居待月
Note: The Chinese title means the moon which usually appears on the 10th crescent day. The name is taken from the fifty Japanese style titles. Again it is the translation of my Chinese work.
On the tenth day of crescent, night sky outside of the silver contour is blooming into black and blue clarity. The day time quickly shortened in the gap between summer and winter. In the past the moment still had daylight and now the moon has risen on the tree tip. According to ancient book, the boundary between the day and night becomes thin and it is the precisely moment to meet demon.
Well, the realistic form of demon, should be human heart.
In order to avoid the noise in the main street, I turn to the remote wood road onto the side. If not for the street light in the stone at the entrance, nobody would notice it. Along the narrow rough stone road, soon a stopover appears. A familiar person sits on the wooden aisle in the narrow courtyard.
What kind of coincidence should this be? Unexpected person can be encountered even at the corner of the temple. He seems to notice the movement from the side and turns to me. Then he slowly narrows his water-blue eyes, and stares at me like he doesn't believe what he sees.
The strange reaction is far more different from usual. However, this has nothing to do with me. Outside school we don't have any intersections and any intersection is not needed. Should passers be the suitable word? That seems a bit reluctant. Our relation is not that poor even meeting without greeting is not considered a rude reaction. Not to mention the other one has already noticed. Anyway, staring straight to someone like this without any word should be considered rude. If I'm the heroine of shojo manga now is time to flush with fever and heart thump. Unfortunately I'm not. So sorry to let you guys down.
"Hayama."
I call him from this side and approach. The more I get close to him the more I feel strange. It's rare he puts on a bathrobe in sea blue and white, instead of the regular white shirt in school. Next to him is a small wine dish. The refreshing liquid surface ripples curves. From the rich smell, it shouldn't be pure water.
Drinking off-campus. If this kind of thing becomes topic and spread, the consequence is terrible to think. However, the litigant who is found up now doesn't have much reaction. Does he so assure that I won't disclose the thing? Better don't do this. I would be very troubled if I'm put in such trust. Or to say, from the look of the tipsy face, the blue eye pupils which were clear now seems to be contaminated by the red under his eye and covered a trace of confusion.
No wonder he's so unresponsive.
After I draw near him he blinks like he just awoke from a mild dream and greets with an unsure tone: "Hikigaya?"
"Underage drinking is not something done by model student eh?"
I sit next to him, with the liquid dish in the middle. His sanity seems to be dragged back by me for a little. A self-deprecating smile appears on his face.
"How to make you believe? I'm not as good as you imagined."
"Have you often done this?"
"No, only when I'm here, occasionally…"
"Then that still doesn't prove anything."
He replies me with a bit helpless smile and leans his head against the wooden pillar next to him.
"Do you often come here?"
"No, today is the first time, but from your tone it seems that you are not new here."
He turns to me with a gentle yet sad expression in eyes, which seems to recall some irreparable things.
"Not some complicated reasons. It's just Harune and we often came here in the past. Now, Harune don't have time and Yukinoshita…"
The content after seems to be self-evident.
So it's reason why he can only drink here. It should be the right time to make some gloating jokes, but actually I'm not in that interesting mood.
"Hikigaya kun, do you believe in ghost?"
"ah?"
The unexpected question makes me react inconceivably without thinking. He seems to have foreseen my reaction and chuckles slightly.
"She liked to use a variety of ghost stories to scare us. So even now, I'm a little scared when I think of it."
Then he curls legs covered under the bathrobe and leans closer against the wooden pillar. Fingers entangle the blue and white patterns of sea waves on the bathrobe, as if looking for a sense of stability.
"Actually I was thinking if you were a ghost when we just encountered."
He laughs without looking at my side.
Hey, even if I seldom have a sense of presence, the words again are too rude no? Without saying the complaint out, I just stare at him in a deadpan.
The man in front of my sight with his eyes half closed gives me a same slow response as any time tonight: "But it's really good you are not."
Leaves the sentence like a testament and he closes his eyes as if finally he finds peace in mind.
Even I am wondering whether the pair of eyes will open again until I see the undulating chest behind the bathrobe neckline.
Honestly, letting him sleep alone here isn't a problem right? Or it's better to wake him up before leave? I turn to the quiet face and recall the conversation before. It seems the soft place in my heart has been touched and it clenches. Words to wake up him have been hold back.
Well, it's not that bad to stay here for a while.
The Moon far away gradually climbs onto the top of head.
-End-