My name is Jack, call me that.
“Aren’t you a little too enthusiastic?”
“Of course! Don’t underestimate otaku!”
It was Sunday, and we were having a Halloween Party at a friend’s house, which I wouldn’t say I’d been eagerly awaiting, but still.
The two arguing in front of me were, indeed, a little too enthusiastic. Apparently, they were cosplaying characters from a certain anime, dressed as black-clad mages, and the staff that would serve as their weapon looked quite expensive.
“…You’re serious. But wow, that’s amazing.”
Well, maybe it’s a realm only he, who dedicates his life to cosplay and otaku culture, could reach. In contrast, the other one was dressed as a classic Dracula, but he was just wearing a suit and cape, with his face painted to look the part.
“Dracula is a classic… but you’re not very creative.”
They both looked at me and said that.
I knew that without being told. Right now, I’m just wearing my usual clothes, equipped with a lightsaber, and wearing a pumpkin head. It’s the same style I had when I helped Shinjo-san and the others back then, just with different clothes.
“…Well, it does have a certain atmosphere.”
“Indeed… It’s the guise of the strong.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The guise of the strong… does wearing a pumpkin make you look strong? I swung the lightsaber I was holding for effect. As I practiced my swings with supple movements, reminiscent of my kendo days, I heard applause.
“You really do look strong!”
“…I’m starting to get a little scared, for some reason.”
Why is that?!
I was a little tired, so I sat down on a chair and ate the food made by the mother of the guy cosplaying as a mage. I usually cook when I have time, but I often just eat cup ramen, so eating someone’s homemade food like this makes me happy.
“Here, I brought you more. Fufu, Hayato-kun always eats so deliciously, it makes it worth making.”
“Thank you! It’s seriously the best!”
It was the kind of fried chicken and French fries that we high school boys love, and the slightly Halloween-ish pumpkin soup was also very delicious and satisfying.
“I’m so glad. Compared to my son, he rarely says thank you.”
“It’s embarrassing, please understand.”
“I’d be happy if you could overcome that embarrassment and say thank you, that’s what a mother is.”
I also appealed with my eyes that he was right.
It’s like, the more you think someone will always be there, the more shocking it is when they suddenly disappear. It would be like carrying a sadness that you can’t recover from for a while.
“Treasure your family!”
“…Yeah.”
And because they know that I lost my parents early, they take my words seriously. Of course, my friend’s mother was the same.
“Is there really nothing you’re troubled by?”
“I’m fine. My maternal grandparents are worried about me.”
They send me enough money that I don’t have to worry about it. They care about me, their daughter’s son, that much. I’ll probably be visiting them during the New Year’s holiday, so I need to buy them some souvenirs.
“Hey Hayato, if anything really happens, please talk to us, okay?”
“Yeah. We’re friends no matter what… no, best friends! Absolutely!”
…Seriously, you guys are the best best friends!
After that, we had a blast… of course, we made sure not to disturb the neighbors. It’s only once a year, and it’s a really small gathering, but it was the best time to realize the importance of friends and the wonderfulness of friendship.
I left my friend’s house a little earlier than the others and headed straight home without stopping anywhere. If I went home like this, I would be alone, returning to a life devoid of the liveliness I had felt until just now.
“…It’s lonely, after all.”
If Dad and Mom hadn’t had that accident, if they hadn’t gotten sick, there would have been people waiting for me at home.
“Come on, Hayato, spoil yourself with your mother. Children should spoil themselves with their parents, right?”
…Spoil myself… huh. I can’t do that anymore, Mom.
I took out the pumpkin head from the bag, as if to distract myself from the sinking feeling. It has carved-out eyes and a mouth, but it really has a shape that makes fun of people.
“You look carefree, don’t you?”
I tapped it on the head.
It doesn’t have a will, and it won’t answer my words. Thinking about such obvious things, I put the pumpkin back on my head.
“It’s Halloween, after all. I guess I’ll walk around the neighborhood like this.”
I don’t know about a bustling city, but if I met someone in such a quiet place, it wouldn’t be surprising if they screamed. Even so, I decided to wear it until I got to that corner, just a little further.
“Hum hum hum~♪”
Humming my favorite singer’s song, I walked cheerfully down the night road.
And at that corner, which was my goal, I would end up cursing my carelessness.
“Hum hum hum~♪ …?”
When I turned the corner, there were people walking from the other direction. It was right after I turned, but we didn’t collide, and I managed to stop my body before colliding with the two figures… but.
“…Ah.”
“…Ah!?”
The two people in front of me were, unbelievably, Arisa-san and Aina-san.
It was a cold night, so they were wearing warm-looking jackets, but the large swellings at their chests couldn’t be hidden, and they asserted their presence in abundance. Arisa-san, surprised by my appearance, opened her blue sapphire eyes wide and looked at me. Aina-san didn’t seem particularly surprised, but…
“…Ah~.”
Normally, I wouldn’t care, but right now I’m wearing the pumpkin head I wore back then. I hadn’t expected to meet them in such a place and was caught off guard. I panicked, but I immediately bowed and tried to leave, but I was grabbed by the arm with considerable force.
“Wait… please wait!”
I felt that those words contained an incredible amount of emotion. Something that suppressed even the desire to shake it off and run away, I felt that from Arisa-san’s voice.
“…Do you need something?”
After all, when I hide my face like this, I can become a different version of myself than usual. Like when I saved them back then, if I just say a few words and leave immediately, nothing will…
“Hey, sis, this person is troubled too, so let’s calm down a bit. There’s a park nearby, would you like to come too?”
“…Okay.”
…Looks like I can’t escape this.
The nearby park, with its newly changed lights, was brightly lit. It couldn’t be helped that bugs were gathering, but it was still enough to illuminate the park. Arisa-san and Aina-san, for some reason, took my hands and made me sit down on a bench.
“…………”
“Here we go.”
Arisa-san, staring intently at me, and Aina-san, the same as I always know her… no, what is this situation, what on earth is going to happen? A pumpkin-headed man, sandwiched between two inhumanly beautiful women, shrinking back… seriously, what is this scene?!
“…Ah… how wonderful.”
…Why does this person have such a blissful look on her face?
As if to help me, who couldn’t find a way to break through this situation, Aina-san called out to Arisa-san.
“Sis? I can wholeheartedly agree that you’re moved, but it’s not good to trouble him, right?”
“…Ah, that’s right. You’re right.”
Maybe Aina-san is a goddess.
Arisa-san cleared her throat once, and then, as expected, asked me this.
“Thank you so much for what you did back then. Our family was saved by you.”
“…………”
The hand holding mine tightened.
Arisa-san had the same pleading eyes she showed back then, the eyes of someone who had seen hope in front of a reliable presence. My attention was about to be drawn only to Arisa-san, but Aina-san, for her part, put her hand on my shoulder and gently rubbed it.
“…Won’t you tell me your name?”
It was an earnest voice.
I felt that she would never let go of my hand until I gave her my name, so I decided to give her a fake one.
As if to convey that the pumpkin-headed me was someone other than Hayato Domoto. A meeting only for that night and now, so I wished they would forget.
“…My name is…”
“…………”
Arisa-san continued to look straight at me, waiting for my next words.
“I am…”
Jack O’Lantern… that’s it!
“Jack. My name is Jack.”
“…Jack-san♪”
“Pfft!?”
Apart from Arisa-san, who blushed and muttered “Jack,” Aina-san burst out laughing, holding her stomach.
“You are my…”
…Can I just say one thing?
Arisa-san’s gaze is kind of scary.
[Afterword]
Finally managed to get my sister to go on a rampage… now I can write.