Kure-nai Vol 1 Chapter 3.4

Volume 1
Chapter 3-4

Looking at Murasaki, Shinkurou noticed how nervous she seemed. Even though the Houzuki’s home was large, it probably paled in comparison to the Kuhouin’s. What then, could be making her so nervous? Shinkurou had asked Murasaki several times on their way there but received no answer. Societal norms usually dictated that talkative children were clever. However, this was not entirely true. In truth, clever children did not speak thoughtlessly. In short, they only say what is appropriate. Therefore, Shinkurou was starting to doubt Murasaki’s cleverness.

Yuno seems to know something too, what could it be…

As Shinkurou unlocked the door and opened it, he looked at Murasaki from the corner of his eye.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

Although he did not say this very loudly, the presence of a moderately loud echo made Shinkurou aware of how polite he was being. Shinkurou had grown so accustomed to being polite that it was just easier for him to act that way.

Shinkurou took off his shoes and stepped up from the genkan1. As Shinkurou stepped onto the floor, he noticed that unlike the floorboards at May Rain Manor, the ones here were st.u.r.dy and did not creak. While Shinkurou waited for Murasaki to take her shoes off, he heard the faint sounds of footsteps from further within the house. Turning around to locate the origins of the footsteps, Shinkurou b.u.mped into a small girl standing at his feet.

“I-It’s been a while.”

Shinkurou looked down at the young girl.

“Hey, Chii-chan.”

Chizuru, the second daughter of the Houzuki family, looked up at Shinkurou from within his shadow, gave Shinkurou an embarra.s.sed smile before bowing.

“…Welcome home.”

She was the youngest girl in the house and due to her extreme fear of strangers, she hardly ever went out. Even at kindergarten, she did not make friends and played by herself. Chizuru only opened her heart to her family. The only reason Shinkurou was included was probably due to the fact that he had lived with the Houzuki’s since before she was born.

Chizuru seemed exceptionally happy to meet Shinkurou again after such a long time. Embracing his legs tightly, she was unwilling to let go. She swung left and right as she hugged Shinkurou’s legs and then looked up at him, giving him another embarra.s.sed smile.

“Shinkurou, who is this kid?”

Murasaki, having only just taken her shoes off, pointed at Chizuru, who was younger than she was.

“She is Chizuru, Yuno’s younger sister. Chii-chan, this is Murasaki Kuhouin. The two of you become good friends, okay?”

Chizuru, still clinging to Shinkurou, looked out from behind Shinkurou’s legs at Murasaki.

“If big brother says so, then I will be your friend.”

“You were so quiet that I could not hear what you said very well.”

Openly showing her displeasure for Murasaki, Chizuru started to tear up and hid in Shinkurou’s shadow.

Despite being around the same age, their personalities were dramatically different.

Their personalities will change as they grow older. Unless they are more deeply rooted in who they are, in which case they will remain the same for the most part, like myself.

Shinkurou thought this as the two girls looked up at him. Then, Yuno appeared from within the house, walking with a flowing gait.

“Welcome, both of you.”

“…Why are you wearing that?”

Yuno was wearing a red hakama2.

“Are they not befitting on me?”

Yuno suddenly changed her manner of speaking.

As she already had quintessential j.a.panese features, the hakama was almost too well-suited to her.

“Actually, I recently got a part time job at an acquaintance’s shrine as a shrine maiden.”

Yuno started to talk about the troubles she had at work. It seemed like things such as foreign tourists and male visitors who would persistently make advances on her kept her busy at work. Apparently, the priest was so pleased with her performance that he gave her the hakama set as a reward.

Yuno being there probably increased the number of visitors, figured Shinkurou.

“I thought you might like this so I put it on as quickly as I could.”

Smiling, Yuno asked, “How is it?” to which Shinkurou could only reply honestly.

“It looks wonderful.”

“Does it turn you on?”

“…A little.”

“I’m so glad. It just fills me with so much joy to see that you back on track.”

“Uh, I may have said this before, but I’m not a lolicon.”

“Yes, I know. However, it did not change how I felt.”

The minds of women are a mystery. Shinkurou felt that the minds of men and women were on completely different levels and were uniquely designed. There is no way to understand them. Could love be the motivation behind people trying to understand the opposite s.e.x? Could that be what I’m missing?

Translation Notes and References

1. Genkan (玄関) A small and often lowered s.p.a.ce at the entrance of j.a.panese homes where one takes off their shoes.

2. Hakama (袴) Traditional j.a.panese pants worn over a kimono.