Chapter 139: Two Families Meet! Engagement At New Year’s! Tsuru Nohara’s Peace Of Mind!
Ikuna Sakurada knew that being with Mr. Hiroshi was perhaps the most correct and luckiest decision she had ever made in her life.
This sudden sense of happiness, like a warm torrent, instantly washed away the fragile dam built by inferiority in Ikuna Sakurada’s heart.
She looked at the man in front of her, who was not good with words but proved his feelings with the most direct and reliable actions; her eyes, which had been somewhat dim, instantly bloomed with brilliant light again!
“Mr. Hiroshi…” Her voice carried a touch of moved choking.
In the Sakurada family’s living room, the atmosphere had shifted from initial shock and restraint to a harmonious one filled with rustic warmth.
Ikuna’s father, Ken Sakurada, this taciturn old farmer, after his initial vigilance, looked at the man in front of him who wore designer clothes and drove a luxury car but was still, in his bones, that simple farmer who blushed when nervous and spoke from the heart; the old father’s heart quietly softened a bit.
Especially when he heard Hiroshi Nohara somewhat clumsily yet extremely sincerely describing the grand blueprint of the Nohara Agricultural Corporation.
When describing how they would use the most scientific methods to grow the best rice in all of Akita Prefecture, a glint of appreciation and respect from a fellow grower appeared in those somewhat cloudy eyes from years of labor.
And at this moment, Hiroshi Nohara also thought of the techniques he had learned from chatting with his worldly younger brother Hiroshi Nohara.
He pursed his lips and gave a shy smile, saying:
“…The mayor personally visited home today to see Hiroshi, my own younger brother, saying he wanted to hear his guiding opinions on the future development of Omagari City.”
Hiroshi Nohara scratched the back of his head, as if talking about something trivial, but his dark face could not hide his pride.
“What?! Mayor Ito?!” These words exploded in the Sakurada couple’s hearts!
As farmers, a mayor of Omagari City was indeed enough to shock them.
Not to mention that he had come to visit the Nohara family home proactively.
It shocked them even more.
“Good! Good kid!” Ken Sakurada slapped his thigh heavily; all doubts had faded, leaving only heartfelt appreciation and recognition: “Our Ikuna, following you, is her good fortune! From now on, you must treat her well!”
“I will!” Hiroshi Nohara suddenly stood up and deeply bowed to his future father-in-law.
Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Ikuna’s mother, Ryoko Sakurada, this meticulous middle-aged woman, finally smiled and spoke, steering the topic on track: “Since that’s the case, why not pick a time for our two families to formally sit down, have a meal, and settle the children’s marriage?”
At these words, Hiroshi Nohara and Ikuna Sakurada’s faces instantly turned red like two pieces of iron freshly heated to glowing.
……
When Hiroshi Nohara dizzily bid farewell from the Sakurada home, as if walking on clouds, his honest heart was completely filled with immense happiness.
Back home, he almost danced with joy as he announced this great news to the family.
“Oh ho ho ho—!”
Ginnosuke Nohara’s devilishly charming laughter nearly lifted the roof of the entire old house. Like a child reverted to youth, he rolled on the tatami laughing: “Great! Great! Our Nohara family is finally holding a celebration! I… I’m going to be a grandfather!”
“You old rogue! Nothing’s set in stone yet!” Tsuru Nohara punched him half-angrily, half-laughingly, but her eyes, already curved into new moons from smiling, were equally filled with immense joy.
“Congratulations, elder brother!” Hiroshi Nohara and Misae also smiled and offered their blessings.
“In that case, no time like the present!” Tsuru Nohara clapped her hands; a decisive look as the family matriarch appeared on her gentle face: “Tomorrow! Set for tomorrow noon! Hiroshi, go to the best restaurant in town and book the largest private room! We will welcome our in-laws with the highest specifications!”
“Got it!” Hiroshi Nohara smiled in agreement and immediately pulled out his futuristic Panasonic P100 to make a call.
