Chapter 4 – More Unfamiliar Feelings
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)
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Tsuna set for Mukuro to watch TV after they were done with the dishes. The boy didn’t even touch the remote control. Tsuna had left the TV on before without changing the channel. It has been broadcasting commercials continuously. He changed to the discovery channel. Tsuna then went to the bedroom and began to make a list of purchases for tomorrow.
He would need to get some toothbrushes, bedsheets, blankets, slippers, pyjamas, cups… If he calculated carefully, there were amazingly a lot of things to buy by only having one more person in the house.
There would be no problem for another person to live in Tsuna’s apartment. When he first bought the place, he took into account that his father, who has been away all year round, would finally need a place to stay when he comes back. He couldn’t let his father stay at the hotel once he came back to his home country, right? So the chosen apartment has two bedrooms in total. Tsuna lives in one himself and he will let Mukuro live in the other without any problems.
Tsuna wrote down what came to mind.He then read the list he had written again while turning the pen in his hand. He faintly felt that his life would be more lively from now on.
It hasn’t been like this for a long time. His mother passed away when he was in junior high school. His father flew around all the time. He then later went to study in Italy alone. Although it can’t be described as him progressing forward, it can still be considered as some sort of improvement from his previous life.
He suddenly had some expectations for his future.
Tsuna smiled to himself and tapped the tip of the pen lightly on the paper. He finalised all the things to buy so he folded the paper and put it in his wallet. He checked the time to notice that it was still early so he went to the living room and watched TV with Mukuo.
Mukuro’s sitting posture remained rigid throughout. Meanwhile, Tsuna has changed several postures from leaning on the back of the sofa to hugging the cushions. Mukuro remained motionless but his eyes were fixed on the TV screen. But since his expression didn’t change at all, it really made one wonder if he understood the content.
“Muku, do you want some potato chips?” Tsuna bent over and took out some potato chips from the drawer under the coffee table. He unpacked them and handed them to Mukuro, who shook his head.
Tsuna ate it by himself. The potato chips were very crispy. It is the lemon tea flavour. It is not too sweet nor too salty. Tsuna liked the taste. He especially liked to eat such fast food when watching TV. So he ate very intently. He threw the potato chips into his mouth with his fingers at a constant speed; crack, crack, crack.
For a while, apart from the narration on the TV in the background, there was only his cracking sound in the living room. By the time he realised it, Mukuro beside him had been looking at him for an unknown length of time.
Tsuna felt a little embarrassed. Are you trying to pick a fight with me? He felt it would be more embarrassing to ask this question, so he only blinked his eyes a few times. He passed the potato chips to Mukuro again in a daze, “Want some?”
This time Mukuro didn’t refuse. He looked back and forth between Tsuna and the potato chips several times before finally reaching out to take a piece and put it in his mouth.
‘Crack’
“Is it delicious?” Judging from his expression, he felt that the child seemed to like it. As expected, Tsuna saw that Mukuro hesitated for a few seconds but then nodded.
He hurriedly took out another can of potato chips from the drawer. He opened this one decisively and stuffed it into Mukuro’s hand, “Let’s eat together.”
After Tsuna finished speaking, he immediately focused his attention on the TV. It was as if he didn’t care how Mukuro would deal with the potato chips at all. But his ears kept paying attention to the movement next to him and he heard the cracking sound of potato chips being eaten again after only a while of silence. This sound causes joy and encouragement in Tsuna’s heart.
He felt that somehow he had successfully fed some small wild animals. It was such a sense of accomplishment.
Thus, two people sat on the sofa. One adult and one child had their cheeks puffed up as their mouths were stuffed with potato chips. The sight was accompanied with the sound of potato chips cracking in their mouths and also the sound of the TV. Tsuna poured a glass of orange juice for both of them and this time, Mukuro accepted it much more smoothly. He also said thank you for the first time.
The sense of accomplishment was surging in Tsuna!
