OtaPon 36-40 (Patreon)

Chapter 36

RAW

　Just by looking at that name, Saki felt as if Osamu's voice was gently echoing in her head.
　Remembering his gentle voice, she ended up wanting to hear it.

　She looked at the letters many times, typed in a message and erased it repeatedly.
　Every time she coughed, the feeling of [I wanted to meet you] became stronger.

　Partly because of the loneliness caused by being alone, Saki's desire to see Osamu grew stronger.
　However, she couldn't help but feel bad about contacting Osamu here.

(...It's like saying that I caught a cold because of yesterday, isn’t it?... and, I don't want him to think I'm an unpleasant woman, or something... in the first place, saying I want to meet you because... I feel lonely at times like this is... that's heavy... right?)

　Her reasons for not contacting Osamu were things like that.
　Saki shook her head and then looked up something on her smartphone.

　What she looked up was, “about inviting another person to come to your house when you're not feeling well.”
　She looked around at various sites and thought about things in her own way.

　After that, Saki played with her smartphone for a while, but then she felt a dizzy spell and put it down.

　She staggered to the thermometer on her bedside and checked her temperature, which came out to be 38.5 degrees.
　Until a moment ago, the temperature was in the low 37°C range, but it has suddenly risen. When she was finally shown the numbers, her anxiety increased.
　She looked at her smartphone on her bedside, and at the same time Osamu's face came to her mind.

“...Just, a little bit, let’s just send a... message or something, okay?”

　Once she thought about it once, the rest was quick. Saki immediately sends a message to Osamu.

[Excuse me, Shimazaki-san, would you mind taking a moment on your day off?]
[What is it?]

　About three minutes later, her message was replied.
　When she saw that, her mouth loosened. Saki continued on typing a message.

[Shimazaki-san, did you catch a cold or anything after yesterday's rain?]
[I'm okay. Is Hino okay?]

　After seeing that message, Saki bit her lip tightly. I want you to come, I want to see your face──she swallowed those words.
　She shook her head, then sent a message.

[Yes, not particularly. It's raining heavily today, so please be careful.]
[Yeah.]

　After seeing that message, Saki closed her eyes.
　As her breathing was slightly disturbed, she sipped the jelly drink.

(Yeah, asking him to go out of his way to come here is... as expected, it's bad. We're... friends, after all. So wanting to go out of my way to meet you is, it’s strange isn’t it... but, yesterday──)

　[Even if they complain about my relationship with Hino, I’d be happy instead]. That’s what he said.
　What kind of meaning did those words have?

(... Shimazaki-san, please think about the feelings of someone like me who is not used to men. I’ll end up expecting a lot of things──)

　Saki thought about it absentmindedly and complained.
　At least Saki was aware of her feelings for him as of yesterday.

　She enjoyed being with him, she was happy when Osamu laughed, she fully understood this just by walking around with him.
　That's why, at that time, Saki was able to implicitly convey her feelings like that on the spur of the moment. Although she quickly dodged the issue afterwards.

(If I didn’t dodge the issue, how would he have answered me? ...How would Shimazaki-san think of me? I don't think he’ll hate me, but... beyond that, I don't know.)

　Thinking as much, she coughed violently.
　In her hazy consciousness, Saki only thought of answers that were convenient for her.

────

Chapter 37

RAW

“Did she catch a cold?”

　That was the first impression Osamu had after exchanging messages with Saki.
　Since she suddenly brought up the topic of colds, it would be natural to suspect that.

　Osamu took a break from writing for a while and sat deeper into the back of his chair. Then he checked the message again.
　As expected, there was no connection to the topic of colds.

(...Hino, there’s definitely something to this.)

　Osamu came to that conclusion based on Saki's careless personality and her serious personality, and immediately got ready to go out.
　If it was nothing, it'll just be unfounded worries. Osamu would only be embarrassed. Doing nothing was the biggest problem.

　Osamu then sent several messages.

[Did you catch a cold?]
[If you did, should I buy something?]

　But there was no reply.
　Finally, Osamu became worried and decided to go there directly.

(It's rude to suddenly barge into a woman's house on her day off, right?... I just hope I don't get hated.)

　With that in mind, Osamu went to a nearby convenience store and purchased sports drinks, cooling sheets, and udon noodles that looked easy to digest. If his worries turn out to be unfounded, Osamu will just use it for dinner or when he catches a cold.
　Then he moved to her apartment.