The entire Nohara family home was immersed in a warm atmosphere filled with joy and hope.
……
But the next morning, the Nohara family’s old house was plunged into chaos.
“No! Absolutely not!”
Tsuru Nohara stood with hands on hips, like an immovable guardian god, firmly blocking Ginnosuke Nohara, her face full of anger.
At her feet lay a pile of “evidence” full of “Tokyo trendy vibes”—a Burberry casual jacket with exaggerated prints, a Versace silk shirt in eye-searingly bright colors, and a Gucci belt with a huge metal logo.
“Look at what you’re wearing?!” Tsuru Nohara pointed at her husband, who was sticking out his little belly with a disgruntled face; her voice was filled with exasperation: “Today, we’re meeting the in-laws and discussing the marriage! Not attending some yakuza annual meeting! If you go out like this, they’ll think we’re nouveau riche from who-knows-where!”
“Outrageous!” Ginnosuke Nohara’s old face reddened; he stuck out his neck in rebuttal: “This is trendy! Trendy, do you get it? Hiroshi spent big money to buy these from Tokyo! So stately! So face-giving! Wearing them shows the in-laws that our Nohara family now has money!”
“I don’t care! Change them now!” Tsuru Nohara was unmoved; she took out a set of plain-looking but well-made dark gray suit from the closet: “Today, we need to highlight our Nohara family’s simplicity! Let them know we’re rich but still grounded, honest folk! Only then can they entrust their daughter to us!”
This traditional statement made Hiroshi Nohara and Misae nearby nod inwardly.
After all, if Ginnosuke Nohara really wore that outfit…
It would be truly outrageous!
Even Hiroshi Nohara felt a bit helpless, wondering if buying such trendy clothes for his old man was right or wrong…
But for now, it seemed wrong…
Ginnosuke Nohara looked at his wife’s fierce gaze and finally sighed deeply, the sigh filled with a hero’s deep regret for having no place to shine.
He really liked this outfit; it made him look like an artist back from Tokyo.
“Sigh, got it, got it.” He listlessly took the “plain” suit, muttering under his breath: “When will I get to wear these trendy clothes and show off…”
……
At 11:30 a.m., Shogetsu-ro, the most famous traditional Japanese restaurant in Omagari City.
A black Toyota Crown Majesta and a brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser arrived almost simultaneously, one after the other, parking at the quaint and elegant storefront.
Hiroshi Nohara helped his mother Tsuru Nohara, now in a proper kimono, along with his father Ginnosuke Nohara in a plain suit, and the smiling Misae, out of the car.
On the other side, Hiroshi Nohara considerately opened the car door for Ikuna and her parents.
But there was also a kid of about ten following behind.
That was Ikuna’s younger brother Ikuki. （Original character）
The two families formally met at the doorway of Shogetsu-ro, under the blue noren.
“Oh my! In-law! In-law mother!”
Ginnosuke Nohara rushed forward immediately, his old face blooming with a sun-like enthusiastic smile.
Ken Sakurada, this taciturn old farmer, looked at the man in front of him who was about his age but full of vigor; a honest smile appeared on his usually somewhat serious face.
Even when he smiled somewhat stiffly and nodded politely in respect, his eye twitched slightly.
Though they were just here to discuss the marriage.
But…
Who calls others in-law father and in-law mother right off the bat?
The two mothers, meanwhile, were like long-lost sisters, immediately holding each other’s hands warmly upon meeting.
“Oh my, Ikuna’s mom, you really… look younger the older you get!”
“No no, Hiroshi’s mom, you are; this kimono really suits your temperament!”
Amid this harmonious atmosphere of commercial mutual praise, Tsuru Nohara looked at Ryoko Sakurada’s face, etched with fine lines by years but still showing her youthful beauty; a faint sense of familiarity flashed in her always gentle eyes.
“Um… Ikuna’s mom.” She probed: “Have… have we met somewhere before?”
Ryoko Sakurada was also stunned; she carefully studied Tsuru Nohara, a puzzled look appearing in her similarly familiar eyes.
