Chapter 27

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TL: Single TL Translations

Chapter 27

As we ate dinner, took a bath and relaxed together, Aoi showed me a new article on her phone.

That man was said to be over 30 years old, unemployed, and was still giving incomprehensible testimonies. I was treated as an ‘ordinary woman’. I never thought I would be in the news this way. I was so surprised I froze. Aoi had received quite a few calls from her parents and acquaintances because of the news. Her parents said they were particularly worried and seemed to be having a hard time, but it’s no wonder they would be worried if they had such a lovely daughter.

Aoi is going to return to work after resting for 2 to 3 days. It seems that this is a measure they took from worrying about Aoi, but since she’s popular, she can’t take too much time off. While we were sitting on the bed and talking about various things, Aoi leaned on my shoulder. When I naturally put my hand around the waist of the pampered-acting Aoi, and pulled her towards me, she put her hand over mine.

“Yamashita-san said she wanted to thank you again on a later day.”

“What? Thank me? She doesn’t need to.”

That manager is an upright person.

“She asked me for your contact information, but is okay to give it to her?”

“Hmm, well, there’s no helping it is there. Yeah, sure.”

“Okay.”

She just thanked me the other day—I guess she still has something to say. I’m really fine, but Aoi is a celebrity, and she probably has a lot going on at the office. I nodded for the time being. From then, Aoi kept silent for a while and then muttered a few words.

“I’m still lonely and anxious about being alone after all. And I’m a little scared. I feel safe when Yuki’s around but restless when you’re not here. I felt… uneasy when I was waiting alone.”

“I see. …It can’t be helped after what happened. I’ll try to be with you as much as possible. You may feel uneasy, but don’t worry, it won’t happen again. He was caught, so there’s no need to be scared.

I gently encouraged the anxious Aoi. If she’s anxious, I’ll encourage her again and again and talk to her until she’s no longer anxious. I don’t mind doing that for her.

“Yeah, thank you. That makes me feel at ease. …Hey, Yuki?”

“Yeah? What is it?”

Aoi stopped leaning on me and turned her body towards me, looking at me. I also turned my body to Aoi a little and she held my hand with both of hers. There are times when Aoi touches me excessively like this when she wants to tell me something.

“Thank you. Really. Thank you so much… for being with me. I don’t know what I would have done without you. Thank you for protecting me, Yuki.”

“What’s wrong? So suddenly. You’re making me feel shy.”

I smiled slightly and squeezed back her hand. It was embarrassing to be thanked face-to-face so much.

“You’ve been helping me for a long time now… and I just wanted to say thank you.”

“You don’t need to. I just did the obvious thing. If someone’s in trouble or in need, it’s normal to help.”

“Still. I wanted to say it. …Because I was very happy.”

I nodded to Aoi who said so strongly. Lately I feel that this girl has been expressing her feelings more and more clearly without my encouraging. I was so happy about that.

“I see. Then, you’re welcome? I guess.”

“Yeah. …And so… I also want to… thank you in some way. I’ll be relying on you from now on too, since I’m already relying on you now. Is there anything… I can do?”

“Hmm, even if you want to thank me in that way, it’s not like I did it hoping for some kind of reward. Plus, I’m always helping myself to your cooking—I don’t need anything.”

I became troubled by the fact that I’m being asked what I want when I didn’t do it to receive a thanks. She really is an honest girl. And I don’t really think I did anything for her either. If you’re a friend and you care about someone, then you probably don’t want anything in return. Rather, I feel like I’m the one receiving more as she cooks for me every time.

“Cooking, that’s nothing. I do it because I want to… anyone can do it well. I-Is there nothing? I think I can do reasonably well… I want you to let me do something for you. You always do everything I ask… you listen to everything, so… I want to… give something back.”

“Even if you say that…”

I’m at a loss for words and don’t know what to do with Aoi who still won’t back down. There’s nothing. But perhaps Aoi is in a hurry because she thinks there’s nothing she can do for me. I’m sure she’s saying all this because she doesn’t want to be hated—she’s afraid she’ll be hated from relying on me too much. I think the reason for the desperate manner in speaking is because she’s in a hurry. I wonder if she reacted hypersensitively because I was injured by this incident. Aoi has been sensitive to being hated from before, reluctant with it to the extreme. She’s driving herself into a corner because of her complex. I dared to touch the crux of the matter. To deny it.

“Are you saying that because you don’t want to be hated?”

“Huh? …”

She lowered her gaze in surprise. The silence seemed to hit home, Aoi darkened her expression and squeezed my hand tightly. I knew it. This girl really lacks self-confidence. The strong complex is still deep-rooted, and with the combination of this incident has probably made her more insecure. Aoi’s negative attitude makes me sad.

“Can’t you trust me?”

