Chapter 528: Spin-off: Horizon 3_2
How long ago was that?
The moon made the scenery outside the window flash by repeatedly, and Uesugi Sakura’s eyes reflected his own image projected on the glass window.
Inside, he slouched his shoulders, and a young girl rested peacefully against him, sleeping.
Her delicate little face was tinged with a soft pink, her eyes quietly closed, her breathing calm and steady, and a faint floral fragrance emanated from her body.
Uesugi Sakura reached out to touch the cold glass, and in a blink, the serene sleeping face of the girl had vanished without a trace.
He turned his head, and the seat beside him was empty; upon closer inspection of his surroundings, he realized he was the only one in the entire car.
Clackety clack, the train sped forward.
...
The cold wind blew as he stepped off the train; it was already 9:45 PM.
The rain in Tokyo was heavier; Uesugi Sakura stood under the station, and the sound of raindrops pattering against his umbrella was constant.
He glanced at the rain-soaked, chilly concrete ground; due to the dim station lights, his silhouette was faintly reflected beneath him.
It was late autumn now, and the air had turned cold.
Yes, it had turned cold.
Uesugi Sakura hated this feeling.
He zipped his jacket all the way up, covering his chin, held an umbrella in his left hand, and dragged his luggage with his right hand as he continued forward.
The streets of Tokyo were much livelier than the countryside, filled with bustling crowds that included drunk men and young women soliciting customers.
They were clearly the perfect pair, with pretty-faced girls laughing as they approached, linking arms, and with just a few words, they were hugging, heading together towards the bar-lined commercial street.
They were all indulging themselves.
Uesugi Sakura had thought about it too, but just couldn’t do it.
Finding a taxi, Uesugi Sakura rode home.
The house was unlit; Aei and Chiaei were likely asleep.
Uesugi Sakura quietly unlocked and opened the door.
He placed his luggage at the entrance, walked up to the second-floor bedroom, casually changed into a fresh set of pajamas, then pulled up the covers and lay on the bed.
Returning to this bed, he finally felt a bit warmer.
Before sleeping, Uesugi Sakura gazed for a while at the photo on the bedside, and softly said to the brilliant smile of Hanamaru Hanabi inside:
"Goodnight."
...
...
In the air, only the sound of rain spread.
He waited a good while, seemed to give up, finally turned his head back, collapsed onto the bed, and closed his eyes.
These days, it felt like every day was so heavy.
...
Around six o’clock, Uesugi Sakura woke up.
He got up briskly, went to the bathroom to wash, changed clothes, and after everything was done, he sat idly by the bedside for quite a while.
Knock knock...
A knock on the door.
Aei poked her head through the door crack: "Big brother really is back!"
"Good morning."
"Hmm, good morning, big brother."
Uesugi Sakura looked at Aei’s little face and asked her, "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Big brother is making breakfast?"
"I’m not too bad at it. I’ve been trying to learn, though it’s not as good as your sister Hanabi’s."
"Big brother..." Aei held the door with both hands and suddenly noticed Uesugi Sakura’s poor mental state.
Uesugi Sakura’s throat moved as if he wanted to say something but suddenly couldn’t.
"I’ll go make breakfast for you all."
He propped himself up with his hands on his knees, stood up, and went downstairs to the kitchen.
He tried to keep breakfast simple, frying a few eggs, heating some bread and bacon, and finally serving it with hot milk, completing the meal.
Aei and Chiaei, two little girls, sat across from him, while Uesugi Sakura sat on one side, with an empty chair beside him.
"Eat up quickly, I’ll attend the parent-teacher meeting with you today."
Chiaei, just picking up her chopsticks but not yet eating, cautiously asked Uesugi Sakura:
"Big brother, are you still not feeling well...?"
"Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, just eat first." As Uesugi Sakura spoke, he picked up his chopsticks and just as he was about to put a piece of bacon in his mouth, he hesitated.
He tried a few other things.
The fried egg and bread were alright, only the bacon was too salty.
"Sorry... probably didn’t notice, put too much salt, don’t eat the bacon first, I’ll make another batch."
"Let me do it." Chiaei stopped Uesugi Sakura’s actions, taking the initiative to redo a portion of bacon in the kitchen.
