Hyouka – The AfterStory
Project Collaboration by Commander Cody & Maria
Married Life Story Arc
EPISODE 13
"Houtarou-kun, I have something to tell you, too."
Eru was speaking after she had brought up some modicum of financial affairs with her husband. The chill of winter weather had set in, though snow had not arrived; along with this cold weather came concerns for bills. There was no snow, but the chill was setting in, and there was the matter of compensating for the cold weather. Her father and mother were out of town for the week, settling business affairs with a client who made arrangements with the Chitanda family to purchase a certain quantity of homegrown rice and daikon at a set price.
The legacy of the Chitanda house had gone back to the days of Eru's paternal grandfather, who had built the house according to traditional architectural designs of the country's houses. Eru's father had a central heating system installed in the house. But having that feature meant a necessity to contend with electric bills coming in the mail. With Houtarou as co-owner of the house, Houtarou still had to cover bills out of his pocket.
"Hopefully, it should still work out," said Houtarou, almost to himself, as if absorbed in work. "We can close off some of the rooms that are not in use."
"Hai," Eru agreed. "We can still sleep in the secondary bedroom, and we can use portable heating systems."
At the early onset of winter, temperatures were relatively temperate, rarely falling at the point where water would freeze. Nevertheless, the discomfort of cold weather bothered Eru, and the cold even bothered Houtarou, too.
Eru was about to leave the room, but stopped at the middle of the doorway. Houtarou observes his wife, feeling confused.
Houtarou: "Ano…Eru…is something wrong?" asked Houtarou. By the tone of voice, he seemed a bit frightened, as if something ominous was threatening to ruin the harmonious atmosphere of his married life.
Eru turned around. "Iie. Nothing is wrong with me," she said, before she abruptly left the room, and Houtarou was left to stare at the empty doorway.
That evening of the next day, Houtarou came home from work, soon to be greeted with an intimate kiss from his loving wife.
Eru, for the most part, had just finished cooking dinner. However, Houtarou began to take notice of the fact that his wife was feeling a bit pensive.
"Ano…Eru…what's wrong?" asked Houtarou.
"Betsu ni," she said, in a low tone of voice.
Houtarou heaved an audible sigh. "Eru, just tell me," he huffed. "What is making you so pensive today?"
Eru felt nervous that she was sweating a little. "Well…It's just…I have some unexpected news," she murmured.
Houtarou's face began to tighten, figuring that whatever "unexpected news" Eru was going to deliver to him is something that will make her nervous. Chances were, the news will make him nervous, too.
What more could Eru tell me now? Houtarou asked himself.
She put one hand on her belly. "Akachan taketika," she uttered.
Astounded, Houtarou jumped off from his seat in fright. Eru was now with child in her womb. The implications were immense, he could hardly believe his ears.
"…Akachan?" he asked.
"Ee…" she said, uttering an informal form of "yes".
"We have to start preparing," said Eru, as she took Houtarou's hand.
Houtarou had heard right from his wife; indeed, he would become a father. This feeling, turbulent and overwhelming, gripped his mind, made him panic inside, made him much dismayed at the sudden unexpectedness of a new life-changing event. He was hoping he would not have to have a child so soon, yet there was the child, only now realized when his wife told him.
Something seemed to tear apart his little world. He had an urge to react with great fear, even with visceral reactions to run; to get away. But this reaction would only waste energy.
He decided to run. But on a gut instinct, Houtarou pulled his hand away. Eru became surprised and dismayed. "H…Houtarou-kun?"
Houtarou seemed afraid. He had an urge to bolt out of the house. He did just that.
"Ch-ch-chotto matte!" Eru cried, as she ran after her panicking husband.
"Houtarou-kun, matte!" she cried again. She grabbed his hand again, like she did some times ago. Her grip was firm this time; Houtarou looked back. This time, he did not pull his hand away.
"I'm with child!" she told him. Her eyes, filled with fright, were twitching; scared of what unpredictable things her husband might do next.
That kind of life…I'm not sure if I desire it, thought Houtarou. He still had the primal urge to run, but Eru only held his arm.
"I won't let you go!" she told him, shaking her head at him. "I won't!"