When it was time for them to go to bed, Tsuna rummaged through his storage boxes to look for any disposable toiletries that he had taken from the hotel. He instructed Mukuro to brush his teeth and wash his face only to realise that he hadn’t explained to the other party the reason for the lack of blankets that night. Therefore, the two of them had to squeeze in one bed.
“It doesn’t matter.”
This child is really worry-free to take care of.
Tsuna found a set of his own long-sleeved cotton shirts to use as pyjamas for Mukuro. Tsuna himself was already considered thin but Mukuro looked even scrawnier in his clothes.
Tsuna secretly added an item in his education plan for Mukuro. That is to make the child fatter.
Tsuna turned on the air conditioner. When he lay down on the bed, Tsuna found that Mukuro was sleeping almost at the edge of the bed. He was really worried that he would roll off accidentally, “You can sleep closer to me.”
While speaking, Tsuna moved to the side vigorously to create the illusion that ‘this bed is really spacious and empty’. He originally wanted to wait for Mukuro to fall asleep before sleeping himself. But he has the habit of falling asleep as soon as his head touches the pillow. Contrary to Tsuna, Mukuro still has his eyes wide open in the dark as Tsuna had fallen asleep unconsciously.
Tsuna’s breath became steady and rhythmic. It sounded reassuring in the dark.
This was the first time that Mukuro felt at ease being in the dark. After waiting for a while, he moved cautiously towards Tsuna.
Tsuna moved suddenly and stretched his hand out from under the blanket. He put it on the side of his pillow. A little baby fat was squeezed on his face by the pillow. He looked very peaceful as he was sleeping.
Mukuro looked at his face and then looked at his hand. He then moved his eyes from looking at Tsuna’s hand towards his face again without blinking his eyes. It was as if he was bewitched by something as he slowly reached out and gently held Tsuna’s fingers .
After confirming that there was no sign of Tsuna waking up, he gradually increased his strength and clenched Tsuna’s palms tightly before closing his eyes as if he was relieved.
The next morning, Tsuna quickly changed his plans for the day when he was having breakfast with Mukuro. He wondered why did the child show a surprised expression when he was having breakfast?! Although the child was always expressionless, the slightly twitching eyebrows had already displayed his thoughts!
“Well, didn’t you have three meals a day before?” Tsuna deliberately woke up half an hour earlier than usual just to fry the eggs and small sausages. He placed them on the plate for Mukuro. He prepared juice for himself and hot milk for Mukuro.
“When I was in the research institute, it was almost like I didn’t eat at all. They would inject nutrients on me regularly accompanied by physical examination.”
I’m going to kneel and beg the court to sentence those bastards to be punished with seppuku! They are not human! Tsuna cursed the perpetrators in his head.
Tsuna smeared a thick layer of blueberry jam on the freshly baked toast and placed it on Mukuro’s plate, “Then, did you not eat three meals at Ryo-nii’s house?”
Mukuro tentatively poked the small sausage with a fork and was a little interested in the elasticity of the thing. In less than a day after arriving here, Tsuna had given him a lot of new understanding of food. “He didn’t come home until evening.”
What’s the meaning of this? Tsuna was confused for a while before finally grasping the meaning of Mukuro’s answer.
“You…-” Tsuna reacted after a few seconds.
What Mukuro meant was that they would only have food when Ryo-nii came home at night?! Could it be that Ryo-nii is the culprit for this child to be scrawny?! The little girl in Ryo-nii’s house will definitely die! She will die! Tsuna thought panickedly.
Unable to suppress this worry, Tsuna immediately called Ryo-nii. The other party was also very surprised when he learned about this, “I left money for them every day so that they can buy their breakfast and lunch.”
“Ryo-nii… During the time I spent with Muku from yesterday to today, I fully understand how little common sense these children have about their daily lives. Maybe they haven’t even heard of the word ‘takeaway’?” Tsuna rubbed his forehead in worry. There was a trace of helplessness in Tsuna’s voice and it was also the same for Ryo-nii on the other side.
