雨と共にきたる
In with the rain...
Kei: In that case, I'll go.
Tsudzura: But Onee-san, the kind of people who would come to such a place are not normal, you know?
Kei: What about me?
I came to this place, too.
Kei: ......What about me?
Tsudzura: Kei-oneesan, you are the owner, so...
So "you don't count," her gestures finish.
Tsudzura: Well then, for starters, what should we do? There is always the option of feigning absence, but......
Kei: Mmn, whatever we're doing, I'll answer the door first. It's bad to leave them waiting in the rain like this.
Like Tsudzura-chan is saying, it's true that there's a chance they aren't the average person, but that means that I should answer, all the more.
I'm the owner, after all, and the elder.
Kei: Okay!
Thus I harden my spirit and guts and stand.
...at which point Tsudzura-chan, who just now was rummaging through her bags, holds some sort of stick-shaped object reverently as she approaches.
Tsudzura: In that case, Onee-san, please accept this...
What's pushed into my hands is inordinately heavy, with most weight leaning to one side, thus giving it a decent balance.
Bringing it to my face to look, I see an item of which one exists in nearly any household, very common...
Kei: ......A hammer?
Tsudzura: Even with a girl's strength, one good swing is all you need.
...and very dangerous.
Tsudzura: Thankfully, the width is more than adequate, so rather than a vertical chop that diminishes range, I would recommend the horizontal swipe. Should you have adequate skill, I suggest you aim for the head.
Incredibly dangerous!
Could it be (as if it couldn't), that she was holding this hidden behind her back last night?
Without thinking, I take a step backward.
Kei: Umm, if possible, I would like to make it less painful, so...... I don't suppose you have a grenade on hand or something?
Tsudzura: You must not think like that, Kei-oneesan!!
Tsudzura: If you keep saying such optimistic things, you can't stay alive in this world, you know!? Once something happens, it is already too late, because you cannot take it back!
Kei: I'll agree with you there......
Tsudzura-chan's mother, father, before some accident happens that can't be undone, I think you should reevaluate your teaching direction.
This "survival of the fittest" way of thinking just doesn't suit me...... I'm weak, after all.
Kei: Here, I'm giving it back.
Tsudzura: Kei-oneesan?
Kei: If something happens, I'll scream really loud, so you just bring it with you then.
Kei: And... oh, this is no good. I need to hurry.
Pushing the hammer back into Tsudzura-chan's hands, I break in a short run for the entrance hall.
------: Helloo˜? Is no one home---?
It's a woman's voice, so I feel just a little relieved.
The silhouette I see beyond the polished glass is of extraordinary height, and were I to stand next to it, my eyes would even be lower than her chin. I have to look up a little to see her face.
However, even her beautifully thin waist is at a rather high position, such that if she didn't have heels on her shoes, I don't think she'd be quite that tall.
The width of her shoulders seems pretty strong for a woman, but you can make it look that way with pads, anyway.
It's okay, it's okay.
Fishers don't go to places where there aren't any fish. Whatever Tsudzura-chan is worrying about, it probably won't happen.
Kei: Yes! I'm coming˜!
And just as I say that, with good timing, the light snaps on. It looks like the electricity has revived.
Pulling the loafers set there over my toes, I toddle over to the sliding door handle.
At my apartment, all I have to do is lean across the entryway, so I have to wonder if it there isn't some inconvenience to having a needlessly large house.
Dripping wet woman: Iya˜˜ I really got it bad. I was just thinking of coming down the mountain when the rain came at me all of a sudden.
Kei: That must have been awful------ eh, what?
Lifting her bangs as they drip in a constant stream, this person, showing her teeth in a wide grin, is someone I know well.
Dripping wet woman: What's up, Kei? You look like you're starin' a fox in the face.
Kei: No, we already have enough foxes, here.
Dripping wet woman: Huh? Kei, as always, your mouth's running on about things that make no sense.
She also knows me, and with that strangely timeworn turn of phrase (the kind that you just might see in a period drama), there's no mistake.
