4 Chapter 4: The Angel

"hiime hime!! hime!

suki suki daisuki

hime!! hime!!

kira kira rin~☆"[1]

I sang a song as the warm water washed my body. It was the end of summer. I was the type of guy who liked to use warm water no matter the season, and this afternoon was not an exception.

"Kimi to minna ireba watashi tte zettai muteki~"

I turn off the tap and flip my hair, trying to get the water off. Having long hair can be troublesome sometimes, but it feels like a waste to just cut it. It was only down to the armpits after all.

I walked to the changing room with a towel on my waist. The fluffy mat seeped water from my feet as I stood in front of the mirror sink. I examined my reflection closely.

A handsome man with a fabulous beard smirked back at me. I displayed my bicep, chest, and abs. It seems they haven't lost their shape yet.

Ever since I came back here, I rarely move around like I used to be. Maybe I should maintain my body from now on. I couldn't possibly let myself become a fat pig.

But of course, the most important thing about my appearance was my beard.

I brushed my beard with my thumb and index fingers, feeling the perfect length and rough texture. It's short, but visible. Perfect to enchanted my masculinity.

"Hajime no ippo wa itsumo yu-"

"What are you doing?"

"Holy sh*t!"

I grabbed the edge of the sink to keep myself from falling as I was startled by the sudden voice. I looked at the door to see Ouma was standing there while giving me a strange look.

"Brat! Don't startle me like that! Knock first before you come in!" I grumbled while trying to straighten myself up. Good thing I didn't hit myself on the floor.

"I already did, but no one answered. And just when I opened the door, I spotted you looking in the mirror while singing a weird song." He frowned while folding his arms. "You like your beard a lot, don't you?"

"W-what's wrong with that? Do you have a problem with it?"

"Nope, I just kinda wish I didn't open the door before. There are already a lot of weird things you did that I can recall, and I don't want it to increase."

"Well, you just have to not remember it. Is it that hard?"

"Easier said than done. You are too remarkable for your own good."

I looked at the brat in front of me annoyedly. He sure was good with his words.

I shook my head and sighed. "Nevermind. What do you want for you to break in? Pocket money? I have no cash on me. Ask your aunt for it."

"No! Why would I ask you for that in the first place?" He retorted with a disgusted look. 'Shameless' could be read clearly on his expression.

"Then what is it? I'm busy here, so make it quick." I said as I continued looking at myself in the mirror.

He grumbled 'narcissistic' or something before stating his purpose. "Ryuma and I will be going out with our friends now. We won't go back until 9 pm. You can heat up dinner with the microwave. It's in the fridge."

"Just that? You could have just left a note on the table. Why need to tell me directly?"

"...Just wanted to..." He answered trailing off. He looked away while holding his arms tightly. "I just thought that it was a normal thing to tell you this directly."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." I didn't pay any mind as I waved my hand. "Off you go."

Noticing he didn't budge from his spot for a moment, I glanced at him, which apparently was staring at my lower half.

"What? Want to see?"

"No!" He shouted with a somewhat annoyed tone and slammed the door closed.

I started at the door with a frown. He just entered suddenly, said unpleasant things, made a rude remark, and then slammed the door loudly.

Tsk tsk. Who did that brat take after?

***

I came out from the changing room with my usual tank top and boxer shorts. There was no need to wear more indoors. It was better to wear a little in a hot summer.

With a towel still on my head, I opened the fridge to take a can of beer. There was a stack of beer at the bottom of the fridge. Some of them were Haru's. We didn't separate our ratio as we drank the same brand. A can of beer was always good after an afternoon bath.

Just when I walked to my room while continuing to dry my hair someone started talking.

"Angel."

"Huh? What?"

"There is an angel living in our house."

My sister was sitting on the dining chair, resting her head on her hand while holding a can of beer. Her cheeks were red for some reason.

I assumed she was hallucinating and frowned. "Are you drunk?"

"No, idiot! I'm talking about Ouma!" She shouted as she threw the empty can at me, which I dodged immediately. Yeah, she was totally drunk.

"Look at how our house has changed!" She stretched her hand widely. "Previously, I was so busy with my job that this house has abounded! And now, not even a particle of dust can be seen!"

