A Story About a Blonde Gal Angel Who Excessively Praises My Cooking. After Asking Me to Teach Her How to Cook, Feelings of Mutual Love Began to Grow

Chapter 81: The Echoing Drums

“They’re coming! They’re coming!”

The sound of large drums echoed, shaking the southern night sky. The lively cheers of the festival crowd filled the air, accompanied by the colorful notes of the sanshin.

“There’s someone holding a flag.”

“That’s called a hatagashira, the leader of the youth association who waves the heavy flag to the rhythm of the music.”

Amatsuka, recording on her smartphone, listened with fascination.

“Miaki-chan, it’s scary.”

“I’ll hold you.”

“It’s not scary, Miko-san. You’re fine,” said Miaki, as Miko clung to her. The sound of the large and shime drums seemed to resonate through her small body, scaring her. Sisters are wonderful—so precious.

“Now that you mention it, I was scared too when I was little. The drum sounds were so loud.”

“Chika, you used to cling to me.”

“Well, didn’t you cling to Dad when you were little, too? Stop trying to act like a big brother—it’s gross.”

“So this is what it’s like to lose a little sister,” I thought, feeling a bit lonely. She used to cling to me so much, but things change as time passes. Time flies by so quickly.

“Motobu-san, I’m scared too. Can I get close to you? Or maybe hug you? Could you hold me tight?”

“You don’t look scared at all. You’re calmly eating the mochi I made.”

“No, I’m super scared, really.”

“All I can sense is your ulterior motive, not fear.”

“Takeru-kunn, I’m scared too!”

“Please, no more clinging. It’s hot,” I replied. The Okinawan nights were hot enough already, and Manoka clinging to me made it even hotter—and she reeked of alcohol.

“There are both big and small drums, huh?”

“The smaller one is called a shime drum. There’s an even smaller drum called a paaranku, about the size of a tambourine.”

It’s not like I’m an expert or anything. When I was in lower elementary school, I just played the paaranku.

“Which do you prefer, Motobu-kun? The large drum or the shime drum?”

“I like the large drum best. It’s the highlight of the performance, and the sound and feel when you hit it is so satisfying. Some women want to play the large drum too, even though it’s heavy. It’s quite popular.”

The shime drum is light, and so is its sound. The large drum has a deep, powerful sound. Most Okinawan boys probably dream of playing it.

“There are both male and female dancers, huh? If I were to do it, I’d want to be a dancer.”

“There are male dancers, ikigamooi, and female dancers, inagumooi. I think you could do either, Momohara-san.”

“Wh-What do you mean, either? Do you mean both drumming and dancing, Motobu-kun?”

Dancers are the foundation of Eisa. They help understand the rhythm and movements that are essential for drumming. You can’t hold a drum until you’ve mastered the basics.

The female dance, unlike the powerful male dance, is graceful, with soft hand movements that add elegance to the performance.

“Whoa! Who’s that person?!”

“Are you scared, Suzu-chan? How cute.”

“N-No, I’m not!”

“That’s a sanajaa. They’re like clowns who entertain the audience. They’re also called chondaraa.”

With makeup that looks like a comical version of a demon, the sanajaa entertains the crowd with their dancing. Surprisingly, they’re quite popular. Class clowns especially love to take on the role.

“Sanajaa-san! Let’s take a picture!”

Hinata cheerfully made a peace sign while Naoto took her picture. Afterward, the sanajaa waved and danced back into the performance. Watching them was so entertaining. Hinata’s excitement shot up, and she was laughing with Naoto as they looked at the picture together.

“Motobu-kun, the costumes are different from the ones in the video I saw earlier. What’s the difference?”

“The costumes vary depending on the local youth association. Each one has its own style, so watching Eisa from different regions never gets boring. The dances are different too.”

“That sounds fun. I’m looking forward to it,” Amatsuka said as she happily recorded the female dancers. She even waved to one of the dancers when their eyes met through the camera.

I wondered what Amatsuka would look like dressed as an inagumooi dancer. Even though I’d see it soon enough, I found myself eager to see it already.

But that little daydream was interrupted by the cheerful sound of a finger whistle. So I joined in, whistling and refocusing on the Eisa performance.

Though I hadn’t done a finger whistle since moving to Tokyo, it felt comforting to realize I could still do it without hesitation.

—

Chapter 82: Staying Up Late

That night, after watching the Eisa dance, I woke up thirsty.

