The Journey

We celebrated Yūha getting permission to work part-time at a family restaurant, and the next day, we ended up spending almost the entire day preparing for our departure.

“Rokurō! I forgot we had to empty the fridge! We might not be able to use everything up today…”

“What!?”

Yūha had never experienced leaving home for such a long period before, and I had left the kitchen entirely in her hands. When I opened the refrigerator, there was indeed far too much food to use up in a single day.

“What do we do? If we leave all this here, it’ll go bad, right? I’m sorry, I wasted money…”

“No, it’s fine. There’s no problem at all.”

I took out my phone and emailed the person I had in mind. The reply came at the speed of light.

By evening, the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, a man and a woman were standing there.

“Is it true I get to eat Yūha-chan’s cooking?”

“You really have no shame acting that eager in front of your girlfriend.”

“N-No, Nako-chan! This isn’t cheating or anything like that…”

“Hehe, Keiji-san.”

“Don’t just say my name like that! That’s terrifying!”

Standing there were my idiot friend Keiji Nitta, whose painfully obvious university makeover had now entered its third year, and the beautiful Nako Arakawa-san, whose reason for dating him remained a mystery to me.

When I first met her, I had wondered if she was the type of woman who walked three steps behind a man… but judging by exchanges like this, Keiji was completely under her thumb.

Well, of course he was. I couldn’t imagine this guy having enough force of personality to lead Nako-san around.

“By the way, Keiji, your meal is sautéed spinach that no one knows how long has been sitting in the vegetable drawer.”

“That’s terrifying!”

“Nako-san, is there anything you don’t like? Keiji told me you don’t have any allergies.”

“The only food I dislike is surströmming.”

“You’ve actually eaten that…?”

She was smiling softly, yet I felt an unfathomable pressure behind it. If you fell for someone like her, maybe ending up like Keiji was inevitable.

I showed the two of them into the living room. We brought over the extra chairs from my room and Yūha’s.

Nako-san and Yūha were having a peaceful conversation like,

“How have things been going with your cooking lately?”

“I’ve gotten a lot more used to it.”

“I feel restless just sitting around, so would you mind if I helped?”

“That’d be great. Though all that’s left is the salad.”

Meanwhile, across the counter in the adjoining living room, Keiji and I were having a conversation of far less value.

“Sabu, you’re going on a trip with Yūha-chan… Man, I’m jealous. I wanna travel with Nako-chan too.”

“Then go work somewhere that provides room and board. There are tons of resort jobs.”

“They already made my shifts at the izakaya.”

“Serves you right… Sorry, I mean, that sucks.”

“It’s too late to correct yourself after saying it that clearly!”

“Calm down, Keiji. I only said ‘serves you right.’ I never said ‘serves you right, huh.’”

“Am I the only one who thinks those mean exactly the same thing!?”

And so we continued our utterly worthless conversation. I had a feeling we would keep having completely unproductive exchanges like this for the rest of eternity. For the sake of the planet, it would probably be better if we ended our friendship as soon as possible.

After the useless men chatted for a while, the food was carried to the table. Figuring we could at least help serve it, we got up to prepare everything, and the four of us began eating.

Yūha had put extra effort into the meal, so the plates on the table emptied in no time.

“Wow, I had no idea Yūha-chan was such a good cook.”

“I’ve been practicing lately. Since I started living with Rokurō.”

“Man, showing off that sibling love, huh? Sabu alone must die.”

“Why me?”

Weren’t you moved just now?

“I realized something recently. No matter what happens, I just can’t bring myself to wish for your happiness, Sabu.”

“And you still call yourself my best friend?”

“Obviously because I’m waiting for your future wedding, when I’ll destroy everything during the friend’s speech!”

“You’re the last person I’d ever ask!”

I’d choose someone more normal. Yeah, even I had one or two normal friends…

Wait.

No, no. I could make some from now on. There was still time.

Friends… what were those again?

Yūha, who had been watching us, smiled.

“You two really are close.”

““How!?””

“That right there.”

The two girls giggled, and neither of us could think of anything to say back.

With the food problem successfully resolved, there was still no time to relax even after Keiji and Nako-san went home. We did a final check of our packing, then went to sleep early so we could catch the first bus.

We woke at five, changed clothes, washed our faces, and brushed our teeth. We shut down every electrical appliance in the house, locked every door and window, grabbed our luggage, stepped outside, locked the front door, and departed.

