Hikigaya, the Son-in-law of Three Surnames

At 10:02 pm, I took the JR Chuo Line from Shinjuku to the direction of Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi. Due to the time and distance, there were not many people on the train. They were scattered around and it seemed a bit quiet.

Outside the window of the high-speed train, there was only the silent night passing by.

An hour ago, Yuigahama's mother and daughter and Hachiman, who were arguing in the Snow Cat Café in Chiba Inage, ran away from home in anger because of Yui's mother. Hachiman could not persuade her and could only take Yui and his future mother-in-law on the journey away from home.

According to Yui's mother, she will not only run away from home, but also commit suicide in the Aokigahara Sea of ​​Trees at the foot of Mount Fuji, unless Yui is willing to leave Yawata.

But Yui just ignored her, and the mother and daughter ended up in a cold war.

“Xiaoqi, you...be gentler.” Yui murmured, making a sound that could easily be misunderstood.

Even though they were on the train, Yui still took off her shoes and placed her tender white feet on Hachiman's thigh, letting him massage the sprained area.

But such open display of affection is really lacking in public ethics. The old man next to them is looking at his phone.JPG.

Although it looked painful, Yui was actually still biting a bag of cucumber-flavored potato chips.

"Xiao Qi, give me a bottle of sugar-free oolong tea." said the thirsty girl while eating potato chips.

Just now when I was changing stations in Shinjuku, I guessed that someone who I couldn't persuade to come back simply bought a big bag of drinks and snacks at Lawson.

Hachiman massaged her while rummaging through the convenience bag: "We don't have oolong tea, would you like coffee?"

"Who wants something like this? It's so sweet that it makes you sick." said the princess, who seemed to be held in the palm of her hand.

"Then there's only fresh milk. Drink this, it's good for development." Hachiman said casually.

"You're so annoying, Xiaoqi. If I grow any bigger, Xiaoxue will cry. Now she doesn't even want to take a bath with me."

Having said that, Yui still picked up the milk and drank it.

Hachiman thought about it, then handed the other box of milk to Yui's mother, who was sitting next to them, looking at the night outside and ignoring the two of them.

"Auntie, drink some milk. You haven't eaten anything tonight."

The mother, who was originally in a cold war with her daughter, also had a delicate relationship with Hachiman. She was angry about his two-timing, but at the same time, it was difficult for Yui's mother, who had watched him grow up since high school, to have a complete dislike for Hachiman.

So I could only say in a sarcastic tone: "You want me to grow up too?"

Hachiman inadvertently glanced at the gentle and virtuous young woman. Oh my god, if she continued to grow up, he was worried that Yukino would be unhappy.

He silently took back the milk, and instead took the sandwich to Yui's mother's table and said, "Then eat something to fill your stomach."

Yui's mother wanted to refuse at first, but when she smelled the faint aroma of eggs and ham mixed with mayonnaise after being heated, her stomach couldn't help but growl. She thought to herself, the body is the capital of revolution, and she used his food to complete her demonstration. Isn't it a win-win situation? She wins twice?

No, I've already won.

Yui's mother picked up the sandwich and ate it, then said with a stern face: "Don't think that a sandwich can make me give up. I will make you regret it for the rest of your life."

So, when you threaten someone, please don't use such a gentle tone.

"Xiao Qi, let me tell you, this is not the first time that mom has said she wants to commit suicide in the sea of ​​trees. In fact, she just wants to go to Mount Fuji to see the scenery." Yui said lazily, as if she didn't care about her mother's safety at all.

"Then just wait and see. Also, put your stinky feet down. You have no manners at all."

"I don't know who caused me to sprain my ankle."

"That must be because someone was so unfilial that he was punished by God."

It's terrible, so terrible, why can this mother and daughter say such things with a smile.

The two of them snorted again and returned to the cold war state, and Yui seemed to deliberately anger the other party when she spoke to Hachiman.

"Xiao Qi, it's a rare trip for us to Mount Fuji. How about we go to see the cherry blossoms? I heard that the sunrise at Mount Fuji is super beautiful, but at this time, I don't know if it will be open there."

"...If you really want to go, I can think of a way. Asai Shrine, the owner of Mount Fuji, has some connections with Chiba Shrine. As you know, Chiba Shrine and Yukino's family are relatives. It won't be difficult to ask for a favor. You can even take a hot spring bath in Asai Shrine."

There is a very famous Chinese song with a line that goes "Who can own Mount Fuji with love?" However, in fact, Mount Fuji is indeed private land and belongs to the local Asai Shrine.

Yui's mother glanced at him. Although she had long known that the child was no longer the same as before, the names she casually mentioned were all things that ordinary people could not reach.

