Chapter 3 : The day I quit smokingIt’s morning. It became morning.
Maybe ’cause I was a little too enthusiastic my body feels heavy.
As I absentmindedly stared at the same ceiling I’ve looked at for 5 years, I thought of what happened until now.
That b.i.t.c.h suddenly appeared and pushed that bra— Misaki on me, and I decided to raise her. I left her at the hospital and then went to do manual labor as a day laborer. I got 1 Yukichi and 2 Noguchi’s. **TL Note: yukichi is the guy on the 10,000 yen bill, Noguchi is the guy on the 1,000 yen bill** Bringing that, I returned to the hospital and after angrily nagging me about what kind of life I’ve been living I exchanged the yukichi (10,000 yen) for custody of Misaki. Here I stocked some useless knowledge but, if you don’t have an insurance card the doctor seems to decide the price. Is it better to think it’s good that it was only 1 yukichi or is it better to think I got ripped off… Well, at any rate I got the kid back.
On the way back home, Misaki, after magnificently recovering in 1 day, trotted behind me.
Even though Misaki is just a brat she doesn’t shake when I talk to her and doesn’t say a single word. Well, talking and vocabulary wise she does say one or two in response.
Oops, I forgot that I was going to make a stop on the way back.
After great pains I have 2 Noguchi’s (2,000 yen) so, I enter a family restaurant to splurge a little. Misaki wanted to eat the hamburger set meal (1268 yen after tax) so I just ordered a drink for myself. Well, in the end I ate 80% of it.
After that I leave Misaki at my place, and go to my daily manual labor to work hard.
After doing various things it quickly became the 2nd day after I started raising a kid. I raise my body and face the window. Sitting modestly there Misaki is blinking over and over.
“Mornin’.”
“…Morn.”
…Somehow nothing’s changed.
Well, it’s not like I expected a dramatic change after 1 day, but y’know, can’t you give me a hug? At least say “Papa I love you!” and come hug me, you’re not even mine dammit. This kid has some high defense from changing parents.
Well, I’ll just be patient.
Moving on, time for a morning smoke.
Haa, today’s tobacco tastes great.
“…Geho.” TL Note: I’m going to keep most onomatapeia as best I can since I personally prefer it that way. That’s a cough by the way.
“Hah? What’s wrong, sick again?”
Making a line with her mouth she shook her head.
“Cold then?”
Doesn’t seem like it.
“Then what….., could it be this?”
I shake the cigarette in my hand and Misaki nodded.
Well, that’s right. The legal age for smoking is 20 years old, so for a kid it’d probably be rough.
“Got it, I’ll smoke outside.”
Jeez, why do I have to show restraint in my own room… no no, that’s what raising a kid is about. I can do at least this much.
“…ugh, it’s cooold.”
Fire, I need fire right now. Whispering that in my heart, I keep smoking.
A few minutes later. I throw the cigarette on the floor, make sure the flame is put out, pick it up and throw it in a nearby trashcan. After that, rubbing my cold hands I return to my room.
“There, satisfied?”
Misaki closes her eyes, and sniffs.
Immediately after, her mouth forms a line.
“…stinks.”
“Wha?!”
What a shock.
Over the years there has been less places to smoke, and I kind of realized I’m just being stubborn. But I always took a ‘who the h.e.l.l cares’ stance and kept smoking. I’d just return the cold looks with a glare.
But, what’s with this.
The damage I got from Misaki saying I stink is too big.
As if I took a right straight from a top cla.s.s boxer, I fell shamefully to my knees.
“…You’re pretty good, you got a bright future.”
To be able to bring me down with only 1 word, a certain section of men would fall for you, y’know?
Putting that aside, what am I gonna do… no, what I need to do has already been decided.
“Fine by me, from now on smoking is banned!”
And, 4 hours after shouting in a large voice.
“Ku… Why… my hand, on it’s own…”
Immediately after placing the smoking ban, I threw away my cigarettes and lighter in the trash with all my strength.
And then I went to today’s work site, worked seriously, and went on my lunch break.
I am currently suffering in front of a vending machine. TL Note: For those who don’t know j.a.panese vending machines have a much larger variety of goods
“s.h.i.t, what’s with this strength… just holding it back uses all my strength….!”
