— — — — — —
Even after boarding the Shinkansen back, Oikawa still felt a little dazed.
Before meeting Utaha Kasumigaoka, he'd been planning nothing more than a friendly exchange. Talk about writing, maybe get a bit closer.
How had things escalated this far?
It all felt strange.
Utaha's attitude had been strange. That final kiss had been strange too.
After thinking it over, Oikawa pulled out his phone and tapped the cat-icon contact.
"Did you get home?"
He waited a long time.
Still unread.
He didn't send another message. Instead, he opened the group chat.
Someone had been @-ing him. That wasn't unusual, but today it was happening far more often than usual. Oikawa scrolled up to the mentions.
"@ someone said they bought a signed copy of Your Lie in April this afternoon. Is this a Dengeki Bunko event?"
"@ What's going on? Can we really buy signed copies? Then I'm going back to the bookstore. I seriously want one!"
"@ Copycat-Sensei, could you explain?"
Most of the pings were like that.
Oikawa hadn't expected this. Dengeki Bunko worked fast. He'd signed the copies at noon, and by afternoon they were already distributed to bookstores?
A major publisher really was a major publisher. He couldn't help admiring their efficiency.
After thinking about how to phrase it, Oikawa replied in the group. "Yes, this is an event organized by Dengeki Bunko. Two hundred signed copies of Your Lie in April were shuffled and randomly distributed to bookstores. Also, the twenty signed copies promised to group members are ready. @Admin, just coordinate the rest with the official Dengeki staff."
The admin replied almost immediately, "Got it, thank you."
Oikawa sent an OK emoji, then exited the chat.
He wasn't in the mood to hang around.
He opened Pokémon for a bit, then put on his headphones and started listening to music.
...
..
The Next Day—
"Oikawa. Oikawa!"
"Huh?" Oikawa snapped back to reality and looked up. Kawasaki was staring at him, clearly annoyed.
"What?"
She frowned. "What are you thinking about? I called you several times. Didn't you hear me?"
"Sorry, Kawasaki. I've been a bit distracted today. Which problem?" Oikawa leaned over and looked at her workbook.
"This one."
Kawasaki pointed to a geometry question.
Oikawa glanced at it and said, "This? Didn't I go over a similar one with you a couple days ago? This uses the perpendicular proof in a triangular prism. First you do this…"
He explained the concept from start to finish. When he finished, Oikawa picked up his phone again and slumped over the desk, looking faintly lonely.
The message he'd sent to Utaha was still unread.
Nothing happened to her, right?
He couldn't help letting his thoughts wander.
Watching him like that, Kawasaki felt a strange unease rise in her chest.
She didn't know why.
All day she'd felt restless. She'd made several mistakes at her part-time job, and now she couldn't focus on studying either.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her workbook and slipped it into her bag.
"You're not going to keep working?" Oikawa asked.
"Can't."
He paused, then said, "Then… we'll stop here for today?"
He started to get up.
But just then, Kawasaki suddenly stood and grabbed his arm.
"Come with me somewhere," she said, leaving no room for refusal.
"Where?" Oikawa asked, but she didn't answer. Just like that, she pulled him onto a train headed who-knows-where.
She didn't explain, and he didn't ask again.
Once seated, Oikawa rested his elbow on the armrest and propped his cheek in his hand, gazing out the window.
Chiba at night was quiet.
Maybe it was because of the Obon festival, but under the streetlights the people outside seemed faintly sad. Or maybe he was the sad one.
Ever since returning to Chiba, returning home, he'd felt a lingering heaviness.
Was it because of Utaha Kasumigaoka?
After thinking about it carefully, he didn't think so.
He'd been in a perfectly good mood on the train earlier.
Besides, what was there to be sad about? He'd gotten a huge advantage. Aside from not going all the way, they'd practically done everything else.
As for being distracted…
Yes, Utaha was part of the reason, but she wasn't the main one.
..
The train gradually slowed.
"We're here. Let's get off," Kawasaki said, tugging him along again with the same forceful energy as before.
A lot of people got off at this stop.
Oikawa glanced around and noticed something odd. Most of the women seemed to be wearing yukata.
