Chapter 46: Beneath the stars
“That’s the Big Winter Triangle of Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon!”
Kaede pointed in joy towards the southern night sky and rhythmically recited the names of the primary stars in their own constellation. If this was the Summer Triangle in the night sky, it would become a song in itself. [TL: I guess the stars of the Summer Triangle Altair, Deneb, and Vega in Japanese form a song.]
“You can’t see stars like this in the city!”
“Yes, it’s… so… beautiful.”
But it was not the stars that were beautiful, it was Kaede. However, I swallowed my rhetoric. The high ground that Kaede had been told about by the lecturer was indeed a great spot for observation. You could feel the illusion of getting closer to the sky just by a little bit of climbing.
“I’m so happy to be able to watch such a wonderful starry sky with you, Yuya-kun. How do you feel, Yuya-kun?”
Kaede let go of my hand, and instead twined her arm around me. It was too defiantly cute to see her staring up at me, waiting for an answer. Normally I would have been embarrassed at this point and would have looked away and blurted something blunt, but not today.
“I feel the same way. I’m so happy to be with Kaede and… it’s a blessing.”
“Do, do you feel happy to be with me? Do you really feel that way…?”
Kaede asked with a slight tremble in her voice. I could see the melancholy in her eyes. Why does she feel anxious?
“Hey, Kaede. There’s something I haven’t been able to tell you for a long time now, will you listen to me?”
“… Of course. I will listen to you until the end, so please tell me how you feel, Yuya-kun. I’m prepared for it.”
Being prepared sounds like an exaggeration. I’m the one who has been doing it. Just the thought of you rejecting me is enough to make me faint.
We let go of our crossed arms and faced each other.
I took one deep breath and then—
“It’s been almost a month since we came to live together due to a crazy chance. As I got to know more and more about Kaede, who I didn’t know anything about before, I fell more and more in love with you than I could ever have.”
“The more I fell in love with Kaede, the more… scared I became. The more I love you, the more scared I am that you would leave me and go away. I know you’re not like that, but I’m worried. Because I was abandoned by my parents…”
“I don’t want to go through that again. I don’t want to be alone. That’s why I didn’t confess my feelings towards you.”
“But I’ve reached my limit. I’m falling in love with Kaede so much that I can’t keep my feelings for you in check anymore.”
“… Yuya-kun…”
“Kaede is the only one. You are the only one who acknowledged my efforts. Not only that, but you praised me and encouraged me to do my best. I was so happy about that. At first, I just admired you, but the more I got to know you, the more I loved you…”
I cut off my words here and took another deep breath. Kaede was crying.
“Kaede. I love you. More than anyone else in the world. Yoshizumi Yuya loves Hitotsuba Kaede with all his being.”
“— Yuya-kun!”
You’ve been patient. The moment I finished, Kaede moved forward to hug me. I caught her and hugged her tightly and gently.
“Finally… I’m so glad. I finally got to know about Yuya-kun’s feelings.”
“I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”
“It’s okay. It was worth the wait. Hey, you know what? My heart seems to be in shock, you know? But… fufu. Yuya-kun’s heart seems to be in a lot of trouble too.”
Of course. I confessed the feelings I had hidden for Kaede. That was why I couldn’t help but feel my heart beating like it was about to break. But I could tell you that Kaede’s heart was pounding just as hard as mine. I could almost hear the sound.
“Me too… Hitotsuba Kaede loves Yoshizumi Yuya with all her being. I love you more than anyone, Yuya-kun.”
With tears streaming down her face, but a smile on her face, Kaede answered me. I wiped her tears away with my fingers and gently touched her cheek as she purred like a cat. Oh, what a lovely person she is.
“Yuya-kun… hugging me and stroking me makes me very happy, but… is that all?”
“… Kaede?”
“You’re… a natural at it. So what I mean is—”
She lifted her arms from around my waist to my neck, stretched a little and placed her lips on mine.
My first kiss with Kaede tasted like tears.
The suddenness of it shook me up, but soon my heart was filled with so much happiness that I couldn’t think about anything else. I just want to enjoy this happiness for now.
“Yuya-kun… I love you.”
“I love you, Kaede.”
We hugged each other so tightly and strongly that we didn’t feel the cold anymore and provided each other warmth. Once I told her how I felt, strangely enough, I didn’t mind telling her I loved her again. In fact, I wanted to say it over and over.
“Thank you so much, Yuya-kun. I’m very happy now.”
May this happiness last forever.
Kaede and I kissed for the second time, under the witness of the stars in the night sky with clear air.
We would remember this day for the rest of our lives. It was such a happy moment.
