《I Want to Hear Your Voice》 Chapter 1 18 years later, Tokyo. The night city was packed with a lot of people. The neon signs flickered. The sky that looked like it would rain anytime soon was so cloudy that no stars could be seen. The heat that made people sweat just by staying still, had irritated their hearts. A white hairball spirit floated lightly around Satori¡¯s feet as if playing with them. ¡°Eek-¡± Satori wobbled when he bumped into the shoulder of someone who was passing by. The young woman looked at Satori, and her eyes widened as if she had been startled. (Oh gosh. His hair is so unkempt it looks like it hasn¡¯t been cut for a while. Could he possibly be homeless even though he¡¯s young?) She knitted her eyebrow, and with her empty hand, she brushed the spot that had been touched as if it were dirty. (Ugh, what¡¯s with him? How about you say a word of apology instead of spacing out like that?!) ¡°Umm¡­ I¡­¡± After the woman glared at Satori, she suddenly turned her face and walked away. (Go die! You¡¯re so gross, you idiot!) Satori froze at the voice from her mind that she spitted out as she left. (Argh, it¡¯s so humid; it feels nasty. Old man, you¡¯re in the way.) (I came all dressed up because it¡¯s the first date we had after a while, but we ended up going to that bar. He¡¯s so unromantic. Maybe I should¡¯ve broken up with him after all. But my birthday is coming soon, so I guess I should wait until it passes.) (I¡¯m fed up with this crowd of people. I wish half of the people here could just disappear at once. Ah, the hand of a fatty just touched me. It¡¯s so drenched that it¡¯s gross. If you¡¯re fat then try to be more careful. I wonder, don¡¯t they feel embarrassed to be seen like that in public? If it were me, I¡¯d rather die.) (Argh¡­ I don¡¯t wanna go to prep school. It¡¯s a real pain in the ass. I just wanna skip¡­) The constant stream of voices made Satori feel sick. The inner voices that were not particularly directed at anyone turn into undigested remains that accumulated inside of Satori. The city of ¡®Tokyo¡¯ that Satori saw for the first time was so different from any scenery he had ever known. The countless number of people there made Satori wonder where they came from. Everything he saw there was full of surprise. The dazzling lights of the city were just like a festival being held all night long. Sousuke is somewhere in this city. Satori wanted to meet Sousuke no matter what. He wished only for that to happen, and continued to wait for his promise with Sousuke for a long time. If I could meet Sousuke again for one more time, then I wouldn¡¯t mind even if I have to disappear. With this thought in mind, Satori gathered up his courage and went to meet the Dragon God, then made a certain deal with him. In the night city, a single faintly glowing thread stretched out in a straight line. The thread that couldn¡¯t be seen by anyone except for Satori, was so thin and fragile that it looked like it might rip at any moment. However, it was the only reliable guide that could lead him to Sousuke. Sousuke¡­ Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed Satori¡¯s ankle. Unable to catch himself in time, Satori fell to the ground. When he looked over, there was an umbrella-shaped spirit no taller than Satori¡¯s knees laughing uncontrollably as it disappeared into the back alley. (He just fell on nothing.) (How lame.) People glanced curiously at Satori who suddenly fell over an empty space; then they walked on as if nothing had happened. Back in his hometown, Satori didn¡¯t have any place he could belong to. Even so, he could see so many twinkling stars when he looked up at the night sky. The bugs comforted him. But in the city of ¡°Tokyo,¡± there was only so much nature, and no matter how hard he looked, Satori couldn¡¯t see the stars. When Satori felt that raindrops had started to fall, it suddenly turned into a big rain. As the rain poured down relentlessly, people ran to a roofed place like scattered spiders. The rain above Satori¡¯s head suddenly stopped. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Satori looked up and widened his eyes. The figure standing there was no longer of a young boy. Sousuke, who had grown into an adult, was holding out an umbrella to Satori with a concerned look in his eyes. ¡­It¡¯s Sousuke. It¡¯s Sousuke. It¡¯s the same old Sousuke. I met him at last¡­ At that moment, the thread that had been glowing faintly in the darkness twinkled for one last time and then vanished as if it were melting away. (I wonder if he feels sick. Maybe he got a heat stroke or something?) Satori couldn¡¯t mutter any word as if it got stuck in the back of his throat. ¡°Are you okay? Can you stand? Should I call the ambulance?¡± (¡­Could it be that he¡¯s a homeless person or that kind?) ¡°¡­Sousuke.¡± Sousuke started to have some suspicion towards Satori who didn¡¯t reply back. Then Satori was finally able to speak. ¡°Yes?¡± Without seeming like he questioned why the man in front of him came to know his name, Sousuke replied. At that moment- ¡°Isn¡¯t that person Ogigami Sousuke the announcer?¡± Such a voice can be heard. When Satori turned his head, there were two young women with umbrellas pointing their fingers in his direction. ¡°You¡¯re right. Huh? What is he doing in this kind of place?¡± (He¡¯s way hotter than how he looked on TV.) (We¡¯re so lucky!) ¡°What should we do? Should we go talk to him?¡± It seemed like Sousuke could hear the women¡¯s voices. Satori could tell from Sousuke¡¯s mannerisms that he felt bothered by them, even without reading his mind. ¡°¡­If you¡¯re okay by yourself then I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Even though he had finally been able to meet Sousuke, Satori panicked when he felt that Sousuke was about to leave. Sousuke then made Satori hold the handle of the umbrella while saying that he¡¯s free to use it. Satori grabbed his hand from above on the spur of the moment. ¡°Wa- wait! I¡¯ve always been searching for you, Sousuke!¡± Sousuke frowned his face slightly. (¡­What? Is he a stalker or something?) Satori was startled when could feel the faintest hint of suspicion that came from Sousuke¡¯s palm. ¡°Sousuke. I-I-I¡­.¡± Satori tried desperately to find a word to reply back, but he was feeling so shaken that he couldn¡¯t find the right words. His fingertips that touched Sousuke¡¯s hand trembled. Sousuke narrowed his eyes. (¡­His hand is hot. Does he have a fever?) Satori could feel the air around Sousuke that had been filled with caution until then, suddenly became relaxed. (Was there a hospital around here again?) ¡­It¡¯s Sousuke. Even when Sousuke felt suspicious about him, he still got concerned about Satori¡¯s condition. Satori¡¯s chest became full when he felt Sousuke¡¯s feeling of worry. It¡¯s Sousuke. It¡¯s Sousuke¡­ Sousuke¡¯s appearance could be said to have changed a lot, but his kindness had not changed at all. He was still the same old Sousuke that Satori knew well. Satori couldn¡¯t help but feel so happy about it that he felt like crying. ¡°I don¡¯t need to go to the hospital. I¡¯m just happy to be able to meet Sousuke.¡± Sousuke furrowed his eyebrows slightly towards the smiling Satori. (It should be the first time we met, but why did he-¡­ Is he a stalker after all?) Satori could feel the feeling of suspicion that appeared once again in Sousuke¡¯s head, but he didn¡¯t feel hurt anymore. To be honest, he felt a bit lonely that Sousuke didn¡¯t remember him, but Satori was happy to know that Sousuke was still as kind as he had always been. Satori had thought that if he could meet Sousuke again just one more time, he wouldn¡¯t mind dying right after that. However, now that he could meet Sousuke again, he became more and more greedy. He wanted to spend more time with him, he wanted to look at his face, he wanted to talk with him, and, if possible, he wanted to stay by Sousuke¡¯s side forever¡­ There was no end to his desires; that was why Satori had no choice but to cut himself off from his lingering attachment. ¡°¡­Thanks for worrying about me. Sousuke, please live a long and healthy life. I wish your happiness would last forever.¡± ¨CEven if I can never see you anymore¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t need this umbrella, so I¡¯ll return it to you.¡± Satori returned the handle of the umbrella back to Sousuke. Satori cheerfully said that he was leaving, but then Sousuke suddenly stopped him. Chapter 2.1 The rain had stopped all of a sudden. Satori thought the thing called an apartment was like small boxes piled up on top of each other. He thought that it was kind of strange that a lot of people actually lived inside that box. On top of it, Sousuke¡¯s house was inside this building too. ¡°¡­Hey. Your mouth is wide open.¡± Satori was gaping his mouth open when he saw the apartment. He hurriedly closed it when he was pointed out by Sousuke, who had already walked far in front of him. ¡°A-amazing. So you usually live in a place like this, Sousuke.¡± (It¡¯s just an ordinary apartment though, what¡¯s so unusual about it¡­?) ¡°Hey, this way.¡± After that, they got inside a long, narrow, small box-like thing, and Sousuke pushed a button located near the entrance. Satori was startled when the box started to rise vertically. ¡°So-so-sousuke. The box is moving upwards.¡± When Satori was so startled that he almost fell over, Sousuke looked at him strangely. ¡°¡­Of course it¡¯ll move upwards. I pushed the up button.¡± (¡­Is this some kind of prank? It¡¯s just a normal elevator. There¡¯s no way someone never rode an elevator in this day and age. There won¡¯t be any camera waiting for me once the elevator door opens, right?) ¡°I-I¡¯m not surprised or anything! I¡¯m fine!¡± In response to Satori¡¯s bravado, Sousuke only responded with a short ¡°¡­is that so?¡± He didn¡¯t comment any further. Satori told himself to calm down while soothing his heart, which was beating loudly. At this rate, Sousuke might think of him as a weird guy. However, the elevator stopped, and when the door opened, Satori widened his eyes once again. In front of him, the view looked like stars were littered in the night sky. ¡°Sousuke, there are stars! We can see the stars! Sousuke, you should come here and see it too. It¡¯s so beautiful.¡± After Satori stepped out of the elevator, he leaned his body over the railing to look at the view below him. The stars that couldn¡¯t be seen no matter how hard he looked up at the sky, were now spread out in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous if you lean out like that.¡± (¡­By stars, does he mean the night view?) ¡°Night view¡­?¡± The next thing Satori knew, Sousuke¡¯s voice could be heard so close to him. He ended up replying to Sousuke¡¯s inner voice unconsciously. Sousuke was suddenly standing behind Satori, watching the night view together with him. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a bit cloudy after the rain, but it¡¯s so beautiful¡­¡± (It¡¯s been a while since I last looked at the night view.) Satori¡¯s heart was thumping hard. He was filled with joy when he noticed the tension had left Sousuke¡¯s shoulder. Sousuke¡¯s house was a corner room on the eighth floor of the ten-story apartment building. Sousuke took a key from his pocket and opened the door to his house. He then turned on the lights. ¡°It¡¯s a bit messy, but feel free.¡± ¡°E-excuse me.¡± Satori suddenly felt nervous. It was the first time he had been invited to someone¡¯s house. Moreover, it was Sousuke¡¯s house. With an awkward movement, Satori took off his shoes. (The shoes were ones he had picked up from a human who had thrown them away earlier. With them, his leg wouldn¡¯t hurt even if he stepped on a pebble, nor would they get wet from the rain. Satori thought that it was a very convenient item. He stepped inside carefully. The room was spacious, having been combined from two rooms into one without any threshold. There were dirty clothes scattered on the sofa, and a stack of unwashed dishes could be seen in the kitchen. There were books piled up on the floor, and the bedsheets were still in the same shape as it was in the morning. Satori was happy that he could feel Sousuke¡¯s presence left in the room. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve been a little busy lately and didn¡¯t have the time to clean up¡­¡± Sousuke handed a towel to Satori. (It¡¯s embarrassing that my messy room is being seen like this.) Perhaps it was because of Satori looking around his room with great curiosity, but Sousuke blushed a little then hurriedly gathered up the clothes that were scattered on the sofa. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I don¡¯t mind them at all.¡± Even though Satori meant what he said, Sousuke got more and more embarrassed for some reason. He let out a big sigh and quickly took the clothes he was carrying and went somewhere. (¡­It really wasn¡¯t this messy usually.) It was the first time Satori realized thatSousuke¡¯s thoughts were like excuses. He questioned whether Sousuke really meant it or not. Satori sat down on the sofa. Surprised by the comfortable cushion that felt like it was wrapping around his body, Satori hurriedly stood up and quietly sat down again. He thought that the chair felt as comfortable as if he were in a dream. When he jumped lightly while still sitting down, his body fell down to the side. Satori thought that it was fun. Chapter 2.2 The sound of water could be heard from the room right next to him; then Sousuke came back. Sousuke looked suspiciously at Satori who was playing with the springs of the sofa. ¡°How are you feeling? Do you feel better now?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Towards the nodding Satori, Sousuke gave a doubtful expression. ¡°Excuse me for a bit.¡± Sousuke gently lifted the long bangs that always hid Satori¡¯s face with his fingertips. Satori felt a cold sensation of the air on his forehead. ¡° ! ¡± Sousuke slightly tilted his head. (I guess his complexion has gotten better now.) Satori was surprised. He was frozen and couldn¡¯t move even an inch, his eyes wide open as he stared at Sousuke. It was the first time he had ever made such close eye contact with someone. Sousuke noticed Satori¡¯s gaze and blinked his eyes quickly as if he realized something, then looked away awkwardly. ¡°Sorry for touching you so suddenly.¡± He turned his back to Satori, then headed towards the kitchen. (I was surprised because he looked at me with those clear, glass-like eyes¡­) Satori felt dejected when he sensed a small hint of agitation coming from Sousuke¡¯s back. He thought that Sousuke felt creeped out by his stares, and he dropped his shoulder. ¡°Here, a refreshment drink. You better rehydrate just in case.¡± While saying that, Sousuke handed him a container with some kind of liquid in it. Satori just stared at the container that Sousuke had handed him. He tilted his head slightly. When he was about to take a bite out of it, a shocked Sousuke stopped him. ¡°Whoa¡­! What are you doing?!¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s hard.¡± And it doesn¡¯t taste good at all. ¡°How could someone bite the bottle just like that¡­?!¡± Satori looked at Sousuke reproachfully when the thing he had just gotten from him was taken away. (Are you for real¡­?) ¡°¡­Look. This is how you do it.¡± Sousuke twisted the lid-like thing that was on the tip of the container and removed it. Satori tilted his head once again and sniffed the smell of the slightly colored liquid. It was odorless. He stuck out his tongue and licked it with a cautious face. ¡°¡­!¡± It¡¯s good! It¡¯s good! I don¡¯t know why, but it tasted really good! ¡°Sousuke, it tastes good! This water has a flavor! I don¡¯t know why, but it tastes really good! How about you drink some?¡± If Satori had been a spirit in an animal form, he would have wagged his tail in the air by now. It was obvious that he was very happy. Satori was relieved that he hadn¡¯t gotten into such an embarrassing situation. When he turned around, Sousuke had a terribly tired look on his face. ¡°¡­No. I¡¯m good ¡­Ah, don¡¯t drink it all at once. What are you, a kid? Come on, drink it slowly or you¡¯ll choke.¡± (He makes me tired¡­) Satori became dejected as those words fell out of Sousuke¡¯s mouth. He quietly took his mouth away from the container. Sousuke, who was still sitting on the sofa, looked at Satori curiously. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? There¡¯s still some of it left.¡± ¡°¡­Mm. I¡¯ve had enough. I¡¯m full.¡± Sousuke raised his eyebrows slightly. He didn¡¯t seem to believe Satori¡¯s words. (Does he eat properly with a thin body like that¡­?) Even when they were talking like this, Sousuke didn¡¯t seem to remember who Satori was. Satori couldn¡¯t help but feel sad about it. Even so, the words coming from Sousuke were so gentle that it made him want to cry. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name? You still haven¡¯t told me, right?¡± Satori¡¯s heart jumped wildly. When he unconsciously looked at Sousuke with an imploring look, Sousuke looked back at him with a gentle gaze. Satori¡¯s chest became painful. ¡°¡­.Sa-sato ¡­ri.¡± ¡°Sato? Is Sato your name?¡± ¡°N-no¡­¡± ¡°No-?¡± ¨C¨COnly fools would believe in a human¡¯s words. In reality, even the child that you talked about didn¡¯t come back in the end. How could you trust such a human? As if a cold hand was squeezing his heart, a voice suddenly revived in Satori¡¯s ear. ¨C¨CYou¡¯ll never know what the human that you seem to treasure so much actually thinks deep down ¡­Ah, you can actually read his mind, can¡¯t you? But not everything that you see is what it seems to be. Are you still going? Even if it results in your disappearance? Satori wanted to meet Sousuke at any cost. While slightly shaking, he begged that he wanted to meet Sousuke just one more time. The Dragon God looked down on Satori with a frighteningly beautiful but cold stare, and said- ¨C¨CWhat a fool. Then you should see the consequences for yourself. At that moment, Satori didn¡¯t even think that Sousuke would forget about him. For the first time, a seed of worry grew inside of Satori. He was worried that perhaps Sousuke didn¡¯t want to meet him. Satori shook his head, then nodded vigorously this time. ¡°Sa-sato is fine-¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®it¡¯s fine¡¯¡­¡± (Which is it?) Sousuke gave a wry smile at Satori who hurriedly replied to him. (What a weird guy.) Chapter 2.3 Sousuke got up from the sofa again, went to the kitchen, and came back with a can in one hand. ¡°Want to drink some?¡± Sousuke asked Satori. (Ah, he wasn¡¯t feeling too well just earlier. I guess giving him alcohol is a bad idea.) He immediately changed his mind. Sousuke opened the lid at the top of the can and drank the contents as if he was enjoying it a lot. (Drinking a beer after work is the best.) Satori looked at Sousuke excitedly. Does that drink taste that good? Perhaps because he had noticed Satori¡¯s gaze, Sousuke lightly lifted the can towards him. ¡°Want to drink some?¡± Satori nodded his head. Sousuke drank the contents of the can and placed it on the side table. He then brought over a new can from the kitchen, opened it, and handed it over to Satori. Satori sniffed the inside of the can. He quietly took a sip. He was expecting the same sweet flavor as the drink from earlier, but he was startled by the sudden bitter flavor that stung his tongue. ¡°¡­!!!¡± When he looked at Sousuke while blinking tearfully, Sousuke was putting a hand over his mouth while trying to contain his laughter. (He really reacted like a character out of a comic book.) ¡°Here, give me the rest of it. You don¡¯t have to force yourself to drink it.¡± Satori handed it back obediently. He thought that Sousuke seemed to enjoy drinking such a bitter drink. Satori tried to remove the bad taste on his mouth with the colored water, then he unconsciously stared at Sousuke. Sousuke narrowed his eyes and chuckled softly. (This guy, everything he¡¯s thinking is clearly written on his face.) Satori couldn¡¯t help but be captivated by Sousuke¡¯s smile. ¡°Where did you come from? Do you have a place to stay the night?¡± (Is he a homeless person after all¡­?) Satori didn¡¯t know what Sousuke meant by ¡°homeless person.¡± But if what Sousuke asked about was a place to pass the night, there were many places for it, like the parks and fields around here. In the first place, that was what Satori always did back in his hometown. When Satori started smiling, Sousuke looked at him more and more suspiciously. (Is there something wrong with his head?) Sousuke asked him where his house was, but Satori only tilted his head in reply. House. If what Sousuke meant by a house is a place that everyone must return to at night, then¡­ ¡°I-I don¡¯t have a house.¡± Sousuke blinked his eyes at Satori¡¯s answer. (So he¡¯s homeless after all¡­) Sousuke scratched the back of his head with a troubled look on his face. Satori was puzzled by Sousuke¡¯s murmur that came directly to him. It seemed like the fact that Satori didn¡¯t have a house troubled Sousuke. When Satori¡¯s gaze was wandering, Sousuke, who had been staring at him, let out a sigh of resignation. (¡­Well, I guess there¡¯s no other way now that I¡¯ve picked him up. I can take my time and think about the future later.) Suddenly, Sousuke¡¯s relaxed voice could be heard in the back of Satori¡¯s mind. ¡°Hey, if you have nowhere else to go, you can stay the night for today.¡± Stay the night? I can be together with Sousuke? I don¡¯t have to leave? ¡°¡­Can I?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other way if you have nowhere else to go.¡± (It¡¯s troublesome, but there¡¯s no other way.) It pained Satori to know that it wasn¡¯t Sousuke¡¯s genuine offer, but he still wanted to be together with Sousuke regardless. Just a little bit more. After this, I¡¯ll give up for sure¡­ ¡°Tha-thanks.¡± Satori¡¯s cheeks were heating up. When Satori finally replied in a shaky voice, Sousuke blinked his eyes a little. (This guy¡¯s kind of cute¡­) When Satori thought that he had heard a voice so quiet that he could have missed it if he were careless, Sousuke frowned. At that moment, a piece of cheerful music came out of nowhere. A voice that announced that the bath was ready could be heard, and Satori was surprised. ¡°Let¡¯s take a shower first.¡± After he said that, Sousuke suddenly turned away and disappeared somewhere. Before Satori could worry about whether he had unconsciously done something to offend Sousuke again, he heard a faint emotion that was similar to a thought. (¡­What¡¯s with me, calling him cute. There must be something wrong with me for thinking that way towards a guy ¡­But I just can¡¯t seem to leave him alone.) Satori widened his eyes. The word cute from Sousuke slowly spread to all of his body. He was so happy that he could scream right now. Even so, he knew that Sousuke might not like it if he suddenly let out a loud noise. When he put up with it by letting out an animal-like growl, Sousuke suddenly came back and looked at him with a puzzled face. ¡°What are you doing¡­?¡± (Am I a little hasty about this after all¡­?) ¡°Here, this is the bath towel. The bathroom is in the back on the other side. There¡¯s hot water in the bathtub, so go ahead and take your time.¡± Chapter 2.4 Sousuke handed him a white and fluffy towel. Then Satori went inside a small room that Sousuke had shown him. He was barely aware of the existence of a bathroom. It was a place where humans washed their bodies. Satori had never taken a bath before, but he usually washed himself with the river water. He took off the clothes he wore and entered the ¡°bathroom¡± excitedly. This hose-like thing is used to wash the body, right? As he twisted the faucet, a large amount of what looked like small drops of rain suddenly fell from above his head, and Satori panicked. ¡°¡­!¡± Satori let out an inaudible scream. As he fumbled to stop the water, he slipped his foot on the wet tiles. ¡°¡­!!!¡± Sousuke rushed in with a panicked look toward Satori, who had just fallen down with a loud crashing sound. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you okay?¡± (What had just happened?!) Satori was lying naked in the bathroom with the water from the shower falling on him. ¡°¡­Sousuke. My forehead ¡­hurts. I hit my head¡­¡± While holding his bruised head with both hands, Satori looked up at Sousuke with teary eyes. Then their eyes met. Satori didn¡¯t even notice that his face, which was usually kept hidden behind long bangs, was now exposed because of his wet hair. Sousuke widened his eyes in surprise. He stared at Satori, speechless. (His sparkling eyes are like jewels¡­) Sousuke¡¯s gaze ran from Satori¡¯s head to toe without missing any details. ¡°Sousuke?¡± Sousuke, who had been heating up with a red face, came back to his senses. For some reason, he looked away from Satori with an angry expression. He grabbed a bath towel that was in the bathroom and tried to turn the faucet off. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, it¡¯s cold! It¡¯s cold!¡± (Damn, why cold water?) Sousuke then gently covered Satori¡¯s body with the bath towel. He was also soaked, drenched from the head down. ¡°Ah, damn.¡± (I¡¯m soaking wet.) The feeling of frustration coming from Sousuke stabbed Satori in the chest. I knew it, I brought bad omens. Nothing good ever happens to Sousuke. As Satori was feeling down inside, Sousuke¡¯s hand touched his head. ¡°Where did you hit your head? Let me see it.¡± (Are you okay¡­?) Sousuke gently lifted Satori¡¯s wet bangs with his fingers. He carefully examined Satori¡¯s forehead. The serious look in Sousuke¡¯s eyes made Satori could only stare at him silently. My chest feels tight for some reason. It¡¯s like I got some kind of heart disease. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s swollen now.¡± (¡­What a relief. It doesn¡¯t seem to be anything serious.) Sousuke exhaled in relief. At the same time, it seemed like the tense air had dissipated. Sousuke gasped in realization when he noticed Satori¡¯s gaze. Then, for some reason, he frowned in an annoyed manner, and removed his hand from Satori¡¯s head. (Don¡¯t stare at me with such eyes.) Satori widened his eyes. He thought that it was all his fault that Sousuke was looking so grumpy. ¡°So-sorry.¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± (What¡¯s he apologizing for?) Satori turned his gaze away from Sousuke, then let down his bangs to hide his face. At that moment, an inaudible and very faint thought came from Sousuke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for staring at you.¡± (¡­?) Sousuke furrowed his eyebrows. Perhaps it was a bit too late for this now, but Satori didn¡¯t want to be hated by Sousuke even in the slightest. If that could come true with Sousuke not looking at his face, then hiding his face was an easy thing to do. When Satori casted his eyes downwards and refused to raise his head, Sousuke let out a sigh of resignation. ¡°¡­So, why did you use cold water? You¡¯d catch a cold even if it¡¯s summer now.¡± Satori was puzzled. He had no idea what Sousuke was talking about. Seeing Satori¡¯s blank expression, Sousuke¡¯s face turned more and more suspicious towards him. The wrinkles between Sousuke¡¯s eyebrows became much deeper. ¡°¡­You¡¯re not going to tell me you¡¯ve never taken a bath before, are you?¡± Even Sousuke himself seemed to think that such a thing was unbelievable. Satori shook his head in a hurry. Seeing this, Sousuke looked relieved. As Sousuke had asked, it was my first time going inside a bathroom. But I always clean my body properly. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not dirty, please don¡¯t hate me¡­ ¡°I-I¡¯m not dirty. I always clean my body in the river, so I¡¯m clean.¡± The more Satori desperately tried to answer, the more Sousuke¡¯s face turned into a look of disbelief. (¡­No way.) Sousuke then covered his mouth with his hand and fell silent. ¡­Huh? Did I just say something wrong? Worry started to spread slowly in Satori¡¯s chest. ¡°So-sousuke¡­¡± Satori grabbed Sousuke¡¯s arm and tried to say something. But he couldn¡¯t continue because he didn¡¯t know what had just offended Sousuke. ¡°U-umm¡­¡± Sousuke¡¯s hand tried to peel off Satori¡¯s finger. Satori shook his head in reluctance. Please say something, anything is fine. If I¡®ve done something to upset you, then please say something so I can fix it. Please don¡¯t hate me, Sousuke¡­ While trembling and wanting to cry, Satori desperately clung to Sousuke. Water dripped from his wet hair. ¡°¡­It¡¯s alright, just get your hands off me first.¡± (¡­What¡¯s with him all of a sudden?) Sousuke gently let go of Satori who still didn¡¯t listen to him. Satori¡¯s hand had left a faint red mark on Sousuke¡¯s arm. Sousuke looked at it and rubbed it lightly with his hand. Seeing Satori who looked at him with tears in his eyes, Sousuke smiled wryly. (For now, I need to warm up his body first.) Chapter 2.5 Satori closed his eyes tightly. Tears spilled down from his eyes. Sousuke. Sousuke. Sousuke. It was like there was a huge flood inside his chest. ¡°¡­What a face you¡¯ve got there.¡± (Please, don¡¯t cry.) Despite the troubled tone, Sousuke¡¯s words sounded gentle. ¡°Come on, sit down there.¡± As Satori sat down in the chair meekly, Sousuke rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Warm water poured down from above his head. Sousuke put the head of the hose in Satori¡¯s hand for the time being. ¡°Hold this against your body.¡± Then, Sousuke poured some liquid that had a very nice smell on his hand and applied it to Satori¡¯s hair. Satori was entranced by the warm water hitting his stomach and the gentle touch of Sousuke¡¯s fingers. His eyelids felt like they were about to fall off. ¡°Look down.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Satori, who was in a daze, didn¡¯t understand what Sousuke was saying, and he reflexively looked up. He was started by the large amount of foams and hot water that suddenly flowed onto his face. The foams got into his eyes, and it really hurt. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¡°Whoa. I told you to look down, you idiot. How could someone look upwards when they¡¯re washing their hair?¡± Sousuke hurriedly washed off the foam that had flowed down to Satori¡¯s face. As his face was wiped with a towel, the pain in Satori¡¯s eyes finally subsided. Even so, it still felt slightly uncomfortable, so Satori blinked his eyes several times. (He¡¯s really like a kid¡­) ¡°Just how have you been living all this time¡­?¡± (I guess we don¡¯t need to use hair conditioner for today. Let¡¯s save it for next time.) Sousuke muttered those words in exhaustion and removed the plug that covered the bathtub drain. Then he put in some kind of powder, and the water became slightly colored. ¡°Make sure to warm up properly before you come out.¡± Sousuke walked out of the bathroom, leaving Satori alone. When Satori got out of the bathroom, this time Sousuke came to take his place and take a bath. Satori sat down on the sofa in the living room with his body all warmed up. The change of clothes that Sousuke had prepared for him was just a little bit too big. Satori wondered if it was Sousuke¡¯s clothes, and the thought made him want to roll around on the floor. ¡°Hehehe.¡± My stomach feels somewhat warm and tingly. As he lay down on the sofa while looking at the ceiling, Satori felt as if he were still dreaming. ¡°So this is where Sousuke lives.¡± Satori suddenly felt a twinge of pain deep in his chest, and tears trickled down from the rims of his eyes into his ears. Satori rubbed his eyes and sat up. He thought that all of this was good enough. He was able to see Sousuke. He reunited with him and could see him grow into a fine adult. He learned that Sousuke had achieved his dream of becoming an announcer, which he had wanted to be when he was a child. He also learned that Sousuke was still as kind as he had always been in the past. On top of it, he was currently in Sousuke¡¯s house, waiting for him to come out of the bath. What else could he wish for? At that moment, Sousuke came out of the bath. He had changed into something more comfortable than the clothes he had worn earlier. He looked much more relaxed now as he rubbed his wet hair with a towel hanging from his shoulder. Each of Sousuke¡¯s gestures felt so new and refreshing that Satori couldn¡¯t take his eyes away from him. When Sousuke noticed Satori, he narrowed his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re gonna catch a cold.¡± (You¡¯re really a handful, aren¡¯t you?) Having said that, Sousuke then took the towel that was draped over his shoulder and patted Satori¡¯s wet hair dry with it. Sousuke¡¯s body had the same smell as Satori¡¯s now. No, it was Satori¡¯s smell which became the same as Sousuke¡¯s. It was a pleasant and very comforting smell. Satori was entranced. When he was together with Sousuke, he felt like he was being treasured, not a tiny spirit who was hated by everyone. It had always been like that since Sousuke was a child. It was Sousuke¡¯s behavior that made Satori feel that way. ¡°Okay. It¡¯s done now.