve actually got a child with me, so I’ll have to be on my way.”

“Huh? A child? You’ve got a kid?!”

Hiyori was hardly his own child, but it wasn’t lying to say he was here with her. He gave a small nod before turning his gaze back to Hiyori who’d run ahead of him. She’d gained quite a lead on him while he’d been stuck here talking to these girls, and now there was a fair stretch between the two of them.

“Dammit…” He managed to spot her in the crowd and hustled to catch up with her—but just as he was about to call out to her to wait where she was for him, a group of people walking in the opposite direction b.u.mped into Hiyori.

“Kyaa!”

“Hiyo?!” At Hiyori’s scream and recoil, all of the blood in Yokozawa’s body rushed to his head. He shoved the shaved ice he held into the nearest trashcan he could find and rushed to her side. “Are you all right?!”

“O—Oniichan…” The gaze she turned upon him was steeped in worry, and he forced her up in an effort to calm her fears, checking her over for b.u.mps and bruises.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine—but the shaved ice…”

Yokozawa cast his gaze about them, only to find that the shaved ice had been completely spilled when she’d used both hands to keep herself from falling forward. While most of it had been spilled onto Hiyori herself, a bit of syrup had splashed onto one of the group’s t-s.h.i.+rt.

“Hey, old man—’s this your kid? What’re you intending on doing about this? She got it all over me!”

“Ah, but I…”

“You trying to make excuses, brat?!”

“Kyaa!”

Yokozawa hid Hiyori behind himself, where she stood cowering. The group standing before them were young men who still had some youth from their childhood left in their faces—but while they may have looked like children for the most part, they were obviously behaving like little punks. Just a bunch of spoiled local middle- or high-school brats.

Their haphazardly bleached hair was clearly damaged, and their ears were full of several piercings each. It was sheer luck that Hiyori hadn’t been caught by one of the cheap-looking accessories gaudily decorating their wrists.

“And who the h.e.l.l are you?”

“This kid b.u.mped into us and spilled s.h.i.+t all over my s.h.i.+rt! You’re gonna take responsibility for it, right?”

“Huh? You‘re the ones who b.u.mped into her. You’re supposed to do the apologizing here,” Yokozawa returned, attempting to intimidate the snotty brats trying to pick a fight, and while they did quell a bit, they continued to cling to their claim.

“That’s some nerve you’ve got when you didn’t even see what happened, old man!”

“I’m speaking up here precisely because I saw what happened. And anyway, you should be ashamed of yourselves, threatening a little girl like this.”

“Shut the f.u.c.k up! Stop making excuses and just fork over the dry cleaning fee!”

“Oh, so now we’re resorting to extortion are we?” He released a beleaguered sigh, realizing he’d stumbled into quite an annoying situation now, and reminded himself that this never would’ve happened if he hadn’t let himself get separated from Hiyori.

“You’ve been looking down on us since the moment you showed up—you wanna get your a.s.s kicked that badly, huh?” The kid who seemed to be the group’s leader was clearly trying to cut him a harsh glare, but the more-than-ten centimeters of height separating the two of them left Yokozawa feeling more like a little puppy was yipping at him.

“You do realize that’s what they call blackmail, right?” He didn’t want to get too menacing in front of Hiyori, but neither did he want her to have to fear them any more than she already did. Had there been any lifeguards or police around, he would’ve left this to them to deal with, but unfortunately, there was no one around who looked even remotely helpful.

Then—just as he was wracking his mind how best to deal with this situation, Kiris.h.i.+ma appeared at his side. “What’s going on, Yokozawa? Something up?”

“Papa!”

With his Hawaiian s.h.i.+rt and brand-name sungla.s.ses, Kiris.h.i.+ma looked like far from your average beachgoer, and Hiyori threw herself at him, clinging to him tightly.

“What the h.e.l.l—didn’t you two just buy these?” The upturned shaved ice had already melted, turning the sand below brilliant colors.

