Chapter 4.5
This chapter was translated by shizuumi and proofread by kuririn, yuugs, and dei-hime!
With the end of Christmas came the beginning of our winter vacation.
I could feel the new year approaching.
Before I even realized it, the end of the year felt close enough that I could reach out and touch it.
Meanwhile, I frowned at the mirror in my room.
Chizuru Yukimura: "This shrug would be good for a jacket. Now for some thick tights. Oh, should I bring gloves with me, too?"
It was cold out. It seemed like I should dress as warmly as possible. ...But it wasn’t just that. I really wanted to dress as cute as I could, too. As I muttered that to myself, I caught a glimpse of the clock in my room. The hour hand had just turned to eleven. Usually, I would never consider going out at this hour.
Chizuru Yukimura: "...It's past the time we promised to meet up, so he should be arriving soon..." I murmured to myself and put on my shrug. In that moment, the doorbell’s chime echoed throughout my room.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Yes, hi! I'm coming now!"
Hajime Saitou: "I'm sorry I'm late, Yukimura. I must've kept you waiting."
Chizuru Yukimura: "No, no, I just finished getting ready myself. Rather, I'm sorry for having you come such a long way to my house. Maybe it would've been better if we had met up there...?"
Hajime Saitou: "Even if it was a roundabout way to get here, the distance wouldn't have been much better otherwise. Besides, I couldn't very well let a girl walk through the streets alone at night."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Thank you..."
The scattered street lights illuminating the road made the darkness more prominent than usual. I'm sure that it would've taken some courage for me to walk down this street by myself.
Hajime Saitou: "So, let's head out if you're all set. There's not much time until the new year."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Right!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "...Although, when I promised I'd go with you to pay our first respects of the year at a shrine at Christmas, I wasn't expecting anything much. I didn't think I'd be going to a Shinto shrine in the middle of the night like this."
Hajime Saitou: "It's known as ‘visiting a shrine for two years.’ Going in the time between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day means that paying your first respects ends up taking place over two years."
The air at the end of the year was so cold, it felt like it got stuck in my throat just from me breathing it. Saitou-senpai and I chatted as we walked towards the shrine, our breath white with the chilly air.
Chizuru Yukimura: "For some reason, it feels really weird to be walking outside at this hour. I mean, normally, I'd be asleep at this time of night."
Hajime Saitou: "Ahh... That's why you hesitated so much. I was also wondering whether it was really okay to take you out this late at night, both as a disciplinary committee member and as a student. Just now, when I was running late and was supposed to ring your doorbell, I also stalled for a while, feeling conflicted about it."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Hehehe."
Hajime Saitou: "W-Why are you laughing?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Ah, sorry. I just imagined you awkwardly loitering at my front door for a moment..." But it was cold while he'd been worrying outside. It would've been nice if he’d rung my doorbell earlier. I gave Saitou-senpai a smile, thinking that. I said, "It's true that going out in the middle of the night like this feels a little like I'm doing something that I'm not supposed to, and makes me a bit nervous… But, at the very least, I'm happy that you invited me out."
Hajime Saitou: "I see..."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Yes! Besides, it's New Year's Eve tonight. So I can put up with staying up this late, I think."
Hajime Saitou "......I... see... Certainly, staying up late is nothing a student should be proud of... It's just that tonight is special. So let's make the most of it."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Right!"
We smiled at each other, and a sound like an ocean roar began to reach our ears.
The Shinto shrine we were aiming for was just ahead. The shrine grounds were bustling with loads of people, all waiting for the end of the year. I wondered whether everyone else was here to welcome the new year like I was...
Chizuru Yukimura: "So many people came out.... No matter where you look, there's a crowd there. Look, the line for the shrine is so long!"
Hajime Saitou: "Yeah…...They don't seem to be here for now..."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Saitou-senpai?"
Hajime Saitou: "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
He said it was nothing, but he was oddly vigilant of our surroundings…Picking up on his attitude, I found myself looking around us as well. When I did, I happened to find some familiar faces among the crowd. Could that have been―
[Okita-senpai and Heisuke-kun?]