As if noticing her gaze, Hachiman looked at her and smiled, and Yui's mother quickly turned her head.

.........................................

When the three of them arrived at Lake Kawaguchi at the foot of Mount Fuji, it was already late at night. It's ridiculous that they came here like this.

Hachiman was fine as his suit was warm enough, and Yui was also wearing a coat, but Yui's mother was only wearing a light yellow sweater, a brown knee-length skirt, and small sandals. Her clothes were really tight for the temperature that was dropping late at night, and one could even see her body trembling slightly, but she seemed to be forcing herself not to show it in front of her daughter.

He couldn't help but take off his suit jacket and put it on her. Yui's mother's face changed instantly, and she almost said, "I would rather jump into the lake than take your jacket."

As a result, the young man said to her, "I heard that people who commit suicide after catching a cold will have a particularly ugly appearance after death."

After hearing this, Yui's mother's face changed again and she hesitated, feeling a little unwilling. Feeling the residual warmth left by the jacket with a faint smell of tobacco, a strange warmth began to arise in her heart.

This was his atonement for colluding with Yui to deceive me. The coat was the "indulgence" that I deserved. Thinking this in her heart, Yui's mother was not so resistant anymore.

Walking around the shore of Lake Kawaguchi for about three kilometers, you can reach the legendary Aokigahara Forest, a dense forest at the foot of Mount Fuji. It is a natural forest with pleasant scenery, but it is famous not for its beautiful scenery, but for the legend that people often commit suicide here.

In fact, there are many tourists coming to enjoy the scenery. There is even an area dedicated to camping, and many tourists stay here to take pictures of the sunrise over Mount Fuji.

But there has never been anyone who visited in the middle of the night without any preparation.

Fortunately, there was a store here that did business with travelers, and they eventually rented a camping tent, three sleeping bags, an alcohol lamp, and other miscellaneous items to Yawata at a very ridiculous price.

Originally, Yui's mother insisted on going into the mountains at night, but Hachiman said that there were bears in the forest at night and they would attack people. Then the young woman hesitated and thought that waiting until sunrise would be a good choice.

Well, the water is a little cold today.

Chapter 40: Little Mouth Opens

It was late at night and everyone in the other tents in the camp had gone to sleep, but Hachiman was still busy. Although he had no way to change his clothes, it was surprising to find that the unscrupulous merchant had such things as disposable underwear.

However, the next scene taught Hachiman a lesson, that is, when camping, women should never turn on the lights when changing clothes in the tent at night.

When Yui's mother was changing clothes in the tent, the dark shadow cast on the tent by the windproof alcohol lamp accurately depicted the graceful figure of the young mother, and every movement while changing clothes was seen clearly.

Fortunately, Hachiman was the only one guarding outside the tent at the moment, so my mother-in-law would not suffer any harm.

Yui happened to come back, and Hachiman grabbed her and said, "Turn off the lights when you change clothes later. Just use the flashlight on your phone."

Yui felt something was strange but still followed his advice. She didn’t know if it was because she realized it too late, but she pinched him a few times after she came out.

By the time he crawled into his sleeping bag, it was already early morning, but Yui was in high spirits, as if she really regarded this trip as a rare opportunity.

"Xiaoqi, can I open the top of the tent?"

But before Hachiman could answer, Yui had already opened the top of the tent, and what was reflected in their eyes was a brilliant galaxy formed by endless starlight.

"So beautiful." Yui couldn't help but exclaim.

"Yeah." Lying on his back and looking at the starry night sky was so shocking that even Hachiman could only agree with the simplest words.

Suddenly, Hachiman changed his mind and looked at Yui's mother. He saw that her face, which was similar to Yui's but more plump and mature, also revealed a touching expression.

As if she had noticed his gaze, she said she was going to commit suicide, but she felt ashamed for being moved by the eternal and unchanging starry Milky Way. She turned away quickly, but she couldn't control her burning ears.

"Mom's ears are so red." Yui giggled.

"Maybe it's too hot." Hachiman said, trying to ease the atmosphere.

Yui's mother stood up and said, "You two!"

Then she took the initiative and stood between Yui and Hachiman with a sleeping bag, preventing them from sleeping together.

"Mom, how could you do this?"

"You're not married yet, and you're sleeping with an unrelated man. Don't you have any shame?"

The mother and daughter quarreled for a few words, but Yui's mother finally got in between them and fell asleep openly.

Hmm? Something seems to be wrong with the words.

"So, aren't you the same, mom?" Yui complained.

"I'm the elder, how can it be the same?" Yui's mother said righteously.

