4

Every year, New Year’s Eve brought a special feeling that only a once-in-a-year event could bring. The thought that something unique was happening always felt so exciting. It was more than just today being a continuation of yesterday, and tomorrow being a continuation of today… Somehow or another, Eita’s body always instinctively knew that it was New Year’s Eve again.

Sushi was served for dinner, as per family tradition. They just bought it from the local supermarket. His father who never touched alcohol allowed himself one can of beer on that special day. As always, his face instantly turned red, and he was asleep long before the annual New Year’s singing competition on TV began.

The only difference for Eita on that New Year’s Eve was that he had a previous engagement.

Just as the headliner, a rather famous enka ballad singer, began a solo on the television, Eita jumped into his room, pulled his down jacket out of the closet, and slipped it on, zipping it all the way up.

As Eita left his room, only his phone and wallet on him, his mother gave him a confused look.

“Going through a rebellious phase?”

It was fair enough for her to ask, given her son was randomly going out so late at night.

“Visiting a shrine with friends,” he answered curtly, rushing towards the door.

“What about New Year’s soba?”

“Just leave me some and I’ll eat when I get back.”

“But then it won’t be New Year’s soba… oh, do be careful.”

“I’ll be back.”

Leaving the condo complex, Eita walked down along Prefectural Road 32 until he got to the 24-hour supermarket. He waited in the corner of the parking lot in front of the store. That had been the agreed-upon meeting place.

Eita had ultimately chosen to go on the New Year’s shrine visit out of concern for Mio, since she had so much going on with entrance exams. They had all planned on going at night to get it over with fairly quickly.

Eita pulled out his phone to check the time, finding it was 11:30.

“Right about now.”

He opened LINE, typing in Sorry, I’m getting held up at home. Won’t be able to make it. After four read notifications popped up, Mio chimed in Sorry, me neither. I better study instead. Yoriko followed up with Pretty sure I caught a cold, so I better pass.

But I’m already at Fujisawa-Honmachi Station! Popped in from Haruto, whose panic practically oozed from the message.

I’m almost there myself was Hazuki’s response, coming in last.

After waiting for her reply, Eita typed out Then you two should just go. Mio and Yoriko agreed with him.

And of course they did. It had been the plan all along to leave Haruto and Hazuki alone to go to the shrine together. Mio came up with the idea, messaging Eita about it as soon as the shrine visit plans had been finalized, dragging Yoriko into the conversation shortly after.

They ended up creating a separate group chat just for the three of them. Yoriko sent a stamp to that group that said Nice work.

Just as Eita was responding with a thumbs up stamp, a car pulled into the parking lot he stood in. The glare of its headlights caught his attention, and he looked up to see Mio coming out of the passenger seat.

“Already done with that family stuff?” she asked mischievously.

“Yeah, how’re the studies coming along?”

“Praying for success is an important step, you know.”

Even though they cancelled on the five-man group, Yoriko had insisted that the three of them go to pray for Natsume’s success in her exams.

All they had to do was wait for Yoriko, but before Eita could start looking for her, someone else caught his eye. There was a woman coming up behind Mio who looked awfully similar to her. She was just a little older and a little taller.

“It’s been a minute, Eita-kun.”

With a slight wave, Natsume Mina, Mio’s older sister, came into full view beside Mio. She was two years older than them. Eita knew because they had been in middle school together. No doubt she was already a college student.

“Good to see you, Mina-san.”

“So you really did come back! You look a bit taller.”

“Yeah, just a bit.”

“So you couldn’t recognize me at all, but you recognize Onee-chan right away?” Mio jumped in immediately after greetings were exchanged.

“Well, Mina-san hasn’t changed all that much.”

“You’re supposed to say I look so much prettier!”

“Right, you look so much prettier.”

Mina smiled as Eita just did as he was told. You haven’t changed at all, Eita-kun was written all over her face.

“And Mio’s gotten a lot cuter too, right?”

“You’re here to buy wasabi, Onee-chan. Mom needs it. Get going already.” Mio started pushing Mina off towards the supermarket, clearly not wanting the conversation to include her.

“Alright, alright. Take good care of Mio for me, okay?” Mina entered the supermarket, waving a hand over her shoulder.

“…”

“…”

Both of them watched her go in silence.

