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Dear Tsubaki,Merry Christmas! I hope you had a nice holiday. Please give your parents my best—I’m forever grateful for the time I spent at your place and all the guidance you gave me, and their hospitality was greatly appreciated.I’m writing you because Kirishima continues to be a fucking menace and he’s got my phone bugged again but for some reason he doesn’t open my mail—something about tampering with it being a crime or something. Anyway, I don’t know who gave him the book about Christmas traditions around the world, but he somehow got his hands on one and when I saw him reading it on the train on the way to school yesterday I should have ripped it out of his hands and thrown it out the window.I guess I should be grateful, on one hand, because it got him off the subject of our first Christmas together as a couple. I remember you said something about how couples go to hotels and have sex on Christmas or Christmas Eve or whatever, and we all know that ain’t happening yet because Gramps and Hotei-san would murder Kirishima with their bare hands, so I figured I was off the hook there. I thought we’d probably do something simple instead, maybe a little romantic because you know how he is—just go out to dinner, maybe see some Christmas lights downtown or go shopping and exchange gifts or whatever and be done with it.This fucking guy. He read this damn book and he still has those fucking lock picks, Tsubaki, I’m telling you I’m going to murder him with my bare hands.When I got home, there was a huge freakin’ matsu in the corner of the washitsu and it was covered in donuts. I’m not shitting you. I told him I liked sweets and he decided donuts would make great ornaments or something? I don’t fucking know what to do with this tree. The donuts look good, but I can’t eat ‘em all and the tree is creepin’ me out. I guess it was kinda nice of him, but I told him to get rid of it. He looked real sad so I just let it be.I ended up giving the donuts to the guys, and that one I told you about who does all the cooking—Inamori-san—asked for the recipe. Inamori-san is real nice. I’ll introduce you when you come to visit. I think you’d like him.All my love,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,I know I should wait for you to respond before sending another letter, but I gotta write this all down so you’ve got my defense ready if I snap and throttle Kirishima or at the very least so I can prove Shouma wrong when I don’t.But first, I gotta come clean on something I didn’t tell you this summer when we talked about Kirishima: I kinda forgot to mention he’s over at my place a lot. Like a lot. After events we chill in front of the TV and he helps me pack up he helps me with the garden plot the group let me have out back, we cook dinner together a couple times a week, just some normal stuff like that. Sometimes the lil’ shit comes over early before school and if I’m busy getting ready he putters around a little. He thinks I don’t notice it but he does some straightening up here and there—nothing weird, just makes sure the soy sauce bottle is full, cap’s on the face lotion, dishes in the sink get washed, stuff like that. He doesn't make a big deal outta it, just does it.
So yeah, Kirishima comes over a lot and it’s like he kinda lives with me, except he doesn’t sleep over, if that’s what yer thinkin’, and I know you are.
This morning he came in like usual and did whatever he does, but I didn’t notice until we got back that he’d snuck a package under the damn matsu like I know nothing was under the damn thing before I left for school, but when we got back he made this big show of pointing out the present under the Christmas tree. I told him I didn’t want any gifts but he had this big grin on his face like he was particularly proud of himself and after another long day at his snobby ass high school I just didn’t have the energy to argue with him so I opened it.
