Chapter 4.5
This chapter was translated by shizuumi and proofread by kittensparkles, yuugs, and dei-hime!
Chizuru Yukimura: "Wow...!"
I'd woken up and opened my curtains, and the morning light illuminating the room was dazzling...
Chizuru Yukimura: "Maybe it's because it's New Year's Day? I bet that’s it."
Today was the first day of a new year. I didn't know if it was the exhilaration from that or something else, but I'd woken up bright and early even though my alarm clock hadn't even gone off yet.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Seeing as I'm up now, I might as well go out and pay my first respects of the year… It looks really cold outside. I'll have to dress warmly..."
As I murmured that to myself, I remembered Christmas Eve. I didn't feel the cold at all that night, strangely enough… Because I was with Nagakura-sensei on the way back home. It was like the way we kept grinning and laughing non-stop that made me forget it was even cold. But today I was by myself.
I headed towards my closet to pick out some warm clothes.
By the time I had finished getting ready and left the house, it was still quite early.
I made sure to lock the doors properly before, just in front of my house, I suddenly saw―
Chizuru Yukimura: "Why...?"
A man was pacing left and right, and he looked pretty shady doing so.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "...'Happy New Year, Yukimura-kun'... Nah, that'd be the same as sending a New Year's card. It'd be way too stiff of me if I wished her that over text, too, wouldn't it… ...'Morning, what're your plans for today...?'― Won't she pull back if I get too nosy about her business all of a sudden...!? Ugh...! If this is the best I got, I oughta just give her a call―"
Chizuru Yukimura: "...Nagakura-sensei?"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Whoa―!?" Nagakura-sensei let out a yell and jumped back several feet upon hearing my voice.
Chizuru Yukimura: "U-Um...?" His overblown reaction startled me. Afterwards, he looked at me with an awkward grin.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Y-Yo, Yukimura-kun! Didn't expect to bump into you here of all places!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "I mean, we are in front of my house..."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "R-Right you are, yeah. That's all well and good, but, uh, see here."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Yes?"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "It is the very first day of the new year, but I was wondering if you had any plans for anything, or didn't, or...?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "I do. I was thinking I'd go pay my first respects of the year at the shr―"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "First respects!" A light flashed in Nagakura-sensei's eyes. "Paying first respects is just what you do during the New Year if you're Japanese! You'll get cursed if you don't pay 'em properly at a shrine!!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Y-Yeah, I suppose...so...?" He was looking awfully pleased by something. I just nodded through my confusion.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "And you see... This is just one coincidence on top of another, 'cause I was just thinking about whether I'd pay my first respects of the year myself, yeah? If you want... I could escort you, maybe?" Nagakura-sensei's hands were going every which way in his bombastic gestures. It wasn't like him... If anything, his words sounded more like something a prince might say.
I let out a little laugh at that thought.
Chizuru Yukimura: "I'd also be happy if we could go together." Feeling a little nervous, I placed my hand on top of his.
Nagakura-sensei broke into a smile, and it seemed I'd made the right choice.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Let's go, then. There'll probably be people swarming to pay their first respects of the year, but don't you worry. You leave that to me! I'll defend you to the very last, Yukimura-kun!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Right. I trust you," I smiled and spoke honestly while answering him.
After that… Nagakura-sensei and I walked towards the shrine side by side.
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
We held hands earlier. We were still doing so now. Any opportunity to let go was thoroughly lost by now… I was worrying over what was up with that. Nagakura-sensei, on the other hand, was all smiles.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Oh yeah, what'd you do at the end of the year? Were you able to get the most outta your winter break?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "I was. I sorted out all my homework for the holidays, so I'll be enjoying my New Year's holiday."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Good for you. ‘Last year's’ portion should be squared away by then, after all," he nodded fervently, praising me. Then he lightly cocked his head. "What d'you plan on praying for when you pay your respects, Yukimura-kun?"
At his question, I said I'd pray for…
[Good health]
[Success in my studies]
Chizuru Yukimura: "For sound health."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "For health...? You caught a cold or something?"