¡± Sousuke removed his hand from Satori¡¯s head. He picked up the towel he had been using and then disappeared somewhere again. From Satori¡¯s position, there was a bookshelf that hid his view, so he couldn¡¯t see Sousuke. The faint sounds that Sousuke made eased Satori¡¯s mind. He blinked his eyes several times. ¡°Just a little bit more¡±, Satori made an excuse to himself. Satori rested his head on the back of the sofa. I¡¯ll wake up as soon as Sousuke comes back. So, can I stay here just a little bit more? After all, this place is so comfortable and calming. It makes me feel that I¡¯m allowed to stay here. As Satori felt relaxed and dozed off, he then fell asleep. Chapter 3 Roll roll roll... An apple rolled toward Satori from somewhere. There was no apple tree nearby. Sometimes, fruit would come rolling towards Satori out of nowhere. It was as if someone was asking him to eat the fruit. The fruits were different each time, sometimes it was an apple, sometimes it was a persimmon, and sometimes it was an orange. Satori looked around his surroundings in curiosity. The apple was glossy and delicious-looking. When Satori picked up the fruit, it was heavier than he had expected, perhaps because of the fullness of the fruit. chirp chirp chirp A bird was circling in the skies above. A cool breeze blew down from the mountains to the foot of the mountain. Satori rubbed the surface of the fruit with his clothes. As he took a bite out of it, a refreshing scent wafted through his nose, and a sweet sensation slowly spread into his mouth. It tastes good. It tastes good. A smile spread across Satori¡¯s mouth. After munching on the whole apple and feeling satisfied, once again an apple rolled in his direction. Satori tilted his head. Satori picked up the apple and wondered where the fruit had come from. (Oh no, oh no. I ended up seeing a bad omen so early in the morning.) Satori felt a chill when he heard the voice that came so suddenly. He felt like a cold hand had grabbed his heart and squeezed it. With a cold stare, a fox spirit took one glance at Satori, then turned around and ran across the fields and mountains. The apple fell out of Satori¡¯s hand. Even though he had been full of joy just earlier, now a chilling sensation has spread across his chest. I wonder why am I still alive? I¡¯m just being hated by everyone. What am I even alive for¡­? ¡°You sure think about rather sophisticated thoughts for a mere Satori.¡± Satori gasped when he heard the refreshing voice. He wondered how long the Dragon God had been there, and what he was thinking in his mind. The Dragon God stared at Satori with his translucent eyes. Satori immediately cast his eyes downwards. His body trembled a little against his will. The Dragon God probably could see through everything that Satori was thinking. The Dragon God, whose figure was rarely seen, possessed such an overwhelming power that made someone want to bow down in his presence. For instance, if the Dragon God knitted his brows and decided to do so, he could certainly make this world disappear in an instant. Even Satori, the lowliest of the spirits, could sense this. ¡°We just live. You¡¯re just like a human being, trying to attach any other meanings to life.¡± Satori gasped. He looked up and saw that the Dragon God seemed like he was about to leave. At that moment, the apple that he had dropped earlier entered his vision. Satori hurriedly picked up the apple and offered it to the Dragon God. ¡°Thi-this apple was so sweet and tasty. If you¡¯d like it, please take this.¡± Dragon God stared at the apple that Satori had offered to him with a dubious look. A silence fell between them. Satori might have mistaken, but he felt a flicker of emotion in Dragon God¡¯s eyes, then it disappeared. ¡°U-umm¡­?¡± A cold sweat trickled down on Satori¡¯s back. As Satori felt that his blood had run cold, wondering if it might have been rude of him to offer an apple that was lying on the ground to the Dragon God, when beautiful slender fingers grabbed the apple from his hand. In front of the stunned Satori, the Dragon God took a bite out of the apple. The sound of a fruit being bitten could be heard. ¡°Hmm. The taste is not so bad.¡± ¡°¡­Is-is that so?¡± Satori was flustered, wondering that perhaps the fruit he had eaten had been sweeter. The Dragon God stared at Satori with his translucent eyes, which was as clear as the bottom of a lake. ¡°¡­You remind me of someone I used to know in the past.¡± A voice could be heard. It was a low voice, so low that Satori might have missed it if he were careless. Satori became worried when he felt like he saw a tired expression on the usually dignified face of the Dragon God. ¡­Dragon God? ¡°Satori!¡± At that moment, a boy whom he had just met a few days ago can be seen waving his hand from over the footpath between the rice fields. ¡°Sousuke!¡± Satori was so happy that he could jump up and down. He couldn¡¯t wait for Sousuke to come towards him, and he ran towards the boy who was holding a plastic bag in his hand. ¡°Grandma boiled some corn for us, so let¡¯s eat it together. Do you like corn, Satori?¡± Sousuke had brought some corn for me. He went out of his way to do it for me. Satori nodded his head. A feeling of joy swelled up in his chest, and he didn¡¯t know what to do with it. It made him want to roll around in the ground. (Hehehe. Satori is happy. He¡¯s so cute. I¡¯m glad I had asked grandma to boil the corn for me. I want Satori to eat it too.) ¡°Good. Let¡¯s go to the river you had told me the other day and eat it there.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± At that moment, Satori realized that he had left the Dragon God behind and went to Sousuke¡¯s side. When he hurriedly looked back, there was only a half-eaten apple lying on the ground where the Dragon God had been standing until earlier. Chapter 4 A faint noise woke Satori up. It seemed like he had suddenly fallen asleep on the sofa while he was waiting for Sousuke. It was still dark inside the room, so he could tell that it was not dawn yet. ¡°My bad. Did I wake you up?¡± ¡°Sousuke!¡± Satori jolted and sat up with a great force. The blanket that had been draped over his body fell to the floor. He quickly stretched out his hand and picked up the blanket. There was no such a thing when Satori was awake, so Sousuke must have put it there for him. Satori¡¯s chest became tight as he felt the soft sensation of the blanket in his fingertips. ¡°You can go back to sleep.¡± Sousuke was putting on a wristwatch as if he was going out somewhere. Unlike the relaxed clothes he wore before going to bed, Sousuke was dressed neatly now. Sousuke glanced at Satori then thought- (Oh right, I forgot that he was in my house.) It seemed like he had only noticed Satori¡¯s presence once again. ¡°¡­What about you, Sousuke?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ve got to go to work.¡± (I can¡¯t possibly take him with me to work or leave him here like this. No matter how young his reactions seemed to be compared to his looks, he¡¯s not actually a kid. But I can¡¯t just leave him alone in my house¡­) Apparently, Sousuke was troubled about Satori staying in his room. I don¡¯t have any problem with this. If Sousuke is troubled, I can just get out of here right here and now. ¡°As you¡¯ve said, I¡¯m not a kid so I¡¯ll be fine. You can just go to ¡®work¡¯. If you have a problem with me staying here, then should I leave together with you, Sousuke?¡± As Satori said those words with a smile, Sousuke looked at him strangely for a moment. (¡­Wasn¡¯t there something weird about our conversation just now? It¡¯s like he could read my mind.) Satori gasped. Sousuke then said that such a thing is not possible and lightly laughed at his own idea. Satori¡¯s face turned pale. When he realized that he had unconsciously answered Sousuke¡¯s inner voice, his body went cold with fear. ¡°That guy is a ¡®Satori¡¯ that could read people¡¯s minds. It¡¯s best not to get involved with him.¡± ¡°To think that he could read what¡¯s on our mind without us saying it out loud, what a creepy kid. I might as well strangle that thin neck of his to death.¡± ¡°If we break those small bones of his, don¡¯t you think they¡¯ll make a nice sound?¡± ¡°Oh no, oh no. It¡¯s him.¡± ¡°I end up seeing such a nasty thing so early in the morning. There¡¯s no mistake that this is a bad omen.¡± The words that the other fellow spirits had said to him so many times when he was in the mountains of his hometown came back to his mind. Satori¡¯s body trembled a little. Once, when Satori asked Sousuke about his opinion on someone who could read other people¡¯s minds, Sousuke laughed and said that it¡¯d be useful. However, if he were to know that Satori could actually do that, would Sousuke still answer in the same way? Would he not hate Satori for it? ¡°¡­Sato?¡± (What¡¯s wrong with him all of a sudden?) Satori didn¡¯t mind being hated by anyone else. In the first place, there was no one who liked him in the first place. He also understood that there was a reason for him being hated. The more expectations one has, the more painful it¡¯ll be when one gets betrayed. That was why Satori had always lived his life carefully, not expecting anything, not having even the slightest hope. It was all to protect his heart. But that was until he met Sousuke. ¡°I-I¡¯ll do anything. I¡¯ll listen to anything you tell me to do. I won¡¯t be selfish. I won¡¯t even say that I li-like you.¡± Satori grabbed Sousuke¡¯s arm with trembling hands. He felt a pain in his chest when he saw Sousuke¡¯s perplexed face. (What the heck is this guy saying¡­?) Every time Satori heard Sousuke¡¯s questioning thoughts, it made him want to cry. It was frightening just imagining that Sousuke hated him. Satori was so scared that it felt like his vision had gone completely dark. Despair filled Satori¡¯s chest. As cold sweat drenched his whole body, Satori was about to give up, then¡­ ¡°¡­to ¡­Sato.¡± Satori came back to his senses when Sousuke clapped his hands in front of him. His body that was still trembling a little was softly wrapped in a blanket. ¡°Pull yourself together, Sato.¡± Sousuke who looked straight at him came into view, and Satori felt like his blurry vision came into focus. (Are you okay¡­?) Satori¡¯s stiffened body became relaxed at the sight of Sousuke¡¯s eyes that were still the same as ever, showing concern even for someone like him. Satori hesitated, but then nodded firmly. Seeing this, Sousuke looked relieved. (For now, we¡¯ll get to the minor details when I get back home later.) ¡°I¡¯m about to go to work now. I won¡¯t be back until around 5pm at the earliest. There is some food in the refrigerator, so feel free to eat as you like. Will you be okay by yourself until I get back?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Satori was surprised. He had thought that Sousuke was troubled about him staying here. ¡°Bu-but I¡­¡± Can I really stay here? Sousuke smiled in resignation at Satori¡¯s puzzled face. ¡°Yeah, you can stay. For now, let¡¯s talk about the rest after I get home.¡± (If he stole something from me with this, then that means I¡¯ve misjudged him.) I-I wouldn¡¯t do something like that. I would never steal Sousuke¡¯s belongings. Satori hurriedly tried to deny it, then realized that he was about to make the same mistake again. He covered his mouth with both hands. A feeling of joy slowly filled his chest. Satori was happy that he could still be together with Sousuke. When he realized that the reason Sousuke was willing to let him stay here was because Sousuke had trusted him, Satori felt like crying. Satori bit his lips tightly and looked downwards. If he didn¡¯t, his tears would start to spill. Sousuke put his hand on Satori¡¯s head. ¡°Then, I¡¯m going.¡± Sousuke was about to head for the front door when he came back as if he had just remembered something. Then he took a memo from the side table, scribbled it down with a pen, and put it in Satori¡¯s hand. ¡°Here, this is my phone number. I might not be able to answer right away because of work, but I¡¯ll know if there¡¯s an incoming call. If something comes up, call me.¡± (Oh no. I¡¯m seriously going to be late.) This time Sousuke rushed out of the door without looking back. ¡°Phone number¡­¡± Satori looked at the paper in his hands, then tilted his head. The memo was small, and there was some kind of symbol written on it that he couldn¡¯t read. He couldn¡¯t read it, but it was something that Sousuke had written for him. Satori brought the memo to his chest and hugged it gently so as not to crush it. He rolled around on the sofa while giggling lightly. Sousuke was still the same Sousuke after all. He was still the same gentle Sousuke as he was in the past, whom Satori knew so well. Satori felt that this was like a miracle, as he could read the minds of those around him even when he didn¡¯t want to. ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s something I can do for Sousuke.¡± Satori muttered those words to himself as he lay down on the sofa while staring at the ceiling of Sousuke¡¯s room. Chapter 5.1 After Sousuke left for work, Satori, who was left alone in the room, wondered if there was something he could do to help. What Satori came up with was helping to clean up the room for Sousuke, who had been too busy to clean up for the past few days. First of all, Satori tried to wash the dirty clothes that had been piling up. He barely knew that humans used the thing called ¡®washing machine¡¯ to wash their clothes. After the dirty clothes were put inside it, the ¡®washing machine¡¯ was a wonderful thing that would do the rest of the cleaning. The slimy liquid that Sousuke used to wash his hair last night had a very nice scent, so Satori also put it in together with the clothes in the ¡®washing machine¡¯, then pressed the button. Satori was relieved when he saw the ¡®washing machine¡¯ had started working properly, then he went back to the living room. Next, he tried to wash the dishes that had piled up on the kitchen sink. He grabbed a sponge and squeezed the bottle of what looked like detergent that was nearby. I wonder if Sousuke will be happy to see the sparkling clean room when he gets home? Satori couldn¡¯t help but smile as he felt happy at the thought. At that moment, a strange sound of water overflowing could be heard from the direction of the washroom. When Satori panicked and tried to see what was going on, his hand slipped and he accidentally dropped the glass he was holding. The sound of a glass shattering could be heard. He stretched out his hand in the spur of the moment, but his hand slipped again and now he accidentally broke a plate. Meanwhile, the sound of water overflowing still continued. He then first decided to head to the washroom where the sound was coming from. What entered his vision was the washing machine that was vibrating while spewing out a lot of bubbles onto the floor. ¡°Wh-why?¡± He hurriedly tried to stop the movement of the washing machine. But perhaps he had pushed the wrong button, as the washing machine was vibrating while letting out a weird sound, and still spewing out bubbles. Satori¡¯s feet slipped and he fell on the floor that was full of bubbles. ¡°Oww!¡± Satori hit his head on the edge of the washing machine, and tears started to well up in his eyes. He stood up and pulled the cable out from the source. The washing machine finally stopped vibrating. ¡°It-it stopped at last¡­¡± Satori slumped down on the spot. When he saw the mess once again, it made him want to cry. ¡°I have to do something about this before Sousuke comes back.¡± Satori panicked. He looked around his surroundings to search for something that could be used to wipe with, then he grabbed a towel that entered his vision. He bent down and wiped the floor, but the towel soon got drenched with water and bubbles, and it got so wet that it was dripping water. However, after he patiently wiped the floor with the same motion repeatedly, the water and bubbles piled up on the floor were finally wiped away. Even so, the washing machine was still full of bubbles inside it. Satori didn¡¯t know how to get rid of the water in the washing machine or how to get the clothes properly clean. ¡°¡­I have to do something about the dishes that I broke.¡± He felt that he would have better ideas after some time had passed, so Satori went back to the living room for the time being. In the middle of the living room, there were several white fluffy spirits, jumping around and tearing up Sousuke¡¯s books. ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa!¡± Surprised by Satori¡¯s voice, the white fluffy spirits were startled and fled somewhere in the room. Satori picked up the ripped book and was shocked. Usually, the white fluffy spirits didn¡¯t show themselves in front of humans, and they rarely caused any mischief, perhaps because they were timid. The only reason for this was because Satori was in this room. When Satori looked around the room, he saw even more of a mess than when Sousuke had left the house. Actually, he just wanted to make Sousuke happy when he got home from work. Satori was at a loss as to how it had become like this. The white fluffy spirits that were supposed to have fled earlier appeared again and jumped around Satori¡¯s feet. Satori hugged his knees in the corner of the room and began to cry uncontrollably. ¡°What the heck is this?!¡± That evening, a sound of the front door opening could be heard, and what followed after was Sousuke¡¯s scream. At the sound of his voice, the white fluffy spirits that were playing around in the room fled somewhere again. Chapter 5.2 Satori shrank his body in the corner of the room. (What the heck happened after I left the house?) It seemed like Sousuke repeatedly tripped his foot at something, as short screams like ¡®aah¡¯ or ¡®whoa¡¯ can be heard. Every time he heard that, Satori¡¯s body shrank and trembled even more. (Whoa, the washroom¡­ Wait, even the washing machine is full of bubbles. Ah, this scent, could it be shampoo?! There are even unwashed dishes broken. Ahh, my favorite book¡­!) ¡°Sousuke¡­¡± Satori slowly looked at Sousuke, who was speechless at the front door while standing still. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± (No, it¡¯s not ¡®sorry¡¯ that I want to hear¡­) ¡°I¡­ would be lying if I said I¡¯m not angry, but forget about that now. Explain to me how it got to this.¡± In Sousuke¡¯s hand, he held a page from the book that was torn by the white fluffy spirits. Even if Satori told him that the white fluffy spirits were the ones who did it, Sousuke, who couldn¡¯t see them, probably wouldn¡¯t believe him. Without being able to find any words of excuse, he sniffled. ¡°I-I¡­¡± As soon as Satori opened his mouth, tears started to well up again and he rubbed his eyelids. ¡°¡­I was just trying to make you happy. But nothing went right¡­ I-¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Satori cast his eyes downwards and couldn¡¯t bring to raise his face. A sighing sound could be heard from above his head. (So he tried to clean up the house.) ¡°Are you hurt?¡± (¡­Aah, blood is coming out from his finger.) ¡°Zo-zosuke.¡± As soon as he realized that Sousuke was no longer angry, Satori became relaxed and his tears started to flow. Towards Satori who unconsciously spoke with a nasal voice, Sousuke burst out laughing. ¡°¡­.What the heck is Zosuke?¡± Sousuke smiled wryly. Sousuke¡¯s words are always so gentle. It doesn¡¯t hurt. (¡­It can¡¯t be helped.) A voice with a hint of resignation drifted down, but it didn¡¯t reach Satori¡¯s ears at that time. After Satori had finally stopped crying, Sousuke treated the wound on his finger. Then they went to the living room and ate a meal. Sousuke, whose hobby was cooking, had made and froze an orange soup before when he had time. It was filled with many kinds of vegetables cut into small pieces and was very delicious. While eating, Satori could feel Sousuke¡¯s thought that his bangs which covered half of his face looked gloomy, but Sousuke didn¡¯t say anything out loud. ¡°So, about things from now on.¡± Dinner was over, and as the air was filled with a relaxing atmosphere, Sousuke spoke up. Things from now on? Satori tilted his head. I wonder what Sousuke is talking about? ¡°If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay here for a while.¡± ¡­! Satori was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect that Sousuke would say something like that. He had assumed that Sousuke was going to tell him to leave after he had finished his meal. Sousuke stared at Satori as if he were examining him, then let out a small sigh. (There¡¯s no mistake that his identity is suspicious though. But I can¡¯t leave him alone, so it can¡¯t be helped.) ¡°Just so we¡¯re clear, this doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ve fully trusted you. If I¡¯m going to keep you in my house, then I¡¯m going to set some rules. If you don¡¯t follow them, then I¡¯ll kick you out immediately.¡± Satori was unable to utter a single word with his eyes still wide open. Sousuke perhaps had misunderstood Satori¡¯s attitude, as he relaxed his expression that he had purposefully made to look fierce earlier. ¡°¡­I said that I¡¯ll set some rules, but it¡¯s nothing that hard to follow. It¡¯s just normal things that are needed for us living together. And my daily life isn¡¯t exactly normal, after all. If you follow the rules, then you can stay here for a while. If you still don¡¯t know what to do in the future, then you can just start thinking about it now. I¡¯ll also try to help you as much as I can, and I can give you some advice¡­ Sato?¡± Satori couldn¡¯t believe what Sousuke was saying. As the thought that he could still be together with Sousuke caught up with him, all the feelings that he had been unconsciously holding back became plentiful and overflowed. (¡­Oh no.) Satori was looking down, crying while trying to suppress his voice. From above his head, Sousuke¡¯s inner voice could be heard. It was so gentle, just like the spring rain. (Please don¡¯t cry¡­) ¡°You cry too much.¡± Sousuke muttered in a voice that was filled with bewilderment. His hand that rubbed Satori¡¯s head from over the table was so warm, and it only made Satori even sadder for some reason. Chapter 6 Satori¡¯s new life with Sousuke began. Sousuke understood that Satori had tried to help him but had screwed up. He acknowledged Satori¡¯s intentions and gave him duties that he could do on top of that. On the first day they started living together, Sousuke taught Satori in detail the reasons why he had screwed up, and how to do it correctly. ¡°Listen, Sato. There are many kinds of detergents in the world, and we use different ones depending on what we¡¯re going to wash.¡± Satori was puzzled. Use different ones depending on what we wash¡­? Satori blinked his eyes. Sousuke asked Satori to follow him, then took him to the washroom. ¡°First of all, this one. This is the detergent you use to wash clothes.¡± Sousuke took out some containers that were kept inside a shelf and lined them up in front of Satori. ¡°This is laundry detergent and fabric softener.¡± ¡°Laundry detergent and fabric softener¡­¡± ¡°Yup. The laundry detergent will remove the stain from clothes, and fabric softener is¡­ Err, well, it¡¯s like the finishing touch. You use it to make the clothes softer, but the stain will be removed even with detergent alone. Then, next¡­¡± Sousuke opened the bathroom door and took the shampoo bottle that Satori had used by mistake the other day. He lined it up next to the detergent. ¡°This is the one you used by mistake the other day. This can also remove the stains, but it¡¯s meant to be used on hair, not clothes.¡± ¡°Shampoo¡­ Not for clothes¡­¡± Satori felt dizzy as he saw a lot of similarly shaped items lined up in front of him. He wondered if he could remember them correctly. In the meantime, Sousuke took one of the bottles in his hand and kept explaining this and that. ¡°Only use laundry detergent to wash clothes. Don¡¯t use the one for hair¡­¡± Tension and worry swirled in Satori¡¯s chest. I must not make the same mistake twice. If I screw up again, Sousuke might really come to hate me this time¡­ He might also think of me as a good-for-nothing. The more Satori tried to remember everything correctly, the more his mind went blank. The colorful bottles in front of him spun around. ¡°¡­to. Sato!¡± Satori gasped. When he came back to his senses, Sousuke was peering into his face with concerned eyes. (He just froze, what¡¯s wrong?) ¡°Sato?¡± (Are you alright?) The moment Sousuke¡¯s voice reached his ears, Satori¡¯s chest tightened. ¡°So-sousuke! I¡¯ll remember everything correctly! I won¡¯t make any more mistakes like last time! I also won¡¯t use the one that¡¯s used to wash hair anymore!¡± ¡°¡­Sato?¡± Sousuke looked at him with a strange look. Satori thought that he had to explain things properly, but the words wouldn¡¯t come out smoothly, as if they were stuck at the back of his throat. ¡°¡­It¡¯s okay to make mistakes.¡± Sousuke touched Satori¡¯s hair as if comforting him. Satori was startled. ¡°No one can do everything perfectly on the first try. We make mistakes and learn from them. I also won¡¯t be mad at you if you make a mistake on something you tried your best at.¡± After saying that, Sousuke thought for a moment before adding, ¡°¡­Maybe.¡± Sousuke laughed. He asked Satori if he was alright, and Satori nodded his head in reply. I¡¯m okay. My head is not blank anymore. The bottles in front of me have also stopped spinning. Noticing that Satori had calmed down, Sousuke muttered ¡®Good¡¯. ¡°For now, let¡¯s try doing it together.¡± Sousuke took the clothes out of the laundry basket. ¡°First, you have to separate colored clothes from white ones. If you don¡¯t do that, sometimes the color from other clothes will get on the white ones.¡± Sousuke explained it slowly, as if he were talking to a child. After panicked feelings such as worrying about making mistakes, or that he couldn¡¯t remember things properly were gone, Satori could easily understand Sousuke¡¯s explanation, unlike last time. Clothes are separated between colored ones and white ones. If not, the color from other clothes will get on the white ones. Satori repeated the things that Sousuke had taught him in his mind and drilled them into his head. ¡°Also, before you put the clothes in the washing machine, make sure to check inside the pocket first. Sometimes there¡¯s still something inside it.¡± Check inside the pockets before putting in the clothes. After that, Sousuke picked up a blue bottle. ¡°See, there¡¯s ¡®detergent for laundry¡¯ written on this, yeah? If you don¡¯t know which one is the laundry detergent, just read it.¡± There were some kind of letters written in the place pointed by Sousuke¡¯s finger. But Satori, who couldn¡¯t read human letters, didn¡¯t know what was written there. Instead, Satori stared at the bottle being held by Sousuke. He compared it with the other bottles and remembered the differences in shape and color. Now, he had remembered it. Seeing Satori nodding his head, Sousuke measured the contents of the bottle with a small bottle cap and put it in the washing machine. ¡°Then, select a course ¡­Well, I guess the standard course is fine for now. Close the lid, then press the start button.¡± When Sousuke pushed the button, the washing machine started to work properly. Satori unconsciously shouted with excitement. Wow! Sousuke is so amazing! As Satori looked at him with sparkling eyes, Sousuke looked a little bit embarrassed. ¡°¡­Well, it¡¯s not something to be praised for¡­¡± While fidgeting shyly, Sousuke urged Satori to the living room. After that, Sousuke taught Satori how to wash the dishes and how to use the vacuum cleaner. Then they took a break and sat next to each other on the sofa. Satori, of course, had the ¡®tasty slightly colored water¡¯, and Sousuke had the usual beer in his hand. Sousuke opened the can and drank it as if he was enjoying it a lot. Will he be okay? If it was that bitter, wouldn¡¯t Sousuke¡¯s mouth become weird because of it? Satori nervously stared at him with a side glance. Sousuke turned his head to Satori, perhaps having noticed his gaze. Sousuke grinned and asked Satori if he wanted to drink some beer. Satori hurriedly shook his head, then Sousuke burst out laughing. Satori wondered what was so funny while Sousuke kept laughing while covering his mouth with the back of his right hand. For some reason, he felt like he was being laughed at, but if Sousuke was happy then he was happy with it too. As Satori sipped the tasty colored water with a smile on his face, Sousuke stopped moving all of a sudden. Sousuke suddenly looked at him with a serious face, and he was startled. (I wonder where he came from? How has he been living all this time? Just how¡­?) Unable to respond to Sousuke¡¯s thoughts coming from beside him, Satori looked down. All of a sudden, the evening sky could be seen outside the window. A delicious smell drifted in from somewhere, and Satori¡¯s stomach growled. He held his stomach and rubbed it with his hand. Satori didn¡¯t have any feeling of embarrassment that his growling stomach was heard by others. Satori was a spirit, so he wouldn¡¯t die even if he didn¡¯t eat. But he also felt hungry just like humans, so he thought that it was weird. Once again, Satori¡¯s stomach growled. This time it was very loud. Satori tilted his head and rubbed his stomach again. At that moment, a laughing voice could be heard from beside him. Satori turned his head, wondering what was going on. What he saw was Sousuke, who was clutching his stomach, struggling to hold back his laughter. ¡°¡­Your stomach is protesting so loudly, it¡¯s asking for food.¡± Sousuke rubbed the tears from the corner of his eyes with his fingers. ¡°Let¡¯s go get something to eat for now,¡± Sousuke said as he got up from the sofa. The clothes that Satori had been wearing up until now were being washed, so he had to borrow Sousuke¡¯s clothes. Sousuke was standing in front of the closet with a difficult face before finally pulling out a very simple white T-shirt and jeans to give to Satori. ¡°Try putting these on.¡± Satori took off the clothes he had borrowed last night to use as pajamas and picked up the clothes Sousuke had prepared for him. He put on the T-shirt through his head, then put on the jeans. ¡°¡­Hmm. As I thought, it¡¯s too big on you, but oh well. Good thing it¡¯s summer now.¡± Sousuke mumbled something as he rolled up the hem of Satori¡¯s pants. ¡°¡­We have to go shopping first thing on my next day off. We have to buy some clothes that you can wear¡­¡± Satori tilted his head. He didn¡¯t understand what Sousuke was talking about, but he was incredibly happy that he could do something together with Sousuke. Right now, the Sousuke that he had always wanted to meet was right beside him. As Satori smiled silently, Sousuke let out a small sigh. Then, Sousuke scratched the back of his head, as if he was troubled about something. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± After a while, Sousuke¡¯s inner voice that said he decided on ramen for today¡¯s meal could be heard. Chapter 7 On Sousuke¡¯s day off, Satori went out together with Sousuke to a large ¡®shopping mall¡¯ in front of the train station. It seemed like Satori needed a ¡®change of clothes¡¯ no matter what. Satori tugged the hem of the T-shirt he borrowed from Sousuke with his fingers. Sousuke¡¯s clothes were a size larger than his. As he fixed the collar that was almost slipping down from his shoulders, Satori thought inwardly that he actually didn¡¯t mind wearing it. These ill-fitting clothes made him feel Sousuke¡¯s presence, so he was happy with it. However, it was said that it was ¡®improper¡¯ to wear clothes that didn¡¯t fit your body size. With his fingers, Satori gently touched the pendant around his neck. The amethyst pendant was Satori¡¯s precious treasure. It was packed with people in front of the train station, perhaps because it was Sunday. There were youths who were waiting for their friends, families who brought small children, and couples on dates. There were so many people in the city that it made Satori wonder where they all came from. The city was swirling with the thoughts of so many people. (Argh, why do I have to spend time with my family on my day off, what a hassle¡­ Why do we have to go out anyway¡­? Why don¡¯t we just stay at home and rest¡­? Aah, I actually wanted to watch golf at noon¡­) (I¡¯m so nervous about our first date today! Ah, what do I do? What do I do? Maybe I should go to the restroom again. What if my makeup comes off¡­?) (There¡¯re so many people. Where did they all come from anyway? Well, I guess I¡¯m the same. I wonder if it¡¯s too crowded for lunch? I guess I¡¯ll buy something then eat it at home¡­) Even if Satori tried not to listen to the thoughts of humans around him, their inner voices still reached his ears regardless. (Aah¡­ So hot¡­ Isn¡¯t the temperature kind of weird lately? Sometimes it even rains out of nowhere, what¡¯s with that? There are so many hurricanes too, so why is it so hot today? Is this what they call global warming? Aah, I wish autumn would come sooner¡­) (I¡¯ve invited Maki to karaoke, but she¡¯s so annoying because she can¡¯t read the room. She¡¯s way too serious. Ah, it¡¯s such a hassle to do it now¡­ Why do I have to look at her face even on my day off? Maybe I should just ditch the plan¡­) A cold sweat trickled down on Satori¡¯s forehead, and he cast his eyes downwards. It was as if the stale air had turned into a big balloon that was about to burst. It swallowed up various emotions and malice of many people, and the balloon got bigger and bigger. What would happen if it reached its limit? Satori gulped down his saliva several times; he tried desperately to suppress the nausea that was building up. It was then that he felt dizzy. ¡°¡­Sato.