Chapter 65

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Warning: If you were expecting to learn about a lot of Satou’s upbringing or her family this is not the chapter for you. I was expecting to learn a lot more however be prepared to be disappointed. On the bright side there is some fluff in the chapter.

Note: SM= Satou’s Mom SGP= Satou’s Grandpa SGM= Satou’s Grandma

Title: Satou-san’s Treasure (2)

Satou-san, holding a stuffed animal, was squirming. When I saw her, I felt something stirring in the back of my mind. She’s buying a stuffed mouse because she’s thinking about me – she ought to be happy. The rat thing was a little complicated because it’s directly tied to my own black history, but to be honest, it was a shock that even that was blown away. More importantly, I was happy to know that there were not one, but many items in her room that reminded her of me. She thinks about me when she’s in her room too. Maybe like when I’m alone in my room.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s cute.”(Y)

I said that first, hoping for a positive comment since I made her say it. But after I said it, I thought it was too much like I was talking about someone else, so I hurriedly added more words.

“It’s a wonderful thing, thank you.”(Y)

“I’m glad.”(S)

Satou-san is patting his chest. She looked at me with a smile of relief.

“I was worried that Yamaguchi-kun didn’t feel very well about what happened then, so…”(S)

Well, it’s a very touchy subject if you ask me if it’s a good memory. It’s just a negative memory that I don’t even want to remember. Even though the decision was made in a lottery, I’d rather be an attendee at a ball and dance with Satou-san, a noblewoman, than to play the role of a house mouse. If that’s the case, people may tell me to run for the position from the beginning, but I didn’t know she was going to be a lady, so I had no choice.

“Even now that I’ve graduated, I often think back to those days.”(S)

Satou-san also began to talk about her memories, as if she were reliving them.

“We went shopping and practiced together. Handing Yamaguchi-kun a horse hat at the side of the stage, taking pictures with you after the play, and then having lunch with you afterwards… All those memories are my treasures.”(S)

I could tell from the way she was holding the stuffed animal so carefully to her chest that she was treasuring the memories of the Cinderella play. From my point of view, I wonder why she went to such lengths – we were classmates for the entire two years of Higashi High School, and while we may have only talked and become friends for half of that time, there was a lot of time for us to talk and get to know each other in that time We should have made memories. I don’t think we need to limit ourselves to that month-long cultural festival and preparation period.

“It’s a good memory for Satou-san, isn’t it, the school festival of our third year?”(Y)

Once again, I sounded like I was talking about someone else’s business, but Satou-san didn’t take it into consideration and looked at me with a soft look.

“It’s a very important thing. It’s a good thing that I was in love with Yamaguchi-kun by then.”(S)

Those words made me feel uncomfortable first and foremost. ‘Uncomfortable’ may sound like a bad word, but it’s true that Satou-san doesn’t usually say things like this to me. Because she can’t read the atmosphere, she doesn’t hesitate to say something unimportant, even when she’s in a good mood, and that’s why she’s often in a good mood. Because of that, some of the good vibes were often scattered and I felt like I was missing the point. But now Satou-san is unusually good at reading the air. She said something that she normally wouldn’t say.

“It’s a memory of my favorite person. Cinderella at the school festival.”(S)

I was embarrassed as she said it, but she was very strong in her hands holding the stuffed animal. A rat dressed like a drum and fife band was squashed in Sato-san’s chest, and I had a complex feeling of jealousy and envy, which is something you shouldn’t have for an inanimate object.

“That’s why, inevitably, when I see a mouse toy, I feel like I want to buy it. It’s as if more and more of my memories of Yamaguchi-kun are being added to the treasures in my room.”(S)

I don’t think it’s okay to say, ‘I feel like,’ but oh well.

The stuffed mouse in this room is a treasure that, from Satou-san’s point of view, has a direct connection to me. I was of course happy that she had collected the things that related to me in this way, and I could read a kind of heat that was hard to detect from her, rather than the heat I usually felt from Satou-san. And I wanted to touch it directly.

I silently reached out and touched Satou-san’s completely reddened cheeks.

“Ah……..”(S)

Satou-san lets out a small voice and tries to turn away. When I put my hand to stop her from doing so, Satou-san looked up at me with wavering eyes. Her cheeks, without makeup, are smooth and feverish, as if they were swollen. Satou-san’s skin is beautiful, but without makeup, she still looks childish and hasn’t changed that much since her high school days. But she didn’t look at me like this when we were in high school. I’ve been watching her for a long time, so I know.

