Interlude: A (Failed) Visit to the Hino Estate

Interlude:
A (Failed) Visit to the Hino Estate

 

EVERY NOW AND THEN, I liked to show up at Hino’s house unannounced so I could throttle her. Wait, throttle her? No, startle her? Same difference. I decided not to think too hard about it. Anyway, the goal was to make her scream.

As I entered the bamboo forest that led to her mansion, my whole environment shifted. The densely packed bamboo trees absorbed the bright sunshine, and the breeze that blew through the gaps was nice and cool, brushing against me gently. As I traveled down the cobblestone path, the sunlight filtered in through the gaps, creating a tranquil little pocket of space.

But as soon as the bamboo trees came to an end, so too did my peaceful moment away from the heat. What lay before me was a sprawling plot of land so lush and green, I half-expected to see turtles and cranes living in perfect harmony. Hino’s house truly was a mansion; even at a distance, I could smell the high-quality wood. And apparently, it wasn’t just her short stature that made it look big by comparison.

I could see an intercom at the front entrance, so I pressed it.

“Yes?” It was Hino’s older brother, uh…Kotarou, I think?

“Greetings!”

“Oh, if it isn’t Akira’s schoolmate…” Apparently, he remembered me too.

“Meats, sir.” Wait, I said the wrong thing. But I was already starting to sway, so it was too late to take it back.

“One moment, please.” Then I heard him call down the hallway: “Akira! Your friend is here!”

“What?!” It was Hino, and she didn’t sound happy.

“Your FRIEND! IS! HERE!”

“Woohoo, it’s me!” I chimed in, just for fun.

“What friend?”

“Me, silly!”

“Oh. The heck are you doing here?”

“To hang out with you, duh!”

A few moments later, Hino came dashing out to the front. Sadly, she wasn’t wearing a yukata, which was a shame, because she looked great in them.

“Oh, good grief. You totally forgot, didn’t you?” Rolling her eyes, she scratched her forehead.

“No, I didn’t. I made it here all by myself.”

“Gee, I’m so proud.”

“Hee hee hee hee hee…” I liked it when Hino gave me compliments. Hers were always my favorite.

“That was sarcasm, genius.”

“Huhwha?!”

Then I caught a glimpse of Hino’s mom rushing down the hall. She always wore kimonos, even on Bring Your Parents to School Day, so it made her really easy to find, though Hino seemed embarrassed about it for some reason.

“She sure seems like she’s in a hurry.”

I could see two carry-on suitcases sitting by the entryway…but then an assistant came and brought out a third one. Hino glanced over at them, then looked back at me. “Well, we’re flying out to Hawaii today, remember?”

“You are?” How much tanner are you trying to get?

“I told you this was happening, like, a week ago.”

“Sorry, I don’t remember.”

“Yeah, I’m not really surprised.”

Yes, sometimes I forgot things about Hino, especially the things I didn’t like. “How long will you be gone?”

“I already told you. Six days.”

“Sorry, I don’t—”

“It’s fine! My point is, no, I can’t hang out with you.”

“Hmm. I see.” Since it was hot, I stepped into the entryway and sat down to think it over. “You know, now that I think about it, you go abroad every year, don’t you?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

Belatedly, I remembered: this same thing had been happening since grade school. I could remember when she left for a trip last year, but absolutely nothing in between. Then she turned to look at me, so I greeted her with a bright smile. “Well, you can count on me to watch the house for you!”

“Go home!”

And just like that, she kicked me out. Grrrr, she’s so mean! Well, I guess she’s busy… Wouldn’t want to get in her way… And so I reluctantly trudged home, making cicada sounds as I went. Wait, do cicadas even like bamboo? Curious, I looked up.

“Hey, Nagafuji!”

Just then, Hino came running after me. The shadows of the bamboo trees fell over her tanned skin, perfectly encapsulating the season of summer.

“Here.” She tossed me something, and I caught it. It was a bottle of green tea, perfectly chilled. “I’ll get in touch once I’m back from my trip, so…yeah, just come on over—no, actually, I’ll go to you,” she corrected herself hastily as she looked back over her shoulder at her house.

My house or her house? As long as she was there, it didn’t really matter. “Just leave it to me, the Great Nagafuji!”

“Since when are you ‘the Great Nagafuji’?” she sighed, laughing.

“Oh, and I want souvenirs.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll buy you some cool snacks or something.”

Somehow, she always knew just what I wanted. Then she ran off back to the house, and I watched her go. Before she disappeared, she turned and gave me a little wave, so I waved emphatically back at her. She scowled for a moment, then waved back just as hard as me. So I waved even harder! This time she ignored me and disappeared. Grrrr.

Anyway, so there I was, toddling home from Hino’s place…

“Hmmm. Well, now what do I do?”