[Kondou-sensei and Nagakura-sensei?]
Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh, look, Saitou-senpai. Over there..."
Hajime Saitou: "...!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "I knew it, it's Heisuke-kun and Okita-senpai. Okita-senpai! Heisuke-kun―"
Hajime Saitou: "H-Hold it, Yukimura!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "What? ...Ah―"
Saitou suddenly tugged on my hand, and I staggered.
Hajime Saitou: "......"
I was trapped in his embrace. Having seized my arm firmly and pulled me close, he watched Heisuke-kun and Okita-senpai intently. Rather, he looked less like he was seriously watching them, and more like he was impatient…
Before long, the two of them left without seeing us. Saitou-senpai let out a sigh of relief.
Hajime Saitou: "Phew... They're gone."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Uh, Saitou-senpai...?"
Hajime Saitou: "! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, just now..."
Chizuru Yukimura: "N-No, that's all right, but… Okita-senpai and Heisuke-kun have left and all, but what's gotten into you?"
Hajime Saitou: "...That, I don't quite know myself. Why did I stop you just now?" He looked troubled as he averted his gaze from me, shaking his head. Despite my confusion, I looked around once more.
Chizuru Yukimura: "At any rate, let's walk around the grounds for a bit. We might be able to bump into Heisuke-kun and Okita-senpai that way as well."
Hajime Saitou: "Y-You're right. We can call out to them if we find them." Despite him saying that… as we walked around the shrine grounds, Saitou-senpai kept an eye on our surroundings the whole time.
...Was something wrong...?
Hajime Saitou: "...Anyway, let's go around the shrine first. Looking around shouldn't take much time. Besides, it's a bit crowded here to celebrate New Year's."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Yeah...!"
By the time we had made one trip around the shrine, we were already that much closer to midnight. The bell used to signal the new year resounded from some distant depths within the temple.
Chizuru Yukimura: "The temple’s bell started ringing..."
As I strained my ears to hear the dignified chimes faintly ringing, Saitou-senpai closed his eyes and muttered beside me.
Hajime Saitou: "Yukimura. Do you know why the temple bell rings 108 times on New Year's Eve?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "I'm pretty sure it stands for the number of worldly desires that humans have, right?"
Hajime Saitou: "That's the most prominent theory. But there's another one besides that. Though this is just a hypothetical… They say that if you take the sum total of the times of year, you get 12 months, 24 solar seasons, and 72 microseasons."
Chizuru Yukimura: "So the theory goes, the bell rings to reminisce over these periods of the year..."
The bell's tolls resounded one by one, a representation of each moment of my past year. When I thought that, for some reason, hearing the chimes fade away had me feeling wistful… I stopped walking, and listened quietly. Closely.
Chizuru Yukimura: "...Listening to the bell chime and looking back on this year... It makes me realize just how much has happened."
Hajime Saitou: "Indeed... For all its annoyances, this year's been a fun one for me. Yukimura. How has the past year been for you?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "For me? ...It's the year I graduated from middle school, and enrolled in Hakuo Academy… I found being in high school difficult at first. Both in the practical side of being there, as well as how much harder classes are than in middle school."
Hajime Saitou: "Yeah. That's why we have proficiency tests in June to test new students' mettle. ...It's tough being a new student with there being penalties from the very first test."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Yes, I owe you so much for your help back then. I think that studying with you is what let me show off what I could really do, without my nerves getting in the way."
Hajime Saitou: "...No, all I did was offer you a place to study and review next to you. If you're talking about your test results, that was your own effort that got you through."
Chizuru Yukimura: "No, I don't think it was my ability alone. It was because you were there as well that I made so much progress on my studying… Somehow, being with you just calms me down, even if we don't say a word."
Hajime Saitou: "I see... If I was of help to you, then that makes me happy. Tell me if anything similar happens to you again. The two of us can study together."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Yes, that'd be great!"
Seeing Saitou-senpai’s delighted expression, I nodded back with a grin of my own.
Chizuru Yukimura: "There was that time we went to the pool with everyone in summer, as well."