Mio turned towards the road. “You didn’t say anything about me,” she said to nobody.

Eita felt like he might have been able to compliment her earlier as part of the flow of conversation, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. He just stood there looking like he was getting ready to say something as the awkward atmosphere thickened.

But then, Yoriko showed up just in time.

“Okay, there you are.”

Mio and Eita took so long to reply that confusion eventually spread across her face. “Sorry, did I take too long?”

“You said this was called Kuzuharaoka Shrine?”

“Yup.”

The shrine had a long, narrow hill serving as the approach. Yoriko and Mio walked up it in front, with Eita trailing behind.

“Everyone who lives in the area comes here for the New Year’s shrine visit.”

All three of them went to the same high school, but Yoriko lived in Fujisawa city, so she probably didn’t come by Kurakawa often.

“I’ve always come here. My dad says it’s best to go somewhere local.”

“Oh yeah, mine’s like that, too.”

“There are actually a lot of famous local shrines in the area, but everyone ends up coming here.”

“Sure seems like it. It’s so crowded. Hope there are enough blessings to go around.” Yoriko followed her extremely disrespectful statement with a laugh.

“Well, there should be.”

“Maybe we should’ve gone to one of those other shrines to pray for exam success.”

Being alone with Mio had felt just a tad awkward, but Yoriko really smoothed everything over. The way the two girls acted at the aquarium implied they didn’t talk much in class, but their conversation was really rolling.

Eita pulled out his phone, their voices continuing in the background. He figured midnight was just around the corner.

“Izumi?” Mio turned around to look at him. Just then, the clock changed to a new year.

Eita held his phone screen up to her. “Happy New Year.”

“Well, look who’s so excited!” Yoriko commented with a burst of laughter. She gave her own New Year’s greetings as she kept laughing.

Shortly after, everyone’s eyes lowered down to their phones. No doubt they were all dealing with the same barrage of New Year’s greetings from their friends.

Eita received a slew of Happy New Year! messages from friends he’d made in Fukuoka. He made sure to reply to each and every one.

But then, he was stopped by a message coming in from a girl. But he wasn’t stopping out of excitement or anything similar. He had just received a Happy New Year’s greeting from Komiya Ena. His body went on high alert, and he instantly stopped moving.

Mio noticed, glancing behind. “Izumi?”

“It’s nothing.” Eita’s phone started buzzing nonstop as a torrent of messages were inbound.

I’ve made up my mind!

You’ve got my full support, Izumi-senpai.

So go on and get with Prez!

You can thank me later.

Specifically by letting me use your photo in the competition!

None of the messages bothered to allow him time to reply.

Then, he suddenly received a picture of Mio in gym clothes, her hair up in a ponytail. The picture must have been taken during a school-wide field day.

“Message from Souma, or something?”

“Nope.” Eita shoved his phone in his pocket as Mio came closer so she couldn’t see.

“A friend from Kyūshū, then?”

“Something like that…” Eita had been planning a cover story, but as Mio came up to him, all he could do was avert his eyes, and a strange feeling of shame washed over him.

“You’re acting fishy…”

Naturally, Mio didn’t buy it.

Eita decided to be a little more honest rather than keep making up lame excuses and run the risk of being forced to show her. “So, is that picture girl you shoved onto me always like that?”

“Always like what?”

“Just like, really intense.”

“Oh yeah, she’s always like that.”

“Wait, picture girl? You mean that second-year, um, Komiya? She rides that little scooter of hers crazy far to get pictures of track meets and stuff.” Yoriko jumped in, completely ingratiating herself into the conversation.

If such a small interaction was enough to figure out they were talking about Ena, then she must have had quite the presence at school.

“She’s pretty incredible, in more ways than one,” Yoriko concluded.

Just what Eita had been thinking.

“But boys like that kinda thing, am I right?”

“Oh?” Mio’s voice suddenly turned sour, and she shot an annoyed scowl at Eita for some reason.

“She’s a real hit with the guys on the track team. Cute and popular.”

“I don’t really think that or anything.”

“Getting all worked up like that is even more fishy,” Mio cut in.

“…Hey, you were the one that introduced us.”

Eita saw no benefit in keeping the conversation going. He hurried past the two girls towards the shrine.

