Chapter 24 – Drunken Night
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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No matter how low the level of alcohol is, Tsuna and Enma are still a little dizzy after sharing a bottle of Sake unknowingly. But it is far from the situation where they cannot walk in a straight line. On the way home, Tsuna loosened his bow tie a little. He did not forget to send a text message to ask Mukuro if he needed him to bring anything back.
The other party replied only to say that ‘you should just bring yourself back as soon as possible’.
Tsuna always finds this way of caring for teenagers that wasn’t shown so straightforwardly is kind of funny. But at the same time, he also thinks that it’s cute. He suddenly thought of the pink rabbit plush toy beside his bed in his bedroom and he laughed alone on the street.
He doesn’t know if it’s the effect of alcohol, but Tsuna is surrounded by an air of euphoria. It was not too serious. But just a little bit, it makes his brain more active and emotional than usual.
He put on a smirk all the way until he opened the door of his own house. Mukuro, who had just taken a shower, was slightly taken aback when he saw his condition, “Have you been drinking?”
Tsuna nodded as he sat down on the sofa. He leaned back with stretched limbs and looked up at the ceiling feebly, “I’m a little dizzy.”
“Obviously your tolerance for alcohol is poor. But in the end, you still act recklessly every time.” Mukuro poured a glass of warm water from the kitchen and put it in front of Tsuna while scolding him, “Do you even have a clear understanding of yourself? “
His tone could be said to be harsh. But Tsuna hooked the corners of his mouth into a smile instead. After being asked what are you smiling at, the smile became even wider. He knew that he was a little out of his mind now.
To be honest, Enma’s words made him feel a little…well, quite disappointed.
That’s why he insisted on drinking half a bottle of Sake, resulting in his abnormal mental state. Tsuna moved his eyes and looked at Mukuro, who was frowning at him.
Ah, this kid has grown so big, how small he was when I first saw him back then. It always makes me feel that he’s weak when he was small and thin when he was hugged. But now, he is as tall as me. No. He is already taller than me. Damn it. If I knew that drinking milk is so effective, I would have to drink it more even if I have to pinch my nose!
Well, not only has he grown taller. But his character has also turned out to be not so obedient. Why is he so difficult? He wasn’t difficult at all back then. But luckily, he is not too difficult. The more I think about it, sometimes it is quite cute that he is this way.
Thinking of this, Tsuna smiled at Mukuro, “My head is really dizzy…”
Because of the effects of alcohol, his voice produced a little nasal tone. It sounded coquettish, causing Mukuro to be stunned. It was the first time he saw Tsuna like this. Although the other party had been drunk before, at that time, Tsuna had already completely fallen asleep.
There was indeed some commotion in the bottom of Mukuro’s heart.
He lowered his eyes and clenched his fists, suppressing something in him. But his mouth could still speak in a normal tone. He even sounded too casual, “Anyway, next time, don’t drink recklessly.”
Tsuna hummed as a response. It was an elongated tone. He then fell to the side, looking drowsy. On the contrary, his eyes were wide open as he looked straight at Mukuro without hesitation.
At this moment, Mukuro finally sensed something was wrong with Tsuna.
He bent down and stroked Tsuna’s bangs that were covering his eyes. It was slightly wet with sweat, making Tsuna look weak, “What happened?”
“Hmm… Actually, it wasn’t really a big deal.” After thinking hard to himself, Tsuna replied.
“I asked you. What happened?” There was no clear change in his tone. But every word was repeated resolutely. Mukuro simply sat down on the coffee table. His voice and expression both showed that he was serious and determined to know the answer.
At normal times, Tsuna would never say it out loud. Even if he could tell Mukuro about every detail of his work and even his complaints, this kind of negative emotion was not included in them. Maybe it’s about the dignity of an adult so it sounds ridiculous. But he doesn’t want to really convey the pressure of his work towards Mukuro.
Besides, it’s too ugly to be depressed because of such a trivial matter.
Tsuna turned his head sideways. He buried most of his face in his arms and said sullenly, “Suddenly, I feel like I’m so useless.”
“Oh…Why is that?”
“If it wasn’t for my father, I wouldn’t have worked my way up so smoothly in Vongola.” Sighing, his back heaved greatly, “Identity is more important than a person’s competency. I just feel so useless.”
Mukuro naturally knew what Tsuna meant about his identity. He is the heir to the shareholder of a well-known jewellery company. But even though he has never regarded this as such a great thing, when he suddenly heard that Tsuna was troubled by this, he could probably understand where the so-called emotion came from.
Clicking his tongue, Mukuro’s voice rose subtly. There was a hint of humour in it, “Did someone start gossipping about you?”
“Hmm… among other things…” Thinking about what those people were gossiping about, Tsuna rubbed his hair irritably. His eyes suddenly collided with Mukuro who was currently crouching in front of him.
“Listen to me.” Mukuro propped up Tsuna’s cheeks and tilted his head. He narrowed his eyes that were slightly raised when he smiled. His eyes then form an arc at the edge as he said, “Fuck them.”
The words that came out of his mouth were surprisingly rude.
Tsuna was choked up by this and stared at Mukuro, not knowing how to react. But the other party only slightly raised his eyebrows, “Or is there anything you can do about them being angry and jealous? Should you resign?”
