After taking a bath, the first thing Hide did was enjoying a glass of warm soymilk and an orange. Actually, Hide could feel that his tired body was craving for a can of cold beer. But he could only enjoy beer and other delicious but not healthy intake once a week on his cheating day. So, Hide held his urged and made a small preparation for today dinner.
He plant to steam tilapia fillet, marinated with scallion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, mirin, and a bit of chili oil. He also plant to make sauté water spinach, miso soup with silk tofu and seaweed, and fried a few sheet of fish’s skin crackers.
It was simple dinner set so Hide could complete the preparation in fifteen minutes. However, he would cook it only after Aizawa arrived at home. After putting the washed rice into rice cooker, he then went to front gate to wait for Aizawa.
When she didn’t sleep at Kitaro, Aizawa would arrive at home around 18:30. As he stood silently under the dusky sky, a sense of irony blanketed Hide’s mind. In his previous life, he would deliberately come home just before the dinner even though he knew Aizawa was at home alone all day long.
But now, he was the one who was waiting for Aizawa with restless heart. Every a minute or two, Hide would check his watch. His expression would also become tense every time his phone received a message. Fortunately, the waiting finally came to an end.
At 18:42 a White MPV smoothly popped up from behind a corner. In an instant, Hide took a deep breath full of relief. A moment later, the White MPV had already stopped in front of him. Hide immediately opened the sliding door so the driver didn’t need to get down. And as usual, Aizawa, the last passenger of White MPV, would hop down with a big and cheerful smile on her face.
‘What a cheerful kids,’ Hide happily muttered as he gave Aizawa a gentle smile.
Then, after thanking the White MPV’s driver while slightly bowed his head, Hide then closed the sliding door.
“How is your school today?” Hide asked as he opened the front gate.
“People from Nichiko Philharmonic came today,” Aizawa cheerfully replied. “And they recruited a student from final year.”
Hide slightly nodded and asked another question, “Do you want to join a philharmonic in the future?”
“Yeah, Aizawa want to join Nichiko Philharmonic,” Aizawa firmly replied. “But it will be super hard. Nichiko Philharmonic only recruits two new members every four years.”
“Well…”
Hide actually didn’t want to burden Aizawa with an expectation about her future. Even if Aizawa only became a musician in a small café, a staff in a small company, or other having other ordinary profession, he would not complain about it.
Hide had only one wish for Aizawa. As long as she lived past age of twenty and had whatever live she wished for, Hide would support it even if it just a normal and plain life. However, because Aizawa had already set her goal, the best thing he could do was to support it and did not saying anything that would dull her determination.
“No matter how hard, just give your best,” Hide calmly said. “Therefore, whatever the final result you achieve, you will have no regret.”
“Okay.”
---
After taking a bath, Aizawa immediately went to dining room. She found Hide had just finished cooking their dinner and she immediately help him setting up the table.
““Thank’s for the food,””
Hide and Aizawa offered the gratitude for the meal at the same time, and dinner was begun immediately afterward.
After taking a sip of his miso soup Hide asked, “Aizawa, when you slept in Kitaro, you didn’t neglect your morning exercise, did you?”
“No,” Aizawa happily replied. “Kaede Sensei would help Aizawa and Kana did the warm up and stretching, and then she would watch us playing badminton.”
“I see.” Hide put a piece of tilapia fillet into his mouth before saying, “Starting tomorrow, when you sleep at home, we will have our morning exercise in Beauty & the Beast.”
“Morning exercise in Beauty & the Beast?”
“Yes, Big Bro has to attend MMA class, while you will join Big Sis Hanna in morning diet class.”
“Okay.”
Aizawa had attended morning diet class a few times. The students were female adult, but they were very kind and nice to her, so she happily complied with Hide’s arrangement.
“The shuttle from Kitaro will pick you up in Beauty and the Beast. Big Bro had already arranged it. So, don’t forget to bring your uniform and bathing miscellaneous.”
“Okay.”
Aizawa cheerfully nodded one more time. After that, the dinner continued in cheerful mood as Aizawa told Hide about her day in Kitaro.
---
As he had to carry a lot of physical exercise before and after school, Hide would go to the bed right after dinner. As for his study and school work, he would done it in the morning by waking up three hours earlier before his daily routine began. He would also do the daily laundry in the morning while studying.
‘What a bliss.’
Hide enjoyed the comfortable sensation to the fullest as he laid his body on the soft and warm bed. It was always so damn good to rest a body after a day of full hard work. Slowly but surely Hide starting to close his heavy eyes, but then someone knocked the door to his room.
“Come in,” Hide replied as he forced himself to widely open his eyes.
At the same time, the door was slowly being opened and revealed Aizawa who nervously looked at Hide. “Big Bro…”
“Yeah…” Hide gently replied, but he didn’t wake up and just lying in his bed. Then, as he tapped the edge of his bed he continued, “Come in and sit here.”
Aizawa immediately entered the room, and climbed up to the edge of the bed while her left hand holding a paper bag in her chest.
“Big Bro, are you feeling not well?”
“Nope, Big Bro just a slightly too tired,” Hide gently said. “Do you need something?”
Aizawa nodded a few times before putting forward paper bag in her chest. “Big Bro, when we watch Yuko Mountain’s match next Friday, can you wear this jacket?”
Hide immediately checked the paper bag and found a jet black Yuko Mountain’s jacket inside it. It was slightly bigger than his size, but it was not a big problem.
“Did you buy it using your saving?”
“Yeah,” Aizawa proudly nodded her little head.
Aizawa’s daily pocket was only 100 Ren. Meaning, the Yuko Mountain’s jacket was equal to 35 days of her pocket money. As she also saving her money to buy tickets of Yuko Mountain’s match and subway tickets, she would need around four months to get all the money.
In short, before Aizawa moved to Kitaro, on the way back home she wouldn’t buy snack, candy, or soft drink like other kids even though she had the money. Moreover, because she didn’t have friend, it was highly likely some kids would ridicule her for it. Kids could become very cruel without realizing it sometimes.
Even so, Aizawa managed to get the money she needed. In a sense, it’s a good thing that she had remarkable will power. The problem was, consciously or unconsciously, only morbid circumstance would drive a kid in such tender age to have an unwavering will power.
‘She must be really wanted to watch Yuko Mountain’s match, and I stupidly destroyed her painstakingly effort.’
Hide’s heart was being overwhelmed by bitter regret as she recalled Aizawa slept in the sofa, crouching while hugging a pillow, at the night he refused to accompany her watching Yuko Mountain’s match. Even in her sleeping she looked very lonely. At that time, Hide actually had a hunch that his rejection had devastated Aizawa’s little heart. But instead of realizing his idiocy, he enjoyed it.
“Thank you,” Hide said as he tried his best to suppress his bitterness.
“Mhm.”
“I will definitely wear it when we watch Yuko Mountain’s match next Friday.”
“Mhm.”
Aizawa then returned to her room with face full of happiness. Meanwhile, Hide’s chest became tightly painful as Aizawa last image from his previous life, suddenly filled his mind to the brim.
‘I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry.’
Even though in this life he would never repeated the same mistake he made in his previous life, deep down in his heart Hide still couldn’t forgive himself.
*****
