Chapter 37 – New Questions
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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“Huh?!” In an instant, his wide-open eyes exposed his emotions without any concealment. Tsuna hadn’t even had a chance to say anything when he saw Reborn release his grip and turn away.
“Wait!” With the vague unease in his heart, Tsuna quickly put on his shirt and caught up with Reborn within a few steps. He frowned and looked at the man’s expressionless face. He tentatively asked, “Are you… Are you going to look for Mukuro?”
His glass-like pupils shifted slightly. A smile cracked on Reborn’s face. “A child who has done wrong needs to be punished.”
Although he said it in an indifferent tone, there was no hiding of the icy fury glinting in his eyes. “I’m thankful for your concern. But… I want to handle this matter on my own.”
“Handle it on your own?” Reborn asked with a dispassionate tone. Yet his eyes didn’t conceal the cold anger shimmering within. “To what extent do you intend to indulge him? Is it okay to grovel beneath him like a woman? I really want to open up your head and see what kind of despairing construct resides within you.”
Tsuna flinched slightly at such a merciless statement.
He also didn’t know how to deal with Mukuro. But Tsuna could somewhat imagine Reborn’s methods. Subconsciously, he still wanted to protect that child. “I never said I would indulge him… But this situation is more complicated than you think. I hope you won’t get involved.”
In this world, there are always things and people that leave you helpless, he thought while massaging his forehead.
Reborn gazed down at Tsuna in silence. The complex emotions in his unfathomable black eyes gradually merging, then fading away. Ultimately, it turned into an expression that held neither mockery nor interest. But instead, it was an indifferent look that lacked meaning. “You don’t want me to get involved?”
After glancing at him, Reborn chuckled. It was a gesture that carried no hint of pleasure and could make anyone he looked at feel a thin layer of ice forming inside them.
“Alright. I won’t get involved in your personal matters. But no matter how you handle your ridiculous relationship, remember what needs to be done.” With no change in tone, it was akin to just stating a fact, Reborn lightly nudged Tsuna’s shoulder. His voice suddenly became calmer, carrying a touch of superficial tranquillity. “Okay. Now go change your clothes. I’ll take you to the venue.”
Mukuro was still on leave at home, standing at the kitchen counter washing a couple of bags of groceries that he had just brought back from the supermarket. This season’s apples were ripe and healthy-looking. It was enticing enough that even he, who wasn’t particularly fond of fruit, couldn’t resist buying a few.
Ding-dong—
Mukuro washed the apple in his hand. The rarely heard doorbell ringing abruptly pierced the air, echoing once before falling silent. He turned off the tap and frowned as he looked in the direction of the door.
Did someone press it by mistake? He wondered.
But as he thought about it, the doorbell rang again.
This sort of unhurried feeling was inexplicably irritating. Mukuro pulled over a sheet of kitchen towel to dry his hands and then took a bite of the apple.
Ding-dong—
The sound rang out along with the crisp sound of a bite.
Mukuro chewed a few times and swallowed. The fragrant aroma and juice of the apple blossomed on his taste buds. He then casually placed the apple on the kitchen counter and walked towards the door.
Naturally, the visitor couldn’t be Tsuna. They both had their own sets of keys to the house, so there was no need to ring the doorbell. Mukuro looked through the peephole. He was stunned. The person standing there was someone he didn’t expect to see at all.
As if aware that he was being observed through the peephole, the person locked back into his gaze without hesitation.
Mukuro raised an eyebrow. He opened the door and greeted him politely, “Good afternoon.”
The person didn’t respond. His gaze nonchalantly swept over him. Since he was shorter than the person before him, Mukuro subtly took a step back. He didn’t like the feeling of having to look up to another person.
There was always a subtle aversion Mukuro felt towards this person named Reborn. Even without considering the college life he spent together with Tsuna, just the fact that Reborn escorted Tsuna home every night was enough to make Mukuro feel a sense of intrusion into something he held dear.
“Tsunayoshi went to a business dinner. I assume his assistant is aware of that?” Mukuro asked with a smile, referring to the text message he had just received from Tsuna. The implied meaning in his words was: Why did you come here alone?
“Oh…” A tinge of gloom crossed Reborn’s eyes. But he still casually extended what was in his hand. “I’m just delivering something for him.”
What he handed over appeared to be a suit. It was obviously the one Tsuna wore when he left today. What kind of high-profile event required Tsuna to change into a different outfit? Mukuro wondered.
“Sorry for troubling you, Assistant-san. You have to make a special trip here,” Mukuro said, blocking the entrance with no intention of letting the person inside. He had no desire to exchange more words with this person who emanated such an oppressive aura, “So, if there’s nothing else…”
“Don’t cross the line.”
Those sudden words left Mukuro momentarily stunned. Clearly, this person wasn’t talking about his attitude…
Seeing Reborn gazing at him with a distant look, Mukuro suddenly understood that just as he didn’t get along with this person, this person didn’t accept him either. The feeling is more akin to… disdain compared to outright hostility towards him.
“Don’t cross the line.”
As Mukuro was still pondering whether the true meaning of those words aligned with his suspicion, Reborn adjusted his hat and tilted his head slightly. “The amount of effort I’ve invested in him is something someone like you with so much empty space in their skull can’t comprehend. If you make me think you’re destroying him, I’ll personally encase you in cement and drop you in the Mariana Trench.”
The identity of ‘him’ that he was referring to was understood without needing to be explicitly stated.
Reborn’s tone was actually quite understated. There was an even inflection from start to finish. However, the seriousness embedded within it was demonstrated as a menacing threat.
“Sir, do you perhaps have something mistaken?” Mukuro suddenly smiled. It only reached the corners of his mouth as his eyes were still filled with naked provocation. “This is between him and me. You have no place to intervene.”
