Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

This also made Iruma Hibiki hesitate for a moment, wondering if he was actually the one with the problem.

"Wait, Sushi, don't you think that if you come to Kyoto, you will fall behind in your studies? What about your friends at school? What about your interpersonal relationships?"

"As for academics, I have good grades, so it's okay. As for friends... we usually just chat about formalities, so it's okay even if I leave. As for interpersonal relationships, Hibiki may not know, but here in Tsuki no Mori, people often leave for long periods of time, so everyone is used to it."

Nagasaki Suyo explained quickly until Iruma Hibiki was speechless.

"Don't your family members object?"

"..."

"Mother won't object."

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a moment, and he suddenly realized that he shouldn't bring up this topic at this time.

But some are too late.

Words spoken are always like spilled water. When you realize that it is boiling water that will splash all over the other person's head and face, it is often too late to regret.

"Hibiki, will you allow me to stay with you? I'll do anything."

Then——

This is what Nagasaki Suyo said on the other end of the phone.

03 Please stay by his side when he needs you

The atmosphere in the ward was a little dull. Hibiki Iruma looked at his father, who looked worried and exhausted, and felt a little overwhelmed. After a while, Yoshiaki Iruma suddenly looked up and said to him:

"Xiang, on the table over there is the room card for a nearby hotel with the room number and address on it. If you're tired, go and rest."

"What about you?"

Iruma Hibiki took one of the room cards and then asked back.

"I'll be staying here tonight, and I'll need your signature for tomorrow morning's surgery."

"..."

Iruma Hibiki opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he hesitated when the words came to his lips.

"I'll do it tonight. You go get some rest and come early tomorrow morning to replace me."

But he finally said it, and because of these words, the expression on Yoshiaki Iruma's face finally eased a bit.

"ring……"

Although he was still a little worried, Iruma Yoshiaki finally sighed.

"Can I help you here?"

"Yeah, no problem. Mom will be here soon, right? You should go and get some rest. And have her go straight to the hotel. I'll take care of this. You guys should come early tomorrow morning. I'm not familiar with the documents required for the surgery."

Hibiki Iruma urged his father, then frowned as he looked at the old man lying on the hospital bed.

"it is good."

Finally, Iruma Yoshiaki sighed deeply and looked at the instruments around the bed with a hint of worry.

"I'll leave this to you. I'll come at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning."

"It's okay if you rest a little longer."

It's already past 11 o'clock in the evening. If I come at 5 o'clock, then my sleep time will definitely be less than 4 hours.

Hibiki Iruma was also a little worried about her father.

"It's okay. The nurse I hired arrived at noon. The situation will be much better after the surgery the day after tomorrow. After all, it was my insistence that I bring you here to accompany me."

Yoshiaki Iruma patted Hibiki Iruma's shoulder, then picked up his jacket from a chair beside him and walked out the door.

"Did you say goodbye properly to your friends at school?"

Then, before leaving, he asked Iruma Hibiki this question.

"Ah."

Faced with such a question, Iruma Hibiki felt a little impatient and just responded in a somewhat irritable manner.

"meet tomorrow."

"meet tomorrow."

A dozen seconds later, with the sound of the door closing, the ward became quiet.

After routinely confirming everything the nurse had instructed him to do, Hibiki Iruma set an alarm on his phone to go off every 30 minutes. He then turned on the music, put on his headphones, and reopened his social media app.

Nagasaki Suyo's message was still being sent until just now.

Faced with Nagasaki Suyo's idea of coming to Kyoto, Iruma Hibiki tried to stop her and also revealed a little bit of his own troubles.

but--

Wait till the end.

When Nagasaki Suyo said, "I'll do anything," Iruma Hibiki had a premonition that if he refused, something terrible would happen to Nagasaki Suyo.

because of him--

Although he couldn't say that he fully understood it, he still had some understanding of Nagasaki Motoyo's character.

After all, she was my lover, my girlfriend, someone I once loved very much.

So it's natural that Iruma Hibiki has some feelings of his own towards Nagasaki Soyo.

At that time, it was impossible to say no.

Between agreeing to let Nagasaki Suyo trouble herself and rejecting Nagasaki Suyo and then paying the price for the rejection, Iruma Hibiki chose the former anyway.

Of course, the sense of incongruity brought about by such a choice still troubles him at the moment.

Now, though, it seemed he had almost a whole night to think about it.

I just happened to catch the night bus tonight. I'll probably arrive tomorrow morning. Is there a place to stay over there?

