Novel: The Hearing Aid and the Cat Island

[1] Thunder

Listen and be amazed.
My applause is Spanish-style.

The Yamanote Line platform was crowded with people rushing home. A friend Kaho had run into for the first time in years since graduating college looked at her with the same face as before, grinned, and said.

Applause? What is this person saying all of a sudden? Kaho stared intently at Kenta Hayase's face. It seemed he was serious.

Fine, I'll do it, Kaho thought, puffing out her chest. She had just gone to see a flamenco class recital at the invitation of a senior colleague at work. Her jaw had dropped when her senior, who usually dressed in neat fashion, appeared in a bright red dress, but she was moved by the thunderous applause from the flamenco fans in the audience. That Latin thunder was perfect for a reunion with an old friend.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Kaho clapped with all her might. The out-of-place sound echoed across the platform, and people turned to look.

"Oh, what's wrong? Were you happy to see me?" Kenta said, reaching out his hand.

"Won't youshake my hand? It's been a while so I'd like a hug, but I'll settle for a handshake."

Seeing Kaho, whose ears had turned bright red with embarrassment, her future husband was smiling in a way that was almost infuriatingly happy.

Looking back at that day ten years ago when she misheard 'applause' for 'handshake,' Kaho's ears grew hot again while being swayed on the morning commuter train. Maybe she remembered it because she had just seen an elderly couple walking on the platform holding hands. She hopes to live her whole life holding hands with her husband Kenta just like that, but lately, he hasn't been as considerate of her hearing loss as he used to be, and they have been getting irritated with each other more often.

Just as she was about to sigh, her grandfather's words echoed in her head.

"Kaho, what's the matter? If you sigh, your happiness will run away. Let's keep smiling."
"What does 'nattou' mean?"
"It means 'what's wrong'."

Kaho, born in Kyoto, looked forward every year to summer vacation spent in her mother's hometown overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Whenever Kaho got scolded for being too rowdy and lost her spirit, her grandfather would always sit next to her and listen. She learned as an adult that sighing helps balance the autonomic nervous system, but Kaho looked up at the sky from the train window and took a deep breath, thinking, 'You're right, Grandpa.'

Before she knew it, she had arrived at Hamamatsucho Station. She almost missed her stop. Even if she leaves the house with plenty of time in the morning, Kaho usually ends up having to run to the office. There are many temptations on her commute. If she gets indecisive at a convenience store wondering, 'Which snack should I get today?', she's almost late. If she sees a cat in the grass and goes to look for it, thinking, 'It's a pure white cat!', it turns out to be just a plastic bag, and she's almost late again.

Today, she arrived safely 10 minutes before the start of the workday. Kaho works in sales for a manufacturer, and her job is to pitch company products to buyers at client companies. Some days she goes out for business negotiations, and other days she goes to check on in-store displays as a sales promotion representative.

Kaho developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss when she was a college student, and her right ear is still hard of hearing. It seems that 30,000 to 40,000 people in Japan develop sudden hearing loss every year, and the number has been increasing recently. Of those, 40% recover, 40% improve, and the remaining 20% find it difficult to improve. Kaho also received treatment when she first developed it, but it did not fully recover. She has struggled over the past few years because of masks. At this morning's regular meeting, the department manager was mumbling from a distant seat, and it was really hard to hear. I resent the mumbling manager. Because she puts all her concentration into her ears so as not to miss anything, her ears and head are exhausted by the end of the day.

For such a Kaho, a big reward is coming soon. This year, her 10th year of continuous service, she will receive 10 days of refreshment leave. Thank you, company! I worked hard, me! She invited Kenta to come along, but he refused, saying he couldn't take time off work. A solo trip is fine by me.
Where should I go? Maybe dolphins, Kaho thinks, scrolling through her smartphone. Ever since she saw a dolphin show at an aquarium when she was a child, dolphins have been her number one favorite animal. Since her hearing loss progressed and she began to struggle with conversation, she sometimes envies dolphins, who communicate easily with ultrasonic waves.

When she searched for 'wild dolphin Japan,' dolphins were popping up everywhere. At that moment, the wordsToshima Village, Tokyo caught her eye. Rishima? Toshima? It's Toshima. A small island in the Izu Islands, 140km south of Tokyo. The island is about 8km in circumference, and the entire island is covered in camellias. It's a peaceful island with a population of about 300, and not many tourists visit. Wild dolphins live there, and it seems there are many cats on the island. There was also a photo of a cat relaxing in the shade of a tree. Living in an apartment where pets are prohibited, Kaho was starving for cats. That's it.

|Toshima| is calling Kaho.

"Refresh in |Toshima|!" she shouted quietly, and immediately called to look for a place to stay. There are no hotels on the island, but there are a few guesthouses. However, the guesthouses where you can go dolphin swimming are booked up with groups and long-term guests. Kaho's heart is already full of |Toshima|. Even if she can't swim with dolphins,cats are there. Let's go meet the cats, she thought, and booked a guesthouse that had a vacancy.

There was one more thing she wanted to do during her vacation. She thought she would try using a hearing aid. The one Kaho purchased was a hearing aid namedMedical Listening Plug. It looks like wireless earphones, and the color is natural pink, which blends in well with the skin.

The Medical Listening Plug allows you to receive professional remote fitting services via a smartphone app. A fitter adjusts the sound to match each individual's hearing. General hearing aids require multiple adjustments at a store, which was a hassle for Kaho.

She had already completed the first step, 'personalization,' the other day, and Kaho intended to try out the Medical Listening Plug while on her trip. If she could use it well, she would wear it to work after her vacation.

The problem is whether she will have the courage to do so.

The night before her departure, while packing her bag, Kaho called out to Kenta, who was watching TV and laughing.

"Have you seen my T-shirt? The one that says 'Everyday is Sunday'."
Every day is Sunday. Perfect for a travel companion.

"It's in XXXXX, right?"
Kenta's answer was hard to hear.
"Huh? Where?"
"It's in XXX."
"Sorry, could you say that one more time?"

Kenta stood up without a word, pulled the 'Everyday is Sunday' shirt from the pile of laundry folded and stacked in the corner of the living room, handed it to Kaho in silence, and headed straight to the bath. Apparently, he had said it was in that laundry. The word 'thank you' that Kaho directed at Kenta's back drifted aimlessly through the room.

If you have something you want to say, you should just say it, Kaho muttered to herself. Long ago, when they went to Hawaii, Kenta ordered bacon at a restaurant as 'bakoon,' and every time the clerk asked him to repeat it, he would repeat it in a loud voice, 'Bakoon!' 'Bakoon!' Where did that guts go?

Kaho's uneasy feelings did not clear up even by the next morning, and as breakfast conversation failed to take off, she gave a small 'I'm off' and slammed the front door shut.