"This is it."
Kawasaki stopped, and Oikawa halted behind her.
This place… looked familiar.
"Isn't this next to that hotel where you used to work?"
He remembered. The last time he came looking for her, he'd been here.
"Yeah."
Kawasaki nodded, then somehow produced two lanterns that looked like floating sky lanterns.
"One's for you." She handed him a lantern along with a sheet of paper and a pen. Without explaining further, she turned and walked off toward the riverbank.
Oikawa blinked.
Holding the paper and pen, he felt oddly lost.
Out on the river, countless lanterns were already drifting. From every direction, he could clearly hear people crying.
"So… it's a floating lantern ceremony."
He finally understood why she'd brought him here.
Releasing lanterns was one of the most important parts of Obon. People in yukata would set lit lanterns adrift on the water, letting them float toward the sea to send off the spirits of loved ones, carrying their memories along with the current.
Suddenly, Oikawa thought he understood the source of his sadness.
After a moment, he picked up the pen and wrote a single line on the paper, then placed it inside the lantern.
He lit it.
Then gently pushed it into the water, watching as it drifted farther and farther away.
At that moment, his body felt lighter than it had in a long time, like something lodged in his chest had finally been released.
About seven or eight minutes later, Kawasaki returned. Two clear tear tracks marked her face.
Even someone as tough as Kawasaki cried, huh.
Oikawa was a little surprised.
...
..
"Thanks." On the way back, he suddenly said it to her.
"Just don't zone out next time you're tutoring me," she replied.
Oikawa froze, then broke into a bright laugh. "I promise. I won't get distracted again."
The corner of Kawasaki's mouth lifted slightly.
Oikawa grinned. "Kawasaki, have you been smiling more lately?"
"None of your business."
Her faint smile disappeared instantly.
"You should smile more. If you keep that scary face all the time, who's gonna want you as a girlfriend?"
He paused, then added with a teasing tone, "Actually, how about you just marry me? You can be my full-time housekeeper. Don't worry, I can afford to support you."
Deep down, Oikawa really did think that if someone stole Kawasaki away, he'd be genuinely upset.
If she were gone, who'd bring him homemade bentos?
"Die."
Kawasaki didn't hesitate. Her fist slammed straight into his stomach.
At that moment, Oikawa once again resolved to start working out. One day, he was absolutely going to pin this violent woman down and bully her back to his heart's content.
---
By the time he got home, it was already ten at night.
"I'm back!"
He called out reflexively, not expecting a reply.
But then a figure suddenly ran over. It went to the shoe rack, grabbed his slippers in its mouth, and set them neatly at his feet.
"Woof! Woof!"
Oikawa didn't speak dog, but he guessed Sablé was saying, "Welcome home!"
He smiled, genuinely happy.
Having someone… well, a dog waiting for you really did feel nice.
The next day, Oikawa's life settled into a steady rhythm.
Aside from tutoring Kawasaki, he spent the rest of his time either writing or playing with Sablé.
The progress on the second half of Your Lie in April wasn't as fast as he'd expected.
Mostly because he kept revising.
After Your Lie in April, readers might no longer buy into him. So Oikawa wanted to give the pen name "Copycat Transmigrator" a brilliant ending.
Luckily, only a small number of people knew his real name, and even fewer knew his true identity. That meant he could always start fresh under "Oikawa Toru", even switch to an entirely different genre if he wanted after that.
During this period, Ayame Kagurazaka called him many times, trying to persuade him to give up the plan of publishing the second half of Your Lie in April in October.
But Oikawa remained firm.
Soon even Dengeki Bunko's chief editor, Miki, called him. His goal was the same as Kagurazaka's.
Only this time, he tried to persuade Oikawa with benefits.
The gist was simple. If the second volume of Your Lie in April released during winter break or spring break, they would sign Oikawa under a first-tier author contract with a 10% royalty.
But if he insisted on releasing it in October, he would only qualify for a second-tier contract, with 8% royalties.
Just a 2% difference on paper.
But if sales hit 500,000 copies, that gap came out to a full 6.5 million yen.
