A certain boy’s memories

“Let the men be as men, the women as women.”

That is how my family tried to raise me.

“What an outdated way of thinking!” you say. Well, while the modern era is becoming more accepting of minorities in the name of diversity, this was a fairly common line of thought for families back then

The only toys I had back then were robots and cars.

I didn’t question it, I had simply accepted it as part of ‘being a boy’.

I was well-built even when I was a kid - unrivaled in martial arts, and I felt a sense of inexpressible joy at being able to casually throw around other kids of my age.

I was touted as the shining example of what an Akitsu boy should be.

Around that time, I experienced the shock of my life when I watched my younger sister play with dolls.

I came to realize…that I wanted to play with them too.

Though I was from a branch family, the adults still looked to me as the next successor of the Ameno clan, and I couldn’t find the courage to speak out against the tracks they laid out before me.

The Ameno clan is probably the biggest family in all of Akitsu, and there’s quite a few crazy folks even amongst my close relatives.

Someone who dyed her hair blonde because she wanted to stand out against her childhood friend.

Someone who ran straight into the lake because she wanted to be faster than anyone else.

Having watched those folks since I was young, I thought that I had to keep my wits about me.

I tried to excel in both academics and martial arts, but got my first taste of defeat at the hands of a transfer student with…seemingly complicated circumstances.

It happened during the finals of the sumo tournament that I’ve long reigned supreme in.

The sky I saw when lying on the ground seemed so blue.

The moment I clashed with him, I felt electricity coursing through my body, and my knees just gave out beneath me.

He was the first, and last person, to make me feel that way.

Kise Mikoto. My prince charming.

He was special.

From that day onwards, I stopped practicing sumo. But I still had judo, so I kept up with martial arts.

I felt embarrassed at wrestling with countless boys while half naked.

I don’t think I’ll ever confess these feelings to him.

Unlike her, I don’t have the courage to.

Everyone hates rejection.

But that doesn’t mean I had no chance at all.

“In this world, the Okami’s interpretations can make anything possible,” she once said to me.

“I can’t do it myself since I’m the shrine maiden, but if you’re really desperate, just come and hang up an Ema at my shrine.”

Sorry to tell you, but I don’t trust those gods of yours.

But I’m also not going to dismiss the earnest feelings of those who go and hang up Emas.

What kind of world should our world be?

Should it be decided by the divine, or by the hands of man?

Even my world isn’t all about whether my feelings will be reciprocated or not.

I just wanted to see this nation’s future that the gods- no, the future that he envisioned.

Childbirth isn’t the only thing connecting us to our history, or the present to the future.

Sometimes I think about how this world isn’t one where all our wishes come true. But we should aim for a society where we can proudly proclaim what we love - a society that can respect the wishes of each and every one of us.

I suppose I have to start with myself first.

You see, I’m actually quite the diligent person.

Can’t tell from just looking at me, right hon?