Chapter 42 *Toraga's Point of View
The date changes to September 21.
I pressed the name at the top of my cell phone's call history and put the phone to my ear.
One call. A familiar voice called, “Moshi moshi,” and a smile appeared on my face.
Happy birthday.
I said, “Thank you for …….”
Today is Mariko's birthday.
I had talked a little before about calling her around the time the date changes because it's a weekday.
From the speed with which she picked up the phone, I think she must have remembered what I had said.
I thought for a moment as I listened to Mariko's tearful voice on the other end of the phone, and then I opened my mouth.
'…… can you step outside for a minute now?'
After I said that, a startled voice was heard, then the sound of hurriedly descending the stairs could be heard over the receiver, and when that sound stopped, I heard the sound of a door being unlocked and opened.
Toraga-san!”
I heard the same voice from the cell phone and from the ear of the person who was not holding the phone to me.
I turned my body back on the fence and caught sight of Mariko, who was holding the phone to her ear with a surprised expression on her face, and turned off the phone and put it in my pocket.
Sorry, I didn't mean to call you outside.
No, not like that, eh, really, Toraga-san ……?”
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should not be afraid to ask for help from your friends and family.
The actual “I'm not a fan of the way you do it,” he said, “but I'm not a fan of the way you do it either.
The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the two of you have been in the same place for so long, and that you have been in the same place for so long that you have been able to see each other.
Did you come all the way out here?”
I thought that a phone call alone wouldn't get the message across.
The most important thing is that you can't get the message across.
It is important that the message be conveyed, but the main reason is that I wanted to tell him in person and I thought he would probably want to see me after I called him.
I wanted to be the first to tell him how I felt on the day he was born, and I wanted to be the first to see his face.
And one more thing.
I held a small paper bag in my right hand in front of Mariko.
She looked back and forth between the paper bag and my face, and her hand was trembling a little as she accepted the bag.
Open it.”
I said, pulling out a long, thin box from inside the paper bag, and as Mariko checked its contents, tears started to fall from her eyes.
I don't really want to see her cry, but I like to see that kind of reaction, and I thought to myself that this is what I wanted to see.
I was happy to see her overreacting, but I also felt a little guilty for making her cry. But I'm still happy …….
Here, …….
Give it to me.”
The actual “I'm not a fan of the way you do it,” he said, “but I'm not a fan of the way you do it, either.
I gave Mariko a necklace similar to the one she had given me for my birthday.
It was a bit smaller and more feminine in design than the one I was wearing, with a wing motif.
I was thinking about what to give her, and I wanted to give her something similar to what I got from her.
I wanted to make them matching …….
I had never understood the idea of wearing a pair of rings, or something with the same design, and I was embarrassed. I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
–The desire for exclusivity. A visual proof that it was theirs. They wanted to feel special in a way that no one else did. ……At least, that's what I felt.
I'll keep it as an heirloom. ……
You don't have to.”
“What should I do, I'm so happy, I can't stop crying……Toraga-san just being alive is the best birthday present I've ever received……I'm so happy…….”
The actual “I'm so happy” is a very important part of the “I'm so happy” concept.
The most important thing to remember is that you can't just take a look at the pictures and see what you think of them.
The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have a good understanding of what you are doing and how to do it.
……Did you feel like this when it was my birthday?
I was so happy on the day you celebrated my birthday. So I want to give you back what I couldn't give you then.
This is the best birthday I've ever had.
Mariko smiled at me and I smiled back.
—I smiled back at her, and she smiled back at me.
That Saturday, I had told Mariko to come to my house around noon, and I was waiting for her at home, feeling strangely nervous.
I checked the time on my cell phone and it was past 12:30. I had just received a text message saying that she had left home, so I should be home soon.
Just as I was thinking that, the doorbell rang.
I stood up and did something out of character. I was so embarrassed that I scratched my hair and went to the front door and unlocked it.
Before the door was fully opened, I held out the bouquet of flowers I had prepared at the front door.
I couldn't celebrate properly the other night, so I'll do it all over again.”
It was a weekday, so I couldn't do anything to her.
So I was secretly thinking of celebrating his birthday again today.
The bouquet I gave him was a bunch of orange flowers.
When the florist asked me what kind of bouquet I wanted, I thought of your face smiling like the sun, so I decided on orange.
I was happy to receive the bouquet from you, so I decided to give it to you.
You may think it's a bit too much. Everything I'm about to do to you is something you did for me.
But I was really happy, so I thought I'd …… give it to you.
Did you …… not like it?”
The combination of feelings of uncertainty and embarrassment about whether or not they would be pleased with it, leads to a blunt way of saying it.
