User blog:Arvin30p/Summer with You – Kinugasa

Prologue
I remember the time that I wrote a letter to Samidare to ask her about how things were, how was her life and a lot more. Even so, I have faithfully written them and send them at the post office hoping for Mr. Postman to deliver that letter to her. But ever since I have sneaked a peek inside the past that I have forgotten, I realized that the letters weren’t sent at all.

And so, as I remember the letters that was send to Samidare; I remembered one letter that I intentionally didn’t send at all. But it was not for Samidare that the letter was addressed to. It was for someone else who means a lot to me. That person was my only emotional support until I managed to reconcile with the past.

And so, While I remembered that unsent letter of mine. I realized that Kino’s time is up.

�

== Kino’s Time: Side A==

It’s weekend, so Kino and I have gone out to our destination; Home. Home is where family is, some would say. But ever since that meeting with my so-called Big Sister Sazanami, I can’t help but wonder what is my family made of.

“Hiro, you seem a bit… serious? Was there a matter?” “Nothing much, I just have a dream where I had an older sister.” “Older sister? Hmm… If that’s the case, could it be that your dad had an affair before?” “I have no idea. But the strange part is… She looks like Sazanami.” “Sazanami?” Kino fell silent as we walk towards the front gate of my home. It was quite an estate though it’s size is something you can say that a rich guy lives there.

Soon, a servant greeted us as if she was expecting our arrival. “Young Master, Good Morning. Hana-sama is out and will be back at lunch.” “Is that so? Thanks for telling me. Anyways, did you feed the fishes?” “Yes, Young Master.” I stopped a bit and decided to let her just do her job rather than attend to our needs. We are already at the age where their service doesn’t matter. But since servants like them are quite considered family as well. “Umm… Don’t worry much about us Young Master, just do the business you need to Hana-sama.” “Oh!” Somehow, she was quite perceptive to let me go ahead. Kino was about to ask her, but since she did tell me to go ahead, I should accept that offer. “Kino, let’s go inside.” “Okay. And so, I thanked the servant and went in to have my business settled later.

Kino and I have a bit of a talk while we wait for mother who seemed to go out on a whim. Normally, she would arrive when it’s around 11 in the morning so while I think it’s fine to leave her like that; It’s unfair for me to let her starve as she enters the room.

“Kino, wanna cook something with me?” “Alright. Though I haven’t touched the utensils for quite some time. I wonder if my skills are getting rusty.” “Don’t worry. I’ll help you if you have questions. I am a chef afterall.” And Kino trusted my words as she took out the utensils in the nearby cabinet.

After a while, Kino who seemed to have rusted her skills made it looked that she didn’t rusted at all and made food with quite precision. With her knowledge on cooking methods, I wonder if she had lessons with a chef. “Hiro, pass me the crushed onions.” “Alright.” And so, while I have become a full-fledged chef. I become a sous chef on her command. Well, it’s a new experience for me since I was doing all the support work. All in a while, I keep staring at Kino as she gracefully moves her body while she cooks. It reminds me of the first time I saw her cook food. Even though her first cooking was called a disaster, I decided to support her with all my might so that she can be a good cook if she ever becomes a wife. It turns out, she would become my wife due to our parent’s decision.

“Hiro, you seemed to be daydreaming again.” Kino woke me up from that dream-like sequence as she pinches my cheek. “Sorry. I was so dazzled by the sight of you cooking.” “You did say that to me before, During Home Economics… Anyways, Thanks.” Kino shows a bit of a blush as she plays her hair a bit. “So, is the food ready?” I asked as I look at the tray behind her. “Not yet. It needs one more spice.” Kino spoke as she garnishes the tray.

Mom arrived a bit later than expected, but even so… we had out lunch ready so we just ate after Mom who was a bit ecstatic to see Kino and I visiting her. Of course, there is a reason for me to visit her asides from Kino’s instruction.