Anyway, motherfucker got me two pairs of monogrammed house slippers, and one pair had his name them, like we’re some kinda married couple or something. I was gonna rip him a new one for bein’ a presumptuous lil shit because I remember how you warned me about this kinda thing Tsubaki, but he’s just so cute when he’s hopeful I forgot I was mad. He was just so proud of himself like a floppy-haired little kid so I kinda just let him have a moment. He’s gonna be insufferable after this, I know it.Inamori-san brought over a batch of donuts and he did a pretty good job of replicating the recipe. Just sayin’ he’d make a real good husband, if you’re in the market for a new main boy.Pray for me,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,New Year’s is coming up and I don’t know if you have any plans but I’m starting to get a little nervous, if I’m being honest, and I might have to come visit you just to get away from Tokyo for bit. Three days of this Christmas thing and I’m a little nervous about where this is going.Kirishima got a work call and had to go off somewhere after school so I got a ride home with Inamori-san, who is literally the only sane person in this place. I asked him to walk me back to the tea house because I was a little afraid of what I’d find when I got back and it kinda turned out to be a good idea because when we opened the door to the courtyard I heard this crowing sound like a bird but not a crow if that makes sense?Inamori-san went ahead of me and opened the door and the look on his face, Tsubaki, I swear my heart stopped. I was afraid Kirishima was in there doing something weird like maybe he’d used the work thing as a cover and snuck back early to surprise me and was crouched in a corner wearing nothing but a dog collar and a smile, but then I heard the noise again and it was birds. I was real relieved when I saw three green pheasants in the matsu in the washitsu eating what was left of the donuts, shitting everywhere, and pecking at the tatami like it was food.We shoved our feet into the monogrammed slippers and chased the birds out into the courtyard where they fluttered around uselessly for a bit. Inamori-san said their wings had been clipped so they couldn't fly which meant they were tame but we couldn’t keep them as pets and eating them was out of the question, although I hear pheasant is delicious.Inamori-san called JAWS to come get the birds and then the tatami-gae to repair the floor, a few of the young ones came around to help move the tree to the tea house porch. The root ball was still intact so we put it in a pot and covered the whole thing with netting and burlap so it could rest. Inamori-san called Tachibana-san, the mean bald one, to get permission to plant the tree in the courtyard and he said he didn’t give a shit, so we plotted out the garden at the kotatsu on a piece of looseleaf. We put the slippers in the wash and they seemed to come out okay.When Kirishima got back and saw what was going on he looked totally crushed and I felt like I’d kicked a damn puppy, which was weird because he literally messed up my life? He said the pheasants were a present and he was planning to cook them or something and when we told him they were live he blinked a lot like he didn’t realize live birds were delivered to the tea house. I have a bad feeling this will not deter him from doing whatever he’s going to do next and I’m scared.All my love,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,Kirishima and I talked and I feel like maybe we reached an understanding about what is and what isn’t a good present and why this whole twelve days thing is kinda insane. He seemed to understand he’d crossed a line so I think he’s going to calm down a bit.I think I told you about Kirishima’s crazy connections in the entertainment industry like how he goes to all these parties, has all these girls or at least he did until he decided he was going to make my life a living hell. It actually turns out his connections have some cool connections outside of adult entertainment like dude knows people who know actual sumo wrestlers from Osaka like guys Gramps likes and knows about. Which how I ended up at Chanko Dojo Ryogokuekimaeten sitting across from Ishizaki Ryoma, Wakasatake Futa, Kiozan Tomoyuki, and Tennozan Kai which woulda been a lot more fun if I knew a damn thing about sumo.On the other hand, these guys sure as hell know how to eat which is something I can get behind, so it was kind of a cool gesture because I got to stuff my face with the most delicious crab, eel, and fresh sashimi and listen to a bunch of huge guys bust Kirishima’s chops. Afterwards they took us to Ryogoku Kokugikan where the guys took turns throwing Kirishima around.It was kinda fun to watch because yeah Kirishima’s an insane fighter and can really put the hurt on a guy but also he’s really good at taking a fall and getting up again real quick. They were flipping him around and he was grinning the whole time, tumbling like some yochien kid at recess, regaining his footing or bouncing up onto his feet again like some kind of cat.Kiozan-san was the oldest of the bunch and he was real nice for sitting with me and talking about the holds they were using and stuff instead of having a go at Kirishima. He gave me some advice about marriage that was kinda weird, something about when in doubt let your competitor totally push you out of your comfort zone I guess, which made no sense but it was nice thought.Kirishima helped box up the leftovers and then he fell asleep on my shoulder like a lil’ kid on the way home. When we got back we stocked the fridge and went out to look at the garden where the matsu was planted and it looks real nice. I think we’re gonna be okay in the end and if Krishima gets outta hand I’ll just grab him by the back of his pants and toss him hard as I can which’ll give me a minute to run like hell.All my love,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,Thanks for your letter. Three dates in one night for Christmas