ATOS Chapter 43

Chapter 43 – Good Samaritan

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*

֍֍֍

“After the last quarter’s work, everyone did a great job. Although we went for a luxury product line, the market response has been enthusiastic. This wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s efforts. I hope we’ll continue to excel in the preparations for the upcoming launch.”

After the meeting, Tsuna was the last to leave the conference room. Hitomi was waiting at the door, holding reports from various departments in her hands.

“Please compile the information about the company’s stock performance on the market for me.” Tsuna had specifically asked one of the departments to gather this information. It should be mixed in with reports from other departments.

“Okay,” Hitomi nodded as she followed behind him. Tsuna glanced at his wristwatch, wondering how the board meeting in Italy was going.

The higher he climbed, the greater the resistance he faced. The proposal for him to become the next CEO had been put on the agenda a week ago. However, it was clear that things were not going smoothly.

Sitting in his office chair, Tsuna couldn’t help but rub his forehead. The materials he needed were in front of him, filled with technical terms that he only vaguely understood. Nevertheless, the report clearly indicated one thing: Vongola’s publicly traded stocks were being heavily purchased.

The party responsible was none other than Estraneo, the partner that had never put Tsuna’s mind at ease.

Estraneo’s CEO was named Masato Hitsuji. He was surprisingly a Japanese individual. And their largest shareholder’s name was Lancia, someone who appeared quite fearsome.

No matter how he looked at it, Tsuna found this company, which seemed to be stirring from all angles, untrustworthy. Although it had indeed brought benefits to Vongola in the nearly year-long collaboration and had never harmed Vongola’s interests, he still couldn’t help but feel that way.

His fingers slid across the data in the documents when suddenly, Tsuna came up with an accurate metaphor.

It was integrating itself into Vongola.

“In this way, it almost looks like they’re marrying into the family…” he made a grim joke. But even he himself didn’t find it funny. For now, Tsuna had no choice but to set aside concerns about them. Due to the drawn-out council sessions, he had to take charge of the market for the new season’s products again.

Not long ago, Tsuna had finally obtained his driver’s licence. He had arranged to meet Reborn after work and go to a car dealership together. Not wanting to descend into the gloomy underground parking garage, Tsuna chose to wait for Reborn at the street corner near the company gate.

During the evening rush hour, the streets were busier with pedestrians. Tsuna stood by the curb, staring absentmindedly at the busy road. He did not notice a shaky figure approaching him.

“Huh?” He was bumped from behind. Tsuna turned around in surprise. But there was no one there. He instinctively lowered his gaze and saw a trembling girl crouched on the ground.

“Um… Miss, are you okay?” He immediately bent down to inquire. The girl’s pale face, sweaty forehead, and vacant eyes startled Tsuna. “Are you alright?”

“…,” She muttered something under her breath. But Tsuna only saw her lips move. The sound of what she said was unclear. He leaned in a bit closer. ‘What did you just say?’

“…It hurts…,” came the faint voice. She was trembling as she repeated the words. Tsuna saw her clutching her stomach. Her bangs were dampened by sweat. He could imagine how much pain she was in.

It could be some sudden illness. Tsuna anxiously scanned the surroundings and didn’t spot anyone else coming with the girl. He patted her shoulder gently, ‘I’ll take you to the hospital first. Can you hold on a little longer?’

After saying this, he noticed the girl nod slightly. He hailed a taxi and helped her into the car. He told the driver, “Please get us to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible.” Then, he called Reborn and briefly explained the situation.

Seeing the girl’s near-death expression, Tsuna directly headed to the emergency room. He had initially thought it might be acute appendicitis or something similar, but the doctor’s response surprised him.

“Menstrual pain to this extent. Did she eat something cold?”

This pain? Menstrual pain?

After being given two cups of hot water by the doctor, the girl, who had slightly improved, frowned and whispered that she had eaten ice cream cake. The doctor shrugged and wrote a prescription, “Start with some pain relievers. But I recommend you visit a gynaecologist.”

The doctor naturally handed the prescription to Tsuna, “You two have just started dating, right? Let me tell you, young man, it’s important to know your girlfriend’s menstrual cycle. How could you let her eat cold things during her period?”

As a well-intentioned passerby, Tsuna felt a lot of pressure. Nevertheless, he obediently went to buy the medicine. When he returned, he found the girl had left the consultation room and was sitting in a chair in the corridor. Her young face looked weary and her expression drained.

“Um…”

Facing the unfamiliar girl, Tsuna felt quite awkward. He hadn’t paid much attention when he rushed her to the hospital. He genuinely thought it might be a life-threatening condition, so he hurriedly took her to the hospital without much consideration. He never anticipated that it was simply menstrual pain.

Taking a step forward, he placed the plastic bag with the medicine on her lap. Adhering to his virtuous spirit of being a good Samaritan, he hesitantly asked, “Do you need to see a gynaecologist?”

Lifting her gaze to him, the girl’s large eyes held a hint of surprise. After a few seconds of hesitation, she finally answered, “Yes.”

With that, she stood up while holding the bag. But she still had one hand pressed against her lower abdomen, slightly hunching her back. Tsuna noticed how difficult it was for her to walk. After suppressing his urge for a couple of steps, he couldn’t help but ask, “If you don’t mind, can I help support you?”

His ‘I’m not trying to take advantage of you’ got stuck in his throat. He didn’t have the courage to say it out loud.

