Nineteenth Period: Still a Hopeless Kid, But...
"Did you not hear me? I said, why don't you work in America?"
Shiori-san repeated herself, as if to prove to our stunned silence that she was serious.
"Huh..." "N-no way..."
Shiori-san looked at Char and me, who finally managed to speak, took a sip of tea, and continued.
"It doesn't even have to be as a teacher. If you only came to Japan to play around, then go back to America."
Her tone was harsh, and the suggestion seemed completely out of the blue, but it made sense.
Shiori-san was saying this because she genuinely cared for Char.
But that was only Shiori-san's wish.
Char had a wish of her own.
"...Wait a minute."
I spoke, maintaining my composure as I faced Shiori-san.
"What is it?"
"It's true that what Char and I did might have been wrong. But if Char has the will to 'work in Japan,' then Shiori-san shouldn't be the one to stop her—"
"Wrong."
Shiori-san cut me off.
"The only one who made a mistake here is Char."
"...Huh?"
I couldn't understand what Shiori-san meant and let out a bewildered sound.
"I thought you were the one who had corrupted Char. But after hearing the details, I realize I was mistaken. Char was the one who first suggested 'hanging out' and invited you, was she not?"
It was true that Char had been the one to first invite me to hang out.
But Char didn't do it just to goof off.
She did it to achieve her ideal.
It was the path Char chose to become a teacher who could support her students in both their academic and personal lives.
"Atsuto-kun. This is a matter between Char and me. Or rather, a problem that 'adults should resolve.' Therefore, it has nothing to do with you, a high school student."
Shiori-san drew a clean line, then turned back to Char, speaking with gentle eyes.
"Char. You were probably a little carried away after coming to Japan. But it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes, and you can use this experience for your teaching career back in your home country."
Char kept her mouth shut, her fists trembling.
...She was wrestling with herself, deciding whether to continue teaching in Japan or America.
"I..."
After a long silence, Char lifted her bowed head.
"I...!"
Tears slowly welled up in Char's clear eyes as I watched her from the side—
"I am absolutely, positively not going to work anywhere else!"
After shouting that, Char stuck out her tongue, rejecting Shiori-san's proposal.
"What...!"
"I'm gonna work! I'm gonna work! I'm not listening to Big Sis! Never! Pththt!"
"H-hey..."
Shiori-san's eyes darted back and forth in confusion at Char, who was breathing heavily like a wild animal.
"Ch-Char?"
"(Pout.)"
"Let's talk for a moment..."
"Big Sis is a dummy! A dummy! Hmph!"
Char was throwing a tantrum like a child. Shiori-san could only stare, mouth agape.
"Char. Stop for a minute."
"You! Dummy, dummy! Hmph!"
"I said stop!"
Char, whose arm was tightly grasped by Shiori-san, puffed up her cheeks.
"What is it, Big Sis?"
"Well, I admit that 'Go back to America' was extreme. I apologize."
At that single word, Char's face bloomed into a radiant smile.
"That's Big Sis for you! I knew I had a Big Sis with good understanding!"
"What a complete about-face..."
Shiori-san gave a wry smile and sipped her tea.
The cheerful atmosphere returned slightly, and I let out a sigh of relief.
But—
"However, you can continue your teaching career without hanging out with Atsuto-kun."
"Huh..." "N-no way, Big Sis..."
The merciless suggestion was thrown out again.
"I agreed to you continuing your teaching career in Japan. But I am not condoning you going out to play with someone night after night. Do you understand?"
"But I was trying to learn about having fun...!"
"I don't think that itself is a good thing."
Shiori-san dismissed Char's dream.
She continued, maintaining her cold gaze on the verge of tears.
"...It's probably a reaction."
When I involuntarily said, "A reaction?" Shiori-san nodded once.
"Char was a truly serious child during her school years. If anything, I was the one who was playing around carelessly."
"Huh? Sh-Shiori-san was...?"
That was unexpected.
I could imagine Char constantly striving for something, but I couldn't picture Shiori-san out playing late at night.
"Char only ever studied or helped out with the family business. That's why she hasn't had enough fun, I think."
Shiori-san's fist clenched tightly.
"I wish I had played with her more. I wish I had told Char, who was always just studying, 'Let's take a break,' and taken her out somewhere fun."
Shiori-san turned her gaze toward me, a look of firm resolve in her eyes.
