Chapter 8: Want a Bowl of Oden?

Chapter 8: Want a Bowl of Oden?

“Y, you’re okay, right?”

When Yatsuno Gen came out of the office, Kazama Sakura was very nervous.

She could no longer pay attention to her own matters, afraid that because of her, Yatsuno Gen would drag himself into this too. As for Yamazaki Jihei, his confidence was not without reason.

But she was confident that as long as she was unwilling, no one could force her.

So as long as Yatsuno Gen did not do anything foolish, it would be fine.

Yatsuno Gen shook his head.

“What could happen to me? But it seems I couldn’t help much with your matter.”

Hearing Yatsuno Gen say this, Kazama Sakura was not disappointed.

Because she knew that she should never have placed her hopes on someone else to begin with. On the contrary, she felt somewhat comforted.

After all, the fact that he was willing to make such an attempt for her was already very good.

And it was even better that she had not dragged him down.

She smiled and shook her head, suppressing the sadness that felt as though she had already seen the ending.

She said softly.

“It’s fine... it’s fine.”

For the entire afternoon until school ended, Kazama Sakura put away all her emotions.

She looked no different from usual. She could still laugh and chat with her classmates, still optimistic and cheerful, still sweet and charming.

Even more so than usual.

After school, she still walked with Yatsuno Gen on the road leaving school.

Looking at the sunset on the horizon, the girl raised her head and gazed around, murmuring softly.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Yatsuno Gen stopped and raised his head.

“Isn’t it more or less the same every day?”

Kazama Sakura pouted slightly.

“How could anything be the same every day? Besides, in different places, with different people, what you see is a different view.”

“That’s true.”

Yatsuno Gen answered like that.

Kazama Sakura looked at the young man’s profile. It was still so beautiful, still so lazy. Even this habitual lack of romance made it difficult for anyone to dislike him.

She suddenly felt a little sad.

Because it seemed that in the future, it would be very hard to see such a young man again. Nor did she believe that if some people were missed, one could truly find some so-called replacement.

How could he be replaced?

In a particular stretch of time, that most special person who accompanied you through particular years, what replacement could possibly replace them?

She even thought of the first time she saw this young man walk into the classroom. He had been just like that, wearing a white shirt, acting as though nothing mattered, ignoring everyone as he walked to the seat behind her.

Then he raised his head, looked at her, and smiled at her.

“Hello. I’m Yatsuno Gen.”

That alone was enough to surpass all romantic meetings in films.

“Hey, Yatsuno.”

“Mm?”

“If you never see me again in the future, will you think of me often?”

She asked.

Yatsuno Gen looked at the girl strangely.

“What, did you get cancer?”

“...No!!”

The girl scolded him with a flushed face.

Yatsuno Gen found it even stranger.

“You’re not about to die, so how would we never see each other again? You have two legs. Can’t you come find me in the future?”

“Then can’t you come find me?!”

True.

This was not a separation of life and death.

Even in the future, they would simply no longer be at the same school. If they thought of each other, they could still call. They could still meet occasionally.

But because of that, there would be far fewer chances to be alone together. Who knew whether he would meet a girl who was more interesting and prettier?

It should be very easy for him to forget her then, right?

After all, many so-called good friends grew distant under the wear of time.

Yatsuno Gen blinked.

“Because I definitely won’t take the initiative to leave you. If you’re thinking of leaving me and still want me to come find you, wouldn’t that make me way too much of a simp?”

“That’s not... you’re so annoying!”

She said that clearly, yet could not help feeling inexplicably shy.

He would not take the initiative to leave her?

Was she that kind of existence to him?

She really did not want to leave...

She looked back at the school gate once more.

She suddenly remembered that girl who had confessed to Yatsuno Gen before transferring schools.

Because she was going to leave, she had expressed all her feelings, simply because she did not want to leave regrets behind, and hoped he would know that there had been a girl who liked him.

So should she... say something too?

Looking at the young man’s straight nose bridge, perfect jawline, and even his protruding Adam’s apple.

She suddenly had an urge to disregard everything.

“Yatsuno...”

“Kazama-san.”

Suddenly, Yatsuno Gen turned his head and looked at Kazama Sakura seriously.

The words that seemed about to spill out were instantly frightened back.

Kazama Sakura looked at him with a flushed face and blinking eyes.

“W, what is it?”

“You seem really strange today.”

“D, do I?”

The girl was at a loss, because Yatsuno Gen was narrowing his eyes and approaching her.

That familiar scent rushed toward her, making her want to avoid it, yet also reluctant.

She was clearly shy, yet wanted to feel more of it.

“If you aren’t, then why say such strange things? Why does every sentence sound like you’re saying goodbye to me?”

He, he noticed?

Kazama Sakura was a little nervous and guilty. She did not want Yatsuno Gen to know her thoughts in advance.

Because she had finally made up her mind, and did not want it to be shaken.

She was even less willing to let her own matters implicate this young man whose fate was already unfortunate.

