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Let’s hold a picnic, she said.
“…Tsukasa-san, earlier you asked me ‘Isn’t there something you need to tell me?’, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s exactly right. It is very important.”
The Tsukasa-san from ten years ago sat across from me in the Tsutsukakushi Household from ten years ago, while I looked like the Yokodera-kun from ten years ago. The hardness belonged to a child, but the softness to an adult, and I had been reborn as the wise Youto-kun.
As for how this even happened, I’m sure that most of you have already forgotten, as have I, so we’re in the same boat! I’m not to blame, you’re not to blame, only the world is to blame.
Anyway, seriously speaking, this tendency to forget things is actually a disease I earned myself from saving a girl in my past. I call it the price for being a hero. Since that’s just how it is, I can conveniently recall the events that led up to this point, as this is part of my character.
The origin of this situation is Steel-san’s disease. To sum it up, it’s related to the old tradition of the Tsutsukakushi Family—a curse that leads to short life. I need to do something about this prophesied tragedy. Thus, we used the super-beautiful Cat God-chan who disregards this world’s god Kantoku-sama, and I kissed her over and over to scar her for the rest of her endless days to give us a chance to go back in time.
Back and forth, forth and back, left and right, right and left, as a jack of all trades, a god myself, I cleared everything up. Happy End, yay~
…That’s about what happened. Probably. It’s not like it matters too much, but my subjective view is greatly distorted in the perverted sense, so any sort of explanations and experiences might be twisted by these values, so I might end up saying something that didn’t even happen.
Those good children among you who want to hear an objective summary, please read the roughly eight volumes of the Yokodera-kun notes written by Tsukiko-chan. With tears running down my eyes, after a lot of effort, slapping, and running, I finally remembered why I was here.
—And yeah, I’m actually crying right now.
*
“You might not believe me, and you might get angry at me, but… it is so very important.” I rubbed my eyes several times as I sat in the center of the Tsutsukakushi Household’s banquet hall which faced the garden.
My heart belonged to a high school student, but my body belonged to a child, which caused me to let out tears even if I didn’t want to.
“Don’t make such a face. I told you earlier, right? It’s the joy of an adult to do something for a child.” Tsukasa-san just continued smiling.
I utterly failed to chase out the stand-in who came from Italy. Tsukasa-san had to clean up after me, yet again reminding me how much of a child I was.
“I’m sorry, Tsukasa-san.”
I should have just averted my eyes and lived in this world acting like I didn’t know anything. But, eventually, I have to leave this miniature garden. I can’t stay Peter Pan forever. I can’t become anybody else, as I am a worthless brat. And that realization is almost unbearable. However, I can’t move forward without addressing this.
“Please hear me out.” I rubbed my eyes. My nose was stuffed, and I was desperately moving my mouth to form the words.
“Mm.” Tsukasa-san nodded and gave me a kind smile.
Almost as if she had guessed the words that were about to follow. Pressed by her kind smile, my tongue relaxed.
“I came from the future. The person you are talking to is actually me from ten years in the future.”
I said the words that utterly contradicted everything in this world.
“…Mm…” Tsukasa-san’s gaze was waving around in the air, aimless.
It’s not that she was just disregarding my words as mindless childish banter. She didn’t just nod to silence the topic. She probably blinked, and chewed on my words. Afraid of her reaction, I kept speaking.
“The Steel-san in the future… suffers from a helpless disease. No matter what I do, no matter how many times I go back, it’s like the future is already decided. So I thought that I might find the root of the problem here. That’s why I prayed to the Cat God and traveled back in time… Ah, um… we knew about the Cat God beforehand. A lot of stuff happened. That reminds me, this is actually the second time I’ve gone back to the past, but not exactly in this shape…” I knew that my words ended up not making much sense.
I myself felt baffled by how much I was panicking. An endless time loop, a warp in time, the second time leap… everything just sounded so fishy and unbelievable.
“…What am I even saying…? I’m sure that this must be causing trouble for you, Tsukasa-san…” I grew silent.
Nobody other than I was talking. A painful silence filled this large residence. The usually loud Steel-san was out playing (bullying) her new friend Maimaki Mai, also known as MaiMai. Innocent peace reigned in this location.