sounds like a lot of work but I’m glad you had fun, although I really didn’t need all that detail though so please keep all that to yourself next time. I love you but you really gotta tone it down because now I can’t look at udon without thinking about you and that guy doing that slurping thing. I hope you apologized to the hotel folks for the mess you left.So Kirishima is back on his shit again with the gifts. I still have no idea what he’s thinking most of the time, and I should probably just ask him what the hell is going on in that head of his so I know for certain but sometimes I’m a little scared of what he might say. F’rinstance, he decided to give me five pieces of Itoigawa jade and they’re real nice but I dunno what to do with ‘em, they’re just real cold, heavy, green rocks.Inamori-san suggested getting a piece of jewelry made and Kirishima said somethin’ about a ring and said he knew a jeweler who took custom orders and the two of ‘em went into some little old auntie spiral for a minute. I heard Inamori-san say something about a promise ring going on your left middle finger and Kirishima was all ‘Let’s measure your finger!’ so I flipped him the bird and invited him to try. Inamori-san’s eyes got real big and long story short that idea went out the window and I got a nice bracelet comin’ my way some time after the new year. Kirishima seemed like he was a lil’ disappointed but Inamori-san said a bracelet should keep me safer than a ring and Kirishima looked like he was okay with that.I looked up the shop on the authenticity card in the box and this jade stuff is from Niigata and it’s like 4 hours away by train which means at some point Kirishima went off by himself to get this stuff for me and I’m tryna work out the math but it’s doin’ my head in. He keeps goin’ to these extremes for this stuff and I don’t get why because I’m not encouragin’ him or nothin’ and I don’t wanna make him spend all this money on me, he just does it like it’s his thing or somethin’. Shouma’s thing is smokin’ and being a nosey idiot and not studyin’, your thing is speakin’ five languages and helpin’ lost tourists and saying whatever damn thing pops into yer head, and Kirishima’s thing is showerin’ me with a lotta useless junk because it makes him happier than beatin’ the crap outta some asshole who prolly deserves it.Anyway, I din know what Inamori-san was talkin’ about when he talked about a bracelet keepin’ me safe, like maybe he thinks I can use it as a weapon by throwin’ it at a guy’s head or chokin’ him with it, but whatever. Anything’s a weapon if you use it right, I guess.All my love,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,Thanks for your letter and yeah the slippers were a nice present, all nice and comfy and all that, it’s just weird how he’s always coming around and now he’ll have his own pair like that screams ‘married’ to me. I guess it just feels super weird because I keep thinkin’ about how Dad was like 19 when he married Mom and look how that turned out, so it’s a little scary, I guess but maybe I’m just thinking a little far ahead. Pair a slippers is way better than the lingerie you were talkin’ about from that one guy, and thanks for the offer to order me a set but please don’t because the bunny ears and the tail are cute but thongs ain’t cute the way they ride up yer ass.Anyway, Inamori-san picked us up from school today he looked a bit confused and when I asked him why he was sweating bullets he said he’d gotten a call about six huge birds being delivered to the main house while we were at school, and something about how they were perched on the matsu in the garden and couldn’t be brought down?It turned out be less dramatic than all that, Kirishima just ordered custom painted doors for the tea house and they’d been delivered and the guys were chilling in the engawa waiting for us to get back to let them in so they could get started. It was kinda nice that Kirishima didn’t just tell ‘em to go in and do it without askin’ like with the matsu, though, so gotta give ‘im that.We spent the afternoon in the main house kitchen while the doors were installed and Inamori-san finished up preppin’ the osechi and then killed and plucked the pheasants. One a the young ones was tellin’ me cranes are for luck, which is real nice but then Kirishima added that they mate for life and the pieces fell into place there because of course Kirishima would pick ‘em because he’s such a freakin’ romantic. What I really need is somethin’ grantin’ me peace and the strength to not throttle this guy before my year in Tokyo is up but I guess I should be grateful they weren’t real birds.The tree is doing okay though, gotta say, because it’s only been in the ground a day or two but already looks like it belongs there, like it really fits in with the whole aesthetic of the house and stuff. A buncha young ones were diggin’ somethin’ near the base of the tree which was kinda worryin’ like my first though was are they plannin’ on burying Kirishima in the back garden? Did the maths and it looks like six more days a this and I guess I can hang but we’ll see.All my love,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,
明けましておめでとう since this letter’ll get to ya about when the rest of yer nengajo arrive. Wish I was with y’all right now, even being back at Gramps’ place would be nice, but he told me to stick it out and y’know it’s kinda easy to fight stuff but sometimes ya roll with it like ya pick when yer gonna fight and when ya just don’t. I like bein’ in a loud house this time a year so I invited the young ones to mine fer Kouhaku and dinner to show off the doors and just be convivial an’ stuff, and Inamori-san brought over gift boxes of toshikoshi soba Boss Miyama got from his people and I pulled out all the boxes of sauces and mixes Gramps sent. We cobbled together a good dinner and Kirishima tried makin’ red ginger tempura which ya don’t really see much of out here but he heard me tell Inamori-san I liked and he did a pretty good job of it, I think.