¡± It was as if the air in front of him had cracked open all of a sudden. There was no way he could see such a thing, but at that moment he felt as if the particles of the clear air were glittering and enveloping them. (¡­What¡¯s wrong with him?) ¡°Sato? What¡¯s wrong? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Sousuke¡­¡± The moment Sousuke¡¯s face came into view, Satori¡¯s breathing suddenly became lighter. His body became relaxed and he almost collapsed on the spot, but Sousuke quickly supported him. (Must find a place to sit for now¡­ but where¡­?) ¡°Come here.¡± Sousuke glanced around his surroundings, observing the situation. While supporting Satori¡¯s body from behind, Sousuke took him away from the crowd of people. ¡°Come, sit here.¡± Satori sat down on a bench in a small park that didn¡¯t have any playground equipment. It was located on the opposite side of the shopping mall. ¡°Wait here for a sec,¡± Sousuke said to Satori. Then, he disappeared somewhere, coming back almost immediately. In his hand, he was holding the ¡®tasty colored water¡¯ that Satori liked. ¡°Here, can you drink it?¡± As he was offered the bottle with the cap already opened, Satori then drank the water. The cold water that had a bit of sweetness trickled down his dry throat and spread throughout his body. At that moment, a sound of sigh could be heard. (His face was as white as a sheet¡­) ¡°I really panicked back there¡­¡± Sousuke sat down next to Satori, then got up again as if he had just thought of something. He went to the vending machine at the entrance of the park, bought a small can, and came back. He sat down on the bench again, then opened the can and drank it in one go. ¡°¡­Hey, do you feel sick somewhere?¡± (He also didn¡¯t look well back when we first met.) ¡°You sure you don¡¯t need to go to the hospital¡­?¡± Satori shook his head. It wasn¡¯t an illness that was making Satori feel sick. But Satori couldn¡¯t explain the real reason to Sousuke. In response to Satori¡¯s answer, Sousuke just remained silent, as if he was thinking about something. Sousuke¡¯s feelings that Satori felt were a faint irritation and worry because he didn¡¯t answer clearly, and¡­ most of all, a feeling of concern for his health. (Maybe he was feeling ill somewhere in his body. Even if Sato doesn¡¯t like it, should I take him to the doctor to get him a proper checkup¡­?) A warm feeling spread on Satori¡¯s chest. Then, there was a feeling of sadness deep in his heart, and he felt like crying for some reason. That¡¯s why Satori told the truth to Sousuke, even if it was just part of the truth. ¡°I guess I¡¯m just not good with crowds of people. That¡¯s all; there¡¯s nothing wrong with me. I don¡¯t feel sick, I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not good with crowds¡­?¡± (Is that really all ¡­?) When Satori nodded his head, Sousuke¡¯s body became relaxed as if he was relieved. ¡°I see¡­¡± Sousuke leaned back on the bench and glanced sideways at Satori. He narrowed his eyes gently. Satori¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Huh¡­? Satori placed his hand on his chest and felt puzzled. He blinked several times. It feels like there¡¯s something wrong with my stomach¡­? Perhaps it was just his imagination, but his cheeks also felt a little hot. ¡°¡­Then, what do we do? I guess we better go home.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Satori panicked as Sousuke got up to throw away his empty can. ¡°So-sousuke, what about shopping? We¡¯re still going shopping right?¡± ¡°What?¡± (No, no, no. we¡¯re not going.) ¡°Huh!? We¡¯re not!?¡± Sousuke got confused for a moment; he thought that the flow of conversation was weird. But Satori paid no mind to it and kept going. ¡°No, no, no.¡± (No way.) ¡°Huhh¡­!?¡± The two of them stared at each other for a moment, both with a doubtful expression on their face. ¡°But, you see, there¡¯s no way we can shop if you¡¯re bad with crowds.¡± What about my shopping with Sousuke¡­? Satori slumped his shoulder in disappointment. Because he was not good with crowds, he couldn¡¯t go shopping together with Sousuke. ¡°Huhhh¡­?!¡± (So it¡¯s my fault now¡­) (You don¡¯t have to be so down about it¡­.) Satori could feel Sousuke feeling perplexed, then he gasped in realization. He shouldn¡¯t act like this or he might trouble Sousuke again. ¡°I-it¡¯s okay! I don¡¯t feel down at all! Even if I don¡¯t get to go shopping with you, there¡¯s no problem!¡± Satori had responded boldly to make Sousuke not worry about him, but Sousuke instead crossed his arms and went thinking about something. Satori was puzzled. ¡°So-sousuke, I really¡­¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re okay if there aren¡¯t that many people, right?¡± Sousuke who finally raised his face sparkled his eyes just like a kid who was plotting mischief. Chapter 8 Sousuke took Satori to a so-called fashion superstore in the city, which was different from a large department store. The store was more aimed at families and elderly customers. Satori was surprised because the store sold so many kinds of things in one building. There were regular fresh foods on the first floor, then clothes, medicine, and even books on the upper floors. Of course, it was still a bit crowded because it was the weekend, but compared to the large shopping mall in front of the station from earlier, the air in the store was relatively calm. The ceilings on the top floor were dome-shaped, and it seemed like they could see something called ¡®planetarium¡¯ there. Satori asked what planetarium was. Sousuke chuckled and told him to look forward to it. Satori then nodded his head in response. ¡°First, let¡¯s search for your clothes.¡± They rode the ¡®escalator¡¯ and went up to the upper floor. Actually, Satori was still not used to riding the thing called the escalator, and he felt a little bit scared about it (It made his heart pound because he felt like he was going to fall). But if he were to raise a fuss, he would embarrass Sousuke who was with him. So Satori added pressure to the hand that was covering his mouth and managed to suppress the feeling of wanting to scream. ¡°Sato.¡± At that moment, Sousuke extended his hand as if he could see through Satori¡¯s feelings. Satori bit his lip tightly, then shook his head. No matter how ignorant Satori was about the human world, he knew that adults didn¡¯t hold their hands. It was said that it was a shameful thing to do. But still¡­ Sousuke looked a bit surprised, then withdrew his hand without saying a word. Satori became sullen. Actually, I wanted to hold hands with Sousuke¡­ Satori took a glance at Sousuke¡¯s hand. Then he raised his face and stared at the side profile of Sousuke who was facing forward. The palm of his hands gradually became sweaty, so he rubbed them against his pants. His heart began to throb. He wondered if Sousuke would dislike it if he said he wanted to hold hands. ¡°So-sousuke¡­!¡± It felt like his heart was going to jump out of his mouth. ¡°Hm?¡± The moment Sousuke turned his face at Satori, the escalator had already reached the top. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± Satori slumped his shoulders dejectedly. Satori wondered how many clothes the clothes store sold. In the store filled with clothes of many different colors and patterns, Satori¡¯s eyes twitched, not knowing where to focus his eyes. ¡°Sato, come here.¡± In front of the full-body mirror, Sousuke put various clothes in front of Satori¡¯s face. He was having a hard time deciding which one was best for Satori. Sometimes he would ask in a few words, things like ¡®What do you think Satori?¡¯ or ¡®Between this and that, which one do you like?¡±. But to be honest, Satori couldn¡¯t tell the difference between them. ¡°Hey, that guy is Ogigami Sousuke, right?¡± ¡°What?! No way. The real one?¡± It was at that moment those voices reached Satori¡¯s ears. He could see two female store clerks staring and gossiping about Sousuke. A little further away, there was a customer who seemed to want to talk with the store clerks, but the women were too absorbed in Sousuke to notice. ¡°Wow, so Ogigami Sousuke goes shopping in a place like this.¡± ¡°We¡¯re so lucky.¡± (His face is so small, and his legs are so long!) ¡°I wonder if we¡¯re allowed to talk to him?¡± ¡°Hey, we¡¯re at work now.¡± (But I¡¯ll never get another chance like this.) ¡°Let me at least take a picture of him¡­¡± (If I take it secretly he won¡¯t notice¡­) ¡°Ah, if I don¡¯t do it fast, he¡¯ll leave soon¡­¡± One of the women took something rectangular out of her uniform pocket. Something that looked like a camera lens was pointed at Sousuke. ¡°No¡­!¡± Satori spread his hands wide. He stood in front of Sousuke who was paying at the register, as if shielding him. ¡°Sato?¡± Sousuke looked at Satori curiously, then noticed the two women. The expression on his face disappeared as if a mask he put on had been broken. Sousuke took a brown round thing that was next to the cash register and said that he would buy that item too. He quickly paid the bill and put the brown thing he had just bought on top of Satori¡¯s head. ¡­.Mn? Satori put his hand on top of his head, looked up, and tilted his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Sousuke urged Satori to leave the store. Chapter 9 ¡­Since a while ago, there was a feeling of sadness coming from Sousuke. Sousuke had been silent ever since they left the store. Satori put all his strength in to keep up with Sousuke, who walked quickly ahead. Sousuke¡­? Satori felt sad, but not because Sousuke wouldn¡¯t talk to him. It was because Sousuke, who wouldn¡¯t even look back at Satori, seemed to be irritated by something. Sousuke¡¯s prickly feelings were so sorrowful that it made Satori¡¯s chest fill with sadness. What should I do to make him feel better¡­? At that moment, Satori bumped into the arm of someone coming from the opposite side. ¡°Aah¡­!¡± Satori was pushed away with great force and fell on the spot. ¡°Sato!¡± Sousuke, who had walked a little ahead of Satori, noticed him and rushed back. ¡°Are you okay, Sato?¡± (Are you hurt?) Sousuke peered at Satori¡¯s face with a concerned look, then helped him get back up on his feet. Satori was relieved to see that Sousuke had returned to his usual self. ¡°Yup. I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°What about you, Sousuke? Are you okay? Did your chest not hurt anymore?¡± In the face of Satori¡¯s question, Sousuke gasped. He looked as if his chest had been pierced through. ¡°¡­Yeah. It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± A smile spread across Satori¡¯s face. Sousuke picked up the brown thing that had fallen off Satori¡¯s head when he fell. ¡°Mn?¡± Satori placed his hand on his head, then tilted his head curiously. Seeing that, Sousuke smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a straw hat.¡± ¡°¡­Straw hat?¡± ¡°Yup. It protects the head from sun rays.¡± Satori widened his eyes in amazement. He thought that it was amazing there was such a convenient thing in this world. ¡°Do you want to wear this straw hat too, Sousuke?¡± Toward Satori¡¯s question, Sousuke laughed and said that he didn¡¯t need it. T/N: This is a full chapter based on the raws (we didn¡¯t split it). Chapter 10 ¡°Then, I¡¯m off.¡± Sousuke gave a wry smile to Satori, who had come all the way to the front door to see him off on his way to work. (He probably tried to hide it, but it¡¯s so obvious that he looks lonely.) ¡°I¡¯ve said it many times already, you don¡¯t have to wake up so early in the morning to keep up with me. Even if you¡¯re a freeloader, you don¡¯t have to go out of your way to see me off.¡± (Maybe he forced himself to do all this? It¡¯s true that I said I¡¯d kick him out if he didn¡¯t follow the rules, but he should just take it easy. I don¡¯t think he would do anything bad at this point anyway.) Every time Sousuke¡¯s thoughts reached him, Satori¡¯s chest became warm and fuzzy. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t force myself to do this. Not at all.¡± Seeing Satori shake his head, Sousuke¡¯s eyes softened. (He¡¯s so cute¡­) Satori widened his eyes in surprise. Seeing that, Sousuke looked slightly confused. (¡­What¡¯s wrong?) ¡°Ta-take care. Good luck at your work.¡± Hearing Satori¡¯s words, Sousuke chuckled. He stretched his hands out and ruffled Satori¡¯s head. Satori widened his eyes, he could feel the warmth in Sousuke¡¯s eyes as he stared at him. Satori¡¯s face turned bright red. ¡°I¡¯m off.¡± ¡°Ta-take care!¡± Even after sending Sousuke off, Satori remained in the same place for a while in a daze. Then a white fluffy spirit jumped around at his feet, demanding water. ¡°Ah, sorry. I¡¯ll give it to you now.¡± Satori gave some water to the white fluffy spirit, then cleaned up the dishes that had been used for breakfast. Sousuke had told him not to do things that would make a loud noise when it was still dark outside because it could bother the neighbors. That was why Satori waited for dawn to break while dozing off on the living room sofa, or looking at the scenery on the balcony. ¡°Separate colored clothes and white ones. Check if there¡¯s something left in the pocket or not. For detergent, use only the one for clothes, not the one for hair¡­¡± Satori mumbled the instructions that Sousuke had taught him. While still looking a little bit nervous, he carefully pressed the button. When he saw the washing machine start working normally without making any weird sounds, Satori was relieved. There were also no bubbles pouring out like the first time he had failed in using it. Satori thought that he wanted to clean the house while waiting for the laundry to finish, so he headed to the living room. Several white fluffy spirits followed Satori¡¯s footsteps. It caused him to almost step on them. ¡°I might step on you.¡± When gently talked to, the white fluffy spirits got more excited and jumped around Satori. ¡°Ah!¡± Satori had said it as a joke earlier, but now he really felt like he might accidentally step on one of them. As he tried to avoid them in a hurry, he slipped his foot on the wooden floor. He couldn¡¯t catch himself in time and hit his right knee hard. ¡°Oww¡­¡± The pain was so intense that Satori had to stay crouched there for a while. As he stayed still, the pain eased up a little. He pulled up the hem of his pants to check his kneecap that was bleeding internally. It would turn into a bruise if it was left like this. But the kneecaps were usually hidden under clothes. So, as long as he was careful not to be seen when changing clothes for a few days until the bruise disappeared, Sousuke wouldn¡¯t find out about it. The pants he wore were the ones he bought together on Sousuke¡¯s day off at the large retail store. Actually, they had planned to go to the ¡®planetarium¡¯ too, but unfortunately it was too crowded and they couldn¡¯t enter. Satori was disappointed, but Sousuke told him that they could go there again next time. After that, they bought some groceries at the supermarket. Then Sousuke bought Satori an ice cream at a place called ¡°food court¡± on the way home. The ice cream that Satori ate for the first time was so sweet and delicious that he thought his cheeks would fall off. When Satori stared at Sousuke who was in surprise, Sousuke laughed and looked as if he had expected Satori would react that way. Satori¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Sousuke was kind. Satori had already known this fact, but Sousuke was much gentler than he had imagined. Sousuke never looked at him with disgust or malice, unlike the other spirits or humans he had known up until now. Sousuke treated him just as ¡®Sato¡¯, a normal person. When this happened, Satori was so happy that his heart beat faster than usual. But at the same time, he also felt a little sting in his chest, and an indescribable feeling as if he were about to cry. He didn¡¯t know where all these feelings came from. And he also didn¡¯t know that there was a name for these kinds of feelings. Sousuke was now working as an ¡®announcer¡¯, something that he had dreamed of since he was a child. He always left his house at a fixed time every day before dawn, when everyone was still asleep. When they went to the supermarket, the people around them knew about Sousuke, and women especially would try to talk to him. At such times, Sousuke would respond flawlessly. But Satori knew that Sousuke didn¡¯t feel very comfortable about it on the inside. Once, Satori asked Sousuke what kind of things he did at work. Sousuke then taught him how to tune into a TV program, which they had watched together for the first time a while ago. Satori waited nervously in front of the TV at the hour Sousuke had told him while sitting on the soles of his feet. He was surprised to see Sousuke appeared inside the box called ¡°TV,¡± looking slightly different than usual. After that, it became Satori¡¯s routine to watch the news program Sousuke was on after seeing him off every morning. He was happy that he could see Sousuke even though he wasn¡¯t in the room with him right now. But what made him the happiest was still being around the real Sousuke. As the music signaling for the washing machine that had finished could be heard, Satori went to the washroom. He put the clean clothes in a plastic basket and carried them to the balcony. As soon as he opened the glass window, he was greeted by hot and humid air. Satori carefully spread the wet clothes and hung them up. Under the blue sky, the clothes fluttered in the wind. After finishing his duty, Satori turned his gaze to the distance. The city ¡®Tokyo¡¯ where Sousuke lived was so different from the mountains Satori had inhabited. Even if he were to view the city from a high place, it was such a jumbled mess of buildings, and the mountains were only faintly visible in the distance. The wind felt nice on his sweat dotted forehead. For a while, Satori stared at the scenery of the city in a daze. Satori had made a certain deal with the Dragon God before he went to meet Sousuke. No matter how ignorant Satori was, he knew that the city ¡®Tokyo¡¯ where Sousuke lived had so many people living there that it couldn¡¯t be compared to the place where he lived. This was because Satori sometimes got that kind of information from the faint thoughts of the people in the village where he lived. I want to go to Sousuke, I want to see him. Toward Satori who trembled as he begged, the Dragon God stared at him with his silent icy eyes. Satori wondered how much time had passed in silence. ¡°Some children can see things that humans believe do not exist in this world. The human child that you talked about must be one of them. Even if that was the case, it is only possible when you are by his side. If you are separated from him, the connection between the two of you will weaken. Eventually, that thin thread will break as if it never existed in the first place. The human that you hoped to see so much may have long since forgotten about you.¡± Sousuke forgetting about him¡­.Just thinking about this made his heart hurt deep inside, so much that it made him want to cry. However, Satori looked straight at the Dragon God¡¯s face, while still trembling a little. ¡°¡­That¡¯s fine. I want to see Sousuke no matter what. I want to hear his voice, even if it¡¯s just one word.¡± ¡°¡ªThere is a price to pay for your wish to come true.¡± Satori nodded his head. Suddenly, Satori thought he saw a flicker of emotion in the Dragon God¡¯s clear eyes, which he hadn¡¯t been able to read any emotion in until then. But then it disappeared almost immediately. Maybe it was just his imagination. ¡°If that human does not feel the need to abandon everything to be with you, then you will cease to exist.¡± Satori was taken aback. He widened his eyes in surprise, but then they suddenly relaxed. Satori thought that it was something easy to do. There was no way Sousuke would think that he needed Satori so much that he would abandon everything else. Even so, if he could meet Sousuke just one more time, Satori wouldn¡¯t have any regrets, even if he might lose his own life. The Dragon God tied some kind of thread around Satori¡¯s finger. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Follow this thread and you will find the one you wish to see.¡± The thread that was as thin as a spider¡¯s thread was so fragile that it seemed like it would break with a single touch. However, in the darkness, the thread let out a very faint light that looked like it came from a moonlight that had been ground into powder. More than anything, it gave Satori the most certain hope that Sousuke was on the other side of the thread. Chapter 11 A white fluffy spirit jumped around Satori¡¯s feet. Satori¡¯s mouth curved into a smile at the sight of it. He went back inside, filled a small flat plate with a little bit of water, and gave it to the spirit. Satori had known that the white fluffy spirits liked the morning dew since he lived back in his hometown. One day, he tried to give them a little bit of water on a small plate, and they seemed to like it very much. Since then, Satori started to give them water every day. Satori turned his gaze out the window unconsciously. This place was completely different from the mountains that Satori knew back in his hometown. There was not much nature, and there weren¡¯t many animals or insects here. Even the other fellow spirits were rarely seen here, compared to the mountain back in his hometown. But there was Sousuke in this place, and he could stay by his side. He didn¡¯t know how long the deal with the Dragon God would last, but as long as he was alive, he wanted to stay by Sousuke¡¯s side. Satori muttered, ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll do my best today!¡± He opened the notebook that was on the table and reviewed the letters that he had just learned. When Sousuke found out Satori couldn¡¯t read or write, he began to teach Satori after he had dinner and took a bath. On the notebook, there were beautiful letters written by Sousuke as an example, and poorly written letters by Satori. (How had he been living all this time?) Sometimes Sousuke would think of that while interacting with Satori, but Satori couldn¡¯t answer that question. His heart ached every time he remembered that he was deceiving Sousuke. Of course, Sousuke didn¡¯t know that Satori was actually a spirit. However, even if Satori didn¡¯t know many common things that most people would know at this point in their life, Sousuke only showed some confusion. He never got angry or irritated at him, unlike other humans. While Satori didn¡¯t know many other humans, he knew that this was a rare and special thing. If Sousuke were to find out that I was actually a spirit; if he knew that I could read other¡¯s minds, I wonder if he¡¯ll come to hate me. I wonder if he¡¯ll feel uncomfortable towards me. Satori shook his head to shake off his depressing feelings. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch that was made from cloth. Inside the pouch was the number of Sousuke¡¯s phone that he had written for him. Sousuke had told Satori that he could call the number to contact him. Sousuke had also taught Satori how to make a phone call, and let him practice. Satori was so fond of the small piece of torn paper that Sousuke gave him, that it made Sousuke smile as he searched for a pouch big enough to hold the memo. It was Satori¡¯s precious treasure, along with the stone from the necklace that was always hung around his neck. Now, Satori could read those numbers on the paper. He never called Sousuke because he didn¡¯t want to bother him at work, but theoretically, he could call him anytime if he wanted to. Satori tried to imitate the example letters written and practiced them over and over again. As he was focused on his study, the time passed by quickly. When he realized it, his shoulder and neck had gone stiff, so Satori put his notebook away and stretched his body. When he went out to the balcony, he found that the laundry that he had hung up in the morning had become completely dry. He took them in and neatly folded only those that didn¡¯t need to be ironed, such as T-shirts and towels. Satori then put the rest of it in a pile, while being careful not to cause any creases on them. Sousuke still forbade him from ironing clothes and doing things that required heat. Once, he was trying to practice making coffee after Sousuke had taught him. But then he forgot and left the kettle on the fire until it burned empty. Fortunately, Sousuke happened to come home earlier than usual that day, so it didn¡¯t turn out to be a bigger problem. Naturally, he was scolded very harshly back then, to the point that he trembled. Still, even when Sousuke was so angry and frustrated at that time, Satori could feel that on the inside Sousuke felt relieved that he wasn¡¯t hurt. With tears in his eyes, Satori swore firmly inside his heart that he would never do it again. For dinner, they cooked together after Sousuke came home. After Sousuke had taught Satori how shopping works and the way to do it beforehand, he followed him to the supermarket and even let him practice it a few times. It seemed like the sight of Satori, a seemingly grown-up person that didn¡¯t know how to shop was odd, for many people kept looking at him with curious looks. Even so, Sousuke didn¡¯t rush Satori and he didn¡¯t seem to mind. Even though he was still a little nervous, Satori was now able to go shopping on his own. He would go shopping with a memo that Sousuke had prepared for his practice. Whenever Satori was able to buy everything on the list without any mistake, Sousuke would ruffle his hair and praise him. Every time Sousuke did this, Satori¡¯s heart became filled with warm feelings, but then he would feel a twinge of sadness. ¡°Let¡¯s see, today I¡¯m going to buy onions, curry powder, and bay leaves¡­ Huh? What was a bay leaf, again? Ah! It¡¯s that leaf that smells nice!¡± Satori still felt very nervous every time he had to go out alone to a place where many people would be gathered. Before going out for work, Sousuke had said that they were going to go out somewhere tomorrow for practice because tomorrow was his day off. ¡°Onions, curry powder, bay leaves, and some fruits. Onions, curry powder, bay leaves, and fruits.¡± He was happy he could know what was written in Sousuke¡¯s neat and easy-to-read handwriting. Satori muttered ¡°Okay!¡± and stood up with determination. The white fluffy spirits that were playing around near Satori jumped at the sound of his voice, and they fled somewhere just like that. While reflecting on what he had done wrong, he picked up the wallet that Sousuke had entrusted to him for shopping. He also put on the straw hat that Sousuke had bought for him along with a change of clothes at the large retail store. When he first met Sousuke, he wondered why he was wearing a blue cloth on his head. But now Satori knew that it was the same as the straw hat. After he checked his pockets again and again to make sure he hadn¡¯t lost the memo, Satori left Sousuke¡¯s house. Chapter 12 Chirr chirr chirr. Chirr chirr chirr. The chorus of the cicadas rang. The road mirage flickered over the asphalt. (Ah¡­ it¡¯s really hot today. Is this what they call abnormal weather?) (So hot, so hot, so hot, I¡¯m dying.) (I wonder why Rena is always so selfish. She¡¯s really annoying. She must be misunderstanding something, she¡¯s not as cute as she thinks she is. But if I don¡¯t accompany her, it¡¯ll be so troublesome too¡­) (Ah¡­ I don¡¯t want to work. I don¡¯t want to work. Chief Tanaka should just die! What¡¯s with his hair that¡¯s folded to the side? I always desperately held myself back from blowing it out. Ah, it¡¯s so hot. I don¡¯t want to work.) As he heard the constant stream of inner voices that couldn¡¯t be blocked even if he covered his ears, Satori walked desperately while drenched in a cold sweat. Onions, curry powder, bay leaves, and some fruits. Onions, curry powder, bay leaves, and some fruits. (Whoa, what¡¯s this guy mumbling to himself? So creepy! His bangs are too long. What is he, a nerd?) As Satori chanted the things he needed to buy over and over in his mouth, he felt like his sickness subsided just a little bit. He bought what he needed at the supermarket he had visited with Sousuke before, and packed it in the shopping bag. When he was choosing the fruits, he was having a hard time choosing between peaches and pears. He finally decided on pears. After that, he also bought grapefruits, which Sousuke liked. Satori walked through the same way he had come from and was relieved when the familiar apartment building came into view. It¡¯s almost time for Sousuke to come home. I want to finish cleaning the bathroom before then. The noisy chorus of cicadas had disappeared. When Satori looked up nonchalantly, he found the figure of someone who wasn¡¯t supposed to be here. ¡°Dragon God¡­?¡± Satori lost the strength in his hands and dropped the shopping bag. A pear rolled out of the opening of the bag, which the Dragon God picked up. The Dragon God glanced at the pear in his hand with a somewhat wistful expression. ¡°I see that you have yet to tell that human who you are.¡± Unable to say anything back, Satori cast his eyes downwards. With blood drained out of his face, he tightly bit his lip. It was obvious for what reason the Dragon God had come here. He had come to tell Satori that the time was up. Satori had thought that he wouldn¡¯t regret it even if his life were to disappear. But when he thought that Sousuke would return in just a little bit, a feeling of lingering attachment welled up within him. I want to see Sousuke one more time, just a little more. I want to tell him that I love him. I want to thank him for teaching me how to study, and that I was happy that he was so kind to someone like me. ¡°I-I remember about the promise. I also have prepared myself for it. But in just a moment, in just a little bit Sousuke will come home, so could you please wait a little longer?¡± As Satori desperately pleaded in a trembling voice, the Dragon God glanced at him with his translucent eyes, which no one could tell what he was thinking from them. ¡°I lose my patience just looking at you.¡± Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. It had been so hot just earlier, but now the atmosphere between Satori and the Dragon God turned into something stinging and icy. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Satori thought. As he recalled Sousuke¡¯s figure that he won¡¯t be able to see anymore, he closed his eyelids in resignation. It was at that moment. ¡°Sato? What are you doing there?¡± The atmosphere that was eerily filled with silence was broken in an instant, and the cicadas began to sing again. ¡°Sousuke.¡± Sousuke narrowed his eyes as he caught the sight of the unsettling atmosphere between Satori and the Dragon God, along with the shopping bag that was still left on the ground. (Who¡¯s this guy?) ¡°So-Sousuke¡­!¡± Satori stepped in front of Sousuke with his hands outstretched, as if to protect him. ¨CPlease. Don¡¯t do anything to Sousuke. The Dragon God must have heard Satori¡¯s desperate inner voice. The trembling in Satori¡¯s body has stopped, as if it was an illusion and that he had not been frightened earlier. When he looked straight at the Dragon God with intense eyes, the Dragon God furrowed his eyebrows slightly. (Sato?) Satori could tell that Sousuke was confused about him, who was standing there as if to protect him, but Satori didn¡¯t move. (¨CYou have time until the end of summer.) Satori clearly heard what must have been the Dragon God¡¯s inner voice delivered to him, which he heard for the first time. Seeing Satori nodding his head, the Dragon God suddenly relaxed his killing intent. ¡°¡­no name.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sousuke furrowed his eyebrow in suspicion. ¡°Mortal, I have no name. You asked me earlier, did you not?