Chapter Text
1
“Today, I’m going by myself!” Nanao said, her eyes glittering with determination as she gripped the straps of her backpack.
Shunsui nodded and smiled, waving her off proudly. It was the beginning of May, the cherry blossoms blanketed the concrete courtyard as the last few petals fell off of the bare branches. The cherry blossom season was drawing to an end, the weather slowly growing warmer as the days went by. Nanao had started her first year of elementary school the previous month, and every day since she had gripped her uncle’s hand tightly and insisted that he walk her right up to the front door of the school. Today was different though, and instead of clinging on to him, when they approached the gate Nanao’s grip loosened so that she could walk through the school courtyard to the entrance by herself.
Shunsui had been Nanao’s guardian for the past four years. Two months before she was born, Shunsui’s brother passed away which left Nanao without a father. Tragically, when she was barely three years old, Nanao’s poorly mother passed too. He was only just turning thirty when he suddenly became a father figure to his niece.
After dropping Nanao off at school, Shunsui set off towards the station to meet his assistant, Lisa, to begin their commute to work. Four months ago, at the beginning of the year, the company president of Kimono Gotei, Genryūsai Yamamoto, passed away. Shunsui had known him since he was a child, and they were so close that the old man was almost like a grandfather to him. After studying art and design in university, Shunsui joined the company as a designer and over the years made it to become head designer.
Despite the fact president Yamamoto was pushing ninety when he passed, Shunsui had never thought about what would happen to the company when he died. Even though it had never crossed his mind, the last thing he imagined was that Yamamoto would have handed the company over to him.
“That old man… what was he thinking when he made that decision?” Shunsui muttered to himself as he turned the corner at Ojigaoka park and crossed the road to the train station.
Shunsui managed to work his way to become head designer at Kimono Gotei, but Lisa always berated him for being a slacker. He had a laid-back personality and regularly took naps at work, or wandered around the design floor looking for coworkers to chat with. However, he no longer had the luxury of midday naps or gossip sessions. Being company president was a lot of work. He sometimes wondered why old man Yama put so much responsibility on him. Design was something he was good at, but the endless meetings, e-mails, and deadlines that needed to be met as president were beginning to drain him.
“What took you so long?” Lisa asked, tucking a strand of dark black hair behind her ear. She was dressed neatly in a white blouse and black pencil skirt, the professional outfit that she usually wore to work, and had her hair tied neatly into a ponytail.
“Nanao decided she wanted to walk into school herself today,” he replied, sniffing and pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. “My Nanao… she’s also grown up now.”
“Which part surprises you more? Nanao growing up or the fact you haven’t?”
“Now, now…” Shunsui laughed as they sat down near the front of the train, the doors closing only a few seconds afterwards.
From her bag, Lisa produced a ring-bound planner and flipped to the correct week. The journey from Ōtsu city to Kyoto was only around twenty minutes or so, but it was enough time for Lisa to brief Shunsui on the day ahead of them. First thing in the morning was a meeting with the the production team to discuss the progress on the line of summer yukata set to be released the following month. Afterwards, he would spend an hour looking through preliminary designs for the autumn collection before taking a lunch break. In the afternoon, he would attend two more meetings about the next quarterly budget and advertisements.
“Hoho… looks like it’ll be a busy day,” Shunsui sighed. The good part about being company president was that he could end his day at three o’clock and catch the train back to Ōtsu city in order to pick up Nanao from school. The drawback was that it often meant cramming as much as possible into the day before then, and inevitably taking work home to do after he put Nanao to bed.
“It will be, so let’s hurry to the office, Mr Kyōraku.”
The two exited the station and walked across the road to the head office of Kimono Gotei. There was a smaller office in Shibuya, Tokyo, that specialised in the company’s foreign business, but the Kyoto office was a large building where various departments of the company worked.
As they entered the building, employees stopped to bow politely and wish Mr Kyōraku a good morning before they returned to their work. A few employees stepped out of the elevator to allow space for the president and his assistant to travel to the top floor which was home to only the president’s office, a waiting room, and a small meeting room.
“Good morning president Kyōraku and assistant Yadōmaru!” The head of the production department, Shiori Kanai greeted them brightly. She had shoulder length red hair that was styled tidily, and was dressed in a neat black suit. In one hand she clutched a brown leather notepad, the other she used to gesture to the elevator. “The production team are ready downstairs in meeting room three. Please look through these amended notes on the production timeline on your way.”
“Thank you, Ms Kanai. We’ll be down in five minutes.” Kyōraku assured her, smiling as she bowed before disappearing into the elevator.
Shunsui opened the door to his office, placing his satchel on the desk. He loosened his tie slightly—enough to give him more space to breathe, but not enough to be unprofessional. He then opened his bag and took his tablet out before meeting Lisa at the elevator.
On the way down to the second floor, Shunsui and Lisa reviewed the document that Ms Kanai had handed him. Lisa, diligent as ever, took some quick notes on what needed to be further discussed in the meeting.
“Good morning everyone!” Mr Kyōraku sang as he swung the meeting room door open, waltzing into the room and taking his seat at the end of the table. Lisa shuffled in after, sitting next to him and setting her notepad down. The employees responded with the same tone before Ms Kanai stood up and began presenting the key information for the meeting.
***
“Sorry for keeping you so long, president Kyōraku,” the director of advertising said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He gave Kyōraku a quick bow before scurrying off with his coworkers.