"Eru…" Houtarou uttered. "That kind of life…it's not…"
"What you thought it was?" Eru finished for him right away. Houtarou became surprised at her; he had never seen Eru become so insistent and determined. He was used to seeing her more demure when she asked him for a favor, though there was a streak of determination in her when she asked for favors. Now Eru was more insistent and determined as ever.
"Houtarou-kun…what did you expect?" she asked him. "Were you thinking that you would be able to keep your old ways? How are we supposed to live a happy life if you won't do anything beyond the absolute necessary to get through? How are we supposed to live…if you never strive to be better?!" Eru cried out, on the verge of tears.
Houtarou said nothing, but his mind was still reeling.
"You can't remain set in your ways forever," Eru told him, as the rain washed into her face. "You just can't!" She looked down, putting a hand on her belly, forgetting she was outside. "We have a new life on the way, and that life depends on us, you know. If not for my sake…would you change your old ways…for the sake of our child?"
Houtarou let the words of his wife sink into his mind. An awful feeling came over the possibility that he had become distant from his family, and his family to him, perhaps save for his sister. Would he become distant to his children, as his mother and father had toward him?
I guess there are certain things that overwhelm Eru's sensitive heart, thought Houtarou, as his wife buried her face into his arms. "Shall we head inside?" he asked his wife. "You'll catch pneumonia." Perhaps the shock my reactions nearly killed her, thought Houtarou. What the hell was I thinking?
After a time of what seemed to be an eternity, Eru began to settle down from crying, letting her tears of great anguish run until she was too exhausted to cry no more. His wife hoped she would break the news to him in happiness, and Eru felt she had been cheated out of a wonderful memory in seeing the joy in her husbands' face, instead of shock, panic, and an urge to run.
"Eru?" Houtarou asked her gently.
After a hiccup, Eru looked up at him.
"I'm still here," he assured her. "Perhaps it may have been just the initial shock. I…I don't know what I was thinking."
In her heart, Eru became assured now that Houtarou would start relenting in his ways, as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face close to her husband's face. The young man just had a visceral reaction to the news, and he needed her presence. A woman's touch indeed had calming effects.
"You know…sometimes…it can be easy for both of us to forget that we still love each other," she murmured with a tearful sniffle.
Houtarou knew she was right. I can't blame her for saying something like that. It's her first time. "You don't have that problem," he said. "But…it seems I do."
"We'll need a reminder, then; for both of us," said Eru. "If the baby is a girl…I think we should name her…Aiko?" asked Eru.
"Aiko?" asked Houtarou curiously. The name meant "Love Child".
They looked into each other's eyes, and Houtarou understood why Eru had wanted him to strive for more than just the bare average; to desire more in life because that would be the attitude a father must have; if they were not providing for just themselves, but become even instilled with the desire to give their children as good and wonderful a life.
Eru made a nod. The name would be a reflection of how she was a child born in love. Deeming it appropriate after this argument, which he desired to forget, he accepted it in his heart.
Months passed as Houtarou and Eru went about their ordinary lives. Eru went back to her routine of managing the family farm, performing some routine functions in her father's absence.
A week later, Chitanda Hiromi and Chitanda Tetsugo had returned home from their business errand.
Houtarou is told that this errand has something to do with securing Houtarou's eventual inheritance of the Chitanda estate.
A year ago, Houtarou's superintendent and his boss had been made aware that he was now happily married, and even if courtesy demanded of it, they extended their congratulations with [great] enthusiasm.
In the course of time a concern arose among the Chitanda family, and Houtarou's friends, that the effects of tainted rice that Eru had ingested almost a year ago would have an adverse effect on the developing baby in the womb. At the advice of Chitanda Tetsugo and Hiromi, Houtarou took Eru to the Rengou Hospital for a thorough checkup from the doctor who oversaw the young woman's recovery. The doctor's diagnosis seemed to confirm the worries over the effects of poisoning. After thorough biological sampling, the doctor concluded, a bit cautiously, that Eru's baby should be all right, but he recommended some regular checkups to ascertain better the baby's development.