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± (What? What¡¯s he talking about¡­) ¡°So-sousuke¡­¡± Satori panicked. He didn¡¯t think the Dragon God would do anything to Sousuke now that he had set a time limit until the end of summer, but there was no guarantee the Dragon God wouldn¡¯t suddenly change his mind. A smile suddenly appeared on the Dragon God¡¯s face. In front of the surprised Satori, he tilted his head as if he had just noticed the pear in his hand, then suddenly threw it at Sousuke. ¡°Whoa, wha-what do you want?¡± Sousuke reflexively caught the pear thrown by the Dragon God. ¡°Satori. Remember, this is your last chance.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Satori nodded with a slightly nervous expression on his face. He could tell that Sousuke was suspicious of his exchange with the Dragon God. (What¡¯s this guy¡¯s relationship with Sato? Who¡¯s Satori? He¡¯s Sato, right? Why does Sato look so gloomy? Anyway, why am I so curious about their relationship¡­?) Every time Satori felt Sousuke¡¯s confusion, he became filled with guilt. But he didn¡¯t have the time to worry about Sousuke now. ¡°Just who are you¡­¡± ¡°Sousuke.¡± Satori pulled on Sousuke¡¯s arm and put his own hand over Sousuke¡¯s mouth, as if asking Sousuke to be silent. ¡°Sato?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll tell you everything later.¡± ¨CSo stay silent for now. Sousuke gave a face as if saying ¡®what are you talking about?¡¯, and Satori pleaded with his eyes. (You¡¯ll tell me¡­ everything? What do you mean¡­?) ¡°Mortal. He just saved your life.¡± ¡°What? What are you talking about¡­?¡± The Dragon God turned on his heels. ¡°Ah, hey¡­!¡± (I¡¯m not done talking.) Satori stopped Sousuke, who tried to pursue the Dragon God. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go home.¡± Sousuke looked unsure for a moment. He took one more glance at the direction where the Dragon God had disappeared, then nodded his head to Satori as if to say he had given up. Chapter 13.1 They went inside the elevator with an awkward atmosphere between them and returned to the house without saying a word to each other. During this time, Satori could feel a mixture of frustration and confusion from Sousuke. He could also tell that Sousuke himself was holding back from lashing out those emotions at him. At the clicking sound of the front door opening, a white fluffy spirit that was playing in the living room came towards Satori to ask for water. But when it sensed an unusual and unsettling atmosphere, it quickly fled into the shadows of the room. ¡°So, who was that suspicious man back there?¡± (What¡¯s your relationship with him?) Without any preface, Sousuke straightly cut to the question. ¡°He is no one. He has existed like the air, along with nature and the earth since a long time ago. If I were to give him a name, I think it would be God. We usually call him the Dragon God.¡± ¡°What? Huh, what are you talking about¡­¡± Given the response that was completely different from what he had imagined, Sousuke had a confused expression on his face. (God? Huh? What? Dragon God¡­?) Along with intense confusion, Satori could feel Sousuke¡¯s thoughts; he was wondering if there was something wrong with his head. ¡°Wait a minute, what do you mean by ¡®we¡¯ there? Sato, just what are you¡­¡± This is it, Satori thought. This is the point that would decide whether Sousuke would come to hate him or not. Satori closed his eyes, took a deep breath, let it out, and opened his eyes again. He tried not to let his worry show. But his hands and feet were already turning cold from the fear of being hated by Sousuke. ¡°My name isn¡¯t Sato. I¡¯m actually a spirit called ¡®Satori¡¯. I wanted to see Sousuke so much, so I made a wish to the Dragon God to let me meet you, and I was able to come here.¡± ¡°A spirit? What nonsense are you on about¡­¡± (There¡¯s no way such things exist.) Sousuke tried to laugh it off as a joke, but he shut his mouth when he saw the serious expression on Satori¡¯s face. Then Sousuke¡¯s expression gradually changed into a calmer one. (If I remember correctly, wasn¡¯t Satori the name of the spirit that could read other¡¯s minds? ¡­Anyway, why am I taking this seriously ¡­But, that reminds me there was ever a time I thought jokingly that he might know what was on my mind, I guess¡­? I can¡¯t believe such an unscientific thing like a spirit actually exists¡­) Sousuke covered his mouth with his hand as if he just realized something, and looked at Satori. (Does that mean he could know everything I¡¯m thinking about now¡­?) Satori watched with a sad feeling as Sousuke¡¯s eyes changed from a faint suspicion to the thought of maybe, and then to a certainty. (¨CDid you really know what I¡¯m thinking about now?) Sousuke stared at Satori. Satori clenched his fists, looked into Sousuke¡¯s eyes, and nodded. Sousuke¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Wa-wait a minute.¡± (I can¡¯t wrap my head around it. Ah, he could hear all of this, too. I can¡¯t believe this¡­) A hint of trepidation flickered in Sousuke¡¯s eyes. A deep sadness filled Satori¡¯s chest just like a waterfall. At that moment, Sousuke just noticed something. (You said that you wanted to see me earlier.) ¡°Have we met before, by any chance?¡± Satori nodded, then Sousuke widened his eyes. ¡°When did this happen?¡± ¡°When Sousuke was still a little boy. You told me that you came to visit your grandma¡¯s house because of the school holiday. You would bring me boiled corn, then we would eat them together on the riverbank.¡± (Grandma¡¯s house? Corns? Riverbank¡­?) Sousuke¡¯s eyes darted back into the past for a moment, and then came back into focus. (I remember that. If I remember correctly, I became close with an older guy. He was much older than me, but he was somewhat clumsy, couldn¡¯t be left alone, and cute¡­ I thought that I had to protect him, even though I was just a kid at that time. But then grandma passed away, and my relatives had a dispute over the inheritance. After that, it was almost as if our relationship was cut off from that house. It made me unable to fulfill the promise that I made as a kid¡­ Now that I think about it, he might be my first love¡­) ¡­First love? When he saw Satori who blinked his eyes curiously, Sousuke blushed slightly. Then, as if the thought had just occurred to him, Sousuke gasped in realization. ¡°¡­Was that guy you, Sato?¡± Satori nodded his head, his chest was trembling. It felt like all of the feelings he had been holding in until then would overflow as soon as he spoke. He tried his hardest to blink away the tears. I¡¯ve always wanted to see Sousuke. When Sousuke stopped coming, the other spirits laughed at me for believing in humans, but all of that doesn¡¯t matter. I just wanted to see Sousuke, and I always believed that the boy from that time would come to see me again. I kept on waiting and believing him. Chapter 13.2 ¡°I, I really wanted to see you again no matter what. I wanted to hear your voice. Until you came, no one would look at me. You were the first person who would talk to me. I always wanted to thank you for everything.¡± ¨CThis is the last time¡­ Sadness pierced his heart, but more than that, a deep and indescribable feeling of love filled Satori. I¡¯m happy I was able to meet you, Sousuke. Satori smiled. He thought that all of this was more than enough for him. I was able to see Sousuke, whom I wanted to see so much. After I could see him again, I could tell him all the things I had been wanting to say. But then why does my heart ache? What else could I wish for? ¡°Sato¡­¡± (Ah, no, not Sato. He¡¯s Satori¡­) Sousuke slightly narrowed his eyes as if there was something bright, and reached out his hand toward Satori unconsciously. Satori felt puzzled as he felt Sousuke¡¯s desire to touch him. He never thought that Sousuke would accept him once he knew who he was. After all, he had thought that even wishing for it was something undeserved for him. (Yeah, Satori was the young man from that time for sure. It¡¯s Satori¡­) At that moment, what crossed their mind was the image of Sousuke, who was still an elementary schooler, and Satori, whose appearance had not changed much. The nostalgic scenery of his hometown was reflected in Satori¡¯s eyes. (In the past, I always felt as if I had left my heart behind when I had to part with him after playing together. His smiling face always looked somewhat lonely, which made me feel like I couldn¡¯t leave him alone. I thought that I wanted to stay by his side. When I couldn¡¯t go to my grandma¡¯s house anymore, I always felt like I had left something behind somewhere in my heart. Though, I didn¡¯t know why I felt that way at that time¡­) A feeling of joy filled Sousuke¡¯s heart as he was able to see Satori again. At that moment, Satori felt like he could see himself reflected in Sousuke¡¯s eyes. Satori looked at Sousuke with a slightly worried and confused expression on his face. The figure of himself reflected in Sousuke¡¯s eyes was filled with his loving feelings and desire to touch him. It made Satori feel like it wasn¡¯t himself. Suddenly, Sousuke¡¯s face contorted as if he was in pain. ¡°My bad, just give me a second.¡± (What was I about to do just now¡­?) Sousuke took his hand back hesitantly and Satori followed it with his eyes, feeling nervous. A shocked expression appeared on Sousuke¡¯s face. At that moment, Satori wondered what was the emotion that had just crossed Sousuke¡¯s eyes. Was it surprise? Pain? Deep regret? And then¡­? A wave of mixed and complicated emotions washed over Sousuke and knocked him down. (Since then he had always been waiting for me. He waited at that place all alone for years¡­ For me who had broken our promise¡­) What was there was Sousuke¡¯s feeling of regret, blaming himself for having broken their promise. A deep pain struck Sousuke. Satori shook his head. No, I didn¡¯t mean to blame Sousuke. I didn¡¯t want to do that at all. ¡°Sousuke, that¡¯s not it. Actually I-I¡­¡± However, Satori who wasn¡¯t used to expressing his feelings couldn¡¯t find the right words to convey them. Satori desperately clung onto Sousuke, then Sousuke gently pulled him away. ¡°¡­My bad. It was all so sudden, and my mind still couldn¡¯t catch up with all of this. Can you give me more time to think about this?¡± Satori nodded his head as he felt Sousuke¡¯s desire to be alone. Sousuke walked past Satori and headed straight to the bedroom. (I can¡¯t believe that Sato was actually a spirit¡­ No, not Sato, he¡¯s Satori. Does that mean he had always waited for me all this time? All by himself¡­ Was that creepy guy Satori¡¯s friend? He seemed to know more about Satori than I did. Could it be that Satori can hear all of these thoughts too?) Satori could feel Sousuke¡¯s feeling of distress and confusion coming from the bedroom. It was hard for Satori to see that Sousuke was suffering. But it was him who made Sousuke feel that way. That fact hurt Satori¡¯s heart more than anything else. He didn¡¯t come here to make Sousuke feel that way. Satori thought that he shouldn¡¯t hear Sousuke¡¯s thoughts, Sousuke probably didn¡¯t want his thoughts to be heard. But even if he were to cover his ears, he still could hear Sousuke¡¯s thoughts whether he wanted it or not. I wish I didn¡¯t have this ability. For the first time in his life, Satori hated this ability that he had never wished for. ¨CI shouldn¡¯t stay here. A white fluffy spirit jumped around Satori¡¯s feet, asking him to play together. Satori gently stroked the white fluffy spirit and quietly left the room while trying not to make a sound. Chapter 14 Satori didn¡¯t leave the room because he had any specific reason to. But as long as Sousuke didn¡¯t want him to hear his inner thoughts, he couldn¡¯t just stay in the room and pretend that he didn¡¯t hear anything. Satori held his finger out under the moonlight, but he could no longer see the thread that connected him and Sousuke. This was because the thread had been cut when they reunited. Even so, Satori still looked back in the direction of Sousuke¡¯s house several times, as if there was still an invisible thread that stretched out between them. (I was lucky he didn¡¯t think I was creepy.) Maybe Sousuke actually wanted to, but he was too kind to think that way, and he tried not to hurt Satori. The thought made Satori feel sad again, then he rubbed his eyelids. (Oh no. It¡¯s a Satori. What¡¯s it doing in a place like this?) Satori turned around at the sound of the voice, and he saw a fox spirit sitting on top of a shrine¡¯s gateway. (I¡¯ve always loathed the kind of monsters like you, you see¡­) The fox¡¯s eyes glowed red in the darkness. The fox let out a cry, then many other foxes came and gathered. The shadows of the leaves let out a rustle as they swayed. In the darkness, a number of glowing red eyes were staring at Satori. The fox¡¯s mouth curled up into a smirk, and it startled Satori. He unconsciously stepped backward, tripped over a pebble, and fell on his bottom. (Now, what should we do with you¡­) No, no, no¡­ Sousuke¡­! Satori¡¯s body trembled in fear, then just as he called Sousuke¡¯s name inside his heart¡ª ¡°Satori!¡± His name was called by the voice he wanted to hear the most, then he was suddenly embraced as he turned around. Satori was surprised. It was because this was the first time he saw Sousuke lose his composure. Sousuke¡¯s whole body was drenched in sweat and his heart was beating fast. It made Satori¡¯s heart thump. (I was surprised when you suddenly disappeared from the house. I thought you might have gone somewhere far. Or maybe you have gone to that guy¡¯s place¡­) ¡°¡­!¡± Satori didn¡¯t think that Sousuke would have such a misunderstanding. It was true that Satori thought he shouldn¡¯t stay at his house anymore, but it was just temporary. He never had any intention to leave without telling Sousuke. Of course, he would get out of the house at any time if that was what Sousuke wanted. But if possible, he wanted to stay close by Sousuke¡¯s side until the time limit of his promise was over. ¡°So-sorry. I just thought I shouldn¡¯t bother you any more than I already have. But, I also didn¡¯t mean to disappear just like that¡­ Err, umm¡­¡± As Satori tried to convey his feelings while faltering, Sousuke waited for him patiently without rushing him. From the look of Sousuke¡¯s eyes as he stared at Satori, there was no feeling of disgust coming from them in the slightest. Satori¡¯s chest was filled with unbearable emotions. ¡°I, I, I¡­¡± He felt a quiver deep in his chest. He was so scared. Until he reunited with Sousuke, he thought that he didn¡¯t mind disappearing once he got to see Sousuke again. He thought that there was no meaning for him to live if he got hated by Sousuke, or if Sousuke were to look at him the same way the other spirits did. ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± said Sousuke. ¡°Bu-but¡­¡± Satori hesitated. He actually wanted to go home with him. He wanted to go to that house where he could feel safe, together with Sousuke. But he still didn¡¯t know how he could refrain from hearing Sousuke¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Let¡¯s go home, Satori. Let¡¯s go home together.¡± Sousuke lightly brushed his lips on the cheek of Satori. For a moment, Satori didn¡¯t know what had happened. He was surprised and he raised his head quickly as if he had been startled. Sousuke stared at Satori as if to see his reaction, then kissed him again on the cheek on the opposite side. ¡°I think it¡¯s useful if we can read each other¡¯s minds.¡± Tears welled up in Satori¡¯s eyes as he stared at Sousuke¡¯s face without blinking. ¡°I don¡¯t care even if Satori is a spirit. You can just read my mind if you want to. You¡¯re hard working but clumsy, and your expression is so easy to read. I can¡¯t think of you as just a mere stranger anymore ¡­That¡¯s why let¡¯s go home Satori. Let¡¯s go back together to our house.¡± Tears spilled down his face. Satori cried. He clung onto Sousuke and cried at the top of his lungs. He had lived for a long time now, but he could never have imagined that something like this would happen to him. ¨CThis is enough, this is more than enough for me. Satori was happy as he cried in Sousuke¡¯s arms. The red eyes that had been looking down from the top of the shrine gateway, ready to devour Satori, had already vanished before he knew it. Chapter 15.1 When they returned to the house, Sousuke wrapped his hands around Satori¡¯s waist and locked him inside his arms. ¡°Sousuke, umm¡­?¡± When Satori looked up, Sousuke¡¯s face was right in front of him; the closeness made him feel flustered. At that moment, Sousuke stared at him as if he was observing him. Satori wondered what was going on. (Will it be okay to do this? Will he hate it¡­?) He could hear Sousuke¡¯s voice that sounded somewhat worried. ¡°I-I don¡¯t mind.¡± Satori shook his head. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Then he covered his mouth with his hand. He accidentally responded to Sousuke¡¯s inner voice again. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± As Satori apologized spontaneously, Sousuke bumped his forehead against Satori¡¯s. He was startled when Sousuke glanced at him with an upward glance. His heart was beating faster and faster. ¡°Hey, can you stop that already?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Stop apologizing for small things like that. I¡¯ve told you, you can just read my mind if you want to. No matter what you are, I still like you, Satori.¡± Like? Sousuke likes me? Satori stared at Sousuke, not understanding what he was talking about. When Sousuke saw Satori, he let out a troubled, yet gentle smile. ¡°¡­If only I could read your mind too.¡± (Then I¡¯d know if you like it or not.) ¡°I-I don¡¯t mind. I won¡¯t hate any single thing that you do to me.¡± Sousuke frowned at Satori¡¯s words. (¡­That¡¯s the problem.) Huh? What does he mean¡­? Satori wondered whether he had said something that upset Sousuke. Seeing Satori who soon became flustered, Sousuke gave a wry smile. ¡°If you know what I¡¯m about to do to you from now on, you¡¯ll probably hate me.¡± ¡°Sousuke¡­?¡± Sousuke slightly tilted his head, then he kissed Satori¡¯s lips. After that, he pulled his face away and looked at Satori, who¡¯s wide-eyed. As he looked at Satori¡¯s reaction, Sousuke kissed Satori once again. ¡°¡­Sato. Satori.¡± (So cute¡­) Every time Sousuke¡¯s gentle voice and inner thoughts reached his ears, Satori¡¯s heart melted as sweetly as ice cream. (¡­He looks like he¡¯s in a trance.) Satori dyed his cheeks red as he was being whispered enticingly. He thought that it felt incredibly embarrassing. As Satori unconsciously turned his face away, Sousuke kissed the edge of his eyes. (¡­I want to take off his clothes and kiss every part of his body. I want to fill his thoughts with me, so he doesn¡¯t have to think about anything else. I want to hear his sweet voice as he melts.) ¡°Satori.¡± Every time Satori felt Sousuke¡¯s affection, which Sousuke had no intention of hiding, some kind of tingling sensation that he had never experienced before ran through his body. ¡°Ah!¡± Satori¡¯s eyes widened. Some unknown change was occurring in a part of his body. He had no sexual knowledge, but he knew instinctively that it was something embarrassing. Satori rubbed his legs together as if to hide something from Sousuke. (Ah, so he¡¯s hard down there.) Satori blushed at Sousuke¡¯s voice. He hurriedly tried to escape from Sousuke¡¯s arm, but for some reason his legs didn¡¯t have any strength. He felt like he was about to fall to his knees. (¡­.Ah, no good.) At that moment, Satori felt like crying as he heard Sousuke¡¯s inner voice. ¡°So-sorry. Sousuke, I¡­¡± ¡°Ah, no, it¡¯s not that, Satori. You¡¯re fine like that. You just misunderstood. I was talking about myself.¡± Sousuke grabbed Satori¡¯s arm and made him touch his thing. Satori reflexively pulled his hand back when he felt the hardest thing he had ever felt in his hand. Sousuke gave a wry smile. ¡°I know that you aren¡¯t used to things like this. And I know that you said that you liked me. There¡¯s no doubt about it. But to be honest, I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the same as the feelings I had for you.¡± ¡°Sousuke?¡± What does he mean¡­? Satori felt uneasy as he couldn¡¯t understand what Sousuke was saying. Satori likes Sousuke a lot. Sousuke is more important than anything else and irreplaceable to him. For example, if he were asked to choose among the things most important to him, like Sousuke, the stone he got from Sousuke, or the paper inside the pouch that Sousuke gave him, he would definitely choose Sousuke. Of course, he would choose Sousuke over his own life, too. Is that not enough? (¡­I¡¯m worried.) Worried¡­? Satori was puzzled. When he thought that Sousuke was feeling sad, he also felt his chest tighten, and he didn¡¯t know what he should do. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m taking advantage of your pure feelings toward me. Your love for me might just be pure adoration, like that of a newborn chick when it sees someone for the first time. But you¡¯re so cute and precious. It made me want to make all of you mine, even if I have to take advantage of your pure feelings for me.¡± (I don¡¯t want to hurt you.) Sousuke gently let go of Satori¡¯s body and smiled gently with a troubled face. Toward Sousuke, a sweet yet sorrowful yearning feeling that Satori had never felt before was born inside him. I don¡¯t really understand what Sousuke is talking about, but at least I know how I feel. Satori put his hand on Sousuke¡¯s arm, stood on tiptoes, and then kissed Sousuke on the cheek, just like Sousuke had done to him. First, he started from the right cheek. (¡­Satori?) Then, Satori stared at the surprised Sousuke. After he made sure that Sousuke didn¡¯t reject his action, he kissed the cheek of the opposite side. Lastly, he licked his lips and pressed them against Sousuke¡¯s lips. When something that was like Sousuke¡¯s tongue slipped between his lips, Satori was surprised. ¡°Mn¡­.mn¡­mn¡­?!¡± Satori panicked as he tried to call Sousuke¡¯s name, but he couldn¡¯t move because his head was being held so tightly. Sousuke¡¯s tongue was moving around as it pleased inside his mouth; it felt like he was being eaten. At that moment, Sousuke¡¯s tongue licked the roof of his mouth. A shiver of pleasure ran down his back. ¡°Ngh¡­!¡± Satori¡¯s thing that was about to calm down started to react again because of the stimulation given by Sousuke. On top of that, there was a sensation like something was about to come out from the tip of it. It made Satori feel like crying when he thought he had wet himself. Satori stiffened his body and bent down as if to protect himself. ¡°Satori?¡± (Did I scare him after all?) Satori could feel the faint disappointment and concern towards him at the same time coming from Sousuke. But Satori could only keep his face down without being able to answer those questions. At that moment, he felt the presence of Sousuke left his side, which made him want to cry even more. There must be something wrong with me for wetting myself just because of something like this. If Sousuke found out about this, he might hate me. Chapter 15.2 A white fluffy spirit jumped around Satori as if it was worried about him. ¡°Satori.¡± A blanket was being softly wrapped around him, then Sousuke hugged him through the blanket. Sousuke gently patted his back, as if to comfort him. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Satori. I won¡¯t do any single thing that you don¡¯t like.¡± The look on Sousuke¡¯s face didn¡¯t indicate that he was angry with Satori in the slightest. (I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve scared you.) Satori¡¯s heart fluttered at Sousuke¡¯s gentle concern for him. ¡°I-I-I thought you were going to hate me¡­¡± (¡­Hate you?) ¡°Why would you think that way?¡± ¡°Whe-when you kiss me, my body becomes weird¡­¡± Sousuke furrowed his eyebrows at Satori¡¯s words. ¡°Weird like what?¡± (Was it a problem to kiss a spirit? Maybe it¡¯ll cause something bad towards Satori¡¯s body¡­? Wait, who should I even ask about those things¡­?) ¡°I felt something like goosebumps around my waist, my chest tightens, and my thing¡­ my thing down there¡­¡± As Sousuke heard that, he made a dubious face. ¡°It suddenly becomes hard just like before, and I-I wet myself¡­!¡± Gathering up his courage, Satori said all those words at once. ¡°Ah¡­ Well, you see, Satori¡­¡± As Satori thought that Sousuke was unusually stammering, suddenly Sousuke¡¯s face turned red. ¡°Ju-just give me a sec¡­¡± Sousuke held out his hand in front of Satori, then covered his face with the other hand. However, his cheeks that peeked from the gap between his fingers had turned bright red up until his earlobes. Sousuke suddenly grabbed a cushion that was on the sofa and pressed his face against it in front of Satori. (Uwaa¡­! What¡¯s with this cute creature¡­?! Seriously¡­?!) Satori was truly surprised when Sousuke suddenly shouted in his mind, as if he was about to start rolling on the floor. ¡­So-sousuke? Satori gaped his mouth open. When Sousuke noticed Satori¡¯s gaze, he coughed as if to cover up his embarrassment. Then he laughed happily. Satori¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He felt like his heartbeat became even faster than before. ¡°Did you dislike it when I kissed you before?¡± Satori shook his head. ¡°Then, do you feel grossed out with what I did to you after that?¡± Satori turned a little bit red, then denied it too. He didn¡¯t feel disgusted by it, it even felt good. Sousuke muttered ¡°Good,¡± then scooped up Satori¡¯s leg and lifted him from the side. Then he carried Satori, who panicked and clung onto him, to the bed. (I¡¯m done mulling things over.) ¡°I¡¯m about to make love to you now. I¡¯m doing this because I like you, you¡¯re precious and dear to me. I want to love you and make you feel good. But you don¡¯t have to force yourself to go along with me. If you don¡¯t like it, feel grossed out, or uncomfortable even just a little bit, tell me immediately. I won¡¯t hate you for something like that.¡± Sousuke said that while looking at Satori¡¯s eyes. Sousuke¡¯s words were always so modest, truthful, caring for his feelings, and it went straight into Satori¡¯s heart. His chest was burning. Until he met Sousuke, Satori had always been ashamed of his existence. He thought that he would never be loved or needed by anyone. Sousuke¡¯s words told him that he liked him without any pretense. Those words told him that even Satori, the spirit that was hated by anyone, was allowed to stay and live here. Then, it also made Satori feel the meaning of his existence. He never imagined something like this would happen to him. ¡°Satori? Sato¡­¡± As Satori cried without a voice, Sousuke looked at him with a puzzled expression. ¡°¡­You didn¡¯t cry because you don¡¯t like it, right?¡± Sousuke asked while looking worried, then Satori smiled as tears were spilling down his face. He rubbed his eyes, not wanting his tear-stained vision to blur Sousuke¡¯s face. After that, he looked straight at Sousuke¡¯s face and answered. ¡°I like you too, Sousuke. I really like you.¡± Satori felt that Sousuke was going to kiss him. As a shadow fell in front of his face, Satori closed his eyes spontaneously. Sousuke¡¯s tongue slid into Satori¡¯s mouth, traced the rows of his teeth, licked around the spot where Satori was feeling it before, and twined around and sucked Satori¡¯s tongue. The saliva that he couldn¡¯t swallow spilled from the edge of his mouth, and it made wet squelching sounds. (Satori is feeling it. So cute, so cute¡­) The constant stream of words coming from Sousuke was so embarrassing. Yet, it was as if his head had gone blank, and he couldn¡¯t think clearly. As Sousuke pulled his face away, a thread of saliva stretched out between them, and Satori blushed. (The edge of his eyes is becoming red, it¡¯s so tempting. He had such beautiful eyes, I wonder why he always hides them.) ¡°Ah.¡± At that moment, Sousuke¡¯s fingers which had slipped in from the hem of Satori¡¯s clothes pinched the tip of Satori¡¯s chest. Even though nothing would come out even if Sousuke touched that place, every time Sousuke¡¯s finger touched his chest he felt a shiver around his waist again. (His nipples are turning hard. It¡¯s so stiff, just like some kind of fruit. It¡¯s such a pretty pink color; this should be illegal.) Satori blushed. As his whole body was dyed red with embarrassment, he tried to hide his face by crossing his arms in front of it. ¡°Satori?¡± (What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t like it?) ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m fine, but it¡¯s embarrassing so please stop it¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®it¡¯?¡± Sousuke raised his body and moved Satori¡¯s arm that was hiding his face. ¡°Sa-saying all of those things out loud¡­¡± (By ¡®out loud¡¯¡­ does he mean saying it in my head?) Sousuke brushed Satori¡¯s bangs up. Satori was upset as he blushed because his face that was always kept hidden was exposed. Then, Sousuke kissed Satori, who glared at him intensely, in the lips. ¡°¡­!¡± Chapter 16.1 ¡°I can¡¯t stop, my head is full of erotic things. It goes without saying, I¡¯m touching the person that I like after all. I want to do more erotic things to you until my brain melts, and I¡¯ll actually do it.¡± Satori couldn¡¯t help but become speechless when he was met with a smile that radiated a great sexual allure. It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t want to, and he didn¡¯t hate it either. But it felt so embarrassing that he couldn¡¯t stand it, and his heart felt like it was going to explode. Suddenly, Sousuke¡¯s face turned into a serious expression as if he had misunderstood Satori¡¯s expression. ¡°Of course, if you really hate it, I¡¯ll stop. I don¡¯t want to hurt you. But if your reason for stopping is because you¡¯re embarrassed, sorry but I won¡¯t stop. I¡¯ve said that you can just read my mind if you want to. It¡¯s a little bit weird to put it this way, but in exchange I want you to get used to my feelings. After all, I don¡¯t intend on stopping here. I¡¯ll be together with you from now on, and I plan to do many kinds of things to you.¡± When Sousuke tilted his head cutely while asking ¡°Can I?¡± Satori couldn¡¯t say no. He was embarrassed, but Sousuke¡¯s feelings made him so happy that they made him want to cry. That¡¯s why, Satori took off his clothes while looking straight at Sousuke. Sousuke looked a bit surprised to see this, but the next moment his face broke into a pleased smile. ¡°That¡¯s brave of you, Satori.¡± (But, his body that¡¯s red all over is so tempting.) ¡°Come here.¡± As if beckoned by Sousuke¡¯s hands, Satori kneeled right in front of him on the bed. The moment Sousuke kissed the tip of his chest, Satori flinched involuntarily. (I touched only the right side earlier. Now, only this side is puffy and swollen. Poor thing, I¡¯ll touch the other side too.) Not even giving time for Satori to think, Sousuke immediately took the tip of Satori¡¯s chest into his mouth. Every time Sousuke licked, sucked, or lightly bit Satori¡¯s nipple, Satori¡¯s body jolted just like a fish. It was hard for Satori to stand, so he clung to Sousuke¡¯s head and pulled him closer. Eventually, he couldn¡¯t tell if he was trying to stop Sousuke or if he was trying to draw Sousuke towards him. (I¡¯m relieved, he seems to be feeling it.) Satori gasped at Sousuke¡¯s words. When he realized it, he found his thing bent backward to the point of hitting his stomach, and it spilled transparent honey all over the place. What should I do? I accidentally wet myself again. ¡°I-I¡­¡± Satori turned pale and held his crotch. However, the feeling of his slimy fingers stimulated him, and it made him want to rub it with his hands. ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°No, Satori. Can you let me do it?¡± Sousuke rested his hand on top of Satori¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You see, this is different from urine. Here, look at this.¡± From the tip of Satori¡¯s thing that spilled honey to Sousuke¡¯s fingertips, a sticky transparent thread formed a loose curve. As Satori looked up with tears in his eyes, he saw Sousuke who had lost his composure more than before, had taken his thing into his mouth. ¡°Aah¡­!¡± Satori threw his head backward heavily. Sousuke used the tip of his pointed tongue to stimulate the hole where liquid spilled out, then he tightened the insides of his mouth around it, and licked around the back side of the tip. ¡°Sousuke, no! Stop¡­¡± It¡¯ll come out¡­! Even though Satori thought that he shouldn¡¯t do it, he fell into a trance as he experienced for the first time the pleasure that almost melted the core of his head. ¡°Aah¡­!¡± As he twitched and released everything inside Sousuke¡¯s mouth, Sousuke drank all of it without any hesitation in the slightest. ¡°It doesn¡¯t taste very good after all.