かように
「
「
「なに
「
「どこへ
「
「どこへ出るんだい。まあ御上がり」
「
「つまらんじゃないか、それよりちょっと御上り」
寒月君はとうてい
As I was thus ruminating, caught up in the intrigue of events, the front latticework door slid open with a rattle. A face appeared in the entryway, half masked by the shōji.
"Sensei!"
The master, who at this moment was continuing to string Buemon along with "We'll have to see," turned to see who had called him. Visible obliquely from the shadow of the shōji was the half-hidded face of none other than Kangetsu. "Well. Come in," the master called, not bothering to rise.
"You've a guest?" Kangetsu asked back in return, still half masked by the shōji.
"Yes, but not to worry. Come join us."
"Actually, I'm here to invite you out."
"Where to? Akasaka again? No thanks to that. The other day you walked me into the ground. My legs are still stiff."
"Nothing like that today. How 'bout it? The outing will do you good."
"Where do you have in mind? Anyway, come in for a bit."
"I thought we could go to Ueno to hear the tiger roar."
"Not my cup of tea. At any rate, come in."
Kangetsu, sensing there's no point in continuing to negotiate from the entryway, takes off his shoes and steps up into the room. His signature gray trousers are patched cross the rear, though the rends did not arise, he would argue, from passage of too much time or untoward bodily pressure. He's learned to ride a bicycle of late, and the motions have imparted a severe chafing to the seat of his pants. Never imagining he's face to face with a rival in love, a young man who's latched on to his future wife and even wooed her with prose, he greets Buemon with a casual "Hey," nodding lightly as he seats himself at the edge of the room, close to the veranda.