“I dropped it…”

“No, she didn’t drop it—these kids made her drop it.”

“And who the h.e.l.l are they?”

“d.a.m.ned if I know. They b.u.mped into her on purpose then blamed her for it. Sounds like they were trying to bleed some money out of her.”

“The f.u.c.k—she’s the one who b.u.mped into us! What proof do you have otherwise?!”

“I’m a witness.”

“Someone who knows her can’t be a witness! Whatever, just man up and take responsibility!”

“That’ll come off with a quick dip in the ocean, for one, and you’rethe ones who ought to be manning up in the first place, for another. Plus you owe us for three portions of shaved ice.”

“Like h.e.l.l we’re paying for that!”

“Ah, I see—so you don’t have enough, is it? What’re your names? Where do you go to school, and what year are you? Can you give us your parents’ contact information, then?”

“Huh?! What the h.e.l.l does our school have to do with anything?!”

“Well, you’re all underage. We’ll simply have to discuss the subject of your taking responsibility for your actions with your teachers and parents.”

“They don’t have anything to do with this…! Wait—hey, what the f.u.c.k are you taking our pictures for?!”

“Well, we’re filing a report with the police, so it’s best to make sure they can easily identify who we’re complaining about, right? This is just in case you decide to make a break for it, that’s all.” A moment later, the sound of three b.u.t.tons being pressed on a cell phone came up, and the boys seemed to have finally realized just who Kiris.h.i.+ma was calling.

“Th—that’s not fair! Just because you’re adults, you—!”

“Don’t you think it’s less fair for you to be acting like innocent children now? You b.u.mp into an elementary school kid and then threaten her for payment—and you still call yourself men?”

“…a.s.shole, spitting out a bunch of high-handed bulls.h.i.+t and looking down on us…!” One of the group snapped and rushed forward, fist raised to deliver a punch.

“Oops—but you’re never gonna land a punch swinging your fist around like that.”

“Dammit, stand still!”

“Owowowoww!! Le—lemme go! That hurts, dammit!” Kiris.h.i.+ma grabbed the arm of one of the boys and twisted it up behind his back, and in that moment, Yokozawa flashed back to the time he’d found himself on the receiving end of such a move as well. It’d hurt like h.e.l.l.

The remaining few followers of the group gave them a wide berth, clearly not wanting to be involved in the affair. “We’ll overlook this for now, so get the h.e.l.l out of here. And you’d better not try stupid s.h.i.+t like this again.”

“We’re the ones who’re letting you off easy! You’d better be prepared next time we see you!” Obviously deeming themselves outmatched by two rather large adults, the punk kids spit out their parting words and then made off. Yokozawa watched them nearly trip over one another as they dashed off, and then let out a sigh.

“G.o.d, what a bunch of stupid brats. I’d love to see the parents responsible for that.”

“They probably don’t give a s.h.i.+t. You okay, Hiyo? You must’ve been scared.” Kiris.h.i.+ma squatted before Hiyori and peered into her face, her expression showing she was on the verge of tears. As he caressed her head, her stiff features eased slightly.

“Only…only a little bit. But—Oniichan came right away, so I was all right. But…now we can’t eat the shaved ice because of me…” She picked up the empty cups, her shoulders slumped in disappointment. All that remained on the sand now was color left behind by the syrup and the fruit topping.

“Don’t sweat it; it wasn’t your fault. I’ll clean up here and head back to get some more shaved ice. You had some kind of berry milk something, right?”

“But—you’ll have to stand in that long line again, won’t you?” She directed her gaze beyond them to the snaking line at the stand.

“I’m sure it’ll be my turn in no time. It went by in a flash earlier, right? Now—you don’t want your bathing suit to stain, so run and take a shower with your Papa.”

“All right then… Mind if I leave it to you?”

“I’ll take care of it. Forget those stupid brats. None of this was your fault in the least.”

“‘Kay.” But her smile was still strained; in all likelihood she was still blaming herself deep down.