《 Final Act: Together Forever 》

That afternoon.

After enjoying a second sleep until noon, we filled our stomachs with meat udon and then left the apartment.

Under a clear autumn sky, we arrived at Hazakura Station. After a thirty-minute train ride, we got off at Shirahane Station and headed towards Shirahane Shrine.

Our destination was the Hayakawa house. Following the saying, “Strike while the iron is hot,” we had decided to go to my house to persuade my dad.

I didn’t need permission to go home, but just in case, I had messaged my dad, Nanami and I will be home around 2:00. He had replied right away, The Kousakas are coming over this afternoon. Perfect timing. I’ll get some cake and wait for you.

We walked along the sidewalk lined with miscellaneous buildings and shops, and a ten-story apartment building came into view.

“What floor is your apartment on, Haru-kun?”

“The eighth floor.”

“The view must be great.”

“You can see pretty far. You can see Shirahane Shrine from my room.”

“Shirahane Shrine, huh? We went there so many times for the summer festival.”

“Let’s do our best to persuade them so we can enjoy the summer festival together next year.”

With a firm nod from Nanami, we entered the building and got on the elevator. When we reached the eighth floor, a sense of nervousness began to creep up on me.

I tried to act calm so as not to worry Nanami and walked down the hallway…

“This is my home. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready whenever you are.”

I rang the doorbell, and the door opened almost immediately. My mom was there to greet us.

“Welcome home, Haruki! Welcome, Nanami-chan!”

Her eyes crinkled happily at the sight of us, and she beckoned us inside.

After taking off our shoes at the entrance, we followed my mom into the living room.

In addition to my dad, Nanami’s parents were also there. They were sitting around the dining table, chatting over coffee.

They smiled at us warmly from their seats.

“It’s been a while, Haruki-kun. Have you been well?”

“I’ve been well.”

“We didn’t get to talk at the culture festival. The pancakes you made were delicious, Haruki-kun.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Haruki, have you had lunch?”

“I had meat udon.”

“I see. If you’re hungry, we can have cake, but do you want to wait a bit?”

At my dad’s question, Nanami and I looked at each other. She looked a little anxious, but her resolve hadn’t changed, and she gave a small nod.

I turned to my parents, and with the rising tension, I finally began my persuasion.

“Before we have cake, there’s something important we need to talk about.”

“We came here today to tell you.”

Perhaps because of our formal tone, the smiles disappeared from my parents’ faces. They furrowed their brows and looked at me seriously.

“What is this important matter?”

“It’s…”

“Don’t tell me it’s bad news.”

“No, it’s just…”

Their serious faces made me even more nervous, and my words caught in my throat.

“…”

As I was about to be crushed by anxiety, my left hand was enveloped by something soft. Nanami had taken my hand and was looking at me with her big eyes.

It’ll be okay, she seemed to be saying with her eyes, and a surge of courage welled up from deep inside me.

I knew from the beginning that our chances were slim. I was anxious about whether our persuasion would work, but if we didn’t act, all that was waiting for us was the move. To protect my irreplaceable days with Nanami, I had to be brave and say it!

Feeling the warmth in my left hand, I poured out my feelings to my dad.

“I want to be by Nanami’s side! When we’re in college, when we’re adults, when we’re sixty, when we’re old and gray, I want to be by Nanami’s side!”

“I love Haru-kun, and Haru-kun loves me! Ever since I can remember, it’s been natural for Haru-kun to be by my side… We were long-distance for four and a half years, but that doesn’t mean I got used to life without him!”

“The month I spent with Nanami was so happy, I don’t ever want to be separated again!”

“This past month has been so much fun, I just want to be by Haru-kun’s side forever!”

“So,” we said in unison, and bowed our heads.

“I know we’re being selfish! Please let me stay by Nanami’s side!”

“Please! Let me stay by Haru-kun’s side from now on!”

The room fell silent. The fact that they didn’t say no right away was a sign that they were considering it… I wanted to believe.

I had said everything I wanted to say. I hoped that our feelings had resonated with them, but in the next moment, a merciless reply might come—

“Alright. In that case, Haruki, you can stay in this town by yourself.”