The actual “I'm not a fan of the newest technology, but I'm not a fan of the newest technology,” he said.
She said, “I don't …… dislike it. ……”
After saying that, she crouched down on the spot and holding the bouquet, she held her face with one hand and let her tears spill out in ragged drops.
The most important thing to remember is that you can't just take a look at the actual situation.
You are really overjoyed with what I do.
That's why you saved me. You who accepts me and says you love me like this.
I let Mariko, who couldn't stop crying, into the house, sat her down on the sofa, waited until her tears calmed down, and then imitated what you did to me.
We spent time together, I cooked dinner, we ate cake and …….
Every time I returned what you did to me, Mariko shed many tears.
I was impressed that she could cry so many tears, and my heart was filled with joy for Mariko as I worried that she might lose all the water in her body.
Thank you, Toraga-san.”
I'm glad you're alive. ……
I am happy.”
How many times have I heard those words today? How many times have you given me a smile?
You always give me what I want.
I don't believe in God, but if there is a God, did he give me this guy who has everything I want? Sometimes I wonder if there is a God.
I hope so. I think so even though there's no way it's …….
After I got out of the bath, Mariko, who had already finished her bath, was on the sofa, holding her knees and playing with her cell phone.
I thought it was unusual because she rarely plays with her cell phone when she is at my house.
After watching her for a while, Mariko noticed my presence, put her cell phone on the sofa, and rushed to my side.
What's wrong?”
I patted Mariko's head as she looked at me worriedly and said, “It's nothing,” and we both headed for the sofa.
At that moment, Mariko's cell phone rang with a text message.
It read, “…… parents?”
My heart ached for a moment, thinking that Mariko's parents were saying something to her because she had been staying at my house on her days off lately.
The first thing to do is to make sure that you have a good understanding of what is going on in your life.
I don't want to ask what kind of communication they're having, but I'm a little concerned when I see the troubled, mysterious look on her face as she looks at the contents of the e-mail.
I was happy to see a thin chain on Mariko's neck after seeing her face with a hundred faces, and I realized that she was wearing the necklace I had given her.
I could see the corners of her mouth turn up. I looked back at Mariko's face with that expression on my face and saw her looking at me from her cell phone and staring at me with slightly reddened cheeks.
She looked as if she wanted to say something, but instead of saying anything, she shifted her gaze somewhat shyly and I opened my mouth.
What is it?”
I poked her in the side, and she made a funny sound. She lay down on the sofa and held the side she had poked with one hand, shaking her body.
Such an appearance stimulated my naughty side.
I lay down on top of Mariko and said, “Your back is weak, isn't it? Mariko shook her body and gave a strange scream again.
Her face turned red visibly and she said, “It's so ticklish! She tried to move me away with her hand, but when I took her hand and stroked her side this time, her body jumped again.
You have such a great reaction, don't you?
Yes, the way you say it is so erotic ……!”
The actual “I'm not a fan of the way you do it,” he said, “but I'm not a fan of the way you do it either.
I was ticklish, but not so ticklish that my body would bounce like this guy's. I was ticklish, but not so ticklish that my body would bounce like this guy's.
She stroked my side several times, and Mariko's face turned disapproving as she watched my reaction.
With that expression on her face, she puts her arm around my back and strokes my back with her fingers, but it doesn't tickle, either because she knows she's being stroked or because the position of the strokes is subtle.
“Are you not ticklish, Mr. Toraga?”
“Not ticklish at all.
“What? Then this too?
Mariko's hand touched my ear.
The actual tickle is certainly ticklish, but not so ticklish as to cause an exaggerated reaction.
I put my hand on Mariko's ear and she screamed and tried to move her head to escape. She screamed and moved her head to escape.
I couldn't help but let out an uncontrollable laugh. Shaking her shoulders, she stroked her ears with her fingers and inserted them into the holes.
Then, Mariko made a voice that sounded like a sweet winning voice, different from her previous voices.
She put her hand over her mouth and meditated, her face reddening, perhaps surprised that she had made such a sound.
Seeing her reaction, I hurriedly pulled my body away from Mariko and patted her head, saying, “Sorry.
I regret that I got a little carried away.
That was a close call. The desire that made my back shiver attacked me, drowning out my reason for a moment, and I almost put my hand out with the desire I felt.
Even though I don't want to be the kind of guy who only wants to be with his body, the desire that I once shared with him rises up at a moment's notice.
I didn't go out with this guy because I wanted his body. Even though I have decided that I will not touch her again until she has sorted out her feelings, my brain is telling me that I want her.