Kirishima was being a good host and all it was kinda cosy and comfortable like a lotta stuff is in my life right now, but also kinda weird like a lotta stuff in my life is right now. Everyone was real into it and brought some folding fans and glow sticks, so all these guys were swayin’ and singin’ in my livin’ room like kids they were before all this happened. The painted doors look real nice, by the way, but the whole time I was antsy wonderin’ what the next surprise would be and I got the answer around 11 when Kirishima slipped out for a bit and I excused myself to go see what was goin’ on to find him crouched under the matsu pokin’ at the hole like he was lookin’ fer somethin’.
Good news, it turns out the hole in the ground was for a pond for koi, not that other thing I was thinkin’, so that’s good at least, but until the concrete’s poured and all there’s a tank of seven real big koi in Kirishima’s room. We talked about it for a bit like I didn’t know his grandfather’s place had a koi pond he liked to just chill by and feed ‘em and think when he went to visit, like his granddad liked to do when he was a kid. Kirishima invited me over to see the tank and it’s real nice like he showed me how he feeds ‘em and stuff and I asked him if he named them and he gave me this blank face like it never occurred to him and we spent a few minutes figurin’ out which one was Gramps and one of ‘em looked like it had restin’ bitch face so that was Tachibana and so on, there’s even a cute lil’ one we named after you. Asked him if he’d ever eaten koi and he looked utterly confused for a second but said he’d try it if I cooked it and we spent a few minutes debating cooking techniques and decided on marinating it in white miso and mirin with tempura shiso leaves and I can’t tell if he was being serious but it was kinda fun.
When we heard the guys in the tea house yellin’ and singin’ at midnight it was like comin’ out of a trance. Kirishima had invited me over and we were just hanging out lookin’ at a tank full a pretty fish and talkin’ and it was kinda nice. I said, “Happy New Year, Kirishima” and he said “今年もよろしく” like he hadn’t been taking care of me more all this time.All my love and best wishes for the new year,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,Thanks for your nengajyo with the sexy snake on it, tell whoever took that photo he’s a brave, brave man. I let Kirishima take a picture of me for New Year’s as a kind of thank you for puttin’ me up for the year, but you'll prolly think it's kinda boring because there ain't no snakes, no lingerie, and nothing at all crazy, it’s the kind of photo Gramps would complain about but we could at least show it to people and not have to explain it.Today the Kuro Neko guy dropped off eight boxes of hachiya fuyu and Kirishima was a little confused because he thought he’d ordered a box of eight, not eight fucking crates of the things. I told Kirishima to take 'em to his girls as year end gifts but he gave me this funny grin and said he wasn't seein' anyone else but me, so I guess we're stuck with a year's worth of persimmons.
I know I told ya Inamori-san went to culinary school before he joined the Miyama group, but not sure I told you Kirishima's a real good cook and it's a little annoying because any time I say I like something or want to try it he turns into Rokusaburo Michiba, like he's flipping though cookbooks and googlin' recipes to think up some crazy thing and it's always delicious. One
time I saw chikuwabu at the store, and I told him I’d never had it before and I wanted to try it, so he bought some and threw together this real good stew and now he likes to make whenever he thinks I’m lookin’ a little peaked. Dunno if I told you ‘bout that time I froze him out after Obon for fucking around with Shouma and causin’ trouble? He baked all these sweets to try and get my attention and Inamori-san says he makes real nice cakes and pastries. Funny guy. Not Inamori, Kirishima’s the funny one. Inamori-san is just a real nice dude. He says ‘hi’ by the way.
So we spent New Year's Day eating Inamori-san's osechi and listening to Kirishima list all the ways you can cook persimmon which got old real fast and finally he asked me what I'd like to try and I remembered that thing yer mom used to do, when she cut ‘em in half and drizzled 'em with honey and then put 'em under the broiler for a bit but these are the ones you can just slice the top of and eat with a spoon so we did that. He asked me to feed him a spoonful to try and ordinarily I’d a told him ta fuck off but I was feelin’ generous and he really seemed to enjoy it.