¡± Sousuke muttered that looked somewhat satisfied, and Satori lay down on the bed as if he had lost all his strength. Satori¡¯s heart was beating so fast, as if he had been running at full speed. (Did I give him too much stimulation at the start¡­?) Satori opened his eyes a little and looked at Sousuke, who gently brushed up his bangs, which were sticking to his forehead because of sweat. Sousuke got up for a moment, took off his clothes while maintaining eye contact with Satori, and then threw them on the floor. With the light seeping in from the living room shining down on his back, Sousuke¡¯s toned, naked body stood out in the dim light. Seeing that, Satori gulped, his throat feeling thirsty. ¡°Satori, I like you.¡± (So precious¡­) The two embraced, exchanged a kiss, pulled their face away, looked at each other, then kissed again as if they were being pulled to each other by an unknown force. After that, Sousuke asked Satori to lay on his stomach and parted Satori¡¯s twin hills with his fingers. Sousuke gently touched the tender spot that was usually hidden under the clothes, as if caressing it. Chapter 16.2 ¡°Ah¡­!¡± Satori twitched at the wet and slimy sensation. When he looked down, he saw Sousuke¡¯s face at an unbelievable place, inserting his tongue inside him. ¡°No¡­! Sousuke, I don¡¯t like it.¡± Satori blushed and tried to stop Sousuke. Sousuke¡¯s tongue licked and melted Satori¡¯s bud as if to loosen it. Eventually, Sousuke inserted his finger inside Satori and moved it up and down, as if to explore Satori¡¯s insides. At that moment, Sousuke¡¯s finger touched a certain spot inside Satori¡¯s body. ¡°Aaah¡­!¡± The impact felt like an electric current was running through his body. Satori jolted his body greatly, then he released a large amount of liquid from the tip of his genitals. ¡°Satori¡­¡± (His eyes are turning red.) Sousuke gently stroked Satori¡¯s cheeks. As Satori opened his eyes a little, he was kissed by Sousuke on the temple. ¡°Sousuke¡­¡± Satori wanted to see Sousuke¡¯s face. Sousuke read through what Satori wanted from his expression, then let Satori lie down on the bed again, this time facing him. ¡°I¡¯m putting it in.¡± Sousuke spread Satori¡¯s thighs. A hard object was being pressed against the part that had been played with and loosened by Sousuke¡¯s fingers and tongue earlier. A large and hot object entered Satori¡¯s insides, spreading his folds. ¡°Ahh¡­!¡± Satori opened his eyes wide. The unimaginable shock sent him into a mild panic, and a cold sweat broke out all over his body. ¡°Satori ¡­Satori. It¡¯s okay, take a deep breath slowly.¡± (Satori¡­) Sousuke¡¯s hand touched Satori¡¯s cheek. (I should¡¯ve taken more time with this after all. It was easy to imagine that Satori would know nothing about this¡­) Sousuke¡¯s voice sounded as if he was blaming himself. As Satori opened his eyelids, his eyes met Sousuke¡¯s, who was staring at him worriedly. It made all of the fear that he had been feeling disappeared. ¡°Sorry, Satori. That must have been scary.¡± Satori grabbed Sousuke¡¯s arm that was stroking his hair. When Satori brought that hand to his mouth and kissed it, Sousuke had a surprised expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯m okay, I was just a little bit surprised. I want you to do it. Please make me yours.¡± ¡°Well, but, Satori¡­¡± (I don¡¯t want to hurt you¡­) ¡°I won¡¯t get hurt. I won¡¯t get hurt no matter what you do to me.¡± After taking some time, the whole of Sousuke¡¯s thing finally got inside Satori. The two looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°It got in at last¡­¡± Sousuke was inside his body, and that fact made Satori very happy. Sousuke¡¯s forehead was covered with sweat, and his eyes were gently looking at Satori. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Perhaps he liked doing so, Sousuke brushed Satori¡¯s bangs up again and kissed him on the forehead. ¡°I¡¯m going to move, okay?¡± Sousuke held Satori in his arms and moved slowly at the beginning as if to make Satori get used to it. Then, after he saw that Satori was starting to get used to it, he gradually increased the intensity of his movement. (Satori, so beautiful¡­ So cute¡­) ¡°Ahh¡­ Ngh!¡± Sousuke penetrated Satori¡¯s body repeatedly. Sousuke placed a kiss on Satori¡¯s bare shoulder, which was going up and down as Satori struggled to catch his breath. The words from Sousuke were so priceless, and glittered just like a falling star. Those words warmed Satori¡¯s heart and filled him with a sweetness that nothing else could compare to. Satori opened his arms and wrapped them around Sousuke tightly. ¡°Sousuke. I like you, I really like you¡­¡± Sousuke¡¯s heart, which was right on the opposite side of Satori¡¯s heart, made a loud thumping sound. Sousuke¡¯s face was slightly distorted, as if he was trying to hold himself back from crying. In Sousuke¡¯s eyes, Satori could see the reflection of himself with the happiest smile on his face. ¡°¡­I love you, Satori.¡± Satori was happy. As Satori closed his eyelids, a single tear rolled down from the corner of his eye to his cheek. Sousuke gave Satori a biting kiss. A pleasure was drawn out of him by the eyes of Sousuke, who had lost his composure. Sousuke¡¯s finger played around Satori¡¯s nipples, his lips trailed down Satori¡¯s neck to the collarbone, and he lightly bit the soft part on the armpit. ¡°Ahh! Ah¡­ Aah¡­!¡± Each time Sousuke penetrated him, Satori let out a sweet cry. Every time Sousuke touched him, Satori felt like his body was changing like clay, being remade into something else. Whenever the word ¡°I love you¡± from Sousuke, which was like jewels, reached him, Satori felt like he had turned into something very beautiful. He had never thought something like this could ever happen to him. Sousuke, I really like you¡­ (Satori, I like you¡­) The moment Satori let go of his consciousness, he was in the middle of happiness. He thought that he didn¡¯t have any single thing to regret. Chapter 17.1 The wind was roaring outside the window. The window panes made a rattling sound. The rain that had not yet begun to fall was like the calm before a storm. The white fluffy spirits had crawled under the bed and were nowhere to be seen since then. Satori looked outside the window with a worried expression on his face. A once-in-a-decade, large-scale hurricane landed in Shikoku. It was expected to maintain its massive strength as it moved northward across the western and eastern part of Japan from early dawn to tomorrow morning. ¡°A-are you really going in this weather?¡± Sousuke, who was getting ready to leave the house earlier than usual, didn¡¯t show any annoyance to the worried Satori. ¡°I¡¯ve called a taxi so it¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s not raining yet, anyway. More importantly, how about you, are you fine by yourself, Satori? Sousuke asked. ¡°I-I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m okay but¡­¡± Satori had experienced hurricanes many times in his life. However, it was the first time he felt so uneasy like this. He had been feeling nervous and restless since a while ago, and he had a feeling in his heart that he shouldn¡¯t let Sousuke go alone. ¡°Can¡¯t you just take a day off work for today?¡± Sousuke¡¯s face turned into a surprised expression as Satori rarely asked for something unreasonable. (It¡¯s so unusual for Satori to be so selfish like this. Does the hurricane scare him that much?) Satori blushed. Even if he told Sousuke that he had a bad feeling, Sousuke wouldn¡¯t believe him. Even Satori himself couldn¡¯t properly explain what he was feeling right now. ¡°I can¡¯t take a day off work. But if you can stay at home properly, then we¡¯ll go to buy ice cream on my next day off as a reward.¡± Satori¡¯s hair was being stroked as if he were a small kid, then he fell silent. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be off.¡± The front door was closed with a thud. A little while after Sousuke had left, Satori took the wallet that was given to him for shopping and left the house to follow Sousuke. Eerie clouds were swirling in the dark sky. A strong wind blew Satori¡¯s bangs up and a sickeningly lukewarm breeze caressed his skin. As Satori left the lobby of the apartment, he could see Sousuke getting inside a taxi. Satori looked around his surroundings. An empty car came just at the right moment, so Satori held out his hand to stop the car. ¡°U-umm, excuse me, I need a ride.¡± (I was going to wrap up for the day, though.) The driver, a middle-aged man, looked uncomfortable when he saw Satori, but still reluctantly opened the door to the back seat. ¡°Sir, where do you want to go?¡± (I hope it¡¯s nearby.) ¡°Fo-follow the car in front of us, please.¡± ¡°What?¡± (Follow the car in front, he said? Did he watch too many films? Ahh, I¡¯m so unlucky today. I sure hope I don¡¯t get into some kind of trouble with this¡­) ¡°U-umm, I¡¯m not a suspicious person. Err, I just had some business with the person in the car in front¡­¡± Satori didn¡¯t realize that the more he desperately tried to make excuses, the more suspicious he became. Eventually, the driver fell silent. He started the car while thinking that he should drop Satori off before he got into any trouble. (Ah¡­ Give me a break. I¡¯m so unlucky¡­) As Satori thought that he heard a sound of a rain droplet on the windowpane, the rain suddenly started pouring down hard, like an upturned bucket. Their vision immediately turned white and smoky, and it was hard to see anything ahead. ¡°Aah, the rain poured down¡­ Sir, you don¡¯t seem to be carrying an umbrella with you, is that alright?¡± (I want to go home soon.) Satori was focused on looking ahead, trying not to lose sight of the car that Sousuke was in. He didn¡¯t notice that the driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror with hopeful eyes then let out a sigh. The rain and wind became stronger and stronger. The trees on the street were swaying in the wind as if they were about to break. At that moment, Satori caught a glimpse of something that looked like silvery-white scales through the gaps of the clouds. ¡°Ah!¡± The driver was startled when Satori suddenly let out a loud voice and leaned his body to the front. ¡°Wha-what¡¯s wrong?! I-is there any problem¡­?!¡± (What¡¯s with him all of a sudden.) Satori thought that what he had seen earlier must have been the Dragon God¡¯s scales. It was his true form of a dragon that Satori had seen only once in a distant past. Why could he see that form again right now? It couldn¡¯t be a mere coincidence. If the ¡°time limit¡± that the Dragon God had told him was today, then he should have gone to Satori, and not to Sousuke. A cold sweat slowly broke out on Satori¡¯s palm. The bad feeling that he had was getting stronger and stronger. A bolt of lightning struck through the sky. With tremendous force, lightning struck somewhere. Satori could feel the vibration in his body. ¡°Aah!¡± (Seriously? it just struck somewhere.) The lightning crawled upward from below. At that moment, there was a rumbling sound that could split the earth. Chapter 17.2 (Isn¡¯t this really bad?) rumble rumble¡­ The lightning bolt crawled up across the sky again and struck somewhere nearby. (Scary, scary, scary¡­ Give me a break, I don¡¯t want to die yet.) At that moment, the radio in the car informed them that there was a fallen tree ahead and they couldn¡¯t pass through. ¡°Excuse me, sir. It seems like there¡¯s a fallen tree blocking the road ahead.¡± (That¡¯s why it¡¯s impossible to go any further. Say that we¡¯re turning back quickly.) ¡°U-umm, I¡¯ll get off here.¡± ¡°Huh? Are you sure you want to get off at this place?¡± (He should¡¯ve said that earlier. It¡¯s not my fault if he gets into an accident or something. It¡¯s his fault for wandering around outside in this weather. He had it coming.) Satori paid the taxi fee, said his thanks, and got out of the car. The wind was howling and roaring. As the strong wind and rain were pouring down on him, Satori, who has a light body, felt like he was about to get blown away by them. If he wasn¡¯t careful, he might get hit with a broken umbrella or a loose sign board. An indescribable worry and fear drove Satori forward. He couldn¡¯t calm down until he saw that Sousuke was safe. At that moment, Satori was relieved when he found Sousuke who was just getting out of the car in front of the TV station. I¡¯m relieved. He¡¯s safe. Sousuke casually turned his gaze in Satori¡¯s way, then he scrutinized his eyes suspiciously when he noticed Satori. ¡°¡­Satori?¡± (No way. What¡¯s he doing here¡­?) Sousuke¡¯s face that was half in doubt in the beginning turned into surprise when he realized that he wasn¡¯t mistaken. (You idiot!) Without a moment of hesitation, Sousuke ran out into the rain. He took off his jacket and put it over Satori¡¯s head. In a blink of time, the two of them were so soaking wet that it seemed like there wasn¡¯t a speck of a dry spot on them. ¡°What are you doing here?! It¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°So-sousuke. I¡¯m sorry, I¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk later. Come this way for now!¡± Sousuke held the shoulder of Satori, who was trying to search for words. He tried to take Satori to the TV station. It was at that very moment¡­ A bolt of large lightning that couldn¡¯t be compared to the ones before, struck a tree that was right next to where Satori and Sousuke were standing. As the earth rumbled, Satori felt a shock in his body that made it impossible for him to stand. The trees caught on fire. The buildings around them lost power one after another, and the area went completely dark. ¡°Satori, are you okay?!¡± (Are you hurt?!) Sousuke tried to lift Satori up in his arms. As he tried to follow Satori¡¯s line of sight, he looked up at the pitch-black sky. ¡°¡­Is that¡­ a dragon¡­?¡± A massive dragon that filled the sky above with its size, was staring down at Satori and Sousuke with its cold and translucent eyes. ¡°No way, that¡¯s not possible.¡± The thought that was almost similar to fear came from Sousuke. It doesn¡¯t mean that he doubted Satori¡¯s words, but Sousuke couldn¡¯t believe what he was actually seeing in front of his eyes. ¡°Dragon God¡­¡± Sousuke gasped at Satori¡¯s muttering. ¡°Is it really a dragon¡­?¡± (Isn¡¯t Dragon God the man from back then¡­? Is this not some kind of mistake¡­?) The Dragon¡¯s eyes that were as clear as ice glanced at Satori. Its silvery-white eyelashes blinked slowly. Satori realized that the ¡°time limit¡± had finally come. His chest felt painful. He thought that he was ready for this moment a long time ago, but the more he fell in love with Sousuke, the more greedy he became, wanting to spend more time with him. Satori never thought he would ever come to like someone so much. After he met Sousuke, Satori found out for the first time that if he fell in love with someone, his chest would become painful during the times where he couldn¡¯t see them. It was sad; it wasn¡¯t only fun and good times. The tiny spirit that couldn¡¯t find his meaning to live, who didn¡¯t know the reason why he was born, and who spent his days aimlessly, finally learned many things after he met Sousuke. Satori¡¯s days are now sparkling, precious, and shining. He never thought that Sousuke would actually return his feelings. He didn¡¯t expect such a thing would happen to him. For Satori, meeting Sousuke was a miracle. Satori liked him very much; Sousuke was the most important thing to him. ¨CI hope you¡¯re always in the best of health and happiness¡­ ¡°Sousuke, thank you for everything. I was so happy I¡¯m able to meet you.¡± ¡°¡­Satori?¡± Satori took off the stone necklace that Sousuke had given him in the past and placed it in his palm. (¡­What are you talking about?) Sousuke felt uneasy because Satori was acting differently from usual. ¡°¨CHow boring.¡± Along with a vibration that shook the air, a voice could be heard. ¡°Is the wish of the tiny spirit after he sacrificed everything could only result in this?¡± Dragon God¡­? ¡°I did not have high hopes for a mere human from the start, but this outcome is exactly like what I had predicted, how boring.¡± Chapter 17.3 ¡°What did he mean by sacrificing everything for a wish, Satori?¡± Satori gasped as he heard Sousuke¡¯s voice coming from right beside him. When he looked, Sousuke was looking at him doubtfully. It was as if Sousuke was convinced that Satori had already known the answer. Satori turned pale. If Sousuke were to find out about his contract with the Dragon God, the kind Sousuke would surely feel responsible for this. ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°¡­Satori?¡± Satori panicked and shook his head, then a voice that sounded like thunder came from above his head. ¡°¡ªMortal. That tiny spirit wanted to see you so much that he made a contract with me. If you do not consider him as important enough that you are willing to give up everything, then that tiny spirit will disappear.¡± Sousuke turned pale at the Dragon God¡¯s words. He glanced at Satori as if he was shocked. ¡°Is that true?¡± Now Sousuke has found out about all of this. Even though I didn¡¯t want him to know. Satori bit his lips tightly and shook his head while facing down. Satori¡¯s wish was to be able to see Sousuke once again. It would be enough if he could see him, hear his voice, and spend a little time with him if possible. He didn¡¯t want to leave Sousuke with even the slightest bit of sorrow. He didn¡¯t want Sousuke to be sad because of him. Satori, who had never been needed by anyone before, believed that it was possible to do that. He didn¡¯t know that meeting someone and influencing each other was not something that could be done one-sidedly. ¡°Why would you do something like that¡­?! Satori¡­!¡± (Was that what I was to you, Satori? Am I that unimportant to you that you can just toss me aside that easily? Do you think I won¡¯t feel anything even after you¡¯ve gone¡­.?) Sousuke grabbed Satori¡¯s arms tightly and shook his body violently. Sousuke¡¯s voice that sounded hurt tormented Satori¡¯s chest even more. ¡°Did my feelings of love for you hadn¡¯t reached you¡­?¡± (No, wait, am I the one that made him feel that way¡­?) All of sudden, the face of Sousuke that was staring at Satori became distorted. Water that could be from the rain or tears had made Sousuke¡¯s cheeks wet. ¡ªSousuke is feeling hurt. When Satori came to the realization that he was the one who hurt Sousuke, his heart jumped up and down and his body trembled. Satori realized that he had made a horrible mistake. ¡°¡­Sousuke.¡± The icy eyes of the Dragon God narrowed as if they were glowing. ¡°It is not amusing even if a single tiny spirit were to disappear. In exchange, shall I take that human as a substitute? How will you spend your life after you lose that human?¡± The air that touched Satori¡¯s skin was filled with killing intent. Satori gasped, his face had turned pale. He immediately stepped in front of Sousuke with his hands outstretched, as if to protect him. ¡°That¡¯s not what you promised.¡± Satori looked up at the icy eyes as if glaring at it. He was going against his fate for the first time. ¡°Satori, stop it.¡± (Get away from there.) Sousuke tried to stop Satori from behind by force. Even though he was pulled back and his back was being covered, Satori held his position on the ground and never moved from that spot. I don¡¯t care what will happen to me. I don¡¯t mind even if I lose my life. But if Sousuke were to disappear from this world¡­ His heart was filled with despair, as if his vision had gone dark. ¡°¡­No. Help. Please help Sousuke.¡± ¡°How foolish.¡± The eyes of the Dragon God that looked down at the two became even colder. ¡°What will you gain from caring about a mere human? They only think about themselves and betray others without hesitation. What will you gain from trusting them? This human will leave you someday.¡± Satori felt like the Dragon God was talking about himself as he asked those questions. Was that what happened to the Dragon God? Was he betrayed by someone before? Did he feel hurt at that time? Satori thought about that, but of course, he couldn¡¯t ask those questions. Satori shook his head quietly. His heart told him that this was not true. He didn¡¯t have a single regret about liking Sousuke. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind if that happens. If I can be together with him now, it¡¯s already enough for me. I have received a lifetime¡¯s worth of happiness from Sousuke.¡± ¡°Satori, stop. Get away from there.¡± Sousuke tried to force Satori to take cover behind him. Satori was too absorbed and he resisted Sousuke. ¡°I beg you, Dragon God. I have already prepared myself for this a long time ago. Please at least spare Sousuke from this¡­!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Sousuke slapped Satori on the cheek. Satori was startled and became wide-eyed. ¡°How many times do I need to tell you for you to understand?! You¡¯re important to me just as much as I¡¯m important to you! I want to protect you! Why can¡¯t you understand that?!¡± ¡°You idiot!¡± Satori¡¯s chest tightened. It was not the time for this, but Satori felt happy about Sousuke¡¯s feelings. ¡°Sousuke¡­¡± While hesitating, Satori touched Sousuke¡¯s hand. Sousuke held that hand back without hesitation. ¡°Hey! You¡¯re a God, right? You have the power to do anything, right? If so, then help us! Don¡¯t be so stingy!¡± Satori was startled when Sousuke suddenly shouted at the Dragon God. ¡°So-sousuke¡­?!¡± Chapter 18 Satori hurriedly tried to stop Sousuke. If the Dragon God decided to act even for a moment, their lives would be at stake. ¡°To gain something, one needs to pay the price. That spirit made a deal with me to be able to meet you. He wanted to see you even at the cost of his own life. That price must be paid.¡± Satori bit his lip. The fact that he didn¡¯t mind losing his life still hadn¡¯t changed. However, Satori didn¡¯t think about Sousuke¡¯s feelings after losing him. It was at that moment. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m saying, there¡¯s no problem if the price is paid, right?¡± Satori was taken aback. He couldn¡¯t read the mind of Sousuke who had a brazen look on his face as he boldly said those things to the Dragon God. ¡°You said earlier that Satori made a deal with you. But there¡¯s no need for Satori to disappear.¡± Sousuke? ¡°What do you mean?¡± The Dragon God fluttered his eyelashes, which were so long that they almost made a rustling sound. ¡°I just have to need him to the point I¡¯m willing to give up everything, right? What do you mean by giving up everything? What should I do? Ah, but I don¡¯t want to leave him all alone so no dying or anything like that. In the other direction, please.¡± ¡°So-sousuke¡­! What are you saying¡­?! You can¡¯t say something like that so easily¡­!¡± Satori opened his eyes wide. If by chance, something bad happens to him¡­! Satori¡¯s body trembled with fear and worry. Sousuke chuckled, then stared back at Satori with a refreshed expression, as if he was no longer afraid. ¡°I¡¯m saying, it¡¯s so simple, Satori. You¡¯ve misunderstood. I don¡¯t mind having to give up everything, as long as you can stay by my side.¡± A large droplet of tears spilled from Satori¡¯s eyes. Sousuke held Satori close as if to comfort him. Sousuke looked up at the Dragon God. There was a tingle of tension swelling in his arms as he held Satori. ¡°Then, what¡¯s your answer? What should I do so it would count as me giving up everything?¡± ¡°So you are fine with giving up everything for that tiny spirit. You will have to give up your current daily life, your acquaintances, and your life as a human being.¡± Sousuke furrowed his eyebrows and went thinking for a moment, then he tilted his head. ¡°What do you mean by giving up my life as a human? It doesn¡¯t mean I must die right now, right?¡± The Dragon God breathed out a sigh. It might be just Satori¡¯s imagination, but it seemed like the Dragon God was taken aback by Sousuke¡¯s attitude that could be said as brazen. ¡°Could you become the same existence as him? You will turn into a strange existence that is different from the one you have now. You will turn into an existence that can¡¯t die easily, and you will have to live for such a long time that you will go out of your mind.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Satori was about to say that Sousuke shouldn¡¯t do that, but then Sousuke¡¯s hand stopped him. ¡°Okay. If that¡¯s all it takes, it¡¯s an easy thing to do.¡± ¡°Sousuke¡­!¡± Satori let out a voice that was like a scream. He was so shocked that he felt like the vision in front of him was swaying. Satori gasped, looked up at the Dragon God, and tried to stop Sousuke¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Dragon God! Please, stop! I don¡¯t mind sacrificing myself, but please, at least spare Sousuke¡­!¡± ¡°Satori!¡± ¡°¡­Alright.¡± At that moment, Satori didn¡¯t know why, but he felt something like a deep sadness in the depths of Dragon God¡¯s eyes that were staring at him. Dragon God¡­? The clouds cleared up. As if the storm that had been raging earlier had been blown away, a night sky full of stars peeked through. ¡°Whoa. Look at that, Satori. What an amazing starry sky.¡± When he realized it, the Dragon God was no longer there. The city that had been completely dark due to the blackout, was lit up with lights again. ¡°He said I won¡¯t be human anymore, is that true? I don¡¯t feel like I look any different¡­¡± Sousuke asked, ¡°Satori, what do you think?¡± and Satori shook his head in reply. It didn¡¯t look like anything had changed from Sousuke¡¯s appearance. ¡°Does that mean it won¡¯t happen immediately? I don¡¯t really understand this. He should have explained it more clearly¡­¡± Sousuke mumbled to himself, then he muttered ¡°Oh well,¡± as if he had relaxed. ¡°I¡¯ll just think about the difficult and troublesome stuff later.¡± After that, Sousuke took the hand of Satori who hadn¡¯t replied. ¡°For now, let¡¯s return to our home.¡± Chapter 19 Epilogue ¡°Satori, are you done preparing?¡± ¡°Ah, wait. I just need to fill the water bottle with tea.¡± Satori filled the water bottle with hot tea and closed the lid. He also put the rice ball that he had prepared since early in the morning to eat on the train, into a container. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting,¡± Satori said to Sousuke who was waiting for him in the living room. ¡°Hey, what about the white fluffy spirits we talked about before, are they still here?¡± ¡°Yup. The weather is nice today, so it looks like they¡¯re basking in the sun.¡± ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± Satori told the white fluffy spirits, then they left the house. After that incident, there were no visible changes so far in Sousuke who was supposed to have given up his life as a human. Sousuke surmised that they¡¯d just have to wait and see what would happen, and worry about it later. For the time being, he was still continuing his life as an announcer called ¡°Ogigami Sousuke.¡± Unlike Satori, Sousuke had friends and family that were important to him. Sometimes, Satori still wondered and worried if Sousuke had really made the right choice that day. If there ever came a day when he could no longer be together with Sousuke, he thought that he would step aside, wishing only for Sousuke¡¯s happiness. Satori decided on that secretly. Today they were going to take advantage of Sousuke¡¯s late summer vacation to visit his grandmother¡¯s grave. Perhaps because it wasn¡¯t in season, the seats on the bullet train were empty. After having lunch with the boxed lunch and tea that they had prepared, they looked at the passing scenery outside the window. From the train station, they then hailed a taxi. Beyond the fields of golden-colored rice ears, the nostalgic lush mountains of his hometown could be seen. The autumn breeze that was clearly different from summer, caressed Satori¡¯s forehead softly. Satori still couldn¡¯t get used to his short bangs. When Sousuke found out the reason why Satori had been growing out his bangs, he said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that anymore,¡± and cut them off. The much wider field of vision seemed to show Satori the things he couldn¡¯t see before. ¡°Satori, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Satori had come to visit the grave together with Sousuke. But he felt that he had no right to pray in front of Sousuke¡¯s grandmother¡¯s grave, as he had taken away Sousuke¡¯s future as a human being. Satori had planned to wait near the entrance of the cemetery. But then Sousuke, who was walking ahead of him with a bucket of water in his hand, turned around and called his name. ¡°It¡¯s alright, come here.¡± (Grandma won¡¯t blame you or anything like that.) Satori tightly bit his lip and ran over to Sousuke, who was beckoning him with his other empty hand. After paying respects in front of the grave, they cleaned it and placed the flowers they had bought in the flower stand. After putting out the lit incense with his hand, Sousuke quietly put his hands together and closed his eyes. Satori, who was beside Sousuke, followed suit. He also put his hands together and closed his eyes. ¡ªSousuke¡¯s grandma, I¡¯m sorry. I might have ruined Sousuke¡¯s life, but I really, really love him. If there ever comes a day when Sousuke regrets being with me, I¡¯ll disappear immediately. So please, let me be together with Sousuke until that time comes. I¡¯m really sorry. Please let me be with him. When Satori opened his eyes Sousuke was beside him, staring at him with gentle eyes. ¡°That¡¯s a long prayer you made there.¡± Sousuke asked him what he was praying about, and Satori, who couldn¡¯t tell him the real answer, just smiled to dodge the question. ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk for a bit before going home.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Satori took the hand that was extended to him naturally. chirp chirp chirp Autumn clouds were floating in the pale blue sky that had become much more distant. When his name was called by Sousuke, Satori turned his head toward Sousuke¡¯s direction. ¡°I¡¯m glad I got to meet you back when I was just a kid. I couldn¡¯t keep my promise and made you feel lonely, but I¡¯m glad you came to see me. Thank you.¡± ¡°Sou¡­suke?¡± Satori unconsciously tried to let go of his hand, but then Sousuke squeezed his hand and held him back with a firm grip. ¡°You¡¯ve been regretting everything since that incident, right? ¡­No, it¡¯s different from regret, I guess? If something happens to me in the future, you plan to step aside immediately.¡± Satori widened his eyes. He didn¡¯t think that Sousuke would find out. A mischievous smile spread across Sousuke¡¯s face as he watched Satori. (You¡¯re more obvious than you think.) Satori wondered if Sousuke had purposefully talked to him with his inner voice. Sousuke¡¯s eyes turned into a smile as he saw the surprised Satori. ¡°I don¡¯t regret anything, not meeting you, not falling in love with you, or anything else that might happen in the future. What about you? Do you regret meeting me?¡± Suddenly his vision blurred. Satori hurriedly rubbed his eyes then shook his head. It wasn¡¯t enough, so he hugged Sousuke¡¯s body tightly. ¡°Sousuke ¡­I like you, I really like you. I don¡¯t want to be separated from you. I¡­ want to always, always be together with you.¡± Sousuke exhaled in relief. ¡°¡­You finally said it.¡± Then, as if to punish Satori who was slow in understanding, Sousuke hugged him back. A voice that was much gentler than anyone else¡¯s reached Satori¡¯s ear. ¡°I like you, Satori ¡­We¡¯ll always be together from now on.¡± chirp chirp chirp A bird circled in the sky above the two. There was the same peaceful scenery as usual. End. T/N: There are side stories and extras ~ Chapter 20.1 Extra SS ¡°After the Fairy tale¡± (1) Satori had been acting strangely for a few days now. He seemed to think that Sousuke wouldn¡¯t notice, but to tell the truth, it was pretty obvious. Sousuke felt like Satori was watching him secretly while chuckling happily to himself. He had been so curious about his behavior, wondering what Satori might have been hiding inside his cute little head for the past few days. ¡°Please wait, the breakfast will be ready in a bit.¡± Satori peeked out from the kitchen and disappeared again. His beautiful eyes that were once hidden by his long bangs could be seen clearly now. When Sousuke heard for the first time the reason behind why Satori had been growing out his bangs, he felt very angry inside. At the same time, he also felt a tightening pain deep in his chest. Why couldn¡¯t I have kept my promise to Satori in the past? I was just a small kid back then, but still¡­ When the fragrant smell of coffee wafted past his nose, Sousuke got up from the living room sofa. In the kitchen, Satori was making breakfast with his still unsteady but careful hands. ¡°I¡¯ll take this over there.¡± Sousuke picked up a plate and then placed a sneaky kiss on Satori¡¯s smooth cheek. ¡°Hyaa!