oregairu-voc2

Chapter o2. Yukino Yukinoshita’s Inner Clock is Precise as Always
Nights are usually quiet and calm, but today noise didn’t cease even long past the midnight. It’s night already yet I still saw the lighted windows and people’s silhouettes from the train car’s window. Inside the car was equally lively. Having passed several stations in the stuffed train I finally exited through the turnstile along with the crowd. After a short walk down the slope I found myself near the Inage Sengen shrine’s torii.
It’s said that this huge torii near the 14th National highway had been underwater once. It was stated in the Chiba-kun’s official twitter, so it’s true. Maybe there was a big shrine long ago, like the Itsukushima shrine from the UNESCO’s world heritage list. In other words there’s high chance Inage Sengen is in that list too. At least, it is for me.
The shrine was very crowded. It wasn’t in my World Heritage list for nothing. What a popular shrine! I went along with the crowd and reached the torii. Underneath I found the person I had agreed to meet with. She saw me too and started waving her hand high, her light brown hair bun shaking back and forth.
“Hikki! Hi-yahallo!”
“What kind of a greeting is that?” I said without a trace of malice. Yuigahama wore fishnet tights, beige coat and a long scarf. Her hands were clad in mittens. Beside her stood someone I wasn’t expecting at all. White overcoat, plaid skirt with her slim legs in black tights showing underneath. Yukino Yukinoshita. Apparently she was called by Yuigahama. Yukinoshita threw a glance at me and nodded.
“Hello.”
“Hey.” I replied. At this moment we heard loud bell ringing, signalling the year was about to end. People were constantly checking watch and phones so as not to miss that moment.
A voice was heard counting second to midnight. Five, four, three, two,one, and then people in the crowd started shouting. Among them were the ones who wanted to jump at the exact moment and then tell everyone they weren’t on the Earth when the new year started. Wonder where would you all be then? You hadn’t even exited the ozone layer. I had the same cold look when looking at them. Yuigahama’s eyes, on the contrary, were fired up.
“Happy yahallo!” She said turning to us.
“What kind of congratulations is that? Happy New Year.” I replied with an ironic smile. Someone coughed nearby and I turned my head to her.
“Happy New Yeah!” Yukinoshita said while wrapping her face in the muffler. Yeah, it’s kinda embarrassing to gather and simply say Happy New Year to each other. I was tugging the end of my scarf now too.
“Yeah, ummm… Happy New Year.” I too said this normal phrase. самое обычное поздравление. After we had congratulated each other Yukinoshita pointed somewhere aside.
“Then let’s enter the shrine,” she offered.
Paper lamps were illuminating the road uphill to the shrine. We started walking up the road. Trees grew on both sides of the road. The shrine visitors were moving along to the shrine itself. This shrine was the biggest around here, so it obviously attracted a lot of people. Even after midnight the flow of people was only getting bigger by the minute.
Yuigahama was turning her head back and forth, looking at the scenery. Ah, she was probably interested in that shop at the edge of the road.
“Just like a festival,” she said.
“You bet. So many people around here. Just the right time to make some money. I wanna go home already.” I replied. Yuigahama pouted.
“Why do you always say it first thing? Let’s go eat something now that we’ve come here and all,” Yuigahama offered and deviated from the general crowd. Yukinoshita stopped her by tugging her scarf.
“Shrine first,” Yukinoshita rebuked, touched Yuigahama’s shoulders and turned her ahead.  I turned my head too just in case. The line was really long, we won’t get to the shrine anytime soon. Wish I could do something with this crowd, it was getting on my nerves.
I wanna go home...
I hoped upstairs would be emptier once we climbed there. Wonder if there were stalls up there? Everyone looked at the shrine ahead and slowly walking up. We finally were approaching the shrine; it would be our turn soon.
“What do you want to ask?” Yuigahama asked..
“You’ve got the date wrong. It’s not Tanabata. ”
“Indeed. Nobody makes wishes here.” Yukinoshita noted looking her in the eye. Yuigahama made a serious face and groaned.
“But it’s like they say, rely on gods during hard times and all that. Like, pray and everything’s gonna be okay...”
Such a wonderful logic. If only the gods had been such convenient creatures, our world would’ve been way more peaceful.
“It’s usually said by non-religious people. Something along the lines of weak people relying on gods in tough situations.“ Yukinoshita replied while massaging her temples. Seemed like she didn’t quite agree with Yuigahama on that.