“Anyways Kino, if you want to have a kid with Hiro now, I wouldn’t mind turning a deaf ear for once.” “MOM!!!” Kino giggled as she welcomed that idea and places her hand onto her chest. “I won’t mind if Madam wants us to do it now.” “Kino, why are you following suit too?” “Because I am your betrothed, remember?” “…” “It’s fine if you are still feeling guilty about this. But Let’s just say, we have a bit of… teasing done to one another.” I decided to give up for Kino to stop persecuting me. After all, I made her mad by temporarily cancelling our engagement agreement to free her mom from the syndicate’s claws.

“Anyways, why did the two of you came here? I think, just a simple visit won’t let you visit here at all.” My mother who had a good time with the food we made started to talk serious to us. Kino and I faced mother as if we need to obey her once she becomes like this. Normally, there was really no need for me or Kino to visit her. But this time is different. From the looks from Kino, she wanted to ask something about business. “Madam Hana, I was wondering if you could listen to my business proposal.” “I would love to hear that. Hiro, do you have anything to ask now?” “Later Mom, my purpose is a bit personal.” “I see. Kino, let’s go to the meeting room. We need to discuss this a bit. By the way, does Hiro knows that proposal?” “Not yet Madam, I can’t leak this info yet to him before you approve this.” “I see. Well then, let’s have some discussion then.” After my mom said those words, Kino and Mom went to the meeting room to discuss business as usual. With nothing left to do for the moment, I decided to clean the dining table.

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== Hiro’s Inquiry.==

An hour has passed since Kino and my mom went to the meeting room to have some discussion, from the looks of things. I can feel that the meeting is over. Soon, the door opens and Kino came out a bit disappointed. “Sasdly, I still can’t approve this. You need to make sure that the returns are not based on trends and estimation.” “Yes Madam.” Kino who was downhearted came to my side and sighs to me. “She is quite tough.” “I told you. So, did you learn?” “Yeah. Anyways, I am a few steps closer to my dreams. I better not give up at this point.” “Then, I shall support you Kino with all I can.” “Hiro sure is dependable at times like this. I wished we are just real lovers at this moment.” “Yeah, I guess I could ask that too.” After I replied, I stood up and faced my mother and we went towards the meeting room. From the tone from Kino’s voice, she is going to be alright. “Hiro, I’ll be raiding your room first.” “Wait!!!” But the door of the meeting room closes before I could stop my childhood friend from rummaging my old room.

“So, what do you want to ask me about?’ My mom opens the question to me as she pours tea to my cup. “Ma, do I have an older sister?” “You have one indeed. But she is…” “Inside me?” I replied as I cut her sentence. My mom nodded as if she is agreeing to me.

“Since when?” I asked as I inquire more.

“After you were born, you are actually a stillborn child. So, Karen decided to give up her whole life to let you live into this world.” “But why did she do that? Can’t she just…” “Hiro, back then we don’t know if it’s possible for humans and ship-girls to have babies.” I fell silent to my mom’s remark. It was still unknown if it was possible for a ship-girl back then to give birth. Let alone conceive a child. But my mom, who was is a hybrid was the first one of her kind to give birth. “Sorry. I have been insensitive.” “Idiot. Of course, there is no way I’ll let you die without a fight. Karen is just wanting you to appreciate this world by giving up her life to you who is the product of a miracle which could be an important miracle to the world. And after that, I have heard some rumors that some ship-girls got pregnant and bore children in the process.” “I see… so there are a lot of hybrids since then.” “Yup. Be thankful. Karen sure is happy right now.” “Yeah. I did meet her once…” “Oh.” My mother had a rather very refreshing surprised look as I mentioned that I met Karen, of course I didn’t really mention the details since she might worry about my wellbeing.

“I have one more question.” I opened a question to mom as I look at her. “Where did my letters go?” My mom smiled and she pointed out the room at the attic. “Thanks. Can I ask why did you do that?” “Back then, I have decided that it’s dangerous for you two to be together.” “Why!?” “Because if you met her before you have matured, you could have died consequently.” “But we don’t know until…” “Hiro, I have seen it. I can’t shake that possibility back then whenever I try to sever your communication with Aoi. I can’t let Smith’s and Karen’s efforts go to waste.