I looked around the house, which was as sparkling as always. Well, this house indeed looked a little messy when we first came here before, but it was not that bad. At least not as bad as my room.

She continued her ramblings. "Every day, he greets me with a smile as I come home from work, saying 'Welcome home, Haruka-san' and prepares me a warm meal."

"Eh? You come back this early? Why didn't you just stay out a little longer?"

"He asks me how my day went, appreciates all of my hard work, and comforts me with his gentle voice that sounds like an oasis in the middle of the desert."

"You've done nothing but being a waste. Can't you at least do anything productive a little?"

"He always says something I want to hear. His words always motivate me to do my best."

"Here, this deodorant is for you. Please wear it every day so we don't need to smell your body odor that spears around the house."

"If he's not an angel, then what is he?" She asked impulsively.

"...yeah, right…" I involuntarily shift my gaze while sipping my beer. Don't know if we were talking about the same person or not, but if we were, that person was very definitely something but an angel.

"Huahahahaha, *hick* I want to have a kid like that! *hick* Please give him to me!" She kept rambling with her face flat on the table. I just sat in front of her, waiting for her to quiet down.

As her whines finally quieted down she slid her head a little, looking at me while sniffing her nose. "How could a good kid like him come from you?"

I shrugged. "Well, that's because he was being raised by his mother."

"His mother huh?" She looked above like she was thinking about something. "What does she look like?"

"Ask him yourself. He knows her better as he was raised by her."

"I'm asking you, not him." She slowly sat up straight and looked at my eyes. "I already heard a lot about her from him, but not from you. You were her husband, right?"

I continued to drink and sat sideways. She kept looking at me seriously like she was never drunk to begin with.

She raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"...She is the same as her son. No..." I shook my head. "He is the same as his mother."

***

When I first met him, I was surprised. He has a lot of traits like his mother. His eye color, his smile, the way he looks, the way he speaks, how he cares about others, it was all the same as her. They have different genders, yet they resemble each other a lot.

His mother, also my wife. She was the most wonderful woman I've ever met.

She was like a sunflower. So bright and tough. No matter how hard the things she experienced, she always stepped forward. She never got easily swayed and always keeps strong on her beliefs. She was a stubborn fella.

She also had a big heart. She liked to help the weak, could feel the pain of others, open-minded, and very tolerant. There was no need to say how tolerant she was as he accepted me as her partner.

To a coward like me who only knew how to run away, she stayed beside me. To me who left her alone, she still entrusted her child to me. I didn't believe I could meet my son by coincidence. There are no coincidences in this world, or at least that was what I believe from my journey. She still believes in me despite the thing I did in the past. She trusted me, the thrust that I had betrayed.

Why did she accept me in the first place?

"'Why', you asked?" She asked back while giggling on that memorable day. "Are you really asking why I am willing to marry you after you proposed to me?"

"W-well, I-I-," The young and impulsive me makes a small cough to calm myself down. "It's true that I was the one who proposed to you, I still need to hear the reason. I can't possibly proceed if you accept me just because…"

She stared at me with her big blue eyes curiously as I paused. I shifted my gaze while continuing my words with a small voice. "...just because you pity me."

I then folded my arms and looked away. "I don't need your pity for this! There are a lot of better men around us. Why would you accept me if you don't pity me?"

She stared at me for a moment before gradually breaking into laughter. I just stood there embarrassed myself while wondering why I'm doing this.

"Well, maybe this is one of the reasons." She wiped her teary eyes as he finished her laugh. She walked closer to me and put her hand on my cheek.

"You always manage to make me laugh, whether it's your unfunny jokes or something else. There is not a lot of chance where I could laugh like this, especially after what happened for the past few months."

"So I'm just a comedian for you?" Asked me sullenly.

She shook her head. "It's not just that."

