Bokura wa Itsumo - [Chapter 44]

Translator: Sarah

Chapter 44: your town

The chapter begins with Nori summing up what she knows about Haruna. Two houses down from hers, in a run-down one-story house, he lives with just his uncle. He has a uniform he got from Kyou-chan. When he was a little boy, his mother died, and he grew up in institutions. He seems to have had a girlfriend when he first came to town, but he promptly dumped her. Before she knew it, Yuu got attached to him. He has a somewhat imposing face, that seems both grown-up and childish. He came back to this town to see Nori, and told her that he loves her. That's the Haruna she knows. Picking back up where they ran into each other at the end of Chapter 43, Nori asks Haruna if he needed something from her. Hmm... He needed to hear Nori's voice, is what he needed. Nori finds his directness embarrassing and hits him with her bag, saying, “Isn't that embarrassing to say!?” He asks her what's with the tsundere act, and she tells him not to forget that he's still in middle school. He replies, “Settle down, there, high school student!!” Once Nori settles herself, Haruna tells her that he ran into his uncle on his way home earlier. He just came in to drop off his luggage before heading back out; but, for the first time, he was able to really talk to him. He said to thank Nori for the stew. Smiling, Haruna tells Nori that, if she hadn't intervened in their relationship, he doesn't think he would ever have been able to communicate with his uncle like that. Nori seems a bit flustered, stammering that she didn't do anything special, but she's happy. Looking a little shy, Nori tells Haruna that she's been in front of his house hundreds of times before, but now it's her most special place. Haruna asks what she means, and she tells him, “Because... This is is where I had my first kiss.” Haruna sighs, then leans in to Nori, asking, “Why are you being so cute?” He's about to kiss her, but two older women walking down the street see them, and they quickly separate. As they pass, Haruna looks down, and asks, “Nori, would you come to my room?” Nori responds, “Huh?” and he rephrases, “I want you to come to my room.”

The chapter changes to a shot of a depressed Kyou, still pushing the bike he got in the last chapter. He pauses in front of the batting center, but just drops his head and passes by. Back to Nori, who is repeating Haruna's words in her head, until her brain sort of fizzles out. She responds by giving him a thumbs-up, and flatly saying, “Okay.” He tells her not to force herself, and Nori clearly starts to force herself, yelling, “I'm, I'm not forcing myself!! I've been in there once before!! (I took advantage of the situation!)” Haruna notes that it's too cold to stand outside and talk, and Nori is still overreacting, “That is exactly right!!” She looks around to see if anyone is watching, and Haruna tells her that she's acting way too suspicious. She follows him in, and we see that Takatsuki (Mio's nurse) has been watching from down the street. Seeing Nori go into Haruna's house, she mutters, “Huh... It's not like this is supposed to be my job, but...” She pulls out her phone, complaining, “Honestly, that selfish rich girl...” She calls Mio, thinking, “Even though they're just middle school kids...”

Nori follows Haruna to his room, and they both freeze up a bit in the doorway. Nori gets anxious about the silence, thinking, “Say something, Haruna! Say something!!” Finally, he gives her a little smile, and says, “Come on in.” (Nori's thought: “He looks serious!!”) Nori follows him in, and he tells her she can sit down. Does she want him to bring her anything? Nori is still a bit stuck on questioning whether or not agreeing to come into his bedroom makes her look like a loose girl. No, no, no... It's not like she's going in there to do anything, or that it's a sudden development... She's just over-thinking. Haruna leaves to get something to drink, and Nori starts to calm down and look around the room. She looks over all the books and notebooks on his desk, thinking that he must be working hard as a third-year middle school student with high school entrance exams. She had the same study book! That takes her back... She opens one of his notebooks, and looks at his hand-writing, and thinks he's unexpectedly well-organized for a middle school student. She's tries to picture him in class, looking bored. She turns around and looks at the pile of unpacked boxes in his room, and her expression turns sad. As Haruna comes back into the room with their tea, he finds Nori sitting in front of the boxes. He asks her why she's sitting there like that, and she says, “There's been something I've wanted to ask you. Why do you have all of these boxes packed?” Haruna puts down the tray he's carrying, realizing that he'll have to explain. Nori continues, telling him that Onohira told her, “Haruna's room is still full of unpacked boxes.” He starts to say, “Wait, Onohira...” and Nori tells him that isn't the issue. When she was here before and peeked into his room, she saw that it was true. (The point being, it's been like that the whole time he's lived here.) The kitchen and such are all in order, it's only Haruna's things that are packed up. It's like he's prepared to leave at any time, like it's a room that someone's renting... But yet, it's Haruna's room. Nori's eyes start to well up, and Haruna can't think of what to say, looking sadly at her. He says, “Nori...” and she stands up to look him in the eyes. She asks, “This place... Is this room still yours, Haruna?”

Looking down at Nori, Haruna repeats, “My... place...” Looking at him, Nori thinks again about how sad he seems... Rather than explain himself, Haruna finally replies, “All right. I'll put my things away.” Nori gives him a skeptical look, asking if he'll really do it. He reassures her twice, and Nori smiles. She starts to roll up her sleeves, and says, “It's settled, so let's get to it!” Haruna stops her, telling her that he promises to do it himself, later. Nori thinks that they'll make this town a place Haruna can belong, and she starts to talk to him about the snow. Suddenly, Haruna wraps his arms around her from behind, resting his forehead on her shoulder. Nori says his name, but he just sadly hugs her, hiding his face. The scene switches to Kyou returning to school with the bike. As he pushes it through the gates, he hears, “Kyousuke-kun? What's wrong? Why are you pushing that bike?” The chapter ends with him looking up to see Kaori.

Translator's Notes: Hi, Kaori! It's only been about thirty chapters since we've seen you. This is one of those chapters that works well enough as part of a volume, but feels like nothing is happening when read alone. Admittedly, I dragged my heels on translating this, waiting to pair it with the next chapter. It was a little less boring than I remembered, coming back to finish the last few pages.

Back to [Bokura wa Itsumo]Main page