Then, with my back to Hachiman, I happened to meet his eyes, and suddenly thought, isn't this really going to mean I'm sleeping with him?

No, that’s not what I was thinking. We were just sleeping together, but in separate sleeping bags.

"Good night." Hachiman said and closed his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to tease her anymore.

This kid is quite considerate of small details like this.

Yui's mother's heart suddenly tightened. She endured the redness in her ears and loosened the sleeping bag a little, using the coolness to dissipate the excess heat.

"Good night." She said indifferently.

.................................

In the early morning, when he woke up again, the sunlight had made Lake Kawaguchi sparkle. Hachiman opened his eyes and saw that Yui's mother's face was a little dark. She looked at Hachiman coldly.

"Auntie, what's wrong? Did I snore yesterday?" Logically speaking, no matter how powerful he is, he can't do anything to her through her eyes.

I'm sorry, there is no classic development of the story.

As a result, Yui's mother poked the phone screen in his face and said in a bad tone: "There are no bears in Mount Fuji."

"Isn't this common sense?" Where did the bear come from in Shizuoka Prefecture? Hachiman blurted out before realizing that something was wrong.

"I'm sorry, I'm an ignorant woman without common sense." Yui's mother was angry.

It was Hachiman who told her last night that there were bears here, which dissuaded her from going into the mountains overnight.

"Mom, what's wrong with you? You didn't sleep well. Ah, Xiaoqi~" Yui woke up drowsily and said sweetly after seeing Hachiman.

Hachiman covered his face again and said, "Yui-chan, you are such a pig teammate."

Sure enough, seeing her daughter's sweet look, Yui's mother finally got angry.

"I'm going into the mountains now, to the sea of ​​trees now, Yui, just take good care of yourself from now on. No, someone will already be taking good care of you."

As he said that, he opened the tent and walked out. Yui had also woken up at this moment, and looked at Hachiman who was covering his face, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I didn't say something wrong."

Hachiman pinched her face fiercely: "Your little mouth really looks like it has been blessed."

Then he hurriedly chased after her, and Yui naturally wanted to catch up, but when she just got up, she found that the place where she sprained her ankle yesterday was very painful and a little swollen.

Seeing this, Hachiman said, "You should stay in the camp. The road in the forest is even more difficult to walk. I will go and bring your mother back."

After saying that, he walked out. Yui thought about it for a moment, and subconsciously trusted Hachiman, so she left the matter to him.

Having said that, I can't help but feel a little worried. After all, no matter how cruel they sound, they are still mother and daughter.

Hachiman chased Yui's mother to the outskirts of the sea of ​​trees. The dark green forest began to grow dense, and the end could not be seen in the distance. It exuded a faint atmosphere that was daunting.

Fortunately, he caught up with her soon, no, it was Yui's mother who was waiting for him.

"Hikigaya-kun, I'm asking you again, can you separate from Yui?"

"Although it's hard for you to accept the fact that I'm with Yui and Yukino at the same time, but things have come to this point. I'm the only man your daughter has ever had, and it will remain the same in the future."

On matters of principle, Hachiman did not give in at all and did not even think of pretending to coax Yui's mother back.

The gentle young woman seemed disappointed, as if she was about to cry at any moment, but she quickly turned her anger into anger and walked forward.

Hachiman could only sigh and follow. After walking into the forest for about twenty minutes, Hachiman found that his cell phone had no signal at all. He couldn't help but frown. He had heard that because Mount Fuji is still an active volcano, the magnetic field around it is disordered, and even a compass cannot be used. Coupled with the dense forest, the cell phone signal is naturally affected.

The further you go inside, the more eerie it feels here. It's so quiet and silent that you can hardly hear even the chirping of insects or birds.

Occasionally, you can see food packaging bags and other household garbage, probably left behind by people who had walked into the depths in the past. Hachiman even saw a thin publication called "Suicide Guide."

Even Yui's mother, who had come in with anger, couldn't help but slow down.

She was just an ordinary housewife and she didn't have much courage.

Suddenly, she seemed to see something terrible in the woods not far away.

There was a long, human-shaped thing tied to the tree with a hemp rope.

"Ahhhhh..."

Yui's mother couldn't help but let out a scream, as if she was frightened out of her mind, and ran away from here.

However, the direction she fled was deeper into the sea of ​​trees.

"Hello......."

In fact, Hachiman was also frightened, but after all, he had taken many lives, and matters of life and death were not so unfamiliar to him.

But before she knew it, Yui's mother used all her strength to run away.

At the campsite, Yui limped with her kettle to fill it with water from the water intake next to Lake Kawaguchi.

I felt a little worried, as Hachiman and his mother had already been inside for an hour.