Kamiyama Library…
Houtarou had plans to follow up on Eru's exhortation to pursue further academic study in his field. When he was finished with his ordinary sundry duties as a researcher, he decided to search for graduate schools that offered study programs in the humanities. However, to accomplish that task, he would need to stay longer at the Library.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number to the house of the Chitanda family.
"Oreki Eru desu," came a dulcet voice over the phone.
"Ah…ano…Eru?" Houtarou called. "Yes, Houtarou here."
"Nande desu ka?" asked Eru.
"The reason I'm calling is to let you know…that I need to stay at the library for a bit longer," said Houtarou.
"Doushite?"
"Well…I plan to take up your exhortation to pursue further studies in the humanities," said Houtarou.
"Houtarou-kun…I am so relieved," said Eru. By the tone of her voice she sounded a bit exhausted, yet she was filled with joy. "You are starting to take your studies more seriously."
Houtarou felt a bit relieved that at least his wife was supportive of his endeavors to journey further into academia. "I would like to do a search for universities in, or near the Gifu Prefecture that offer masters' programs in the humanities," he said. "It would be easier if I could do the work on my office computer. The reason for that is…I have need to use the printer."
"Very well," said Eru. "Just…be home soon. I need help with some of the housework.
Houtarou figured that the growing baby in the womb is making his wife a bit exhausted. "Don't strain yourself so much," he advised his wife. "If there's a lot of work to do…."
"Hai," Eru acknowledged. "Daijoubou. Okaasan is helping me prepare dinner. She's really generous."
"That's good," said Houtarou. "Give me about an hour and a half," he said, He finished his call with a final word of an affirmation of love to his wife before hanging up the phone.
Houtarou has begun the endeavor of searching for local colleges in Kamiyama. He started with his alma mater, Kobe University. Kobe University offers a graduate program in the humanities. Houtarou, however, knew that Kobe was sufficiently far away from where he now lived.
He had the idea of applying to the University of Tokyo. But the distance is four hours away. Houtarou is not sure he can go that far out of the Gifu Prefecture.
He considered Kobe University again. From his preliminary research, the traveling distance would be away from the Gifu Prefecture. Anticipating that he will take public transportation, Houtarou figured he can get some studying done on the train or bus.
Such planning, however, only scraped at the surface. He also had to account for how he would do his assignments during travel. If he would have to spend a great amount of time traveling to Kobe City and back to the Gifu Prefecture, he would have to do much of his homework on the train or bus.
He looked into other graduate schools offering masters' degrees in the humanities: Okayama University and Kansai University in Osaka. These universities, however, were quite far from the Gifu Prefecture.
Houtarou figured he would have an easier time with applying to his alma mater, since he was already a student. He knew the university maintains his records. And he had got to know some professors fairly well.
The idea lingered in his mind as he considers other options. Houtarou printed his search results for the universities he would consider attending. He would look over his reading material when he got home, but at least he had hard copies of the results that he could use, independent of a computer.
When Houtarou came back to the Chitanda family house, he put away his coat on the coat-rack. He puts away his coat on the coat-rack.
Passing into the kitchen, he caught sight of his wife cooking stew,with vegetables and chunks of slow-cooked beef. Eru's mother has finished chopping the daikon.
"Tadaima," said Houtarou, as he came into the kitchen.
Eru had just taken a tasting sip of the stew, and a small chunk of beef.
"Ah…Houtarou-kun," Eru said, turning around to greet her husband. She had just gulped down some food she had just tasted in preparation for dinner. "Well…you're home just in time. Okaasan and I have just finished preparing dinner."
"How was your day, Houtarou?" asked Chitanda Hiromi.
"Busy," said Houtarou. "Ordinary, as usual."
"It did go well, I hope," said Hiromi, trying to maintain a sense of optimism and harmony in her family.
"Hai," Houtarou said simply.
Without another word, Eru took the stew pot, making her way to the dining room.
Chitanda Hiromi leaned closer to Houtarou. "Eru-chan got into a hunger fit today," she whispered. "The baby, you see. Sometimes…she gets into a craving for indulging in certain…sweets. I told her she had to watch her diet, since the baby takes in whatever the mother eats.
