Chapter 131 – The Hands You Used to Hold

 

The fact that shocked me the most was about Akakusa-sensei’s marriage.

 

“You’re married now, Akakusa-sensei?…”

“Yes. I’m sorry, Sui-kun.”

 

Akakusa-sensei’s beauty didn’t change even after three years had passed. Actually, no, she became even prettier. Like a goddess that descended to Earth.

 

“Before I forget, can I have your autograph, Arina-sensei?”

 

She handed Arina a copy of her book and asked her to sign it.

 

I still couldn’t accept the fact that she was married, so I kept pouring more water down my throat. By the way, Ugin made me sign a contract to prohibit myself from drinking tomato juices. If I were to break it, I’d have to pay her a million yen. She wrote down that contract and made me stamp my fingerprint on it.

 

There were six people here. Aside from me and Arina, there were Akakusa-sensei, Makoto, Tsuru and Shirona. Arina said she wanted to call more people but she didn’t have their contact information. Which was good because I didn’t want this place to be any more crowded than this.

 

“By the way, Makoto, what happened with you and Ruka? You two aren’t married yet?”

 

After I asked that, the faces of the girls turned strange. One of them grinned for some reason, though. Did I ask something strange?

 

“About that… We broke up.”

“What? Did something happen?”

“We just went on different paths in life and it was hard for us to meet each other often, you see…”

“I see. Sorry to hear that. So, are you still in the cooking school?”

“I’ve graduated already. I’m working at a Japanese restaurant now. If I have the time, I’ll cook something for you. Don’t worry, my cooking is great, everyone in my place acknowledged it.”

“Now we’re talking. You owe me a dinner party then.”

 

Aside from his hairstyle, Makoto didn’t change much.

 

“But, you know, Sui. I’m glad that you’re doing well. I heard that when you wake up, you’ll be having difficulties talking, so I’ve been worrying about you until I heard you started talking just now.”

“Yeah, it was a miracle that the coma didn’t give me such aftereffects. Well, I’m the strongest going-home club member, so it’s probably more of a given than a miracle.”

“Woah, now that’s a nostalgic line to hear. I miss those words.”

“Well, in reality, I’m just an unemployed bum.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it, if it’s you, it’ll be fine. There aren’t many people who started working at our ages to begin with. I just started working recently. The guys who entered university also wouldn’t be working for a while.”

 

Shirona suddenly cut in.

 

“Like him, I’m working too! Come to my place sometime, Sui! I’ll give you a cool haircut!”

 

Shirona was as cute as ever and her hair looked smooth and pretty, as expected of a professional hairdresser.

 

“I don’t mind going there, but is it okay for me to go there?”

“Ah… Well… The employees and the other customers are all women…”

 

This talk reminded me of the time when Arina and I went to an all-you-can-eat sweets shop. I felt really unwelcome there. I’d probably feel the same thing if I were to go to Shirona’s place.

 

“But, don’t worry! Everyone wouldn’t mind it, I’m sure! You’re cool after all, Sui!”

 

Shirona said. Tsuru, who was sitting next to her, made her signature evil smirk when she heard that.

 

“Arina~ Shirona is hitting on Sui~”

“I-I am not! Jeez, stop teasing me!”

 

It seemed like Tsuru’s mischievous personality hadn’t changed. Since being a law student gave her a strict impression, this side of her would work well as a gap moe.

 

In any case, I was happy to see them smiling happily while messing around like this. Seeing them like this lifted the dark fog in my heart. I was probably overthinking too much about the future.

 

After that, they told me what had been going on with their lives after I fell into a coma.

 

Akakusa-sensei told me about her life as a teacher at another high school. Though, I didn’t hear the rest of her story because my brain shut off the moment she started talking about ‘a nice guy she met in town’.

 

Makoto got his chef’s license at a vocational school. He said that he studied Japanese cuisine as his specialty and was currently working as a trainee at a restaurant.

 

Tsuru was studying at Keio and she aimed to become a lawyer. I thought she was just messing around in her university, but she was actually studying harder than anyone else.

 

Shirona earned her beautician’s license at a vocational school. The license was a national grade license. She was currently working at a beauty salon in the city.

 

Then, we talked about our other classmates. Apparently, some of them got married already. Will I ever get married to someone when I get older?

 

By the way, I didn’t drink. I tried drinking, but it tasted really vile. I couldn’t believe that people actually shove that thing down their throat. Everyone around me was drinking though, especially Arina. The amount of alcohol she drank was more than a lot. Tsuru said that it was rare for her to drink at all, so she was probably drinking on my behalf.

 

The party ended early.

 

They said they didn’t want me to get too tired, so they canceled stuff like the after-party that they previously scheduled for me.

