Even though the weather did forecast that it was to rain this afternoon, I never imagined that it would be such a downpour. We took shelter at an abandoned bus stop and waited for the rain clouds to clear.
Tomitake: "I'm sorry, Takano-san"
Takano: "Oh, that's alright, Jirou-san. I went with you despite knowing that it would pour. *chuckle chuckle*"
Takano-san chuckles.
It is all my fault for dragging her out here despite her cautions that the weather might change all of a sudden. I feel embarrassed as a man who ruined her precious day off.
I have to go back to Tokyo tonight, so I won't be able to come to Hinamizawa anytime soon. Once that thought ran through my mind, I just couldn't waste the day by staying at the cheap hotel in Okinomiya. So, I asked her out.
Tomitake: "Yes...well...hahaha...I'm sorry"
Takano: *chuckle chuckle chuckle*
She made fun of me for a while with her like a cute devil. It's not that I'm enjoying her cornering me with her jabs. I sincerely thought that her style of communication was quite charming.
...I believe...that I had become capitavited by her. However, to her, I'm just an auditor from Tokyo. ...She's just being nice to me because of my position, and I know that she does not like me as an individual. ......And it hurts me to think that I might've forced her to come along with me because of my position.
Perhaps it is best that I should just disregard this slight fever that I feel as nothing more than just an oncoming cold. However, I know that she is also a type of person who says no when she dislikes it. ...Of course, she doesn't bluntly say "no," but she is capable of distinctly saying "no" by using various indirect means and methods. ...So, I hope that she is here with me right now because she might have a little attraction towards me...
Tomitake: "....sigh"
I shake my head as I frown upon my own selfish thoughts. Yet, she quirps a cute chuckle as if she knew what I was thinking. My face blushes at her little actions.
Takano: "Jirou-san, you're such an interesting person. You must be popular with all the ladies back in Tokyo. Why would you want to go out with a queer woman like me...?"
Tomitake: "I, I don't think you're strange... Takano-san is very attractive as you are...! In fact, I feel sorry for having you to spend your precious day off for a guy like me."
Takano: "Yes, while it's true that I vowed to subject my life to research, but life is dry with just only that. It's also important to have fun once in while. ...Besides, engaging in communication with the person of the opposite sex is an excellent way to revitalize brain cells. *chuckle chuckle*"
Tomitake: "Ahahahahaha... I hope that I could be a help making Takano-san feel refreshed..."
Takano: "You...don't feel refreshed with me around...?"
Takano-san made my heart pound as she smiles at me like a cute devil. I immediately try to hide my embarrassment so that she would not notice that my face might be blushing to the ears.
Tomitake: "Oh no...! I too...feel very refreshed with Takano-san around! And, oh yeah, it's also much more interesting for me if Takano-san learns how to do avian photography with me...! Oh, I'll bring my old camera with me the next time. These things are expensive to buy and all...hahahaha..."
Takano: "Thank you. I would be very interested to learn how to take pictures which seems to be your pasttime *chuckle*. I would love to do avian photography with you the next time. So does that mean that I wouldn't need to buy my own camera?"
Tomitake: "Ah, yes, that's right! You should practice with my old camera first. Once you get used to that, you can buy your own if you want! I..I'll send you the camera once I return to Tokyo!"
Takano: "Thank you. I would like to hear your comment on the pictures that I took the next time you come here."
Tomitake: "S...Sure...! Hahaha, I wonder what kind of pictures they're going to be!"
Takano: "*chuckle chuckle* They're not going to come out like Jirou-san's. It really is going to be my first time."
I was blushing bright red and scratching my head. In sharp contrast, she was still her cool self as she smiled. I don't know if I'm being self-confident or not... But I get a feeling that Takano-san doesn't mind having me as her company... If it was just utter social flatter, she wouldn't go along with me this far.
....Ah, no no. What am I thinking? I've always failed for taking a woman's social flatter too seriously. I must not think that she might have some interest in me....
Takano: "....By the way, isn't this the first time we've actually had the time to talk together alone?"
Tomitake: "Y, yes. Usually the director or other researchers were around."
Takano: "I really don't know that much about you. Things like what kind of work do you do back in Tokyo or what your past was like. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do within the SDF...?"
Tomitake: "Aha, hahahaha.... Well, I was an instructor for a while, or at least I thought it was. But I sustained a certain injury to my eye. It wasn't that much of a big deal as I can live life normally. But they decided it was serious enough, so right now all I do is desk work. Ahahaha...."
Takano-san took another jab at me as she chuckled by saying that I must've done something stupid to cause that injury to myself.
Tomitake: "And while I was helping public relations make their own magazine, that was when I first became fascinated with photography! These cameras have the power to capture human happiness. Ahahahaha, you might be thinking I'm nuts, but it's true. I've felt and began enjoying everyday ever since I took up taking photography."
Takano: "...How can a camera make a person so happy...?"
Tomitake: "Well, a camera is able to take a snapshot of a piece of daily life. And if you want to capture that for later view, you'd want to take pictures filled with happiness right? So, as you peek through the finder while wondering where you can find happiness...lo and behold, you realize that the things that you thought were just a part of normal life were actually immersed in so much happiness."
..For example, a dandelion sprouting from the cracks of the asphalt can be overlooked as you walk by in your busy daily life. However, when you look at it through the view finder, you realize that it is a very special present that tell you that spring is approaching. You take that as a picture and leave it in a photo album. And everytime you open that photo album, you remember the joyful feeling that you had when you took the picture.
Takano-san: "Does Jirou-san always feel that way when you take your pictures...?"
Tomitake: "Uh-huh. For me, the ambition to take a Pulitzer winning pictures and the like is not a high priority for me. I believe that the fascinating thing about a camera is that it is able to re-recognize all the little joys that we tend to overlook everyday. That's why it is a very fabulous hobby for me that I can feel that way as I peek through the view finder in Hinamizawa."
Takano-san: ".........hmmm....."
I have a tendency to go overboard when I talk, but Takano-san usually playfully twists my words right back at me. ...So it was very rare to see her listening carefully to what I was saying. Takano-san sat right next to me...and began fiddling with my camera. ...I don't know how much of an impression I gave to her with my ramblings, but it seems that she has begun to show a bit of interest in photography. I assumed that she was going to make fun of me as usual, so this reaction that she showed was blissful to me.
Tomitake: "Do you want to take a try at it?"
Takano-san: "...Do you think I could?"
Tomitake: "Oh, it's easy! All you have to do is get the hang of focusing and pressing the shutter. Here, you can hold it. Oh, don't touch the lens...!"
Takano-san: "Boo. It's not easy as you say..... *chuckle chuckle*"
Since she seemed to have shown some interest in photography, it would be best if we could start taking nature photography in this beautiful place called Hinamizawa. ...Unfortunately, the rain doesn't seem to show signs of clearing anytime soon. However, she was clearly enjoying her new found hobby and began taking many photographs of items that caught her eye inside the rundown bus stop. So the very first pictures that she took happened to be odd things in an around this dank shack.
Ever since then, whenever we get together, both of us would go around the village taking pictures with our cameras...
Graphic Designer
RIKA FTW
Hopefully they cram most of pieces and story together without too many plotholes. Can't wait for the next episode XD
