Chapter 120: 120

“It’s hot! Ugh!”

The sweltering heat of July has really taken its toll on me.

The sleeves of my t-shirt were rolled up to my shoulders and the hems of my shorts were up to my hips.

Even though this is a high altitude area, your body will get overheated if you do full-body exercise indoors for an hour.

I scrubbed the stains off the floor with a deck brush, and scrubbed the walls and inside of the bathtub with a hand-held scrubber.

Scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing, and scrubbing.

It doesn’t come off.

I’m so sick of this.

“Nii-chan, what are you making a racket by yourself for?”

I heard the bathroom door open and a quiet voice.

“Shouhei.”

I turned back to the voice and saw my beloved brother holding the thing I wanted most right now in his right hand.

Ah, the water of life!

“Here, cold tea. I know what was said earlier, but I went shopping for lunch by myself and it will be ready soon, so just finish up with the bathroom.”

“Thank God! Even though I was covered with so much water, I was parched. Ahhh.”

I took the glass that was handed to me and downed it at once.

”Aoi-neechan is almost done as well. The slowest one is nii-chan.”

“Mmm-hmmm! Kahhhh, I’m alive!”

“Did you hear me?”

Wait a minute, I’m really in the middle of enjoying my tea.

Oh, this is a premium tea from Shizuoka, isn’t it?

Handpicked?

No, well, I’m used to drinking oolong tea.

“I’m listening, I cleaned the bed mats, the sink, and the floor. I even cleaned the bathroom and the toilet. I’d rather have you praise me for this current state of affairs with the bathrooms nearly over?”

It was too much work no matter how you look at it.

The glass I drank out of still feels nice and cold, so I put it to my forehead to cool myself.

Ah, manual labor is hard.

“Heh, you’re quick. Then is it already done?”

“Hm. It’s mostly done, I just did the areas I minded the most, and then I’ll have to go over the rest with water.”

A bit of my craftsman’s pride is coming out, isn’t it?

I’m not satisfied until I get to the nitty-gritty details.

“All right. I’ll take care of lunch. Come over when you’re done. Sorry, it’s so simple, but I made some soumen noodles.”

“Heeh!”

All right! Shall I just get it over with?

After Shouhei left the bathroom, I took the hose that was connected to the sink.

This way was more convenient to use than the shower nozzle.

I pinched the end of the hose and vigorously applied the water stream to the wall.

Top to bottom.

Top to right, then left.

The side walls.

The opposite side and the window.

And the tiled floor.

The bathroom in this house is quite old.

The bathroom fixtures themselves are new, but the construction is old.

Or rather, not only the bathroom but also the house is old.

It is said that the house itself has been around since before the world collision, so it must be about at least 50 years old.

It has been reworked and reinforced several times, so there’s no doubt that it’s sturdy.

I’ve heard that my father’s business associates took good care of it for him.

That’s the secret to how my dad made enough money to buy such a big house.

Even if you factor in the fact that it’s a renovated house, it’s still a reasonably cheap house.

Well, it’s a loan, isn’t it? And a two generation one.

The bathrooms in old houses don’t have fancy bathtubs like the ones we have now, it was the old tile and mortar one.

The bathtub was changed when we moved, and before that it was an ancient silver balance kettle.

The gas-powered reheating type bathtub had stopped working, so we replaced it in tears.

The bathtubs sold at home improvement stores were expensive, weren’t they?

I didn’t know that.

“That’s about it.”

I turned off the water by twisting the faucet tap.

I popped the hose out and rolled it up.

I have to put it back in the storage shed in the yard.

I put my arm through the rolled up hose and wipe the bottom of my feet with a bath mat before exiting into the hallway.

I headed for the kitchen door next to the stairs.

I put on the outside slippers and walked out the kitchen door and into the yard.

“Ah!”

“Hm. A butterfly. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Hmm?

Isn’t that Jaja and Rouge?

“Dah!”

“Hm. It’s fluttering.”

She sat on the frame of the living room window, with Jaja sitting on her lap.

Behind Rouge, Nana was sleeping with a baby towel over her belly.

Did Jaja wake up first?

“Ah, Jaja. Kunpei is here.”

When Rouge saw me, she took Jaja’s hand and waved it.

“Oh. Papa is done cleaning up too!”

“Hmm. Good work.”

“Au?”

Jaja’s face finally turned to me.

It looks like she was preoccupied with the butterflies. Did I interrupt you?

“Ah!”

When Jaja noticed me, her eyes sparkled with delight.

That look is unfair. It’s so unfair.

“Hmm. As expected, I can’t beat papa. It’s so frustrating.”

Seeing Jaja trying her best to reach out for me, Rouge hung her head.

But she’s still expressionless.

I don’t see any color of sadness at all.

“Wait a minute…”

I hurried to the shed, opened the door and placed the hose on the shelf.

I closed the door and locked it with a screw-on key.

“Alright! I kept you waiting Jaja!”

“Ah!”

I turned around vigorously and held out my hands.

Jaja’s face lit up more brightly at that sight.

”Hn. Have a good day.”

“Dah!”

Rouge removed her hand from Jaja’s body and Jaja quickly spread her wings and took off.

With a flap of her tiny wings and her short, thick tail swaying from side to side, Jaja flew towards me.

It’s a short distance, so it’s an acceptable flight.

The twins’ flight time has increased considerably lately, but it’s still too early to let them fly outside, no matter how much.

I’m also worried about what the rat said about the spirits that were accumulating in Jaja and Nana.

We’re working on removing the spirits once a week, but we don’t know when it’s going to flood in.

It’s best to be careful.

“Dah, ah, dah.”

Jaja flew slowly, wobbling up and down, left and right.

When she got in front of me, Jaja’s face turned bright red.

It’s something she’s learned recently.