“Now that you mention it… I do feel like you look… a bit familiar.” She paused, as if recalling something, her eyes lighting up: “You wouldn’t be… from Omagari City Girls’ Junior High, would you? I remember, in our year’s student council, there was an amazing vice chairman who looked just like you! Everyone called her ‘Iron Fist A-Crane’!”
“Eh?!”
Tsuru Nohara was completely stunned.
She stared blankly at the woman in front of her, who seemed a few years younger, Ikuna’s mom and future in-law mother, and broke into a delighted smile: “You… you’re… Ryoko?! The literary club Ryoko who always followed behind me calling me ‘Crane senpai’?!”
“Crane senpai!”
Two hands no longer young clasped tightly again after more than thirty years!
That purest sisterly bond from their student days, like a lightning bolt tearing through time, instantly shattered the slight estrangement from their first meeting between the two families!
“Oh my god! What a coincidence!” Ryoko Sakurada was overjoyed.
“Who says it isn’t! I never dreamed my future daughter-in-law would be my underclassman’s daughter!” Tsuru Nohara nodded repeatedly.
The two mothers were so excited their eyes reddened, holding hands with endless words.
The two fathers, meanwhile, were like comrades finding their group, instantly aligning.
“I knew it! I just felt you, in-law, were so compatible!” Ginnosuke Nohara slapped Ken Sakurada’s shoulder heavily, his posture as if they were lifelong drinking buddies, not in-laws just met today.
“Yes yes!” Ken Sakurada smiled honestly too, though still a bit reserved, but it was quickly fading.
Ginnosuke Nohara had quite the advantage in easing atmospheres and getting familiar.
Watching this dramatic scene, Hiroshi Nohara, Misae, Hiroshi Nohara, and Ikuna Sakurada—the four young people—exchanged glances and smiled.
Only the shy boy who had been hiding behind his sister since earlier was now peeking with curious big eyes at the legendary god-like man.
His future brother-in-law’s younger brother, Hiroshi Nohara!
And he saw the man smiling, pulling a brand-new 《Weekly Shonen Jump》 from his pocket, along with a high-end-looking signing pen.
“You’re Ikuna’s younger brother, Ikuki, right?”
Hiroshi Nohara walked up to him, his voice gentle like an April breeze: “I heard from your sister you really like 《Yu Yu Hakusho》?”
“Uh… yeah!” Ikuki Sakurada’s face flushed red; like a little fan picked by his idol, he was so excited he could barely speak.
He really did love reading 《Yu Yu Hakusho》.
He was a fan of Hiroshi Nohara!
“Here, this is for you.”
Hiroshi Nohara handed over the magazine, signing his name with flair on the color page featuring Yusuke Urameshi’s cool figure.
“Wow—!”
Ikuki Sakurada stared at the powerful signature; his usually shy eyes burst with searchlight-like intense glow!
He looked delightedly at the signed page, his face beaming with happiness.
From today, he would be the most envied chosen one among all 《Jump》 readers in Omagari City!
Especially in his junior high.
It would surely draw everyone’s envious gazes!
This was a signed edition by 《Yu Yu Hakusho》 author Hiroshi Nohara!
And so, with Hiroshi Nohara joining to liven things up, the entire private room was immersed in a warm atmosphere of coziness and joy.
As drinks flowed and ears grew hot, the topic naturally shifted from those legendary “Tokyo tales” back to the shyly head-bowed young couple, their brows and eyes unable to hide their sweetness.
“Ahem!”
Ginnosuke Nohara, now flushed from drink, hadn’t forgotten business, so he cleared his throat: “Um… in-law, in-law mother.”
He raised his beer mug to the Sakurada couple with a smile: “Look, our Hiroshi and your Ikuna, so perfectly matched, so in love… shouldn’t this marriage be put on the agenda?”
These words pushed the already heated atmosphere in the private room to a new climax!