[2] Divine Retribution

As the house grew more distant, the unease from yesterday began to clear. It takes about two and a half hours by jet boat from Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo to Toshima. By the time she arrived at Hamamatsucho Station near the pier, Kaho was feeling completely excited. Hamamatsucho is also the station nearest to her company. Usually, she would turn left out of the station, but today she turned right. Kaho walked with a spring in her step into the Takeshiba Passenger Ship Terminal.

In the waiting room, there were people who looked like islanders from the Izu Islands, some dressed lightly as if they had just come for some shopping, and groups carrying fishing gear. Kaho took her medical listening plugs out of the charging case and put them in her ears. The boarding announcement sounded almost too loud, she could hear it so well.

As soon as she boarded the ship, the departure whistle blew. Kaho gave a small wave back to the people at the pier seeing them off, said a temporary goodbye to Tokyo, which was forecast to be a midsummer day, to her work, and to Kenta, and became a person on the sea. The ship passed under the Rainbow Bridge and headed straight out into the open ocean.

The ship, with a capacity of about 250, was almost full, but the seat next to Kaho was empty, so she took off her sneakers and relaxed. From the seat in front, she could hear the voices of young brothers playing and giggling.
'How beautiful it is to be on good terms,' Kaho thought as she closed her eyes to sleep, when something dropped onto her feet with a thud. Looking down, it was a dried bean. The younger brother was swinging a bag of dried natto snacks around. Kaho smiled bitterly and pushed the beans to the side with her sneaker. When she closed her eyes again, more beans came tumbling down through the gap in the seats.

'Hey now. Who is it? Who is spilling natto?' When Kaho peeked in front, the culprit, the younger brother, was feigning sleep in a way that was completely obvious. His older brother pointed at the culprit and betrayed him easily. What a cute culprit, Kaho thought, unable to do anything but laugh. When the ship arrived at Izu Oshima, the brothers from the natto incident were led off by their father, who had woken up from a deep sleep.

Most of the passengers disembarked, and the ship ran lightly over the water. In about 30 minutes, it was already Toshima. The ship blew its whistle and slowly entered the port. When she stepped onto the pier, Kaho's hair was ruffled by the west wind. A passenger had said that on windy days, ships sometimes cancel or turn back, so she was lucky today.

In front was a passenger waiting room painted white and yellow. Behind it, the beautiful Mt. Miyatsuka towered. When she thought about where she had seen it before, it looked like Mt. Fuji.

At the port, several cars were parked to pick people up. There was also a police car on patrol. Kaho approached a man holding a sign that said 'Nakamichi-so'.

'Hello. I'm Hayase. Thank you for having me!'
'Hello. I'm Umeda from Nakamichi-so. Please, get in.'
The sun-tanned man from the inn opened the rear door of a light van for her.
The car left the port and started up a slope.

'Toshima has a village on a gentle slope, so there are many hills in the village. The roads are narrow too, so it's hard to drive unless it's a light van or a kei car.'
The man drove smoothly through the narrow, winding slopes as if he were used to it. Through the window, she could see stone walls surrounding the houses. It was her first time seeing stone walls built with round stones stacked diagonally.

'These stone walls are called Tamagaki, and people in the old days carried round cobblestones from the sea and stacked them. Now, you aren't allowed to take the stones, so the Tamagaki are a precious treasure of the island.'
When wearing the medical listening plugs, she could hear the voice from the front well even from the back seat. Thinking that if it were her, she wouldn't be able to make the sharp turns on the slope and would crash into the Tamagaki, she was impressed, saying 'Oh,' and 'Wow,' when the car stopped and the man said, 'We have arrived.'

Kaho got out of the car and exclaimed.
'Wow! It's lovely!'
The Showa-retro wooden two-story Nakamichi-so was a place she had never been to before, yet it felt like a place she had known for a long time. When she slid the door open with a rattle, there was a small lobby on the first floor with a sofa and a sign about Wi-Fi, a long hallway with shoji-screen rooms, and a room with glass doors that seemed to be the dining room. It felt more like coming to someone's house than a guesthouse. A woman who looked like the landlady came out from the back.

'Welcome. You're Hayase-san, right? From Tokyo, aren't you? You must be tired?'
she greeted her with a plump, happy smile.

'Landlady, thank you for having me.'
Kaho bowed her head.

'Oh, no, no. I'm not the type to be called landlady. I'm Nagiko Umeda. Please call me Nagiko. And for my husband? The master? Oh, no, 'father' is fine, right?'
'Then, call me Kaho too!'
'Kaho-chan, then. Welcome to Toshima, please come in.'

'Hayase-san's room is on the second floor.'
The father still called her Hayase. He led the way up the black-polished wooden stairs. The floorboards in the second-floor hallway creaked every time she walked. For Kaho, who lived in an apartment, that alone was fun. The father opened the door at the end of the hallway.

'This is the room.'

'Wow! It's the sea!'
A low table in the middle of the Japanese-style room, and a small table and chairs by the window. What she could see beyond the window was the sky, the sea, and trees. It's too perfect, Kaho thought, and almost jumped for joy, but jumping on a wooden second floor was not a good idea.

She could see the silhouette of an island in the distance.

'What island is that?'
'That is Oshima. It looks quite close, doesn't it?'
The sky, the island, and the sea were melting together in a beautiful gradation of blue.

'Is 6 o'clock okay for dinner?'
After confirming this and the father went down the stairs, Kaho continued to look outside.
There were red flowers blooming on the tree by the window. A small bird was singing on a branch swaying in the wind.
I wonder how long it's been since I properly heard the sound of birds, she thought, gently touching the medical listening plugs in her ears, and stood by the window until the bird flew away.

'Wow! It's a feast!'
On the dinner table were glistening sashimi, grilled fish with crispy skin, tempura of mysterious leaves, and mysterious brown nigiri sushi. Nagiko-san brought over a rice tub.
'The sashimi is amberjack and squid. My husband caught them. The grilled fish is grunt. The ones in May and June are called rainy-season grunt, and they are very fatty.'
Kaho was busy, groaning at the smooth elasticity of the sashimi and moaning at the fat oozing from the grilled fish.
The leaf tempura had a faint bitterness. Was it wild vegetables?

'What is this tempura?'
'That is Ashitaba. It's said that even if you pick it today, new leaves will come out tomorrow, and it grows everywhere. I don't know about the mainland, but islanders only eat the soft new buds. It has a bit of bitterness, but is that okay?'
'I could eat any amount of it.'
'Really? That's good,' Nagiko-san laughed, and Kaho also asked about the nigiri sushi.

'It's called Island Sushi. Also known as Bekko Sushi. It's white fish marinated in soy sauce with island chili peppers, so it's a little spicy, isn't it?'
While stuffing her mouth with the glossy, amber-colored Island Sushi, Kaho nodded repeatedly, savoring the delicious food and happiness.

