Chapter 23: CH 23

8-10 minutes 03.05.2023

(POV Chiharu)

The morning following that delightful Christmas Eve, Chiaki and Chinatsu surprisingly rose from their sleep early today. The reason for their eagerness was the arrival of the clothes and accessories we had ordered a few days prior, which were due to be delivered this day. Among the items were a stylish black down coat, a charming beige marine cap, and a pair of pink diamond-shaped earrings.

Additionally, we had also ordered a trendy T-shirt featuring a fashionable logo, which happened to be pink for me.  Even though the distressed jeans and down coats weren’t pink, I still like the pink color.

We were eagerly waiting and waiting for the delivery to arrive. For now, we had spread our homework out on the desk, but even Chifuyu couldn’t concentrate.

“Ugh! I can’t wait to wear my new clothes!” Chiaki said.

“Can you please be quiet? I can’t focus!” Chinatsu replied.

It was clear that we weren’t getting any homework done at this rate. We were just mindlessly spreading out our papers.

“Chinatsu, you haven’t even answered one question,” Chiaki pointed out.

“Well, your loud voice is distracting me!”

As the two were bickering, the doorbell rang. Instantly, the three girls exchanged hopeful glances, hoping that the delivery had finally arrived.

Chiaki was the first to leave the room and head downstairs. After her, Chifuyu followed suit, and I quickly trailed behind them. The last one to follow was Chinatsu, who followed me closely.

At the entrance, we could see Onii-san receiving a large cardboard box from the delivery man. He placed the box near us.

“Can we open it!?” .

“Of course,” he replied.

Chiaki opened the large box, and we found inside a bundle of clothes we had ordered recently.

Uwaaa, I can’t wait to wear them….No! I can’t; I must maintain my composure as the older sister and approach this with a calm demeanor.

“Uwaaa! Look, there’s my down coat!”

“And Chifuyu’s distressed jeans…”

“And my yellow cap….”

The three of them eagerly began the unboxing ceremony. Meanwhile Onii-san watched them with a satisfied expression.

“Thank you, Onii-san,”

“You don’t have to thank me so many times,” he replied before returning to the living room.

“Let’s try them on right away!” Chiaki said..

With excitement bubbling inside us, we rushed back to our room and eagerly tried on our new clothes. We added some finishing touches by putting on hats and earrings.

“Ohh, I feel like a stylish and intelligent beauty!” exclaimed Chiaki, admiring her reflection.

“I completely agree. I feel like a stylish and intelligent beauty as well,” Chinastu added

“Intelligent…” Chifuyu murmured weirdly, looking at the other two.

The three of them marveled at each other’s outfits. All three had impeccable taste. Their sense of fashion was shining brightly, almost blindingly so.

However, despite the similarity in colors, there was an overall difference in our outfits that couldn’t be overlooked. We all wore black down coats, and our logo shirts were pink for me, yellow for Chinatsu, red for Chiaki, and blue for Chifuyu. Our earrings were diamond-shaped and had different colors that matched our shirts logos .

As for our jeans, I wore black, Chinatsu also wore black, Chiaki wore blue, and Chifuyu wore distressed blue. We also wore different-colored marine caps that matched our shirts.

Even though we knew what we were getting when we picked out our clothes on the computer, I couldn’t help but wonder if sisters have similar tastes.

“Let’s go show Kaito!” Chiaki suggested.

“Y-Yeah…but I think my hair got a little messed up when I put my shirt on…” Chifuyu added.

“Yes, he bought them for us after all,”

Led by Chiaki, we headed downstairs once again. It felt like I was walking on air, my steps lighter than usual. It was surprising how much of a difference an outfit could make.

“Kaito! How do I look?” Chiaki asked excitedly.

“You all look great,” he replied, giving us a thumbs up. Oniisan’s compliment was evenly distributed among all of us, not just Chiaki.

“Hehe, I knew it!” Chiaki beamed.

“Absolutely perfect,”

“Ohh, thank you!”

“….Um, speaking of which, how about we go to the first shrine visit of the year together?” Oniisan suggested.

“Sounds good! Lets do that! Is that okay with everyone?” Chiaki asked.