Hajime Saitou: "The Summer Survival Shooting, or the SSS, right? I never thought the day would come where I would fight at your side in combat, but it was fairly entertaining."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Yeah. The competition we had at the SSS was fun, too, but… I still remember the incident at the poolside bar that happened afterwards, too. You know, the time you kicked out that guy who was picking on that woman."
Hajime Saitou: "...I just moved without thinking then. It would've been an injustice to let that man go on doing as he pleased like that."
Chizuru Yukimura: "You seemed wonderfully dependable at the time. You knocked him down so easily, too..."
Hajime Saitou: "Well, more or less. I might've overdone it… But if you were the one involved, I wouldn't have
let him off with only that much."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Wha..." What did he mean by that? I wavered in asking him that, and ended up just standing there, gently blinking.
Saitou-senpai put an end to that conversation with a sigh, perhaps not wanting to say any more on the subject.
Hajime Saitou: "Right, that reminds me. Do you remember that time during the cultural festival?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "...I found the maid thing a little embarrassing..."
Hajime Saitou: "I-I wasn't referring to that part. I mean, it certainly did suit you, but I was talking about how Ibuki went so far as to conspire to sell photos of you..."
Ibuki-kun... For him to have done that in secret...
Hajime Saitou: "Don't worry. I made sure to confiscate his images as a member of the disciplinary committee. I was just confirming their contents, but I couldn't help but think they were nicely taken, though. I didn't know Ibuki had talent in such a field―"
Chizuru Yukimura: "W-We've been talking so much about me, how about you tell me about yourself instead! "Umm, your class did a haunted house, right?"
Hajime Saitou: "Yeah, and we ran into a bit of trouble when we went there together..."
When I remembered that, I blushed despite myself. Saitou-senpai's face had been so close, it almost touched mine… I shook my head hard, trying to shake off my embarrassment as I changed the subject.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Y-You had to work the reception desk at the time… Did you get to take part in another shift, like being a ghost or something?"
Hajime Saitou: "I did. I helped out as the ghost of a deserter."
Chizuru Yukimura: "A... A deserter...?" I wished I could've seen it, but at the same time, I felt like it was probably good that I hadn't… I went on, "Oh, though this was pretty recent, I was lucky to be given something this wonderful for Christmas."
I didn't worry about it at the time… But if I recalled it now, I was incredibly close to Saitou-senpai, then. While I remembered that… I took out my small, cat-shaped charm, nestled in the palm of my hand. It was originally one of a matching pair, shared between me and Saitou-senpai.
Hajime Saitou: "...You took care of it all this time?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Of course. You were the one who gave me it, after all."
Saitou-senpai smiled as well, and brought out his, the one that completed the pair. The two cats glittered in the glowing moonlight, looking delighted at their reunion as they nuzzled together. The indomitable ringing of the temple bell reverberated clear as water through the air.
Chizuru Yukimura: "That reminds me, Saitou-senpai. These two cats… The two of them originally form a pair. Could they be siblings?"
Hajime Saitou: "Ah, maybe. If not, they could be together. Like a married couple."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Now that you mention it, that does make sense… Going by color and shape, you could be the husband, and I could be the wife."
Hajime Saitou: “...!! I-I'm the husband, and you're the wife...?!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh...! N-No! I meant the cat you're holding is the husband, and the one I have is the wife!"
Hajime Saitou "I-I see. The cats. You meant the cats. Mhm. I see now."
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
Hajime Saitou: "......"
As I surreptitiously glanced at Saitou-senpai, I caught him glancing back at me in turn. Our gazes snapped away from each other right after. I waited for a bit. Just when I thought it'd be okay, I looked back at him, and our eyes met again. That happened several more times before I mumbled, shaking my head:
Chizuru Yukimura: "A-Anyway… Since I got this charm near New Year's, I think I'll hang it on my school bag. For some reason, I feel like you're watching over me when I look at it, and it feels reassuring, in a way."
Hajime Saitou: "Is that so..." Saitou-senpai smiled at me. ...If I really thought about it… Saitou-senpai's been by my side this year everywhere I turned. He was always there for me as my senior, gently watching over me, helping me get used to life at the academy.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Thinking back on it now… to me, it feels like I shared this whole year at Hakuo Academy with you, senpai."