It’s understandable that they were jealous, but…
“Excuse me?” Tsuna asked in confusion.
“I was late because of the traffic jam. I didn’t study well because the teacher was not good at teaching. I was unpopular because the people around me didn’t know how to appreciate me. In short,~~ It’s not my fault. Your situation should be the same as this. I can’t get a job because another guy used despicable methods to get it, right?” Mukuro exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders. He then put his hands around his knees and displayed some sarcasm on his face, “If you don’t want to admit your incompetence, you will put the blame on others for your own failure. That’s the norm.”
Hearing these words, Tsuna was dumbfounded. Mukuro, who spoke with such sharp insights, surprised him. He can’t tell what it feels like. Just now, he was thinking that this child has grown up a lot. But now, it seems that this theory has been confirmed all over again.
My son is really mature… or something like that.
“Ah… it’s also no big deal if you were to leave Vongola.” Mukuro put his elbows on the sofa with an extremely relaxed expression. He pulled himself close enough for Tsuna to smell the shower gel on his body. It’s an extremely close distance, “we won’t starve to death anyway.”
It’s no big deal if anyone were to spread gossip…
Neither value nor responsibility can be as simple as what Mukuro had said. But this kid sounds really serious. Tsuna laughed helplessly as he reached out and poked Mukuro on the forehead, “Little brat.”
Mukuro rubbed his forehead with dissatisfaction, “Don’t keep treating me like a child.”
“Huh?” Laughing out loud, Tsuna asked happily, “Do you think you are an adult just after turning 18? Hmm? Student Rokudo Mukuro?”
He could only hear the boy’s tongue-twisting voice. The grunting sound behind him was too small to make out what he was saying. When Tsuna narrowed his eyes to catch it seriously, Mukuro had already raised his voice to the level where he could hear clearly.
“So…since there is no solution at all, ignoring them is the best solution.”
Although the voice has been raised, it is not very loud because they were too close to each other. But he seems to be whispering. Tsuna listened in a daze. It took a while to digest what he had said. He then murmured, “I should just ignore them, I…”
While speaking, he saw a pair of eyes that were very close to him. His eyelashes flickered, covering his eyes, leaving a faint shadow.
That fragile appearance like a butterfly’s wings is unbelievably beautiful.
Tsuna stopped moving. He slowly half-closed his eyes and suddenly stretched out his hand to touch Mukuro’s eyes gently with his fingers. Mukuro was obviously surprised by this. But he didn’t dodge. He only blinked involuntarily as his eyelashes slid across Tsuna’s fingers.
A connected sensation could be overlooked if they don’t pay attention to it.
But it was such a slight touch that wasn’t even itching that made Tsuna feel confirmed from the bottom of his heart. He knew that the eyes surrounded by the long eyelashes were looking straight at him.
It was as if he could obtain strength from it. He felt really cared about.
In just two or three seconds, he withdrew his hand. But Mukuro suddenly grabbed his hand for no reason and looked at it thoughtfully for a while. He then stretched out his other hand, trying to connect it palms against palms. There was a bit of a hidden meaning behind his act.
He felt the warmth of the palm and the pulsation under the thin skin.
This behaviour seemed to be peculiarly childish for Tsuna. He couldn’t help laughing and held his hand, “I feel much better after talking with Muku.”
Mukuro was stunned and let go of his hand. He turned his head away. The corners of his mouth curled down a little as if he felt bored.
Tsuna sat up. He leaned over and picked up the already slightly cold cup and drank half of the water in one gulp. The cold water that cooled all the way down to the stomach completely recovered his brain that was almost sober.
“I’ve prepared the bath water for you.” Mukuro got up and turned sideways. He glanced at Tsuna, who was just putting the cup back on the table as he rubbed his forehead in order to be more sober. He raised his head to express his gratitude after hearing what Mukuro had said. Tsuna smiled at him. His lips looked soft and moist since he had just drank water.
On the palm of Mukuro’s hand, there was still the warmth that had just touched his skin. A hidden desire flashed in Mukuro’s eyes.
This person, why is he always so unaware? He always says such things indifferently, showing such demeanour and expression unknowingly. He obviously doesn’t realise what he was doing to me at all.
No. It’s not only that you just don’t know anything about how I feel. You can also stir up my emotions and make me angry!
“Then I’m going to wash. You go to bed first. You have to go to school tomorrow.” Saying this, Tsuna took off his tie with one hand and took his briefcase as he walked to his room.
Mukuro stood on the spot and looked at his back leaving. His eyes were flickering.
I understand the reason for this.
It was because Tsunayoshi Sawada had no desire for me. Although this is a fact. My reasoning understood why. But my heart could not be persuaded by my reasoning.
In the end, it was only me who was burning wildly with this desire. I was driven by this invisible emotion and it became even more uncontrollable. Every time I think of this, I can’t help but want to strangle him to death.
If it goes on like this, it will make me become a little impatient…
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*Author’s Note: Next chapter is about a wedding. Guess whose XD? -YXF
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*Translator’s Note: Yep. Mukuro can’t take it anymore. FYI, updates frequency to this novel has changed to three chapters per week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. -K
Next update: 2023.08.23
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