“…I’m sorry.” I looked at my lap, resting on top of this old tatami floor, and lowered my head.
It felt like my quiet voice reverberated loudly. Maybe all I ever did was bother her after all, I thought. I came to this miniature garden of happiness and disrupted it. You can’t just repaint a painting at the museum. Even if the picture might look better later on, you were still committing a crime. That brought up a question—Should I really have come here?
Finally…
“Hm…” Above my head, I heard a complicated sigh coming from Tsukasa-san.
Or I thought it might have been a simple sigh. I couldn’t quite understand the meaning behind the sigh. Yet again, a short silence ensued.
“…The past, huh?” Tsukasa-san muttered. “Well, I guess this right now is the ‘Past’ for you.”
Her words were much easier to understand than the sigh. They were twinged with sadness.
“I wonder what the future looks like.”
I carefully raised my body, but I couldn’t meet eyes with the person in front of me. She stared into the void like she was envisioning a reality out of her grasp. Most likely, she already understood. Understood that she doesn’t exist in that future.
Unable to affirm or deny her assumptions, I merely kept my eyes shut.
*
That’s when it happened.
“—You called for me.”
The porch’s sliding door opened. I heard footsteps approaching the low dining table, not even trying to hide themselves.
“I will explain everything about the future, as I have watched it from an objective point of view.” A five-year old girl gave me a wink.
“Tsukiko-chan…”
Thanks to her consciousness being transferred into her young body, she became the greatest possible living organism: A high-school student Tsutsukakushi in the body of the young Tsukiko-chan. She’s super strong, even as a child.
“…Huh, I see.” Tsukasa-san rested her face on her chin and made a brief remark, almost like that was the extent of everything the both of us just said.
On the outside, she looked like a healthy five-year old, but she talked like an adolescent girl, which must be quite shocking, and almost incomprehensible to her. At the same time, what Tsukiko-chan held was…
“A drawing?”
Drawing paper and crayons. I had no idea what she was planning on doing, so I just tilted my head.
“I figured we would need some drawings to be able to explain everything, so please look at this.”
“…Mm.” Tsukasa-san still seemed a bit suspicious, and Tsukiko-chan opened the drawing paper, placing it down on the dining table.
Then she grasped the skin-colored crayon. As she had taught at the children’s welfare club, artist Moonchiild created light inside the blank world of the paper. Painting at the speed of light, Tsukiko-chan puffed out her chest after she was finished.
“This is me from the future.” She announced proudly.
“Let me see.”
“From the future…?”
Tsukasa-san took a peek at it, and I was at a loss for words at this before-after self-portrait. The nose of an eagle, the lips of a duck, her excessive bodyline emphasized with indecent and revealing clothes, gorilla chest muscles on this Paris collection model. That’s what the future Tsukiko supposedly looked like.
“…Um?” I tilted my head even more in confusion.
She looked at the painting with pride, like she had just won a contest.
“I don’t mean to brag, but I think it turned out wonderful.”
“Tsukiko-chan, um…”
“Correct. All the best genes of the Tsutsukakushi family have been inherited by me, breaking all limits. I am the mysterious apocalypse second coming max star rank, the ultimately advanced lifeform, yes.”
“Well…”
“I have two dynamite drills ready to pierce the heavens in my chest, a crystal-bomb behind, shaking back and forth at the smallest movements, luxurious and gorgeous, charming man after man—”
“I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re in your element right now, Tsukiko-chan, but can I have a moment?”
“…What is it?” Tsukiko-chan let out a disappointed snort from being interrupted during her impassioned speech, and looked at me. “I’m at the good part. Get straight to the point please.”
“So, well, um… we were talking about something very important, so I’m a bit unsure about how you’re supposedly doing missionary work to change the future…”
“???” Tsukiko-chan tilted her head, utterly confused.
What a cute gesture.
“What could you possibly be talking about? Please state it clearly.”
“You’re being a bother, so could you leave us alone for a moment?”
“!!!” Tsukiko-chan froze.
What a cute gesture.
“Bother. The dynamite drill me is a bother…”
She stood up on wobbly feet, walking towards me while swaying to the left and right. She put her arm on my shoulder, who was grinning, and pulled me closer like she was trying to discuss something. Our lips are terribly close, see. I can feel your breath, the breath of a young girl.