I shook my head at how he worried over me, and answered him.
Chizuru Yukimura: "For your health, Nagakura-sensei."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Whuh?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Because sometimes you're reckless, and don’t take yourself into consideration."
I heard he'd escorted an old lady in a bind and emptied his wallet over it. And when he celebrated his friends' wedding at the end of the year, he used up what little money he had left… He had good intentions in whatever he did, but people who were too good to others while in poverty themselves worried those around them. Like me.
Chizuru Yukimura: "I'll pray that your health doesn't get ruined one way or another this year as well..."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Yukimura-kun..." Nagakura-sensei looked teary-eyed, looking deeply moved as he called my name.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Please take better care of yourself. Though it might be pretty brazen of me to tell you something like that, seeing as I'm just a student..."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Not at all!! You're overflowing with kindness, and I definitely got that! With you praying for my health, I can survive without even a scrap of food or a drop of water...! Thanks so much, really!"
He was terribly grateful to me, but I calmly reminded him:
Chizuru Yukimura: "If you can't eat or drink a thing in the first place, that's already no good, alright?"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "O-Of course, I know that. I'm just saying I'd be okay even if the worst case scenario came to pass!" Nagakura-sensei seemed to grow more moved by the second.
...I worried about him a little...
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Now, when it comes to what I want, what should I be prayin' for...?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Eh?" I was a little surprised by his murmured words, and I asked him about it: "You said you were just planning on going to pay your respects, didn't you? I'd thought you must've had something in mind that you wanted to pray for, then..."
When he heard the question, his panic showed as he answered.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "That's 'cause, y'know... I just ended up with a lot of things on my mind on my way over to paying my first respects of the year. So, from there, I hadn't thought of what I wanted to do yet."
Chizuru Yukimura: ???
I didn't really get it… But he probably had his own reasons, so I decided not to press him too hard about it.
Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the Shinto shrine, and I whispered aloud in amazement.
Chizuru Yukimura: "There are so many people here...!"
I might've slightly underestimated how people would be paying their respects for the New Year.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "I'm tellin' ya, it'll be fine, Yukimura-kun! I'll protect you!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Nagakura-sensei..."
Just like he promised, he protected me from the crowd as he pushed our way through it. While I felt grateful for his concern, at the same time... Seeing Nagakura-sensei working so eagerly for my sake, as well as his charming smile, had my cheeks naturally growing warm for some reason.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Oh, I can see the offertory box!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Nice...!"
But with the crowd surrounding us from both the front and the back, we couldn't move any further forward. We couldn't advance even while pushing people beside us and were brought to a standstill.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "―Agh, ow!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Nagakura-sensei!? Are you alright?"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Someone threw their money offering from behind me!"
His eye looked teary, and he was rubbing the back of his head where some small change had hit it. When I looked more carefully, I could see other bits of small change flying about in the air from here and there. Some people had seemingly given up on reaching the offertory box and were just chucking their offerings…
A little while after that, I wanted to slip out of the crowd for Nagakura-sensei's sake as well, since he was so tall.
What could I do?
[Jump on the spot!]
[Weave our way through the crowd]
I felt like the line had started moving a lot slower since earlier, so I wanted to understand the situation around us first. Maybe some trouble had come up near the front of the crowd and caused this congestion...
Chizuru Yukimura: "Hngh!"
I tried jumping up and down on the spot to take a peek at what was going on with the offertory box. Like I figured, even throwing money offerings from here wouldn't do much. ...I wanted to get moving after that thought, but then...
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Awright, Yukimura-kun! If that's what you're up to, then I got you covered!"
He'd raised his voice, sounding like he'd jumped to a very hasty conclusion, when―
Chizuru Yukimura: ...!!?
(CG get!°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°)
I let out a soundless scream. Nagakura-sensei lifted me up, till I was suddenly two heads taller than the people in the crowd. Th-This felt less like he was giving me a little boost, and more like I was just riding around on one of his shoulders...!