“Satou-san.”(Y)

I called her softly. Since we’re former classmates, I know her full name is ‘Satou Miyuki’. And since we’re going out, I should call her by her first name in this situation, but I wasn’t sure what to call her yet. ‘Miyuki-chan’ is light and childish, and Satou-san looks even more childish. On the other hand, ‘Miyuki-san’ seems to be too distant, and calling her ‘Miyuki-san’ is also rough, so I haven’t been able to reach a conclusion. Just because I called her by her surname, Satou-san became flustered and her breathing became sluggish, and her eyes wandered around in a flurry.

“Oh, um, you know, I’ve been naming these stuffed animals–”(S)

She said and pushed the stuffed animal she had been holding against my face as I tried to get close to her. It was complicated because it seemed like I’d been successfully interrupted, but I pushed the stuffed animal back a bit with one hand before asking her.

“’What’s its name?’ Do you happen to name all the stuffed animals you own?”(Y)

“Yes.”(S)

Satou-san nodded, then smiled as if in trouble.

“They all have the same name, though.”(S)

“What’s that name?”(Y)

I ask her one more question. She replies curtly.

“He’s called Ah-kun. It’ s weird.”(S)

I absentmindedly choked up. Since we are former classmates, of course Sato-san knows my full name. Atsushi Yamaguchi, that’s my name. I hadn’t yet asked Sato-san to call me by my first name only – at least, in front of myself.

“It’s not weird.”(Y)

“Sometimes I try to call him something different, like Atsushi-kun, but…”(S)

It seemed to give me a glimpse into how Satou-san spent her time in this room.

“But I thought that if I called him by that name, I would be able to call you by your name naturally, too.”

Again, something jolted in the back of my mind. It felt like a click and a switch was flipped on, and I took her cheek between my hands and pulled her towards me. Quickly, this time I kissed satou-san’s natural shade of lips, not wanting to be disturbed by the stuffed animal.

A few seconds passed without any interruptions. When I parted my lips, Sato-san looked down deeply, as if she was sinking.

“Y-Y-Yamaguchi-kun……..what happened to you all of a sudden…….!”(S)

If you’re asking me what’s going on, we’re in a relationship. It’s true that we don’t do this kind of thing very often, but that’s because we’ve been seeing each other outside a lot in the past. It doesn’t mean we don’t want to do it, and it doesn’t mean we don’t have to. It’s not that we shouldn’t do it unless it makes sense to do so. But to be honest, that was a little meaningful – it wasn’t without an excuse.

“I wanted to add some memories to Satou-san’s room.”(Y)

That’s how I described my motivation.

“Then I wondered if you would think about me more than ever before.”(Y)

Then Satou-san looked down, shook her shoulders and said,

“If I think about it any more than I do now, I’ll only be able to think about Yamaguchi-kun in this room…”(S)

I think that’s a killer phrase that could take my breath away. I was turned on again, and this time I caught Satou-san by the shoulders and approached her so that I could look into her face. She was frightened for a moment, then closed her eyes with a movement as sluggish as a turtle’s stride – but the next thing I knew, I heard a car stop outside, and her eyes opened with great force.

“Mom, they’re back!”(S)

Instantly she became impatient and said in a panic.

“Seriously, what shall we do, Yamaguchi-kun! I’m so red right now, aren’t I!”(S)

“Yeah, well I guess so.”(Y)

There was no point in telling a lie, and I nodded. So Satou-san started holding a cup of barley tea to her cheek, probably to cool her flushed cheeks.

“Ha, I need to get well soon! Cool, cool the red face!”(S)

She was mumbling to herself, as if she were performing a spell. I don’t know what I look like, but I’m thinking I should imitate her, when the sliding front door opens downstairs and I hear a cheerful woman’s voice say, ‘I’m home’.

Maybe it was the fact that I cooled it down with barley tea that did the trick, or maybe she didn’t dare to touch it. Satou-san’s mother didn’t point out anything to us when we met her.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Miyuki’s mother. You’ve always been a great help to my daughter.”(SM)

The first time I met Satou-san’s mother, she looked like what Satou-san might look like in twenty years’ time. Her overall expression was plain like Satou-san’s, but her single knotted hair was a mixture of gray and she looked a little tired. But when she smiled, she smiled softly, showing no sign of her fatigue. Her speech was even more laid back than Satou-san’s, and I got the impression that she was a calm person.