What came out of my dad’s mouth was an affirmative reply.

When I looked up, a smile was playing on his lips.

“R-Really…?”

“A-Are you sure?”

I couldn’t believe we had been given permission… Nanami and I were in a daze, looking around at our parents’ faces.

We were the only ones who were confused by my dad’s statement. Nanami’s parents and my mom were all smiling serenely.

“I’m staying by myself… so that doesn’t mean the transfer was canceled, right…?”

At my question, my mom nodded.

“After we told you about the move, Haruki, your father and I talked about it over and over. Was it right for us to take away your life together for our own convenience? But… even with Nanami-chan and her parents nearby, we were worried about leaving our precious only son so far away, so we were planning on taking you with us… but we still had our doubts.”

“Those doubts were cleared up yesterday—at the culture festival, when I went with your mother and saw the couple contest.”

Nanami and I were shocked.

“Wait, you guys came to see it?!”

“D-Don’t tell me my mom and dad were there, too?!”

“We saw the whole thing. We even took a video,” our parents smiled, and Nanami’s face turned bright red.

I had intentionally kept the contest a secret, so I had thought they had just enjoyed the maid café and gone home, but to think it had been recorded… They must have heard the students talking about it and rushed to the venue. As Nanami trembled with shame, my dad continued.

“After seeing that contest, I decided to leave you in this town by yourself, Haruki. I was moved by your words.”

“My… words…?”

My dad nodded and took out his phone. He then played the video of the contest. It seemed my parents had been filming, too, not just Nanami’s…

To think I would be reliving the Best Couple Contest surrounded by my family… I desperately tried to maintain my composure while Nanami trembled, and we watched the winning couple from an objective point of view.

“Right here,” my dad said, his eyes fixed on the video. It was the scene where I was telling Nanami, When we’re in middle school, when we’re in high school, when we’re in college, when we’re adults, I want to be with you, Nanami. I want you by my side.

My dad paused the video and looked at me with a proud expression.

“With a strong will, you declared that you wanted to be by the side of the woman you love. Seeing that, I thought, ‘Haruki has grown from a son into a fine man.’ And it wouldn’t be right to let a fine man like you be swayed by his parents’ convenience—that’s what I thought.”

As if picking up where my dad left off, my mom smiled at me gently.

“After the culture festival, I talked with the Kousakas, and we decided to extend the apartment contract. We thought we’d let you two live together for as long as you like.”

Did that mean that even if we hadn’t come here, the move would have been avoided?!

“Wh-Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Of course, I was planning on telling you eventually, but… I was hoping. That the grown-up Haruki would come and negotiate with us directly. That he would show us what a fine man he had become. I thought you were still a child, but you’ve really grown up so well… I’m so proud, son.”

“Dad…”

Seeing my teary-eyed father, a wave of emotion washed over me. My parents had been thinking about the move just as seriously as I had… no, even more so. And in the end, they had respected their son’s wishes.

I was truly blessed to have been raised by such wonderful parents. To make sure they didn’t worry, I had to take good care of my health.

My left hand was squeezed. Nanami, her hand still in mine, tightened her grip, her face beaming with joy.

I’m so glad, I’m so glad, we exchanged smiles. Our parents smiled at us.

“You two are really in love.”

“It’s like watching a younger version of ourselves.”

“Do your best to live a happy life together!”

“If you two love each other, you can overcome any hardship!”

“Yes!” I almost replied out of reflex, but… I stopped myself at the last second.

Her parents' words had caught my attention. ‘Live a happy life together,’ and ‘If you two love each other, you can overcome any hardship,’ were a bit over the top for just continuing to live together.

They sounded like parents sending off their daughter…

“…”

A bad feeling crept into my mind.

No, that can’t be it… I tried to calm my racing heart, but then my mom said with a huge smile.

“I really can’t wait for you two’s wedding!”

““—?!””

My bad feeling had been right on the mark. The shocking misunderstanding left me speechless. I looked over at Nanami, who was opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

“I’m so looking forward to seeing you two on your wedding day, Haruki and Nanami-chan!”

“Nanami-chan’s wedding dress will be so beautiful~!”

