Omiyage

Kazuki and Renka enjoyed the bentos she made under the trees, discussing the nature around them, and taking breaks to simply sit in silence and appreciate the beauty of it all. A cool breeze rustled the leaves, sending some of them cascading down and into the river where they were carried off like little boats off to faraway lands. Kazuki watched them with interest, bobbing up and down with the current as the water flowed over rocks hidden beneath the surface. It could be interesting to have a melody that elicited a similar feeling, lilting and quick, yet calm, peaceful, and beautiful.

He played a few notes on his guitar, keeping the image of the leaves racing downstream in his head. Renka hummed along quietly, quickly picking up the rhythm and harmonics as he played. It was a surreal experience, having someone so in tune with what he was trying to accomplish musically, and Kazuki found himself softly singing, the lyrics passing from his lips without a second thought. At one point, he paused, unsure what to finish a line with, but Renka finished it for him, finding just the right word to convey the message and rhyme with the previous verse.

He finished the short song and smiled at Renka. She smiled back, touching the ribbon in her hair.

“Well, that was fun. It’s much better than just talking about things as a way to brainstorm, isn’t it?” She clasped her hands together in her lap.

“Yeah. It was really nice. I’ve never done something like that before.” Kazuki admitted. “It might be a good way to come up with ideas for our song for the festival.”

“I agree. Maybe we can start working on that the week after next.”

Kazuki furrowed his brows. In two weeks’ time?

“Why not start right away?” He questioned.

“I won’t be around for most of this week. It’s just a few days, but still… A friend of mine is getting married in Sapporo, so I’ll be going to her wedding. That’s also why I wanted to come here today, so we could see the autumn leaves before they’re gone.” Renka explained, playing with her ribbon.

That made sense. Plus, they hadn’t received their acceptance letter to perform in the festival anyway, so taking some time off wouldn’t change much. No time would be wasted technically.

“Ah. Alright. I hope you have fun in Sapporo. Make sure to eat some curry udon for me.” He said with a wink.

Renka laughed at the gesture. “I’ll definitely try.”

Kazuki figured a break would be nice. He could work on his own music, or just relax for a while before things got really intense once they found out if they would be performing at the festival. But, things wouldn’t be that easy.

After Renka left for her trip, Kazuki found himself feeling rather empty without her company. He continued playing music every day after work, switching between practicing Renka’s pieces and coming up with his own compositions. He challenged himself to write pieces, however long or short, inspired by different things around him. Within two days, however, he decided to limit himself to composing songs inspired by nature, worrying about the fact that he had nearly written a song about a leaky faucet.

The days rolled along at a snail’s pace until Renka returned. Kazuki hadn’t realized how accustomed he had grown to their scheduled meetings until they were gone for a longer period of time. It was a strange feeling…

His phone chimed with the LINE message tone, and he opened it to check who had sent him a message. Renka’s name popped up.

‘I’m back in Tokyo now! The curry udon was delicious. Let’s meet at Café Overture on Saturday for coffee?’

Kazuki sent a sticker of one of the LINE characters giving a thumbs up. ‘Sounds like a plan. I’m glad you enjoyed the curry udon for me.’

Kazuki picked up his guitar once more, quietly playing a few notes before settling on practicing his finger patterns on the strings. He tried to think of what it would be like in Hokkaido. He’d never been there himself, but from what he’d heard and seen in pictures and on TV, it seemed like a snowy wonderland, at least in winter. Sapporo was famous for the annual snow festival, attracting visitors from all over the world and displaying incredible snow and ice sculptures. He wondered what it would be like to go to the Snow Festival in February, his breath freezing in the air before him, snow falling softly from the sky, shimmering in the lights of the city. Maybe he’d see it for himself one day…

Kazuki expected Saturday to come extremely fast, especially since he was excited to see Renka and get back into making music with her again, but instead, the last days of the week dragged on in the most excruciating fashion. Not to mention all the extra work he had to do since one of his co-workers called in sick at the last minute. Luckily, all of his work was finished by Friday evening, and he could relax until his meeting with Renka the next morning.