The image of Kenta eating dinner alone in Tokyo flickered in her mind. Is he lonely? No, he must be relaxing and opening several cans of beer, Kaho thought, shaking her head to chase Kenta away. But I have to contact him, she thought, and sent a LINE message to Kenta after dinner.

'I arrived safely in Toshima.'

The message was still formal because of the lingering awkwardness. As soon as she sent it, it was marked as read.

'Got it.'

Kenta's messages were usually short, so it was business as usual, but Kaho thought he could have written a little more, while ignoring her own curt message.

She closed the curtains, laid out the futon that was in the corner of the room, and lay down. Feeling a mix of emotions she couldn't even identify—whether she was happy or lonely, feeling liberated or isolated—she was struggling with her restless feelings when she heard a scratching sound from the window, or so she thought.

'Eh, what? No way!'
Kaho gripped the TV remote that was nearby and fearfully opened the edge of the curtain. It was pitch black outside and she couldn't see anything. There was no sound either. It's just my imagination, she told herself as she crawled into the futon. She carefully put her medical listening plugs into the charging case and drifted off into a dream.

' Caw! Caw! Caw! '
Those crows, it's too early in the morning, Kaho cursed in her half-dream state and squeezed her eyes shut, but the crows went 'caw, caw, caw' again. She gave up, got up, and opened the window. Today, Toshima was clear again.

Looking down, there was a cat in the backyard. The bad mood from being woken up by the crows vanished instantly, and Kaho flew to the backyard. The backyard was a cat paradise. A black, brown, and white calico, a black and gray mackerel tabby, and a brown and white piebald. When she approached quietly, the cat she thought was sleeping opened its eyes and went into alert mode. Sorry, sorry, she said, and enjoyed watching them sleep from a distance.

Feeling warmed by the sight of them in the morning, she returned to her room, and there was a black and white cat by the window. It sat on the air conditioner's outdoor unit, peered into the room from behind the screen door, and meowed. The scratching culprit from last night must have been this one. I wonder if it came to see if I was lonely, Kaho thought, and waved at the black and white cat.

She went down to the dining room for breakfast and called out 'Good morning' to Nagiko-san, who was setting out the trays.

'I saw cats gathered in the backyard!'
'That's right. They're strays, but they seem to find the garden comfortable.'
'I didn't see any kittens.'
'We take the stray cats to the mainland or Oshima to have them neutered or spayed. They catch seabirds called streaked shearwaters, so we try to keep them from increasing too much. Kaho-chan, please don't feed the cats.'
'Okay. I'll just admire them.'
Kaho replied while poking at her fried egg.

'Kaho-chan, are you going anywhere today?'
'I was thinking of walking around the island.'
'Can you drive a car?'
'Well, somehow...'
'Then, why don't you use our car? There are no rental car shops on the island, so we lend it to guests when we aren't using it. The road around the island is a bit wider, so it'll be fine. There are no traffic lights either.'

Deciding to take her up on the offer, she returned to her room. Before going out, she launched the medical listening plug app on her smartphone. When she pressed the chat button, a message appeared on the screen.

'Thank you for using our service. If you have any trouble, a fitter will support you. Please contact us via this chat.'

Kaho entered that it was her first time using the medical listening plugs and that the sound of the wind was bothering her, and sent it. After a while, a message came back from the service center. It said that when strong wind hits the hearing aid microphone, noise called 'wind noise' is generated. She was told it could be adjusted with a tuning request, so Kaho checked 'The wind noise is loud' on the request screen and sent it.

She received the keys to the light van from the father and asked for recommended sightseeing spots.
'If you want to see the scenery, the south side of the island is good. I'd recommend Minamigaya Park.'
'The stars are beautiful at night. We went to see a meteor shower together a long time ago, didn't we, dear?'
Nagiko-san chimed in.
The father continued talking, completely ignoring her.
'There is the First God on the way, so you should stop by.'
'The First God?'
'There are shrines in the mountains called the First God, Second God, and Third God, and at New Year's, the islanders visit them in order.'
The First God is Azusawake-no-Mikoto Main Shrine, the Second God is Oyama-Koyama Shrine, and the Third God is Orinobori Shrine.

Azusawake-no-Mikoto. Oyama-Koyama. Orinobori. They have a nice ring to them.
Today, she would go to the Main Shrine for now. She left the inn, climbed the road she was told was the steepest on the island like a turtle, and got onto the Toshima loop road.
Once she passed the village, it was mountains. Camellia trees lined both sides of the road, and the undergrowth was neatly mowed. Kaho proceeded along the narrow road indicated by her smartphone's navigation, hoping no cars would come from the opposite direction.
Suddenly, a small torii gate appeared on the side of the road. In front of it was a small offertory box. It was the First God. Beyond the torii gate, a stone staircase covered in moss continued.

Looking at the history sign, Azusawake-no-Mikoto is the child of Kotoshironushi-no-Mikoto, the god who created the Izu Islands, and is a prince. I know Okotonushi from the Great Forest Spirit, she said, and when she Googled his father, Kotoshironushi-no-Mikoto, it said that since the medieval period, he had been called Ebisu-sama and identified as the same deity.

'Azusawake-no-Mikoto is the son of the Ebisu family!'
Remembering the Ebisu festival she used to go to every year when she lived in Kyoto, the Mikoto father and son instantly felt familiar.

She put in an offering and prayed that this trip would be fun, that she would be able to master the medical listening plugs, and incidentally, that Kenta, who was house-sitting, wouldn't drink too much.

Minagayama Park was just a short walk from the shrine. Beyond the grassy plaza, a picturesque, breathtaking view unfolded. Islands were floating here and there in the vast ocean.
Niijima, Shikinejima, Kozushima, Miyakejima, Mikurajima.
The Izu Islands were in full view.

A Japanese bush warbler sang, "Ho-ho-kekyo."Ke-ke-ke-ke, kekyo-kekyo, kekyo-kekyo-kekyo.I can hear the bird's song clearly, Kaho thought, feeling happy as she strained her ears.

She returned to the village to procure some lunch. There were a few shops on the island, the largest being the agricultural cooperative store. At the entrance hung a noren curtain dyed with the words "Toshima Agricultural Cooperative." On the blackboard next to it were the words "Maeda Cafeteria" and "School Lunch." Some strange symbols were also written there.

The inside of the store was packed with goods. It was like a supermarket, a home center, a roadside station's local produce market, and a souvenir shop all rolled into one. Kaho picked up a prepared bread roll, a cream puff, and a latte.

When she left the co-op and went to the port, there was no one on the pier except for the port staff. Since there were no benches, she decided to eat in her car. When she opened the window, a strong westerly wind blew in.

Just as the staff began to move busily, a large passenger ship came in. It was the service that left Kozushima in the south in the morning, stopped at Toshima, and arrived in Tokyo at night. Conversely, there was also a service that left Tokyo at night, spent one night on the ship, and arrived at the island in the morning.

