In Japan, in a slightly old-fashioned apartment somewhere, they walked up a stairway whose white paint had long since peeled away to reveal brown underneath. Ichinose happily introduced the place to Yukio. "This is my home."
"It's small, but it's very warm!"
Yukio had come like a son-in-law visiting the bride's family. He was still carrying two sets of gifts, both cosmetic gift sets, which he would later give to Ichinose's mother and her younger sister, Kosaki.
In any case, it would certainly be a casual, pleasant visit. At the very least, he did not have to worry about getting held down by an old man and force-fed alcohol.
Yukio was also not put off. He was merely curious. "Doesn't your family plan to move somewhere nicer? I remember Honami saying your aunt has found a good job now, and the salary isn't that low."
What "good job" was there, really? With the world in such chaos, finding a good job was as hard as climbing to heaven. It had still been Yukio who arranged for someone to help Ichinose's mother, allowing her, through various clever coincidences, to find a good job.
Of course, there was no need to say that directly. It would be meaningless.
Ichinose led Yukio to the room at the very end of the third floor. "Mm. Mom told me that too. She said it's money saved for Kosaki, for her to go to college later. Kosaki's grades are very good!"
Yukio gave a little nod of understanding. Money was one part of it, of course, but in reality, Japan was a place where the cost of college was quite high.
Over there, going to college was also a sum of money. Strictly speaking, with government support it was not truly expensive—unless one attended three colleges or private universities, where the fees were comparatively higher.
The universities on Japan's side were one thing, but the schools on Yukio's side were different. Tuition was not something an ordinary family could afford, which was why student loans existed.
With a family like Yukio's, there was at least the most basic level of control. But a capitalist family like Japan's was fundamentally impossible to restrain. They waved sharp sickles, cutting down chives one row after another. How could they possibly be merciful enough to help anyone pay for college?
Now, according to reports, almost half of all college students on Japan had to rely on student loans. After graduation, they used their wages to pay them back.
As for the size of those loans? With how sharp the blades of Japan's capitalists were, it was easy to imagine. One could say that for ordinary undergraduate graduates, the first ten years of work were spent purely toiling for them.
Of course, there might be some truly incredible geniuses who relied purely on their talent to be recruited, with all tuition waived. But that was an extremely tiny minority, not universal.
Some might also mention university scholarships, but Japan's scholarship system was different from the universities on Yukio's side. On Japan, university scholarships had to be repaid with one's future wages.
So Yukio could understand Ichinose's mother's thinking quite well. If she could save money for Kosaki to attend college and keep her from taking on loans, then of course that would be better.
"We're here." While Yukio was thinking this over, the room door opened. Behind a narrow entryway stood a woman whose fish-tail lines at the corners of her eyes were quite pronounced, along with a young girl.
No doubt, this was Ichinose's mother and her younger sister, Kosaki.
"Mom!" Ichinose happily threw herself forward and hugged her mother, then turned to pull her little sister in too. "Kosaki, it's been so long!"
"Onee-chan." Ichinose's younger sister, Kosaki, was about sixty percent similar to Ichinose. The only difference was that she had short hair to her ears, and she looked at her sister with a little excitement.
Yukio followed behind with the gifts. "Sorry for the intrusion."
"Yukio-kun, welcome. Honami has been in your care." Ichinose's mother was especially gentle. Even her speech was soft and delicate. Just looking at her made it obvious why she had raised a daughter as kind as Ichinose.
After taking off his shoes at the entrance and changing into slippers, he stepped across two pieces of worn fabric used as a doormat and formally entered Ichinose's home. It was a very cramped yet warm space, with a small dining table, a television, a bathroom, a small sofa covered with a blanket, and a bunk bed.
Since it was close to dinner time, a small hot pot had already been set on the little table, simmering sukiyaki. Ichinose's mother quickly invited Yukio to sit down.
Sitting down, Ichinose's mother smiled gently. "This is still the first time Honami has brought a boy home."
"Mom!" Ichinose almost groaned. Faced with a topic like this, even when her mother was only teasing her, she still could not help blushing, looking especially cute.
Her younger sister Kosaki, meanwhile, kept secretly glancing at Yukio. Then she quickly looked away, and after a while, looked back again, seemingly very curious about what kind of person her sister's boyfriend actually was.
Yukio remained calm and composed. Perhaps it was the mentality cultivated by Principal Sakayanagi and Tsukishiro. Now, when meeting parents, his heart was utterly unshaken, steady as an old dog. "Honami and I met at school. It's already been several years."
"Today's visit is a bit sudden. I hope it hasn't caused any inconvenience."
Ichinose's mother skillfully opened the plastic wrap over the ingredients with chopsticks. After they were cooked, she first served a bowl to Yukio, then to Ichinose and Kosaki. "It's no trouble at all."
"With such an outstanding person as Yukio-kun taking care of Honami, I can feel completely at ease. Yukio-kun, you may not know this."
"Honami looks very clever, but this girl is actually a little thoughtless sometimes. When she was young, she would pick spring shoots from the trees outside for me. She picked a lot for me, and then afterward, she fell from the tree."
"…" Yukio was stunned for a moment. He quietly shifted his gaze to Ichinose. "You did something like that too? Didn't I hear you mention that before?"
Ichinose also looked like she found it terribly embarrassing. She lowered her head, using her chopsticks to poke at the shiitake mushroom in her bowl. Her mother had just brought up the embarrassing childhood story of picking mushrooms, making her feel utterly shy. "That was all when I was little."
Perhaps sensing Yukio's teasing gaze toward Ichinose, her sister Kosaki grew a little unhappy. Ever since he entered the room, the usually serious Kosaki had stayed silent, but now she began to speak up for her sister. "No, that's not it."
"Onee-chan did that because she wanted Mom and me to be able to eat spring shoots. At the time, at the time, we couldn't really afford them. So we had no choice."
"She was thinking about us. Onee-chan took that risk to climb the tree."
Ichinose laughed helplessly and waved her hand, as if to show that what her sister said was not that important.
But that small hand was gently held by Yukio. "Exactly. You have a very, very good big sister."
The words were clearly Kosaki's proper complaint, but what Yukio saw was Ichinose, who grew so bashful that her face turned even redder.
"Being young is so nice." Ichinose's mother smiled from the heart as she watched over her daughter's happiness.
Kosaki, however, was not so perceptive. She only looked at the older sister and brother-in-law flirting with each other, and could not help feeling gloomy. Hmph. She had wanted to speak up for her sister and clear her name, but it turned out her worries were totally unnecessary!
Better to just eat properly.
"Mom, why did you add vinegar to the sukiyaki? It's so, so sour…"
"Huh? That can't be. I haven't even added it yet. I mixed the soy sauce and vinegar together, let me taste it. The flavor should be fine."
"In any case, it's sour…"
...
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