IEULBERW 11

Chapter 11

Family

“Hey, morning, Matsunaga! New term starts today, huh?”
“Uh… morning?”

Summer vacation was over, and as soon as I stepped into the classroom, Yasuura came up to me.
I’ve never talked to him before.
His sudden greeting caught me off guard.
What’s this about?

“You, the other day—you went to Lake Haruna, right? Man, lucky you! A date with two cute girls, huh?”

He slapped my shoulder.
Ah.
So he saw us.
Guess he happened to be there the same day.

“By the way, Ikeya and Kawabe saw you too. No way you’re talking yourself out of that one.”

“It wasn’t a date. We just went to hang out, the three of us.”
“Damn, I’m jealous. Share one with me, will ya?”

Yasuura laughed crudely.

“Ami isn’t some thing to hand over, you know.”
“Oh-ho, calling Nakajima-san by her first name? You two sound pretty close.”

“She’s my childhood friend.”
“Huh, really? Didn’t know that. Then what about the other one—the silver-haired beauty?”

“She’s my girlfriend.”
“What—”

Yasuura froze, mouth open.

Ding-dong-dang-dong…
The school bell rang.

“—Matsunaga! You’d better be ready to tell me everything later!”

Yasuura shouted across the room.
Today was the first day of the second term, so we didn’t have any regular classes—just the opening ceremony in the auditorium.
Some students would stay afterward for club activities, though.

After School

The opening ceremony ended early, so we got out before noon.
While I was packing up, Ami came over from the neighboring class.

“Yuya, let’s go home together?”

“Oh, so you’re Nakajima Ami?”

Right then, Yasuura butted into the conversation.

“That’s me. And what do you want?”
“Yasuura saw us at Lake Haruna, apparently. Got jealous—thought it was a date or something.”
(Three people together doesn’t exactly scream “date,” though…)

“Oh, so that’s when it was. I didn’t notice him there.”
“I was just leaving in the car with Ikeya and the others. Saw you from inside.”

“Nakajima-san, how about being friends with me?”
“Hmm? I don’t know… should I?”

The girl next to me shook her head quickly, gesturing “don’t do it.”
Ami tilted her head curiously.

“Nakajima-san, no offense to Yasuura-kun, but you really shouldn’t.”

“Hey! Yamabe, butt out!”

Yasuura shoved Yamabe.
Pretty rough behavior.

“You okay?”

I rushed over instinctively.
Girls are fragile; I hoped she wasn’t hurt.

“Thanks, Matsunaga-kun. …Yasuura-kun, see? This is exactly what I mean. Nakajima-san, he’s nothing like Matsunaga-kun.”

My name suddenly came up.
It’s not like comparing us helps anything.

“If I had to pick, I’d go for Matsunaga-kun. He seems kind. Don’t you think so, Nakajima-san?”
“Well, Yuya really is kind. But unfortunately, he already has a girlfriend.”

Ami had already figured out about me and Chamomile.
Not that I was hiding it or anything.

“Ah… I see.”

The girls sighed and looked back and forth between me and Yasuura.

“By the way, where are Ikeya and Kawabe? Don’t tell me they went home already?”

Yasuura looked around.
Now that she mentioned it, his usual sidekicks weren’t around.

“Why aren’t they here today of all days? I was gonna have them talk me up to Nakajima-san… useless idiots.”

So he’d planned to use his friends to make himself look good.
We decided to head home.

＊

“I’m home.”
“Welcome back, Yuya. School ended early, didn’t it?”

Chamomile greeted me at the door, wearing an apron.
Having someone waiting at home like this… it feels nice.
Comforting.

“Huh…”

My vision blurred.
When I wiped my eyes, my fingers came away damp.

“What’s wrong… Wait, why are you crying?”

Huh? Why am I…?

***

Three years ago—

When I came home from school, the house was dark and empty.
The landline phone—rarely used—started ringing, and I got a bad feeling.
When I answered, it was the police.

“Dad! Mom! No… this can’t be…”

They’d been taken to the hospital by ambulance.
I rushed there in a taxi.
A hospital staff member led me to a room—
Inside were two covered bodies on beds.

“Yuya… are you okay…?”

A voice came from behind me.
It was my uncle—I hadn’t even noticed him there.
He said the injuries were bad, that the faces were barely recognizable.
I don’t remember much else after that.

My uncle asked me to come live with him, but I refused.
I was about to enter high school, and I didn’t want to leave this house—
The home filled with memories of them.

“Yuya?”

Chamomile was peering up at my face.
I must’ve worried her.

“Sorry, I was just… remembering something from a while ago.”

I’m not alone anymore.
Chamomile’s here with me now.

“If you’re tired, you should rest. …I heard you’d be home early, so I tried cooking lunch.”
“I thought I smelled something good. You’re still not used to the appliances in this world, right? You don’t have to push yourself.”

“…Can’t promise it’ll taste good, though.”

Chamomile blushed shyly in her apron—
like a new bride.
If I ever had a wife that cute…
I’d be the happiest man alive.