“What are you saying, Senpai. What exactly is missionary work to change the future? I feel like putting it that way is awfully rude.”
“Y-Yeah…?” I couldn’t find the right words to reply.
She made the face of a lawyer who had just found the root of all evil. She gave Tsukasa-san a few glances, as if to show that she was in the right.
“I merely drew the truth. Showing the state in the future. Yes. That’s great. For crying out loud. That was close. We made up.”
“Were we about to break up or something…?”
Tsukiko-chan wasn’t planning on making up some fake future to tell her mother, was she? She was making even less of an objective explanation than I. How is that even possible? Of course, you tend to forget about how much of a proactive girl she is, so you have to look at her criminal record, such as the typhoon last summer, the endless time loop, and all of that.
Since this is a fluffy-world romcom-style youth story, this is forgotten, but if this was a morality-based RPG world, she’d be the final boss, for sure. Tsukiko-chan expresses her feelings in a really heavy-handed way. Yet her chest doesn’t grow any heavier! It’s pretty cute, to be honest.
“You shouldn’t say such thoughtless things in front of Tsukasa-san… I mean Mother.” Cute Last Boss-chan hopped onto my lap, wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing her forehead at me with material and spiritual force. “No matter how I look at it, this picture represents the truth and only the truth. Right? Right.”
“I didn’t even say anything yet…”
“Do you plan on saying anything?”
“I would like to.”
“You would like to. Of course you can. You have the freedom of speech after all. However, I have the right to confine, detain, and silence you all the same.”
“I don’t think you understand how freedom of speech works!”
Painful rubbing, sizzling, and squeezing sounds came from my forehead, as heat started being emitted as Tsukiko-chan’s hot breath hit my lips. I sat cross-legged, opening both my arms to restrain Tsukiko-chan. It might sound like this posture is quite enjoyable, but it’s really not. In other words, this is just harassment.
“If you resist this much, then it can’t be helped. Modern society is based on clinical trials. If you have concrete proof, then show it to me.”
“C-Concrete proof?”
“If you don’t, then that settles it. It’s a legal win in court, yes. The defendant, myself, decides the result and declares this picture to be absolutely accurate and reality.”
“So it’s reality, huh?”
“This is a social rule of modern civilization. You cannot argue against that.”
“Hmmm…” I let out a groan, unable to fight against the young Tsukiko-chan.
I feel like our relationship hasn’t much changed from before. Also, we know that in the future Tsukiko-chan’s body hasn’t grown all that much, so even if you ask me for proof or stuff like that, I don’t know what to say. Compared to all the wicked girls around me, it almost looks like Yokodera-kun is the same. There’s no way I can argue with reason if I’m the only one who has it.
Judging from the various high-quality wireless cameras set up in the bathroom of the Tsutsukakushi Household’s changing room, filming from every angle over 721 hours, and analyzing this data, then I san say with full confidence that nothing has changed about Tsukiko-chan’s flat and white plain on her chest. Maybe a millimeter’s difference of growth can be added… However, when I told her of my research…
“…Apologize right away. The more honest, the less it will hurt, yes.”
“Oh, what about the trial? I think I used some logical proof to attest to my point.”
“A pervert has no human rights. All you get is being pulverized to ashes.”
“My, how scary~”
Not allowing any arguing, Tsukiko-chan quickly switched to full Berserker style. She changed into a scaredy cat and started biting me. Thus, my recorded proof was damned to be deleted, and it was shown yet again that civilization has not won this time, but rather violence and the entity Tsukiko-chan… Mm, not bad, actually.
And thus…
“Bite me! Bite me some more! Bite me all over!”
“Like this? Like this? Grrr, nom, nom.”
“Ughhhhh! Right there! One more time!”
“Gah, gah, nom.”
“Heeeeeeeek!”
Bite marks and saliva of the young Tsukiko-chan were all over Yokodera-kun’s body, which made me kind of excited, like we were doing some kind of natural predator roleplay.
“The heck is going on…?” Tsukasa-san held her head in defeat.