There was already a short line of about a dozen people in front of the main shrine waiting their turn to pray, stretching back maybe 20 feet. The trio waited at the back of the line.

It didn’t take long to get to the front. Eita, Mio, and Yoriko stood side-by-side to present their coin offerings. Eita threw in a coin minted on his birth year that he had saved specifically for the trip.

Mio rang the bell for all three of them. They all paused, bowed twice, then clapped twice. Eita prayed I hope that Natsume makes it into college, then bowed one more time. He waited for Mio and Yoriko, and all three stepped away from the main shrine.

Following the general crowd flow for a while, they found themselves heading towards a white tent.

“They’re handing out amazake. I’m gonna get some” Yoriko said, dashing away towards the tent. She returned before long, paper cups in hand. “Here,” she said, handing cups to Mio and Eita.

“Thanks.”

“Thank you.”

Yoriko headed back to the tent to get her own cup. It was a rather chilly night, so the warm amazake was a welcome relief.

“So like, is amazake actually alcoholic?” Yoriko posed a very simple question.

“Its alcohol content is less than one percent, so it’s legally a non-alcoholic beverage.”

“Oh, really?” Yoriko looked rather impressed.

“Just what I’d expect from a recommendee,” Mio harshly appended.

“What, that’s common knowledge.”

“Well, normally you wouldn’t say it like, ‘Its alcohol content is less than one percent, so it’s legally a non-alcoholic beverage’.” Mio mockingly imitated Eita’s voice.

It was like she was trying to pick a fight, or at least get under his skin. She had some kind of nervous energy about her. Like she was being obnoxious on purpose… Trying to ignore something that was bothering her…

“Oh, Yoriko-senpai!”

“What are you doing here?”

A group of girls came up to them, all wearing jerseys with Kashiogawa Track & Field embroidered on the arms.

“Oh, Happy New Year. I guess the Kamakura group all came up here for your New Year’s shrine visit, huh?”

“The relay race is coming up soon.”

“We’re all here to pray for victory. You gotta come with us, Yoriko-senpai!”

They all made themselves out to be Yoriko’s kouhai. Eita remembered Yoriko saying something about having been in track and field and getting into college on a sports recommendation.

“Wait, me?”

Yoriko’s hands had already been grabbed by two different girls, and her face scrunched up in confusion. Evidently her kouhai were quite attached to her.

“Sorry, mind if I leave you guys here?” she asked, only able to turn her head towards the other two.

“Sure,” Mio replied, and Eita nodded. They had already made their New Year’s shrine trip and prayed, so their plans had been completed.

“Well then, seeya.” Yoriko headed back to the main shrine, mobbed by all her kouhai.

Eita and Mio were left alone. The previously busy location was swamped in silence.

They both sipped on their amazake for a while, with nothing to say to the other. But unfortunately, that distraction couldn’t last forever, and the bottom of Eita’s paper cup was soon visible.

“Gimme that, I’ll throw it out.” Mio snatched the empty cup from Eita, tossing it into the trash can by the tent before returning.

Neither of them suggested going home.

“…”

“…”

It wasn’t like they had anything else to do. They weren’t waiting for anyone. They were just bothered. So they stood there.

Eita wondered how Haruto and Hazuki’s shrine visit was going.

Haruto had boldly declared that he would tell her how he felt this time, but did he really do it? How would she respond?

Eita was so concerned that he couldn’t decide on something as simple as going home. As if he or Mio could somehow change anything.

“So, Souma…” Mio spoke first, acting like she just happened to remember. “I wonder if he really did tell her.”

Her quiet voice felt like it faded right into the night air.

“Dunno,” Eita mumbled, feigning disinterest.

“As long as it didn’t go like the last time.” Mio laughed a little too dramatically at the memory.

Was it wrong that it always hurt to see Mio act like that?

“He better not try that whole, ‘I’m free tomorrow’ thing again,” Mio continued.

“The fact that he tried at all is incredible.”

The action and the courage behind it were not something to laugh at.

“…You’re right.” Mio nodded solemnly, unable to counter. “Hey, wanna go draw one of those?!” Her voice suddenly rocketed back into a cheerful tone when she saw fortune slips available nearby.

Eita took a closer look, realizing the stand was branded “Love Fortunes”. As the name suggested, the fortune slips would focus around romantic endeavors.