Kazuki awoke in high spirits, getting ready for the day and finding himself wondering what color ribbon Renka would have in her hair today. Was that something weird to think about? He splashed his face with cold water, trying not to dwell on that thought for too long before heading to the café. The streets were pleasantly devoid of too many people at this time in the morning, a breath of fresh air compared to the usual crowding of the average weekday in Tokyo.

As the café came into sight, so too did the bright orange ribbon in Renka’s hair. She stood just outside the door to the café, about to enter. She wore an orange and brown dress, reminiscent of the autumn leaves. Kazuki hastened his steps, meeting her at the door just before she walked inside.

“Good morning,” he said with a warm smile.

Renka looked surprised for a moment before returning the expression. “Good morning, Kazuki!”

He held the door open for her and followed her inside. They took a seat at a table near the window and ordered their drinks.

“How was the wedding?” Kazuki asked.

“It was fun. My friend’s dress was beautiful. And the food at the reception was great. No curry udon, but there was crab and amazing sashimi.” Renka responded. “I made sure to eat curry udon the next day, though.” She winked.

Kazuki laughed slightly. “I would have been hurt if you didn’t.”

Renka giggled. “I also got you something.”

Kazuki gaped. “You didn’t need to get me anything!”

“It’s just a little something. To show my appreciation, and because I thought you might like it.” She reached into her bag and out pulled something small wrapped in white paper. She held it out to him. “It made me think of you, so I bought it.”

Kazuki took the small package. “Thank you, Renka.”

“Open it!” She excitedly clapped her hands together. “I want to see your reaction to it.”

Kazuki tore into the paper, revealing a new guitar strap with traditional-style patterns. It was like nothing he’d seen before.

“It’s so nice.” He said in awe. “You didn’t need to get me something so nice. I thought it would be curry udon mix or something.”

Renka beamed. “I got you some of that too. But I thought this was really nice, and I’ve never seen a guitar strap with Ainu patterns on it like this before, so I knew I had to get it.”

“Ainu, huh?”

That explained why the pattern was so unique. The Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan, had a vibrant and incredible culture. They even spoke their own language, and their mythology and music captivated people across Japan. There were even anime and manga about them.

“This is really amazing, Renka. Thank you so much. I mean it.” Kazuki held the guitar strap tightly in his hand. He still couldn’t believe Renka had given him something so heartfelt and beautiful as omiyage.

“It makes me so happy that you like it.” She smiled from ear to ear and took a sip of her coffee. “And speaking of happiness… I wanted to invite you to a little get-together I’m having on Friday for my birthday.”

Kazuki’s eyes widened in shock. “Your birthday? I… Of course, I’d love to celebrate with you. I’ll make sure to get you a nice gift too!”

Renka raised her hands up and shook her head. “No, no! I’m not inviting you because I expect a gift! I just want to spend time with you and my other friends. Plus, the results for the festival selection should be announced that day as well!”

Kazuki responded without hesitation. “I’ll be there.”

“Yay! I’m excited for you to meet my other friends, and I’m even more excited to see if we got selected to play at the festival!”

“Me too.”

They chatted for a while longer before Renka had to leave for a meeting with one of her other friends. They said their goodbyes and parted ways. Kazuki pondered what he should get Renka for her birthday, looking at the guitar strap in his hand as he did so. He needed to find something at least as nice as her gift to him, but what could he possibly get for her?

He wandered the shopping streets, looking through the windows of every store to see if anything struck him as something Renka would particularly like. He still had plenty of time to find her a gift, but he had the rest of the day free today, making it the best opportunity to find something good. He spent hours going from store to store, nothing catching his eye, until the sun began setting on the horizon.

His stomach gurgled, and he realized he hadn’t eaten anything in his fervor to find the perfect gift. Feeling a bit dejected, he entered a shopping mall and went to the food court. He ordered some stir fry and sat eating at one of the tables. He watched people walking by as he ate, glancing at the stores outside the food court. They all had something different, some selling clothes, or home goods, or—

He nearly dropped his chopsticks. He blinked then rubbed his eyes then blinked again. Yes, it was exactly what he thought it was, and he needed to get it for Renka. He quickly finished his food and marched into the shop.