¡± From Satori¡¯s earlobe to the nape of his neck, it was dyed slightly red as if it had been painted with a brush. That change was vivid, as if flower buds that had been tightly shut were to bloom all at once. Sousuke slightly widened his eyes by the sensuality that oozed out from Satori, which even Satori himself wasn¡¯t aware of. Ahh, since it¡¯s my day off, I want to go back to bed and cuddle Satori all day. I want to tightly hug my tempting and irresistibly adorable lover. I want to make him moan in a cute voice. ¡°So-so-sousuke¡­?!¡± When Sousuke hugged Satori¡¯s slender body from behind, he could smell his sweet flowery scent. Oh no. I might really become hard. Satori, who had read Sousuke¡¯s mind, waddled away with a red face, trying to escape from Sousuke¡¯s arm. However, with a frying pan in one hand and chopsticks in the other hand, Satori was unable to move as he wanted to. ¡°Hey, are you really sure you¡¯re okay by yourself? There¡¯ll be more people than usual since it¡¯s the holiday. Satori, you don¡¯t like crowds, right? What if you get sick again?¡± Today was Sousuke¡¯s day off, and last night he had spent a lot of time making love with Satori in bed. While kissing the forehead of the droopy-eyed Satori, Sousuke asked what they should do on his day off tomorrow. Actually, Sousuke had secretly bought early tickets to the aquarium for Satori, who rarely went outside. The aquarium had been renovated a few months ago, and it was said that it had penguins swimming in a huge tank, looking as if they were flying through the city¡¯s sky. Sousuke thought that Satori would surely be happy with this, but Satori seemed like he was about to fall asleep any second now, widening his eyes and shaking his head to stay awake. Satori said that he would be going out for a bit tomorrow. Sousuke, who didn¡¯t expect he would actually get turned down, asked Satori where he would be going, but Satori¡¯s gaze wandered. Then Satori gave a troubled smile and answered that it was a secret. ¡°We can even stop by the ice cream shop I told you about the other day on the way home. You like ice cream, right?¡± Sousuke asked affectionately while nuzzling his nose into the back of Satori¡¯s head. He knew that Satori was weak to this gesture of his. ¡°I-it¡¯s okay! I can go by myself!¡± Satori slipped out easily from Sousuke¡¯s arm, then knowing or not knowing that Sousuke was devastated inside, he transferred the contents of the frying pan to a plate. ¡°Sorry for the wait, let¡¯s have breakfast.¡± Satori was smiling. Then he looked down at his feet, and as if he had just remembered something, he filled water into a small plate. When Sousuke saw Satori placing the small plate on the floor, he wondered if it was for the white spirits that Satori had told him about before. Sousuke had never seen the spirits, which were probably standing there now. It was at that moment, he felt like he saw something that looked like a white fluff near the small plate for a moment. Sousuke rubbed his eyelids and blinked. Was it just my imagination¡­? On the wooden floor, there was only a small plate filled with water just like usual. ¡°Sousuke?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Sousuke shook his head. He picked up the plate of breakfast that had been finished and invited the curious-looking Satori to the living room. The autumn breeze that caressed his skin felt good. The sky that had become much more distant was a pale blue color. ¡°Ah! It¡¯s Ogigami Sousuke!¡± Every time such a voice could be heard, Sousuke stealthily buried his face in the shawl wrapped around his neck. With a hat on his head and sunglasses on his face, it was an obvious disguise that he usually didn¡¯t wear regularly. However, Sousuke didn¡¯t do this to hide from the fans that knew him as ¡°Ogigami Sousuke the announcer¡±. When he raised his gaze, it seemed like Satori, who was walking a few meters ahead of him, didn¡¯t notice, which made Sousuke rub his chest in relief. Sousuke was unexpectedly shocked when Satori rejected his invitation. He was also shocked that Satori wouldn¡¯t tell him where he was going. Usually, it was natural for anyone to have one or two secrets. Of course, Sousuke didn¡¯t have the slightest doubt in his mind that Satori wasn¡¯t cheating on him. He didn¡¯t suspect him, but¡­ But it was the first time that Satori kept a secret from him. Even so, to think that I actually ended up tailing him¡­ Sousuke was appalled at his own actions that lacked thoughtfulness, but he still glanced at Satori who was ahead of him. Satori was smiling at the sound of fallen leaves that he stepped on, but then he suddenly opened his mouth as if he was startled by something. He was being barked at by a small dog, then he was being apologized to by the owner for startling him. On the other hand, Satori also lowered his head several times like a grasshopper. ¡­Ah, it was so cute. It was around the time Sousuke thought about calling out to Satori and apologizing for tailing him. Suddenly, a man grabbed Satori¡¯s arm and said something to him. It was a flashy young man with brown hair and piercings. Satori shook his head with a red face. However, the man still grabbed Satori¡¯s arm and wouldn¡¯t let go. The man¡¯s cheeks were slightly red as he stared at Satori, who was trying his hardest to say something. The man was staring at Satori in a daze as if he was captivated by him. Ah, Stop that you stupid bastard! Stay away from my Satori! Just when Sousuke couldn¡¯t take it anymore and was about to jump out there, Satori pulled away from the man. Sousuke thought that Satori should just kick the crap out of a guy like that. But then even from a distance, Sousuke could see that Satori was bowing politely to the man. The flirty guy looked at Satori one more time regretfully, then left. ¡°What am I even doing here¡­¡± Sousuke breathed out these words with a sigh. He took off his hat and ruffled his hair. He suddenly felt guilty, as if he had done something he should be ashamed of. When Sousuke looked at him, he saw Satori heading somewhere, looking very excited. To a place that he didn¡¯t know. Satori¡¯s eyes were sparkling, as if he had a clear destination in mind. His steps were light and full of energy. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll go home¡­¡± Sousuke let out a sigh and turned back the way he had come from. He went back to the house where he lived together with Satori. Chapter 20.2 Extra SS ¡°After the Fairy tale¡± (2) It was less than an hour later when Satori came home. Sousuke was making coffee in the kitchen after finished cleaning the bathroom, which Satori usually did on weekdays, when he heard the clicking sound of the door opening. He went to the front door to greet Satori. ¡°Welcome back.¡± Perhaps not expecting Sousuke to be there, Satori was so startled that he jumped on the spot and hurriedly hid something behind his back. ¡°I-I¡¯m back!¡± His behavior was clearly unnatural. ¡­What is it? Sousuke squinted his eyes slightly. When he didn¡¯t comment any further and instead headed into the living room, he heard something like Satori¡¯s relieved voice behind him. ¡­What¡¯s with him? Does he not want me to know that much? A small thorn pierced inside his heart. Sousuke didn¡¯t like the fact that he was sulking over this like a child, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about his feeling of irritation. ¡°So-sousuke¡­?¡± Satori was confused with Sousuke¡¯s frustrated emotions. Sousuke wanted to calm down, but his heart couldn¡¯t help but beat faster. He was restless and couldn¡¯t calm down. Sousuke poured the coffee from the coffee maker into a mug and took a sip. While doing that, he reminded himself to calm down quickly. ¡°U-umm, I¡­¡± Satori stared at Sousuke in dread. He wondered if he had hurt Sousuke¡¯s feelings without knowing, or if he had done something wrong again. Satori¡¯s eyes were so pure; they were a mirror that reflected his heart. Even if Sousuke couldn¡¯t read people¡¯s minds, he could tell what Satori was currently thinking about. Sousuke clicked his tongue when he saw Satori¡¯s eyes that were wavering with worry. He placed the mug on the counter and hugged Satori. ¡°¡­Sorry. I was just a little irritated. There¡¯s nothing wrong with you. It¡¯s all my fault.¡± ¡°Sousuke¡­?¡± Satori turned his head toward Sousuke. When Sousuke smelled the scent of Satori¡¯s body, he felt the feeling of irritation in his heart that he had felt from earlier had gradually calmed down. Satori, who was in Sousuke¡¯s arms, must have felt it too. Satori, who had released the tension from his body, then stretched his hand and touched Sousuke¡¯s cheek. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right! You see, I have something for you, Sousuke.¡± Satori¡¯s hair swayed as he bounced up and down. When Sousuke reluctantly let go of Satori¡¯s body, Satori nervously took out the small package that he had been hiding behind his back. The long, thin item was wrapped in a wrapping paper with a fancy drawing that children would like, and a red ribbon was awkwardly tied around it. ¡°¡­What is this?¡± As Sousuke asked that question, Satori looked a little embarrassed, but then he smiled softly like a flower. ¡°Sousuke, happy birthday! At times like this, humans send gifts to others, right? I saw it in a film.¡± ¡­Birthday? Sousuke¡¯s birthday was on the same day as Valentine¡¯s day. It was still more than three months away. ¡°¡­Satori, how did you know about that?¡± While trying not to hurt Satori¡¯s feelings, Sousuke asked because he wanted to confirm the truth. Then Satori tilted his head a little. ¡°When I was cleaning before, I found a book with Sousuke in it. It was written there.¡± Sousuke unconsciously grimaced his face at Satori¡¯s words. It was because he had an inkling about the magazine that Satori talked about. When Sousuke had just become an announcer, he was once interviewed by a woman¡¯s magazine for a special issue or something. He wanted to refuse at first because it had nothing to do with him, but he couldn¡¯t because of a business relationship. On top of that, his birthday was published with wrong information, and the broadcasting station even received a lot of gifts from female fans after that. He intended to look over the magazine and throw it away along with some old newspapers, but he didn¡¯t know that the magazine was still left here somewhere. Moreover, it was seen by Satori. Even though it didn¡¯t contain anything that would trouble him if it was seen, he felt uncomfortable, as if the embarrassing part of his youth had been exposed. ¡°So-sousuke¡­? Umm, I¡­?¡± The expression on Sousuke¡¯s face made Satori¡¯s eyes clouded with fear. Those eyes made Satori wonder if he had made a mistake again. At that moment, Sousuke came back to his senses. If Satori had mistaken today for his birthday, then¡­ Sousuke dropped his gaze to the awkward wrapping, which looked like it had been forcibly wrapped around something it wasn¡¯t supposed to be wrapped around. ¡°¡­Can I open it?¡± Satori nodded as if relieved when Sousuke asked him. ¡°Y-yup!¡± Sousuke gently untied the red ribbon and carefully peeled off the tape so as not to tear the wrapping paper. From inside the wrapping paper, what came out was a blue water-based pen that could be found in any convenience store or stationery store. ¡°Yo-you see, I¡¯ve been thinking about this for a while. I don¡¯t know what Sousuke wants, but the other day you said you had no pen, right? That¡¯s why I, err¡­¡± As Satori explained the reason for the gift with a faltering, nervous tone, Sousuke widened his eyes. Sousuke remembered Satori¡¯s attitude over the past few days that was clearly different than usual. Satori seemed restless like he was hiding something, but sometimes he couldn¡¯t hold it back and laughed happily. He must have been trying his hardest to think of a present that Sousuke would like the most. He even went outside, something that he wasn¡¯t comfortable with; he surely had tried his best to make Sousuke happy. Sousuke blushed. He hurriedly tried to cover his mouth with his hand, but there was no way to hide the burning feelings that were welling up in his heart. A deep emotion filled Sousuke¡¯s heart with warmth. ¡°¡­Thank you, Satori. This is the best present I¡¯ve ever received.¡± Satori chuckled shyly. Sousuke hugged Satori tightly, and this time Satori didn¡¯t try to escape, but stayed in Sousuke¡¯s arm. Satori didn¡¯t seem to believe him, but to tell the truth, Sousuke didn¡¯t regret the choice that he made in the slightest. Even if he was no longer human, Sousuke thought that he couldn¡¯t care less. He felt sorry for his family, but fortunately, his sister who was five years younger than him had just given birth to a child last year. They would be fine even without Sousuke. If there was one thing that he regretted, it would be the fact that he had left Satori alone for years because he couldn¡¯t keep his promise. But from now on, he won¡¯t leave Satori alone again. However, Sousuke was a realistic person, so he intended to earn money for as long as he could. After all, he didn¡¯t know what might happen in the future. To make Satori happy, it would be better to have what he needed. Satori had lived for a long time all alone. Sousuke hoped that he could be a place where Satori could belong. He had no intention of letting Satori go ever again. At that moment, Sousuke saw something that looked like a white fluff jumped around Satori¡¯s feet. It looked like it was trying to tell him something. When he rubbed his eyes, he could see that it was definitely there, never disappearing. ¡°Sousuke?¡± Sousuke chuckled, then Satori tilted his head curiously. Sousuke lightly lifted Satori¡¯s chin and placed his lips over Satori¡¯s. Satori¡¯s eyes dimmed lightly, and his downcast eyelashes quivered faintly. Sometime later, there was a rumor among the female employees in the broadcasting station. It was said that the popular announcer, Ogigami Sousuke, was seen carefully placing in his chest pocket a cheap water-based pen that could be bought anywhere. Sometimes he would pick it up and look at it with a smile. But that was another story. End. Chapter 21 SS ¡°On the Christmas Night¡± ¡°Huff¡­ So tired.¡± As soon as he got home, Sousuke flopped onto the sofa. ¡°Ju-just a sec. I¡¯ll make some tea.¡± While still wearing a coat, Satori placed a kettle on the fire in the kitchen. Then he went to the bathroom to prepare for a bath. Today was called ¡°Christmas day¡±, and Satori had accompanied Sousuke to a party at a hotel, which Sousuke couldn¡¯t refuse because of his social standing. First, Satori filled the bathtub with hot water. Then, he picked up several kinds of bath salts that he had in stock and checked for the effects listed on the package. ¡°Hmm, which one should I use?¡± For relieving cold. For a relaxing moment before bedtime. For beautiful skin and relaxation. A freshness like a bouquet of flowers. For relaxing your mind. For back pain and stiff shoulders¡­ Among those items, Satori chose the bath salt that was labeled as ¡®relieving fatigue¡¯ and prepared it in the bathroom. ¡°Satori, what are you doing? Come here quickly.¡± Satori was startled when he heard Sousuke¡¯s voice calling him from the living room. If he didn¡¯t hurry, Sousuke might think of him weirdly. ¡°Wa-wait. The bathtub will be full soon.¡± Satori replied in a rush and unbuttoned his coat hurriedly. ¡°I¡¯ve got to change out of this quickly.¡± Inside the coat that Sousuke had bought him, was the sight of Satori in a costume of bright red cloth with white fluffy pieces attached. ¡°Sousuke told me that it doesn¡¯t look weird, but why are the pants so short¡­¡± Satori felt confused as he looked down on his bare legs that felt cold with the passing air. Just then, Sousuke, who was supposed to be waiting in the living room, poked his head in the washroom. ¡°Satori? What are you doing?¡± ¡°Hya!¡± Satori jumped on the spot. ¡°So-sousuke!¡± Satori was flustered when he was asked what he was doing. From Sousuke¡¯s inner voice, Satori realized that Sousuke liked his appearance in this outfit. Even so, it was still embarrassing. ¡°Yo-you see, you said these clothes were borrowed, right? I thought I should change them before they got dirty. I¡¯ll be right there, so you can go to the bedroom first.¡± ¡°Change?¡± As expected, Satori¡¯s words were met with a sullen look from Sousuke. ¡°Why are you changing clothes? It looks good on you.¡± (I planned to make out with him when we got home, though. I had been looking forward to doting on the embarrassed Satori in his Santa costume. I want to make him moan in a cute voice¡­) ¡°Waa waa waa!¡± Not being able to listen any longer, Satori turned bright red and covered Sousuke¡¯s mouth. Satori was startled when Sousuke took his hand into his mouth. Just after, the base of his fingers was being licked, and Satori wandered his gaze around. ¡°So-sousuke¡­?¡± The area around his waist felt a little tingly. Now, Satori knew that this meant he felt good. Satori quivered his body and closed his eyelids tightly. (Aah, he came.) Sousuke¡¯s words made Satori feel like crying. Satori looked down in embarrassment. The inside of his short pants was sticky from what he just released. Sousuke had taught him that this was different from wetting himself, but Satori was stunned from shock when he found that he had stained the borrowed clothes with what he had released. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°For what?¡± The corner of Satori¡¯s eyes was being kissed. The next moment, Satori felt like his body was floating softly in the air, his body was being carried by Sousuke. (Satori is so cute for being down over things like this.) Satori was brought to the living room sofa, and the borrowed clothes were taken off him. Sousuke also wiped off the stain with a hot towel. All the while, Sousuke was in a good mood. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tired after meeting so many people today. You didn¡¯t have to force yourself to go.¡± Sousuke was worried about Satori, who got very tired every time he read people¡¯s minds. Even now, Sousuke¡¯s heart ached as if he was experiencing it himself. Satori shook his head, wanting to say something to Sousuke. ¡°U-umm, it¡¯s true there were a lot of people, but it seems like I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Hm? What do you mean?¡± Sousuke tilted his head at Satori¡¯s words. ¡°Err, I could hear many thoughts, but I didn¡¯t feel any discomfort at all.¡± There were a lot of people at the party today. It was true that some of them had unpleasant thoughts in their mind, and Satori almost felt sick because of it. But Satori for the first time had met other humans aside from Sousuke with thoughts that didn¡¯t make Satori feel sick for reading them. They were all thinking of someone important to them, and also things that are too embarrassing to be put into words. They were overflowing with feelings of love for their partner, just like what Sousuke felt when he was with Satori. It was something surprising for Satori; he was both excited and also happy. ¡°You see, it seemed like some of them weren¡¯t even human.¡± ¡°What do you mean by not human? Do you mean they¡¯re the same as us?¡± Satori thought for a moment. He couldn¡¯t really explain it, but it felt like they were a bit different from themselves. ¡°There was a wolf, and also a person that was like the Dragon God.¡± Sousuke was startled at Satori¡¯s words. ¡°Dragon God you say, does it mean they¡¯re a god?!¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Is-is there something wrong?¡± (They didn¡¯t do any harm to Satori, right¡­?!) Satori¡¯s arms were grasped to the point where they hurt. The soft feelings that were inside of Sousuke disappeared somewhere, and now his heart was filled with feelings of worry for Satori. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It seemed like they weren¡¯t someone like that.¡± ¡°Really?¡± After seeing Satori nod, Sousuke was finally relieved. (If that¡¯s so, I¡¯m glad¡­) Inside Satori¡¯s chest felt like it was squeezed with something sweet. I wonder what this is¡­? Satori put his hand into his chest and tried to figure out his emotions. It felt like his heart was pounding hard. Suddenly, Satori¡¯s heart skipped a beat when Sousuke stared at him. Sousuke¡¯s eyes seemed like they were plotting something. (¡­Well, from what I saw from beside him, everyone seems like they were lovestruck and didn¡¯t have the leisure for other things.) Sousuke¡­? ¡°Hey, you could tell what the people at the party were thinking about, right?¡± ¡°Ye-yeah¡­¡± Satori¡¯s heart was racing. He wondered what in the world Sousuke wanted to ask him. (Those people¡¯s minds were probably full of wanting to do costume play after they got home, or wanting to take off the Santa costume of their partner.) ¡°Of course, you can read my inner voice too, right?¡± Sousuke smiled in a masculine and seductive way. (Theirs or mine, let¡¯s compare which one of our thoughts is more erotic.) Satori tightly bit his lip and looked down. His ears were burning with embarrassment. His heart was beating fast as if it would burst. ¡°Hey, my dear Santa. Give me a special present.¡± Satori looked up in surprise. He wondered if ¡°Christmas¡± required some kind of special gift. Satori, who hadn¡¯t prepared anything, looked around the room restlessly. What to do, I didn¡¯t prepare any gift for Sousuke. Even though it¡¯s ¡°Christmas¡±¡­ The joyful feelings that he had until then wilted away as if it were just a lie. At that time, Sousuke smiled and opened his arms, as if he had already seen through what Satori was thinking. (¡­You¡¯ll give me a special present, right?) His chest became tight. If Satori himself was enough as a gift, he¡¯d give to Sousuke as much as he wanted, Satori thought. While still standing on his knees, Satori slowly approached Sousuke. ¡°Satori?¡± After that, Satori wrapped his arms around the neck of the surprised Sousuke, then replied with ¡°Please have me.¡± in an embarrassed and nearly faint voice. Chapter 22 SS ¡°Cold¡± (1) As soon as Sousuke came home from work that day, he faced Satori who greeted him at the front door, and said, ¡°Sorry, Satori. I¡¯ve got a bit of a headache, so can you just buy something from outside for dinner tonight?¡± Satori opened his eyes wide. Headache¡­? Does headache mean his head hurts¡­? Satori was flustered. He didn¡¯t know what to do and could only follow Sousuke from behind. Sousuke staggered to the living room, looking like he was about to collapse. Satori was a spirit, so he rarely got sick. But Sousuke was something like a ¡°half-human and half-spirit¡±, so maybe there was something wrong with the human part of Sousuke¡¯s body. Sousuke collapsed onto the sofa, and he looked as if he had just realized Satori¡¯s presence just now. (Not good. I¡¯ve got to pull myself together or Satori will be worried.) Then, he lingered his gaze on the worried-looking Satori and frowned slightly. (Oh no, Satori will hear this too¡­) Satori widened his eyes, which seemed like they would spill tears anytime soon. He knew that his presence made Sousuke worry, but he didn¡¯t know what to do. He wondered why he was so useless at a time like this. He thought that he had gotten used to the human world after Sousuke had taught him, but he couldn¡¯t do anything to help in the face of a suffering Sousuke. Satori clenched his palms together in front of his chest. At his feet, the white fluffy spirits were jumping up and down, as if asking whether Satori was alright or not. What to do, what should I do¡­? ¡°So-sousuke¡­¡± Satori extended his hand and was startled by the high temperature of Sousuke¡¯s body. He hurriedly tried to pull his hand back, but Sousuke grabbed his hand. ¡°Satori.¡± (It¡¯s okay.) ¡°I¡¯m okay, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± But in Satori¡¯s eyes, it didn¡¯t seem that way at all. ¡°I stopped by the hospital on the way home and got an IV, so I¡¯ll get better by tomorrow. That¡¯s why, don¡¯t cry.¡± Sousuke chuckled at Satori who couldn¡¯t answer anything back. His fingers wiped away the tears that had accumulated around the edges of Satori¡¯s eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t believe what I¡¯m saying?¡± Satori was surprised and quickly shook his head. At that moment, the tears he had been holding back until then were spilled onto the floor. Seeing his tears, Sousuke stretched his arm in a sluggish manner and ruffled Satori¡¯s hair. Satori¡¯s chest became tight at the gentle touch of Sousuke¡¯s hand. (It probably won¡¯t spread to Satori, right¡­ It¡¯ll only make me worry, so I better stay away from him just in case¡­) Before the surprised Satori could say anything, Sousuke got up from the sofa. ¡°I don¡¯t want to pass my cold to you, so sorry but I¡¯ll be taking the bed for today. This sofa can be turned into a bed, so can you sleep in the living room, Satori?¡± No, no. Sousuke¡­ ¡°I-I¡­¡± Satori bit his lip tightly and shook his head to the side. His heart ached when he saw the slightly troubled expression on Sousuke¡¯s face. It wasn¡¯t that Satori didn¡¯t want to sleep on the sofa, separated from Sousuke. He just didn¡¯t want to leave Sousuke alone in that condition. However, he would only trouble Sousuke if he kept on whining, so Satori had no choice but to nod his head. Seeing him nod, Sousuke, who had a much redder face than usual, smiled in relief. (Sorry.) ¡°Make sure to eat properly.¡± Satori was patted on the head. ¡°¡­!¡± Satori clenched his hands that wanted to hold Sousuke back. Sousuke staggered to the bedroom, then he closed the sliding door between the living room and bedroom, which was usually left open and connected the bedroom to the living room. ¡°Sousuke¡­¡± The moment he was left alone in the room, tears began to fall from Satori¡¯s eyes. The white fluffy spirits jumped around Satori¡¯s feet as if they were worried about him. What should I do¡­? Satori rubbed his eyes then hurriedly headed to the kitchen. He suddenly remembered a scene from a TV drama about taking care of a sick person, and he started to carry the things he saw in his arms one after another. Halfway, he was carrying too many things at once that the ¡®tasty water¡¯ fell out of his hands. ¡°Ah.¡± Satori picked up the tasty water and returned to the living room. Satori, who had lost his composure, didn¡¯t realize that the white fluffy spirits were following him from behind. First, I have to cool down his temperature¡­ For that, he needed something to lower fever and fluids for replenishment. He became so worried that his chest felt like it was about to crumble. ¡°I mustn¡¯t cry. I have to stay strong.¡± As he did so, his vision slowly became blurry, and Satori tried desperately to get his feelings together. Satori wiped the tears that were piling up with the sleeve of his clothes, then turned his lonely gaze to the closed bedroom. ¡°Sousuke¡­¡± Satori tightly bit his lip, then shook his head to the side. I have to stay strong¡­ He set down the things he was carrying at his feet, then quietly opened the door that separated the living room from the bedroom. He wondered what he would do if he were to get scolded for not doing what he was told, but Sousuke seemed to be asleep. In the dimly lit room, he could hear the sound of Sousuke¡¯s labored breathing. Perhaps because he was feeling really sick, Sousuke, who was usually sensitive to the noises that Satori made, didn¡¯t show any signs of waking up even when Satori entered the bedroom. This fact made Satori¡¯s heart ache. As Satori wiped Sousuke¡¯s sweat-drenched forehead with a tightly wrung wet towel, Sousuke moved slightly. Satori was surprised; he froze and watched Sousuke for a while, but there was no sign of him waking up. ¡°I¡¯ll put the water here, okay¡­?¡± He put the tasty water within the reach of Sousuke¡¯s hands. He was sure that Sousuke would get better after drinking it. Then, Satori wrapped a leek around Sousuke¡¯s neck, just like what he saw on TV. Satori tilted his head when he saw Sousuke furrow his eyebrows. ¡°I wonder why doing this would help¡­?¡± Satori didn¡¯t understand why, but in the TV drama, the girl who had been sick in bed got better afterward, so it must have a tremendous effect for sure. Satori took off his treasured amethyst pendant from his neck, and gently placed it beside Sousuke¡¯s pillow, along with the charm pouch containing the memo of Sousuke¡¯s phone number. ¡°Please protect Sousuke.¡± The back of his nose ached. Seeing Sousuke suffering made him sad. If Satori could take over the pain for Sousuke, he would gladly do so. He felt that his useless self was so pathetic. Chapter 23.1 SS ¡°Cold¡± (2) ¡°Dragon God, the human¡¯s God¡­¡± Tears trickled down his face. ¡°Please, help Sousuke¡­¡± Sousuke. Sousuke. Sousuke¡­ My chest feels painful as if it will burst. I can¡¯t stop worrying. What if something bad happened to Sousuke? What if the human part of Sousuke did something even worse to him? What can I do to help Sousuke recover¡­? Satori suppressed his voice and continued to cry at the foot of the bed, so as not to wake Sousuke up. He felt his body floating softly. Satori thought he was dreaming when he felt like he heard the familiar voice of Sousuke calling his name. ¡°¡­You sillyhead. You shouldn¡¯t sleep in a place like this.¡± (Even though I¡¯ve told him that I¡¯d be okay¡­) Sousuke¡¯s hand, which Satori liked very much and was very precious to him, stroked the edges of his swollen, feverish eyes in a comforting way. Just after, he was gently dropped as if he were lying on something soft, then his favorite presence left. Satori gasped. When he opened his eyes, Sousuke, who didn¡¯t seem any different from usual, noticed him and smiled. Satori¡¯s chest became tight. ¡°Good morning, Satori.¡± ¡°So-so-sousuke¡­!¡± Sousuke¡­ The tears that had stopped flowing were spilling down once again. Are you okay now? Are you in pain? Is there anything that hurts? Did the human part inside Sousuke stop doing bad things? There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he was overwhelmed by his feelings that he couldn¡¯t properly express them in words. Toward that Satori, Sousuke looked at him with a happy, but a bit embarrassed, and a speechless face. ¡°I told you to believe me.¡± As his cheeks were being caressed in a teasing manner, Satori nodded his head while spilling down new tears. ¡°Thanks for lending these to me.¡± (These are your treasures, right?) Sousuke returned the amethyst pendant and charm pouch containing the memo back to Satori. Then, out of nowhere, he suddenly licked Satori¡¯s cheek that was now covered with tears. ¡°It¡¯s salty¡­¡± Sousuke let out a wry smile. ¡°I-I thought something bad will happen to you and I asked the Dragon God for help, but he didn¡¯t answer me¡­¡± I¡¯m glad, I¡¯m glad, I¡¯m glad that Sousuke has recovered. As Satori said that while sniffling, Sousuke looked a little annoyed. (Why does Satori always rely on that guy at times like this¡­) When his name was called, Satori turned his tear-stained eyes to Sousuke. ¡°¡­Sorry for making you worry.¡± (I won¡¯t let you be alone again, Satori. I¡¯ll always stay by your side.) As Satori was being apologized to with a slightly troubled face, he shook his head to the side. The depths of his chest felt tight, as if he had eaten too much food. But, it wasn¡¯t because he was sad that he was in pain. Something warm enveloped Satori¡¯s body. Satori already knew what this was. When people feel overly happy, they tend to want to cry. It was because there¡¯s something that made them very, very happy, that they didn¡¯t know what to do. Sousuke had taught him this. ¡°I-I¡¯ll also stay by Sousuke¡¯s side! I¡¯ll never leave Sousuke alone!¡± At the words Satori said with high spirits, Sousuke laughed with the happiest expression Satori had ever seen on his face. ¡°Yeah, please do so¡­¡± Satori blushed. He suddenly felt embarrassed for some reason, and he fidgeted while looking down. ¡°By the way, where did you learn to tie a leek around the neck of someone who got a cold?¡± Satori looked up quickly. If that was the question, even he could answer it. ¡°Yo-you see, I saw that on a TV drama before!¡± Because of it, Sousuke really became healthy. Satori¡¯s heart was swelling with excitement, he thought that TV drama was so wonderful to be able to teach him things like that. ¡°TV drama?¡± (Is there a TV drama that still ties a leek around the neck of a sick person nowadays¡­?) Hearing Sousuke¡¯s inner voice that seemed to have some doubts, Satori tilted his head, wondering if he had said something weird again. At that moment, the white fluffy spirits went to Satori¡¯s feet while looking somewhat disgruntled, and urged him for water. He just realized that he had been so upset when Sousuke was sick yesterday, that he had completely neglected them. ¡°Ah! Sorry, I¡¯ll give you some water quickly!