“But you should rely on gods. Ask and you shall receive and all...” Yuigahama said, perplexed. Apparently she was confused. The people in front of us were done and stepped away. Yukinoshita sighed.
“Let it be your way. But I think those who can make an oath would have an advantage,” she said and smiled.
“Ah, got it… Then I have one strong oath to make,” Yuigahama said while stepping closer to Yukinoshita.
“All right,” Yukinoshita replied gently, and they stepped to the offerings box. After throwing the offering they rang the bell, made two bows and two claps and closed their eyes.
An oath before gods… Sounds ominous. I followed the girls and clapped my hands together. A wish, or an oath… I looked at Yukinoshita and Yuigahama standing in front of me. Yukinoshita was quietly standing, eyes closed; Yuigahama was mumbling something, and judging by the wrinkle on her forehead she was nervous. I don’t know what kind of wish they made or what kind of oath they swore. I closed my eyes; I don’t have anything resembling a wish. All that I need I could do if I make an effort.
So I wished for Komachi to pass her exams. That was the only thing I couldn’t affect in any way.
x x x
We were finally done with the rituals and left the crowd behind. I looked around. Wow, so many shrine maidens! Only shrine maidens and nurses. Kidding, no nurses. I passed this shrine maiden paradise and stepped to a long line to the shrine stall. Numerous lucky charms, holy arrows, talismans and other goods were on sale, attracting people. I bought my talisman and decided to draw the omikuji in the spirit of New Year. I shook the wooden box and passed the fallen out paper to the shrine maiden. She handed me the fortune slip and I hurried to the girls.
I’ve found them near one of the shrine’s corners. Yuigahama was smiling ear-to-ear while Yukinoshita was looking at something in her hands with a frown. Did something go wrong? I headed to them.
“Sorry for taking my time,” I said. Yuigahama looked at me.
“Not at all. We pulled the omikuji too,” she replied and showed me hers. “Great Luck” was inscripted on it. Though I should’ve guessed based on her expression. I turned my eyes to Yukinoshita. She pursed her lips and stared at me heavily.
“What did you draw? You’ve drawn the omikuji, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” I said and showed my slip I’ve been holding in my hand all this time.. The girls looked into it.
“Small Luck...”
That was too vague for my liking. Although what would one expect for just a hundred yen? I looked at every sentence on the slip but still didn’t understand a thing. For example, there was a reminder to watch my health. All in all it wasn’t a bad one, so I wondered if I should tie it.
Now it was Yukinoshita’s turn to show her slip.
“Moderate Luck,” she said with a smile, her tone proud. She hated losing as expected. Good thing her mood improved. She made a satisfied humph and flicked her hair off the shoulders. Yuigahama was watching her with a smile.
“Good thing no one drew the Bad Luck slip” Yuigahama said with a smile.
“Indeed so, ” Yukinoshita agreed and averted her eyes, her face red. Apparently she acknowledged her competitive nature. Her eyes met mine.
“Oh, isn’t it the talismans package?” she asked while looking at the said package with interest.  I’d been holding it for quite a while. I showed her the small paper package with “Inage Sengen Shrine” written on it.
“Ah, this? Yeah. Bought it for Komachi so that she would pass the exams.”
“Oh,” Yukinoshita said, then tilted her head and looked at me.
“We can draw on plate for her if you want...”
“Yeah, for Komachi-chan’s luck!” Yuigahama butted in.
“... The line there’s long though,” I added looking at the line to the stall I’ve  recently come from. I just couldn’t accept their offer.
“Yeah, thanks,” I said moments later. The girls blinked after hearing it. My shoulders twitched.
“What?” I asked under their impolite stares.
“Nothing. I was just surprised,” Yukinoshita coughed.
“I’m not used to you saying ‘thanks’. Besides, you hate waiting in lines.” Yuigahama added and smiled. Hey, what’s so funny? I do thank people properly. I groaned in defeat.
“I resolved to throw my pride away for my sister. I’d on my way home long ago if not for Komachi.”
“Looks like it’s common sense you’ve thrown away, not pride,” Yukinoshita said in disappointment, then made a sad sigh and started walking.
“Shall we?” Yukinoshita asked several step ahead. Yuigahama looked at her and pushed my back. I started walking. We caught on to Yukinoshita and stood at the end of this long line.
x x x
After some substantial amount of time we finally wrote our wishes one the wooden plate. Yukinoshita’s beautiful straight-out-of-textbook handwriting, my scribbles and Yuigahama’s broad strokes. Now you couldn’t say what wish was written on the plate. I feel sorry for the god who was going to bring that wish to life. On the other hand it was now similar to talismans, so grabbing the god’s attention was probably a good thing.