【some. 】

Iruma Hibiki reported back the news about Nagasaki Suyo.

【Su Shi, aren't you going to sleep tonight? 】

[Yeah, because I want to get to Xiang as soon as possible.]

……

The normal conversation continued. Putting aside the awkward feeling of perhaps meeting Nagasaki Suyo tomorrow morning, everything seemed like an ordinary day.

Suddenly, Iruma heard a gasp.

Almost in an instant, his mind went blank, and then he reacted immediately after just a few seconds. He ran to the head of the bed and kicked over the chair under his butt.

Along with the ringing of the nurse's bell, the sound of the nurse on duty running outside was also heard.

Then the door opened, and the nurse who came in quickly checked the data and indicators on the various instruments. Iruma Hibiki stood by stiffly and nervously.

"Please rest assured, Mr. Iruma. The patient's indicators are currently normal."

"But I just..."

Iruma Hibiki has something else to say.

"If there are only occasional gasps and cries, that's normal. It can even be considered a good thing, because it means the patient has regained some consciousness. Of course, if you're worried, you can always call me."

"Okay, I know……"

Iruma Hibiki picked up the chair again and watched the nurse leave. Only at this moment did he realize that he was sweating profusely on his back.

More than ten minutes later, when Iruma Hibiki calmed down and opened her phone, she received a photo from Nagasaki Soyo.

In the photo, Nagasaki Suyo is waiting at the bus stop with her suitcase. There is no one around her except a few others who seem to be waiting for the night bus.

[Tomorrow morning at 7 o'clock, where should I go to meet Xiang? ]

Nagasaki Suyo sent this message below.

[Sound? What happened?]

[Xiang, if you see this message, could you please reply to me? I'm really worried about you.]

……

[It's okay. Just now... my grandma gasped and scared me. I called the doctor, but luckily she's fine and they said it's a relatively good condition...]

【Hibiki must have been very worried and scared just now, right?】

【Um. 】

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a while.

"It's okay, Xiang. I'll be by your side soon."

[Actually, I never thought I would be so nervous and scared before...]

Iruma Hibiki's response was a little slower than Nagasaki Soyo's comfort.

He was actually a little bit incredulous about his own reaction.

[It's okay Xiang... Come on, did Xiangzi contact Xiang? ]

Xiangzi...

When Nagasaki Suyo mentioned the topic of Toyokawa Shoko, Iruma Hibiki realized that from the beginning, he had probably had an urgent private chat with Toyokawa Shoko to explain the whole story.

There was silence over there.

Nothing was said.

The conversation also lingered on Toyokawa Shoko's final concern:

"It doesn't matter about the band. It's more important to take care of your family."

[As for me, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. I'll wait until Hibiki comes back before we continue our band!]

After receiving this reply, Iruma Hibiki actually wanted to talk to Toyokawa Shoko about something.

but--

[I contacted him, but Xiangzi seemed very busy with his own affairs...]

[That's true. Xiangzi seems to be having a hard time lately.]

Facing Nagasaki Motoyo's reply, Iruma Hibiki once again felt the depression that swept over him.

[Which one do you like? Staying up late, a little bit hard. ]

Then——

Nagasaki Suyo took a photo of herself and the street vending machine.

This vending machine is specially made for BOSS Coffee and is filled with various types of coffee.

The coffee in the second colorful can on the right in the second row isn't overly sweet, but rather focuses on aroma. It's also not overly bitter, so I think it's a flavor you might like.

Iruma Hibiki quickly responded to Nagasaki Suyo.

Afterwards, the two continued chatting.

After learning about Hibiki Iruma's situation, Nagasaki Suyo became his human alarm clock.

So, alone, Nagasaki Suyo curled up in a scarf on the night bus to Kyoto in the slightly cold midnight. With a little worry and uneasiness in her heart about traveling alone, and the guilt of being a good student who had skipped classes for so long, she once again felt the part of her heart that she longed for so much, which was to be filled by someone.

She could probably laugh again.

04 Nagasaki Suyo runs towards Iruma Hibiki

"what--"

On the night bus in the early morning, Nagasaki Suyo blew a breath gently towards the window. After the cold glass was misted, she stretched out her index finger and gently wrote "响" on it.

The Japanese word "響" is a little complicated to write, so by the time I finished writing, the condensed water mist had mostly dissipated. However, despite this, the traces left on it still exist, slightly scattering a little of the light outside the window at that time.

[Xiang, this is the first time I've traveled so far alone.]

【Yeah? 】