“Y-You’re wrong! It’s not like that! …It’s not like that. I’m always relying on you and… being spoiled… that’s why…”

I continued in place of the silent Aoi.

“So, you thought I got sick of you and would hate you?”

“…Uh-huh.”

“Because Aoi’s needy and binds me?”

“…Y-Yeah.”

“Do you feel responsible for my injury?”

“…U-Uu…Uh…huh.”

I was asking her gently, but I made her cry at the end. It makes me sad that I was right about everything I thought Aoi was thinking about. I was frustrated by the fact that while I wanted to erase her anxiety, it wasn’t working well. It’s natural to be emotionally unstable after something like that, but I made her look up at me using one hand and stared into her tear-stained eyes. Aoi also stared at me while crying, so I gently smiled at her.

“Hey, Aoi? I like Aoi, I won’t hate you. I don’t know if that’s the right way to put it, but even if you’re needy, or binding me, I like you so much that I don’t mind. This injury is nothing as long as Aoi is safe, okay? I told you not to worry about it, didn’t I?”

“Uh…huh.”

I continued further to erase the anxiety from the crying Aoi.

“Also, I meant what I said yesterday about staying by your side, never leaving. Well, if it works out with the person you like then that’ll be his role. Until then, I plan to stay by your side. I won’t leave you alone. And even if things do work out, we’ll always be together. You still can’t believe me? Are you anxious?”

“No…”

When she shook her head, the tears overflowed and fell on my hand. I’m used to seeing the crying Aoi cry often, but it’s hard to watch her. I want this girl to smile as much as possible—I want her to have happy memories. I bring my face close to Aoi’s and kiss her on the cheek so as to convey my feelings and erase Aoi’s anxiety.

“I like you; I really do. I won’t come to hate you.”

I whispered as to reassure her. I’m still not used to kissing her, but after repeating it a few times, I look into her eyes. This might seem weird and strange under normal circumstances, but it’s normal for us. An act that eliminates anxiety and provides reassurance. A kiss that comforts Aoi who cries from anxiety. I know that I’m being swept by Aoi, but there’s a part of me that can’t reject her.

That’s because when I’m with Aoi, I can see darkness within her—I can touch it. That’s why I wanted to help her. The Aoi who smiles with such heavy feelings directed at me is so fragile—I’m the only one who didn’t want to deny her. I didn’t want to hurt Aoi, who’s already been hurt by being denied, anymore.

“I’m sorry. …I was thinking about all kinds of thing I don’t like when I was alone… I became really anxious…”

Aoi, staring at me at close range, murmured with tears in her eyes. I kissed her near her eyes as if to wipe her tears away.

“It’s okay. I was a little saddened by it, but I forgive you.”

“…I’m sorry. …Thank you.”

“It’s okay, really.”

Aoi, who had been closing her eyes when I kissed her eye, opened and looked at me with wet eyes. The tears seem to have receded. But I can’t take my eyes off Aoi with such an expression. I kissed her all over her face as if I was being sucked in, strangely nervous about what just happened. I close my eyes when I kiss her and open them while I move away. Aoi did the same and then looked at me when I moved away. She would stare at me, her eyes gradually holding heat, a passionate gaze that won’t look away. I was so charmed by her eyes filled with desire that I felt like this shouldn’t go on, so at the end, I kissed the side of her lips before pulling away.

“Are you relieved?”

I asked, pretending that I didn’t understand anything. Aoi clearly looked disappointed. It was a palpable sign of what she was asking for.

“Yeah. …But …do it more.”

“More?”

“…Uh-huh. I want you to… do it more.”

“…Then just a little bit more, okay?”

I wasn’t able to say no to her pleading insistence in the end and laughed a little. Aoi, who is looking at me feverishly again, seemed to be expecting something besides the reassurance. I can’t go any further. While I think so, I can’t stop. I was swayed by looking at this girl showing a woman’s expression for the first time, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Aoi, who’s always been so cute, is seeking me with flushed cheeks and eyes. I wonder what really happened to me. It looks so attractive that it makes me lose my power of reason.

Aoi let out a small sigh as I gently and carefully kissed her cheeks, forehead, eyes and nose. Ahh, I really can’t. It was enough to stimulate me and when I slowly stopped, Aoi squeezed my hand and whispered to me as if begging.

“Yuki… do it… here too.”

Aoi touched her lips with her own fingers as she looked at me with enraptured eyes. Her eyes, her movements, and her voice aroused and shook my reason violently. Her moist eyes seemed to be seeking me and I naturally put my hand on Aoi’s cheek and kissed her lips as if I was being pulled in. It was just a fleeting kiss, but it was so soft and felt so good that I kept kissing Aoi’s lips over and over again as if pecking at them. Aoi’s eyes were as enraptured as before, and she accepted me without any reluctance.

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