Oh crap, I totally didn’t forget but seriously forgot about her. We were too busy flirting. I had been wondering why some charming music was playing in the background, but that actually turned out to be the dying brain cells of Tsukasa-san screaming in agony.
“How do I say this…? Like seriously, what am I even supposed to say…? What kind of relationship do you two have in the future…?”
She must feel like a mother who just happened to see her beloved and naive daughter walking off into the sunset holding hands with her boyfriend. She’s probably overwhelmed from seeing her young daughter in such a questionable relationship. If you phrase it differently, she’s an amateur. A virgin, with no experience in this business. A newlywed wife…
Oh? I’m starting to feel a bit weird. I’d love to have Tsukasa-san bite me like a cat and test the bedsprings. When I offered her my hand, with the kitten Tsukiko-chan still gnawing on my head, the newlywed wife of the Tsutsukakushi Household stood up as if to run away.
“Ah, Tsukasa-san—”
She avoided my gaze. Instead, she was looking at the time. It was an afternoon on a normal Saturday, and the clock was moving forward.
“She’ll be home soon, so go change your clothes. We’ll be taking a trip.”
“…A trip?”
Tsukiko-chan’s gnawing stopped. My skin was wet from her drool. The two of us lined up, watching Tsukasa-san walk into the distance.
*
“—Yes. Thank you very much. Tomorrow I will—”
From the gaps of the banquet hall’s sliding doors, I could hear Tsukasa-san’s voice. It felt like a really impersonal call. That she just was calling the other person for some business or transaction. Just who did she contact? Maybe some hospital with white walls that’ll lock up a boy who loves fantasies? Or maybe she’s calling the police with their black walls to ensure the safety of her beloved daughter? It’s quiz time! There’s an easy 50/50 chance to guess the correct answer! Where will Yokodera-kun end up!?
Tsukiko-chan looked at me. Oddly enough, Tsukasa-san didn’t just laugh off what we had said. At the same time, she wasn’t stating anything too positive. Just like time moves on mercilessly, nothing is endless. To us, it was the past, but for Tsukasa-san, she was met with this in her present. People just appeared in front of her who stated they travelled in time, and were practically telling her that she had failed. Honestly speaking, this situation seemed really bad. I had been warned, but I had tasted the same fate as the hoodie-wearing man. True time travel trouble was what I had experienced. And yet I failed to explain it properly.
“I thought I did a good job drawing it…” Tsukiko-chan still sat on my lap.
That phrasing was a bit bad. But Senpai is a pervert. You’re not wrong about that, but… Grrr, nom nom. Aheeek!
We basically passed the responsibility onto each other. We spent our time like this, and Tsukasa-san finally came back.
“Well, the picture turned out just fine.” She looked at the paper on top of the table.
And then…
“Tsukiko. I know what you look like in the future.”
“…Eh?” Tsutsukakushi let out a baffled voice, and Tsukasa-san shrugged her shoulders.
“You came here before, didn’t you? The first day Tsukushi and Tsukiko came back. That was you looked like as high school students, right?”
“Ah…” Tsutsukakushi grew quiet.
“When I thought back on it, you came from the future. That’s why you knew so much, and disappeared so quickly.”
That’s right. That was the first time we went back to the past. It was like… we had been deceiving her this entire time.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you back then…”
“Don’t apologize, shitty brat.” A sharp voice interrupted me. “…Well, you basically saw what happened in the future. You earned this, I guess.” Tsukasa-san shook her head and nodded.
It was like she was trying to swallow the situation.
“I definitely cannot ignore that you gave me back my children.” And then, “—Thank you, Yokodera Youto.” She showed me a gaze like she was ready to accept everything.
Everybody could tell. Even I could. It went through the young me, and seemed like she was looking for something important, like she was taking a peek at the future. It was an awfully kind and heart-wrenching gaze.
“More importantly, what are you brats doing? Go and get ready.” Tsukasa-san shrugged.
“…Um, get ready for what?” Unable to guess her intention, I just repeated the word like a parrot.
“—I have returned! I repeat, I have returned!”
I heard the Emperor’s voice coming from the entrance. Steel-san has returned, it appears! Let everyone know that our great King has safely made her way back to the Tsutsukakushi Household.
“I desire a meal! My stomach is requesting emergency rations! Right now!”