Hajime Saitou: "...That's the same for me as well. I've gone through this year with you. You've always been there, at the heart of us. Before I realized what was happening, I couldn't take my eyes off you. ...I'm sure this coming year will be the same, too."
Another year would pass, and we would be by each other's sides. Emotions welled up between us as we locked eyes...
Chizuru Yukimura: !?
Hajime Saitou: !?
Chizuru Yukimura: "Y-Your phone...! Your phone's ringing, senpai."
Hajime Saitou: "......"
Chizuru Yukimura: "...Senpai? Um, aren't you going to get that?"
Hajime Saitou: "Yeah... I am. ...Hello?"
Kaoru Nagumo: "Saitou! Is it true that you're with Chizuru right now?!"
Hajime Saitou: "Wha―...!? S-Stop accusing me of things. I don't know what you're..."
Kaoru Nagumo: "Don't play dumb! Your classmates who went to visit the shrine let me know! You're at the Shinto shrine now, right? Wait right there, I'm coming over―"
Hajime Saitou: "...Sorry, Nagumo. It seems the connection is poor―I’m going to ha... no, I mean, I’m going to lose you―Sorry."
Kaoru Nagumo: "W-What?! Wait just a―"
[He hangs up]
Hajime Saitou: "Whew..."
Chizuru Yukimura: "...Uh, um, Saitou-senpai? Was that call from Kaoru just now?"
Hajime Saitou: "Yeah. But it wasn't important. It’s no problem."
Chizuru Yukimura: "I wonder if that's okay...?"
Hajime Saitou: "People at the end of the year send messages to their friends at this time to wish them a new year, and chat a bit with them. The cell signal's gotten worse because of that. I couldn’t redial just now after it dropped."
...If that were the case, why had he surreptitiously switched the signal on his phone off...? I thought that to myself, but I didn't say anything more.
Hajime Saitou: "Anyway, let's line up next to one another and pay homage to the passing year. The new year is approaching."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh, you're right. We might visit the shrine right as the New Year rolls around, at this rate."
We advanced from the back of the line bit by bit, waiting leisurely, side by side. While we waited, the final breeze of the year brushed my neck, as if to play one last prank on me.
Chizuru Yukimura: "...Achoo." I couldn't keep in my sneeze completely, and it ended up escaping me.
Hajime Saitou: "Are you okay, Yukimura? Aren't you cold?"
At Saitou-senpai's question, I said…
[...Just a bit]
[I'm fine]
Chizuru Yukimura: "Um... Only a little. I made sure to put on extra clothes to stay warm, but it seems like I didn't wear enough."
I ended up being honest. I knew it was going to be cold today. I should've worn more fluffy clothes. But, I had other priorities as a girl that bumped that off the list… I didn't want to have a disappointing outfit, since I was going out with Saitou-senpai.
Hajime Saitou: "It's gotten much colder at night, these days. Even the wind is unusually cold."
Chizuru Yukimura: "It is. Especially on my face, since it's exposed, even though I've dressed warmly anyway."
Hajime Saitou: "I see. Looking at you now, I can see your cheeks are growing red..." Tilting his head slightly, Saitou-senpai put his hand in his pocket.
Then, he suddenly closed the distance between us.
Chizuru Yukimura: "S-Senpai?"
Hajime Saitou: "Don't move, Yukimura."
(CG get!°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°)
Chizuru Yukimura: "Wha―? S-Senpai!?"
Hajime Saitou: "I told you not to move. ...How is it?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "W-What do you mean, 'how is it'...?!"
Should I've been surprised? Should I've run away? Should I've closed my eyes even sooner...? I was completely messed up, before I suddenly realized― The warmth from his palms was just the right temperature, and it gradually spread to my face.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh... Your hands are...warm...?"
Hajime Saitou: "I brought a hand warmer with me. It seems to have done its job."
When I felt his hands grow cold, he put them back in his pockets again. I missed my opportunity to escape before his hands reached out again, and my brain was scrambled.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Ngh..."
Hajime Saitou: "...How is this?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "H-How is it...?"
