Just A Little

The warmth in her right hand remained even after they returned home.

Lying on her futon, Yūha reached a hand toward the ceiling and flexed her fingers.

Rokurō’s hand, which she had held on that slope, had been large and rough. She could directly feel the hardness of his bones, and her small hand had easily fit inside his.

She wanted to be protected by that hand.

The face Rokurō had made as he smiled awkwardly in the darkness, even the way he teased her and pushed her away—everything about him had been perfect.

She realized that she had fallen ill.

Feelings she could never take back had begun to sprout. So faint, yet so powerful, they had planted themselves right in the center of Yūha’s heart and refused to budge.

Even her sighs felt feverish, and she hated it.

The man in the room next door was probably sleeping peacefully by now. Completely oblivious to how she felt. How selfish of him.

She wanted to tell him that he was unpopular precisely because he was so dense. But she couldn’t, because it would be a problem if he became popular. She needed to make sure Rokurō kept some of his flaws.

Yūha understood that these feelings were forbidden.

But just for tonight, she wanted to fall asleep feeling happy.

—In the end, I never got to pat her head.

I remembered that while lying on my futon, and my brow furrowed.

I stared at the ceiling with my arms crossed and reflected on today’s shortcomings.

First, the location I’d chosen had been good. The sky, with the Milky Way clearly visible, had been more beautiful than any photograph in a calendar.

So then, why exactly hadn’t I been able to pat Yūha on the head?

Simply put, there hadn’t been an opportunity.

If I had to pick one, maybe after explaining the Summer Triangle, I could’ve made her trace it again as a review and gone, “You remembered it well. Good job, good job,” while patting her head.

But that would’ve felt a little condescending. Like… not a particularly good way to praise someone.

…Well, I guess it couldn’t be helped.

At least we could talk normally again, so I no longer had anything to worry about in our everyday life. Whether I patted her head or not could wait until another opportunity came along.

There were probably all sorts of things I ought to be thinking about.

But at least for tonight, I wanted to empty my mind and sleep.

“Hello! My name is Misuzu Kagari!”

“Hello. I’m Chris.”

We were seated at a table inside the pizza restaurant run by Riichi-san.

An American whose Japanese was way too good and a Japanese woman whose English was way too bad—the miraculous encounter of the century.

Chris-san might actually have been better at Japanese than Kagari. What are you going to do, Kagari? Your nationality is becoming increasingly unclear.

While I was thinking that, kindhearted Chris-san smiled broadly, making full use of his facial muscles, and switched to English to accommodate Kagari.

“I am glad to see you.”

“…………Roku-kun.”

“You gave up way too fast.”

You were the one who started speaking English. What the hell was that pathetic display?

All he did was greet you with “I’m glad to see you,” the kind of phrase you could find in any textbook.

Watching her, Chris-san burst out laughing. Kagari shrank into herself apologetically.

“It’s okay. I speak just a little Japanese.”

“Even the way you downplay it is so Japanese!”

Apparently Kagari’s loud exclamation of surprise delighted him, because Chris-san laughed even more happily.

And standing beside those two, sticking out like a sore thumb, was me. I’d completely missed my chance to laugh along. Whenever I’m talking with three or more people, this kind of thing hits my mental state the hardest.

Trying to force my way into the conversation out of panic would be a bad move, so I stayed quiet and waited for my chance.

“Chris-san, why did you decide to come to Onahebi Village?”

“I wanted to make videos of the Japanese countryside. But other people already film famous places.”

“I see. So you were looking for somewhere that’s going to become popular from now on! That’s right! This place is about to become super popular!”

“I think so too.”

“Ask me anything! I’ll answer anything!”

“Thank you.”

Hmm. I knew what this was.

They didn’t need me.

I casually stood up and walked through the restaurant, where the lunchtime rush had already passed. Yūha seemed to be on her break, so she was nowhere to be seen.

I called out to Riichi-san over the counter.

“I’ve got nothing to do now.”

“Even Roku can’t handle Misuzu and a foreigner at the same time, huh? It’s empty, so have a seat.”

“Thanks.”

I sat at the counter and watched Riichi-san wipe a glass.

His dark-brown hair was tied back, and he wore a simple uniform. He was a gentle, mature man. Yeah, I could understand why Kagari was so crazy about him. When women said, “I like kind men,” this was probably the kind of person they meant.

“Want something to drink? It’s on me.”

“Then I’ll have coffee.”

Maybe the two of us could sit down and have a relaxed conversation. Riichi-san and I had plenty to catch up on after two years.

Just as I thought that, a ponytail approached from behind.

“Roku-kun! It’s hard to explain things in Japanese!”

“What the hell is your native language, then?!”

I got so pissed off that I slipped into a Kansai dialect. Maybe my biological parents were from Kansai or something.

“Hahaha. Off you go.”

“You bastard… There goes my time with Riichi-san.”

“Roku-kun, you’re working right now, aren’t you?! Work, work!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“Say ‘yeah’ ten times!”

“That’s exhausting.”

Even the rowdiest tavern wouldn’t make you go that far.

I returned to the table and sat beside Kagari. Chris-san had luggage with him, so he was using a two-person table by himself.

“We were just talking about where the name Onahebi Village came from. But I don’t know how to explain that story to him.”

“I see. Yeah, that does sound difficult.”

So this was where I came in. What an honor.

“Chris-san, is it okay if I use both Japanese and English? I can speak a little English too.”