NOVEL NEXT UBS62 – Birthday Gifts
"Gojima uncle!"
"Shishou!"
"Hey, kids. How have you been!"
Gojima bent down and patted the heads of the Kobayashi siblings. They both returned toothy grins.
"Gojima kun! Its been a month since we last saw you!"
"Seriously, its as if you have completely forgotten about our existance!"
"Ah, its not like that, Satoru san, Koharu san. I just had a lot in my hand, you know, trying to get used to a new environment."
"Still, you can still come visit us once or twice a month, can't you?"
"Well, this is my once in a month visit then."
"Ugh!"
"Papa, he got you. Ufufu..."
Sayuri slowly walked towards Gojima and greeted him.
"Its been a while, Ken kun."
"...Yeah, its been a while."
"..."
She said nothing and just stared at him for a while. It was getting a little awkward.
"Um, is there something on my face?"
"...You got tanned a little."
"I did? I never noticed."
"Of course you didn't. It is noticeable to me who have not seen you in a month."
"Hm, I guess you're right. Now that I think about it, you also look a little thinner. Have you been eating well?"
"Hm? M-Me? Of course! Why would I—wait a minute..." Sayuri went from being flustered from narrowing her eyes a little, "are you implying that I was fat before?"
"No! Not at all!" Gojima waved his hand, "you were completely perfect before! Its just... you look a little unwell, and you didn't use to have eyebags before, right?"
"O-oh, t-thats... um..." she averted her eyes for moment, then just showed him a silly smile, "ahaha, I kinda got hooked to a television show so I messed up my schedule a little bit, haha."
He was sure that she was hiding something from him, but it was not something he should pry into. He decided to ignore it for now, although he hoped that she would trust him enough to tell him someday.
The Kobayashi couple just blankly stared at the two.
"Hey, Mama, I think they completely forgot about us."
"Hm, they are completely in their own world."
Koharu just wryly smiled at them. She knew what bugged Sayuri recently. Her husband has barely been at home, and she once overheard their conversation from the balcony. It seemed like her husband's new business had not been going so well, and he just kept pestering her for more money. Sayuri was not able to promise him anything. She was probably stressed thinking about their future.
The more Koharu learned about Sayuri's husband, the worse her opinion of him became. Sometimes she truly wished that the two people in front of him were the true couple, but reality was often disappointing.
"Um, shishou?"
"Hm? Takeshi kun, you've also got a little taller, haven't you?"
"...How is Ruri doing?"
Everybody went silent at Takeshi's question. It was a question they all wanted to ask, but they were not sure how and when to ask it.
"...She is doing better than before. I have sent you her pictures, haven't I?"
"But..." Miki had a downcast expression on her face, "she looks so sad in those pictures. She never wants to talk to any of us. I wanted to ask her so many things about Maro chan, and also wanted to tell her so many things, but she does not even appear in front of the camera..." The girl sniffed, but she held back her tears.
Even the youngest girl was also slowly, but surely maturing. Although Gojima wished that the catalyst to her growth was not her awareness of the trauma her friend had to go through. How cruel this world was.
"Miki chan," he patted her head as her family hugged her from behind, "give her some time, okay? She will talk with you once she had adjusted to her new life completely."
"Shishou, I... I will soon complete my training on sign languages. You think she will want to talk with me by then?"
"I hope she would, Takeshi kun. I hope she would."
"Well!" Sayuri decided to change the somber atmosphere, "now that we all are here, why don't we start looking for what to buy for Ruri chan's birthday!"
Everyone got the cue and decided to cheer themselves up. Even two months ago they were planning for Ruri's birthday, but now they are not even able to meet her without triggering her PTSD. The best they can do for her now is to wish her happiness by buying her some gifts. They wished they could do more, but some wounds require time to heal.
A few hours later, Gojima found himself carrying a bunch of boxes—not that he minded any of it. They were gifts for his daughter after all.
Never did he think that he would gain a daughter few months after starting a new life in another world. But it was not a bad feeling. Of course, Ruri would never replace Sachi's place in his heart, but he would love and care for her the same way he used to do for his own daughter.
His daughter who he failed to protect. Never again, nevermore.
He was glad that there were people who he could count on this time. He made a resolve to always be there for these people. Sometimes he did wonder if the previous Gojima ever had any meaningful connection in his life. What he had learned of the guy so far, he probably didn't. So the guy was just an empty husk with nothing but greed and lust inside of him? Was living in such a way even possible?
