The pick-up stopped, safely parked at one of the spots in the parking area in front of the supermarket. After turning off the engine, Naoki checked on his shopping list once again, folded it neatly, and slipped it into his jacket pocket. Tightening up the shawl around his neck, he got out of the car and headed inside the supermarket. Several acquaintances greeted him, and Naoki replied warmly. Mrs. Miyahara, who owned the craft shop in town, walked beside him as Naoki pulled out a shopping cart.
"Kikugawa-kun, have you heard about Minato-san?" the elderly lady whispered mysteriously.
Naoki tried not to smile too wide. He bit his lip. "Good morning, Miyahara-san. What's wrong with Minato-san?" he replied, also lowering his voice as he walked toward dried food section, Mrs. Miyahara following beside him.
"They said there's a beautiful woman living in his house."
"A beautiful woman?" Naoki took three huge bags of cereals in different variety.
"That's right. She's also very sexy! Okuno-san met them at the market the other day. Minato-san introduced her as his cousin. You tell me, what kind of cousins hold each other so intimately! They said she's a widow! Her husband passed away not twenty days ago! That Minato-san is very brave, don't you think? His wife is taking care of her mother in Aomori. This will be good. Are you sure you haven't heard anything, Kikugawa-kun?"
Naoki shook his head, then turned his attention to the dairy section. "Nothing at all. Lately, there's always a guest at our place, so I can't go out," he said. "But is it really true? What if she's really his cousin?"
Mrs. Miyahara waved her hand in annoyance. "That can't be. The Minato family has the same face shape and features. It's impossible to have someone so beautiful in their family bloodline."
"Miyahara-san, you can't say that!" Naoki sounded shocked. "Afterall, there's this thing called a recessive gene."
Mrs. Miyahara flipped her hair. "Well, the point is, the way they behave and talk to each other doesn't make it look like that they're cousins. Okuno-san is sure about that," Mrs. Miyahara said confidently.
Naoki smiled and nodded along. Not getting the response she expected to get, Mrs. Miyahara then turned her attention to Kikuchi couple who happened to pass nearby. Naoki waved his hand as he shook his head helplessly.
Afterall, they lived in a small town. It was natural that whatever happened to them would be easily known by the neighbors. Naoki was sure that he and Kaname were not an exception. However, neighborhood gossip was just like that; they came and went like the wind, never staying long.
There was a small booth placed near the bath products aisle, handing out flyers for the festival later on in the day. Mr. Ubukata, wearing a happi in festive colour, was the one on duty. He joyfully handed out the flyer and a small dango to people passing by the booth. Naoki stopped in front of him and asked for a few flyers for the guests at the inn.
"The fireworks will be even bigger than the ones during the summer! You have to come, Kikugawa-kun!" said the man while patting Naoki's shoulders with quite a force, almost sending Naoki a step backward. "By the way, where's Tokui-kun? Isn't it usually his duty to go shopping?"
Naoki nodded while picking up a piece of dango. "A guest just arrived, and there's some trouble with his car, so Kaname-san is helping him."
"Is that so? Well, in that case, when you're done, tell Hideta. He will help bring your groceries to the car," said Mr. Ubukata.
"Thank you. May everything go smoothly at the festival, Ubukata-san," says Naoki before moving away. His cart was already full. There were a couple of more things that he needed to get, so he went to park his cart near the cashier and went to get another cart. Many people did this, so Mr. Ubukata prepared a designated space near the cashier for this purpose. A staff put a tag on the handle and gave a copy to Naoki, who accepted it.
He went to the fresh produce aisle. Their prefecture was known as one of the producers of fresh produce in the country. They never lacked of fresh produce stock every single day. This supermarket was one of those with the best fresh produce in stock. Shelves of fresh and ripe tomatoes, big cucumbers, corns, lush greens, cauliflower and broccoli, colourful peppers, carrots shining bright, the fresh scent of herbs, everything made Naoki very happy. He could stay in there for hours. When he had the time, Naoki loved to go every single day, but because he had to cook for the guests, he had not much time and utilize the delivery service offered by the supermarket.