“To be completely honest, no.”

Why should he be forced to draw something like that with Mio? Was she trying to torture him?

But Mio grabbed Eita’s arm, dragging him along with an unusually positive attitude. “Oh, it’s fine, just draw one!”

Eita didn’t have the courage to shake her off, so he ended up with her in front of the Love Fortunes stand. Mio took a dollar out of her wallet, shooting Eita a look that forced him to do the same.

They drew their own fortunes in turn.

Eita opened up his fortune, which had been wrapped in a sash, and his eyes were drawn to the Good Luck written prominently in the center. He couldn’t bring himself to read any of the specific fortune details.

“Good Luck to Come. That’s a tricky one…” Mio said beside him. “What’d you get, Izumi?” She peeked around, getting a look at his Good Luck reading. “Typical,” she mumbled. “Well, it’s fine if I have bad luck with romance. I’ll just save all my luck for exams.”

She cheerfully laughed it off, and it couldn’t have sounded any more fake. She was trying not to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Pretending it wasn’t there. Shoving those feelings deeper and deeper down so she could try and forget. So she could act like she was okay when she most certainly was not.

All those realizations and thoughts had Eita opening his mouth before he could stop himself.

“…Is it really okay?” His voice faded right into the quiet of the night.

“Well, strictly speaking, Good Luck to Come isn’t okay.” Something about her exaggerated reaction came off as forced.

“Not that…” Eita’s distaste for Mio’s fake attitude prompted him to speak a little more forcefully.

Hearing the change in tone, Mio’s smile vanished instantly. “Well what do you mean, then?”

He could hear the caution in her question. Her eyes focused on him, and practically begged him not to say any more. Any other time, he probably would have stopped. But in this instance, her reaction actually pushed him the opposite direction.

“I’m talking about Haruto.”

He spoke the most significant name he could have, his voice steely.

“…”

Mio’s eyes wavered ever so slightly. But she didn’t look away. This time, she didn’t even hide behind a smile.

“Nothing’s changed since middle school. Everything I try just makes things worse.” A new, nasty smile showed on her face, this one laced with self-deprecation.

“Then-” Then you should be honest to your feelings. Especially if you’re going to make that face… He planned on saying that, but Mio cut him off.

“I’ve got exams, you know. I bet dating someone would really take the edge off. In fact, I could probably concentrate that much harder. So to help my success, I need to put all I’ve got towards Souma. Right?” On and on she went, not giving Eita a single chance to speak.

She genuinely acted like that was the way things should go…

“No, that’s not right at all.”

“Why not?”

“You can’t keep using exams as a one-size-fits-all excuse.”

Halfway into the sentence, Eita realized that wasn’t what he actually wanted to say to her. He knew that, but he was just so frustrated at Mio’s constant annoyed glares that he lost control. He couldn’t stop himself.

“Wh-! They’re not an excuse! You’re acting all high and mighty for someone who only got Good Luck!”

“Well, it’s better than Good Luck to Come.”

And now they were just acting like kindergarteners. Worst of all was that Eita knew he started it. He could see Mio starting to boil over right in front of him, and her next jab landed the finishing blow.

“It’s none of your business, Izumi!”

A direct and complete shutdown. Mio glared at Eita, her eyes flared open.

A painful bitterness stronger than any previous emotion welled up in Eita, and he clenched his fists, trying to hold it in.

“It’s none of your business, so just shut up!”

“Easy for you to say!” He wanted to hold the line, act brave and put himself out there. But he didn’t know what else to say. There was only one feeling stronger than her abject denial.

“‘Cause this whole time, I’ve always-!” The words came so naturally that Mio’s puzzled look only just managed to snap him out of his reverie.

He quickly shoved down the rest of that previous sentence.

“I’ve always known how you felt… ever since middle school…”

His hands went slack.

“You can’t just say… it has nothing to do with me…”

He lowered his eyes, unable to keep looking at her.

“…”

She didn’t say anything, but he could feel her gaze on him. Something about it was unsure. There was a hint of doubt mixed in.

“…I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Sorry… I’ll just go.”

Eita couldn’t stand to be there in front of Mio any more, so he quickly slipped past her, walking back home the way they had come in.

“Um…”

He thought that he might have heard her call out, but he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t bring himself to turn around.