“You could have at least send one of those… Why?” “Because, you would be too dependent on one another if I didn’t separate you two. Of course, I have considered the consequences of doing this, it’s just that Aoi’s fate is totally tied to you.” “Totally tied? What reason?” “Back then, I just let you two do whatever you want for if there is no foul play. However, on the day of your graduation, you swore that you would take Aoi with you and run away, that’s why I have made my plans a few years before.” “Your plan is for me to meet Kino? Right?” “Yes. But even after that meeting, your dependency didn’t wane. So, In the end, I have made the worst move possible. I decided to separate the two of you by making you change schools. Of course, the letter business was already seen through once I have learned that you started buying pieces of paper and lots of envelops along the way.” “I see.” “But, even without intervening with the letters, we have learned that since the townsfolk would just burn any letters addressed to Aoi, I decided to let some of it go.” “Eh?” “Yes Hiro, the moment you have started High School, we send some of those letters and the agents notified me that they burned those letters after they learned who is the recipient of those letters.” “In the end… I just let you do as you pleased. Sorry.” “I understand.” I stood up and drink the tea. After emptying the cup, I felt a bitter sensation running inside of me.

“Hiro. Let me say this once, but there are some letters that were claimed by someone and took it from the inventory.” For once I was totally surprised to hear that there are some letters that were managed to get out of the security. For some reason, I felt that the person who took it is someone I have always been with for so long. “I understand Mom, anyways… I want to know a lot more about my big sister, can you tell me those stories?” “Yeah. I can totally do that.”

And so, Mom and I have a little story telling session after that meeting.

�

Kino’s Time: Side B
Kino’s POV

After Hiro and Hana-sama went inside to have discussion, I decided to raid Hiro’s room which should have been untouched since then. Knowing Hiro, He could have hidden some of his secret stash of pornographic materials underneath his bed or many places since he is indeed a growing boy back in those days.

I entered the room and I saw that the room was properly maintained and was devoid of dust. Even though I remember he went back here last May 30, there’s no way dust would not accumulate here unless it was specified to maintain this place.

Hiro was also known to have protected a lot of secrets since he is quite a trust-worthy person. They would trust him in a truest sense and even so, even he himself trust in his ways of hiding information. I looked underneath the bed to check but there was nothing he could place underneath since it was a covered. And from the looks of it, there is no way I can hide something as thick as a magazine underneath it without having to carry the bed itself.

I looked underneath the bed sheets and found none. I looked behind the bookshelf and all I see is his collection of trading cards. They aren’t even pornographic to begin with. I looked underneath the Aquarium, but I wonder if he would put something there. Knowing him, he might put it inside. I looked inside the Aquarium and found nothing. It seems that there wasn’t any reason for him to hide in a place like that. And so, with all the common spots and the unusual methods have been used and I still couldn’t find one. Was Hiro this clean? Was he this perfect? I really wonder that myself. I sat on the bed and I looked up and saw the ceiling that looked like a sky at night. “I would definitely hide something above it…” And as I said those words, an idea flashed upon me like a lightbulb.

The ceiling wasn’t too high but it wasn’t too low. With the help of an A-ladder, I reached the top and tap to a specific space that deemed suspicious, the corner of the ceiling. As soon as I lifted that part, I already felt that I have found my target.

There were 2 piles of Magazines found on that hidden compartment of his room. It seems that Hiro has forgotten about them since the issues were quite old. I guess this would sell well on a junkshop. But even so. To think I found something that would make Hiro an ordinary guy really pleases me. As soon as I took one magazine from the pile, a letter fell.

“A letter?” It was old but it’s in good condition since it was sealed in an airtight container. But I wonder why Hiro would left a letter there at that place. And So, I opened the letter.

After reading that letter. Tears trickle down my face. It was a very strange letter that Hiro wrote for me back then. It had nothing but apologies aimed to me at the beginning. In the middle, it was filled with happiness and in the end… There was nothing written in the end. I guess Hiro didn’t finished it since he didn’t need to. But even so… Why a part of me felt aching as I still wait for that ending?