“Oh you old rogue! So direct!” Tsuru Nohara punched him half-angrily, half-laughingly, but her eyes, curved into new moons from smiling, were filled with satisfaction and anticipation for this union.
Ken Sakurada looked at his precious daughter, already shyly covering her little face; a honest smile appeared on his usually serious face.
He raised his beer mug and clinked it hard with Ginnosuke Nohara’s, his voice carrying the straightforwardness of a farmer.
“In-law is right! The kids’ matter should be settled soon!”
The term in-law was indeed appropriate now!
They’d drunk together.
And chatted so freely.
The Nohara family valued their ordinary Sakurada family so much; not playing along would be embarrassing!
“In that case,” Ryoko Sakurada, the most detail-oriented mother, smiled and spoke, steering to the key details: “Let’s discuss when would be suitable for the engagement date?”
“I say, around New Year!” Tsuru Nohara clapped, smiling on her gentle face: “New Year is festive! Then our two families gather lively, settle the status first! As for the wedding, let’s set it for next summer; good weather, nice scenery, Ikuna in a wedding dress will look like a fairy!”
This vivid description made Ikuna Sakurada’s already flushed little face turn red like a freshly heated iron, the heat nearly igniting her whole body.
She instinctively looked up, her watery big eyes uncontrollably drifting to the man beside her, equally dazed by the sudden happiness.
When Hiroshi Nohara received that gaze full of expectation and shyness, his heart was instantly filled with the immense power called “responsibility”!
He shot to his feet, his sturdy frame trembling slightly from extreme excitement.
He looked at no one but Ikuna, his honest eyes burning with two prairie-fire flames!
“Ikuna!”
His voice was no longer honest or clumsy, but filled with an unquestionable, masculine sense of responsibility!
“I… I, Hiroshi Nohara, am no good with words, can’t say sweet things. But here, in front of both our families, I promise you!”
He pointed to his chest, his voice like a bell of honor rung for his future!
“From today, you are the one and only wife I, Hiroshi Nohara, have chosen! I will absolutely treat you well from now on!”
“Whoever dares bully you, I’ll… I’ll fight them to the death!”
This rustic, honest declaration struck like a hot current at the softest place in Ikuna Sakurada’s heart!
She stared blankly at the man before her, not good with words but proving his heart with direct, reliable actions; big tears of happiness and emotion welled up in her already moist eyes.
“Mm!”
She nodded vigorously, her voice choked with emotion.
Seeing this sincere and simple scene, all the elders present showed knowing, gratified smiles.
And amid this festive and moving atmosphere, Hiroshi Nohara, like the master atmosphere adjuster, added fuel to the family banquet that would drive everyone wild.
“Since elder brother and sister-in-law’s marriage is set.” He smiled, stood, and from the unassuming gift bags by the door, pulled out several neatly wrapped gift boxes, respectfully placing them before the Sakurada couple.
“Then our Nohara family can’t skimp on etiquette. This is a small token from all of us to uncle and aunt; not much, but please accept it.”
The Sakurada couple were utterly stunned.
They looked at these gift boxes, larger than yesterday’s; their hearts, already numbed by huge surprises, pounded again.
When Hiroshi Nohara opened the boxes one by one, dazzling light instantly blinded everyone’s eyes!
A bottle of Juyondai Ryusen Daigokujo, packaged in an antique wooden box but even older vintage.
Two large boxes of A5 Kobe beef with snowflake-like marbling and enticing milky aroma.
And a bolt of top-grade silk from Kyoto’s Nishijin weave, glossy, smooth, and clearly priceless!
“This… this… Hiroshi-kun!”
Ken Sakurada could no longer hold it; his usually serious face was filled with incredulous shock!
He looked at these legendary “imperial tributes” he’d only seen on TV and news, his mind blank.
He knew these represented not just money.
But the highest level of recognition and importance from the other family!
“In-law!”
Ken Sakurada shot to his feet, his eyes reddened with excitement, staring at Ginnosuke Nohara, his voice full of heartfelt gratitude and resolve: “You… your Nohara family really… values our Ikuna so much! I… I, Ken Sakurada, have nothing to say! Truly, thank you very much!”