On behalf of us all I’ve hung the plate and clapped my hands. Please, o little plate, let Komachi pass her exams. I mumbled ‘namu-namu’ and turned to the girls.
“Everything’s alright now.” I said. The girls nodded in satisfaction. Well, I didn’t have it in my initial plans, but now the purpose of going to the shrine was fulfilled. I tried to remember if we missed anything.
“So now what? Going home?” I offered.
“No we’re not! Why do you always say these things?” Yuigahama asked with a cold looks. I wanted to say we’ve done all we wanted, but Yukinoshita interrupted me.
“We wanted to check the stalls, didn’t we?” she offered. She probably remembered Yuigahama wanted to buy something there before. Yuigahama energetically nodded.
Well, it’s still on the way home, so I don’t mind. Didn’t have the say on the matter anyway, the girls have started walking already. We went back the same road we came here by. Finally we saw the stalls. Mostly there was takoyaki and okonomiyaki, but seasonal goods, like amazake, was there too. Among them I noticed the shooting gallery. I’ve seen them regularly at the summer festivals, but in winter… Someone started talking nearby.
“Why shooting gallery at the year send-off?” Yukinoshita wondered and approached the gallery to inspect it closer.
“Yeah, it’s really strange. Well, some visitors come with their children so maybe someone decided to take care of them.”
“Still, why here of all places...” Yukinoshita didn’t really listen to me and instead was staring at the shooting gallery with increasing interest. Among the trophies was a Pan-san looking panda. Ah, got it.
“Wann give it a shot?”
“No, w-why should I...” She said, unsure. No, she probably does want to.  Yuigahama noticed to and was now gently looking at Yukinoshita’s suspicious behaviour.
“Yukinon likes Pan-san, doesn’t she,” Yuigahama mumbled smiling.  Usually Yukinoshita quickly tried to rationalize but now she didn’t even hear Yuigahama talk. Is she that concentrated on Pan-san? Yukinoshita was staring at it and saying something to herself. Seemed like we couldn’t move on until we got one. What should I do? I wasn’t sure, but maybe I should try? I was thinking about my money when Yuigahama approached me.
“By the way,” she said tugging my sleeve.
”What do you want?”
“Umm...” She tugged my sleeve again. Apparently she wanted me to come closer. I nodded my head and did what she asked. Yuigahama moved closer to my ear, as if wanting to tell a secret.
Of course we moved closer to each other that way. This was not something to be surprised about or react to.  But now I was feeling the citric aroma of her perfume and seeing her face red from the cold, and looking at her directly was hard. Still, I made a quiet sigh and cued her to continue. Yuigahama exhaled and started whispering into my ear.
“Hey, what are we gonna do with Yukinon’s present?”
“Ah,” Yukinoshita’s birthday was in couple of days, I remembered. And we agreed to buy her a present before Christmas. No, I hadn’t forgotten about it. Quite the contrary, I had constantly been thinking what I should do. When, where, with whom, what and how to buy. Almost like a 5W1H. Inviting someone by yourself was hard. I don’t like selecting the date, for one. If I choose a date, it probably is going to be inconvenient for the other person, but on the other hand if I ask them to choose one, they’ll think I’m shifting the responsibility. We won’t decide anything that way… That’s why I was grateful for her to start this conversation. Otherwise I’d delay it all and think about stuff and end up not wanting to go anywhere and leave saying “Hachichika wants to go home”. That’s why I decided to pick the date right now.
 “Are you free tomorrow?”
“Ah, yeah, I am,” she replied in surprise and started caressing her hair bun.
“Tomorrow it is.”
“Yeah.” she said and fell silent. I kept quiet too. This silence was probably due to awkwardness. I started looking around to hide the embarrassment and just noticed Yukinoshita coming to us with sagged shoulders.
“What, you’re done already?” I asked.
“Yes, let’s go,” she said with a said smile.
“What?”
Just what happened there? I looked at the shooting gallery again. Ah, got it. It wasn’t Pan-san the panda, but Panta-san the panda. Well, this tends to happen on these events.
“Ah, you mean Pachimon?” I said with an understanding face. Yukinoshita touched her chin and tilted her head.
“Pachimon? I think I’ve heard it somewhere. And his last name, if I’m not mistaken, was Hi… Hiki...”
“Hey! I’m not talking about myself. You don’t even remember my last name anymore?” I said. Yukinoshita brushed the hair off her shoulder in surprise.