And before I could wipe my tears away, I saw Hiro with a surprised look on his face as if he saw a ghost. �

An undelivered letter
I saw Kino holding on to the letter I didn’t sent to her. She was crying. Yes, the girl who rarely cries is currently crying over the content of the letter which was written for her. The letter was my way of accepting Kino into my life. But it had one flaw. It didn’t have a conclusion. And thus, I have failed to send that letter to her after all these years of being together. And now…

“Kino. Did you read it?” “Yup.” I sat beside Kino and I gently wipe the tears from her eyes. “You want know what’s the ending?” “Yeah.”

For me, Kino has been my emotional support and my greatest partner-in-crime. Without her, I couldn’t have done anything at all and stayed up coop in my own delusions. Yes, I have been too dependent on Aoi that’s why we are forced to be apart. Even though the damage has been done and I can’t repair that once better relationship I have with Aoi back then. I am grateful to meet Kino during those days of my melancholy.

“Kino, at the end of the letter. I want to tell you that…” For some reason, I remember Kino’s face whenever I held her hand as we go for a walk. That smile that completely brightened up the mood around us is something that I can’t forget after all these years. In the end, we are just the same; We both yearn for someone who would be when the time comes. “I want to tell you that I appreciate the fact that you have entered my life, and I am thankful for being there for me in times of good and bad.” Kino didn’t cry after she heard those words. It seems that she is quite an adult now before I noticed it. Afterall, if she cries over this; it would be a big embarrassment for her as a businesswoman. In the end, she smiled and she rests her head on her shoulders. “Hiro is so meanie. You could have say that you love me too.” “I got it. I love you Kino. These are my true feelings during those moments.” “Thanks. I love you too… even up till now.” Love between adults is not much spectacular nor sparkly. But, it was such a powerful scene that emits mutual trust to one another. “Let’s see… Even if you married Sazanami in the future. In the end, you can’t be legally married to her since she would be considered dead already because of her death certificate back when she was human. But even so, registering her as a person would totally take time and such, you two might not make it at all.”

“I am willing to bet on that. Afterall, we can just influence those people if we wanted too.” “Geez, you truly cherish her more than you used to… Can’t help it. I shall lend a hand but in one condition.” “What is it. You must marry me legally and have those people who keep wooing me shut up at the sight of us kissing at the altar. Of course, I will welcome Kumano as your mistress too. I can make them think of Sazanami as a mistress but in real life, I would totally let you two marry for real.” “I see… but…” “But my condition for making me do that is this…”

Kino pushed me and she took my hand and guided it towards her stomach. “But first, I want an offspring.” I can’t help but feel scared to what kind of transformation did my childhood friend undergo to become someone like this.

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== Kino’s secret==

I woke up and around 4 in the midnight. I was in my room along with Kino who was sleeping peacefully. After she declared those words to me, I tried to escape which I managed to pull through, but Mother had spiked my tea which in turn made me go asleep after breaking free.

The servants seem to be worried about what happened, but Kino who was surprised to see me collapsing said that I just fell asleep. After that, I was carried to the bed and Kino seems to have engrossed herself on reading those pornographic magazines that I have yet to dispose of.

Even so, I just woke up now which seems that I have missed dinner altogether, I stood up and have a look at the cute sleeping face of Kino as she says something in her dreams.

I stood up and went to the dining room to find something to eat. Luckily, the food was properly kept and is currently heated to a degree where I can call It fresh once I reheated it.

“Sometimes, I wonder if Mom wanted to tease me or something…” The Ramen I am eating is now completely empty as I said those words. Soon, I felt something strange running inside my body.

I saw a note on the table which was made by Kino herself.

''To Hiro, If you are reading this, it means that you have eaten my specialty ramen that Houshou-san had taught me a few days ago. Come to the bed after eating this, after all; I have spiked this with aphrodisiacs that would make you unable to go outside unless you do it to me. Ufufufu, now submit those worldly desires to me. From Kino P.S. Just so you know, it would take at least a day for that to wear off if you don’t do anything. However, it would vanish once you have done the deed.''

