Kurosawa Akira

Prologue

Summer… The warm season of the year had finally begun.

The season that so many people anxiously await… During this supposedly enjoyable season, many people like to go to the beach to swim in the ocean, others prefer to go to the mountains to explore the countryside while a smaller bunch prefer to stay at home and spend time with their families.

All of them share that same feeling… They all celebrate that the wonderful summer has finally arrived.

For me? It is actually one of the busiest times of the year. I don't dislike it, but it is not a particularly enjoyable season for me…

Because it is my busiest time of the year, I don't have the time to go to the beach, I don't go to the nearby mountains either because I have already explored them a decent amount of times, so I no longer see the appeal of going and as for staying home with my family… I no longer have one.

I lost my grandmother two years ago to cancer. She fought the good fight before passing away. She was very stubborn to the very end and she didn't let the grim reaper do its job until she had finally run out of strength.

She was my only family member ever since I was 13 years old. Well, I suppose that's not entirely correct…

I apparently have an aunt who lives in Tokyo, but according to my grandmother, she had a fallout with my grandma and my mother, and they never spoke again after my aunt turned 21 years old.

She was my mom's little sister and I have never met her.

So, as I was saying, my grandmother was my only family ever since my mom died when I was 13 years old.

My dad? He's a deadbeat who abandoned us when I was 8 years old. He told all of us that he was going back to Tokyo to get a university degree and disappeared from the face of the Earth after spending a month in the city.

That's right, the bastard actually pulled an "I'm gonna buy some milk/cigarettes" on us…

I don't really hate him, but I definitely don't want to see him again after all the things he made my mom go through.

I also had my grandfather, but he died when I was 12-years-old. He was my role model and my paternal figure.

My grandfather is also the reason why summer is one of the busiest times of the year for me.

Brrr… Brrr…

A loud buzzing sound echoed in my bedroom…

"Time to start the day…" I said to myself as I sluggishly raised my upper body.

I quickly reached for my smartphone to stop the annoying buzzing sound that was provoked by my daily alarm.

"4:30 am… So freaking early…" I let out a depressed sigh, thinking that it would be fine to sleep for a little longer.

"No! There's a lot to be done today! I don't have the luxury to sleep in." I spoke with annoyance as I repeatedly slapped my cheeks as a punishment for being lazy.

Without wasting any more time, I got up from my bed and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and brush my teeth. If I wanted to have breakfast, I had to be quick.

As I said before, it is thanks to my grandfather that this is one of the busiest seasons of the year for me.

After his death, both he and my grandmother left our ancestral home, a farm, to me.

I didn't find out about that detail until after his funeral when my mom was going through his will. She was surprised that grandpa and grandma had left everything to the two of us.

Of course, since I was obviously a child at the time, my Mom and my grandma still took care of everything around the house while I merely helped them when I wasn't at school.

But now that they are all gone and I am an adult, this farm, their legacy, it all belongs to me. It is all up to me to keep their legacy alive.

"Phew… Nothing like a cold shower first thing in the morning!" I said as I got out of my shower and stepped in front of the mirror.

I was greeted by the usual sight of a young man in his early twenties. Short black hair, slightly tanned skin, brown eyes, about 1.79 meters tall with a little bit of muscle thanks to his physically exhausting job and a few minor scars here and there.

It was no one other than myself, obviously.

My name is Kurosawa Akira, I'm 21 years old.

In my eyes, I wasn't particularly good looking but I didn't look that bad either. I was pretty average actually.

"What's cooking, good-looking?" I said to my own reflection in the mirror. I couldn't help but chuckle immediately after that... "Another day in paradise… Let's get started!" I smiled to myself as I started to brush my teeth.

Despite how much I complain sometimes about how busy or how tired I feel, I am pretty happy with my current life.

I am living my life abiding by my grandfather's teachings, after all.

His most important teaching was to never accept money from anyone, no matter the situation.

Why? Well, He believed that money is something that you must earn for yourself. He believed that you can only know the true value of money when you make it by your own efforts and that asking for money when you were perfectly able to earn it by yourself was nothing but selfish.

Now, don't misunderstand him. He didn't have anything against people who were in precarious situations and couldn't make any money, on the contrary, he was the first person that would help them.

He was the kind of person who loved helping others but hated when others helped him.

Truly… Such a stubborn and prideful way of thinking… I wholeheartedly agree with that stubborn way of thinking.

Hehe, I suppose being stubborn is something that runs deeply in the family.

Ever since both Grandpa and Mom passed away, I have been strictly following his teachings. Even when my grandmother was diagnosed with Cancer and had to be hospitalized, we never accepted anyone's hard-earned money. I was the one who worked to pay for my grandmother's medical bills.

If you think I was stubborn with that, Grandma was way more stubborn with that than I could ever be. I remember that she basically threatened the doctors with escaping the hospital and coming home to help me run the farm to pay for her own bills. It took a few doctors, her friends, our neighbors, and even myself to convince her to just rest and heal…

God, I really miss that woman.

After putting on my usual black tank top, a pair of old beige pants, a straw hat, and some slippers, I went to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast and lunch before going for the day.

