Chapter 48: Proud

I woke up by 4 AM to prepare some breakfast for us. Yukino was still fast asleep on my bed even snoring so I decided to let her sleep until breakfast was ready. 

Now, what should I make? I guess pancakes and waffles should do it. I prepared the ingredients and started cooking a good amount of both. 3 pancakes, 2 waffles for Yukino then 2 pancakes and 2 waffles for me. 4:20 AM huh? I guess I'll make some hot cocoa as well. 

I woke Yukino up which was surprisingly challenging. I kept on shaking her shoulders but she just won't get up.

"Yukino, wake up already and have your breakfast or we'll be late." 

"Ugh! Get off will you? Ten more minutes should be fine." 

"I guess I'll just go back to sleep and cancel our trip then?" 

"NO! I'm waking up, chill dude!" 

I guess that did the trick. She was so scared that she even jumped out of bed and went straight to the bathroom to go brush and wash. 

"Don't scare me like that!" 

"It's your fault for not waking up so don't put the blame on me." 

"Did you even sleep?" 

"Aren't we on the same bed? Of course I did!" 

Yukino sat and started preparing to eat her breakfast. 

"How come I have 3 pancakes and you only have 2?" 

"So you can have more?" 

"Get this! You're getting a lot thinner already so you oughta eat more than me." 

"You say that as if you're not thin as well." 

The two of us argued on who should get the third piece of pancake on their plate. It was an endless argument of who's getting more thinner so we just decided to split the pancake in half. 

"I guess that'll do?" 

"Hmpph!"

I guess she's taking that as a loss. 

After eating breakfast, we prepared and checked all the things we needed before going on our trip. All seemed to be settled so we made our way to the parking area of my apartment. 

The day before, I asked Haruto if we could borrow his car, a sedan. I learned a while back that Haruto's parents bought him a car when he entered college but never did he try driving it. Why? That is because he can't and he just won't. 

"It's a shame Haruto won't use this." Said Yukino.

"Yeah. Such a waste." 

Yukino and I arranged the luggages and put some of it in the compartment and some on the back seat. I guess we brought too much. But better be safe than sorry right? 

"5:10 AM. We're right on schedule." Said Yukino.

"Would've been bad if you didn't wake up earlier." 

"It was all calculated so shush already will you?" 

I started driving and it was still dark outside. The streets around the neighborhood are expectedly quiet but the main roads are rather starting to get crowded. 

A few minutes after driving, the sun started rising to make the sky's darkness fade slowly. 

"Play something. Any song would be fine." Asked Yukino. 

"Just connect to the speaker and be the DJ" 

Yukino started playing some music, country songs to be specific. Now it really felt like a road trip. Thinking about it now, this might be the first time that I went on a trip alone with someone. It was always with a group or with my family back then so this feeling is kind of exciting. And for it to be with my girlfriend, it really is nice and refreshing. 

We were stuck in traffic which made us a bit behind on our schedule. Our first destination would be Hakone. It'll take about an hour or two from my estimation but I guess this traffic will add another 30-40 minutes. 

"Do you want to make your parents proud Aoi?" 

"That's some random question you thought of." 

"Just answer it already!" 

"Yeah I guess? Never really thought about it ever since the divorce but I really wanted to back then. To tell them that one day I've achieved my dreams. Maybe even now." 

"Hmm. I think you should try talking to them more often. They won't live forever so I think getting closer to them once more would be good for you. You still think about them often right?" 

"Of course I do. I'll try doing so in the near future." 

"That's good then." Said Yukino with a smile.

"Do you want to meet them someday?" Asked I.

"I don't think that'll be necessary. I'm just passing by after all." 

I didn't have the words that would answer what she just said knowing full well how much she would want to meet them if she wasn't dying. I guess I'll just respect her decision rather than opposing it. 

"How about you? Do you want to make your parents and uncle proud?" 

"I do, I really do. But given the current situation, I guess that's just not possible anymore. What could I possibly do to make them proud when I'm just a dead weight. I planned on giving up many times already and just end it but I just can't let go of living." 

"You know what I think?" 

"What?" 

"I think you've made them plenty proud already." 

"Did you not listen to what I just said?" 

"I did. But I still think you already did make them proud. Even after knowing that you'll be dying you still chose to cling to life and live. Of course they will be proud. If I was in your situation, I probably would've given up a long time ago. But you didn't, you were still there for them, still loved them as a family. Even I am proud of you for not giving up and fighting through all these. That is by no means an easy feat. Not all people can do that, you know? And I bet your mother up there is proud of her daughter as well. Surely." 

Yukino didn't answer for a while so I took my eyes off the road for a second to look at her and she was tearing up silently while smiling. I guess hearing those words really made her happy knowing that she was able to make her uncle and parents proud. 

"Don't make me cry during a trip!" Said Yukino as she slapped my shoulder.

"I'm driving here oi!" 

"Hehe. Thank you Aoi, really."