　The only ones that can enter the apartment are the tenants.
　For anyone else, there are two ways to enter, one is to contact the manager, and the other is through the machine located just inside the apartment.

　Osamu sent another message to Saki, but he didn’t get a response.
　Osamu stood in front of the machine and stared at the numbers lined up there.

　In the case of visitors, they could contact the owner of the room by entering the room number. Those were needed to have the door opened.

　While remembering Saki's room number, Osamu put in the number.
　After a while, there was a response.

[Yes, who is this?]

　Her voice was raspy, and sounded like she was half asleep.
　Osamu knew then that his prediction was right.

“...Aah, it's Shimazaki Osamu. Um, are you okay?”
[Eh!? Shi-Shimazaki-san!? What’s wrong?]
“...No, you went out of your way to send me such an email, so I thought you caught a cold. Um, I bought some things at the convenience store.”

　When Osamu showed the convenience store bag in front of the monitor, he knew Saki gulped.

[...Did you find out I caught a cold?]
“I got an email like that all of sudden after all. I thought I’d bring some things in case you needed them. Can I go and deliver them?”
[...Thank you, very much.]

　The call with Saki was disconnected, and the automatic door opened.
　Osamu then headed to Saki's room on the tenth floor and pressed the intercom on her room.
　Soon after, the door opened. And Saki appeared while removing the chain lock.

　A mask covered about half of her face, but even the visible parts were bright red.
　He could tell from a glance that she wasn't feeling well. Some of the buttons on her pajamas were undone, probably due to the heat, so he was troubled on where to put his eyes.

　He didn't come here to see Saki's immodest appearance.
　Osamu coughed once and scolded himself, then showed the bag to Saki.

“Here, I've bought a lot of things that I think you'll need, but do you need anything else? If you do, I'll buy it now.”

　Saki looked into the bag, then relaxed her eyes.

“Thank you, very much... that's good, I didn’t have a cooling sheet.”
“...That’s good.”
“...Thank you, very much.”

　Because Saki had a fever, her face was constantly red. Osamu knew that the reason the area around her eyes was loose was because of her cold, but there was a strange sexiness to them.
　Osamu felt his heart beat faster, but he scolded himself and suppressed it.

“Ah, please come inside.”
“Ah, yeah.”

　Saki smiled and relaxed her eyes, so Osamu nodded and went in.

────

Chapter 38

RAW

　Osamu entered the living room and put the bag on the table.
　He took out the things he bought from the bag and arranged them on the table.

“Then, that’s good. I bought some udon and packaged rice that I thought would be easy to make just in case, but can you cook? If it looks impossible, should I make it for you?”
“Y-you can cook!?”
“...No, I don't think it'll be much of a cooking. The udon is kake udon, and I’m just making rice into porridge.”
“...”
“...Could it be, Hino can't do it?"
“I-I can do it. I can at least use a microwave oven! Cough cough!”

* (T/N: I don’t know what kake udon is, my guess is, it’s just plain udon and its broth.)

　Saki raised her voice and ended up coughing.
　Although he didn't mean to make fun of her, Saki still puffed out her cheeks.

“Don't push yourself... well, just rest. Udon or porridge, which one do you want?”
“...I'll eat both.”
“...Can you eat them?”
“I have an appetite after all.”

　Those were powerful words.

“...I see. As expected of you.”

　He entered the room with Saki. As usual, garbage is piled up at the entrance of the room.

“...Normally, it’s clean, okay?”
“I got it, I got it.”
“Do you really get it?”
“Yeah, I got it already. For now, Hino, you should rest. You can call me if you need anything. I have a smartphone too, so if speaking up is too hard, you can text me.”

　When Osamu said that in rapid succession, Saki, who had been dazed, bowed her head slightly.

“...I understand. Thank you very much.”

　Osamu then headed to the kitchen. Although the kitchen showed no signs of being used even once, it is fully stocked with cooking utensils. He could tell from the state of the kitchen that she did intend to cook.

　He prepared the pot and boiled water.
　Osamu made udon and porridge.

　He transferred them to a plate and headed to the room where Saki was resting.
　Saki's room was closed.

“Hino, the food is done...”
“...”

　He knocked and called out to her several times, but there was no response.
　Since had no choice, Osamu slowly opened the door.

“Hino...”

　Saki’s scent gently tickled his nostrils the moment he entered the room.
　This was his second time at Saki's house, but it was his first time in her room.

