Chikasugiru Karera no, Juunanasai no Tooi Kankei [LN] V2 Chapter 4.6

Chapter 4 - Something That Lingers In Them

At night, Rina and my mother were watching a New Year's Eve TV show together while drinking tea. I went back to my room early and went to bed.

When I woke up the next morning to the alarm on my phone, the year had changed by one year in the calendar displayed on the screen. The slight discomfort I felt at the unfamiliar sequence of numbers was my first realization that the new year had begun.

As I went downstairs in my sweatshirt and hoodie, which I wore as loungewear, after fixing only my bed hairs, I heard the sound of a bustling TV set. My mother was standing in the kitchen, making ozouni.

T/N : ozouni, soup containing rice cakes and vegetables (New Year's dish)

"Good morning. Do you want some ozouni?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

I heard the sound of the TV's New Year's special program and the fan heater, and smelled the warmth of the heater.

As I was eating the ozouni, which contained rice cake and shiitake mushrooms that had been stewed and melted, vaguely guessing that they were the ones I got from Yuriko's place, Rina soon came downstairs too, wearing a beige cardigan over her pastel-colored loungewear. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, then the sound of a hair dryer from the bathroom. Then, a few moments later,

"Happy New Year," Rina said as she came into the living room. 

She too got into the kotatsu and started eating ozouni. After finishing eating, she continued to drink tea with my mother, watching the lively TV and flipping through the New Year's sale flyers on the desk.

I went up to my room again and sat down on the chair. I took a book from the bookshelf that I had been reading for a while and turned the pages. When I got tired of reading, I put the book down and looked out the window. It was a beautiful sunny day. There were thin clouds floating in the light blue sky, like cotton that had been pulled and stretched until it was torn. From downstairs, I could faintly hear Rina and her mother talking and their footsteps.

After lunch, I changed into jeans and put on a duffle coat over my sweater. As I walked downstairs, I ran into my mother, who had just come out of her room on the first floor.

"Going somewhere?"

"Just to the shrine."

"With Rina-chan?"

"No."

When I replied, Rina came down the stairs with her slippers clacking. She was wearing a white mini-skirt, tights, and sweater, and had a scarf and coat in her hand, as if she was getting ready to go out.

"I thought you were going with her because I heard she was going to pay a first visit to the shrine, too," my mother said and went into the living room.

T/N : Hatsumōde (初詣, hatsumōde), the first Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese New Year.

"Are you going now?"

When I asked, Rina nodded.

"I'm meeting up with Aiko-chan. If you like, we can go together. Just give me a minute and I'll get my hair done."

"No, I'll go first."

"I see."

I put on my shoes at the front door and Rina went into the bathroom with a large purse-like pouch.

I opened the door and went outside.

The sun was shining but the air was dry and quite cold. It was the time of year for the first visit to the shrine, and the area near the shrine was crowded, so I decided to walk there since it was too much trouble to leave my bicycle there.

Houses lining the residential area had put up kadomatsu and New Year's decorations. There were even some houses that had left their illuminations on.

T/N : kadomatsu, New Year's pine decoration

The closer I got to the shrine, the more people were passing by. The air was bitterly cold and everyone was wearing thick clothes. The street in front of the shrine was filled with black, brown, and other dark-colored coats.

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There was Hoshino-san in front of the torii gate. She was wearing tights, a miniskirt, and a down jacket, standing alone, looking cold.

T/N : Torii, Shinto shrine archway

"Hoshino-san," I called out to her.

"Oh, Sakamoto-san. Happy New Year."

She said that and gave a small bow.

"Are you with Rina-chan?"

"Ah, no......I'm here for another plan. Izumi will be here in a little while."

If I called Rina by her name here, I would have to give another lengthy explanation, so only at this point I reverted to my old way of calling her "Izumi"

"I see," Hoshino-san said.

I walked up the stone steps and entered the shrine grounds. The vegetation that had grown so thick that it had the smell of grass in the summer was now dead, and the bare, cold trees lined the ground under a light, cloudy sky. A dead leaf had been removed from the corner of one of the stone steps.

It was around this time of day when Yuriko and I came here in the sixth grade. Walking through the crowds of people on the temple grounds and standing in line in front of the worship hall, I was looking for her among the people around me.

From the shrine's grounds, which are at the top of stone steps and slightly higher than the surrounding area, one can see the surrounding area. The surrounding streets were also crowded with food stalls and many people.

I exhaled as I looked out at the white and gray city. Alone, as I walked, remembering the past, the feelings that had been hanging in the bottom of my heart for so long recently grew as if they were swelling up. The lukewarm white breath I let out quickly melted into the cool air.

---Let's go home.

That's what I thought. Just because I came here at the same time five years ago doesn't mean I can see Yuriko here and now. And even if I could, what would I say to her in the awkward atmosphere we're in now? In any case, we would see each other again once the New Year holiday was over and club activities started.

I was about to turn on my heel. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a figure that looked like Yuriko. I stopped and turned my eyes once more toward the crowd.

That figure was wearing a white scarf and a brown coat, which she always wears. But it was so far away that I could not see her face clearly. Thinking to go to that place, I turned my foot toward the stone steps. Then, a voice called out to me from somewhere, "Kenichi-kun,". When I looked around, I saw Hoshino-san and Rina standing behind me.

"Rina......"

"There are so many people here," Rina said in a relaxed manner.

"Yeah......."

When I nodded, "Kenichi-kun, did you draw an omikuji?" Rina smiled and continued talking. 

T/N : Omikuji, a paper slip with the result of fortune-telling written on it.

"Rina-chan, she got great luck, you know," Hoshino-san continued happily.

"---Umm, there's someone I'm looking for......."

"Oh is that so?" Rina said.

"Sorry, see you later."

I walked out from there.

I went down the stone steps and headed toward the place where she was. The street was narrowed by the stalls lining the street, and there were so many people standing still that it took me a while to walk a bit. I walked down that street for a while and did not see her. Then, when I headed toward the shrine grounds again, Rina and Hoshino-san came down the stone steps.

"Oh, Sakamoto-san," Hoshino-san said, looking at me.

"Are you done with your business?" Rina asked.

"No......not yet."

When I said that, she tilted her head.

"Are you okay?"

"......Yeah. However, it doesn't have to be today. I'm going home too."

"Is that so?" Rina said with an unconvinced expression. Hoshino-san was also looking at the exchange between me and Rina questioningly from a little distance away.

Rina looked back at Hoshino-san and said, "Let's go," and started to walk away. I looked back one more time before I started walking. Among the people walking up and down the stairs, I still didn't see her.

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