As she strolled along the pier, she passed people who had just gotten off the ship. There was also an old man with a large dog. When she peered into the sea, the water was so clear it didn't seem like a port, and fish were right there. They were big enough to make plenty of sashimi.

Kaho's hobby is fishing. Well, she had decided to make it her hobby. Previously, she had tried sabiki fishing using chum, and after catching dozens of small horse mackerel, she got a taste for it.
Deciding that tomorrow would be for fishing, she returned to her inn.

When she returned the car keys to her father and asked if there were any fishing gear rentals, he told her to use some bait fishing gear that wasn't being used. Toshima didn't have a fishmonger, so it seemed the islanders either caught fish themselves or received them from others. A fishing rod was a daily necessity.

"I have some squid heads and tentacles, so you should use those for bait. I'll put them in the fridge, so take them with you tomorrow, okay?"
"Wow, thank you."
"If you catch a sea turtle instead of a fish, please release it."
"A turtle!? Understood."
"If you make eye contact with a spiny lobster at the pier, don't catch it. That would be poaching."
"A spiny lobster!? Understood."

Tomorrow, she would leave the inn shortly after 4:00 AM. Kaho hurriedly finished dinner, took a bath, and dried her hair in her room.

Oh right, I forgot, she thought, checking the Medical Listening Plug app. It seemed the adjustment for wind noise she requested yesterday was done, and new data had arrived. Tapping the app registration completed the sync to the device as well. Let's try the video counseling tomorrow too. She could have counseling and a hearing check while talking to a fitter on the app's video screen. Kaho selected her preferred time and applied.
The reservation was accepted immediately.

There was no message from Kenta. Kaho sent a LINE message saying, "I'm going to sleep because I have an early start tomorrow." It was marked as read in an instant today, and a reply came back saying, "Understood."

Perhaps Kenta is looking at the chat screen with Kaho all day long. If that's the case, he could at least send me a message, Kaho thought, feeling dejected, but she didn't have time to worry about Kenta. Tomorrow was an early morning.

At 4:30 AM, anglers were lined up on the pier as the sun began to rise. Kaho attached squid to her hook, cast it, reeled it in, cast it, and reeled it in, repeating the process. Finally, she got a bite. As she pulled it in, the old man next to her scooped it up with a landing net.

"It's a yellowtail!"
It was over 40cm long. For Kaho, it was a huge catch.

After that, she continued fishing in a trance, and when she realized it, the sun had risen quite high. The men who had been fishing at the tip of the pier were leaving together. They all wore short sleeves and shorts, as if to show off their muscular bodies that radiated intimidation, with dark, sun-tanned, stern faces. As they passed behind Kaho, she heard a rough, angry voice.

Kaho turned around, startled. A strong wind blew against the men's backs, and their voices were torn away and blown out to sea.

She regretted leaving her Medical Listening Plug in her room. Was it "Tomorrow, 7 o'clock, whistle"? That might be the signal for the decisive battle.

The short-sleeved, short-pants army left with their shoulders squared aggressively. If they were going to deliver divine punishment, the opponent's misdeeds must be no ordinary evil. Toshima is a small island, but it has many shrines, and the islanders' faith is deep. They must have done something terrible to defy the gods.

When she arrived on the island yesterday, there was a police car at the port. That must have been patrolling after hearing information about the duel. Strange symbols were also written on the co-op's blackboard. Those were codes.

Still, who on earth are the short-sleeved, short-pants army going to fight, Kaho wondered. She had thought that since it was a peaceful island, all the islanders seemed kind, but were they actually hot-blooded? Perhaps the Flamenco senior's pretty-style clothes were just a facade, and her true self was a fierce woman in a bright red dress. Was it a duel between people who had been on the island for a long time and new arrivals?

Toshima has many new residents, and 80% of those in their 20s to 40s are people who moved there via I-turn. However, the long-time islanders and the new residents are on good terms, let alone dueling. Last night, Nagiko-san also said so. At the weekly taiko circle activity, the new residents practice together in a friendly atmosphere. "It's the Toshima Taiko Association today, so Father, please handle the cleanup," Nagiko-san said as she left happily, and her smile was genuine.

The old residents vs. new residents theory is weak.

Anyway, let's go back to the inn for now. She thanked the old man next to her and started walking, carrying her cooler box. One super-large yellowtail and two small fish. The catch, which was a big haul for Kaho, weighed heavily on her shoulder along with the two characters for "duel." When she poked her head into the kitchen, her father was watching the morning news. When she handed him the cooler box, he thanked her, saying, "Oh, you did well. We'll serve this for dinner."

Kaho hesitated about asking about the duel, but she wasn't confident in the words she had heard. She finished her breakfast while worrying, stirring her breakfast natto round and round.

When she returned to her room and lay down on the futon that had been left out, a sudden wave of sleepiness hit her, and when she woke up, it was noon. She fixed her hair, which was sticking up from sleeping, and went down to the dining room. She had just eaten breakfast, but she gratefully ate the curry she had ordered for lunch.

The afternoon was for video counseling. When she opened the smartphone screen at the appointment time, the fitter's face appeared alongside Kaho's. He was a handsome-looking guy with glasses.

"Hello. I'm Fujitaka, your fitter. Thank you for signing up for video counseling today."
"Fu... Fuji? Sa... ka?"
"It's hard to hear, isn't it.Fu-ji-ta-kaIt is. People with hearing loss often mishear the ka, sa, ta, and ha rows, and my name contains all of them. I'm sorry."

In video counseling, the fitter first asks questions about hearing. Next is a hearing check. Finally, the fitter registers the adjusted setting data to the Medical Listening Plug, and you listen to it. Fujitaka asked Kaho several questions, and Kaho answered them carefully. When it was all over, Fujitaka asked.

"I sent you the setting data to suppress wind noise today, how was it?"
"Ah... I haven't tried it yet. I'm traveling right now. It's an island, so the wind is strong."
"I see. The situation seems quite different from where you usually use it, Ms. Hayase. Then, shall we try it again when you return home?"
"Let's do that. And... um, well..."
At this rate, I'm just like the mumbling manager. Kaho took the plunge and said.

"It might be a mishearing, but I heard it at the port this morning."
"What did you hear?"
"Some men were talking about divine punishment and a duel."
"Divine punishment? Hmm, what could that be?"
"It seems like the whistle at 7 o'clock tomorrow is the signal."
"Ah, that might not be7o'clock, but1o'clock. People with hearing loss often mishear things."
"I see. I was thinking of going to the port tomorrow to check, but I wonder if it's morning or afternoon."
"Wait, isn't that dangerous?"
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll watch the duel from a distance!"
"I'm worried. Please, safety first," Fujitaka said kindly, even though it was a consultation outside of his duties.