“We don’t have any young men in our house, so I didn’t know how much to prepare… so please keep eating.”(SM)

Just as she said, there were seven servings of sushi on the table in the Sato family’s living room. Apparently, she thought I could eat that much, but Satou-san’s family consists of her, her mother, and her grandparents. That means I have to eat three servings of sushi. I’m not a particularly big eater, so I did my best to respond to their hospitality. But the three servings were too much for me, and I had to ask Satou-san to help me.

“I’m sorry, Yamaguchi-kun. I’m sorry, Mom, but I think you’re getting carried away.”(S)

Satou-san whispered ticklingly and poured me another cup of tea.

“Because I never thought I’d see the day when Miyuki would bring a boy home”(SM)

Her mother said in a calm tone, and Satou-san nodded deeply to herself.

“I agree. But you know, Yamaguchi-kun is a very nice person.”(S)

As I sat next to her and listened to the conversation, I wondered what ‘nice person’ meant in this case. I hope it doesn’t mean that I”m going out with Satou-san because she’s a nice person, but that she’s nice enough to be chosen by me.

“But you seem to be a serious girl. I’m listening!”(SGP)

Satou-san’s grandfather, who was sitting around the table with us, is said to be over 70 years old. Although he didn’t talk much, his voice was loud and his words had a tremendous impact on me once he spoke. When he spoke, an old lady sitting next to him started to follow him, laughing.

“Grandpa, the boy Miyuki brings here can’t be a bad boy, can he?”(SGM)

“Yes indeed, that’s right!”(SGP)

The old man, who is hard of hearing, raised his voice and then continued as if he suddenly remembered.

“That’s the one… you know, the one in Miyuki’s room.”(SGP)

“Oh, pictures? That’s right.”(S)

Satou-san nodded her head. The old man backed up the bad feeling I had about the word ‘photograph’ by saying,

“He played a mouse, you know. That’s a serious boy!”(SGP)

I had a bad premonition about this, and I sipped on the tea that Satou-san made for me.

“You saw this?”(SGM)

“Yes. Miyuki showed me herself. He was dressed like a magnificent rat, which shows his effort.”(SGP)

The grandmother tugged at her chin and Satou-san’s mother continued to talk calmly.

“I was at the school festival to see a play.”(SM)

“You’ve even seen the play?”(SGM)

“Yes, I wanted to see Miyuki’s sunshine. But Miyuki said that the mice are doing their best too, so…”(SM)

When her mother’s eyes turned to Satou-san, she smiled shyly and shook her head several times.

“I saw him earnestly devoting himself to the play. Miyuki was right, I thought he was a very good kid. That’s why I’m glad to meet him today.”(SM)

Satou-san’s mother speaks as carefree and honestly as if she were Satou-san herself. So I had mixed feelings, as if I didn’t know whether I should be happy or depressed that she had seen my black history.

I knew that Satou-san’s family was going to bed early, so I decided to leave early after dinner.

“Thanks for coming over today.”(S)

I opened the sliding door and walked out, and Satou-san came out to see me off. It was already dark outside, and the dimly lit residential streets were lit up by house lights here and there.

“Thank you for introducing me, too. It was fun and the sushi was delicious.”(Y)

I answer and she laughs aloud.

“You’ve been forcing yourself to eat, are you okay? If your belly is so big, you might get a stomach ache when you walk.”(S)

“That’s probably okay. It wasn’t too much of an overwhelm, thanks to you, Satou-san.”(Y)

Then I reached out and touched Sato-san’s cheek again. It’s only slightly warm now. Satou-san blinks shyly, as if remembering something.

“I was also happy to be able to view Satou-san’s treasure.”(Y)

“Yes.”(S)

“I’d be more than happy to have you feel like you got another one today.”(Y)

“Yeah … more. And I’ll never forget today.”(S)

I laughed and let go of her hand as Satou-san said that to me.

“Good night then. I’ll see you later, Satou-san.”(Y)

“Good night, Yamaguchi-kun. Come again soon.”(S)

I was sad to see her go, but the night breeze was a little cold. After a short farewell, I walked out of the front of her house. Once I looked back, Satou-san was still watching me off in front of her house and gave me a big wave when she noticed me.

The fact that I played a mouse in a Cinderella play has been my dark history until today. It’s not something that can be put to rest, and I thought for a moment today that it would be good to have it remembered. More importantly, I can be a treasure for Satou-san. It doesn’t matter that I felt embarrassed, it doesn’t matter.

Notes:

Did not learn too much about her family but got Yamaguchi saying some sappy lines.

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