Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

He swallowed, his heart beating in his chest, and the tension even made his body tremble.

The corner of the mouth, the chin, then the neck, and then slowly moving down——

When the wave gently reached the collar of the clothes, Iruma Hibiki's hand paused. The remaining part looked like it could not be cleaned up on the street.

"Xiangzi, is there anywhere we can go?"

Hibiki Iruma asked.

Realizing something, Shoko Toyokawa paused for a moment. She stared at Hibiki Iruma and then smiled.

"Take me away, Hibiki."

Then, she once again lay on Hibiki Iruma's chest.

"This is an elopement."

Then she added.

The moment you close your eyes.

Shoko Toyokawa thought of her time when she was very young.

It was probably in an art gallery in Tokyo. The magnificent exhibition hall was packed that day. Her father smiled at her gently and then took her, who was still young at that time, to the best seat.

Then the show started——

Around the third act, the young lady in seclusion said to the person she secretly loved:

"If you love me, take me with you. If you don't have the courage, just leave and we will forget each other."

In the play, the poor violin-playing boy who had a crush on the young lady ran away.

When he came back, the eldest daughter was married and had children of her own.

And he, gradually, had a feeling that he was a family of his own.

In the last scene.

He met the young lady on the road and he took the initiative to greet her. At that time, both of them were very old, but the person he liked did not recognize him at this moment.

therefore--

He cried bitterly and sadly decided to starve himself to death.

On the other side, after turning around, the married young lady who had become someone else's wife burst into tears and sobbed bitterly.

That was the shadow in Toyokawa Shoko's little love.

When she said "This is an elopement", she was very nervous. Would Iruma Hibiki refuse?

When she thought of this, Shoko Toyokawa felt panic.

Will she be the same as in the play?

After the rejection, the two separated and went to completely different places.

"..."

Hibiki Iruma remained silent.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Shoko Toyokawa's anxiety continued and boiled over.

She spoke again in a panic:

"what……"

"Well... I don't have anywhere else to go at this hour, but if you want a place to shower... how about my house?"

In fact, when saying this, Iruma Hibiki also felt that it was a bit inappropriate.

but……

Now, apart from home, the only option left is the hotel.

Going to a hotel is even scarier, isn't it?

"Hibiki's home?"

Toyokawa Shoko confirmed softly.

"Haha...it's still too..."

"Well, let's go to Hibiki's house. I'm going to disturb Hibiki's family."

Toyokawa Shoko confirmed this when Iruma Hibiki tried to change the subject.

"Let's go buy some clothes and other things. I just saw some new styles in this store."

"Ah... that..."

The novel styles that Shoko Toyokawa mentioned are actually cheap T-shirts sold in supermarkets that are generally not worn by men and women and are one size fits all.

"You can buy socks and other things here too. I never knew there was such a versatile store."

"Well, let's go buy some then."

Iruma Hibiki agreed to Toyokawa Shoko.

……

When the two of them went to the drugstore together, Shoko Toyokawa put her arm around Hibiki Iruma's shoulders, just like the kind of lovers who only appear in storybooks.

Iruma Hibiki did not expose Toyokawa Shoko's interest in cheap T-shirts.

There was no way I could go to a decent clothing store at this time.

Naturally, there is no commercial street.

But let the light of this little drugstore be the liquor of the night.

In fact, Iruma Hibiki felt a little drunk and unreal.

It's like a fantasy.

It seems that what is happening now is just a dream.

He had already wiped away the tears from Toyokawa Shoko's face.

Later, when he stepped into the drugstore again, Iruma Hibiki felt a sudden touch on the side of his face.

When he turned his head, she saw Shoko Toyokawa secretly kissing him and smiling brightly.

"Xiang, you are not allowed to return it. If you bleed again, it will be troublesome."

Toyokawa Shoko said this with a blush.

"Um……"

At this moment, Iruma Hibiki's thinking had already become extremely slow.

"What kind of place is Hibiki's home...?"

"what……"

Iruma Hibiki thought of his own room.

That mess...

Yes, it would be fine if we only invited Nagasaki Suyo, but if we invited Toyokawa Shoko...

"It's a bit messy actually... I don't know if you'd mind it, Xiangzi... It would be nice if you could give me some time to sort it out later."

"It's ok."

Toyokawa Shoko spoke softly.

"I like everything about Hibiki."

Then she responded like this.

22 Toyokawa Shoko Falls Out of Bed

The taxi cut through the tranquility of the night, then passed through the somewhat noisy Ikebukuro Station, and after a while drove into the quiet Kasai.

After passing the highway that leads to Chiba and turning around the small supermarket on the street, Iruma Hibiki's house and Seiyu are right in front of me.

Next to the small flower bed is a zigzag corridor half a person's height, and the lighting that Hibiki Iruma installed with his father when he was very young.

White light illuminated every corner of the downward road.

We have arrived at Hibiki Iruma's house.

After paying the bill, Iruma Hibiki got out of the taxi carrying the things in his hands. The moment he stepped out of the heater, his originally tired spirit suddenly felt refreshed.

Have you ever had the experience of going on a trip and then arriving on a flight that didn't arrive until the early hours of the morning?

That's how Hibiki Iruma felt at this moment.

He skillfully opened the late-night access control, entered the password and pushed open the door.

"ring……"

The dazed Shoko Toyokawa was muttering beside him.

"We've arrived at Xiangzi."

"Um……"

Despite this, Shoko Toyokawa still had no spirit.

"Want to go straight to bed?"

"Or should I take a shower first?"

Hibiki Iruma asked gently.

"Want to take a shower."

Despite saying that, Toyokawa Shoko looked so tired that it didn't look like she could last until she finished taking a shower.

"It's actually okay to just go to sleep."

"It will be uncomfortable."

Toyokawa Shoko repeated it once more, then forced herself to cheer up.

"and……"

"I don't want you to see my embarrassing side."

"Ah...that's it..."

Hibiki Iruma muttered silently.

In fact, tonight, up to this point, he already knew the helpless and ridiculous answer.

The reason why Toyokawa Shoko chose to conceal the truth was because of her self-esteem and she didn't want him to see her in such a miserable state.

Iruma Hibiki sighed subtly.

Probably relieved.

It’s just like this⒍ It doesn’t matter how useless it is.

He thought so.

The worst that could happen is that I'd just have to take a break from Crychic activities and focus on life for a while.

Iruma Hibiki probably has such expectations for the future, and is prepared to face it together with Toyokawa Shoko.

"Put the shoes here, and be careful later..."

At the gate, Iruma Hibiki said this to Toyokawa Shoko.

"Ah."

And Shoko Toyokawa also nodded obediently.

She took off her shoes and walked into the entrance of Iruma Hibiki's house barefoot.

"As for the slippers, try these to see if they fit. Speaking of the guest room...it's too late to tidy it up now, and it won't fit no matter how you look at it..."

There is actually a guest room in Hibiki Iruma's house.