“Ah hahaha! We’re family from now on, these little gifts are nothing!” Ginnosuke Nohara rubbed his bald head, finally laughing triumphantly: “Later, brother A-Ken, my in-law, we’ll tour Tokyo together; my youngest will get you even better sake! Ah hahaha!”
Even Hiroshi Nohara’s eye twitched nearby; clearly elder brother’s father-in-law, why me buying the good sake?
……
When this “strategically significant” engagement banquet finally wound down in the afternoon sunlight, the two families were already as close as one.
Ginnosuke Nohara and Ken Sakurada, these two very different old men, now like long-lost brothers, arm-in-arm, drunkenly boasting of their youthful “glorious deeds.”
Tsuru Nohara and Ryoko Sakurada were even more like rediscovered student-era sisters, holding hands with endless heartfelt words.
The young people were intimately close; even shy Ikuki Sakurada had been completely won over by his omnipotent “Hiroshi bro” with promises of unreleased latest Nintendo game consoles, calling “Hiroshi bro” more affectionately than anyone.
Even more than “Hiroshi bro-in-law”!
They were reluctant to part at farewell.
When the black Toyota Crown Majesta carried the satisfied Nohara family slowly away from Shogetsu-ro, the Sakurada family stood at the door, waving, unwilling to leave for a long time.
That heartfelt joy and satisfaction, like the warmest autumn sunlight, illuminated everyone’s future path.
……
It was already afternoon when they got home.
Ginnosuke Nohara was dead drunk; upon entering, he collapsed like a puddle of mud on the tatami.
His mouth mumbled repeatedly “in-law,” “drinking,” “can’t wait for a grandson,” his old face radiating immense satisfaction as if he had the world.
“You old rogue!”
Tsuru Nohara covered him with a thin blanket half-angrily, half-laughingly; her gentle face flushed slightly from drink, but her loving eyes remained clear and bright.
Soon, Hiroshi Nohara returned after seeing off the Sakurada family.
She looked at her eldest son, who had drunk much but still stood tall with clear eyes; a mother’s heart was filled with immense pride and gratification.
But at this moment, Tsuru Nohara pursed her lips at her eldest son, deciding to say something.
“Hiroshi.”
She took her eldest son’s hand and sat at the low table, her voice carrying solemn weight.
“Today, Mom is very happy. Finding such a good girl like Ikuna is your fortune and our Nohara family’s fortune.”
She paused; her eyes, etched with fine lines by years but still clear and bright, were filled with solemnity and inheritance.
“But Mom must remind you of one thing.”
“Our Nohara family is different now. We have money, status; those women outside will flock like cats to fish.”
“Mom doesn’t ask you to achieve world-shaking feats like your brother. Mom only asks you to guard your true heart, guard the promise you made to Ikuna today.”
“Nohara family men can be poor, can be dumb, but absolutely cannot betray their women. Understand?”
This was Tsuru Nohara’s heartfelt concern.
Hiroshi Nohara looked into his mother’s eyes full of worry and expectation; his heart felt unprecedentedly secure.
“Mom, rest assured.”
Hiroshi Nohara nodded firmly: “I, Hiroshi Nohara, have chosen Ikuna for life. No one can take her, and I won’t abandon her!”
Seeing her son’s responsible demeanor, Tsuru Nohara finally set her heart at ease.
She knew her seemingly wooden eldest son understood true happiness better than anyone.
This was good enough.
After all, Tsuru Nohara knew her youngest was destined to soar higher.
Tiny Omagari City.
Tiny Akita Prefecture.
Could not bind or lock this son destined to reach the clouds as a sacred dragon.
And the Nohara family roots actually needed this honest, thrifty-from-youth, obedient-to-parents eldest son to quietly guard the old home in Omagari City.
Hiroshi Nohara, this elder brother, was truly the pillar to represent the Nohara family in Omagari City or Akita Prefecture from now on!