Inamori-san found some quick set concrete in the gardening shed and Kirishima talked some young ones into pourin’ the koi pond tomorrow mornin’, and after the holiday is over we’re gonna go into town ta get some plants for the thing like lotuses and stuff and he showed me some sketches he made of the garden and it looks like somethin’ out of a magazine and too beautiful for real, every day life—kinda like Kirishima, but if you tell him I said that I’ll end ya.
All my love,
Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,Glad you liked the really boring photo of us and I hope you enjoy the persimmons. Do me a favor if you try some of the recipes Kirishima sent, please let us know how they turn out or just tell him directly because I know he’d like that I think his favorite is the bread recipe if you’re curious. I was hopin’ to come out myself, but I had some homework to do today so had to stay behind, and I’m real sorry but you know I wanna graduate on time despite all this nonsense so I know you’ll forgive me, but if it’s okay I’ll come by and greet you next weekend and we’ll go shopping. Inamori-san said he was happy to deliver everything since he had business up your way anyway, and enjoyed meeting you, so thanks fer bein’ on your best behavior. Kirishima said he was gonna come over and do homework with me but I was gettin’ a little stir crazy so I invited myself over again and brought the two pairs of monogrammed slippers with me to sweeten the deal ‘cuz he loves wearin’ those things when he comes over, always talks about how it’s like we’re already married and all that. I brought some persimmons because if I gotta eat ‘em he’s gonna suffer with me and he stuck ‘em under the broiler with some brown sugar and served ‘em up with slices of cold pork leftover from New Year’s dinner and a bit of melon from one of the year end gift boxes. It was real good, kid’s got a gift and if he ever gets out of this shitty situation and opens a cafe or somethin’ I’ll be a regular but don’t tell ‘im I said that because he’ll be insufferable.While he was cookin’ I dug out the fish food and fed the koi then I thumbed through the book on traditions he got this weird idea from for the presents and Tsubaki, the book is straight up insane with the birds and the people and stuff like who has room for all that and who takes care a all those people? After lunch I asked what he was gonna do for today where it said ‘nine ladies dancing’, like was he going to get a buncha strippers or girls from one of the Miyama group clubs. Kirishima just grinned and brought out this package and it was nine enamel hair combs, because of course, and asked if he could do my hair. Usually I hate it when he does that but he has a real soft touch and it was actually kinda nice, but I ended up with a crazy updo with some braided strands and a bun at the back held up by these gorgeous combs and it woulda been great for a party but we didn’t have plans so he was happy to take it down too.Inamori-san told me he’s aging the pheasants so they’ll be tender and we’re having them for dinner, which is nice, and the koi are going to be introduced to their new home tomorrow when we’ve got some more pond stuff sorted out and then its back to school. Time really flies.All my love,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,Meant to say thanks for your suggestion about googling something to see if it would give Kirishima ideas about what to give me the last three days of this insane gift-giving spree, since he has my phone bugged, but it pretty much backfired. I looked up a 10-piece knife set, since my kitchen knives are kinda dull, and was hoping that would be the end of it, but he showed up at my door with Inamori-san in tow to give me a lesson in using a damn whetstone. It was kinda soothing stroking the blade along the stone, back and forth, the schwip schwip noise was really calming, which is a good thing because I was a little rattled even though I shouldn’t have been surprised because I know he bugged my phone.After Inamori-san left Kirishima whipped out a little manicure set and a bottle of polish and offered to do my nails because he said my hands looked a bit rough and I was kinda like rude, but also I’d been cleaning up after him for the past week and a half and he was kinda right? He started with hand cream and unlike the last time he didn’t try to taste it, and he is really good at hand massages so we were off to a good start there, but then he picked up the cuticle scissors. He’s so deft with sharp objects but I still found myself holding my breath watching