Did he have no self-awareness about how massively embarrassing this was, even though my face was as red as a tomato…? That was just a little bit irritating for me. I muttered in a small voice.
Chizuru Yukimura: "...barrassing..."
Hajime Saitou: "Hm? Did you say something just now? Sorry, could you please say that again?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "...It's embarrassing...!"
Hajime Saitou: !
Saitou-senpai's hands snapped away, and he stepped away from me. I couldn't bear to look at my surroundings. ...We were in the middle of the line to the shrine. It went without saying there were loads of people. I didn't want to know what they looked like watching the both of us...!
Hajime Saitou: "N-No, wait, I didn't have any hidden intentions. I just wanted to know if you were warmer than before..."
Chizuru Yukimura: "But it was embarrassing."
Hajime Saitou: "Y-You're right. Your face also seems red as well..."
Chizuru Yukimura: "You're the one who's red, senpai."
Hajime Saitou: "I-It's because of the wind! It's because the wind’s been blowing, and I got cold!"
At the rate things were going, it looked like we would both just be getting redder and redder, and it had nothing to do with the wind.
Chizuru Yukimura: "We're fairly far along the line now. It'll be our turn before long. What are you going to pray for, senpai?"
Hajime Saitou: "I'll pray for good health first. To be in sound health for another year."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh, so am I. It's important, after all."
Hajime Saitou: "It is. After that, I'll pray for victory in my club's tournament. I suffered an embarrassing defeat to Souji last time. I intend to get my revenge on him next time."
Chizuru Yukimura: “That sounds a lot like something you'd say. Then again, Okita-senpai will probably pray for the same thing, though..."
Hajime Saitou: "Other than that... Although this has nothing to do with me personally, I'd like to see the disorder within the school improve, along with people's discipline..."
Saitou-senpai told me his wishes one after the other. It was so much, I wondered whether it'd be okay to ask for that much in a single trip to the shrine.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Hehe. It must be tough for even the gods to grant that many things."
Hajime Saitou: "You're right... I might be a little greedy."
I smiled without thinking. But Saitou-senpai looked much more serious than I think I'd ever seen him.
Hajime Saitou: "I also might have a wish beyond that. One that I don't know whether it can be granted or not. It’s something the gods might not even be able to grant me. The answer to these feelings bottled up inside."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Eh...?"
Then, I noticed. Saitou-senpai's eyes were piercing, looking straight at me. As if he couldn't see the crowd around us. As if they could only see me, and wouldn't let me go. His eyes looked profound and sincere.
Hajime Saitou: "I’ve been worrying about whether it’s the right time. When I met with you to come to the shrine. When we saw our classmates earlier, and I wanted to get away from them no matter what. Even when I hurriedly hung up on Nagumo, I thought about it too. I― ....."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Eh...?"
Hajime Saitou: "...It seems that it's New Year's Day."
Right at that very moment, the clock struck midnight. The people around us suddenly burst into cheers, and Saitou-senpai looked at them with a bitter smile. But I thought it just couldn't be possible. In my confusion, I asked him about what he was going to say before the cheering made him lose his chance.
Chizuru Yukimura: "U-Um, senpai? What was that just...?"
Hajime Saitou: "Don't worry about it. ...I'll tell you again when I need to. ...Happy New Year, Yukimura."
Chizuru Yukimura: "S-Same! Happy New Year!"
Hajime Saitou: "It looks like it's our turn now. This is our first shrine visit of the year."
Just before and just after the beginning of the year. What had Saitou-senpai been trying to tell me, before the shouts of joy around us had drowned him out? I didn't have the time to ask him about it, and hurriedly chased after Saitou-senpai as he rang the shrine bell, leaving it rattling. This year would definitely be completely different to the last. I was looking forward to it.
Then, that night…
As usual, after I finished having dinner alone, I went upstairs to my room. A New Year's program was playing on TV, but I just couldn't bring myself to watch it… In my daze, I stared blankly out my window.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Hehe..."
The events that happened today replayed in my head, making me almost giddy. The night of New Year's Day drew to a close as I dwelled on those memories.