"Sou desu ne…" Houtarou acknowledged with concern.
Houtarou followed Chitanda Hiromi to the dining table, before taking his seat. Chitanda Tetsugo was already on his seat, in the prominent place he always had, as the head of his family. The entire family sat down, as Houtarou set his briefcase down beside his seat.
Clapping hands twice, everyone said aloud, "Itadakimasu!"
And the family commenced dinner.
"So, Houtarou-kun…what have you found…regarding your search for graduate schools?" Eru inquired her husband.
Houtarou let Eru in on the list of schools that he planned to apply, which required him to go over the contents of his briefcase.
"That's really good," Hiromi complimented her son-in-law. "Houtarou becomes better and better by the day," she said, after heaping on Houtarou some lavish praise.
"Now you're starting to take initiative of your education, Houtarou," said Tetsugo.
"Though… I would have an easier time being admitted into Kobe University's graduate program," said Houtarou, regarding the humanities field.
"You were already a student there," Tetsugo pointed out. "You might as well study at the university where you graduated."
"I agree," Houtarou assented. "However…the distance could extend about a couple of hours."
Eru slumped in her chair, which made her father quite alarmed. "Ano…nande desu ka?" he asked.
"Ano…I was hoping Houtarou-kun could be home every day, you know…" said Eru, feeling disappointed over the possibility of her husband being away for so long without ever coming home.
Houtarou tried to assure himself, and especially his wife, of the situation not being as bad as it sounded. "I suppose the distance isn't that far," he said. "Theoretically, I could be home...but it could be late at night. I would take a bus and a train every day, and I could get some of my reading done during the trip. For one thing…I may want to look into getting a laptop."
"You mean…a portable computer?" asked Eru, trying to pronounce that English word and what it defined.
"Hai," said Houtarou. "There was hardly any need for me to get one, since I did my studying in the library. But if I'm going to be on travel…I may have to consider it."
"Well, do what you can," Hiromi suggested to Houtarou. "With us here, Eru will not be completely alone. You see, the best thing about our family is that we are with Eru-chan."
The Next Day…
Remembering Chitanda Tetsugo's firm but suggestive advice on enrolling at Kobe, Houtarou began exploring the humanities program.
He started on the application process. Houtarou had two divisions to contend with: Human Cultural Studies and Human Social Dynamics. Under Cultural Studies were courses in Philosophy and Literature; courses more advanced than what he was used to doing in his undergraduate years.
Under Human Social Dynamics were three divisions: History, Cognitive Systems, and courses related to society and culture overall. He would engage in advanced studies in the history of his country, and also that Chinese and Korean history, and even studies in European history, too. Houtarou would essentially be plunging knee-deep into a cross-cultural field. He would have to take some Psychology, Linguistics, and Geography courses, and even a history on Artwork.
In addition to his coursework, Houtarou would be required to participate with "Collaborative Research Projects"; things that would require his time outside the confines of Kobe University; some of which would include city research and community outreach.
Houtarou figured that a lot of study time would be demanded from him.
He filled out a graduate application. Due to the extensive things required from him, and given that he had his work assignments, too, Houtarou had to take three days to fill out the application.
Several Months Later…
Houtarou had just finished wrapping up a research consultation assignment for some undergraduate honors students. Houtarou remembers that he never had much ambition to pursue any honors curriculum at Kobe.
He sat back in his office chair, trying to recuperate from his daily activities involving stretching his mind to find and consolidate research material for his clients.
In a moment, Houtarou's phone rang.
"Oreki Houtarou desu," he said.
"Houtarou? Chitanda Tetsugo here. It would be good if you could come home early."
Houtarou found the request pretty strange. His shift was not even over. "Nande desu ka?" he asked.
"Hiromi told me that Eru is going into labor now."
Houtarou recoiled. "Already?"
"Hai. If you could be here at home for her…"
Houtarou held back. He felt torn between his work and his obligations at home. He became filled with great worry over Eru and the baby to be born, but he had a hard time tearing himself away from his obligations at work.
"I…I'm not sure if I can make any guarantees," said Houtarou. "I don't come home till twenty-hundred hours."