This person, Asama Sakuya-san, is a longtime friend of my mothers, and as far as I remember, the person I've known the longest outside of family.
Kei: But, Sakuya-san, why are you in a place like this?
Sakuya: "A place like this?" What a thing to say. This place is Emiko-san's house, remember?
Emiko-san would be the mother of my father. In other words, my grandmother.
If this was my father's house, it's natural enough to call it her's as well.
Kei: Sakuya-san, you mean to say you knew my grandmother?
Sakuya: That's right. In fact, you could actually say Emiko-san and I go the farthest back of all.
Sakuya: Why, you might even say it's because of me that you were born.
Kei: Gekkahyoujin? (TN: Gekkahyoujin - Matchmaker. Based on myth of Hyoujoujin, who had a dream of standing atop an icy surface and talking to people located/reflected beneath. By means of these visions, Hyoujoujin began work as a soothsayer and matchmaker, and later, her/his name became synonymous with the role. Note: My reading of the name, 氷上人, may be wrong.)
Sakuya: That's the one.
Sakuya: Though they went out when I came closer.
Kei: Probably a blackout. It wasn't on purpose, you know.
Sakuya: If that's true, then it's okay, but I was worried whoever was here might try to keep pretending they weren't. If you were just thirty seconds slower, I was gonna kick the door down.
Kei: Wah, Sakuya-san, you're brutal. Didn't you come just to use the roof?
Sakuya: That's true, but the only one living in Emiko-san's bloodline is--- that's right, just you, Kei, after all that happened.
Sakuya: You probably wouldn't pretend you were gone, and if it wasn't you, it would be a property invader, the likes of whom I could kick out with no complaints. Am I wrong?
Kei: ......Ahaha, it's a good thing I answered the door.
Well, well, that was a close one.
If I had Tsudzura-chan answer the door holding a hammer in one hand...... and Sakuya-san has no mercy.
Kei: But we were surprised too, you know, thinking normal people don't come to places like this, and we might have just pretended to be out.
Sakuya: ------wait, Kei. Did you just say, "we"?
Kei: Ah, yeah. The way you see it, it might be property invasion, but now they have my permission, so try to get along, okay?
Sakuya: ......Is it a man? A woman?
Kei: A girl and one fox.
Sakuya: I see. That would be why you said, "we have enough foxes" back then.
Kei: Yep. Anyway, Sakuya-san, why did you come to this place?
Sakuya: I came for work, you know. Work. It's all right here.
What she waves between us as she speaks thusly is her usual camera, with a big lens attached.
Sakuya-san's work doubles as reportage writing and photography, so judging by her gesture just now, she must be here on a photography assignment.
Sakuya: This time, the theme is "Our Remaining Japanese Wildlife", the subjects being badgers and foxes, boars, deer, butterflies, etcetera.
Kei: Butterflies, too?
Sakura: In a word, yeah. People like to look at them, after all.
As it so happens, I hear she first learned photography to take pictures for her articles, but it would seem the pictures she took as a hobby grew popular, and are now her main item.
She also has a foot in the exploring domain, with landscapes of unknown regions, seldom seen wild animals and ecosystems, always outdoors.
Kei: But, why here? I think there are a lot more famous places than here to find animals.
Sakuya: Famous places like that become tourist spots. If it's just the ones that appear with bait, any old half-baked shutterbug can take a picture of that.
Kei: Ah, I see.
Sakuya: Not to mention, this place has some regional flavor to it.
Kei: I gue------
For some reason, my nose gets an itch.
Kei: ------*kushun!*
With no time to cover my mouth, the itchiness is blown away.
Kei: Uuu... it's no good if you catch cold, so let's stop standing around talking and come inside to dry off.
Sakuya: Okay, my pleasure to intrude, but...
Kei: Uh...... mmn?
As I sniffle with my itchy nose, Sakuya-san introduces a problem.
Sakuya: ......Why is it you're the one sneezing when you aren't wet?