¡± As Satori panicked, his foot was caught in the wave of bedsheets and he almost fell. Sousuke¡¯s arm that stretched out on the spur of the moment braced Satori¡¯s body. ¡°Hey, be careful now.¡± ¡°Yu-yup! Thanks!¡± ¡°By the way, aren¡¯t these guys becoming more and more cheeky¡­?¡± Huh¡­? In the face of Sousuke who muttered in astonishment, Satori felt that there was something strange, but he didn¡¯t know what it was. Satori felt puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± It was just my imagination, right¡­? When Satori shook his head, Sousuke laughed and said, ¡°What a weird guy.¡± Satori was happy and looked down in embarrassment. ¡°For now, let¡¯s make some food. You probably haven¡¯t eaten anything since last night, right?¡± In response to Sousuke who said the word ¡®food¡¯, the white fluffy spirits jumped up and down joyfully. ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯ll give some water to you guys now.¡± (Come on now, don¡¯t jump around my feet. I might step on you.) Satori blinked his eyes in surprise. Was it just his imagination that Sousuke seemed like he could see the white fluffy spirits? ¡°Satori.¡± At that moment, Sousuke called him. At the hands that were stretched out to him without the slightest hesitation, Satori looked at it while squinting his eyes, as if he were looking at something bright. (Come here.) Satori smiled softly. Soon, the dawn would break. Sousuke would go to his job as an announcer, and Satori would perform the duties that he could and also learn about the human world. It was so that he could continue living together with Sousuke in this world. Now, the day began as usual. Chapter 23.2 Chapter 23 ¨C SS A Day in the Life of Satori 2:00 AM ¨C Wake up, breakfast with Sousuke. 3:00 AM ¨C See Sousuke off at the front door. Give a ¡°send-off¡± kiss¡­ No, I got an ¡°I¡¯m off¡± kiss instead. Put away the breakfast dishes, wait for dawn to break while playing with the white fluffy spirits. 6:00-8:00 AM ¨C Watch Sousuke¡¯s news program while sitting on the soles of my feet. 8:00-8:15 AM ¨C Watch morning serial TV drama. 8:15~ ¨C Clean up the room, start the washing machine. Halfway, make some tea and take a short break. Study about the human world. 11:00 AM ¨C Go shopping at the supermarket in the neighborhood. I¡¯m still a little uncomfortable going to crowded places by myself, but I have my good luck charm so I¡¯m okay. 12:00 PM ¨C Eat a light lunch, ¡­before eating it, take a photo of it with the ¡°phone for kids¡± that Sousuke gave me, then send it to him. This was something I was made to promise to Sousuke, because I usually don¡¯t eat lunch. It¡¯s very difficult to operate the ¡°phone¡±. 1:00-1:30 PM ¨C Watch afternoon melodrama. NEW! 1:30-1:50 PM ¨C Muscle training. I¡¯m aiming for the six-pack I saw in a commercial! ¡­But, the white fluffy spirits will come and disturb me because they think I¡¯m playing with them. 1:50 PM ¨C Put in the laundry. Clean the bathroom. Do this and that around the house. 4:00 PM ¨C Prepare dinner while turning on the news program. 5:00-5:30 PM ¨C Watch anime. 5:45-6:00 PM ¨C Sousuke comes back. Try my best to give a ¡°welcome home¡± kiss¡­ But, I got an ¡°I¡¯m home¡± kiss instead. Do the finishing touch for dinner. 7:00 PM ¨C Eat dinner while talking about what happened today. 8:00 PM ¨C Take a bath (sometimes together, sometimes not). Make out in the living room. 9:00-10:00 PM ¨C In the bedroom we¡­.. Goodnight¡î P.S. My goal to have a six-pack was later found out by Sousuke when we were watching TV. For some reason, he begged me to stop with tears in his eyes. Satori¡¯s favorite and most important things: Sousuke. Sousuke. Sousuke. Amethyst pendant. The memo from Sousuke. The news program Sousuke appeared on. The white fluffy spirits. The Dragon God. Ice cream. TV drama. Tasty water (also known as Pocari Sweat.) Corns. Satori¡¯s dream: I hope I can be together with Sousuke forever and ever¡­ Note: An extra chapter will be posted today because this chapter is quite short. Chapter 24 Chapter 24 ¨C SS ¡°Spring Night¡± Satori was resting on the living room sofa after he had dinner when Sousuke, who was preparing something in the kitchen, asked, ¡°Satori, want to go out somewhere for a bit?¡± ¡°Go out?¡± Satori was surprised. Since Sousuke had to work early the next day, he usually got ready for bed around 9 pm. He rarely went out at night. At the unusual situation, the white fluffy spirits jumped around Sousuke¡¯s feet as if asking what was going on. ¡°You guys have to stay at home.¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± As Satori was confused, Sousuke put a knitted hat on his head while saying that it would be a little chilly at night. ¡°You¡¯ll see when we get there.¡± At the sight of Sousuke who seemed somewhat excited just like a kid planning mischief, Satori¡¯s heart also fluttered along with it. The sweet fragrance of flowers drifted softly. Satori looked around his surroundings. Where is it? He could clearly feel its presence, but he couldn¡¯t identify its origin, which blended into the darkness of the night. It¡¯s a nice smell. When he took a deep breath, he felt like the sweet fragrance of flowers filled his whole body. Satori chuckled. The spring night was gentle, and the night walk with Sousuke made him feel like he was dreaming. As he was walking with a light-hearted feeling, he accidentally got his foot caught in a small step. When he almost fell down, Sousuke caught him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Satori?¡± (Are you okay?) ¡°Yup. You see, there¡¯s something that smells really nice right now.¡± ¡°Smells nice?¡± At Satori¡¯s words, Sousuke sniffed the smell. Then, as if he had a guess what the smell was, he put his face close to Satori¡¯s nape. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± (It¡¯s the smell of Satori¡¯s shampoo. It smells tasty.) Satori turned bright red. ¡°It-it¡¯s not that! It¡¯s not me, but there¡¯s a sweet smell of flowers¡­!¡± Even when Satori tried his hardest to deny it, Sousuke just laughed and wouldn¡¯t listen to him. As Satori took the hand that was extended to him, Sousuke squeezed his hand back. While still holding hands with Sousuke, he walked through a quiet residential area with few people passing by. On the way, they passed under the overhead railway tracks and came out on the opposite side of the train station. A round moon was rising in the sky. In the moonlight, the shadows of Satori and Sousuke stretched long from their feet. Somewhere in the dark, he thought he heard the sound of a cat meowing; then, it suddenly ran past in front of them. Hehe. Satori was excited. It didn¡¯t matter where he was going as long as Sousuke was together with him, but the unfamiliar scenery made him feel like he was on a small adventure. ¡°We¡¯re going up this slope.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The next thing he knew, a long flight of stairs stretched out in front of him. Sousuke climbed up the stairs without hesitation. Satori, who usually didn¡¯t exercise much, was breathing heavily on his shoulders when he reached the middle of the stairs. ¡°Are you okay?¡± When the worried Sousuke asked him, Satori quickly replied ¡°I-I¡¯m okay!¡± in a panic. He thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to protect Sousuke like this if something were to happen to him. As Satori secretly vowed to himself that he would have to work out more starting from tomorrow, he heard Sousuke chuckle. (You can stay the way you are, Satori.) ¡°We¡¯re almost there, hang in there!¡± Satori¡¯s heart fluttered as he was encouraged by Sousuke, as if he could see into his heart. Every step he climbed up the stairs, the view of the city below became smaller. The lights in the windows of each house shone brightly, it was as if he was looking at a starry sky below. It was a happy piece of stars. ¡°Look, it¡¯s the last step.¡± Encouraged by Sousuke¡¯s words, Satori unconsciously gulped as he climbed the last step. Wow¡­ It was a cherry blossom in full bloom. Illuminated by the park¡¯s electric lights, the light pink cherry blossom tree stood out in the darkness. The petals fluttered every time the wind blew. ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± From right behind Satori who was frozen still, Sousuke¡¯s voice that sounded somewhat proud could be heard. Satori looked back to Sousuke and nodded his head. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! As Satori¡¯s heart was so overwhelmed that he couldn¡¯t speak. Sousuke looked at him with satisfaction. His eyes were so gentle that Satori felt like he would slowly melt, like butter on a pancake. Sousuke then invited Satori to a bench. Aside from Satori and Sousuke, there were also other cherry blossom viewers in the park. Everyone was enjoying the cherry blossom viewing with their own drinks and food. ¡°I¡¯m relieved. I was afraid the rain over the weekend would ruin it.¡± (I wanted to show this view to Satori no matter what.) ¡°I wanted to see this view together with you, Satori.¡± Sousuke smiled a little shyly. His eyes told Satori that he was happy to be with him now, and that he was happy to be able to share this beautiful scenery with him. It was filled with pure love for Satori, as much as, or perhaps even more than, Satori¡¯s feelings for Sousuke, and those feelings came straight to Satori. Tears spilled down from Satori¡¯s eyes. Huh¡­? Satori blinked. Sousuke¡¯s eyes that were staring at Satori also widened in surprise. ¡°¡­Satori?¡± (Wha-what¡¯s wrong? Satori?! What happened?!) ¡°No. You see, I, I¡­¡± At the sound of Sousuke¡¯s confused voice, Satori shook his head to the side. He thought that he shouldn¡¯t make Sousuke worry and rubbed his eyelids to stop himself from crying, but the tears won¡¯t stop. Even though he wasn¡¯t feeling sad and he was actually very happy, his heart felt painful deep inside. Wha-what should I do¡­! You¡¯ve got it wrong, I didn¡¯t cry because I was sad¡­! At that moment, Sousuke hugged him on the head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I know it already, you don¡¯t have to panic.¡± Sousuke¡¯s hand patted Satori¡¯s back softly as if to comfort him. A long time ago, in the village where Satori lived, there was a magnificent cherry blossom tree that was over a thousand years old. Satori was always alone, watching from a distance as the other spirits were happily enjoying the cherry blossoms from under the tree, which was so big it seemed to reach the heavens. ¨CHow nice¡­ Now, Satori could tell that he was lonely at that time. He wanted someone to tell him that it was okay for him to be there. He could tell that he wanted to be a part of the group because he envied the fact that they recognized each other¡¯s existence. It was something that Satori had given up from the beginning, thinking that it would never happen to him. ¡°Look, Satori. The cherry blossoms are so beautiful. When you stop crying, let¡¯s watch them together. We still have a lot of time ahead of us. Let¡¯s go to many more places from now on.¡± (I want to show Satori a lot of beautiful things.) Sousuke¡¯s words soaked into Satori¡¯s heart just like a gentle rain. Satori was happy. He was so, so, happy that he felt like he was going to lose his mind. The cherry blossom petals fluttered down soundlessly. When Satori finally stopped crying, Sousuke secretly prepared a sweet sake with cherry blossoms, which had a sweet, gentle, and happy taste to it. Chapter 25.1 Chapter 25 ¨C SS Satori going to a hot spring (1) In front of Satori who sat on top of the soles of his feet, there was Sousuke reflected from inside a ¡°variety show¡± program. ¨CListen, Satori. I¡¯m not saying that you can¡¯t watch it, but you don¡¯t have to force yourself to watch it. (Damn, why do I have to participate in a quiz show¡­) When Sousuke said that he couldn¡¯t refuse the invitation to appear on the ¡°variety show¡±, he seemed somewhat heavy-spirited. However, since Satori wasn¡¯t told that he must not watch it, he had been waiting in front of the TV for 30 minutes before the program started, along with the white fluffy spirits. ¡°What butterfly that¡¯s generally small as an adult, and owes its name to its shell-shaped wings?¡± Sousuke¡¯s hand pressed a round button and there was a beeping sound. ¡°Gossamer-winged butterfly!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Ogigami, you are correct!¡± The voice of the host, who was in his forties, was met with a squeal of delight. ¡°Ms. Hanasaki, I understand how you feel, but you shouldn¡¯t show favoritism.¡± When the host chided her, the woman in the beautiful clothes stained her cheeks red in embarrassment, and the audience erupted in laughter. Sousuke was just like his usual self, he seemed to be unaffected by the atmosphere around him. ¡°So-sousuke is so awesome.¡± If it were Satori, he would be too nervous to think about answering the quiz with so many people watching. The white fluffy spirits jumped around Satori, either agreeing with him or maybe showing that they didn¡¯t care. ¡°And now for the last question. If you answer correctly, you will get three times the bonus points.¡± The audience let out a collective ¡°Ooh¡­¡± ¡°This time, the prize is an overnight trip to a super high-class hot spring inn that everyone surely wants to visit at least once in their life.¡± Satori felt a slight tension from Sousuke¡¯s expression that was reflected on the screen, which made him nervous in turn. He rubbed the sweat from his palms onto his thighs. Satori didn¡¯t know what a super high-class hot spring inn was like, but if Sousuke wanted it, it must have been a great prize. A drum roll could be heard. Satori¡¯s back straightened as he stared at the screen. Sousuke, do your best! Clasping his palms together in front of his chest, Satori sent a cheer to Sousuke who was on the other side of the screen. ¡°It¡¯s said that there are various kinds of spirits in Japan from a long time ago. What is the name of the spirit that can see into the hearts of humans, is as ugly as a monkey, and is hated by everyone?¡± A beeping sound could be heard. ¡°Yes, Mr. Ogigami!¡± The camera moved closer and closer on Sousuke. For some reason, Sousuke¡¯s face fell silent as if he was hesitating. There was a tense atmosphere in the studio. Sousuke? What¡¯s wrong? Satori tilted his head, wondering why Sousuke¡¯s face looked sullen and doubtful for some reason. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± At the sound of the host¡¯s voice, Sousuke tightened his lips for a moment and quietly muttered ¡°Not just some, there are a lot of mistakes there¡­¡±, then answered ¡°Satori.¡± ¡°Mr. Ogigami, your answer is correct! The prize is an overnight trip to a high-class hot spring inn! Congratulations!¡± The studio erupted in cheers. Satori also widened his eyes and clapped his hands while still sitting on the soles of his feet. ¡°As expected of a popular announcer, you have a wide range of knowledge. Who will you take on the trip with you?¡± While receiving what appeared to be a prize, Sousuke answered ¡°Yes, well¡­¡± and speak ambiguously. ¡°So amazing, amazing. Sousuke is so amazing.¡± Satori gazed with sparkling eyes at Sousuke, who had successfully won the competition, while the white fluffy spirits jumped around him. ¡°¡ªWhat you said before was false.¡± When music started to play and the program was about to end in a friendly atmosphere, that voice could be heard. ¡°Huh?¡± The host and the other participants looked at Sousuke with a questioning expression. The audience was filled with a strange confusion, wondering what Sousuke had said. Still unable to end the program, the host asked in confusion, ¡°What do you mean it was false?¡±. Sousuke looked straight at the host and said, ¡°The question from earlier is false. The spirit called Satori isn¡¯t ugly like a monkey, and it isn¡¯t hated by everyone.¡± he replied with a calm face. ¡°Huh?¡± Along with the voice of the host, the program switched to a commercial and ended. After that, there were a lot of talk on Twitter and social media such as ¡°What¡¯s going on with Ogigami Sousuke?!¡±. Of course, Satori, who usually didn¡¯t use the internet, was unaware of it. *** The Golden Week holidays had been pleasant and sunny. Lining it up with Sousuke¡¯s day off, Satori and Sousuke went on a two-day and one-night hot spring trip. Tonight they would stay at the inn that Sousuke had won from the ¡°variety show¡± program, and tomorrow they planned to go to the beach. It was Satori¡¯s first time going out for an overnight stay and of course, going to a hot spring too. In the end, he was so nervous that he couldn¡¯t sleep at all the night before. chirp chirp chirp ¡°Satori, this way.¡± Sousuke called out to Satori, who was staring up at the blue sky with his mouth wide open. Satori gasped and rushed to Sousuke¡¯s side. The hot spring inn that was two and a half hour train ride away reminded Satori somewhat of his hometown, with its chilly air due to its close proximity to the mountain. The long-established high-class inn, which only took reservations from a few guests a day, had a magnificent building. As they passed through the freshly sprinkled entrance, they were welcomed by the proprietress in a beautiful kimono. Chapter 25.2 Chapter 25 ¨C SS Satori going to a hot spring (2) ¡°Mr. Ogigami, welcome to our inn.¡± ¡°Let me take care of your luggage.¡± An elderly keeper wearing a happi coat with the inn¡¯s name on his back took the luggage from Sousuke¡¯s hand. When the keeper noticed that Satori had jumped in surprise and hid behind Sousuke, he smiled at him. ¡°Let me show you to your room.¡± Satori gasped and quickly bowed his head. ¡°Tha-thank you!¡± Seeing that, a smile appeared across Sousuke¡¯s face. ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± They passed through a carpeted corridor, then Satori and Sousuke were led to the room they were staying in. One of the two rooms was a Japanese-style room with a table in front of an alcove decorated with hanging scrolls and fresh flowers. The other room was a Western-style room with a soft bed that looked comfortable. At the back of the room, a paper sliding door concealed the room from outside, and surprisingly, there was even an open-air bath with a large deck there. Perhaps it was because of the hinoki cypress that there was a pleasant smell. We-we¡¯re staying overnight in this wonderful place? As Satori looked around the room nervously, wondering if he really could stay in a place like this, Sousuke tapped on his shoulder. (It¡¯s alright.) Sousuke¡¯s feelings could be felt from the warmth of his hand that touched Satori¡¯s shoulder blades. Satori¡¯s body, which had been slightly stiff with tension, suddenly relaxed. He felt that no matter where he was, he would be alright if he was with Sousuke. Those feelings welled up within him and made his heart feel warm inside. ¡°Please excuse me.¡± At that moment, the proprietress who had welcomed them earlier placed three fingers on the room¡¯s entrance and greeted them. ¡°Thank you for coming all the way here today. I am the proprietress of Hana no Yado.¡± The proprietress took out a teapot and teacups from the lacquered tea utensils cabinet in the room and made some tea for Satori and Sousuke. Along with Sousuke¡¯s voice that said his thanks, Satori also bowed his head. The proprietress softened her gaze at Satori¡¯s gesture. (Oh my, he¡¯s so cute. Just like my five-year-old son.) Usually, Satori didn¡¯t like hearing other human¡¯s inner voices except for Sousuke¡¯s. Satori¡¯s eyes widened at the rarely favorable inner voice. His heartbeat was pounding fast. ¡°At what time would you like for dinner to be ready?¡± ¡°Satori, when do you want to have dinner? We only ate a boxed lunch on the train after all. ¡­Is around 7pm okay with you?¡± Satori nodded his head at Sousuke¡¯s words. While Satori was in a daze, Sousuke and the proprietress were deciding on the details. At that moment, the voice of the proprietress that was talking about a large public bath could be heard, and Satori¡¯s eyes widened. Does a large public bath mean that big bath I saw on TV before? ¡°Let¡¯s go to the bath for now.¡± (While we¡¯re here, I want to make out with Satori in the open-air bath before dinner¡­) It was said the hot spring inn had a bath so big that they could swim in it. Actually, Satori who secretly had a longing for a large public bath was so excited when he heard they were going into one, and he had missed hearing Sousuke¡¯s inner voice. ¡°I¡¯m going in! I¡¯m going in! I¡¯m going into the large bath. Sousuke, we can swim in the bath, right?¡± Sousuke said ¡°Huh?¡±, and Satori turned his sparkling eyes filled with expectations at him. Satori felt like he could hear a faint laugh. When he turned around in surprise, there was the proprietress who was averting her gaze and had an expression that looked like holding back a laugh. Sousuke blushed a little bit and coughed. (Well, I guess the open-air bath can wait until after dinner¡­) When he could hear Sousuke¡¯s inner voice that sounded somewhat disappointed, Satori was puzzled. Did I say something wrong? ¡°So-sousuke?¡± Sousuke smiled at Satori whose gaze wavered nervously. (Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing.) ¡­Really? ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go to the large bath.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Satori nodded vigorously. The large public bath he went in for the first time in his life was so amazing. Even if he were to stretch his arms and legs wide, there was still plenty of room. It really looked like it would be big enough for Satori to swim there. Satori impatiently washed his hair and body in the washing room, then he hurriedly rinsed off the foam and jumped into the large public bath. Sousuke, who was slowly washing his body in the washing room, called out to Satori. ¡°Satori, your feet are wet, take care not to slip and fall!¡± ¡°Ye-yeah. It¡¯s okay.¡± Amazing. Amazing. There¡¯s so much hot water. I wonder how many days¡¯ worth of hot water there is in this place? He walked out of the indoor bath with a fidgety and restless feeling, then headed toward the open-air bath. chirp chirp chirp The green of the mountains was refreshing, and the sky covered with thin clouds was breathtakingly beautiful. To be able to look at this beautiful scenery while bathing is such a luxury. In the water that was a little hot, the cool breeze felt pleasant on his skin. After a quick swim, Satori rested his cheek against a rock and gazed out at the scenery in a daze. There was a rustling sound of the leaves. I¡¯m so happy, it feels like a dream¡­ When he closed his eyes, the light reflected off the back of his eyelids were dispersed and glittering. A refreshing chirp of a bird could be heard from the branches of a tree nearby. Ever since Satori learned of its existence on TV, visiting a ¡°hot spring¡± had been his dream. A whole family would get together in a big bathtub, and it was said that it was even possible to swim in it. I wonder if he¡¯s going to do it tonight, too¡­ Chapter 25.3 Chapter 25 ¨C SS Satori going to a hot spring (3) ¨CSatori¡­ Satori suddenly felt his whole body nearly burst into flames when he felt like he could hear the low, lustrous voice of Sousuke¡¯s right at his ear. Even if they had come to a hot spring, it didn¡¯t mean they would definitely do that kind of thing. But on the afternoon drama that he saw, the lovers who went to the hot spring were having a wonderful time. In that case, he was sure Sousuke would also¡­ At that moment, the rattling sound of a sliding glass door opening could be heard, then Sousuke went to the open-air bath. Ah¡­ ¡°How is it, Satori? Does it feel nice?¡± Of course, Sousuke was naked as well. Sousuke went in next to Satori, generously exposing his toned body. ¡°Is the temperature a bit too hot for you¡­?¡± ¡°Ye-yeah.¡± Satori¡¯s heart was pounding fast. Even though it wasn¡¯t his first time seeing Sousuke naked, for some reason he was so embarrassed that he couldn¡¯t look Sousuke¡¯s way. ¡°Satori?¡± (Is something wrong?) Satori unintentionally brushed off the hand that reached out to him and turned bright red. ¡°Ah, n-no I¡­¡± He was aware that he was behaving strangely, but he didn¡¯t know what to do. His heart was beating wildly. Sousuke¡¯s eyes widened slightly and he looked at Satori suspiciously. The wetness of Sousuke¡¯s upper body was so dazzling that it made him couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the time when Sousuke embraced him. ¡°Hyaa!¡± Satori shut his eyelids tightly and stood up from the bath with great force. ¡°Satori?¡± Wha-what should I do¡­?! Something¡¯s wrong with me¡­! ¡°I, I¡¯m going to take a bath again inside!¡± ¡°Ah, hey!¡± (¡­Satori?) Without listening to Sousuke¡¯s attempt to stop him, Satori headed for the indoor bath as if to escape from him. What should I do? Even though we¡¯ve come all the way to this ¡°hot spring¡± together. Actually, I¡¯m really happy, but I ended up acting strangely¡­ While he was wondering if he should go back to Sousuke now, or what he should do if he had behaved strangely, Sousuke came into the indoor bath from the open-air bath. ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go out first, you can take your time there.¡± (Take care not to stay too long there.) Sousuke spoke to Satori in the same manner as usual, then walked out of the large public bath just like that. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Even though he had been looking forward to enjoying the ¡°hot spring¡± together with Sousuke, it was all ruined now because of his own weird behavior. Satori slumped his shoulder dejectedly, then sank his face until his nose was below the water. When Satori returned to the room a short time later, Sousuke was cooling off in a space near the window while looking at the guide to the inn. ¡°Did you have a nice bath?¡± ¡°Ye-yeah.¡± The unfamiliar sight of Sousuke in a yukata was so cool that it made Satori flustered. Sousuke¡¯s eyes that were looking at Satori softened, then he beckoned Satori to come to his side. ¡­? Satori approached Sousuke meekly, and Sousuke untied the obi of his yukata. A-are we going to do it¡­? ¡°Your yukata is reversed. The one you wear is for the deceased.¡± As Satori¡¯s heart thumped with anticipation, Sousuke untied Satori¡¯s obi, brought the left side collar over the right side, and retied the obi again. ¡°There you go.¡± Sousuke lightly tapped on Satori¡¯s chest. ¡°Tha-thanks.¡± Satori blushed at his own misunderstanding of the situation. Then, his head was ruffled by Sousuke. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s a river right next to this inn. Wanna go there before dinner?¡± ¡°Yu-yup.¡± Huh? Something is weird. As Satori followed Sousuke, who was holding the room key with a wooden key chain, he felt puzzled inside. A hot spring trip was supposed to be full of doing ¡°that kind of things¡±, but Sousuke acted the same as usual, and Satori didn¡¯t feel the slightest signs of doing that. Was he angry at me for acting weird after all? However, he couldn¡¯t feel any sign of anger coming from Sousuke¡¯s back. On the contrary, he could feel Sousuke¡¯s excitement instead. Sousuke¡­? ¡°Satori.¡± Sousuke stopped walking, then turned around and extended his hand toward Satori. As he took that hand, Satori was caught up in an incomprehensible worry. The dinner was over, and even when the only thing left to do was to sleep, there wasn¡¯t that kind of atmosphere at all. Even though he had been looking forward to this trip ever since it was decided, even though he could spend the whole day together with Sousuke, Satori¡¯s heart filled with sadness. If this keeps going on, the day will be over. Sousuke was relaxing and drinking a beer while laughing at the TV. Satori clenched his fist tightly. ¡°So-sousuke!¡± When Satori gathered up his courage and called out to him, Sousuke looked surprised. ¡°Wha-what¡¯s wrong, Satori?¡± (Is there something wrong?) Sousuke put down his beer on the table and quickly went to Satori¡¯s side. Sousuke was looking at him as if he was looking into his heart, and it melted away Satori¡¯s heart that was tense with worry. ¡°Wh-why don¡¯t you do it? Was it because I behaved strangely? Because I brushed off your hand?¡± Tears were spilling down from Satori¡¯s eyes. ¡°Wa-wait a sec, Satori!¡± (What are you talking about?!) Sousuke was a little surprised, then he put his hand on Satori¡¯s back and rubbed it gently as if to comfort him. ¡°I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re saying, so explain it to me.¡± (What are you talking about, Satori?) Satori wiped his eyelids and sniffed. ¡°I-I know about it. Hot spring trips are usually something for couples to do a lot of lewd things, right? But I was too embarrassed to look at your naked body, so I behaved strangely. Even though it doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t want to do it. Actually, I was really looking forward to going into the large bath together with you, Sousuke¡­¡± Satori, who had lost his composure, didn¡¯t notice that Sousuke¡¯s face was blushing in embarrassment. Chapter 25.4 Chapter 25 ¨C SS Satori going to a hot spring (4) ¡°Even though it was supposed to be a special day, it¡®ll soon be over because of me¡­¡± When his name was called softly, Satori looked up. Satori blinked as he was being kissed. Sousuke looked at him with an unusually happy expression and red cheeks. ¡°Were you really looking forward to it that much?¡± Satori nodded. ¡°So, you wanted to get in the hot spring together with me?¡± When he remembered that he had lost a great opportunity, Satori bit his lips tightly and nodded his head again. (Ahh, he¡¯s really cute. So fricking cute. Deadly cute.) Along with that inner voice, Sousuke hugged him so tightly that it startled Satori. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have to live up to your expectations.¡± Huh? As Satori felt that his body was softly floating away, Sousuke was carrying him up. Just like that, Sousuke headed straight for the open-air bath. ¡°So-sousuke?¡± Sousuke took off the yukata of the nervous Satori, then placed a kiss around his collarbone. ¡°Ah!¡± Something that was like a sweet numbness ran through his body, and Satori couldn¡¯t help but raise his voice. ¡°You wanted to get in the bath together with me, right?¡± ¡°¡­We¡¯re going to the bath?¡± ¡°Yeah, the bath.¡± Sousuke took the tip of Satori¡¯s pointy chest to his mouth and bit it lightly. When Satori was about to raise his voice, he suppressed it with both hands. ¡°¡­¡± Something wet was gradually building up, its tip peeking out from inside Satori¡¯s underwear. ¡°A-aren¡¯t we going to the bath?¡± Contrary to his answer that said they were going to the bath, Sousuke didn¡¯t stop caressing Satori¡¯s chest. What should I do? At this rate, I, I¡­ Swallowing the word ¡°I¡¯ll come¡±, Satori shut his eyelids tightly. When Sousuke touched him, he felt so good that his head went completely blank. When Sousuke hugged him, he was filled with so much happiness as if he was floating. Satori¡¯s heart raced in anticipation of what was about to happen, but more than that, the embarrassment made him feel puzzled. (So cute, his heart is beating so fast.) ¡°Satori.¡± As his earlobes were being licked, a shiver ran through his body. Sousuke, who was clearly different from his usual self, not even trying to hide his desires, had a lustful smile spread across his face. (But, that isn¡¯t enough.) ¡°Huh?¡± What does he mean¡­? He was being kissed as if his lips were being sealed. Satori was at the mercy of Sousuke¡¯s tongue, and he couldn¡¯t think of anything else. The open-air bath that was lit by a lamp on the deck set up the mood perfectly. The sound of water trickling could be heard. Satori, who was carried by Sousuke from the room to the open-air bath, had no time to enjoy the hot spring, for he immediately got attacked by Sousuke. Satori looked away in embarrassment as the reflection of their intertwined figures could be seen faintly in the glass window. ¡°Ah¡­ mn, aah, ah¡­!¡± As Satori was being hugged from behind with his chest being caressed, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a sweet voice. (Satori, Satori.) He couldn¡¯t tell how many times he had been made to come. Because they were outside, Satori had tried to suppress his voice at first, but before he knew it, he couldn¡¯t afford to do that anymore. ¡°Sousuke¡­ Sousuke, I¡­ Ah!¡± Each time Sousuke moved intensely, he hit Satori¡¯s weak spot, and it made Satori¡¯s painfully tense tip start spilling out tears. ¡°Aah¡­! Ah¡­!¡± At that moment, Sousuke¡¯s long finger slipped into his mouth. ¡°If you¡¯re this loud the room next to us will hear you.¡± As the sensitive spot inside his mouth was being tickled and his ears were being whispered teasingly, Satori¡¯s tears spilled down. ¡°No, no¡­¡± He was embarrassed that he was feeling it too much. ¡°What is it that you don¡¯t like?¡± (Satori, so cute. Satori¡­) Satori shook his head, then Sousuke kissed the corner of his eye as if to comfort him. (Sorry for teasing you.) ¡°Satori, I like you.