…I’m not too sure what she’s trying to say, but I guess everything worked out with Maimai and she’s in a good mood now. I can even hear her hopping in joy.
“I came, I saw, I won, and then I came back! The enemy has been defeated, unable to rival me!”
When I saw the young Tsukushi-chan acting this energetic, I couldn’t help but flash a relieved smile. Also, as a side note, ‘Gonnosuke1’ is what she calls MaiMai, which is an affectionate nickname. I hate to say it, but she talks kinda like a man at times.
“Look at this proof of victory!”
She didn’t even show the scratches on her elbows and knees. Instead, she was waving something in her hand.
“…Hey, is that possibly…?”
“Indeed, they are Gonnosuke’s panties.”
“Yaaaaay!” I jumped in joy.
Indeed, they were Maimaki Mai-chan’s pumpkin panties.
“Did you really steal them from her drawer? You’d better return those later, I swear…” I heard Tsukasa-san grumble, but I’m pretty sure she took them straight off the girl herself.
After all, I’m a professional researcher of MaiMai’s underwear. What is even going on with Kou-chan and Ma-chan? Do girls nowadays fight to the death and steal each other’s underwear? I’m lost. Can I watch the live replay instead? All I can imagine is MaiMai awakening to her fetish, and I’d love to be there to see the origin of it.
“Mother, I inquire of thee, what will there be for lunch?!” She opened the panties like a flag, presenting it with pride.
“For now, it’s time to change. U-turn.” Tsukasa-san gave instructions.
“Yu… teurn? Hm, I know what that is. Is it delicious?”
“…Turn around to the right. I’ll bring it outside, so take Tsukiko-chan with you.”
“…Is that so?” Steel-san gave a vague response and walked back the way she came.
The young girl Steel-san was quite wise, but her clumsiness never vanished, huh? Tsukiko-chan and I looked at each other again, and one of us asked Tsukasa-san.
“Going outside? But where?”
“Huh? Out for a picnic, of course.” Tsukasa-san spoke like it was the most natural thing in the world, and gave us a faint smile.
*
Carrying the basket and soup bottle that Tsukasa-san had prepared, as well as the warm blanket, we left the house. Why a picnic? Where a picnic? There were many things to ask, but at the very least, we received an answer for the latter question. We walked along the long stone wall, and took a turn—leading us to the hill with the cedar tree.
It hadn’t been properly taken care of in this timeline either, and the ground was covered with long grass, each strand entangling with each other. The rusty fence only barely created a barrier between wild grass and human civilization.
“It’s the same.” I was baffled.
Nothing had changed. The three people walking in front of me even looked like familiar high school students to me. This is the same path I took when praying for the first time with Barbara-san. The same path I walked up with the stony girl. The same narrow road I took when carrying the pyjama girl to get my belt back. Everything began here.
Fragments of distant memories gathered inside of my head, and my gaze raced through the vast sky. When did all of that happen? And will it happen again? Or was that just some faraway scene from my childhood? Nothing has changed here. Even if I forget everything down the road, this scenery will stay in Yokodera Youto’s memories.
“…What happened?”
Since I was just standing next to the fence, spacing out, Tsukasa-san came back to me. I felt oddly happy about that, and I just pointed at some random grass in excitement, which earned me a pitying gaze from Tsukasa-san.
“What are you on about…?”
“I was trying to show off my childishness.”
“Seriously, what are you talking about? Is this how you hold a conversation in the future as well? Come on, get a grip.” She sighed at me.
I’m aware of the time and situation, so leave me alone! I’m ENJOYING the NOW, a proper FRESH YOUTH, don’t you agree!? I’m ADJUSTING myself. Science fiction has a kind worldview for the old man. It allows you to take back something you lost in your childhood. All you Onii-chans who are feeling unfulfilled, go back in time right now!
When we climbed up the last bit of the hill, the wood-carved stony cat statue—wasn’t waiting for us. So it hasn’t been made yet during this time? Nothing stood by the base of the tree. An out-of-season warm breeze hit us, and the grass swayed in the wind. In this world, before the pages of life turned, nature spread before anything began.
