Volume 2 Chapter 25 (2/2)
s.p.a.cing out, staring at Yusuke as he slept in the chair across from her, and thinking about various things; Mizuki inadvertently recalls something.
(……..Ah that’s right, Takemura-san, was all alone.)
He had said that there were no survivors other than her and her brothers. Unlike her and her brothers, he had been living in this world all this time by himself. At that realization, Mizuki once again tries to correct her way of thinking.
If she had been in that kind of position, what would she have done? The sight of her brother’s troubled faces have forced her to go on until now, but what if she had been alone? It wouldn’t be strange if she fell into danger at anytime.
Without her parents or friends, all alone at night with those monsters that eat humans roaming the streets; she would be so afraid she couldn’t bear it. Mizuki wasn’t that strong. Her entire world ended that day.
When it happened, she started to find comfort in death, but the presence of her brother had kept her together. She was their guardian, but they were the ones protecting her. For her brothers sake, she had to forget about her broken self and look after them.
If they hadn’t been there, if she had lost her family and had been forced to live alone in this new cruel world…
(That…. would be lonely, and difficult……)
Surely Yusuke’s wasn’t as weak as Mizuki. Even so, there must be times were he can’t remain calm. If you think about it, compared to what Yusuke had given him, it was as if she hadn’t returned the favor at all. He even saved her life. She never thought about how much that meant in this world which reeked of death.
Yusuke could be acting cold as a cry for help.
(He got involved with us because he was lonely….. Something like that…..?)
Somehow she felt as if she had touched a brittle part of Takemura-san. (TL: Laughing pretty hard right now)
Asleep in that chair, he looked as if he was overcome with resignation and fatigue.
Of course, she could just be overthinking things. If your body is weak, so is your heart. She could just be conveniently interpreting one of his whims. However, she couldn’t deny that, as if she had found something human in his strong outer presence, had become interested in him.
This could be the first time she looked at him as a peer. As a fellow human struggling to survive at the end of the world.
(…….Un. I’ll work harder to be less depended as well.)
Finis.h.i.+ng her meal, Mizuki carries the tableware out of the room.
Once she washed the dishes off in the hot water supply room and returned, Yusuke was sitting up in the chair while stretching. It seemed he just woke up. Noticing her presence, he lets out a surprised voice.
“Ah?”
Yusuke stops moving and stares at her. It was a gaze as if looking at an enemy. Without understanding the meaning behind that strong gaze, Mizuki began to worry if she had done something wrong.
“Ano….?”
At Mizuki’s voice, Yusuke’s rigidity melts away and he sits back in the chair.
“Ah……”
He s.h.i.+fts his line of sight to the clock and reads the time. 6:00 A.M.
After that, as if he had lost his spirit, he speaks.
“It was just a normal cold after all…..”
At those words which sounded like he had given up, Mizuki’s eyes sparkled.
(Could it be he was worried about me?)
With a wry smile, Mizuki bows her head.
“I’m sorry to have made you worry.”
“No, to say I was worried….. well, it’s fine.”
Yusuke waves his hand.
“Have you recovered?”
“I do have a little bit of a strange feeling, but overall I feel a lot better.”
“…..Fuun.” (TL: sighing)
Thinking about Mizuki’s words, Yusuke has a premonition. Remaining silent, he gets a bad feeling about her strangely warm and cozy behavior. What kind of att.i.tude should he take in response to this overly youthful girl? He was suddenly at a loss.
“…..Etto, thank you, for preparing food for my brothers yesterday.”
“Ou. Be sure to wear a mask. Don’t go sneezing all over the food.” (TL: “Ou.” is like “No problem.”)
At those rough words, Mizuki only smiles wryly. Her uneasiness had already disappeared.
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