“Ahh, look at the time! I’m late to pick up Nanao…” he sighed. He hurried upstairs to the sixth floor and grabbed his bag from his office before returning to the elevator.
“Mr Kyōraku? It’s already four o’clock!” Lisa gasped as he rushed by her desk. “You’re late!”
Shunsui let out a soft groan of acknowledgment in response before ditching the elevator to run down the stairs. Once he had left the building, he made his way to the station and managed to make it onto the train just in time for it to leave for Shiga prefecture. He bit his lip anxiously, staring at his cellphone counting down the minutes. He had never been late to pick up Nanao in the past. Even if he was cutting it close, he would always be on time.
There was a feeling of shame creating a pit in his stomach. People were often sympathetic towards Shunsui since he became Nanao’s guardian. They understood that fatherhood was not necessarily something he signed up for, but a role he took on because he loved his niece and promised his sister-in-law that he would take care of her before she died. That responsibility was a heavy one to carry, but seeing Nanao grow up before his eyes made it feel so much lighter. Carrying the responsibility of the company that was entrusted to him by old man Yama placed a larger weight on his shoulders, and sometimes at night Shunsui felt himself suffocated by the weight of that responsibility.
He snapped out of his thoughts of self-pity when the overhead speaker in the train announced that it was approaching Ōtsu station. When the train stopped, he weaved past other passengers and rushed out of the station, heading up Ojigaoka street towards the elementary school.
The school building wasn’t closed as many teachers would not leave the building until later on in the evening. Shunsui walked quickly down the hall towards the first grade classroom, one he had watched Nanao walk into every weekday over the previous month.
“I-I’m so sorry for being late!” Shunsui said loudly as he slid the classroom door open and bowed deeply in the doorway.
“Ah, Mr Kyōraku!” The teacher exclaimed, swivelling his chair around.
Shunsui was yet to meet Nanao’s teacher, although he knew his name. Even though Mr Ukitake had long, white hair that aged him slightly, he looked young, probably younger than Shunsui was. He was wearing a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the collar, his folded blue tie placed at the corner of the desk. His classroom was neat, the desk looked tidy despite having a small pile of worksheet papers sprawled out for marking. The children’s desks were also neat, and at the back of the classroom was a small bookshelf and some drawers for storage. Under the window, Nanao was curled up on a dark blue beanbag chair, her eyes closed. She was sleeping.
“Mr Ukitake, I’m truly sorry for inconveniencing you. I was held up in a work meeting and didn’t realise how late it had gotten.” Shunsui continued his apology, clasping his hands together as he entered the classroom.
Mr Ukitake had muted green eyes, the corners creasing as he smiled brightly.
“Oh, it’s not a problem at all! Nanao helped me tidy up a little, and then she did some reading over there. She fell asleep around fifteen minutes ago, but children her age are always tired after school, right?” He replied warmly, his gaze softening as he looked towards the sleeping girl.
“I suppose so, although I’m sure she rests less frequently than I do.” Shunsui joked, shutting the classroom door behind him.
Mr Ukitake laughed. Shunsui liked the way he laughed. The corners of his eyes creased and his nose crinkled a little. When he felt himself staring at him too long, he quickly spoke up.
“Thank you for taking care of Nanao in your free time like this.”
“It’s really not a problem, Mr Kyōraku. I did try phoning you earlier, but the call didn’t seem to connect. That’s the only phone number we have on record. Should I take Nanao’s mother’s number down?” Mr Ukitake asked, turning towards a drawer beside his desk and opening the address book he lifted out.
“I’m sorry, but I’m Nanao’s only guardian. Her mother passed away a few years ago.” Shunsui replied, walking over to stand beside the desk, hovering over Nanao’s teacher.
Mr Ukitake looked up at him, frowning sadly. “Oh… I apologise, sir,” he gasped softly, giving Shunsui a quick pitiful glance. “I’m sorry, I made an assumption as Nanao has frequently drawing pictures like these…” he trailed off, turning around and rummaging through some filing cabinets behind his chair. “See? This is a file of all of Nanao’s work from this year so far. She often draws you, herself, and another woman. I thought she was her mother.”
Shunsui looked closely at the two of the drawings. In one, Nanao was in the middle, and a scruffy looking man that was supposed to be himself in a yukata was holding her hand. On the other side, a woman with jet black hair and glasses was holding her other hand. There was a big pink heart in the middle above Nanao, and in a child’s uncertain handwriting ‘family’ was written across the top of the paper.
He grinned widely, letting out a loud chuckle that caused the sleeping girl to stir in the corner of the classroom.
“That’s my assistant, Lisa. She plays with Nanao after school or at the weekend when I’m busy at work.” Shunsui explained, gently taking the drawing in his hands. “Could I… could I take his home?”
Mr Ukitake smiled brightly, closing the file. “Of course! It’s such a lovely drawing, you must be proud.”
“I am.” He responded quietly, barely a whisper.
Shunsui Kyōraku had not asked to be a father. He was always popular with girls as a student, and when he worked in the design department, many of his unmarried coworkers flirted with him. He never took the next step with anyone. He was not married, and he never thought about being a father until Nanao’s mother fell ill and she asked him to take care of her daughter. It was not an easy task, but he watched Nanao learn to read and write, make friends, start preschool, start school, and become more confident— a person of her own; the responsibility was worth it. He loved her dearly, and as he held that piece of paper in his hands, he felt relieved.
“Brother… sister-in-law… she’s okay.”