Chapter Text
Gokigen’yoh, everyone.
It’s been a while but I’m happy to report that Shuu-kun and I have finally gotten through the wedding. The past month or so has been a total blur with all the wedding preparations, family outings, and extensive in-law exchanges we had to do.
But now that everything was done and a few days had passed since our wedding, we were preparing for our honeymoon in France. ♥
I’ve already finished packing so I was just doing a bit of doomscrolling.
The new mattress we got was so soft, I felt like I could go to sleep anytime but I mustn’t! I had to force myself to stay awake! At least until Shuu-kun finished his call, there were about a dozen things I wanted to show him once he was done.
Oh, another reel about Paris.
Ehehe…
It was so romantic!
I can’t believe we were flying out tomorrow night!
As I was drowning in my delusions, Shuu-kun came back from his call.
?
His face was grim.
“Did something happen?” I asked cautiously.
This didn’t have anything to do with our flight tomorrow, right?
I saw Shuu-kun hesitate.
“It’s… about Masaya.”
Oh no.
I sat up immediately.
It’s been a while but I felt an oddly familiar sense of foreboding.
“Masaya-kun? What about him?”
We just saw him yesterday.
He seemed the same as usual.
“Erm,” Shuu-kun closed his eyes, hesitating a bit.. Between his eyebrows I could make out a very faint ‘ル’. “... It seems that he and Wakaba-san broke up.”
HUH?!
He and Wakaba-chan broke up?!
I jumped so suddenly that I bumped my head against the pillar of our canopy bed.
“Reika, are you alright?!” Shuu-kun flew to me in a hurry.
I’m fine… I’m fine…
I have a hard head so if anything it was probably our new bed frame that you should be concerned about.
“What do you mean Masaya-kun and Wakaba-chan broke up?” I asked as I gingerly rubbed my forehead.
Shuu-kun sat next to me and checked my developing bruise.
“I don’t have much details yet. I’ve only just gotten the news now but it seems that it was Wakaba-san who ended it.”
Well, that made sense.
There was no way that lovesick fool would have ever been the one to initiate a breakup.
Not that I had foreseen Wakaba-chan doing it anytime recently though.
Sure, I’ve always thought early on that Wakaba-chan would dump him eventually because Masaya-kun was the way he was. But after all these years passed, I finally conceded that it wasn’t going to happen.
Which made sense, it was sort of their destiny after all.
As my train of thought led to me recalling the events in Kimidol and my own real life experiences with Kaburagi Masaya, I remembered something terrible.
Ah.
That time with Yurie-san1.
AH-
Paris-
What about Paris?!
Seeing my reaction, Shuu-kun gave a pained smile.
“I’m sorry, Reika. There’s no one else…”
AAAAAAA-
That lovesick buffoon went off and disappeared right before our honeymoon?!
What kind of timing even was this!
“You could stay-”
“No!”
I found myself objecting immediately.
Surprised at my own voice, I calmed down to a level tone.
“No, I’ll go as well. Masaya-kun is my friend too after all.” I reassured Shuu-kun.
For better or worse, I’ve long since come around to accepting Masaya-kun as a friend after all those troublesome years. While there may have been a number of moments where I regretted that decision, I couldn’t deny that we were actually pretty close as well.
In moments that mattered, we were among each other’s staunchest allies.
And besides…
“I can’t let you go alone.”
What kind of newlywedded wife would let her husband go off into a rescue mission alone to search tirelessly for their mutual friend?! What if something bad happened to him while he was there and I became a widow so soon after we just got married?!
In that case, I’d rather brave the Toujinbou with you!
Your troubles are my troubles and all that. Didn’t we say something like that in our vows?
“Are you really sure, Reika?”
“Of course!”
He didn’t need to ask me twice.
Hearing that, Shuu-kun laughed as he laid his head on my shoulder.
“So, anyway… where is his destination this time?”
“Mm, Australia.”
Oh, he’s managed to leave Japan this time.
I’m not sure whether to be proud or annoyed by that.
“So, Sydney? Melbourne? Or could it be the Goldcoast?”
It was probably Sydney, no? That was where The Gap was after all.
The Gap is a popular tourist place in Sydney, Australia. Infamously, it’s also a popular suicide hotspot. It has an average of 50 suicides per year.
“No, Darwin.”
“Ah, Da-”
… Darwin?
Uhhh…
Where even was that again?
Aside from Canberra, Tasmania and the three I mentioned earlier, I was totally ignorant about Australian geography.
“It’s up North in Australia, near the desert.”
“The desert?!”
This was a complete temperature change from the last heartbreak journey!
“He flew off just now. Even Wakaba-san couldn’t persuade him not to go. Apparently his parents, Wakaba-san, Yurie, and Aira were all trying to hold him back but he kept insisting that he was just going to clear his head for a bit. That it wouldn’t be long and it would just be a walk.”
And then he somehow ended up walking2 across the Pacific ocean, huh? Or had he parted it3? Either way, they were both quite miraculous feats… It seemed that this time he had skipped priesthood and went straight to apotheosis.
Messiah Masaya…
Perhaps it was nominative determinism.
