Shizuku’s concerns
<Author>: This is Shizuku’s story.
This one will be a bit shorter than that of the other heroines, due to me being focussing on the next term chapters.
Obon (or Bon).
It is a festival held in the summers in Japan to worship the spirits of one’s ancestors, and it is one of the seasonal events that come every year in Japanese Buddhist families.
My family is no exception. In August, I used to go home to my hometown to prepare for the event with my paternal grandparents.
However, these days, I rarely visit my parents’ house, and only visit the nearest grave from my mother’s side.
However, I feel bad for my father’s side, so I keep in touch with them every year.
Mostly, Kaede…
This year, too, mom and dad won’t be able to return from overseas, and I don’t feel comfortable going to visit their home just as their son and daughter.
I was just beginning to think about visiting the graves this year as well…
“I can’t believe I’m here…”
“Go home …I mean, your house is right across the street.”
What do you mean, “I’m here” ?
With a white one-piece dress and a straw hat.
It’s a neat childhood friend trend, but unfortunately, her house is across the street, so the trip would’ve only took three seconds.
It was an ordinary day, nothing impressive, but I realized it when I saw the bouquet of flowers in her hands.
“You’re visiting a grave?”
“Yes. Since I visited my mother’s family the other day, I thought I would go with Minato-kun to my father’s family grave since he said it would be a good idea this year.”
Since our houses are directly across the street from each other and we are taken care of by the same temple, it is not a particularly strange thing to do.
In fact, we have visited the graves of both families several times and had dinner afterwards on the same days.
Both of us have started to get busy and the number of times we frequented has decreased, but there is no reason for me to refuse.
Unfortunately, Kaede has to leave for school today, so she won’t be able to eat with us both siblings together until later.
I changed into appropriate clothes, called Shizuku who was waiting for me in the living room, and left the house.
“I’ve never been alone with Minato-kun before.”
“Most of the time Kaede comes as a set …and we’re also quite far away from your parents’ house.”
While we talked together, we tried to find a route that would keep us in the shade as much as possible.
In this heat, it’s a war of attrition.
In other words, a bean sprout boy like me can easily be dried up by the sun.
No wonder why Shizuku wears a straw hat that looks like it belongs in the countryside.
Sure, it’s a visual distraction, but it’s a great countermeasure.
Moreover, in her case, wearing a straw hat does not diminish the level of her appearance.
Rather, she stands out, creating the image of a modest girl.
In fact, all the boys who pass by her turned red in a different way, not because of the summer heat but because of her innocent appearance.
…ah, youth.
This should be called the Shizuku’s youth-destroying version.
High school boys dream during summer vacation.
That is to say, they are creatures who earnestly desire to make summer memories with her and so on.
As the content is not based on actual experience, there are no offhanded negative remarks as usual, but I suppose that is true.
It is almost torture for me to be detained in a public place all the way in summer for several hours, but I guess many people are eager nonetheless.
On the weekday afternoon, most of the people walking along the street are housewives or students on summer vacation.
There were groups of men, groups of girls…
And loners.
Occasionally, I would see pairs of men and women, or even multiple people, walking along the street, and sometimes I would see a boy nearby, staring at me.
“After all, summer vacation brings a lot of students to this town.”
“…They have rather too much time on their hands…”
We walk at a distance that is not too close, but not too far either, with our gaze directed towards an uphill road.
If we climbed up this slope, which went in the direction east of the station, we would find the grounds leading to the temple.
As I let out a light sigh and walked forward, Shizuku followed behind me.
“Our houses are across the street, our family tombs next to each other, and we’ve also known each other since childhood… Is this a coincidence?”
“It is a coincidence.”
She replied without a hitch, unusually mischievous for Shizuku.
I wonder if she wants me to call it fate.
But Shizuku, knowing that I would not give such a response, had a blooming smile on her face.
“But if Minato-kun and I become a family, we will share the same grave. …Which one would you prefer?”
“…”
A silent reply.
I don’t know what to answer, I even thought it was a distasteful way to break off the subject, but then the tiny fingers of the Shizuku grabbed my pale blue shirt.
Silently, as if we were holding hands, she continued to walk, not letting go of them.
I could have shaken her off, but before I could turn my head in the direction she was in, a phrase stuck in my brain.
[We who are extraordinary compete for the ordinary.]
These were the words that the president had uttered at the meeting.
If Shizuku’s actions were motivated by that statement, then she too has something in her mind.
It would have been easy for me to shake it off in the past, but now my arms are as heavy as lead, blurring my actions and judgment.
I know this is …guilt.
Guilt for not following what she said.
It burdens my heart more heavily than it does other people because I’ve known her since childhood.
“I wonder if tombstones are expensive…”
“Are you going to make a new one? …Well, that’s typical of Minato.”
What just came out were words that strayed us from the subject.
Fortunately, she smiled at that and I felt the silence between us go away.
Oh …I really hate my personality for being like this.
I put my hands on the grave and told my ancestors, whom I had never met, only that I was well.
They never responded, of course, and I don’t have the peculiarity of being able to see ghosts.
So, I prayed in silence only for a short time, but I think it was still meaningful.
The point is, it’s all about how you feel.
I interpreted it as if our ancestors were watching over us and that we are expected to spend our days with a positive attitude.
At the next grave, Shizuku was holding hands as well, but it was only for a short while and soon we were lined up in the aisle between the two tombs.
“Shall we go home?”
Saying this, Shizuku continued onward.
Then we passed the edge of the grounds, just before we descended the hill we had climbed, to a spot where the parking lot of this temple was located, with no houses, walls, or anything to give us a panoramic view of what was below us.
At the edge of my field of vision, I could see Sakuranaoka Academy, the school that we attended.
As I looked around the elementary school, middle school, and the girls’ high school that Kaede attended, and also saw that our house was somewhere around there, I heard a quiet murmur next to me.
“I hope the second term will be a fun one for you too, Minato-kun.”
“It’ll be bothersome.”
Kirasaka also said something similar.
I had no idea why they both made similar remarks, but I responded to her in the same way.
“Lately, Minato-kun has been interacting with people more and more, which is a positive development, in my opinion.”
“Are you my mother?”
Or my teacher?
But I unknowingly made a tsukkomi to Shizuku, who was speaking on behalf of the person who was watching over my growth.
I was told that she should refrain from cheesy comments because it would make the character misunderstood. …I forgot who it was, but…
“More people, more conversations…—.”
The last words were drowned out by the sound of the temple bells ringing.
All I knew was a fragile expression on her face and what she muttered.
“Come on, let’s go home!”
The next moment, her expression brightened as if nothing had happened, and this time, she began to walk as if she were hugging my arm, and I involuntarily started to follow her.
I couldn’t say anything about what she was trying to say, as she refused to listen back.
“More people, more conversations… and I feel like… Minato-kun’s heart is drifting further away from us.”
<Author>: I’m not sure if I’m going to publish a side-stories for the other characters…
<TL>: Nope u won’t.
BrutalBot Tl 