“No way… But these two have been with me for a week already. The words they said to me during this time were less than ten. Times that with two.”
“It can’t go on like this.” Tsuna frowned, “How about you put that little girl in my house first? I am still able to take care of two children.”
Tsuna no longer minds feeding one more mouth and it seems that the one that stayed in Ryo-nii’s house is younger than Mukuro, right? Ryo-nii’s way of raising children is really worrying him from the bottom of his heart.
“Forget it, if you are an adult with two children, you will be single your whole life” Ryo-nii flatly refused, “Don’t worry, I will take care of it.”
When Ryo-nii spoke like that, Tsuna can’t force the matter as it would make it seem like Ryo-nii is useless. However, he is more worried about leaving Mukuro at home alone on his first day. He should at least teach him some common sense of life first.
Since the plan he made at work was successfully passed last time, there was no need to revise it. Thus, his superior readily agreed to Tsuna’s request for leave.
Tsuna hung up the phone and walked back to the living room. Mukuro had drunk all the milk and eaten everything on the plate. Tsuna was very satisfied with this. Only children who are not picky eaters can grow up healthily.
“Breakfast is very important. You must eat it every day.” Tsuna sat across from him and quickly finished his portion, “Look. After you finish eating, you have to put away the tableware and wash them clean.”
The kitchen at Tsuna’s home is not divided by a wall. So, he can have a clear view of the kitchen from the living room. Tsuna held the plate and asked Mukuro to help him take the glass and walked to the sink together. “This bottle is the detergent. If we were to wash dishes, it is easier to get rid of the stains by pouring a little of this in the water when it is time to wash them.”
Mukuro watched intently how Tsuna cleaned his plates. He then put them into a small cabinet called a ‘dishwasher’. There are not many things in them and they are displayed in order. He remembered that the police department also had this thing but he never opened it before.
“Be especially careful when using knives and the stove.” Tsuna pointed to the knives hanging on the wall. He picked up the kettle and filled it with water under the faucet. He then put it on the stove and turned on the fire. “If you want to drink water, do not drink water directly from the tap. It will upset your stomach. The kettle will make a sound once the water is boiled.”
Looking around the kitchen to ensure that there’s nothing else to teach, Tsuna clapped his hands, “Okay, let’s go clean your room now.”
The other bedroom was covered with white sheets because no one was living in it. It looked clean but in fact there was a lot of dust. Mukuro had a pale face as he faced the whiteness of the room. It reminded him of the research institute. It was filled with the colour white and dazzling lights there. Whether it was the staff that wore white coats or the dazzling fluorescent lights, or…-
-‘Pap!’
Tsuna slapped Mukuro on the back, bringing him back to reality. He turned his head to look at Tsuna in surprise. Tsuna was looking down at him. He was smiling. It was as dazzling as the morning light outside the window.
“This is your room. Don’t be lazy in cleaning it up.”
Mukuro quietly looked at Tsuna who had already turned his head around and tilted his head to the side for a bit to think about where to start cleaning. Mukuro then quickly lowered his eyes to stare at the wooden floor. Slowly, a smile bloomed on his face. It was so subtle that it was almost missable.
I’m glad I met you.
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*Translator’s Note: By the way, I’m translating two works at the same time. They carry the same theme where MC is older than ML and treated ML like his adopted son. So, the waiting for the ML to grow up and overthrow his adoptive father was worth it! I personally like this kind of theme. The other novel is ‘Dragon Blood’ by Shui Qian Cheng. Check it out too if you guys are interested. I’ll be updating both stories weekly. -K
*GLOSSARY:
- Seppuku: Or known as ‘hara-kiri’. It is a form of ritual suicide that originated with Japan’s ancient samurai warrior class. The grisly act typically involved stabbing oneself in the belly with a short sword, slicing open the stomach and then turning the blade upwards to ensure a fatal wound. It is usually used as a form of punishment for samurais to take in order to gain an honourable death.
Next update: 2023.05.02
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