"So, I have a request. Could you adjust it so I don't miss the whistle?"
"I see. A tuning request. Whistles are loud, so you should be able to hear them well with your current hearing condition, but just in case... I'll make an exception this time... I should improve the frequency band of the whistle..." Fujitaka muttered. He seemed to be looking up something on his computer.

"I see. The frequency of the whistle is determined by the length of the ship. Ms. Hayase, do you know what kind of ship it is?"
Kaho took the ship's timetable out of her bag.

"It's not exact, but the ones arriving near 7 o'clock and 1 o'clock are large passenger ships. Salvia Maru!"
"Sa-l-vi-a Maru. 118m in total length. In that case, the whistle frequency is 130 to 350 Hz... Understood. I'll adjust it so that low sounds are easier to hear," Fujitaka said, pushing up his glasses.

The next morning, Kaho headed to the port. The wind was even stronger than yesterday. There were a few anglers at the end of the pier.

Kaho hid behind a pillar in the passenger waiting area and kept watch over the harbor.

7:00. 7:30. At 7:40, the Salvia Maru entered the port. Thanks to Fujitaka, the sound of the ship's whistle was crystal clear. Yet, there was no sign of a duel. The short-sleeved, short-pants brigade didn't show up either.

Thinking it might be 1:00 instead of 7:00, she decided to take a break. Kaho's guard let down completely, and she decided to tease the anglers. The man who had been fishing next to her yesterday was there again today.

"Good morning."
"Oh, miss, not fishing today?"
"I'm just out for a walk today."
"The west wind is strong, so it's hard to fish. I didn't even think the ship would dock," the man said, lamenting the strength of the wind.

Um, Kaho's inner 'mumble-manager' tried to show its face, but she suppressed it.
"I heard there was going to be a duel today. Something about divine punishment?"
"Hmm? Divine punishment? Well. If you mean today, isn't it Teppatsu? We call the strong wind blowing from the west 'teppatsu' on this island."
"Oh, the wind? Then, what about the duel?"
"When the teppatsu blows, ships often get cancelled, so maybe that's Kekko? It's not rare for all flights to be cancelled because large passenger ships and jetfoils can't come."
"Teppatsu and Zenbin-Kekko? Then, then, what about the muscular people in short sleeves and shorts at the pier yesterday?"
"Ah, those are the muscle training club members. They're all serious about it, so they're pretty buff, right? I've been worried about my own potbelly lately, too."
The man's self-deprecating remark didn't reach her ears, and Kaho left the pier after a brief farewell.

What a huge misunderstanding. Feeling she couldn't face Fujitaka after he had helped her, she headed home with weak steps. She walked with her head hung low for a while, but when she imagined the muscular, tanned, short-sleeved, short-pants brigade fighting a giant, hard-pulling amberjack, she started to find it funny. It was definitely better than fighting humans.

"I'm home!"
Having fully regained her energy, Kaho opened the front door with vigor. She headed straight to the dining room and called out a good morning to the kitchen. Nagiko brought over a bowl of steaming miso soup.

"Kaho-chan, out for a walk since the morning?"
While struggling with a dried horse mackerel, Kaho talked about her misunderstanding of 'teppatsu' and 'zenbin-kekko,' and Nagiko laughed heartily, saying, "Oh, my."

"There was a police car at the harbor, so I thought it was an incident."
"Oh, dear. The police car always comes to patrol when ships or helicopters arrive. That officer is a good person."
"I see. There were strange symbols written on the agricultural cooperative's blackboard, so I thought that was a code, too."
"That? Since Toshima uses propane gas, we write our names on the blackboard when we run out and need a replacement. But you see, there are many people with the same surname on the island. So, by writing the family crest passed down through generations, we know which Umeda it is."
"I see."
Knowing about the peaceful life on the island where a duel was unlikely to happen, Kaho felt relieved.

"Oh, right. Kaho-chan, what will you do for lunch today? Shall I make something?"
"Oh, I was thinking of going to buy something."
"Really? Then why don't you go to the shop nearby? A close classmate of mine runs it," she said, showing her a shortcut to the store.

It seemed to pass through someone else's property, but she said it was an acquaintance, so she didn't need to worry. Seeing the bond of trust with the neighbors, Kaho felt warmed, thinking she liked this kind of thing.

[3] Murder

Maeda Shoten was a small shop, and at the entrance, there was a stuffed dog wearing a sign that said 'Open.'

The inside of the shop was cool with the air conditioning on, and the sweat that had broken out from the island's strong sun quickly faded. The shopkeeper was nowhere to be seen. In the back of the shop, there was a sliding door with old, patterned frosted glass, and since it seemed to lead to the living quarters, the sound of a television leaked out.

Kaho picked up a cup of instant noodles.

As she headed to the back to call out to the shopkeeper, she heard muffled voices from behind the glass door.

"...!"
Kaho couldn't believe her ears.

It was a woman's voice. She continued, "It's Kotaro. That child did it."

"What!" a voice gasped. It was another woman.

"It was terrible. My hands were slimy, and the cushion was sticky..." The conversation was interrupted by the clattering of dishes, and she couldn't hear the rest.

Kaho's blood ran cold, and she stood frozen in terror. She had to escape. She peeled her stiffened feet off the floor and began to back away, inch by inch. Then, the voices drifted over again in fragments.

"...What about the cleanup?"
"The shop is closed tomorrow, so I'm going to the mountain."

Clang! A loud noise echoed through the shop.

Kaho, who had been backing away, had bumped into a shelf behind her. She panicked, thinking it was bad, but it was too late. The door in the back opened, and an older woman poked her head out.

"Welcome."
It was the same voice as the woman who had been confessing the horrifying story.

"...Hello."
The woman narrowed her eyes as if observing Kaho, who had replied in a voice that was about to fade away.

"...I'll take this."
Trembling, she placed the cup noodles and the money on the register counter. The woman put the items in a plastic bag and gave her the change. Kaho left the shop with her head down, avoiding eye contact.

"Thank you," the woman's voice called out from behind.

A chill ran down her spine.

After turning the corner and checking that she was out of sight of the shop, Kaho started running toward the inn.

She rushed up to her room and hurriedly closed the door. She had goosebumps all over her body.

What should I do, what should I do? She paced around the room, but couldn't gather her thoughts on what to do.

(Should I tell Nagiko? No, Nagiko and the shopkeeper are friends, so Nagiko would definitely be sad. I can't tell her.)
(Should I call Kenta? No, he's in the middle of work. He never answers personal calls.)
(Fujitaka is there! That person was very kind, so I'll consult Fujitaka!)

Kaho opened the video counseling screen, clutching at straws. There was an opening in today's reservation slot. She signed up, praying that she would get Fujitaka.

The time came. The person on the screen was... Fujitaka.

"Fujitaka-san!"
With the relief of seeing a familiar face, the strength left her body.

