Chapter 5: Hitotsuba-san’s selfishness
I took Hitotsuba-san’s trembling hand and invited her into the living room, making her sit on a chair. After receiving tea and taking a break, she calmed herself down, as I waited for her to talk.
“Now, Yuya-kun. Let me explain the situation you are in right now. To be honest, this situation can just be summarized in a few words: Yuya-kun, you have become my property now. That’s all.”
“Yeah. I get it. You’re not gonna explain, are you? Is that right?”
“I thought there was no point in rambling on, so I just kept it short and simple. Was that wrong?”
“Of course not! When did I become your property? It’s not like you just bought a pet! Please explain it to me in a way so that I can understand!”
“Pet. That’s right, Yuya-kun is now my pet from today. Yeah, that’s good. That sounds wonderful.”
She wasn’t willing to explain the situation and did not want to listen to me at all! With her arms crossed and her cheeks blushing, she was lost in her own imagination. Despite her attitude, it was a crime to be so beautiful because even that undignified posture could be turned into a painting.
I made deliberate noises to arouse her attention as I sipped my tea.
“No, Pochi. You shouldn’t drink like that… I’m sorry, Yuya-kun. I’ve been imagining things a little too much. Where have I left off?”
“… I think we were up to the point where I became ‘Hitotsuba-san’s property.’”
“Ah, right. I was just about to talk about why Yuya-kun became my property. This is because your father cried out to my mother for help.”
Why did my father ask for Hitotsuba-san’s mother specifically? Hitotsuba-san clarified it to me. To summarize, my father, the b*****d in our family, and Hitotsuba-san’s mother, the goddess-of-war, attended the same elementary, junior, and high school. She had heard about my father’s failures during her work, and about a month ago, she suddenly got a call from him. The message that could be termed in a nutshell: “Please help me.”
“At first, Mom was going to refuse. She said that while it didn’t matter how rotten the relationship between them was, it was still his own fault with his foolish actions. She also added that Yuya-kun’s mother was just as guilty because she kept cheering for him without stopping his disastrous mistakes.”
That b*****d father of mine was really out of his mind. I can’t believe he would send a sudden SOS to his childhood friend who now had a family to take care of. When he comes back from overseas, I’m going to beat him until I feel satisfied.
“However, Yuya’s father cried and said, ‘Please save my son. There’s nothing wrong with Yuya, and unlike me, he has potential. I don’t want to destroy his future.’ “
“….”
“Well, even so, my mother had no reason to nod her head. For her, it was adding fuel to the existing fire.”
… I suppose that would be true. From Hitotsuba-san’s mother’s point of view, I was just a stranger. For her, it was a short-sighted excuse to use one’s own son as an excuse for help. Such a reason was just as shallow as a small puddle of water. You foolish father, you could have used your head a little more.
“So, I’m sure the intelligent Yuya-kun is wondering why my mother still decided to help him. Of course, the reason was that I was selfish!”
Hitotsuba-san puffed out her chest and made a smug face. Even if hidden behind her knit sweater, you could see her twin mounds swaying with sheer momentum. And the way she bent over made them more pronounced, making it difficult to not look at them. I had to look away for a moment.
“Errr, how is this selfish of you, Hitotsuba-san? How does that lead to helping my father? Your mother wouldn’t take on someone else’s debt just because you were selfish, would she?”
“I’ve never been selfish in my life, and I’ve always been a good, obedient child. My parents and grandparents were overjoyed to hear that their only daughter had been so selfish for the first time in her life. They almost wanted to cook red rice for this occasion. (Footnote: Red rice is traditionally cooked for happy occasions.)”
Did she just praise herself as a good and selfless girl? But even that wasn’t the biggest point which bothered me.
Did she just say her mother was crying of happiness over her selfishness? I can’t picture a dignified person like that goddess of war crying out of joy.
“There were two things I was selfish about. The first was that I wanted my mother to help you, Yuya-kun. It was only natural since you haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t really care what happened to your parents, but I couldn’t overlook the fact that you were going to suffer from that.”
I wasn’t sure why Hitotsuba-san cared about me. But while I couldn’t figure out the reason, it was always nice to know that someone cared about you.
“And the second reason stemmed from my selfishness. In all my age I have never made a decision based solely on my selfishness except for this one where I wanted you to become my property. After all, I said I wanted to live with you.”
“Okay, this part right here is impossible to understand! That’s not even selfishness anymore! You just skipped the confession part, the marriage proposal part, and all the other parts and just told your parents that you wanted to live together with me! Why would you do that!?”
“Because… I want to be with you, Yuya-kun…”
Yes, that was foul play! If the dignified Hitotsuba Kaede, who was like the manifestation of a goddess, was fidgeting with her fingers and curling her mouth in an embarrassed manner, any man would fall in love with her immediately! The destructiveness of this cuteness could even end a war!
“Then… everyone got excited about my selfish decision and my first love. My father prepared the check, my mother contacted Yuya-kun’s father, and… everything was decided like that.”
While wondering if I should mention her words “my first love”, Hitotsuba-san handed me a piece of paper. It was a kind of pledge, with my father’s name and seal signed at the bottom. The contents were…
“… ’One. I give Hitotsuba Kaede permission to live with Yoshizumi Yuya. Two, when Yuya turns eighteen, he agrees to register his name and become a son-in-law of the Hitotsuba family. Finally, after the start of cohabitation, any contact from Yoshizumi Yuya’s parents towards him will be prohibited forever.’ What… WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!!??”
Of course I would be screaming after reading such a pledge!