As I walked through the bamboo grove, I tried to think of somewhere else I could go but came up empty-handed. Should I just go home and lounge around in front of the fan? She would be gone for the next six days. How would I survive? My head was going to explode!

“Oh…?”

Just then, I recognized a head of shimmering blue hair coming my way. It was the same little girl who stopped by the shop every now and then. She was toddling along just like me, but when she noticed me, she stopped short to scrutinize me carefully.

“Ohhhhh!”

“Whoaaaa!”

In perfect sync, we both broke into a run and came crashing into each other.

Boom!

But despite her short stature, the little girl managed to stay upright. Impressive leg muscles on this one.

“You’re the croquette lady, aren’t you?”

“More or less,” I answered.

“Shimamura-san and Little have gone out, so I no longer have any place to be.”

“Yeah, and Hino’s going on a trip…so I no longer have anything to entertain me.”

We pulled each other into a tight embrace.

“Sniffle, sniffle!”

“Waaahhh!”

After a good long cry, we pulled apart. Ugh, I’m so sweaty. Not because of the little girl, but because I cried too hard. “So are you free right now?”

“Indeed I am,” the girl smiled back. She wasn’t sweating in the least, and her hair was dry and soft. She probably wasn’t an android, and yet her hair color was far from natural. It was all very mysterious.

“Well, wanna come back to my place?”

“I happily accept your invitation.”

She agreed readily, without thinking too hard. But I, on the other hand, had all sorts of thoughts. Thoughts like: Heh heh heh, I’m going to make you work at the register so I don’t have to! She looked an awful lot like our mascot character anyway.

“Want some?”

I twisted the cap off the tea bottle and offered it to her. She jumped up to take it, and as she drank, I thought I could practically see the green liquid sliding down her ghostly pale throat.

And so I took my little stray home with me.

“Today I’ve found us the perfect poster girl,” I announced to my mother when we got home. Her eyes widened.

“Why, it’s the little errand girl!”

“Hello there, ma’am.” Perfect manners, this one. Clearly, she was a good fit for customer service.

“Listen here, little blue girl. All you have to do is clap your hands and shout stuff like ‘Yummy treats, on sale now!’”

“I beg your pardon?”

“It’s super easy, trust me.”

“And yet you still seem to struggle with it,” my father remarked sarcastically from the back of the store. But I ignored him.

“Go on!”

I gave her little shoulders a push. She stood next to the display case and clapped her little hands. “Hey, hey, come on in!”

“Ooh, that’s the spirit!”

“On sale! On sale now!”

She clapped and clapped while the mascot Hino drew for us hung just overhead. The more I compared the two, the more identical I found them. And now that I thought about it…it didn’t really fit with the whole butcher theme at all.

“That reminds me, weren’t you going to go stay the night over there?” Mom asked.

“Hino’s family’s leaving for Hawaii today,” I answered, swinging the bag I’d packed. And boy, was I ever disappointed. Without Hino, my whole summer break would be totally lopsided. Am I using that word right? Eh, who cares.

As the little blue girl clapped her hands, she looked up at me, her coach. “You and Hino-san are very close friends, aren’t you, Nagafuji-san?”

“You could say that,” I nodded as I leaned against the display case. Wait, when did she learn our names?

“Well, I’m very close with Shimamura-san and Little,” she declared proudly, her hair sparkling even in the absence of any sunlight. Apparently, she felt like bragging.

“Wow.”

I didn’t know who “Little” was supposed to be, but it wasn’t easy to get close to Shimamura. While at first glance she seemed friendly, she never got too invested. She probably wasn’t that attached to me or Hino either.

“For the record, I’m Hino’s best friend,” I told her, just to make sure there was no room for doubt, but now that I thought about it… “Hmmmm…”

If being Hino’s best friend was my most notable trait, then maybe I could work as her assistant in the future. That wouldn’t be the worst. Maybe she could pull some strings and get me hired without an interview… Actually, more than likely, she’d be passionately opposed to it. You know, sometimes I really didn’t understand the way her brain worked.

After that, the little blue girl worked as our mascot until evening. Apparently, her striking blue hair helped draw customers in—middle-aged ladies would stop dead in their tracks to stare at her, and then I’d pull them into the store. Sure enough, I had an eye for true talent! Oh, and I gave her some tips about how to interact with friends too.

Then we had dinner together, we took a lukewarm bath together, and she went home for the night. I didn’t know where her home was, but her little blue sparkles floated around the store for quite some time after she left.

~Today’s Adachi Forecast~

 

I sat cross-legged in the center of the room, wearing my swimsuit. Every time I tried to open my mouth, sweat trickled down my back. Clutching my head, I curled into a ball on the floor and writhed in shame and regret.

WHY did you want a picture of me in my swimsuit, Shimamura?! And god, why did I look so awkward?! Kill me!!!

Flailing and rubbing my forehead against the carpet, I agonized over my expression, trying to think of some way I could have looked a little less stupid.