“That’s not true, hehe. Maybe my mood has just been average recently, so I’ve become a little sentimental.”

“I see.”

Yatsuno Gen left Kazama Sakura’s eyes. He stood at the intersection, in front of the zebra crossing.

Looking at the red light opposite them.

“If the sky doesn’t go dark, the streetlights won’t light up.”

“Huh?”

Kazama Sakura did not understand what those words meant.

But Yatsuno Gen blinked.

“I’m going home. See you.”

This goodbye did not mean farewell forever.

Watching the red light about to turn green, it seemed they would part at this very moment.

Kazama Sakura grew somewhat anxious.

“Yatsuno-kun!”

She shouted.

“Mm?”

Yatsuno Gen stopped and turned his head.

Then he saw the girl looking at him with a slightly flushed face, revealing an incomparably sweet expression. The colour on her face surpassed even the beauty of the sunset.

“Live happily every day, okay?”

Yatsuno Gen grinned.

“You too.”

“Mm!”

Was it a little regretful?

Of course it was regretful.

His figure had already vanished, but she still had not found the courage to say everything.

She was not even as brave as that ordinary-looking girl. You really are terrible, Kazama Sakura.

But she had already made up her mind. After returning home, she would tell her mother to give up on continuing to study at this school.

She would try to tell her mother that she would study properly from then on, learn properly, and definitely not disappoint her expectations.

Definitely.

When she arrived at the door of her home.

Bang!

The deafening sound of something shattering made her freeze in place.

A familiar voice came from inside, in an almost roaring tone.

“It’s all because of you! Ever since I married you, nothing has ever gone smoothly for me! What a jinx! And that daughter you gave birth to too. What’s the use of raising her this big? Her tuition every year is terrifyingly expensive. Do you know how much I have to drink with clients every day, how many fake smiles I have to sell, just to support you mother and daughter?! Then when I come back, you still show me that face. Fuck you!”

Bang!

Something else was smashed.

When the door before her was angrily pulled open.

Kazama Sakura raised her head blankly and saw her father, reeking of alcohol, standing before her.

He froze for a moment.

But it seemed his remaining anger had not faded.

“I’m not eating dinner at home. Hurry inside. Stop wandering around outside!”

After saying that.

The man holding his jacket left beside her with the smell of alcohol.

Kazama Sakura walked inside like a walking corpse. The place was a complete mess.

A shattered vase.

A shattered ashtray.

Those fragments reflected her mother’s wooden face, piece by piece.

When the woman saw her daughter, she squeezed out a smile.

While sweeping up the rubbish as if nothing had happened, she said softly.

“It’s fine, don’t be scared. Once I divorce him, no matter what, I’ll raise you properly. You only need to study hard.”

“When you get into a good university and find a good job, it will all be worth it for Mom.”

Kazama Sakura forgot how she responded.

That familiar suffocating feeling rushed over her, as if a hand not only gripped her throat, but also seized her heart from inside her chest.

Maybe she nodded?

Maybe she gave a sound of agreement?

She forgot.

She did not even know how she returned to her room. After closing that door.

She buried her face in her pillow.

“Ah...”

Even her crying could not be hysterical.

She had never felt the future so close to her before, and she had never felt life lose all colour the way it had at this moment.

The despair that blotted out the sky in that instant was like the tide suddenly rising in this room, completely drowning her.

Did she still have a choice?

Was she going to submit and compromise?

No.

Absolutely not.

She absolutely would not be like her mother, placing her hopes on someone else.

But it really hurt so much.

Knock knock knock.

At that moment, however, the door was knocked on.

Kazama Sakura raised her head in astonishment.

“Mom?”

A woman’s voice came from outside the door.

“Sakura, your classmate came to see you. Come out quickly.”

“Huh? Classmate?!”

Kazama Sakura froze for a moment.

Not many classmates knew she lived here. Perhaps it was also because of her ugly duckling mentality. Most of those around her were peers with superior family backgrounds.

So she also worried whether, if they knew she lived in this kind of old residential complex, they would develop other opinions of her.

And it was already so late... night had already fallen.

Who had come to find her?

When she cautiously opened the door, walked out through the living room to the entrance, and reopened the door that was only half closed.

What entered her eyes was that familiar and handsome face.

His hand was in his pocket, and he was looking at her with a warm smile just like usual.

“Good evening. Want to go eat a bowl of oden?” [NOTE: Oden is a Japanese hot pot dish with ingredients such as fish cakes, daikon radish, eggs, and tofu simmered in a light broth.]

Kazama Sakura widened her eyes. Some intense emotion seemed about to squeeze out of her heart and uncontrollably surge from her throat.

Her face flushed red in an instant.

“Wait a moment!!”

Bang.

She hastily shut the door, then rushed back to her room.

While looking at her tear-stained face in the mirror, she swiftly put on makeup.

“Why did he come over at a time like this? Sob sob sob, he definitely saw me crying. It’s all over...”