Ever since he and Rin officially started dating on Christmas Eve, Akira hadn't yet felt any changes in his life.
Or rather, he hadn't had the time to really process them.
Because just a few days later, they both began preparing to return home for the New Year.
Crossing the long tunnel at the prefecture border, one enters Snow Country.
Although the prototype for the "Snow Country" depicted by Yasunari Kawabata was Niigata Prefecture, Akira felt it wouldn't be out of place to apply it to Nagano City as well.
Taking the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagano Station only takes about an hour and 40 minutes.
However, after getting out of Nagano Station, it takes another 40 minutes or so by bus to reach Shin-Kōmachi, where his home is located.
Compared to the cityscape of Tokyo, the current urban scenery felt like being in another world—
Although it wasn't yet the peak snowfall period of January or February, the roads and rooftops of every house were already covered in a thick layer of snow, dyeing the entire world snow-white.
The snow on the roads had been cleared away in time and piled up on both sides of the highway, forming snow walls half a person's height.
However, the height of these snow walls would continue to increase over the coming period.
After getting off the bus, Akira continued walking along the roadside for another ten minutes or so before finally reaching the home of the Original—and now, his own home.
He brushed the snow off his body at the entrance, took his keys out of his pocket, opened the door, and stepped inside.
"I'm home."
So far, Akira wasn't feeling too flustered.
Because, just as he had expected, there was no one home at this time.
During this season, his parents should be at their family apple orchard, busy with winter pruning work, and they wouldn't be back until evening barring any surprises.
Ever since the Original revealed his talent for painting, his parents had hardly let him touch any farm work at home, and Akira naturally had no intention of going to join the fray now.
Besides, even if he did go, he would just be a hindrance.
Thus, after changing his shoes in the entryway, Akira went straight back to his bedroom on the second floor.
The appearance of the bedroom hadn't changed at all from the way the Original had left it in his memory, yet there wasn't a speck of dust, showing it had been carefully looked after.
Without needing to think about it, this was certainly the work of his mother, Mochizuki Heko.
The journey back from Tokyo had taken a total of nearly four hours.
Although it hadn't taken too much time, the journey still left him feeling a bit exhausted.
So, Akira simply lay down on the bed, and the moment his body made contact with the soft bedding, his fatigue dissipated quite a bit.
At this moment, looking at the ceiling that was both strange and familiar, he sighed, "I'm back."
Originally, he had imagined many scenarios for this return trip, but he hadn't expected it to feel so natural?
This was likely because he possessed the complete memories of the Original.
Although it might sound a bit strange, after returning home, he did indeed have the feeling of being home.
At the very least, his current behavior and mood were more relaxed than he had anticipated.
That said, since his parents hadn't returned home yet, he thought he would just rest for a while.
However, before that, he took out his phone and sent an email:
『Akira』: "I'm home."
『Rin』: "That's great, you must be tired from the trip."
"So, please get some good rest now."
The speed at which Rin replied to his email made him reasonably suspect that she had been keeping an eye out for his message, and the corner of his mouth curled into a smile involuntarily.
『Akira』: "Yeah, I know."
"By the way, how are things on your end? Are you home yet?"
『Rin』: "I'm home now too. But Mom and Dad aren't home right now, I'm the only one here."
『Akira』: "What a coincidence, same here. (Laughs)"
However, their situations were still a bit different.
Rin's father was still busy with work.
The animation production industry was a very competitive field, and even the president couldn't afford to be idle.
Therefore, her father probably wouldn't be able to free up his time until just before the New Year.
As for Rin's mother, according to what she had said, her mother ran an interest class for flower arranging and was still working at the moment.
But this class was actually just a gathering place for a group of wealthy, idle ladies to hang out and have fun under the guise of learning flower arranging.
Therefore, to be accurate, her mother was just out having fun with her friends.
That said, the fact that Rin could now naturally chat with him about these somewhat private topics was also a reflection of the change in their relationship.
After chatting with her for a while, Akira felt a bit sleepy, so he decided to rest for a little bit.
However, he hadn't expected that he would sleep straight through until evening.
It must be said, it was quite a comfortable sleep.
But when he got up, he suddenly heard some movement downstairs—it sounded like someone had returned.
"I'm home."
Mochizuki Heko and her husband, Koji Mochizuki, returned inside. After habitually exchanging greetings, they both silently began to change their shoes, neither saying a word.
This wasn't a cold war; it was just that after a busy day, they didn't have the energy for idle chatter.
But at this moment, Heko suddenly noticed a pair of shoes in the entryway that didn't belong to her or her husband.
But before she could even begin to think about what this meant, a voice that couldn't be more familiar suddenly came from the second floor: "Welcome back."
"————?"
Looking at Akira as he came down from the second floor to stand before them, Mochizuki Heko couldn't help but freeze, staring at him in disbelief.
However, after quickly reacting, her disbelief transformed into a massive sense of surprise, and she immediately said excitedly: "Akira?! You're back——?!"
Akira looked at the two people before him.
Although he had been away for over half a year, fortunately, the two of them hadn't changed much from how they appeared in his memories.
His mother, Mochizuki Heko's, face already showed some traces of the years, but one could still tell that she must have been a beauty in her youth, or at the very least, the village belle.
Even now, the way she looked when she smiled was quite beautiful.
On the other side, his father, Koji Mochizuki's, features were on the rugged side, but they didn't give off a fierce impression; rather, they were hard and plain, like rock.
Regarding his appearance, Koji Mochizuki also felt a bit surprised, but he didn't speak, while his gaze toward him was somewhat complex.
Regardless, what surprised Akira the most was that at this very moment, finally seeing them with his own eyes and facing the two of them in person, he didn't feel awkward or ill at ease.
On the contrary, at this moment, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
Thus, he smiled and nodded, saying: "——Yeah, I'm home."