“How rude. I remember everything.”
“It’s you who’s rude.”
Well, if she at least remembered my name, it was fine. After all, there people in this worlds who are addressed as Kawasomething and their name is constantly forgotten. Wonder what’s Kawasomething doing right now?
x x x
We left the shrine using the same road we went to it earlier, passed the big torii and exited the street parallel to the national highway. Harsh cold wind was blowing along it. My body started shivering, so me and Yuigahama raised our coats’ collards. Yukinoshita, apparently, was unfazed by the cold. She simply affixed her muffler. Her face showed signs of tiredness. She sighed and exhaled clouds of white steam which quickly dissolved in the air. Yeah, she didn’t handle crowds well. Same as me.
I looked at the shrine road where crowd was getting bigger even now and sighed.
“Narita line is probably crowded too,” I said.
“Then let’s walk to Chiba line!” Yuigahama said and clapped her hands. She was looking to the side of the road adjacent to the national highway which led to the sea and passed by our school. Chiba line was further from the shrine, so there should be less people there. Besides this road was familiar to us, so it wasn’t that far.
“Why not. What do you say?” I asked. Yukinoshita nodded.
“Then let’s go!” Yuigahama said and pushed Yukinoshita’s back. The latter didn’t resist.
There were many lamps along the national highway, assisted by the light of the cars passing by. In the park nearby youngsters were launching fireworks, seemingly trying to prolong the fun after the new year countdown.
Our footsteps echoed in the night city. And this was no ordinary night city. Noise was constantly heard here and there. Two silhouettes in this noisy bright world seemed like a mirage to me. I hum something to the rhythm of my walk, trying to keep the even distance. My scarf was wavered by the gusts; the girls looked back from time to time in a worry, then smiled for some reason. I’m here, I’m here, stop checking.
More people appeared at the station. The trains were working all night long. Some people went to send the year off, while the others just wanted to return home after midnight. We joined the crowd and entered the station.
Me and Yukinoshita would board the train and go home, but Yuigahama’s house was nearby. I threw a questioning look at her.
“Yuigahama, what are you gonna do?”
“Eh? I… don’t know...” she replied and looked at Yukinoshita.
“I don’t mind if you stay at my place.”
“Really?!”
“Yes,” Yukinoshita replied and made a kitten-like yawn.
“To Yukinoshita it is, then,” I quickly concluded and passed the turnstile. I didn’t want to leave the girls alone this late. The etiquette require I walked them home. People stood on the platform here and there. Same was in the train which had just arrived. Yet the amount of people was still smaller compared to the shrine. There were no shrines in the coastal district, so there were fewer people.
The three of us sat on one bench inside the car; the train started moving. The floor heating warmed my legs nicely. I made a satisfied sigh. Yuigahama apparently heard it and smiled.
“It’s still cold outside,” she said.
“Yeah. Winter night aren’t made for strolling around.”
“But it was fun! Even more fun than during the day!” Yuigahama said, her eyes sparkling. What’s with that, you like to have fun at night? What are you, whore-tan? Though at least I can related to the fun of night shopping trips to the nearby convenience store.
I looked at Yuigahama who was sitting across and noticed that Yukinoshita was quiet. Oh, she was asleep already. My, my, year’s first dream. That was a good omen, hehe. Wait, or should the first dream  be the next night? Then it wasn’t a first dream… Yukinoshita wobbled and propped on my shoulder. I felt her weight and the aroma of her shampoo. Her warmth was easily felt through the coat. And she also slightly snuffled in her sleep, as it turned out.
The car shook from time to time, the wind was hitting the windows, the passengers were talking, and despite all this I heard Yukinoshita’s breath to the right of me shifting with the car’s shaking. My body was tense because of the sudden contact. If I moved, Yukinoshita would wake up. Though I didn’t really need her lying on me in the first place. It was embarrassing.
“H-hey...” I said, but Yuigahama put her finger to her mouth, motioning me to keep quiet.
“Yukinon’s tired after all,” she whispered. How could I object to that? Normally I would just move away, but now I could only move toward Yukinoshita. So I only nodded to Yuigahama. She leaned forward, propped her cheek on her palm and looked at Yukinoshita’s face while smiling. Her eyes met mine periodically, and I turned away.
Thus we passed several stations already. Several… Is Chiba that big? The road seemed almost too long for me.
x x x
The usual voice inside the car announced next station, and the train started slowing down. But Yukinoshita’s shining lips still emitted the quiet snuffle, and her small chest was rising and falling. I obviously was fascinated by this subtle movement, but I couldn’t let my eyes linger there for too long. I didn’t know what to do, we were approaching the station already.
