Chikasugiru Karera no, Juunanasai no Tooi Kankei [LN] V1 Chapter 5.6

Chapter 5 - The Taste Of Rain And Sweat

Just before 7 p.m., my brother came to our house riding the moped he uses to get around the neighborhood. I knew immediately from the sound of the engine that he had arrived. I went downstairs and opened the front door just as the intercom rang.

"Yo, Kenichi."

My brother was wearing a black V-neck shirt and slim jeans. He was a bit more modest than usual, but the silver accessory peeking out from his open chest made him look like a flashy guy.

"Wanna go in?"

When I asked him,

"No, I'm fine right here."

He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Mom's home right now. Should I call her?"

"Hmm, well, either way."

I suggested that, given the way the conversation had been going the other day, but he gave me a vague answer for an older brother who always speaks clearly.

I thought, "Well, whatever," and was about to turn on my heel to call Izumi and the others when our mother came out of the house wearing a pair of slippers. Ack, my brother saw this and frowned.

My mother put her both hands on her hips and suddenly said in a sharp tone.

"Ryuuichi, what have you been doing for six months without showing your face? I tried to call you, but you weren't answering your phone. I visited you, but you weren't there."

"Ah, mom, i-it's been a while......"

As the red evening sun shone through and the plants swayed in the breeze in the cool evening garden, my mother and brother began to talk for the first time in about half a year. I stayed there, curious to see what kind of conversation would take place. I mean, mom, you went to Ryuu-kun's house?

"I was thinking of going out for dinner with Kenichi today, and that's why I came to pick him up. ...... Oh, if you don't mind, can I borrow the car? I'll bring Rina-chan and Yuriko-chan with me. ...... Or rather, would you rather come with us, mom? I'll treat you."

My mother didn't reply, but looked my brother in the face from top to bottom and said,

"You're still dressed so flamboyantly. Is your school going well?"

"Yeah. I'm going to a domestic academic conference in the summer, so I'm preparing for that."

"I see. Do you have enough money?"

"Somehow. The university will pay for me to go to the conference, including travel expenses, and I'll be teaching at a prep school from the summer vacation."

"Really?"

"It's true. At least I can earn enough money to live on my own. I make a balance every month from my part-time job and my manuscript fees. I have no problem at all."

"Well, if everything is going well, it's okay."

Then my mother stared at my brother.

"Kenichi has told me a lot about you. I don't want to become a grandma yet, so I don't really want to hear about those things."

Ugh, for a moment he was at a loss for words.

"---Well. I always have several levels of countermeasures in place.......so......."

When my brother replied with a chuckle, as if he were joking or making some sort of apologetic comment about a scandalous company, my mother shuddered.

"You idiot! Why are you like this, you womanizer. Stop getting carried away!"

When he was shouted at, my brother's frivolous smile turned into a bitter smile that said, "Yikes, she's mad,". It is probably only our mother who can make my brother, who was always so composed, be cornered like this.

"Kenichi, don't just stand there like a fool, get the two of them here now."

As if to escape, he urged me to do so.

Hmm, I replied half-heartedly, and headed back to the front door.

Izumi and Yuriko had packed their bags and were both sitting on the living room sofa. Yuriko was carrying a white tote bag that she had packed with her study materials, and Izumi was wearing a small brown pouch that she hung over her shoulder. The lights were not on, and in the dim light, the red evening sun was shining through the window, reflecting the light in various directions on the surface of the jugs and glasses on the table.

While they were waiting, they were talking about something again. But when I opened the living room door, they were both sitting side by side in silence.

"Ryuu-kun, he said come on."

When I said this, Yuriko and Izumi nodded and stood up at the same time. They both quickly tidied themselves up, stretching the hems of their clothes and combing their hair with their hands.

"What did you two talk about?"

When I asked them, Yuriko replied in a blunt tone.

"......I was listening to Kenichi's embarrassing stories at home."

I couldn't help but say, "What!?"

"Izumi, really?"

When I asked her, she looked quickly at Yuriko for a moment, then replied with a mischievous smile at me.

"Yeah."

"No way. I didn't think I was doing anything that weird."

When I said this, fufufu, Izumi laughed.

"Like, you taught me how to play games. Or the way you took care of me at home."

"What? That's nothing to be embarrassed about, is it?"

When I said it, Yuriko didn't change her expression, but ignored my words with a straight face and said in a businesslike tone.

"Ryuuichi-kun, he's waiting for us, right? Let's get out of here."

As it was, Yuriko left the living room and put on a pair of blue pumps at the entrance. Izumi sat down beside her and put her feet into summery laced sandals.

When the three of us went outside, my brother was still talking to my mother about something.

"Oh, hello, Yuriko-chan, Rina-chan."

My brother turned his gaze toward us as if to escape from my mother's speech.

Izumi bowed her head and Yuriko said to my brother in a friendly manner, "Ryuuichi-kun, it's been a long time,". When we appeared, my mother closed her mouth and stepped back from my brother. Then she crossed her arms as if holding both elbows and said to my brother, "Show your face once in a while."

He nodded, " Got it." Then my mother turned her face toward us. 

"Yuriko-chan and Rina-chan, be careful with this man."

My brother impatiently interrupted my mother's words, saying, "Wait a minute."

"Do you really think I'd lay my hands on a high-schooler?"

"If it was you, you'd do it."

"That's terrible. I'm not that kind of immoral person."

"You don't know anything about morals."

"Just in case, I'm studying public philosophy, you know."

Yuriko and Izumi were puzzled by the contentious conversation between my brother and mother. 

"Mom, Ryuu-kun, I think such a thing is......"

When I intervened, my mother pulled back, though her cheeks puffed up slightly. Then she walked toward the front door and came right back out again, handing the car keys to my brother.

She then walked to the front door and quickly came out again and handed the car keys to my brother.

"Be careful on your way."

My brother took it, saying, "Thank you."

Mother stood in the doorway,

"Well then, see you, Yuriko-chan. Rina-chan, see you later, too," she said to Yuriko and Izumi.

Yuriko bowed politely, "Yes, I'm sorry to bother you today," Yuriko said, "I'm off," Izumi said with a smile and an excited look on her face.

After that, my mother went back inside the house and I heard my brother say, "Phew," in a depressed tone of voice.

"How was your first conversation with mom after such a long time?"

"I haven't seen her in six months, so it's hard for me to talk to her."

My brother said, as if biting down on something bitter. It is often easier to communicate with strangers who only have a superficial relationship with you than with your family members. Surprisingly, I thought my brother's weakness might be his family members. In fact, he's not very good around our mom.

"Now," he said, as he turned to face us, his expression changing to its usual smiling one

"What are we going to eat? Rina-chan, what do you want?"

Izumi smiled, but shook her head in a reserved manner.

"Anything. I don't have any preferences."

"What about you, Yuriko?"

"......Meat."

Yuriko, who for some reason had been looking down from earlier, replied in an inarticulate voice.

"What?"

When I asked Yuriko back, she looked up.

"Meat! I want to eat meat!"

At the sudden loud voice, my brother's expression turned into a blank stare. I, who was standing right next to her, was also startled. Did this girl really want to eat meat that badly?

"Then, let's go to a yakiniku restaurant."

At the suggestion, yakiniku, Izumi's eyes lit up.

"I've never been to a yakiniku restaurant."

"No problem. I remember there was a restaurant in front of the station. Let's go there."

We decided where to go and got into our minicar.

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