"Ah! Gojima kun! You can stuff the boxes inside my car!"
He broke his chain of thought as he heard Satoru shouting. Well, if the other guy's past was that important, Ubs would let him know. He trusted it enough to do that. He simply stuffed the boxes inside, as he could not exactly carry it all the way to the station. Well, he could, but he did not want to deny their goodwill. Also, Ruri's birthday was tomorrow, so she would discover the gifts early if he took them with him. It was decided that Sayuri will arrange for the gifts to be sent to her home tomorrow.
Nothing escapes Maro chan's nose, nothing.
"Papa?" Satoru tapped her husband's shoulder, "the sky is suddenly getting darker. It won't start raining all on a sudden, right?"
"...wow, that sure looks bad. Kids, hurry, we need to get back home before it starts raining badly!"
Unfortunately, when everyone got inside the car, there were no space for either Gojima or Sayuri."
"Its fine!" Sayuri waved her hands, "I also have a few things to buy anyway, so please go ahead!"
The Kobayashis went back home with the gifts, leaving only Gojima and Sayuri behind.
"Uh, maybe its not a good idea to buy anything right now, Sayuri san. It will probably start raining soon."
"It won't take much time! See that shop, Ken kun? We are going there."
"Hm? Glasses store?"
"Yep! Didn't you mention to Sawashiro san that you were having a little trouble with your eyes?"
"I did?"
"Hm! Did you forget?"
Gojima remembered a white lie he told them a while ago. She remembered it?
"Umm, its not really bothering me that much so..."
"Things like these get worse over time if left unattended, you know? And... I kinda wanted to gift it to you for always helping out my mother."
"Well, if you say so, I am left with no choice."
In a moment, he found himself inside the store with Sayuri, with his eyes being checked. Fortunately, he did not have even the slightest vision impairment thanks to Ubs.
"Umm, Gojima Kenzaburou san, right?"
"...Yes?"
The store owner scratched her head, "it seems like you have no problem with your eyesight."
"Eh? Really? How?" Sayuri was astonished.
"Well, I have watched a lot of greenery recently, so maybe my eyes got better?"
"Was such a thing even possible?" Sayuri frowned, but let go of it.
"Aww, I wanted to buy something for you, but it seems like you don't need it anymore."
The store owner smelled an opportunity to sell stuff, so she called her.
"Dear customer, we also have a large collection of glasses for aesthetic purpose as well. Would you like to see them?"
"Hm? You do?"
"Yes!" The lady with a business smile plastered on her face rubbed her hands in the shadiest way possible. "We also have special glasses that reduces the amount of blue light exposure. Very good for the eyes."
"Wooh, please show them to me!"
Soon Sayuri was going through a bunch of glasses with Gojima just standing there, hoping that it would not start raining.
"Hey, Ken kun! Try this one!" She handed him a gold colored frame. Looking at her expectant eyes, he just sighed and wore it.
"Pfft!"
...and he got a stifled laugh in return.
"I'm sorry, Ken kun," Sayuri barely controlled her laughter, "but it makes you look like you are the leader of a Yakuza gang! It would be perfect if you have a big tattoo on your back... pfft..."
Gojima silently took off the glasses. "I would very much like to look like the helpful teacher I am."
"Oh, then how about this one?" This time Sayuri herself put a spectacle with solid black frame on his nose.
"Hm! Perfect!" Sayuri clapped her hands.
"My, it suits you perfectly, dear customer," the store lady said, "the frame is also quite solid. Your wife surely has a good eye for products."
"Huh?!"
"Um... she is not my wife."
"Oh my, you two have not gotten married yet? You should get it done as soon as possible... or..." the lady blanked out a little with a melancholic look. Oh boy, they sure triggered some regretful memories.
Sayuri awkwardly laughed and tried to correct her.
"Um, actually, we are just... good... fr..."
She did not complete her sentence, and she also had a blank look on her face. Gojima frowned. What, she also remembered something from the past as well?
...or not. She was just staring outside the window. Being curious, he followed her line of sight.
And saw a person walking on the other side of the street. He recognized the person—it was Hanazono Satoshi, Sayuri's husband. And he was walking with another woman intimately grabbing his arm with both of her hands.
"...Satoshi kun?"