　While feeling slightly nervous at being in the quiet Saki’s room, Osamu brought in the udon and porridge.
　Saki was sleeping soundly. Osamu, who was fascinated by her cute expression, immediately scolded himself, shook his head and called out to her.

“Hino, the food is done...”
“Yes...”

　Osamu didn't hesitate to wake her up, but as soon as he called out to her, she sat up while rubbing her eyes.
　Osamu was worried because she looked somewhat dazed, but he carried over a small table nearby and placed the food on it.
　Saki sat using the bed as a chair, and turned her body towards the table.

“Thank you very much, for doing this much.”
“No, don't worry about it. The cause was yesterday anyway, and I'm somewhat to blame, right?”
“...That's not true. It's wholly my fault for forgetting my umbrella.”
“That's not true. Well... anyway, you need to eat quickly and get some rest.”
“...Yes.”

　Then, she ate the udon in one go.

“...Your appetite doesn’t change, I see.”
“That's right. I'm the type of person who can eat normally even if I'm not feeling well.”
“...Well, I’m certainly the same.”
“How many servings of udon is this?”
“...That's two servings. I thought it was too much, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“That's true. I feel like I can still go on. ...It's very delicious too.”
“I see. I just referenced the internet for the seasoning. Give your thanks to the person who published the recipe.”
“No, it was Shimazaki-san who made it, so thank you very much.”

　Saki's eyes softened, and Osamu was embarrassed by her smile.

────

Chapter 39

RAW

　Osamu was overwhelmed by how much she was eating.

　After Saki finished eating the udon in no time, she immediately ate the porridge. Before he knew it, she finished eating it in no time, and put her hand on her stomach.

“As expected, it seems my appetite may be lower than usual. I didn't think I would be satisfied with this amount.”
“...That’s, lower?”
“Y-yes, it is, but... huh? Am I still eating too much?”
“...For now, I think you'll be fine if you can eat this much.”
“W-why won't you answer?”

　Saki sullenly raised her voice, but Osamu pretended that he didn't hear it either.

“Is there anything else you want me to do?”
“What I want you to do...”

　He met Saki's eyes as she murmured that. Her cheeks reddened and she looked down in embarrassment.

“N-nothing in particular. It's okay, thank you very much.”
“...No, it's fine. Well then, it's time for me to go home.”
“Y-you’re going home?”

　Saki let out an anxious voice.
　Osamu almost groaned at the cute expression on her face.

“Ah, yeah. I don't think staying too long would be a good idea. Call me if you need anything else.”
“That's, true... truly, thank you very much.”

　When Saki bowed to him repeatedly, and Osamu let out a wry smile at that as he stood up from his chair, it happened.
　A ‘ding dong’ chime echoed in the room.
　Osamu and Saki exchanged glances with each other.

“...A visitor, huh?”
“...It seems, so, huh? But I don't have any plans for anyone to come, and I didn’t call out to anyone like I did with Shimazaki-san.”

　It would have been impossible to go up to the 10th floor without being called out by her.

“...Then, maybe they are the person from the next room?”
“...I wonder? We do exchange greetings, but we’re not close enough to go to each other’s houses.”
“Then, they made a mistake, huh? For now, I'll take a look.”
“I suppose we should.”

　Saki stood up from the bed.

“H-huh!?”

　However, as Saki stood up vigorously, she staggered, almost falling over, Osamu hurriedly supported her body.
　He could feel her weight on both of his arms. He supported Saki, by holding her in his arms.

“A-are you okay!?”
“Y-yessss...”

　The heat transmitted from Saki's arms was hotter than he had imagined.
　More than anything, even though she always ate so much, her body was light.
　Their faces are close. They were close enough that if Osamu moved a little, he could kiss her.

　After a few seconds of staring at each other, Saki quickly turned to the side.

“...P-please don't look at me too much.”

　Embarrassed, Saki turned to the side, and Osamu hurriedly sat her down on the floor.

“M-my bad... If it's too hard to walk, why don't I take a look?”
“...Either way, I don't think we’ll know unless I check. Besides, just now it was because I stood up too quickly... I'll be fine as long as I take it slow.”

　Saki said as she slowly stood up to show it.
　Osamu was uneasy, but he walked next to her so that if something happened, he would be ready to move immediately.

　The two moved and checked the situation outside with the camera.
　There was a woman with a beautiful short cut.