Since we would be away for an entire month, the amount of luggage naturally increased. Girls in particular apparently needed all sorts of things, because Yūha had nearly twice as much luggage as I did. The frightening part was that she claimed she had already cut it down.

We took the taxi we had reserved to the station. It was early, but since the bus was headed toward the city, there were still a fair number of passengers. Yūha and I took the two seats in the very back, and I let her sit by the window.

Only then could I finally relax.

Beside Yūha, who was staring outside with sparkling eyes, sat me, an ordinary man already slumped with exhaustion. I checked our upcoming transfers on my phone and nearly got crushed beneath the harsh reality awaiting us.

Onahebi Village was deep, deep countryside. Owning a car would at least make things somewhat manageable, but if you relied on public transportation, you had to brace yourself for endless transfers and enormous waiting times.

Even leaving on the first bus, the sun would probably be setting by the time we arrived.

When I had gone there alone two years ago, I had nearly lost my mind from boredom.

Today, Yūha was with me… so maybe she would lose her mind too. I wanted to try to prevent that, at least. Wanting was free.

The bus started moving. By the time we reached the expressway, Yūha was asleep beside me.

I put in my earbuds, played some music, and decided to sleep too.

After being shaken around for roughly three hours, we reached the first transfer point.

“The next bus is in two hours.”

“…………Okaaay.”

By then, Yūha seemed to have realized just how brutal this journey was. She wore a resigned smile, with the eyes of someone simply enduring reality.

We went into a café near the bus terminal and each ordered a drink. The benches outside were far too hard to sit on for that long.

Yūha was fiddling with her phone, apparently looking up our destination.

“It says young people are working to revitalize Onahebi Village. Apparently it’s been getting more attention lately.”

“…Oh. Is that so?”

“Huh? What’s with that reaction? Aren’t you happy?”

“I mean, if you ask whether I’m happy or not, I am… It’s just… Never mind.”

“Don’t stop in a way that makes me curious!”

Yūha leaned forward and pressed me for an answer. Crap. We were going to be traveling all day, which meant if she wanted to, she could keep asking forever. And the more she asked, the harder it became to admit this kind of thing.

Well, she’d find out once we got there anyway.

“The person leading those young people is Misuzu Kagari.”

“Ohhh. I see. …Wait, then does that mean maybe…”

When Yūha realized something, I nodded.

“Were you involved in that too, Rokurō?”

“More or less. Though it was only for half a year, and I was an outsider, so I didn’t do anything that important.”

“I see. Rokurō really is Rokurō no matter where you go.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hehe. Secret.”

We boarded another bus and traveled straight from the city deep into the countryside. By then, both of us were completely exhausted.

But it still wasn’t over.

“Next is the local bus. One-hour wait.”

“Ugh…”

Yūha’s spirit had completely broken, while I had prepared myself from the very beginning. Mentally, though, we were probably suffering about the same amount.

The sun had begun to set by the time we finally boarded the local bus. The vehicle crawled along at a leisurely pace, with no passengers other than us and a handful of elderly people.

The gaps between bus stops were absurdly large.

Several passengers even asked the driver to let them off in places where there seemed to be absolutely nothing. Apparently that was just normal in the countryside.

After swaying left and right along the mountain roads, the surroundings had grown dim by the time we finally approached our destination. When I pressed the stop button, I almost cried from sheer emotion. If my eyes weren’t dry, I definitely would have.

“We’re here.”

“We finally made it…”

Yūha looked ready to collapse from exhaustion and sit down right there on the ground. I took her luggage and pointed toward a single house beyond the fields.

“That’s the house we’ll be staying at from today.”

“Huh? Isn’t someone coming toward us?”

Yūha lifted her head, noticed something, and pointed.

When I saw the figure charging toward us from that direction, I instinctively pressed a hand to my forehead.

The incoming something recognized me and immediately shouted at maximum volume.

“Roku-kun, it’s been forever! Do you remember me!? Well, obviously you do. Apparently I’m the kind of person nobody forgets once they’ve met me. Oh, is that your little sister over there? She’s adorable! Nice to meet you! I’m Misuzu Kagari. Starting today, I’m the person who’ll be living with you two at Grandma’s house for the next month!”

“You’re loud from the very first second! Your voice echoes inside my skull!”

“I’d rather it echoed inside your heart too!”

“You’re seriously so damn loud…”

As I groaned and held my head, Yūha stared at me in complete bewilderment.

See? There’s no way this girl could possibly be my girlfriend, right?