Konoha (Before) - No! This Isn't Right!
All of a sudden, I'm told that a boy would be coming to my house.
According to the main Oyama household[3], he's the same age as me.
Huh? Wait, what?
When I[1] try to express my objection, the person who broke that news[2] to me has already walked out the door, carrying away her belongings wrapped in an old-fashioned arabesque-patterned cloth. She's fast.
"It's like I'm in a manga," I blurt out. This sounds like a pretty big deal to me.
No, wait... Uh, what should I do?
Oh, Konoha, you idiot! What'd I mean, big deal!? I should be chasing after her right now!
I should be able to catch up if I start running now. ...Nope, I am not able. Even after running down the hill all the way to the railway crossing[4], I don't see even a shadow of Teruko-san anywhere.
Uh, what do people say in times like this? I have to remember... to use the knowledge I've cultivated through studying...
What's the saying, again? Hmm... Aha! It's no use crying over spilt milk!
Very good, Konoha. Now that's what I call an honor student. I feel a little happy. But no... No, this isn't right...
If I were a cat, I'd be flipping over and throwing a tantrum by now. I give up. This is a problem...
／＊／
While trudging back home, I ponder various things. Living expenses are sure to increase with one additional person living in the house. That's not an issue, though. There's one unused room on the second floor of the house. The wood will creak whenever he walks up the stairs, but that's not an issue, either.
And his futon... Right, futon. Do I have one ready? I might have bought an extra for accommodating guests, and never got to use it before... Or maybe not...
No! This isn't right! Stop it, Konoha!
That was close. I almost let the flow sweep me away. Now this is a problem -- My adaptability is just too high. Living together with a boy my age is... a pretty big deal, isn't it? What should I do, what should I do... Does the bathroom's door even have a lock installed?
No! This isn't right!
I'm adapting to the situation again! I'm supposed to be thinking! That's right! I have to speak up against this!
I'll contact the main Oyama household and say I can't abide by their decision! I have to be brave! I'm not ready to live under the same roof as a boy!
But for now, I should calmly think this through. The Oyama household is likely to reject my appeal on the grounds that Teruko-san is also living here. Which is... true. We have a guardian with us, so it shouldn't be a problem. Under normal circumstances, that is.
I mean, she just took her belongings and left... Yeah...
I'm having a hard time processing everything... though it shouldn't be a surprise. Teruko-san has always been like that. If she doesn't like something that's happening[7], even if just a little bit, she'd leave the house. How troublesome. She's not a bad person, but she sure is a great candidate for the "Don't Become This Kind of Adult" Association's new vice director. I can't believe we're even related.
Oh, but we have a similarly high level of adaptability, I guess. Teruko-san could sleep anywhere in the world... or so she claimed.
As I walk up the hill on the way home, a thought crosses my mind.
This is... quite overwhelming.
I mean, who can blame me? He's a relative, sure, but he's a boy my age, and we'll be living under the safe roof.
Besides, I don't have the mental capacity to deal with this. If Teruko-san's limit is like the Pacific Ocean, then mine is the Seto Inland Sea[5]... wait, that's still pretty vast. But saying it's like those puddles over there wouldn't feel right because it sounds dirty, and I'm not about to belittle myself like that.
Anyway, well... I'm in a pinch. Seriously.
After that, I try to calm myself down by cleaning every nook and cranny of the house, exterminating the mold in the bathroom with vinegar and heated water, and hanging up the extra futon and shaking the dust off it with a carpet beater.
Then I sit at the low dining table, drink some barley tea from my favorite flower-patterned cup[6], and put my hands together before eating somen for dinner. ...No! This isn't right!
Yeah. Right. I knew it. I let the flow sweep me away... I mean, what else could I have done? Stopping the process of cleaning midway is a crime. It's even written in the Napoleonic Code[8].
Alright. First, I need to settle down. Then I proceed to study, watch some TV, and go to bed. When I turn off the lights, I hear "No! This isn't right!" echo in my head, and then I slide under my blanket.
This must be how we humans live our lives, growing older regardless of what happens. As the era transitioned from Heian to Kamakura and the people's legacies were written down, they had no idea how much high school students these days would struggle to keep up in history class. Well, that struggle shouldn't be as bad as what I'm going through, for what it's worth.
I replay today's events in my head about 50 times, and in the end, I forget why I was even in a pinch in the first place. It's alright. I'm actually pretty strong.
......
Oh come on!
I spring up from the futon. Why am I adapting to this situation!? I'm supposed to be speaking up against it! That's what I thought earlier today!
Well, I'm sleepy now, so I'll think about it again tomorrow...
I slide back under my blanket[9]. Here's hoping Teruko-san comes back soon.
===
Chapter 4 Character Profiles
↩[1] Konoha (Konoha Oyama)
An honor student, but easily gets sidetracked. The game's heroine (maybe).
Her reflexes and adaptability are unusually high.
Shares this trait with Nini and Teruko, her relatives. Perhaps it runs in the Oyama family.
First-person pronoun used: Watashi
↩[2] Teruko (Teruko Oyama)
Was a candidate for the best Miko of Oyama, but she abandoned her duties to marry the man she loved, with whom she later had a child. As a result, she was exiled from the main household.
===
Chapter 4 Footnotes
↩[3] Oyama Household
Konoha's ancestral home.
Manages an enormous Shinto shrine in Kagoshima, which serves as a training institution for God Slayer Miko.
Konoha was also raised to become a God Slayer Miko, but was exiled from the main household because of her low compatibility with her invoked goddess.
↩[4] Railway Crossing
Also serves as a border of the town.
↩[5] Seto Inland Sea
The town of Ashihara Nakatsu faces the Seto Inland Sea.
Has almost no waves, so some first-time visitors mistake it for a lake.
↩[6] Flower-patterned Cup
This sort of glassware probably existed in every Japanese household at that time.
In fact, it seemed as if flower patterns were on everything back then, be it trays, rice cookers, and so on.
Konoha's favorite cup has a cherry blossom pattern.
↩[7] "Doesn't like something that's happening"
Such as when there's sugar in her omelet.
↩[8] "Written in the Napoleonic Code"
Just a joke Konoha made up on the spot. Don't worry about it.
↩[9] "Slide back under my blanket"
Also called "procrastinating." In the game, you can pass the time by sleeping.
===
No comments:
Post a Comment