Chapter 1.2

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1.1
Tokyo, Dougenzaka in Shibuya.
Hirota approached that building, and without thinking, unintentionally started to turn around.
But I must, he thought, pulling himself together even though he did nothing but hesitate.
It was the type of place that Hirota dreaded the most. The exterior was elaborately plastered with red brick tiles, and while the first floor facing Dougenzaka was small, at its center was a small sprinkling water fountain where young people-who looked as though they were waiting for someone-were hanging out.
There were small shops facing the plaza, mostly boutiques, cafés and the like. He noticed that the people here, either sitting on the edge of the water fountain or standing by the side of it as they glanced at their wrist.w.a.tches, were predominantly female.
Next to the fountain at a place further in, he could see the signboard of the café he was supposed to go to, but it appeared that he had to cross the plaza to get there.
Discouragement washed over him.
His family name was Hirota and his personal name was Seigi. His father and his father’s father were policemen who prided themselves in kendo, and if one traced down the lineage, his family were also kendo instructors. The father"s occupation was tough, as well as the family’s traditions. Because he was raised in such a family, Hirota was hopelessly lost when it comes to sophisticated places like this. He was wet behind the ears at a quarter of a century. If one never went to the disco at this age, then one had never been on something like a date. Once, he had gone to a formal marriage interview, but he had been politely declined by the other party. Somehow or another, it seemed that his neglect of public music and dancing had been the cause of defeat.
- Anyway.
Hirota was generally bad at places that young women liked and where they preferred to hang out. As he knew that he did not fit into such places, he could do nothing more than be uneasy. Would he be seen as nervous? Would he look completely out of the place? There had been many moments when women appeared to implicate meaningful looks at him, so he earnestly desired that if he could, he would never step a foot there.
Even now, the three young ladies who sat by the water fountain whispered amongst themselves, giggling every time they glanced into his direction. He felt himself becoming red ‘til the ears as he walked halfway through the plaza indignantly, blushing because he felt embarra.s.sed from being visibly nervous. There was no way he could escape now; he came here due to an appointment.
It was no good to compel his feet to make a little sprint, so Hirota urged himself to look down as he crossed the plaza. When he opened the door below a dolphin shaped board with the word "Dolphin" written on it, a waitress raised her splendid voice.
"Welcome!"
While he greeted back, Hirota looked over the not so particularly wide store interior. At the corner, he found his colleague lightly holding up a hand.
"- Hirota-kun, here."
The soft piano tune resounding inside the shop wasn’t exceedingly loud, so he could hear his colleague"s small voice well. He nodded lightly and went towards the table in the corner.
Nakai Saki was Hirota"s colleague, a co-worker who entered their office at the same time he did. From her, he had been told that her friend wanted to consult with him. The place of appointment had been designated yesterday, and especially on this free day, he had to be a place he was extremely bad at.
A girl with long hair sitting across the table from Saki turned and minutely bowed in his direction. She was quite pretty, also exuding a quiet atmosphere- because of this, Hirota was put at ease... somewhat. An energetic young woman was not exactly one of his strong points.
"I apologize for specially doing this," Saki said, pointing out his seat next to her. Hirota simply answered that he didn’t mind, and sat down.
"- Midori, this is my colleague, Hirota-kun," Saki introduced her to him and looked into Hirota"s direction. "This girl is Agawa Midori-san. We were in the same seminar at university."
Hirota nodded with a h.e.l.lo and the girl lightly bowed her head once again. She gave him the impression of a very precise young woman, only, her complexion was rather poor. He wondered if she felt fatigued by troubles and wanted a consultation due to those matters.
After waiting for their orders to reach the table, they chatted about seasonal greetings, and then Saki lowered her voice.
"- So, about the things you wanted consultation on," Saki started, watching a tense Midori.
"I thought it was better to hear it from the person herself after all. - Midori, will you talk to Hirota-kun about your circ.u.mstances?"
After being told as such by Saki, she wavered a little. It wasn"t about whether she should say it or not, it was just that she always hesitated to tell it to another person.
“... ... Actually... ... I moved houses this spring, but... ... that house seems to have a small problem.”
Hirota inclined his head to the side in doubt.
“Do you mean problems like troubles with the neighbors or with the registration?”
“It’s not something like that... ...”
Midori lifted up her teacup absentmindedly. At the bottom of the empty cup, tea leaves formed a small, warped circle.
Edited by meepyonee.
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