I let out a small sigh while scratching my hair, Mariko got up and grabbed the hem of my dress.
I turned to Mariko when I felt a small tug, and she turned her face red and muttered in a small voice like a mosquito, “I'm …… sleepy.
I was a little surprised by her words. I looked at the clock and saw that it was past eight o'clock, and I don't think sleepy is a word that comes to mind, at least not after being tickled,…….
But that's my feeling. Maybe this guy was trying to resist sleepiness to stay awake.
I turned off the lights in the living room, led Mariko, who said she was sleepy, into the bedroom, and laid her down on the bed as I had done the other night.
As I lay there playing with my cell phone, my mind was dominated by a hazy feeling of being stuck in my chest, and the fingers that were playing with the phone seemed to be fixed in place.
I read the same sentence over and over again without getting the information from the phone into my head.
Is Mariko angry with me? Or is she just disappointed with me?
I love spending time with this guy, so I feel sad that Mariko is already going to bed, and I can't understand how she feels when she suddenly says she wants to go to sleep.
How much time had passed?
Suddenly, Mariko, who had been lying on her side and not moving, moved her body, and then she sat up and called my name, “Toramasa-san.
What's wrong?”
I picked up the remote control for the light and turned on a small light and saw Mariko's figure illuminated by the dim light.
I woke up and asked her if she was not feeling well, and she shook her head and asked me if I was mad at her. She shook her head strongly when I asked her if she was angry with me.
Mariko was sitting upright on the bed, looking at me from the front, her face reddened, as if she was still reeling from what had just happened.
The indescribable atmosphere made me feel nervous and anxious.
Mariko looked at me several times, stared at the bed for a long time, and then her eyes turned to me as if she had made up her mind, her tightly knit lips moved, and she asked me in a slightly trembling voice, “May I ask you one selfish question on your birthday? He asked me in a slightly trembling voice, “Can I ask you one selfish question on your birthday?
There must be something inside of him to say such a thing.
Why? If I asked him why, he would say, “It's nothing,” and this would be ambiguous.
So I shook my head and said, “Oh,” without asking him anything.
What on earth would he say? He always does things I don't expect, so I'm sure he'll do something I can't imagine this time either.
I felt my heart beat a little faster with nervousness.
Mariko let out a small breath and said, “Please take off your top,” while holding her heart.
I rolled my eyes at her words.
She was the kind of person who would cover her face with her hands and ask me to put on clothes if I wasn't wearing them.
I was not surprised that such a guy would ask me to take off my clothes.
My heart beat even faster. But Mariko's heart must be beating even faster than mine. I can tell from the hand holding her heart and the pained expression on her face.
I didn't say anything and took off my top clothes as I was told.
I put the clothes on the side and looked at Mariko. The hand that was holding my heart was gripping the clothes so tightly that they were almost wrinkled.
Normally Mariko would have made a strange noise and looked away, but now she was staring straight at me and her mouth was closed.
I was so nervous that I couldn't anticipate what she was going to do, and my emotions were overwhelmed.
My heart beats so loudly that it pulses with pain.
Mariko had been looking at me for a while and had stopped moving, but slowly her body moved closer to mine and her hand gently touched my thigh.
When Mariko's face came to my chest, her cheek brushed against mine.
At that moment, my heart ached more than ever and I felt the heat gather in my face.
Mariko, who was resting her cheek on my chest, could probably hear the sound of my heartbeat. Thinking of this made me feel even more embarrassed.
I found myself waiting for Mariko's next move without being able to say anything.
Mariko's eyes looked up slightly and met my gaze.
My heart hurts like a fool. My face is hot. My whole body is so tense that I hesitate to move my body.
Mariko slowly put her lips to my chest.
I felt a strange sensation that gave me goosebumps.
I felt a creeping sensation like goosebumps all over my body.
I can't believe that this is happening to me now, but at the same time, greed and happiness well up in me.
The opposite hand from the one touching my thigh touches my hand.
The hand that is shaking slightly takes my hand and gently reaches for the zipper of Mariko's dress.
At that moment, I could no longer contain myself.
I pushed Mariko's body down and looked into her moist eyes from above.
Are you asking me out?
I opened my mouth, and Mariko's face, with a single unbearable tear running down her cheek, revealed a pained yet somehow happy expression.
I was asking you out, Toraga-san.
I was asking Toramasa out,” she said in a trembling voice, and when Mariko reached for my arm that I had placed next to her face, she pressed her forehead against that arm as if to hide her face.
My whole body was so hot that I thought I might have developed a fever.
I was so nervous that I could hardly breathe, and I was so filled with joy that I took Mariko's lips as if I was swept away by my emotions.