I quietly left the room to avoid waking Momohara, my roommate, and headed to the kitchen.

As I was walking back after drinking some water, I noticed someone in the garden.

For a moment, fear hit me so hard that my sleepiness vanished completely. But when I saw the long, shining blonde hair in the moonlight, I realized it was Amatsuka-san and felt relieved.

“Amatsuka-san, what are you doing out here?”

“…You startled me…”

“Well, you startled me too when I found you, so I guess we’re even.”

“In that case, it’s only fair. I was at fault too,” Amatsuka-san said with a quiet smile.

“I was just thinking the sky looked beautiful, so I was watching it.”

“In Tokyo, we rarely look up at the sky. It’s more rural here, and you can see the stars more clearly.”

“I didn’t mean to insult it for being rural!”

“I know you’d never say something like that, Amatsuka-san.”

“Y-yeah.”

When I’m in Tokyo, I mostly just look at textbooks and supermarket flyers, so I hardly ever look up at the sky.

The rainbow I saw with Amatsuka-san during the rainy season is one of the few things that left an impression on me.

“I’d actually like to come back to Okinawa more often, but it’s tough when you’re still a minor.”

“Don’t you come back during New Year’s?”

“It’s difficult because Manoka-san is always busy.”

Manoka-san’s company is fairly busy. During the year-end and New Year’s period, she usually gets at most three days off.

“There’s also this house in Okinawa to take care of, and Chika and I are still kids, so it seems like she’s sacrificing a lot for us.”

“Manoka-san really relies on you, Motobu-kun.”

“She probably can’t get by without goofing around like that. Being an adult is tough.”

“But you’re amazing too, Motobu-kun. You study, and you handle the housework. I think that’s admirable. I’m terrible at studying.”

“All I do is study and take care of the house. I don’t need to do anything else.”

As long as I keep up my grades and manage the house, everything should be fine. If I don’t do anything unnecessary, I won’t have to rely on Naoto-san again.

That said, I did end up doing something unnecessary by posting on Instagram, which almost got me killed by Kurose-san.

“But still, you’re amazing, Motobu-kun. I think it’s wonderful that you cherish your ancestors. All I do is offer the food I cook to my dad.”

“Your dad is probably happy to eat his daughter’s homemade food. He might even cry tears of joy.”

“Do you think so? He’d probably just keep a straight face and say, ‘It’s alright, I guess.’ That’s just how my dad is.”

Amatsuka-san mimicked her dad’s voice with so much enthusiasm that I found it a little funny.

“I don’t really remember my parents, so I’m a bit envious that you can do impressions like that. I can barely remember their faces.”

“I see…”

The faces I see in their memorial photos feel like those of strangers.

Even in my memories, they’re blurry.

The last time I saw them, they were lying in a pool of blood after being hit by a car.

Both of them worked, so it was always my grandmother who took care of us. She passed away too, and now I’m in Tokyo.

“When I become an adult and settle down, I plan to come back to this house, so taking care of the altar during Obon and New Year’s won’t be an issue. But right now, I can only do it once a year, so I always apologize to my ancestors for that.”

“You’re alive, so it can’t be helped.”

Life brings a lot of challenges.

There are countless things I can’t do anything about, given that I can’t even take responsibility for myself. Just maintaining my current life takes most of my energy.

“I see. So, you’re planning to return to Okinawa.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe I’ll live in Okinawa too when I grow up.”

“Did you like it here?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Amatsuka-san looked down, her sandals flapping softly as she moved. I averted my gaze from her slim, beautiful legs and looked up at the sky again.

“The noise from the fighter jets is annoying, the cherry blossoms bloom in January, so there’s no seasonal charm, and the cicadas are loud. It’s fine for a visit, but I wouldn’t recommend living here.”

“It’s okay. You’ll be here, Motobu-kun.”

“I don’t think having me here would make things any easier for you.”

Even if she smiled at me, I’d be at a loss. I’m not like Naoto-san, who can do everything.

There’s far more I can’t do than I can.

If I could do it all, things wouldn’t be like this.

“Let’s go to bed. We have tomorrow ahead of us.”

“Could we stay together just a little longer?”

Amatsuka-san grabbed my hand as I stood up.

I couldn’t bring myself to shake her hand off, but I didn’t know what else to do either.

“Did you know that Okinawa has monsters called Majimun, Amatsuka-san?”

“I-I’m not scared at all!”

“If you stay up late, one might possess you…”