“Well… then I’m counting on you,” she replied, shifting most of her weight onto him. Together, they went to register at the hospital, this time using the girl’s name. That was when Tsuna learned her name was Haru Miura.

Amid a group of obviously sick women, Tsuna and Haru sat side by side, waiting for their turn. He felt an immense pressure, sensing the gazes of the other patients scanning him, making him unsure where to direct his gaze. He ended up staring at the white marble floor.

His phone rang and Tsuna signalled to Haru that he needed to take the call. He walked into the lobby.

“Reborn? I’m at the Namimori Hospital now.” Relieved that he was no longer under the collective scrutiny of the women, Tsuna let out a sigh. “Yeah, gynaecology… Can you not laugh, please? What do you mean girlfriend?”

His voice rose and he saw the nurse at the front desk gesture for him to lower his volume. He complied, lowering his voice. “Can you come pick me up? What? You made plans for a night out with your lover? Jessica? Who’s Jessica? Wasn’t it Maria last week? Oh well, forget about that for now. It’s weird, you know. I was the one who said we’d go see the cars first. So when did you make plans… Yeah, yeah, I know it’s an emergency. But do you have to reschedule so quickly?”

Reluctantly receiving the “you’ll have to walk back by yourself” command, Tsuna ended the call and returned to the waiting area. Haru’s spot on the row of seats was empty so Tsuna instinctively looked around.

“Hey, young man. Your girlfriend went in already,” a kind auntie informed him and then sighed. “Boys your age are rarely so considerate. Your girlfriend is really lucky.”

Tsuna didn’t know whether to dispute that he was her boyfriend or to ask how old she thought he was. He forced a smile and sat down on the bench.

Before long, Haru emerged from the consultation room with a prescription in her hand. Tsuna approached her, “What did the doctor say?”

“They want to give me an IV drip.”

Tsuna sighed inwardly. It wasn’t as if he wanted things to go this far. He just kept thinking, “It’s not too much trouble. So let me help.” But as he kept doing that, he found himself unable to back down.

Thinking this way, he smiled slightly at Haru, “Rest here for a bit. I’ll go get the medicine.”

He went to the nurse with the prescription and was guided to the infusion room. 

“Uh, what’s your name?” Haru’s spirits seemed much better now than when they first met. Her eyes, which had been drooping due to pain, were now uplifted, revealing a hint of amusement.

Tsuna chuckled, “Right. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Tsunayoshi Sawada.”

Repeating the pronunciation of Tsunayoshi Sawada a few times in her mind, Haru looked at Tsuna with sparkling eyes, “Can I call you Tsunayoshi-san? You can call me Haru.”

It was the first time he had heard someone call him that. Usually, it was either just Tsunayoshi or Sawada-san. The combination of Tsunayoshi with ‘-san’ felt quite fresh. However, what a straightforward personality she had… It seemed that her quiet demeanour earlier was only due to the pain. In reality, she appeared to be quite cheerful.

“Sure. No problem,” Tsuna replied after a brief moment of surprise, not dwelling on the matter.

“Thanks to you, Tsunayoshi-san, I’m really grateful. I usually pay attention to these things. But because it was Wednesday, I made a special trip to my favourite cake shop. I accidentally saw their new ice cream cake.”

She sighed and had a slightly dreamy expression on her face. “But that ice cream cake was so delicious…”

Was Wednesday a special day for something?

Tsunayoshi wondered about this. But considering that he had only met her by chance, he didn’t voice his question.

“Tsunayoshi-san, you have a handphone, right?”

Suddenly being asked this question, Tsuna automatically nodded. She had seen him answer a call earlier after all. “Yes, why?”

Haru blinked. Her eyes were so large and bright that they gave off a lively impression. She seemed to be a standard youthful beauty. With such a spirited personality, one could imagine that she was quite popular among her peers. “Can I borrow it for a moment?”

“Uh, sure.” He couldn’t help but wonder how anyone could leave home without a handphone these days. Tsuna handed his phone over to Haru.

Haru quickly typed a series of numbers on Tsuna’s phone. Soon, the ringtone sounded nearby. She took a flashing handphone from her bag and ended the call. She then efficiently saved the number. “There. I got your number, Tsunayoshi-san.”

Tsuna was slightly stunned. What was going on?

“Since you saved me, I have to treat you to a meal, Tsunayoshi-san.” Haru looked serious and took out her wallet from her bag. “Also, please let me know how much the medicine costs.”

Saved her and such…? Can menstrual pain kill people… Is it possible?

Having never experienced menstrual pain, of course Tsuna couldn’t know just how important the favour of saving Haru Miura meant to her. He tentatively declined, saying, “It’s okay… I didn’t do anything much.”

However, unexpectedly, Haru Miura readily put the money back into her wallet. Then, her eyes almost sparkled as she looked at Tsuna. “Then please let me treat you to a meal! Also, there’s a question I must ask you.”

“Wh-what is it?” The conversation veered into a direction Tsuna couldn’t have predicted. The momentum of Haru Miura was so strong that he unconsciously took a step back.

“Tsunayoshi-san, do you have a girlfriend?”

Huh?!

֍֍֍

*Author’s Note: Um, Rokudo Mukuro, can you relax your expression a bit? -YXF

֍֍֍

*Translator’s Note: Of course Estraneo is ‘marrying into the family’. Lol. Mukuro must come back now or else someone might steal Tsuna away. Hehe. -K

֍֍֍