"Hayase-san, hello. It's a coincidence that it's me again today, following yesterday. Well, we have a small, elite team, so it happens sometimes."
"Fujitaka-san!"
"Yes. Thank you for today as well. By the way, what happened to the duel you mentioned yesterday?"
"I forgot... That's fine now..." the mumble-manager showed its face again, but she ignored it this time.

"I see. So the adjustment data fit. That's good."
"It's not good at all! Another problem has occurred!"
"I see, it seems like more tuning is needed. Please tell me the situation in detail."
The conversation wasn't clicking, but ignoring that, Kaho started speaking breathlessly.

"I heard someone say they killed a person!"
Fujitaka opened his eyes wide behind his glasses. After listening to Kaho's incoherent explanation, Fujitaka thought for a while, muttered "I see," and said,

"This time, let's go to the police. Is there a police station on the island?"
"There's a police officer, so I think there's a police box. But, it might be another mishearing."
Fujitaka, looking puzzled about what she meant by 'another,' had the mumble-manager report the mishearing of 'teppatsu.'

"Hmm. A mishearing is possible..."
Listening to Fujitaka's calm voice, Kaho finally calmed down, and her mind started working.

"I'll investigate the shopkeeper. She's a close friend of Nagiko's, so if she's really in trouble, I have to tell Nagiko."
"Hmm. I'm worried. Please be sure not to get close to the person named Kotaro."
"I'll be careful. Oh, can I ask for an adjustment too? I need to be able to hear better at the shop."
Fujitaka said, "Understood," and asked Kaho for details about the shop's situation. She confirmed there was an old, large air conditioner.

"Then let's reduce the air conditioner noise with noise reduction. If the back is a home, there might also be the sound of a kitchen exhaust fan. We can reduce that too."
Fujitaka pushed up his glasses with a reliable look.

That night, Kaho, burdened with anxiety, couldn't fall asleep at all. As she tossed and turned in her futon, she felt like she heard a scratching sound from the window. When she gently pulled back the curtain, Shirokuro was sitting on the outdoor unit.

"You came for me."
When she opened the window, a gentle breeze softly stroked Kaho's cheek, and Shirokuro meowed.
"Hey, is it reckless to investigate the shopkeeper?"
Shirokuro stared intently at Kaho.
"I don't know what to say to Kenta either, so I haven't contacted him today."
Shirokuro blinked.
"When I left home, the atmosphere was strange, wasn't it? It's been awkward since then... I should have said I'm sorry about my hearing. Or maybe I should have said thank you. Do I have to go out of my way to say it?"
Shirokuro listened to Kaho's story without moving. Kaho thought that talking to a cat was easier than talking to people.

After becoming hard of hearing, she became bad at conversation. She was always on edge, trying not to miss what people were saying. She was afraid of being disliked for asking people to repeat themselves, so she pretended to hear even when she didn't. Shirokuro stretched out, jumped from the outdoor unit to the roof, and returned to its nest. By revealing her inner thoughts to Shirokuro, Kaho's sharp feelings softened just a little bit.

The next day, after breakfast, Kaho was still hesitating in her room when she heard the front door open. It seemed her father had brought a guest from the harbor. A familiar voice said, "Excuse me." When she peeked down the stairs, a tall man with glasses was standing in the entryway.

It was Fujitaka.

"What! Huh? Fujitaka-san? Why are you here!"
Kaho ran down the stairs.

"Oh, Hayase-san! So you were on Toshima?"
They had seen each other's faces on video, but this was their first time meeting in person.

"I'm here on a business trip because I'm holding a free trial and consultation session for medical listening plugs on Toshima tomorrow. And I'm staying at Nakamichi-so."
Her father invited the two, who were talking standing in the entryway, into the reception room.

Sitting on the sofa, Fujitaka lowered his voice and asked after brief greetings.
"Hayase-san, what happened with that murder case?"
"The shopkeeper is supposed to go to the mountain today. I'm thinking of staking it out and following her if there's any movement..."
"I don't have work today, so I'll join you!"
I'm grateful. It was lonely to go investigate alone, and I was worried if I could hear properly. If Fujitaka was there, he could manage it.

They borrowed a car from the inn, and Fujitaka stepped on the accelerator, saying, "Well, let's go!" It was almost embarrassing for the enthusiastic Fujitaka, but they arrived at Maeda Shoten in an instant. They parked the car away from the shop and watched the building, which combined the shop and the house. While waiting, Kaho told him about Toshima, which she had learned from Nagiko. That there are 200,000 camellia trees on the island. That in winter, red flowers bloom in profusion, and by the time the flowers fall, you can see a carpet of camellias all over the island. That the car has a Shinagawa license plate. That the school lunch popular with elementary students is sugar-fried bread, and that the pool is seawater, so your body floats incredibly well. She also revealed the 'Toshima = Pyramid' theory. It's a story from about 20 years ago when an occult magazine concluded that Toshima was an artificially constructed pyramid. Kaho had passionately told this to the innkeeper as well, but he had just scoffed, so she knew the truth of it.

The shopkeeper appeared. In her hands were a grass cutter, a sickle, and a bamboo rake. Was the dull-shining sickle the murder weapon? The woman loaded the tools onto the bed of a light truck and started the car.

Kaho and the others followed. Leaving the village, the light truck entered the Toshima loop road. It was the road Kaho had driven on when she aimed for the south of the island the other day. Camellia mountains spread out in the area.

The light truck stopped. The woman took the tools out of the truck bed and went into the camellia mountain.

Kaho and the others parked in a way that they were hidden on the side of the road after passing the light truck, and watched the situation from between the trees.

In the quiet mountain, the sound of the grass cutter mowing the undergrowth of the camellias echoed with a buzzing sound. When the sound stopped, she was cutting something with the sickle. Then she switched to a rake, gathered the mowed grass into a small pile, and set it on fire.

"She's burning it," Fujitaka said. "She is burning it," Kaho replied.

There was a possibility that she was pretending to burn grass to incinerate evidence of the crime. Kaho and Fujitaka stared at the bonfire, but it was too far away to see well. The white smoke, which might have been evidence of a crime, rose thinly and vanished into the sky in vain.

The woman loaded the tools onto the light truck and headed back the way she came. They wanted to examine the remaining ashes, but they couldn't afford to lose sight of her here.

Kaho and the others also made a U-turn and continued to tail her. Their expectation that she would go straight home was wrong, and the light truck stopped again in the middle of the village, where a long stone wall continued. The woman was drawn into the space between the stone walls. When they brought the car closer, they saw a torii gate. It was an old shrine.

The two hid behind the stone wall and watched the woman. A moss-covered stone path stretched straight from their feet, and the woman was praying intently at the worship hall at the end of it.

Was she praying for the repose of her late husband, Father? Or was she worried about the future of Kotaro, who was likely her son?

Kaho was deeply worried, thinking that if she stayed silent, the aunt would become an accomplice too. The guardian dogs sat enthroned as if to protect the aunt, glaring at Kaho.