“...Ma-Mayumi!?”

　Saki immediately spoke up, and Osamu glanced over at her.

“...Your friend, huh?”
“Y-yes... I-I informed her that I was not feeling well. ...At the same time, I can understand what happened. I gave Mayumi and her family one card key each so that they can enter this apartment in case of emergency. Mayumi was quite a worrywart, so maybe she came to check on me...”

　Osamu's cheeks stiffened at that. There is a high possibility that she will misunderstand this situation, he thought.

────

Chapter 40

RAW

“...I see.”
“W-what should we do...!? S-should I pretend to be away!?”
“...No, wouldn't she be insanely worried if she didn’t get a response at all when you had a fever?”
“B-but if things go on like this, she will find out that Shimazaki-san and I have been seeing each other!!?”
“...If you don't want her to know about me, should I hide in another room somewhere?”

　If they were only on the second floor, he could escape through a window. However, this is the 10th floor, if he jumps out, it will become an incident.
　When Osamu, who was secretly depressed by Saki's words, made such a suggestion, Saki blushed and said,

“R-rather than not wanting her to know... Mayumi said several times that she wanted to see Shimazaki-san.”
“...She knows about me?”

　That was surprising at first, and when Osamu asked, Saki's cheek stiffened.

“W-well, you see... Um, I... actually don't have much contact with men, so I asked her for advice on where to go out and such.”
“I see... hm? ...but, haven't you always confidently said, [Please leave it to me!]?”
“P-please leave that aside for now! Anyway, if she sees us like this... s-she might make fun of me!”
“...I-I see. My bad, I just barged in all of a sudden.”
“I-I was happy about that, so it’s fine... Ah, that's not it, that’s not what I meant...!”

　Saki shook her head vigorously and then spoke up.

“With that being the case, let's take Shimazaki-san's idea! Please hide in a room! I'll take care of it!”
“Ah, wait a min──”
“You can enter anywhere other than my room! I’m counting on you!”
“No, like I said──”

　Saki dashed towards the front door.

“...I'm sure she’ll at least hide the shoes at the entrance, right?”

　Believing this, Osamu was about to move to another room when it happened.
　A loud voice rang out from the entrance.

“Th-th-th-th-those shoes are...!!”

　From Saki's confused voice, it was immediately clear that she didn’t hide his shoes.
　Osamu let out a small breath and headed towards the entrance.
　As he walked out into the hallway, his eyes met with a beautiful woman’s.

　The short-cut woman was dressed in mature clothing, and was only slightly taller than Saki. She, who was dressed in easy to move casual clothes, made eye contact with Osamu, and──

“Ah, so that’s how it is, huh?”

　She grinned.
　The woman then quickly took off her shoes and bowed once in front of Osamu.
　Saki was watching over this, sputtering ‘awawa’ while emitting smoke.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Morishima Mayumi. Are you by any chance Shimazaki-kun?”
“Yeah... I’m Shimazaki Osamu. You said ‘by any chance’... so you heard about me after all?”
“Yeah, I guess. I see...”

　Mayumi looked intently at Osamu from head to toe. When Osamu felt uncomfortable and looked away from her, she turned toward his back.

“If Shimazaki-kun is here, maybe I should go home?”
“Th-that’s not true!”

　Saki’s face reddened as she shook her head.
　Osamu also nodded.

“...Since your friend is here, I'll be heading home soon.”
“Eh? Ah, you don't really have to, um... force yourself to go home yet...”

　When Saki said that modestly, Mayumi giggled.

“That's right, Shimazaki-kun. I need your help with something, so don’t go yet─.”
“Something you want me to help?”
“Yeah.”

　Mayumi nodded her head and then looked at Saki.

“Well then, Saki. Why don't you change your clothes? You're drenched in sweat.”
“...I'm sorry, please.”

　Saki bowed her head apologetically.
　Mayumi, together with a bright smile, turned only her face towards Osamu.

“With that being the case, Shimazaki-kun, could you prepare some hot water? I think there's a bucket in the bathroom, so could you go fill it with hot water?”
“...I-I got it.”
“Ah, do you want to wipe her yourself?”
“Ma-Mayumi!”

　Osamu could only shake his head at Mayumi's joking words.
　Mayumi smiled and pushed Saki's back.

(This is, maybe I just met an outrageous person.)

　Osamu let out a small breath and went to prepare the hot water.

────

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