いとしいこと

Previous   TOC Extra: Birthday Work had been piling up recently, and Seiichi had been coming home past midnight for days on end. He'd always known that his company had a reputation for overworking its employees, but as his position rose, this trait only became more pronounced. Was this some new kind of roundabout layoff strategy? He’d wondered, though quitting was out of the question. He had a thirty-year mortgage on his condo to think about. Life wasn’t as carefree as it used to be in his younger days. He’d made an effort to clear up some of his tasks in advance, hoping that today he might finally get home at a decent hour. But just as he thought he was in the clear, his subordinate, Shioya, made a baffling blunder. Seiichi had to rush to the client’s office to clean up the mess, practically bowing so low he might as well have been licking the floor. That led to an impromptu dinner meeting to smooth things over as part of the apology. By the time he returned to his condo, it was n...

Previous   TOC   Next Extra: Valentine’s Day On Valentine’s Day, when Seiichi Ashiya arrived at work, there were about five ribbon-wrapped boxes and paper-wrapped packages waiting on his desk. His subordinate, Shioya, approached with a greeting, pointing at the desk. “These and the green one are from Aoi-san and Katsumata-san from Suwa Trading. When I stopped by yesterday, they asked me to pass them on to you.” “Ah, that’s kind of them.” “It’s the same every year. I wonder how many you’ll collect this time. Let me know the count later.” Shioya leaned in and whispered, “The guys in the department are placing bets on it.” By the time the day’s work started, he had received three more. Eighteen came in during lunch break, and another ten by the time he left. In total, thirty-six. Two full paper bags. It was past eleven at night when Seiichi finally boarded the train home, having worked overtime. As he glanced at the colorful wrappers in the bag, he predicted that they would all e...

Previous   TOC   Next The rain had been falling even before they left for the business trip. Hatoya, his boss, had optimistically remarked, "The ground solidifies after the rain," but there was hardly any chance for the ground to firm up as the rain kept pouring endlessly, leaving Takayuki Himi and Hatoya stranded on their return train. The train, which had stopped outside of a station about twenty minutes ago, was now filled with the murmurs of restless passengers. A voice over the speakers had announced a landslide about a hundred meters ahead, promising further updates that never came. “A landslide isn’t something you can clear up in just an hour or two. They should just turn the train back to the nearest station. We’ve got less than forty minutes until the last bullet train departs,” Hatoya muttered, glancing at his wristwatch and clicking his tongue in frustration. Takayuki, on the other hand, had been accompanying Hatoya to a dyeing factory in a coastal town. Hatoya had...

Previous   TOC   Next There are times when hearing simple words like "Welcome back" or "I'm home" makes me inexplicably angry. When my heart feels pitch-black, and for no reason at all, I just want to break something, I wonder—what do other people do when they feel that way? Am I the only one who thinks or feels like this? I’ve never told anyone about it, and even if I did, I don’t think anyone would understand. Everyone only talks about games, manga, and girls. So, I keep quiet. I stay silent and think. I think about why my heart turns black. And I keep thinking about it, endlessly. ◇ :-: ◆ :-: ◇ From when Takayuki Himi was in elementary school to now as a middle schooler, Kunihiro's room always had the feeling of "someone else's house." Takayuki slowly looked around the room, tilting his head. Of course, it made sense—it wasn’t his home—but of all the houses he had ever visited, this one made him feel the most unwelcome, like it was actively ...