“Huh?”
Ringo’s violet eyes widened as she stared blankly at Takeshi Yamamoto.
H-He patted my head!
“Hahaha, I’ve always wanted to say something like that,” Yamamoto said with a grin as he withdrew his hand. “I’m hardly ever home, so it’s always my old man saying it to me. This time I got to pick you up, so I finally had the chance. Yeah, that felt pretty good.”
“I see…” Ringo blinked, then smiled too. “Then… I’m home!”
“Hahaha, you’re actually playing along with me? I’ll reward you with some spending money later.” Clearly in a great mood, Yamamoto walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for her. “All right, hop in.”
“Okay!”
After fastening her seatbelt, Ringo heard Yamamoto ask, “When are you going back to school?”
“On the sixth,” she answered obediently. “Our break lasts until the seventh, but I’m going back on the sixth.”
“Got any plans for the holiday?”
Ringo shook her head. “Not really.”
Yamamoto asked one question, and Ringo answered one. The atmosphere inside the car remained relaxed and comfortable, until he glanced at her and asked with concern, “Are you tired? Was the trip back too long?”
“Hm?” Ringo turned to look at him, her face full of confusion. “No. Why do you ask, Takeshi?”
“You look exhausted. You don’t seem to have much energy,” he replied before asking, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy to be on vacation?”
“No.” Ringo shook her head and forced a stiff smile. “Something happened before…” Covering both cheeks with her hands, she asked anxiously, “Do I really look that bad?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if you didn’t,” Yamamoto answered matter-of-factly.
“Ah…” Ringo lowered her head, her short blond hair falling around her cheeks. She immediately looked troubled. “Mom’s definitely going to ask me about it.”
“You don’t want your mom to know?” Yamamoto asked curiously. “What happened?” After thinking for a moment, he quickly guessed, “Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?”
The last time he’d seen her, she’d said she didn’t want her mother to know, so she probably still hadn’t told her. And he honestly couldn’t think of anything that would upset Ringo besides that.
“No,” Ringo answered dejectedly. “We didn’t fight. But we broke up.”
“…Huh? You broke up?”
Wasn’t that even worse than fighting?
Yamamoto froze. He turned to look at Ringo, who happened to lift her head at that exact moment. Her eyes instantly flew wide open.
“Takeshi! Takeshi! You’re going to crash!”
“What?”
Yamamoto immediately looked back at the road. Only then did he realize that while he’d turned to look at her, the car beside them had changed lanes and pulled in front of him. He hadn’t noticed, and he hadn’t slowed down. They were about to rear-end it.
Feeling the car decelerate sharply and the distance between them and the vehicle ahead widen to a safe margin, Ringo finally let out a sigh of relief.
“We’re safe…”
“Sorry. I scared you, didn’t I?” Yamamoto said guiltily.
Ringo nodded. “A little…”
“But you look more energetic than you did a moment ago,” Yamamoto said with complete seriousness.
Ringo choked. “Takeshi, have you ever heard of a person’s final burst of energy before they die? That’s basically what that was! I was seriously scared to death!”
Yamamoto shot her a quick glance. “Sorry, sorry. I misspoke.” He reached over and ruffled her hair. “Don’t be mad.”
Ringo puffed out her cheeks. “I’m not really mad.” After a pause, she added, “But… I do feel a little better now.”
“Really? That’s good.” Yamamoto relaxed. Then his expression darkened, and the smile disappeared from his voice. “So… do you want me to go teach that heartless jerk a lesson?”
“No.” Ringo shook her head.
Leaving aside the fact that nobody even knew where Dazai had gone, Chuuya had also said Dazai had plenty of enemies. He probably didn’t need Yamamoto’s help.
After a moment of silence, Ringo asked curiously, “Takeshi, you don’t even know why we broke up. Why are you so sure he’s a heartless jerk?”
Without hesitation, Yamamoto answered, “Because you’re heartbroken. In situations like this, isn’t it usually because you ran into a heartless jerk?”
Ringo lowered her head. “Yeah… that’s true.”
Even though it really was true, hearing Yamamoto say it still made her feel a little sad.
“So you really don’t want me to teach him a lesson?” Yamamoto asked seriously. “A man who made you cry shouldn’t be forgiven so easily.”
Ringo was so touched that her eyes instantly turned into swirling poached eggs again.
“Waaah, Takeshi!”
“See? You’re crying because you’re so upset,” Yamamoto declared firmly. “When it’s time for you to go back to school, I’ll drive you there. You can take me to him. I’m definitely not letting him off.”