"Eru absolutely insists that you come," said Tetsugo. "Her morale depends on it."
"D-d-demo…" Houtarou was about to interject. "I can't just simply…"
"Tell your superintendent immediately," said Tetsugo with great urgency. "No matter how much I try to tell Eru that you can't arrive till the next two hours, it just makes her cry and scream, 'I want Houtarou-kun! I want Houtarou-kun!'"
"My shift isn't even over!" Houtarou retorted.
"Don't you have any love for your wife…at all?!" cried Tetsugo.
Houtarou slammed his fist down over his desk, struggling to reconcile the stressful conflict between his obligations to his employer vs. his obligations to his wife. Does not Eru understand that my job depends upon my faithfulness to my duties? he seethed. Why did there have to be such an unnecessary conflict between work and family?!
Houtarou picked up the receiver. "I…I…will come!" he cried out in a loud voice.
After resetting his hone, he dialed a number, this time to the Head Librarian.
There was no answer, but only prompt from Yamada-sensei asking him to leave a message. Houtarou presumed that Yamada-sensei had taken some kind of leave. He dialed another number of his superintendent, Sunohara Kanae.
"Sunohara-sensei, Oreki Houtarou here. I need to take early leave."
"What for?" asked Kanae over the phone.
"My wife," replied Houtarou. "She's going into labor."
"I'll come right away," said Kanae. Somehow, even she began to sense that Houtarou had urgent business at home. She knew him pretty well, though.
Kanae placed a time card and form for a leave of absence on Houtarou's desk. "Here," she prompted Houtarou. "Fill out your time card…and this form," she instructed to the young man, pointing to the absence form. Houtarou filled out his time card and the form for a leave of absence before handing both these things to Kanae.
"Please extend my deepest apologies to Yamada-sensei," Houtarou pleaded to the young woman.
"Hai," said Kanae, acknowledging Houtarou's request.
Houtarou arrived back to the Chitanda residence.
"Houtarou! Thank goodness you're here!" she exclaimed.
"I…I heard Eru was going into labour," said Houtarou.
"Hai," Hiromi affirmed. "Tetsugo had just called in a midwife."
"Arigatou," said Houtarou.
As Houtarou stepped inside, Chitanda Hiromi led him to Eru's bedroom, where Eru was.
There was Eru, upright on the bed, in the middle of contractions, screaming in pain and fright, while a midwife tried to soothe her and exhort her to breath in and out, slowly and deeply, in a rhythmic pattern; the advice ath Eru needed, seeing that at this point she was emotionally restless and distraught. The breathing exercises were necessary, as the midwife had had to keep contractions under control, as there was a danger of the baby being born too soon.
The midwife had to keep poor Eru hydrated, so she gave the woman a lot of water.
It was a bit difficult for Houtarou to imagine Eru, bathed in sweat and tears, screaming out of control, but he could almost imagine the physical pains of childbirth being so great.
"How long was she in labor?" asked Houtarou.
"Twenty minutes," the midwife replied. Houtarou became astounded; ten minutes would be more than enough suffering for his young wife to bear; how much more for twenty?
"Eru?" Hiromi called. "Houtarou's here."
It was a bit unusual for someone to disturb a woman in labor.
"H…AAAHHH!" Eru screamed in pain before exhaling in exhaustion. H-Houtarou…kun?" she answered. "Stay with me!"
"N…Nande?" Houtarou stammered. "You're not planning on dying, are you?"
"IIE!" Eru screamed. "I'm going to have so much pain, I just want someone's hand to hold onto! And it has to be you, Houtarou-kun!"
She cried out in pain as her husband knelt beside her, confused, afraid, and powerless to spare Eru from pain, except to be with her at such an hour.
After several agonizing minutes, a high-pitched cry could be heard.
"Is that…the baby?" Houtarou asked curiously.
He was so overcome with worry over a now-thoroughly Eru that he could only see what the midwife was doing at a distance, though it looked like she was carefully washing the newborn infant. She was doing other things, too, which, to Houtarou, looked like finishing touches related to the activities of the midwife.
The midwife had given the baby back to Eru. Then, turning to Houtarou, she said, in a sweet voice, "Congratulations, Oreki-san. It is a girl."