 

“Alright, take care of Arina for me, okay?~”

 

Suddenly, Tsuru brought Arina to my side. The latter’s face was flushed red and her gaze seemed blurry. Not only that, her gait was unsteady and she was having difficulty standing up.

 

“Oi, why are you giving her to me? I don’t know how to handle a drunkard!”
“Well, for starters, bring her to her apartment. We’re going to have another drinking party, so we’ll leave her to you~”

 

Tsuru, then, put her hands on Shirona’s and Makoto’s shoulders before dragging them away. Akakusa-sensei giggled at the sight then left without saying anything else.

 

“Can you go home by yourself, Arina? I’ll call a cab for you.”

“I can’t…”

“It’s just going back home, what do you mean you can’t?”
“Ngh…”

 

She looked so out of it. She’d probably fall asleep if I were to let her by herself for a second.

 

It was easy to find a cab in Sendai. In fact there were three of them parked just outside the building.

 

“Arina… C’mon, get a hold of yourself, the cab is here…”

“Yesh~”

 

This woman was hopeless.

 

In the end, I had to get into the cab with her. I somehow managed to get her to give me her address, so I told the driver that and went inside with Arina. I laid her head on my shoulder and let her close her eyes. Taking care of someone was hard work, but I had no right to complain about that, especially not to the woman who had been taking care of me for three years. This was the least I could do to return the favor to her.

 

When we arrived, I paid the driver and wrapped Arina’s arm around my shoulder.

 

“What’s your room number, Arina?”

“202…”

“It’s on the second floor?”
“What’s on the second floor?~”

 

I suspected that we got into the wrong building, but when I tried the key she gave me, it fit the hole perfectly.

 

The strong smell of alcohol made it hard for me to tell what the room originally smelled like. I used the flashlight on my phone to look for the light’s switch and turned it on when I found it. Her room was a modest one. It only had a bookshelf and a computer. There was a laundry hanger by the window where she hung her underwear on.

 

“We’re back at your house now. I’m going to lay you down now, so don’t throw up, okay?”

 

I laid her down on her bed. She looked like she was going to yank on her hair, so I brushed her hair away before that could happen.

 

When I was about to get up, she tugged my sleeve. I tried to gently brush her hand off, but her hold was firmer than I expected.

 

“Water…”
“Do you want water?”

“Yes. Water. Please…”

 

There were tears in her eyes. The flustered Arina looked really sexy and it was really hard to hold myself back. I was thinking about leaving the apartment as soon as I could, but ultimately decided to stay because I remembered the cause of her father’s death. Besides, this was also a way for me to repay her for what she had done for me.

 

When I brought her a glass of water, she sat up and gulped it.

 

She should be fine for the time being.

 

“Do you feel sick?”
“No, I’m fine.”

“Don’t drink too much next time, okay? There’s nothing good about drinking too much. This comes from a guy who almost died because of tomato juice.”

“I’ll drink even more next time…”

“Oi.”

“I’ll get drunk again and force you to come here again~”

“Dummy, stop saying nonsense and go to sleep.”

 

I gently pushed her shoulder and made her lie down. I covered her body with a blanket before once again telling her to go to sleep.

 

“Alright, I’m going home. Go to the toilet by yourself when you have to, okay? Don’t pee your pants.”

“No. Don’t go!”

“I have to go. I have a mission to protect the Earth from danger, okay? Can’t you hear the screams from the other side of the planet? People are waiting for me to save them.”

“Stop saying nonsense. Stay with me. I might throw up and hurt myself if you leave me alone…”

“Don’t throw up then.”

“Dummy… Even though I’ve held your hands all this time… You’re the worst…”

 

She was probably talking about what she did when I was in a coma.

 

Well, if she went that far, I couldn’t help but stay, no?

 

“Okay, I’ll sleep by the entrance. If you need something, just scream.”

“No. Sleep with me.”

“My ass. Go to sleep.”

“Dummy!”

 

I turned off the light and laid down by the entrance.

 

Was this what living together looked like? Nah, no way this was normal, right?

 

The place was clad in silence save for the low hum of the fridge. I realized that I was in an unbelievable situation. I was about to sleep, but Arina was close by. That Arina. The super beauty Hiwa Arina who was admired by every boy at school was sleeping nearby. I guess the saying ‘you never know what life has in store for you’ was true.

 

“Sui!”

 

Suddenly her voice echoed through the darkness.

 

“What is it?”

“Good night.”

“…Good night.”

 

Not long after, I could hear her snore.

 

The hard floor hurt my shoulders and back, making it harder for me to fall asleep. But after an hour of struggle, my consciousness gave in and I finally managed to fall asleep. Even though lately I had been afraid of falling asleep. The possibility of me going asleep for years again haunted me and it had been keeping me up at night. However, that thought didn’t haunt me tonight. Probably because Arina was here by my side and my excitement of being able to see her again the first thing in the morning.