Shinpachi Nagakura: "How's that, Yukimura-kun? You oughta be golden like this! If you're gonna throw your offering, now's the time!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Mngh...!" I was grateful for his consideration, but of course, now so many people had stopped to stare at us. Anyway, I wanted him to put me down right away! "Nagakura-sensei, um...!"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "What, you not high up enough!?"
Chizuru Yukimura: !? ...I sensed that if I phrased it in an indirect way, that would never work.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Right, then get up on my shoulders and―"
Chizuru Yukimura: "I don't need to! I won't be throwing my offering anyway!"
I hurriedly refused him outright, and Nagakura-sensei stopped in his tracks, taken aback. Then, he realized just how many stares we were attracting.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "H-Huh...? This is definitely not looking good in a lotta ways right now...!" Nagakura-sensei's face quickly changed color, and he rushed to put me down. "S-Sorry, Yukimura-kun... I really didn't mean anything by it, just now!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "O-Okay..." I gave a stiff nod as Nagakura-sensei desperately started defending himself.
Though I knew that he hadn’t had any bad intentions when he did that...
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Like, even if it was over the clothes, lifting up a young lady like that… Just seeing a teacher do that would make him unfit to be one with no excuses, but, I...! I really wanted to be your strength, with my whole heart, so...!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "...I understand how you feel very well, Nagakura-sensei. That's why, um... Th-That's enough!"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Would you... Would you forgive the likes of me...?" Staring at me, Nagakura-sensei sounded overwhelmed by emotion, his voice quivering. "Like, if you think back on it, I wasn't bothered by your weight or size at all."
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "No, I mean with my muscles, that would've been child's play to me, and my body just moved without me even thinking...!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "........."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "But I'm a crap excuse for a teacher. I didn't have any intention to lay a hand on a student! You gotta believe me on that at least!"
Chizuru Yukimura: "..............."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "U-Uhh? Yukimura-kun?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Nagakura-sensei... Just don't lift me up again out of nowhere… Can you promise me you won't?"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "O-Of course! I promise. I won't lift you up outta nowhere!"
My face was bright red, and even though my shoulders were shaking out of embarrassment, I finally mumbled out that much. In stark contrast, Nagakura-sensei went white as a sheet, throwing himself at my feet in apology…
Later...
Through one way or another, we had reached the offertory box and finished paying our respects. For some reason, a wave of exhaustion overcame me, and I suspected it wasn't just because of how we were engulfed by the crowd...
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Ummm, Yukimura-kun. After this, do you, uh… Could I walk you back, if that's okay with you?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Eh... S-Sure. If you'd be okay with it, too, Nagakura-sensei."
Like a little earlier, I gave a small, awkward nod. He also looked away from me a bit and scratched his cheek a little.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Man, I ended up looking totally uncool today… I gotta turn this around for a lil' bit!" Even though he blurted that out with total honesty... Nagakura-sensei had his flaws, but he might've also had his good points as well. A small smile escaped me in the end as I walked next to him…
We arrived in front of my house, and Nagakura-sensei spoke up again.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Thanks for today."
Chizuru Yukimura: "I should say the same. I'm glad I could pay my first respects of the year with you."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "I've got a feeling that this year's gonna be a good one. I mean―"
For a heartbeat, I felt startled. The gaze he fixed on me was overflowing with gentleness.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "I spent the very first day of it with you, after all."
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
His voice was soft, and tender. It clashed a little with his usual image: an energetic man with a sunny disposition.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Right, let's have a great time with the new school term coming up."
Chizuru Yukimura: "R-Right... Same here. Let's have a good one."
Though I nodded at his words, honestly, my feelings of wonderment still weren't fading. But Nagakura-sensei didn't say anything more than that, giving me a smile and a wave as he walked off.
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
I absently watched his figure fade into the distance… As soon as I couldn't see him any longer, I suddenly remembered the cold in the dead of winter and shivered a little.
School just couldn't start any sooner, could 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.