ATOS Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Ken and Chikusa 

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*

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Everything is difficult at the beginning. But no matter how difficult it is, you have to get by.

[Recipient: Muku

Topic: We’ll Go Out to Dinner Tonight

Content: So don’t cook and wait for me at home.】

Thinking that Mukuro was about to leave school, Tsuna sent a text message to him. He pressed some of his fingers on his temple and massaged it messily. He always felt that the young Mukuro was gradually trained to be his nanny. He had to do laundry and cooking every day. He even cleaned the house. Although Tsuna would rush to do it whenever he had time, it was a pity that he really didn’t have much free time.

[Sender: Muku

Topic: Ok

Content:】

Hey, why don’t this kid even ask where they’re going out to eat? They should go to a good place to eat since it’s rare for them to eat out. Tsuna stopped massaging his own head. Instead, his hand moved to support his own chin as he thought. In the last few minutes before work ends, he begins to think about places they can go to eat. The sushi place with a conveyor belt should be okay but there’s wasabi… Mukuro doesn’t like spicy food. But he can just not put it in his food.

“Tsuna-kun, are you working overtime today?” A friendly female voice came across the partition. Tsuna recovered from his thoughts of various dishes and looked up at the smiling face.

It is unimaginable that from the outside, this woman is 28 years old. Her cute looks matched her short hair very well. She is always smiling. She is like an angel in this kind of place where hidden bloody battles are fought daily!

“Oh. I’m not, Miss Uni.” Being suddenly confronted with such a cute smiling face, Tsuna panicked subconsciously, “I was just too preoccupied thinking about where to eat tonight…”

Wait! Why am I telling this to her!? Tsuna panicked.

Tsuna was embarrassed for a moment. Miss Uni was also taken aback at first. She then laughed out in the next second, “Are you going out alone?”

“No… I’m going with someone.” Tsuna replied instinctively. After coming to the third team of the marketing department, the person he talked to the most was Miss Uni.

She is very patient with newcomers. Miss Uni often does things that she doesn’t need to do. After all, the tasks assigned to Tsuna should be completed by Tsuna himself. But she still gives Tsuna detailed explanations after each assignment. Miss Uni’s explanation was really helpful in successfully completing his job in the early stage.

This amiable lady does not procrastinate her work as well. Contrary to her sweet appearance, she can be very decisive once she handles things. In Tsuna’s eyes, she is quite an attractive lady.

“So is it a date?” When Miss Uni smiled, her eyes would curl up nicely. People who saw this smile would definitely feel better in any circumstances, “Have you thought about what to eat?”

A date…? Hmm, does this count as a date? Tsuna wondered.

Tsuna twitched the corners of his mouth as he tidied up the things on his table casually. He stood up, “Not yet. I was just thinking that he doesn’t like spicy food.”

“He? He’s a guy.” Miss Uni blinked and suddenly showed a bright smile that Tsuna couldn’t understand as to why, “I see.”

…What’s the matter with this sudden ‘knowingly’ smile? Tsuna pondered.

But Miss Uni didn’t say anything more to entertain Tsuna’s confusion. She suddenly spoke with great enthusiasm, “There is a very good kaiseki-ryouri restaurant in Namimori Commercial Street. Tsuna-kun can try that with him.”

Why did she emphasise the word ‘he’? Tsuna was puzzled.

With subtle doubts, Tsuna thanked Miss Uni who had booked him a table with a phone call. When he returned home, Mukuro had already changed his clothes and was sitting cross-legged on the sofa waiting for him. There was a Pocky chocolate stick in his mouth.

“I’ll be ready soon.” While pulling his tie and walking towards the bedroom, Tsuna took off his formal suit. He put on a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. He fiddled with his hair that was messed up when he put the clothes on. But the effect on the hairstyle was still not good. He didn’t care too much about it so he walked to the table in the living room and drank a big cup of water. After he had dried in the cup, he asked, “Shall we have kaiseki-ryouri tonight?”

Mukuro looked at Tsuna. This attire made him look a few years younger for no reason. The adult appearance he usually propped up with suits and leather shoes disappeared at once.

“Okay.” Mukuro replied with a smile. He then twisted the lower end of the pocky stick with his hand and broke it from the middle with a little force. 