And the second volume of Your Lie in April was longer. The price wouldn't stay at 650 yen like the first volume. It would be at least 800 yen, possibly even 900.
Pricing wasn't his concern anyway. Dengeki Bunko had its own system.
Oikawa didn't refuse outright. He simply told the editor he'd think about it.
Of course, that was just giving Miki some face. He had no intention of changing his mind.
If he waited until winter break to release it, the momentum would be long gone.
No chance. Absolutely not.
...
..
August 29—
One week and two days before school started.
Normally, classes resumed on September 1. But this year was different. Summer vacation overlapped with Obon, so the start date had been pushed back to September 8.
Students weren't thrilled.
In past years, Obon alone meant more than ten days off. This time, they barely got any extra at all.
Ding-dong
That morning, at eight o'clock, the doorbell rang.
"Who is it…?"
Oikawa, who had stayed up late writing, frowned as he dragged himself out of bed and opened the door, clearly irritated.
"Put some clothes on!!!"
The shout instantly woke him up.
He looked down, then slammed the door shut at lightning speed.
He grabbed a set of clothes from the sofa, threw them on, and opened the door again.
"Oikawa-niisan, perfect timing!" Taishi greeted him politely.
"Morning…" Oikawa yawned, then looked at Kawasaki beside him. "Why are you here so early? Something up?"
"I messaged you last night. I said Taishi wanted to ask you about Sobu High. You agreed, remember?"
Oikawa blinked, then recalled the conversation.
"Still, this is pretty early. I thought you'd bring him over in the evening. Aren't you working today? And go inside first." Oikawa grabbed two pairs of slippers and let them in.
"My shift ended." Kawasaki scanned the room, then immediately frowned.
"Taishi, ask whatever you want." As soon as she said that, she rolled up her sleeves, gathered the clothes piled on the sofa, and walked straight into the bathroom.
A moment later, Oikawa heard the washing machine start spinning.
He nearly teared up.
Once again, the thought of marrying Kawasaki rose in his heart. A woman this capable and domestic absolutely couldn't be allowed to slip away.
"Taishi, go ahead. What did you want to ask?"
By association, Oikawa's gaze toward Taishi softened as well.
"Oikawa-niisan, I wanted to ask about Sobu High. From a guy's perspective, what do you think of it?"
Oikawa took a bottle of cola from the fridge and handed it to him. "Sobu High's pretty good. It's a key school. The teachers and facilities are among the best in Chiba."
"If you've got a chance to get in, you should really push for it. A good study environment makes it easier to stay motivated. It'll also help a lot when applying to college."
Oikawa glanced toward the bathroom, then lowered his voice.
"Most importantly, the girls at Sobu High are top-tier. Rich, pretty… guys these days need to start dating early. Otherwise, by the time you get to college, all the cute ones…"
He didn't finish the sentence. Kawasaki's lion-like roar cut him off, "If you say one more wrong word to my brother, I swear you won't live to see tomorrow!"
Oikawa immediately shut his mouth.
He had started morning workouts recently, but taking on Kawasaki still required a long training arc.
A moment later, Kawasaki came out holding his bedsheets. She shot him a glare and said coldly, "If Taishi starts dating early, it'll be your fault. And when that happens, I'm personally settling accounts with you."
Oikawa felt wronged.
If Taishi dated early, what did that have to do with him? This was blatant bullying.
But when he saw Kawasaki toss the sheets into the washer, then tie on an apron and head into the kitchen, all his resentment vanished.
"What do you want to eat?" she asked. "I checked your fridge. You don't have many options. Curry, fried rice, or ramen? Pick one."
Holding a kitchen knife, she stood in front of him, waiting for an answer.
"Ramen!"
"Alright. Give me a bit." She went back into the kitchen.
Eyes glistening, Oikawa looked at Taishi and said, "Taishi… has anyone ever told you your sister would be an amazing wife?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"You, Oikawa-niisan."
In the kitchen, Kawasaki's face flushed as a small, shy smile appeared.
.
.
.
A/N: I intend for Oikawa to end up with one girl, but which one… who knows~ Hope you enjoy the story!