¡± (I love you.) His body was being hugged tightly. The next moment, Sousuke¡¯s body trembled and he came inside Satori. Satori crawled out of the open-air bath and leaned against a wooden deck as if he had lost all his strength. His heart was still beating fast. The night breeze felt nice on his flushed skin. Unable to move right away, he waited for his breath to calm down while surrendering his body to the cool sensation of the wood against his bare skin. Satori was unaware of how his defenseless appearance looked in Sousuke¡¯s eyes at that time. (His white skin is slightly tinted in a pink color, so erotic¡­ To think that small butt was able to fit mine inside it just a moment ago¡­) The moment Satori thought ¡°Huh?¡±, it was already too late. Sousuke who came out of the open-air bath kissed his thin yet plump back, causing his body to shiver. ¡°So-sousuke¡­?¡± When he realized it, Sousuke¡¯s thing that had just calmed down earlier was once again on the verge of war. Satori¡¯s eyes widened. No way¡­ ¡°Sorry, Satori. I didn¡¯t want to force you to do this because there¡¯s tomorrow, but¡­¡± (You¡¯re just too cute that I¡­) ¡°I don¡¯t think I can stop.¡± When the sensitive part that Sousuke had played with earlier was being touched once again, Satori twitched. ¡°Ah¡­¡± It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t want to do it. He didn¡¯t dislike it, but it was hard because he was feeling it too much. (If you really don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll stop.) However, once he heard Sousuke¡¯s true intention he had no reason to stop him. His heart was pounding so loudly that it felt like it might reach Sousuke¡¯s ears. When Satori gathered up his courage and clung to Sousuke¡¯s neck, Sousuke had a surprised expression on his face. ¡°Satori?¡± ¡°I like you. I really like you, Sousuke.¡± Sousuke¡¯s eyes that were looking at something dear to him were slightly narrowed as if he were holding back pain. ¡°I like you, Satori.¡± Satori then spent a wonderful night with Sousuke, and as expected, he couldn¡¯t get up because of the excessive physical activity. The next day, everything that they had planned to do ended up being canceled, and Satori was apologized to by the remorseful Sousuke. Chapter 26.1 Chapter 26 ¨C SS Satori¡¯s summer holidays (1) Satori¡¯s summer holidays A certain day in July (Tue). Sunny. The weather was nice in the morning. Satori boiled and ate soumen noodles for lunch (Lately, he became able to use fire even when he was alone). One pink noodle and one green noodle were tangled together and looked pretty, so he wanted to show it to Sousuke. When he went to take a plastic wrap, the white fluffy spirits were playing with the pink noodle on the living room table, pulling it together from both ends. ¡°Hey! Stop that!¡± When he scolded them in a panic, the white fluffy spirits left the pink noodle they were playing with there and fled to hide somewhere. A certain day in July (Sun). Sunny. Satori went to the local supermarket with Sousuke. The summer fruits looked so delicious that he couldn¡¯t stop looking at them. Sousuke said that he could buy anything he wanted, but it would be a waste if he couldn¡¯t eat them all, so Satori decided to think it over and choose it seriously. He chose grapefruits that Sousuke liked, cherries, and pineapples. His first time eating pineapple was when Sousuke bought them for him a while ago. He was surprised at how soggy it was in his mouth, but once he got used to it the juice was bursting and delicious. On the way home, Sousuke bought him a vanilla and chocolate soft-serve ice cream. A certain day in August (Thu). Sunny, but it rained one time. When Satori cleaned the bathroom in the morning, he suddenly heard the sound of heavy rain. He rushed back to the living room and found that the rain was so intense, just like an upturned bucket. Today, Satori had made a promise with Sousuke to ¡°meet up¡± with him after work to see fireworks together. Ever since Sousuke invited him, Satori had been counting the days and looking forward to this day. He was worried that the plan would be canceled, but fortunately, the rain stopped soon after. He could see Sousuke every day, but it felt different when he had to ¡°meet up¡± with Sousuke; it made him nervous. When he was living in the village, he had snuck a peek at the humans setting off the fireworks at a festival, but this would be his first time seeing it properly. The firework that he watched together with Sousuke was so beautiful that it filled his heart to the brim. On the way home, Sousuke bought him a candied apple that was as sweet and delicious as a dream. A certain day in August (Sat). Sunny. An important guest had arrived. It was Sousuke¡¯s blood-related little sister. There was also a little boy with her, who looked like a smaller version of Sousuke when Satori first met him. Perhaps afraid of strangers, the white fluffy spirits went into hiding somewhere. Maybe Sousuke had told his sister in advance that he was living together with someone else, because she didn¡¯t seem to be surprised by Satori¡¯s presence. She just stared at Satori with great curiosity. When Satori was making some tea in the kitchen, Sousuke and his sister were in the living room. They looked at him as they talked about something. Satori¡¯s heart was pounding fast. He was worried that he had made a mistake and Sousuke¡¯s precious family would hate him. Up until now, Satori had never been thought of nicely by other humans aside from Sousuke. He was so nervous that his hands were shaking and accidentally spilled the tea. Sousuke told him not to worry about it, but Satori felt depressed by the fact that he couldn¡¯t even make a cup of tea. I knew it, I¡¯m useless after all¡­ When Satori slumped his shoulder dejectedly, Sousuke¡¯s little sister smiled and said that the tea that he made was delicious. After that, the four of them ate the cake that Sousuke¡¯s little sister brought for them. The little boy that looked similar to Sousuke seemed to have a sweet tooth. When Satori timidly offered him the strawberry that was on top of the shortcake (which Satori liked too), he ate it without hesitation and even climbed up to Satori¡¯s lap, which made him surprised. On her departure, Sousuke¡¯s little sister said ¡°Please take care of my big brother.¡± while squeezing Satori¡¯s hand. ¡°I-I¡¯m the one who should say so!¡± Satori was so surprised that he thought he was going to fall off his back, then he nodded his head vigorously. Seeing that, Sousuke looked at him with a somewhat embarrassed yet happy expression on his face. A certain day in August (Wed). Cloudy. Sousuke said he wanted to talk to the Dragon God. Satori has wondered about it for a while now, but Sousuke seemed to dislike the Dragon God for some reason. Even so, Satori wondered what Sousuke could¡¯ve wanted with the Dragon God. While still wondering about it, from the balcony in the night, ¡°Dragon God, Dragon God, Sousuke said he had something to talk about with you, please come out. I beg you.¡± Satori wished desperately. It would be nice if Satori¡¯s voice could reach him, and the Dragon God would show himself in front of Sousuke¡­ A certain day in August (Mon). Sunny. Amazing, amazing, amazing. On Sousuke¡¯s day off that was called the ¡°summer holidays¡±, he didn¡¯t need to go to work for a week and they could spend the time together. Moreover, he said they would be going on an ¡°overseas trip¡±. Satori wondered where the ¡°overseas trip¡± would be. He wondered if it would be as far as that hot spring trip he had with Sousuke before, or as far as the village he used to live in. After preparing several days¡¯ worth of change of clothes, they would ride a thing called an ¡°airplane¡±. Satori was happy to be together with Sousuke, even when they didn¡¯t do anything special. However, Sousuke wanted to show Satori a lot of beautiful scenery that he had never seen before. At those times, Sousuke always had a very gentle look in his eyes. Even Satori, who was hated by everyone before, could feel Sousuke¡¯s love. At those times, Satori¡¯s chest would feel tight and it made him want to cry, even though he wasn¡¯t sad. Ever since he met Sousuke, Satori had received a lifetime¡¯s worth of happiness. Satori wanted to make Sousuke happy as much as he did, but Sousuke said he was happy enough as he was now. I wonder what I can do for Sousuke¡­? *** Chapter 26.2 Chapter 26 ¨C SS Satori¡¯s summer holidays (2) They planned to go on an overseas trip for three nights and four days during the summer holidays. Of course, it was Satori¡¯s first time going abroad. Before, there was a travel show where celebrities visited foreign countries and experienced various things. Sometimes, Sousuke and Satori would watch it together on the living room sofa. ¡°Sousuke, the clear water is so beautiful. It¡¯s glistening.¡± Satori said that while smiling, looking at the crystal clear sea that was clearly different from the ones in Japan. ¡°Do you want to go there?¡± (Should I take Satori to that place?) Because of his ability to read others¡¯ minds regardless of their intentions, Satori had been through a lot of hard times up until now. That said, no matter how badly others treated or hurt him, Satori never resented the other person. Sousuke wanted to show Satori all the scenery he wanted to see. He wanted to make everything that Satori wished for come true. A thought came to Sousuke¡¯s mind that he should really show this scenery to Satori. Sousuke was aware that he had truly fallen in love with Satori. That¡¯s right, it was to the point he was willing to give up everything for him¨C ¡°Satori?¡± As Sousuke wrapped his arms around Satori¡¯s waist to hug him from behind, Satori was so startled that he jumped on the spot. Satori¡¯s earlobe and nape were slowly dyed red. Sousuke had already lost his composure the moment he thought that Satori was so cute. His heart was enveloped with something warm and filled with affection. At the same time, a desire to make love with Satori was born. He unconsciously put more strength on his arms that were wrapped around Satori¡¯s waist. ¡°So-sousuke?¡± Inside Sousuke¡¯s arms, Satori was surprised as if he had heard his inner voice. His eyes opened wide in surprise. ¡°A-are we going to do it¡­?¡± Sousuke could feel Satori¡¯s heart pounding fast, just like a small bird. Aah, damn. He¡¯s so cute. So fricking cute. Until he met Satori, Sousuke had always thought of himself as an indifferent person. Because he was fairly adept at things since he was a child, he almost never wanted something so desperately. The fact that Satori was the person he met as a child turned everything upside down. It was as if everything that he had believed up until now never existed, and a new world opened up. Sousuke was so in love with Satori that he didn¡¯t have the leisure to try to look cool. The depth of his love was endless like a bottomless swamp, Sousuke himself even thought of it as frightening. ¡°¡­You don¡¯t want to?¡± (Can I make love to you?) Sousuke brushed his lips against the smooth cheek in front of him. He had intended to hide his desire, but he could tell from his low and hoarse voice that he had miserably lost his composure. Satori¡¯s eyes opened wide, then shook his head with a red face. ¡°I-It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to. I want to do it with Sousuke too¡­!¡± Tahiti is an island belonging to France Polynesia in the South Pacific and is known as one of the leading resort areas in the South Pacific. It takes about 11 hours from Japan by direct flight. From there, the island of Moorea is about 10 minutes away by light aircraft. The island is blessed with magnificent nature, with a blue lagoon surrounding the deep green mountains. It was Satori¡¯s first time on an airplane, and the only domestic trip he had ever taken was the hot spring trip with Sousuke. Since it was a good opportunity, Sousuke prepared a new suitcase for Satori. He also bought him a new change of clothes and swimming trunks. Satori, who had no idea what an overseas trip would be like, blinked his eyes at the big suitcase that was his. He wondered what he should put in it (Sousuke thought Satori looked very cute at that moment). This time, Sousuke negotiated with the Dragon God to have Satori¡¯s passport prepared. He didn¡¯t know what kind of tricks the Dragon god used, but even after getting Satori¡¯s passport in his hands, he was still worried inside. Until he could actually leave Japan, he was always afraid it would suddenly turn into a leaf or something. When they left Japan, there was actually a little bit of trouble. They were a little bit different from pets, but Satori had two white fluffy spirits that were very attached to him. Back when they went on the hot spring trip, the white fluffy spirits got upset because they had to stay at home and ransacked the house as a payback. Even so, they couldn¡¯t possibly bring them on an overseas trip. Before this trip, Sousuke pretended not to notice that Satori was worried about the white fluffy spirits and had told them off nicely to stay home. But then those white fluffy spirits had snuck into the suitcase and followed him. It was almost time to board the plane. They had no time to go back home now, and the white fluffy spirits were stubbornly refusing to leave Satori¡¯s side. In the end, while considering that the white fluffy spirits couldn¡¯t be seen by other humans, they finished the check-in nervously and were deeply relieved when the plane took off safely. However, when they changed planes from Tahiti to Moorea island, Satori started to act strangely. He suddenly became quiet, his eyes were opened wide to the point of spilling out as if he was holding back something, and his lips were tightly shut. ¡°Satori, are you okay?¡± (Are you tired?) As Sousuke was worried Satori might be tired after the long hours of flight, Satori shook his head while springing from his seat. ¡°I-I¡¯m okay!¡± But then Satori clenched his fist and soon fell silent again. I planned this trip to make Satori happy, but could it be that I failed at it¡­? Chapter 26.3 Chapter 26 ¨C SS Satori¡¯s summer holidays (3) As Sousuke was feeling uneasy inside, a beautiful emerald green sea stretched out in front of him. Under the clear sky, brightly colored tropical fish could be seen swimming in the crystal clear waters. It was then that Sousuke noticed tears were spilling down from Satori¡¯s eyes. ¡°Sa-satori?! What¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± (I wonder if Satori actually didn¡¯t want to go on an overseas trip. Was I mistaken to think that Satori would be happy with this?) Sousuke hugged the shoulder of the crying Satori. Satori then shook his head at the flustered Sousuke. ¡°Tha-that¡¯s not it. It¡¯s just I¡¯ve never seen such beautiful scenery before. When I thought that Sousuke had done all of this for me, I became so happy that I didn¡¯t know what to do¡­¡± After that, Satori fell silent and couldn¡¯t continue to speak. His eyes were wet with tears, but they were glistening with joy. ¡°So that¡¯s what it was¡­.¡± (So you¡¯re crying because you¡¯re happy¡­) The reason for Satori to cry wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t like the trip, but that he had exceeded his emotional capacity. Knowing that, Sousuke was so relieved that he almost collapsed on the spot. ¡°#&@$% !¡± The local guide looked at Sousuke and Satori and gave them a thumbs up. Sousuke didn¡¯t know what they were saying, but from the look on their face perhaps they were saying that they were glad that Sousuke and Satori had made up. Sousuke gave a wry smile as he hugged Satori¡¯s shoulder, then sighed in relief. The hotel where Sousuke and Satori were staying was a cottage on top of the water, where they could watch both the sunrise and sunset from the horizon. From the spacious Asian-style room they could go straight to the sea immediately. The wooden furniture plus white linen curtains and bedding created a sense of openness and cleanliness. Coral was cultivated underneath each cottage, and they could even feed the fish from a retractable glass table. ¡°Sousuke, look, look! Fish are swimming there!¡± As Satori looked around the room, his eyes widened when he saw the brightly colored fishes swimming under the glass table. Next to Satori, the white fluffy spirits jumped up and down as if trying to catch the fish. They decided to have lunch on the open terrace right in front of the beach. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was nice, but Sousuke and Satori chose to sit on the beach seats outside. It was great to eat under the parasol while looking at the ocean view spreading out in front of their eyes. The sea breeze caressed their skin and shook the palm leaves. First, they toasted with fresh pineapple juice. Satori looked happy the whole time, his eyes lit up at the scenery before him and he looked around restlessly. Then, his eyes widened at the generous portions of food. The food was delicious, but they couldn¡¯t help but look at each other when a huge parfait-like dessert of ice cream was served. After a moment¡¯s pause, Satori¡¯s burst of laughter could be heard. They took a leisurely stroll along the beach to help with digestion after eating, then they returned to the room and took a short nap. After that, they changed into swimsuits and went out to the beach again. It was the first time for Satori to swim in the ocean, and at first he was hesitant to even splash the seawater on his face. The sight of Satori nervously clinging onto Sousuke¡¯s arm was so cute. Even so, Satori already has the basics of swimming, so he soon got the hang of it and was able to swim by himself. It was rather the white fluffy spirits that were having a hard time. They loved the morning dew and thought that the sea that stretched out in front of them was their meal. When they tried to eat it excitedly, they were surprised to find that the seawater was unexpectedly salty. As if it was Sousuke¡¯s fault, they swelled up their wet fur in anger to Sousuke. Sousuke wanted them to give him a break. Sousuke floated on his back in the exotic sea. In front of his eyes stretched out a sky that was in a distinctly different color than in Japan. Sometimes he could hear the voice of Satori frolicking with the white fluffy spirits, and he thought he was glad to have gone through the trouble to bring them here. Sousuke closed his eyes as he floated on the sea, enjoying the peaceful and restful moment that was far different from his usual daily life. That was when it happened. ¡°Ah! No, stop! Sousuke¡­!¡± There was a voice of Satori in a panic, and Sousuke opened his eyes immediately. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Satori?!¡± As Sousuke braced himself to see what had happened, he found the white fluffy spirits trying to swim with Satori¡¯s swim trunks in their mouth. Satori was squirming with a troubled and blushing face. After dinner, Sousuke went to the beach with Satori. With the cottage lights that lit up romantically, they walked hand in hand along the deserted beach. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Under the starry sky, Sousuke was at a loss for words in the face of the beautiful scenery that seemed to be out of this world. ¡°Back then, I used to see a starry sky like this at the village I used to live in. When I looked up at the sky, the stars were twinkling. It was so beautiful that I could gaze at it all night long without feeling bored.¡± It would be difficult to see such a view in Japan nowadays, with all the man-made buildings. Satori¡¯s expression was calm and happy as he sat beside Sousuke and talked about the past. Until he met Sousuke again, Satori had lived all alone. From Sousuke¡¯s point of view, it was such a long time that Satori had spent all alone. Sousuke had forgotten about his promise to Satori, but Satori mustered up the courage to come and see him. Satori even prepared himself for the possibility that he might disappear after meeting Sousuke one more time. Suddenly, Sousuke¡¯s chest was struck by a piercing pain. ¡°Sorry, Satori¡­!¡± (Sorry¡­!) He wondered why he had forgotten the promise he made with Satori, and why he had left him all alone. Sousuke hugged Satori, feeling regretful but unable to fully regret his actions. ¡°Sousuke?¡± Satori wriggled inside Sousuke¡¯s arms. Satori, who could read others¡¯ minds, must have heard Sousuke¡¯s regrets for sure. Chapter 26.4 Chapter 26 ¨C SS Satori¡¯s summer holidays (4) ¡°I¡¯m alright, you see?¡± Satori¡¯s hand touched Sousuke¡¯s head. That hand stroked Sousuke¡¯s hair gently and repeatedly as if to comfort him. ¡°Satori?¡± When Sousuke let go of his body, Satori was smiling happily. ¡°You see, I¡¯m really happy to be able to meet you, Sousuke. I was always alone in the village, but I didn¡¯t feel lonely at all when I thought that I could meet you again someday. Besides, I have this with me¡­¡± Satori rummaged through the collar of his T-shirt and pulled out the amethyst pendant that he always wore around his neck. ¡°When I thought that meeting you might be just a dream, this stone that you gave me told me that it wasn¡¯t. When I held this stone, it made me feel warm inside and reminded me of the times I spent with you. That¡¯s why, I didn¡¯t feel lonely at all.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Satori chuckled happily. Sousuke held on tightly to the feelings that were welling up in his chest and hugged Satori in his arms. As Satori asked ¡°Sousuke?¡±, Sousuke pushed his forehead against Satori¡¯s soft hair as if to hide the tears that were forming on the edge of his eyes. (Satori.) ¡°¡­I love you.¡± He used to think that the word ¡°I love you¡± only existed in foreign countries or movies. However, when he held Satori in his arms and sincerely faced his feelings, he couldn¡¯t find any other word that was fitting. It wasn¡¯t pity. It was just that when he thought of Satori, an overflowing feeling of love gushed out of him like hot water. It couldn¡¯t be called anything other than love. ¡°I like you too, Sousuke! I really like you!¡± Satori wrapped his arm around Sousuke¡¯s back and clung to him tightly. Sousuke placed his hand on Satori¡¯s cheek and kissed him softly. As soon as they returned to the cottage, Sousuke hugged Satori tightly. As he deepened the kiss, he touched Satori¡¯s skin that was more moist and warm than usual, from the hem of his shirt. As if reacting to Sousuke¡¯s caress, Satori¡¯s body started to relax. Sousuke carried Satori and headed for the bedroom, then laid him down on the bed. ¡°Ha¡­ mn, ah! Sousuke¡­¡± With his moist eyes dyed faintly, Satori let out a sweet moan that was very, very cute that Sousuke couldn¡¯t contain his excitement. (I like you.) ¡°Satori.¡± (I love you¡­) When Sousuke sucked on Satori¡¯s skin while pressing his nose against Satori¡¯s neck, Satori shivered. The sound of waves could be heard in the distance. The thin linen curtains swayed in the breeze as the moonlight fell in the blue darkness of the room. When Sousuke ran his hand over Satori¡¯s clothes, his fingers touched the white fluffy spirits. ¡°¡­You guys are in the way.¡± Sousuke kissed the eyes of Satori who asked ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±. Then he picked up the white fluffy spirits, who were jumping around as if claiming something, with his finger. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± After saying that to Satori, Sousuke hurried to the living room and dropped the two spirits on the sofa. Because he wanted to return to Satori as soon as possible, he ended up handling them somewhat roughly even though he didn¡¯t mean to. ¡°Be quiet there.¡± Leaving the white fluffy spirits protesting angrily there, Sousuke hurried back to the bedroom. He felt defeated when he saw Satori sleeping comfortably on the bed. ¡°Of course he would be tired after playing around so much¡­¡± After all, it was Satori¡¯s first time on a long flight and traveling abroad. He couldn¡¯t blame Satori for feeling tired and falling asleep. Satori¡¯s upper body was still halfway stripped, at the state Sousuke left him before. Seeing Satori sleeping in such an innocent state made Sousuke feel sorry for him, and he couldn¡¯t help but cry out inwardly with helplessness. (No matter what Satori says, I knew I should¡¯ve left them in Japan after all¡­!) However, seeing Satori who looked so happy sleeping in the dim moonlight made Sousuke feel peaceful. Sousuke had intended to do everything in his power to make sure Satori didn¡¯t feel hurt or feel sad ever again. He would never let Satori be alone again. He would do anything to make that happen. Satori smiled happily with his eyes closed as if he was having a pleasant dream. Seeing that, Sousuke¡¯s mouth naturally broke into a smile. ¡°Goodnight, Satori.¡± Have a nice dream. I hope you¡¯re always smiling, even in your dreams¡ª Sousuke combed Satori¡¯s hair and dropped a kiss on his forehead. Then he gently pulled a blanket over Satori, so as not to wake him. *** A certain day in August (Fri). Sunny. The ¡°overseas trip¡± was very fun. I rode an ¡°airplane¡± for the first time and swam in the beautiful sea that sparkled like a jewel, which I had seen on TV. Everything that I saw and ate there was all different from what I¡¯ve known up until now. I was so happy and felt like I was floating in a dream from being able to spend the whole day together with Sousuke. Sousuke always takes very good care of me. He cares about me even more than he cares about himself, so that I won¡¯t get hurt. I¡¯m so happy about it to the point that I think Sousuke might get the consequences for it. But, I¡¯m really alright now. I¡¯m not going to get hurt anymore. I¡¯m not alone now. From here on, no matter what happens in the future, I want to protect Sousuke too. I want to protect Sousuke so he can always smile, just like the way he thinks about me. All kinds of Gods and Dragon God. I hope that Sousuke will always stay healthy and happy. I hope I¡¯ll always be able to be with Sousuke. Please grant my wish¡­ A certain day in August (Sat). A sudden rain around noon. I cleaned the room that had accumulated a lot of dust while I was away, and started the washing machine. I made lunch together with Sousuke, then we ate it in the living room. After the rain let up, there was a very beautiful and big rainbow. Sousuke and I went out to the balcony to look at it. Today and the day after, we¡¯ll always be happy. END Chapter 27 Chapter 27 ¨C SS Happy Halloween! Satori was watching the news on the living room sofa with the white fluffy spirits. On the news, it was said that humans had made excessive commotion at the diagonal crossing in Shibuya to the point where someone was arrested yesterday. At the big crossing, a lot of humans dressed in weird costumes made a lot of commotion. ¡°It seems like tonight is called Halloween. While wearing a different costume than usual, if we¡­ what was it again? Ah, right! ¡­if we say ¡°trick or treat¡±, it seems like we can get lots of sweets.¡± In response to the word ¡°sweets¡±, the white fluffy spirits jumped up and down. Seeing the two spirits that seemed like saying ¡°We¡¯re going to do it, right?¡± Satori was surprised and said ¡°Huh? We¡¯re doing it too?¡±. *** As Sousuke left the TV Station, he noticed that the streets were more crowded than usual. Even though there were still two days left before the weekend, the area in front of the train station was so crowded as if it was a pedestrian zone on a holiday. On the way, he passed a parent and child. The girl who seemed to be an elementary schooler was wearing a costume that looked like a princess from a picture book. Sousuke then finally realized that tonight was Halloween. Ah, that¡¯s right, we¡¯re almost out of shampoo. Generally, Satori took care of everything around the house. Sousuke thought that whoever was available to do the housework could do it, and he also didn¡¯t mind if he had to do it all at once on the weekends when he was on his day off. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to skip cleaning the house for one or two days. When Sousuke told Satori that he shouldn¡¯t push himself too much, Satori had a puzzled expression on his face as if he didn¡¯t understand what Sousuke just said. Well, Satori didn¡¯t seem like he was pushing himself too much. On the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying himself. When they had just reunited, it was true that Satori didn¡¯t know how to do laundry and had messed up and covered the floor of the washroom with bubbles, but he had been steadily upgrading his housework skills through his efforts. Even so, Sousuke secretly decided that he would try to buy the heavy things by himself if possible. In the drugstore, Sousuke bought shampoo refills, tissues, and also toilet paper because it was on discount. It was a bit too bulky, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. In his left hand, he carried a box of pudding from a store that had recently become a hot topic on social media, which he got from a girl at the TV station. The reason was that he was seen when he secretly bought baked sweets as a souvenir for Satori, because he had enjoyed the baked sweets that were served at a previous interview. The next day, there was a rumor going around the TV station that Sousuke actually liked sweets but usually held back from it. Since then, he started to receive sweet things as a present from time to time. He bowed his head to the janitor at the entrance of the apartment building, then went up to the elevator. ¡°Satori, I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°We-welcome back!¡± He could hear Satori¡¯s panicked voice from the back of the room, but there was no sight of him. Sousuke thought that it was weird that Satori, who usually greeted him at the door, wasn¡¯t here. As Sousuke took off his shoes on the concrete floor, what he saw on the back of the room was¡ª ¡°Sousuke, trick or treat!¡± Satori was wearing a bright red costume, exposing his slender legs from the hem of his short pants, and squirming with a red face. In Satori¡¯s hand were Sousuke¡¯s socks being held tight as if it was something important, then the socks were being held out toward him. Next to Satori, the bouncing white fluffy spirits were wearing triangular hats like those worn at parties (but not the ones sold in the stores, when looked at closely, they were made from flyers by Satori). ¡°Sa-satori?!¡± The Santa costume that Satori was wearing looked very familiar to him. It was from last year¡¯s Christmas party where Satori went together with him. Satori was so cute in the Santa costume that Sousuke ended up buying it secretly after that. Since then, he had asked Satori several times if he wanted to try it on, only to be rejected by the embarrassed Satori. (What the hell is going on here?!) To tell the truth, Satori was so cute that he just wanted to push him down on the sofa right now, but that would be a bad idea. ¡°What¡¯s with the outfit?¡± Sousuke thought he should ask for the reason first. Then he put his hand around Satori¡¯s waist and sat beside him on the sofa. With Sousuke¡¯s reaction that was different from what he had expected, Satori had a visibly confused expression on his face. It was as if Sousuke could hear Satori¡¯s inner voice saying ¡°Did I make a mistake again?¡±. (Ahh, damn. He¡¯s so cute¡­!) ¡°Trick or treat? ¡­.H-huh?¡± Satori¡¯s eyes began to wander around restlessly and his cheeks gradually became flushed. The white fluffy spirits were jumping up and down furiously next to Satori, as if complaining about something. ¡°Argh¡­!¡± (So cute! So fricking cute!) Sousuke didn¡¯t know how to describe how he felt at that moment. He picked up the two spirits with his finger and tossed them aside. Then he hugged Satori who opened his lips saying ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°So-sousuke¡­? A-are you okay? Did I make a mistake again?¡± Sousuke tightly hugged Satori, who wrapped his arms around his back in concern as if wondering if something was wrong. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t make any mistake. There isn¡¯t anything wrong with this.¡± Satori¡¯s appearance was more of a cosplay than a costume. He had no idea how Satori could have misunderstood, but Satori¡¯s misunderstanding was nothing but good luck for him. (Ahh! Thank you, God!) While inwardly shouting such convenient words, Sousuke kissed Satori who was blinking his eyes. ¡°Happy Halloween, Satori.¡± ¡°Happy Halloween?¡± While a bit confused, Satori smiled and tried to imitate Sousuke¡¯s words. Needless to say, Sousuke then cleanly peeled off Satori¡¯s costume, and he was able to taste the most delicious sweets of all. END. Note: Thank you all for reading until the end! Please check out similar novels such as Virtual Alpha and I, Don¡¯t Call Me By My Username!, He Has a Sickness that Needs to be Cured, etc.