I don’t know what it feels like, but the more you strain, the higher you go.

By the way, Nana doesn’t know how to do this yet.

The other day, when she saw Jaja flying higher than her, Nana cried in frustration. I feel sorry for her, but this something that Nana has to learn herself.

Do your best!

“Look, over here.”

I waited for Jaja to come up at a slight speed.

“Dah.”

“Yes, very good.”

I caught Jaja as she leapt into my chest.

“Niheh.”

Jaja smiled loosely.

Oh, this face.

You look just like Nana.

As expected of twins.

“Yes, good job.”

“Dah! Kya, kya!”

When I rubbed her cheek against mine, she made a delighted noise.

Hmm?

What is it? Do you like this? Take that, take that.

“Kya! Dah!”

I’m getting into it.

Come one, baby!

Let’s go some more!

“Heh, Jaja. You’re getting better.”

“Yeah, she could be a genius.”

“Ah, father-in-law, that may be an exaggeration.”

“Hmm. Not really. She’s gifted at being cute when flying.”

I stiffened.

“Huh?”

I look up towards the living room.

“The noodles are ready.”

“No matter how you’re looking at it, you’re going overboard. You need to retain more dignity as a father.”

“Ah, father-in-law, Kunpei-san is acting like a father, don’t you think?”

“Hmm. I know exactly how Kunpei feels. I’m next.”

They’re all there…!

“What are you guys looking at? I’m not a spectacle!”

Hah!

This is super embarrassing!

I didn’t realize people were watching me, and I got carried away!

“Hurry up and come in.”

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped. A girl in the prime of her cuteness. I’ve never raised a girl before.”

“Kunpei-san must have been excited to be home after a long time!”

“Hm, Kunpei hurry up. Me.”

“Dah?”

Jaja is looking at me curiously.

Huh? Are you stopping?

That’s what expression it looked like she had.

“Haa, Jaja. Let’s go have lunch.”

Crap. It hurts that my dad, who shouldn’t have seen the most, saw me.

It’s going to be a story for years to come, I swear.

“Dah!”

“I hugged Jaja, who responds back cheerfully, and walked across the yard to the living room.”

“… au.”

“Ah, is Nana up too? Mommy is over here!”

“I guess I should’ve eaten before she got up.”

“Leave it to me. Okay, Nana. Grandpa is going to feed you some baby food.”

“Kunepi, I’m waiting.”

Apparently Nana is up and about, too.

Now, the living room is even more boisterous.

While listening to the hubbub, I left Jaja with Rouge, who persistently held out her hands to me.

Jaja is laughing too, as she starts rubbing her cheeks happily.

Nana rubbed her eyes absent-mindedly and yawned as Aoi lifted her up.

Shouhei headed to the kitchen and moved the glass bowl with the soumen in it to the table.

Dad opened the fridge and pulled out a small jar of carrot-flavored baby food.

This is home.

This is the sight of the Kazmachi family now.

“… If only mom were here.”

I murmured.

I don’t know why.

Why did I feel that way now?

I guess I’m just thinking about it now.

Mom standing in the kitchen, pouring men-tsuyu into a bowl.

Shouhei is helping beside her, and my dad makes a funny joke about it.

Mom laughs and calls for Aoi, who brings the bowl over.

Aoi cheerfully replies back and puts the bowls Mom gave her on the table one by one.

Rouge is comforting Nana as she starts to cry, and Jaja is cackling in laughter beside her.

Mom, who couldn’t just watch, runs up to Rouge and takes Nana.

“What’s the matter? You little crybaby, here, let’s eat with grandma!”

I’m sure that’s what Mom would say, and she would make Nana stop crying.

We are all sitting around the table and Jaja is watching Aoi and Nana is watching Mom.

I’m sure they are all laughing.

Then I would come in through the window and say, ‘I’m home’.

Then everyone would look at me and say, ‘Welcome home’.

Ah, that would have been nice to see.

But no matter how much I pine for it, I will never be able to see that scene.

That day in the hospital, my mom had a very pale face.

It must have been painful for her to breathe.

That promise we made together at the end.

“Kunpei-san?”

Aoi called me back.

“What’s wrong?”

Before I knew it, I seemed to have made it to the living and dining room table.

“Nothing.”

“Is that so?”

Aoi leaned forward and looked at me.

“Aoi.”

“Yes?”

Because somehow that face looked like my mom’s.

I couldn’t help it.

“I’m home.”

I returned, to this house.

“Huh? W-welcome back.”

Aoi, confused, quickly replied.

”… fuhahahaha, no, you see, I’m back from the garden.”

“Ah. Yeah, I see.”

“What are you saying, nii-chan?”

“What’s going on? Did you get heatstroke? Do you want some water?”

It wasn’t just Aoi, Shouhei and my dad also started to worry about me.

That’s not good.

I was a little out of my mind.

“It’s nothing! Hey, Rouge! Food, food! Come here!”

“Hm. I’m coming.”

I called for Rouge and pulled out a chair at the table and sat down.

Aoi sat down next to me with Nana in her arms. Rouge sat next to her with Jaja in her arms.

Shouhei was across from me.

Then dad with one opening in between.

A dining room table for six people, with only one opening. That’s kind of frustrating.

“There’s a lot to do in the afternoon! So everybody eat up!”

“All right, all right! Lower your voice, Dad!”

“Dad, pass the sauce.”

“Ah, Ru-neesan, you can’t use chopsticks, can you? I’ll get a fork, okay?”

“Hm. That’s okay. I’m going to practice using chopsticks.”

A buzzing and noisy dinner table.

“Dah!”

“Fuaaaa…”

Jaja is happily slapping the table, and Nana is yawning for the umpteenth time.

As I watched thatscene, I took my chopsticks and muttered.

“Thanks for the food.”