Anyway. Because they would be going to the festival later, Naoki didn't have to cook dinner. For Naoki, this meant he could make a more sumptuous breakfast for tomorrow. Moreover, some of the guests probably would come back drunk, and they would need a hearthy breakfast to stave off their hangover. A staff helped him put two big bags of rice into his cart while Naoki randomly thought that one of these days he would drag Kaname to the fish market.
He was so immersed in reading the ingredient list on a pack of silky tofu when his cart accidentally bumped into something. Startled, Naoki realized that it was a person, so he immediately bowed to apologize. "Pardon me, I didn't–"
"Kikugawa?"
Naoki's ear twitched at the familiar voice calling him. He raised his head and was stunned when he saw the person standing before him.
"It is you, Kikugawa!" The person laughed, looking so happy that he didn't mistake Naoki with someone else. "I saw you, but I wasn't sure. So it is you! Did you dye your hair?"
"...Makita….-kun…" Naoki was only able to murmur without answering the person. "Why… How… how are you here?"
The person named Makita slipped his hands into his jeans pockets. "I will be transferred to Sapporo starting next month, so I'm checking things around. If it doesn't take too much time to commute, it's better to stay at home rather than look for an apartment over there. What about you? I heard my Dad told me that you're now running an inn near the hill?"
Naoki shook his head. "I was just helping out."
"That land belongs to Tokui family, right?" Makita raised his eyebrows, inquisitive.
Naoki nodded reluctantly. After all, this was a known fact.
"Heee, sounds fun. I'll come by one of these days with my coworkers and my girlfriend. What do you think?"
Naoki didn't answer him. Suddenly, he felt that the air was too heavy and he found it difficult to breathe. In a panic, he looked away. "I have to go."
"Well, let me help you. You seem to have a lot. It's fine. I have nothing to do, anyway." Makita took a step forward, reaching out a hand to grab the handle of the cart.
"No!" Naoki exclaimed, his voice came out weirdly. He shook his head. "I'm fine. There's no need to bother you," Naoki quickly said, pushing away his cart with a lot of effort toward the cashier.
Luckily, there was only one other person standing at the cashier. Naoki stood in line, his hands grabbing the cart handle tightly that they turned white. His breathing got heavier, and Naoki quickly patted on his jacket, pulling out an inhaler as soon as he found it. He inhaled deeply, coughing, then he inhaled once again. His breathing eased gradually, but his face was still pale and his hands were still shaking.
Mr. Ubukata happened to be nearby, helping a middle-aged lady picking up some melons. He noticed Naoki's condition and he immediately called his son standing by the entrance. They approached him and asked him how he was. Mr. Ubukata worriedly asked if they needed to bring him to the hospital but Naoki said there was no need; his inhaler was enough. Making sure that Naoki was really alright, Mr. Ubukata then told his son to drive Naoki home. Naoki accepted the kindness but he stopped them from calling Kaname. He didn't want Kaname to worry. Mr. Ubukata nodded then helped Naoki to stand aside while his son helped checking out and packing Naoki's two carts of things.
Naoki wiped his hands along his trousers. He never expected that he would meet that person again. It was a past that Naoki would never want to visit or remember. He thought once Makita Shinji moved to Tokyo, he wouldn't be able to mess with his life again. Who would have thought that he would appear again in their town?
It took a long time for him to calm down. Even when Hideta had parked the pick-up in front of Hummingbird, Naoki's hands were still shaking slightly.
There was another car parked near the gate. It seemed that Kaname and their guest had finished fixing the car. Naoki took a deep breath and wiped his face with his hands.
"Hideta-kun," he said to the young man who drove him. "Would you be so kind and not tell Kaname-san that my asthma relapsed at the supermarket earlier?"
The young man hesitated. "Sure, but… are you sure it's okay, Kikugawa-san? What if you need to see a doctor? Isn't it better to let Tokui-san know?"
Naoki smiled faintly. "We're going to the festival later. If Kaname-san knew I was having a relapse, he would immediately cancel the plan. It's been so long since the last time we went to a festival, so I don't want to ruin it. I'm fine. After taking a nap, I'll be good."
In the end, Hideta shrugged and he opened the door for Naoki. "If you're sure, then of course I'll help you."
"Arigatou," said Naoki while smiling gratefully to the young man.
*****