ajisai | s. shinichiro

二十五

"Shin?" Airi quizzes, blinking her eyes as she couldn't believe that he is standing right in front of her. "What are you doing here? Are you the only one? More importantly, how did you know I would be here?"

Shinichiro's eyes brim with tears as he hears her worry about him, smiling as the tears cascade out from his eyes and into his face. "You aren't leaving me, right? Please tell me you aren't. I just got you and I won't be letting you go that easily." He tells her, sinking down to his knees as his arms wrap around her waist, catching Airi by surprise.

"I'm sorry. I should have been more understanding and should have tried to look things into your perspective." He cries, the side of his face pressed onto her painting clothes. "I really mean it when I told you back then how I want to walk down in the same path as you. I wish to never be astray from it." He continues.

Blinking her eyes twice as she hears his words, a small smile paints her lips, hands cupping and tilting his head up to look at her. "You've driven a long way here, right? Do you want to have dinner with me?"

As he mirrored the same smile on her face and his vision blurred by his tears, Shinichiro simply responded. "Let's."

"So...why did you come here and not tell me?" Shinichiro asks, standing besides Airi in the kitchen.

Even though he hasn't entered the house and stood by the doorway only earlier, there were strong scents lingering around the house. Some were overpowering, some he could deal with. When he asked Airi what it was, the girl replied with the scents of oil paint - linseed, poppy and safflower oils. Hence the reason why she left a window open while she painted.

Placing a hand above the water, checking if it is hot enough, Airi turns to get the noodles to make ramen. "The fast paced life in the city doesn't help me stimulate any ideas to paint. Everything in Tokyo just moves, changes and happens so quickly that it leaves me a little time to comprehend and take in things that are sometimes too big for me to handle." She explains, taking a quick glance at him. "Whereas if I'm here, it feels like time has slowed down. Of course both environments are extremely different, but I feel like I can relax here without being pushed to meet expectations." She adds.

"Honestly, me going here is supposed to be just an overnight thing and I'm really surprised that you knew that I would be here." She continues, giving Shinichiro a look.

Shinichiro could only smile while shrugging his shoulders. "Like I said, I have a magnet and I'm always drawn to you!" He could only say to defend himself, turning around to look at the finished paintings she made from the kitchen gap overlooking the living room. "You made three new pieces and in just one day?" He lets out a whistle. "I'll buy us a house in the country side then."

Smiling to herself, she lightly hits his side. "Don't say cheesy stuff like that."

"But it's true!" Shinichiro beams, looking back at her with his eyes gleaming. "In the future, I'd like to get us a house in the country side and have two mini versions of you!" He announces to her.

All of a sudden, the happy atmosphere inside the house was disrupted by a single phone call ringing, coming from Shinichiro's phone. Taking a look on the caller ID, he gulped.

"It's grandpa." He says, showing it to Airi. "I feel like his shouting and yelling could be heard from all the way here." He dreads.

Airi blinks to herself after putting the soup powder. "You didn't tell him honestly did you?"

Shinichiro shook his head. "Told him that our homeroom teacher's getting married." He grins, telling her his little white lie.

"Oh well" Airi replies, prompting her shoulders. "Bye bye Shin. Your grandpa is going to have your head once we return to Tokyo."

Making dreading sounds, Shinichiro was given no choice but to answer the call, flipping his phone before placing it to his ear. "I can explain-"

"You better have a good explanation, Shinichiro!" It was Grandpa Sano's voice, booming on the other line that made Airi jump. "What do you think you're doing in Hokkaido? Taking a vacation? And who are you with?" He asks, his voice still booming.

"Grandpa, you won't believe me but I'm with Airi chan." Shinichiro responded, taking the phone and leaning it a little close to Airi.

"Ah! Hello!" Airi replies, closing the stove as the noodles are cooked.

"Huh? Is that Airi chin's voice?" It was Mikey's voice that could be heard, followed by shuffling noises. "Oi! Shin nii! Where are you and Airi chin?"

"Far away from you." Shinichiro responded

"No fair! We want to come with you too!" Mikey replies.

Shuffling noises could be heard after he spoke. "Can you come pick us up, Shin nii? I want to be with older sister!" Emma begs, followed by another shuffling sound.

"We want to spend time with Airi nee too!" It was Izana who spoke last.

Shinichiro loves his three younger siblings, he really do. But sometimes, he wants them away during moments he's spending with Airi as they have the high tendencies to monopolize and whisk her away from him.

. . . . . . . . . . ♡

Since Shinichiro arrived at Sapporo in the night, Airi decided to do a bit of sight seeing and introduce him to places she frequents whenever she goes here. The first stop so happened to be an open market.

"The blue hydrangeas seems to be in full bloom." Airi commented, admiring a bush full of blue hydrangeas.

"It seems to be it." Shinichiro commented.

"When I was born, my mom told me that the hydrangeas in Tokyo were in full bloom too when she gave birth to me." Airi begins to say. "She too was admiring the flowers when she began to feel the contractions. She said it was painful, all the while she could feel pain almost every part of her body, all she could do to relieve it is by remembering how the flowers looked."

Shinichiro ducked down, getting a closer look on the blue hydrangeas. "Is this also the reason why you like the color blue so much?" He asks her, tilting his head to look up at her.

Airi gave him a tight lipped smile and nodded her head. "Yes it is!" she affirms.

And as the two discovered Sapporo in the morning, they never knew that tonight would hold a surprise for the two of them.