CH 149

Secret Night Conversation

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

After sneaking back home, changing into a hoodie, and returning to the room where Toono was waiting with sweets, Toono and Tsugumi talked about many things while picking up sweets that caught their attention.

He was visibly shaken by Toono after the hot bath, but Tsugumi kept his composure by desperately telling himself, “She is a little girl, she is a little girl…” She was even more annoying than Mebuki, who knew how attractive she was and kept messing with him.

Incidentally, as for the name he was told to call her, he settled on “Sumire-san” after a discussion. He asked to hold off on removing the honorific until further notice.

In the first place, Tsugumi had no experience in being on a first-name basis with the opposite sex outside of Chidori, who was his family. No matter how much the person herself asked for it, he still felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.

When Tsugumi told her this, Toono tilted her head curiously and said, “Since you and Chidori are not related by blood, you guys are not family, right?” He received a painful comment.

…It was true, but he didn’t need to be reminded of that right now.

With such a bitter feeling, Tsugumi insisted, “Even so, Chidori is still family to me…”

Regardless of what Toono and Yatagarasu’s associates might think, Chidori was still an important family member to Tsugumi. That would never change, no matter what.

Toono looked a little dissatisfied when Tsugumi told her this, but she eventually dropped the subject, as if she had lost interest. Well, it was probably just a trivial question for Toono.

After that exchange, Toono coaxed Tsugumi to talk about his daily life.

Toono was content to listen to what happened at school, his idle conversations with his classmates, and his interactions with his male friends.

Tsugumi thought it would be boring to hear about such things, but judging from the way Toono seemed to be enjoying listening to him, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Toono laughed when he told her about an incident in the past where he ran around the school from a senior student after an incident involving Yukitaka.

She laughed and said, “Fufu, you have a lot of interesting friends. So, what did you do after you jumped off the second floor to escape?”

“I was sent to the hospital because I sprained my leg badly. Later I found out it was a misunderstanding and the upperclassmen apologized, but in the end, the person who caused the commotion just laughed at me.”

He shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t have a lot of interesting stories, but he had plenty of tales of mishaps involving Yukitaka. If he could make her laugh at a story like this, it might be worth all the trouble.

As the night progressed, Toono yawned softly. Apparently, she was finally getting sleepy.

No wonder. Including the time difference, she had been awake for 20 hours. If she didn’t go to sleep soon, it would affect her tomorrow.

“You should go to sleep now. You have to wake up early tomorrow.”

Toono lowered her eyes sadly and opened her mouth with regret.

“But we were having such a good time talking.”

“You can talk to me anytime you want. We’re friends, so if our schedules allow, we can hang out together.”

“…Is that fine?”

“Of course it’s fine. Ah, but please stop acting unreasonable like you did with Yukino-san. Even I would be in trouble if you suddenly summoned me.”

When Tsugumi added that, Toono’s eyes widened, and then she began to giggle.

“Fufu, yes. –We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Toono said and got up, saying, “I’m going to brush my teeth.” Apparently, she was in a better mood now.

Tsugumi cleaned up the remains of the snacks and thought about leaving the room after seeing Toono getting ready for bed, but just as he turned around to leave, he felt a jolt.

When he back again, he saw Toono in bed, holding onto his cuffs.

“What’s wrong, Sumire-san?”

Tsugumi thought it was strange and called out to her, but Toono looked at Tsugumi and said sulkily.

“You promised to stay with me until I go to sleep, didn’t you?”

“…No, I certainly said that. But isn’t it hard to sleep if someone is awake next to you?”

“I don’t mind. That’s why–hold my hand until I go to sleep… That’s all.”

Toono looked up at him pleadingly. At that moment, he almost thought, “You’re begging like a child again…” but then he looked into Toono’s anxious eyes and changed his mind.

–Toono Sumire might be much more of a  [child] than Tsugumi thought.

She spent her childhood locked away and her behavior controlled by adults. It was very similar to Tsugumi’s circumstances in his childhood.

…Ah, maybe that’s why Toono is so unguarded around me. Thinking so, Tsugumi slightly bit his lip.

Toono knew about Tsugumi’s past. For Toono, he was a friend who had been through the same thing. That’s why she carelessly approached him. Like a child who hadn’t yet grown emotionally.

–Chidori took Tsugumi’s hand, but he wonder if Toono had someone like that. Thinking about it, his heart ached as if he had been stabbed with a blade. It was as if–he was looking at his other self.

So Tsugumi took Toono’s hand.

“–I understand. I’ll stay with you until you sleep, Sumire-san.”

Saying this, he smiled to reassure Toono.

–He didn’t care about ethics or anything else. He was going to stay by her side as her only friend. If his hand could help someone just as Chidori did to him that day, that would be the best.

With this thought in mind, he sat down on the floor and looked Toono in the eyes.

Then Tohno narrowed her eyes happily and said, “Thank you.”

Their hands, held together discreetly, were gradually heating up. Enjoying the heat, Tsugumi quietly closed his eyes.

There were no words between them, only the tick-tock of the clock echoing in the room. Tsugumi didn’t mind the silence.

Tsugumi suppressed his presence and kept the same pose until Toono was breathing regularly in her sleep. It was only fifteen minutes or so, but his body ached a little.

Tsugumi smoothly pulled his hand out of Toono’s hand and gently brushed her hair away from her face. The figure of her sleeping peacefully like a child was far from her usual dignified appearance.

Seeing Toono’s figure, Tsugumi let out a small sigh. It seemed he was finally out of the job. He could have gone home right now, but he felt the need to cool off a bit.

–Everyone had a past that they didn’t want to be heard about. But even so, Toono’s situation was too pathetic.

But that didn’t mean that Tsugumi could do anything about the past. The best he could do was to listen to her from time to time.

Tsugumi scratched his head while mocking himself for his uselessness.

“…Let’s take a look around the courtyard for a bit.”

Saying that, he went out onto the veranda with a plastic bottle filled with water. From the rooms on the upper floors, he could see a beautiful, glittering starry sky. Below that, he could see a beautifully landscaped courtyard.

Tsugumi checked out the situation below and then jumped off the balcony lightly in his slippers. Then, using the thread as a pulley and cushion, he descended silently. To the casual observer, he might have looked like an American comic book hero.

Then, after landing in the courtyard, Tsugumi looked around the courtyard and walked toward the fountain.