Chapter 46: Beneath the stars
“That’s the Big Winter Triangle of Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon!”
Kaede pointed in joy towards the southern night sky and rhythmically recited the names of the primary stars in their own constellation. If this was the Summer Triangle in the night sky, it would become a song in itself. [TL: I guess the stars of the Summer Triangle Altair, Deneb, and Vega in Japanese form a song.]
“You can’t see stars like this in the city!”
“Yes, it’s… so… beautiful.”
But it was not the stars that were beautiful, it was Kaede. However, I swallowed my rhetoric. The high ground that Kaede had been told about by the lecturer was indeed a great spot for observation. You could feel the illusion of getting closer to the sky just by a little bit of climbing.
“I’m so happy to be able to watch such a wonderful starry sky with you, Yuya-kun. How do you feel, Yuya-kun?”
Kaede let go of my hand, and instead twined her arm around me. It was too defiantly cute to see her staring up at me, waiting for an answer. Normally I would have been embarrassed at this point and would have looked away and blurted something blunt, but not today.
“I feel the same way. I’m so happy to be with Kaede and… it’s a blessing.”
“Do, do you feel happy to be with me? Do you really feel that way…?”
Kaede asked with a slight tremble in her voice. I could see the melancholy in her eyes. Why does she feel anxious?
“Hey, Kaede. There’s something I haven’t been able to tell you for a long time now, will you listen to me?”
“… Of course. I will listen to you until the end, so please tell me how you feel, Yuya-kun. I’m prepared for it.”
Being prepared sounds like an exaggeration. I’m the one who has been doing it. Just the thought of you rejecting me is enough to make me faint.
We let go of our crossed arms and faced each other.
I took one deep breath and then—
“It’s been almost a month since we came to live together due to a crazy chance. As I got to know more and more about Kaede, who I didn’t know anything about before, I fell more and more in love with you than I could ever have.”
“The more I fell in love with Kaede, the more… scared I became. The more I love you, the more scared I am that you would leave me and go away. I know you’re not like that, but I’m worried. Because I was abandoned by my parents…”
“I don’t want to go through that again. I don’t want to be alone. That’s why I didn’t confess my feelings towards you.”
“But I’ve reached my limit. I’m falling in love with Kaede so much that I can’t keep my feelings for you in check anymore.”
“… Yuya-kun…”
“Kaede is the only one. You are the only one who acknowledged my efforts. Not only that, but you praised me and encouraged me to do my best. I was so happy about that. At first, I just admired you, but the more I got to know you, the more I loved you…”
I cut off my words here and took another deep breath. Kaede was crying.
“Kaede. I love you. More than anyone else in the world. Yoshizumi Yuya loves Hitotsuba Kaede with all his being.”
“— Yuya-kun!”
You’ve been patient. The moment I finished, Kaede moved forward to hug me. I caught her and hugged her tightly and gently.
“Finally… I’m so glad. I finally got to know about Yuya-kun’s feelings.”
“I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”
“It’s okay. It was worth the wait. Hey, you know what? My heart seems to be in shock, you know? But… fufu. Yuya-kun’s heart seems to be in a lot of trouble too.”
Of course. I confessed the feelings I had hidden for Kaede. That was why I couldn’t help but feel my heart beating like it was about to break. But I could tell you that Kaede’s heart was pounding just as hard as mine. I could almost hear the sound.
“Me too… Hitotsuba Kaede loves Yoshizumi Yuya with all her being. I love you more than anyone, Yuya-kun.”
With tears streaming down her face, but a smile on her face, Kaede answered me. I wiped her tears away with my fingers and gently touched her cheek as she purred like a cat. Oh, what a lovely person she is.
“Yuya-kun… hugging me and stroking me makes me very happy, but… is that all?”
“… Kaede?”
“You’re… a natural at it. So what I mean is—”
She lifted her arms from around my waist to my neck, stretched a little and placed her lips on mine.
My first kiss with Kaede tasted like tears.
The suddenness of it shook me up, but soon my heart was filled with so much happiness that I couldn’t think about anything else. I just want to enjoy this happiness for now.
“Yuya-kun… I love you.”
“I love you, Kaede.”
We hugged each other so tightly and strongly that we didn’t feel the cold anymore and provided each other warmth. Once I told her how I felt, strangely enough, I didn’t mind telling her I loved her again. In fact, I wanted to say it over and over.
“Thank you so much, Yuya-kun. I’m very happy now.”
May this happiness last forever.
Kaede and I kissed for the second time, under the witness of the stars in the night sky with clear air.
We would remember this day for the rest of our lives. It was such a happy moment.