Chapter 5: Hitotsuba-san’s selfishness
I took Hitotsuba-san’s trembling hand and invited her into the living room, making her sit on a chair. After receiving tea and taking a break, she calmed herself down, as I waited for her to talk.
“Now, Yuya-kun. Let me explain the situation you are in right now. To be honest, this situation can just be summarized in a few words: Yuya-kun, you have become my property now. That’s all.”
“Yeah. I get it. You’re not gonna explain, are you? Is that right?”
“I thought there was no point in rambling on, so I just kept it short and simple. Was that wrong?”
“Of course not! When did I become your property? It’s not like you just bought a pet! Please explain it to me in a way so that I can understand!”
“Pet. That’s right, Yuya-kun is now my pet from today. Yeah, that’s good. That sounds wonderful.”
She wasn’t willing to explain the situation and did not want to listen to me at all! With her arms crossed and her cheeks blushing, she was lost in her own imagination. Despite her attitude, it was a crime to be so beautiful because even that undignified posture could be turned into a painting.
I made deliberate noises to arouse her attention as I sipped my tea.
“No, Pochi. You shouldn’t drink like that… I’m sorry, Yuya-kun. I’ve been imagining things a little too much. Where have I left off?”
“… I think we were up to the point where I became ‘Hitotsuba-san’s property.’”
“Ah, right. I was just about to talk about why Yuya-kun became my property. This is because your father cried out to my mother for help.”
Why did my father ask for Hitotsuba-san’s mother specifically? Hitotsuba-san clarified it to me. To summarize, my father, the b*****d in our family, and Hitotsuba-san’s mother, the goddess-of-war, attended the same elementary, junior, and high school. She had heard about my father’s failures during her work, and about a month ago, she suddenly got a call from him. The message that could be termed in a nutshell: “Please help me.”
“At first, Mom was going to refuse. She said that while it didn’t matter how rotten the relationship between them was, it was still his own fault with his foolish actions. She also added that Yuya-kun’s mother was just as guilty because she kept cheering for him without stopping his disastrous mistakes.”
That b*****d father of mine was really out of his mind. I can’t believe he would send a sudden SOS to his childhood friend who now had a family to take care of. When he comes back from overseas, I’m going to beat him until I feel satisfied.
“However, Yuya’s father cried and said, ‘Please save my son. There’s nothing wrong with Yuya, and unlike me, he has potential. I don’t want to destroy his future.’ “
“….”
“Well, even so, my mother had no reason to nod her head. For her, it was adding fuel to the existing fire.”
… I suppose that would be true. From Hitotsuba-san’s mother’s point of view, I was just a stranger. For her, it was a short-sighted excuse to use one’s own son as an excuse for help. Such a reason was just as shallow as a small puddle of water. You foolish father, you could have used your head a little more.
“So, I’m sure the intelligent Yuya-kun is wondering why my mother still decided to help him. Of course, the reason was that I was selfish!”
Hitotsuba-san puffed out her chest and made a smug face. Even if hidden behind her knit sweater, you could see her twin mounds swaying with sheer momentum. And the way she bent over made them more pronounced, making it difficult to not look at them. I had to look away for a moment.
“Errr, how is this selfish of you, Hitotsuba-san? How does that lead to helping my father? Your mother wouldn’t take on someone else’s debt just because you were selfish, would she?”
“I’ve never been selfish in my life, and I’ve always been a good, obedient child. My parents and grandparents were overjoyed to hear that their only daughter had been so selfish for the first time in her life. They almost wanted to cook red rice for this occasion. (Footnote: Red rice is traditionally cooked for happy occasions.)”
Did she just praise herself as a good and selfless girl? But even that wasn’t the biggest point which bothered me.
Did she just say her mother was crying of happiness over her selfishness? I can’t picture a dignified person like that goddess of war crying out of joy.
“There were two things I was selfish about. The first was that I wanted my mother to help you, Yuya-kun. It was only natural since you haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t really care what happened to your parents, but I couldn’t overlook the fact that you were going to suffer from that.”
I wasn’t sure why Hitotsuba-san cared about me. But while I couldn’t figure out the reason, it was always nice to know that someone cared about you.
“And the second reason stemmed from my selfishness. In all my age I have never made a decision based solely on my selfishness except for this one where I wanted you to become my property. After all, I said I wanted to live with you.”
“Okay, this part right here is impossible to understand! That’s not even selfishness anymore! You just skipped the confession part, the marriage proposal part, and all the other parts and just told your parents that you wanted to live together with me! Why would you do that!?”
“Because… I want to be with you, Yuya-kun…”
Yes, that was foul play! If the dignified Hitotsuba Kaede, who was like the manifestation of a goddess, was fidgeting with her fingers and curling her mouth in an embarrassed manner, any man would fall in love with her immediately! The destructiveness of this cuteness could even end a war!
“Then… everyone got excited about my selfish decision and my first love. My father prepared the check, my mother contacted Yuya-kun’s father, and… everything was decided like that.”
While wondering if I should mention her words “my first love”, Hitotsuba-san handed me a piece of paper. It was a kind of pledge, with my father’s name and seal signed at the bottom. The contents were…
“… ’One. I give Hitotsuba Kaede permission to live with Yoshizumi Yuya. Two, when Yuya turns eighteen, he agrees to register his name and become a son-in-law of the Hitotsuba family. Finally, after the start of cohabitation, any contact from Yoshizumi Yuya’s parents towards him will be prohibited forever.’ What… WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!!??”
Of course I would be screaming after reading such a pledge!