"Houtarou-kun, isn't she beautiful?" said Eru, as tears came to her eyes.
For Houtarou, several minutes had passed. He leaned on the futon (mat bed) and brushed away her tears. You're so naïve, Houtarou thought to himself, with a sigh that seemed to begrudge innocence that radiated from her.
Houtarou observed the newborn at Eru's breast, as if it was some kind of phenomenon not often seen. "The midwife tells me it is good for the child...and for me, too," said Eru.
Houtarou seemed somewhat surprised that his wife would be so calm and in such a happy mood. "You were in such pain before," he said.
"Hai," Eru agreed. "And now…"
Stammering, Houtarou asked, "What…could possibly…account for this…?"
"The oxytocin," said Eru. "It helps with bonding. But, you know, Houtarou-kun, I really think it's more than that. How can you even adequately explain a mother's love for her child?"
Houtarou seemed intrigued, and yet touched. But something about her words seemed to rub at a sore area in his soul; like an ointment that, while intended to sooth a rough and sore wound, only aggravated the wound.
And so Eru could seem to read her husband's expression, and she felt downcast. "Houtarou-kun, nande desu?" she asked worriedly.
Houtarou became surprised. "Ano…betsu ni," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. But even Eru hardly seemed fooled to Houtarou's poor effort at pretending that everything was fine.
"You are worried," said Eru.
"Why…why would I be worried?" he asked, recoiling back.
Eru looked down. "The day we visited Maya-chan's relatives…the Zenna family? You once told me you were terrible with children," she said
Houtarou could hardly recall information that seemed superfluous to his life. "I…um…I barely remember," he said.
"I remember how you interacted with one of the Zenna sisters," Eru said.
Houtarou heaved a sigh. "Eru, I'm not going to even go there…"
He couldn't finish. Eru's eyes now reflected a serious tone. "Houtarou, I…I don't want her to be a stranger to you."
"Why…why would she?" asked Houtarou, confused.
"She would, if you became…well…ambivalent with her," said Eru.
"Ambivalent?" Houtarou asked curiously.
"You would sometimes be with us; but only in body, if not in heart," said Eru. "And with your past experiences in your family…"
Houtarou did not seem to want to hear it, for it was too much. "Eru…you're spent," he uttered.
"Houtarou-kun…I…I…" She closed her eyes, winced, struggling to say something that would ease her husband's heart. "I don't want the past division like at the Zenna's!" Eru cried. "Especially not the most recent one over a family heirloom! I'm…I'm beginning to think this quarrel jaded your perspective on the rose-colored life!"
Houtarou exhaled.
"Demo…Houtarou-kun…you have to believe that there is hope. Don't you remember…even the little moments of them reconciling? What about that moment…after that recent quarrel?"
Houtarou sat beside Eru. He seemed to think there was a bit of naivety left in Eru, even in her first years as a mother now with a newborn baby in her arms.
"Eru…I'm not sure it can be helped," he said. "My personality…and the reality of siblings…"
Eru took his hand. "I know you can't always have the ideal perfect happy life in stories, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't strive for it," she said, her voice much calmer now. "Aim for the sky…and you'll hit the tree. Aim for the stars…and you'll reach the moon."
"But you end up putting a lot of exertion for a goal, only to achieve a level an order of magnitude lower than that," said Houtarou. "It's a waste of energy not to acknowledge what is realistic and what is impossible."
"But…is not all of life about dreaming about the impossible?" Eru asked. "If people stopped dreaming, where would we be today?"
"Demo…" Houtarou interjected, surprised at his wife's answer. "Would not people have some kind of proof that what they did would be impossible?"
Eru shook her head. "How would they know?" she retorted. "Would you tell your children that the future can only be more of…an acceptance of life being more…depressing…and harsh?"
"I'm just being realistic," Houtarou protested, with a shrug of his shoulders. But Eru made a firm grip on Houtarou's right elbow. Eru's grip was not strong as it was when she dragged him around in high school; nevertheless her grip on her husband's arm spoke a form of pleading; one that even a man like Houtarou would give in, if he loved a determined woman dearly.