Namimori Commercial Street is still very lively at night. The air is filled with a relaxed atmosphere. After confirming that the table is booked and looking up at the detailed address on the phone, Tsuna and Mukuro walked together in the cool and pleasant evening breeze. For Tsuna, this is really a long-lost relaxation. He couldn’t help but take a deep breath, “Mu…”

“Mukuro-sama?” The boy’s voice from across the street directly reached Tsuna’s ears. Tsuna was startled. He turned his head to look towards the voice without realising it.

On the opposite street, two junior high school students wearing the uniforms of Kokuyo Junior High nimbly avoided the flow of people and walked towards them. So, as expected, they were really calling Mukuro just now, right? Tsuna turned his head to look at Mukuro. He displayed the face of ‘I didn’t expect to see you here’. “Are they from your school?” Tsuna asked.

Mukuro nodded and raised his eyebrows slightly, “Well, we’re in the same class.”

“Mukuro-sama!” The person who rushed over first had dyed blond hair. Probably the hair was damaged and became hard so there were many hairpins in a mess on his head. His right cheek was constantly moving. He was probably chewing gum or something, “How come you are here?”

“Dinner.” Although the answer was concise, Tsuna could still hear that Mukuro seemed very happy to see these two people. So, are they his friends?

But no matter how you look at this dyed blond-haired boy, he looks like a standard delinquent. Tsuna, who was completely ignored, couldn’t help being judgmental. But why did he call Mukuro with the title ‘Mukuro-sama’?

“Hello.” There was an unexpectedly polite greeting. Tsuna cast his eyes on the person coming from behind the dyed blond-haired boy. The other person adjusted his glasses. There’s a barcode tattoo under the corners of his eyes. It looked conspicuous. He nodded to Tsuna politely and then moved his focus on Mukuro without hesitation.

But after he said ‘hello’, the dyed blond-haired boy looked over as if he had just discovered that Tsuna was there, “This guy is…?”

He stopped suddenly and moved his nose as he sniffed for something. He approached Tsuna, causing Tsuna to take a step back unconsciously. With an embarrassed expression, Tsuna hurriedly checked if he smelled bad or anything like that.

“Strawberry scent~”

Strawberry? Tsuna gaped his mouth open in surprise, remembering that the shower gel Mukuro purchased last week was indeed strawberry-flavoured.

The dyed blond-haired boy’s eyes lit up and he wanted to move forward. But his forehead was poked with a finger. At the same time, the boy and the other boy standing beside him trembled involuntarily.

“Ken~ Why are you and Chikusa still hanging out at this time?” Mukuro retracted his fingers. The smile on his face was so radiant that it made the two of them feel cold to the bone.

“Mukuro-sama, Mukuro-sama?” Ken, who was shocked by the bright smile that carried the hint of a warning, smiled back dryly as he broke out in a cold sweat, “We are just taking a stroll… um… just… a stroll.”

Although Tsuna didn’t know what was going on, he keenly felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange. He was very self-conscious as an adult. He said, “Hi. Are you two Muku’s classmates? You’re still outside so late. Have you two eaten yet? “

Seeing Mukuro’s warning expression, Chikusa’s eyes flashed brightly. He was about to answer that he had eaten but Ken answered quickly with honesty, “Not yet.”

After speaking, he blew a bubble out of the gum in his mouth carelessly and it popped.

The surrounding temperature dropped a few degrees as expected and he secretly sighed.

“You two haven’t eaten yet at this time?” Tsuna was surprised, thinking that the two are  Mukuro’s friends which he rarely heard of. He put aside the thought of ‘don’t get involved with bad boys’ for the time being as he sincerely invited, “It just so happens that we are about to get dinner. Let’s go together to the restaurant, shall we?”

Chikusa rushed ahead of Ken this time and said anxiously, “No need. We are going to go have dinner too.”

Being rejected in such a stiff tone, Tsuna couldn’t help but feel slighted. Why was he rejected by young people when he himself was not that old yet?

“Why don’t we go together? I’m Muku’s family. You guys have been taking care of him all this time. It’s a rare chance for me to meet you guys.” Tsuna wanted to try harder. He adjusted his voice to the most friendly state with a flickering smile on his face. The smile filled with expectation almost made the two teenagers feel that rejecting him was the worst thing to do in their conscience.

