Chapter 87 Unconditional Love
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
December arrived, and our university group decided to hold a Bonenkai¹. Since Masashi-san could handle his liquor, he suggested a Japanese pub, but the rest of us couldn’t drink at all. We figured it wouldn’t look right to sit in an izakaya ordering nothing but soft drinks, so we settled on a karaoke box instead.
As everyone else belted out the latest hits with high energy, I took my turn with songs by Ozaki Yutaka² and The Blue Hearts³, though I was admittedly a poor singer. My late father had been a fan, so I’d grown up listening to them since I was a child.
”Inamori, seriously, how old are you?” Masashi-san teased me. “Is there a zipper on your back? If I pull it down, is a fifty-year-old middle-aged guy going to pop out?”
”I actually like Ozaki Yutaka’s ‘I Love You,’” Fujita-san chimed in. “But I’ve never heard of The Blue Hearts.”
”Oldies are trending right now, aren’t they? Don’t you know any other ones?” Miura-san asked.
We were all having a grand time, chatting and making a fuss.
”Hey, who drank my Chuhai⁴?” Masashi-san suddenly shouted.
”Wait? Yuri, are you okay?” Fujita-san asked, checking on Takahashi-san sitting right beside her.
”Fneh… ‘m fine… ish…” Takahashi-san mumbled. Her words were slurring so badly I couldn’t quite make them out, but she seemed to be insisting she was alright.
”Ah… she polished off the whole thing,” Masashi-san noted.
”Did you make her drink that, Masashi-san?” Miura-san demanded.
”I’d never do something like that! The colors looked similar, so she must’ve just mistaken it for her own, right?”
”This isn’t the time for bickering, is it?” I cut in. “Kato-san, get some water immediately. See if they have any plastic bags, too.” I gave the instructions to Kato-san, who was standing nearest to the door.
Masashi-san was flustered and panicking, while Shota and Hirose just looked around restlessly, seemingly clueless as to how to help.
”Masashi-san, move over,” Miura-san ordered as she took the seat next to Takahashi-san and began rubbing her back.
Ugh…
It didn’t look like the plastic bag would arrive in time. I quickly emptied out my bag and handed it over to Fujita-san, who was on Takahashi-san’s other side.
”Are you sure about this?” Fujita-san asked.
”No time for that now. We can’t let her ruin the room,” I replied.
Fujita-san pulled the bag wide open and held it to Takahashi-san’s mouth. At that exact second, Takahashi-san vomited into the bag. We’d made it just in time.
Kato-san returned with a bottle of water and a plastic bag, so we had Takahashi-san sip some water.
”Does anyone know where Takahashi-san lives?” I asked.
”From here, she’s in the same direction as me. But Yuri’s place is much further out,” Miura-san explained.
”I know where it is,” Fujita-san offered.
”Masashi-san, call a taxi.”
”Fujita-san, you come with me. We’ll drop Miura-san off along the way, so everyone into the taxi.”
While waiting for the taxi, I went to the restroom to wash out my bag, but the lingering smell wouldn’t go away.
”Is the bag going to be okay?” Kato-san asked, standing worriedly outside the restroom door.
”I got the mess out, but the scent remains. It’s also soaking wet, so I’m trying to figure out what to do with it.”
”Hold on a second.”
Kato-san left and came back with an eco-bag.
”I always have this on me, so please use it.”
”Thank you.”
Once I tucked my bag into the eco-bag, Kato-san gave the inside a quick spritz of perfume.
”Thanks again.”
”I’ll take the textbooks and other stuff that was in your bag home with me. I’ll return them tomorrow,” Kato-san said.
”Won’t that be too heavy for you?”
”You’ve looked after me in so many ways, Inamori-kun. Doing this much is no problem at all.”
”Thank you.”
—
During our exchange, the taxi pulled up. We dropped Miura-san off near her house and continued toward Takahashi-san’s apartment. When we arrived, her room turned out to be on the second floor. Takahashi-san was still wobbling and looked entirely unable to manage the stairs. With Fujita-san supporting her, I hoisted Takahashi-san onto my back and carried her up to her room.
After keeping an eye on her for a bit, I decided to head home and left the rest to Fujita-san.
”Hirokazu-kun, you really are dependable,” Fujita-san said. “Those three were just panicking and did absolutely nothing. It was such a headache.”
”They’re good guys at heart, though.”
”I know that. It’s just… I really felt like you’re different, Hirokazu-kun.”
”I think it’s best not to leave Takahashi-san alone tonight, so I’m leaving things in your hands.”
”Yeah, I know. But in exchange…”
Fujita-san closed her eyes, tilting her face up in expectation of a kiss. I gave her forehead a light poke instead.
”You could’ve at least given me a little reward,” she pouted.
”That’s not how this works.”
”Hmph… fine then. Guess it’ll have to be next time.”
”Goodnight.”