“We’ll see.” Reborn replied with just that simple sentence. But the expression on his seemingly expressionless face successfully unsettled Mukuro.
Exaggerating the curve of his fake smile, Mukuro continued, “Whether you know about what happened between him and me or not, the fact that even the person involved has tacitly approved,… you-…”
‘Clack.’
Due to the wall’s tremor, things on the shoe cabinet were affected and fell down. Mukuro’s back was pushed securely against the wall. His collar was grabbed and his throat felt constricted by the elbow pressing against it.
He had no doubt that if the pressure of that elbow pushed forward just a bit more, he could be choked to death on the spot.
“Enough, brat. Your clueless expression makes me find you quite amusing. I don’t see what’s there to brag about when the person you’re fond of treats you like a mere child. I don’t know what’s so impressive about playing these perverted childish games.”
The gaze fixed on him from extremely close was sharp and hostile. It contained not so much anger as it contained more of an intent to kill.
Mukuro struggled a bit. But he was held down firmly. Just as he was about to retort, the elbow pressing precisely at his throat exerted force, causing him to cough painfully.
In that moment of force, Mukuro’s eyes reddened. Since he had arrived in this place, this was the first time he had been immobilised by anyone.
“I was Tsunayoshi’s private tutor for four years. Every detail of his growth was guided and witnessed by me. He’s my student. Yet so naive and dense. He’s infuriatingly stupid. Listen, I don’t care if you’re enjoying this perverted game of yours. But if you drag my student into the abyss… believe me, you won’t like the outcome.”
The pressure on his throat was released. But the feeling of constriction still seemed present. Mukuro covered his throat and coughed heavily. But it didn’t impede Reborn’s words from piercing into his ears, word by word.
“Neither you nor I want to waste our time on each other. So I’ll keep it short. Kid, tone it down. It won’t do you any harm.”
Mukuro clenched his teeth to regain his breath. Without saying a word, he watched Reborn adjust his sleeve cuffs which were now wrinkled from the recent actions. It was as if he regarded Mukuro as trash. He did not spare a single look before turning around and leaving.
…Damn it…
After a while, Mukuro finally punched the wall behind him. An emotion of unwillingness to be suppressed filled him with frustration. However, he had to admit that a part of what the jerk had said was true.
Even if Tsuna didn’t hold him accountable, it didn’t mean that Tsuna had accepted him. Mukuro was well aware of his position in Tsuna’s heart. It was precisely because of this significance that he dared to do what he did that day.
Was it despicable? Yes.
But for the thing he craved most in this world, he wouldn’t regret or be ashamed of anything he did. Thinking about it, a sense of both happiness and sorrow welled up within Mukuro.
He could use deceit, coercion, and seduction to make Tsuna yield. But he couldn’t make Tsuna genuinely fall in love with him. Ultimately, they didn’t stand on the same level.
Taking a deep breath, Mukuro bent down to pick up the suit handed to him which had fallen to the ground. He tossed the takeaway menu that had fallen on the shoe cabinet back to its original spot. He roughly closed the door with one hand, producing a loud bang.
He stared harshly at the closed door. It was as if he was still facing the man from before. “I never…”
I never wanted to destroy him.
This matter was just between him and Tsuna. Even if it caused Tsuna some confusion or dilemma, Mukuro didn’t believe that his feelings would lead to something as severe as ‘destroying’ Tsuna. That man was just exaggerating! So what if they lived in the same dormitory for four years? He had been living together with Tsuna for almost six years! And their relationship was even more intimate than with anyone else.
What right did he have to warn him as if Tsuna were his possession?
Annoyed, Mukuro waited until 1 a.m. for Tsuna to return. There was a faint scent of alcohol on him. But he seemed clear-headed.
“Why are you still up, Mukuro? Your leave should be over by today, right?” Tsuna stood in the entrance, looking at Mukuro who had come over to open the door upon hearing the sound of keys. “I sent you a message telling you to sleep early.”
Yes, he’s treating me like a child.
Mukuro didn’t say anything. He simply stared at Tsuna in silence, making Tsuna feel uncomfortable under his gaze.
“If I really hurt you that much that day, I apologise.”
At those words, Tsuna held his breath as he gazed at Mukuro in disbelief. Even though Mukuro lowered his gaze, avoiding direct eye contact, this was still astonishing. This child was apologising to him?!
“But I don’t regret it,” Mukuro continued to keep his gaze downward. But he lightly and quickly brushed the back of his hand over Tsuna’s cheek, “And I won’t destroy you either.”
Having said that, without waiting for Tsuna’s reaction, he turned around and walked away.
Tsuna remained in the entrance for a long time all by himself. He didn’t know what had triggered Mukuro as his thoughts had been so extreme earlier. Yet now, there was this slightly compromising gesture?
However, what did he mean by ‘destroy’?
Tsuna couldn’t understand.
But what happened three days later made him, to some extent, realise the negative impact of the situation. It left him shocked and almost fearful.
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*Author’s Note:
【This is a serious Q&A time】
Author: Um, about what many people are saying about you… [cough] With your keen insight, how can you tell that Tsuna was taken by a man rather than spending an intimate night with an enthusiastic woman?
Reborn: [laughing coldly] Regardless of gender, the difference between being taken and being intimate with someone can be discerned from the marks on the body alone. He only has bruises on him but there was not even a scratch.
Author: … It sounds like you have experience in this…
Reborn: Oh? Did I give you permission to inquire about my private matters?
Author: Uh-oh! Sorry, TAT!
↑Hmph, even with a strong aura, you’re still just a pawn. [Hey! What’s with this tsundere tone?]
-YXF
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*GLOSSARY: 1. (name)-san = Mr. (name).
Next update: Tomorrow
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