him work, and when he was done I had to hide how relieved I was, but really his hands were so warm they drove away the chill and I was almost sad when he let go. He makes me feel safe somehow but at the same time I always think about what you said about him being like a wild animal and I’m glad you said that because it’s made me mindful but also a bit anxious sometimes.He did a really nice job with the polish, picked a nice light pink that wouldn’t get me in trouble with the school discipline committee, which makes sense since he’s a member, dunno if I told you that. Afterwards he gave me these soft, lotion-infused gloves to wear and offered to do my toes. Sounded real nice in theory but then I thought about him touching my feet and shut that down right away like we’re definitely not at that point yet and also I was feelin’ kinda shy about my feet ‘cuz the slippers he gave me are super warm and I was kinda sweaty.The pine tree is still alive and the pond is comin’ together real nice. Got up early to watch the young ones pour the concrete this morning and not sure it will cure in time but if I recall from hearing stories around the house that cement shoes harden pretty quickly in winter too, so maybe it’ll be fine. Tomorrow we hit the sales and I’m getting a list together—I found a thrift store online that might take some of my stuff so I can make room for a new winter jacket and a few other things I’ve been needin’.All my love,Yoshino
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Dear Tsubaki,Today we bypassed the crowds going into the city for sales, and went to check out a place in Hachioji that sells koi pond supplies that one of the young ones recommended because he used to work in landscaping and he'd made one of these ponds before. We had a list and the drive was nice, and when we got there he and Inamori-san went off to find the manager and left us to wander around on our own. It was really nice to just look at things and just kill time, y'know? Like I wasn't the grownup this time, just a kid in a store looking around. When I saw Kirishima with his nose practically pressed against a tank of beta fish, watching the lil' buggers flutter here and there, it was like I could imagine him as a little kid for a second. The eleven year old boy with the bright eyes like security beacons piercing the darkness on that stormy summer night so many years ago—you told me he came to see me, but did I tell you what I saw that night? The way he stared at those fish I dunno if it makes sense but in another life if I’d been shopping with my mom and dad and saw him standing there I might have gone over to say hello, I think.I mentioned we'd be moving the koi to the garden and asked if he’d miss having them in his room and he smiled slightly, which was not an answer. I asked him if I could get him some fish for his tank since I hadn't gotten him anything for Christmas, or if he preferred a lizard, or a snake. He asked me what I'd like, which is so him to deflect and I wonder sometimes what makes him do that. We found a large goldfish with a funny head called an oranda and the sales guy we talked to said it would be the perfect pet but that it needed company so we'd need to get more than one or several other fish of other types, which sounded a bit like Kirishima and when I said that he blushed as though I’d caught him trying to play with my hair. He asked me if I would be okay with him buying two and naming one after me, and I shrugged because they live for a long time and if he's okay with having a fish named Yoshino swimming around in a tank in his room long after I'm gone that's up to him, really. It's a nice thought, though.After we settled up and were getting into the SUV, Inamori-san said he needed to take a little detour to a place Tachibana-san liked for rice and that's how we ended up at Narahara and why I’m now in possession of the gift of 11 kilos of some of the best rice in Japan, according to Inamori-san. Kirishima was very proud of himself for giving me something I could actually use and implied that he’d be happy to help me eat it which is funny because he can’t’ve actually thought I wasn’t going to force it on him anyway.The tree is still alive, we’re putting in the koi tomorrow and for now the oranda are chilling out in a decorative lacquerware container Inamori-san brought over from the main house that usesta flowers. I asked Kirishima which fish was the Yoshino fish and he pointed to the one with a bright orange face. It’s kinda ugly but also kinda cute. I hope it lives a long, lovely life.All my love,Yoshino.