—
The next day, Fujita-san and Takahashi-san were absent from university for the morning. However, Fujita-san had posted ‘Yuri is doing fine’ in the group chat, so I wasn’t particularly worried.
During lunch break, I got an email from Fujita-san: ‘Come to the campus cafe.’ When I arrived, both Fujita-san and Takahashi-san were waiting.
”I’m so incredibly sorry for yesterday!” Takahashi-san said as she stood up and gave a deep, formal bow.
”We help each other when things get tough, so you don’t need to worry about it. More importantly, are you feeling okay now?”
”My head still aches a bit, but I’m fine. Um… was I… heavy? Mayu told me you carried me up the stairs on your back.”
”That’s the part you’re focusing on?” I asked.
”For a girl, it’s a big deal,” Takahashi-san insisted.
”Maybe a little heavy, haha,” I teased.
”No way! Wait… what about my chest? They felt small, didn’t they?”
”Big or small, it doesn’t really matter to me,” I said.
”Aha! So you did think they were small!”
”I wasn’t in any state to be paying attention to that, so I didn’t notice a thing.”
”I guess I’ll let you off with that. Anyway, I really want to do something to thank you…”
”If that’s the case, just treat me to this coffee,” I said, pointing to the cup on the table.
”You even covered the taxi fare… is this really enough for you?”
”Of course it is.”
”See, it’s just like I said,” Fujita-san cut in. “Inamori-kun isn’t greedy at all. Or rather, he just doesn’t think about things in terms of profit or loss.”
”Fujita-san, you’re giving me too much credit.”
”Most people wouldn’t ruin their own bag just because Yuri was about to throw up,” Fujita-san pointed out.
”Wait, you did that too?” Takahashi-san gasped.
”It’s fine as long as it’s washed,” I replied.
”I’ve fallen for you all over again.”
”Does that mean you’ve been in love with me this whole time?” I intended it as a joke, but…
”U-um… that was just a figure of speech, so don’t take it to heart,” Takahashi-san stammered. She looked down, her face turning a deep shade of crimson.
”I’m definitely in love with Inamori-kun,” Fujita-san declared. “His cheating was the reason we split up, but feeling like something was missing compared to Inamori-kun was a big part of it, too.”
Fujita-san finally said it.
”Is that why you’ve been calling him Hirokazu-kun?” Takahashi-san asked.
””Eh?!”” we both blurted out.
”I don’t remember it clearly, but I had a feeling Mayu was using that name.”
”You were drunk, so it’s probably just your imagination, right?”
”Looking at the way you both just reacted, I’m certain now,” Takahashi-san said. “I won’t pry into what happened, but I’ve decided I’m going to call him Hirokazu-kun too. Most likely because I’m falling for him, too.”
”Yuri?!” Fujita-san looked shocked.
”I’m currently studying how to cook, so you have to come over to my apartment. I’ll make you a feast as thanks.”
I got the feeling that Takahashi-san had finally made a clean break from her past.
—
Summary:
The university group’s year-end party takes a chaotic turn when Takahashi Yuri accidentally consumes alcohol and becomes violently ill. Inamori selflessly sacrifices his own bag to prevent a mess and carries the intoxicated Yuri up to her apartment on his back. The incident leads to an awkward yet touching lunch meeting the next day where both Yuri and Mayu end up confessing their romantic feelings. Takahashi finally seems to move past her old heartbreak as she starts calling Inamori by his first name.
—
Character Insight:
Inamori’s reliability is showcased not through grand gestures, but through his willingness to endure gross or inconvenient situations (like cleaning vomit out of a bag) for the sake of others. This selfless ‘normalcy’ is exactly what attracts both girls, as they compare him to the ‘物足りなさ’ (insufficiency) of other men. Takahashi’s decision to use Inamori’s first name, ‘Hirokazu-kun,’ marks her transition from a passive acquaintance to an active romantic rival for Mayu.
—
Behind the Scene:
The chapter highlights a very realistic social pressure in Japan where ‘soft drinks only’ at an izakaya is seen as ‘ba ga motanai’ (the atmosphere doesn’t hold up), leading many youth groups to choose karaoke as a compromise.
—
T/L:
Notes:
• Fujita – A female university student who was part of the same bus hike group as Hirokazu. A beautiful girl who recently broke up with her boyfriend. She claims to have the largest breasts Hirokazu has ever seen. She seeks emotional release and ‘punishment’ from Hirokazu to cope with her guilt. Brown long haired.
• Miura – A female member of the group who assists in taking care of Yuri during the emergency.
• Yuri – A friend who accidentally gets drunk and becomes sick. She is self-conscious about her appearance and develops feelings for Inamori after he cares for her.
• Kato – A college classmate who consults Hirokazu for advice on intimate techniques to please her boyfriend. She is described as trusting Hirokazu because he is tight-lipped.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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