Capítulo 126: O Dia de Natal

Beep, beep, beep, beep—

Awakened by the alarm, Naruse opened his eyes instantly, a flurry of thoughts crossing his mind. From breakfast to the bus, then to school and attendance, the final thought that flickered by reminded him that winter break had already begun; he had forgotten to turn off his alarm last night.

"..."

Beep, beep, beep, beep—

The alarm continued to ring. He reached out, checked the time before silencing it, and promptly fell back asleep.

When he woke up again, two hours had already passed. Gazing at the ceiling in a daze for a while, Naruse turned over and looked out the window. The sky was veiled by dark clouds, reflecting the snow below; it was simultaneously gloomy and bright, making it difficult to gauge the time.

Winter break had started, so he could just keep lying there.

It was precisely because of this that last night, Kaisei, Hikaru Takigawa, and Morimi had not only stayed for dinner but lingered until quite late, spending the entire time discussing the plans for their upcoming hot spring trip. After wrapping up, they had all accompanied Morimi, who lived the furthest away, back to her house. By the time he returned home, tidied up a bit, and showered, it was nearly two in the morning. Before sleeping, he had specifically told Shoko not to wake up too early to prepare breakfast so they could both get some good rest, yet he had been the one to forget to turn off the alarm...

After lying there a bit longer, his consciousness fully cleared, and Naruse got up. He went downstairs to wash up, and hearing his movements, Shoko, who had just awakened, got up as well.

"Merry Christmas, Harumi."

"Merry Christmas... I almost forgot it was actually Christmas today." Naruse looked at her face. "Did you sleep enough? You can barely keep your eyes open."

"At this hour, it’s about enough."

The two returned to their respective rooms to retrieve the Christmas gifts they had prepared for each other and exchanged them.

"This year’s Christmas gift is finally something you gave me personally, Harumi."

"It will be like this from now on, too."

After exchanging gifts, Naruse went to prepare breakfast. Once they had finished eating, they began packing their bags for the hot spring trip.

"You don't need to bring too much. One change of clothes should be enough."

"Uh-huh. For clothes, yes."

"Anything else?"

"Toiletries and things like that."

Naruse didn't have many toiletries to pack and finished quickly, while Shoko was still sorting through the various bottles and jars she had bought or received from Matsu-chiaki.

"Take your time choosing. I'm going to take out the trash."

"Ah, if you're heading out, Harumi, could you stop by the convenience store and buy some..."

Naruse agreed and stepped out with the trash bag. Just as he reached the intersection, he saw Kaisei approaching on her bicycle.

"Ah."

Seeing him, she quickened her pace and pushed the bike over to him.

"Good morning."

Naruse glanced at the snowy sky, then at the crate on the back of the bike, which was nearly full of wine bottles. "Delivering wine?"

"Yeah." Kaisei nodded and reached up to push her sliding black-rimmed glasses back into place. When she was working or helping out at her family's shop, she rarely dressed up or wore contact lenses, opting instead for these black-rimmed glasses and a green burlap apron.

"Where are you delivering to?" Naruse asked.

"Torino," Kaisei said.

"...That's quite far." From Aoyagi to Torino, it was nearly two or three kilometers. He looked down at the front wheel of the bicycle, where white snow had packed into the treads. "Are you going to push it all the way?"

"The road is covered in snow; I can't ride it," Kaisei pouted, gesturing to the bottles in the crate. "It would be a disaster if I fell... and it's too heavy to carry, so I have no choice but to push the bike."

"You should get a decent delivery fee for a trip like this." Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to it.

Kaisei nodded, then smiled. "It's not that much, really."

"Go on then." Naruse didn't want to delay her earning money, especially since she was "deep in debt."

Kaisei nodded, hesitated for a moment, and looked at him. "Um... Merry Christmas."

Naruse smiled. "Yeah, Merry Christmas."

A single greeting, nothing more. Neither of them had prepared a separate Christmas gift for the other.

After saying goodbye to Kaisei, Naruse dumped the trash and headed toward the convenience store.

"Ah..."

However, he hadn't walked many steps before he heard a low shriek behind him. Looking back, he saw her struggling to steady the bike, which was tipping to one side; the crate on the back was too heavy, and she was being pulled down with it.

Naruse hurried back, caught the bike, and steadied her.

"There was a pile of snow..." Kaisei kicked at the ground, sending snowflakes flying.

Naruse held the bicycle and looked at the long road ahead. His packing was already done, and he had nothing planned for the morning...

"Give me the address; I'll deliver it for you. You go to the convenience store and buy the things I need, then take them to my place and give them to Shoko."

Kaisei was stunned. "Eh..."

"The delivery fee is still yours."

She looked at him. "Is that okay?"

"If you hesitate any longer, it won't be."

She immediately agreed.

