Even so, we are living in the present

Chapter 11 – Contact From Afar

Two days after the Sonohara family was embroiled in an accident. An incoming call was received from a relative who resided far away in a certain place in Nagano Prefecture. Amidst fields and rice paddies spread out along the edge of a peaceful and spacious mountain, a large house and its grounds were surrounded by a wall.

Within the house, there was a room with many bookshelves lined with books of various sizes, and many books piled up on the floor as well. In the center of the room stood a desk and a pair of chairs framed by bookshelves. Even the desk was piled with books.

And sitting on a chair was a young man with shoulder-length brown hair tied back in a single knot and sporting a pair of red-framed glasses. His name was Azusagawa Reito. To Yuu, he was his uncle. His last name differed from Yuu’s due to the fact that he was her mother’s younger brother. As he looked at a thick book with a stick of candy in his mouth, he received an incoming call without bothering to check the screen of his smartphone.

“Yes, halo.”

Due to the candy in his mouth, his eloquence was lost. However, his eyes widened at the words delivered on the other end of the phone, and with his free hand, he removed the candy bar from his mouth, plucking it.

“Eh, the police is it…? Yes, Sonohara Kanae is my sister…”

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Around the time of the incoming call to Reito, Yuu was being interrogated at the hospital. Having suffered from a headache since waking up in the morning, he was lying in bed after being examined by his doctor, quietly answering the police questions while Kyosuke watched over him.

Since he was not present at the time of the accident, the process did not last that long. Nevertheless, he was apparently fairly fatigued even in the short time he spent there, as everything he said reminded him of that period of the accident.

“… I am tired.”

When the police officers and doctor left and the quiet time alone with Yuu began to set in, the first thing that emerged from his lips was a sigh and a hint of exhaustion.

“Good work. Do you want to eat pudding?”

“Mm, yeah.”

When Yuu nodded at his words of appreciation, Kyosuke moved the recliner of the bed to help him up.

“… I don’t want to meet anyone else.”

Having strangers visit him consecutively, Yuu was beginning to grow weary of the visits. After taking a pudding out of the refrigerator and opening the lid, Kyosuke nodded slightly in contemplation as he offered it to him.

“I think it will be alright for a while, right? From what the police have told us, he is coming from far away, isn’t he?”

“Yeah… he will organize the belongings, be a chief mourner at the funeral, and so on, instead of me.”

Even with his left hand, he dexterously proceeded to consume the pudding with a spoon.

But──

“… Ah.”

The IV tube got caught and he dropped the whole spoon after scooping it up.

“…”

He looked down at the pudding, which scattered vacantly on the futon before glaring at Kyosuke. After meeting his gaze for a moment, Kyosuke raised his eyebrows subtly.

“… Hey, what’s with those eyes? Am I to blame for?”

“And who else could it be?”

Staring at him with his right eye, he falsely accused him without the slightest change in his expression. There was no mercy for Kyosuke.

“Seriously, you really are…”

He picked up a piece of tissue and was going to say back, “How cruel” while retrieving the fallen pudding, but Yuu raised his left hand and wordlessly insisted that the IV tube was attached, and he changed his words to a sigh and pressed his forehead without saying anything back.

“… Yes yes, yes, it’s my fault. It’s my bad. Is this acceptable?”

After saying this, he reached for a spoon, scooped up the pudding, and offered it to the other’s mouth.

“….”

In response, Yuu opened his mouth in silence, as if asking to be fed. Obeying him, a spoon was inserted, and a satisfied smile formed on his face as the pudding flooded his mouth with sweetness. Afterwards, Kyosuke continued to feed him, and soon the container was emptied.

“Are you satisfied yet?”

“Mmm.”

With the same nonchalant reaction as ever, he tossed the pudding container into the trash and resumed sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

Almost simultaneously with Kyosuke’s words, a notification sounded on a smartphone.

“…?”

“It’s your phone, Yuu.”

When Kyosuke mentioned it to him, the beautiful face of the other person, who was regarding him with a curious gaze, grew increasingly full of aversion.

“Eh, what?”

I wanted to have a well-earned rest today. With this expression on Yuu’s face, Kyosuke handed the smartphone to him.

“Why don’t you check it out for yourself?”

“…”

Upon receiving the phone and checking its contents with considerable reluctance, the expression on his face changed to one of blankness.

“It’s uncle.”

After hearing the person to whom the notification was sent, Kyosuke stared at the person silently, not saying anything in particular.

“I’ll be here by the middle of the day. When I arrive, I will come to the hospital.”

Once Yuu read out the message that was sent, he put down his phone, leaned back against the sheets, and kept his eyelids closed.

“… I’ll sleep a little.”

“Ah, okay.”

The corners of Kyosuke’s mouth slightly lifted as he answered while he gently pulled back the recliner and raised his body to lie down.

“Are you leaving, Kyosuke?”

“No, I’m staying.”

Perhaps relieved at the words that followed, it did not take long for Yuu to drift off to sleep.

T/N:

Azusagawa Reito

33 years old/179cm
The younger brother of Yuu’s mother.
Folklorist living in Nagano Prefecture.
He gives lectures on folklore, which he originally started researching as a hobby, and is in charge of a newspaper section.
He is fond of searching through literature and owns a copy in his study at home.
He is very attached to Yuu and has excessive affection for him.