"Hmmm… I think I'm in the mood for rice balls today." I said while checking the contents of my fridge.

Inside, there was a myriad of fresh vegetables as well as meat and a few cold drinks like beer and soda. There were also the leftovers from yesterday's dinner.

"Oh! I forgot that I left my miso soup untouched yesterday! Hehehe! Making breakfast won't take too long now!" I said happily as I took out from the fridge the miso soup and all the ingredients I needed to make my meals.

Grandma always said that it was extremely important to have a fresh meal when you are starting the day, but I simply can't let leftovers go to waste!

I don't think there's any problem since they are leftovers from yesterday, so the soup should still be a little fresh!

Before I started cooking and made myself some coffee, I quickly opened the radio app. My smartphone immediately synced to my favorite radio station which I listen to every day before going to work.

"Good morning everybody! I hope that everyone is having a perfect morning on the first day of the summer!" A feminine voice said enthusiastically.

"Oh? So Mari is the host this time... It seems like I got lucky!" I couldn't believe my own luck. It was a sign that it was going to be a good day today.

Takahashi Mari. She's a regional idol who was born in my hometown and used to be my senior in high school. She works on the radio station of the nearest city from time to time as a co-host with one of my neighbors, Mr. Yamada.

We used to hang out a lot and we were very good friends back in the day! I can't deny that I had an enormous crush on her… I just couldn't help it, her angelic voice and those perfect looks of hers simply made me fall for her almost immediately.

It is a little regret of mine that I never confessed my feelings to her and that we lost contact after she graduated and my grandma was hospitalized.

It is a little depressing actually… But even if I never managed to confess, as her friend, I'm glad that she's doing well and I'm happy just being able to listen to her voice.

"Itadakimasu~!" After I finished cooking, I quickly took my meal to the table and happily ate everything while listening to Mari's beautiful voice.

"Now, this week's weather forecast will be… SHOCKING!" Mari was being her charming usual self. "Just kidding! We will have sunny days with clear skies all week long! The perfect weather to go to the beach, don't you think? Of course, don't forget to protect yourself from the sun and the high temperatures! Drink a lot of water and put on a ton of sunscreen!" Mari gave the audience a warning in a cute voice. I could almost picture it in my mind.

"Damn, I really wish I had confessed to her… Now I wanna kick my own butt for being such an idiot and letting her go back then…" I said with a voice filled with regret. I was sulking…

Even if I was a little depressed, everything so far indicated that this first day of the summer was going to be yet another normal and productive day.

I wasn't aware of how wrong I was about that statement…

After I finished eating all of my food and washed the dishes, I hurriedly packed up my bentô and ran to the front door.

Before changing my slippers for my old farming boots, I made a quick stop at our family's altar.

On the small altar, there were a few pictures of my distant relatives, my ancestors, my grandparents, and my mother.

I carefully lit some incense on the altar and put my hands together to pray.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Mom… I'm going to work again. Please watch over me and the house. I love you, I'll be off then." I muttered a quick prayer before turning around and sitting at the entrance.

"Well, there's a lot to do today, so I better give my all today as well! If I do a good job today, I can have a cold one when I return~!" I said with excitement as I changed my slippers for my farming boots.

As soon as I was done, I jumped to my feet and made my way toward the sliding door.

"I'll be going then! I'll see you again by lunch!" I waved while looking at the altar before closing the sliding door. "Let's get some work done!" After that self-affirmation, I turned around and started walking in the direction of my farmland.

As I said before, everything that happened to me ever since I woke up indicated that it was going to be another normal day here in the countryside.

However, I was able to notice that there was something out of place… Someone that stood up like a sore thumb in the middle of the countryside at 5 in the morning.

In front of me, right beside the bus stop, there was a short girl with very bright long blonde hair which reached her waist. She was wearing a pink cropped top, a pink knee-length skirt, golden earrings, an obnoxious amount of golden bracelets, long white socks, and a pair of pink sneakers…

The girl had clearly just gotten off the bus that was parked right in front of my house. The proof of that was that I didn't recognize her in the slightest and that she was carrying at least 6 huge bright pink suitcases with cute decorations…

She was clearly one of the so-called Gyaru that I have seen on the TV… She could be that or an American rapper considering the stupid amounts of golden accessories she's wearing.

Well, it didn't matter that much to me. It wasn't the first time that a city girl came to visit our small town for a vacation or to visit some family members.

Things like that were quite normal actually since most of the people my age all moved to the city.

After a quick look at a specimen of the mythical being that is a Gyaru, I tried to go on with my day until…

"Hey! You!" A hand was suddenly placed on my shoulder, stopping me while I was walking.

The hand belonged to the city girl from before. It was painfully obvious that it was hers because of the super long pink nails she had and how small and delicate her hand seemed.

"Good morning, how may I help… Huh?" As I turned around to face the woman, with a little bit of annoyance I must admit, I was left completely dumbfounded.

Today was the day where my usual routine would die. Today would be the last day where I would be able to predict with certainty how my day would go.

My daily life was about to be filled with uncertainty and doubt, as the typhoon known as Katagiri Haruka came into my life.

This is the story of how I met my greatest love and my greatest annoyance… The woman that was going to become my future wife.

END