Volume 1 - CH 63

I suddenly called out to her, and Himekawa cut her finger.

It was my mistake. I should have looked carefully before I called out to her.

“Hey, are you all right?”

I hurriedly took Himekawa’s hand and immediately washed her finger with running water.

Then, I took a clean cloth from the tea chest and put it on the place where I had cut myself.

“It’s all right. Please don’t take it so seriously. It’s just a small cut.”

“I’m sorry for suddenly calling out to you.”

“No, I was careless too. Please don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll get you a bandage now, so sit down and wait for me.”

Himekawa sat down on a chair and I rushed back to Himekawa with a first-aid kit in my hand.

Then I took out a bandage from the first-aid kit.

“Come on, give me your finger.”

“No, I can do it myself.”

“Come on. Don’t be shy.”

“Okay…”

I kneel down in front of Himekawa who is sitting on a chair and took her hand.

I took the white, thin hand and looked at the fingertip that had been cut off.

It was just a small cut, just a few millimeters. Thank God, it was nothing serious.

I gently put a bandage on the finger, and while holding the hand as it is, I look closely at the finger that has been cut.

Yes, it looks fine. I’m glad, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a big wound.

I look up and see Himekawa looking at me.

Her face is slightly smiling, and I think her cheeks are slightly reddish.

“What’s wrong? Does it hurt?”

“…It doesn’t hurt. Thanks, Tsukasa-kun.”

—Dokin! [TLN: We all know what sfx this is]

I felt my heart beat faster.

Himekawa called me by my first name. It may be just a boarding house rule, but suddenly it is not good for my heart.

I have never been called by a girl by my first name. How should I react?

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it, Anri?”

We didn’t speak a word to each other, but our eyes remained glued to each other, as time passed by.

From the outside, it would appear that they were holding hands and staring at each other.

I look like a knight taking the hand of a princess sitting on a chair and pledging their loyalty to her.

No way that’s the case!

My heart is on the verge of exploding. I have completely lost track of when to let go of her hand.

Moreover, I called Himekawa by her first name, but I slightly stuttered.

Should I rephrase it? I want Himekawa’s reaction as soon as possible. What should I do?

Should I continue to wait for Himekawa’s response?

—Kacha!

“Tsukasa? What are you doing holding Anri-chan’s hand?”

Huh? Oh, no, it’s not that, okay?

I rushed to let go of Himekawa’s hand.

Himekawa was also holding her own hand, though her cheeks were a little red.

“I cut my finger a little bit…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was just putting a band-aid on it.”

“Hmmm… ……. Anri, I think I can take a bath soon, do you want to join me today?”

“Eh? With you?”

“Yes. Let’s get naked together, woman to woman.”

“Haaah…”

“Tsukasa, you go study.”

“Yes, yes, yes. ……”

“No peeking.”

“No peeking!”

“Okay, I’m going to go do a little laundry before I take a bath.”

“Yes, that’s all right. It will take a little longer for the hot water to come in. And I’ll continue washing the dishes.”

“Thank you very much. I’m sorry for bothering you.”

“No, you’re not. Don’t worry about it!”

Then Mom stood in the kitchen and Himekawa went back to her room.

I put the chair Himekawa was sitting on back in its place and went to the living room alone again.

Why am I so tired with just one more person in the house, Mom?

I’m several times more tired than usual even though I haven’t done any housework today.

And do I have to call Himekawa “Anri”?

Just thinking about it, I hear a creaking sound coming from the pen in my hand.

—

After a while, I hear the sound of the washing machine spinning and two women’s high-pitched voices coming from outside the room.

I don’t hear anything soft or smooth.

This is a place of no thoughts. I have to be mindless.

I must be strong in my mind and study hard!

“I’m done!”

“Thank you for waiting.”

With the two of them finishing their baths, I get ready for my own bath and head to the bathroom.

Himekawa was in her head towel and pajamas as usual, but Mom was wandering around the room in just a bath towel.

It’s been that way for a long time, and I hope she’ll get out of that habit soon…

“I’m going to take a bath too.”

“Yes.”

Himekawa was sitting on a chair silently, perhaps exhausted or perhaps she was just plain tired.

I have no way of knowing what happened in the bathroom.

—

Haaaah… It calms me down…

I enter the bathtub by myself and slowly relax to relieve the fatigue of the day.

For some reason, today’s hot water is a little cloudy and white, unlike usual.

My mother must have put in some bath salts or something.

I don’t dislike it this way. I love hot springs.

I get boiled up nicely too and leave the bathroom.

As I was heading to the kitchen to drink some milk, I saw Himekawa standing alone in front of the washing machine.

She is holding something like a piece of paper in her hand and is reading it without moving a bit.

Because of the earlier incident, I call out to Himekawa from somewhat far away in a voice that she can hear.

“Himekawa, what are you looking at?”

The washing machine that Himekawa was supposedly running has already stopped running.

And Himekawa herself was not moving. It was as if time had stopped.

She shook her shoulders, hid a piece of paper in her hand behind her back, and turned around to face me.

Is there something she didn’t want me to see?

“Tsukasa-kun! Oh, you got out of the bath.”

My heart beats a little faster when she calls me by my first name.

Himekawa is able to say it without biting her tongue, perhaps as a result of practice.

I’ll practice on my own later too…

“Hmm? Yeah, I just finished. What are you doing?”

Himekawa is acting very suspiciously. She is also somewhat withdrawn.

“Nothing! Never mind!”

I’m curious to hear her say that. What was she hiding?

Love letters, perhaps!　I’m sure I heard that she received quite a few, but what about these days?

I’m very curious.

I decided to pursue the matter a little further.

“Did you by any chance get a love letter from someone?”

“No! I didn’t!”

“I see… Then what did you hide behind your back?”

“Oh… Uh, it’s a secret!”

Eh, it’s making me curious.

“Is it something bad for me to see?’

“Eh, no, not really, but ……”

“Oh! Maybe it’s a picture of a guy you’re interested in!”

Then Himekawa looked a little angry.

Huh? That wasn’t it?

“Not at all! I didn’t take any pictures!”

Oh? If she didn’t take any pictures, does that mean that Himekawa has the man of her dreams?

I bet the guy who wins Himekawa’s heart must be handsome in his own way, like a prince on a white horse!

That’s what I would have thought before.

But now I am different. Who in the world is this guy? Who is this guy Himekawa is interested in?

Is it someone I know? That’s not good. I’m bothered and bothered and bothered. ……

Huh? Why do I feel that way? What’s this bewilderment?

“I’m sorry. Don’t be so angry, I won’t ask you anymore.”

As soon as I turned my back to Himekawa, she grabbed my arm.

What, is there something more? Could it be that she is very angry?

I turn around, a little nervous, and see Himekawa with a red face.

Oh, you are quite upset, aren’t you? I am very sorry.

“Don’t you recognize this picture?”

Himekawa held out a piece of paper like the one she had hidden earlier and showed it to me.

The moment I saw it, I wanted to run away from this place.

I saw Himekawa’s picture right in front of me.

At the same time, I heard a voice in the distance.

“Hey, Tsukasa! You got out of the bath! There were some things in your uniform pockets, so I took them out! You’d better collect them!”

My eyes went from the picture to the washing machine.

Pens, student notebooks, and various other things were still on top of the washing machine that Mom had started.