It was a clear day during this calm afternoon. Barely any wind blew, and the sky shone with transparent light, creating a still life painting like inside a picture frame. Nothing obstructed this natural view, and time itself felt like it was at a standstill. It was a perfect day for a picnic, to be honest.
“On days like these, you’ve gotta take a picnic outside.” Tsukasa-san looked around the hill and nodded.
Like she had really taken a liking to that phrase, she repeated it.
“On days like these, you’ve gotta take a picnic outside.”
Choosing a flatter patch of ground on the hill, we put down the blanket and prepared the food and drinks we brought with us. I was responsible for the basket and soup bottle, Tsukasa-san the blanket, and Tsukiko-chan was being led by Steel-san.
“You did great walking all this way, Tsukiko.”
“…Mm…” Praised, Tsukiko-chan gave a bashful nod.
It appears like she had decided to act like a child in front of her older sister. These two sisters had been holding hands that entire time, drenched with sweat, and the hem of her skirt had scratches and a bit of dirt here and there.
After Tsukasa-san put down the blanket, we sat down in a circle, and our lunch atop the hill began. When I opened the basket, I could see sandwiches filled with bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, all sorts of ingredients with all possible colors. Inside the soup bottle was miso soup, still steaming hot. It seems like it’d be enough to warm ourselves up.
Well, to be a bit more accurate, the sandwiches were much bigger than our small hands could hold, not to mention quite clumsily made, and I could see some tofu bits swimming in the miso soup as well. Every single item on the menu was… uneven, or awkwardly made, showing Tsukasa-san’s housework skills—or the lack of such, but the fact she tried this hard made me forget about all of that.
“Then, thanks for the foo—” I went to pick up a sandwich, when…
“Cease, fool!” A sharp voice restrained me.
“……Eh?”
Standing on top of the blanket was a Steel-san, wearing fresh tights. I mean, her black tights look as wonderful as always, but leaving that aside (for now), I was more concerned about her eyes that were burning with rage. She glared over the contents of the basket.
“You lack determination. Overwhelmingly so. Is your knowledge of such lunch only so superficial?”
“I mean, they’re sandwiches, so…”
“No! Can’t you tell just by looking at it?! This is an object that might look like sandwiches, but it isn’t! If I were to give a King’s judgement, then this is insufficient!”
“That phrasing…”
I felt a cold breeze hitting my neck. I realized that Tsukasa-san had grown quiet next to me, and I was unable to confirm her expression, so I just glared at Steel-san, who did the same right back at me.
“This is unbefitting of being called food. It is an entirely different kind of food than can be food on the market. After all, this is my mother’s home cooking! My ill-mannered, rude, and careless mother did this for my sake! What a miracle! What a godsend! Mountains of gold, endless treasure, nothing could compare to this blessing! I cannot give a proper evaluation of this!”
“………” I looked up at Steel-san.
At the same time, the young Tsukiko-chan looked at the sandwiches and miso soup.
“…Mm… Mufun…” She tried hiding any traces of having already eaten something.
“…Well, I get it. I understand. You really love your Mom, right?”
“Of course, as I am her daughter. It would be troublesome if I did not.”
“…Probably.”
“Indeed.” The young Steel-san nodded honestly.
This is something special. The proof of happiness. Suddenly, arms appeared behind me.
“…You’re a brat, and yet you keep blabbering on, you damn…” Angry, and most likely embarrassed, Tsukasa-san’s face was red, and she put the small Steel-san on top of her lap.
“W-What! What are you doing!?”
“Just stay quiet, you damn brat.”
“Remove your hand! I am an adult! I have gained an immeasurable amount of knowledge despite my seven years, and will become the holy Messiah who—”
“Shut up and eat.”
“E-Enough rampage! Wrong mouth! W-Wrong mouth! Stop pushing it into my mouth! G-Gahh!?” Steel-san was quite obviously blushing.
Ignoring her complaints, Tsukasa-san fed her by pushing the sandwich directly into her mouth. You do realize that these sandwiches are about the same size as your daughter’s face, right?
“Mguh! Muuuh!? Mguh…” Steel-san was trying to break free from Tsukasa-san’s grasp, but she was restrained and fed even more.
Her legs were flailing up and down, almost like she was having fun while suffocating.
“Mmm…” Watching this situation, Tsukiko-chan let out a groan.
