Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [75]

8:30 p.m.

“Onii-chan, why isn’t Dad home yet? Is he out having fun somewhere? Could he possibly…”

In the living room of the Hikigaya family’s new home, Komachi, sprawled beside her dark-haired older brother Hachiman and lazily flipping through a manga, suddenly turned her head and asked.

As she spoke, she cast a quick glance at their cousin Akeno—lying next to them—and nudged her brother lightly with an elbow.

Both girls had their own wounds and had wordlessly agreed never to mention each other’s mothers.

Akeno’s mother had passed away.
Komachi’s mother had run off with another man.

“Mhm.”

Hikigaya Hachiman answered with his usual deadpan tone, a single noncommittal sound, clearly distracted.

“Geez… Doesn’t Onii-chan care where Dad goes?” Komachi huffed, tossing her manga aside and tugging at her brother’s sleeve.

The Hikigaya household was still short on appliances—so short that the three of them didn’t even have a TV to watch.

They had a soybean milk maker, a rice cooker, and a laptop their father often took away for work.

Oh, and also an old washing machine and an air conditioner the previous owner had left behind, too much trouble to haul off.

Two weeks earlier, Ryōhei had bought some manga to keep Komachi and Akeno entertained.

Tonight, after finishing the dinner prepared by their brother, the two girls sat on either side of him on the sofa, quietly reading.

At first glance, Hachiman looked like he was living the dream.

Two adorable, tidy little sisters (well, one sister and one cousin) nestled beside him reading manga, while he flipped through one of his father’s social science books.

Studying!
Only through studying could he live up to their father’s hard work supporting the family.

To enter a national university, he needed to handle both humanities and sciences. Though his strengths lay in the humanities, that was no excuse to slack off.

He needed to bloom in both to make it to Tōdai.

Besides, he’d spent the whole afternoon grinding through physics and chemistry; switching to reading now was a good way to relax his brain.

His short-term goal was clear: dominate the humanities and show visible improvement in the sciences by midterms.

Though he barely responded, he could feel Komachi’s restlessness beside him.

Remembering how he’d run into their mother earlier that afternoon while grocery shopping, he sighed softly and closed his book.

While Dad wasn’t home, he should probably talk to Komachi—tell her not to bring up their mother in front of him anymore.

That woman had already chosen what she valued most.

Life is about choices.

And she had chosen someone else.

It was cruel for Komachi at her age, but a mother like that might as well not exist.

Better to become strangers entirely.

“Komachi, Dad’s an adult, not a kid. He has obligations and needs to see people. Remember when he worked at his old company? He used to come home late all the time. He even drank back then.”

Hachiman reached out, gently patting the kneeling girl’s head, lightly squeezing the tuft of hair on top. His voice was uncharacteristically soft—filled with quiet brotherly warmth.

“Aha… I know, I know! You don’t have to sound so serious all of a sudden. Komachi’s a sensible girl! Or rather, I’m practically not a kid anymore!” The dark-haired girl squinted, smiling brightly.

She was still curious, of course, but her brother’s seriousness told her something had changed.

“Hey, Komachi, you’re definitely still a kid! You sound so weird saying that!”

Akeno, long used to the Hikigaya siblings’ rhythm, sat neatly to Hachiman’s right. Hearing Komachi’s proud tone, she giggled teasingly.

Truth be told, living with the Hikigayas made Akeno deeply content.

Her uncle, though not openly affectionate, clearly cared for her. Cousin Hachiman and Cousin Komachi were both genuinely kind. And though Hachiman looked scary at first glance, that was just his face—he was actually very gentle.

“Akeno, you’re more of a kid than me! You’re a whole year younger!”

Komachi’s cheeks flushed pink. She loved acting spoiled around her brother but had forgotten Akeno was there too.

Leaning across Hachiman’s legs, she playfully squeezed her cousin’s soft cheeks.

Squeeze, squeeze. The two girls immediately started goofing around, leaving the black-haired boy between them sighing helplessly.

“Now I can’t even read…”

Hikigaya Hachiman fixed his trademark dead-fish eyes on them, muttering irritably.

“Ouch! Don’t step on me!”

Somehow, a small bare foot had landed on him.

Hachiman did not feel blessed.

Little sisters could be exhausting.

And yet, hearing their laughter, the heaviness that had lingered in his chest all afternoon slowly faded.

I wonder what kind of new mom Dad might find for us…

Leaning back against the sofa, Hachiman stared at the ceiling, tuning out his sisters’ laughter as a strange thought drifted through his mind—

Or rather, a faint premonition.

After all, Dad had never said anything about it. He hadn’t even mentioned their mother in the last two months.

As if she’d never existed.

When there’s no hatred left, love fades too, doesn’t it?

Dad and Mom were truly over.

...

Just as Hachiman reached enlightenment, at the Miura household gate—under Miura Fusako’s fierce (and vaguely threatening) gaze, Machida gathered her courage and called softly after Hikigaya Ryōhei.

Her voice was gentle yet shy, surprisingly girlish—if one ignored her age.

“Hikigaya-san! Goodbye… I look forward to next t-time!!”

By then, Ryōhei had already waved goodbye and walked several steps away when Miss Machida nervously stammered her farewell—an unmistakable sign of interest and hope for a next meeting.

To Miura Fusako, though, it was painfully restrained.

Was this really the best a thirty-one-years-and-seven-months-old woman with zero dating experience could do?

On the way home, Fusako had urged her to be bolder—but not a single word had come out!

From Fusako’s perspective, they were both adults. Even if she didn’t go as far as “I want to sleep with you,” she could’ve at least managed “I want to date you,” right?

Machida didn’t live in Chiba, so she’d be staying over at Fusako’s place tonight.

That, too, was part of Fusako’s spur-of-the-moment plan—to give Ryōhei a reason to walk them home together.

Another perfect chance for that timid woman to spend a bit more time with him!

“Machida-san, today was really unfortunate. I’m sure your luck will turn around next time.”

Since the woman had made her feelings so clear, whether he intended to or not, Ryōhei had to stop, turn back, and reply politely.

From their brief time together, he found Machida rather interesting—and yes, undeniably attractive.

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This is a fan translation of 比企谷大叔永远年轻 by Stargazer All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!