Calm down, there’s no need to restrain myself.
I mean I don’t even have money to buy cigarettes, if I push the b.u.t.ton on this vending machine nothing will happen. No matter what I can’t get any cigarettes.
“BUT! LOSING HERE, MY PRIDE WON’T ALLOW IT! UOOOOOOOOOOO! MY RIGHT HAND! QUIET DOWN! QUIET DOWN YOU BASTAAAARD!!!!!!”
Something pat my shoulder.
“Hah?”
Turning around, the supervising ossan looks at me in the eye without saying anything.
“You’re breaks over, y’know?”
“…Fu, Hahahaha”
“Wh-what’s the matter?”
“I won… With my steel will I swept away temptation, I won a defensive battle that lasted about an hour.”
“For one hour, you were like this?”
“Yeah, it was a bitter battle…”
“Is that right, keep it up.”
“Thanks.”
I said my thanks to ossan, and went to return to work, but I made a mistake.
“…What are you doing?”
“…I don’t know. My body, it won’t listen to me.”
s.h.i.t, what’s with this.
I can’t separate from the vending machine.
It’s like if I were being held by a sumo wrestler and couldn’t move an inch.
And, somehow it’s becoming increasingly painful…
“You okay?”
“…Easy… Victory…”
I can’t… breathe… someone… cigarette… nicotine… please. Anybody, oxygen…
“Hey you, you don’t have a reason to go that far to quit smoking do you?”
“…What’d you say?”
Being unreasonable? Me?
It’s only quitting smoking?
…No no, don’t make light of tobacco.
1 pack of cigarettes is about 500 yen.
Misaki’s smile, 300 yen.
By price, cigarettes have a higher price, meaning there’s value in that.
Haha, what the h.e.l.l, tobacco is amazing. It has a higher priority than that brat—
“Dumba.s.s!”
I slam my head into the vending machine, in an instant my vision is dyed red.
“S-stop.”
“Don’t stop me, Occhan! If I don’t hit it I can’t calm my heart!”
Don’t screw with me, it hasn’t even been 3 days!!
Didn’t you decide to raise Misaki?
Didn’t you decide you’d overcome any obstacle?
Then , don’t lose to something like tobacco!
“Here, I’ll split this with you, smoke it.”
“Really?! Tha—Don’t need it! I don’t need it! Don’t tempt me!”
“No no, I’ll be troubled if you don’t quickly go back to work. Here just one puff then go back to work.”
“Easy! I don’t need to smoke to work!”
This time, with a steel will I return back to work.
Immediately after I start working, I notice.
…This is the smell of tobacco.
That’s right, even though I didn’t smoke this is second hand smoke.
If someone else smokes I don’t need to! I’m a genius!
…Haah, I’m revived.
So with this and that, I didn’t smoke for a day.
Returning home, I open the door, and look at Misaki with a refreshing smile.
“How’s that, I don’t stink anymore right?”
“…stinks.”
“Wha!?”
I-impossible!
“There’s no way that’s true! Here take a good whiff!”
“…”
“…Quit it, don’t, don’t run away with such a disgusted look!”
Unable to bear it, I rush out of the room.
“Why?! I didn’t smoke! I didn’t even smoke!”
……..Ah, it’s the tobacco smoke.
“Dumba.s.s… it isn’t whether or not I smoked, it’s the smell that’s the problem…”
But, I don’t get it.
Does it really smell that bad?
Sniff Sniff. I pull my clothes and smell it.
…I really don’t smell it.
No wait, it couldn’t be… I see, it was like that.
A long time ago, I heard you can’t tell what you smell like. In other words, it’s stained my entire body.
“… I’m powerless.”
In the middle of the street I fell down on all fours. The rough feeling of the asphalt in my hands, its as if it was rejecting me.
As if it was saying I stink.
“Uhm~, what’s wrong?”
“…I, it seems like I’ve become completely stained.”
Somehow or another I answered but who is it?
I raise my head and a black haired gla.s.ses wearing—ah, this girl is that plain girl that lives next door… hm?