To be a qualified and responsible guardian is to work hard to integrate into the child’s circle of friends and accept his friends in his life!

“Uh, it’s not like… Ah! Oh yes sure. Let us go together! We are pleased to go with you! Of course!” Ken half-spoken out an awkward refusal but then saw Mukuro squinting his eyes at him. He was not a very clever man. But he finally became understanding and instantly caught up with Mukuro’s train of thought.

Ahh! So, Mukuro-sama, do you want us to go or not? Why don’t you give us an accurate answer? Why is it always me who gets hurt? Ken thought to himself silently.

Tsuna, who got what he wanted, showed a smile on his face. He then led the three of them into the restaurant and sat down. The waiter brought the barley tea and the menu together. Ken and Chikusa sat opposite each other politely, expressing that customers can do whatever they want. After consulting Mukuro’s opinion, Tsuna ordered the food. He then turned around and smiled at Ken and Chikusa.

“Usually, Muku doesn’t tell me much about school affairs.” Unconsciously revealing a bit of feeling being left out, Tsuna looked at the two of them gently, “Have you guys always been in the same class as him?”

“Hmm. I’ve been in the same class as him since I entered school.” Chikusa replied conservatively. Ken next to him leaned on the back of the chair with his shoulders slumped as he drank the hot tea.

“You’ve known each other for more than two years.” Tsuna felt a little emotional. Easier said, Tsuna felt a little hurt in his heart. The two seemed to have a good relationship with Mukuro but Mukuro never told him about them. He wondered if Mukuro really didn’t want him to know anything about his school life.

“Usually, at school-…”

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Ken who suddenly got excited, “Mukuro-sama is amazing! The group of guys from other high schools confronted us last time, he…”

“Click”

Mukuro put the teacup back on the table in a smooth manner. There was a crisp sound when the table collided with the bottom of the cup. Ken adjusted his story immediately, “He can take people to visit the school all by himself. His leadership and coordination skills are very good!”

Glancing at the two of them with a half-smile, Mukuro held his chin in silence.

The two felt a lot of pressure. Chikusa knew that his ability to make up stories was not good enough so he had to drink cup after cup of tea in fear that Tsuna would ask him some more questions. But Chikusa bit the bullet and began to describe how Mukuro was at school for Tsuna. He described him as having an excellent character and good at learning. He respects the elderly and takes care of the young. He would donate money and would not hesitate to help others. What the hell? The truth is he single-handedly defeated all gangsters in high school and he is Kokuyo’s underground king. Ah! Hahaha! Chikusa thought to himself that Tsuna must not have known Mukuro’s true self. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing!

They have dinner under four different moods according to four different individuals. But still, the host and guest had a good time.

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*Author’s Note: Although I think everyone should be able to know it after watching anime, I will feel at ease when I talk about it here. 0-0. In Japanese, ‘he’ and ‘she’ are pronounced differently. The third-person pronoun does not require a politer form. So, it does not matter when the person speaking is the boss, elder, or a good friend. They will still use “that girl”. In addition, in actual use, “he” or “she” in Japanese will also mean “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” ←w←.

PPS: So why did Miss Uni, who had heard the rumours, smile ‘knowingly’? Everyone should know what she’s thinking of… 0v0.

-YXF

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*Translator’s Note: Allow me to explain what the author was saying. In Chinese “he” or “she” is “ta”. When spoken, we couldn’t tell the gender. Only in written form can we tell the difference. But in Japanese, “he” is “kare” while “she” is “kanojo”. In normal conversation, Japanese also use “kare/kareshi” and “kanojo” as “boyfriend” and “girlfriend”. The author supposedly imagined the characters speaking in Japanese even though this fanfic is written in Chinese. Hope you get what I mean. -K

☝🏻Pocky chocolate stick. I’m craving one too now. Grr…

*GLOSSARY: 

• ‘Kaiseki’ or ‘kaiseki-ryouri’ is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. 

• ‘-sama’ is added to the back of the name of someone you highly respect.

• ‘Wasabi’ – Wasabi paste is spicy and pungent in flavour and is most commonly served with sushi and sashimi.

• ‘Sushi’ – Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of ingredients. (I’m sure most people know what sushi is but I just wanna put it out here haha)

Next update: 2023.06.26

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