Chapter Text
Kita Shinsuke stood wordlessly in front of his boss. The necktie and collar felt tight and restricting. He made a decision with no back-up plan, but it was a decision he knew he had to make and would not regret.
“Kita, I don’t understand,” his boss puzzled, looking at the white envelope on the desk. The characters Resignation Letter were written neatly down the middle. The elders often said that one’s handwriting would reflect the strength of one’s character. Kita’s handwriting was both delicate and resolute, like the finest blade sharpened to a point.
“Thank you for taking care of me the past years. I have some personal family matters that I must tend to. I apologize for the inconvenience.” He bowed. Manners and conduct were second nature for Kita. They were repeated over and over again until they were no longer a habit, they were all simply Kita.
“There’s no going back, not even I can help you after I turn this in.” His boss rubbed his stubbly chin. “How about you take this letter back and think about it some more? You are a young man with a bright future Kita. Your credentials are impressive and you’ve done excellent work for the firm. Is this about your pay? That’s something we can negotiate.”
“No, none of those,” Kita answered before bowing once more. “It’s as I said, ‘I have some personal family matters that I must tend to.’”
Kita’s boss clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I’ll turn the letter into HR. They will contact you regarding the exit process.”
“Thank you for everything.”
The boss sighed, “I’m afraid I won’t understand why you’ve made such a decision Kita. But I wish you the very best. You’ve been the most outstanding I’ve seen.”
“Thank you, please take care.” Kita bowed for the final time and left the room. There were still many things to do before leaving Osaka. He did not have many physical belongings to move. The complex paperwork and fees were all the least of his concerns. Something else weighed on his mind.
Kogarashi is a cold wind
A deep chill running from the North
Announcing the arrival of Winter
“Shinsuke, what do you mean?” You asked. You searched his features for hints of humor. Was this just a joke?
“I left my position,” Kita repeated. “I’m going back to the countryside.”
“Is it Granny? Did something happen to her?”
“Yea, I need to take care of her.” Kita looked down at his cup of tea. “So…this will be good-bye, for us.”
You bit your lips and took a deep breath. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“It’s the best for both of us.” Kita began to reason out all the reasons for this arrangement. How this arrangement of no more arrangements, was the best option. “You got your teaching position not too long ago, so you have to stay here. I have too many priorities to deal with at the moment. And-”
“Just stop Shinsuke…I understand.” You put up a hand to stop him from continuing. During your time with him, you saw many sides of Kita. However none of those facets of his ever fully steered away from his foundation in rational and sharp thinking. The way he analyzed the situation as if it were a math problem of one plus one must equal two sliced into your heart. It hurt. Badly. “I wish Granny a smooth recovery and um...I have some stuff to do, so I’ll be going now…”
Kita watched you grab your stuff and briskly walk out of the cafe. He doesn’t budge from his seat nor touch his drink. You lived by your emotions and whims. Risk-loving some days, highly conservative on others. There were few days where the decisions you made were solely based on neutral rationality. But who was he to say anything when he was the one making this rash decision too?
Kita sat there for a long time, looking at the empty seat where you’ve last sat. His drink has long turned cold and everyone else in the cafe who were there when he had initially arrived already left.
“Excuse me, sir. Is there anything else we can get for you? ” a waiter asked him politely.
He must have overstayed his welcome at this shop. Kita thanked the waiter, grabbed his briefcase and walked out. The leaves on the trees were pathetic and dead. Of the ones that remained, they were only barely hanging on. Anyone who walked quickly enough past the branch would be able to blow the shriveled up foliage away.
Kita knew that he had hurt you. Every time you thought he was out of reasons for breaking up, he gave ten more. It really begged the question, who was he trying to convince? You or himself? In any case, Kita had to focus his energies on two things. Granny and the farm. You were neither of the two.