"I know," said Eru. "But don't give in to despair." She cast her eyes on the infant daughter before she looked at Houtarou again. "Never lose sight of the people in your life who are most important, the people for whom you take responsibility," said Eru. "You don't have to focus on work…and forget family; or focus on family…and forget work. You don't let strife deteriorate your family life…even if the perfect family seems impossible.
"Besides," Eru continued, "A perfectly efficient engine that gives out as much as you put in is impossible. All life is about giving more than you receive, resulting in a net loss of energy. It is a strange world that way, but…that's just how it works."
Houtarou's eyes widened by a slight degree as he took in the words of his wife. "I'm surprised you can come up with that," he remarked, as he listened to Eru's intellectual recollections.
"I had to take physics, you know," said Eru with a wry smile, feeling humored over espousing such intellectual-sounding aphorisms.
Houtarou thought to himself what she had said, for the concept from physics made sense, even for a layman. "I guess happiness requires work," he admitted, using the word ureshii, a word to describe a kind happiness that was not momentary, but rather one that would last. That when he did the average amount of work, he had satisfaction on average, but when he went around school, tasting the rose-colored life, he spent more energy, but he realized that part of him must have loved that life or he would not have proposed to Eru.
"You have to change, Houtarou," said Eru. "And you can. Children will need a lot of guidance from their parents. You'll have to exert more energy when you become involved in their lives. But your involvement…will be all worth it."
"I hope…" said Houtarou.
She smiled, blushing. "You know, you're just as responsible as I am."
Houtarou turned red. "Come on," Eru beckoned him. "The fathers are supposed to hold the baby. She has been listening to my voice for nine months; it's time she met someone new."
Houtarou took the baby into his arms. Seeing his daughter's face seemed to kindle a powerful change in his heart. Wow, he thought. Maybe my heart was hardened too much; hardened by all that philosophy I took when I lived the grey life.
"And if Aiko-chan has a brother or sister…we'll teach them how to get along," said Eru. "Won't we?"
Would all life be grey? Houtarou asked himself. A change in the family is coming, and my baby daughter is the first of them. I…I don't think I can live that way any longer, for my family's sake.
"Houtarou-kun?"
Houtarou turned around. "Huh?" he asked.
"When Aiko-chan has a brother or sister, we'll teach them…to treasure each other," said Eru.
I guess "getting along" is only the minimum, thought Houtarou. "Very well," he conceded to his wife.
"Well…we had the idea of naming her Aiko," said Eru. "Aiko-chan."
Houtarou's eyes became transfixed on mother and infant daughter. "Hai," he said simply.
The baby started crying, prompting Houtarou to give her to Eru, who took the child back into her arms.
"It is decided, then," said Eru. "Oreki Aiko."
He seemed hardly disposed to the idea of having a rose-colored life when he took it upon himself to marry Eru. But seeing his baby daughter was beginning to change of mind; a life-altering event. Having a child made him now realize that there were people in his life who were now depending on him; depending on him to assume his duties as a father. By necessity he had to be more active in life as his actions would influence her, but holding the little baby girl in his arms became the means by which he crossed the realm of the grey life to a rose-colored life that sought to interpose upon his own.
Perhaps he would feel at peace with this change in his life.
Houtarou and Eru filled out birth certificates for their firstborn child. The baby girl remained cradled in her mother's arms.
He took the paper, and after writing his own surname, wrote beside it a single kanji character for the name of his newborn daughter.
END OF EPISODE
Author's Notes:
Houtarou applies to his alma mater, Kobe University, for his graduate program in the humanities. Kobe University has a Faculty of Letters and Faculty of Cultural Studies (where the graduate-level humanities would be).
Here is an overall program for Kobe University's Graduate School of Humanities:
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Vocabulary Translations from the Japanese Language:
Hai - Yes
Iie - No
Ano... - Umm... (Filler Word)
Akachan – baby. (Aka – red; chan - suffix to indicate something or someone who is cute)
Akachan taketika – I have a baby (in the womb)
Aiko means "Love Child".
Betsu ni – nothing (none of your business)
Ano…nande desu ka? – Um…What is it?