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Dear Tsubaki,Thanks for your letter. It occurred to me after I read it that Kirishima keeps namin’ things after me and I don’t know how I feel about that, really, but as long as he’s happy I’m not really that bothered, I guess, since fish’re less work than birds or cats or dogs or real live girls, at least. Getting ready to go back to school tomorrow and a little sad because it’s back to wearing a winter uniform and stressing about exams, university entrance testing, all the stuff I’d rather not think about. Maybe we should just go ahead and open that flower shop just in case, I bet Gramps would help us find a place and give us some seed money to get started, don’t you?Kirishima musta worked a connection to get the jade bracelet made so fast and I can’t wait to show it to ya. It’s real nice, the beads are a pretty shade of green and it feels cool on my wrist and in a pinch I could probably strangle someone with it if I had to. I’m kidding, it’s just a nice piece of jewelry that ain’t too flashy and I’ll actually wear it unless Kirishima makes a big deal out of it in which case you want it, it’s yours. The rest of the rocks went around the koi pond and they look real nice there in the evening light and I kinda like the idea that even after I’m gone this small garden will still be here—kinda like the one we have at the Osaka house, but that one’s Gramps’ and this one’s mine.We had a takoyaki party at the main house kitchen and the way Kirishima flips ‘em is pretty impressive, like even though Shouma hates ‘im he’d hafta admit Kirishima’s got skills. But ya know, I think Shouma would be okay with anyone who makes a lot of good food fast, he ain’t that picky, really. Would be kinda cool if they could get along, ya know? Maybe I should invite y’all next time and we could hang out together but you’d have to agree to play nice because I know you’re okay with Kirishima but the way you and Shouma carry on y’all should just get a room and stay in there until you come out friends.I’d been holding my breath all day waiting for whatever of twelve I was gonna get and then I counted out the takoyaki and twelve of those went down the hatch pretty quick. Really tasty, that one, and no mistake. Much nicer than 12 dresses, 12 handbags, 12 pairs of shoes, 12 any frivolous thing you could think of. Maybe instead of a flower shop I should see if Kirishima would open a takoyaki place? Tokyo could use a few good ones and I'd definitely come back just to eat 'em, they're really good but not as good as Shouma's favorite shop, of course.After dinner I went back to Kirishima's room to say hello to the oranda which are now in the tank since the koi are in the garden. Koi apparently don't mind the cold but I can't help feeling sorry for them a little, when the oranda are paddling around in a nice tank with some pretty green plants and a tiny lantern and tiny smiling Rakan I thought was cute and Kirishima bought along with a small silvery cloud of white cloud mountain minnows. Kirishima keeps the room warmer than he used to, and he put a poster up on the wall of Mt. Fuji that he must have picked out himself because I don't remember it and it's a bit cheesy but it's nice. He asked me if I wanted to look at school yearbooks with him and when I pointed out he had none he looked a bit abashed and asked if I had any I could show him instead. Didn't wanna do it but finally I just gave in and went back to the teahouse to get a few, kinda wish I'd left 'em back in Osaka but I did it anyway.When I got back Kirishima was making some tea and there was a package on his desk with my name on it and when he told me to go ahead and open it it was 12 fountain pens engraved with my name, some nice washi paper and envelopes also with my name on them, and a packet of stamps. I was surprised he'd not sprung for custom stamps but I guess even Kirishima has limits.I have no idea how much or how little of this is your fault, but enjoy this letter, written on my new stationary.All my love and best wishes for a wonderful year,YoshinoP.S. If you're reading this, Kirishima, put it back in the envelope and send it on, it's rude to read mail not addressed to you and you're lucky I don't have you arrested.P.P.S. Thanks for the gifts. The pheasant was particularly delicious.
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Dear Akashigata-san,Thank you for the lend of the book on Christmas traditions you acquired during your time studying overseas. It was very enlightening and your guidance these past 12 days has been invaluable. Although a few of your suggestions did not quite hit the mark, it was a worthwhile experience.I wish I could have taken Yoshino for a temple visit or followed some of the other very interesting suggestions you had, but unfortunately I’m still recovering from some injuries incurred in an accident and am not confident I would be able to properly protect her in a public space full of people. Perhaps next year, if she’d allow me as I would like to see her in a kimono. I am certain she would look beautiful. If you were to join us I would be honored by your presence as well.When you have a moment, I would very much appreciate it if you could send me the letters Yoshino sent you, or at least text some screenshots of their contents. This is purely for the sake of research—any insights into her opinion of me would be appreciated, and perhaps help me be a better boyfriend.In return for your efforts, I have a few more photos of Boss Somei in his youth if you’d like. Alternatively, if I recall correctly, during our first meeting you proposed to Yoshino that the two of you might open a flower shop together. Perhaps I could compensate you for your troubles commensurate with a deposit on a nice Tokyo storefront or in an area of your choosing. You have only to name your price. I await your response in anticipation of a positive reply.Wishing you a prosperous new year and hope that we can continue to work together to make our mutual friend as comfortable and safe as possible during her stay with the Miyama group.Best,Miyama Kirishima