She pulled her hand and turned her back. Her long white braid hair flung to the side. "You may already realize it, but we somehow share a lot in common. We lost someone special to us, there was a moment when we couldn't go back to the place we called home, and so many others. Well, I'm sure T̸͈̿̆͆ą̴̡̯̜̻̦̞͕̩̺̖̤̠̭̌̍k̵͎̟͙̞̠͎̘̄̿̈́̈́̆́͛͋͂̃̈͗̚̕͠e̴͔͌̀̄ṣ̸̠̱̦̻͚͐̊̇h̶͕̤̣̺̤̒̊́̊̈̿̐̚͠͝͠i̸̛̱̣̮̞͖̝̙͔͇͉̍̉͊̀̏̐͌̋͑̏̊̽͘͠-kun, Ä̵̡̝̼̣͎̦̮́̒̍͊͌̾̔̀̄̅̾̚͝ͅk̸̢̧̛̼̪̝͓̼͉͚̽̿̀́̇̓̑͜ȅ̸͕̹͗̅ṃ̴͈͗͛̄̊̒̔̄͛̎̕͝͝i̷̢̮̹̹͇͖͈͓̝͇̎͌̒̐̽̏̓̎͋͜͠-chan, S̵̨̟͙̝̘͓̓̿̆̌̍͝ȁ̶̳̮̳͉̲͎̥̠͛͗͌̓͋͐͘̕͠y̴͎̹͙̞̯̤͇͙̲͔̅̓̂̑̾͋̍̈͘͜u̴͍̩̮̩̪̣̮̦̱̠̘̎̿̀̑͒ṛ̷̛̞̲̖͓͚̝̖͕̋̊̊́̏̾̈̚͝i̸̗̗̝̟̣̇͜ͅ-chan, and the others also felt the same way, but..."

She tilted her head back. She slid her hair behind her ear and made a gentle smile.

"Somehow, to be with you makes me feel at ease and happy. It's weird, right?"

"I see." Haru opened another can of beer as she closed her eyes. "She must be a wonderful person. How lucky of you to have a good wife like her."

She emptied the can and put it on the table kinda forcefully. "Yet, you left her alone, just like what you did to me before."

I didn't deny it, nor did I answer back. There was nothing for me to correct as all of what she said was true. There was a reason why that kid always looked down on me.

"I won't ask the reason. It's not my business anyway, nor that I want to hear it. You have your own life."

"...Thanks," I said as I looked at the can of beer that I was holding with both hands on the table. "Also, for accepting us here, I can't thank you enough."

"Don't sweat it." She waved her hand. "I already think of them as my own. Also, you need to thank our mother for this."

"Mother? What about her?"

"Nothing. She just said that I needed to take care of you in the future when we were little." She supported her right cheek with one hand on the table. "It was like she could already see what you would go through in the future. Weird, isn't it?"

I chuckled a little. "Yeah, she could be mysterious sometimes."

We continued to sit opposite each other at the dining table. The clock kept tickling without care as we stayed in silence. But this silence was not that bad either.

"So," She broke the silence. "what are your plans from now on?"

I pondered for a bit. "Nothing much. Guess I should start by finding a stable income. Of course, I know it will be hard as my education level is not higher than high school."

"Yeah, I believe you should." She tapped her fingers on the table. "My allowance is hardly enough to feed the four of us."

"Haha, yeah." I scratched my head awkwardly. "I'll keep that in mind."

A job huh? Well, being a NEET[2] in your late thirties was not something to brag about either. I wonder where I should start?

"What about Ouma?" She asked.

I raise an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"You have acted like an ass around him this whole time." She stirred her can of beer. "Is that on purpose or not?"

I laughed off her remarks. "Who knows? He has plenty of reasons to despise me. It can't get any worse.

"What I can do now is provide him with a good environment for his life. He's already too big to play house with me. How can he see someone who he just met not long ago as his father?" I took another sip. "This is fine."

She fell silent for a moment before asking with a faint look. "Are you an idiot?"

I choked. "What?"

"Forget it." She shook her head and got up. "Sorry for asking. I forgot that you are an idiot among idiots for this kind of thing."

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it for yourself. I'm going to bed."

As she said that, she walked to her room, leaving me alone.

Confused by her words, I paid her no mind. She probably had been drunk.

My mind was still wondering to that day when I proposed to her. Who would have thought that it would end this way? There was no use in regretting the past.

I stretched my body and looked at the clock. There are still some hours before 9 o'clock. I probably should warm up my dinner now. Couldn't have him nagging me all the time.

***

[1] Koi no Hime Hime Pettanko is the opening song of the anime-within-an-anime series Love Hime of which appear in anime series Yowamushi Pedal.

[2] NEET, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training", refers to a person who is unemployed and not receiving an education or vocational training.