"—Therefore, I will take on the role of teaching Char how to have fun."
The moment she said it, my mind went blank.
"W-wait, Big Sis...!"
Shiori-san looked at the flustered Char with gentle eyes.
"Char. Think carefully. Atsuto-kun is a high school student. Academics are his main priority, just as they were yours once. Besides,"
—You can't trouble Atsuto-kun any further, can you?
Shiori-san's gently persuasive eyes pricked my heart.
Shiori-san was probably saying this out of consideration for both Char and me.
Shiori-san isn't a bad person. Even I could tell that much.
But she was wrong.
There was a reason why it had to be me.
And to convey that—I needed to express my feelings.
"Shiori-san!"
Char and Shiori-san flinched simultaneously as I stood up from my chair. (Don't back down, me.)
I told myself that, took a deep breath, and—
"I! Love Char more than anything in the whole wide world!"
I yelled out the full extent of my feelings.
"W-what are you...!"
"A-A-Atsuto—?!"
As expected, Shiori-san and Char were shaken.
Char was so flustered she almost fell off her chair.
Damn it, that one line ruined my throat!
"W-what is it with you, all of a sudden?!"
Shiori-san looked at me as if she'd seen a ghost.
"Right now, Char and I are a teacher and a student! But I will definitely confess my feelings to Char someday, and we'll officially start dating—... And I think it would be the absolute best if we could get married someday!"
"M-m-m-m-m-m-m-marry?!"
Char's voice cracked from the sheer shock.
Was that too big of a leap?! No, this is fine!
To convince Shiori-san, this kind of power word is just right!
"I want to support Char and live with her in the future! I'm even preparing for a life together with Char!"
"Preparing, you say?!"
With that, I took my bankbook from my bag and slammed it onto the table.
"W-what is this...?"
"It's my bankbook! Mine!"
"W-well, I can see that..."
I opened the bankbook and pointed to the amount written at the bottom.
Shiori-san looked between me and the bankbook, her eyes widening.
"Did you save this yourself?"
"Yes. Roughly a million yen. I saved it up working my part-time for a future with Char."
...It was actually money I saved up just by working my part-time aimlessly, but there's a way to phrase things.
"You said earlier that Char is playing now as a reaction to not having played when she was younger, but I think that's wrong."
I moistened my mouth with a bit of tea, then took a deep breath.
"I know because I've hung out with her. Char isn't just playing; she's thinking about how she can use what she learns to improve her lessons. And, I know it's embarrassing to repeat myself, but—"
I stared intently into Shiori-san's eyes and declared with a resolute tone.
"—I love Char from the bottom of my heart. Therefore, I will be the one to serve as the teacher who teaches Char how to have fun."
A heavy silence descended.
After a long pause, Shiori-san broke the quiet, murmuring, "I see."
"...Well, Atsuto-kun, your resolve has been conveyed. Hanging out with Char is important to you, for deepening your relationship."
Seeing Shiori-san smile, the tension in my shoulders naturally eased.
(It's over...)
Just as I thought that to myself.
"However,"
Shiori-san spoke again, her voice tight with tension, and looked at me with a sharp gaze.
"That is only who Atsuto-kun is now."
"—Huh?"
Shiori-san murmured, "What matters is what comes next."
"In the future, when you become an adult, how exactly do you plan to support Char?"
Sweat beaded on my tightly clenched palm.
"I..."
I opened my mouth, but no words followed.
...Ah, now that I think about it, she's right.
I've just been vaguely going to school and vaguely working my part-time without ever thinking about the future.
"I, um..."
Calm down. Think. Force it out.
How can I convince Shiori-san?
How can I help Char?
...But my mind remained blank.
Just as a bead of sweat naturally formed on my forehead and dripped onto the table.
"—Atsuto."
Char whispered, gently placing her hand on my fist.
It was as if she was telling me, "It's okay."
"You'll be fine, Atsuto! Don't rush yourself, okay?"
Char's words suddenly came back to me.
Ah, that's right. I don't have to rush.
I admired Char, who came to Japan chasing her dream.
I wanted to help Char, who was aiming to be an ideal teacher.
I felt that way because I admired Char.
If that's the case, this must be the answer.
"I want to become a 'teacher'—like Char—who can teach others something and give them a dream."
I don't know if that means a school teacher or some other kind of teacher.
But Char's dedication—sacrificing herself to teach something to someone else—had truly moved me.