“Yeah… I think I would like to try going to the shrine in this outfit,” Chifuyu agreed.

“As long as it’s not a hassle for you, Onii-san,”

“If Chiharu is going, then…” Chinatsu said

Oniisan’s suggestion was met with strong approval from Chiaki, and Chinatsu and Chifuyu also agreed.

“Kaito, where are we going for the shrine visit?” Chiaki asked.

“Probably to the Saikyo Fudoson,”

“Where is that?”

“It’s near Seibu stadium. Since parking is always difficult for the shrine visit, we might have to take the train.”

“Wow, that sounds great! I’m looking forward to it even more now!”

Oniisan couldn’t help but smile at Chiaki’s carefree expression, and I also felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

As a result, I was also looking forward to the New Year’s shrine visit.

◆◆

(POV Kaito)

“….And that’s what happened.”

“So, you mean to say that you’re happy that they enjoyed the Christmas presents?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

A few days had passed since the major event of Christmas. While organizing some documents at work, I bragged to my colleague Sasaki about the past few days.

“So, you received those Christmas cards?”

“Yeah, that’s correct.”

I held four laminated cards in my hand, which I had received from my four daughters. I had decided to bring these cards to my workplace.

“Can I take a look?”

“Don’t mess them up.”

“No, they’re laminated, aren’t they?”

I handed Sasaki four Christmas cards, each with a cute drawing and a message of gratitude.

“‘I love Kaito so much. I love him as much as hamburgers and fried chicken. Thank you for cooking for me every day. Kaito’s cooking is always delicious, even the miso soup and potato salad.’ This one is all about food…”

“That’s what’s great about it. Plus, this child thinks about many things, not just food.”

“I see…”

After reading Chiaki’s card first, Sasaki looked at the second card.

“‘Thank you for always doing various things for Chifuyu and the others. It’s getting colder, so please stay warm when you sleep.’… What’s with this formal language, and this child’s drawing is not very good.”

“It’s a sincere and good message. Don’t say the drawing is bad, it’s unique.”

“R-right, sorry… um, what’s next?”

He looked at Chifuyu’s card and placed it at the back of the stack before moving on to Chinatsu’s card.

“‘Thank you for always taking care of me. I look forward to living with you in the future.’… It’s concise.”

“Sometimes simple is best. Chinatsu probably struggled to come up with something.”

“Well, it’s neither good nor bad.”

“It’s the best she could do.”

Sasaki looked at the last card, which was from Chiharu.

“‘Onii-san, thank you for always taking care of me. I can’t do much, but I hope this card conveys my gratitude even a little. I look forward to living with you in the future.’… This child’s message is also formal.”

“She’s just being sincere.”

After receiving the cards from Sasaki, I immediately put them away in the desk drawer. It made me feel like a father who puts his daughters’ photos on his work desk; it gave me motivation, or rather, it lifted my spirits.

“Christmas will be over soon, but what about New Year’s money?” Sasaki asked.

“Of course, I should give them money. Since they’re in fourth grade, let’s give them 4000 yen,”

“What’s with that strange logic… well, my parents used to do it too,”

During the New Year’s holiday, I have to do a big cleaning, and make traditional dishes like ozoni and osechi.

“Don’t overdo it or you’ll collapse, you know?”

“I’m fine. I’m full of energy right now.”

“Well, that’s good, but…if you take time off work, it’ll be a burden on me, so please take it easy.”

I would really like to make this dumb colleague drink a decoction of my daughters’ nail clippings.

Nevertheless, events will just keep coming after Christmas, with New Year’s following right after. So companies must be offering discounts on toys and games.

I wonder if 4,000 yen is really enough for a New Year’s gift or what the actual market rate is. Maybe I’ll ask  Miyamoto-san later.

As I was pondering over these matters, an unexpected itch crept up on my nose, causing me to reflexively cover my mouth with my hand and let out a sneeze.

“Hey, don’t take a break! I won’t have anyone to talk to in the workplace!”

“I’m aware,” I replied.

My coworker sitting next to me, Sasaki, gave me a quizzical look, but I just sneezed because I felt a sudden chill. I knew it was best not to engage in idle chatter while on the job, so I refocused my attention on the task at hand.