But wow…
To think all this was happening while Shuu-kun and I were getting ready to go on our ‘super-duper-dreamy-lovey-dovey honeymoon romantic getaway ♥’… My sincerest apologies, everyone.
As I reflected on my impudence, Shuu-kun glanced at his watch.
It was already 11 pm.
“I’m fine with leaving at any time.” I clarified.
We could just use the luggages we packed for France and bring them to Australia instead, no?
I might have overpacked but the weather in France should be about the same as the temperature in the Australian desert’s June. Australia had opposite seasons from most other locations so it would be just about the start of winter then. In the worst case, if the desert nights were colder than expected, we could just layer our clothes.
Though maybe I should stuff a few more extra outerwears in our bags?
Just in case?
“Let’s see…”
Shuu-kun pulled out his phone.
“I’ll book us one way tickets for now.”
“Mm.”
“I can’t find any flights available but-”
-The Enjou family can just call any of their affiliated airlines and book two first class tickets easily, right?
I’m well acquainted with the powers of influential families.
“In four hours, 3:45 am. We’ll have a total flight time of seventeen hours with a two hour layover at Singapore as part of it. Is that alright?”
Staying up until then was rough but I did sign up for this.
I nodded.
“Alright. I’ll make the arrangements.” Ah. A sneaky kiss to the cheek before he stood up. “Thanks, Reika.”
“No need for thanks.” I waved to him as he started another round of calls.
Speaking of which…
I should call Wakaba-chan, huh?
--
Wakaba-chan was crying.
Uwaah… It was obvious she didn’t want to break up with Masaya-kun either.
Between her sobs, the reasonings I could make out were that the social barrier was too high after all and she just didn’t feel like herself, that she could be herself, if she were to become Mrs. Kaburagi.
Apparently, the thought of engagement had been a contentious topic for them the past few months. With Masaya-kun impatiently hoping to get engaged soon while Wakaba-chan was still struggling to adjust with the image of herself as the next ‘Mrs. Kaburagi’.
I listened to her as she wept.
I could understand her feelings.
It was hard for a girl who grew up in a normal household to deal with the pressure that came with the expectations of how to act as, how to look as, and how to be the next Kaburagi wife. The few commoners who married into high society struggled immensely because of how much of a paradigm shift it was for them.
Having to learn every single innate behaviour and knowledge that they’ve missed growing up, the harsh judgemental gazes of their new peers, and the farewell they’d have to give to their previous lives.
And if that was the experience that other former-commoners had to go through, one can only imagine how much more it would be for Wakaba-chan if she were to marry into Japan’s most powerful family.
Even I, a born Kisshouin, had my own trials and tribulations in preparing to be an Enjou and I was still at the starting line.
It didn’t matter if the Kaburagi family main branch had already approved of her as a person, it didn’t matter if she could deflect all the bullying and harassment like she did at Zui’ran, but it did matter if she couldn’t be herself anymore.
No more just riding her bicycle, no more helping out at her family’s bakery, no more of her favourite worn clothes, and a limit of her interactions with her family and working class friends.
It mattered dearly if she lost everything that a ‘normal woman’ would be able to do effortlessly and without scrutiny.
Wakaba-chan had definitely always been a resilient girl but there came a breaking point, even if she did love him; she wasn’t sure if it came to the point of losing herself.
That tension Wakaba-chan’s never talked about finally imploded and revealed itself shortly after Shuu-kun’s and my wedding.
Seeing his friends get married, Masaya-kun became impatient and finally asked Wakba-chan if her evasiveness was because she didn’t want to marry him.
And when she couldn’t immediately answer, he thought she didn’t love him anymore.
When she denied that and told him her true feelings, Masaya-kun told her he would renounce his family name for her which made her break up with him on the spot.
They had a huge fight about it.
He tried to take all his words back but she refused, thinking it would be better to end things than have both of them keep hurting.
“Wakaba-chan…”
As she was recounting the incident, she started hiccuping.
I felt so useless. All I could do was listen and offer trite words that did nothing to soothe her pain.
“A-anyway, Reika-chan.” I could hear her sniffling. “T-thank you for listening to me and… thank you to you and Shuusuke-kun for g-going to search for him and everything. I’m so sorry, I know it was your honeymoon tomorrow and you were so excited a-and-”
“Wakaba-chan, it’s okay.” I cut her off hastily before she devolved into any further self-blame. Unsure of what to say next, I just started spouting whatever reassuring words came to mind. “I, erm, I haven’t been to that particular area in Australia before so it could be fun to see! And I’m going with Shuu-kun anyway! So, it’s still like a honeymoon, no? No need to feel guilty about anything at all, okay? None of this is your fault or Masaya-kun’s fault.”
Well. Maybe it was a teensy bit of Masaya-kun’s fault for stubbornly deciding to disappear to Australia impromptu, but I held back my tongue.
Not now, Reika! Now wasn’t the time!
Wakaba-chan was hiccupping but she eventually replied again.
“I see… th-thank you again… I’m really glad to have you two as friends and that Masaya-kun has you two as well.”
“Mm, I’m very grateful to have you in our lives as well, Wakaba-chan.”
“A-and I know this is kind of shameless of me to ask since it’s all because of me but… please, please find Masaya.”
… Yeah.
Don’t worry. We will, Wakaba-chan.