Yuigahama quickly stood up and went to Yukinoshita’s side.
“Yukinon, it’s our stop,” Yuigahama said and gently shook her. Yukinoshita made a mewing-like sound, opened her eyes and was coming to her senses for several seconds. Then she realized the position she was in and bolted upright.
“S-sorry.”
“It’s alright,” I replied averting my eyes. I also flexed my numb shoulder and neck. Her weight wasn’t pressing on them anymore but I still felt her warmth.
We exited the train. Cold wind blew into our faces. Quickly, as if evading it, we went down the stairs and passed the turnstiles.  This station was half-empty even during daytime, and now there were only us. The silence and the cold wind created a tranquil atmosphere.
Quiet winter city. We headed to Yukinoshita’s house. The girls ahead, me couple steps behind. We passed the park near the station using the narrow path. Yukinoshita apparently was keeping her distance from me. I obviously too felt too awkward to look her in the eye, but still...
The girls silhouettes were illuminated by streetlamps. Yukinoshita made a deep sigh and touched her temples. Probably still blaming herself for her percieved fault. Yuigahama, on the contrary, made a quiet sigh and said:
“Yukinon, you look so pretty when you sleep.”
Yukinoshita’s shoulders twitched. She threw a glance at Yuigahama and immediately turned away. Yuigahama smiled: seemed like her words hit the bull’s eye and Yukinoshita was embarrassed now.
“Ah, so fun!” Yuigahama exclaimed.
“Now is it?” Yukinoshita pouted.
“Yep, fun!” Yuigahama replied in a voice so warm it could even thaw the ice of Yukinoshita’s words. After such a confident phrase me and Yukinoshita could only keep quiet.
Reaaly though, we weren’t exactly sad. Yuigahama made several steps forward and turned to us.
“Oh, right! First year’s sunrise! The sea’s close, let’s go watch!” came the idiotic offer from Yuigahama. My smile waned instantly.
“Eh?..” I moaned tiredly.
“Don’t have to react so sincerely,” Yuigahama replied with a stern voice. I’d have to wake up at 6am to watch the sunrise. I didn’t want to.
“Tokyo Bay is to the west of Chiba, so we can’t see the sunrise over the sea…” Yukinoshita said, confused. Yuigahama was startled.
“R-really?” She asked. Yukinoshita smiled.
“Yes. The sun rises at the east.”
“I know that much!”
Seems like Yukinoshita paid her back for sleeping in the train. You girls have so much fun at the beginning of the year...
“It’s true you can’t see the sunrise in Chiba city, but Choushi is well known spot for watching sunrises.”
There, on the Inubosaki mountain, is located Japan’s most eastern point, if you don’t take remote islands into consideration. So the sun rises there earlier than in the rest of Japan. The place gets crowded on New Years, and traffic jams are common. Right now people probably were going there by cards. Small Chiba prefecture lesson over.
I told this all to the girls. As a result they froze. Then Yukinoshita made a tired sigh and Yuigahama looked at me.
“Hikki, you really are a Chiba maniac,” Yuigahama noted. Buzz off. Could have been used to it already.
Meanwhile we reached the Yukinoshita’s condo. She stopped at the entrance and turned to me.
“See you. Thanks for walking me,” She thanked me shyly. I didn’t know what to reply.  So I just nodded, like, no big deal.
“Okay, bye,” I said.
“Yeah,” Yuigahama replied.
“Good night.”
I waved my hand, passed the automatic door and again was in the night’s embrace. Looking at the condo’s windows, I mused about this peculiar January 1st. They say the year will be the same as its first day. So it means the whole next year will be this hectic? Though I couldn’t say I disliked it. The last road of the old year is neither sad nor festive. I think it’s Ikkyu Sojun’s words. By this logic any event can be either good or bad.
My only problem was that I had a habit of looking at everything in a negative light, search for some ugly subtext in it all. With these thoughts I left the building. At that moment a hum of the opening door was heard, along with the sound of the footsteps. I turned around and saw Yuigahama.
“Hikki.”
“What?” I asked. She caressed her hair bun and hesitated a little.
“Umm… See you tomorrow.” She exhaled and stared at me questioningly.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” I replied looking her straight in the eye. Yuigahama waved to me and disappeared inside the building. My eyes followed her, then I turned and stepped into the new year, a year in which nothing new awaits me.