"Consider it a Christmas gift," Naruse added.

Kaisei smiled and nodded. "Yeah... thank you."

With the money, Kaisei ran toward the convenience store, while Naruse pushed the bicycle toward the delivery address she had provided. As he walked, he kept a close eye on the road conditions to avoid any accidents.

He tried riding it for a bit, but the snow on the ground was far too deep; even struggling forward felt precarious. After nearly falling, he obediently climbed off to push the bike again.

"It's been a long time since I've been this way."

Leaving the prefectural road, the buildings on either side of the path grew visibly scarce. Looking out, the surroundings were vast fields of farmland blanketed in snow, and he was the only point of movement. Further ahead lay the Kitaki River, another waterway flowing down from Mount Iwaki and passing through the Aoyagi region. Torino was on the other side of the Kitaki River, a bit of a distance away. He used to go there often to stir up trouble, but in the half-year since returning from Tokyo, he had barely been to this area.

The snow was vast and white; there wasn't a soul on the road. After pushing for about ten minutes, Naruse suddenly heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind him. He looked back and was surprised to see Kaisei running toward him.

"Kaisei..."

He stopped. She finally caught up, panting heavily as she leaned against the wine crate, unable to speak for a moment before crouching down.

"Ugh... I feel awful..."

Naruse felt helpless. Supporting the bike with one hand, he gently patted her back. "Why did you come?"

She clutched her stomach, and after a while, she spoke: "To go with you..."

Naruse shook his head, said nothing, and stood by waiting. After crouching for a while, Kaisei finally recovered from the exertion of her run.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now..." She took his hand to stand up, then quickly let go. "Let's go."

Naruse continued to push the bike while Kaisei followed behind, symbolically holding onto the crate on the back.

"Did you buy the things?"

"Yeah, I already dropped them off for Shoko."

He glanced back at the snow on her knees. "Did you fall on the way?"

"Just a little... but I don't feel anything, it's fine."

There was no one to be seen on the road. On the boundless snowy plain, two sets of footprints and a single set of tire tracks gradually stretched out.

"Did you pack your bags for the trip tomorrow?"

"I packed them this morning."

Naruse tilted his head slightly. "What did Mr. Seiichiro say?"

Kaisei looked at him. "'Go ahead'... that's what Dad said."

Naruse smiled.

After pushing for a while longer, a crack in the landscape appeared in the middle of the snowy plain that the snow couldn't completely cover. They had reached the Kitaki River. Continuing along the path, they reached a bridge crossing the water. The snow covered the bridge deck, and the railings were coated in such a way that only jagged shapes remained.

Reaching the bridge, Naruse tried to park the bike, but found it impossible to stand it upright, so he had to push it to the railing and look out over the river. Seeing him stand there in silence for a while, Kaisei also looked down at the riverbed. Both sides were covered in snow, with black rocks exposed in the middle.

"Is there something in the river?"

"Nothing... it's just a river." Naruse shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the riverbed.

Kaisei recalled something from the past: "You really love being by the river."

Naruse smiled. "I used to feel that my mood would calm down when I stayed by the river. Now, it's more just a habit... Let's go."

He pushed the bike forward, and Kaisei looked at him before following quickly.

"When I was in Tokyo, I lived by the river for a while, along the Sumida River," Naruse said.

"Really?"

"It was the kind of riverside where you could see boats on the water just by opening the window, and if you jumped down, you'd be in the riverbed. A perfect riverside."

Kaisei looked at him, imagining his life when he lived by the river. "You must have been very happy."

Naruse was silent for a few seconds, then smiled. "Maybe."

Crossing the bridge brought them into the Torino area. The wine was to be delivered to a restaurant in Torino, and Naruse, having a sharp eye, soon spotted the shop's sign.

"Is that the 'Torino Flavors' Kaisei mentioned?"

"Ah... yeah."

When they reached the shop entrance, Kaisei went forward to steady the bike, and Naruse carried the entire crate of wine down and into the shop. By the time Kaisei parked the bike and went inside, he was already collecting the payment.

"Is this it?"

She took the money and counted it. "Yes."

The owner was a regular customer of Maki Liquor Store and knew Kaisei, so he pulled her aside to chat for a moment. Naruse took the empty crate from another clerk and went outside first.

"Kaisei's boyfriend?"

"...No, it's not like that."

"Hmm~ you should go for it."

Kaisei looked outside at Naruse, who was securing the crate to the back of the bike. "Go for what..."

When Kaisei came out and they headed back, Naruse noticed she seemed somewhat sullen. He pushed the bike in front, looked back at her, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Kaisei quickened her pace slightly. "I'll push it myself."

The crate was empty, and the bike wasn't as heavy, so Naruse didn't refuse. There was still no one else on the road. The two walked back along the path they had come, with their footprints and tire tracks from earlier on the other side of the road.