"...I see."
Shiori-san replied briefly.
I braced myself for her to say it was too vague, but surprisingly, there was no further questioning.
"Char."
"Y-yes!"
Char flinched and looked at Shiori-san.
"What do you want to happen with Atsuto-kun?"
Her reply was immediate.
"I want to keep spending time with Atsuto forever!"
Shiori-san fell silent at Char's dazzling smile.
...How much time passed?
"I see. You two are in love."
Then, Shiori-san's hard expression immediately softened into a gentle smile.
"In that case, it might be crass of me to interfere."
"Shiori-san...!" "Big Sis...!"
Shiori-san cleared her throat at Char and me, who had instinctively clasped hands.
"Atsuto-kun."
I straightened my posture at Shiori-san's serious gaze.
"Please, take care of Char."
"L-likewise, please treat me well...!"
When I hurriedly bowed, Shiori-san laughed, blowing away the tension from earlier, and gave me a teasing look.
"You don't have to be so nervous. I've accepted you for now."
"Y-yes. Thank you very much...!"
It's hard not to be nervous when she tells me not to be now!
Shiori-san patted my shoulder and let out a delighted smile.
"Actually, Char told me she had 'a nice guy' in her life. Well, I certainly didn't expect him to be a high school student."
"Huh? S-she told you?"
Now that I think about it, when I first met Shiori-san, she did say, "So you are... Atsuto-kun?"
"H-hey, Big Sis! Don't tell him that!"
"Hahaha! It's fine to tell him now!"
Shiori-san laughed heartily. Char, her face red, shrank in embarrassment.
Seeing the two sisters like that, I couldn't help but laugh, too.
—And with that, the curtain closed.
...Or so I thought.
"Ah, that reminds me, Atsuto-kun."
Shiori-san, who had been laughing, turned serious again, so I also tightened my expression. "Y-yes!"
"I hear nothing happened during this overnight stay, but if anything does happen while you are still a high school student... you understand, don't you?"
Shiori-san smiled sweetly while clenching her fist tightly.
"I-I'll keep that in mind!"
...Her eyes look like she's absolutely serious.
＊＊＊＊
After that, Shiori-san—
"Whoa—! I-I'm gonna be late! I'm seriously gonna be late!"
—ended up running out of the house at full speed, about to be late for work after all.
The room was left peaceful and quiet, like the calm after a storm.
Wait, was it peaceful? It was, well, a little awkward...
"I! Love Char more than anything in the whole wide world!"
"I think it would be the absolute best if we could get married someday!"
The lines I had declared to Shiori-san now came back to me, and my face felt hot.
"...Char." "...Atsuto."
We started speaking at the same time.
"Ah, um, Char, you go first."
"O-okay..."
Char took a deep breath, then looked straight into my eyes, which were as clear as the sea.
"What you said to Big Sis just now... w-w-was that for real...?"
"U-um... if you don't mind, Char, someday... m-marriage, maybe."
"A-aah... M-marriage..."
Char turned her face away, and it quickly flushed red.
I was expecting a reaction like, "T-that's a bit much!" like usual, so this made me blush a little, too.
"U-um... then..."
"Y-yes..."
"Will you come for me properly someday...?"
Char asked timidly.
Her face, as innocent as a child's, looked on the verge of being overwhelmed by anxiety.
So, I—
"Yes. I will definitely come for you!"
I stared intently at her.
I held out my palm, which carried the promise of our future, to Char.
Char gently placed her hand on mine and smiled, a smile like a fully bloomed flower.
That smile was the cutest I had ever seen, and it completely captured my heart.
"Then we both have to do our best, right?"
"Y-yes, we do!"
Char's determined eyes made me feel a little more resolute.
I had boasted that much to Shiori-san.
I've lived without any goals until now, but from now on, I have to live with the intention of properly supporting Char in the future.
I don't know when the day will come when I feel capable of supporting Char.
But when that day arrives.
I'll tell her my feelings once again.
And if the day we can stand side by side and smile like this continues forever.
That would surely be the best future.
"Char... will you wait for me until the day I come for you properly?"
Char smiled gently and sweetly at my cautious question.
"I can wait forever. Because—"
Char's cheeks were bright red, but she looked straight into my eyes.
"I love you, Atsuto!"
She burst into a dazzling, sparkling smile.
Even with my poor English, I could certainly understand that.
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