“Uhm, are you glaring at me? Did I make you mad? I, uh, it’s my fault for calling out, s-sorry.”
“You have clean* skin, huh.”
“Huh?!”
“Hey, could you teach me?”
“T-t-t-teach you what?”
“How to clean out my stained body.”
“I-I-I-I-I refuse… huh? Clean? Not defile?”
“What are you talking about?”
“N-no, sorry. Um, I, um, made a big misunderstanding… yes that’s right, that, I don’t have any appeal at all, I feel like a narcissist. Hehe.”
“Ah? I don’t get it but, I think you’re clean*, y’know.”
“……”
*TL Note: Alright so this exchange doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in english. Basically kirei can mean beautiful or clean. Also if it isn’t obvious by now the MC is pretty dumb. I mean he dropped out of middle school.
She retreated with amazing energy. Did I hurt her feelings?
“So, do you know a way?”
“…N-normally, wouldn’t you take a bath?”
“Bath … huh.”
“S-sorry, that was too straight forward!”
“You… could you be a genius?”
That’s right, I could just take a bath. That was a blind spot.
“What’s your name?”
“Kohinata Mayumi.”
Kohinata Mayumi.
I’ve remembered it. I probably won’t forget it for 3 days.
“Thanks, next time let me repay the favor. Later.”
And so I visited the public bath house.
I carefully washed everything, using up one bar of soap, emptied a bottle of shampoo, and even asked a nearby ossan to wash my back.
…Perfect. With this it has to be alright.
Feeling sure of myself I got out of the bath, grabbed my clothes—and trouble arose.
“Stinks! What the h.e.l.l these clothes smell!”
s.h.i.t, I forgot!
I made my body clean but if my clothes still have the smell it doesn’t work!
s.h.i.t, why am I so stupid!?
And so I went to a suitable store and bought some cheap clothes (Top and bottom including underwear set was 2980 yen), then went back to the bathhouse one more time to cleanse myself and then changed. I left my old clothes in the bathhouse trashcan.
Sniff Sniff… Yosh, doesn’t smell.
With this everything is alright! Wait for me Misaki!
“—Stinks! This room stinks!”
What’s with this, it can’t be!
There’s tobacco, and various other… Hah, I see, just before Misaki enters the room she has a really reluctant face was because of this, huh. Then, being by the window the entire time was because of this too? To breathe a little bit of fresh air?
“Misakiii! Get out right now!”
s.h.i.t, what is this?!
I’ve been torturing Misaki all this time!
This odor is terrorism! It’s the worst!
“Sorry! I didn’t know it stunk this bad! I’m really sorry!”
Seiza.
With all my strength, seiza.
Overwhelming…! Seiza…!
With regret I bore my forehead into the floor, before long a small hand pats my head.
“Misaki?”
“…s’ok”
“You’ll forgive me?”
Nodding slightly, she sniffed.
“…soap?”
“Yeah, I came here after I washed up.”
“…unfair.”
“Wha… I see, that’s right. You want to take a bath too, huh.”
She nodded.
“Yosh got it, We’ll go right now… wait, before that we have to do something about this room.”
“…nn” (affirmative sound)
“What should we do….”
I cross my arms,
“…What should we do?”
Misaki crosses her arms in the same way and tilts her head.
What’s that… that was pretty cute.
And so I went to the neighbor—Kohinata Mayumi to buy her advice to clean up the room. TL Note: アドバイスでファ○リーズ is what he says but I am not familiar with this reference if anyone does let me know please.
Of course I threw away all my clothes.
After that, I took Misaki with me to a clothing store, and for now bought a complete set (4820 yen). At this point I only have 2 Noguchi’s (2000 yen) and some small change left.
…It’s enough to enter the bathhouse but, after I get Misaki sparkling clean, I’ll have to go work again.
While thinking about such things, Misaki trots behind me while we walk slowly under the night sky.
“…toothbrush?”
“Ah? Aah, yeah, that’s right. Need to brush our teeth too”
After I answer we drop by a convenience store, I noticed while paying the bill.
…Besides greeting me, Misaki calling out to me, that was the first time wasn’t it?
Well, it’s like that.
Doesn’t feel bad.