The aunt raised her head from her long prayer. She looked up at the main shrine building, seemingly humming something.

"Ms. Fujitaka, can you hear that?"
"Shh. Be quiet."
Fujitaka leaned over the stone fence, cupping her hand to her ear.

"It sounds like she's singing 'Jikkwa, jikkwa.' I wonder what it is, maybe a spell?"
It seemed even Fujitaka's ears couldn't quite catch it clearly.

Having finished her spell, the aunt turned around, crossed the stone pavement, and walked toward them. Kaho and Fujitaka hurriedly left the spot and hid behind the stone fence opposite the shrine. She didn't seem to have noticed them; the aunt started her car, drove back, and disappeared into her house.

Having watched her return home, the two slumped into the car seats. Breaking the long silence, Fujitaka said,

"I have the free trial and consultation session tomorrow, and I'm heading back the day after..."
Kaho was the same. She was returning to Tokyo the day after tomorrow. There was no time to hesitate. Fixing a sharp gaze on the aunt's house, Kaho steeled herself.

"Ms. Fujitaka. Let's talk to the aunt."
Looking next to her, Fujitaka also had a look of determination on her firmly set lips and nodded vigorously.

Maeda Shoten was as quiet as it had been yesterday. No, the air conditioner noise that had bothered her yesterday didn't bother her much today. With the medical listening plug, she should be able to hear the aunt's voice well.

When Kaho called out loudly, "Hello," the aunt peeked out from the back, saying, "Yes?"

"Ah, you came to the shop yesterday, didn't you?"
"We're staying at Nakamichi-so."
"Oh, are you tourists? I thought you might have moved here, so I've been trying to remember your names, but oh, I'm such a fool. Nagi-chan is a chatterbox, so it's fun, isn't it?" the aunt said with a smile.

"Yes, Nagiko-san has been very kind to us. I heard you were close classmates. That's why I came, because I wanted to talk to you..."
The aunt was looking at them suspiciously.

Kaho let out a short breath and brought it up.

"Yesterday, I heard it. I heard you talking about how you killed your father."

"My father?"

"It was Kotaro-san who did it, right?"
Fujitaka pressed her, as if to corner her.

"Kotaro?"
The aunt frowned and glared at Kaho and Fujitaka.

"Killed?"
She was going to deny it.

"Since you are a dear friend of Nagiko-san, we want to help you."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Your hands got all slimy, didn't they? And the cushion was all sticky, too."

The aunt blinked in surprise. Then, with a look of sudden realization, she burst into laughter. Eventually, she was rolling with laughter, clutching her stomach.

"Auntie?"

Kaho and Fujitaka watched anxiously, wondering if she had lost her mind. Finally, the aunt stopped laughing and said, wiping away tears,
"I didn't say I killed my father, I said I spilled the natto."

Natto!?

Kaho and Fujitaka looked at each other. The aunt called out to the back of the shop in a voice still filled with laughter.

" Kotaro, come here!"

With a "woof," a large Golden Retriever bounded out.

"Oh. The dog that was at the port the other day!"
Kaho recalled the man who had gotten off the large passenger ship with a dog.

"This boy, he loves natto. He gets so excited when I give him natto, it's a real handful. The other day, when I took my eyes off him, he got into the natto on the table, and his hands, his mouth, and the cushion were all sticky with natto, weren't they, Kotaro?"

Kotaro showed no sign of remorse, spinning around Kaho and Fujitaka, excited. Kaho felt the tension that had been coiled tight snap, and a laugh bubbled out of her. Fujitaka was smiling wryly, but her expression was bright. It had been a huge misunderstanding, but the case was closed. The aunt seemed happy, the uncle was alive and well even though they hadn't met him, and Kotaro was wagging his tail, looking happy.

[4] Departure

On her last night on the island, Kaho remembered something she hadn't done. The stars. She hadn't looked at the stars at all. She had forgotten to look up at the night sky.

Borrowing a flashlight from her host father, Kaho walked the night road alone. Even though there was no one else walking, she kept looking back, again and again, as she walked.

It was so quiet it was scary. She took her smartphone out of her pocket. Her finger hovered over the screen. She took a deep breath and pressed it.

Ring, ring. Her smartphone called Kenta in Tokyo.

"Hello?" A nostalgic voice.

"Hey. I'm... I'm walking alone right now to go see the stars. It's pitch black. It's really scary."
Even though she had intended to apologize for the silence of the past few days, her mouth spoke on its own.

"There's no one here, it's dead silent, and I'm scared, so Kenta, can you keep talking to me?"

The moment she said that, the bushes rustled, and a low growl that seemed to crawl from the depths of the earth sounded: "Foooooood."

As Kaho froze in terror, Kenta's voice came loudly over the phone.

" A monster!," Kaho let out a soundless scream, her body rigid as if paralyzed. Then, a black-and-white cat popped out of the bushes. It rubbed against Kaho's legs, meowing, "Fooood." Oh, it was just you, she thought, the spell broken.

Kenta's voice came through.

"
Understood,' I said, but are you okay? Did something happen?""I'm fine now. A cute little one is keeping me company. It's black and white."
"Oh, a cat? I read that Toshima has lots of cats."
Kenta must have been looking up Toshima while Kaho was away. Why didn't I call sooner, she thought, feeling silly for being so stubborn.
The flashlight illuminated the road like a spotlight, and beyond the pool of light was pitch-black darkness. Below, she could see the lighthouse on the pier. She had intended to go that far, but she decided this was fine, and Kaho looked up at the sky.

It was a breathtaking starry sky. Countless lights were scattered across the sky as if silver sand had been sprinkled over it.

"It's amazing, Kenta. It's amazing."

She lost her words after that, and Kaho just kept looking up at the night sky.
Kenta whispered something in her ear.

"Huh? Could you say that a bit louder?"

Oh, she had said it. The words she had been swallowing for so long had slipped out easily.

Kenta's voice came again.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

Hehe, what are you, a literary master! It's a common myth that Natsume Soseki translated "I Love You" as "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?", but Kaho was happy nonetheless. Unfortunately, the moon wasn't visible from this spot under the vast starry sky.

Even so, Kaho said,

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

The skies of Tokyo and Toshima were connected, there was only one moon, there were countless stars, and there was only one person Kaho wanted to see.

On the day she left the island, she decided to see off Fujitaka, who was taking a helicopter from Toshima to Oshima, at the heliport. Yesterday's free trial and consultation session was a great success, and she heard the aunt from Maeda Shoten had even come. From the backpack Fujitaka was carrying, some Ashitaba leaves that the aunt had stuffed into a plastic bag, saying, "I picked these on Mt. Tsubaki, take them home," were poking out.

