Chapter 10 – Promotion
Novel Title: 跨越千万星辰 (Across Thousands of Stars)
Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 泽田纲吉 (Sawada Tsunayoshi -MC), 六道骸 (Rokudo Mukuro -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
֍֍֍
The day when the school officially ends for the summer vacation is not only like independence day for the students, but it was also like the independence day for everyone at Tsuna’s company. All the project plans have been formally finalised and the ‘Dream of the Forest’ will be officially launched on the next Sunday. The previous publicity work has been carried out on outdoor media and TV advertisements for a month. The next is time to advance and intensify the promotion efforts.
But that’s none of Tsuna’s concerns. It’s the marketing department’s job.
The first thing Tsuna did when he got the normal weekend off was to lie down at home and sleep for a long time. The most basic human’s needs is sleep. It really is like this. Nothing can compare to having enough sleep.
However, the result of sleeping for too long is dizziness. When Mukuro came home, he saw Tsuna, who was still in his pyjamas, just coming out of his room to pour water for a drink in a daze.
“Did you just wake up?” Mukuro couldn’t tell from his own voice that he was dissatisfied with this bad habit of sleeping all day. He bent down to change his shoes and he also went to the table to pour himself a glass of water.
“Yeah. I just woke up.” Tsuna slumped on the chair lazily. His eyes were still hazy as if he was still in a dream. The white pyjamas with thin blue stripes were soft but it didn’t fit tightly on him. It was oversized. It made Tsuna look a few years younger in it. Tsuna pushed away the glass and bent his elbows on the table, “But there is this feeling like I haven’t fully woken up yet.”
Mukuro could see Tsuna’s messy bedhead. The caramel milk tea coloured hair drooped softly and the fluffy hair looked like it would be nice to be touched. He suddenly had a strong urge to touch it.
And he did.
Tsuna’s brain was still lagging. Even when his hair was caressed suddenly, he was not surprised. Instead, he raised his eyes and looked up at Mukuro. But after just one glance, he lowered his eyes and ignored him.
So cute. Like a little golden retriever. Mukuro thought to himself.
Mukuro silently caressed his hair for a while before reluctantly going back to his bedroom to take off his contact lenses. He then washed his hands and started to cook.
Considering that Tsuna hadn’t eaten all day, Mukuro used a rice cooker to cook porridge with fresh vegetables and diced meat. The side dishes were just simple miso tofu and pickles. Although it was very light, it really suited Tsuna’s appetite so he ate two big bowls of the dishes.
At night, because he slept for too long during the day, Tsuna did not feel sleepy at all. So he had to turn on the computer and watch anime. Originally, Mukuro wanted to accompany him, but Tsuna felt that children who did not go to bed early would wake up late and their health would be affected. So he drove him back to the bedroom at eleven o’clock while he continued to watch new episodes on the computer.
It was 5 o’clock in the morning when he finally got a little sleepy. The sky was dimly lit. Tsuna yawned and set his alarm clock at 10 o’clock. The dizziness is getting worse.
When he woke up the next day, he was a little sleep deprived but it was not insurmountable for Tsuna who often stays up late and lacks sleep. He brushed his teeth and took a shower. He then dried his hair and went to the living room where he saw Mukuro sitting on the sofa next to the glass window of the balcony reading a book. He was wearing a very simple white T-shirt and jeans but the outfit showed the beautiful qualities of a teenager to the fullest. He leaned on the armrest of the sofa with one hand to support his forehead while his other hand casually flipped through the book on his lap. At this time, the sun was shining in from the balcony. It was shining brightly behind the boy.
My son will be a handsome man when he grows up. Tsuna thought to himself.
While he was feeling emotional, Tsuna suddenly saw something fluttering on the balcony. He was puzzled. Isn’t that… a bedsheet? And is that underwear?
He walked to the balcony in his home slippers. The sound of pattering was exchanged for a glimpse by Mukuro. Tsuna looked inexplicably at the fabrics that were confirmed to be the bedsheet and underwear floating under the scorching sun. He asked perplexedly, “Hey, why did you wash these two so early in the morning?”
Mukuro paused with his hand unnaturally flipping through the book. He then deliberately replied calmly, “It’s nothing. I suddenly thought of washing them.”
“You just suddenly thought of washing the bedsheet and your underwear…?”
Come to think of it, it seems that he was at that age.
Tsuna is also a man and he also was as a teenager before. This kind of thing can be understood after a little thought. No wonder the boy is a little embarrassed…
“By the way,” Tsuna coughed twice as he looked at Mukuro who deliberately ignored him. He chuckled inwardly, “There should be physical education in one of your middle school courses, right?”
The awkwardness of the boy is indeed funny but this matter is not a joke. So Tsuna thinks that it is better to ask clearly about this kind of thing so that the boy would not feel uneasy about the changes in his body.
But it appears that Mukuro is very calm. Tsuna remembered that he was very embarrassed and fearful back then when it happened to him. His face was still red when his mother pulled his bedsheet to wash.
Seeing Tsuna looking at him with a smile, Mukuro felt a little annoyed. He knew then that the other party must have found out. So he spoke in a firm tone, “All the things that I should know from the classes had been known.”
Wet dreams and young boys. They all have to experience this first time. After this one time, you will become a real boy~ Tsuna thought to himself.
Tsuna didn’t intend to continue teasing Mukuro on this kind of matter. He turned back and walked to the kitchen. He then opened the refrigerator and planned to make some toast but unexpectedly, he saw a sandwich wrapped in plastic on the plate.
Knowing that Mukuro kept it specially for himself, Tsuna took it out bluntly and tore off the plastic wrap. He took a bite with a smile. Hmm… Ham, cheese and lettuce? Classic choice.
