Prologue
Today, Kusanagi G.o.dou got up at 6 A.M. in the morning.Already accustomed since childhood to a routine of "early to bed, early torise," getting out of bed this early was no particular challenge.Seeing as the day was the fifteenth, December was already halfwaythrough and the chilly morning air was quite unbearable. Nevertheless,G.o.dou mustered his spirit to ignore the cold and threw open the blankets.Next was a contest of speed. G.o.dou hastily changed and got dressed.Fastening his jogging training wear, he slid his door open to enter thehallway.His little sister Shizuka should still be asleep in the adjacent room. Takingcare to avoid making noise, G.o.dou made his way to the bathroomdownstairs to freshen up and make himself presentable. Then he went tothe kitchen for a gla.s.s of water before heading to the entrance.After putting on his running shoes, G.o.dou took off.The surroundings were still very dark because the sun rose quite late thistime of the year. Even so, the sky would brighten up during his dailyjogging routine.Looking up at the sky, very few clouds could be seen. Today wasapparently going to be a comfortable clear winter day."Well, let"s get started."After sufficient stretching, G.o.dou muttered to himself, his breath whiteagainst the cold winter air.Starting off with a slow jog, he gradually picked up the pace.Originally an athlete and presently still leading a life requiring physicalexertion, G.o.dou had never made an explicit decision to train his stamina.Oh well, this was purely explained by his disposition towards an activelifestyle.Thus, he went jogging today as usual, adhering to his routine as if were hisdaily homework.G.o.dou decided on a suitable path as he jogged. After his jogging took himbeyond the shopping street at Area 3 of Nezu, he would head towardsKototoi Bridge. Continuing further all the way to Ueno Park might not be abad idea either.Seeing as it was a midwinter morning, the weather was naturally very cold.But regardless, the body warmed up rapidly anyway.For G.o.dou who was already well accustomed to this, the icy and refreshingair felt rather comfortable instead."Running every morning sure can put a person in a good mood. There isthe fresh air and no people around to get in my way."After muttering to himself, G.o.dou went "Huh?" with uncertainty.Come to think of it, his recent jogging had all taken place during night ordusk. Because he needed to complete a daily task that had evolved intosomething like routine business, time had to be taken out of his mornings..."But today, I went jogging like this..."G.o.dou continued running with a brisk tempo, deciding to ignore this doubt.If he could not recall what it was, then it probably was not very important inthe first place.The Kusanagi residence was an ancient wooden house and formersecond-hand bookstore.Having returned home, G.o.dou was pa.s.sing by the kitchen when hediscovered his sister."Yo.""You"re supposed to say good morning, Onii-chan.""We"ve been siblings for more than a decade, so this is good enough."This was G.o.dou"s first conversation with his little sister this morning, takingplace as she stood wide awake before the gas stove, preparing the misosoup.Today was Shizuka"s turn for cooking duties. The little sister, a third yearmiddle schooler who attended Jounan Academy together with G.o.dou, wascurrently tasting the miso soup using a small dish. She made a sufferingexpression."Hmm...""It tastes bad?""Of course not. Simply dissolving miso paste in boiling water is enough toachieve this taste. But compared to what Grandpa makes, it is rather bad.""From the fact that he prepares the soup stock by simmering dried bonitofish, you can already tell how particular he is about paying attention todetails."Right now, Shizuka was using miso stock manufactured by a major brand.On the other hand, Grandpa Kusanagi Ichirou, the one who usually took onall cooking duties, was a proponent of white miso. Furthermore, hefrequently used hand-made miso of exquisite quality that was sent by a"friendly lady" who resided in Shinshuu or somewhere like that.The difference in taste was inevitable.Even with that knowledge, G.o.dou and Shizuka still used manufacturedsoup stock.It was far more convenient. After all, the simmering required to prepare thesoup stock would take too much trouble."All due to diligence, that"s Grandpa for you. Completely different from us.""Completely agreed, for once. But there also exist people who feel quitetroubled because of it."The siblings in the kitchen nodded at each other.The grandfather in question was currently away on a long-term trip. G.o.douhad heard that he apparently had a friend in Bhutan (referring to thecountry sandwiched between India and China, of course) who helped himin the past but was now hospitalized."I"m going to visit for a bit. While I"m there, over at my friend"s, I"ll take theopportunity to tour the surrounding region. I guess I"ll probably spend NewYear there too. Please take good care of the house while I am gone."That was what he said the day before he set off.And just like that he abruptly left, so fleet of foot that no one would expecthe was over seventy years old.But conversely, this could be taken as a showcase of Kusanagi Ichirou"strue personality."Since he mentioned touring the surrounding region, he probably won"t belimiting his visit to just the one country of Bhutan, right?""Naturally. After all it"s Grandpa we"re talking about.""Although he said he"s going over to his friend"s... It can"t be limited to thatalone, right?""...Naturally. After all, it"s Grandpa we"re talking about."Shizuka stated her doubts. On his second time answering, G.o.dou"s tone ofvoice weighed a little heavier.Not limited to a male friend. A female friend, or even female relationshipsof a more intimate nature."I really do like Grandpa, but I"ve always felt that his female relationshipshave always been a sore sight.""Well, I think so too.""Good, then please pay attention in the future.""What do you mean?""Like getting involved with strange women. Although you haven"t gottenused to getting along with girls yet, Onii-chan, you"ve started crossingpaths with girls without noticing. And quite frequently too.""Shizuka... Don"t talk as if Grandpa and I were of the same type."Eyes looking off to the distance, G.o.dou started to complain."Although this really isn"t anything worth bragging about, I have nevertalked to any girl for a lengthy amount of time apart from you. Oh, I guessthere is Tokunaga Asuka, but she"s a bit different from being a girl.""Very good, Onii-chan. Just continue to work hard and maintain the statusquo."In response to G.o.dou"s indolent grumbling, Shizuka looked quite pleasedfor some reason."If you"re going to be that smug, feel free to back it up with some support.""Fine, I"m not going to remain silent about the extremely rude thing yousaid about Asuka-chan."Seeing his sister"s smug smile, G.o.dou scratched his head.He had apparently said something wrong without noticing. Anyway, Asukawas a childhood friend since before kindergarten. Dismissing the matter as"whatever," G.o.dou happened to glance at the calendar by chance."Say, Christmas is coming up soon.""Now what are you talking about? It"s already December. Namely, the mostlonely month for single guys and girls out of the entire year."Shizuka said this with a cheerful tone."Onii-chan, are you going spend Christmas Eve at home again? Anyways,mom won"t be back so we can share the cake just between the two of us.Oh! Or how about we get Asuka-chan and Sakura-chan and throw togethera small party?""Hmm... Sorry, but let me hold off answering for a little while..""Eh? Impossible! You have someone else with whom to spend ChristmasEve together?!""No, it"s not like that. For some reason I feel like there"s an important eventcoming up, but just what is it?Head c.o.c.ked to one side, G.o.dou continued to stare at the calendar inpuzzlement.The latter half of December. Approximately on the 24th or 25th. There wasapparently something prearranged for sure —