On that day they followed her, the aunt had been going to weed the undergrowth of Mt. Tsubaki, a task called "kipparai." Toshima is one of the country's leading producers of camellia oil, and the aunt's family was also a part-time camellia farming household. In autumn, they pick the fully ripened fallen fruits and squeeze the seeds inside to get oil. It seems they do "kipparai" several times before harvest so that the fallen fruits are easier to see. The bonfire was just a field burn approved for camellia farmers to burn the grass.

"May I stop by the shrine?" Fujitaka asked. The shrine the aunt had been visiting yesterday was the Azusawake-no-mikoto Shrine, which enshrines the son of the Ebisu family.

When she asked the aunt if she had been singing something at the shrine, she told her it was the "Jikkwa Fire Song." They sing it around a bonfire at the shrine on New Year's Eve.

"It means 'Ten kan, ten kan, twenty kan, this year will be a good year.' I only remember the beginning, but it's a good song because it celebrates that this year will be a good one, right? I just find myself humming it."

Kaho and Fujitaka stood side by side and prayed at the main hall of the Azusawake-no-mikoto Shrine. "This year will be a good year" played on a loop in her head.

They left the shrine and walked slowly down the slope. The sea of Toshima looking down from there looked like a blue ink wash painting, and the islands floated here and there in the distant waves.

"My host father told me, is it around there? Or here? He said you can see Mt. Fuji."
"Mt. Fuji? Where? I have no idea."
"He said it's only visible to people with pure hearts."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Fujitaka laughed, and she took out her smartphone, wondering if she could see it if she took a picture, then put it back in her pocket.

"Aren't you going to take a picture?"
"...I like taking pictures. I always bring a camera when I travel. Lately, it's been my smartphone, though. But I realized I didn't take a single one while I was on the island."
Kaho listened silently.

"I grew up in the countryside of northern Kanto. There were mountains, rivers, and nothing but nature. I lived with my grandmother, and the reason I became a fitter was because I accompanied her to the city to get her hearing aid. I was a grandma's boy, so even when I was boarding at university, I went home often and took lots of pictures of her." But, Fujitaka continued,

"Lately, I hardly ever look back at the photos I've taken. Yet, in my head, there are photos of my grandmother that I never actually took. Like her cooling a watermelon in the well, or her rounded back as she worked in the field. I guess sometimes not recording things makes them stay in your memory better."

Kaho also had an unforgettable memory. Her grandfather, whose catchphrase was, "If you sigh, your happiness will escape. Let's keep smiling." Her grandfather, who looked like an old samurai but was a school teacher who loved children. Her grandfather, who would make an extra grumpy face on the day she returned to Tokyo and see her off until she was out of sight.

But, his hearing gradually worsened, and he couldn't hear even when she spoke loudly, he stopped watching TV, stopped listening to the radio, stopped talking to anyone, and stopped leaving his bed.

As she grew up, Kaho thought it was just an inevitable part of aging, and when she went to visit, she would just poke her head into the bedroom and say, "Grandpa, I'm here," and leave it at that.

Around the time her grandfather passed away, Kaho had entered university in Tokyo and was exhausted by the unfamiliar environment of living alone.

When she developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss in her first year of university, Kaho finally understood her grandfather's feelings. She realized that her grandfather had stopped talking because he couldn't hear.
She realized he had gotten tired of listening and had given up on speaking.

"Ms. Fujitaka. You know, I've been spending more time alone since I developed hearing loss."
Fujitaka nodded.

"After it started in university, if I didn't notice someone calling me, they'd hate me, saying I ignored them... If I responded to people who were hard to hear with a forced smile, they'd get angry, saying I wasn't listening at all..."

"You can't tell when someone talks to you from behind, can you? It's hard to hear on rainy days, too. You start to dislike chatting in large groups or going to drinking parties."

"Even at work, I can't join in the small talk... Everyone else can talk while typing on their keyboards, right? I have to stop working and focus on the conversation just to hear."

"...Yes."

"I got a little tired of it."

The seaside heliport came into view.

"So, that's why you decided to use our medical listening plug?"
"Yes! I got sick of moping around. I decided I didn't want to give up. I decided I wanted to change."

"I'm happy to hear that. I changed jobs to my current workplace because I wanted to increase the number of people like you, Hayase-san."
"What do you mean?"
"In my hometown, there were no hearing aid shops at all. My grandmother finally bit the bullet and went far away to buy one only after she had become quite hard of hearing. If there had been a medical listening plug that could be fitted online back then, I think my grandmother would have used a hearing aid sooner and more easily. I want to help people like that."

"They don't sell hearing aids on this island either, do they?"
"They say they have to take a boat to Oshima or Tokyo to buy them. It's tough because they have to go back and forth many times for adjustments."
"Even though they could call you anytime, Ms. Fujitaka?"
"Oh, come on. Sometimes a different fitter is in charge."

The heliport staff announced in a loud voice that security checks before boarding would begin.

Fujitaka grinned at Kaho and said, "Good work on the investigation!" "We didn't catch the star, though," Kaho grinned back.

"Well then, Hayase-san. If you have any requests for adjustments, please feel free to apply again anytime."
As Fujitaka returned to her fitter persona and pushed up her glasses, the door to the security room closed.

Kaho went outside and took the medical listening plug out of her ear. The helicopter arrived with a roar, and after Fujitaka boarded, it flew off with a roar.

I wonder if she could see Mt. Fuji from the sky. Thinking, "I hope Ms. Fujitaka has it firmly etched in her heart," Kaho faced forward and started walking.

As the departure time approached, Dad and Nagiko-san saw me off at the port.

"Dad, Nagiko-san, thank you so much for everything."
"Oh, stop it. I feel like a mother sending her daughter off to get married. I'm going to cry."
"I'll think of Nakamichi-so as my home and come visit again."
"Dad, don't you have any parting words for your daughter who's leaving?"

"Did you trim your sideburns?"

At Dad's words, Kaho was momentarily surprised and tried to laugh it off, but then she remembered she was changing. She put on her Medical Listening Plug and asked back.

"What do you mean by sideburns?"
"Oh, come on. Souvenirs—didn't Dad say, 'Did you buy souvenirs?'"
The three of them burst into laughter that carried away on the west wind.

With a loud blast of the whistle, the ship set sail. It didn't feel like returning to where she had been, but rather like setting off on a journey toward a new place, Kaho thought.

From now on, she would use her Medical Listening Plug to go see the person she wanted to meet most. There were so many things she wanted to ask and talk about.

Starting tomorrow, she would even wear it to work. If she couldn't hear something, she would tell them without hesitation, "Could you say that again?" She would find the courage to say, "I'm not good with that," regarding sounds or situations she struggled with.

It's okay; the Medical Listening Plug will be on my side.

The island song echoed in her head. This year would surely be a good one. Kaho waved vigorously at Toshima as it gradually faded into the distance.

"Departure, full speed ahead! I'm off!"

*This work is fiction. It has no relation to any real people or organizations.

・The product page for the Medical Listening Plug is here

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