Tokyo: Oreimo

Chapter 197 Oh, because I like you

December 24th, Christmas Eve.

The streets of Tokyo are adorned with Christmas decorations, tall Christmas trees stand in front of shopping malls, and shop windows are filled with gift boxes tied with red ribbons.

"Jingle Bells" and "Last Christmas" were playing on a loop everywhere.

Ryosuke stood on the platform of Chiba Station, wearing a thick dark gray coat and a navy blue scarf around his neck.

He would normally wear the red scarf Ling Nai gave him, but his sister sternly stopped him before he went out and made him wear a dark blue one instead.

He glanced down at his phone.

The screen displayed a message sent by Phoenix Inu Saori ten minutes ago.

"I'm getting on the bus. It's really cold today."

It was followed by a trembling emoticon.

Ryosuke smiled and typed a few words before sending them.

"Who told you to go to the beach in December?"

The reply came very quickly.

"romantic."

In short, it can be summed up in two words: self-righteous and confident.

Ryosuke shook his head helplessly and put his phone back in his pocket.

The trolley signaled its arrival at the station, and the headlights, growing ever closer, illuminated the tracks as the train pulled into the platform, bringing with it a gust of cold air.

The car doors opened, and the crowd poured out.

Ryosuke spotted her immediately.

Phoenix Inu Saori wore a beige long coat with a section of dark red turtleneck sweater peeking out from the collar. Her long black hair was draped over her shoulders, making her face appear even whiter than usual.

She stood in the crowd like a camellia blooming in the snow, excessively conspicuous.

Saori saw him too.

She raised her hand and waved at him, then strode over in her high heels, the heels clicking crisply on the platform.

"Wait for a long time?"

She stopped in front of him, looked up at him, and her breath condensed between them before quickly dissipating.

"No, I just arrived."

Ryosuke looked at her nose, which was slightly red from the cold, and reached out to take off his scarf and wrap it around her neck.

Saori paused for a moment.

A navy blue scarf was wrapped around her beige coat. The color was a bit jarring, but it was warm and carried the warmth of Ryosuke's body.

"...You'll get cold like that."

She reached out and touched the edge of the scarf, her voice softer than usual.

"I'm not cold."

As Ryosuke spoke, he turned up the collar of his coat.

Saori looked at him for two seconds, then burst out laughing.

"What? You're clearly shrinking back yourself."

"No."

Yes, I just saw it.

She tiptoed and wrapped one end of the scarf back around Ryosuke's neck.

The navy blue scarf formed a soft bridge around their necks, like a thread binding them together.

"That's good."

Saori looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction, and then naturally took Ryosuke's arm.

"Let's go to the beach."

.....

The train ride from Chiba to the seaside Makuhari takes about 20 minutes.

The carriage wasn't crowded. The two sat side by side, Saori leaning on Ryosuke's shoulder, one hand linked with his arm, the other holding her phone as she browsed forum posts.

"Look at this one."

She handed her phone to Ryosuke; the screen displayed a trending post from the forum.

The title is: "Anyone watching 'White Album 2' alone at home on Christmas Eve? Come join us for some warmth."

The comments below have already reached hundreds of posts.

"Raise your hand. My girlfriend went back to her hometown, and I'm playing and crying alone in my apartment."

"At least the person upstairs has a girlfriend, but I don't even have one."

"Which route are you guys on? I just got to the final chapter. I heard the floating route is really scary, and I'm hesitating about whether to continue."

"I suggest you don't play, seriously. Take my advice, don't do anything reckless on Christmas Eve."

"It's too late, I'm already crying. Touma Kazusa, you're not human, and Gen Urobuchi is even less human."

Ryosuke's lips twitched after reading it.

"These guys..."

"Isn't it cute?"

Saori smiled, put her phone away, and continued scrolling down.

"Your forum is really lively now. When I first registered, there were only a little over 5,000 users, but now it has over 8,000."

"Moreover, many people are writing long reviews, analyzing the plot and characters, and they are writing them more seriously than the book reports written in school."

She swiped the screen a few times, then suddenly stopped on a post.

"Look at this."

Ryosuke leaned closer to take a look.

The post is titled: "A psychological analysis of the character design of Touma Kazusa in 'White Album 2': Typical manifestations of avoidant attachment personality in romantic relationships."

The poster's ID is "Touma Party Lifetime Member," the same person who wrote the two-thousand-word review before.

The post begins with Touma Kazusa's childhood experiences and analyzes her behavioral patterns in relationships, such as low self-esteem, avoidance, and self-deprecation.

The study cited numerous psychological documents and concluded that Touma Kazusa's tragedy was the result of a combination of her personality and her single-parent environment, rather than simply a lack of courage.

The last paragraph of the post reads:

"So, instead of asking why Touma doesn't take the initiative, we should think about what made her the way she is now."

It wasn't that she didn't want to reach out; it was that no one had ever held her hand since she was a child.

For someone like that, taking the first step is much harder than we imagine.

After reading this passage, Saori remained silent for a while.

"This person writes quite well," she said softly.

"Ah."

Ryosuke responded.

"However, he still missed one thing."

Saori turned off her phone screen, turned her head to look at Ryosuke, her dark eyes reflecting the street scene rushing past the window.

"It is very difficult for people with avoidant attachment style to get out of it on their own."

"She needs someone to lend a helping hand."

"Even if she initially dodges, pushes away, and raises all her thorns."

"But as long as that person keeps reaching out, she'll eventually take his hand."

She paused for a moment, and a slight smile curved her lips.

"Just like your sister."

Ryosuke paused for a moment.

"...Ling Nai?"

"Ah."

Saori nodded, put her phone back in her coat pocket, took Ryosuke's arm again, and rested her face on his shoulder.

"Your sister, although her personality is different from the characters you create, is surprisingly similar in her reactions to emotions."

"She's like a cat with its fur standing on end."

"He looks fierce and scratches anyone who gets close, but he's actually just scared."

She closed her eyes, her voice lowered, as if she were talking in her sleep.

"So you have to keep your hand outstretched."

"No matter how many times she pushes you away, you have to keep your hand out."

"Because that cat can only be held by your hand."

The tram passed station after station, and the sky outside the window changed from gray-blue to light gold.

Ryosuke looked down at Saori, who was leaning on his shoulder. Her eyelashes cast a faint shadow on her face, and her breathing was even and steady, as if she were asleep.

"Saori".

"Ok?"

Why are you so concerned about Ling Nai?

Saori didn't open her eyes, but the curve of her lips deepened.