The second Monday of January.
Arisa had returned to her family home in the Kanto prefecture.
“Well? What do you think?”
Having finished changing, Arisa asked her family.
The first to answer was Mei.
“Wow! You look absolutely beautiful!!”
At Mei’s honest reaction, Arisa couldn’t help but smile.
She was dressed in a vibrant red furisode. Furisode — formal long-sleeved kimono worn by young unmarried women.
Yes—today was her Coming of Age ceremony.
A special day for her.
…Strictly speaking, the legal age of adulthood had been lowered to eighteen, but the ceremony itself was still, as usual, held for those turning twenty that year.
“Yeah, it suits you very well.”
Naoki nodded in satisfaction.
He wore the expression of someone who’d just finished a big task.
“You look really beautiful.”
“Is that so?”
Arisa responded plainly to Hiroto’s compliment, then turned to the only one who hadn’t spoken yet—
her stepmother, Amagi Emi.
“What do you think?”
“…It suits you.”
Emi answered with a slightly reluctant expression.
Arisa’s lips curled up faintly at that.
“Well, it was expensive, after all.”
Emi added.
At her attitude, Arisa gave a small wry smile.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
After hearing everyone’s thoughts, Arisa stepped outside.
Before long, a car pulled up in front of her house.
The door opened.
And out stepped her fiancée, dressed in traditional attire.
“Good morning, Arisa. That outfit looks wonderful on you. You’re always cute, but today you look especially beautiful.”
“Hehe… thank you.”
Praised by Yuzuru, Arisa gave the brightest smile she had all day.
“You look great too, Yuzuru-san. Very handsome.”
Yuzuru was wearing a black montsuki haori and hakama. Montsuki haori hakama — formal traditional men’s attire bearing family crests.
Naturally, it bore the Takasegawa family crest.
“Thanks.”
He smiled happily, then turned to Naoki, who stood beside Arisa.
“Well then, Yuzuru-kun… I’m entrusting Arisa—my daughter—to you.”
“Yes. Of course.”
With that, Yuzuru took Arisa’s hand.
“Come on, get in.”
“Yes!”
Arisa got into the car.
Their destination—the ceremony venue.
The car drove off…
but instead of stopping right at the venue, it parked a short distance away.
“Let’s walk from here.”
“Sounds good.”
Escorted by Yuzuru, Arisa walked for about five minutes.
Even though it was still early, the venue was already crowded.
“Hmm… do I stand out a bit?”
Standing beside her, Yuzuru spoke with a slightly uneasy tone.
Stand out?
Arisa tilted her head.
“What do you mean? Because you’re too handsome?”
It was true—her fiancée stood out in that regard.
His blue eyes alone made him noticeable, as always.
But that was something to be proud of, not embarrassed about.
“No, I mean… everyone else is in Western clothes, right? I’m the only one in traditional wear…”
“…Oh.”
After a moment, Arisa understood.
All the men around them were wearing suits.
Among them, Yuzuru’s haori and hakama did stand out a little.
Meanwhile, all the women were in furisode.
The exact opposite situation.
If Arisa alone were wearing a dress among them, it would feel just as out of place.
“I think it’s better than standing out in a bad way.”
She glanced at people with flashy outfits and hairstyles.
They might think they looked stylish—
but honestly, they just stood out for the wrong reasons.
Compared to that, Yuzuru’s attire was traditional.
If anything, he stood out in a good way.
“But why is it that women mostly wear kimono, while men wear suits?”
“Hmm… cultural norms? Or just habit? Hard to say.”
As they chatted, Arisa suddenly spotted another man in traditional wear.
One of Yuzuru’s kind.
“Yuzuru-san, there’s someone else in traditional clothes. See? It’s not that rare.”
“That does make me feel better—…wait, isn’t that Soichiro?”
“…Oh, you’re right.”
The man turned out to be exactly who Yuzuru thought—
his friend, Satake Soichiro.
And beside him stood a beautiful woman in a vivid blue furisode—
Tachibana Ayaka.
“Huh? Yuzurun! Arisa-chan! Over here, over here!!”
It seemed they’d been spotted too.
Ayaka waved energetically, calling out to them.
((Please don’t shout like that.))
Thinking the same thing, the two hurried over.
“Long time no see, you two! How’ve you been?”
Ayaka greeted them with the enthusiasm of someone meeting after years apart.
Yuzuru and Arisa exchanged wry smiles.
“Yeah, long time no see, Ayaka-chan. It’s been… ten days?”
“For me, about two weeks.”
Yuzuru had seen her around ten days ago for New Year’s greetings.
Arisa had seen her about two weeks ago in a university lecture.
Both Ayaka and Soichiro attended the same university as them.
So it hadn’t been long at all.
“Hey, Yuzurun—you went with traditional wear too! Nice one, Soichiro-kun.”
“Right!? If you’re Japanese, it’s got to be traditional wear!”
Dressed in his own haori and hakama, Soichiro looked delighted as he sought agreement.
“Right?”
As the two of them bonded over it, Arisa suddenly spoke up—
“Isn’t that… Hijiri-san over there?”
“Oh, you’re right! Hijiriiin! Over here!!”
Ayaka called out loudly again.
The young man she called looked around in surprise—
then spotted them and jogged over.
“You’re too loud.”
That was the first thing he said, clearly embarrassed.
Ayaka simply smiled, unfazed.
“…What are you wearing?”
Yuzuru and Soichiro frowned, criticising him at once.
Caught off guard, Hijiri blinked and looked down at himself.
“Huh? …Is something wrong?”
There was nothing wrong.
He was dressed in a perfectly stylish suit.
“Why aren’t you wearing traditional clothes!?”
“Have you no pride as a Japanese man!?”
“…Did we ever agree to match?”
At his confused question, the two nodded in unison.
“No, but we’re best friends, right?”
“Then you should’ve known without being told.”
“I’m not your boyfriend.”
Hijiri replied flatly.
Then the three of them burst out laughing together.
Watching the close-knit trio, Arisa and Ayaka exchanged glances.
“If only Chiharu-chan and Tenka-chan were here too…”
“It can’t be helped… they’re in Kyoto, after all.”
Chiharu and Tenka both had their family homes in Kyoto.
So they were attending their ceremony there.
It was a shame they couldn’t all be together—
just as that thought crossed their minds, all five of their phones buzzed at once.
They checked them simultaneously.
It was a message from Chiharu.
Heeey, boyfriend! Are you watching!? Right now, Nagiri Tenka-chan is in my arms!!
Attached was a photo of the two of them together.
Chiharu wore a beaming grin, while Tenka looked slightly bashful.
Both were dressed in beautiful furisode.
“…I’m glad to see she hasn’t changed.”
Arisa said with a smile.