I staggered to get myself back to the bed and when I entered the room, I saw Kino already changing her clothes. But Kino who seems to be expecting my arrival pulled me inside as she lets herself get attacked by me who was still trying to fight the urges inside of me.

But even so…

Later that morning, I lost myself and have Kino as the victim of my own lust.

It was afternoon when I woke up. I noticed the smile on Kino’s face as she sleeps beside me. I took a shower and changed my clothes and have some food before I wake Kino up. This time, I checked if the food is spiked or poisoned. But I found it futile since there’s no way they can do it the second time. And so, I eat my meal in peace as I chew my food.

Last night, before I got myself lost to my own desires. I heard Kino uttered something in her sleep. I tried to remember the contents but since I wasn’t even awake back then… I couldn’t finish remembering it at all. But I remember one sentence that she said as I accidentally heard it from her mouth,

“I wonder if the ocean is still blue at your side?” A voice spoke as I opened my eyes. Kino who is now wearing her uniform (as a ship-girl) said those words while holding a letter which I have a recollection of. “That’s…”

Kino sat down beside me and she presented that letter to me. “Hiro, I want to know what you mean with those words meant?” I was bewildered at first, but knowing from what my mother told me yesterday. It seems she took one letter inside the vault and it was the last letter I sent to Aoi. But Kino bought the letter using the money she saved so that it won’t get burned when the mailman delivered it.

“Kino, have you heard what was our discussion all about?” “No. I was busy looking for stuff at your room.” “Aren’t you lying?” “It would be too nice of me if I was lying.” “Alright.”

I relaxed myself as I opened that letter. It only has one sentence in that letter which really mean a lot for me.

“it means that ‘did something happened while I am not there?’ Well, I am just trying to communicate with her for the last time. But...” Kino tapped me at the shoulder and she signaled me that it’s alright. “What important is that you two have met finally. And she still loves you, right?” “Yeah. But she is a bit reserved on those matters.” “Then wait for her… wait until she can finally love herself. That’s the only way for her to love you too without holding back. Of course, I won’t sit around the corner and wait. I will take my chances too.”

And so, Kino and I have finally done what we need to do her. Also, it seems that her aim altogether is my body so I think she reached her quota for that moment. As for me, it seems that I got everything that I need to know plus that deed with Kino. Anyways, it’s time for us to say farewell to this place. My mom would totally pester us to leave her an heir. But that would wait later since we won’t be dying anytime sooner. �

Epilogue:
The Punchline of the story. Rather, the result of all the things that build up at that point. Kino and I returned and we are welcomed with work as always. Afterall, it was a busy day but even so. I am somewhat relieved that my troubles were now explained. I won’t have to worry much about them anymore. I just should leave it all to my ever-so dependable partner-in-crime.

With Sazanami and I finished our work together. I realized how much has changed ever since I met Kino a few years back then. If I didn’t met Kino, I would have kept my heart close for long periods of time until I committed suicide due to depression and neglect.

And so, I think Samidare will be fine in the end. Afterall, we have met one another at a time like this. It was indeed a miracle. But even so, thanks to her that life seems to have moved on a way I wanted it to be. And I will not worry about anything anymore.

And so, I asked Sazanami to sleep with me tonight at my room as her reward for doing her best. Of course, I will tell her something amazing too before we gave in to our lust which seems to be a bit on a loose as of now.

I asked Sazanami what would happen if I didn’t met Kino back then. “If Master didn’t meet Kino-san back then? It’s a simple answer, you could have meet the ever-so-charming me and might as well ask my hand when we get older. But even if you didn’t meet with the Kino-san back then… I am sure that you two will meet. After all, you two are living in the same world. And if some miracle happened that you two didn’t meet after all these… I must say Kumano-san will be there as your bride. Of course, I will be here for you too. So, praise me more Master.”

Hearing Sazanami’s words made me smile since it’s 100% guaranteed that Kino and I will meet no matter what happened. I guess it’s right for me to reward her for being with me for the longest time.

And with that question already resolved. I carried Sazanami into the room and there we will talk a lot of things until the heat got us to do it. After all, we are still young and foolish even if we have grown matured.

End.