“Really, there’s no need! And I’m not crying because I’m sad—I’m crying because I’m touched!”
“Huh? Is that so?”
The two chatted all the way home, and before long they arrived at Ringo’s house.
Yamamoto parked outside and got out to take her suitcase from the trunk.
“Um, Takeshi,” Ringo said softly as she followed behind him, “I can carry my own suitcase.”
“What are you talking about?” Yamamoto pushed the front door open as he walked ahead. “Why would I let you carry it when I’m here?” Then he turned toward the house and called inside, “Auntie! I brought Ringo home!”
The moment Ringo looked up, all she could see was Yamamoto’s tall back filling her field of vision.
…Takeshi is so dependable.
Ringo’s mother had already guessed they would be arriving around this time. Hearing Yamamoto’s voice, she hurried out to greet them.
“Oh, my precious daughter is home!” She smiled warmly at Yamamoto. “Thank you for picking Ringo up, Takeshi.”
“Don’t mention it. It was nothing,” Yamamoto replied with his usual cheerful grin as he set Ringo’s suitcase by the entrance. “I’ll head home now.”
Just then, Ringo’s father came out as well.
“Oh, Takeshi. Come in and have some tea before you go.”
“No thanks, Uncle. I’ve got to go help my old man,” Yamamoto politely declined. “I’m rarely home, after all.”
Ringo’s mother nodded. “That’s true. You’re hardly ever around, so you should spend more time with your father while you’re back. He’s always by himself. It must get lonely.”
“Do you think so?” Yamamoto asked solemnly. “Well, since I’m home, I’ll definitely spend more time with him.”
“Good,” Ringo’s mother said with a smile. “Come over for dinner tonight with your father. Since Ringo’s home for winter break, we’re making a big feast.”
Ringo’s father added, “Your old man comes every time anyway. He knows.”
Ringo blinked and instinctively turned to look at Yamamoto.
“All right, I got it.” Yamamoto nodded. “I’ll let my old man know so we can close the shop a little earlier today. Then I’ll head home. Goodbye, Uncle, Auntie.”
Then he looked at Ringo and smiled.
“See you tonight, Ringo.”
Ringo waved at him.
“Bye, Takeshi.”
After Yamamoto left, Ringo’s father wheeled her suitcase while he and her mother accompanied her to her room.
Holding her daughter’s hand, Ringo’s mother asked with concern, “Were you tired from the trip?”
“A little.” Ringo nodded. “It was a really long ride.”
“No wonder you don’t look very energetic.” Her mother gently cupped her daughter’s cheek. “Go rest in your room for a while. You can even take a nap.”
“It’s okay, Mom.” Ringo smiled. “I chatted with Takeshi on the way back, and I already feel much better.”
“Oh?” Her mother looked surprised. “You actually talked with Takeshi? I was worried that since you two hadn’t seen each other in so long, things would be awkward and you’d have nothing to talk about. But it seems he still treats you just like he used to. I was honestly pretty surprised when he said he wanted to pick you up.”
No one knew her daughter better than she did. She was well aware that the older Ringo got, the more socially anxious she became.
“It was a little awkward at first,” Ringo admitted, scratching her head. “But he came to Yokohama to deliver something for me before, and we’ve exchanged gifts since then, so this time it wasn’t nearly as awkward.” Tilting her head, she smiled. “He still feels like the Takeshi I remember.”
He really did treat her just the same as before.
Her mother chided gently, “You shouldn’t put it that way. Takeshi is much more mature and dependable than he used to be.”
“That’s true,” her father agreed. “It feels like he suddenly grew up overnight. Ah, I’ve got to have a few drinks with him tonight.”
“All you ever think about is having a few drinks,” Ringo’s mother scolded with mock annoyance before urging him, “Go check if we’re missing any ingredients for dinner. Hurry, hurry.”
Ringo’s father looked reluctant.
“I haven’t even had the chance to talk to my precious daughter yet.”
“I’ll talk first. You can talk after I’m done,” Ringo’s mother declared firmly.
Ringo blinked innocently.
“Dad, I want horse mackerel.”
“I’ll go see if we have any,” Ringo’s father said as he immediately turned to leave. “If we don’t, I’ll go buy some right away.”
After he left, Ringo’s mother entered the room with her and closed the door behind them before asking the question she cared about most.
“So, how’s your love life going? Are things still good between you and your boyfriend? When can Mom finally meet our Ringo’s boyfriend?”
Sitting on the bed, Ringo reached over and picked up the stuffed toy by her pillow.
After a long silence, she finally spoke softly.
“We already broke up.”