While biting the sandwich, he swayed back to the dining table in the living room. Tsuna squinted his eyes and looked at the book in Mukuro’s hand from a distance. However, his eyes, which have been overused to look at the computer for a long time, have long been a little short-sighted. Those small characters cannot be read at such a distance clearly, “What are you reading?”
“Faust.” Mukuro didn’t look up as he answered, “It’s for Summer vacation homework.”
Tsuna had read this when he was in college and it was also for an assignment. It was assigned by Reborn. He read the Italian version in order to improve his literary understanding and improve his Italian level at the same time.
The dictionaries are all ravaged by him.
But he wondered if this kind of literary piece is suitable for junior high school students to read. He remembered that the plot of the story was a bit heavy and dark. Although in the end of the story, Faust’s soul was saved by his loved one and he went to heaven, the main character has done quite a few depraved things before this happy ending under the temptation of Mephistopheles.
He swallowed the last bite of the sandwich. He then went to the sink and washed his hands. “Shall we have noodles for lunch today?” He opened the refrigerator and took a look at the ingredients. There were pork bones. It was just right for making soup.
Mukuro hummed casually in answer. Tsuna had already started to deal with the pork bones. He washed them and boiled some water. He then added the auxiliary ingredients and boiled the soup on high heat until the soup turned white. The white soup was constantly boiling on the stove to release the fragrance without reservation. It can be described as an invitation. Tsuna turned down the fire on the stove and let it simmer slowly. He then ran to the other side of the sofa cross-legged to continue watching the anime with his laptop in his hand.
After a while, the whole room was filled with the smell of pork bone soup. Occasionally, when Tsuna got tired of looking at the anime, he would raise his neck and look at the white sheets floating at the balcony under the sun. He got lost in his thinking.
He felt inexplicably emotional. This was probably the so-called happiness of ordinary life. He didn’t usually pay attention to it. But now that he noticed it, his nose became a bit sore.
He turned his head to look at Mukuro. The young man had changed into a more comfortable position. He was leaning half of his body on the cushion. It was like a cat taking a nap. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Mukuro raised his eyes to look at him. “What’s the matter?”
Tsuna smiled and shook his head. He then turned off his laptop and tilted his head, “I was thinking that it’s wonderful that I got to know Muku.”
Mukuro’s dazed expression was maintained until Tsuna turned back to look at the stove. He stared at Tsuna’s back. The young man slowly evoked a smile that was not inferior to the sunshine outside the window.
No matter how happy the weekend was, Monday still came. Tsuna heard something that shocked him on the first day of this week.
“You mean I was promoted to be the head of the first team?” Tsuna showed a surprised look in front of Chief Kawahira. The office finally regained its vitality early in the morning. His brain was previously relaxed and he couldn’t recover from the shock for a while. “Are you joking?”
The original head of the first team was Kensuke Mochida. Tsuna and him should be regarded as alumni, including Kyoko. Speaking of which, senior Mochida had pursued Kyoko in a high-profile manner during their studies. So Tsuna had a deep impression on him. On the other hand, Mochida normally would not have any impression of Tsuna. The two of them had no friendship during the time and they have never mentioned school affairs when they met again. They have no other communication except for work.
But he was suddenly pushed to squeeze the other party out. Tsuna felt a little psychologically burdened.
“There’s nothing to joke about. It’s a direct appointment from above.” Chief Kawahira gave Tsuna a ‘you know what I mean’ expression, “In short, Section Chief Sawada, just lead the team and move forward.”
It was a direct appointment from above.
Feeling a little unhappy regarding this sentence, he thought of his father’s phone call not long ago. He couldn’t help but have a headache. Sometimes, Iemitsu’s guesses are always accurate.
“You don’t need to have any psychological burden.” The embarrassment portrayed on Tsuna’s face was too obvious. Chief Kawahira sat on the office chair and swayed from side to side. With his fingers resting on his chin, he said, “I think your ability is completely competent for the team. I didn’t apply for the position to the higher-ups because I thought it was too much trouble.”
He then smiled suddenly, “You can be more confident in yourself.”
This smile is very comforting, kind and natural. Thus, Tsuna’s uneasy mood calmed down a little. But when he walked out of the office, he looked at Mochida uncomfortably. The hostility shown on his face was very clear.
Tsuna sighed. It’s a blessing that he didn’t disclose his identity. At least, no one would think that his promotion is due to nepotism. Although in the end, it is still nepotism.
What should be known later should only be known later.
As the head of the team, the job is subtly different from that of an ordinary employee. In the past, it was more about hard work. But now, his job is to first consider everyone’s ability before assigning them. In many cases, he has to coordinate with other sections. Tsuna suffered a lot because of his personality in the early stages. But Tsuna also knew that he couldn’t refuse others and he was too talkative. But the delay of a single person’s progress would affect the whole department and even the whole company. Tsuna had no choice but to grit his teeth and change himself.
By the time he gradually got used to being the head of the team, Mukuro was already a third-year student.
֍֍֍
*Author’s Note: I finished watching the first season of Natsume Yuujinchou yesterday. It really made me cry. What a gentle story. Anyway, Nyanko Sensei and Madara are completely two different kinds of creatures. I can’t think of them as one person at all…-YXF
֍֍֍
*Translator’s Note: The ‘Faust’ that Mukuro was reading perhaps is the later version since it ended with his soul being saved by God. But in the original version of ‘Faust’, he ended up being dragged to hell by the Devil. Natsume Yuujinchou is also one of my fav anime of all time! This author and I really do have the same taste. Lol! -K
Next update: 2023.06.12
֍֍֍