“To think that our little Nanami has already found someone to marry… It’s sad, but if it’s Haruki-kun, I can rest easy!”

“In fact, I can’t imagine Nanami marrying anyone but Haruki-kun!”

Our parents were getting more and more excited, oblivious to our panic.

Th-This is bad. At this rate, our marriage will be a done deal! I have to clear up this misunderstanding, quickly. Or else our escape route—our way out will be completely cut off!

What do we do, Nanami! —Crap, no good! Nanami’s frozen solid, her eyes wide open! I have to do something!

“U-Um, why are you talking about marriage? We just came here to say we didn’t want to move…”

“Because your and Nanami-chan’s direct appeal sounded like a marriage proposal.”

“Hearing that reminded me of the day I went to ask your mother’s parents for her hand in marriage.”

My dad said, reminiscing.

…It was true that saying things like, “The month I spent with Nanami was so happy, I don’t ever want to be separated again,” and “Please let me stay by Haru-kun’s side from now on,” to both sets of parents sounded like a marriage proposal…

“Th-That’s just how it sounded, we weren’t actually proposing marriage…! R-Right, Nanami?”

Nanami snapped out of it and shook her head so hard it looked like it would fall off.

“M-Marriage is way too soon! We’re still in high school!”

“Your mother and I got married right after we graduated from high school. And with only two and a half years to go, it’s not too soon at all.”

“B-But you can’t have a long-lasting marriage without money…?”

“It’s fine. As long as you have love, you can overcome anything, just like your mother and I.”

“B-But… I-I’d like to have a proper wedding ceremony if possible…”

“It’s fine. Your fathers and I will support you so you can have a proper wedding ceremony.”

Our escape routes were being cut off one by one, and the celebratory mood was only growing stronger. “I-I’m so happy,” Nanami said, words she clearly didn’t mean, as she looked at me with teary eyes. She seemed to be hoping for me to refute, but no words came out. Our escape routes—our way out—had been completely cut off.

“Well, now that you two’s future is decided, let’s have some cake to celebrate.”

“Yes. You two, go wash your hands.”

At my mom’s words, we fled to the washroom.

The moment the door closed, Nanami looked at me with a face on the verge of tears.

“Wh-Wh-What are we going to do?!”

“Wh-What do you mean, what are we going to do… What are we going to do?”

“A-At this rate, we’re going to get married. If we split the cake, they’re going to say, ‘An early cake cutting ceremony,’ or something!”

“But we can’t just tell them the truth in that atmosphere…”

I’d been to a relative’s wedding before, so I knew that the living room was filled with a celebratory mood, just like a wedding hall.

I wasn’t strong-hearted enough to say, “We have no intention of getting married,” or “Actually, we were just pretending to be dating,” in that atmosphere. Just imagining it made my heart feel like it would break.

And while this was undoubtedly a serious situation, we were still going to be able to spend time together. We had achieved our original goal. Of course, we had no intention of getting married, and we would have to dig ourselves out of this hole in the future, but…

“It’s not an urgent problem. Let’s leave the future to our future selves and just be happy for today.”

“Y-Yeah… We’ve dug ourselves into an even bigger hole of misunderstanding, but at least we won’t have to be separated again…”

“Exactly,” I said with a nod, and held out my right hand to Nanami.

“Well then, here’s to the future, Nanami.”

“Yeah. Here’s to the future, Haru-kun.”

We shook hands firmly. Then Nanami let out a small smile.

“Your hand is so sweaty, Haru-kun.”

“Well, given the situation… Your hand is pretty sweaty, too, Nanami.”

“I can’t help it. That was the most nervous and flustered I’ve ever been in my life.”

“Me too… Oh, right. Thanks for holding my hand when I was about to speak up. It gave me a lot of courage.”

“You’re welcome.”

Nanami’s bright smile made my own cheeks relax into a grin.

We had just taken on a huge bombshell, but… I would still be able to be by Nanami’s side. We had time until we were old enough to get married, and if we spent every day having fun with Nanami, my anxiety would eventually disappear.

And so, feeling a little more at ease, we washed our hands and returned to the living room to eat cake.