She put one finger on her mouth, like she was thinking about something. Maybe she’s jealous that she isn’t getting fed with this oversized sandwich like small Steel-san is.
“Alright, come here.” I raised both my hands, beckoning her over. “Onii-chan will feed you.”
“…Mmm…”
“Huh? Was that not what you wanted?”
I offered her a sandwich, but small Tsukiko-chan just shook her head. Her small fingers ran along my cheek, only to end up pinching my nose. The moment I opened my mouth in order to breathe, she pushed her index finger inside, and after that followed the other four fingers, forcing my jaw wide open.
Hey now, Tsukiko-chan, I don’t think a human mouth can open any more than that! Put that into the World Records!
“…Drink my… everything.”
“Mghhuh!?”
Thanks to my mouth being open to the utmost limit, the young Tsukiko-chan had no problems stuffing the entire opening of the soup bottle into my mouth. I see, I see. So she wasn’t jealous in terms of being on the receiving end, but rather on the giving end. It’s great, to be honest. I’m all for true gender equality. It’s like she’s a cat who saw someone playing around and is trying to mimic their actions. But you can’t keep doing this forever, or you’re going to waterboard me with miso soup!
“Ngh… Ugh…”
As the liquid ran out of the corners of my throat, more and more was poured into me. This doesn’t just have tofu in it! It tastes like fish! What did you put into this, Tsukasa-san?! But since this is something I’m getting from Tsukiko-chan, I will suck up everything, no matter how hot, white, steamy, and thick the liquid may be. As you can see, I’ve been trained in this business, so if anybody wants to sponsor me for a private video, my commissions are open!
*
I had never known that merely eating something could take so much stamina. I ate way too much, and was also forced to eat way too much. By the time the basket and bottle were empty, everyone was worn out. Our stomachs were full, our mood was up in the clouds, and everyone was tired, but in a good way. With the Yokodera Family, eating together as a family like this was not a thing. Not to mention that it was pretty rare for our family to be together. So these types of lunches exist, huh?
“I’m full! Thanks for the food, Tsukasa-san!”
“Mm, maybe I made a bit too much.”
“Not in the slightest. I don’t need any break at all! However, however…”
“…Mmm…”
Every single one of us was laying on the sheet, forming a big 大. And now, the second blanket came into action. Tsukasa-san pulled us all together and put the blanket over our shoulders as we looked at the sky.
“…Sen… pai…” Beneath the blanket, Tsukiko-chan reached out for me with her small hand.
Instead of nodding, I grabbed her fingers. It’s fine. I won’t forget again, I won’t lose sight of our goal. Once we get back, we’ll tell Tsukasa-san. About the Cat God, the curse of your family, the storehouse. But, for now, let’s just enjoy the moment.
Sensing my intentions, Tsukiko-chan next reached out for her other side.
“…Yeah yeah, I get it.” The bothered adult let out a bothered sigh and took the hand with a bothered motion.
“Mm! Grr… Mm…!”
I heard Steel-san’s voice from the other end of the sheet, so she probably wanted to hold Tsukasa-san’s hand as well. The first ‘Mm!’ was probably because she realized that Tsukiko-chan and Tsukasa-san were holding hands, the second ‘Grr’ was most likely as a means of resisting the temptation of doing the same, and the last ‘Mm…!’ was most likely when she gave up and just decided to be spoiled. Man, how cute.
Laying on top of the sheet, the four of us held hands together. The warm hands to my left and right felt warm, and so did my heart in the middle of both.
“…Sleepy…”
I felt my eyelids growing heavy, and the world grew more hazy. I saw a group of birds whose name I didn’t even know soar through the sky, cutting between the blue and white colors. They must be heading to their own place they belong. Sleeping on the same branch of the same tree, spending the winter close together. Almost like they were on a picnic. Almost… like us.
Time passed calmly.
“…Today is a great day. For—it’s a good day…”
Unsure if it was a dream or reality, I heard Tsukasa-san yawn and mutter a few faint words. I didn’t know what she was talking about. I didn’t know what she wanted to do, but I felt like I understood a bit.
What happiness this is, I thought.
1 Resulted from the whole John Doe joke last volume
CClaw Translations 