The wilderness was quiet, with only the sound of the bicycle chain and their crunching footsteps in the snow. Suddenly, they had nothing to talk about. Kaisei pushed the bike for a while, then looked back. Naruse was gazing at the unfamiliar surroundings, his mind far away from the road beneath his feet. She turned back around.

It took some time to get back to the familiar prefectural road, and Naruse followed Kaisei until they stopped in front of Morimi's Secondhand Bookstore.

"Are you going to keep delivering wine after you get home?"

"Yeah... there's one more delivery closer by, over at Soya Hospital."

Soya Hospital was an internal medicine and orthopedic hospital located right by the prefectural road; it was nearby, and the kindergarten they had attended was also in that direction.

"Be careful on the road," Naruse said as he looked at her, clearly not intending to go with her any further.

"...Oh."

Watching Kaisei push her bike back toward Maki Liquor Store, Naruse turned and walked into the bookstore. Morimi was sitting at the counter and had seen him long ago.

"Did you go deliver wine with Kaisei?"

"You could tell?"

She pushed up her glasses. "Intuition."

"That's terrifying," Naruse muttered, turning to walk into the book aisles.

"We're leaving for the trip tomorrow; do you even have time to read?" Morimi rose from behind the counter and stopped beside him.

"Of course I have time." Naruse scanned the spines of the books packed onto the shelves. "I can read a bit this afternoon... I have plenty of time in the evening, and tomorrow, going to Yamagata, there will be plenty of time on the road as well."

"Are you planning to take books with you on the trip?"

"Is that not allowed?"

Morimi hummed softly. "You really are leisurely."

"It's winter break, after all."

"Suit yourself."

She didn't say anything more and didn't return to the counter, instead staying by the shelf. Naruse pulled a book down and flipped through it. "Have you packed your bags?"

"Aside from a few changes of clothes, there's nothing else to pack," Morimi said.

"This new book seems alright."

"I haven't read it. If you're taking it with you, lend it to me when you're done."

Naruse turned to look at her. "Will you pay?"

"What do you think?"

"This is a new book, though."

"In that case, I sincerely thank you for your patronage."

Naruse shook his head and finally picked out two new books. When he went to the counter to pay, Morimi glanced at his new wallet.

"By the way, today is Christmas."

"Yeah, Merry Christmas."

"No gift?"

"I'm giving it to you."

Naruse turned and handed one of the new books to her, then gave a solemn instruction: "Make sure you bring this tomorrow."

"..."

She looked at him for a moment, then took it. "Thank you, I accept."

"No gift in return?"

"On the shelf to your right, the fourth row from the top, there's an excellent adventure novel. It's enough to keep you occupied for a day or two."

Naruse turned to look, found the unassuming book, and opened it to read the opening. It was indeed far more attractive than its cover or title suggested.

Beep—

Morimi scanned the book and handed it to him.

"How much?" Naruse took out his wallet again, ready to count the change.

"Four hundred yen," she said, then pulled out her own wallet and took out a five-hundred-yen coin. "I told you it was a gift."

"I thought Morimi's gift was just the recommendation part."

"I'm not that stingy."

Naruse smiled, put away her gift, and after a few more words, he left. Watching him go, Morimi picked up the unwrapped new book and stared at the cover in a daze.

"Ichiyo."

Morimi Tree emerged from the back. "Leave this to me. We're going on a trip tomorrow; make sure you pack your things early when you get home."

"It's already packed." Despite saying this, Ichiyo gave up the counter, not forgetting to take the book with her.

Morimi Tree glanced at it casually.

"This one's already paid for," Ichiyo said.

Morimi Tree was slightly surprised. "If you want to read it, just write it down in the ledger."

She smiled. "Harumi paid for it."

The day remained overcast, with occasional flurries of snow. Around three in the afternoon, Hikaru Takigawa stepped out of her house, intending to go to the convenience store across the street. Before crossing, she saw two familiar figures standing at the bus stop in the distance.

"Shoko and Harumi... are they going out?"

She prepared to go over to greet them, but turned just in time to see a bus speeding toward them from the other end of the road.

"Ah, the bus is here..."

She hurried across the street and stood outside the convenience store, watching the bus pull over and the two of them board. Are they going to the city to buy something?

The bus pulled away, and Hikaru Takigawa walked into the convenience store.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing Naruse's gaze, Shoko looked back.

"I think I saw Hikaru."

"Where..."

"She went into the convenience store," Naruse turned back quickly.

Shoko looked twice more, then turned around as well. At this time of the afternoon, besides the driver, they were the only ones on the bus.

"It's so quiet."

"Yeah."

"The restaurant won't be closed, will it?"

"No, it's Christmas, after all... and I already called ahead to reserve a Christmas dinner."

"Uh-huh."