The technique was not just simple heating but involved wrapping the bacon with lettuce,
To make tasty bacon, you must control the heat and season it; it should not be too firm or undercooked.
When served again on the table, Uesugi Sakura even tasted a hint of the flavor Hanabi used to cook.
Thinking carefully, it made sense, as Chiaei had been learning to cook from her daily, so the similarity was expected.
Uesugi Sakura liked it very much.
But eating this familiar taste, he felt even more that he hadn’t treated her well in the past.
She used to make food for him with a smile every day, and he could always see her busy shadow in the kitchen at night, even after marriage.
He would sometimes approach to hug her while she cooked, teasing her; sometimes she’d scold him, other times she’d nuzzle her head, then rest on his chest.
Apart from these occasional moments, she was always shy, like a timid little cat.
The little cat was sweet, very cute...
But now, that little cat no longer appeared in front of him...
"Now it looks much better!" Uesugi Sakura attempted to recall when she said those words; it was one morning while Hanabi adjusted his clothes, just before fastening the last button, she suddenly looked up, constantly gazing at him, with her hands on the open front of his shirt, eyes sparkling brightly.
"What’s the matter?" Uesugi Sakura asked.
"Nothing... nothing..." Hanamaru Hanabi whispered, fastening the button on his shirt’s chest, lowering her slightly blushing face.
To Uesugi Sakura, her voice was full of girlish softness and sweetness.
She tugged at the shoulder of his clothing, and Uesugi Sakura also looked at himself in the mirror; without any preparation, the originally bashful girl suddenly hugged his waist at that moment, pressing her face tightly against his back.
"What’s up now?" Uesugi Sakura asked with a smile.
"Just... just felt that leaning against Kaikun like this is very comfortable..." Saying this, the girl lowered her head shyly again, but her small hands hugged tighter, her face against his back, in a soft voice, saying quietly:
"I like Kaikun..."
....
Uesugi Sakura looked at the empty chair beside him and the thought of that faint "I like Kaikun..." becoming a memory of the past left an endless void in his heart.
Speaking of which, it was his fault too.
After breakfast, Uesugi Sakura brewed a few cups of coffee and then left to take Aei and Chiaei to school.
Having spent so much time together, Uesugi Sakura regarded them as his own sisters too.
Watching them grow up day by day could be seen as a continuation of the regrets Hanabi left in life...
Today there was a parent-teacher meeting, and Uesugi Sakura, as their family, attended the face-to-face meeting with the teacher in the role of a brother.
Aei and Chiaei attended Shirooka, the same school where Uesugi Sakura and Hanamaru Hanabi went during their childhood.
This year, Chiaei had moved up to junior high; from a primary student to a second-year and was in her so-called middle school years.
Aei was in sixth grade, still in elementary school.
Chiaei was a quiet girl, whereas Aei liked to be boisterous, and Uesugi Sakura thought she would get along well with Hanami.
Speaking of Hanami... when Uesugi Sakura went to see her, he heard her call him brother... he could always find traces of how Hanabi used to call him "Kaikai" in that voice...
In the past, she was also such a tiny girl.
"Aren’t you going to the classroom first, big brother?"
"I want to take a stroll here; I’ll be there before your morning meeting starts."
"Okay." Chiaei nodded thoughtfully, while Aei exaggeratedly said, "You must come, okay!"
Uesugi Sakura nodded, agreeing.
He walked all the way to the playground; along the way, he noticed that elementary school seemed to change significantly each year, compared to when he first knew Aei and Chiaei, leaving only a vague outline.
Uesugi Sakura searched around the playground, looking for a corner.
Once, Hanabi had forgotten her homework at home was afraid of being scolded by the teacher, and cried secretly under a tree in that corner.
The wind blew, and the green leaves rustled above.
Her appearance of crying over such a trivial matter was cute and amusing.
Uesugi Sakura still remembered how he jumped over the school’s fence to buy croquettes for that timid, tearful little girl.
The place was narrow, without a guardrail, close to the riverbank, with its back to the wall, with the Kanda River in front, surrounding Shirooka Elementary School.
...
But when Uesugi Sakura walked over, he found that it was gone, even the few green trees had been cut down and disappeared.
The shadow of that little girl crying underneath, too, dissipated from his memory.
Uesugi Sakura stood at a distance, silently watching the new gymnasium that had replaced this piece of memory.